The best games like Halma 2026

Immerse yourself in the world of Onitama, a dynamic two-player abstract game offering perfect information and a randomized starting setup on a 5x5 board. Both participants begin the game with five pawns each, strategically placing the main pawn at the board's center.

Santorini is a beautifully re-imagined strategy game that combines abstract elements with accessible gameplay, suitable for a wide range of players.

Players engage in a deceptively cute and challenging abstract strategy game for two. Each time a player places a kitten on the bed, it shifts other kittens on the board, creating a dynamic gameplay experience. Align three kittens to transform them, and then align three cats to win. The game features a fabric board that fits over the game box and includes 32 adorable wooden cat figures.

War Chest is a distinctive bag-building war game that requires players to skillfully manage their army both on and off the battlefield.

Players engage in a tactical battle inspired by pebbles stacked along paths. Each player begins with eight colored pebbles, while a neutral colored set is placed in the corners of the board. On their turn, players stack a pebble on a chosen pile and then shift it, leaving one pebble on each space crossed. The first to stack four pebbles of their color wins the game.

A Game of Thrones: Hand of the King is a fast-paced card game set in the world of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Players are thrust into the heart of King's Landing's court, where they must use cunning and strategy to outmaneuver their opponents in a quest to become the Hand of the King. This game for two to four players is filled with conspiracies and unexpected turns of fate, where influencing key characters from the series is crucial to gaining power.

Indigo is a captivating tile-laying game that combines strategy with a touch of competition, as players maneuver to guide precious gemstones to their goals. This game, reminiscent of classics like Metro, Tsuro, and Linie 1, challenges players to construct pathways on a shared board, where the twist lies in moving gems towards objectives for points, rather than simply building the longest route.

Nine mystical stones are arranged in a grid of rocky ruins. Players must position the stones to match one or more patterns in their hand, sacrificing a card each time they swap or flip a tile. Score the most points to secure your victory!

Chaos reigns at the reef as various marine creatures form swarms. On their turn, a player selects one of six stones and places it on an empty space. Players aim to create groups of the same color or identical sea creatures, with the option to move a stone before placing a new one to form larger swarms. The larger the group, the more points it's worth, and the player with the most points wins!

Hive is a highly strategic two-player game that stands out for its versatility and unique gameplay mechanics, involving a variety of insect-themed pieces.

Players use a hedgehog stone to move around the board and collect game pieces. By skillfully positioning their pieces, they can grab rare items while limiting options for their opponents. The player with the most valuable collection at the end wins.

TZAAR is a compelling abstract strategy game that emphasizes the delicate balance of weakening your opponent versus strengthening your own position. With 30 pieces each, divided among Tzaars, Tzarras, and Totts, players navigate a game of tactical decisions where every move counts. The core challenge lies in managing these three distinct types of pieces, each essential to the game's strategy, as players aim to either deplete one type of the opponent's pieces or trap them in a position where they can't capture anymore.

Deep in the northern forests lives a charming tribe of elves called the Frogriders. Each spring, they host a tournament where their four main groups engage in a mock battle. Players collect uniquely shaped plastic figures by jumping them over one another, using their special abilities strategically to score points or return to the tribe’s village. The game features various privilege and scoring cards, creating numerous tactical nuances and strategies to explore for victory.

Six Making, also known as Sixth, is an abstract strategy game for two players that challenges them to build chess pieces. Players take turns placing their own pieces as pawns on the board or moving existing pieces. The objective is to create a stack of six or more pieces of the player's color on top, and the first player to achieve this wins the game.

Players aim to be the first to move one of their octagonal "dragon" towers to the opposite side of the 10x10 board. Towers move in straight lines or diagonally forward, but must follow the color of the square that their opponent moved to in the previous turn. Players will need to navigate around both their own and their opponent's towers, as blocked paths can hinder their movements.

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.

Tak is a beautifully simple yet strategically deep two-player game, originally conceived by Pat Rothfuss in his novel The Wise Man's Fear and brought to life by game designer James Ernest. In Tak, players aim to build a continuous path of their pieces across the board, connecting two opposite sides. The game's elegance lies in its minimalistic ruleset which belies the rich tactical decisions it demands.