If you’re addicted to playing board games, you won’t always have enough people around to play with. Thankfully, there are plenty of sites which let you play board games online for free.
No matter what kind of board game you want to play, these free online board game sites will help you find an opponent to compete with.
1. Board Game Arena
With 175 games and counting, Board Game Arena is a popular destination for playing board games online for free.
The games in Board Game Arena cover a wide variety of genres. You’ll find the simple classics like Yahtzee, backgammon, and chess, as well as more complicated modern games like Race for the Galaxy, Carcassonne, Puerto Rico, Lost Cities, Seasons, and more. There are links to rules and videos for every game, so you can prepare yourself before you play for the first time.
Board Game Arena’s interface is easy to use and presents a lot of information in a compact space. This includes elements that are relevant to the game, turn timers, as well as ELO ratings. You also get a running report of what you and your opponent have done (which is nice, because it’s often hard to see what your opponent is doing when you play board games online).
You can chat with your opponents as well, though if you want audio or video you’ll need to sign up for a Premium membership. Becoming a Premium member also lets you play Premium games without limitations, and also eliminates wait times for games. However, it’s entirely optional.
2. BrettSpielWelt
BrettSpielWelt doesn’t have the variety of games available on BoardGameArena, but it still provides a lot of options. Some of the more popular games on BSW include Carcassonne (with a few expansions), 7 Wonders, Puerto Rico, and Stone Age.
BSW operates off of a mobile platform, whether you’re playing on a computer or not. This means you can choose to use BSW on your computer, phone, or tablet. No matter which platform you use, you’ll have access to the site’s text or voice chat to communicate with other players.
One thing to note: although BSW is available in a number of languages, it’s primarily a German site. Since some text hasn’t been translated, you may have to make a few educated guesses as to where some links will take you. That said, the best online language translators should help.
3. Yucata
Yucata places a stronger emphasis on turn-based play compared to other board game websites. Despite this, it still works well for both turn-based and real-time board games if you’re patient. It doesn’t have a timer when you’re playing real-time, so games can turn into very long affairs when you’re playing against someone who’s playing a lot of games at once or just decides to leave.
Even so, Yucata offers a good selection of games, including Carcassonne, Dragonheart, Jaipur, Roll Through the Ages, Stone Age, and The Castles of Burgundy. And you can play all of them for free, without even registering. When you select a game, you can read the rules and watch a tutorial video to help you get started.
While Yucata’s game-finding interface isn’t great, the play interface is nice-looking and responsive. Just keep in mind that this platform is built for playing several simultaneous games at once. Having multiple games on your roster keeps things entertaining. When one game is on hold, you can easily jump into another!
4. Boîte à Jeux
Primarily a French site, Boîte à Jeux has been translated into English and German as well. It doesn’t have quite as many big-name games as other options, but there are a few games that might appeal to you, like Agricola, Alhambra, Tzolk’in, Dixit, and Nations: The Dice Game.
Like Yucata, Boîte à Jeux is a good place to play the best browser strategy games. However, it doesn’t encourage real-time gaming. You don’t have a time limit on your turn, which means games can last for days.
When you want to start playing, you can opt to create a game, or join another player’s game. The play interface on Boîte à Jeux is nice—as you play, you can look at the game rules and the other players’ stats.
Boîte à Jeux is free to use, but you can also sign up for a premium account that unlocks a few extra features, like opening games and reserving spots for friends.
5. YourTurnMyTurn
YourTurnMyTurn is another turn-based site that lets you set turn time limits of one day and longer. There are a lot of classic games you can play, including chess, checkers, Connect Four, Battleship, Go, Reversi, and more. There are fewer Euro-style and modern games, but Carcassonne and Lost Cities are both available.
YTMT doesn’t have as big of a community as other board game sites, but if you’re looking for extended turn-based games, and like the selection available there, it’s worth checking out. After all, it’s free, so you don’t have anything to lose.
6. Tabletopia
Tabletopia features over 900 great board games. Its library ranges from modern games like Santorini and Sub Terra, to classics like Parcheesi and backgammon. Games with the “Try Now” label let you quickly jump into games without even creating an account or logging in. Otherwise, you’ll have to sign up to get started.
What makes Tabletopia unique is its three game modes: Solo, Hotseat, and Online. While the Solo mode lets you play any one-player games alone, Hotseat mode allows you to play multiplayer games on the same desktop. Online mode is ideal if you want to play online multiplayer board games with random opponents.
The free Bronze membership lets you play a huge variety of board games. Although Tabletopia offers paid Silver and Gold subscriptions as well, you don’t really need the upgrade. A paid membership is only necessary if you want to play more than two games at once, and if you want access to the small list of Premium games.
You Can Always Print Your Own Board Games
Out of all of these board game sites, BoardGameArena and Tabletopia have the widest selection of games and the most polished interfaces. The other sites are a bit more difficult to navigate, but they’re worth it if the site has a game you love.
Do you prefer to play board games in-person rather than online? If so, why not try these awesome free printable board games.
Read the full article: The 6 Best Sites to Play Board Games Online for Free
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