Ars Technica updates 2021 board game buyer’s guide with new picks

Ars Technica has updated its 2021 board game buyer’s guide, adding new entries (including games from 2020 and 2021), pruning some older entries, and bringing the list in line with the publication’s current thoughts. The guide is divided into sections that cater to different audiences—family and new gamers, “next step” players, midweight strategy, and more—and is presented as a resource for picking up new games or finding gift ideas.

Aaron Zimmerman, Nate Anderson, Keith Law, and Tom Mendelsohn contributed to the guide, and Ars Technica notes it may earn compensation for sales from links on the post through affiliate programs. Examples from the excerpted guide include family- and new-player picks such as Splendor, Azul, Kingdomino, Dragonimo, Welcome To…, and Juicy Fruits; “next step” recommendations like Wingspan, Parks, Quacks of Quedlinburg, Sagrada, Lords of Waterdeep, Everdell, Search for Planet X, Fort, Furnace, and Hadara; and midweight strategy titles including Viticulture: Essential Edition, The Castles of Burgundy, Roll for the Galaxy, Concordia, and Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition.

The guide’s entries include details such as player counts, play time, age recommendations, and suggested retail prices and outlets where available. The guide is intended as a buying and gifting resource and is organized to help readers find games appropriate to different experience levels.

Key Topics

Culture, Board Games, Wingspan, Splendor, Azul, Kingdomino