The Best Board Games with Dogs 2026

Agent Avenue is a competitive card game about retired spies in a suburban neighborhood. Players bluff, collect sets, and use an I-split-you-choose mechanism to outmaneuver rivals and reveal their identities first.

Players roll dice and place them on dog cards during their turn. Dice that cannot be placed are buried in their garden. If too many dice are buried, the player goes bankrupt. Completing 6 dogs wins the game!

Verdant is a strategic and engaging card game where players become houseplant enthusiasts, aiming to craft the coziest, most plant-filled spaces in their homes. Suitable for 1 to 5 players, this game combines spatial reasoning with light puzzle elements, inviting players to carefully select and position plants and comfort items for optimal growth and aesthetics.

Here to Slay is a competitive role-playing fantasy strategy card game from the creators of Unstable Unicorns. In this engaging and interactive game, players aim to build a party of heroes to slay monsters, while navigating the challenges and sabotage from their opponents. It combines elements of strategy, luck, and player interaction, making it an exciting game for those who enjoy a mix of combat and cunning.

Dobble Kids offers a simplified version of the original game, making it accessible for younger players. Each card features six different animals of varying sizes, with exactly one animal shared between any two cards. Players take turns revealing cards and claiming them by identifying the common animal, aiming to collect the most cards when the deck is exhausted.

Players collect acorn points as quickly as possible. On their turn, a player rolls five squirrel dice, removing any that show cars, while acorns score points. After rolling, the player can choose to stop and keep their points or roll again, but rolling only squirrels means losing all points for the round and initiating a "Go nuts!" round where they roll all dice again and score acorns. Players take turns until someone reaches fifty or more points to win.

Players must find the magical ring stolen from the wise king by an evil sorcerer. Racing against the clock, they move their tokens through various rooms on the board to gather clues about who took the precious gemstone. Talking animals assist players by providing hints through a treasure chest, which players must unlock by feeding the animals. Cooperation is essential, as everyone works together to reclaim the stolen ring and either win or lose as a group based on their success in completing assigned tasks.

Players aim to repair their houses using three different resources hidden in the grass. With the help of Martin, the mammoth, they search for these resources. The first player to build three houses wins the game.

Sherlock is a memory-style card game where one card depicts Sherlock and 49 cards show an image, an arrow, and a number from 1 to 4. Players initially memorize the eight face-up cards arranged in a circle before flipping them over. During their turn, players position the Sherlock card next to a card, name the object, and check for accuracy to advance around the circle. The first player to collect 6 cards wins the game.

In the card game, players strive to collect as many valuable animals as possible by chasing them from the table into their hand. Each player starts with a hand of sixteen cards, featuring four each of elephant, dog, cat, and mouse, with values ranging from 1 to 4. Players choose and reveal a card simultaneously, determining outcomes through a "rock-paper-scissors" format that dictates which animals chase which. At the end of all rounds, players tally the values of their collected animals to determine the winner.

Hearts is a classic trick-taking card game played with a standard deck, beloved for generations and known for its simple yet strategic gameplay. The primary objective is to avoid collecting hearts, each worth one point, and the queen of spades, a pivotal card worth thirteen points. However, the game has a twist – players can attempt to "shoot the moon" by capturing all the hearts and the queen of spades. This daring move either adds 26 points to each opponent's score or reduces the player's own score by 26, depending on the variation played.

A fast-paced card game inspired by other titles, it features 120 animal cards including dogs, cows, donkeys, goats, cats, and parrots, along with five special tarantula cards. Players must mimic the sounds of animals shown on previous cards before discarding their own, all within a strict time limit. Additional expert rules add complexity, creating unique challenges such as forcing cards to be placed on donkeys or having dogs change the direction of play.

"Spitz paß auf!" is a children's game for 2-6 players. One player rolls the dice while others place their pieces on the game board. When a 1 or 6 is rolled, the dice roller must cover the pieces with a cup, while the other players try to pull their pieces off the board quickly. If they fail to do so, they must give the roller a game piece as a penalty. The game ends when a player collects a set number of game pieces or loses them all.

Have You Herd is a lively European dice game that gained popularity in Poland during the early 1940s. Players compete to collect each of the five farm animals: rabbit, sheep, pig, cow, and horse, while building and trading to complete their "herd." Be careful of the wolf or fox, as they will eat your herd! The American edition features simplified rules compared to the original Polish version.

Jenga is a classic physical skill game known for its simple yet captivating gameplay. The game challenges players to demonstrate steady hands and strategic thinking as they manipulate a tower of wooden blocks.

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.

Pass the Pigs is a light-hearted, portable game that combines elements of chance and risk-taking, making it a perfect "beer & pretzels" game. The game is unique in its use of pig miniatures as dice, which players toss to accumulate points based on how the pigs land. The game's blend of simplicity and unpredictability makes it an excellent choice for casual gaming sessions and parties.

Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a worker-placement board game that builds upon the mechanics of its predecessor, Agricola. It combines farming and cave dwelling themes, where players manage a dwarf family and their expanding homestead.