Best board games 2024: must-have games for adults and families

There are the ones that have been around forever like Monopoly – an all-time classic that never disappoints. But then there's some new ones making a scene like The Traitors Board Game, based on the big hit TV show, which will put you to the test.

Set up around the kitchen table or gather on cushions across the living room floor (there's no judging here) and take on the ultimate challenge of a board game, ready to crown the winner at the end in all their victory.

We've gathered some of the best board games for you to try below, from the talking and drawing varieties, to the guessing and bluffing.

Looking for other sources of entertainment? Check out our guides to the best Kindle deals and the best music streaming services for some inspiration.

Best board games at a glance:

• Best for all generations: Articulate, £30
• Best for thinking like the rest: Herd Mentality, £24.99 £22.99
• Best classic board game: Monopoly, £20
• Best new board game: The Traitors Board Game, £24.30
• Best wacky board game: Taskmaster, £25
• Best for bluffing: The Chameleon Game, £24.99
• Best quick-action board game: Six Second Scribbles, £14.99
• Best for competitiveness: Confident, £19.99
• Best simple board game: Linkee, £18.74
• Best imaginative board game: Dixit Odyssey, £34.95
• Best for wordsmiths: Scrabble, £21.99
• Best for general knowledge: Trivial Pursuit, £33.99 £20.39
• Best for mystery solving: Cluedo, £27 £16.20
• Best for head-to-head battle: Battleship, £22
• Best for concentration: Operation, £25
• Best cooperative board game: Pandemic, £35
• Best party board game: Wordle, £24.49
• Best fast-paced board game: Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, £10.99

Best board games to play in 2024

Articulate

Best for all generations

For ages: 12 and over
Number of players: 4 to 20+ players
It's time to get competitive with Articulate, the quick-thinking, fast-talking board game. Team up into pairs or groups and describe as many cards as possible to your team mates, from famous people and objects to nature and worldly places.

Buy Articulate for £30 from Argos

Herd Mentality

Best for thinking like the rest

For ages: 10+
Number of players: 4 to 20 players
Think you know your friends and family inside out? Put this to the test with Herd Mentality. Simply read out random questions, write down your answer in secret and if it's in the majority, you win cows. And if its the odd one out, you get stuck with the pink cow. Guaranteed to keep the whole family entertained.

Buy Herd Mentality for £24.99 £22.99 (save £2 or 8%) from Amazon

Monopoly

Best classic board game

For ages: 8+
Number of players: 2 or more players
Monopoly is an all-time favourite board game for a reason. Work your way around the board as you buy, sell and rent properties across the town – from sites and stations to utilities – and put other players to the test in this fast-dealing property trading game. Build houses and hotels and watch the money pour in – but watch out for your opponents and their competitive tactics!

Buy Monopoly for £20 from Argos

The Traitors Board Game

Best new board game

For ages: 12+
Number of players: 4 to 6 players
Fan of The Traitors TV show? Get in on the action yourself with the official board game. All players are assigned as Faithfuls, with one Traitor, and must go on missions to earn gold for the prize fund. Watch out for the Traitor, who will earn the right to murder at night...

Buy The Traitors Board Game for £24.30 from John Lewis

Taskmaster

Best wacky board game

For ages: 8+
Number of players: 3+ players
Bring the hit TV show Taskmaster to your own home with this board game and enjoy hours of entertainment with your friends and family. Compete against each other in a selection of crazy tasks, and the winner will be crowned Taskmaster Champion. There's even some video tasks included from Alex Horne himself, the Taskmaster creator.

Buy Taskmaster for £25 from John Lewis

The Chameleon Game

Best for bluffing

For ages: 14+
Number of players: 3 to 8 players
There's one chameleon in this game and their job is to not get caught – but work out the Secret Word. Everyone else must try and spot the imposter without giving away the Secret Word. This is a game of bluffing and deduction – put your friends and family to the test.

Buy The Chameleon Game for £24.99 from John Lewis

Six Second Scribbles

Best quick-action board game

For ages: 8+
Number of players: 2 to 8 players
Put your drawing skills to the test as you scribble out 10 pictures in just 60 seconds. With more than 1000 items across 100+ categories, there's things to draw for all levels, from simple foods and animals, to tricky tourist attractions and cheeses to take it to a more difficult level. Score points if others can guess your artwork and enjoy hours of fun.

Buy Six Scribbles for £14.99 from Amazon

Confident

Best for competitiveness

For ages: 10+
Number of players: 2 to 30 players
In this game, it's all about confidence. When faced with trivia questions and interesting facts, players must give a range in their answers, but aim for the smallest range compared to other players. The game includes 180 cards to work through and six dry wipe answer boards to make it fast-paced and add to the competitiveness.

Buy Confident for £19.99 from John Lewis

Linkee

Best simple board game

For ages: 14+
Number of players: 2+ players
Linkee is pretty simple – answer the four questions on each card correctly, then work out how they are all linked. The first one to shout "linkee" wins that card. There's 100s of questions to work through - it's all about making connections, listening to others and getting competitive.

Buy Linkee for £18.74 from John Lewis

Dixit Odyssey

Best imaginative board game

For ages: 8+
Number of players: 3 to 12 players
Let your imagination run wild with Dixit Odyssey thanks to the beautifully illustrated cards. One player is the storyteller, chooses one of the cards (without showing it to anyone) and describes it in just one word or sentence.

The other players have to pick a card to match how the storyteller has explained theirs, and all players then have to guess which was the original from the storyteller, when all laid out.
Buy Dixit Odyssey for £34.95 from Amazon

Scrabble

Best for wordsmiths

For ages: 10+
Number of players: 2 to 4 players
Get stuck into the infamous board game Scrabble, taking on the challenge of spelling out words using the seven letter tiles randomly picked. Each letter has a value, and the player with the highest final score wins. Put your spelling and word knowledge to the test.
Buy Scrabble for £21.99 from Boots

Trivial Pursuit

Best for general knowledge

For ages: 16+
Number of players: 2 to 6 players
Know your history and geography, art and literature, sports and nature? Take on your friends and family with Trivial Pursuit, answering questions across the different categories. There are over 2,400 questions – pick up a piece of pie to fill in your wedge holder to win.
Buy Trivial Pursuit for £33.99 £20.39 from The Entertainer

Cluedo

Best for mystery solving

For ages: 8+
Number of players: 2 to 6 players
There's been a murder. But who dunnit, where and with what weapon? Compete against your opponents to gather clues, reveal the mystery and solve the murder. The first one to get it right wins. Put on your detective hats and get playing.
Buy Cluedo for £16.20 from Marks & Spencer

Battleship

Best for head-to-head battle

For ages: 7+
Number of players: 2 players
Fight head-to-head in naval combat as you play Battleship as a competitive duo. Search for each other's enemy fleet of ships, including a submarine, patrol boat and a battleship, and destroy them as you play. The game comes in portable battle cases so you can conveniently take on the go with you.
Buy Battleship for £22 from Argos

Operation

Best for concentration

For ages: 6+
Number of players: 1+ players
Cavity Sam is a little under the weather – your job is to remove his 12 funny ailments without setting off the buzzer. Use the tweezers to take out the wishbone, Adam's Apple etc and make him feel better. Collect the money if you can avoid the buzz, and the player with the most money at the end wins.
Buy Operation for £25 from Boots

Pandemic

Best cooperative board game

For ages: 10+
Number of players: 2 to 4 players
All players win or lose together in this board game, taking on the roles of disease-fighting specialists to stop pandemics breaking out across the world. Drawing cards, players can travel between cities, treat the infected, discover cures and build research stations to treat the diseases. Just watch out for the Epidemic cards that will only make matters worse.

Buy Pandemic for £35 from John Lewis

Wordle

Best party board game

For ages: 14+
Number of players: 2 to 4 players
Inspired by the ever-so-popular digital version, this board game brings Wordle to real life, where you can compete against friends and family. Take it in turns to write down 5-letter secret words and other players must guess – the one with the fewest tries wins. Do it in fast mode, timed mode, or team mode for the ultimate challenge.

Buy Wordle for £24.49 from Amazon

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

Best fast-paced board game

For ages: 8+
Number of players: 2+ players
It might sound random, but this game will provide hours of entertainment for the whole gang to enjoy. Remember the order of these five wacky words – Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese and Pizza – and if a matching card is placed down, race against players to slap your hand down on the central pile of cards. The aim of the game is to get rid of all your cards. Watch out for the Gorilla, Groundhog and Narwhal too!

Buy Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza for £10.99 from Very

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