How does one write a category showcase about board games, this gargantuan bucket of dice, cardboard, and magic?
I’m not sure, but I’m going to try to take the wide lens in this one, hoping to splash some new ideas for your collection across the screen and onto your table. We’ll look at how Noble Knight organizes board games in its store and how you can find great new titles to play in genres you love and ones you’ve yet to enjoy.
So read on and revel in our shared hobby, because there’s so much to enjoy here, whether you’re taking your first steps into board games or have a doctoral degree in 18xx.
Different Types of Board Games
First up, let’s take a minute to lay out as many different types of board games as we can. This’ll serve two purposes in this piece: one, we’ll establish just how many different ways there are to play on our tabletops, and two, these groups will help you find the types of games you enjoy or would like to try.
At the top, let’s look at big tent groupings. These are the terms that, at the outset, tell you what to expect when it comes to a board game (not all of which, as we’ll find, actually have boards):
Card Games: From classics like Spades and Cribbage to newfangled living card games (link to gaming hall piece), card games generally eschew a cardboard play space for any surface that can take a, well, playing card. Often portable, card games cover co-op adventures like The Crew or solitaire delights like Regicide. Meaty competitive titles like Arboretum or Watergate offer tight play that rewards repeated games with a good group. In short, don’t dismiss card games for being ‘too simple’: there’s a lot of great depth in these decks.
Euro Games: Probably the biggest genre of board game outside of those cards, euro games offer a blurry bucket wherein games without too much direct competition fall into. At least for me, the easiest way to split out euros from other games is that the end goal is victory through points scored or objectives accomplished, rather than the direct elimination of the opponent (or a game-controlled adversary). Finspan, Dune: Imperium, Hansa Teutonica, and Kanban EV are all euros, despite playing very differently. You’ll find games of all levels under the euro umbrella, and its likely your first steps into board gaming came here (Catan is a euro, for example).
Ameritrash / Dice-driven Games: A muddier label than euros, this grouping tends to hold all the games in which you’re tossing dice and battling each other or the game itself. We’re talking co-op dungeon crawls like Massive Darkness, head-to-head clashes like Dune: War for Arrakis, and big campaign games like Kingdom Death: Monster and Sleeping Gods. All of these blend here and there with pure war games and euros, but tend to have a focus on narrative gameplay ‘moments’ brought about through dice or deliberate take-that actions against other players or a mutual adversary.
Party Games: Werewolf, Codenames, Twister, you get the idea. The laughers ready to accommodate large groups or bring rules-light zest to a gathering. Recent years have seen some truly excellent spins on the usual vibe, so if you’ve played enough Cards Against Humanity for a lifetime, picking up something like Green Team Wins, Blood on the Clocktower, or That’s Not a Hat might restore your love of a genre perfect for late nights or passing a few minutes while the rest of the gaming group shows up.
While those four cover my big groupings (again, I’m segregating war games into their own category, whose piece you can find here), there’s a couple of sub-categories that cover each that’re worth keeping in mind as you dig for your next adventure:
Campaign Games: A relatively recent emergency, campaigns (or legacy games, depending on whether the experience is resettable) offer a compelling incentive to pull the same group back together to play a changing game over a series of sessions. Usually, the change between games is player-driven, like in Betrayal: Legacy or Clank: Legacy, giving a sense that you’re building towards a conclusion based on your own actions. Others, like Oathsworn or Frosthaven, tell a story with your characters battling their way through to the end. If you have a stable gaming group that’s willing to commit to a single title for a few (or many) sessions, campaigns can be a rewarding, special board game experience.
Classics: It might seem obvious, but there are a subset of games that’ve stood the test of time. These stretch beyond standards like Chess and Monopoly, extending to true gems like Acquire! and Talisman. While all of these titles have their quirks, they’ve all aged well and offer a low-risk good time. Pull out Scotland Yard with the right group and you’ll find the game has plenty of goodness baked in, or take Stratego out and see just how tense a duel it remains after all these years. And if you hate your friends, Diplomacy has been a relationship-ruining standard since the 1960s. Point being, if you’re looking for a birthday gift or a way to round out your collection, it’s hard to go wrong with a classic.
Top Board Game Publishers
Walk the aisles of any big box retailer and you’ll see gigantic publishers like Hasbro, known for things like Magic, Monopoly, and Clue. But much of board gaming’s best can be found a little off the beaten path, so read on below to find some publishers worth paying attention to:
Stonemaier Games: Best known for Wingspan and Scythe, Stonemaier Games deserves credit for their mainstream successes, but it’s their lesser-known titles
that should get a second look. Viticulture with its Tuscany expansion remains a premier, easy-to-grasp euro for anyone with a love of wine. Tapestry is an innovative civilization builder that plays in a couple of intriguing hours. And don’t forget Apiary, a fascinating worker-placement game involving techno bees.
Czech Games Edition: Codenames might’ve been the title putting Czech Games Edition (CGE) on the map, but their library is chock full of fun, original games. Take Adrenaline, a spin on classic first person shooter video games that sees you and your pals galavanting around a map, grabbing power-ups, and blasting each other. Galaxy Trucker puts you in charge of a spacefaring jalopy, trying to get your delivery done before your haphazard spacecraft falls apart. Or take their modern deck-building, worker-placement hybrid Lost Ruins of Arnak for a spin to see how compelling this tight combo design can get.
Roxley: One factor separating modern board games from their classic counterparts is presentation, and few publishers do it better than Roxley. You’ll find their immaculate work on Brass and Brass Birmingham, two devilish, interactive euros set in the UK’s classic coal era. Or get your duel on with Dice Throne, where you’ll take fantasy or Marvel heroes and pit them against one another. If you’re looking for something truly different and travel-ready, though, give Radlands a look. Its blend of card-driven tactics with a Mad Max theme is a prime example of the creativity in modern game theming.
OINK Games: Perhaps the most compelling counterpoint to giant box sizes, OINK Games consistently delivers great fun in small packages. Scout and A Fake Artist Goes to New York might be their most famous titles, and both are perfect, lighter games that shine with just about any group. Dropolter has you fumbling about with your hands, trying to pick up what you need most while only dropping what you need least. Deep Sea Adventure sees you and your pals diving for treasure but sharing limited air – can you control your mutual greed to avoid drowning? Probably not.
Awaken Realms: Publishers of Nemesis and possibly the icons for board gaming’s crowdfunding era, Awaken Realms nevertheless delivers the big, bombastic 
experiences many board gamers haven’t seen before. Take Lords of Hellas, an area-control game set in a techno-mythological Greece, where you’ll battle over temples with gods and men alike. Or Tainted Grail, where you’ll work together to discover the mysteries behind King Arthur’s fallen kingdom. ISS Vanguard sees you managing a spacefaring squad and going on galaxy-spanning adventures. Engrossing and gorgeous, with miniatures galore, Awaken Realms is a publisher to follow if you want huge, premium experiences.
Cool Mini Or Not (CMON): In some ways a sister to Awaken Realms, CMON embraces crowdfunding as well, but publishes a wide range of experiences, from the family friendly Marvel United to the more adult and difficult, but fiendishly fun, Cthulhu: Death May Die. You’ll find one of 2024’s best war games under their banner in Dune: War for Arrakis, and the endless universe of Zombicide delivered alongside, yes, Scooby-Doo: The Board Game. CMON’s got a little, or a lot, of something for everyone, and that makes them a great first stop when you’re thinking of a new game.
Chip Theory Games: Having a publishing philosophy is a great way to stand out, and Chip Theory’s goal to make all their designs playable on custom poker
chips and neoprene is a choice that’s paid off with some brilliant games over the years. Too Many Bones has been their standout, though their newest release, The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era iterates on that classic in fun new ways while bringing folks into Bethesda’s special setting. Solo players need to check out Hoplomachus: Victorum, while tactics junkies will find lots to love with Cloudspire. Unique and fascinating, Chip Theory is bound to expand your idea of what board games can be (and look like).
Core Board Game Categories
Far from every category, the below cover most of the major board game-related sections of Noble Knight’s store. Subcategories getting ever more specific abound as well, so don’t be afraid to take a wild shot with that search bar. You’ll probably find what you’re looking for.
- Card Games – Just what we said above – there’s innovation aplenty happening in this space. It’s more than just Hearts. Games like The Fox in the Forest and Skull are great fits for any collection.
- Expansion / Add-On – A nifty little collection of all the extra bits and bobs for your favorite games.
- Family Board Games – The games you can play with anyone, that’re always a good time. Ticket to Ride, King of Tokyo, and the like.
- Fantasy Board Games – Dragons, terraforming, and good ale? What’s not to love?
- Popular Board Games – See what the People like. You’ll find Cosmic Encounter here, which gives this category all the credentials it needs in my book.
- Sci-Fi Board Games – From Star Wars to Star Trek, Mars to The Matrix (more or less), if you dream of digital stars, this is your category.
- Solitare/Solo – This one overlaps with wargaming, but it’s worth pointing out if you love a little single-player adventure on your tabletop
- Strategy Board Games – Best played with your thinking caps on. You’ll find combo-tastic point salads and challenging co-ops here.
Ultimately, there’s so many excellent board games out there, filling in every niche from small to large, complex to delightfully simple, finding the next love of your cardboard life is as easy as taking a virtual walk through the Noble Knight store. Use some of the above links to get started, then filter on down, adding titles to your Want List as you go.
It’s a great time to be a board gamer, so get out there and play.
Check out our previous article here!
