25 Adult Board Games to Fill Your Now-Very-Free Evenings

Codenames looks like a word game, but it’s really a test of creativity, teamwork, and stealthy strategy.

A deceptively simple game, Catan will turn you into a competitive settler out to secure resources and build roads. Remember: There’s only one winner, but you have to make deals with your friends to get ahead. 

One of the oldest boardgames in history, all you need for Backgammon is two players, a board, some checkers, and endless time on your hands.

If you ever thought, “How can I play next-level Scrabble?” then you’ll love Bananagrams.

The best part about Cartographers? You get to play with colored pencils as you work to fill in your game board Tetris-style.

Stuck inside? Ticket to Ride lets you pretend you’re traversing the country as you connect cities with different train routes.

We know you’ve been endlessly scrolling through quarantine memes. Put that knowledge to good use with this Cards Against Humanity-esque party game that matches captions to different memes.

Not for the faint of heart, players need to survive moving through a haunted house in this game that includes ghosts, mummies, monsters, and betrayal. But also, it’s super fun.

If you’re in need of a new stay-at-home project, Risk, which invites you to conquer territories around the world, can take hours or even days to finish.

Will you end up in a screaming match at some point during this game where you don’t know who’s good and who’s evil? Is that what makes it one of the best games ever? Yes and yes.

Build the best sushi meal to win the game. Order the best takeout sushi to win at life.

This fast-thinking game requires you to recall items (all starting with the same letter!) in different categories. Make yours unique though because you’ll lose points for having the same answers as your friends.

While this game might be a little too on the nose for the moment, here players take on the role of specialists in order to discover the cures for diseases ravaging the world. 

Everyone knows how to play the classic game Clue, but it’ll still keep you guessing until the very end.

Channel your inner artisan as you use tiles to decorate a palace wall, all while gaining points, in this beautiful strategy game.

The goal: Get your team to guess the right word. The catch: You can’t use any Taboo words in your clues. Good luck!

Use this extra time to both binge-watch Game of Thrones and play a Game of Thrones-themed version of the classic Monopoly.

It’s easy, it’s interactive, it’s sometimes inappropriate. It’s basically Charades with a few twists.

If you have kids around the house, try this storytelling card game that’s easy to learn but still plenty engaging.

Another oldie but a goodie, Mancala has a simple objective: Empty all your cups before your opponent does.

Pretend life is normal with this classic game that lets you have a career, a spouse, and a kid, all without leaving your apartment.

Pour a glass of wine, and get in your feelings. When this card game is over, you’ll be feeling extra connected to the other players.

You’ll sketch, you’ll act, you’ll solve puzzles. As the box says, everyone shines.

Congrats! You’re now a gem merchant collecting cards and points in this easy-to-learn game you’ll be willing to play over and over.