Board Games

YouTuber Make Crazydays made all of the components of the board game Settlers of Catan out of a single 96″x 2″x 4″ piece of wood. He got wood shavings from the block then ironed those flat to make the cards. Check out his guide on Instructables.

(Crude humor) A casual card game based on Cyanide & Happiness’ Random Comic Generator. Joking Hazard is a lot like Apples to Apples, except this time you’re forming a three-panel comic strip. The person who supplies the funniest third panel wins the round.

The board game equivalent of Choose Your Own Adventure books. Or Edge of Tomorrow. T.I.M.E. Stories is about time-traveling agents solving mysterious and exciting cases. If you die or run out of time, try again, armed with the knowledge from your previous run.

8man’s lab is working on an electronically enhanced version of chess called Blitzkrieg Speed Chess. Players don’t have to take turns, but each piece has a cooldown period before it can be moved again.

A social deduction card game in the vein of The Resistance and Spyfall. Secret Hitler splits players into Liberals and Fascists (including a Hitler) in 1930’s Germany. Download the printable prototype here (pdf), and the rules here (pdf).

A satirical Apples to Apples-style card game where you engage in US Presidential debates. You don’t have to know a lot about politics or facts; just string the phrases in your cards as best as you can to convince the moderator.

Risk: Game of Thrones is actually three games in one. Use Westeros, Essos or both maps to play the traditional Risk or a version with added mechanics. There’s also a two-player variant in which you vie for control of Essos.

Rocket Games’ Pie Face! is like a junior version of Russian Roulette. Place a dab of cream – or a knife, your call – on the hand and your face on the chin rest. Then spin the arrow to see how many times you’ll twist the handle and tempt fate.

Daniel Moynihan created this beautiful set for Marbles, The Brain Store’s recent chess set design contest. The pieces are designed to be inviting to touch, and give haptic clues to the ranking of each piece. Marbles plans to produce the set.

A modern take on Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Linknotize is a party game where players have to connect the Wikipedia entries of two topics in the fewest number of links. It has 450 topics distributed across six categories.

These precision-machined dice are cut from solid hunks of brass. The metal gives them great weight and substance, and will make your Monopoly set look just that much more classy. Brass wheelbarrow, shoe and top hat not included.

Kooba is a unique spin on darts, in which 2 to 4 players use a pair of sticks to fling their pieces onto its game board. The game includes a strategic element which challenges you to attack other players’ game pieces. Game rules here.

We have enough trouble losing pieces from out normal-sized chess sets, but you have to appreciate the craftsmanship in jeweler Sal Knight’s handcarved gold and silver chess set which is just a bit larger than a quarter.

Mate puts a complete chess set on your wall, and doubles as a playable work of art. The square pieces hold neatly in their wood cubbies, and can be ordered in a variety of colors. Measures 23.5(h) x 18.5″(w) x 2.25″(d).

Restoration Hardware’s beautiful aluminum chess set features oversize pieces which measure from 5- to 8-inches tall. The folding, inlaid wooden board measures a substantial 29-1/2″ square when opened. Hulk hands not included.

Combining two classic board games in one, we love the circular Monopoly board that wraps around the Aggravation board in the middle of Marbelous Games’ handmade game set. Bonus points for playing both games at once.

(NSFW: Language, SPOILERS) The Inn at the Crossroads made this free expansion for Cards Against Humanity. It’s filled with references to Game of Thrones, from Podrick’s unique skills to the origin of Littlefinger’s name.

A unique co-op fantasy board game in which players must flick their wooden hero discs across the playing field to battle monsters and earn treasure. If Dungeons & Dragons and curling had a baby, this would be it.

Olde World Collectibles & Creations makes chess sets using the from dummy rounds and spent shell casings. Some of the sets even come in an ammo box carrying case. The miniature sets are easiest on the wallet.

Handmade from nuts, bolts, pieces of steel and other hardware, this chess set is perfect for carpenters, mechanics and anyone else who uses tools. Comes in a metal tool chest along with a roll-up vinyl playing surface.

An intriguing board game and mobile game hybrid where you play spies. Obtain your mission by scanning cards on a mobile app. Then send secret messages to other players, trade cards and lie and cheat your way to victory.

Quite possibly the world’s third most random game (next to Calvinball and Xíng háishì bùxíng of course). Asmadi Games’ We Didn’t Playtest This At All is a card game where the cards enforce absurd win conditions.

Superfight! is a hero-making card game in the vein of Cards Against Humanity. Players form unique superheroes from a random pool of characters and traits. The latter may be kick-ass powers or pathetic weaknesses.

A version of the classic board game in which your goal is to fortify properties to protect yourself from the horde – given the fact that there is no real estate market during the zombie apocalypse. Go directly to jail. It’s your home afterall.

Who says Cribbage is meant for little old ladies sipping from tea cups on lace doilies? This update to the 17th Century game brings out the undead in place of the standard cribbage pins, and the face cards want to eat your brains.

A flat-pack chess set that’s easily assembled from sheets of thick, pre-cut cardboard. We love the look of the pieces, though you wouldn’t want to play it in the rain. It’s also not all that portable once it’s assembled.

(NSFW: Language) Are you no longer disgusted by your Cards Against Humanity deck? Check out Crabs Adjust Humidity, an unofficial expansion of the world’s most offensive party game. It’s the Mega Bloks of card games.

Arrrrgh! Real pirates don’t play poker with cheap plastic poker chips. Manly men play with pirate gold. These antiqued metal coins from onepointsix look like pirate’s booty, and come with colorful fake gems to complete the look.

If you’re a fan of the series or of board games, you owe it to yourself to play this awesome game. We mean it. Play as one of the six Houses in Westeros and vie for control in a supercharged version of Risk. More info here.

While not every character in The Walking Dead board game has survived the horde, it’s still a fun game to play with your fellow zombie fanatics for an hour or so before or after an episode.