Strategy board games
Last checked 7 November 2026
Quick answer: Ticket to Ride: Europe and Small World are the easiest way in, both 8+. 7 Wonders, CATAN and Everdell are a step up at 10+. For a big game night, Terraforming Mars (12+), Wyrmspan and Scythe (both 14+) each take 90 minutes or more.
Strategy covers a lot of ground, from a family train game to a two-hour economic race on Mars. So we've put these in order, lightest first. The top few are fine for people whose last game was Monopoly. The bottom three are big-box games for a group that wants a proper evening of it, and they take some explaining. Rules weight (how much there is to learn) goes up as you go down the page, and so does the play time.
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1. Ticket to Ride: Europe
Alan R. Moon's Europe map for Ticket to Ride. The same card collecting and route claiming, plus tunnels, ferries and train stations, and far more short routes than the USA map.
- Players
- 2 to 5 players
- Age
- 8+
- Play time
- 30 to 60 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Easy to teach
Why it suits this: Alan R. Moon's Europe map is where we'd start. You collect coloured train cards and claim routes between cities, but this map adds tunnels, ferries and train stations, and it has far more short routes than the USA original, so there's more jostling for space. It's 2 to 5 players, 8 and up, 30 to 60 minutes, and easy to teach.
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Details last checked 21 October 2026.
2. Small World
Fantasy races fighting over a map that's too small for them all. Each race gets a random special power, and the clever bit is knowing when to put yours into decline and start a fresh one.
- Players
- 2 to 5 players
- Age
- 8+
- Play time
- 40 to 80 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: Philippe Keyaerts's Small World puts fantasy races on a map that's too small for all of them. There are 14 races and 20 special powers, paired at random, so the combinations change each game. The real decision is when to put your over-stretched race into decline and start a fresh one. The board is double-sided and sized to the number of players. It's 2 to 5 players, 8 and up, 40 to 80 minutes.
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Details last checked 22 October 2026.
3. 7 Wonders
Grow an ancient city over three rounds of card drafting (pick one card, pass the rest on), building towards your own wonder of the world.
- Players
- 3 to 7 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- about 30 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: Antoine Bauza's 7 Wonders is card drafting (pick one card, pass the rest on) over three rounds, while you grow an ancient city towards its wonder. Everyone plays at the same time, so there's very little waiting about. It's 3 to 7 players, 10 and up, about 30 minutes. There's a fair bit to take in on the first go, but by the second game it flows.
Check price on Amazon for 7 Wonders (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 19 October 2026.
4. CATAN
Build roads, settlements and cities on an island of hexagon tiles. Trade brick, lumber, wool, grain and ore with the table to reach 10 points first.
- Players
- 3 to 4 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- 60 to 90 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: Build roads, settlements and cities on an island of hexagon tiles, trading brick, lumber, wool, grain and ore with the table. First to 10 points wins. The trading is where the strategy lives: you need things other people have, and they know it. It's 3 to 4 players (5 and 6 need the extension), 10 and up, 60 to 90 minutes.
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Details last checked 19 October 2026.
5. Everdell
Woodland critters build a city in a forest valley. Send workers out for resources, then play critter and building cards that start to feed off each other.
- Players
- 1 to 4 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- 40 to 80 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: James A. Wilson's Everdell has woodland critters building a city in a forest valley, with Andrew Bosley's art all over the cards. You send workers out for resources (worker placement, where you take turns claiming spots that give you things), then play critters and buildings that start to feed off each other. It's 1 to 4 players, 10 and up, 40 to 80 minutes, and it plays solo too.
Details last checked 19 October 2026.
6. Terraforming Mars
Run a corporation turning Mars into somewhere people can live. Play project cards, build up production and race for the milestones before the planet's done.
- Players
- 1 to 5 players
- Age
- 12+
- Play time
- about 120 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes some explaining
Why it suits this: Jacob Fryxelius's Terraforming Mars puts you in charge of a corporation making Mars somewhere people can live. You play project cards, build up production and race for the milestones before the planet's done. It's 1 to 5 players aged 12 and up and about 2 hours. It takes some explaining, but once your production starts paying out each round it's very satisfying.
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Details last checked 19 October 2026.
7. Wyrmspan
Wingspan's engine with dragons. Dig out caves, tempt dragons into them and chain their powers together. It's a standalone game by Connie Vogelmann, with an Automa solo mode in the box.
- Players
- 1 to 5 players
- Age
- 14+
- Play time
- about 90 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes some explaining
Why it suits this: Connie Vogelmann's Wyrmspan takes the engine from Wingspan and swaps birds for dragons. Dig out caves, tempt dragons into them and chain their powers together. It's a standalone game, not compatible with Wingspan, with 183 dragon cards and an Automa solo mode (a deck of cards that plays as your opponent). It's 1 to 5 players, 14 and up, about 90 minutes.
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Details last checked 22 October 2026.
8. Scythe
Lead a faction across an alternate-history 1920s Europe with giant mechs on the map. There's plenty of fighting, but nobody gets knocked out, and most turns go on building your economy.
- Players
- 1 to 5 players
- Age
- 14+
- Play time
- about 115 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes some explaining
Why it suits this: Jamey Stegmaier's Scythe is set in an alternate-history 1920s Europe with giant mechs on the map, painted by Jakub Rozalski. It looks like a war game, but nobody gets knocked out and most turns go on building your economy, so a fight is a threat you use carefully. It's 1 to 5 players, 14 and up, about 115 minutes. Save it for a long evening.
Check price on Amazon for Scythe (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 19 October 2026.
Buying for someone who already owns the classics? Our board game gifts for board game lovers page goes heavier still, with Ark Nova, SETI and Brass: Birmingham. For the enduring favourites people still buy, see best board games of all time. For lighter ideas, see games like Catan. Torn between 7 Wonders and its spin-offs? See which 7 Wonders to buy. If it’s the armies and the map they love, see games like Risk.
How we choose and check
We pick games for the situation, and ignore hobby rankings and hype. Player counts, ages and play times come from the publisher's own page or the box. If we can't confirm a detail there, we leave it off the card. The teaching rating is our own view from reading the rules, not a publisher figure. Nobody pays us to include a game. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. See how we make money.