We’re not your typical Game store.

Shopping cart

Your cart is currently empty

Welcome to Recess Games Top 40 Board Games of 2024!

 

Going from the 40th counting backward to the number 1 spot.  

 

Starting at the 40 spot is Cities by Devir Americas

Travel through the world's most unique cities and plan the best neighborhood.

The city council has tasked you to put together a plan to transform a whole neighborhood in the city. You can build new housing, office buildings, parks, and leisure areas near the waterfront. It is in your hands to make the city a better place.


#39 Ramen Fury by Asmodee Studios 

Rush to prepare and slurp up delicious bowls of ramen filled with tasty ingredients in the use-your-noodle card game Ramen Fury. Collect combos of cards to score for different recipes while adding garnishes to boost your points. At the same time, watch out as other players throw spicy chili peppers your way or swipe foods right from your bowls! It's "take that" fun that will have you calling for takeout!


#38 Castle Combo by Pandasaurus Games 

Hark, people, brave and small!

 You're hereby invited to the His Majesty's grand Combo Party! Recruit characters to your personal tableau, making sure to take note of the unique abilities and scoring conditions each one offers.


#37 Heroscape: Master Set - Age of Annihilation by Renegade Game Studios 

Peace is but a dream on the remote planet of Valhalla. The mighty Valkyrie generals lead warring factions into a new age of battle. The fate of Valhalla will be won through the flames of war. Join warriors from across time and space they battle in HEROSCAPE: AGE OF ANNIHILATION. Choose your scenario, build your battlefield, select your army, and fight to win! 


#36 The White Castle by Devir Americas

The heron flies over the Himeji sky while the Daimio, from the top of the castle, watches his servants move. Gardeners tend the pond, where the koi carp live, warriors stand guard on the walls, and courtiers crowd the gates, pining for an audience that brings them closer to the innermost circles of the court. When night falls, the lanterns are lit and the workers return to their clan


#35 Gnome Hollow by USAopoly

Since the beginning of time, gnomes have been the humble caretakers of nature. In secret, they emerge from their underground homes to maintain meticulous rings of mushrooms known to the human folk as "fairy rings". But the work must be done quickly because as soon as a mushroom path is finished, the mushrooms are ready for picking. Who will be the cleverest gnome and harvest the most mushrooms by the end of the season?


#34 Monkey Palace by LEGO

Compete against each other while you help the monkey rebuild the LEGO® Monkey Palace in this innovative and strategic building board game. Build a staircase for the Palace, count your Monkey Credits, take Monkey Cards and score Banana Points. The longer and taller staircases you build, the more Monkey Credits and the better Monkey Cards you will get. The winner is the player with the most Banana Points! With no single route to victory, you’ll always want to play this amazing LEGO® board game again!


#33 Spiele Civolution by Pegasus

Civolution is a medium heavy to heavy euro-style game that utilizes a dice selection mechanism to trigger actions on a tech tree-like structure. As you figure out how to best use your dice and put your unique cards into play, tons of strategies and paths to victory emerge, though each time you play, you will only explore a fraction of the possibilities that the game’s system and many cards provide.


#32 Jaipur by Asmodee Studios

You are one of the two most powerful traders in the city of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, but that's not enough for you because only the merchant with two "seals of excellence" will have the privilege of being invited to the Maharaja's court. You are therefore going to have to do better than your direct competitor by buying, exchanging, and selling at better prices, all while keeping an eye on both your camel herds.


#31 Catan by Catan Studios

In Catan (formerly The Settlers of Catan), players try to be the dominant force on the island of Catan by building settlements, cities, and roads. On each turn dice are rolled to determine what resources the island produces. Players collect these resources (cards)—wood, grain, brick, sheep, or stone—to build up their civilizations to get to 10 victory points and win the game.


#30 Wandering Towers by Capstone Games

Each year, the graduating classes of the Ravenrealm Magic School compete to demonstrate their mastery of magic. For the final exam, all the wizards of each class must assemble at the legendary Ravenskeep… but every last one has procrastinated, distracted by learning new spells. They’ve also used all their potions—they can’t show up unprepared with empty potion bottles!


#29 Bomb Busters by Pegasus Spiele

There is a bomb full of wires and the countdown has started... Who are you gonna call? YOU, the Bomb Busters!

To clear the bomb, you need to collaborate with your team of bomb disposal experts! Using the wires on the tile holder in front of you, try and figure out your teammates’ wires. Find and cut identical wires, but watch out, if you cut a red wire: BOOM! Use your equipment wisely to meet the varied challenges which get harder and harder.

Tick tock tick tock... Will you figure it out before it’s too late?


#28 Dice Miner by Atlas Games

Dice Miner is the dice-drafting game that lets you build massive combos from your hoard by taking turns drafting custom dice from a unique mountain component.


#27 Ark Nova by Capstone Games

In Ark Nova, you will plan and design a modern, scientifically managed zoo. With the ultimate goal of owning the most successful zoological establishment, you will build enclosures, accommodate animals, and support conservation projects all over the world. Specialists and unique buildings will help you in achieving this goal.


#26 CDSK by Randolph

CDSK is a trivia game that asks you to be honest with yourselves. How well do you know this subject? Too confident? You won’t go anywhere. Too careful? You’ll be crawling. But if you answer just right… you’ll zoom off to glorious victory!


#25 Fliptown by Write Stuff Games

Fliptown is a flip-and-write game where you try to earn stars by exploring a Wild West town. The game uses a standard poker deck to drive open-world gameplay and dry-erase boards or print-and-play sheets that serve as each player's map.


#24 Tapple by USAopoly

Tapple is the award-winning fast-paced word game that gives families & friends a rush of excitement as they compete to beat the timer! Simply pick a category, say a word that fits, tap the first letter of the word, then pass the Tapple wheel. No spelling required! And so much fun, kids don’t even realize they are learning! The WHOLE family will love Tapple!


#23 Paper App Dungeon by Lucky Duck Games

Paper App Dungeon is a dungeon crawler that fits in your pocket! Each notebook features a unique, procedurally generated, 60-page adventure. Armed with your P6 pencil-die, you will collect treasures and other powerful items and fight monsters in short, addictive games.


#22 Boop the Halls by Smirk & Dagger Games

The hoomans are hanging ornaments on the highest boughs of the tree, but those clever cats are leaping up and boopin’ them right off. You can win “Naughty” by knocking off 3 of your opponent’s ornaments or “Nice” by lining up three cats in a row!


#21 TRIO by Happy Camper Games

Trio is a card game in which players are looking for three of a kind. But be warned this game is highly addictive.


#20 Cockroach Poker by Devir Americas

Cockroach Poker is a reverse set collection game that has nothing to do with poker – except that the game is all about bluffing, with cards that show cockroaches, rats and stink bugs. The goal is to force another player to collect 4 of any one type of critter.


#19 Skyrise by Roxley Games 

Prove your genius by using a brilliant spatial auction system to win sites to build in, earning favor across Islands and factions, scoring secret and public objectives, courting mysterious Patrons, and building your own unique Wonder.

Skyrise tells an interactive story of a growing cityscape, hard decisions, scarce resources, and ever-rising stakes that will keep you enthralled until the final scores are revealed.


#18 Wingspan by Stonemaier Games

Wingspan is a competitive, medium-weight, card-driven, engine-building board game from Stonemaier Games.


#17 Ticket to Ride Legacy of the West by Days of Wonder

Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West finally gives you the chance to step into the story of your favorite train game and  embark on a journey across twelve games, managing your own North American railway company to wealth and fortune in a campaign full of adventures.

At the end of the 12 games of this Legacy campaign, you will have transformed your game into a unique copy that you can continue playing for a lifetime.


#16 Sushi Go! 10th Anniversary Bento Box - Gamewright

Sushi Go! 10th Anniversary Edition features the Sushi Go! base game in a numbered limited edition, with the box containing a sushi boat leader marker, wasabi scoring markers, and four packs of dessert cards that can be used instead of the usual strawberry


#15 Everdell by Starling Games

Within the charming valley of Everdell, beneath the boughs of towering trees, among meandering streams and mossy hollows, a civilization of forest critters is thriving and expanding. From Everfrost to Bellsong, many a year have come and gone, but the time has come for new territories to be settled and new cities established. You will be the leader of a group of critters intent on just such a task. There are buildings to construct, lively characters to meet, events to host—you have a busy year ahead of yourself. Will the sun shine brightest on your city before the winter moon rises?


#14 Big City Builders by Ravensburger

Your toddler will build fine motor skills, color matching, direction following, turn taking, and decision making with Big City Builders! Pick up materials from construction sites, roll the die and move your truck to the matching road, and deliver materials to the right site to collect stars.


#13 ROOT by Leder Games

Root is a game of adventure and war in which 2 to 4 (1 to 6 with the 'Riverfolk' expansion) players battle for control of a vast wilderness.

The nefarious Marquise de Cat has seized the great woodland, intent on harvesting its riches. Under her rule, the many creatures of the forest have banded together. This Alliance will seek to strengthen its resources and subvert the rule of Cats. In this effort, the Alliance may enlist the help of the wandering Vagabonds who are able to move through the more dangerous woodland paths. Though some may sympathize with the Alliance’s hopes and dreams, these wanderers are old enough to remember the great birds of prey who once controlled the woods.


#12 MLEM Space Agency by rebel

MLEM: Space Agency is a family board game where you step into the shoes of fearless captains of cosmic expeditions. But hold on, these aren't your ordinary explorers - they're cats! These intrepid felines have long conquered the Earth with their unmatched bravery, and now they've set their sights on conquering the entire cosmos.


#11 Hues and Cues by USAopoly

What hue do you think of when we say “apple”? Hues and Cues is a vibrant game of colorful communication where players are challenged to make connections to colors with words. Using only one and two-word cues, players try to get others to guess a specific hue from the 480 colors on the game board. The closer the guesses are to the target, the more points you earn. Since everyone imagines colors differently, connecting colors and clues has never been this much fun!


#10 ARCS by Leder Games

Arcs is a sharp sci-fi strategy game for 2–4 players, set in a dark yet silly universe. Ready yourself for dramatic twists and turns as you launch into this galactic struggle.


#9 The Lord of the Rings Duel for Middle-Earth by Repos Production

In Duel for Middle-earth, you'll have to choose sides. Play as the Fellowship of the Ring, prevent the Enemy from gaining ground and destroy the One Ring. Or play as Sauron and send your Nazgûls after Sam and Frodo, spreading your hordes over enemy cities. The fate of Middle-earth is in your hands!


#8 Harmonies by Libellud

In Harmonies, you will create beautiful landscapes by placing colored tiles. These tiles will create territories for animals and will bring them in to settle in your tiny world! Tactically combine your landscapes and animals to earn the most victory points and win the game.

Harmonies captivates with its innovative mechanics: 3D landscape creation, tile placement, and pattern development. Each decision impacts the ecosystem you create, offering a deep and satisfying gaming experience. The game includes a solo mode and an "expert" mode, adding the spirits of nature to the game's animal cards. 


#7 Nekojima by Unfriendly Games

In Nekojima, “The Island of Cats” in Japan, an electricity network is developing to supply the various lively districts of the island. The installation of electric poles becomes more complex due to the narrowness of the territory and its curious population of cats strolling on the cables.

Nekojima is a wooden game of skill and dexterity in which you have to keep an entire installation in balance.


#6 Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza by Dolphin Hat Games

Act fast when the flipped card actually is that taco, cat, goat, cheese or pizza...


#5 Flamecraft by Lucky Duck Games

Artisan dragons, the smaller and magically talented versions of their larger (and destructive) cousins, are sought by shopkeepers so that they may delight customers with their flamecraft. You are a Flamekeeper, skilled in the art of conversing with dragons, placing them in their ideal home and using enchantments to entice them to produce wondrous things. Your reputation will grow as you aid the dragons and shopkeepers, and the Flamekeeper with the most reputation will be known as the Master of Flamecraft.


#4 Quoridor PACMAN by Gigamic

In this magnificent limited edition of Quoridor, choose to play as PAC-MAN or one of the 4 ghosts. Two game modes are available: Choose to play Quoridor the classic way by taking on the maze challenge, or try out a variant that will let you recapture the feel of the famous PAC-MAN video game!


#3 Stardew Valley by Concerned Ape

A cooperative board game of farming and friendship based on the Stardew Valley video game by Eric Barone. Work together with your fellow farmers to save the Valley from the nefarious JojaMart Corporation! To do this, you'll need to farm, fish, friend and find all kinds of different resources to fulfill your Grandpa's Goals and restore the Community Center. Collect all kinds of items, raise animals, and explore the Mine. Gain powerful upgrades and skills and as the seasons pass see if you're able to protect the magic of Stardew Valley!


#2 Sky Team by Scorpion Masque

Sky Team is a co-operative game, exclusively for two players, in which you play a pilot and co-pilot at the controls of an airliner. Your goal is to work together as a team to land your airplane in different airports around the world.


#1 Wyrmspan by Stonemaier Games

You are an amateur dracologist in the world of Wyrmspan, a place where dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colors roam the skies. Excavate a hidden labyrinth you recently unearthed on your land and entice these beautiful creatures to roost in the sanctuary of your caves.