The Best of the Best: 2000s Board Games

New games offer some unique takes on game mechanics, twists on themes, and many clever devices. But there’s something magically wonderful about some of the old-school board games – especially those from a few decades ago. In fact, the 2000s board games really launched us into a whole new world of gaming – and those games are still rock solid and worth playing today as much as they were then. Let’s take a look at some of the best games the decade holds, from well-known games like Carcassonne to the lesser-known gold of Nightmare Productions. Compared to games from decades prior, these 2000s titles have a historical significance that continues to influence contemporary gaming experiences.

Introduction to the Decade’s Gaming Trends

The 2000s was a transformative decade for the board game industry, marked by a resurgence of interest in tabletop gaming and the emergence of new trends and genres. This period saw a renewed enthusiasm for board games, as players sought out more complex and engaging experiences. The decade was characterized by innovative game mechanics, thematic diversity, and a growing appreciation for the social and cognitive benefits of board games. As we explore the best board games of the 2000s, it’s important to understand the broader trends that shaped this exciting era in gaming.

Overview of the 2000s Board Game Landscape

The 2000s saw a significant shift in the board game industry, with the rise of Eurogames and the increasing popularity of complex, strategic games. Eurogames, known for their emphasis on strategy, minimal luck, and economic themes, became a dominant force in the market. This decade also introduced groundbreaking game mechanics such as deck-building and worker placement, which would go on to influence the development of future games. Classic board games like Carcassonne, Puerto Rico, and Ticket to Ride emerged during this time, becoming staples of the industry and beloved by gamers worldwide. The 2000s was truly a golden age for board games, setting the stage for the diverse and innovative landscape we enjoy today.

Importance of Board Games in the 2000s

Board games played an important role in the 2000s, providing a social and interactive way for people to spend time together. In an era increasingly dominated by online gaming and digital entertainment, board games offered a unique and refreshing alternative. They allowed players to engage in face-to-face interaction, fostering meaningful relationships and creating lasting memories. Additionally, the decade saw a growing recognition of the cognitive and educational benefits of board games. Many games were designed to promote critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic planning, making them valuable tools for both entertainment and personal development. The enduring appeal of board games in the 2000s is a testament to their ability to bring people together and enrich our lives.

Criteria for Selecting the Best Board Games of the Decade

When selecting the best board games of the 2000s, several criteria were considered to ensure a comprehensive and representative list:

• Popularity and Staying Power: Games that remained popular throughout the decade and continued to be played and enjoyed by gamers of all ages.

• Innovation and Influence: Games that introduced new mechanics, themes, or gameplay elements that went on to influence the development of future games.

• Critical Acclaim: Games that received widespread critical acclaim and were recognized as among the best of the decade.

• Cultural Significance: Games that had a significant impact on popular culture, such as being referenced in movies, TV shows, or music.

By considering these factors, we can highlight the board games that not only defined the 2000s but also left a lasting legacy on the industry.

10 of the Best 2000s Classic Board Games

Carcassonne – 2000

Age: 7+ (Community 8+) Players: 2-5 Time: 30-45 minutes

Deemed by fans as one of the absolute best board games of all time, Carcassonne first came out in the year 2000, making it the top pick on this list of the best 2000s board games. The tile placement game delves into historical settings, worker placements, and the beauty of the South of France for a truly wonderful game for 2 to 5 players, which lasts about 30 to 45 minutes.

Players draw tiles and place them as French buildings and landscapes, with city, road, grassland, or cloister components (or a combination thereof), creating the gameplay map. The tiles have to go down adjacent to existing tiles on the board, building out the terrain for players – and players then must choose where their meeples go. Knights go into cities, robbers hit the roads, monks take to their cloisters, and, of course, farmers go to care for their fields. As the areas are finished, the meeples complete the landscape and score points for their players. As the gameplay rolls through, players must strategically decide when and where to place their meeples to gain the most advantageous spots for scoring points and completing projects in relation to other players’ actions.

If you wind up loving this game, there are numerous expansions and variants, including the Rio Grande, Star Wars editions, Hunters & Gatherers, and the Winter Edition, among others.

Nightmare Productions – 2000

Age: 10+ Players: 2-5 Time: 60 minutes

Coming from one of the most trusted board game companies of the 2000s and beyond, Nightmare Productions takes a bit of a turn on the typical game you’d find around the time, in both theme and gameplay. The game is all about making horror films, using four rounds of auctions to produce the most horrifying films of the era.

Players bid on chips that represent real-life actors and directors, as well as cameras, effects, music, guest stars, and even agents. This translates to monsters, locations, musical conductors, cameos, and horror effects. The game board gives players a film strip to complete their productions with. As bidding rounds proceed, players win their film components and lay them on their film strips. And in each horror con, one round allows players to pick from offers without paying out. As you play, earn bonus points for things like completing your first film, winning best film awards (creatures!), or even worst film categories – and see who comes out the winner. There is also a special edition of Nightmare Productions featuring enhanced components and exclusive

Hive – 2001

Age: 9+ (Community 8+) Players: 2 Time: 20 minutes

Looking for a fun, strategic game for two? Check out Hive, a game given to us in 2001. The game has the unique advantage of requiring no specific board but rather can be played on any flat, level surface, meaning it’s a great option for unique game settings. Hive uses 22 pieces (11 black, 11 white), each looking like a creature of some kind (the game is also known as Bug for a reason!). Each type of creature has its own unique way of moving around the playing surface.

Set up is easy, since there’s no board – you just set out the first piece to begin. As the following pieces are placed, this forms the pattern that becomes the “board.” Pieces are not eliminated as the game proceeds, but your goal is to surround your opponent’s queen with your pieces while blocking them from surrounding your queen. Whoever winds up surrounding the other person’s queen wins. Hive is best enjoyed with the right group of players who appreciate strategic gameplay.

Zendo – 2001

Age: 12+ (Community 8+) Players: 2-6 Time: 15-60 minutes

A unique game of inductive logic, Zendo pits one player – the Moderator – against the rest of the players in a rule-creation puzzle. The Moderator creates a secret rule that the rest of the players must attempt to discover through logical analysis of the game board. The configuration of the game pieces, as laid out by the Moderator, demonstrates this secret rule, and the first player to successfully guess the rule wins the round. The game may take as little time as 15 minutes, but if the rule is complex or especially challenging, it could take players up to 60 minutes to work their way through the patterns to find the puzzle’s clue.

Puerto Rico – 2002

Age: 12+ Players: 3-5 Time: 90-150 minutes

From Ravensburger comes the 2002 game of Puerto Rico, a building and trading game set in colonial times on the island of the same name. Every player’s goal is amassing victory points, which come from successfully constructing buildings, and shipping goods to Europe.

Every player (between 3 and 5) has their own personal game board which contains spaces for plantations, resources, and city buildings. Shared among players are three ships, a trading house, doubloons, and a supply of resources. As the game proceeds, players must grow crops and exchange these for doubloons and points. Doubloons then may be used to construct buildings, which, in turn, permits players to produce more crops or develop other skills.

During each turn, players select a role card from the table, then take the action indicated by this card (builder or trader, for example), taking advantage of the discount offered by taking the card that round. The interactions with other players are crucial, as they can follow the actions of the player who selects a role, creating a dynamic and competitive environment. At the end of each round, any unused role cards give doubloon bonuses to players. As the game plays out, the governor token is passed clockwise from one player to the next at the end of each turn. This token begins the round with the player holding it choosing a role and taking the first action. Buildings, workers, and shipped goods ultimately result in victory points that lead to someone winning, thanks to secret shipping chips and the visible goods and doubloons. Whoever has the most points, of course, wins.

1313 Dead End Drive – 2002

Age: 8+ (Community 6+) Players: Time: 60-90 minutes

Also brought into the world in 2002, 1313 Dead End Drive has become one of the favorite games from the 2000s. The energetic game uses dice rolls to help determine the outcome, but each player’s skills at bluffing will help them win or lose. Hide your identity and try to reveal the identity of others as you move two characters around the board (movement decided by dice – but you decide which characters to move) – and see who can collect the most moneybags along the way.

As you play, your goal is to get rid of the other potential heirs to the fortune, take their moneybags, and avoid losing your character in the traps. The gameplay ends when everyone is out of the mansion or the Clock Strikes Midnight (the last card is drawn from the deck). Whoever has the most moneybags gathered at the end of the game wins.

Alhambra – 2003

Age: 8+ Players: 2-6 Time: 45-60 minutes

Set in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Granada, 1278, Alhambra offers gamers some of the most exciting gameplay of the 2000s. The game originated in 2003 and has remained one of the strongest on the market, enjoyed by people aged 8 and older. Each game runs between 45 and 60 minutes and allows between 2 and 6 players to compete as they construct Alhambra complexes in the Spanish Middle Ages.

The Alhambra complexes of the time were developed by master builders from Europe and the Arabian peninsula. In the game, players take on these roles to develop their teams of builders, do trade, employ the greatest of horticulturists and ultimately develop the winning Alhambra complex. Construct towers, lay out stunning gardens, erect arcades, and pavilions, and build gorgeous chambers to accomplish this goal – but be sure you’ve got the correct currency in hand to pay your laborers or you’ll have a rebellion on your hands. There are four currencies to work with. Alhambra’s lasting appeal is comparable to that of older games like chess, which continue to captivate players despite the influx of new titles.

On each turn, players may take money from the open money market, construct or reconstruct projects, or purchase a building from the market. 54 buildings total are available, in 6 different types – and ultimately, the most efficient construction will result in one player having one of each of the six building types in their Alhambra complex, and that will garner them the win.

It sounds a bit complex to play, but as you lay things out and start playing, you’ll get the hang of things pretty quickly and likely discover the reason this game has become one of the absolute favorite 2000s board games of all.

Shogun – 2006

Age: 12+ Players: 3-5 Time: 90-120 minutes

Set in the Sengoku period (also known as the “Warring States” period) between 1467 and 1573, the final days of the Shogunate era played out. In the game Shogun, players relive these days, taking on the role of a great Daimyo, leading their troops to victory over Japanese island provinces. Every player represents one Daimyo and may take one of 10 possible actions to score points and develop their kingdom. Before actions are taken each round, players decide what they’ll do and where they’ll do that action (which province). But in this game, the Cube Tower takes a critical role, as players must “battle” via the tower, placing their cubes (armies) into the tower and see who comes out the winner. Each player ultimately aims to win the most provinces, castles, temples, and theaters to score points and become the greatest Shogun of all. Shogun’s innovative mechanics and historical setting have significantly influenced the entire genre of strategic and historical board games.

Agricola – 2007

Age: 12+ Players: 1-5 Time: 30-150 minutes

Travel back in time to the agricultural world of Agricola and take on the role of a farmer living in a wooden shack with their family. To begin, you’ve got little to call your own, but as the first turn rolls along, you and yours may take two actions (one for you and one for your in-game spouse): plow the fields, collect materials, build fences, or similar farm-based tasks. As the game progresses, more actions become available to choose from, with new action cards being flipped over and revealed. These might include having kids, building more rooms onto your farm shack, or growing more food for the family to eat.

Decades prior to its modern release, Agricola draws inspiration from historical agricultural practices, immersing players in a setting that reflects the timeless appeal of farming life. The complex game offers minor improvements and occupation boosts to enhance each player’s “life” in the game, which plays out in turns. At the end of 14 rounds, the player with the most balanced and productive farm wins. Numerous strategies allow players to not only compete differently but allow for replayability for years to come as they work toward this 14th-round victory.

Cyclades – 2009

Age: 13+ (Community 12+) Players: 2-5 Time: 60-90 minutes

Battle against your fellow players in this 2000s board game, Cyclades, to win the favor of the Greek gods. Each player – between 2 and 5 – must race to build two cities on the Ancient Greek island known as Cyclades, and they must have the gods’ help to do it. You’ll make many sacrifices to win, bearing in mind that each god must cast their favor your way. But when and how you earn their favor will greatly impact your ultimate success.

During each turn, players bid for favors earning only one favor each per round. These favors vary by the gifts of the gods, from Ares (who allows players to move armies and build fortresses) to Poseidon (who allows players to move navies and build ports). But don’t forget about Apollo, who increases the wealth of his favorites, Athena who provides philosophy and education, or Zeus who allows religious practices with priests and temples. Every city needs all these components, so every player must earn favor from all the gods. The challenge is doing so each round and keeping ahead of your fellow players while doing it. Ultimately, whoever wins their bids fastest and first, builds their two cities and wins the game. Similar to Exploding Kittens, Cyclades stands out with its simple mechanics and humorous elements, making it a favorite for quick laughs in casual settings.

Family-Friendly Board Games

Candy Land

Candy Land is a classic board game that has been a staple of family game nights for decades. First introduced in the 1940s, the game has undergone several revisions and updates over the years, but its core gameplay has remained the same. Players take on the role of a character, navigating through a colorful and fantastical landscape to reach the castle at the end of the board. The game is easy to learn and play, making it an ideal choice for families with young children. With its bright colors and whimsical theme, Candy Land is a game that has captured the hearts of generations of gamers and remains a beloved favorite to this day.

In the 2000s, Candy Land continued to be a popular choice for families, with several new editions and spin-offs being released. The game’s staying power can be attributed to its timeless appeal and the fact that it is a game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Whether you’re a nostalgic adult looking to relive childhood memories or a parent introducing your children to the world of board games, Candy Land is a game that is sure to bring joy and excitement to your family game nights.

Also Read Full Review: Candy Land Board Game Review: A Sweet Path to Early Board Game Success

Conclusion: The Staying Power of 2000s Board Games

Get your hands on these awesome 2000s board games for some of the most fun you and your crew can have. You’ll find Hive plays the fastest at 20 minutes or so (just for two players, though!), while the others range anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the number of players. The games feature a variety of themes and game mechanics, too, from Shogunate Japan to 2000s Hollywood film studios. You’ll have a blast from the past that’s loads of fun every time you pull one of these fantastically crafted games out of the closet. Classic games like Monopoly, originally known as The Landlord’s Game, highlight the historical significance and evolution of board games.

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