The best board games you can play in 90 minutes⏰ 2025

Monikers: Serious Nonsense is a standalone expansion featuring 330 cards created by Shut Up & Sit Down. This new set also includes several requests for the return of Monikers, offering twelve delightfully ridiculous fourth rounds, minus the two least interesting ones.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 offers an extraordinary gaming experience as a cooperative campaign game, immersing players in an overarching story-arc that unfolds over 12-24 gripping sessions. The duration depends on your group's performance and the fate of the world. Here's an overview of this thrilling journey:

Time's Up! is a lively and entertaining charades-based party game, ideal for playing in teams of two or more. It's particularly engaging when played with teams of two. The game revolves around guessing famous historical or fictional characters, with each player contributing to a communal deck of names used across three distinct rounds.

Horrified is a cooperative board game that plunges players into a classic horror movie scenario. Set in a town besieged by not one but seven iconic monsters, it's a race against time to save the day.

The Search for Planet X is a captivating board game that immerses players in the world of astronomy and scientific discovery. Aspiring astronomers use a combination of observation, deduction, and a companion app to unravel the mystery of a hidden planet in our solar system.

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.

Meadow is a beautifully illustrated set collection game where players become explorers, immersing themselves in nature observation. The game, suitable for 1-4 players, features over two hundred unique cards adorned with hand-painted watercolor illustrations. Players compete to become the most skilled nature observer by collecting valuable species, landscapes, and discovery cards.

Space Base is a dynamic and fast-paced dice game that blends strategy and luck, where players take on the roles of Commodores commanding a fleet of ships.

Embark on a thrilling cooperative adventure with Chronicles of Crime, a unique blend of crime investigation, board game excitement, and a touch of Virtual Reality. Picture yourself at the heart of criminal investigations, where the seamless integration of an app with physical components creates an immersive experience.

You play as Victor Lavel, an ambitious journalist in 1900 Paris, during the vibrant Belle Époque. While others report on events like the Exposition Universelle and the Olympics, Lavel is drawn to solving crimes, including murders and kidnappings. The standalone game challenges players to gather evidence, interrogate suspects, and solve puzzles reminiscent of escape rooms.

Chronicles of Crime: 1400 invites players into the heart of medieval Paris, where they embody Abelard Lavel, a knight with a prophetic gift for solving crimes. As a standalone game in the Chronicles of Crime series, it combines familiar investigative gameplay with new elements to create a unique, narrative-driven experience. Players utilize Vision Cards to gain insights into crimes, relying on both futuristic and historical scenes to guide their investigation.

Sheriff of Nottingham is an engaging board game of bluffing, bribery, and negotiation set in the medieval town of Nottingham.

Embark on a delightful rescue mission in The Isle of Cats, a captivating competitive board game designed for 1-4 players (expandable to 6 with expansions). This medium-weight game combines card-drafting, polyomino cat-placement, and resource management, offering an engaging and strategic gameplay experience.

Unlock! Timeless Adventures offers a trio of captivating "escape room" scenarios packed into one tabletop game. This cooperative card game draws players into immersive adventures requiring teamwork, puzzle-solving, and quick thinking, all facilitated through a blend of physical cards and a digital companion app.

Targi is a strategic board game set against the backdrop of the Tuareg culture in the desert. Players assume the roles of leaders of Tuareg tribes, engaging in trade and seeking to expand their families and influence.

The Adventures of Robin Hood offers a refreshing and innovative approach to board gaming, immersing players in the legendary tales of Robin Hood and his merry band in 1193 England. This game distinguishes itself with a dynamic game board that evolves and changes, reflecting the players' actions and choices throughout their quest against the tyranny of Prince John and his minions. With a unique movement mechanism and a story-driven gameplay that forgoes traditional cards for a narrative-driven hardcover book, players will find themselves deeply engaged in the forests and villages of Nottinghamshire.

Tyrants of the Underdark is a strategic board game that combines elements of territory control with deck-building. Set in the iconic Dungeons & Dragons setting of the Underdark, players lead Drow houses vying for power and influence beneath the Sword Coast. The game stands out for its integration of card-driven gameplay with spatial control on the board.

Players lead a Drow house in a territory control game that incorporates deck-building elements set in the Underdark beneath the Sword Coast. Each player's house is represented by a deck of cards, where each card signifies a servant belonging to one of five aspects of Drow society, each associated with different strategies. As players recruit new servants and expand their influence, they earn points by controlling locations, promoting servants to an inner circle, and eliminating opposing troops, aiming to finish with the highest score.

Four large foldable maps feature a 3D scene with hidden objects, each showing the scene from a different perspective. Players see only one map at a time, making communication essential for piecing together information. The game includes 160 puzzle cards with various challenges, requiring intense discussion about what players see and don't see, alongside abstract thinking and clever combinations to solve each chapter's mysteries.

Raiders of the North Sea is a vibrant board game set during the Viking Age, where players embody Viking warriors vying for the Chieftain's recognition through strategic raiding and resource management.

Zombicide: 2nd Edition revitalizes the beloved cooperative board game franchise, offering both new and seasoned players an enhanced zombie-slaying experience. Since its original release in 2012, Zombicide has captivated gamers worldwide with its thrilling cooperative gameplay, where players band together as survivors in a zombie-infested apocalypse. This new edition breathes fresh life into the game with refined rules, updated mechanics, and new components designed to streamline play and enhance immersion.

Tichu is an intriguing partnership card game that combines elements of Zheng Fen with traditional card play. It stands out as a strategic and competitive game, requiring players to be both tactically astute and keenly aware of their partner's actions. Typically played by four players in partnerships, the game is a race to get rid of all cards in hand, while aiming to score points.

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.

Sherlock Holmes appointed a group of street children as The Baker Street Irregulars, his unofficial "police force." This is their story, filled with challenging and dangerous events.

In the midst of Ragnarök, the cataclysmic end of the world, seize your opportunity for glory in Blood Rage. Each player commands a Viking clan, complete with fearless warriors, a formidable leader, and a mighty ship. As the world crumbles, it's the Vikings' last chance to seek Valhalla, to be forever remembered at Odin's side. In this epic battle, there are myriad paths to honor, from plundering the land and crushing opponents to fulfilling quests, enhancing your clan's strength, or embracing a glorious demise.

Aeon's End: War Eternal plunges you into the desperate battle for Gravehold, the last stronghold in a world under siege by The Nameless. This standalone expansion of Aeon's End delivers a thrilling cooperative deck-building experience.

In the concealed underground city of Gravehold, survivors of a distant invasion find solace. Here, amidst the remnants of a desperate society, they unearth a revelation: the energy emanating from breaches, the very conduits exploited by hostile beings, can be harnessed. Various gems allow them to transmute malevolent energies into beneficial spells and weapons, becoming the last bastion of defense—the breach mages.

Sotheby's auction house faces a potential forgery case. Your detective team must analyze the clues to uncover who is guilty, how they did it, and why. In each case, players work with 32 clues, revealing one at a time until all are exposed or discarded.

Players take on the role of amateur dracologists in a vibrant world where dragons of all shapes and sizes soar through the skies. They will excavate hidden chambers in their sanctuaries to attract these magnificent creatures, allowing them to settle and combine powerful abilities. Inspired by the mechanics of Wingspan, the game introduces unique elements that create a distinct experience.

In Flamecraft, you delve into a whimsical world where artisan dragons, smaller yet magically adept relatives of their larger kin, are the stars. As a Flamekeeper, your role is to communicate with these dragons, finding them the perfect shop to call home and using enchantments to coax them into creating marvelous things. Your success in aiding the dragons and shopkeepers boosts your reputation, with the goal of becoming the Master of Flamecraft.