Order a pizza, have a few friends over, and get ready to have some fun with these board games.
Many tabletop games play great with two – or even one – players. However, when a gaming group has three or more players, it opens up brand new opportunities to play different types of games. Some board games that work best for three or more players will pit the players against each other while other times, they may be working together.
Three players is the sweet spot for some board games, as the designers have made the games work in such a way that odd numbers balance the game more properly. Three players also allows inexperienced players to team up against the best player at the table.
In Ticket to Ride, players attempt to place train routes on the board to connect different cities across America. Ticket to Ride is based on the classic game Rummy but changed in significant ways. Each round, players choose to either gain more cards or place train routes. Ticket to Ride works great for all player counts but with 3 players, the game is much more competitive since space on the board is more limited. More than 3 players also works great as it allows players to use the double train routes for an easier time.
In Gloomhaven, 1-4 players embark on a giant adventure where they face monsters, level up their characters, and explore the wild world. Gloomhaven offers a scaling difficulty for balancing the game at all player counts.
However, with 3 or 4 players, different strategies become available to the players. They can then choose characters that have abilities centered around supporting others instead of characters that are the best at fighting. While many players feel Gloomhaven works well at any player count, the game feels more balanced with 3 or 4.
Scythe is a beautiful board game that mixes a steampunk-style future with farming and resource management. Scythe can be played with 1-5 players but many gamers feel that it works best if there are 3 or more players at the table as this can lead to more conflict, more negotiation, and better scoring opportunities. However, Scythe is also known for having a very robust solo mode for a single player. Scythe is one of the most popular board games published by the renowned tabletop gaming company Stonemaier Games.
Eldritch Horror is an adventure-horror game for 1-8 players. In Eldritch Horror, players cooperate to research clues, level up their characters, fight monsters, and keep the ancient one from awakening and destroying the world. Eldritch Horror features many different ways to interact with the game using an innovative encounter system that allows players to have different types of encounters, depending on their choices. Eldritch Horror’s story and theme shine more with a higher player count which is why many players consider 3 characters or more to be the sweet spot.
In Western Legends, players take control of a cowboy or cowgirl and venture out into the wild west. Western Legends includes modes and variants for 2 players, however, many gamers find that the experience is greatly enhanced with 3 or more. Western Legends centers around a marshal and a wanted track. If players decide to do bad things, they move up on the wanted track but if they are in the mood for the good of the law, they move up the marshal track. Having several lawbreakers and marshals at the same time brings Western Legends to life.
In Sheriff of Nottingham, players attempt to bring goods into Nottingham while dealing with the suspicious Sheriff. Each round, one player acts as the Sheriff while all other players decide which goods to bring into the town.
Sheriff of Nottingham has legal goods that are allowed into Nottingham and banned goods that are not allowed in. However, players secretly choose which goods to put into a sealed bag and then they are free to claim whatever they want is in the bag. The Sheriff then must decide to either believe them or search the bag.
MIND MGMT is a hidden-movement game where one player is moving around the board secretly and the other players are trying to find them. MIND MGMT works very well with 2 players, however, more players mean more ideas as the players searching for the hidden player can discuss and put their heads together. MIND MGMT also has a fantastic sliding scale of difficulty in what the game calls The Shift System which gives the losing side of each play a new module or variant to use to make it easier for them.
Descent: Journeys in the Dark (First Edition) is a giant game for 2-5 players where most players take on the role of brave heroes and one player takes on the role of the overlord who controls all of the monsters and perils that the heroes must face. Descent: Journeys in the Dark takes a long time to play and can be an all-day affair. However, many players feel that Descent: Journeys in the Dark provides a unique experience that is unlike most other games of its type, making the long playtime and rules overhead worth it.
Camel Up is a racing and betting game for 3-8 players. In Camel Up, players compete to bet on the winning camel of a race. Each round, players decide to either bet on camels, mess with the race, or see which camel moves by rolling dice.
The catch of Camel Up is that the camels can stack on top of each other and the camel that is on top of a stack is considered to be in front of camels under it. Camel Up can make for some wild times as the game provides many stand-up moments.
Twilight Imperium is widely considered to be one of the best board games ever made. Twilight Imperium (First Edition) was released over 20 years ago and was immediately praised for its ambitious scope and fun gameplay. In 2017, the Fourth Edition of Twilight Imperium was released and has been on the top of the board game charts ever since. Twilight Imperium is a game of political intrigue, backstabbing, and space combat that has a size and scope bigger than most other board games in existence.
Marc Musso is a writer, board game enthusiast, and aspiring board game designer based in Dallas, TX. He posts pictures and reviews of board games on his Instagram at @MarcMusso He has been a semi-professional game reviewer, a miniature-painting Etsy seller, an amateur musician, and is now a list writer for CBR.com. Marc loses most board games because he’s usually too distracted by the quality of the cards. His favorite games include Everdell, Gloomhaven, and Dungeon Fighter.
