Top Board Games That Teach You Something

Don’t ever dream of saying that our site isn’t educational. While many of us may have memories of painting miniatures, learning rules instead of paying attention at school or reading Games Workshop fluff – modern games can actually teach us a trick or two. 

And we’re not just talking about rudimentary military tactics or what words are the most effective in Scrabble.  

So, here are eight of our favorite games that actually serve as a surprisingly effective introduction to life skills that all of us need.  

Well, probably more want than need, but you get the idea.  

Starting with- 

An exceptional offering from Mercury Games, the recent 10th anniversary, jumbo edition of the classic has to be seen to be believed. Coming complete with massive, chunky boats and containers – the game may look more like an instructional tool than a fun evening in with friends. And, honestly, it’s a little bit of both. A game of manufacturing and industry, Container follows you and your friends as you manage your companies and buy and sell commodities. While the rules may be easy to learn at first, it’s worth remembering that this is an open economy game – which means if you mess up…there’s no going back. Before long you’ll be getting to grips with supply, demand, and the perils of unfettered capitalism. And you’ll never look at massive boats the same way again … that is if you spent that much time looking at them in the first place. 

Nearly as complex as starting a business for yourself, Splotter Spellen’s hyper-capitalist masterpiece lets you build your brand from the ground up. A combination of manufacturing, industry, marketing, and people management; Magnate is perfectly described by its creators as a heavy strategy game. This means considering the cost of paying and hiring employees, staking your claim to regions of the map, and( metaphorically) slitting your opponent’s throat for an extra dollar. Bundled together in a gorgeous 1950s Americana aesthetic, this is one of those games that rewards the amount of effort you put into learning its rules, strategies, and how to use them to eviscerate the opposition. High in fun and saturated fats.

While we may have lying covered further down this list (spoilers, we know), there’s a lot to be said for knowing when you are being lied to. Part of everyone’s shelves for a reason, this Boards & Cards classic puts you in a group where at least one of you is set to screw over the others. And while paranoia may descend – and work in the spy’s favor- season players quickly learn how to weed out the weasels in their midst. Inconsistencies are quickly noted, lies quashed, and players quickly transform into Columbo in an attempt to throttle the traitor. While few of us may find ourselves in a life-or-death situation with an enemy spy, it is nice to know you’ll now be able to determine who it is that keeps stealing your spoon from the break room.

Writing is a more teachable craft than an art, there are some elements that are harder to learn than others. And when it comes to mastering the infamously elusive skills of tone and voice, there are few teachers better than Balderdash. A party game that’s perfect with six, Balderdash is the spiritual predecessor to modern classics like Dixit. The game asks players to come up with alternate answers to trivia questions, with points awarded when your rivals pick your answers instead of the response provided for the game. However, in order for this to work, you have to come up with options that are: believable, memorable, consistent with the phrasing of the game, and are just insane enough to convince someone to pick them. After a couple of rounds, players will be experts at fooling each other…or at least understand how difficult writing actually is.

We’re not going to bury the lede on this one – Captain Sonar is a game of teamwork and stress management in high-pressure situations. With all the pressure provided by your friends who are screaming at you because you failed to move a sheet of acetate around your tabletop. Played as an adrenaline-soaked game of battleship, Sonar lets up to 8 players split into two teams and scrap over a tiny map. Played in real time, the game rewards clear communication and establishing an effective shorthand. This rewards players that can communicate with military precision and understand the importance of clarity … And respecting the chain of command.

If you watch any coverage about Wall Street, the untrained eye can make it look like stocks and shares trading is nothing more than a bunch of sweaty idiots yelling at each other. And if this game teaches us anything, it’s that that read is fairly accurate. A party masterpiece, players are put in the roles of managers and investors. And then the screaming starts. Each of the games’ five rounds sees players go head-to-head as shares are purchased and prices are set – in other words, arbitrarily shouting until the numbers go up and screaming when they plummet back down again. Played in real-time and with a firm emphasis on negotiation, players quickly learn how to barter and deal, holding fire during auctions and skewering the opposition when it best suits. As illuminating as it is loud, Wall Street is an exceptional choice for capitalists and commies alike.       

Replicating the cut-and-thrust drama of the iconic science fiction series, players work cooperatively to bring the ancient Galactica safely to earth. The only thing stopping them? Fuel shortages, starvation, Cylon attacks. Oh, and the fact that at least one of your ‘council’  is a humanoid robot baying out for blood. And if you are that robot, sister – are you going to get a crash course in lying to your best friends’ faces. You’ll learn to use every trick in the book to sabotage, cast blame, and waste resources as you bring Galactica closer and closer to destruction. And have an absolutely amazing time while you do it.   

And for those of you looking to bring sneaky liars to justice, look no further found the great detective himself. A longstanding success story, Consulting Detective’s Accessibility and quality writing make it the perfect instructional tool for sleuths from all walks of life. Asking you to piece together the makings of a crime and identify the crook involved, SH is a fantastic way to learn how undisciplined your thinking actually is. Early games will be full of tangents, dead-ends, and assumptions. But, before long, you’ll be cracking cases with the best of them…or arresting the wrong person and howling in agony before you do it all over again.

What board games do you believe teach you things? Tell us in the comments!