Best Board Games for College Students
With the fall semester quickly approaching, students are dusting off their backpacks and getting ready to head back to school. But before you get stressed out about hitting the books again, take some time for yourself! Whether you live in an on-campus dorm room or a cozy apartment with your friends, game nights are inevitable, so why not enjoy them with a great board game?
In college, there is always something going on. You’ll have homework to do, classes to attend or skip, and most likely a job to balance all while trying to make new friends and experience everything about your time in college. In between managing your packed schedule and social obligations, sometimes you just want to relax with some friends and turn it all off for a few hours.
The games below are perfect for college students because they allow you to take a break from life’s rigors, laugh about your experiences (both real and imagined), stay sharp with tactful strategy, or unleash upon your friends the competitive beast inside. These board games will enhance your social life while challenging yourself. Plus, they are cheap or even free!
We chose these games based on popularity and ratings on Board Game Geek, the preeminent website for game information, as well as Amazon’s list of top-selling board games. Please note that prices may have changed since this article was written in August 2013.
1. Dominion
In this game, you construct a medieval kingdom by collecting land, gold, and victory points however you choose. There is no fixed path to follow as the board is initially empty. In fact, there are many different combinations that can lead to your victory! It takes only about 30 minutes for a skilled player to complete the game, making it perfect for a quick break.
2. Apples to Apples
If you loved playing the card game “Crazy Eights” in elementary school, then this is definitely one to consider. The players are dealt seven red cards each with nouns on them and the rest of the cards are laid face down. The dealer (usually chosen by some odd means like picking a card from your hand) flips over the top green card and everyone else frantically tries to play a red card with a word that fits the description.
3. Werewolf
For this game, you will need at least 11 people (the more the better). At night, werewolves terrorize the innocent villagers. During the day, however, everyone gets together to find out who is a werewolf and lynch him or her before they can kill again. A moderator will instruct you on how each game progresses, but every game is different!
4. Blink
This is definitely one of our favorites for college students because you can learn the basics in 5 minutes! It’s a memory game, so players always have to remember clues given throughout the game. The winner is the person to match all their cards first, but beware because if your opponent catches you cheating, they win instead!
5. Risk
This classic strategy board game requires no introduction. The aim of the game is to conquer the world by attacking your opponents. To win, you must ensure that at least one of your territories remains intact once all others have fallen. Every time you attack an opponent’s territory, they are able to defend it with a quantity of their own forces determined by rolling two dice. The player who conquers every other territory is the winner.
6. The Settlers of Catan
This game creates a race around the island to settle and control it by building settlements, cities, and roads. Dice are used to determine which resources players may receive each turn. Players trade with one another to get what they need and/or want in order to win. This game is all about resource management and negotiation!
7. Munchkin
This card game mixes the fun of role playing games with the excitement of traditional trading card games. You can play as a Cleric, Elf, Dwarf, Fighter, Thief, Wizard or even an Amazon, fighting the monsters you encounter along your journey. The first person to reach Level 10 wins the game.
8. Ticket to Ride
This game is for 2-5 players, and it can last around 45 minutes. Players take turns drawing train cards, claiming routes on the board with their trains, or getting more Destination Tickets than other players. The long-distance routes are what make this game so popular because it is always about the challenge of building your network.
9. Blokus
This game can be played by two to four players at a time, and it only takes about 20 minutes for one round (about five turns per player). It’s very simple to learn, but you’ll never feel that way once you play. You’ll be slowly getting this sinking feeling that your next move is the wrong one, but it will make for a very interesting round!
10. Superfight
This game is all about what you would expect – two fighters with entirely random attributes/powers battling against one another! One player draws three cards which define the three powers each fighter has and the other player chooses which of those powers will be used to battle the other. After that, it’s just a matter of who can come up with the most creative insults!
11. Cards Against Humanity
This is another card game, but it is one you definitely want to play with people who are open-minded and into a bit of dark humor. The idea is quite simple – one person asks a question from a black card and everyone else answers with their funniest white card. Creativity is an absolute must for this game, but it’s definitely the most hilarious experience you’ll have playing cards!
12. Exploding Kittens
This is probably the most popular game on this list. It’s basically a Russian Roulette-style card game, but with Exploding Kittens instead of bullets! Despite how simple it sounds, this indie card game has become very popular since its launch in 2015, selling over 12 million units worldwide. This version of the game includes 56 cards, along with instructions. It requires two to five players, at least one of which has to be a ginger.
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