The Best Campaign Board Games

Have you ever played a board game that you’ve wanted to come back to again and again? Or maybe just wish it didn’t end quite as quickly as it did. Are you a fan of RPGs and love seeing your efforts pay off as your characters grow and evolve? If so, you’d probably be a fan of campaign games. Games that can be completed in one session, but offer a greater and more rewarding experience when played over several sessions. These campaign board games normally offer a significant and often times branching narrative which leads to significant replay value. Not only that but there’s always plenty to discover and collect, and in many circumstances will see player characters growing with the experience they acquire over several sessions.

The best legacy board games provide an exciting and unique experience with evolving mechanics and narrative elements that span multiple sessions. Though an enjoyable experience, these types of games aren’t for everyone. They require hours upon hours of commitment, oftentimes containing a steep learning curve or a significant amount of rules, and the theme isn’t always for everyone. However, campaign games are excellent ways to build a sense of comradery and are a great social experience. Unlike games that you can play through in one half-hour session and play out in a similar way most times, campaign games are a little different. Usually, everyone will have a shared objective which changes with each session and completing it requires teamwork, strategy, and perseverance. Whilst not always a favourite of casual gamers, campaign games are certainly robust and usually very much good value for money.

Below are a selection of campaign board games that we think are must plays for everybody.

Introduction to Campaign Board Games

Campaign board games are a unique breed of board games that offer a long-term, immersive experience. Unlike traditional board games that wrap up in a single session, campaign board games are designed to be played over multiple sessions, each one building on the last. This extended playtime allows for a rich, branching narrative to unfold, where the choices you make and the actions you take can have lasting effects on future plays. These games often incorporate legacy elements, meaning the outcome of one game can permanently alter the game components or rules, adding a layer of depth and replayability that keeps players coming back for more.

Definition and Explanation of Campaign Board Games

At their core, campaign board games blend storytelling, strategy, and role-playing into a cohesive experience. Designed to be played over several sessions, each game session builds upon the previous one, creating a continuous narrative that evolves based on player decisions. This narrative framework means that players’ choices can significantly impact the story and the game world, making each playthrough unique. Whether you’re playing solo or with a group, campaign board games offer an immersive experience that sets them apart from other types of board games. They invite players to dive deep into the game world, making strategic decisions and watching as their story unfolds over time.

Benefits of Playing Campaign Board Games

One of the standout benefits of campaign board games is the sense of progression and improvement they offer. As you play, you’ll unlock new content, mechanics, and storylines, providing a rewarding sense of achievement. The high level of replayability is another major draw; each playthrough is influenced by the choices you make, ensuring no two games are the same. Campaign board games are also an excellent way to introduce new players to the world of tabletop gaming. Their structured, session-based format makes them more accessible and manageable than some other types of games. Additionally, these games foster a strong sense of community and camaraderie among players, as you work together to overcome challenges and achieve shared goals.

Types of Campaign Board Games

Campaign board games come in a wide array of styles and genres, ensuring there’s something for every type of player. Whether you’re into fantasy adventures, strategic warfare, or cooperative problem-solving, there’s a campaign game out there for you. Some games focus on intricate storytelling and character development, while others emphasize strategic planning and tactical combat. This variety means that no matter your gaming preferences, you can find a campaign board game that will captivate and challenge you over multiple sessions.

Gloomhaven/Frosthaven

By: Cephalofair Games     Players: 1-4     Time: 90-180 Minutes     Ages: 14+

Being so similar it’s difficult to pick between the two, you honestly can’t go wrong with either. Two of the biggest campaign games out there, offering close to one hundred adventures and over a dozen characters to uncover, venturing into dungeons has never been so much fun. Campaign play in these games introduces innovative approaches that allow for playing multiple scenarios or sessions in a shorter time frame, without the need for lengthy commitments.

Set in a fantastical, grim-dark world, players choose one of several classes to play as and set off on dozens of adventures through dungeons and treacherous environments. This is achieved through different-sized tiles that represent the various settings players will find themselves in, where they’ll come across all kinds of dangerous threats. Each class comes with a deck of cards that represent the different actions players can take. This can be as simple as moving and attacking, or using spells and abilities, but the unique aspect of this mechanic is each card has a different option at the top and bottom to choose from, offering multiple ways to approach a scenario and significant strategic depth.

Both Gloomhaven and Frosthaven offer a huge branching campaign to work through, as well as plenty of interesting classes to unlock and try out. Regardless of which one you choose, both games play in a similar way but offer a different and rewarding experience.

Pandemic Legacy: A Pioneer in Legacy Board Games

By: Z Man Games    Players: 2-4    Time: 60 minutes     Ages: 13+

Based on the classic, cooperative, strategic game of the same name, Pandemic Legacy charges players with stemming the spread of various diseases by researching, containing, and ultimately eliminating them.

Playing in a similar way to the original Pandemic, the legacy version is accessible to both those familiar with and new to the franchise. Players pick a role and work together with their unique skills to travel the globe to try and eliminate four different diseases. As one of the most engaging cooperative board games, they’ll have to contend with the likes of random outbreaks and quelling the panic within cities, all whilst formulating the best plan to complete their objective. Where legacy differs, is that depending on how well players do, they will have to do this over at least a dozen sessions and their actions may have a lasting effect.

Components or rules may be permanently altered, characters will gain skills or suffer detrimental effects, and sometimes be lost forever. There are also several different episodes out there, each posing their own challenge and offering their own rewards. Definitely one for fans of strategy games, each box offers dozens of hours of entertainment.

The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim – The Adventure Game

By: Modiphius Entertainment    Players: 1-4     Time: 60-120 minutes     Ages: 14+

For fans of the video game, Skyrim – The Adventure Game, offers an almost identical experience that can’t be passed up. A robust, Fantasy game that offers plenty of replay value and dozens of hours of gameplay.

A co-operative adventure game, players take on the role of heroes setting out on epic quests, working together to defeat their enemies and exploring the vast expanse of the region of Skyrim. Players can create characters from one of several races and will be able to customise them with unique abilities and spells, as well as upgrade their equipment as they go further into the game. Split into two campaigns with three chapters each, the decisions players make even from their first turn will have a distinct on how the story unfolds, which makes every playthrough different and unique.

A strong gaming group can enhance the experience, as teamwork and ongoing relationships are crucial in campaign board games. Each player will have their own storyline to play through players will find themselves interacting with each other throughout and even join up with each other in the final battle at the end of each chapter. Featuring lots of familiar faces, monsters, locations, and races, Skyrim is not only a love letter to fans of the video game, but offers a rewarding and fun experience for fans of campaign driven board games too.

Mice and Mystics

By: Plaid Hat Games     Players: 1-4     Time: 60-90 minutes     Ages: 7+

A light-hearted dungeon-crawler that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Mice and Mystics is a fun game that takes aspects of games like Gloomhaven but targets them at a much younger audience.

In Mice and Mystics, players take on the role of one of several humans who have been turned into mice, each with their own roles, abilities, and skills. The game is divided into eleven missions or ‘chapters’ that are all played out through the aid of a storybook, which also serves as the game board. This book gives a prelude and flavour text to each mission in order to help set the scene and create more of an immersive experience. It also dictates how to set up the tiles and enemies at the start of each game, as well as the players ultimate objectives. Players start the game with equipment and one ability card, but they’ll be able to find more items throughout missions to make themselves more of a threat to their enemies, and more abilities will be unlocked to make them more powerful.

Each mission can be played individually or as part of a long-term campaign, where character will retain their abilities, items, and stat increases. Gameplay is kept simple with easy-to-learn rules and the game focuses on cooperation rather than competition. During battle, an initiative tracker is used to keep track of players’ and monsters turns, and it comes down to everyone to work together and strategise to come up with the optimum plan for the following round. Packed with charming aesthetics, on the surface it may look like a game predominantly aimed at kids, but it’s a highly enjoyable experience for all, especially casual gamers.  

Star Wars Imperial Assault

Published by: Fantasy Flight    Ages: 14+    Players: 2-5    Time: 60-120 minutes

A strategy game of epic proportions, players will become part of the Galactic Empire or Rebel Alliance, and battle it out in galaxy-spanning battles with legendary and iconic characters. The game takes about 60-120 minutes per session, providing a substantial and immersive experience.

Imperial Assault plays out in two different ways: skirmish or campaign mode. Skirmish mode pits players against each other in head-to-head tactical combat. Campaign mode however, has players play through a cinematic tale where rebels engage in covert operations to thwart the Empire’s schemes. Each mission contains various tasks and objectives and how well they’re completed has an impact on the subsequent scenarios. Characters will evolve and become more powerful as the campaign progresses, gaining access to new abilities and skills. One of the biggest selling factors however, is the full size and scope of the game.

Aside from the base game, there are a plethora of expansions and additional characters to collect which will expand the story and add extra replay value. Whilst a pricy investment, adding more components and units to the mix is worthwhile and provides dozens of hours of intergalactic enjoyment. A love letter and absolute must-have for Star Wars fans, it provides the closest thing to taking part in battles in a galaxy far, far away possible.

Final Words:

All of the above games are excellent in their own right and are great campaign games that you’ll find you and your friends investing hours into. If there are any games that haven’t made the list that you think should be here, let us know what your favourite campaign games are.

Also Read: Top 5 Best War Board Games

FAQ: Campaign Board Games