Teenagers are often considered as being at a tricky age, with huge changes occurring within themselves and an oft joked temperament that results in not wanting to spend much time with others. This is a huge oversimplification however, and in fact there’s every opportunity to engage your teens in some shared fun – and what better fun than board games? Most games are suitable for teens. Basic rules and strategies help in understanding the games. We’re listing the best board games for teens – suitable for older and younger teens alike.
What are the Best Board Games for Teenagers?
Overboss
By: Brotherwise Games
Players: 1-5
Time: 20-30 minutes
Compete to be the ultimate Overboss
Whilst today’s teenagers are much less likely to be drawn into the nostalgia of retro video games, many parents certainly will, and so Overboss, with its pixelated artwork nod to game of old will almost certainly catch your eye. However, whilst teenagers might not have their own memories of playing retro games the first time round, they’ll certainly be familiar with video games as a fun option, and so retro or not, Overboss is bound to draw them in. Overboss goes on to surprise you. It’s no video game – but a tile laying board game, that promises a lot of fun.
Overboss is a best-selling board game that appeals to teens with its engaging gameplay and nostalgic artwork, making it a great game for teens.
In it, you’re trying to craft the most powerful overworld after emerging from your dungeon (as the game that launched the company, Boss Monster, was a nod to old dungeon style games)– and the boss with the highest score at the end is deemed the winner. To play, you’ll take a tile and token each turn. The tile is terrain, and you’ll carefully place this somewhere on your map. You get different points for different combinations of placements – for example, if you lay a dungeon tile, you’ll get points for every different type of terrain on its borders, but swamps gain extra points for being next to either a watery edge or a swamp. That’s a lovely puzzle in itself, but then you have the option to recruit monsters or miniboss to help you, which are the tokens you take, with additional ways to score points included, and a few options to mess with your fellow players’ plans.
It’s a really fun, puzzle style game, that invokes a fair amount of movement consideration and often, a really satisfying outcome of a terrain well placed. The artwork is super fun and inviting, and almost masks the strategy beneath. It’s a game you’ll want to talk about, and one you’ll want to master, making Overboss a perfect choice for teenagers.
Looking for more nostalgia? We took a look at board games of the 80’s!
Flamecraft
By: Cardboard Alchemy
Players: 1-5
Time: 60 minutes
What teenager can resist the pull of dragons making perfect hotdogs?
Flamecraft lures you in with its adorable dragons and keeps you there for the gameplay. It has the adorable premise of a fantasy world where dragons are artisans – they might be running bakeries or making pizza – and you’re enchanting the town, helping to open more shops with your dragon placement.
In game terms, it’s a worker placement game with shared engine building. The latter means everyone is working together to create something that gives more points in later rounds, and the former term is how you get points. In short, you’ll place your dragon at various shops, picking up resources that let you do even more things, which in turn open more shops, offer more resources etc.… and it all gets scored at the end as victory points.
Despite a big looking box, it’s one in which after a round or two, all players will have a grasp on what they should be doing, and by the end they’ll be asking to play again so that they can perfect how they think they could have played it better, or figure out if they prioritised something else, that they might have got more points. Of course, that reaction is always the best kind – yes, we’d love to play again!
Dragons are an easy way to invite players to show an interest – and artisan dragons making coffee amongst other things are too adorable to ignore. However, the board game asks you to think carefully about your actions in a way that is perfect for teens to make their mark on.
MicroMacro
By: Pegasus Spiele
Players: 1-4
Time: 15-45 minutes
Where’s Waldo turns detective in MicroMacro
MicroMacro can be described as Where’s Waldo, but bigger. Not just physically – the black and white line drawn poster you play from is about about the size of many dining tables – but because it builds narratives. No longer are you just trying to find a single character in a busy illustrated poster, you’re scanning a huge scene for plots – is that someone having their handbag stolen? Is that the handbag further down the road? Is that the robber hiding from someone a few streets on? It’s amazing how much you can figure out from some black and white cartoons… if you can find them that is!
MicroMacro doesn’t leave you just searching the art though, whilst that is fun in itself, instead it gives you cases to solve. You’ll have a mystery to find the answer to, which you will find buried in the artwork. Find the small traces to solve the bigger crimes, it says, and that means picking up breadcrumbs as you go. It’s certainly not entirely simple, it will challenge you, and nothing is too easy to find. However, it’s a perfect game for teens because everyone can join in. It doesn’t matter if you can figure out the clues or not, everyone can search the scene for something happening and have every chance of finding what you need. MicroMacro is a simple game that is easy to pick up and play.
Read our Full review of MicroMacro here.
Splendor
By: Space Cowboys
Players: 2-4
Time: 30 minutes
The now classic game of Splendor – though you may see this with new artwork after it’s recent re-release!
Splendor is a gorgeous market card game that’s often quoted as a gateway game, which is a game that gets other people into the hobby, which makes it perfect for potentially reluctant teenagers to sit down and play a board game!
In the game, you’ll be either collecting gems (in order to buy a card), buying and building a card, or reserving a card. Most cards you buy will come with a permanent gem, so after a few rounds you can start to afford the even more expensive cards, and with those, the most expensive cards, with the higher points. There are a few more nuances to the rules – the Nobles are a fantastic way to have extra points – but that’s it at its simplest. First to 15 points is declared the winner.
It’s a game that draws you in quickly and has you wanting to play again and again, but which never takes too long that it might outstay its welcome. Teenagers will love this board game for the decision making it comes with, and how easy it is to pick up. Plus, if you’re not a fan of the theming, there’s a popular Marvel themed version that’s well worth your time.
Unmatched
By: Restoration Games
Players: 2-4
Time: 20-40 minutes
Who wins in a fight between Alice in Wonderland and Medusa?
Remember those conversations that are something like “who would win in a fight between a T-Rex, and Bigfoot?”. They never get old and are always a good talking point. Well, that’s what Unmatched lets you answer once and for all, with a really exciting mix and match style tactical skirmish game.
Unmatched can also be played with two teams competing against each other, adding another layer of strategy and excitement.
Each character has their own deck that channels the feeling of them, like Sherlock being able to deduce cards, or Medusa having a turn to stone gaze. The franchise spans such a huge range of books, movies, comics, and legends that it’s impossible not to find a character you like, and you can mix and match these with other Unmatched boxes to make unlikely combinations. It even plays up to 4 players, so Spider-Man vs Raptors vs King Arthur vs Hamlet is perfectly reasonable. As everyone has their own priorities, you can take real ownership of your actions, and really master your strategy.
If you want a game to get your teenagers brain going, with a huge range of possible combinations and replayability Unmatched could be the perfect option – plus you never know what they’ll bring out in future, and Restoration Games are showing no signs of slowing down!
Wingspan
By: Stonemaier Games
Players: 1-5
Time: 40-70 minutes
Birds become fantastic board game enthusiasts too, it turns out!
Whilst a game about birds may not be the automatic theme you think will be a winning board game for your teenager, Wingspan will prove you wrong – as it did for thousands of gamers before you. In fact, it won a Kennerspiel Des Jahres, which is one of the biggest awards in board gaming. Wingspan proved very quickly to be a gorgeous, brain stretching game of strategy, beneath beautifully illustrated birds, that has you playing as bird enthusiasts trying to discover and attract the best birds to your habitats. To do this, you’ll need to gain food tokens, in order to place one of the many bird cards available to you.
It’s a game that doesn’t sacrifice visuals at any turn. The bird eggs look like mini eggs, the custom dice are rolled by dropping them into a cardboard construct that looks like a bird feeder, and each card is just a beautiful representation of each bird. There was also a fantastic project that saw the publication of a fan art pack, from Facebook fan group submissions. And if you end up wanting more? There’s a new dragon themed version out, called Wyrmspan.
It’s a really wholesome, satisfying game to play, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. You’ll have to carefully construct the engine of cards in order to get the very best you can, and that’s not the easiest thing to master on the first turn – but that’s okay, because it’s a great excuse to play again. It’s about the perfect level of difficulty for teenagers and older to enjoy. There are also expansion packs available to add more content and variety to the game.
Lost Ruins of Arnak
By: Czech Games Edition
Players: 1-4
Time: 30m per player
Don’t resist the call of adventure with Lost Ruins of Arnak
Speaking of games that are the perfect challenge for the teenage brain, Lost Ruins of Arnak is certainly one of them. It embodies that Indiana Jones, or Nathan Drake spirit of exploration and adventure, but does so in a worker placement and deck building board game.
The premise is that you’ve uncovered an unknown island with incredible history. You’re leading an expedition to explore everything it has to offer, while also uncovering artifacts of its early residents, with your fellow players acting as rival expedition leaders. This game builds up over several rounds, but unlike many games like it, it finishes in a short period of time – about 30 minutes per player, but once you’re in the swing of things, it can move much more quickly. Of course, that simply makes you want to dive in and try again with a whole new strategy, but it also stops any victories or defeats from being too stinging.
The game play itself gives you a lot of choices. You might be buying cards, digging or discovering new sites, research, defeat a guardian, or more… All in the name of those points at the end. Because there’s so much to do, you never quite know who is going to win until it happens, which also prevents players from feeling the need to give up as their defeat looms. All in all, it’s a really fun, complex game with a lot of fun elements, and leaves everyone donning their best Indiana Jones hat.
Unlock!
By: Space Cowboys
Players: 1-6
Time: 30-60m
What mystery awaits you in Unlock!?
Escape rooms are fantastic, a clever mix of puzzles of different kinds and a looming clock to add a little bit of pressure. It’s no surprise there are board games that try to do the same and Unlock! Is one of the best ones. There’s actually a number of these too, so you’ve got a vast array of themes to choose from. The Star Wars one is particularly fantastic, but you’ve got options that take you from Hollywood to deep beneath the ocean surface, you could be helping Robin Hood, or even delving into other board game worlds, like that of Mysterium and Ticket to Ride. Unlock! also offers various expansion pack options to accommodate more players and themes.
The game plays with a team of players working together to solve puzzles, which are input into an app to get a response back from. Incorrect answers can lose you precious time, as can hints, but sometimes it’s worth the hit to get to the right answer. The puzzle types are always varied, which means even if everyone at the table thinks about things differently, someone is going to figure out an answer no one else could at some point, and that’s a fantastic confidence boost for anyone – teenagers or adults alike!
It’s worth noting that a criticism of these style of games is often that the game is ruined when it’s played – some escape room games will have you causing permanent damage to the components, or at least needing to rip into an envelope. Unlock! doesn’t do this, as most of its puzzle resolutions are discovered and confirmed within the app. In fact, you can reset Unlock! as many times as you need. While you may not be able to play again (as you’ll still know all the answers!) there’s nothing stopping you swapping with someone who has another version, so the fun starts all over again.
Poetry for Neanderthals
By: Exploding Kittens
Players: 2-12
Time: 15m
“Good game hard to talk”
Poetry for Neanderthals is a funny game for teenagers, offering a lot of humor and entertainment while getting you to really think about your words. Of course, some people joke that teenagers will only talk in single syllables, well, this game lets them shine. Players will need to describe something given to them on a card by using only one syllable answers. It’s surprising how quickly you discover how big a limitation this is, but to make it more than just a word puzzle, you add in inflatable clubs…
That’s right, you split into teams, and sit next to non-team members. One player will attempt to describe an item on their card for their team to figure out. If they mess up and use a word that is too long, the player closest to them on the other team may then bop them with the inflatable “no” stick. You’re trying to achieve as many points as you can by successfully completing as many cards as you can, with options for harder words on each card to net more points too, and skipping the card loses you points – which inevitably leads to a laugh when you’re struggling to find the right words under the pressure to sum up exactly what you mean. How exactly do you describe Octopus in single syllables? What about Fossil Fuel?
It’s from the makers of Exploding Kittens, so it’s no surprise that the more you embrace the silliness the more fun the game is. Do you have to talk like a caveman? No. Could you? Absolutely. It makes being told no by the inflatable stick even funnier. It’s a great social game you can play again and again with your teenager. Whilst you can deflate your no stick to return it to the box, you’ll probably find they’ll stay out for a while, as you’ll find every reason to play again.
Conclusion
Board games will always be a fantastic way to connect with friends and family, and especially as the teen years are the toughest, having the best board game in your corner to be able to engage with your teen is a fantastic opportunity. Whether your teen prefers interaction in their games, or wants to create something for themselves, this list has the best in board games for this age,
Speaking of age, if you’re wondering about other ages for board games, you should take a look at our guide to the best board games by age.
College Board games ->
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What are some engaging best board games for teenagers?
Some engaging board games for teenagers mentioned in the article include Unlock!, Poetry for Neanderthals, and other great titles. One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a fun and engaging party game with hidden roles, bluffing, and deduction, suitable for larger groups and easy to pick up for people who aren’t typically into board games. Unlock! involves solving puzzles and working against the clock, whereas Poetry for Neanderthals brings a fun twist by having players describe objects using only single-syllable words.
Why is Unlock! considered a top escape room-style board game?
Unlock! is considered one of the best escape room-style board games because of its variety of themes, including popular options like Star Wars, Robin Hood, and Hollywood. The game uses an app for puzzle resolution, ensuring the physical components remain undamaged and reusable. This allows the game to be swapped with friends, offering repeated enjoyment.
How does Poetry for Neanderthals help with language skills?
Poetry for Neanderthals helps with language skills by encouraging players to simplify their vocabulary and think creatively to describe words using only single-syllable items. This limitation fosters quick thinking and linguistic creativity, making it especially appealing to teenagers.
Can Unlock! be played multiple times?
While you can reset Unlock! as many times as needed, the game might not be as enjoyable upon replay since players will already know the answers to the puzzles. However, you can swap versions with someone else to renew the fun and offers fresh challenges.
What makes board games a good way to connect with teenagers?
Teens games, including strategy, negotiation, and alliances in games like Chicago Express and Power Grid, are a fantastic way to connect with teenagers because they offer structured interaction that can be both entertaining and educational. They help foster communication, problem-solving skills, and teamwork, making them especially valuable during the often challenging teen years.
Are there other resources available for choosing board games by age?
Yes, you can find more information on choosing board games appropriate for different age groups in the guide available at our guide to the best board games by age. This guide will help you select the best game based on the age and preferences of the players.