Gaming Guides

The best tile-laying board game for most tables is Cascadia. For kids who want to run it alone, Dragomino; for two players, Patchwork. Ten picks, sorted by how easy the score is to see.

Cephalofair now sells four ways into Gloomhaven, from $21.99 to $200. The publisher prints the two numbers that decide which one is right for you — setup time and campaign length — and almost nobody reads them.

Engine builders are usually shopped for by length. The number that actually decides whether your table enjoys one is how long you wait before the engine starts paying you back — and the two do not track. Six games ranked on ramp, with every spec taken from the publisher.

Every worker placement game takes something away when a rival claims the space you wanted. The difference is what it hands you back — so we ranked six of the best on exactly that, from the design that deleted blocking entirely to the one that sharpened it.

Asymmetric games make two different promises: factions that differ in degree, and factions that differ in kind. We rank five of the best by how much asymmetry you get for what the game asks of your whole table.

The best economic board games, ranked by what you actually fight over — a shared network, a shared map, a shared market, shared customers or a single auction. Publisher-verified specs and current availability.

Most classic games have been outclassed by modern designs. Chess, checkers and backgammon are the exceptions – so the question stops being which game to buy and becomes which set. Seven WE Games sets, compared on size, material, pieces and storage.