The Best War Board Games 2025

This article explores the best war board games, offering a diverse selection catering to various preferences and play styles. The games listed provide epic battle experiences, ranging from short, intense encounters to sprawling, multi-hour campaigns. To enhance the experience of longer games, the article suggests pre-reading the rulebook, delegating administrative tasks between turns, and potentially implementing turn time limits.

Top War Board Games:

Arcs: A highly-rated game blending strategic card play (trick-taking mechanics) with exciting spacecraft battles. It offers a compelling balance between negotiation and direct conflict, all within a manageable playtime.

Dune: War for Arrakis: A two-player, head-to-head game offering intense asymmetrical warfare between the Atreides and Harkonnens. The game features high-quality miniatures and a dynamic dice system, demanding constant strategic adaptation.

Sniper Elite: The Board Game: A close-quarters combat game adapting the video game's stealth mechanics. The game features escalating tension, historical accuracy, and multiple scenarios for replayability.

Twilight Imperium IV: An epic, all-day sci-fi civilization-building game. It combines galactic conquest, technology research, diplomacy, and political maneuvering for a truly immersive experience.

Blood Rage: A Viking-themed game where players vie for glory in the Ragnarök. It blends strategic card drafting, tactical combat, and a unique blind battle system.

Dune: A classic game based on Frank Herbert's novel, emphasizing asymmetrical strategies and hidden information, offering a deep, political experience.

Kemet: Blood and Sand: A fast-paced, violent game set in ancient Egypt, featuring mythical creatures and strategic pyramid powers. The game emphasizes direct conflict and tactical maneuvering.

Star Wars: Rebellion: An asymmetric game where the Rebellion fights for survival against the powerful Empire. It combines strategic warfare with narrative elements from the Star Wars universe.

Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear: A tactical wargame focusing on squad-level combat during World War II. It balances realism, tactical depth, and accessibility.

Undaunted: Normandy / Undaunted: North Africa / Undaunted: Stalingrad: Deck-building wargames recreating infantry combat during World War II. They offer accessible gameplay with engaging tactical choices.

Root: A shorter game featuring asymmetrical factions vying for control of a woodland realm. It combines cute aesthetics with brutal strategic gameplay.

Twilight Struggle: Red Sea: A streamlined version of the classic Twilight Struggle, offering a shorter playtime while retaining the core strategic dilemmas of the Cold War.

A Game of Thrones: The Board Game: A game of political intrigue and betrayal, mirroring the themes of the books and TV show. It requires strategic alliances and potential treachery for victory.

War of the Ring: A game based on Tolkien's works, featuring two intertwined games: a large-scale battle across Middle-earth and the Fellowship's quest to destroy the One Ring.

Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy: A sci-fi civilization-building game emphasizing long-term strategic planning, technology upgrades, and galactic exploration.

The article concludes by discussing the broad definition of "wargame" used, encompassing historical simulations, hypothetical conflicts, and fantasy/sci-fi settings. It encourages further exploration of specific subgenres within the wargame community.