Here’s a list of some of the most popular board games in the world. Some are classics and others are newer, but they’re all fun to play!
Battleship
Battleship is a game where you try to sink your opponent’s ships by guessing where they are on the board. It was invented in 1967 by Robert Abbott and has since been made into 2 movies, one of which was a flop but the other was pretty good.
The game is played on a grid of squares (like tic-tac-toe) with 10 columns and 10 rows for each player, for each side there are 5 rows and 5 columns (25 spaces total). Each space can hold either one ship or an empty square. Players alternate placing their ships on hidden squares until all spaces have been filled, then they take turns hitting each others’ ships with cardboard discs until only 1 player’s ship remains afloat! Battleship is fun because it’s easy enough that even kids can play without getting frustrated but challenging enough that adults will want to keep playing too!
Catan
Catan is a game of trading and building on a fictional island. It was originally developed by Klaus Teuber in Germany in 1995, and the game has since been translated into 22 languages. In Catan, players use resources—such as wood, brick, ore, and wheat—to build settlements on the island’s hexagonal spaces. Each player starts with two settlements: one at their home base and one on an adjacent corner or edge; players can later expand to any unoccupied space they wish.
Catan has sold over 22 million copies worldwide and has been adapted into a card game as well as a computer game and video game (Catan VR).
Monopoly
Monopoly is a board game that was invented in 1904 by Elizabeth Magie. The game is based on the economic theory of Georgism, which advocates for the ability of everyone to live off the land equally.
The game is played with two to eight people, who each take on the role of an investor trying to build up their own real estate empire. Players earn money by collecting rent from other players’ properties and buying property themselves, paying in cash or using “Chance” cards with special abilities. A player wins when they have acquired all of their opponents’ assets and become rich enough to be considered a monopoly (the name comes from this concept).
Clue
Clue is a board game that involves finding out who killed Mr. Boddy, the owner of an English country mansion. It was first released in 1949 and has been released in many editions since then. The name “Cluedo” comes from the phrase “clue”, which has been used to describe mysteries since at least 1913 when it appeared in an issue of The Strand Magazine.