The best beautiful board games have the magic to pull family and friends away from their screens to explore, build, and compete. A game doesn’t have to be beautiful to be fun of course, but eye-catching art, carefully crafted playing pieces, and even well-designed storage help capture the imagination and increase players’ enjoyment.
We’ve rounded up the best beautiful board games in a variety of playing styles. There's something for everyone, whether you’re looking for a something a little different.
Read on to find games that take you on a tour of ancient Japan, have you tile the walls of a palace, play out the movie The Princess Bride, run a museum, plant a forest, hike in the National Parks, and more. With stunning playing pieces ranging from colorful little plastic eggs, to tiny, three-dimensional trees, to cards with hand-painted birds and works of modern art, each game is uniquely beautiful.
Space management and planning ahead are key in this game. Players can influence the outcome of the other players’ trees, as sowing trees near others can cast shadows that block sunlight. When between other trees and the sun, each tree blocks the light of all trees their own size or smaller. While this game is intended for two to four players, having more than two players adds to the game’s complexity.
Photosynthesis
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 8 years and up
- Game Duration
- 45 minutes
- Brand
- Blue Orange
This eye-catching, award-winning game involves planting and nurturing trees from seeds. Points are earned by gathering sunlight via photosynthesis. Each player chooses where and when to grow their trees — you even earn points when your trees return to nature at the end of their lifecycle. The sun rotates around the board as the game is played and each player’s turn allows them to complete one action per space, but allows for as many actions as a player wants, assuming they have the resources to complete them.
The tiny three-dimensional tree pieces make this game even more beautiful as play continues and the forest on the game board grows. The playing pieces are beautifully colored to resemble several kinds of trees (each player grows one kind) and they're ultra detailed — look closely, and you’ll even notice the tiny animals living within.
- Interesting 3D playing pieces
- Family friendly
- Advanced variation allows for a greater challenge
- Storage isn't well organized or fitted to the pieces
The game benefits strategic players as they attempt to boost the value of artists they are invested in and to buy low and sell high. This is a great pick for adults or older teens and will get your group engaged in conversation as you market paintings and bid.
Modern Art
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 14 years and up
- Game Duration
- 60 minutes
- Brand
- CMON
This modern art-themed board game offers three to five players a chance to buy and sell art for their museums through art auctions. Adding to the challenge, popular artists have a higher market value and artist popularity is based on previous rounds, so the value of paintings changes throughout gameplay.
Each of the five auction types in the game requires a different strategy. Open auctions are a traditional auction where players call out bids. One-offer auctions involve players auctioning in order to sur the previous player or ing on bidding on that piece. The hidden auctions are a blind-style auction where players hold the money they’d like to bid in their hand (or no money to on bidding), and open their hands at the same time to see who has won by bidding the most. Fixed price auctions involve the auctioneer setting a price which each player has a chance to purchase, the kicker being the auctioneer must purchase it at that price if no one else does. The fifth type of auction is double auctions, in which two paintings by the same artist are sold simultaneously.
- Beautifully rendered real artwork on painting cards
- Lots of player interaction and discussion
- Balances luck and strategy for maximum engagement
- Money pieces are on the flimsy side
Players try to win by gathering the most points during the year by taking photos, visiting parks, and achieving their own personal bonus. If you’re a fan of Trekking, don’t worry – this is an entirely different game!
PARKS
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 10 years and up
- Game Duration
- 40 to 70 minutes
- Brand
- Keymaster Games
This stunning game will have outdoorsy types itching to take a hike in real life and allow indoorsy types a way to enjoy nature — bug-free. Every piece of this game is beautiful — from the 102 uniquely-shaped wooden resource tokens (made using sustainably sourced wood, of course) to the little log-shaped plastic trays they’re stored in. The vibrant artwork is an ode to the National Parks and with 38 artists represented, each card is a tiny masterpiece you’ll want to study as you play. The park cards offer information about the parks depicted on them, as well.
This award-winning game allows players to take a hike through the four seasons in the 45 U.S. National Parks. The more players involved, the scarcer resources are, and you’ll need to share space at your campfire with fellow hikers. Tokens can be used to buy gear, snap pics, visit different parks, and gather water. The changing of the seasons also changes the possible challenges on the trails, adding complexity to this otherwise soothing game.
- Colorful, thoughtfully designed playing pieces
- Can be played solo
- A portion of sales is donated to the National Park Service
- Non-competitive gameplay
- Gameplay can run long with 5 players
Fail an event? You’ll have to add one of the odd-shaped pieces to the “Tower of Peril.” If it collapses before you’ve reached the end of the adventure, what's next? It’s game over!
What Next?
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 10 years and up
- Game Duration
- 40 minutes
- Brand
- Big Potato
This choose-your-own-adventure style game is a great pick for parties and family gatherings – and it can even be played solo. The dreamy pastel artwork on the cards and interesting game pieces belie some surprisingly difficult tasks. The story-driven board game features 60 engaging potential mini games including catching a falling card, flicking a wooden puck, and shape building.
Your first choice is which of the three included adventures to take: Blinky’s Great Escape, Drums of Koala Cave, or The Sky Scraper Caper. You’ll want to replay the game many times; there are multiple paths within each of the three adventures.
Each turn offers a new challenge ranging from being chased by a giant koala (do you hide or try to escape?), to crossing a rickety rope bridge. Cards offer players different options on how to handle each situation as they follow new paths each time the game is played. Another interesting game mechanic is that events depend on whether it’s day or night in the game when you pull certain cards.
- Collaborative gameplay
- Can be played solo
- Dreamy pastel artwork
- No timer included in the game for timed mini games
The elements of strategy in this game are reminiscent of the Game Of Life as you decide whether to forgo short-term goals to achieve more long-term ones (like stopping to pray at temples or creating a more intricate painting.) Similarly, there is no point-value reward for being the first to get to the end of Tokaido.
There are several expansion packs available to refresh gameplay, and all expansion packs are compatible with this newly updated fifth anniversary edition.
Tokaido
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 8 years and up
- Game Duration
- 45 minutes
- Brand
- Funforge
This minimalist yet colorful board game challenges two to five players to cross Tokaido, which means “East sea road” in Japanese and was a famous coastal Japanese road that was one of the most critical routes during the Edo period.
The stunning artwork of this board game has been entirely updated for this fifth anniversary edition. The game board is unusual in its linear setup, which traces your roughly 45-minute journey down the famed road as you attempt to earn the most points by maximizing your journey. There’s no cooperation or competition between players on their turns as you visit inns, encounter locals, paint vistas, eat delicacies, earn income working at farms, soak in hot springs, and collect as many of the 24 souvenirs as possible.
- Not highly competitive
- Points can be added during gameplay or at the end
- Beautiful full-color artwork evokes Edo-period Japan
- Gameplay can get stale after several plays
The non-folding game board is on the smaller side at 10.5 inches square and features artwork depicting the World Serpent, a Norse mythological beast that was one of Loki’s three offspring. The abstract, faceted wood pieces are weighty and beautiful, as is the muted teal and terracotta color scheme. The pieces store flat in a flocked tray for safekeeping between plays.
Hnefatafl Viking Chess Set
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 8 years and up
- Game Duration
- 20 minutes
- Brand
- Brybelly
While Hnefatafl isn’t easy to say (it’s pronounced neh·fuh·taa·fl), it is an ancient, authentic Viking game that’s easy to learn how to play. Unlike traditional chess, Hnefatafl is an asymmetrical game where one player is tasked with defending their king (the white piece), and the other is attempting to capture the king.
The attacking side plays first and pieces can only move in straight lines except for the king, which follows different rules. Unlike chess, to capture a piece, players must get two of their own pieces on opposite sides of their opponent's piece. Another wrinkle to Hnefatafl compared to chess is that the king can escape to any of the four corners of the board. To be captured, the king must be surrounded on all four sides, or all three sides that are available if it is on the edge of the board.
- Easy to learn
- Packs flat
- Compact, non-folding game board is smooth for easy playing
- Only for 2 players
There are 24 different window pattern cards, adding to the replay value of the game. The pattern cards also make each player’s window a unique challenge. Window pattern cards vary in difficulty, which is indicated by number on the cards and corresponds to how many favor tokens a player receives at the beginning of the game. On each player’s turn they have the option to choose a die from the draft pool, use a tool, or . Using favor tokens, players can use special tools to break particularly tricky rule patterns, but once used, the favor token cost of that tool increases.
Sagrada
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 13 years and up
- Game Duration
- 30 minutes
- Brand
- Floodgate games
The goal of this unique and beautiful game is filling a stained-glass window frame with transparent colored dice to maximize your score. Each player has their own secret goal and players have shared goals, as well.
The colorful stained-glass window frame pieces are sturdy, and it’s relaxing to fill them in with the dice. But you’re not just aiming for beauty — there are rules too. Dice can be placed according to both their color and the number on them, and they cannot be placed adjacent to those of the same color or shade. The game’s manufacturer compares this game to a dice-based version of Sudoku.
- Gorgeous stained glass artwork
- Can be played solo
- Snappy games only last 30 minutes
- Expansion pack available to add players and challenges
- Recesses for dice are a little shallow
Each player’s turn is five steps long and the game is won by completing all six chapters without being interrupted twice. The first interruption switches the grandson/grandpa token to the grandpa side, and a second interruption ends the game.
Princess Bride Adventure Book Game
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 10 years and up
- Game Duration
- 15 minutes per chapter
- Brand
- Ravensburger
Perfect for fans of the classic movie The Princess Bride, this cooperative board game features beautiful art-nouveau treatments of the characters and tiny detailed monochromatic playable character pieces of Westley, Princess Buttercup, Prince Humperdinck, Count Rugen, Vizzini, Inigo Montoya, and Fezzik. The Count Rugen figurine even has six fingers on his right hand!
Instead of a single static game board as in most board games, the board is a unique storybook featuring six chapters: As You Wish, Escape By Sea, Cliffs Of Insanity, Fire Swamp, It’ll Take A Miracle, and Have Fun Storming the Castle. By turning the page to the next chapter, you are introduced to an entirely new board with its own rules, objectives, challenges, and characters (keep your rule book close — that's where the setup instructions for each chapter is.) Unlike other games, your team of players control all active characters on the board. To continue on to the next chapter, players must be moved to certain locations, and certain story cards must be discarded. For each chapter completed, players earn a red “challenge complete” token, for which players will be rewarded.
- Cooperative gameplay
- Format allows for a break in play between chapters
- Allows for solo play
- Rules can be confusing
On each player’s turn they choose a color of tile to take from the center of the table or one of the factory displays (small circular discs.) The player must take all tiles of their chosen color, so any that can’t be placed on their wall “fall on the floor” and detract from their score. All players can tile their walls simultaneously, which keeps the game moving along nicely. Once a player fills in a full five-tile row, the game ends. Players tally up their points to determine who had the highest score to win the game. Additional points can be scored by completing a line of five horizontal tiles, completing a line of five vertical tiles, and having five or more tiles of a single color on your wall.
Azul
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 8 years and up
- Game Duration
- 30 to 45 minutes
- Brand
- Next Move
Named after Azulejos, a form of blue and white ceramic tile art the Moors introduced to the Portuguese, Azul challenges you to decorate Portugal’s Royal Palace of Evora. The high-quality, tiny tiles are little works of art that are stored in an equally pretty blue and white drawstring bag that hearkens back to the game's namesake.
This game is more challenging than you’d expect looking at the pieces; the randomized setup and strategic element of your tile picks influence what's available for the next player. The game strikes the perfect balance between casual and fast-paced.
- Strategic gameplay
- Family friendly
- Variant to gameplay adds to replay freshness
- Instructions are on the lengthy side
The game features beautiful hand-painted original artwork with some limited but interesting real-life information on the different types of birds. The tiny, colorful eggs and tokens make this a joy to play. For players hooked on this soothing game, there are expansion packs available, including adding a flock of European birds.
wingspan
- Type of Game
- Board game
- Age Recommendation
- 14 years and up
- Game Duration
- 40 to 70 minutes
- Brand
- Stonemaier Games
Wingspan is a strategic Euro-style card-driven game that will appeal to bird-lovers, but the complexity of the strategic gameplay will draw in all players. This addictive game has players create and manage their own personal aviary ecosystem, aiming to collect the most points after all four rounds.
During each turn, players can play bird cards, assuming they have the correct kind of food for that particular bird. Laying eggs allows you to (of course) get more birds. Food is collected by rolling dice in the three-dimensional birdhouse-shaped dice tower. A bird's value grows as the game goes on, as they lay eggs, and play off each other, mimicking how biodiversity is beneficial in the wild. While the game doesn’t allow for any kind of attack or battle between players, your cards can affect the ecosystem of others, for better or worse. The complex interactions and consequences of having different species in your aviary means each time playing is entirely different, allowing for lots of fresh and enjoyable replays.
- Detailed bird artwork
- Highly strategic gameplay
- High-quality instruction booklets
- Not a lot of player interaction
Where Does The Beautiful Art In Modern Games Come From?
While the art in Candyland was iconic, it wasn't exactly beautiful. The art in modern board games has come a long way. Many board game companies have talented in-house artists and graphic designers to create their ultra-detailed and beautiful graphics, like in the game What Next?
Other games draw in players with the work of famous artists, as in PARKS, which features art from 38 different artists adorning its beautiful cards. The game Modern Art features a wide variety of real modern artwork from artists including Manuel Carvalho, Ramon Martins, Daniel Melim, Rafael Silveira, and Sigrid Thaler.
Board Games With Exquisite Playing Pieces
Perhaps our love for the tactile pleasure of using playing pieces was ingrained when we had to make the seemingly crucial choice between the thimble, battleship, boot, cannon, iron, and top hat in Monopoly. Modern board games bring back this joy in full force, appealing to players' love of detail and all things tiny, ranging from the carefully crafted and sustainably-sourced wooden resource tokens in PARKS to the appealing weather-worn birdhouse dice tower and miniature plastic bird eggs in Wingspan.
Many of the most beautiful board games challenge players to create their own works of art. Games like Sagrada and Azul task players with building beautiful, decorative game boards with the added challenges of resource management, luck, and a strict set of rules.
There’s enjoyment to be found in weightier playing pieces as well, as in the Hnefatafl Viking chess set above, which features hefty, faceted wooden playing pieces that are as beautiful as they are enjoyable to hold.
Why Is The Gameplay In So Many Beautiful Games Cooperative?
One theme that comes up again and again in the more visually pleasing modern board game genre is cooperative gameplay. This is due in part to the actual content and art in many of the games. A large share of beautiful games look to nature for inspiration, which leads to imagery of flora and fauna, like the hand-painted bird cards in Wingspan. While there's a competitive side to games like Photosynthesis and Wingspan, they're not battle-based games.
Art can be soothing, which perhaps explains the relaxing pace and cooperative nature of many of these types of games. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any exciting or competitive picks above! If you’re looking for a head-to-head battle, many of the picks above offer a strategic element of gameplay that allows you to challenge the competition and Hnefatafl allows for outright attack.