Lists

9 More Great Board Game Apps

Whether you are wanting to play games remotely or you’re looking for something to quickly pass the time on your lunch break, there are a bunch of great board game apps out there.

Last year we shared with you 20 of our top picks, and today we’re back with 9 more of our favorite apps to play!

All of the below apps can be played on an iOS device.

1. Roll for the Galaxy

This first one is a stellar app implementation of a great board game!

Roll for the Galaxy is an excellent dice game where players build their space empires by completing actions to earn victory points. Players can explore, develop, settle, produce, or ship on their turn by placing their dice with the matching symbol action. A player can only select one of the five actions to do on their turn. However, players can follow another player’s selected action if they also assigned dice to that action space. Players work to build an engine that allows them to have a steady flow of money to purchase workers (your dice) to develop tech to improve your engine, settle planets to gain more workers, or produce products that can be shipped to earn VPs and money.

A shining element of this app is their excellent step-by-step tutorial that helps you get playing quickly! On top of the tutorial, they also have the complete rules to the board game, digital specific rules, and access to an online pdf which is helpful if you’re playing the physical copy as well. This means you can easily refresh yourself on the rules if it’s been a while since your last play.

All important information in the game is clearly shown and easily read whether you’re playing on an iPad or Phone. Play against AI on three difficulty levels, relax on the couch with pass-and-play mode, or enjoy distance gaming with online play.

2. Istanbul

I love board game apps with an excellent pass-n-play experience. A majority of apps that work best this way tend to be quicker casual games. When we want something with a bit more strategy but want to lounge on our couch, our go-to game is Instanbul.

In Instanbul, you have limited workers who you will be dropping off and picking up around the market to take action. You must plan the most optimal route that allows you to gather unique goods and coins to turn them in for rubies. The game is highly repayable since you can earn rubies in numerous ways, and the best way to do it will change based on the set-up of the market tiles. While the game is playable on an iPhone, it is best on an iPad.

3. Small World

Small World was one of the first board games apps we purchased when we got an iPad, and we still play it today. Now the app is even payable on the iPhone. It has multiple play modes for solo, pass-n-play, online games, or my preferred method: face to face. Face to face mode allows two players to play against one another with devices flat on the table. At the end of each turn, it automatically rotates the screen so the other player can play.

Small World is a fun area control game where you get to mash up mystical races like giants, wizards, skeletons, etc., with special powers like flying, commando, spirit, etc., to create powerful combos to control regions to earn points. Games are so quick and smooth on the iPad that I never desire to try the game’s physical copy.

4. Dead Man Draw

Dead Man Draw is a push your luck pirate theme game where players will draw one card at a time from the deck. There are ten different suites of cards, and each suite has a unique power that takes effect when drawn. At any time, players can stop flipping cards and stash what they have into their treasure chest. If you push your luck and flip over a suite of a card you already revealed, you bust and gain nothing. The player with the high score at the end of the game wins. Games are quick, the gameplay is simple, the suite powers are fun to combo, and the app is easy to control. The app can only play up to two, which is a bummer, but it is an excellent choice for families.

5. Similo

Our kids’ favorite and most played app of 2020! Hands down, this is the best family pass-and-play game. (We even have a full review of the card game!)

In Similo, all players work cooperatively to deduce the secret character card from a grid of cards. One player knows the hidden character and gives other players clues by sharing a character card that is either similar or not similar to the hidden character. Players then must remove a specific number of cards from the available options hoping to not remove the secret card. You win when only the hidden character remains, or you lose if the secret character gets discarded.

While the app only comes with one character deck, (animals – perfect for kids,) they already have four other character decks for in-app purchase. Owning multiple decks allows you to up the difficulty by playing with one set of characters but giving clues from a different set. Imagine trying to guess a Historical figure based on Animal clues.

6. Cartographers

This is my favorite flip-n-write game and an absolute hit when we play with family and friends around the table. I love that I can get the solo experience through the app.

What makes Cartographers the app stand out is three modes of solo play. Random play, fixed scoring cards, or fixed explore and scoring cards. The modes with fixed cards stay the same for a week, so players can compete and compare scores to determine the best mapmaker in all the land. The app also tracks your high scores and provides achievements to unlock.

We’re hopeful they’ll add a way to play with friends in the future, but for now, we’re happy with the solo game.

7, 8, & 9 The Clever Trilogy!

These three roll and writes by Wolfgang Warsch are perfect solo games. The games are quick to play and so addicting. Easy to learn but hard to master with a high scores chart to track your progress. A delightful puzzle to solve where the random rolls of the dice keep you switching your strategy. While all three are available in the App Store and have fantastic apps, you can also play them for free on the publisher’s website! I add a shortcut to my home screen, so it looks just like an app. The apps will track your high scores and offer additional challenge sheets, so you can try it for free online, then download the app if you want more.

Ganz Schön Clever Online — Doppelt So Clever Online — Clever Hoch Drei Online

Any great apps we missed? Come share your favorites with us on Instagram!