The best worker placement games 2023

Worker placement is a game mechanic for board games. We have selected the best worker placement games for you.

What are worker placement games?

Worker Placement is a game mechanic and also known as "drawing actions". The worker placement mechanism requires players to select individual actions from a set of actions available to all players. In general, players select actions one at a time and in order. There is generally a limit to the number of times a single action may be performed. Once this limit is reached for an action, it usually either becomes more expensive to perform again - or it cannot be performed for the rest of the round. Therefore, not all actions can be performed by all players in a given round, and "blocking" of the action occurs. If the game is structured in rounds, all actions are usually refreshed at the beginning or end of each round, so that they become available again.

Different variants of action-drawing Worker Placements.

Actions are usually selected by placing tiles or tokens on the selected actions. Each player usually has a limited number of tokens with which to participate in the process. Some games achieve the same effect in reverse: the round begins with action spaces filled with tokens that players claim for a fee.

The various professions gave the game its name

From a thematic point of view, the tiles that players use to design actions often represent workers in a particular occupation (but this category of mechanism is not necessarily limited to or by this thematic representation). In other words, players often "thematically place workers" to show which actions were designed by individual players. In Agricola, for example, each player starts with two pieces representing family members that can be placed on action spaces to gather resources or perform other actions such as building fences. When someone places a piece on a particular space, that action is no longer available until the next turn.

Examples of worker placement games

Keydom, released in 1998, is widely recognized as the first game of the worker placement genre. Early design experiments with this mechanism include Way Out West (2000) and Bus (1999). Well-known worker placement examples include Agricola (2007), Caylus (2005), and Stone Age (2008).

For more details on the topic, see the Wikipedia article on Worker Placement.

List of the best Worker Placement games 2023

This list was last updated on July 10, 2023. We compared 1496 board games for this list and selected the top 30. There's also a print version for this list.
  1. 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
  2. PARKS

    All details for the board game PARKS and similar games

    Nominated for 10 awards and won 2.

    More details for PARKS
    • 1 - 5 Players
    • 30 - 60 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  3. Forgotten Waters

    All details for the board game Forgotten Waters and similar games

    Nominated for 8 awards and won 1.

    More details for Forgotten Waters
    • 3 - 7 Players
    • 120 - 240 Minutes
    • 14+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  4. Everdell

    All details for the board game Everdell and similar games

    Nominated for 15 awards and won 6.

    More details for Everdell
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 40 - 80 Minutes
    • 13+ years old
    • Medium difficulty

    Video reviews for Everdell

    • YouTube Review for the game "Everdell" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  5. 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
  6. Lost Ruins of Arnak

    All details for the board game Lost Ruins of Arnak and similar games

    Nominated for 26 awards and won 10.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kennerspiel des Jahres 2021

    More details for Lost Ruins of Arnak
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 30 - 120 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
  7. Targi

    All details for the board game Targi and similar games

    Nominated for 5 awards and won 1.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kennerspiel des Jahres 2012

    More details for Targi
    • 2 Players
    • 60 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn

    Video reviews for Targi

    • YouTube Review for the game "Targi" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  8. Viticulture Essential Edition

    All details for the board game Viticulture Essential Edition and similar games
    • 1 - 6 Players
    • 45 - 90 Minutes
    • 13+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
  9. Raiders of the North Sea

    All details for the board game Raiders of the North Sea and similar games

    Nominated for 7 awards and won 3.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kennerspiel des Jahres 2017

    More details for Raiders of the North Sea
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 60 - 80 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
  10. Under Falling Skies

    All details for the board game Under Falling Skies and similar games

    Nominated for 7 awards and won 4.

    More details for Under Falling Skies
    • 1 Players
    • 20 - 40 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  11. Champions of Midgard

    All details for the board game Champions of Midgard and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 60 - 90 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
  12. Flamecraft

    All details for the board game Flamecraft and similar games

    Nominated for 2 awards and won 1.

    More details for Flamecraft
    • 1 - 5 Players
    • 60 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  13. Stone Age

    All details for the board game Stone Age and similar games

    Nominated for 22 awards and won 3.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2008

    More details for Stone Age
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 60 - 90 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn

    Video reviews for Stone Age

    • YouTube Review for the game "Stone Age" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  14. Fabled Fruit

    All details for the board game Fabled Fruit and similar games

    Nominated for 4 awards.

    More details for Fabled Fruit
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 20 - 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
    👍 Good price!28€ atAmazon.de

    Video reviews for Fabled Fruit

    • YouTube Review for the game "Fabled Fruit" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  15. Stone Age: Anniversary

    All details for the board game Stone Age: Anniversary and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 60 - 90 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  16. Architects of the West Kingdom

    All details for the board game Architects of the West Kingdom and similar games

    Nominated for 17 awards and won 5.

    More details for Architects of the West Kingdom
    • 1 - 5 Players
    • 60 - 80 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
    👍 Good price!65€ atAmazon.de

    Video reviews for Architects of the West Kingdom

    • YouTube Review for the game "Architects of the West Kingdom" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  17. Tokaido

    All details for the board game Tokaido and similar games

    Nominated for 5 awards.

    More details for Tokaido
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 45 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn

    Video reviews for Tokaido

    • YouTube Review for the game "Tokaido" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  18. Imhotep

    All details for the board game Imhotep and similar games

    Nominated for 7 awards and won 2.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2016

    More details for Imhotep
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 40 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  19. Istanbul

    All details for the board game Istanbul and similar games

    Nominated for 11 awards and won 3.

    ⭐️ Kennerspiel des Jahres 2014

    More details for Istanbul
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 40 - 60 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Medium difficulty

    Video reviews for Istanbul

    • YouTube Review for the game "Istanbul" by Shut Up & Sit Down
      Video is in English
  20. Everdell: Collector's Edition

    All details for the board game Everdell: Collector's Edition and similar games
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 40 - 80 Minutes
    • 13+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
  21. Mint Works

    All details for the board game Mint Works and similar games
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 10 - 20 Minutes
    • 13+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  22. Century: A New World

    All details for the board game Century: A New World and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 30 - 45 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  23. A Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game – Night's Watch Starter Set

    All details for the board game A Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game – Night's Watch Starter Set and similar games
    • 2 Players
    • 45 - 60 Minutes
    • 14+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  24. Quadropolis

    All details for the board game Quadropolis and similar games

    Nominated for 6 awards.

    More details for Quadropolis
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 30 - 60 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn

    Video reviews for Quadropolis

    • YouTube Review for the game "Quadropolis" by Shut Up & Sit Down
      Video is in English
    • YouTube Review for the game "Quadropolis" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  25. Little Town

    All details for the board game Little Town and similar games

    Nominated for 4 awards.

    More details for Little Town
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 30 - 60 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  26. Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small

    All details for the board game Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small and similar games
    • 2 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 13+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  27. Pan Am

    All details for the board game Pan Am and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 60 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  28. Beyond the Sun

    All details for the board game Beyond the Sun and similar games

    Nominated for 6 awards.

    More details for Beyond the Sun
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 60 - 120 Minutes
    • 14+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
  29. Atlantis Rising (Second Edition)

    All details for the board game Atlantis Rising (Second Edition) and similar games
    • 1 - 7 Players
    • 60 - 120 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  30. The Taverns of Tiefenthal

    All details for the board game The Taverns of Tiefenthal and similar games

    Nominated for 11 awards and won 4.

    More details for The Taverns of Tiefenthal
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 60 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
    👍 Good price!30€ atAmazon.de

    Video reviews for The Taverns of Tiefenthal

    • YouTube Review for the game "The Taverns of Tiefenthal" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
    • YouTube Review for the game "The Taverns of Tiefenthal" by Shut Up & Sit Down
      Video is in English

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