Lists

15+ Board Games for Six Players

If you’ve ever had six friends gathered for game night, you know how tricky it can be to find the right game. Six players isn’t so many people that you want to split up and run two game tables (one of our tips for big group game nights) but many board games that say they allow for six players just don’t play well at that count.

That’s not the case with these games! These are perfect for the next time you gather a fun, medium size group of six for game night and even better, they’re not party games!

The key to a good six player game is finding games that allow for quick, smooth turns so players don’t get bored while waiting for their next move.

To avoid this, look for games that have one or more of these qualities

Easier decisions so each turn goes quickly (this doesn’t mean the strategy is simple, just that players won’t over analyze their options)
Simultaneous actions where everyone takes their turn at the same time.
Reasons to pay attention on your opponent’s turn. These games keep everyone with their eyes on the table and invested.

If you have at least one of the above, the likelihood of a smooth 6 player game increases!

15+ Board Games for Six Players

Archeos Society

I love the tricky hand management this game requires. You’ll push your luck to collect the sets you need to run up the expedition tracks to earn points. Each track requires different types of sets, some easy to attain, some harder, so you’ll have to choose how you’re going to spend your turns wisely because you won’t be able to explore them all!

Bad Company

My favorite “I roll, everyone gets stuff” game. (Yes, that’s a game category!) Everyone plays as a gang of robbers trying to pull off heists. You’ll gather the resources you need to complete heists, use money to recruit new members with better skills for future scores, and evade capture of the police! There’s very little downtime and everyone stays invested each turn! If you loved Machi Koro, this one is going to blow you away!

Between Two Castles of Mad Kind Ludwig

One of my FAVORITE games period. Work together to build a high scoring castle, but there’s only one overall winner! The simultaneous drafting means everyone takes their turn at the same time so no one gets bored. I love how you have to work with both your neighbors to build a castle, but you are focused on your singular goal of trying to win.

Bohnanza

A card game about beans? Trust me, this one is a hoot! You’re trying to collect large sets of high scoring beans. You’ll be collecting, shrewdly trading, and cleverly forging your path to victory. Absolutely love it!

Challengers

This game is a rally tournament and plays out in a series of 1v1 matches where players battle each other with their deck of cards. You’ll get to play against every opponents as you go through the tournament. After each match you choose new cards to add to and refine your deck so your next match is even better. Challengers even plays up to 8 which we highly recommend!

Deep Dive

I love a good push your luck game! Deep Dive has you sending your penguins out to get the best fishes to collect different, high scoring sets. The further down you dive, the better the catches, but you have to be careful because more predators lurk in those deep waters! This is a great fit for any fans of Deep Sea Adventure! Another game that’s great for 6 players!

Ecosystem: Savanna

I love this one! You’re building an ecosystem inspired by the Serengeti. You’ll draft and pass cards around the table to fill out your grassland with animals zebras and lions, elephants, and hyenas. Once your ecosystem is complete the cards score and if you built a diverse and cohesive ecosystem you’ll earn more points.

If the Savanna isn’t your theme of choice, there’s also Coral Reef and Woodland themed versions as well!

Fit to Print

Imagine all the chaos of a newsroom trying to get the next edition to the press. That’s the fun of Fit to Print. Played in real time, you’ll frantically try to find the news articles you want to include in your newspaper, then you have to work quickly to lay them all out following placement restrictions. It’s all the puzzle goodness we love with a dose of speed to get your heart racing.

Grandpa Beck’s Games

We love the card games from Grandpa Beck’s Games and many are great for six players! Their new game Toil & Troublez has been a hit in our home with its clever set collection and strategic push your luck action! Our other favorites for six players include Skull King (Trick-Taking,) Cover Your Assets (Set Collection,) Gnoming A Round (Golf Re-imagined,) Reign of Dragoness (card shedding,) Nuts About Mutts (UNO style & great for kids.) Use my code KELSEY15 to save 15% off your entire order from Grandpa Beck’s.

Happy Bee

I love this sweet little game. It’s a great choice for when you need a quick game for a lot of people that isn’t too hard to play. You collect flower cards by bidding on them with bee cards from your hand. Cards you don’t play are passed to your neighbor while you pick back up the cards you did play. If you’re paying attention, you start to learn what cards players have in their hands and use that knowledge to anticipate their decisions so you win the most flower cards.

Jamaica

This game shines with 6 players! Everyone is off on a pirate race around Jamaica. You’ll need to work hard to keep your ship sailing quickly around the island so you don’t lose ground, while making sure to take enough detours to load your ship with treasure and goods to come out on top when the race is over.

There’s no reading required so emerging readers can join the race too!

Kingyo

This one is perfect for families! You’re quickly scooping fish cards up from the table into your bowl, but you can only scoop up cards that have the same colors of the fish represented on the dice. Strategically grab cards that allow you to re-roll the dice to get more fish, then when you’re ready for even more fun, add the power cards which gives each player a unique ability during the game. It’s a hoot!

Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest

One of the best pirate games around! I love hand management games like this! Everyone begins with the same hand of cards, each with their own powers and rank. You’ll play them to try and collect treasure while paying attention to the cards folks haven’t played yet so you can anticipate their next move to get the best loot!

New York Slice

For your next pizza party, you need to bust out New York Slice. This game straddles the line of non party/party games, but we think it falls outside of what you typically expect from a party game. You’ll attempt the make the best pizza one slice at a time. I love the “I cut, you choose” choices players make on their turn. We also can’t get enough of how the theme is perfectly carried throughout every element of the game — it never fails to delight new players.

Scram!

I love this team vs team card game. Small and perfect for travel! This is a clever and tricky card game where you’ll try to get rid of your cards to have a total score lower than your opponents. The catch? You don’t know what all the cards you have are so you’ll need to use card powers to figure it out, or trust your gut and hope for the best!

Sushi Go Spin Some for Dim Sum

This is an adorable new game in the Sushi Go family! We love the cute rotating tray that players will spin to select the cards they want to draft. Everything plays out in the open. This makes it a great choice for families with younger players looking to try out Sushi Go! For the first time.