Random Board Games, Drawn by Number of Players

Five board games a press, award winners and old classics, each with its year and how many can play.

ShatarTraditional, Mongolia. A chess variant played in Mongolia.
Qwirkle2006. 2 to 4 players. A tile-based game that shares traits with Rummikub and Scrabble.
Royal Game of UrTraditional, Mesopotamia. 2 players. A race game first played in the early third millennium BC.
LamlametaTraditional, Ethiopia. A mancala game played by the Konso people.
Wingspan2019. 1 to 5 players. Players compete to attract birds to their wildlife preserves.

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How it works

These random board games come from three places: the winners and nominees of Germany's Spiel des Jahres awards, the table games in the National Toy Hall of Fame, and traditional games such as chess, go and mancala.

Read the full guide

Find a game for the people at the table

Press Pick 5 new board games. Each card gives the year the game came out, or says it is traditional and where it comes from, then how many can play and a line on how it plays. Choose 2, 3 to 4 or 5 or more in the Any number menu, and open More filters for Kind, Era and Listed for.

What is left off the cards

No box art, prices, shop links, playing times or difficulty scores: those change by edition and by shop. A card with no player count has none in its article. A traditional game is listed when Wikipedia files it under traditional board games and writes about it in at least five other languages.

Tips

Two at the table? Choose 2, then Traditional under Kind, for games played for centuries.
After a press, Lock the games already on your shelf and press again for the rest.

Questions and answers

Which random board games suit a family night?

Choose Family under Kind and 3 to 4 in the Any number menu. Candy Land needs no reading at all, which helps with the youngest players.

What does Traditional mean on a card?

Nobody published the game: it was handed down. The card names the region its article gives, such as Nepal for bagh-chal or Madagascar for fanorona.

Is every Game of the Year winner here?

Every winner with its own English Wikipedia article, from 1979 on, along with the connoisseur and children's awards and the nominees that have articles. Winners with no article are missing.

Why are toys and video games not on the list?

This page keeps to games played at a table with a board, cards, tiles or dice. The Hall of Fame also honors toys, puzzles and consoles, and those are left out.

All 163 board games

Spiel des Jahres winners and nominees 86

7 Wonders 2010. 2 to 7 players. A card drafting game with three decks of cards.
Alhambra 2003. 2 to 6 players. A tile-based game designed by Dirk Henn.
Around the World in 80 Days 2004. 3 to 6 players. A designer board game by Michael Rieneck.
Auf Achse 1987. A logistics-themed game whose name means "on the road".
Azul 2017. 2 to 4 players. Players collect sets of colored tiles, based on Portuguese azulejos.
Barbarossa 1988. 3 to 6 players. A clay-shaping game designed by Klaus Teuber.
Blue Moon City 2006. 2 to 4 players. A city-building game with a fantasy theme.
Broom Service Kennerspiel des Jahres 2015. 2 to 5 players. A role selection game adapted from an earlier card game.
Café International 1989. 2 to 4 players. A tile-laying game created by Rudi Hoffmann.
Camel Up 2014. 2 to 8 players. A camel race in the desert.
Carcassonne 2000. 2 to 5 players. A tile-based game designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede.
Cartographers 2019. 1 to 100 players. A roll and write game; players draw terrains from cards.
Cascadia 2021. 1 to 4 players. Players add habitat and wildlife tokens to score points.

Show all 163 board games (150 more)

Spiel des Jahres winners and nominees, continued

Catan 1995. 3 to 4 players. First published as The Settlers of Catan.
Chicken Cha Cha Cha Kinderspiel des Jahres 1998. 2 to 4 players. For players from four years onwards.
Citadels 2000. 2 to 8 players. A German-style card game designed by Bruno Faidutti.
Clans Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2003. 2 to 4 players. A game centered on the creation of villages.
Codenames 2015. 4 to 8 players. Two teams follow one-word clues from their spymasters.
Colt Express 2014. 2 to 6 players. A railway-themed family board game.
Concept 2013. 4 to 12 players. A deduction party game.
The Crew 2019. 2 to 5 players. A trick-taking card game played across 50 missions.
Daybreak 2023. 1 to 4 players. It models the response to climate change.
Dixit 2008. 3 to 6 players. Players match dreamlike picture cards to a storyteller's title.
Dominion 2008. 2 to 4 players. The first deck-building card game.
Dragomino Kinderspiel des Jahres 2021. 2 to 4 players. A children's tile-laying game based on Kingdomino.
Drunter und Drüber 1991. 2 to 4 players. Its name means "under and over" or "haywire".
El Grande 1995. 2 to 5 players. The game board represents renaissance-era Spain.
Elfenland 1998. 2 to 6 players. A German-style game designed by Alan R. Moon.
Enchanted Forest 1981. 2 to 6 players. Players must remember where fairytale treasures are hidden.
Endeavor: Deep Sea 2024. 1 to 4 players. Each player heads an independent research institute.
Finca Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2009. Players collect fruit by stepping around a windmill.
FITS 2009. 1 to 4 players. Its name stands for Fill In The Spaces.
Focus 1963. 2 to 4 players. An abstract strategy game, also sold as Domination.
Forbidden Island 2010. 2 to 4 players. Adventurers look for treasures as the island sinks.
Fresco 2010. 2 to 4 players. Each player is a master painter restoring a fresco.
Hanabi 2010. 2 to 5 players. Players see everyone's cards but their own.
Hare and Tortoise 1974. 2 to 6 players. A Eurogame designed by David Parlett.
Hoity Toity 1990. 2 to 6 players. A board game created by Klaus Teuber.
Imhotep 2016. 2 to 4 players. Designed by Phil Walker-Harding.
Ingenious 2004. 1 to 4 players. An abstract strategy game designed by Reiner Knizia.
Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King 2015. 2 to 5 players. A tile-laying game; players are clan chieftains.
Istanbul 2014. 2 to 5 players. A Euro-style game designed by Rüdiger Dorn.
Jambo 2004. 2 players. Players are traders buying and selling market wares.
Just One 2018. 3 to 7 players. Players each write a one word clue for the round's guesser.
K2 2011. 1 to 5 players. Players are challenged to climb the mountain of the same name.
Karuba 2015. 2 to 4 players. A tile-laying race; each player has four explorers.
Keltis 2008. 2 to 4 players. Marketed in the US as Lost Cities: The Board Game.
Kingdom Builder 2011. 2 to 4 players. A strategy game designed by Donald X. Vaccarino.
Kingdomino 2016. 2 to 4 players. Players build a five by five kingdom of domino-like tiles.
Liar's dice Spiel des Jahres 1993. 2 or more players. Dice games in which each player bids on dice the others cannot see.
Loopin' Louie 1992. 2 to 4 players. An interactive electronic board game.
Lost Ruins of Arnak 2020. 1 to 4 players. A game by Michal and Michaela Štach.
Machi Koro 2012. 2 to 4 players. Players roll dice to earn coins and develop their city.
The Magic Labyrinth 2009. 2 to 4 players. Players find treasures in a labyrinth with invisible walls.
Manhattan 1994. 2 to 4 players. Players build and control skyscrapers to score points.
MicroMacro: Crime City 2020. 1 to 4 players. A crime-solving hidden object game.
Mississippi Queen 1997. 3 to 5 players. A paddlewheel race down the Mississippi River in 1871.
Niagara 2004. 3 to 5 players. Set at the Niagara Falls, players collect and transport gems.
Pandemic 2008. 2 to 4 players. Players combine efforts as four diseases break out in the world.
Pictures 2019. 3 to 5 players. A game by Daniela and Christian Stöhr.
Puerto Rico 2002. 3 to 5 players. A Euro-style game designed by Andreas Seyfarth.
The Quacks of Quedlinburg 2018. 2 to 4 players. Also known as Quacksalber.
Qwirkle 2006. 2 to 4 players. A tile-based game that shares traits with Rummikub and Scrabble.
Railway Rivals 1973. 2 to 6 players. A railroad-themed game of railway building.
Ribbit 2004. 2 to 5 players. A children's race game designed by Reiner Knizia.
Rummikub 1950s. 2 to 4 players. A tile game that combines elements of rummy and mahjong.
Saint Petersburg 2004. 2 to 4 players. A card-driven Eurogame.
Scotland Yard 1983. 3 to 6 players. A team of detectives tracks one criminal across London.
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective 1982. A game of reasoning and deduction.
Sky Team 2023. 2 players. Two players act as pilot and co-pilot to land an airplane.
Splendor 2014. 2 to 4 players. Players are gem merchants of the Renaissance.
Stone Age 2008. 2 to 4 players. Players lead a tribe to collect resources and build a village.
Terraforming Mars 2016. 1 to 5 players. Players are corporations working to terraform the planet.
Thurn and Taxis 2006. 2 to 4 players. Players build postal networks and post offices in Bavaria.
Ticket to Ride 2004. A series of railway-themed games designed by Alan R. Moon.
Tikal 1999. 2 to 4 players. Set in a Central American jungle, players discover artifacts.
Top Secret Spies 1984. A spy-themed game, also known as Under Cover.
Torres 1999. 2 to 4 players. Designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling.
TransAmerica Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2002. 2 to 6 players. Players build railroad track across the United States.
Um Reifenbreite Spiel des Jahres 1992. 2 to 4 players. A bicycle racing game invented by Rob Bontenbal.
Villa Paletti 2001. 2 to 4 players. Players build the villa higher with columns from lower floors.
Village 2011. 2 to 4 players. A historical-themed game of resource management.
Werewords 2017. 4 to 10 players. Players guess a secret word by asking questions.
Wingspan 2019. 1 to 5 players. Players compete to attract birds to their wildlife preserves.
Yspahan 2006. 2 to 4 players. A German-style game named after Isfahan.
Zooloretto 2007. 2 to 5 players. Each player owns a zoo and collects animals to attract visitors.

In the National Toy Hall of Fame 17

Battleship 1931. 2 players. Each player hides a fleet on a grid and guesses at the other's.
Candy Land 1949. 2 to 4 players. A simple racing game that requires no reading.
Checkers Traditional. 2 players. Pieces move forward and capture by jumping.
Chess Traditional. 2 players. Each side controls sixteen pieces on an 8×8 grid.
Clue 1949. 3 to 6 players. A murder mystery game, known as Cluedo outside North America.
Dominoes Traditional. A family of games played with rectangular tiles marked with spots.
Dungeons & Dragons 1974. A fantasy tabletop role-playing game.
The Game of Life 1860. 2 to 6 players. It simulates a person's travels through their life.
Jenga 1983. 1 or more players. Players remove one block at a time from a tower.
Knucklebones Traditional. Small objects are thrown up, caught and manipulated.
Magic: The Gathering 1993. 2 or more players. A collectible card game created by Richard Garfield.
Monopoly 1935. 2 or more players. Players buy, trade and develop properties around the board.
Phase 10 1982. 2 to 6 players. A card game with ten phases, based on contract rummy.
Risk 1957. 2 to 6 players. Played on a map of the world divided into 42 territories.
Scrabble 1948. 2 to 4 players. Players score by placing letter tiles on a 15×15 grid.
Trivial Pursuit 1981. 2 to 6 players. Players answer trivia questions to move around the board.
Uno 1971. 2 to 10 players. A shedding-type card game.

Traditional games 60

Adji-boto Traditional, Suriname. A mancala game played by the Saramaccans.
Alquerque Traditional, Middle East. 2 players. Considered to be the parent of draughts.
Ashtapada Traditional, India. Played on a checkered board; it predates chess.
Ba-awa Traditional, Ghana. A simpler variant of mancala.
Backgammon Traditional. 2 players. Played with counters and dice on a tables board.
Bagh-chal Traditional, Nepal. 2 players. One player has four tigers, the other up to twenty goats.
Banqi Traditional, China. 2 players. Also known as Half Chess; played on a 4×8 grid.
Bao Traditional, East Africa. A mancala game most popular in Tanzania and Kenya.
Chaturaji Traditional, India. 4 players. A chess-like game whose name means "four kings".
Chaturanga Traditional, India. An ancient game known from around the seventh century.
Chaupar Traditional, India. A cross and circle game very similar to pachisi.
Chowka bhara Traditional, India. 2 to 4 players. Also called Ashta Chamma.
Courier chess Traditional. A chess variant that was popular for at least 600 years.
Daldøs Traditional, Scandinavia. 2 players. Notable for its unusual four-sided dice.
Fanorona Traditional, Madagascar. 2 players. A strategy board game for two.
Game of the Goose Traditional. A race game decided only by dice throws.
Go Traditional, China. 2 players. Players fence off more territory than the opponent.
Gomoku Traditional. 2 players. Also called five in a row.
Grant Acedrex Traditional, Castile. A medieval chess variant from a book of 1283.
Hounds and jackals Traditional, ancient Egypt. Known from gaming boards found in excavations.
Janggi Traditional, Korea. 2 players. Sometimes called Korean chess.
Jungle Traditional, China. 2 players. Played on a 7×9 board and popular with children.
Lamlameta Traditional, Ethiopia. A mancala game played by the Konso people.
Layli Goobalay Traditional, Somalia. A variant of mancala.
Ludus latrunculorum Traditional, Roman Empire. 2 players. Its name means "the game of brigands".
Luzhanqi Traditional, China. 2 players. Known as Chinese military chess.
Mahjong Traditional. 2 to 4 players. A tile-based game typically played with 144 tiles.
Makruk Traditional, Thailand. 2 players. Thai chess, descended from the Indian game chaturanga.
Mancala Traditional. 2 players. Played with stones or seeds and rows of pits.
Mangala Traditional, Turkey. A traditional Turkish mancala game.
Mehen Traditional, ancient Egypt. A board game played in ancient Egypt.
Mensch ärgere Dich nicht 1914. 2 to 6 players. A German race game whose name means "Man, Don't Get Angry".
Ming mang Traditional, Tibet. 2 players. An abstract strategy game.
Morabaraba Traditional, South Africa and Botswana. 2 players. A strategy game known by many names.
Mū tōrere Traditional, New Zealand. 2 players. Each player has four counters.
Nard Traditional, Persia. 2 players. A tables game sometimes considered ancestral to backgammon.
Nine men's morris Traditional. 2 players. An ancient game dating back at least to the Roman Empire.
Oware Traditional. An abstract strategy game of the mancala family.
Pachisi Traditional, India. 2 to 4 players. A cross and circle game on a board shaped like a cross.
Pallanguzhi Traditional, South India. 2 players. An ancient mancala game.
Renju Traditional, Japan. 2 players. A professional variant of gomoku, named in 1899.
Reversi 1883. 2 players. Played with 64 identical disks on an 8×8 board.
Rithmomachia Traditional, Europe. An early mathematical board game.
Royal Game of Ur Traditional, Mesopotamia. 2 players. A race game first played in the early third millennium BC.
Sáhkku Traditional, Sápmi. 2 players. A board game of the Sami people.
Senet Traditional, ancient Egypt. 2 players. Played with pawns on a 30-square board.
Senterej Traditional, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Also known as Ethiopian chess.
Shatar Traditional, Mongolia. A chess variant played in Mongolia.
Shatranj Traditional, Sasanian Empire. An old form of chess.
Shogi Traditional, Japan. 2 players. Also known as Japanese chess.
Sittuyin Traditional, Myanmar. 2 players. Also known as Burmese chess.
Snakes and ladders Traditional, India. 2 or more players. It originated in ancient India as Moksha Patam.
Sugoroku Traditional, Japan. Two games share the name, one like snakes and ladders.
Surakarta Traditional, Indonesia. 2 players. Known for an unusual method of capture.
Tafl games Traditional, Northern Europe. 2 players. Two armies of uneven numbers meet on a checkered board.
Toguz korgool Traditional, Kyrgyzstan. A Kyrgyz game of the mancala family.
Trictrac Traditional, France. 2 players. Played with dice on a board similar to backgammon's.
Xiangqi Traditional, China. 2 players. Commonly known in the West as Chinese chess.
Yoté Traditional, West Africa. 2 players. A player wins by capturing all opposing pieces.
Yunnori Traditional, Korea. Played especially during Korean New Year.

How this list was compiled: Membership is by rule, never by taste. Three rules, read on 2026-09-30 and 2026-10-01 from English Wikipedia through its API: (1) the game won the Spiel des Jahres, the Kennerspiel des Jahres or the Kinderspiel des Jahres (the three All winners tables of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiel_des_Jahres, 1979 to 2026), or is named as a nominee in that page's yearly tables, and has an English Wikipedia article of its own; (2) the game is a table game (board, card, tile, dice or role-playing) among the inductees of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Toy_Hall_of_Fame, classes of 1998 to 2025; (3) the game is in Wikipedia's category Traditional board games or is the main game of one of its subcategories (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Traditional_board_games), and its article existed in at least five other language editions on the day it was read. The list holds 163 games: 59 award winners and 27 nominees, 17 Hall of Fame games and 62 traditional games; chess and checkers are in two of the three. The plan asked for winners only and the traditional games with an article; nominees with an article and the five-language test were added so that the list reaches the family's floor of 150 checked entries without anyone choosing games by taste. Year, number of players and what the game is come from each game's own article (infobox and opening paragraph), read on 2026-10-01. The year is the year of first publication the article gives; where the article gives none the card starts with the award and its year. A card says Traditional, with the region the article names, for a game in the traditional category. The number of players is printed only where the article gives one. The Kind is the article's own word (strategy, family, party, cooperative, word game); winners of the connoisseur award are filed under strategy and other award games under family where the article uses no such word. The line on each card is ours, written from the opening of the article, and every name and number in it was checked against that text by script. Left out: award winners and nominees that have no article of their own (17 winners and most nominees), one winner whose article is about the video game it was based on, the Hall of Fame's toys, puzzles, playing cards and video game consoles, category pages that are not games (a list of terms, a holiday, a person), one nominee whose article says almost nothing about it and one with a gambling theme. No box art, price, shop link, playing time or complexity score is given. Spiel des Jahres, Kennerspiel des Jahres and Kinderspiel des Jahres are awards of the Spiel des Jahres association and the National Toy Hall of Fame belongs to The Strong National Museum of Play; game names are trademarks of their publishers. They are named as facts, and this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. Review interval 12 months. Licence: own work