Best Board Games for Autumn Evenings

Everyone likes the idea of playing board games with friends, but many fear appearing juvenile. Moving figurines on a table, collecting cards, and tallying points may not seem as cool as having drinks at a bar or cheering at a football stadium. However, if you discreetly test a game within a small circle, soon you won't care about public opinion. A great board game will undoubtedly make you happy – at least for one evening. You just need to choose the right game.

For Beginners 

"Gateways" – that's what they call games specifically designed for beginners to immerse them in the captivating world of board games. It's like the first free dose for drug users – a hook that you won't be able to escape from later. Gateways have simple rules and an interesting game world with its own story and atmosphere. They are usually low-conflict (to not discourage newcomers) and encourage interaction. One of the best gateways is "Ticket to Ride" – a classic and cozy board game themed around railways. The main feature of this game is the gripping tension that arises when balancing greed (adding more cards to your hand) and fear (risk of losing a crucial route to a competitor).

For the Whole Family 

Once introduced to gateways, you'll find yourself no longer considering board games solely as entertainment for geeks. At least one shelf in your bookcase will quickly fill up with a collection of games. Another board game to try after the gateway is a family game. Because, you know, before the weekend, dad wants to go fishing, mom dreams of going to the movies, and the kids want to visit the zoo. Fortunately, there is a solution capable of uniting the whole family around the game table on Saturday or Sunday – it's a world-saving mission. In the game "Pandemic," which once caused a sensation, players, sitting around the map, don't compete with each other but collaborate as one team to prevent four viruses from taking over our planet.

For a Lively Party 

The main enemy of any party is smartphones. They kill communication. There's no better game to make people put away their gadgets and focus on each other than "Bluff Party." Here, everyone receives cards with tasks to perform in a way that no one can figure you out. For example: "spend a minute searching for something in the fridge" or "call someone by the wrong name three times." Of course, multitasking is not prohibited in the game – it's even encouraged to confuse opponents. An enthusiastic attempt to prove to everyone that ballet is more interesting than action movies can be both a task and a bluff. If you manage to deceive everyone, you get a point, and if you're caught, you face a penalty.

For Two 

Some people have many friends and weekly parties, while others have only one companion. It's not a problem if there's a desire to explore board games. After all, there are countless options for two-player games, known as "duels." One such game is the most famous political wargame, "Twilight Struggle," which many entrenched fans consider the best board game overall. It's a strategy game on the topic of the Cold War. The game board resembles a map of the bipolar world from 1945-1989, and players, representing the USA and the USSR, strive to spread their political influence to as many other countries as possible. Interestingly, from a modern political perspective, the statistical fact is optimistic: the confrontation in "Twilight Struggle" ends in nuclear war only in 5% of cases.

For Economists 

Of course, the best board game on the topic of wealth multiplication is the well-known "Monopoly." For several generations in Europe and the USA, children were instilled with anti-communist views by encouraging them to play this strategy game, where the main goal is to bankrupt all competitor-competitors. However, today, leftists are more focused on opposing monopolies than on the colonial past of Western countries. If you haven't decided whether it's good or bad when a developed state conquers wild lands and begins to build civilization there, try the game aptly called "Colonizers." This cult board game has about 50 million fans worldwide (including the characters from "The Big Bang Theory" series) and has been on the bestseller list since 1995. Players are tasked with colonizing the island of Catan, extracting resources, building roads, and establishing the first settlements, which will later turn into large cities.

For Horror Enthusiasts

Can anything be scarier than the ancient gods from H.P. Lovecraft's "Cthulhu Mythos"? The board game "Arkham Horror" invites players to explore horrifying events taking place in 1926 directly in Arkham, Massachusetts, as well as in other realms: the jungles of K'n-yan, the Dreamlands, Yuggoth, and more. At the end of each turn, a new portal opens from the so-called "mythos deck," unleashing dreadful monsters into reality. The players' task is to seal these portals because if too many open, the Ancient Evil will descend upon the world.

For Sherlock Holmes Fans

Do you want to test your deduction skills? The board game "MicroMacro: Crime City" immerses you in the world of criminal investigations. The game begins with a large (114x76 cm) intricately detailed map in a "Where's Wally?" style depicting a city district. Various characters engaged in daily activities (or faking it) are shown, along with crime victims ranging from theft to murder. Game cards contain crime scenes, victim descriptions, and clues leading to different parts of the map. The players' task is to track both victims and criminals by paying attention to details (such as clothing or the direction characters are facing) and mentally reconstructing the depicted events back and forth through time. The game includes 16 puzzles of varying difficulty, so after honing your detective skills, you can take on the challenge of investigating the case of that mysterious colleague who regularly steals sandwiches from the office fridge.

For Supporters of Ukraine

"AFU: Armed Forces of Ukraine" is a deck-building game. You heroically fight against the Russian occupier by blocking cards of their threats with Ukrainian battalions and equipment. You'll sink the cruiser "Moskva," disrupt the invaders' propaganda plans in Crimea, and confront the rampaging Buryats. All of this is done to achieve the goal in the game, just as in real life, where Ukraine and the entire civilized world have been working for the past two years: to drive the bloody Russists back to their native Moscow swamps. Illustrated in stylish watercolors, the game contains numerous references to real events, involved military equipment (both Ukrainian and Western), active units (such as the "Azov" regiment, famous for defending Mariupol), and prominent figures, like the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny.

For Animal Lovers

"Ark Nova" is a long-term zoo management strategy game. At its core are 255 cards featuring images of animals, specialists, enclosures, and conservation objects. The players' goal is to create the most advanced scientific zoo with an impeccable reputation for animal welfare. "Ark Nova" has a high level of replayability because each new session will be unique and engaging. Since its release in 2021, this game immediately became a super hit and the "killer" of a similar game combining legendary mechanics, "Terraforming Mars." However, keep in mind that "Ark Nova" is a massive and sprawling game, so if you don't have it yet, buy a large table first to have enough space to accommodate all the animals and their enclosures.

For Those Who Seek the Best

Since 2017, the game "Gloomhaven" held the top spot in the world's best board games according to the authoritative site BoardGameGeek until this year when it was surpassed by "Brass: Birmingham." However, the difference between them is less than one-tenth of a point, so if you need a board game that deserves not only an honorable place in your home collection but also the status of an exhibit in a museum of gaming industry achievements, choose either one. "Gloomhaven" is a tactical fantasy shoot-out game that takes about 180 hours to complete. 

"Brass: Birmingham," on the other hand, is an economic strategy game where businessmen compete during the industrial revolution from 1770 to 1870. In this game, players develop, build, and create their trade industries and networks, trying to successfully meet both low and high market demands.