The best legacy board games - every game will be different! 2025

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:

Zombie Kidz Evolution is a pioneering legacy-style board game designed specifically for children. Building upon the foundation of the 2013 game Zombie Kidz, this version introduces a dynamic and evolving gameplay experience. Set in a school under siege by zombies, young players must navigate through rooms and entryways to fend off the undead and prevent them from overrunning the school. The objective is to lock all four entryways of the school, a task complicated by the absence of the custodian. As players progress and improve their skills, they can undertake missions and earn trophies and stickers, similar to achievements in video games. The game also features envelopes that, when opened, add new elements to the game, including challenges, powers, and heroes, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging.

Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated is an innovative extension of the deck-building game Clank!, incorporating legacy-style elements. Players get the opportunity to establish and grow their own franchise of Acquisitions Incorporated, leading a team of intrepid adventurers on a quest for treasure and corporate fame. The game evolves uniquely across multiple play sessions, creating a personalized adventure campaign.

Players embark on twelve journeys through North America as 19th-century pioneers. Starting on the East Coast, they face challenges while aiming to complete ticket objectives and develop new skills to overcome unexpected events and rivals. As the campaign progresses, players unlock new rules and content, creating a uniquely tailored experience that evolves with their choices, resulting in a game that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.

Zombies are attacking the entire city! Collaborate with your friends to embark on an expedition and drive away the overwhelming hordes. Collect the four ingredients and brew the antidote that will save the world!

My City is a groundbreaking competitive legacy game where players develop their own city across multiple epochs. This game uniquely blends city-building with the evolving challenges and narratives of a legacy format.

The King's Dilemma presents a captivating blend of narrative storytelling and strategy, set in the fictional Kingdom of Ankist. As players, you step into the roles of leaders of various noble houses, each with your own agendas and influence, making critical decisions that shape the fate of the kingdom.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 0 transports you to 1962, at the height of the Cold War, where a mysterious Soviet bioweapon called "Project MEDUSA" threatens global safety. As newly recruited CIA agents and medical graduates, you and your team are tasked with a critical mission: investigate and halt the development of this deadly pathogen. This game stands alone as a thrilling prequel to the earlier seasons of Pandemic Legacy, immersing players in a tense world of espionage and covert operations.

Aeon's End: Legacy immerses players into the world of breach mages, defenders of Gravehold, the last bastion of humanity. As apprentices, players are inspired by legendary mages like Brama, Dezmodia, Mist, Malastar, and Xaxos, each embodying unique traits and powers.

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is a standalone adventure game that serves as a prequel to the highly acclaimed Gloomhaven. It's designed to be more accessible to a broader audience, with streamlined rules and an integrated tutorial.

Gloomhaven is a Euro-inspired tactical combat game set in a persistent and evolving world. Players assume the roles of adventurers, each with unique skills and motives, as they explore dungeons, ruins, and engage in cooperative battles against automated monsters.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 is an epic, cooperative board game that continues the narrative and innovative gameplay of its predecessor. This game is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity struggles to survive after a devastating plague. It offers a unique gaming experience, where players' decisions and actions have long-lasting consequences, making each playthrough distinct.

Players develop their own unique islands using interconnected hexagons in a competitive legacy format inspired by a previous game. Over 24 sessions, they will uncover the story and secrets of their island, with each game introducing new rules and materials that permanently alter the landscape.

Risk Legacy is a revolutionary approach to the classic board game Risk, introducing the concept of a "campaigning" board game. What sets Risk Legacy apart is its evolving nature; the game changes over time, influenced by the outcomes of each session and the decisions made by players. This version of Risk creates a unique and persistent world that is shaped by the players' actions, resulting in a customized gaming experience.

Players roll dice, collect income, and race to build landmarks in a familiar gameplay style. However, new elements introduce challenges and decisions that influence future games. The game features a ten-game series that unfolds a complete story within the Machi Koro world, offering a unique experience shaped by player choices.

Players may be familiar with the silly card game that is fast and fun. A new twist introduces a legacy element where players write on cards to permanently alter them. In this standalone version, winning a game allows you to claim ownership of a card by writing your name on it, making it yours forever.

Betrayal Legacy evolves the classic haunted mansion exploration of Betrayal at House on the Hill with a legacy twist. Set over several decades, players represent different generations of families, delving into the mysteries of a foreboding mansion. This narrative-driven game evolves with each play, creating a unique and persistent story.

Frosthaven tells the story of a small outpost in the harsh north, struggling against severe weather and attacks from various powers. A group of exhausted mercenaries must protect the settlement, facing not only the brutal elements but also formidable threats like the Algox and mysterious machines. This standalone adventure features new characters, races, and enemies, alongside expanded gameplay that includes puzzles and village building, encouraging players to craft items instead of simply purchasing them.

Charterstone invites players into the Kingdom of Greengully, where they are tasked with building a new village as part of a grand decree by the Forever King. This competitive legacy game evolves with each play, offering a unique and enduring experience.

"Build me a castle! Create a city worthy of my queen!" Your king's wish is your command, prompting you to travel to Queensdale, gather resources, construct buildings, and take fate into your own hands. Glory and wealth are within reach, but competitors also seek to fulfill the king's desires. Act with courage and wisdom, remembering that your choices will have consequences.

Shadowrun: Crossfire plunges players into the perilous depths of the Shadowrun universe, a world where magic meets machinery and danger lurks in every shadow. This cooperative deck-building game invites two to four players to form a team of shadowrunners, those who operate on the fringes of society, undertaking high-stakes missions for profit and survival. With a dynamic mix of strategy and teamwork, players navigate through a series of challenging scenarios, from corporate espionage to street-level skirmishes, all while enhancing their abilities and arsenal.

Ultimate Werewolf is an interactive legacy game for two teams: villagers and werewolves. Villagers don’t know who the werewolves are, while the werewolves try to remain undetected as they eliminate villagers one by one. The game progresses over a series of days and nights, where players discuss and vote on who they believe is a werewolf, while werewolves secretly choose a villager to eliminate each night. Each playthrough can vary greatly, allowing for repeated campaigns with different roles, rules, and environments. The experience is guided by an extensive diary that helps players, regardless of their prior experience, navigate through the sessions.

The life of a pirate is never simple and rarely boring. You need both cleverness and daring to turn your fledgling operation into a pirate empire, whether by smuggling goods past military patrols or securing your hideout from rivals. In this cooperative legacy game, you build your empire by successfully completing each chapter of the campaign, with decisions that permanently alter the story and game components. After the campaign, you can continue playing your customized game with random scenarios.

The Prime Runner Edition offers updated and refined rules, redesigned character cards, and new missions, making the game more streamlined and accessible. In the shadowy Sixth World, dangers abound, from violent gangs to toxic-spawned spirits. Players form a shadowrunner team and tackle challenging tasks, earning Karma to enhance their characters with cyber upgrades, physical enhancements, and magical initiations while battling the perils lurking in the streets.

Players take on the role of demigods in a competitive digital hybrid game, seeking the favor of gods to ascend to a new pantheon. They embark on a campaign of twelve scenarios, exploring lands, completing quests, and influencing the epic battle between Greek and Norse pantheons.

Players embark on a deeper, compelling journey in this second Legacy game of the Aeon's End series. After each game, they earn experience to spend on upgrade stickers and player cards, enhancing their abilities. However, foes become increasingly challenging with every battle, offering a dynamic gameplay experience.

SeaFall is a groundbreaking board game that marries the exploration and expansion elements of 4X games with a dynamic, evolving narrative, inspired by the age of sail and discovery. Unlike traditional 4X games, SeaFall emphasizes exploration, expansion, exploitation, and experience over extermination, ensuring that players remain engaged in a world that remembers their choices and actions.

First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet transforms the intense survival experience of Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island to the desolate landscape of Mars, challenging players to overcome the relentless threats posed by the Red Planet. Leveraging an innovative app to guide gameplay, the game seamlessly blends traditional board game mechanics with modern technology, creating a dynamic and immersive experience.