The best board games to explore
The best board games to explore
Throw on your Indiana Jones hat and grab the whip. It’s time to delve into the unknown with our list of the best exploratory board games.
Exploring board games have a unique mechanic where you don’t actually see the entire board from the start of the game. Things could change drastically from what you originally thought, and they might make some serious curves for you.
As players progress through the game, they will discover more areas to explore, usually in the form of moving and unlocking tiles to display the areas explored.
It’s one of the more interesting mechanics that adds a lot of repeatability to any game, but only if it’s done well. Let’s dive in and explore some of the best research board games we could find.
Our Top Picks for Best Exploration Board Games:
Are you in a hurry? Check out our favorites below.
Maximum 4 players
The best atmosphere
Best overall
1. Mage Knight & Star Trek: Frontiers
The Witch Knight is one of my favorite board games and is also one of the most intimidating games I have ever encountered. Fortunately, Ultimate Edition eliminates a lot of problems and inconsistencies in the original rules, so it’s a much more cohesive game now.
In Mage, Knight, players explore the kingdom - either wreaking havoc or saving the day. Mage Knight allows players to fantastically explore the ever-changing landscape of Element RPG . Each scenario has a different set of tiles and the way they are played each time changes the entire landscape of the game.
The whole system took me about a day to learn, but when I started, it became one of my favorite research games (and one of my favorite stand-alone games ).
If fantasy board games aren’t your thing, but you’re still interested, Star Trek: Frontiers is a sci-fi retheme based on the Star Trek Universe with the same mechanics.
2. The Legacy of the Pandemic: Season 2
DON'T WORRY - NO SPOILERS
The Legacy pandemic broke the mold and essentially created another genre of board games: older board games . The legacy of the pandemic: Season 2 continues this evolution by introducing similarly innovative mechanics to a world you know and love ... but with a new design.
Pandemic Legacy events: Season 1 is a long time ago, and Season 2 players will have to deal with the consequences. Years have passed and survivors will have to move on and see what happened to the world after the period of isolation. There are many twists and turns from abandoned mechanics and your decisions while researching will have real meaning throughout the game.
3. Castles of Madness
Step into a mansion full of horrible horrors ...
Step into a mansion full of the horrors of eldrich. The Mansion of Madness is set in the same Lovecraft-inspired world that created the Eldritch Horror, the Arkham Horror and the Older Character.
Our fearless investigators will explore Arkham Asylum while battling smashing monsters, riddles and older gods. While staying at the mansion, players explore different rooms while trying to pick up equipment without losing their life or mind.
One of the more interesting aspects of Mansions of Madness is that the game depends on the free app. The app controls the progress of the game and randomly meets players. Traditionally, traditionalists tend to frown at technologically enhanced board games, but Mansion of Madness is one shining example of how to do it right.
- HORROR GAME: This fully collaborative horror board game and ...
- Mystery Game: Players take part in investigators and enter ...
- COOPERATIVE GAME With high variability: The game contains four ...
4. Dungeons & Dragons: City of Ravenloft
About Dungeons & Dragons Adventure System puts players right in the middle of a D&D campaign taking place in Ravenloft, home of the fearsome vampire Lord Strahd.
Ravenloft Castle is the first in the D&D Adventure series, in which players pursue various goals based on the themes of official D&D campaigns.
The best part? During your dungeon adventures, no one should be a master Dungeon (DM).
Each series also has a box full of beautiful unpainted Miniatures that can pull double duty in your traditional R&D campaign.
All in all, if you are looking for a Dungeons & Dragons game because you can never get your own fun D&D Adventure board games are a fantastic way to find your problems. Start with Castle Ravenloft for an exciting exploration of the unknown.
- Play from 1 to 5 players
- 60 minutes of play
- A prison crawl campaign and terribly fun searches
5. Sence Brimstone
I like the Brimstone Shadow concept . It’s about the cowboys compared to the eldritch horror, while everyone is going crazy.
In this remarkable mix, players will delve into the mines and search for the mysterious crystals that were hidden in the mines. They are incredibly valuable and at the same time extremely dangerous. Horrible creatures have been spotted in the mines and even dealing with them can start to “transform” your heroes.
- Load up six shooters, put on a hat and a poncho and ...
6. Endeavor: Age of Sail
Exploring the navy has always been an important part of the history of any civilization. Endeavor: Age of Sail views one of these periods and allows players to set off from Europe to explore the world.
Players will have to find new land, establish trade routes and fortifications, or directly occupy their lands. Endeavor Age of Sail contains a lot of research elements, but it is basically building engines and a board game to control the area .
He has a surprising number of strategies for a simple learning game that is always a welcome combination in the world of board games.
If you’re looking for a great game that will often hit the table and stay there, there’s always something new to explore in Endeavor: Age of Sail.
- For those over 12 years old
- 2 to 5 players
- 60 minutes of average playing time
7. That is my war
Probably the saddest game I’ve ever played themed, This War of Mine allows players to step away from crazy running-style games and guns that are personified war games and look at it from a refugee war perspective. Players take on the roles of the average Joes. There are no great soldiers here.
To survive, players must explore a country torn apart by war and face several difficult decisions in the game. This is the balance between survival and your humanity.
Is it worth taking stock if it means killing someone other than you?
Players must head out and explore the devastated city where they are looking for supplies, and try not to be just another war victim.
- This War Of Mine: The board game is a board game ...
- TWOM: The board game has multiplayer experience up to ...
- Experience a simulation of the struggle for survival as a group ...
8. Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island
Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island is the grandfather of all exploration and survival games. As source material , the actors crashed on the deadly island of Robinson Crusoe and must explore to find sources of survival.
It’s a pretty raw game, sometimes called Dark Souls board games. They are constantly fighting for resources and surviving survivors. Even simple research will often lead to horrific consequences that cripple the whole party .
Of course you have to investigate - otherwise you will simply starve to death in the base camp. But more often than not, something is hiding in the jungle and waiting at every turn.
- Complex board game for 1-4 players, aged 14+, with ...
- Great for playing with family or enjoying as a standalone strategy game
- Seven different scenarios provide an exciting and very thematic ...
9. Above and below
Above and Below is probably one of the cutest games I’ve ever played. I absolutely love artwork and exploring is my favorite part of the game.
In this weird little board game to accommodate workers , players build a settlement and collect merchandise, but in order to expand their settlements underground, they must first explore the world and empty some space. One of the steps players can take is to send a team of workers down to the group and go on an adventure .
Depending on the cube , players will read a short script from the adventure booklet and decide on their performance. It is usually a choice between a simple, medium or difficult decision or a simple choice of good versus evil. How the adventure will unfold is determined by the people you bring with you and how lucky you are with the dice.
My only complaint is that although there are wonderful mini adventures, you rarely get a different solution than “get x or y amount of resources / reputation”.
- Build you up and explore the caverns below
- Manage the villagers, each with a unique identity
- Read from the book of meetings and create an amazing and unforgettable ...
10. Francis Drake
Francis Drake, one of the most notorious pirates and history , (depending on the country you ask), is the inspiration for this Spanish Mainland research game .
Race players after exploring the Caribbean for trade, money or fame. It’s a pretty impressive game with a setup of workers that randomly pinpoints certain places to keep things cool and ensure that no two games are the same.
A lot needs to be prepared and a lot of moving parts in the beginning, but when the players leave, they will have full access to ships, commodity trade, fighting, and of course exploring the entire Caribbean.
- Challenging racing game with battles at sea
- A strategy game with many paths to victory
- Develops decision making, advanced planning, flexibility and ...
11. Star Trek: Fleet Captains
Star Trek: Fleet Captions is one of the most Star Trekkie games I have ever seen.
Fleet captains fight differently Star Trek factions with each other in unexplored space. Fleets are presented in HeroClix-style Miniature with rotating bases, while the entire panel is random and hidden.
As players explore the galaxy as they try to achieve their goals, they will encounter enemy planets, races in need and complete war.
- The game focuses on the eclectic Star Trek ships
- For 2-4 players
- Standalone game
12. Forbidden Desert
The desert is a mighty ruthless landscape. This is especially true of the Forbidden Desert .
In the second part of the Forbidden series, the actors land steeply with a Steampunk diamond in the desert, and the parts needed to repair it are scattered across the desert, hidden under the sand.
Players must work together to explore the landscape before the oncoming sandstorms bury the parts under the moving sand.
Constant sandstorms blow across the map and bury areas. The longer the players stay in one place, the harder it will be to uncover the tiles and eventually find the parts of the airship needed to escape.
- Thirst for survival
- 2 to 5 players
- Play time: 45 minutes
13. Edition at the House on the Hill and Issue at Baldur's Gate
The House on the Hill issue is one of my favorite board games. There’s a lot of mixed reviews, but I think it was one of the most important games that pushed the boundaries of what a board game could do.
Players select one character from a group of ragtag members to explore a mysterious house on a hill in the Scooby-Doo-esque office. When the players explore the house, they will take some equipment, try not to lose their mind and hopefully increase their statistics before the big revelation, HUNT !!!
During the chase, all players will receive a script, depending on the special items found and in which room. Anyone could cooperate against an unknown evil, but more often than not one player becomes a traitor and tries to destroy everyone else.
All the scenarios are different and some are more balanced than others, but I’ve never had a bad game with the release. The layout of the mansion changes with each game, leading to interesting layouts, and as they are explored, the goals of the game become more obvious.
If mysterious mansions aren’t your thing, you can always try the D&D Edition at Baldur’s Gate , where the mechanics are essentially the same, but instead of chainsaw and snake maniacs eating around the world, you’ll be confronted with more traditional Dungeons & Dragons - inspired monsters and end-of-the-world scenarios.
14. Saboteur
We always pull out the saboteur during family gatherings here. Saboteur is a simple card-playing game in which players are dwarves trying to make a fortune at the end of a mine before they run out. They all theoretically work “together,” but at least one greedy dwarf with dragon disease may be trying to steer the rest of the group in the wrong direction.
Players are made up of miners or saboteurs and lay a tile, play an action card or simply pass on each move. Miners explore the mine to find hidden gold, and saboteurs try to miss everything so they can get the gold themselves.
It's a very fast , cheap game to play in rounds and is a lot of fun to warm up before the game night.
- AGE 8+ | 3-10 PLAYERS
- GREAT FOR NIGHT GAMES: A strategy card game that is easy to learn, with ...
- FUN FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Saboteur changes at every game
15. Escape: The Curse of the Temple
This is one of the scariest games on this list. As you can imagine, the players are trying to escape from the cursed temple (who would have thought?) And they would have to cooperate to live out.
The trick to Escape: The Curse of the Temple is to make the game happen in real time. There are no turns here - just dice rolls and screaming.
Initially, the players start in a safe room before setting out to explore the cursed temple. Along the way, they will have to find precious stones and unlock the ancient doors together. The more gems they find, the easier it will be to open the back door and escape.
Oh, did I mention that if someone dies while researching, it’s over for everyone? Best of luck.
16. Eldritch Groza
Eldritch Horror is an earth trotter cooperative board game set in the world of HP Lovecraft. He is the successor to Arkham Horror and forces players to work together to prevent ancient evil from awakening and destroying humanity as we know it.
As jet-set players around the world , they will explore different regions to look for clues and older signs to chase away the ancients. The themed experience in Eldritch Horror is phenomenal. Each location has different meetings. Sometimes you’ll cross the local mob, and sometimes you’ll be filled with other dimensions of dying horror .
- SUSTAINABLE GAME OF TERROR AND ADVENTURE: Ancient evil upsets ...
- SCARY STRATEGY GAME: Defeat terrible monsters, travel to other worlds ...
- COOPERATIVE MYSTERIOUS GAME: Brave investigators come together to ...
17. Inis
For something a little different, step into the world of Inis .
Inis is an area control and research game set in Celtic history and history is beautifully reflected in the artwork and theme. Perhaps the most striking aspect of Inis is its modular panel and amazing artwork.
Inis has a wonderful map to explore and replenish with soldiers and the Strategy becomes apparent once you start to explore the mechanics. Inis manages to elegantly combine area-control, card-drafting, and exploration into a mechanically-sound board game about Irish cultural myths .
- A board game with 2 to 4 players designed by Christian Martinez and ...
- Based on ancient myths about the colonization of Ireland and the first ...
- Innovative game mechanics combine card preparation and surface control
18. Archipelago
Welcome to the archipelago, a new land for exploration ... and exploitation.
Designed as an interactive Euro game , Archipelago does not focus heavily on player interaction, but is a mix of 4X, exploration and the euro.
In the archipelago, players can focus on expanding their trade routes and influencing the entire archipelago, but they put too much pressure and the archipelago will push back.
As with most of the Age of Exploration in Renaissance Europe, the area that has been “discovered” is already fully populated with indigenous cultures who, if pushed too far, will resist…, leading to a “Game Over” for all.
- A modular game with great possibilities
- Christophe Boelinger's semi-collaborative play (Dungeon Twister, ...
- Possibility to choose the length of your game - from 30 ...
19. Mice and Mysticism
Mice and Mystics gets the award for one of the cutest games on my shelf. Players take on the role of the prince and his loyal vassals as they try to take over the stolen kingdom.
Oh yeah, they all became mice too.
Mice and mystics play as if to pull you straight to the side of the story. In this game, players can look forward to exploring a fantasy world full of compelling stories and the sound mechanics of RPGs.
- ADVENTURE GAME WITH STORIES: In Mice & Mystics players progress ...
- COOPERATION STRATEGY: Players work together to solve ...
- FUN FOR FAMILY GAMES NIGHT: Mice & Mystics is the perfect game for ...
20. Incan Gold
Incan Gold is a fast-paced, small box game in which players explore the Forbidden Temple of the Incas in search of prey!
As with any temple, he is at every step (of course) filled with traps and dangers. Our fearless adventurers (it’s you) dig deep into the dungeon as far as they dare. The first player to drop the gun and snap takes some treasure along the way, and the last player gets all the treasure left.
Deepening too deep is not without danger. If two of the same dangers arise during a research expedition, all who remain in the temple must flee for life and leave empty-handed.
- Great game with 3 to 8 family players like push-your-luck ...
- An easy strategy game that involves risk and ...
- Practices analytical and critical thinking and develops good ...
No comments