The best action/event games – where every card is a choice 2026

Cartaventura: Oklahoma is a narrative card adventure for 1–6 players in which you collectively build a story with multiple endings. You play Bass Reeves, born into slavery in 1854, who must find his path to freedom — every card choice branches the tale.

Cartaventura: Caravans is a narrative card adventure for 1–4 players with an immersive storyline and multiple endings. Tangier, 1331: following the trail of your far-travelled cousin, you set out into the East, crossing mountains and deserts, escaping bandits, and winning over Mongol khans and Indian rajas.

Travel on the trail of explorer Alexandra David-Neel to India and Tibet. Find the route to the temple or escape the claws of the white tiger. Overcome the Himalayas on foot and gather enough money to complete your adventure.

Paleo is a cooperative adventure game set in the Stone Age, where players work together to ensure the survival of their human characters while completing various missions. The ultimate goal? To paint a woolly mammoth on a wall, leaving a mark of your existence (or just because it looks cool).

Players build an adventure using narrative cards, which offer various options during the game. They can draw, flip, or discard cards while discussing strategies with each other. In this version, players follow in the footsteps of the explorer Erik the Red in Viking lands, aiming to prove their father's innocence and make crucial decisions about exploring or commanding a colony in Greenland.

Twilight Struggle offers an immersive journey through a pivotal period in history, where the world stood on the brink of nuclear annihilation. This two-player game takes place during the forty-five year rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States. Instead of traditional warfare, players engage in a dance of intrigue, prestige, and the occasional outbreak of hostilities. As the superpowers strive to make the world safe for their ideologies, you'll navigate a complex web of politics, espionage, and strategy. The game begins in the aftermath of World War II, with both superpowers scrambling for control, and concludes in 1989, leaving only one superpower standing.

Last Lemming is a cheeky trick-taking game by Marco Teubner for 3 to 6 players aged 10 and up. Push your lemming toward the cliff edge, but not over it.

The Hunt is an asymmetric card duel for exactly two players, set in the South Atlantic of 1939, British fleet against German.

Among Cultists is a social deduction thriller for 4 to 8 players aged 14 and up: investigators hunt hidden cultists before the dark ritual succeeds.

The expanded edition includes the Crisis & Control expansion. The nation is in turmoil, with war between classes. Players assume the role of one of the socioeconomic groups in a fictional state: the working class, the middle class, the capitalist class, or the state itself. Each group has its own control mechanisms and objectives while navigating political policies that affect various actions, such as taxes and labor markets. Through careful planning and political maneuvering, players try to strengthen their class's power and assert their agenda.

Players navigate their carpet through clouds while avoiding obstacles that are placed at the start by all players. Utilizing a special die adds an element of luck beyond the card draw, but there is still plenty of room for strategy.

Fire & Stone: Siege of Vienna 1683 is a two-player card game about the siege of Vienna, tense and ruled by a ticking clock.

Cities along the Rhine originated from Roman outposts that protected the border to Germania. As the governor of one such city, your task is to develop it while defending against Germanic threats. In the game, players expand their cities by building farms, barracks, defenses, ports, and markets, and engage in trade. Utilize sailors, soldiers, merchants, and farmers effectively to fulfill decrees and secure privileges, balancing expansion to impress the empress and potentially win early.

Players collect Pug points in this fun card game to become the greatest Pug point collector of all time. To win, they must gather and protect their pugs from other players while navigating tricky action cards and opponents' strategies. The game balances strategy and luck as players compete in a fast-paced environment.