We’ve all heard of the classic board games like Monopoly and Clue, but what about those that take us back to medieval times? With the resurgence of board gaming in recent years, it’s the perfect time to explore some of the best medieval board games available.
Best Medieval Board Games
- Cephalofair Games: Gloomhaven
- Plunder - A Pirate’s Life Strategy Board Game
- The Lord of the Rings Journeys in Middle-earth Board Game
- Carcassonne Bix Box Medieval Board Game
- Small World of Warcraft Board Game
- Monopoly Game of Thrones Board Game
- Metal Chess Set with Deluxe Wood Board and Storage
- 7 Wonders Duel Board Game
- Carcassonne Family Medieval Board Game
1. Gloomhaven
- Average Paytime: 60-120 Minutes
- Players: 1-4
- Ages: 14+
- Brand: Cephalofair Games
Gloomhaven is an immersive dungeon crawler medieval-themed board game with a deep, interactive storyline that can be shaped by the choices you make in the game.
It can be played in groups or solo, with a lengthy campaign and many secrets waiting to be discovered, in which players can form an adventuring party to overcome dungeons and defeat monsters.
Unlike most board games, Gloomhaven does not use dice to determine actions and outcomes. Instead, each character is assigned a deck of cards that they can use to move and attack during their turn.
The puzzles feature in the game adds a further challenge and must be solved to successfully complete each dungeon. Furthermore, players can unlock new characters with new abilities throughout the game, offering players a variety of gameplay.
The Good: The initiative system makes combat feel fast and exciting while at the same time requiring players to think strategically. It’s a great way to keep the game fresh and interesting by providing lots of choices and different paths to take.
The Bad: Gloomhaven has a steep learning curve, which can make it daunting for first-time players. The price is also more expensive than most board games, so this may put off those who are on a budget.
Conclusion: Gloomhaven is an excellent choice for those who are looking for an immersive experience with a deep and complex board game to play for hours.
The price point, given the amount of content, is very fair and makes Gloomhaven an excellent value for money. With its unique card-based mechanic and compelling story, Gloomhaven is sure to provide hours of entertainment.
2. Plunder – A Pirate’s Life Strategy Board Game
- Average Paytime: 40-80 Minutes
- Players: 2-5
- Ages: 8+
- Brand: Lost Boy Entertainment
Plunder – A Pirate’s Life is a fun medieval-themed strategy board game that is easy to learn and enjoyable for both beginners and experienced gamers.
In this game, players have to manage their resources, build ships and arm them with cannons and masts to dominate the seas. With no player elimination, everyone fights till the very end. It’s suitable for people of all ages and provides fun, family entertainment.
The Good: What’s not to like about a high-stakes pirate game? Plunder – A Pirate’s Life is an engaging, exciting, and strategic board game that is perfect for any game night.
The game also includes a spinner, which is a nice touch, and not a lot of modern games have one. Beautifully crafted components, replayable map configurations, unique mechanics, and the rules are easy to understand.
The Bad: The game mechanics rely more on random dice rolls. The game can become very unbalanced if one player takes a lead early in the game, as it’s hard to catch up. The storm mechanism is a bit clunky and feels cheap.
Conclusion: If you’re looking for a light, exciting game with plenty of pirate-themed fun, this game is for you. Plunder – A Pirate’s Life is easy to learn and quick to play, a great value for the money.
3. The Lord of the Rings Journeys in Middle-earth Board Game
- Average Paytime: 60+ Minutes
- Players: 1-5
- Ages: 14+
- Brand: Fantasy Flight Games
The Lord of the Rings Journeys in Middle-earth is about exploring the world of Middle-earth, facing danger, and completing each scenario’s objectives.
The game components are high-quality and well-thought-out, allowing you to customize your experience with different heroes and decks. It includes a great variety of components, from tokens to over 300 cards and miniatures.
With plenty of setups involved in the beginning, there is plenty to learn and experience in this game. In short, the gameplay is about cooperation, strategy, and risk-taking in a world of adventure!
The Good: Vast collection of high-quality components, with beautiful illustrations on the cards. The board game is perfectly complemented by the companion app, which brings the game to life with an immersive soundtrack and sound effects, and a Threat Level bar that serves as a timer to keep you on your toes.
The Bad: You must commit to playing through the entire campaign before adding different characters, which can be a bit of a time commitment. There is no storage for all the components, which can be difficult to keep organized.
Conclusion: The Lord of the Rings Journeys in Middle-earth is a fantastic game for fans of the Lord of the Rings universe and tabletop gamers alike. With its story-driven campaign, immersive battle maps, and strategic deck-building gameplay, it offers a completely unique and engaging experience, one that I highly recommend.
4. Carcassonne Big Box Medieval Board Game (2022 Edition)
- Average Paytime: 30-40 Minutes
- Players: 2-6
- Ages: 7+
- Brand: Z-Man Games
Carcassonne Big Box 2022 Edition combines the base game along with eleven of its expansions, allowing players to dive into a world of strategy that provides plenty of ways to outsmart opponents.
Players must develop the landscape of a medieval fortress city by strategically placing tiles and meeples to block cities’ growth, connect with their opponents’ roads, or share the points.
With over 150 tiles and seven meeple types included, Carcassonne offers an incredible variety of gameplay options that make it perfect for families and young players.
Each turn is straightforward and even with a number of players, the game keeps moving quickly. The Big Box even comes with a bag for drawing tiles, so players don’t have to worry about getting a separate bag.
Of particular interest is the inclusion of Inns & Cathedrals and Traders & Builders expansions, which change the strategy and gameplay in new ways.
The Good: The base rules are simple, making it easy to learn, yet the additional rules, components, and expansions provide exciting twists that keep the game from getting dull or feeling too simplistic.
The Bad: The box is huge and takes up a lot of space. Some pieces can be hard to tell apart.
Conclusion: Carcassonne Big Box 2022 Edition is simple enough for a 7-year-old to join in but classic, and challenging enough for adults to enjoy. I highly recommend this game for family game night.
5. Small World of Warcraft Board Game
- Average Paytime: 40-80 Minutes
- Players: 2-5
- Ages: 10+
- Brand: Days of Wonder
Small World of Warcraft is a fun, exciting board game that takes us back to medieval times in the fantasy world of Azeroth. This game aims to gain victory points by conquering various regions and amassing coins from those conquests.
For that, players will have to place their Race tokens in multiple Regions and conquer adjacent lands. Knowing when to abandon your current civilization and move on to a new one is key to victory.
Players are able to choose from a variety of special powers from the Warcraft universe such as Beast Master, Swamp Walker, Black Smith, Intimidating, Enraged, Explorer, Farmer, Herbalist, or Portal Mage, and races such as Orcs, Draenei, Trolls, Worgen, Tauren or Humans, and fight to conquer legendary terrains and powerful artifacts.
By understanding the unique racial traits and skills of your chosen Race and Special Power combination, you can plan your conquests and achieve victory.
When the final turn has been taken, players reveal how many victory coins they have collected, and the player who has accumulated the most points is the winner. In the case of a tie, the player with the most race tokens left on the map is the winner.
The Good: Well-defined instructions, with straightforward rules, and offers multiple strategies making it an ideal choice for a gaming session with friends and family. Well-crafted miniatures, tokens, and cards.
The Bad: There are a lot of pieces that can make this game a bit overwhelming for beginners. Some of the rules can be confusing. Would have been nice to see some World of Warcraft miniatures based on actual characters or raid bosses from the game.
Conclusion: I’ve played it several times with my family and friends and it’s a blast! It offers multiple strategies making it an ideal choice for any World of Warcraft fan or anyone looking for a challenging strategy board game. It’s not the easiest to learn, but once you get the hang of it, your strategies and tactics will really come into play.
6. Monopoly Game of Thrones Board Game
- Average Paytime: 30-80 Minutes
- Players: 2-6
- Ages: 8+
- Brand: MONOPOLY
The Monopoly Game of Thrones edition features tokens based on the honorable sigils of the great houses and includes 42 Gold Dragons and 53 Silver Stags cardboard coins.
Instead of houses and hotels are 32 holdfasts and 12 castles. The Iron Throne card holder can also be used as a musical stand playing the Game of Thrones theme song with the push of a button.
The Good: The medieval theme, nice house tokens, coins over cash, and the Monopoly signs replaced with iconic sigils of the Great Houses, are all great features.
The Bad: Although the coins over cash are a nice touch, It would have been nice to have them made of metal instead of cardboard. The Prison and the Free Parking spaces do not match the rest of the board’s medieval theme.
Conclusion: If you are a fan of the popular HBO TV series Game of Thrones, then you’ll love this Monopoly board game. With the iconic locations from the show, it makes a great gift for any fan of the series.
7. Metal Chess Set with Deluxe Wood Board and Storage
- Players: 2
- Dimensions: 12.5″ x 3.25″ x 12.5″
- Ages: 14+
- Brand: Classic Game Collection
If you are a fan of chess, then a Metal Chess Set will make an excellent addition to your collection. The set includes metal Staunton chessmen, a wooden inlaid chest for storage, and two velour pull-string pouches for the pieces.
The Good: This metal set is perfect, and the pieces feel very solid in your hand. The wooden squared board with its medieval design really adds to the overall look. The velvet pouch for the pieces is also a nice touch, it’s great for keeping them safe and organized.
The Bad: The silver team pieces are a bit too glossy compared to the gold ones and might not give the same “antique” look.
Conclusion: Overall, this is a good set with quality pieces and a nice board for anyone who appreciates a good game, and it is sure to provide hours of fun! I highly recommend this set for any chess enthusiasts!
8. 7 Wonders Duel Board Game
- Average Paytime: 30 Minutes
- Players: 2
- Ages: 10+
- Brand: Repos Production
7 Wonders Duel is a decent strategy game for two players to enjoy in more or less 30 minutes. Players will choose cards with increasingly powerful effects over the course of three rounds and they’ll have to decide whether to invest in military, prestige, or science.
Players can achieve victory by invading their opponent’s capital city, achieving a monopoly on scientific advancement, or constructing the most prestigious city.
The Good: Beautiful medieval-themed artwork and components. The combination of luck and strategy keeps the game interesting and dynamic.
The Bad: The expansion adds a bit of complexity with the Gods’ addition. The limitation to only two players can also be a downside for some.
Conclusion: If you like strategy games and are up for a challenge, 7 Wonders Duel is sure to please you. The game allows for great replay value and the expansion adds even more options for play. All in all, is a great medieval-themed game that offers an enjoyable and challenging experience for any board gamer.
9. Carcassonne Family Medieval Board Game
- Average Paytime: 35 Minutes
- Players: 2-5
- Ages: 7+
- Brand: Z-Man Games
Carcassonne is the original and the smaller version of the Carcassonne Big Box edition, the main difference being the 11 expansions that you only get with the Big Box edition. Carcassonne is a tile-laying game in which players take turns to place tiles, representing the landscape of roads, cities, monasteries, and fields.
Each tile must be placed adjacent to a previously laid tile, and players can place their followers on the tiles to score points. The followers have different roles, such as knights, monks, farmers, or thieves, and score differently. In the end, the player with the most strategic placements and followers will score the most points and win the game.
The Good: It’s straightforward and easy to learn, and it’s a great game to play with the whole family.
The Bad: The linear progress of the game can make it difficult to catch up if someone has taken an early lead. The rules could be better clarified in the manual, and some aspects of scoring are ambiguous.
Conclusion: Carcassonne might not be as addictive or as complex as some of the other board games on this list, but it’s still a great game for the whole family. With easy rules and quick play sessions, it’s perfect for a casual game night with friends and family.
