Top 5 Best War Board Games of 2025

This article explores the best war board games, offering a diverse selection catering to various preferences and play styles. The games listed provide epic battle experiences, ranging from short, intense encounters to sprawling, multi-hour campaigns. For longer games, the article suggests pre-reading the rulebook, delegating administrative tasks between turns, and potentially implementing turn time limits.

TL;DR: The Best War Board Games

• Arcs: A highly innovative space empire game blending trick-taking mechanics with intense spacecraft battles. (Image: )
• Dune: War for Arrakis: A head-to-head duel for control of Arrakis, featuring asymmetric factions and strategic dice mechanics. (Image: )
• Sniper Elite: The Board Game: A tense stealth-focused game capturing the close-quarters action of the video game series. (Image: )
• Twilight Imperium IV: An epic, all-day sci-fi civilization-building game with complex strategy and diplomacy. (Image: )
• Blood Rage: A Viking-themed game blending strategic card drafting with brutal combat. (Image: )
• Dune: A classic game based on Frank Herbert's novel, emphasizing hidden information and asymmetric strategies. (Image: )
• Kemet: Blood and Sand: A fast-paced, violent game set in ancient Egypt, featuring strategic pyramid powers and intense combat. (Image: )
• Star Wars: Rebellion: An asymmetric game recreating the iconic struggle between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. (Image: )
• Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear: A tactical wargame focusing on squad-level combat during World War II. (Image: )
• Undaunted: Normandy / Undaunted: North Africa / Undaunted: Stalingrad: Deck-building games simulating infantry combat during World War II. (Images: , , )
• Root: An asymmetric game with diverse factions vying for control of a woodland realm. (Image: )
• Twilight Struggle: Red Sea: A streamlined version of the classic Cold War game, focusing on the East African theater. (Image: )
• A Game of Thrones: The Board Game: A game of political intrigue and backstabbing, mirroring the popular franchise. (Image: )
• War of the Ring: A two-part game recreating the epic struggle between good and evil in Middle-earth. (Image: )
• Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy: A sci-fi civilization-building game emphasizing strategic planning and technological advancement. (Image: )

The article concludes with a discussion on the definition of a "wargame," acknowledging the varying interpretations within the hobby community and embracing a broad definition encompassing games that explore conflict from diverse perspectives.