As the year draws to a close, many gamer youtubers, podcasters and bloggers are creating their list of the top board games of 2017. We’ve generously compiled them here so you don’t have to seek out each list individually. In addition, we’ve collected the trending board games that made multiple top ten/five lists below the lists.
All the Lists: Top Board Games of 2017
Unfiltered Gamer and the Cardboard Stacker collaborated on a list this year, each contributing their top five board games of 2017, as well as their top five Kickstarter games of 2017.
Man vs. Meeple also create a video showcasing their top ten of 2017. Top picks include Azul, Ethnos, Gloomhaven, Gaia Project, Heaven & Ale, Bunny Kingdom, and the 7th Continent.
Drive Thru Review‘s top ten list includes The Expanse board game, Heaven & Ale, and Hunt for the Ring.
Radho‘s top ten games of 2017 includes Gloomhaven, Santa Maria and Jump Drive, among others.
We like how Pair of Dice Paradise created a top ten list of overlooked board games in 2017. Included are Container: 10th Anniversary Jumbo Edition, Heroes of Land, Air & Sea and more.
The GameBoyGeek also had a couple of unusual picks in his top ten board games – sharing his opinions on DropMix and Dragon Castle, but also popular picks like the 7th Continent.
Roll for Crit shares their top ten board games of 2017 – showcasing This War of Mine, Spirit Island and the popular 7th Continent.
Edo shares his top ten games he’s played in 2017. He included Kingdomino and Jaipur, among others.
Adam’s Boardgame Wales‘ list of top ten board games features storytelling games such as Untold Adventures Await, Magic Maze, and Dice Forge.
Board Game Quest‘s Tony Mastrangeli compiled his top ten board games of the year and shares his thoughts on Fallout, The Quest for El Dorado, Wasteland Express Delivery Service and more.
On Ars Technica, Aaron Zimmerman, Nate Anderson and Tom Mendelsohn share a lengthy post detailing the best board games of the year.
The Dice Tower recorded a podcast and listed out their top ten picks. Fairly straightforward and well-known, their top picks include Gloomhaven, Unlock and the 7th Continent.
Here’s a playlist with all of the year’s top board game lists that we could find:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLmIIYFy7QwO7qRZnFfojv1GtSAGNPDAAP&v=TS_BxZ9Zvw4[/embedyt]
Highlighted Board Games of 2017
These games appeared in many of the lists above. Here’s a little bit more information about each one and where to buy it. Please note: our amazon links are affiliate links that help us keep this website up —thank you for supporting Unfiltered Gamer!
Gloomhaven
The second printing of this game on Kickstarter raised nearly $4 million this year, and the game has recently attained the coveted #1 spot on Board Game Geek. With credentials like that, it’s no surprise that this dungeon crawler made quite a few top ten lists this year. If you missed the Kickstarter, you can get Gloomhaven on Amazon (will be released this January).
The 7th Continent
A huge cooperative adventure game that funded for $7 million on Kickstarter, it’s no surprise that this game was mentioned on many lists this year. The good news? You can still late pledge for the 7th Continent on Kickstarter and experience the hype for yourself.
Santorini
Unlike the above games, this strategy board game is great for younger and older players alike (ages 8+). And, it’s a bit more affordable than most of the others on this list; you can purchase Santorini on Amazon.
Azul
This game is on my personal list to play or find very soon. A tile drafting and placing game, players compete to complete a beautiful design on the walls of a palace. The art of the game looks amazing! Check out Azul on Amazon.
DropMix
DropMix has a super unique technology component to the game that makes it a unique hit for the year as well as a sign of the type of games we will be seeing in the near future. Play DJ by mixing your own tunes, or play cooperatively in a game of speed, communication and matching that will have you nodding your head to the beat. You can buy the DropMix gaming system on Amazon.
Are we missing a list or your favorite board game of the year? Leave us a comment to let us know!
A list of lists, thanks.
This blog post was very informative. I will be checking these games out and I will let my know what I think.
thanks for listing them out
These are a lot of good games for me to try!
Thanks for this.
Looks like I have a lot of gaming in store in 2018, just to try the top games of 2017
Thanks
Thanks for this list! I haven’t been able to play many of the games released in 2017, but I hope to soon!
Hoping to get my hands on some of these eventually…
I thank you, my wallet curses you.
Damn, there are so many godo games out there :3
Can’t wait to try some of these out.
One day I’ll play Gloomhaven…. one day….
Great list- now I have some shopping to do
Thanks! Yes, you think you’re saving money by hanging out online reading blogs instead of going out shopping or browsing amazon, but no! So much good stuff out there these days as far as games.
Thanks!
Love Azul and Ethnos but cant believe Sagrada did not make it
Gloomhaven and 7th Continent are great!
Awesome
I own three of them 🙂
I’ll add this to my list of the lists of the top games of 2017.
Gloomhaven certainly has some hulking brutes in it!