What Next: Cooperative Adventure Board Game | Which Path Will You Pick?

Product Information

Why we love it: As a commitment-phobe when it comes to games, I like that Cathedral is easy to learn and fast-paced—a game usually runs about 20 minutes.

From puck-flicking to shape building to item balancing, in What Next you master over 60 unique mini games as you go. Removing a card to reveal the card below it often leads to another face-off directly after, creating a vibe of intense expectation punctured by hectic bursts of sudden activity. Although the game can run long in its standard first-to-10-points mode (especially with four players), we found that it can be equally fun with a set time limit. Along with upgrades for your character that'll provide a more personal connection with them, battles being so skill-based makes victory all the sweeter - your clever tactics saw you through, not luck of the dice.How it’s played: Players pick one of the included decks, and each flips a card faceup in front of them. How it’s played: Each box comes with 10 cases set in Holmes’s London, arming you with a map and directory, a newspaper, a case book, and a short list of contacts to fall back on. Fail, and you'll often be required to add pieces to the Tower of Peril, a stack of irregular foam shapes. Sometimes we may include links to online retailers, from which we might receive a commission if you make a purchase. You love games with talking and bluffing: Diplomacy is a crucial pillar of Cosmic Encounter, so it's a great fit for anyone that likes negotiation, deception, or bluffing games.

It's more than earned its place on our list of the best board games, and numerous expansions (starring a werewolf or revolving around twisted Christmas tales) should keep that magic alive for even longer. You don't like randomness: This game relies on randomly-drawn board tiles and cards that'll dictate what happens next. What you need to know: Unusual, accessible, and delightfully compelling, Jaipur deserves to be in everyone's collection. The bottom line: There's a good reason why Pandemic has been on shelves for a couple of decades now - its blend of challenge and elation when you win makes it a classic.There's a catch, of course, which is that many dice faces are blank and you can re-roll these… at the risk of losing the lot.

The remaining players are psychics who must solve the murder case using the vision cards to pick out the correct person, place, and thing cards—to advance, each psychic must solve a different facet of the case. And if you'd prefer something more adventurous, don't forget about the best Dungeons and Dragons books . It works in a very similar way to Exploding Kittens, with players taking a card and passing the rest on… except here you need to build a selection of dishes that earn points over the course of three rounds. It also handles a lot of the admin such as tracking damage, leaving you free to enjoy the strategy of card management and luck of dice rolling. You want your choices to matter: Because your decisions are carried over from session to session, what you do really does matter.

Throw crafting and special abilities into the mix (found on a deck of special cards that you'll draw on throughout the game) for a heady tactical cocktail. You want something very replayable: Because there are so many different strategies you can make use of (and each session offers up unique opportunities due to randomness of the draw), you can play Jaipur multiple times and have a different experience each round.

Fit to Print is a board game that came onto our radar late last year during its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.

Pledge copies for Septima are due to be delivered in May, with late pledge copies available on Gamefound. The titles on this list range from grim-dark horror and the deep unknown of space to blissfully pastoral, with moods to suit almost any atmosphere or occasion. The people you're playing with aren't board gamers: The wonderful thing about Ticket to Ride is the fact that it's so accessible.