A world with rival houses, big medieval battles, court intrigue, and dragons is undisputedly a fantastic setting for a board game. Many publishers have created tie-ins with both the Game of Thrones TV show and the Song of Ice and Fire book series to bring the stories of Westeros to the game night table. Some of these iterations are quite good, and others are downright fantastic.
To celebrate the start of House of the Dragon season 2 this weekend, we’re counting down the best Game of Thrones card and board games. Each of these games is a fun way to transport yourself back to Westeros, without having to relive the pain of Game of Thrones season 8.
6. A Game of Thrones: B’twixt
A Game of Thrones: B’twixt is a relatively straightforward party game with a healthy dose of strategy, particularly when it comes to outbidding other players for cards. You’ll need to collect a cast of iconic characters from the books for each of the two councils you have in your play space, which are in part shared with the players to your immediate right and left. The player with the most powerful small council wins the game.
5. Risk: Game of Thrones
The Game of Thrones edition of Risk features both a Westeros and an Essos game board, and allows players to select a ruleset that best matches their desired complexity level. If you’ve played Risk before this isn’t anything new, but the core gameplay remains enjoyable and the theme works well.
4. Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne
Building influence, working out truces, and defeating your opponents in one on one conflicts allow you to claim the ultimate prize in this game: the Iron Throne itself. Gameplay is relatively simple compared with the other Game of Thrones board games on this list, but it’s still a fun party game for three to five players.
3. Game of Thrones: Oathbreaker
Oathbreaker is somewhat similar to the likes of Avalon, where one player will secretly be a traitor to the throne, another will secretly be the king, and the remaining players will be either conspirators or loyalists. The players then go on missions which either fail or succeed depending on which cards are played. If the majority of missions succeed, the King and his loyalists win; otherwise, the traitor and his conspirators reign supreme.
2. A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (2nd Edition)
Fantasy Flight’s board main game tie-in with the Song of Ice and Fire books is at this point an iconic game night staple. You’ll play as one of six major houses in Westeros, marshalling troops and battling spaces controlled by your opponents in a bid to take seven castles at once and thus win the game. With the Mother of Dragons expansion, you can also add an Essos board that brings the Targaryens into the mix and raises the maximum number of players to eight.
1. A Game of Thrones: The Card Game (2nd Edition)
A Game of Thrones: The Card Game takes the top spot on this ranking because of its strong strategic gameplay, in-depth thematics, and massive expandable card pool. Unlike the other products on this list, it’s a competitive card game, which means you’ll get the most out of it if you know other players who have the game and own a few of the expansions yourself. However, the game’s meta includes nearly every character and location you can think of from the books, and features plenty of deck building options that ensure a unique experience every time you sit down to play.
Note that while the game isn’t being actively produced anymore by Fantasy Flight Games, you can still pick up the second edition core set!
