We’ve all reviewed the Top 100 games on Board Game Geek. We’ve debated on what should or shouldn’t be there. We’ve watched countless YouTube videos from content creators waxing philosophical over which games are truly industry defining. We’ve even seen those out-of-touch articles floating around with games like Monopoly and Battleship gracing their top games. What do we say to lists that feature classics from our childhood?
“Not today!”
Nearly a decade in the making, the following curated list features insight from our professional industry contributors both past and present. As the writer tasked with such a daunting feat of statistical data and evaluation, I spent countless hours compiling, computing, and fact-checking to ensure the results to follow are accurate and represent the TRUE top ten games of all time as chosen by our esteemed Quest society. So, dear reader, are you looking for the next great game to grace the table and fill that open slot on your shelf? You’ve come to the right place. Quest has got your back! We hope you find one that fits your group’s interests. And if not, that’s okay, you’re just missing out on the best of the best. Right team!?
Fine Print:
The BGQ Top 10 Games of All Time (The Definitive List) does not represent the reality of Board Game Quest and its many contributors over the years and the author is having fun at the expense of his comrades and the industry’s continued attempt to quantify the best when in fact there is no precise way to do this beyond subjective feeling, and objective production and ruleset testing through scientific methods we are all a little too busy to incorporate into our hobbyist lives.
10. Ra
Votes Received: 229, including 10 #1 votes
Perhaps boosted by its recent reprint from 25th Century Games, Ra has returned to the forefront of auction gaming fame. The good doctor Reiner Knizia has developed hundreds of games, and this prolific output can occasionally see titles falling by the wayside. But not today. Today, we see Ra cemented into the all-time greats list as BGQ contributors chant RA, RA, RA, all while the sun god giveth, and the sun god taketh away. Ra is for those seeking press-your-luck excitement, with all the highs and lows of a bender at the local casino. We’re all in! The reprint is recommended for those who like chunky titles that you can slam down in support of your most recent bid acquisitions.
2-5 Players • Ages 12+ • 45-60 minutes • $75
9. Ticket to Ride
Votes Received: 230, including 8 #1 votes
Who saw this coming? Maybe the conductor and a few watchful station masters? Ticket to Ride continues to be the true gamer’s train game. Forget stocks and cubes and the number 18! Ticket to Ride allows you to be more flexible with your family gaming. All aboard for route-building strategy as your card-bending nephews and near-sighted grandmother all hover over the board waiting for the next card to be played. Let’s not forget all the options you have in your purchasing choices, each bringing new maps and elements. Some favorite releases include the following: Europe, Antarctica, Canada, South America, the Pacific Islands, and the Moon. Steamy choices for family game night indeed!
2-5 Players • Ages 8+ • 30-60 minutes • $43
8. Castles of Burgundy
Votes Received: 320, including 1 #1 vote
Our crew has always been divided on designer Stephen Feld. Chris is the ultimate champion of the designer, owning all the Feld memorabilia. But it was a surprise to us all when Tony turned out a ballot placing Castles as his #1 game of all time. Perhaps it was the fancy new Awaken Realms version and its impressive scope and production value that finally reeled him in? Regardless, it’s great to see a classic Euro reach the top ten and find new champions along the way! With its beautiful beige origins and its dicey choices, this Feld classic continues to see play at major Quest events. Everyone has a favorite tile, locked in strategies, and we’re still exploring its many new modules as a family. Tony can’t stop telling us facts about pigs and sheep now. It’s getting kind of annoying. But we endure as we are never one to shame others for their favorites.
2-4 Players • Ages 12+ • 30-90 minutes • $56
7. Thunder Road Vendetta
Votes Received: 200, including 55 #1 votes
As the voting indicates, Thunder Road Vendetta didn’t receive as many votes as those listed prior, but it did land a major windfall of top votes. Since the game is so new, this makes sense, but there may also be some amongst us who’ve been burned by an ill-timed crash or hard-to-read die roll. Regardless, the chaos on display in this guitar-fired-race-and-react begs for repeat plays, new characters, and amped up risk-taking. Recent expansion, Carnival of Chao,s only adds to the deep lore that this game has begun to unfold as it takes its inspiration and turns it up to maximum levels. The beer-and-pretzels game is for those so inclined to have a night of player elimination and simulated crash creativity with spectacular vocalized sound effects and wild gestures.
2-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 45-75 minutes • $60
6. Kanban (Original)
Votes Received: 430, including 2 #1 votes
It’s no big secret that BGQ Andrew loves this game and campaigned HARD for an entire decade to get it to the top spot. What’s strange is that his vote did not specify which version of Kanban he ultimately preferred (the same for most of the votes), and so, on that technicality, we placed the original Kanban here to match the voting records. I’m certain Andrew will remain proud of this placing. Vital Lacerda’s treatise on the modern-day workplace, Kanban sees players stalked by their Human Resources manager while they try to be productive at work. As someone who’s experienced reporting to a “seagull” manager in the past, Kanban can be a triggering experience. For those with more fortunate work environments, Kanban is one to seek out. It features crisp system interplay and a wonderful central worker placement mechanism. Always make sure you’re aware of the company’s eyes. Big Sandra is watching you.
2-4 Players • Ages 12+ • 90-120 minutes • $124
5. Catan
Votes Received: 554 (all votes for Spirit Island were converted to Catan), including 25 #1 votes
Never one to shy away from a top ten list, Catan and its many, many years of service to the board game industry have reared its head again only to corrupt my Spirit Island data and take the coveted fifth place spot. Catan is the oft-heralded entry game to impress your newb friends and get them to play your next-level games. Featuring wheat, negotiation, wheat negotiation, long roads, and roads made of wheat, Catan has been robbing the competition of prime top ten spots for decades. And the fact that you understood all that previous sentence means that you have also been indoctrinated into the hobby—rite of passage complete. Which iteration of the famed series will we see next? Will Catan finally embrace IP? Could there eventually be Catan featuring a new hit show such as Game of Thrones? The world waits in wonder.
3-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 60-120 minutes • $43
4. Gaia Project
Votes Received: 576, including 15 #1 votes
There’s no denying that our team at Quest LOVES space games. Many could’ve crept to the top 10, including classics such as Star Wars Rebellion, Race for the Galaxy, Dune: Imperium, or even Eclipse. But the votes have been tallied, and a new top space game has been crowned! Gaia Project has it all: hexes, stars, modularity, TRACKS, retro illustration, funky space creatures, terraforming beyond Mars, green cubes, bowls, and eventually inhabited planets. Gaia Project takes top marks for its asymmetry, its wild tournament scene, and outstanding solo play, and even had a new expansion released in 2024 that I’m certain influenced the voting results.
1-4 Players • Ages 12+ • 60-150 minutes • $99
3. Go
Votes Received: 700, including 62 #1 votes
Oh, so we have purists hiding amongst us? I bet Quest is filled with Go lifestylists. “Oh, don’t pick up the stones like that!!” “Do you touch your food with those hands?” “I get my manicures every Wednesday after work.” I’ve even seen some of that chatter on our team Discord. The ultimate abstract strategy game seems ripe for consumption by the gaming addicts within our community. Etiquette, from placement to clothing to surroundings, takes a match of wits and embraces the outer world at the same time. It is everything. And everything is Go. It can be said that Go was one of the early Duel games. And now look at the industry, finally realizing what we at Quest knew all along. The ultimate duel was the friends we made along the way.
2 Players • Ages 8+ • 30-180 minutes • $27
2. Munchkin
Votes Received: 700, including 0 #1 votes
How can something so small be so mighty with voting results like that? How did it beat out Go? Who betrayed whom? Simple, my friends. Munchkin received the most second place votes of all games on the voters’ lists. Like Quest leader Tony always says, “You haven’t truly gamed until you’ve Munched.” And how can one deny the placement after careful review? Munchkin is ever-present. Want Chthulu in your game? Done. How about some fairy dust? Santa? Or even Clint Eastwood!? Praise be, Munchkin provides. It’s the perfect way to make friends in one moment and then lose them forever soon thereafter. RIP friends. Which reminds me—design a solo game of Munchkin for the opportunity to strike it rich.
3-6 Players • Ages 10+ • 60-120 minutes • $34
1. Oath
Votes Received: 1, including 1 #1 vote
Hi. It’s me, the one vote. And that vote—it’s all we needed. Everyone has given me their blessing. It is time to embrace our top game here at BGQ. While practically no members of our team have truly experienced this game as it is meant to be played, those active in the community are fully aware of how much fun this system is with the right group of people. Maybe you’ve just not found yours yet. But when you do, you’ll know the truth that the BGQ team has published here today. May that moment truly come for you, be prepared for its glorious glow. And for exploration. Intrigue. Mystery. Betrayal. The highest of highs, the lowest of lows. Watch as your friend steals your secrets. Gamble for glory. Sic a roving terror in your direction. And then make them watch as you claim victory, crack open the chronicle, and ink the history of your kingdom. We all know that history is written by the victors. And sometimes, it can be influenced just a bit by those with the opportunity. Like me, right now.
1-6 Players • Ages 10+ • 45-150 minutes • $91
Footnote: Join our Discord! We would love to hear how angry this list made you! There are plenty of inside jokes in the content above. And an error margin of 100%. Pretty much the same as any other top list. Thanks for reading.
Source: Board Game Quest
