Tabletop gaming has a . Those who don’t play tend to think of it as a bunch of nerds sitting around a basement table for hours putting way too much thought into moving particular pieces of cardboard around other pieces of cardboard.
While there are plenty of games (and gamers) that don’t fit this stereotype, these picks—table-filling, complex, and with a play time that can run up to several hours—are perfect for those who embrace the stereotype. Our has seven standout options, but these are our two favorites.
An economic masterpiece: Brass: Birmingham
Top pick
This game is a satisfyingly complex logistical puzzle of production and consumption.
How it’s played: In , players take on the role of British capitalists during the Industrial Revolution. The game covers a 100-year span, divided into the Canal Era and the Rail Era, indicating which form of freight travel was more prominent at the time (did I mention this game was about economics?). Over this time, players establish supply networks and build factories. Some of these produce consumable resources, like coal, iron, and beer, while others pump out items the player can sell, such as textiles, manufactured goods, and pottery. Either way, making and getting rid of these items is what gets you points.
Why it’s great: An engrossing economic puzzle that will have you thinking about building canal networks in your sleep, Brass is a gold mine for folks who obsess over finding efficiencies and advantages over other players.
You have to keep track of many things in a game of Brass—resources to be gathered, networks to build, and goods to be sold. But all of these are created and fought over by the players at the table. If you want to build a pottery factory, you’re gonna need iron. If you want to produce iron, you’re gonna need coal. If you want to eventually sell that pottery, you’ll need beer. And to get any of that, you’re gonna need a network to move it all around.
What makes Brass stand out is that you don’t necessarily need to produce all of that stuff by yourself. If another player has an iron foundry, you can use some of their iron. But the more iron—or beer or coal—you take from others, the more points they rack up for themselves.
This dance of producing and consuming and networking is the core mechanic that drives Brass—and, you know, capitalism—like the pistons of a coal-fired freight engine. And trying to figure out how to navigate this dense thicket of incentives better than the other players is what makes it so satisfying to puzzle out.
The game is also just beautifully produced. The art is evocative and moody, the box is slim, and the player boards convey a surprising amount of information quickly and effectively—once you learn how to read them.
- Players: two to four
- Duration: 60 to 120 minutes
- Rules: ,
- Digital version:
A complex game of woodland war: Root
Top pick
This asymmetric war game provides immense strategic depth and a delightful theme, once you learn how it all works.
How it’s played: is a devilishly tough and layered asymmetric war game disguised as a fairytale romp. It pairs an intricate ecosystem of mechanics, strategic decisions, and narrative with great artwork, featuring adorably anthropomorphized woodland creatures.
Players assume the role of one of four factions—each with unique abilities, restrictions, and goals—in an attempt to rule the woodland map they share. For instance, the Marquise de Cat wants to build and defend as many outposts as possible, expanding and building rapidly throughout the forest. Meanwhile, the Woodland Alliance’s mice spread sympathy among the residents of the forest, fomenting uprisings that burn down the Marquise de Cat’s industries and sabotaging the other players whenever possible.
The factions compete to control the different clearings in the forest, earning points by fulfilling their individual goals. The game continues until one player reaches 30 points or completes the demands of a dominance card—essentially a unique victory condition that asks the player to gain and retain control of a number of specific forest clearings.
Why it’s great: Root offers a unique ecosystem of conflicting and contrasting goals, powers, and win conditions. That makes it different from similar war games like Risk or Small World, which are more straightforward to learn and play but provide fewer opportunities for alliances of convenience and surprising play. Because its factions’ abilities and goals are so distinct, playing and teaching a game of Root can feel a bit like playing and teaching four separate games.
But the game design’s genius is in what happens when you throw these disparate factions together on the cramped game board. Due to the opaqueness of the other factions’ motivations, you spend less time trying to stymie the other players and more time focused on how you can expand your domain and gain points—leading to consistently surprising interactions and interesting clashes over the course of a game.
This deep strategy is paired with gorgeous, playful art that reinforces the fictional world, which feels like a gritty remake of the . And all of this comes in a well-organized box that is surprisingly compact, considering the complexity of the game.
