The best games with irregular and/or unpredictable events 2025

Become a cunning charlatan or a quack doctor in the whimsical world of The Quacks of Quedlinburg. In this quirky board game, each player concocts their own secret brew, one ingredient at a time. But beware, for a careless addition could spoil the entire mixture!

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong offers a riveting game of deduction and deception designed for 4-12 players, providing an immersive experience in approximately 20 minutes.

Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated is an innovative extension of the deck-building game Clank!, incorporating legacy-style elements. Players get the opportunity to establish and grow their own franchise of Acquisitions Incorporated, leading a team of intrepid adventurers on a quest for treasure and corporate fame. The game evolves uniquely across multiple play sessions, creating a personalized adventure campaign.

Zombies are attacking the entire city! Collaborate with your friends to embark on an expedition and drive away the overwhelming hordes. Collect the four ingredients and brew the antidote that will save the world!

Lands of Galzyr is an adventure game set in an open and persistent world where players' actions have consequences in both current and future sessions. Players take on the roles of cunning adventurers, navigating the lands, completing quests, and striving for fame and prestige. Each game continues from where the last left off, thanks to a clever save and load mechanism, allowing for seamless play even with different players in between sessions.

PARKS is a visually stunning board game that celebrates the beauty and splendor of U.S. National Parks. With artwork from Fifty-Nine Parks, this game offers players a unique blend of strategy and adventure as they embark on a journey through nature.

Planet Unknown is a competitive and strategic game for 1-6 players set in a future where Earth's resources are depleted. Players are tasked with developing the most efficient and habitable planet among a series of newfound worlds. Using polyomino-shaped tiles, each representing vital infrastructure, players work to efficiently cover their planets and build an effective support system for life.

Forgotten Waters is a captivating board game that plunges players into the whimsical and unpredictable world of pirate adventure. Blending storytelling and strategy, this game stands out for its immersive narrative and engaging gameplay.

Port Royal is a competitive card game that immerses players in the world of Caribbean trade during the era of pirates and merchant ships. It combines elements of risk-taking, resource management, and strategic planning.

Build your castles, assemble your troops, load your catapults, and employ clever tactics to emerge victorious! The battle for territory has begun again, as players aim to eliminate all opposing troops and be the last standing.

Pandemic is a highly acclaimed cooperative board game where players take on the roles of disease-fighting specialists. Their mission is to contain and cure four deadly diseases that have broken out across the globe. The game is set on a board depicting major world population centers and requires players to strategize and work together to manage the outbreaks and develop cures before the diseases spiral out of control.

Orléans is a strategic board game set in medieval France, where players compete to gain supremacy through trade, construction, and science by assembling a diverse following of characters like farmers, merchants, knights, and monks.

The Downfall of Pompeii is a thematic and tactical board game that transports players to the ancient city of Pompeii, just before and during its catastrophic destruction by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The game combines strategic planning with an element of luck, as players attempt to save as many of their pieces as possible from the disaster.

Ark Nova is a strategic board game where players take on the role of zoo planners, aiming to build and manage the most successful modern zoo.

Embark on an epic journey through the Marvel Comics universe with Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game. Assemble your team to combat infamous mastermind villains such as Magneto, Loki, Dr. Doom, and Red Skull. Customize the game by selecting hero decks from iconic characters like Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine, and more. The dynamic gameplay evolves as players recruit powerful hero cards, enhancing their decks to face the ever-growing threats.

In Architects of the West Kingdom, set against the backdrop of the late Carolingian Empire around 850 AD, players step into the roles of royal architects. Tasked with constructing important buildings and advancing the construction of the Archbishop's cathedral, this game uniquely combines resource management, worker placement, and moral choices into a rich strategic tableau. Players vie for the King's favor and maintain their noble status in a world where virtue and vice coexist.

Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game is a fully cooperative deck-building game that immerses players in the suspenseful and thrilling universe of the Alien movie series. The game features original art and gameplay mechanics that encourage teamwork and strategy.

Galaxy Trucker is a fast-paced, tile-laying board game that combines space adventure with ship construction and navigation challenges.

Snow White, the Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and other fairy tale princesses celebrate a five-day festival. Uninvited princes will attempt to infiltrate the ball to propose marriage. As a princess, you must avoid proposals and remain single and independent after the festivities.

Pandemic: Fall of Rome is a unique cooperative board game that blends the classic gameplay of Pandemic with the historical setting of the Roman Empire's decline. In this game, players work together as citizens, soldiers, and allies of Rome, tasked with defending the empire against various barbarian tribes like the Anglo-Saxons, Goths, Vandals, and Huns. The game requires players to strategically recruit armies, fortify cities, and forge alliances to halt the onslaught of invaders.

Pan Am is an engaging board game that immerses players in the era of pioneering air travel, where they compete to build and expand their own airline empires. The game cleverly integrates strategy, bidding, and economic elements, allowing players to navigate through the historical landscape of the aviation industry.

Sleeping Gods is a cooperative, narrative-driven board game that immerses players in an expansive and mysterious world. Set in 1929, players take on the roles of Captain Sofi Odessa and her crew, who are lost at sea aboard the steamship Manticore in the mystical Wandering Sea. Their mission is to awaken the gods to find their way home.

Galaxy Trucker (Second Edition) is a lively, family-friendly game where players race against time to build spaceships from scavenged parts and then navigate them through perilous space adventures. The game combines real-time strategy, tile placement, and a bit of chaos as players grab components from a shared pool to construct their vessels before launching into space for a series of hazardous journeys.

Star Wars: Rebellion is a grand strategy board game set in the Star Wars universe, offering an epic conflict between the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance for two to four players.

Forbidden Island is a visually captivating cooperative board game that sets itself apart from traditional competitive games. In this thrilling adventure, players must join forces and collaborate to achieve victory instead of competing against each other. The goal is clear: work together as a team to secure a win.

Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age is a captivating dice game that immerses players in the task of building and advancing their civilizations. This game combines elements of luck, strategy, and resource management, making it an engaging experience for players who enjoy civilization-building themes.

Discworld: Ankh-Morpork is a board game designed by Martin Wallace and Treefrog Games, set in the imaginative universe of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, specifically in its largest city-state, Ankh-Morpork. The game captures the essence of the Discworld novels with its thematic elements and diverse characters.

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.

Life in the forest is fun, as long as the sun is shining and the leaves are on the trees. However, these days don't last forever. Wise animals start gathering supplies for the long, cold winter before the weather changes, transforming their homes into cozy hideaways with soup, comfortable chairs, and games to pass the dark days.

Beyond the Sun is a strategic board game that places players at the forefront of humanity's technological advancement into the Spacefaring Era. Here, players shape the progress of human civilization in space while competing to become the dominant faction through scientific development, economic growth, and galactic influence.