by Stella Apr 14,2025
Many modern board games are deeply strategic, often involving conquering territories for resources or optimizing economic engines for victory. However, if you find such themes dry and crave the thrill of exploration and adventure, role-playing board games (RPGs) are the perfect fit. These games transport you into the shoes of a character in an extraordinary setting, where you'll either compete or collaborate with others to conquer quests and challenges. Despite their narrative focus, these games offer rich strategic elements. Here are our top picks for the best RPG board games, promising endless fun in 2025 and beyond.
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Don't have time for reading blurbs? Scroll sideways to see all the games featured on the list above.
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Let’s start with the dragon in the chamber: The Gloomhaven series is widely acclaimed as the best board game ever made, let alone the best role-playing board game. You step into the shoes of adventurers, working together in a dynamic campaign where characters retire or meet their end in dungeons. The game's tactical combat system involves building a deck of multi-use ability cards, with each scenario increasing in tension as your deck depletes. While the original Gloomhaven is out of stock, its prequel, Jaws of the Lion, offers similar gameplay in a more affordable package. Frosthaven, the sequel, expands the experience with a town you can explore, build, and populate. These games are also excellent choices for solo play.
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Role-playing in board games can be broad, but the cooperative adventure series based on the world's most popular pen-and-paper RPG brilliantly blends the two. Each box includes tiles you draw randomly to create dungeons, populated with traps and monsters following simple routines. This dynamic setup creates a sense of exploring a mysterious labyrinth controlled by a dungeon master, guiding you through a narrative campaign. Temple of Elemental Evil, based on a famous D&D scenario, stands out as a top choice.
Check out our beginner's guide to Dungeons and Dragons if you're interested in classic D&D gameplay instead.
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This acclaimed board game adaptation of the popular role-playing video game is set years before the events of The Witcher series, casting players as Witchers hunting monsters and competing for coin and glory. The game features compelling deck-building mechanics, allowing you to create card combos and strategic synergies to outpace your rivals. It also offers a solo mode for those who wish to explore the fantasy world and battle its mythical creatures on their own.
See our The Witcher: Old World board game review for more information.
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Not all RPGs are fantasy-based; sci-fi fans will love this game that replaces dungeons with starships and high-tech bases. Set post the original Star Wars film, one player commands the Empire while others control Rebel operatives. The tactical combat system is robust enough for standalone scenarios, but the campaign mode links battles into a cinematic narrative, letting you fight alongside icons like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. The game's expansions offer even more characters from the big screen.
You can check out our guide to the best Star Wars board games overall for more like this one.
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Originally released in 1989, HeroQuest has returned with improved miniatures, offering an RPG-on-a-board experience complete with a game master. The GM uses a booklet to guide the scenario, while other players explore dungeons, fight monsters, and collect treasure. It's an excellent blend of mystery, narrative, and tactical gameplay, suitable for families yet deep enough for seasoned gamers. Additional expansions provide even more adventures.
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Horror RPGs face the challenge of balancing player control with the genre's inherent unpredictability. Arkham Horror: The Card Game, inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's works, excels here. Players collaborate to solve mysteries linked to alien worlds, with horror stemming from challenging difficulty and bleak narratives. The game's strategy revolves around deck-building and managing statistical probabilities from the chaos bag, making it one of the best trading card games available.
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Given the popularity of fantasy settings in RPGs, it's fitting that Middle-earth, the iconic fantasy world, is featured here. This game allows players to immerse themselves in Tolkien's universe without retreading his stories. Heroes build card decks representing their abilities, and the game introduces innovative mechanics like tile scale-flipping for exploration and an app for solving narrative-based mysteries.
You can also check out our review of The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying board game, which we also loved.
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In this unique RPG, heroism is about survival in a war-torn city. Inspired by the computer RPG of the same name, players must scavenge resources during the day and protect their hideout from threats at night. The game's mechanics focus on resource management and base-building, supported by a narrative text that powerfully conveys the horrors of conflict, making your survival efforts deeply personal.
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The appeal of RPGs on a board lies in their tangible components, and Descent: Legends of the Dark excels with its finely sculpted miniatures and detailed 3D terrain. The game's engine is equally impressive, with a mobile app guiding your party through quests and narrative arcs. You'll use treasures to unlock new powers and equipment, enhancing your strategic gameplay.
See our Descent: Legends of the Dark review for more info.
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RPGs often appeal to younger players, but many are too complex. Mice & Mystics bridges this gap with a charming story of adventurers turned into mice, working to save a kingdom from a tyrant. The game features simple tactical mechanics and whimsical adventures, making it enjoyable for all ages.
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While many RPGs focus on mechanics, Tainted Grail prioritizes storytelling, blending Celtic legends with Arthurian lore to create a rich world. Players must manage resources and navigate a branching narrative campaign, supported by well-crafted text. With multiple paths, each playthrough offers a unique experience.
The term "role-playing game" (RPG) originated with Dungeons & Dragons, the first published ruleset to formalize narrative character-based stories using miniature wargame rules. These games, often called "pen-and-paper RPGs," emphasize creative storytelling. However, players also enjoy the strategic elements like skill checks and character advancement. The need for a Game Master in early pen-and-paper RPGs led to the development of board and video game RPGs, where the board, cards, or computer took over the GM's role, creating worlds for players to explore and offering satisfaction through character leveling and mechanical exploitation.
While "role-playing" is a well-established genre in video gaming, spawning sub-genres like JRPGs and Rogue-likes, board gaming lacks a similar term, often using "adventure" or "quest" games instead. This can be confusing, especially given the cross-pollination between board and computer RPGs, with many games inspiring adaptations across both mediums.
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