By: Blaze Aldrich | September 23, 2025

(C. Juras, 2025)

10 Amazing Underrated Board Games You Need to Play

While classics like Catan and Ticket to Ride dominate game nights, there’s a treasure trove of underrated board games that offer unique mechanics, engaging themes, and hours of fun. Today, we’re diving into 10 amazing but often overlooked board games that should be on your radar. From bluffing to city-building to cooperative escapes, these games bring something special to the table. Let’s roll the dice and explore!

1. Skull

Players: 3-6 | Playtime: 15-45 minutes | Genre: Bluffing/Party

Skull is the ultimate bluffing game that’s deceptively simple yet devilishly fun. Each player has a set of coasters—three flowers and one skull. You take turns placing coasters face-down and bidding on how many you can flip without revealing a skull. The tension of outsmarting opponents while keeping a poker face makes every round a thrill. Its minimalist design and quick playtime make it a perfect filler game for any group, yet it’s criminally under-discussed compared to flashier party games.

Why It’s Great: Portable, easy to learn, and packed with psychological warfare.

Why It’s Underrated: Its simplicity can be overshadowed by more complex bluffing games like Coup.

2. Machi Koro

Players: 2-4 | Playtime: 30 minutes | Genre: City-Building/Tableau-Building

(A. Feldner, 2025)

In Machi Koro, you’re a mayor building a bustling city by rolling dice and purchasing buildings like bakeries, factories, and amusement parks. Each building activates on specific dice rolls, earning you coins to expand further. The game’s charm lies in its light strategy and luck-based engine-building, making it accessible yet rewarding. It’s a fantastic gateway game that doesn’t get enough hype in a world of heavier Eurogames.

Why It’s Great: Quick, colorful, and endlessly replayable with a satisfying engine-building loop.

Why It’s Underrated: Often dismissed as “too light” compared to deeper city-builders like Suburbia (more on that later).

3. That’s Pretty Clever (Ganz Schön Clever)

Players: 1-4 | Playtime: 30 minutes | Genre: Roll-and-Write

( Emilio E, 2018)

That’s Pretty Clever is a roll-and-write masterpiece that turns dice-rolling into a brain-burning puzzle. Roll dice, choose one to score, and chain combos across five colorful tracks to maximize points. Each choice feels impactful, and the solo mode is just as engaging. Despite its popularity in some circles, it’s often overlooked in favor of flashier strategy games, but its depth and accessibility make it a must-try.

Why It’s Great: Addictive combo-chaining and a perfect balance of luck and strategy.

Why It’s Underrated: Roll-and-write games often fly under the radar in a hobby dominated by thematic epics.

4. Survive The Island

Players: 2-5 | Playtime: 45-60 minutes | Genre: Strategy/Competitive

(Nick T, 2025)

In Survive the Island, you’re fleeing a sinking island while monsters like sharks and serpents threaten your meeples. Place your explorers, move them to safety, and sabotage your opponents in this cutthroat yet hilarious game. The modular board and chaotic gameplay create memorable moments, yet it’s rarely mentioned in modern board game discussions.

Why It’s Great: Combines strategy with gleeful “take that” moments and a timeless theme.

Why It’s Underrated: Its older design (originally from 1982) gets overshadowed by newer, shinier titles.

5. The King Is Dead

Players: 2-4 | Playtime: 30-45 minutes | Genre: Area Control/Strategy

(Nikos K, 2023)

The King Is Dead is a taut, elegant game of political maneuvering. Players vie for control of medieval Britain by playing cards to influence three factions. With only eight cards to play, every decision is agonizingly crucial. Its streamlined rules and deep strategy make it a hidden gem for fans of tight, thinky games.

Why It’s Great: Minimalist design with maximum strategic depth and no luck involved.

Why It’s Underrated: Its understated theme and abstract feel don’t grab attention like newer games.

6. Dominion

Players: 2-4 | Playtime: 30 minutes | Genre: Deck-Building

(F. Milunski, 2008)

Dominion is the granddaddy of deck-building games, where you start with a small deck and buy cards to build an engine that generates victory points. With countless expansions and card combinations, every game feels fresh. While it’s a pioneer in the genre, it’s often overshadowed by newer deck-builders despite its elegant design and replayability.

Why It’s Great: The original deck-builder with endless variety and smooth gameplay.

Why It’s Underrated: Newer deck-builders like Clank! steal the spotlight, leaving Dominion underappreciated.

7. Decrypto

Players: 3-8 | Playtime: 15-45 minutes | Genre: Word/Party

(E. Martin, 2018)

Decrypto is a team-based word game where you give cryptic clues to help your teammates decode your secret numbers while opponents try to intercept. It’s like Codenames with a twist, requiring cleverness and subtlety to avoid giving away too much. Its balance of creativity and deduction is unmatched, yet it’s often overlooked in the party game scene.

Why It’s Great: Perfect for word nerds and strategic thinkers, with tense, laugh-out-loud moments.

Why It’s Underrated: Competes with juggernauts like Codenames and lacks a flashy theme.

8. Lost Ruins of Arnak

Players: 1-4 | Playtime: 30-120 minutes | Genre: Deck-Building/Worker Placement

(W. Debisschop, 2021)

Lost Ruins of Arnak blends deck-building and worker placement in a thrilling adventure to explore ancient ruins. Gather resources, discover artifacts, and face guardians in a beautifully thematic experience. While it’s gained some traction, it’s still underappreciated compared to heavier Eurogames, offering a perfect mix of accessibility and depth.

Why It’s Great: Stunning production, engaging mechanics, and a solo mode that shines.

Why It’s Underrated: Overshadowed by bigger names like Wingspan in the midweight strategy category.

9. Suburbia

Players: 1-4 | Playtime: 60-90 minutes | Genre: City-Building/Tile-Laying

(F. Thalberg, 2021)

Suburbia lets you build your own city by placing tiles that represent homes, factories, and businesses, each affecting your income and population. The puzzle of balancing growth and economy is deeply satisfying, yet it’s often ignored in favor of flashier city-building games. Its subtle theme and crunchy mechanics make it a standout.

Why It’s Great: A thinky yet accessible city-building sim with endless strategic variety.

Why It’s Underrated: Its dry theme and older design don’t scream “exciting” to new players.

10. Exit: The Game

Players: 1-4 | Playtime: 45-90 minutes | Genre: Cooperative/Escape Room

Exit: The Game is a series of cooperative escape room puzzles in a box. Each game delivers a unique, brain-teasing experience where players solve riddles and crack codes to “escape.” While escape room games are popular, Exit doesn’t get the same buzz as ongoing series like Unlock!, despite its clever puzzles and immersive stories.

Why It’s Great: Affordable, challenging, and perfect for a one-night cooperative adventure.

Why It’s Underrated: Single-use nature and competition from reusable escape games limit its spotlight.

Why These Games Deserve More Love

These 10 board games offer diverse experiences, from quick bluffing battles to intricate strategy sessions. They’re underrated because they often lack the flashy themes, heavy marketing, or social media hype of bigger titles. But their depth, replayability, and unique mechanics make them worthy additions to any collection. Next game night, skip the usual suspects and give one of these hidden gems a spin—you won’t be disappointed! What’s Your Favorite Underrated Game? Drop a comment below, and let’s get the conversation started! Happy gaming!

Reference: All pictures taken from BoardGameGeek