The best games where you damage your opponent but don't take them totally out of the game 2023

Looking for a really good game where you damage your opponent but don't take him out of the game? Then we have just the thing for you: the list of the best "Take that!" games 2023.

What are "Take that!" games?

Competitive maneuvers that directly attack an opponent's progress on the way to victory, but do not directly eliminate characters or components that represent the opponent. Such mechanisms include stealing, nullifying, or forcibly discarding an opponent's resources, actions, or abilities. A take-that maneuver often results in a dramatic change in the player's power position over a relatively short period of time.

Examples of games where you damage your opponent, but don't take them out of the game completely:

A good example of a Take That! game is Dominion and the many dominion-expansions. Here are some cards that can be used to actively damage the opponent, but not completely take him out of the game or throw him out. As an example, consider the following:

  • Witch: Each opponent must take a curse card (this takes up space in his deck)
  • Dungeon Master: The opponent must discard 2 hand cards and take a curse card
  • Possession: A player controls the next move of his left neighbor
  • Harlequin: All opponents discard their top card, if it is a point card they must take a curse. For all other cards, the current player decides whether he himself may take this card again from the supply, or the aggrieved player (advantageous e.g. with bad cards).

List of the best "Take that!" games 2023

This list was last updated on June 1, 2023. We compared 2659 board games for this list and selected the top 30. There's also a print version for this list.
  1. Love Letter

    All details for the board game Love Letter and similar games

    Nominated for 14 awards and won 7.

    More details for Love Letter
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Immediately playable
    👍 Good price!10€ atAmazon.de

    Video reviews for Love Letter

    • YouTube Review for the game "Love Letter" by Shut Up & Sit Down
      Video is in English
  2. Star Realms: Frontiers

    All details for the board game Star Realms: Frontiers and similar games
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 20 - 45 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  3. Star Realms: Colony Wars

    All details for the board game Star Realms: Colony Wars and similar games
    • 2 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  4. Star Realms

    All details for the board game Star Realms and similar games

    Nominated for 10 awards and won 3.

    More details for Star Realms
    • 2 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  5. Coconuts

    All details for the board game Coconuts and similar games

    Nominated for 3 awards.

    More details for Coconuts
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 6+ years old
    • Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Coconuts

    • YouTube Review for the game "Coconuts" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  6. Hero Realms

    All details for the board game Hero Realms and similar games

    Nominated for 5 awards and won 1.

    More details for Hero Realms
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 20 - 30 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  7. Radlands

    All details for the board game Radlands and similar games

    Nominated for 3 awards and won 2.

    More details for Radlands
    • 2 Players
    • 20 - 40 Minutes
    • 14+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  8. Dune: Imperium

    All details for the board game Dune: Imperium and similar games

    Nominated for 17 awards and won 5.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kennerspiel des Jahres 2022

    More details for Dune: Imperium
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 60 - 120 Minutes
    • 14+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
    🔥 Great price!40€ atAmazon.de
  9. Unmatched: Jurassic Park – InGen vs Raptors

    All details for the board game Unmatched: Jurassic Park – InGen vs Raptors and similar games
    • 2 Players
    • 20 - 40 Minutes
    • 14+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  10. Survive: Escape from Atlantis!

    All details for the board game Survive: Escape from Atlantis! and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 45 - 60 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  11. ICECOOL

    All details for the board game ICECOOL and similar games

    Nominated for 14 awards and won 6.

    ⭐️ Kinderspiel des Jahres 2017

    More details for ICECOOL
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 6+ years old
    • Immediately playable

    Video reviews for ICECOOL

    • YouTube Review for the game "ICECOOL" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  12. Watergate

    All details for the board game Watergate and similar games

    Nominated for 9 awards and won 4.

    More details for Watergate
    • 2 Players
    • 30 - 60 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn
    👍 Good price!23€ atAmazon.de

    Video reviews for Watergate

    • YouTube Review for the game "Watergate" by Shut Up & Sit Down
      Video is in English
  13. ICECOOL2

    All details for the board game ICECOOL2 and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 6+ years old
    • Immediately playable

    Video reviews for ICECOOL2

    • YouTube Review for the game "ICECOOL2" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  14. Coup

    All details for the board game Coup and similar games

    Nominated for 2 awards.

    More details for Coup
    • 2 - 6 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 13+ years old
    • Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Coup

    • YouTube Review for the game "Coup" by Shut Up & Sit Down
      Video is in English
  15. Mindbug: First Contact

    All details for the board game Mindbug: First Contact and similar games
    • 2 Players
    • 15 - 25 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  16. Ca$h 'n Guns: Second Edition

    All details for the board game Ca$h 'n Guns: Second Edition and similar games

    Nominated for 3 awards and won 2.

    More details for Ca$h 'n Guns: Second Edition
    • 4 - 8 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Ca$h 'n Guns: Second Edition

    • YouTube Review for the game "Ca$h 'n Guns: Second Edition" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
    • YouTube Review for the game "Ca$h 'n Guns: Second Edition" by Shut Up & Sit Down
      Video is in English
  17. Terraforming Mars

    All details for the board game Terraforming Mars and similar games

    Nominated for 27 awards and won 14.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kennerspiel des Jahres 2017

    More details for Terraforming Mars
    • 1 - 5 Players
    • 120 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Medium difficulty

    Video reviews for Terraforming Mars

    • YouTube Review for the game "Terraforming Mars" by Shut Up & Sit Down
      Video is in English
  18. Lords of Waterdeep

    All details for the board game Lords of Waterdeep and similar games

    Nominated for 9 awards and won 3.

    More details for Lords of Waterdeep
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 60 - 120 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  19. Exploding Kittens: Party Pack

    All details for the board game Exploding Kittens: Party Pack and similar games
    • 2 - 10 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 7+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  20. Dungeon Mayhem

    All details for the board game Dungeon Mayhem and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 10 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
    👍 Good price!13€ atAmazon.de
  21. Dominion

    All details for the board game Dominion and similar games

    Nominated for 32 awards and won 17.

    ⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 2009

    More details for Dominion
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 13+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  22. Linko!

    All details for the board game Linko! and similar games

    Nominated for 7 awards and won 3.

    More details for Linko!
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  23. Virus!

    All details for the board game Virus! and similar games
    • 2 - 6 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
    👍 Good price!14€ atAmazon.de
  24. Potion Explosion

    All details for the board game Potion Explosion and similar games

    Nominated for 5 awards and won 2.

    More details for Potion Explosion
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 30 - 45 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn

    Video reviews for Potion Explosion

    • YouTube Review for the game "Potion Explosion" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  25. Dead Man's Draw

    All details for the board game Dead Man's Draw and similar games

    🔥 Deal: 8% cheaper than the best Geizhals deal, likely for a short time only!

    More details for Dead Man's Draw
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 13+ years old
    • Immediately playable
    🔥 Great price!11€ atAmazon.de
  26. Colt Express

    All details for the board game Colt Express and similar games

    Nominated for 18 awards and won 8.

    ⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 2015

    More details for Colt Express
    • 2 - 6 Players
    • 40 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  27. Shards of Infinity

    All details for the board game Shards of Infinity and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  28. Pickomino

    All details for the board game Pickomino and similar games

    Nominated for 4 awards.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kinderspiel des Jahres 2005

    More details for Pickomino
    • 2 - 7 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  29. Dice Throne: Season One

    All details for the board game Dice Throne: Season One and similar games
    • 2 - 6 Players
    • 20 - 40 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  30. Summoner Wars (Second Edition)

    All details for the board game Summoner Wars (Second Edition) and similar games
    • 2 Players
    • 40 - 60 Minutes
    • 9+ years old
    • Medium difficulty

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