With the summer vacations coming up quickly, taking advantage of Prime Day board game deals could be a very smart move. The WIRED Reviews team has a gaggle of kids of all ages between us, and most of us are still big kids at heart, so we’ve tried a lot of board games over the years.
Many of the best family board games are on sale for Prime Day, and I have handpicked a selection of WIRED-tested and approved board games right here. You should also check out our roundup of the Absolute Best Prime Day Deals, Best Lego and Toy Deals, and Best Deals Under $30, or dip into our Amazon Prime Day live blog for real-time updates.
Updated 9 am ET Friday, June 26: I've added deals on Ticket to Ride, The Chameleon, Mysterium, and Poetry for Neanderthals, removed some discontinued deals, and updated prices.
A firm WIRED favorite, Ticket to Ride features steam engine styling and rules that are easy to grasp. All you must do is claim railway routes across the US and Canada using your colorful plastic rail cars. Spend cards to claim routes, rack up bonus points for connecting specific destinations, and the person with the highest score at the end wins. All aboard, choo, choo!
This family favorite frequently comes out when we have people over because it’s so easy to pick up and play, and it’s fun. Each round is based on a single word from a category card determined by a dice roll, but while everyone else knows the word, the chameleon has to bluff their way through. Each player says something associated with the word for that round, and the guesser has to decide who the chameleon is. It’s for up to eight players but is still fun for spectators.
Burn rubber and leave your opponents in the dust, but don’t blow your engine in this exciting tabletop racing game. Momentum is crucial, with tactical decisions to make as you try to build a deck that will give you a chance of winning. A lovely slipstreaming mechanic helps keep things competitive. The Rocky Roads expansion ($30) is also on sale.
One of the best family board games for young kids, Labyrinth is easy to grasp. The game board is a maze, and you must collect treasures dictated by the cards you are dealt. Designed by a German psychologist, the fun comes from changing the maze by pushing a tile onto the board, which displaces another each turn. You can carve a route for yourself, but also think about how to block your opponents; the best moves do both.
A great game for larger groups, Herd Mentality is all about writing down the same answer as everyone else. If you agree with the majority of players on the best pizza topping, Disney movie, or the smallest animal that could carry your weight, you win a cow token. Eight tokens win you the game, but if you are the odd one out, you get the pink cow of doom. It’s funny and easy to play with any group.
In Azul, you must make mosaics by matching tiles with different patterns and colors to get the maximum possible score. Azul is easy to grasp but supports many different tactical approaches and has surprising depth. The tiles and other components are high quality, and filling your board is deeply satisfying. Play moves quickly, and you can complete a game in less than an hour, but you will want to play again. This is a decent discount, and one of the best Amazon Prime Day board game deals.
This cat-themed card game is easy to pick up and perfect for a quick play. The aim is to avoid exploding kitten cards by wielding a comical cast of cats with special powers. You need timing and strategy to get the best of your opponents. If this fun card game is a hit with your fam, there are countless expansion packs worth trying.
This moreish strategy game challenges you to gather and trade resources to build and settle a randomly generated board of hexagonal tiles. Dominating the map and gaining enough points for a victory requires careful planning and some luck with dice rolls.
Can you decipher a series of fiendish pictorial clues in this ghostly game to solve the supernatural puzzle? Players must work together as psychic investigators to solve an old murder mystery.
I love the 1920s Art Deco style of this business-world battle, where you found and expand companies, accumulate shares, and oversee mergers and acquisitions. It’s a nice mix of luck and skill that’s more fun than it sounds.
A rare two-player cooperative game, Sky Team challenges you to land planes at various airports, but you must strategize before each round, because there’s no talking once you take off. Secret dice rolls and turnabout gameplay require careful cooperation to clear air traffic out of the way, keep the plane level, get the flaps and landing gear ready, and touch down safely.
Me play, me laugh, me get bonked on head with inflatable club. Super silly game, big hit with young kids.
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