People have been playing board games for a long time. Board games have changed a lot since 3500 BC, when the first ones were made. Most of us remember playing games like Monopoly and Pandemic, which are more recent. There are now a lot of other digital board games that are newer and more up-to-date. Here are the best board games for Android that you can play on your phone or tablet.
AI Factory Limited
AI Factory Limited is a Google Play developer. They focus on simple card and board games. They have great versions of chess, checkers, backgammon, reversi, go, sudoku, and even tic-tac-toe. The designs aren’t very fancy. But the games are much better than average in how they work. They are also cheap, and most people find that the free versions are good enough. This is the first place to look for the basics. If you want the real thing, you can also get a very simple chess set for less than $30.
Armello
Armello is a little bit of an unknown. It’s not quite a board game, but it has a lot of board game and card game features. The game has both a story mode and modes where you play against other people. Players can pick heroes, go on quests, and do a lot of other things. Quests are shown on cards that characters collect and then complete. The game world is very reminiscent of a board game and players move around it like one. It’s not quite a board game, but it plays just like one. It’s free to play, and all in all, it’s pretty fun.
Elder Sign: Omens
Elder Sign: Omens is one of the older board games for mobile devices. It’s a game with a mystery. You look all over the board for clues, magic items, and other things. The game board can only hold so much. Everyone has to try to get the most. That makes things harder. The goal is to beat the boss at the end. The final boss depends on how hard you make the game. The game has different levels of difficulty, extra content that can be bought in-app, and more. The game can be rough at times, but that’s probably part of the fun. The physical copies can be found on Amazon, of course!
Exploding Kittens
Exploding Kittens is a pretty good version of the board game that can be played on a phone. It’s not hard to play. Everyone gets cards and draws one every time it’s their turn. If a player gets the exploding kitten, they have to figure out how to stop it from going off or they will lose the game. There are different cards that can mess up your hand or the hands of other players. It’s not too hard to play, and it moves along pretty quickly.
The game costs $1.99 and comes with downloadable content (DLC) that adds more cards to the game. Yes, technically it’s a card game, but you can still play it with real cards.
Fleet Battle
Battleship is a popular board game, and Fleet Battle is a variation on it. The basic idea is the same. You and your opponent both move their ships around a map. Whoever sinks all of the boats first wins. Online PvP through WiFi, Bluetooth, or the Internet is another feature of the game. You also get quick matches, medals (also called achievements), a chat, and more. It doesn’t have as much charm as the first one. Still, it’s about as close as you can get on a phone. Here is where you can find the real Battleship game by Hasbro.
Galaxy Trucker
Galaxy Trucker is one of the relatively newer board games. Players make ships to help them survive in space. To build your ship, you just draw tiles and put them down. You have to avoid obstacles and fight bad guys, too. The game also has local and online multiplayer, a campaign mode, and a few different ways to play. The cost of the base game is $4.99. There is an optional DLC available for an additional $4.99 as an in-app purchase. Amazon also sells the book in print form.
The Game of Life 2
The Game of Life 2 is the follow-up to the popular board game made by Hasbro. As they move through the game, players build their own lives, like getting a job and a family. The game has a mode for one player and two modes for two or more players. You can play with other people in the room or online. It’s a pretty fun game, and it works a lot like the real thing. The price is the only bad thing. The price you pay gets you the base game, but you have to pay a little bit extra for extra content. You don’t have to buy anything extra because the base game is already fun.
Mini Metro
Mini Metro is a straightforward game with a straightforward goal. You make a subway map for a city’s public transportation system. The game has 18 cities, different upgrades, and three different game modes to keep things interesting. It’s similar to the game Ticket to Ride. Both require you to build a way for people to get around. This one just has simpler graphics and a slightly different way of playing. We like the colorblind mode, night mode, and simple style of graphics the most. It costs $4.99 and has no ads or in-app purchases. This game is also free for people who have Google Play Pass.
Among The Stars
Another board game that has been turned into an Android game is Among the Stars. It takes place in a war-torn galaxy where different alien races must work together to stop a threat. The goal is to build the most advanced space station ever. Even though this is the mobile version, it’s still a card-building board game at heart.
The game gets competitive when each card represents a new room on the space station. You can use cards to improve your space station or put something into play that hurts another player. To do well in Among the Stars, you have to plan a lot. For example, you have to make sure your station has enough power reactors.
The Android version has a single-player campaign and local or online cross-platform multiplayer. It’s a great adaptation of a fun game. Go ahead and try it.
