Top 15 Board Game Christmas Gift Ideas for Adults & Couples

Would you like the ultimate 15 gift ideas for board game lovers?  

This board games list has the top 15 best board games for adults, starting with killer  cooperative games like Robinson Crusoe. 

Imagine just strolling through the stores, trying to find a fun board games for your loved one or  friends. 

Looking through hundreds of boring and “popular board games” would be tedious, and even if  you took one home, it wouldn’t be fun. 

This list will be your savior, with the best board games 2020 for adults and/or couples. 

Co-op Games:  

Starting off our list are some of the best cooperative board games around.

#1 -  Robinson Crusoe 2e 

Robinson Crusoe is simply one of the best co-op games of all time, making it the top of the board game gift guide 2020. 

The game is heavily loved and beautifully designed. 

Robinson Crusoe brings players together in a fight for survival as they are stranded on a cursed island. They must gather food & resources, defend themselves from animals and native tribes, and build the tools they need to complete the current mission objective. 

There are 7 mission objectives and a randomized board, so every play will be different. Robinson Crusoe has a beautiful expansion as well: Mystery Tales. 

#2 -  Folklore: The Affliction (Dark Tales Expansion) 

Folklore: The Affliction (Dark Tales Expansion) is an expansion, but is a complete base game all on its own.

Folklore is a very long, multi-session campaign similar to RPG tabletop games where players gather companions, train their characters, unearth legendary artifacts, and strike back against the darkness that’s consuming the land. 

Explore dungeons, play in the open-world adventure, and play as different archetypes with different styles of combat. 

Take on a magnificent quest in Folklore: Dark Tales. 

#3 -  Walking Dead: No Sanctuary Survivor 

Unlike other post-apocalyptic survival games, The Walking Dead: No Sanctuary Survivor brings players together in an award-winning coop game to fight against legions of undead. 

1-4 Players play in a 60-minute horrific bout to survive, trying to simultaneously work together and build their defenses against death itself. 

You get to play as all your favorite characters - If you’re a fan of the show, you’re sure to love the game… but if you love well-designed games, Walking Dead: No Sanctuary Survivor will please for many game sessions. 

#4 -  Fog of Love 

Fog of Love is not a “true” cooperative game - but can be, if the couple wants it so. 

Fog of Love is where 2 players will interact with each other and the scenarios in an attempt to improve - or dramatically break - the relationship with their companion. 

Will the players secretly work to bring each other together… or plot the others emotional  destruction? A perfect couples board game for a night of joviality and fun. 

If you love the game, Fog of Love has an awesome expansion:  It will never last.

Competitive Board Games:  

#5 -  Tapestry 

Familiar with Civilization? 

Tapestry is a civilization game for 1-5 players in an epic 2-hour game of construction, where you try to build the greatest and most storied civilization in history. 

Each civilization is greatly different - Start from nothing and advance your civilization in scientific endeavors, technological merits, exploring beautiful scenics, or crushing your enemies with military strength, while simultaneously focusing on income, buildings, captain abilities, and accumulating victory points to weave the greatest tapestry in mankind’s history. 

#6 -  Noria 

Noria is a world of innovative mechanisms and steampunk/sci-fi wonders.

Beautifully designed, Noria has players build the most prestigious trading empire on the planet. 

Secure aid from politicians by bribing them with secret knowledge, invest in wondrous projects  and terrifying factories, discover magnetic floating islands in the sky, and develop ships that  will carry your trade to the 4 corners of the Earth. 

Noria is a strategic, long-term-planning steampunk game for 2-4 players, that lasts between 70-120 minutes. 

#7 -  Tribes 

Build your time from the beginning of mankind to the modern era. 

The winner will be the leader who can combine the most tactical retrieval of supplies, discover the most valuable lands, grow bountiful crops, and effortless defend their tribe from outside threats. 

#8 -  Call to Adventure: The Name of the Wind 

The crazy hit Kingkiller Chronicle series has swept through the nation with Call to Adventure: The Name of the Wind being created in Patrick Rothfuss’ rich and engaging world. 

Build your own heroes and tell your own stories in Call to Adventure: The Name of the Wind. 

#9 -  Gang Rush 

Mafia underlings run amok! 

Take a trip to the 1950’s where Mafia gangs run wild. Gang Rush is a unique and fun spin on board game racing. 

The good news: You’ll be rich! 

The bad news: The other mafia gangs have caught wind of your riches! 

Gang rush is one of the best family board games. 

3-5 Players race against each other to grab the most loot in a fast-paced game of cars, cash, and explosions while trying to finish the race. 

Everyone wins… Except the player who finishes the Mafia race last! 

#10 -  Outlive 

Outlive is a survival / exploration game, where each player commands a tribe of survivors, all trying to prove their worth to the “Convoy” which will lead them to a better life. 

Manpower, equipment, and survival skills are the only thing that matters after a terrible war over clean drinking water eliminated almost everyone. Outlive is a semi-war board game, mixed survival, mixed 4x exploration game.

Gather your wits and fight against other survivors with your head, tools, and survival skills to earn the privilege of joining the secret underwater colonies of the Convoy! 

#11 -  Citrus 

Do you have bad luck? 

Citrus is a no-luck game of choice and tactics, where 2-5 players build an amazing plantation for about 50 minutes. 

There’s many things to keep in mind… from the timing of the harvest, to which plantation to prepare, or whether you should grow lemons or oranges. 

Each has its benefit, and you must find out which path will earn you the most points! 

#12 -  The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire 

Based on the classic Francis Ford Coppola film, the Godfather: The Board Game plunges players into the world of crime, corruption, and the mafia in New York City. 

2-5 Players assume the head of different mafia crime families all fighting for territory. Hustle for business, bribe city officials, and assassinate opponents to collect the most money. The richest liar, cheater, and backstabber will win and be named the new Don. 

Competitive Party Games:  

#13 -  Game of Thrones Trivia 

Earn your spot on the Iron Throne with a Game of Thrones Trivia board game, specifically for seasons 5-8. 

Sharpen your wit and test your knowledge against your foes, with up to 5 players and 1,200 NEW questions for a mindful game of wits. 

#14 -  Senshi 

In Senshi, Warrior-monks must improve themselves to ascend as a master. Only 1 will be chosen successor, so you must prove you are most worthy by developing Strength, Agility, Wisdom, and honor, while proving you are the strongest. 

Senshi is a great board game for kids or as a family board game. 

2-4 Players, and 15 minute gameplay makes Senshi a fast & enjoyable game of progression and personal development! 

#15 -  Fluttering Souls

Fluttering Souls is a beautiful 2 player game where you must complete a kaleidoscope of  butterflies in the hope of being visited by Japanese Legend The White Butterfly; the soul of a lost loved one. 

Fluttering Souls is the best 2 player board games on top board game gift guides. Games are slow and strategic, with each play session lasting 10-20 minutes. 

Looking for awesome White Elephant gift ideas? 

 

I’d recommend  Robinson Crusoe, being both Cooperative, extremely varied, very tactical, and  undeniably rewarding; perfect for board game lovers.

 

Written by: Gilean Benton

 

You should also check out our other Bolt Action Collections: Starter Sets, Tank War, USA, Germany, Soviet Union, Great Britain, Imperial Japan, Italy, France, eBooks and Digital Items