The best games with Secret Unit Deployment 🪂 2025

Survive: Escape from Atlantis! is a thrilling and competitive board game where players aim to evacuate their pieces from a sinking island. The game is known for its intense gameplay and strategic decisions.

Embark on an adrenaline-pumping undersea adventure with Captain Sonar, a board game that plunges you into the heart of intense submarine warfare. In this gripping scenario, every move and decision can be the difference between victory and defeat. Form a skilled crew aboard a cutting-edge submarine as you strive to locate and eliminate an enemy sub before they do the same to you. The underwater battlefield is unforgiving, and effective communication and coordination are paramount for success.

Fugitive is a tense, fast-paced two-player card game set in the thrilling universe of Burgle Bros. In this game, one player assumes the role of a fugitive on the run, while the other takes on the role of a relentless agent on the fugitive’s trail. The game involves a strategic cat-and-mouse chase where the fugitive must reach their goal without getting caught.

Whitehall Mystery is a thrilling board game that transports players to London in October 1888, a time marked by a gruesome discovery near the future site of Scotland Yard. This game unfolds against the backdrop of a macabre treasure hunt by an unknown murderer, scattering the remains of a victim across Whitehall.

Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation Deluxe Edition is a celebrated two-player board game designed by Reiner Knizia. Set in the rich world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, this game allows players to immerse themselves in the epic struggle between the forces of Sauron and the Free Peoples. Renowned for its blend of strategy, bluffing, and adventure, this deluxe edition elevates the experience with enhanced components and new gameplay elements.

Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan is a strategic war game for two players, allowing them to relive the pivotal battle of Sekigahara in 1600, which unified Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate for over 250 years. Players take on the roles of either Ishida Mitsunari, defending the rightful heir, or Tokugawa Ieyasu, the most powerful daimyo, as they gather armies from their allies, all the while questioning their loyalty. With no use of dice, the game emphasizes strategy and loyalty through card mechanics, where cards are essential for motivating armies to fight. Loyalty is a fluctuating resource, represented by hand size, and battles involve deploying hidden units based on loyalty, with the potential for defections. The game aims to provide a historically accurate experience within a concise and intuitive set of rules, focusing on strategic deployment and the significance of loyalty without relying on luck to determine outcomes.

Felicity: The Cat in the Sack is a clever and engaging auction-style game where players aim to collect the most valuable cats while avoiding the less desirable ones. The game involves bluffing and strategic bidding, as players use their mice to bid for cats hidden in a sack.

The 2010 edition is more than just a reprint of the original Survive! from 1982. It combines the original gameplay with new figures and rules from Waddington's Escape from Atlantis. Additionally, it includes the Dolphins & Dive Dice mini-expansion that was removed from the 30th Anniversary Edition released two years later.

Treasure Island is a thrilling game of bluffing and adventure where players are immersed in a high-stakes treasure hunt. One player takes on the role of Long John Silver, using cunning and misdirection to lead the others astray in their quest to find his hidden treasure. The game builds to an exciting climax as Long John makes his daring escape to reclaim his treasure.

BattleLore: Second Edition is a deeply immersive and strategically rich board game set in the fantasy realm of Terrinoth. Designed for two players, this game pits the stalwart forces of the Daqan Lords against the malevolent Uthuk Y’llan in epic, squad-based battles. With an emphasis on strategic command and the use of lore to influence battles, BattleLore Second Edition offers a robust and varied wargaming experience.

Two players control the armies of Julius Caesar and Pompey during the Roman civil wars (49-45 BC). As they vie for control of Rome, players engage in a card-driven block game to move, seize territories, or play events on a Mediterranean map featuring 13 victory point cities. Take charge of veteran legions or train new ones and strategize your path to becoming the emperor of Rome.

Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space is a suspenseful card game set in the dark and treacherous confines of a space research ship afflicted by an alien plague. This game uniquely combines strategy, bluffing, and a claustrophobic science fiction theme.

Players take on the role of Thor or Loki, battling through an army in an epic mythological showdown. Loki has stolen Odin's crown, and Thor must use his valuable ring, Draupnir, to defeat the deceiver and claim the throne of Asgard. Each player starts with nine cards, plays three face down in their first row, and can use action points to draw cards, play them, or challenge opponents.

Players are rival assassins invited to the same costume party. They do not know anyone's identity except their own, as they navigate through the party, mingling with guests and attempting to eliminate their rivals. Each player secretly receives one of twenty unique characters and takes turns moving and possibly committing murder to be the last assassin standing.

JAWS is a suspenseful and strategic board game that captures the essence of the classic film. In this game, players are immersed in the iconic struggle between the monstrous great white shark and the determined crew of the Orca. The game is designed for 2 to 4 players, where one player assumes the role of the shark, while the others take on the characters of Brody, Hooper, and Quint.

Wildlands brings to life a rich, lawless fantasy realm where players vie for dominance, survival, and treasure amidst the ruins of a fallen kingdom. Designed by the acclaimed Martin Wallace, this game combines the thrill of skirmish battles with the depth of strategic card play, offering a dynamic tabletop experience that's accessible yet full of tactical depth.

There are too many monsters and adventurers in the dungeon. The treasure of the dead king is well-guarded, but the adventurers are fearless! Players must keep their secret character in the dungeon as long as possible or leave with the treasure.

Letters from Whitechapel is a thrilling and suspense-filled board game that transports players to the grim streets of London's Whitechapel district in 1888, the setting of the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. The game pits one player, taking on the role of Jack the Ripper, against others who play as police detectives. Their goal is to catch Jack before he claims his fifth victim.

One player controls a gang of thieves attempting to break into lockers. The other player is the police, trying to catch them before they escape. The thieves roll special dice to crack the locker combinations while the police navigate a city map with a tilted board to uncover the gang's hiding place. If the police find the hiding spot before the thieves succeed, the thieves leave empty-handed.

Android: Netrunner is an asymmetrical Living Card Game for two players, set in a cyberpunk future. It involves strategic card play, where one player controls a megacorporation and the other plays as a lone runner.

Living together in a small house can be challenging, leading to conflicts. Players must outsmart others to keep their identities secret while trying to eliminate characters from the house.

Evolution: Climate is a compelling standalone game that expands on the well-regarded Evolution game system by integrating the aspect of climate into its dynamic ecosystem. This addition brings new layers of strategy and thematic depth, making for a unique gaming experience.

Paper Tales is a dynamic card game that blends elements of drafting and kingdom-building. Set in a mythical world, players guide their realms through centuries, facing challenges and opportunities as they emerge.

Players each have four good and four evil spirits, but only the player who owns a spirit can see whether it is good or evil. The spirits start in the back rows of a 6x6 board with the corners removed. On their turn, players move one of their spirits one space orthogonally and can eliminate an opponent's spirit by landing on it. To win, a player must either get rid of their own evil spirits, eliminate the good spirits of their opponent, or move one of their good spirits off an opponent's corner space.

Specter Ops is a thrilling, sci-fi themed board game that plunges players into a tense world of stealth, strategy, and hidden movement. In this game, players are divided into two distinct roles: a solo secret agent of A.R.K infiltrating a high-security Raxxon facility, and the team of genetically modified Raxxon Hunters tasked with tracking down and capturing the agent. The game is reminiscent of classic hidden movement games like Scotland Yard, but with a futuristic twist.

Cthulhu in the House is a game of bluffing and deduction for the whole family. Each player secretly controls two out of twelve characters, starting in different rooms. On their turn, players can either move a character alone to an adjacent room or initiate a fight in a room with at least two characters, eventually collecting points based on the remaining character. The game features two types of game pieces that influence character movement and defeat, and the player with the most points after three rounds wins.

In the depths of the ocean, two submarine crews are engaged in a silent and eternal war. SONAR Family is a submarine combat game where two teams operate different submarines. Each player takes on the role of a crew member, either the captain or the radio operator, using dry-erase boards to track movements and locate the enemy submarine to sink it. The teams are separated by a screen to block each other's view of their maps. The game ends when one submarine loses its second structural point, leading to an immediate loss for that team. The winning team is the one that successfully sinks the opponent's submarine!

Welcome to the ancient city of China, famous for its delicious sweets. As a tourist, you’ll want to enjoy them, but first, you must learn about a legendary figure named Sweet Nose, who met a tragic fate while trying to taste the best candy in heaven. In this game, players aim to collect various types of sweets by trading, but the sweetness of each candy varies for everyone, so careful trading and observation of others are key to avoid overindulging.

During the Dragul invasion of Nalos, loyal soldiers throw captured minions into the Kulbak prison, where enchanted gates and constructed guards make escape nearly impossible. Once a year, the king releases the toughest band of prisoners into the royal coliseum.

Players set up hidden game boards resembling labyrinths with small rectangular walls instead of ships. During the game, they take turns calling out moves in the opponent's labyrinth until they hit a wall, using a double board to track their discoveries. The game includes a clever plastic case that closes for easy storage and transport.