Board games come in a variety of price points and, believe it or not, some of the best are both inexpensive yet are high quality and loads fun to play.
It’s true! There are a number of budget-friendly board games. And for families and individuals looking for the best and cheapest option, $25 is definitely a sweet spot for good quality board games.
So, below are 7 affordable table top board games that are easy to learn, have lots of re-playability, and offer incredible value, all under $25!
Article Contents:
- Kingdomino · 15 – 20 mins · 2 to 4 player
- Monopoly Deal · 15 – 20 mins · 2 to 5 player
- Citadels · 20 – 60 mins · 2 to 8 player
- Sushi Go! · 15 – 20 mins · 2 to 5 player
- Sequence · 15 – 20 mins · 2 to 12 player
- Hanabi · 20 – 30 mins · 2 to 5 player
- Hive · 15 – 20 mins · 2 player
Gameplay: 15 to 20 minutes
Players: 2 to 4
Transportability: High
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 2 minutes
Expansions: Yes
Price: $20 – $25
When it comes to well-kept secrets, Kingdomino takes the cake. This simple, yet highly addictive board game just oozes with value.
Quick Rules
The board game contains 48 high quality domino tiles. Each tile is comprised of two “terrain” squares. There are 6 types of terrain: farm, forest, grassland, mine, sea and swamp. Some terrain squares also contain a crown symbol (or two, or three!), which is extra important for scoring.
The goal of the game is to build a 5 x 5 square kingdom around your castle and earn the most points based on the number of connected terrain territories.
The back of each tile is numbered 1 through 48. Typically, the higher the number, the higher the points-earning potential. Four tiles are drawn and arranged smallest to largest, then flipped over to reveal the terrain side.
Players take turns selecting 1 of the 4 tiles, the player selection order of which is dictated by the previous round of selection and ranking of tiles.
Why it’s Great
It’s a struggle between selecting the highest earning tiles and being able to pick new tiles first. This game dynamic alone makes Kingdomino a strategy-inducing grudge match from the get-go.
The low set-up time, simple rules, relatively quick play time, and high re-playability makes Kingdomino a great low-cost board game worthy of your hard earned cash.
Looking for the complete rules to play Kingdomino? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 15 to 20 minutes
Players: 2 to 5
Transportability: High
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 1 minute
Expansions: No
Price: $10 – $15
When the word Monopoly is said out load, some people moan in anguish. They know that their entire evening is going to be spent struggling to get out of jail, mortgaging properties, or declaring bankruptcy.
But, in stark contrast, when the words Monopoly Deal is said, players rejoice and can’t wait to play.
That’s because Monopoly Deal is a card-based tabletop board game that is just as competitive as its older brother but at a fraction of the time and cost!
It’s loads of fun with virtually zero setup and takedown time, and is ultra-portable.
Quick Rules
The goal of the game is to collect 3 complete sets of properties of different colors. Each player starts with 5 cards. On your turn, you draw two cards and play up to three cards.
Cards played can be either added as money to your bank, properties, enhancements to your properties (increased rent) or actions (collect rent, birthday money or steal/swap property cards). It’s just that simple!
Why it’s Great
Monopoly Deal great for families and individuals on a tight-budget looking for a stellar game. For it’s cost, and the sheer number of times you’ll be playing, the value is incredible. Case in point, my wife and I play Monopoly Deal at least once a week.
It’s the perfect board game for family game night, in between classes at school, or even poolside while on vacation!
Looking for the complete rules to play Monopoly Deal? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 20 to 60 minutes
Players: 2 to 8
Transportability: High
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 5 minutes
Expansions: Yes
Price: $20 – $25
If you’re looking for a cheap board game that is great for 2 players all the way up to groups of 8, look no further.
Quick Rules
Citadels is a fun, dynamic board game that only gets better when more people are playing. The premise is to strategically switch characters between each round to help yourself amass the most points.
During the game, players take turns selecting 1 of 8 character cards in secret. Each character has their own unique ability, which becomes evident during the action phase of gameplay.
Some characters give you more points, others let you chose your next character first, and others all-together block rival characters from maneuvering during the action phase.
The goal is to systematically choose characters that help increase your income so that you can build district cards (which earn you points). Once any player builds their 8th district card, the game ends, and the player with the most points (see scoring rules) wins!
Why it’s Great
Although Citadels has very few moving parts, the cards, point tokens, and overall concept are very high quality.
It usually comes in at under $25 which makes it a great, inexpensive choice to add to your board game collection.
Looking for the complete rules to play Citadels? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 15 – 20 minutes
Players: 2 to 5
Transportability: High
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 2 minute
Expansions: Yes
Price: $15 – $20
Sushi Go! is a fast-paced card game that’ll have you snatching up sashimi and wanting more wasabi!
It’s a low cost board game that’s fantastic for players with low attention spans because each round is quick to play, with little time to overthink or get bored.
Quick Rules
Over a series of three rounds, players add sushi cards to their “plate”. The player with the highest scoring plate wins!
Depending on the number of players, up to 10 cards are dealt to each player. Each player then picks one card from their hand and places it face down in front of them. Simultaneously, cards are revealed.
The cards in hand are then passed to the left, simulating a conveyor belt. Once again, players chose a card and reveal it.
These two steps are repeated until only a single card is left to pass, which is added to each player’s plate. This signifies the end of a round.
Scoring of your plate depends on the type of sushi cards, each representing a slightly different scoring method. Pudding cards are scored at the end. Once the scores a tallied for the round, the used sushi cards (except pudding cards) are discarded, and each player is dealt a new hand of cards.
The same process is repeated for all three rounds, the scores are added up, and the player with the most points at the end of the game wins!
Why it’s Great
So, even if you don’t like eating sushi, you’ll definitely love playing Sushi Go. It’s an affordable, quick and simple game that offers endless fun. What more do you need?
Looking for the complete rules to play Sushi Go? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 15 to 20 minutes
Players: 2 to 12
Transportability: Medium
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 5 minutes
Expansions: No
Price: $20 – $25
If you grew up playing Connect 4, you’ll love playing Sequence. The rules are simple: play a card, place a chip.
However, Sequence relies on cooperation and playing the right card at the right time to win, all without talking…
Quick Rules
The objective of the game is to connect 5 cards in a row, represented on the board, to create a “sequence”. Two sequences win the game.
At the beginning of the game, each player is dealt a specific number of cards depending on the number of players. Team mates sit across from one another around the board and work together to create sequences.
During a players turn, they remove a card from their hand and plays it face-up on the discard pile. A marker chip is then placed on the corresponding card on the game board.
Once a card is played, you must take a card from the draw deck. But, if you forget to take a card before the next player finishes their turn, you forfeit your opportunity to gain a card. Now you must play with one less card in your hand.
Why it’s Great
Playing Sequence is as simple as it gets. It’s a decent cheap board game perfect for kids and adults who are looking for something super easy yet enjoyable to play.
So every time young kids come over and need some down time we break out Sequence – It’s always a hit!
Looking for the complete rules to play Sequence? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 20 to 30 minutes
Players: 2 to 5
Transportability: High
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 2 minutes
Expansions: Yes
Price: $10 – $15
Hanabi is a card-based board game that relies on logic, inference and subtle clues to play. Players must work together to pull off the perfect fireworks sequence before time runs out.
But there’s a hiccup… You can see everyone else’s fireworks cards, but not your own. So, how do you ensure your master piece of lights and explosions won’t fizzle?
Quick Rules
Each player is dealt 5 cards, face down. Players pick up their cards, holding them outward in a way such that the face side is facing away from them. This way, everyone sees your cards except you.
In Hanabi, there are 5 suits of cards, each suit is a different color, and each suit is numbered 1 to 5. Your goal is to arrange all 5 suits of cards in ascending order.
If the card you’ve selected to play doesn’t fit on any of the piles currently on the table, either an incorrect color or number, or both, you must remove a fuse token. If three cards are incorrectly played, kaboom! The game is over.
On your turn, you have to perform one of three possible actions: (1) Play a card, (2) Discard a card, or (3) Give information. At the start of the game, there are 8 time tokens available. To give someone information about their hand, you must discard a time token. Then, you can tell someone ONE thing about their hand. But, there are restrictions!
When you complete one row of 5 cards, you get to put one time token back into play. If the card you’ve selected to play doesn’t fit on any of the piles currently on the table, either an incorrect color or number, or both, you must remove a fuse token. If three cards are incorrectly played, kaboom! The game is over.
Why it’s Great
Because gameplay pretty much relies on hints from your team mates, Hanabi is unquestionably a cooperative board game.
For its relatively low cost, Hanabi is a great choice for older kids and adults who might like cheap yet simple games.
Looking for the complete rules to play Hanabi? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 15 to 20 minutes
Players: 2
Transportability: High
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 1 minutes
Expansions: Yes
Price: $20 – $25
The objective of Hive is simple: be the first to completely surround your opponents queen bee to win.
Seem easy, right? Wrong! It’s an intense board game that feels a lot like chess but nowhere near as boring (sorry chess fans).
Quick Rules
Hive doesn’t rely on a game board. Instead, each player has 11 hexagonal tiles, each representing a different insect. There is the queen bee (1), spiders (2), beetles (2), grasshoppers, (3) and ants (3). Each insect has a distinct movement ability.
To start, one player places an insect tile. The second player then places a tile, connected to one side of the first player.
When placing new tiles from this point forward, new tiles can only touch your own insect tiles. Within the first four tiles placed per player, the queen bee must be placed.
Once the queen bee is placed, already placed insect tiles can move according to their movement ability. Some insect tiles can move one edge spot at a time, while others must move 3 spots. Some insects have the ability to move in the vertical direction and “climb” over other tiles.
One key rule is that all pieces in play must remain connected, also known as the “One-Hive” rule. That means you cannot move an insect tile if it results in another tile or tiles being left broken from the rest.
This simple but crucial rule makes this game incredibly competitive. You can essentially trap your opponent pieces with your own so that they won’t be able to move those tiles without breaking this rule.
The goal is to add and move insect tiles until your opponent’s queen bee is completely surrounded on all 6 sides by either player’s tiles.
Why it’s Great
If you’re like me, you’ll regularly play multiple rounds because you won’t get enough of this quick, yet competitive low-cost board game you can take anywhere.
Looking for the complete rules to play Hive? Check them out here.
What inexpensive and cheap board games under $25 do you like playing? Let me know your favourites in the comments below!
This article contains affiliate links, which help support this blog at no cost to you!
Related Posts
