The best games where unchosen resources increase in value 📈 2026

Century: Golem Edition is an engaging and visually appealing board game that is a re-themed version of Century: Spice Road. Set in the imaginative world of Caravania, this game combines strategic planning and resource management, appealing to players who enjoy tactical decision-making.

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!

Century: Spice Road is the first game in a series that delves into the rich and vibrant history of spice trading. Set against the backdrop of the legendary Silk Road, players take on the roles of caravan leaders, journeying across continents to trade spices and achieve fame and glory. This game combines elements of strategy and resource management, making it an engaging experience for players who enjoy economic and trading games.

Dune: Imperium is a strategic deck-building game inspired by the iconic Dune universe, incorporating elements from both the recent film adaptation and the classic novels. Players lead one of the Great Houses in the interstellar political landscape of the Landsraad.

Startups is a competitive card game where players take on the roles of savvy investors looking to make their fortune by investing in the most promising companies. With a mix of strategy, luck, and keen observation, players must outmaneuver their opponents to become the wealthiest shareholder and dominate the market.

Canvas is a creative and visually-driven board game where players take on the roles of painters competing in an art competition. The game combines elements of strategy and puzzle-solving, focused on creating and scoring paintings.

Lords of Waterdeep immerses players in the vibrant and politically charged city of Waterdeep, the Crown Jewel of the Forgotten Realms. In this strategic board game designed for 2-5 players, you assume the identity of one of the enigmatic Lords of Waterdeep, the city's clandestine rulers. As a Lord, you'll navigate a web of intrigue and compete with other powerful figures to exert control over this remarkable city. Let's explore the game's key features:

Night falls and your tamed creatures have escaped their enclosure. Venture into the forest and lure them back with juicy fireflies in a game about collecting cute critters for three to five players.

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.

Harvest Dice is a fast-paced and fun dice game where players draw dice and sketch vegetables. In each round, players take turns rolling and selecting dice to plant vegetables in their gardens or feed them to their pigs, all while keeping an eye on the ever-changing market to ensure they have enough valuable produce by harvest time.

Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small offers a specialized, two-player experience derived from the popular Agricola game, focusing exclusively on the aspect of animal husbandry.

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.

Small World is a board game where players compete for control of a tiny world, using unique fantasy races and special powers.

Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a creative and strategic tile-laying game where players construct an opulent castle for King Ludwig II of Bavaria. This game combines architectural planning with economic strategy.

Puerto Rico is a strategy game where players become colonial governors in Puerto Rico, aiming to earn victory points through trade and construction.

Pirates of Maracaibo is a standalone strategy and exploration game set in the Maracaibo universe, in which you sail the Caribbean as a buccaneer hunting for the most valuable treasures. It plays independently and comes with a more accessible rule set than the original Maracaibo, so newcomers can jump in with no prior knowledge. Its appeal lies in the blend of exploring, collecting, and racing to amass the greatest fortune.

As the captain of a flying pirate ship, recruit a ruthless crew, gather relics, and unearth the finest rum by collecting shares of the loot. Players take turns claiming shares to gain rum, relics, items, and pirates, and engage in ship boarding actions when they fly close together, using the pirates they’ve recruited to win doubloons and plunder treasure.

Life continues undisturbed in the sleepy English countryside. Players traverse the land with railway lines, connecting villages and managing the evolving demands of rural communities. They must strategically place stations and signals while balancing the quirky requests of the locals against limited resources in this challenging tableau-building card game.

The Yawning Portal is a legendary tavern that attracts adventurous patrons with discerning tastes in food. As part of the tavern staff, you must satisfy their orders by matching food tiles to their hero cards, earning colored gems and points for successful matches. Strategically collect the most valuable gems and don't hesitate to use potions to impress your guests, as the player with the most points at the end wins.

Players optimize their deck of vampire cards while hunting humans for victory points and completing secret missions. The goal is to acquire a rose and return to the castle before sunrise. As players hunt more, both they and their deck slow down, creating a challenging race against time. The game ends at sunrise, and the surviving player with the most victory points wins.

Players take on the role of biologists and work together to create a connected ecosystem by carefully laying down cards. Use your skills to introduce key keystone animals and conduct wildlife research to maximize your points. The game offers multiple modes including a competitive multiplayer option and a narrative adventure through a fully illustrated Field Journal, featuring a solo or cooperative campaign with puzzles and exploration of North America's diverse ecosystems.

Firenze is a strategic board game set in the historical context of Florence during the 12th to 14th centuries, a time when the city's elite families sought to showcase their wealth and influence not through warfare or commerce, but by erecting towering, square-based homes as symbols of their status. Players step into the roles of master builders, tasked with constructing these prestigious towers to win favor and prestige points from the city's leading families and the church.

Hallertau is set in the lush Hallertau region of Bavaria, Germany, around 1850, a pivotal time in its history as the largest hop-producing area in the world. Players take on the roles of village chiefs, striving to advance their village's prosperity and standing through agriculture and sheep breeding.

Embark on an epic journey of galactic conquest in Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition. As a leader of one of seventeen unique factions, you'll navigate the vastness of space, striving for dominance through military might, political maneuvering, and economic prowess. The game unfolds around Mecatol Rex, the central planet, where the throne of the galaxy awaits the faction that can skillfully navigate the challenges of a dynamic and strategically constructed universe.

Agricola is a strategic board game where players become farmers aiming to build thriving homesteads. Manage resources, expand your home, and feed your family to win.

The Palaces of Carrara takes players to the renowned marble-producing region of Italy, where they compete to acquire marble at the best prices and use it to construct buildings. The game's strategic depth lies in balancing the cost of marble with its potential value in building construction. Players must be savvy in their purchases, as any decrease in marble prices can also benefit their opponents. The decision of when to buy marble becomes crucial, especially when considering the fluctuating values of buildings in the town. The Palaces of Carrara includes two levels of play – beginner and advanced – making it accessible to new players while offering depth for experienced gamers. Wolfgang Kramer, the co-designer, emphasizes the importance of starting with the beginner version to fully grasp the game's mechanics and how they interact.

Mint Delivery is a compact pick-up and delivery board game that is quick to play and easy to learn. Players take on the role of a mint candy delivery van driver, accepting and delivering orders for mint candies. The game ends once enough orders are fulfilled, and the player with the most completed orders is named Employee of the Month.

Small World of Warcraft is a strategy board game that combines the mechanics of the beloved Small World game with the rich fantasy universe of Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft. This fusion creates a dynamic game of area control and conflict, where players lead various iconic races from the Warcraft universe to expand their empires across the fantastical world of Azeroth. With a mix of strategy, luck, and diplomacy, players vie for dominance in a land where there's not enough room for everyone.

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.

Le Havre is a strategic board game that simulates harbor management, focusing on resource distribution, building construction, and economic development.