The Worst Board Game?

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I was talking about board games with a friend of mine over the weekend, and he asked me what I thought the worst board game was.

That’s a difficult question to answer, because a lot of factors go into it. Some games are fundamentally flawed, while others might not connect with you personally, but other folks love them.

Some games simply don’t explain their rules well, leaving players scrambling and baffled on their first playthrough. Some games have a simple gimmick that is fun once, but has very little replay value. Are those bad games?

A game can be mechanically bad, but if you still have fun at the table with your friends while playing it, is it a bad game?

It’s a lot to unpack.

Many of the old classics end up on lists of worst games: Risk, Battleship, Twister, Candy Land, Trivial Pursuit, Chutes & Ladders, Guess Who?, and of course, Monopoly.

I don’t know that it’s necessarily fair to put simpler children’s games on a list of worst games, simply because they’re not as fun to play when you’re older. (Or if you don’t have polio, in the case of Candy Land.)

I also don’t think that games belong on the list simply because they can take a long time, like Risk or Monopoly.

To be fair, some of these games aren’t games at all. Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders involve NO player agency and NO meaningful choices. (Though, in the past, we’ve suggested ways to make Candy Land better.)

And some of the major flaws of these games can be fixed with house rules.

The main issue with Trivial Pursuit, for instance, is that you have to be on very specific squares to earn your wedges, so a lot of the trivia-answering and die-rolling feels pointless or tedious.

But you can fix that with a house rule like “answering three questions of the same color earns you a wedge” or “answer two questions in a row and you immediately proceed to a wedge spot.” Simple fix!

As for Monopoly… well, it has earned its reputation. And yet, it remains one of the bestselling games. Clearly some people are out there enjoying it. (And I wish to know their secrets.)

But newer games aren’t immune to ending up on lists of the worst games.

Munchkin often appears there, but I think that’s due less to gameplay and more to how difficult it can be to get into the gameplay, given how child-friendly the art style is.

The Oregon Trail Card Game appears on some lists, which I found surprising. Sure, the game is hard, almost unfairly so, but that’s kinda the point. My work team and I had a blast chronicling our attempts at beating it every week at lunch, as well as the numerous deaths I personally endured during play. It was a Sisyphean joy!

A lot of pop culture tie-in games are generally awful because they’re cash grabs, not genuine attempts to make a fun game. (The Twin Peaks Murder Mystery Game is truly wretched, for instance. But, then again, The Golden Girls version of Clue is delightful. It’s a mixed bag.)

Personally, I would put Cards Against Humanity on the list, because it encourages lame edgelord humor and reaching for low-hanging fruit, comedically. Cleverness and wit often loses to shock value.

But then again, it can be the seedling for a better game. I’ve played Charades Against Humanity (where you have to act out a White Card from the game) many a time and had an absolute blast. Again, house rules save the day.

So, at the end of the day, what is the worst board game?

Whichever one you enjoy the least.

Or Monopoly. Who can say?

I can, however, with one hundred percent certainty, tell you the worst card game. And no, astonishingly, it’s not War. (Though War suffers from the same flaw as Candy Land.)

The worst card game of all time is Guess the Card.

Here’s how to play, if you’re a masochist:

  • Shuffle a deck of cards.
  • Put the deck of cards in front of you.
  • Try to guess the card on top.
  • Flip over the card and see if you’re right.

That’s it. It’s maddening and insane and barely a game, and I have a friend who makes us play it before every game night she hosts because it makes her laugh hysterically.

So, while it’s the worst card game in the world for most of us, it’s her favorite.

To each their own, I guess.

What’s your least favorite card game or board game? Or, better yet, what’s your favorite? Let’s end on a positive note, shall we? Let me know in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you.

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