Uh-oh! Game night’s coming and you’ve got a crowd of six players gathering for a rousing good time, but you’ve not got good options to offer. Well, we’re here to resolve that for you, through much research on the best possible offerings for your group. We’ve dug through online reviews, explored real-life gameplay notes, and found the best 6 player board games the world of gaming has to offer.
These games engage with various settings, from Arthur’s Camelot to the real estate investment world to an alternative Tokyo and sentient robotics factories, plus everything in between. So, review the list, see what sparks for your upcoming game gathering, and grab your copies today.
This is part of our series on Board Games by player count. Check out the full article for more recommendations.
What are the Best 6 Player Board Games?
Codenames
Age: 14+ Players: 2-8 Time: 15 minutes
Ever dreamed of infiltrating a spy ring and saving democracy? Grab a copy of Codenames and your five closest friends for a good game experience! Using two teams, suss through the clues to discover who’s behind the 25 secret identities and see which cohort can reveal the identities first, without accidentally uncovering the assassin.
The quick succession, hilariously funny Codenames game invites players to romp through the minefields of espionage in about 15 minutes, meaning it’s the perfect icebreaker, game night quick flash, or fast and furious game on repeat for the family. Team leaders gain access to designated cards that offer clues about the identities of the potential spies. During the turns, team leaders lay down single-word clues, followed by numbers, and the teams work together in opposition to decode the messages. Team leaders can’t speak, yet have all the power in the games, which leads to uproarious fun as team members try to discern the codes.
Check out our Full review of Codenames here
Tiny Towns
Age: 14+ (Community 10+) Players: 1-6 Time: 45-60 minutes
Compete to build the best Tiny Towns in this adorable construction game. Each town has a 4×4 grid in which to grow and flourish, with resource cubes determined each round by the Master Builder. The forest setting for these tiny towns adds some illustrative color and good vibes as this top-tipping board game for 6 players cranks up the fun.
Each player must choose their actions carefully every round as they construct their town with limited resources. Players can earn points by strategically placing their resources and constructing buildings. Take turns as the Master Builder, lay your resources, and build, build, build! Cottages alone have a single presence, but all other buildings offer four variations. Tiny Towns has great replayability and loads of beautiful fun in each roughly 45-minute game. The player who reaches the most points from their buildings at the end of the game wins.
One Night Ultimate Werewolf
Age: 8+ (Community 10+) Players: Time: 3-10 (best 6-8) 10-15 minutes
For a fast, high-energy, ridiculously fun board game for 6 players, pull out One Night Ultimate Werewolf. The fast-paced game needs no moderator, has no eliminations, and only needs 10-15 minutes for full gameplay, providing a fun experience for everyone involved. Technically, the game works for 3 to 10 players, but most folks say 6 players is the perfect number for this family-friendly board game.
At the start of each game, every player takes on the role of one of the werewolves, the Seer, a Troublemaker, or one of the other ridiculous characters the game provides. Each player gains special abilities for the gameplay and must ultimately discover who the werewolf is among them. No two games of this bonkers adventure into the speculative fiction world are the same – so you can play this over and over again. Each time, too, players switch roles, so no one stays the same and everyone gets a chance to convince each other who is – and who isn’t – the diabolical villain. Plus, if you love gaming with tech, download some of the apps for additional gameplay adaptations and hilarious fun in One Night Ultimate Werewolf.
Captain Sonar
Age: 14+ (Community 12+) Players: 2-8 Time: 45-60 minutes
Sink beneath the waves in the unique 6-player board game: Captain Sonar. Captain Sonar is a cooperative game where players must work together to achieve their objectives. Here, you and your teammates will navigate the deep in your high-tech submarine, in search of the enemy ship. Each role is vital – each choice is critical. Work turn-by-turn or simultaneously to come to the end result and discover who dominates the sea.
Teams split the room – one team on each side of the table – and take on specific roles like captain, navigator, engineer, or radio operator. The captain must move the submarine and announce certain details of the movement to the game. The sonar operator listens to the opposing team’s captain to decipher what that submarine is up to. The gunner might arm the sub and aim to blast the opponent’s ship out of the water. Whatever your role, it’s critical to the mission and helps your team win. Simultaneous play allows all team members to act as one to track and target the enemy.
Ultimately, the Captain Sonar is a bit like a full-on team battleship tournament with many more gameplay options, multiple maps with varying degrees of difficulty, and more diverse options for the game overall – meaning it’s an incredibly replayable 6-player board game.
For Sale
Age: 10+ Players: 3-6 Time: 30 minutes
If you’re looking for a quick, easy, fun game for your crowd of 6, For Sale will do the trick. The game themes on buying and selling real estate, with two distinctive phases in which players bid and sell for the greatest profits possible. The game involves multiple rounds of bidding and selling, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. The light card game is perfect for the family, as it takes 20 to 30 minutes to play and encourages loads of interactions and plays smoothly and enjoyably even for folks who don’t enjoy auction/bidding games under normal circumstances.
The fun, fast game uses two decks of cards (cash and properties), with coin tokens to play your way through Tiny Towns. It’s an easy game to learn, as well, which makes it great for introducing new players on a game night or enabling younger kids to play easily. An equal number of property cards to the number of players are laid out at the beginning, face up. Players then use their hidden coins to up the bid on a property or pass, and the winning bids take the cards. Once all the properties are bought, the second phase begins and folks bid their properties against a new round of cards. The simple, yet elegant system plays through until both rounds are completed. At the end, the player with the most money cards wins.
Dixit Odyssey
Age: 8+ Players: 3-12 (Best at 6) Time: 30 minutes
Become the storyteller in Dixit Odyssey, a family-friendly game perfectly suited to 6 players. Make your way through the game, with each player as the storyteller for a turn. Each storyteller chooses one hidden card and then gives a single word or sentence as the clue to the rest of the players. Players then attempt to match one of their cards to the storyteller’s card. Then, the storyteller lays out the cards and everyone must attempt to guess which card was the storyteller’s.
It may feel a bit like Apples to Apples but this one works better for folks who don’t know each other all that well. In fact, it’s a great game to serve as an icebreaker or among friends who’ve known each other for years. The Dixit Odyssey uses simple gameplay to offer “gateway” play for newbies, while being rich enough, with plenty of opportunities for hilarity, to encourage even the most veteran of gamers to enjoy the fun. The game is one of the most highly rated replayable games out there.
Dixit Odyssey is also a great game for new gamers due to its simple and engaging gameplay.
- Encourages creativity and storytelling.
- Easy to learn, great for all ages.
- Visually stunning with unique art.
- Limited strategy, more reliant on imagination.
- Can feel repetitive after several plays.
- Best with larger groups, less exciting with fewer players.
The Resistance: Avalon
Age: 13+ Players: 5-10 Time: 30 minutes
When the forces of good and evil face off for the future of humanity, you know you’re in for a good time! In The Resistance: Avalon you’ll dive into the world of King Arthur, knights, magic, and Mordred, as the sides vie for control. Players embark on a long and perilous journey as they navigate the world of King Arthur and Mordred. Only Merlin knows who is evil but he must speak in riddles – and secret identities must be kept to save the future.
This hidden roleplay game offers more thrills, fun, and strategy in just 30 minutes than many others can provide in long play times. Serve Britain and goodness as Arthur’s loyal friends or seek the downfall of everyone as one of Mordred’s minions. At the start of The Resistance: Avalon, players are randomly assigned these roles, with dialogue permitted for the evil ones so they can know each other – while those fighting for good must deduce who is for and against them through separate conversations. Ultimately, this perfect-for-6-player board game is beautiful, absolutely fun, and plays out in only half an hour of high interactivity, role-playing, and delightful scheming.
Telestrations
Age: 12+ (Community 8+) Players: 4-8 Time: 30 minutes
Ever heard of the game Telephone? Well, Telestrations latches onto the best part of that classic game and lobs in sketching skills of the talented and not-so-talented for extra fun. Players begin by drawing a word indicated by the roll of dice under a timer. Then, the image is passed on to the next player who must then try to guess what the image was intended to convey. They write out the word and pass it on to the next player, who, in turn, draws the word they just received. And on and on it goes, until each player has contributed to each stack. Players flip through their sketchbooks to see how the drawings evolve during the game.
The game provides you with erasable sketchbooks for the gameplay, along with dice and timers, and more than 2,400 possible words to draw out. This simple game is one of the most enjoyable experiences you’ll have in your crowd of 6 players. Let those creative juices flow and see who can guess the words correctly. Compete or play without winners – your call. Telestrations is all in good sketchy fun.
King of Tokyo
Age: 8+ (Community 6+) Players: 2-6 Time: 30 minutes
Where do giant robots, mutant monsters, and bizarre aliens meet? Why in King of Tokyo, of course! This fun-filled game for adults and kids 8 and up crashes through the game night with hilariously bonkers gameplay. The game begins with players rolling dice to determine their actions. Use the dice to play for victory points, energy, healing, or attack action indicators, with three successive rolls to determine your actions. Attack your fellow players, heal yourself, or take victory points into the next round until, finally, the fiercest warrior emerges for the final boss battle alone. Add in the special cards that offer either permanent or temporary effects, and you’ve got the wildest game night you could ask for.
The game includes monster boards, a Tokyo board, dice, power cards, figures, energy cubes, and tokens for a raucous player-elimination fun time. Each game of King of Tokyo lasts about 30 minutes and is best played with 6 players, according to game board enthusiasts all over the world.
RoboRally
Age: 12+ Players: 2-8 Time: 45-120 minutes
Exuberant robots come to life in the game of RoboRally, where factory-working robots take on their supercars for a weekly madcap rally. Speed and wits, and maybe some trickery, follow as players aim to claim the title of Racing Legend.
As this brilliantly fun board game for 6 players zooms along, players face obstacles like pits, lasers, and conveyor belts. Use the obstacles to your advantage if you can and make your checkpoints along the route in numerical order, while using lightning-quick actions to beat each other around – or off! – the board.
Each player must reveal cards at the start of each “register” to determine who moves first and farthest. You may have to rotate 90 degrees, move forward or backward, or any other number of ways to race along your route. Enjoy the ridiculously fun, race-paced game for 6 players on a game night, with the family, or just for a quick bit of fun when you need a break from reality.
Conclusion
It’s time to gather your 6 players together for the ultimate game night or family gathering with these fantastically fun board games. Each one offers a delightful element of intrigue, hilarity, or unique gameplay to make the night one of the best of your life. But ensure you’re collecting the right board games for your crowd’s particular interests. If you’ve got more outgoing, absurd-fun-loving folks, go for One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Tiny Towns, King of Tokyo, RoboRally, Codenames, or Captain Sonar. For the more reserved crowd, aim for Telestrations to help them break free from their shells, or play through The Resistance: Avalon, Dixit Odyssey, or For Sale. Have fun and play on!
Best Board Games for 7 Players ->
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the recommended age for these board games?
Most of the games listed are suitable for ages 8 and up, although Telestrations can be played by a community as young as 6 with adult supervision. Be sure to check the individual game descriptions for specific age recommendations.
How many players can participate in these games?
The games mentioned can accommodate a variety of player counts, typically ranging from 4 to 8 players, with some games like King of Tokyo allowing up to 6 players. Always refer to the game details for exact player limits.
How long does each game take to play?
The playtime for these games can vary widely. Most of the games can be completed in about 30 to 45 minutes, though RoboRally can stretch to 120 minutes, depending on the group’s pace and the number of players involved.
Do these games require previous gaming experience?
While some games might have complex strategies, most of them are designed to be accessible to newcomers. Clear instructions are provided for each game, making them easy to learn and enjoy, even for those who are new to board gaming.
Are there any expansions or additional content for these games?
Many popular board games offer expansions or extra content. It’s always a good idea to check with your local game shop or online for available expansions that can enhance gameplay and introduce new mechanics.