Top War Board Games of 2025

War-themed board games offer a thrilling blend of strategy and excitement, captivating players with epic battles and immersive narratives. Whether you prefer a quick evening skirmish or an all-day epic, these games deliver intense strategic challenges. Gather your friends, prepare your snacks and drinks, and prepare for a captivating gaming experience.

To ensure smooth gameplay, especially with longer games, consider these tips: Access a PDF rulebook (often freely available from publishers) for pre-game reading. Encourage players to perform administrative tasks, like sorting components, outside their turns. If agreed upon, implement a time limit per turn.

The Best War Board Games

Here's a curated selection of top-tier war board games, offering diverse themes and gameplay experiences:

Arcs

See it. Arcs masterfully balances action and negotiation, creating a dynamic conflict experience. Its innovative trick-taking mechanics provide strategic depth, complemented by thrilling spacecraft battles on a circular board. Despite its strategic complexity, it offers a surprisingly fast playtime, making it ideal for both casual and dedicated gamers. The brilliant narrative campaign expansion further enhances replayability.

Dune: War for Arrakis

See it at Amazon. This intense head-to-head game pits the Atreides against the Harkonnens in a fierce struggle for control of Arrakis. Asymmetric gameplay highlights the unique strengths of each faction: the Atreides' guerilla tactics versus the Harkonnens' superior resources. The game features high-quality miniatures and an engaging dice system, ensuring constant strategic re-evaluation.

Sniper Elite: The Board Game

See it at Amazon. This adaptation captures the tense stealth action of the video game series, placing the sniper against a relentless German squad. The game incorporates a strong historical element, offering realistic combat and thematic components. Multiple boards and customizable loadouts guarantee high replayability.

Twilight Imperium 4th Edition

See it at Amazon. An epic sci-fi civilization-building game, Twilight Imperium offers a sprawling galactic experience. Players research technology, build fleets, and engage in diplomacy and political maneuvering. The game's strategic depth is enhanced by a unique card system that allows for diverse approaches.

Blood Rage

See it at Amazon. In Blood Rage, players lead Viking clans into Ragnarök, vying for glory and a place in Valhalla. Behind its violent theme lies a game of strategic subtlety, involving card drafting, resource management, and thrilling blind battle encounters.

Dune

See it at Amazon. Based on Frank Herbert's novel, Dune emphasizes asymmetric strategies and hidden information. Each faction possesses unique abilities, creating a complex interplay of political maneuvering and strategic decision-making.

Kemet: Blood and Sand

See it at Amazon. Kemet plunges players into a brutal conflict between Egyptian gods and mythical creatures. Strategic pyramid powers and intense card-based combat create a fast-paced, violent, and engaging experience.

Star Wars: Rebellion

See it at Amazon. Star Wars: Rebellion recreates the iconic conflict between the Rebellion and the Empire, offering an asymmetric struggle with well-known characters and events. The game’s strategic depth and narrative flexibility provide a highly replayable experience.

Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear

See it at Amazon. This tactical wargame balances realism and accessibility, using a simple yet engaging system to depict squad-level combat. The game's expansion to include artillery and vehicles provides a comprehensive World War II experience.

Undaunted: Normandy & Undaunted: North Africa & Undaunted Stalingrad

See it at Amazon. These games ingeniously use deck-building mechanics to simulate infantry combat. Officer cards and unit cards create dynamic battles with tense firefights and pivotal moments.

Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right

See it at Amazon. Root offers asymmetric gameplay with four unique factions vying for control of a woodland realm. Despite its charming theme, the game delivers intense strategic challenges.

Twilight Struggle: Red Sea

See it at Amazon. A streamlined version of the acclaimed Twilight Struggle, Red Sea maintains the core card-play while significantly reducing playtime. The game offers a compelling exploration of the Cold War in East Africa.

A Game of Thrones: The Board Game

See it at Amazon. This game captures the political intrigue and backstabbing of the A Song of Ice and Fire universe. The game’s unique secret order system creates constant tension and strategic uncertainty.

War of the Ring 2nd Edition

See it at Amazon. A masterful adaptation of Tolkien's legendarium, War of the Ring features two interwoven games: the epic battle for Middle-earth and the Fellowship's quest to destroy the One Ring.

Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy

See it at Amazon. Eclipse emphasizes strategic planning and technological advancement in a sci-fi setting. The game's innovative initiative and upgrade systems demand long-term strategic thinking.

For more board game options, explore our selections of the best board games and the best board game deals.

What Defines a Wargame?

The term "wargame" can be subjective. While some consider it solely encompassing historically accurate simulations, others include games simulating potential conflicts or those set in fictional universes. This list adopts a broader definition, encompassing games that explore conflict from various perspectives, including historical simulation and fantasy diplomacy.