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Five Highly Rated Board Games You Can Get For About $20

4 Minute Read
Mar 18 2024
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Board games don’t need to break the bank to be fun. Snag these cheap board games and have fun with your friends time and time again.

Forbidden Island

Forbidden Island is a cooperative survival game where the island is sinking, and it’s up to you and your friends to grab the four sacred treasures and escape before time runs out. It’s a modern classic and even won a Mensa Favorite award!

Dare to discover Forbidden Island! Join a team of fearless adventurers on a do-or-die mission to capture four sacred treasures from the ruins of this perilous paradise. Your team will have to work together and make some pulse-pounding maneuvers, as the island will sink beneath every step! Race to collect the treasures and make a triumphant escape before you are swallowed into the watery abyss! The latest creation by cooperative game master, Matt Leacock who created the best seller Pandemic.

Carcassonne

Timeless is a great way to describe Carcassonne. It’s a tile-placing game we’ve highly praised before, for good reason. It’s a simple game that’s easy to learn and overall just a chill vibe. It’s won dozens of awards over its 20+ year lifespan. Grab your own copy and find out why.

Carcassonne is the perfect introduction to the modern world of board games. With its simple rules (place a tile, place a deeply, score points), should be part of everyone’s collection.

Codenames

Codenames is another game I regard very highly. I still think it might be the best party game out there. It’s a word-guessing game of trying to direct your team to pick multiple specific words from a pool of words, but you only can only give a single word clue. Much easier said than done, and one everyone will want to play over and over.

Codenames is a social word game with a simple premise and challenging game play. Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames. The teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the table.

Their teammates try to guess words of their color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. And everyone wants to avoid the assassin. The game works very well with 4 players if you prefer to guess without help. Or you can add more players if you prefer lively discussion. There is also a cooperative variant where a single team tries to achieve the highest score they can by playing against the game itself.

Coup

Coup is another of my top party games, for sure. It’s a bluffing game of trying to assassinate the other players. But everyone lies about everything, including their ability to steal your money or even to be able to assassinate you at all. It sets up in seconds and plays in maybe 10 minutes. This is a game you’ll play a dozen times in a single night.

Welcome to Coup, the fast-paced, fun, and highly recommended card game that’s perfect for gatherings with friends. With its easy-to-learn game play and high replay value, Coup is a best-selling game that promises endless entertainment.  In this exciting strategy and bluffing game, you’ll find yourself in a world of strategy, deception, and cunning.

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Play your cards wisely or bluff your way to victory – the choice is yours. With five unique roles to master, every game of Coup is an adventure waiting to unfold.  Coup’s gameplay is designed for both adults and kids, making it a superb addition to your collection of board games and card games. It’s a great game for 2 to 6 players, making it perfect for an evening of fun with friends. 

Star Wars Villainous

The Villainous series is great. There are a bunch of different versions with different iconic villains from Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney. Each character has their own mechanics and systems, making this a game that changes every time you play. For every one of the cheap board games listed here, this one is the most bang for your buck.

In Villainous, you’ll play as an iconic Star Wars™ Villain. Choose Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, General Grievous, Asajj Ventress, or Moff Gideon. Each Villain has a unique objective and abilities based on their story and abilities. You’ll also meddle with your opponents by playing forcing them to face off against Jedi and heroes like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka Tano.

Star Wars™ Villainous uses the award-winning Villainous game system with added elements to fully immerse players in the Star Wars™ Universe. Deploy iconic ships like TIE Fighters as you engage with the Millennium Falcon. Use Ambition to power your Villain’s unique abilities, whether you’re playing as a Force user, leader, or manipulator.

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Author: Matt Sall
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