Board games are a curious type of hobby that millions of people worldwide highly appreciate. New game releases are issued annually, lots of bold board game startups are launched, and the industry of board games has its bestsellers and failures. Do you want to learn which titles became last year’s most popular board games and get insights into what boardgamers expect from the 2025 novelties? We offer you these insights from the two most popular board game resource users: Reddit and BoardGameGeek. 

Both resources are truly relevant information resources because of the following:

• Reddit is one of the biggest interactive platforms. Its r/boardgames dashboard gathers over 5 million board gamers around the globe.

• BoardGameGeek is a truly unique informational resource dedicated to board games. It provides not only board game discussions but expert materials, developers’ podcasts, its own board games marketplace, and lots of curiosities for those who love spending time with friends playing board games.

Both platforms have conducted surveys to indicate the choice of the best board games in 2024. So, following the results of the questionnaire answered by 234 users of BoardGameGeek and 394 Reddit users, we can make some conclusions and decide on the best of the best in the world of last year’s board games.

2024`s Top 8 Board Games

So, which of last year’s popular board games became real hits?

1. Ark Nova: a Mention Leader and Unexpected Breakthrough of the Year

Ark Nova keeps the palm as the most mentioned game by both resources surveys. It was mentioned as the best board game by 16 BoardGameGeek users and 20 Reddit board gamers. The secret of its popularity is a combo of non-trivial scenarios offering players to build their own zoos and keep various animals with complex game mechanics which provides multiverse development, lots of action scenarios, and card combinations. This combo makes Arc Nova’s gameplay unpredictable and thus, constantly challenging.

2. Wingspan Keeps the Second Place and Boasts of 5 Years in the BoardGameGeek Rate

It seems surprising, but the second-mentioned best board game also reveals the topic of nature. Wingspan is an economic strategy game devoted to the development of bird sanctuaries. Thanks to its quite simple mechanics and adverse range of actions, Wingspan obtained 8 votes from BoardGameGeek users and 10 votes on Reddit. Besides, this game has retained its high position in BGG’s best board games rate for 5 years. 

3. Lost Ruins of Arnak: Mysteries and Adventures Are Still Trendy

Lost Ruins of Arnak is a startup game by Czech developers which seems to be a true success. Its captivating storyline that leads 4 players through the secrets and mysteries of the abandoned island of Arnak brought Lost Ruins of Arnak to third place in the list of mentions of active board gamers. It gets 6 votes as the best board game on BoardGameGeek and it was once claimed as the best game in 2024 on Reddit. 

4. The Root: A Fantasy Strategy Wasn’t Missed by Board Gamers

The military strategy game Root received as many as 8 mentions on BoardGameGeek and the same number on Reddit. It is not an occasion, as the combination of a bit of fairy-tale setting and asymmetric fractions for each of the 4 players challenge greatly and make the Root a truly unique and popular board game.

5. Sea Salt and Pepper: Cards, Crabs, and Maritime Adventures

The maritime adventure game Sea Salt and Pepper got 7 votes from BoardGameGeek respondents and 3 votes on Reddit. So, we can say that competitive card-gathering games remained also trendy in 2024. Besides, the marine setting only added to the popularity of Sea Salt and Pepper itself and made it a favorite of board gamers.

6. Harmonies: The Best-Rated Family Game for All Ages

Harmonies is also a nature-themed board game. It is developed for 4 players and offers terraforming and demiurge-like opportunities. You can form your area’s landscapes, inhabit them with animals, and feel the impact of nature spirits. There is an opportunity to play in a simplified game mode without nature spirits as well as in a more complex mode. This expands the game’s horizons and makes Harmonies one of the leaders of board game rates. It was mentioned as the best 2024 board game by 5 BoardGameGeek players and 4 Reddit users.

7. The Dune: Imperium: World-Loved Universe in a Board Game Setting

In the wake of the popularity of the film masterpieces Dune and Dune: Part Two, the board game Dune: Imperium, based on Frank Herbert's famous universe, also received its share of recognition. The strategy embodies almost everything we love the Dune Universe books and movies for: keep the goal to form your card set, conquer the territories, and control spice mining.

8. Cascadia: One More Abstract Nature-Themed Game in the Rate

A meditative abstract board game Cascadia was also mentioned among the best-rated board games. Its plot is a bit similar to Harmonies and also focuses on terraforming but its main principle is to capture the widest area and achieve a certain goal (the goals can be different). As a result, 1 BoardGameGeek user and 9 Reddit users voted for Cascadia as the best board game in 2024.

2025 Board Games Universe Expectations

BoardGameGeek users also shared their expectations from board games in 2025. What do board gamers expect from them?

• Although 2024 has brought many powerful releases, games that can surpass previous developments have already been announced.

• The focus of attention is shifting to Eurogames.

• One more trend spreading among BGG users is following the challenges to re-play their loved board games from the previous releases and high attention to mini-sets.

As for the most expected 2025 board games, here are some special trends in this niche.

• As usual, board gamers are eagerly awaiting the continuation of their favorite series — for example, Puerto Rico 1897: Special Edition and The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking game.

• Games with innovative mechanics and unusual topics are also on the expectation list. For example, Molly House, a game that immerses you in the world of gender-neutral people in 18th-century England, is coming out in 2025, which is an extraordinary piece of storytelling. The already successful real-time control mechanic through an app will be embodied in the new release of Cyberpunk 2077: the Board Game.

• One more expectation related to 2025 board games focuses on successful crowdfunding projects on Kickstarter. After these games surpass testing periods by crowdfunding members, they will go on general sale and be available to other board gamers.

A Brief Summary

As we can see, board game enthusiasts have quite diverse preferences and the rates by BGG and Reddit prove this fact. At once, several board game trends can be highlighted. These are trends for playing nature-themed games, continuing appreciation of world-known serial games, and expectations for the releases by reputable developers and Kickstarter’s fundraisers that will boost interest in the market. We gladly thank everyone who took part in this survey. We also invite our readers to share their own preferences and insights about the board games 2024. You are welcome to share your ideas and thoughts about what to expect from board games in 2025.