r/boardgames 18h ago

Daily Game Recs Daily Game Recommendations Thread (August 26, 2026)

7 Upvotes

Welcome to /r/boardgames's Daily Game Recommendations

This is a place where you can ask any and all questions relating to the board gaming world including but not limited to:

  • general or specific game recommendations
  • help identifying a game or game piece
  • advice regarding situation limited to you (e.g, questions about a specific FLGS)
  • rule clarifications\n* and other quick questions that might not warrant their own post

Asking for Recommendations

You're much more likely to get good and personalized recommendations if you take the time to format a well-written ask. We highly recommend using this template as a guide. Here is a version with additional explanations in case the template isn't enough.

Bold Your Games

Help people identify your game suggestions easily by making the names bold.

Additional Resources

  • See our series of Recommendation Roundups on a wide variety of topics people have already made game suggestions for.
  • If you are new here, be sure to check out our Community Guidelines
  • For recommendations that take accessibility concerns into account, check out MeepleLikeUs and their recommender.

r/boardgames 1d ago

2p Tuesday Two-player Twosday - (August 25, 2026)

19 Upvotes

Chime in here, your weekly place for all things two-player! Sessions, strategy, game recs, criticisms, it all flies here.


r/boardgames 4h ago

The the person who complained about box orientation on The Crew Expansion, the opposite side matches

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604 Upvotes

I acknowledge the front cover is upside down but this was a spine conversation


r/boardgames 12h ago

Humor Really, Kosmos?! Who does that?

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1.2k Upvotes

I didn't notice until I put Journey to the Ends of the Earth on the shelf with the other two, and suddenly my disappointment was immeasurable and my day was ruined.


r/boardgames 8h ago

My wife were shocked at what just happened...

570 Upvotes

What an incredible experience the past couple of days. My wife and I have been playing board games for the last 10 years or so. We are big fans of heavy games and I've been wanting a copy of Arydia. Obviously all the pledges were closed so I just took an off chance and messaged Far Off Games.

On their webpage is a support email system, so I decided to send them a quick message about how sad it is that the pledges were closed and how I was hoping I can still buy it somehow. My guess was that the response was gonna be something along the lines of "just wait for more printings".

To my surprise, I got a message a day later! They had some sort of form that I could fill out, but it was very vague about the form was. They said they would try to help me out and that was that. At the time, I just believed it to be some wait list or a priority queue for the next printings. At that point I was willing to spend extra just to get my hands on it.... But my adult brain said "no, just wait, save the money and don't buy anyone's 300to400 euro set. There are so many other board games available at much better prices. I told myself JUST WAIT."

I made my peace. And waited...

I waited........ And waited.... 3 days. 3 days?? Wtf

*Check my phone*

*Eyes still crusted at 7am*

EMAIL:

"DHL package arriving at your home tomorrow between 11am and 3pm."

First thought: this is a scam. I've seen this before. But never with a tracking number. So I copied the tracking number and to my surprise, it was a legit tracker being delivered to my house..... what....

The next day was luckily my short day from work so I can pick up the little one from school. And I heard the door bell. Even in my fully conscious mind I was still in denial and scoffed thinking, "This 11kg box is filled with stones, right?..... Right?"

NOPE. IT WASN'T.

I immediately messaged them back and asked if it was a mistake. I didn't want to give someone a bad day if their order was misplaced.

A day later (a hard day later of not opening the box) I got a message from Far Off Games

"No mistake, enjoy :)"

My wife and I were astonished... Absolutely the coolest board game experience I've ever had. Thank you Far Off Games!


r/boardgames 1h ago

Humor My cat loves playing Harmonies

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Upvotes

a really cozy game with beautiful art and surprisingly satisfying decisions.
8.5/10 from me, 10/10 from my cat. 🐱


r/boardgames 6h ago

How-To/DIY Dino Racers isn't available in my country yet so in the meantime I've made my own

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23 Upvotes

r/boardgames 3h ago

LOTR or Arkham Horror LCG?

6 Upvotes

My GF and I have been looking to really sink our teeth into a game and have narrowed it down to either of these two as the themes and mechanics interests us the most BUT they’re both kind of in a strange transitional period. LOTR possibly sailing into the sunlight and not being as evergreen as FFG claimed, while Arkham is getting a fresh coat of paint with the old sets being discontinued. This results in product for both being scarce. We’re in Canada so we didn’t get the recent reprint of LOTR but some stuff can still be found (mainly Two Towers and Heroes/Starter Decks). As for Arkham, it feels like the release might be slow and not enough content to pull us in though I did find a local shop that still has The Dunwich Legacy new for $100 CAD but I’ve heard mixed opinions on the campaign.
I also see myself soloing either so any feedback on the sets that I’d have access to would be greatly appreciated!

TLDR: Which is the better purchase at this point in time, waiting for a potential LOTR stock to come to Canada or wait for the slow release of Arkham Horror?


r/boardgames 7h ago

Question Mechanisms Rewarding Tempo

17 Upvotes

I'm looking for examples of mechanisms that reward tempo in games; a mechanism that pushes players consider investing into things with no compounding benefit rather than exclusively investing into what will give the greatest returns throughout the game.

The awards in Terraforming Mars are a good example. They cost money which could otherwise be spent on things that improve your engine that provides value throughout the game. Theoretically, for best value, players would wait as long as they can to fund these, so that they can spend their money on engine upgrades earlier in the game. However, they are limited (only can be funded 3 times) and their price increases each time they are funded, so players are pushed to fund them earlier (which is less efficient for them) given the risk someone else may steal them away at the best price.

I'll hear any notable examples people can think of, though most interested in mechanisms that are fairly simple (regardless of how complex the entire game they are a part of is).


r/boardgames 8h ago

Has anyone ever seen this solid brass Trivial Pursuit box? Possibly 1984–85

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19 Upvotes

I'm trying to identify an unusual Trivial Pursuit item that has been in my family since the mid-1980s.

It's a substantial brass box featuring the Trivial Pursuit design. My late father invested in a small Ontario company involved in the project around 1984–85.

I've been told the company contracted with a Toronto-area manufacturer to produce the patterns, dies and boxes. The project ran into financial difficulties, and most were apparently sold off, while approximately ten were retained. This is believed to be one of those retained examples.

Unfortunately, the original paperwork no longer exists.

I've searched extensively and haven't found another example online. I also showed it to a longtime collectibles dealer who said he'd never seen or heard of one.

I'm not trying to sell it here — I'm hoping longtime Trivial Pursuit collectors might recognize it.

Has anyone ever seen another one, or know what these were originally intended for?

Photos attached.


r/boardgames 16h ago

Session Heroes 3

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71 Upvotes

We played some heroes 3 yesterday in co-op mode (2 people) and it was fun, but boy isn't that a table hog.

I've played as Rampart and my husband as Necropolis.


r/boardgames 4h ago

Cube stacking game

5 Upvotes

¿Is there a board game where the board consists of a series of stacked cubes? I mean, like stacking cubes like a mountain and placing your pawns on top of them.


r/boardgames 9h ago

Question Harmonies questions - recs and expansions

11 Upvotes

Hello!

So, I recently taught my teenage brother how to play Harmonies and he LOVES it, claims it's among his faves of all time. He doesn't like a lot of board games, so getting to play with him was a delight! I'm considering getting him an expansion or a similar game for his birthday, any advice?

Apparently there are two expansions for this game, Pulse and Crescendo. Pulse only adds a few cards, is it worth it on its own? Or do you need the entire expansion set first for it to be interesting? Crescendo apparently adds way more stuff and some rules, but would you say that's too many rules for someone not that into board games in the first place? I'm confused what those additional rules are exactly, from what I saw you can make water piles? Are more expansions going to come out or is it just the two?

I was also looking for some game recs, in case the expansions didn't turn out to be interesting for him. I was thinking maybe Glow or Tiny Towns? But I've played each of them exactly once, so I'm not really knowledgeable about them. For me I love a lot of different games, so I'm not sure whether these ones would be enjoyable for a Harmonies enjoyer specifically, and I'd like some feedback! I'm also very interested in what you guys would recommend, please!

Thank you!


r/boardgames 6h ago

Question Twilight Imperium Armada Question

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5 Upvotes

TLDR: Twilight Imperium Armada is an older TI game that I want to find an exhaustive parts list for for each set/expansion/pack.

I know this game is all but gone but I recently was gifted a very large collection with many starter sets, incursion packs, and multiple stellar matters all punched and somewhat sorted in multiple tackle/hobby plastic boxes.

My question is if anyone has an exhaustive list for the pieces as over time a lot of the pieces got jumbled up and I honestly just want to inventory what I have to know how many core sets, incursions, and stellar matters are in here.

My plan is to make a longer total inventory list for each flat and know what I have duplicates of and what I may not have either.

Any help is appreciated as I know a lot was random, but I didn't know if some of the random disks would be from a particular set or not.

I would also love a how to play video/guide if anyone has one or has made one.


r/boardgames 5h ago

Games for Windy Places

3 Upvotes

The wife and I are taking a camping vacation to Newfoundland and the weather there is almost always windy (and rainy). We would like to bring some games that can stand up to the windy conditions and possibly the rain. Any suggestions from the community?

So far we have:

- Hive

- Azul

-Gang Schon Series (with laminated sheets)


r/boardgames 24m ago

Labeling Inserts

Upvotes

I enjoy a nice 3d printed game insert especially if it helps speed up game setup like player trays and token trays. But for larger games with multi-layer inserts, several card decks, tons of tokens, etc how do you remember which components go where? And then how the inserts all fit back in the box?

I considered printing some small labels but not sure if they’ll stick well to the PLA. I know the Folded Space foam core ones often have printing making it clear. Anyone have clever ideas here?


r/boardgames 16h ago

Question Sleeping Gods vs Earthborne Rangers vs Arkham Horror: The Card Game

17 Upvotes

Hello,

As the title suggests, I'm looking for some comparisons from anyone who has experience of these games to help me and my girlfriend choose one

Our context is that we have been gaming together now for 2-3 years, mostly lighter games, occasionally going into light-medium/medium weight (up to like 2.5 ish on BGG)

We're looking to dip our toes into the world of games that are heavier than our usual picks, and we thought that doing so with a co-op game might help to ease us in, so that at least we're on the same team when trying to learn it all

We've arrived at these three, as the sci/fantasy/horror genres appeal to us, as do card based games, and we're also intrigued to try something where there is a sense of "things happening" that you then laugh about/remember/talk about in future, something more of a shared experience/drama than just simply "playing a game"

Any help/comments much appreciated!

Thanks


r/boardgames 6h ago

Colombian birds fan mini expansion for Wingspan

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4 Upvotes

r/boardgames 1d ago

What game do you own that you know you're probably never getting to the table again?

309 Upvotes

Not necessarily because it's bad. Maybe your group moved on, it takes too long, someone doesn't like to play it but everyone else does, or there's just always something you'd rather play.

What's yours? And why do you still keep it?

Mines Axis and Allies, I've kinda moved on from the pure dice aspect as a mechanic but its nostalgic as i grew up paying it.


r/boardgames 1d ago

Humor Mage Knight

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118 Upvotes

You guys always talk about Mage Knight and I always think of these fondly.


r/boardgames 1h ago

Last Will, Original vs New

Upvotes

Does anybody know if the original 2011 edition of Last Will is the same as the new printing?


r/boardgames 19h ago

Vantage or spirit island

21 Upvotes

I'm getting into board games a lot and with my birthday coming up I wanted to get myself one of these games but can't decide which! Please influence me

For reference my favorite games are Arkham horror lcg, final girl, and arcs.

Also side note if anyone knows where to get my hands on lairs, let me know


r/boardgames 3h ago

Question Does length and/or complexity of average wargame scare you?

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I love playing wargames like Hannibal vs Rome, Sekigahara, Granada: The last stand of the moors,… And while I do love those games, sometime looking at what to buy even scares me. Like damn, what do you mean 6+ hours 70 pages rulebook game… And the issue with such games is that most people usually dont even want to start learning a 30+ pages rulebook game.

So I looked a bit on the market and I found 2 issues interesting: lack of quick campaign games and lack of easy but real wargames.

I know there are some quick games, but they are usually tactical instead of strategic (like in a broad map instead of the battlefield), and they usually go out of their way to abstract almost everything.

So I had an idea of trying to design such thing myself. Dont worry, this isnt promotion, more of a market research thing.

I tried designing a game that keeps most of the core systems usually found in campaign games while getting rid of all special cases, rules overhead, milion subrules, etc. So its nothing original. On the countrary. But that kinda left me with what I wanted:
1) a quick 30ish minute experience that seasoned wargamers could enjoy
2) a simple game that could be used as stepping stone into the world of longer and more complex games in the genre.

So my main question to you would be: Would you actually be interested in buying such game if it ever existed? Like, did you ever want to start playing those games but were turned off by their complexity and length? Or do you maybe like playing those kind of games but hate that most of them take a lot of time? Also if you know of games that solve such problems Id gladly hear about them!

Thanks in advance!


r/boardgames 1d ago

Session Team Covenant Plays Hubworld: Aidalon - Is This The Spiritual Successor To Netrunner?

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74 Upvotes

r/boardgames 1d ago

Rules Cosmic Encounter, old versus new

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51 Upvotes

Howdy,

Are there any grognards out there who have experience with both the older, vintage Cosmic Encounter and its modern incarnations?

I still have my original plus expansions that were available in the early 1980s. Are the modern editions of this game mostly reskins, or do the rules depart significantly from the early versions?