The 5 Shortest (And 5 Longest) Board Games
When choosing a board game to play, it can be important to consider the average play time. Some games are very quick like Darts board– they’re excellent for occupying a spare 20 minutes. Others notoriously take hours to complete and are best reserved for patient players who are able to dedicate a whole day (or more). In this post, we’ll compare 5 of the shortest and 5 of the longest board games.
The Shortest Board Games (<20 minutes)
Quoridor
Quoridor is a fast-paced abstract strategy game that can be completed in as little as 15 minutes. Each player has a single pawn and the objective is to get your pawn to the other side of the board first to win. However, both you and your opponent can block each others’ paths by placing down fences. Each turn you either move your pawn or place down a fence. Up to 4 people can play at once – with each player starting on a different side of the board.
Onitama
Onitama is a bit like a mini version of chess but with movement options that constantly change depending on the cards you draw. Each player has 5 pieces – one Master Pawn and four Student Pawns – and the game takes place on a 5×5 play mat. There are two ways to win the game: capture your opponent’s Master Pawn (‘the way of the stone’) or move your own Master Pawn into the opponent’s starting temple arch space (‘the way of the stream’). Games are typically very rapid compared to chess once you understand the rules.
Azul
Azul requires players to race each other to decorate a palace wall with colorful Portuguese-style tiles (‘azulejos’). Placing tiles in certain positions to form specific patterns can get you more points. The value of any leftover tiles is deducted from your score at the end. It’s a fun strategy game that participants of all ages can get to grips with and games are often completed very quickly.
Tapple
Tapple is a very fast-paced game that combines creative thinking and reaction skills. Every round a topic is chosen and each player has 10 seconds to think of a word within that category. For example, the topic could be ‘birds’ in which case players have to shout out different types of birds until one player cannot think of one. But there’s a catch: the board consists of 26 letter keys for each letter of the alphabet – when you shout out a word, you press down the letter key that this word starts with, and no other player can guess a word starting with that letter key. Some rounds can last as little as 2 minutes.
Checkers
Checkers is an old board game that is still very popular today. It’s played on a chess board with small disc-like pieces. You must capture all of the opponent’s pieces by jumping over them with one of your own pieces. All pieces can only move diagonally, and each piece can only move forwards until it reaches the other side of the board (at which point it can then go diagonally forwards or backwards). While games of checkers can take longer than 20 minutes, the game typically moves very fast between experienced players, making it a good choice of game if you’re looking for something fast.
The Longest Board Games (>3 hours)
Risk
Risk is one of the most popular board games of all time and is famously lengthy (although not as lengthy as some of the other games listed below). A game can take anywhere from 1 hour to 8 hours to complete, depending on how many players there are and whether you’ve played the game before. The objective of the game is world domination – you must capture all 42 territories on the board. Troops are assigned based on which territories you own, and battles for territories are won by players each rolling the dice. The original version is set on a map of the world, but there are other themed versions you can try such as a Star Wars version and Lord of the Rings version.
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is best played with 7 players and can take anywhere from 4 to 12 hours to complete. This is due to the extensive negotiation periods between turns. The game is set in the lead up to the First World War with each player controlling the armed forces of a different European nation. To win the game, you must take control of 18 of the 34 supply centres on the map. There are no dice or cards like risk – making this a game based purely on negotiation skills, alliances and betrayals.
Civilization
Civilization is a board game released in 1980. Then, it would later spawn the successful Civilization video game series as well as various other spinoff board games. In the original game, you play as an ancient civilization. The aim is to progress the furthest on the archaeological succession table (AST) by collecting resources. Also, by trading, building cities, battling for territories and managing disasters. While it can be a very fun game, it can take 6 to 12 hours to complete – so you may need an entire free weekend.
Twilight Imperium
Twilight Imperium is a highly acclaimed sci-fi board game in which players choose from one of 17 factions, each fighting to control the Imperial Throne and rule the galaxy. It involves in-depth military, politics and trade, while weaving in some incredible world building. Games can last anywhere from 4 to 14 hours depending on the number of players and how experienced each player is.
The Campaign For North Africa
The Campaign For North Africa has gained a reputation for being the most ridiculously complex board game of all time. It’s set in the North African Campaign of World War 2 and goes into meticulous detail with charts and tables for every unit. The board itself is 9.5ft long with a recommended 10 players. The total playtime is an estimated 1500 hours – so long that there are no official records of the game ever being completed.
