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Which Are The 10 Most Popular Board Games In America?
Image: Mesh
Even in this day and age, most board games are stacked and forgotten in some dusty closet. However, everyone holds memories of sharing many hours playing with friends and family over a board of Monopoly, Scrabble, or one of thousands of other options. We have narrowed that number to a mere ten, focusing on the most popular ones in America. Which ones have you played?
1
Pictionary
Image: Kelly Sikkema
Who hasn’t played Pictionary at least once in their life? The whole gameplay boils down to drawing a picture so that others can guess what it is. It’s like "charades" with drawings instead of actions.
While this is a board game, the board itself is the least important part of the game. The only things that matter are the drawings and how people guess what they are. Anybody of any age can get into the game and have a good time.
2
Game of Life
Image: Jaciel Melnik
One of the most popular board games of all time, the Game of Life, was created in 1960. The idea is that you want to end the game with more assets than anyone else. The basic gameplay involves spinning the spinner and making a handful of key decisions at intersections. It is in those moments that you influence which way your "life" will turn out.
The whole game is, like life itself, very luck-driven and not very strategic. This game laid the groundwork for many modern, narrative-driven games.
3
Clue
Image: Towfiqu barbhuiya
Clue was the first mass-market game to make bluffing and deduction an explicit part of the game. During gameplay, you’re always trying to analyze your opponents’ moves and react accordingly.
A game that spawned a million more games, Clue takes its participants on a journey to solve a murder using a series of clues given throughout the session. Even if you never played it (and chances are that you have), you know it.
4
Chutes And Ladders
Image: Biao Xie
Chutes and Ladders was inspired by an ancient Indian board game that originated around the year 200 BC. The game is luck-driven; there is no strategic element to either the ancient or the modern version.
Just like in The Game of Life, the gameplay involves spinning a spinner and advancing the specified amount of spaces it indicates. Ladders move you up higher on the board, and chutes drop you down to lower spaces.
5
Risk
Image: Dave Photoz
Risk has one of the most recognizable boards of any board game, with its colorful map divided into strange countries. The focus is set on one of the oldest of human ambitions: to conquer the world.
It is not the kind of game you want to play if you only have a few minutes to spare, since the entire gameplay can take up to a few hours. But, if you have the time and at least one other player, it is well worth it.
6
Trivial Pursuit
Image: Claudia Wolff
If answering questions about different topics of general human knowledge is your thing, then Trivial Pursuit is definitely your game. The board itself is not the center of the game. It serves the purpose of marking which theme must be answered in each turn and where each player is in the gameplay.
Some prefer the questions about sports, while others hope to get the questions about culture. But there is always something for everyone.
7
Scrabble
Image: John Benitez
Another well-known board game, Scrabble is the foundation of just about every word-based tabletop game that has come since its first appearance in 1948. In this game, the pieces you work with are thrown into a bag and doled out by random chance.
You can make maneuvers to benefit yourself and to block others, but the real advantage is in the hands of those with a strong vocabulary and a good memory to recall the words at the right time.
8
Checkers
Image: Gabriel Meinert
A game so simple that it can be played and enjoyed by children, Checkers is a very straightforward strategy game, similar to Chess in some aspects (especially the board) but simpler in many others.
The gameplay, intended for two players, involves forward movements of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces.
9
Monopoly
Image: Joshua Hoehne
Another all-time modern classic, Monopoly shares a similar objective as the previously mentioned The Game of Life: finishing the game with the most properties and money possible.
Monopoly has many themed versions and variants, including popular culture themes, and digital versions. But the gist in all of them is: roll the dice, buy properties, pay rent to other players, and pray not to land on Boardwalk or Parkway Avenue, especially if there are hotels (unless you own those two).
10
Chess
Image: Randy Fath
Let us finish this list with the Game of Kings itself, Chess : the best-selling game of all time, played by countless generations across the globe. Learning the basic moves is simple; mastering them is something different altogether.
Whether you are an advanced player, an aficionado, or someone who is considering learning it, Chess is good for you. It provides excellent exercise for your brain, infinite hours of fun, and can be played at any age.
