Most Popular Board Games of All Time

Board games have been entertaining us for centuries and continue to do so today. From chess and backgammon to classics like Monopoly and Scrabble to newer favorites like Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity, board games can make a good time great.

Whether you’re just hanging out with a friend or hosting an annual holiday gathering, board games can get a party started or take one to the next level. If you’re looking for a fun game to play with kids or something a little more competitive that requires critical thinking and strategy, there’s something for everyone.

Here is a non-scientific ranking of the most popular board games of all time. Let the debate begin.

30. Mouse Trap

Board Game Geek

Year: 1963

Game designers: Hank Kramer

Players: 2-4

Playing time: 30 minutes

Ages: 6+

Skills: Thumb/finger flexibility

Bottom line: Fortunately, there are no real mice involved in Mouse Trap, but don’t let the simplicity of this game fool you.

The game starts with players working together to build a mouse trap. In order to win, it’s every man for himself — or rather every “mouse” for themself. The first player to circle the board while collecting cheese tokens wins.

The challenging part is that each player can trap an opponent in the mouse trap. So be on the lookout for other mice on the board. They may determine your fate.

29. Trouble

eBay

Year: 1965

Game designers: Kohner brothers (Frank and Paul)

Players: 2-4

Playing time: 45 minutes

Age: 4+

Skills: Chance

Bottom line: The objective of Trouble is simple — get all four of your pieces around the board and back home to win before anyone else. The challenges along the way are what cause the “trouble.”

This game is based on the luck of the roll, and each player isn’t the one rolling. Players have to press a plastic button that jumbles up the die instead. After you roll a six, you can advance from the start position and begin.

If another player happens to roll a number that causes them to land on your space, too bad, you have to go back to home base and start again.

28. Pictionary

Etsy

Year: 1985

Game designers: Robert Angel

Players: 3-16 players on 2-3 teams

Playing time: 90 minutes

Age: 12+

Skills: Critical thinking, drawing, image recognition

Bottom line: Pictionary is the perfect party game to play with a fun group of people. The game involves drawing and guessing as players are separated into teams and have to guess what one player is drawing.

This game may sound easy, but it’s more difficult than it seems. As the game goes on, players continue to draw objects or things for their teammates to guess, while the difficulty increases.

The first team to make it all the way around the board wins, if you elect to play that way. Sometimes, Pictionary is the perfect game to play “just for fun,” and in that case, you can ditch the board.

27. Hungry Hungry Hippos

eBay

Year: 1966

Game designers: Fred Kroll

Players: 2-4

Playing time: 10 minutes

Age: 4+

Skills: Dexterity

Bottom line: A popular game among children, Hungry Hungry Hippos has been around for decades and remains a favorite.

The objective is to collect as many marbles as possible with the hippo, pretty much just what the name says. Whoever feeds the belly of their hippo first and collects all their marbles is the winner.

Hungry Hungry Hippos doesn’t require much strategy other than hit the lever as fast as possible to collect the marbles. It’s perfect for a child just learning to play games or an adult who want to feel like a kid again.

26. Operation

eBay

Year: 1964

Game designers: John Spinello, Marvin Glass

Players: 1-6

Playing time: 10 minutes

Age: 6+

Skills: Dexterity

Bottom line: Any aspiring doctors out there? Operation is the perfect make-believe opportunity to have your shot as a surgeon. OK, maybe not, but Operation is still a fun game to play for those interested in medicine.

In this classic battery-operated game, you get to be the doctor, and it’s your job to remove the ailments of the patient. The tricky part is the removal process. If you attempt to remove the ailments and fail in the process, you get “buzzed,” and another player gets a shot. If you’re successful, you get paid.

When all “operations” have been completed, whoever has the most money wins. It may not be the exact hospital setting you were hoping for, but hey, you have to start somewhere, right?

25. Apples to Apples

eBay

Year: 1999

Game designers: Matthew Kirby, Mark Alan Osterhaus

Players: 4-10

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 12+

Skills: Social skills

Bottom line: A game filled with lots of laughter and no strategy at all, Apples to Apples is the perfect activity to get everyone in a good mood.

Each round, players take turns being the judge. The judge lays out a green card drawn from the deck. The remaining players match a card from their hand to the green card presented to them. The goal is to best describe that particular card.

Sometimes, it works out, and the matches are perfect. Other times, the matches make no sense and are just downright funny. This is the game to play when you’ve got a fun group of people with a great sense of humor.

24. Cards Against Humanity

Amazon

Year: 2009

Game designers: Josh Dillon, Daniel Dranove, Eli Halpern, Ben Hantoot, David Munk, David Pinsof, Max Temkin, Eliot Weinstein

Players: 3-20

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 17+

Skills: Social skills

Bottom line: Cards Against Humanity is the adult version of Apples to Apples.

Each player takes turns being the judge. The judge draws a black card from the deck and lays it out. The card has different words or phrases. The other players attempt to answer the question or match a word with the funniest white card in their hands, and the judge picks the best card.

Cards Against Humanity is known as “a party game for horrible people” and can be laugh-out loud funny. While meant for fun, some players do get competitive and want to have the most matches when it’s all said and done.

23. Boggle

Etsy

Year: 1972

Game designers: Bill Cook, Alan Turoff

Players: 1-8

Playing time: 10 minutes

Age: 8+

Skills: Language

Bottom line: Boggle is made for people who love making something out of nothing. If you want to test your ability to make words from a scrambled group of letters, Boggle is right up your alley.

Each round consists of 16 dice letters in a tray. The letters are scrambled, and the timer is set. Words can be made in any way possible — horizontal, vertical, diagonal. When the timer goes off, each player compares the list of words they made with the other players.

You have to be creative when playing since words can’t be repeated. Whoever has the most amount of points wins. And you can play as many rounds as you’d like.

22. KerPlunk

eBay

Year: 1967

Game designers: A. Eddie Goldfarb, Rone Soriano

Players: 2-4

Playing time: 20 minutes

Age: 5+

Skills: Probability, strategy

Bottom line: KerPlunk is similar to Jenga. Pull one wrong stick, and everything comes crashing down just like if you pull one wrong block, everything falls and you lose.

The big difference is that KerPlunk involves marbles, plastic sticks and a plastic tube. The marbles start at the top of the tube, and as the game goes on, each player (up to four) pulls out a plastic stick. Initially, the sticks serve as a wall to block the marbles from falling. As sticks are pulled, more space is created, and eventually, the marbles all come crashing down.

The person who pulls the stick that causes the marbles to fall loses. So be careful which stick you pull because your outcome in the game depends on it.

21. Uno

Etsy

Year: 1971

Game designers: Merle Robbins

Players: 2-10

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 6+

Skills: Probability, strategy

Bottom line: If you’re looking for a game to play with the kiddos that doesn’t involve marbles, small pieces or any real cleanup, Uno is fun and easy for all to enjoy.

A card game that involves multiple players, Uno is great to play at home or take on the go. The object is to get rid of all your cards. The first player to do so wins. Before going out, whenever a player gets down to one card, he or she calls out “Uno!” to let everyone know they’re close to being out of cards.

While Uno doesn’t involve much strategy, it can be tricky because players have the opportunity to negatively impact another player’s game based on the card drawn. In other words, watch your back.

20. Backgammon

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Year: 3,000 B.C.

Game designers: Uncredited

Players: 2

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 8+

Skills: Strategy, counting, probability

Bottom line: If you’re looking for a legendary board game legend and something with easy cleanup, backgammon is your go-to.

The game has been around for centuries and is often easy to transport because it’s inside a folding case. In backgammon, you move checkers around the board based off the roll of two dice. Each player has 15 checkers, and whoever successfully removes, or “casts off,” their checkers is the winner.

Backgammon is the perfect combination of abstract strategy and luck, so don’t be too upset if you can’t pull off a win.

19. Twister

eBay

Year: 1966

Game designers: Charles Foley, Neil Rabens

Players: 2-4

Playing time: 10 minutes

Age: 6+

Skills: Movement/flexibility

Bottom line: Twister is just what the name suggests, a twister. As players spin the arrow and move accordingly, they’re forced to weave in and out, avoiding falling down, while stretching and bending around other players.

Twister is popular among children at birthday parties but is also for a group of folks just looking to have a fun time. There’s no real strategy that goes into this game, and anyone can walk away the winner.

If you’re looking for a fairly stress-free experience with some physical activity that’s likely going to cause a lot of laughs, Twister is a great game to play.

18. Trivial Pursuit

Pratyeka / Wikimedia

Year: 1981

Game designers: Chris Haney, Scott Abbott

Players: 2-24

Playing time: 90 minutes

Age: 12+

Skills: General knowledge

Bottom line: Do you have a knack for random trivia and love answering questions? Trivial Pursuit is the game for you.

Trivial Pursuit will test your knowledge with over 2,000 questions in six categories: sports and leisure, science and nature, arts and literature, geography, entertainment and history. As players travel along the board, they’re given opportunities to answer questions.

If the player answers correctly, they get another shot. Whoever makes it to the center of the board first, after answering a question in each category, wins. Be ready for a cerebral challenge.

17. Catch Phrase!

eBay

Year: 1994

Game designers: Uncredited

Players: 4-16

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 12+

Skills: Team play

Bottom line: Catch Phrase! is a fun team game that will get your mind thinking.

Players are separated into groups, and the objective is to get your teammates to say the word on an electronic disc. The tricky party? The player holding the disc can’t see it, and the other players on the team are limited in how they can describe it.

Each round is dictated by a timer, making the guessing process all the more stressful. If the disc buzzes, the round is over, and the next team gets a shot. Whoever has the highest score at the end wins, so be creative and fast when playing.

16. Checkers

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Year created: 3,000 B.C.

Game designers: Uncredited

Players: 2

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 6+

Skill: Strategy

Bottom line: For the more laid-back, low-key gamers, checkers is a nice option. Often found at Cracker Barrel and played during a long Saturday morning wait for a table, ccheckers is a great way to pass time that is easy to learn and teaches strategy.

Although the game dates back to thousands of years, checkers never gets old. Capture all of your opponent’s checkers, and you’re the winner. End up on the other side, and you lose.

Checkers doesn’t require many pieces, simply a board and 12 pieces each, making it easy to transport and bring with you on the go.

15. Scattergories

eBay

Year: 1988

Game designers: Uncredited

Players: 2-6

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 12+

Skills: Vocabulary, counting, social skills

Bottom line: Scattergories is the perfect party game and involves anywhere from two to six players. While the objective is simple, the execution can be a bit more tricky.

Working against the clock, the goal is to score points by naming objects within a set of categories. There could be multiple answers, and sometimes drawing a blank under pressure is common, making the game more challenging.

Scattergories is often played at parties and is a fun way to pass the time and liven up a group and get everyone in a good (or even better) mood. However, beware, the ultimate competitor may find this game less appealing if things don’t go their way.

14. Stratego

eBay

Year: 1946

Game designers: Jaques Johan Mogendorff

Players: 2

Playing time: 45 minutes

Age: 8+

Skills: Memory, strategy

Bottom line: If you were a fan of capture the flag on the playground, you may find Stratego similar in many ways.

Players are given 40 pieces to start the game and can arrange them in whatever order they choose. The idea is to have your pieces protect your flag from the opponent. Each player’s objective is to go into enemy territory and locate the other player’s flag.

Sounds simple enough, right? But bombs are set along the way and can throw you off your track. Whoever captures their opponent’s flag wins, so act fast, and don’t forget the importance of strategy.

13. Yahtzee

eBay

Year created: 1956

Game designers: Edwin S. Lowe

Players: 2-10

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 6+

Skills: Luck, probability, strategy

Bottom line: Yahtzee is a dice game. Each round consists of rolling up to five dice at a time, three separate times. The goal is to achieve a pattern that will work for one of the 13 possible Yahtzee categories.

The score is tallied at the end of each round and based off your rolls. You can’t roll a category more than one time, so once a category is reached, that’s it.

At the end of 13 rounds, each player tallies their score, and whoever has the most points wins. Yahtzee can be frustrating because it’s all based on the luck of the roll and what numbers the dice lands on.

12. Jenga

eBay

Year: 1983

Game designers: Leslie Scott

Players: 1-8

Playing time: 20 minutes

Age: 6+

Skills: Dexterity, hand-eye coordination, strategy

Bottom line: If you have steady hands and a keen eye, Jenga is your game. Popular at parties, in restaurants, and at breweries, Jenga requires some serious focus to prevail.

The longer a game goes on, the harder it gets and the more important it is to remain calm and focused. One slight wrong movement of a block can cause the entire stack to tumble and topple your chances of winning.

While popular among children, Jenga has become popular for adults, too, joing corn hole and darts, as a popular bar/drinking game.

11. Connect Four

eBay

Year: 1974

Game designers: Howard Wexler, Ned Strongin

Players: 2

Playing time: 10 minutes

Age: 6+

Skills: Strategy

Bottom line: The perfect game for kids, Connect Four is simple but, nonetheless, a classic. Both players take turns dropping tokens into open slots. To win, you do just what the title says — “connect four” of your tokens. As long as the tokens are connected, it doesn’t matter if they are arranged horizontally, vertically or even diagonally.

Though the objective is to align your tokens first, keeping an eye on your opponent is also important. If the other player is about to connect four, you will want to take your turn to block their next move.

Connect Four is fun and known to be addicting, so come ready to play.

10. Risk

eBay

Year: 1959

Game designers: Albert Lamorisse

Players: 2-6

Playing time: 120 minutes

Age: 10+

Skills: Strategy, negotiation

Bottom line: Dare to take a risk? This game gives players the chance to rule the world, not the actual world, but a fictional board-game globe. Risk is all about conquering all 42 territories in the game and eliminating the other players.

As the game progresses, you’ll make alliances with other players, but in order to advance, you may have to break those alliances, so be ready to burn some bridges or get burned yourself.

If you’re looking for a quick game, Risk isn’t for you, because you know what they say … total world domination can’t happen in a few minutes. Prepare to spend a few hours playing this one.

9. Chess

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Year: 6th century

Game designers: Unknown, India

Players: 2

Playing time: 60 minutes

Age: 6+

Skills: Strategy, tactics

Bottom line: There’s no denying it. Chess is a classic. It’s been around for years, after all. While far from flashy, chess requires significant thinking and can last quite a while as you attempt to outwit your opponent.

In this two-person game, each player is given the same 16 pieces: eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a queen and a king. The goal is to checkmate your opponent’s king and put the piece in inescapable position.

The game can be complex since pieces can move in different ways. It’s easy to make the wrong choice in chess so thinking out each move strategically is a must or you risk being checkmated and losing.

8. Chutes and Ladders

eBay

Year created: 2nd century

Game designers: Uncredited

Players: 2-6

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 3+

Skills: Counting, probability

Bottom line: Chutes and Ladders is the ultimate game of rewards and consequences.

Based on where the spinner lands, each player advances on the board. Some squares indicate a good deed, which allows the player to climb the ladder. However, some squares indicate a bad deed, meaning the player slides down the ladder.

Chutes and Ladders is a game of chance. If you’re lucky, you’ll avoid the bad behavior squares and advance to the finish line first.

7. Sorry!

eBay

Year: 1929

Game designers: Will Henry Story

Players: 2-4

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 6+

Skills: Counting, strategy, probability

Bottom line: For all of you sore losers out there, Sorry! may not be the game for you. Everyone begins at the start point and tries to make their way back to their designated home. This game is solely based on chance, so you can easily face setbacks that force you to go back to the starting line.

Sorry! remains a popular game among adults and children alike and can be a lot of fun. For an ultra-competitive group, the game may tend to be more frustrating, or more fun, depending on your luck.

Advice: Make nice with your competition. They can impact your chances of winning by drawing the “Sorry” card and forcing you to start all over.

6. Battleship

eBay

Year: 1931

Game designers: Clifford Von Wickler, Milton Bradley (1967)

Players: 2

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 8+

Skills: Strategy, luck

Bottom Line: If you like strategy, this two-person game may be for you. Battleship consists of a head-to-head battle between players. The objective is to locate and destroy the other player’s fleet.

Each player takes turn targeting the other player and making hits against their fleet. The number of hits necessary before sinking the opponent’s vessel varies based on the location of the fleet. The more you play, the more likely you are to pinpoint the location of your opponent’s fleet and take them out.

Battleship is the perfect board game for fans of one-on-one duels.

5. Scrabble

Etsy

Year: 1938

Game designers: Aldred M. Butts

Players: 2-4

Playing time: 90 minutes

Age: 10+

Skills: Vocabulary, spelling

Bottom line: Love words and possibility? Scrabble is the game for you because the possibilities are endless.

A dictionary, pen and paper are a necessity when playing Scrabble as you try to piece together words with the tiles you’re given. In part, the game can rely somewhat on chance with the lettered tiles you’re given at random. However, a sharp, creative mind is what sets players apart.

Whoever ends up with the most points after someone uses all of his or tiles is the winner. The more words created, the better chances you have at winning.

4. Candy Land

eBay

Year: 1949

Game designers: Eleanor Abbott

Players: 2-4

Playing time: 30 minutes

Age: 3+

Skills: Color recognition

Bottom line: The object of the game isn’t to win actual candy, but Candy Land remains popular with children and sells close to one million copies per year.

No strategy is involved in the gameplay of Candy Land. The winner is predetermined based on the luck of the draw. As competitors draw cards and race across the board, they wind up and down the spaces in hopes of crossing the finish line first.

Candy Land is a great game to play if you’re babysitting the next-door neighbor’s kid, or if you’re just looking to pass the time on a rainy day.

3. Life!

eBay

Year: 1860

Game designers: Bill Markham

Players: 2-6

Playing time: 60 minutes

Age: 8+

Skills: Counting, reading

Bottom line: Anyone here super eager to grow up? The Game of Life, or just Life, is the perfect game to settle that fix. In this classic game, players navigate their way through life via the luck of the draw.

From college all the way to retirement, players receive a plastic car to maneuver their way through typical life experiences. The possibilities are endless and provide the perfect glimpse into the future for young ones eager to grow up.

Parents can even take an educational approach and use the game as a learning opportunity for children to see how the choices they make impact their future success.

2. Clue

Amazon

Year: 1944

Game designers: Anthony E. Pratt

Players: 2-6

Playing time: 45 minutes

Age: 8+

Skills: Deduction

Bottom line: If you love murder mysteries and think you’ve missed your calling as a detective, Clue is the perfect board game for you. Filled with twists, turns, and many, many clues to decipher, this game is an ideal pastime.

The more clues you find in this game, the better your chances of answering the questions to solve the mystery. The first person to put all the pieces together and solve the mystery wins.

So it’s a race against your opponents to see who can decipher the clues the fastest.

1. Monopoly

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Year created: 1904

Game designers: Elizabeth Magie, Charles Darrow

Players: 2-8

Playing time: 60-180 minutes

Age: 8+

Skills: Resource/money management, negotiation, strategy, luck

Bottom line: Perhaps being classified as a competitive person may make this classic board game all the more frustrating. Monopoly is a game that requires risk and a great deal of luck.

Players have the opportunity to buy property, trade it and can even be thrown in jail. Monopoly does require some strategy, but for the most part, one bad roll of the die can ruin a player’s game in the blink of an eye.

Nonetheless, Monopoly continues to be one of the most popular games after hitting the market in the early 1900s. Anyone who’s played the game knows how much fun — or frustrating — the game can be.