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The best new board games to buy online for 2024
Perfect for your next cosy night in!
Guys, we're sorry to say it but winter is basically here. The clocks have gone back, the cold nights are drawing in, and it's time to relish those cosy evenings in with your friends and family. Whether that means drinking games, movie nights or getting hold of the best new board games out now for some quality nights playing cards and trying not to argue over Articulate. The TV is on in the background, the snacks are flowing, and you're about to make your younger cousin cry by bankrupting them at Monopoly. What more could you want?
So, whether you're a Harry Potter fan and want to race to the Triwizard cup, or you want a small board game you can chuck in your handbag like Dobble, here are our pick of the best board games available right now, including new additions and some absolute classics. Just don't expect us to play nice during any of them!
Whether you're an Aries and mega competitive, or just can't bear to let your family members win (guilty of both tbh), it's officially time to get the board games out and practice your best poker face.
The best board games to buy in 2024
- Best card game: Herd immunity
- Best two player game: Word poker
- Best team game: Tension
- Best word board game: Banagrams
- Best small game: Dobble
- Best family board game: The game of life
- Best bluffing board game: Chameleon
How to play: The full deck of fish-shaped cards are dealt out equally to players, who then take it in turns to be a 'guesser'. The guesser reads out a question, and the person with a red fish in front of them answers the real answer, while those with a blue fish in front of them must make up an answer which sounds genuine. The guesser must then try and figure out who was bluffing, and wins a point for every correct red fish they reveal.
What we say: This game is super easy to get the hang of and doesn't take all day, so is a great one for bringing out after dinner to beat any slump.
Number of players: up to 10 players
Recommended age range: 10+
Who to play with: Friends and family
Estimated game time frame: 20 minutes
How to play: This game challenges teams to guess how many answers they're going to get right in a 30 second period, in four different categories of question: Link play, Describe play, Word play and List play. Categories could be things like - 'Name words with M as the second letter' or 'Describe a mode of transport'.
What we say: This game is similar to Articulate in that it's great for playing in teams and getting everyone involved. You can also play with as many people as you like, which helps at big family or friend events.
Number of players: 4 - 12 + players
Recommended age range: 12+
Who to play with: Friends and family
Estimated game time frame: 30 minutes
How to play: Do you know someone who loves The 1% Club TV show? Because we've got the perfect Christmas present for them! Based on the Lee Mack-presented gameshow, this brain teasing board-game aims sets players a series of increasingly hard quiz questions, to reveal who is among the top 1% of quizzers.
What we say: If you like brain teasers and questions that really make you think, this is the board game for you. It's best for afternoons when you can properly concentrate (so probably not after a trip to the pub, then) but you do play solo, so it's not particularly collaborative.
Number of players: 3-6 players
Recommended age range: 8+
Who to play with: Family and friends
Estimated game time frame: 30 minutes
How to play: This is a great game to play if you have children in the family, or want to get people from every generation involved. The game revolves around each player having a stack of letters in front of them, and taking it in turns to reveal a category, before trying to fit their letters into that category. Categories include everything from nature to animals, culture and more.
What we say: This is a probably a game to play with the younger end of your family as it feels quite educational. So, great for bonding with nieces or nephews, but maybe not at pre-drinks.
Number of players: 2-5 players
Recommended age range: 6+
Who to play with: Family
Estimated game time frame: 10 minutes
How to play: This card game is centred all around BBC One gameshow we know and love, The Traitors, which sees contestants attempt to suss out who are the Traitors and who are the Faithfuls among them.
In the card game version, players must attempt to gather gold and shields each round, while also voting as a group to try and out the Traitor.
What we say: If you love the TV show, you're going to love this game. Dressing up as Claudia Winkleman = compulsory.
Number of players: 4 - 6 players
Recommended age range: 8+
Who to play with: Family and friends
Estimated game time frame: 40 - 60 minutes
How to play: Are you a good enough liar to fool the other team into believing the unbelievable? Gullible is a party game where you create fake answers to outlandish questions to trick your opponents into believing the ridiculous. Each round, each team creates two fake facts that are more believable than the truth to try and fool the opposing team.
Number of players: 2 - 14 players
Recommended age range: 12+
Who to play with: Family and friends, teenagers
Estimated game time frame: 30 - 45 minutes
Format Games Format Games Karen Bluffing Party Game By TV And Radio Personality Matt Edmondson Ages 14+ 3-10 Players 30-45 Minutes Playing Time
How to play: No one likes a Karen, but in this game, you can be! Here, each player tries to sneak their own fake complaints in amongst hilarious real one star reviews found online, to try and convince their opponents that they are the real Karen.
Players start with five stars on their scoreboards and the aim of the game is to lose four of your stars and be the first player with only one star left on your board.
Number of players: 3 - 10 players
Recommended age range: 14+
Who to play with: Family and friends
Estimated game time frame: 30 - 45 minutes
How to play: Much like Sounds Fishy, this board game is based around figuring out who at the table is bluffing. Chameleon works by each player picking up a card from the deck, all of which reveal what the 'secret word' is - except one. The players who know the secret word must say a word that links to it, while the chameleon must try and blend in with the other answers by saying a word which relates to the related words - and not get caught our for not knowing the actual secret word. Players then take it in turns to try and figure out who the chameleon is.fope
Number of players: 3 - 8 players
Recommended age range: 14+
Who to play with: Family and friends
Estimated game time frame: 15 minutes
How to play: Race your opponents to try to be the first player to travel around the world by locating famous places on the map.
This board game has over 1,000 locations across five categories (capital cities, major cities and towns, events and facts, famous tourist sites and beautiful images) and players are asked to identify different locations in order to make it around the world. Flexible rules make it accessible for everyone! So how good is your geography?
Number of players: 2 - 4 players
Recommended age range: 12+
Who to play with: Family and friends
Rascals Michael McIntyre's The Wheel Board Game
How to play: Just like the hit Beeb show, you have to get your thinking cap on to complete seven questions in order to make it through to the End Game AKA the final question.
Team up with pals or, if your trivia is on point, you can go it alone! Spin the wheel and see where it lands. Just make sure you avoid red or you’ll have to hand back to the opposing team.
Number of players: 2 or more
Recommended age range: 10+
Who to play with: Family and friends
How to play: How good is your judgement? This game is based on your knowledge of the world and also your ability to make educated guesses. Are there more or less than 500,000 meatballs consumed in Ikea stores daily? Are there more sheep or cattle in the world? Do snails have more or less teeth than sharks? Play in teams or as solo players.
Number of players: 2 or more
Recommended age range: 12+
Who to play with: Friends and family
How to play: Often thought of as the best ever strategy board game, Catan challenges players to take on the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources. The player with the best camp wins.
Number of players: 3 players
Recommended age range: 10+
Who to play with: Family and friends
How to play: This combines two of our favourite things, that's Harry Potter and board games.
Partake in mini games and challenges to be the first one to reach the Triwizard cup. Here's to hoping you fair better than Cedric Diggory!
Number of players: 2+ players
Recommended age range: 8+
Who to play with: Family and friends
How to play: The aim of the game? Write down the same answer as someone else. Beginning with a random question, everyone secretly writes down an answer and if your answer is in the majority, you win cows
If your answer is the odd one out, you'll land the Pink Cow and your herd will be worthless — unless you can pass it on. Basically the opposite of Pointless.
Number of players: 4 - 20 players
Recommended age range: 10+
Who to play with: Family and friends
How to play: A fancy upgrade on the original, this latest edition of the Who Wants to Be A Millionaire board game comes with digital lifelines you can easily access on your phone. Simply scan the QR code at the bottom of the question, pick the lifeline you want and follow the instructions.
As always, the first player to reach £1 million on the money tree and answer the question correctly wins the game.
Number of players: 2+
Recommended age range: 14+
Who to play with: Family and friends
How to play: Players take it in turns to describe what their card says, choosing from three methods: Show Don’t Tell, One Syllable, or Freestyle. The fastest team to guess wins.
Number of players: Up to 10
Recommended age range: 17+
Who to play with: Friends
How to play: Anyone else obsessed with the TV show Taskmaster? This is that in board game form, challenging each participant to do something (usually quite silly) before voting for their winner.
Number of players: 3 or more players
Recommended age range: 8+
Who to play with: Friends and family
How to play: Similar to Cards Against Humanity, the aim of the game is to create the funniest card combo, matching famous memes to captions.
A rotating judge chooses the best pairing each round, and it's one that won't fail to make you laugh on your next games night.
Number of players: Up to 10
Recommended age range: 17+
Who to play with: Friends
How to play: Think you know your logos? Think again. Match the most logos to the right brand, character or advert and voilà, you're the winner!
Number of players: 2 - 6 players
Recommended age range: 12+
Who to play with: Family and friends
How to play: Participants are given a broad question and must suggest a 'range' in order to win. So, if the question was 'On average, how long do couples in the UK wait to get engaged?' each person must guess a number of months.
Will you risk a small range or play it safe? Win each round by being the closest to the specific answer revealed later.
Number of players: 2 - 30 players
Recommended age range: 11+
Who to play with: Family and friends
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