Do you and your friends want to play some online board games? The ability to reach across the table and hit your friends when they inevitably betray you is the most significant advantage board games have over video games. Naturally, if you can’t thrash a close friend minutes after they declare victory, you may conclude that online board games aren’t worth your time.

While the physical aspect of board games is missing – including slaps – online board games are still a fun way to bring your favorite boxes to the (virtual) table more often. They also save you money on snacks, drinks, and the time it takes to clean up afterward because they don’t require you to entertain other people in your home. Furthermore, most online board games are much easier to set up and play, and you can play against the computer if you don’t have any friends. We have a separate list for you if you don’t care about the internet component and want to play some of the best PC board games on Steam.

FOR THE TABLETOP, A SIMULATOR

Tabletop Simulator (TTS) can summon almost any box, like a sluggish monkey’s paw of board game wishes. How much does it cost? There were some clumsy controls and poor execution.

TTS appears to be a fantastic thing on the surface: a mod engine jam-packed with fan-made and official mods for all of your favorite games. In this simulator, players can manually move components and cards around on a virtual table, and practicing can feel like swinging a dead cat over your monitor. There are a lot of remote controls to learn, and it’s not common for players to throw parts into the air or even flip the table over (this is a good move that has its key). True, and it even gives the impression of a shattered ego.

CODENAMES

In Vlaada Chvátil’s Codenames, two teams compete over a grid of words. Only the spymaster of each group is aware of the terms that must be chosen for their team to win. The spymasters must use single-word hints and a series of associations to guide their horde of idiots to the correct answer. Connecting clues is difficult enough, but avoiding tying in opponent and neutral alternatives and the game-ending Assassin card is even more difficult.

SCYTHE

Gather your wits, strategy game aficionados! RTS games may have lost favor on the PC, but tactical gamers are enjoying some of their best days ever in the analog world. Scythe is a turn-based strategy game that comes the closest to a board game RTS. Players compete to gain the most influence and popularity by constructing employees, buildings, and steampunk mechs on a beautifully painted map.

MYSTERIUM

What’s the bad news, exactly? Your friend was murdered. Fortunately, their ghost will help you figure out who wronged them. In Mysterium, a co-op game, one player assumes the role of a long-dead spirit. They’ll send visions to a group of psychic mediums — the other players — in the hopes of finding their killer. It’s worth noting, however, that communicating from beyond the grave is difficult, and the spirit can only express itself through abstract and surrealist art. Collaborate to determine who did it, where it occurred, and how it happened so that they can finally rest in peace.

SET YOUR SIGHT ON THE UNIVERSE!

There aren’t many games where you can rule the stars with an intergalactic disco. On the other hand, Roll for the Galaxy isn’t your typical space-conquering adventure. Instead of fighting directly, players roll and assign dice to tasks like world settlement, money generation, product production, and delivering valuable wares for victory points. Each new globe adds new powers and dice to the game, allowing you to build a powerful manufacturing engine throughout the game.

SPYFALL

If you’re looking for a good social deduction game, here’s one you can play with a group of friends over a Zoom call. Spyfall is yet another hidden role game, but it appears unique, unlike many others on this list. One of the players is a spy, while the rest of the gang are regular people. Every ordinary person is assigned the same location from a vast pool of options. On the other hand, the spy has no idea where they are and will have to figure it out.