Top 10 Best Selling Board Games Ever in 2025

Looking for the best selling board game ever? Chess, Monopoly, and Scrabble top the list for a reason.

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Monopoly coverScrabble coverCatan cover

Welcome to our ultimate list of the 10 best selling board game ever picks, where we highlight the classics and modern favorites. Our selections focus on fun, strategy, and replayability to ensure you’ll have a blast with family and friends. Whether you’re a seasoned player or a newbie eager to explore the world of tabletop gaming, these titles promise hours of enjoyment and competition. From intense battles of wits to cooperative adventures, we’ve got something for every type of gamer. So, grab your dice, shuffle those cards, and let’s get ready to conquer the best selling board games ever!

On this list:

10 Monopoly

Monopoly cover

  • Age Range: 8+
  • Players: 2-8
  • Play Time: 60-180 minutes

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Monopoly might be older than our grandma’s rocking chair, but it’s still the life of the party. This game is all about making your friends bankrupt while you hoard the fake cash. Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to flip a board in frustration? It’s the best selling board game ever because there’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of owning Boardwalk and watching everyone squirm. If you’ve never experienced a three-hour game of Monopoly, filled with laughter, tears, and crushed egos, then, trust us, you’re missing out.

9 Scrabble

Scrabble cover

  • Age Range: 10+
  • Players: 2-4
  • Play Time: 50 minutes

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Scrabble lets you show off your word wizardry skills. It’s a favorite in our group because we’re always trying to make the most ridiculous words possible. One memorable game night, we ended up debating if ‘quizzify’ was a real word. Spoiler alert: it is not. The game is best selling ever because it blends the competitiveness of wordplay with strategic planning. It’s a fantastic way to improve your vocabulary while having a good laugh at your friend’s creative spelling attempts.

8 Catan

Catan cover

  • Age Range: 10+
  • Players: 3-4
  • Play Time: 60-120 minutes

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Ah, Catan, the game where friendships go to thrive… or die. We love how this game encourages negotiation and trading, turning you into a savvy wheeler-dealer. From building roads to gathering sheep, we’ve shared so many laughs and groans over resource cards. It’s a best selling board game ever for its immersive and strategic gameplay, that keeps players coming back for more. But be warned, alliances can shift as quickly as the dice rolls, so trust no one!

7 Clue

Clue cover

  • Age Range: 8+
  • Players: 2-6
  • Play Time: 45 minutes

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Clue is the classic whodunit that never gets old. We’ve had nights where everyone turned into a detective, trying to uncover the secrets of the mansion. It’s best selling because of its unique blend of mystery and deduction. Who was it, with what, and where? That’s the question. We’ve had heated debates at the table, with everyone convinced they knew the culprit. Spoiler: it’s always Professor Plum. Or was it Miss Scarlet?

6 Risk

Risk cover

  • Age Range: 10+
  • Players: 2-5
  • Play Time: 120 minutes

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Risk is all about world domination, and who doesn’t want to be the ruler of the world? On our game nights, we strategize and backstab, and it’s all in good fun. This game is a best selling board game ever because it perfectly combines luck and strategy. Every roll of the dice can change the game, making it thrilling and unpredictable. If you’ve never spent an entire evening conquering continents and betraying your best friend, you haven’t lived.

5 Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride cover

  • Age Range: 8+
  • Players: 2-5
  • Play Time: 30-60 minutes

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Ticket to Ride is a beautiful ride across the country by train. We adore this game for its simple yet captivating mechanics. You collect cards to claim railway routes, and there’s nothing like the satisfaction of completing a cross-country journey. It’s considered a best selling board game ever due to its elegance and ease of play. This game has often surprised us with how quickly it escalates from polite railway building to intense route-blocking with grins all around.

4 Carcassonne

Carcassonne cover

  • Age Range: 7+
  • Players: 2-5
  • Play Time: 35 minutes

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Carcassonne is like a pleasant Sunday afternoon walk in the countryside – except with more strategy! We often find ourselves completely engrossed, trying to build the most epic cities and roads. It’s a best selling board game ever because of its simple rules and deep strategy. The thrill of placing a perfect tile and completing a city or road is unmatched! Our games often end with us pretending to be city planners, critiquing each other’s designs.

3 Pandemic

Pandemic cover

  • Age Range: 8+
  • Players: 2-4
  • Play Time: 45 minutes

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Pandemic is a cooperative game where you’re racing against time to save the world. It’s unique because instead of competing, you work together. We’ve had some tense nights battling outbreaks, feeling like real heroes. It’s a best selling board game ever for its engaging team dynamics and the feeling of satisfaction when you manage to save humanity. If you’ve ever wanted to yell, “I’ve found the cure!”, this game lets you live out that fantasy.

2 Battleship

Battleship cover

  • Age Range: 7+
  • Players: 2
  • Play Time: 20-30 minutes

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Battleship is a game of pure nostalgia for us. We’ve sunk so many ships and broken so many hearts with those fateful words, “You sunk my battleship!” This classic remains a best selling board game ever due to its simple yet intense gameplay. There’s something about the anticipation of your opponent’s move. Plus, it’s one of the few games where trash talk is practically mandatory. If you want a quick and satisfying naval battle, this is your game.

1 Chess

Chess cover

  • Age Range: 6+
  • Players: 2
  • Play Time: Varies

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Chess, the ultimate game of wits and strategy, is a timeless classic. It’s the best for many reasons, but mostly because of the depth and challenge it offers. We’ve had countless matches where a single move changed the course of the game, causing epic comebacks and heart-wrenching losses. It’s no wonder people consider it the best selling board game ever, as it requires planning, foresight, and a good dose of psychological warfare. From beginners to grandmasters, everyone finds something to love in chess.

Jamie in his proper element: With all of his board games
Jamie Hopkins

With years of dice-rolling, card-flipping, and strategic planning under my belt, I've transformed my passion into expertise. I thrive on dissecting the mechanics and social dynamics of board games, sharing insights from countless game nights with friends. I dive deep into gameplay mechanics, while emphasizing the social joys of gaming. While I appreciate themes and visuals, it's the strategy and camaraderie that truly capture my heart.