The Fantasy Board Game Ladder is top heavy. There are so many excellent fantasy-themed board games bearing significant complexity that winnowing a list of merely 12 requires sacrifices and acknowledging one’s own prejudices. What follows are a broad swath of excellent titles, all of which build on mechanics, strategies, and rules you’ll have seen at lower rungs on the ladder. Read on, then, and see the magic at the tippy tops of fantasy board gaming.
Heavy Fantasy Euro Games
There might not be orcs and wizards, but any game making you elemental gods and tasking you with mystical obliteration is a fantasy in my book. Spirit Island 
remains, years after its release and rejuvenated with regular expansions, a hallmark game. Your goal, to stop colonizing forces, is a noble one. Your powers, ranging from literal nightmares to bear armies, are fantastic and unique. These couple with a smooth, crunchy gameplay loop, buttressed at higher player counts by simultaneous action selection to keep things moving. Spirit Island’s huge spirit library and delightful adversaries—essentially rules tweaks to give you different enemy styles—provide almost endless variety, and do it in a great way. There’s little quarterbacking here too, with card hands and information volume just too high for one player to handle. If you’re looking for a classic to try with friends, Spirit Island is a crunchy masterpiece.
Perhaps the most divisive game on this list, I remain a steadfast devotee of Millennium Blades for its bravura design, wild combos, and near-perfect thematic integration. You’re a card collector attempting to win tournaments in the game’s otherworldly CCG, a relatively simple but otherwise complete game-within-the-game. Your deck can get extra points for matching meta goals and having killer accessories, while your collection on the whole scores for its variety. Real time splits to grow your collection, make trades, and buy/sell cards are frenetic, especially as you’re prepping for the next tournament at the same time. Millennium Blades offers much, and with expansions and asymmetric characters, you’ll never play the same game twice. For those willing to try something totally different, Millennium Blades is as cool as they come.
After Terra Mystica and Gaia Project, there comes Age of Innovation, a smooth next entry in the series that refines its earlier friends (though doesn’t replace them, particularly Gaia Project). These games involve climbing tracks for points, triggering special abilities, unique factions, and tricky placement bonuses for building near opponents. That those same opponents might take your desired spots is a risk, and being able to pivot in Age is key. The upfront learning load here is significant, with lots of icons, connected actions, and concepts, but once you have it grasped, the strategy shines. If you’re a dyed in the wool euro player, Age is a great heavy experience coated with enough fantasy theming to keep things interesting.
Heavy Fantasy War Games
There’s a simple reason why War of the Ring continues to appear on these lists – its scope, variability, and narrative is all but unmatched in competitive games. Even massive hex-and-counter titles struggle to bring the tension of a Sauron hunt roll to catch Frodo as he nears Mount Doom, or the thrill as Aragon breaks with
Gondor’s remnants to charge at Mordor and steal a win from the Shadow. Daunting possibilities are winnowed every turn by action dice, forcing genius to arise from limitations (or Gandalf’s bonus die). Every turn is stuffed with meaningful decisions, and the stakes are always high. War of the Ring is a giant game you’ll actually get to the table. Just make sure yours is large enough.
War of the Ring shines as a duel (despite its 2v2 mode). Burning Banners, however, offers better multiplayer war gaming. While playing up to six, aiming for four keeps downtime low in this fantasy war across the kingdoms of Kalar. In many ways, Burning Banners is a pseudo-sequel to classic old school fantasy war games like Divine Right and Wizard Kings – many of the classic trappings remain, from dice-chucking combat to spells to unique factions. Based on the scenario or campaign (of which there are many, with four big maps to play on), you’ll be assaulting, defending, questing, and more. The advanced rules let your heroes go searching for treasure, battle monsters, and generally throw more interesting strategic friction into the works. Ultimately, Burning Banners provides the stage, you tell the story.
Designed around automatic battling found in computer MOBAs (multiplayer online battle arenas), Cloudspire pits several factions against one another in a race to conquer territory, build units (and spires), and eventually reduce your enemy to ruin. Turns sprint by in simultaneous phases as players upgrade, spend resources, and spawn in their forces and heroes. Then those units move in turn, clashing with one another or suffering dice-driven damage from spires. Survivors make it to their chosen opponent and bash down gates until they win or die trying. Heroes, meanwhile, move freely, finding landmarks with special powers, hiring adversaries, and fighting monsters for crucial experience. All of it, in classic Chip Theory quality, looks wonderful.
But, for me, what sets Cloudspire apart is its solo and cooperative stories. With several books available now and more on the way, Cloudspire tells a broad fantasy tale through a bevy of narrative scenarios designed for one and two players. For a war gamer wanting something different that still scratches that strategic itch, Cloudspire might be the game you never knew you needed.
Heavy Fantasy Miniatures Games
If you’re expecting to see Age of Sigmar here, be assured it’s a great miniatures game. But, for a unique fantasy experience, Conquest, by Parabellum, is worth a look. With a fleshed-out world, numerous factions, campaign rules, and a side-by-side skirmish game (First Blood) that uses the same excellent figures, Conquest offers a 
rank-and-file (rather than standalone figures) battle system and a dynamic, rolling start that sees units enter the battlefield at different times. Couple all this with free, online living rules, army lists, and scenarios and you have a fantasy miniatures war game that, six years in, has matured into one of the best.
Malifaux, with its oddball collection, has been around for a while (we’ve written it up before), and it remains clever, engaging, and utterly special. The new 4th edition streamlines numerous aspects, while also shortening the average game length by an hour or more, putting it closer to two instead of three or four. That makes it easier to play in all regards. Less rules lawyering, more weird demons, killer clowns, and fate deck flipping en route to capturing objectives. Malifaux is a game big enough to draw organized play, and wild enough to bring in anyone looking for something fresh.
Guards of Atlantis II is a bit different than the other two miniatures games above – you’re not building figures or assembling armies, but everything else, from slick player-vs-player and team-vs-team combat, strategies, and expandable rosters is right there. What makes Guards special are its unique heroes, which all play with substantial, game-breaking differences from everyone else. Simultaneous action programming prevents quarterbacking, while move flexibility means adapting in the moment as the game state swerves. This is deep strategy with slim rules, a heavy game that’s complex because of the decisions you and your friends are making, not because there’s a tome to memorize first. Don’t be surprised if this game sucks you in and never lets go.
Heavy Fantasy Campaign Games
When it comes to fantasy campaigns, you’ll find excellence everywhere. Arydia, Oathsworn, Agemonia, etc. all deliver bespoke, big box experiences. But if you want a lifestyle game, something with so much variety, emergent narrative, and rewarding gameplay, it’s hard to beat Kingdom Death: Monster. The dark theme and, at times,
adult artwork mean this game is not for everyone, but the stories it tells with every session, the fascination of seeing your settlement evolve, and learning the ins and outs of every monster is a thrill. If the theme and idea of miniature assembly is a barrier, then consider Aeon Trespass: Odyssey as a substitute.
Boss battlers are the current vogue of fantasy campaigns, and few do it with as much flair as Primal: The Awakening. Rather than using dice and the standard move/attack combos of its brethren, Primal sees you picking a class and using its cards to deal damage, set traps, and help your allies handle the big monsters. A swift story sets enough stage, particularly if you’re a fan of Monster Hunter. It’s a big game, but a single campaign won’t take too long, letting you replay with different classes, creatures, and choices. With arguably the best team work of any fantasy campaign, Primal is an adventure not to be missed.
For some, the goal of a fantasy campaign game is to get as close to an RPG as possible without needing a dungeon master. Dungeon Universalis and League of Dungeoneers are about as close as you’ll find (at least among games without an app-controlled DM – unlike the excellent Descent: Legends of the Dark). Both are sprawling and deep, offering extensive character customization, huge world maps, numerous quests, and more. Both require dedication from a group to reach their heights, but give you a game (or, really, a system) that’ll deliver nigh endless entertainment. These are passion projects that deliver. And, if you want that DM feel, Dungeon Universalis has the option to pit your group against an opposing player, turning up the danger of every encounter.
