Are you bored of playing the same board games every night? Do you want to challenge your brain with something new and exciting? Look no further! Say goodbye to Monopoly and hello to strategy board games.

In this guide, we have rounded up the top 10 best strategy board games that'll test your skills and let you fight thrilling battles! So, gather your friends, set up the game table, and prepare for an amazing game night!

Best Strategy Board Games Comparison Table 

1. Red Russia - Best Strategy Board Game

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

Let’s start our list with one of the best military strategy board games: Red Russia. This game takes you back to the Russian Civil War, a violent period from 1918 to 1921. You can play as one of five groups: the Reds, Interventionists, Siberian Whites, Southern Whites, and Northern Whites armies.

Your goal is to take control of the country. Each turn in the game represents three months. To succeed, you must plan your troops' movements, manage resources, and engage in tactical combat.

Why We Like It

We like this game because it perfectly captures the chaos of war through surprise attacks and random events, keeping players on edge. It also demands strategic decision-making, requiring careful troop management and resource allocation. Overall, it offers a challenging gameplay experience that keeps you engaged and thinking several steps ahead.

2. Castelli - Best History Board Game

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

Calling all architects and strategists! Bring your architectural dreams to life with Castelli.
In this game, you become a medieval architect. You pick colorful tiles and place them to build roads, farms, and cities. You score points by connecting these features and completing secret objectives. But watch out for surprises like landslides and plagues that can mess up your plans!

Why We Like It

We think that Castelli is the best strategy board game because it involves a great deal of strategic decision-making to progress, keeping players mentally engaged throughout. Set in the 18th century, it offers an opportunity to learn about historical events while enjoying the gameplay. The use of tactic cards and an ever-changing battlefield ensures that no two games are ever the same, making it a highly replayable and dynamic experience.

3. Skyliners - Best Beginner Board Game

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

Have you ever wanted to design a city skyline? Skyliners lets you do just that! This board game is special because players build a city together using pieces from the game box. Each player builds their skyline, strategically placing floors, antennas, and parks to get the most points. 

But there's a twist! While you build your city, you also try to block your opponents' views, adding a fun challenge to the game. Skyliners has a mix of planning and friendly competition.

Why We Like It

Here’s why Skyliners is one of the best beginner strategy board games: it has simple, easy-to-understand rules, making it perfect for families and those new to board gaming. The unique concept of building a city adds a creative and interactive element to the experience. Despite being beginner-friendly, the game still requires players to make thoughtful strategic decisions, offering a satisfying challenge without overwhelming complexity.

4. Cosmic Encounter - Best Sci-Fi Board Game

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

Get ready for an exciting space adventure as we explore the amazing universe of Cosmic Encounter! In this awesome game of epic space battles, you'll take on the role of a leader of an alien race, each with its own unique abilities that can totally shake up the game.

Why We Like It

Let’s take a look at why Cosmic Encounter stands out as one of the best new strategy board games. Unlike many other strategy games, it focuses on making deals and forming alliances, bringing a unique social element to the gameplay. Its ever-changing deck of cards ensures that each session feels fresh and unpredictable, keeping players engaged. While it requires strategic thinking, Cosmic Encounter also maintains a fun and lighthearted tone with its silly alien characters and humorous cards, making it both challenging and entertaining.

5. Micropolis - Best Family-Friendly Board Game

Our Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Are you a fan of ants and strategy games? If so, get ready for Micropolis! In this game, you can lead your ant colony to victory by building your anthill and guiding your ants. It's a tile-drafting game in which you'll need to plan carefully and manage your resources to succeed. 

Why We Like It

We love Micropolis because its rules are easy to grasp, making it an ideal choice for new gamers. One of the most exciting aspects of the game is the variety of winning strategies—players can build a massive army of ants, cultivate a diverse harvest of fruits, or construct a network of specialized chambers to achieve victory. The adorable ant characters and beautifully illustrated tiles add to the game’s visual appeal, while the lighthearted and engaging gameplay makes it a perfect option for families with children.

6. Star Wars: Rebellion - Best Star Wars Board Game

Our Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

With 102 million Star Wars fans in the U.S., we simply had to include the Star Wars: Rebellion board game on our list! 

It's one of the best war strategy board games, as it brings the big battle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance to your tabletop. This game is all about strategy; you can play as the Empire, trying to rule the galaxy, or as the Rebels, fighting against them. Each side has its own goals and ways to play. 

Why We Like It

People love Star Wars: Rebellion because it truly captures the vastness of the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on the iconic heroes and villains that define the saga. The dynamic between the Empire, searching for the hidden Rebel base, and the Rebellion, growing stronger and working to disrupt the Empire’s plans, creates a tense and exciting gameplay experience with unique roles for each player. Every game feels fresh thanks to a changing game board, secret objectives, and a deck full of unexpected events, ensuring no two playthroughs are ever the same.

7. Nights of Fire: Battle for Budapest - Best Strategy History Board Game

Our Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

If you’re looking for the best strategy board games for adults, you will surely love our next recommendation, Nights of Fire: Battle for Budapest! This war board game immerses you in a gripping historical battle, capturing the intense moments of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. It highlights the courageous fight of Hungarian insurgents against the mighty Soviet Red Army.

Despite the challenging odds, you can use your strategic choices to shape the outcome of the game!

Why We Like It

We consider Battle for Budapest one of the best strategy board games ever because its mechanics brilliantly capture the David vs. Goliath struggle, especially when playing as the Hungarian side, where survival depends on smart decisions and guerilla tactics. The game can be enjoyed solo or with friends, offering a tense and thrilling experience in both modes. What makes it even more engaging is its connection to real historical events and figures, allowing players to discover important moments in history while strategizing and progressing through the game.

8. Monster Lands - Best Resource Management Board Game

Our Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Ahoy there, fearless adventurers! Welcome to the monster-infested world of Monster Lands, where you'll become a clan leader. 

The mission of the game is to build your reputation, conquer dangerous areas, and take the crown from the Queen! It's an exciting game where you use dice to make strategic choices, like managing your resources, placing your workers wisely, and battling monsters to win.

Why We Like It

Monster Lands is one of the best abstract strategy board games because it combines resource gathering, strategic worker placement, and thrilling dice-driven combat to keep players fully engaged. It challenges you to use your strategic skills to recruit brave mercenaries, purchase powerful weapons, and train your warriors to become unstoppable forces. As you venture beyond the safety of the Citadel into monster-filled territories, you work to reclaim the kingdom for the Queen. With a variety of setups and unique monster encounters, each playthrough offers a fresh and exciting adventure.

9. Funkoverse Strategy Game: Game of Thrones - Best Game of Thrones Board Game

Our Rating: 4/5 Stars

Calling all Westeros strategists and Funko Pop fanatics! Here’s one of the best adult strategy board games that will have you sitting on the edge of your seats the whole time! We’re talking about Funkoverse Strategy Game: Game of Thrones!

This exciting strategy board game brings your beloved characters from the epic HBO series Game of Thrones to life in a thrilling showdown. It offers a unique and engaging gameplay experience that will have you strategizing your moves, moving around your favorite figures, and battling for dominance in the Seven Kingdoms.

Why We Like It

We think the Funkoverse Strategy Game: Game of Thrones is a great pick because it offers an exciting blend of theme, strategy, and fun. Each character has unique abilities that reflect their personalities from the show—for example, Daenerys Targaryen can command dragons that breathe fire. The game takes players on adventures through iconic locations like Godswood and Winterfell, adding to its immersive appeal. With a unique cooldown system and a focus on board movement and objective control, the game provides plenty of strategic depth. At the same time, the rules are easy to learn, making it a fantastic option for both new and experienced gamers.

10. Small World of Warcraft - Best World of Warcraft Board Game

Our Rating: 4/5 Stars

If you’re a World of Warcraft fan, here’s one of the best family strategy board games you will definitely love: Small World of Warcraft. As an Azeroth adventurer, have you ever wanted to lead orcs, dwarves, and trolls to victory? Well, this strategy game gives you a chance to battle your friends for control over legendary locations. 

Make smart choices from a variety of races, like Portal Mage Pandarens and Herbalist Goblins, each with their own strengths. In this tough world, you'll need to be strategic to survive, so picking the right race and special powers is important for success.

Why We Like It

We love Small World of Warcraft because, unlike many strategy games with complex rules, it's surprisingly easy to learn and play. With game sessions that can be completed in under an hour, it’s a great choice for a quick and exciting game night. The wide variety of races and special powers ensures that each playthrough feels fresh and different. It's also an excellent way to introduce newcomers to Azeroth and the world of Warcraft, combining approachable gameplay with the rich lore of the iconic universe.

Buying Guide for the Best Board Games of Strategy

Strategy board games are fun and challenging. However, many options exist, so picking the right one can take time and effort. But don't worry! This buying guide will help you choose the perfect game for your next game night:

• Number of Players: Think about how many people will play. Some games are best with two players, while others are more fun with a bigger group.
  
• Experience Level: Are all the players experienced gamers, or are some of them new to this? Keeping the experience level in mind, it’s best to choose a game that everyone can enjoy.
• Theme Preference: Do you like historical themes, fantasy adventures, or puzzles? Pick a theme that suits your preferences.
• Playing Time: How long do you usually play games? If it’s the weekend, you can choose a game that can last several hours. Otherwise, you can find many quick-play options, too. 
  
• Replayability: Go for replayable games. Many classic strategy board games have enough depth and variety to keep things interesting for many playthroughs.
• Research & Reviews: Read reviews and watch videos to learn about a game before you buy it.

With that sorted, let’s dive into the best strategy board games of all time!

Final Thoughts on the Best Strategy Board Games

Whether you’re an occasional player or host game nights every week, the key to keeping things interesting is investing in a variety of different board games. In this comprehensive guide, we have put together 10 of the best strategy board games for kids, beginners, and pro players alike. From fun and basic games like Micropolis and Skyliners to intense strategy games like Star Wars: Rebellion and Nights of Fire: Battle for Budapest, we have included an assortment of games for everyone! 

For more strategic board game options, check out our impressive board game collection.