Top 6 compared
The best board games
Phones away and everyone around the table, for a game night people are still talking about weeks later.
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The top 6 at a glance
A board game gathers everyone around one table with a shared board, cards or tiles and a goal to race for, and most games last from twenty minutes to an hour. Strategy games reward planning a few turns ahead; classic family games are learned in a hand or two; party games put the laughs ahead of winning; cooperative games have everyone win or lose together; and some are made for just two.
Many games sold in Canada come in a bilingual edition, with the rules in English and French, and the title says which. Every game here plays in an hour or less, has nothing crude in the box and is the main edition rather than an expansion; games for children under six aren’t included.
What matters
- A player range that covers your smallest and biggest nights.
- A good two-player game, if it’s often just the two of you.
- The maker’s age guide, set against your youngest regular player.
#1Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride Board Game (2025 edition)
$50–$75
Collect coloured train cards, trade sets of them in to claim railway routes on a map that runs from Vancouver and Montréal down to Los Angeles and Miami, and race to finish the secret destination tickets in your hand. Alan R. Moon’s game won the Spiel des Jahres in 2004, and this refreshed edition of the original map is easy to teach, quick to play and still a contest every time.
What owners say: Families find it quick to learn and set up, with a pace that never drags and a fair balance of strategy and luck. The pieces feel well made, and it keeps coming back out as a game the whole family enjoys.
A closer look: Keep your destination tickets hidden and only draw extra ones when you’re confident of finishing them, as an unfinished ticket counts against you at the end. Long routes score far more than short ones, so it often pays to save cards for a big claim, and watch for anyone building toward the same city as you.
- Spiel des Jahres winner, 2004
- Map from Vancouver to Miami
- 225 plastic trains
- 110 train cards, 33 tickets
- Refreshed 2025 edition
Best for: Family game nights
- Kind of game
- Route building
- Players
- 2–5
- Ages
- 8+
- Playing time
- 30–60 min
#2Asmodee 7 Wonders Duel Board Game
$30–$50
Made for exactly two: over three ages you take cards in turn from a shared spread, building a city of resources, buildings and wonders. You can win on points at the end, or early by pushing the conflict pawn into your rival’s capital or collecting six different science symbols, so there’s always more than one plan to chase.
What owners say: Couples rate it as a great game for two, with a lot of strategy packed into a quick game. How complicated it feels at first is where opinions part.
Heads up: It’s for two players only, so it won’t stretch to a family of four on game night.
A closer look: Watch the face-down cards in the spread: taking the card on top turns over whatever is underneath, which can hand your rival exactly what they need. Go over the three ways to win on the game aid before a first game, so neither of you is caught out by a sudden military or science victory.
- Three ways to win
- Build a city with wonders
- 12 wonder cards
Best for: Head-to-head play for two
- Kind of game
- Card drafting for two
- Players
- 2
- Ages
- 10+
- Playing time
- 30 min
#3Mattel Games Blokus Board Game
$20–$30
One rule runs the whole game: each new piece must touch one of your own, but only at the corners. Players take turns fitting their 21 shapes onto a grid of 400 squares while blocking each other’s space, and it takes under a minute to teach, so a seven-year-old can hold their own against the grown-ups. The pieces carry patterns as well as colours, so colour-blind players can join in.
What owners say: It takes no time to learn and is easy to play, owners say, with more strategy in it than its simple look suggests, and it works as well for children as for adults. They’re happy with the challenge, the pace and what it costs.
A closer look: With two players, each takes two colours and plays them in turn, which makes for a tighter, more tactical game. Get the big, awkward shapes down early while there’s still room, and keep the small ones for the end, when the board fills up and every square counts.
- One rule: corners only
- Under a minute to learn
- Patterned for colour-blind players
- 84 pieces, 21 per colour
- 400-square board
Best for: Families with younger children
- Kind of game
- Abstract tile placing
- Players
- 2–4
- Ages
- 7+
- Playing time
- 20–30 min
#4Asmodee Splendor Board Game (bilingual edition)
$30–$50
Every turn is one of three quick choices: take gem chips, buy a development card or reserve one for later. Each card you buy works as a permanent discount on the next, so a slow start snowballs into a race to 15 prestige points. The edition sold here is bilingual, in English and French, which suits a household that plays in both.
What owners say: Owners say it’s simple to pick up, works well with two to four players and moves along at a brisk pace, with the strategy pitched about right for a family table.
A closer look: Set the cards out in three rows by level, cheapest nearest the players, so everyone can see what’s on offer. In a first game, buy a few cheap cards early instead of hoarding chips, since the discounts build up faster than you’d expect. Reserving a card also earns a gold joker chip, handy when a rival is eyeing the same card.
- English and French edition
- Three choices each turn
- First to 15 prestige points
- 35 gems, 5 gold jokers
- 90 cards, 10 noble tiles
Best for: Couples and families who like to plan
- Kind of game
- Engine building
- Players
- 2–4
- Ages
- 10+
- Playing time
- 30–45 min
#5Gamewright Forbidden Island Cooperative Board Game
$20–$30
Everyone plays on the same side: as a team you race to collect four treasures from an island that floods a little more every turn, then get off before it sinks. Each player takes a special role, so talking plans through is half the fun, and with nobody losing to a brother or sister it suits families that would rather not fight over the winner.
What owners say: Owners call it a great co-op, quick to pick up and never too complicated, with the strategy pitched right for the ages on the box. Games move fast, and it holds up well to being played again and again.
A closer look: The island tiles are laid out in a new pattern each game, and the water meter sets the difficulty, so start at the lowest mark and move it up as the team gets better. Talk each turn through together, since one player’s move often sets up the next player’s.
- Island floods every turn
- Special role for each player
- New layout every game
- Water meter sets difficulty
- 4 treasure figures, 24 tiles
Best for: Siblings who’d rather team up
- Kind of game
- Cooperative adventure
- Players
- 2–4
- Ages
- 10+
- Playing time
- 30 min
#6USAOPOLY Hues and Cues Color Guessing Game
$20–$30
A board of 480 colour squares and one clue at a time: the cue giver picks a shade from a card and describes it in a single word, then up to two more, while everyone else drops a token on the square they think it is. It needs no general knowledge, so children and grandparents play on level terms.
What owners say: The rules take a minute to explain, owners say, and everyone from the youngest up can join in, even with a big crowd. They enjoy the creative clues and quick rounds, though opinions differ on the colours of the cards.
A closer look: Plain colour names are off limits as clues, and so are light and dark, so reach for things everyone at the table knows: a ripe banana, a stop sign, the lake in July. The cue giver scores too, for every token that lands close to the target, so a clever clue pays off for both sides.
- Board of 480 colours
- No general knowledge needed
- Clues start with one word
- Clue giver scores points too
- No colour names as clues
Best for: Parties and mixed ages
- Kind of game
- Colour guessing party game
- Players
- 3–10
- Ages
- 8+
- Playing time
- 30 min
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 6.
| Feature | #1Ticket to Ride | #27 Wonders Duel | #3Blokus | #4Splendor | #5Forbidden Island | #6Hues and Cues |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best for two | Best budget | Best cooperative game | Best party game | ||
| Picked Rating | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.3 |
| Price | $50–$75 | $30–$50 | $20–$30 | $30–$50 | $20–$30 | $20–$30 |
| Kind of game | Route building | Card drafting for two | Abstract tile placing | Engine building | Cooperative adventure | Colour guessing party game |
| Players | 2–5 | 2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 3–10 |
| Ages | 8+ | 10+ | 7+ | 10+ | 10+ | 8+ |
| Playing time | 30–60 min | 30 min | 20–30 min | 30–45 min | 30 min | 30 min |
| Best for | Family game nights | Head-to-head play for two | Families with younger children | Couples and families who like to plan | Siblings who’d rather team up | Parties and mixed ages |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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