What is a strategy board game?

Introduction

We’d define a strategy board game as a game where players are primarily relying on a balance of strategy and tactics to win a game with little to no luck, whether it’s by scoring the highest, gaining the most resources or being the last meeple standing. Strategy and tactics could vary from board-game to board-game from diplomacy, to worker placement, to deduction, deck-building, resource caching and so much more.

Some examples of our favourite strategic board games include Mysterium, Wyrmspan, Brass, Flamecraft, Everdell, Happy little dinosaurs, Dice Forge, Cascadia and Ticket to Ride!

Many strategic board games require you to focus on an area or several areas in order to win. Certain board games may require a long-term strategy as well as a tactical response to developing game situations.

For example, Wyrmspan has 4 rounds, and each round comes with a set objective. This objective will not change for the rest of the game. It is advised to win one or more of the objectives or focus on other areas of the game, such as victory points, tucked cards, eggs or cached resources.

The tactical element comes from the chance nature of the dragons / cave cards that may be revealed, which might change a player’s move for that round.

For example, while your overall strategy is to lay the most eggs, a dragon with high points is revealed from the dragon deck, which is capable of tucking cards. This dragon could be paid for through other actions on your player board or you may have enough resources to gain it.

It is a tactical decision to weigh whether the points earned in the round by gaining said dragon would be greater than points scored through the eggs, as in your main strategy.

How long can a game take to play?

Depending on the length and most certainly complexity of a strategy board game, games can take from anywhere between 30 minutes to a day. And yes, some board games sound like a full-time job, but they’re so much fun to play – like Frosthaven or Spirit Island or Twilight Imperium!

We’ve also had our fair share of games warning us (like Brass: Birmingham) that the first game may take 3 hours if not longer, which we’ve laughed off and then somehow found ourselves with a game that lasted something like 6 hours the first-time round.

It’s certainly made us question whether we’re just not that good at board games, because surely it can’t be that we’re not smart… ;-;

Why we love this genre

I often enjoy min-maxing games when I see an opportunity to do so, and Joshua claims that it’s my designer brain at work, attempting to find patterns others can’t spot at first glance!

Strategy board games with lots of tactical elements are some of my favourites for this very reason. It’s where you’ll see the gears ticking in my mind, with the possible addition of smoke coming out my ears as I attempt to find and play the best possible scenario at that juncture in time, all while whispering to myself maniacally. This happens quite often when we’re playing Flamecraft, while Joshua waits for me to complete the multitude of actions I’ve somehow managed to exploit all at once.

This strategy does pan out well for me though, as I’m often been the top player for some of the games we enjoy so much. Joshua sometimes claims I’ve clearly rigged the game, but that couldn’t be further from the truth… just you know, get good! Joshua loves worker placement strategy games, where you’re gunning to gather the most resources, though I will say he shines best at deck building games like Everdell and Munchkin.

There is definitely a kick to get out of Munchkin especially when players manage to tear down the character leading the frontier, and Joshua loves it. And you know, have there been times where he’s found the best time to plan my downfall (in Munchkin, not real life, yes?) with such great accuracy that it’s kind of scary…? Also, yes.

Those are some of the reasons we love this genre!

Who might enjoy strategy board games?

There’s lots of board games with varying levels of complexity, so most people who enjoy a bit of challenge and thinking while playing would certainly enjoy this genre!

Here’s some other fun reasons you might enjoy strategically oriented board games, such as…

• The payout from strategically planning ahead
• Managing to snap the win right at the end from everyone as the underdog
• The sweet if short lived win from tactical planning
• Blocking everyone else from getting resources they need and monopolising it like the tyrant you are (yes, we do also highly advise laughing maniacally once you have achieved this)
• Bluffing your way through and setting other players on one another (this happens a lot more than you’d think…)

Whatever the reason, there are so many different reasons to enjoy the genre, we have a feeling there’s a strategy board game somewhere out there for everyone!

What are some good strategy board games to start with?

Mysterium

A good start for those new to slightly more complex board games and looking for something relatively simple to cooperate on.

Playtime

Enough for dissension and fun arguments and wrapping itself up in 45-60 minutes. Great for an evening with friends.

Publisher Website

Libellud published Mysterium and other titles we've played like Dixit and Dice Forge.

Flamecraft

A good place to step into more complex board games, that teaches you both strategy and worker placement in a tangible way.

Playtime

Relatively short. Games can take between 45-60 minutes.

Publisher Website

Cardboard Alchemy published Flamecraft, and other titles we've got our eyes on like Critter Kitchen.

Flamecraft is as fun as it looks cute, and is a satisfying strategy board game with worker placement mechanics. If you’d like to know more about why we love Flamecraft, we’ve written a review. Go check it out!

Cascadia

A habitat building board game and we’d say a good choice for those who enjoy puzzles. A nice relaxed Sunday afternoon game.

Playtime

Forty-five minutes to an hour of relaxed habitat building for high scores around animal and landmass formations.

Publisher Website

FlatOut Games published Cascadia, and other games like Calico, Verdant, Knitting Circle, Nocturne and many more!

Brass: Birmingham

Leaning on the more complex side, but easy to grasp thanks to how the game board's designed, we highly recommend Brass if you're looking for a challenge.

Playtime

60-120 minutes of intense strategizing which very often spills over into 240 minutes quite easily, espeically when you have players that enjoy min-maxing.

Publisher Website

Roxley published Brass Birmingham, and other games like Radlands, Santorini, Excalibur, Skyrise and many more!