We’re in a golden age of board games, and that means it’s possible to find a niche that caters to practically any genre and any play style. If you’ve been wanting a break from more traditional board games that feature any old theme – and if you love the Dark Ages – then this collection of the best Medieval board games, including a variety of medieval games that were popular during medieval times, will win your night.
What are the Best Medieval Board Games?
Carcassonne
Age: 7+ (Community 8+) Players: 4-5 Time: 30-45 minutes
Carcassonne has been deemed the best in tile placement board games. Not only did this game innovate, but it’s responsible for the genre. Designed for up to four players, it offers a multiplayer experience that is both engaging and strategic. During play, you draw and then play tiles that eventually make up a landscape based on South France. The tiles that you pick up could be anything from a section of grass, a city, a road, or a mix of any of them. Played titles have to be laid down next to ones already on the field, building up the map. Then players place a meeple on the board, each of which has different jobs, depending on where they’re placed, ultimately scoring points for players as the game goes along. Strategy for Carcassonne comes up in how players lay tiles. Every turn you’ll only get one tile to place and the option of placing a meeple on the tile. Do you want to make it harder for your opponent or are you going to make sure your own developments grow faster?
If you want a game that’s easy to set up and run, while engaging with thought-provoking strategy, Carcassonne is a good choice. The rules and game setup are fairly straightforward and the average game lasts about 30 to 45 minutes, making it the perfect choice for a quick game night or as one of several games in a longer gathering.
Ora Et Labora
Age: 13+ (Community 12+) Players: 1-4 (best at 3) Time: 60-180 minutes
Ora Et Labora (or “Pray and Work” for non-Latin speakers) places each player as the head of a monastery. Your goal as you play is to build up Medieval-era businesses on your monastery’s land while making sure your cloister has an infrastructure capable of producing items that give you high points. You might make things like ceramics, books, or relics to fulfill this need. As the game unfolds you can invest your hard-earned funds into buying more terrain that you can then expand more of your business onto.
Ora Et Labora is designed to be historically accurate, reflecting the economic and social structures of medieval monasteries.
This game requires a bit of a time commitment, ranging anywhere from one to three hours. You and your friends each get your own game board on which you build your monastery’s businesses. You’ll then aim to build up your terrain and then place three workers on tiles so you can gain maximum profit. A twist on the gameplay is that rules allow you to pay other players for the right to use their buildings, encouraging economic exchange. If you love this kind of strategy, you’ll appreciate that Ora Et Labora includes two variants: Ireland and France. These enable almost endless gameplay for years to come.
Castle Panic
Age: 8+ (Community 6+) Players: 1-6 (Best at 4) Time: 30-60 minutes
Do you enjoy war games but sometimes wish they were just a little simpler or less time-consuming? Have you ever wanted a game that would act as the perfect intro to the war game hobby for your friends who are on the fence? Well then, Castle Panic is the exact game you have been waiting to find.
Castle Panic is a collaborative light war game where you and your fellow players try to protect your castle from a horde of monsters descending on your keep. Designed to be played by more than two players, it enhances the cooperative gameplay experience. The monsters want to rip down your walls, invade your castle, and knock down your castle’s towers. In this game, you win or lose as a team. However, the game keeps track of how well each of you is doing, and the player with the most victory points is named the Master Slayer.
The game itself is easy to learn: On each turn, a player draws cards, trades cards, plays as many cards as they can from their hand, adds monsters to the board, and then chooses monsters to move closer. If you trust your friends, you can play with open hands, or if you prefer a little deception and intrigue keep them hidden and add that little extra zing to the game.
- Cooperative gameplay that encourages teamwork.
- Simple rules, making it easy for new players to learn.
- Fun for families and casual gamers.
- Cooperative gameplay that encourages teamwork.
- Simple rules, making it easy for new players to learn.
- Fun for families and casual gamers.
Oh My Goods
Age: 10+ Players: 2-4 Time: 30 minutes
If you’ve ever played a game named Royal Goods, then you will recognize its latest version now known as Oh My Goods. This Medieval board game allows two players, or up to four, to take on the roles of European artisans in the Middle Ages. You can create tools, glass windows, and a variety of other goods as you work your way to victory. Winning the game is based on how well you use production chains, which help you gather points towards victory. Will you be conservative with your resources or put everything on the line so you can come out on top?
Each turn involves drawing cards and setting your worker at the charburner you are randomly given at the start of the game. Each charburner has its own need for various resources and it’s up to you to choose and discard the right cards in the hopes that you will find the resources you need for your artisan creations. As you increase productivity you can expand your charburners and build buildings.
Every turn is based on actions from the hand of cards you draw. Decide to avoid conflict or take risks based on what you hope to draw. While you’re dependent on the luck of the draw, it’s also up to you to decide which risks are worth it and when to start the right supply chain to take you to great wealth. As complicated as the game sounds it only takes about a half hour and it’s compact and easy to carry to a game night.
Bunny Kingdom
Age: 12+ (Community 10+) Players: 2-4 Time: 40-60 minutes
The Bunny Kingdom Medieval board game does what it says: You get to take a clan of rabbits and lead them in gathering needed resources and starting up new cities. On each turn, you draft cards. Once every player has picked their cards, everyone reveals their hands at the same time, and places the cards on the game board, revealing their cities for rabbits to inhabit. Players choose the placement of their cities near fields, mountains, lakesides, and forests for gathering resources – whatever seems best for your plans. Pick the right places as you play and earn points toward victory. Grow your cities and collect resources to expand your map.
Each game of Bunny Kingdom runs for 40 to 60 minutes and ends after you and your friends have taken four turns. At the end of the fourth round, the player who has the most points is the winner. Something to keep in mind is that the more players you have in this game, the more tense each turn becomes, and the greater strategic skills are needed to ensure your Bunny Kingdom comes out on top. Designed to be played by more than two players, this game becomes more strategic and engaging with larger groups.
A Feast for Odin
Age: 12+ Players: 1-4 Time: 30-120 minutes
A Feast for Odin is the Viking saga you and your friends have been waiting for. This game takes elements of tile placement and worker placement to go on Viking raids and manage every task of village life. The winner of the game is the Viking who winds up with the most items at the end.
The gameplay offers a mix of risk and reward, with many ways to get the points you need to come out on top. The longer the game goes on, the more resources you have and the more plays you can make. This helps make it possible for players lagging to catch up. However, too many options can overwhelm first-time players, so the first few games may last longer than the normal range of a half hour to two hours.
The beginning of each turn gives you the chance to choose where to place workers. There are 61 different actions your Vikings can take, so every turn is full of variety. As the game goes on you’ll place tiles and add more workers so that you can get your production engine working. Like many games of this genre, you must balance the risk versus reward. Are you going to focus on developing what you have, or will you risk it all and push for faster expansion? The end of your turn involves putting on a feast for your Vikings to enjoy their hard-earned work.
Glory: A Game of Knights
Age: 14+ (Community 12+) Players: 1-4 Time: 45-120 minutes
In Glory: A Game of Knights, you and yours play as young knights ready to make a mark on the world and become famous. This game progresses through participation in tournaments, gathering titles of nobility, and inspiring minstrels to sing their praise. Depending on your preference, you can choose to work with or against your fellow players to become the most famous nobleperson 15th Century Europe has to offer.
Every turn offers a variety of choices: You can spend time training, praying at church, building up allies, or visiting your beloved. Each turn also utilizes worker placement, a quest phase, and duels. After three turns, the player with the most points wins.
There’s such a variety of options that each game (time play ranging from 45 minutes to two hours) will be played differently. While it is becoming standard for new games to offer single-player options, Glory: A Game of Knights has a strong emphasis on making solo play enjoyable rather than endurable.
Catan: Cities and Knights
Age: 12+ Players: 3-4 Time: 90-150 minutes
If you love Settlers of Catan but have either played so much that it feels old or you enjoy adding new elements to a favorite game, Catan: Cities and Knights is made for you. This expansion adds the ability to improve your existing cities that give bonuses to the owners, permitting you to create knights to protect your cities from invaders.
These new game options bring with them three commodities (paper, coin, and cloth) and cities now produce 1 resource and 1 commodity. Another change is that instead of a single deck of development cards, Catan: Cities and Knights offers three different decks. Each of the decks responds to one of the commodities and is crucial for building improvements for your cities.
It’s important to note that you must already own Settlers of Catan to use this expansion. The expansion contains new pieces to go along with the new rules. You and between 2 and 3 of your friends can play this expansion together. With the increased complexity, the game can run anywhere between 90 to 150 minutes.
The Castles of Burgundy
Age: 12+ Players: 2-4 Time: 30-90 minutes
Ever wondered what it would be like to explore High Medieval France? Well, in The Castles of Burgundy, set in medieval times, that’s exactly what you get to do. Players take on the roles of aristocrats in charge of a tiny princedom. The gameplay involves building up your princedom with castles, settlements, and growing trade, and, like all games of this genre, as the game progresses, you must place tiles that correspond to a variety of trades.
Each game lasts between 30-90 minutes over five rounds that consist of five phases. Each turn involves choosing two of four possible actions that include playing settlement tiles, delivering goods, or using worker tokens. You can earn bonus victory points for every region you’ve filled with settlements and extra points from specific used tiles. Other victory points are earned for money you didn’t use and extra goods.
Depending on the experience level of your playgroup, there are two sets of rules included with the game: A simple basic set for players new to this genre of games and a more advanced set for those with experience.
Zombicide: Black Plague
Age: 14+ (Community 10+) Players: 1-6 Time: 60-180 minutes
If you’re a fan of medieval games and zombie apocalypse, then Zombicide: Black Plague is the mashup game you didn’t know you needed. Unlike other versions of the Middle Ages, magic is present in this game and dark magic is responsible for unleashing a horde of zombies on Europe. The goal of the game is to not only survive the horrors of a zombie apocalypse but also bring justice to the evil wizards who started the plague.
For those who are familiar with the original Zombicide game, there’s a lot you’ll find familiar, but the new setting offers plenty of new material to keep things interesting. You can choose to play as a knight or a magician – and with your arsenal of magic, crossbows, and swords, you’ll battle your way to victory. Matching the other aspects of flavor, battles happen in places that range from city streets to deep underground vaults. One of the great things about this game being scenario-based is that it allows solo games or up to six players.
Conclusion
There is never enough room to put every great game of a genre into a list, but these are the best Medieval board games, based on real-life reviews and players. They’ll certainly get you started into the genre and keep you busy for years to come. Happy gaming!
Also Read: The Very Best Marvel Board Games – Assembled
FAQ
What types of games are included in this list?
This list focuses on Medieval-themed board games that span a variety of genres, including strategy, adventure, and cooperative gameplay, ensuring there’s something for everyone. It includes traditional games like men’s morris, which has historical significance and strategic gameplay.
Can these games be played solo?
Yes, several games on this list, such as Glory: A Game of Knights and Zombicide: Black Plague, offer solo play options, making them suitable for individuals looking to enjoy a gaming experience on their own.
How long do these games typically take to play?
Game durations vary, with most falling between 30 minutes to 150 minutes, depending on the complexity of the game and the number of players involved.
Are there age restrictions for these games?
Yes, each game has suggested age ratings. It’s always important to check these ratings to ensure the game is appropriate for your group.
Do I need to own other games to play the expansions?
For expansions like Catan: Cities and Knights, you must own the base game (Settlers of Catan) in order to use the expansion. Be sure to check compatibility before purchasing expansions.