Top 6 Best Building Games of 2024: Ultimate Guide
Hey fellow board game lovers, let’s talk about the best building games out there. We’ve hammered, chiseled, and glued our way through piles of options to bring you the cream of the crop. When picking our top picks, we focused on creativity, strategy, and, most importantly, fun. We wanted games that make you feel like a master builder, whether you’re constructing cities, crafting stained glass, or terraforming distant planets. So, grab your hard hats and let’s build our way to the top of the gaming world with these unbeatable selections. Ready to construct your next game night favorite? Let’s get to it!
On this list:
6 Carcassonne
Kicking off our list is Carcassonne, a classic tile-placement game that turns everyone into a master builder without the need for a hard hat. The reason we love it? It’s straightforward but deep. You’re connecting roads, cities, and cloisters, trying to outwit your friends and place your meeples (those tiny wooden people) most strategically. It’s like a medieval construction site but fun, and no one gets hit by a brick.
5 Sagrada
Now, imagine you’re building stained glass windows in the awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia. That’s Sagrada for you, a dice-drafting beauty queen of a game. It’s not just about throwing dice; it’s about placing them cleverly to create the most beautiful window, following patterns and using tools like a real artisan. Each throw is a mix of hope, strategy, and a silent prayer to the board game gods. It’s colorful, competitive, and sometimes it feels like the dice are laughing at you. But, hey, that’s part of the charm.
4 Tiny Towns
Imagine being the mayor of a town so tiny it makes you wonder if the residents are ants. In Tiny Towns, you’re doing just that, but instead of dealing with actual ants, you’re wrestling with resource cubes, trying to fit them on your board to build buildings. It’s a puzzle, a brain burner, and a test of your ability to plan ahead while maintaining the patience of a saint. This game turns friends into frenemies by the end of the night.
3 7 Wonders
If you’ve ever thought, ‘Hey, building an entire civilization in under an hour sounds like fun,’ then 7 Wonders is your jam. It’s a drafting game where you pass cards around faster than a cold at daycare, each card helping you develop your city, build wonders, and occasionally mess with your neighbors. It’s fast, furious, and makes you feel like a strategic genius or a complete dunce. There’s no in-between, but that’s why we love it.
2 The Castles of Burgundy
This game is like that one friend who’s a bit more complex and takes a while to get to know but ends up being totally worth it. In The Castles of Burgundy, players take on the roles of aristocrats in medieval France, trying to build the most impressive estate. It involves dice rolling, but it’s more about strategy and planning. You’re trading, gathering resources, and building your estate, all while trying not to let your friends get the best spots. It’s a thinker’s game, making every victory feel earned.
1 Terraforming Mars
Topping our list as the best of the best building games, Terraforming Mars puts you in the shoes of a corporation working on making Mars livable. Why is it the best? Because it combines science, strategy, and a bit of backstabbing in a way that’s both intellectually stimulating and wildly entertaining. You’re managing resources, completing projects, and terraforming the planet with oceans, forests, and cities. It’s a bit like playing God, but with cardboard and without the smiting. It’s challenging, engaging, and every game unfolds differently. Plus, playing Terraforming Mars is the closest thing to being on Mars without having to eat freeze-dried food.
