Best Strategy Board Games

For the 2019 edition see The Castles of Burgundy.The game is set in the Burgundy region of High Medieval France. Each player takes on the role of an aristocrat originally controlling a small princedom. While playing they aim to build settlements and powerful castles practice trade along the river exploit silver mines and use the knowledge of travelers.The game is about players taking settlement tiles from the game board and placing them into their princedom which is represented by the player board. Every tile has a function that starts when the tile is placed in the princedom. The princedom itself consists of several regions each of which demands its own type of settlement tile.The game is played in five phases each consisting of five rounds. Each phase begins with the game board stocked with settlement tiles and goods tiles. At the beginning of each round all players roll their two dice and the player who is currently first in turn order rolls a goods placement die. A goods tile is made available on the game board according to the roll of the goods die. During each round players take their turns in the current turn order. During his turn a player may perform any two of the four possible types of actions: 1) take a settlement tile from the numbered depot on the game board corresponding to one of his dice and place it in the staging area on his player board 2) take a settlement tile from the staging area of his player board to a space on his player board with a number matching one of his dice in the corresponding region for the type of tile and adjacent to a previously placed settlement tile 3) deliver goods with a number matching one of his dice or 4) take worker tokens which allow the player to adjust the roll of his dice. In addition to these actions a player may buy a settlement tile from the central depot on the game board and place it in the staging area on his player board. If an action triggers the award of victory points those points are immediately recorded. Each settlement tile offers a benefit additional actions additional money advancement on the turn order track more goods tiles die roll adjustment or victory points. Bonus victory points are awarded for filling a region with settlement tiles.The game ends after the fifth phase is played to completion. Victory points are awarded for unused money and workers and undelivered goods. Bonus victory points from certain settlement tiles are awarded at the end of the game.The player with the most victory points wins.The rules include basic and advanced versions.This game is #14 in the Alea big box series.There is a separate BGG entry for the 2019 edition: The Castles of Burgundy. The 2019 edition includes alongside the base game eight expansions seven of which had already been released separately as promotional items and one new to the 2019 release.UPC 4005556812431

Game description from the publisher:King Robert Baratheon is dead and the lands of Westeros brace for battle.In the second edition of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game three to six players take on the roles of the great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros as they vie for control of the Iron Throne through the use of diplomacy and warfare. Based on the best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin A Game of Thrones is an epic board game in which it will take more than military might to win. Will you take power through force use honeyed words to coerce your way onto the throne or rally the townsfolk to your side? Through strategic planning masterful diplomacy and clever card play spread your influence over Westeros!To begin the game each player receives an army of Footman Knight Siege Engine and Ship units as well as a set of Order tokens and other necessary components. Each player also receives a deck of unique House Cards which are used as leaders in battles against rival Houses.Each round in the game is made up of three phases: the Westeros Phase the Planning Phase and the Action Phase. The Westeros Phase represents special events and day-to-day activities in Westeros. There are three different Westeros Decks and each denotes a different global action potentially affecting all players.The Planning Phase is perhaps the most important. Here you secretly assign orders to all of your units by placing one order token face down on each area you control that contains at least one unit (Knight Footman Ship or Siege Engine). This portion of the game emphasizes diplomacy and deduction. Can you trust the alliance that you made? Will you betray your ally and march upon him? Players may make promises to each other (for aid or peace for example) but these promises are never binding. The result is tense and compelling negotiations often ending in backstabbing worthy of Westeros!During the Action Phase the orders are resolved and battle is entered! When armies meet in combat they secretly choose one of their House cards to add strength to the battle. Finally the Houses can consolidate their power in the areas they control and use that power in future turns to influence their position in the court of the Iron Throne and to stand against the wildling Hordes.In addition to featuring updated graphics and a clarified ruleset this second edition of A Game of Thrones includes elements from the A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords expansions including ports garrisons Wildling cards and Siege engines while introducing welcome new innovations like player screens and Tides of Battle cards.Tides of Battle cards are an optional mechanism that brings an element of unpredictability to combat representing erratic shifts in the momentum of war due to factors such as weather morale and tactical opportunity. During each combat both players draw one Tides of Battle card from a communal deck and its value modifies the strength of his chosen House card. What's more such a card may also contain icons that can affect the outcome of the battle...all of which delivers a new level of intensity to your military engagements.

Cthulhu Wars is a strategy boardgame in which the players take the part of alien races and gods taken from the Cthulhu mythos created by H. P. Lovecraft. The game is physically large and includes sixty-four figurines of the cultists monsters aliens and Great Old Ones that range in height from approximately 20 mm to nearly 180 mm.The game takes place on a map of Earth. Each player takes the part of one of four factions included in the base game. At the start of a turn players Gather Power then during a series of Action Rounds they spend this Power to accomplish various tasks such as recruiting Cultists moving units engaging in battle summoning monsters building Gates casting spells and Awakening their Great Old One. When all players run out of Power the Action phase ends and the next turn begins. Victory is determined by accumulating points on the Doom Track. The first player to 30 is the lone victor *if* he has unlocked all six of spell books.Driving the strategy are a player's wish to expand his power base and his need to accomplish six tasks to acquire his faction's spell books. Each faction has a unique set of monsters spell books and special abilities and has different requirements to acquire its spell books. All factions have multiple strategies open to them.The base game supports 2-4 players (the map supports 5 players) but with new factions and maps released as expansions it can support up to 8 players.

Designer Eric Lang known for his dudes on a map games describes The Godfather: Corleone's Empire — a standalone big box board game with high-quality miniatures — as thugs on a map.In short the game is a streamlined confrontational worker placement game filled with murder and intrigue. You play as competing mafia families who are vying for economic control of the organized crime networks of New York City deploying your thugs your don your wife and your heir on the board to shake down businesses and engage in area-control turf wars.Money rackets contracts and special advantages (such as the union boss) are represented by cards in your hand and your hand size is limited with you choosing which extra cards to pay tribute to the don at the end of each of the five rounds. At the end of the game though cash is all that matters and whoever has the most money wins.The game also features drive-by shootings in which enemy tokens are removed from the board and placed face-down in the river.

From Christian Marcussen the creator of Merchants and Marauders comes Clash of Cultures a civilization game in which each player leads a civilization from a single settlement to a mighty empire. Players must explore their surroundings build large cities research advances and conquer those who stand in the way. The game features a modular board for players to explore 48 distinct advances seven mighty wonders and loads of miniatures and cards. The winner will create a culture that will be remembered and admired for millennia.Advances The game features about 48 distinct advances. The whole tech-tree is very flexible with no dead ends yet still intuitive sensible and realistic. Additionally you have a great overview of what advances other cultures have - no need to ask - just look.Modular Board Players start with a civilization in its infancy. Move settlers to uncharted regions and reveal the terrain and its resources. Several mechanisms have been implemented to assure that an unlucky placement of region-tiles won't be a decider.Playing Time The game covers a time span similar to AH Civilization - that is to pre-gunpowder. This epic game is playable in about an hour per player! This is a pretty good playing time for a game that covers so much ground as this game will.City management Players expand their cities through the game. But not just to the generic larger city. Players instead choose a building type which represents the growth of the city. For instance you can expand a city with a port fort temple and academy - all with different benefits! Additionally cities can be angry neutral and happy. Everything integrated in an intuitive and elegant fashion.Multiple paths to victory Earn points through: - Founding cities and increasing their sizes - Advances - Objectives - Wonders - Events

The prosperous Kingdom of Greengully ruled for centuries by the Forever King has issued a decree to its citizens to colonize the vast lands beyond its borders. In an effort to start a new village the Forever King has selected six citizens for the task each of whom has a unique set of skills they use to build their charter.In Charterstone a competitive legacy game you construct buildings and populate a shared village. Building stickers are permanently added to the game board and become action spaces for any player to use. Thus you start off with simple choices and few workers but soon you have a bustling village with dozens of possible actions.Your journey through Charterstone's many secrets will last twelve games but it doesn’t end there. Your completed village will be a one-of-a-kind worker-placement game with plenty of variability.Charterstone released in the US/Canada on December 12 2017 (the rest of the world received it slightly earlier).

This description is spoiler free containing nothing outside the initial rulebook for the game. Details on why this is important in the description.Risk Legacy represents what is if not a new at least a rare concept to boardgaming: campaigning. At its core the game particularly at first plays much like regular Risk with a few changes. Players control countries or regions on a map of the world and through simple combat (with players rolling dice to determine who loses units in each battle) they try to eliminate all opponents from the game board or control a certain number of red stars otherwise known as victory points (VPs).What's different is that Risk Legacy' changes over time based on the outcome of each game and the various choices made by players. In each game players choose one of five factions; each faction has uniquely shaped pieces and more importantly different rules. At the start of the first game each of these factions gains the ability to break one minor rule such as the ability to move troops at any time during your turn as opposed to only at the end.What makes this game unique is that when powers are chosen players must choose one of their faction's two powers affix that power's sticker to their faction card then destroy the card that has the other rule on it – and by destroy the rules mean what they say: If a card is DESTROYED it is removed from the game permanently. Rip it up. Throw it in the trash. This key concept permeates through the game. Some things you do in a game will affect it temporarily while others will affect it permanently. These changes may include boosting the resources of a country (for recruiting troops in lieu of the older match three symbols style of recruiting) adding bonuses or penalties to defending die rolls to countries or adding permanent continent troop bonuses that may affect all players.The rule book itself is also designed to change as the game continues with blocks of blank space on the pages to allow for rules additions or changes. Entire sections of rules will not take effect until later in the game. The game box contains different sealed packages and compartments each with a written condition for opening. The rule book indicates that these contain the rule additions additional faction powers and other things that should not be discussed here for spoiler protection.The winner of each of the first 15 games receives a major bonus such as founding a major city (which only he will be allowed to start on in future games) deleting a permanent modifier from the board destroying a country card (preventing it from providing any resources towards purchasing troops in future games) changing a continent troop bonus or naming a continent which gives that player a troop bonus in future games. Players who did not win but were not eliminated are allowed to make minor changes to the world such as founding a minor city or adding resources to a country.It should be noted that although cards are ripped up over the course of the game there are so many cards added via the sealed packages that the game does not suffer. Nor is this a disposable game merely a customized one. The game can continue to change beyond the 15 game campaign and even when it finally does stop changing you still have a copy of Risk that is completely unique.Initial games take approximately 30-90 minutes to play which includes a brief rules explanation and setup.

Triumph & Tragedy is a geopolitical strategy game for 3 players (also playable by 2) covering the competition for European supremacy during the period 1936-45 between Capitalism (the West) Communism (the Soviet Union) and Fascism (the Axis). It has diplomatic economic technological and military components and can be won by gaining economic hegemony or technological supremacy (A-bomb) or by vanquishing a rival militarily.The 22 x 34 area map covers Eurasia to India and the Urals plus the Americas. Military units are 5/8 blocks of 7 types (Infantry/Tank/Fortress/AirForce/Carrier/Fleet/Submarine) in 7 different colors (Germany/Italy/Russia/Britain/France/USA/Neutral). The mix of over 200 blocks allows great flexibility of force composition. There is a 55-card Action deck and a 55-card Investment deck plus 30 Peace Dividend chits and 110 markers of various types.The game starts in 1936 with all 3 Great Powers virtually disarmed: Germany has repudiated the Versailles Peace Treaty initiating an arms race in Europe. With blocks the nature of military buildups remain unknown to rivals unless/until military conflict breaks out. The game may end peacefully or there may be war. There are game sanctions for attacking neutral minors or declaring war on an opponent and rewards for remaining peaceful (you get a Peace Dividend chit of value 0-2 for every year you remain at Peace).You can win peacefully by: • Economic Hegemony (total of Production + secret Peace Dividend values + Atomic Research is the greatest in 1945 or reaches 25 at any time) OR • Technological Supremacy (build the A-bomb which takes 4 stages and be able to deliver it to a Main Capital).If there is war you can still win by either of the above methods (with extra Economic Hegemony victory points available) or by: • Military Victory (capture TWO enemy capitals out of nine: each player controls three).Economic production underlies all forms of power in the game. Production is the LEAST of controlled Population (cities) controlled Resources and Industry (which starts low and can be built up with Investment cards) except that Resources can be ignored if at Peace.Powers can spend their current economic Production on either: • Military units (new 1-step units or additional steps on existing units) OR • Action cards which have Diplomatic values (to gain Population and Resources without conflict) and a Command value (to move military units) OR • Investment cards which have Technological values (to enhance unit abilities) and a Factory value (the only way to increase Industry levels).Building a unit step or buying a card costs 1 Production. Simple. You can’t inspect cards bought until after you have spent all Production.The early phase of the game tends to revolve around: • Diplomatic infighting (using Action cards) to gain minor nations (Czech Rumania etc) for their Population and Resources and • Industrial buildup (via Investment cards) with • Military buildups (with the nature of forces being built being unknown to opponents) • Technology advancement (also via Investment cards) and some • Military operations (using Action cards for Command) which can include Violating (attacking) neutral minors to gain Population/Resources when Diplomacy fails.If the game continues peacefully due to imposing defenses or player inclination pressure builds as players approach a Production of 20 as secret Peace Dividend chits may take someone over the 25 Victory threshold. Or players may succeed in developing the Atomic Bomb and steal a victory that way.At some point however one Power (seeing opportunity or necessity) may Declare War on another. The victim gets immediate economic benefits in reaction but military reality comes to the forefront from this point onward. The third party may well continue its economic development in peace. Or not.Unit movement is by Command card which specifies a Command Priority letter that determines order of movement/combat and a Command Value number that determines the maximum number of units that can be moved. Command cards are only valid during one specified Season (Spring/Summer/Fall) so a variety of Command cards in one’s hand is necessary for a Power to be able to move in every Season. But HandSizes are limited so each player must balance competing demands for card resources with military security.Combat occurs when rival units occupy the same area and is executed by units firing in order by Type (defenders firing first amongst equal types) rolling dice for hits. Units have different Firepowers (hit values) depending on the Class of unit they are targeting (ground naval air sub). Land combat is one round per Season while sea battles are fought to a conclusion. Ground units without a Supply line lose 1 step per Season and cannot build (except Fortress units which are immune to both effects but cannot move).Triumph & Tragedy is a true three-sided game: there is no requirement that the West and Russia be on the same side (and in fact there are valid reasons to attack each other) and only ONE player can win the game. Table talk is allowed (and encouraged) but agreements are not enforceable. Alliances are shifting and co-operation is undependable. The game can continue as an economic battle of attrition or a sudden military explosion can change everything. There is immense replayability as players can pursue dominance in Europe via land sea or air military superiority technological supremacy or economic hegemony without rivals realizing their strategy until it is TOO LATE! It is a highly interactive tense fast-moving game with little downtime between player turns covering THE crucial geopolitical decade of the 20th century in 4-6 hours.

Conan designed by Fred Henry and based on the Conan universe by Robert E. Howard is a scenario-based semi-cooperative asymmetric miniatures board game. One player is the Overlord playing the opposition forces and the other players (1 to 4) play Conan and his companions: Shevatas the thief Hadrathus the Priest/Sorcerer Belit the pirate queen Valeria the warrior etc. The game is based purely on Robert E. Howard's novels and short stories (and not the movies or other non-Howardian material). The publisher has hired Patrice Louinet a Howard expert to make sure the art and the scenarios are compatible with Howard's vision.Each game is a scenario played on a map. There are 4 maps included in the retail copy of the game and each map can have several scenarios set on it. The game is fast one hour approximately. It's possible to play several scenarios in a campaign but you can also play each scenario individually. There are 9 scenarios in the base box.At the beginning of a scenario players choose their team (Conan and two or three other heroes). The Overlord gathers all the miniatures (picts Necromancer skeleton warriors monsters etc.) tokens and cards from the chosen scenario. The game usually plays in a limited number of turns (ten for instance). Each scenario can have very different objectives: find the princess captured by picts and hidden in a hut and leave the camp before the pict hunters return; find the magical key to open a sealed door steal the jewel and leave; kill the Necromancer by the end of turn 10; survive by the end of turn 10; escape the prison; etc.During their turn the heroes can activate or rest. If they activate they can spend gems from their energy pool to do all sorts of actions: move fight (melee or distance) defend pick a lock reroll etc. If they rest they can move a lot of gems from their spent pool box to their available pool box. When they take an action they throw a number of dice equal to the number of gems they put in their action. There are three different kinds of dice: yellow (the weaker dice) orange (medium) and red (strong). Each character has a color based on their specialty: Conan throws red dice in combat while the Sorcerer throws yellow dice in combat; the thief throws red dice in Manipulation actions while Conan throws orange dice; etc. Each player can have equipment cards (armor magic potions weapons etc.) which give them bonuses on their dice rolls.The Overlord plays differently. He uses a board with eight slidable tiles plus his own Energy gems. Each tile corresponds to one unit (1 to 3 miniatures) on the game mat and all of the miniature abilities are written on this tile (movement armor attack special abilities). The tile position on the board corresponds to the numbers 1-8. The Overlord has a pool of energy gems and each time he activates one unit he needs to spend a number of gems matching the tile placement: tile#1 costs 1 energy gem tile#2 costs 2 gems etc. Whatever tile the Overlord chooses to activate he spends the corresponding energy cost (moving his energy gems from the available pool to the spent pool) then takes the tile out and moves it to the end of the sliding track: If he wants to activate this unit again it will cost him 8 gems because the unit is now on position 8. The Overlord can activate a maximum of two tiles and he regains only a certain number of gems each turn (depending on the scenario).In a typical scenario the heroes need to accomplish something and the Overlord wins if the heroes fail to reach their objective — but in some scenarios the Overlord has his own objectives and the Heroes win if they prevent him from accomplishing his goal.

In A Game of Thrones: The Card Game the warring factions of Westeros await your command inviting you to engage in a life-or-death struggle. In every game you select devious plots and challenge your opponents on the field of battle through back alley intrigue and in the political arena. Whether you play a against a single opponent in a game known as a joust or engage in a battle of three or more players called a melee winning challenges against your opponents is the way to victory.Your ultimate goal in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game is to gain influence over the greatest seat of power in Westeros: the Iron Throne! To achieve this goal you must call upon iconic characters such as Tywin Lannister Robb Stark Stannis Baratheon Daenerys Targaryen Euron Crow's Eye The Red Viper and dozens of others. You must maneuver the members of your House and your allies in a constant battle to gain power. The first player to claim fifteen power wins!In the game each player has two decks: a draw deck and a plot deck. Your draw deck contains the tactical elements of your struggle including the characters locations attachments and events that you call upon in your struggle to claim the Iron Throne. You can command characters from throughout A Song of Ice and Fire and you can march forth from the icy walls of Winterfell or muster your armies around Casterly Rock. You may even equip your characters with storied weapons such as the Valyrian steel blades Ice or Widow's Wail. The draw deck holds these powerful characters locations attachments and events. This deck is randomly shuffled and players draw their hands from this deck.At the start of each round each player simultaneously chooses and reveals one of the plot cards from their individual seven-card plot decks. Your plot for a round determines how much gold you can spend on cards which player starts with initiative and how powerful your challenges are. Your plot also bears a reserve value which determines how many cards you can keep in your hand past the end of the round. Plots may also offer powerful effects that can trigger when the plots are revealed or persist to shape the entire game round. You may scorch the earth with a deadly wildfire assault or call upon all players to support the faith of the Seven.A Game of Thrones: The Card Game (Second Edition) differs from the first edition of the game due to elements being cut elements being revised or updated and elements being added. Influence was a holdover from the game's origin as a CCG and is now unnecessary while crests offered nothing to distinguish them from traits and made the game more difficult for new players to learn. Existing keywords have been pruned and some new keywords have been added to showcase the most interesting and essential interactions.The timing rules — such as the details of moribund passive effects with triggers and save/cancel responses — will be replaced with a more straightforward timing system that takes advantage of the Interrupt Reaction and Forced triggers that have been successfully employed in some of FFG's newer LCGs.The second edition also includes two new factions beyond the six Houses in the first edition. New deck-building rules empower players with more options in combining factions alongside a means of building more focused and specialized plot decks.