Best games where you can pre-program movement 2026
Looking for a really good game where you can pre-program movement? Then we have just the right thing for you: The list of the best programmed movement games 2026.
What are programmed movement games?
Programmed movement games require players to plan a sequence of actions or movements in advance before revealing and executing them simultaneously. This creates strategic tension as players must anticipate opponents' moves while committing to their own plans.
In German, "Programmed Movement" is called "Bewegungsabläufe vordefinieren".
Examples of games where you can pre-program movement:
Notable examples include racing games where players secretly select cards to program their vehicle's movement, or robot games where commands are queued before execution, often leading to chaotic and humorous results.
List of the best programmed movement games 2026:
-
Heat: Pedal to the Metal
+6BGG Top 100
Family Game
Deck-Building
Solo Mode
Push Your Luck
Racing
+47 more
- Deutscher Spielepreis 2023🇩🇪
- International Gamers Award
- SPIEL'22🎡
- Programmed Movement
- popular on BGG🌟
- Board Game Quest Awards🇺🇸
- 1-2 players
- 2-4 players
- 2-5 players
- 2-6 players
- 3-5 players
- 3-6 players
- 2020s
- also for 1 player
- 60 minutes⏰
- Brettspiel-Arena🖥️
- boardgame.tips top 100🥇
- Car Racing Games
- from 11 years
- from 12 years
- Deck Builder
- ADC Blackfire Entertainment🇨🇿🏢
- Days of Wonder🇺🇸/🇫🇷🏢
- Hobby Japan🇯🇵🏢
- Catch the Leader
- 2022📆
- Race🏎
- Programmed Movement
- Simultaneous Planning
- Variable Start Conditions
- Gioco dell'Anno🇮🇹
- Gra Roku🇵🇱
- Guldbrikken🇩🇰
- Hand Management
- International Gamers🌍
- Japan Boardgame Prize🇯🇵
- Jogoeu User's Game (J.U.G.)🇵🇹
- Medium Weight⚖️
- Nederlandse Spellenprijs🇳🇱
- Push your Luck🍀
- Racing🏁
- Simulation
- Sport👟
- Tric Trac awards🇫🇷
- beautiful🌹
- BGG Top100🥇
- Top 100⭐
Heat: Pedal to the Metal is a dynamic and strategic racing board game that simulates the thrill and intricacies of car racing. It offers players a chance to experience the excitement of racing while managing crucial elements like speed, car upgrades, and varying track conditions.
Nominated for 17 awards and won 7.
More details for Heat: Pedal to the Metal- 👥 1 - 6 Players
- ⏱️ 30 - 60 Minutes
- 🧒 10+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Flamme Rouge
+1Guldbrikken Best Adult Game
Family Game
Racing
Sports
Modular Board
Simultaneous Action
+29 more
- As d'Or 2018🇫🇷
- Programmed Movement
- Remote📱
- ❤️Quinn SU&SD
- popular on BGG🌟
- As d'Or🇫🇷 - Nominated
- As d'Or🇫🇷
- As d'Or🇫🇷 - Main prize.
- Bicycle Racing Games
- up to 40 €
- Cycling
- Board Games with Cycling
- Laurel Awards🇺🇸
- Pegasus Spiele🇩🇪🏢
- Catch the Leader
- 2016📆
- France🇫🇷
- Race🏎
- Programmed Movement
- Modular Board🧩
- Simultaneous Planning
- Gioco dell'Anno🇮🇹
- Hand Management
- Racing🏁
- Simulation
- Sport👟
- ❤️Quinn SU&SD
- Tric Trac awards🇫🇷
- beautiful🌹
Flamme Rouge presents an exhilarating bicycle racing experience where strategy, timing, and tactical decisions are paramount to success. This fast-paced game captures the intensity of a real bike race, offering players a blend of excitement and strategic gameplay.
Nominated for 10 awards and won 2.
More details for Flamme Rouge- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 30 - 45 Minutes
- 🧒 8+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
Video reviews for Flamme Rouge
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Colt Super Express
Family Game
Memory
Trains & Rail
Large Groups
Simultaneous Action
More details for Colt Super ExpressColt Super Express carries the spirit of the original, award-winning Colt Express in a fast-paced, portable format. Players compete to be the last Colt Express driver standing, as only one can remain when the train stops. Each round, players secretly play one of their five action cards to determine their moves, including moving, shooting, and more. At the end of the round, the last train car is removed, taking any players inside with it. If multiple players are left in the final car, the entire train explodes, eliminating them all.
- 👥 3 - 7 Players
- ⏱️ 15 - 20 Minutes
- 🧒 7+ years old
- 🧩 Immediately playable
-
Colt Express (Spiel des Jahres 2015 winner)
+7Game of the Year
Family Game
Memory
Combat
Trains & Rail
Large Groups
+23 more
- As d'Or 2015🇫🇷
- As d'Or🇫🇷 winners
- Deutscher Spielepreis 2015🇩🇪
- Spiel des Jahres 2015🇩🇪
- SPIEL'14🎡
- Programmed Movement
- popular on Amazon🌟
- popular on BGG🌟
- 3D Elements
- Fighting🥊
- 2014📆
- Western🤠
- Programmed Movement
- Actions Queue
- Turn order: progressing
- Trains🚂
- Gioco dell'Anno🇮🇹
- Gouden Ludo🇧🇪
- Hungarian Board Game Award🇭🇺
- Jogoeu User's Game (J.U.G.)🇵🇹
- Spiel des Jahres Award🇩🇪
- Better Board Games 2020
- Hunter & Cron 2015
Colt Express is a fast-paced, action-packed board game set in the Wild West, where players take on the roles of bandits attempting to rob a moving train.
Nominated for 18 awards and won 8.
⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 2015
More details for Colt Express (Spiel des Jahres 2015 winner)- 👥 2 - 6 Players
- ⏱️ 40 Minutes
- 🧒 10+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Tag Team
Connoisseur Game of the Year (nominated)
Fantasy
Family Game
2-Player
Deck-Building
Combat
Tag Team turns the energy of classic arcade fighting games into a smart two-player card game. Each player builds a team of two colorful fighters, then lets their combined deck unfold card by card in automatic rounds. The game is recommended for children, teens, and adults aged 10 and up, making it a lively choice for families who enjoy tactical head-to-head play.
Nominated for 2 awards.
More details for Tag Team- 👥 2 Players
- ⏱️ 15 Minutes
- 🧒 10+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Walk the Plank!
Family Game
Kids' Game
Pirates
Humor
Simultaneous Action
Take That
Players portray the worst pirates in a captain's crew. The captain intends to keep only two members, and to prove their worth, players will fight to shove each other's pirates off the plank while trying to stay alive themselves. In each round, players secretly stack three of their action cards, reveal them alternately, and execute the actions, regardless of any mishaps that occur during planning. The game ends when only two or fewer pirates remain, declaring the owners of those pirates as winners, but beware—sometimes all pirates end up in the drink, leaving only the sharks circling below as victors.
Nominated for 1 award.
More details for Walk the Plank!- 👥 3 - 5 Players
- ⏱️ 20 Minutes
- 🧒 6+ years old
- 🧩 Immediately playable
-
I'm Stuck in the Lift
Party Game
Bluffing & Betting
Push Your Luck
Large Groups
Simultaneous Action
- 👥 3 - 8 Players
- ⏱️ 10 - 15 Minutes
- 🧒 14+ years old
- 🧩 Immediately playable
-
Wings of War: Famous Aces
Military
Campaign
Combat
Thematic
Team Game
Simulation
Wings of War: Famous Aces is an engaging blend of card and board game mechanics that brings to life aerial combat from World War I. In this game, players take control of iconic WWI airplanes, each represented by a card that doubles as a playing piece. The game stands out for its historical accuracy and the variety of planes, each with unique maneuvering and combat capabilities reflected through different decks of movement and combat cards.
Nominated for 2 awards.
More details for Wings of War: Famous Aces- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 20 Minutes
- 🧒 10+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Quirky Circuits: Penny & Gizmo's Snow Day!
Cooperative
Family Game
Animals
More details for Quirky Circuits: Penny & Gizmo's Snow Day!Help Penny and Gizmo experience the best snow day ever in this cooperative programming game for the whole family. Work together to program adorable robots and complete tasks before the batteries run out. Players face unique scenarios in a 20-page game book, each one more quirky than the last, while managing limited information about their teammates' moves.
- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 15 - 30 Minutes
- 🧒 7+ years old
- 🧩 Immediately playable
-
Quirky Circuits
Cooperative
Family Game
Animals
Players contribute to programming an adorable robot friend in a quirky and chaotic environment. No one knows what commands others will input, leading to potential automatic chaos. Collaboration is key to help the little robot complete its tasks before the battery runs out, with 21 increasingly challenging scenarios ensuring hours of engaging fun.
Nominated for 1 award.
More details for Quirky Circuits- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 15 - 30 Minutes
- 🧒 7+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Dive
Family Game
Solo Mode
Exploration
Push Your Luck
Variable Powers
Action Points
Beyond the last continent, on the remote island of Windbark, diving is an ancient tradition. During a summer solstice ritual, divers compete to retrieve the village's sacred stone, which is thrown from a cliff and leads them deep into the ocean with the help of friendly turtles and manta rays, while avoiding angry sharks. Players use a set of transparent **ocean” cards and air tiles numbered 1-5, strategizing to dive while managing the risk posed by the creatures of the sea.
Nominated for 1 award.
More details for Dive- 👥 1 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 20 - 30 Minutes
- 🧒 8+ years old
- 🧩 Immediately playable
-
Room 25
Cooperative
Hidden Traitor
Deduction
Sci-Fi
Solo Mode
Horror
Room 25 is a suspenseful and strategic board game set in a mysterious prison-like facility. Each player is trapped in this labyrinth, where every room has four doors but seemingly no way out. The ultimate goal is to find Room 25, believed to be the escape from this nightmare. However, the twist lies in the fact that not all players may be keen on escaping; some might be guardians of the prison, secretly plotting against the others.
Nominated for 1 award.
More details for Room 25- 👥 1 - 6 Players
- ⏱️ 30 Minutes
- 🧒 13+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Robo Rally (original 1994 Edition)
+1Origins Awards Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Boardgame
Sci-Fi
Campaign
Miniatures
Strategy Game
Thematic
RoboRally is a dynamic and chaotic racing board game where players control robots in a high-stakes race through a hazardous factory. The game combines strategy, quick thinking, and a bit of luck to create an engaging and often humorous experience.
Nominated for 3 awards and won 2.
More details for Robo Rally (original 1994 Edition)- 👥 2 - 8 Players
- ⏱️ 45 - 120 Minutes
- 🧒 12+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
Video reviews for Robo Rally (original 1994 Edition)
-
Snails
Family Game
Exploration
Animals
Thematic
Modular Board
Dice Game
- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 45 - 60 Minutes
- 🧒 10+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Wings of War: The Dawn of World War II
Military
Miniatures
Large Groups
Simultaneous Action
Card Game
More details for Wings of War: The Dawn of World War IIIn 1939, the German war machine begins its rampage across Europe, igniting battles that will shape the course of the greatest conflict in human history. The Wings of War WW2 series offers a fast and engaging gameplay experience, allowing players to jump right into action with varied aircraft featuring distinct abilities and firepower. "Dawn of War" serves as the first installment in this series, enabling players to simulate dogfights and bombing missions with classic planes from the early years of the war, accommodating 2 to 6 players.
- 👥 2 - 6 Players
- ⏱️ 30 Minutes
- 🧒 12+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Elfenland (Spiel des Jahres 1998 winner)
+1Game of the Year
Fantasy
Family Game
Route Building
Exploration
Large Groups
Elfenland is a redesigned version of the original Elfenroads game, set in a mythical elven world. Players, as young elves, embark on a journey across the land to visit as many of the twenty Elfencities as possible. The game is uniquely characterized by its variety of whimsical transportation methods and strategic movement across a network of interconnected cities.
Nominated for 3 awards and won 2.
⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 1998
More details for Elfenland (Spiel des Jahres 1998 winner)- 👥 2 - 6 Players
- ⏱️ 60 Minutes
- 🧒 10+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Exceed Fighting System
Fantasy
2-Player
Bluffing & Betting
Combat
Strategy Game
Licensed / IP
More details for Exceed Fighting SystemExperience fast-paced action reminiscent of head-to-head arcade fighting games right on your tabletop. Players can choose from an ever-expanding list of unique characters, each equipped with their own deck of special and super moves. Match decks against each other in standalone games or across seasons featuring characters from various franchises.
- 👥 2 Players
- ⏱️ 5 - 30 Minutes
- 🧒 10+ years old
- 🧩 Medium difficulty
Video reviews for Exceed Fighting System
-
Space Alert
+1Game of the Year
Cooperative
Sci-Fi
Solo Mode
Real-Time
Thematic
Space Alert is a thrilling cooperative game where players become crew members of a spaceship navigating dangerous parts of the galaxy. Unique for its real-time gameplay, each mission in Space Alert is a frantic race against time, lasting precisely 10 minutes. The game stands out for its use of a soundtrack that not only enhances the thematic experience but also functions as a timer for the game.
Nominated for 8 awards and won 2.
⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 2009
More details for Space Alert- 👥 1 - 5 Players
- ⏱️ 30 Minutes
- 🧒 12+ years old
- 🧩 Medium difficulty
-
Robot Turtles
Kids' Game
Toddlers
More details for Robot TurtlesRobot Turtles is a board game for children aged 3 to 8. While playing, children unknowingly learn the basics of programming. Each player, known as a "Turtle Master," uses a turtle and a corresponding deck of cards to navigate through a maze of walls to reach a jewel, while adults act as the computer executing their commands.
- 👥 2 - 5 Players
- ⏱️ 15 Minutes
- 🧒 4+ years old
- 🧩 Immediately playable
-
Robo Rally (2023 Edition)
Sci-Fi
Miniatures
Large Groups
Modular Board
Simultaneous Action
- 👥 2 - 6 Players
- ⏱️ 45 - 90 Minutes
- 🧒 12+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
BattleCON: War of Indines
Golden Geek (nominated)
Combat
Strategy Game
Variable Powers
Simultaneous Action
BattleCON is a fast-paced, head-to-head card game for two players, inspired by the mechanics and tactics of 2D fighting games. Players choose characters with unique abilities to engage in tactical battles, utilizing a set of shared base cards while navigating a seven-space game board. With 18 different characters to control, each offering distinct gameplay styles, mastery requires strategy and intuition as players anticipate their opponent's moves.
Nominated for 1 award.
More details for BattleCON: War of Indines- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 15 - 60 Minutes
- 🧒 9+ years old
- 🧩 Medium difficulty
-
Robo Rally (2016 Edition)
Sci-Fi
Miniatures
Strategy Game
Large Groups
Variable Powers
Modular Board
More details for Robo Rally (2016 Edition)Robo Rally is a dynamic and strategic board game where players navigate their robots through a chaotic factory floor, aiming to hit designated checkpoints in sequence amidst a plethora of obstacles and hazards. This high-energy game combines elements of planning, race, and sabotage, making it a thrilling competition of wits and speed.
- 👥 2 - 6 Players
- ⏱️ 20 - 120 Minutes
- 🧒 12+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
VOLT: Robot Battle Arena
Family Game
Sci-Fi
Miniatures
Combat
Variable Powers
Simultaneous Action
More details for VOLT: Robot Battle ArenaIn 1994, the first national robot competition took place in San Francisco, showcasing remote-controlled creations from competitors across the country. Over the decades, technology advanced, and robot fighting gained immense popularity, attracting major sponsors and turning professional operators into celebrities. In VOLT: Robot Battle Arena, players aim to be the first to score five victory points by controlling their robots on active checkpoints or destroying opponents.
- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 30 Minutes
- 🧒 13+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Lords of Xidit
Fantasy
Area Control
Strategy Game
Simultaneous Action
More details for Lords of XiditLords of Xidit is a high-stakes strategy game set in the mythical kingdom of Xidit. Players take on the roles of Idrakys, noble heirs tasked with recruiting soldiers, reclaiming cities, and battling the corrupted creatures unleashed by the Black Southern Host.
- 👥 3 - 5 Players
- ⏱️ 90 Minutes
- 🧒 14+ years old
- 🧩 Medium difficulty
Video reviews for Lords of Xidit
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Tiny Turbo Cars
Family Game
Real-Time
Racing
Puzzle
Variable Powers
More details for Tiny Turbo CarsTiny Turbo Cars is a fast-paced racing game for 2 to 4 players, where you program the movements of your toy car in advance using a sliding puzzle as the controller. Players choose their car, create the track, and simultaneously work through their sliding puzzles to determine the sequence of actions for their cars during the round.
- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 30 - 45 Minutes
- 🧒 8+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
VOLT
Sci-Fi
Miniatures
Combat
Strategy Game
Variable Powers
Simultaneous Action
More details for VOLTWelcome to the robot action! Players take on the role of operators controlling fighting robots, challenging each other in an arena filled with excitement. By programming their moves in advance, they aim to outsmart their opponents, gain victory points, and dominate the arena.
- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 30 - 45 Minutes
- 🧒 10+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
Dominate & Delegate
Hidden Traitor
Storytelling
Military
Solo Mode
Campaign
- 👥 1 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 60 - 90 Minutes
- 🧒 14+ years old
- 🧩 Medium difficulty
-
Gorynich
Cooperative
Fantasy
Kids' Game
Large Groups
Simultaneous Action
- 👥 3 - 7 Players
- ⏱️ 15 - 20 Minutes
- 🧒 8+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
-
The Queen's Gambit: The Board Game
Licensed / IP
More details for The Queen's Gambit: The Board GameImagine chess matches where players are several moves ahead of their opponents. In this game, 2-4 players use their own Gambit piece that moves across the board while planning their moves three steps ahead by laying down cards featuring chess pieces. The game ends when all pieces are captured, and the player with the most collected pieces wins.
- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 15 Minutes
- 🧒 12+ years old
- 🧩 Immediately playable
-
TREOS
Fantasy
Deck-Building
Medieval
Variable Powers
Action Points
💰 29% cheaper on Amazon than at other retailers
More details for TREOS- 👥 2 - 4 Players
- ⏱️ 40 - 80 Minutes
- 🧒 10+ years old
- 🧩 Easy to learn
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