Update 10/7/24: If there’s a product category I get excited about, it is board games. In searching through what Amazon had to offer, I was able to find hot discounts and suitable games for just about any table out there. Whether they’ve been played (and loved) by me personally or someone in my game group, these games have all passed the test of being lovable, direct, and great to play. Note that many of these deals are “With Prime” meaning you’ll need an Amazon Prime membership to get them.
With October 8 and 9 having some great Prime Big Deal Days deals, now is the perfect opportunity to pick yourself up a board game, especially since it’s one of the few days of the year where board games have some solid discounts. To that end, we’ve gone out and collected some of our all-around favorite board game deals for you to check out. That said, if you’re a more traditional PC gamer, then check out these Prime Day gaming laptop deals and Prime Day gaming PC deals while you’re at it.
Draftosaurus — $14 (with Prime) $25 44% off
There’s hardly a more underrated drafting game out there. Whether you’re an MtG nerd looking for a 15 minute drafting fix or have a dino-loving kid ready to start their first planning games, this is it. This game has a light exterior and easy-to-understand ruleset, but has nonetheless satisfying gameplay for any gamer.
Jekyll vs. Hyde — $14 (with Prime) $14 39% off
It’s hard to get four together to play Hearts of Spades, but this two-player trick-taking game can quickly fill the spot. While simple to play, wrapping your mind around the different roles in the game, when to use special moves, and the unique one-vs-one trick-taking atmosphere will mean this game will take ages to master.
Codenames — $20 $25 20% off
If there’s a game you’ll hear non-boardgamers cite in recent years, its the word association game Codenames. I can like Codenames, you can like Codenames, we can all like Codenames. There’s a weird blend of strategy, word play, and social dynamics at work in the game. Plus, it is easy to accommodate groups of any size (you can play seamlessly in teams) and if a player leaves early or comes in late you can plop them in with little fuss. A great first or last game in your night’s lineup.
Rallyman: DIRT — $25 (with Prime) $45 45% off
If you’ve got a group that’s tired of “victory points” style games with 7+ points trackers to follow, this push your luck racing game will be refreshing. Push your car, but not too much, to win the rally. You get to design the courses with hex pieces, so there’s (essentially) endless variety to be had.
Dominion (2nd Edition) — $34 $50 32% off
We know that if you’re a turn-based computer games gamer, you’re still playing Slay the Spire. So, why not also play one of the original competitive deck-builder boardgames as well? Each game has different sets of cards to purchase from, giving it depth and lasting power for your table. Plus, there are expansions!
Space Base — $37 $45 18% off
Space Base may not have battles, but it feels more like the autobattler genre in boardgame format more than any other game I’ve played (and arguably more so than which imitates many tropes of the genre). Players acquire ships and get lucky to get resources and, eventually, enough points to win. This game uses a combination of luck and strategy, so even a new player can win.
How to Choose a Board Game on Prime Day
If you’ve never really gotten into the world of board games and are only familiar with things like Monopoly or Clue, then a good place to start is to look at our roundup of the best board games and pick the things that may seem interesting to you. These are all really great starter board games that can ease you into the wider world of board games, especially since you can go very complex if you’re looking for that.
On the other hand, if you’re ready to jump right in, then you should think about the style of a board game that you like to play. For starters, there are entirely co-op games where everybody works together to reach a goal, such as Pandemic or Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert. If you want to add a little bit of tension to the situation with potential traitors, then Dead of Winter, Nemesis, and The Thing are all great options. You could also check out very social games, such as Coup, Codenames, and Wavelength, which are all great fun to play with six or more people.
That brings us to the next point: one of the most important things to consider when buying board games is how many people you regularly play with and how long you have to play. There are board games that are for as few as two people and as many as ten, and some board games can last 15 minutes, while others can easily last three to four hours. As such, you should plan around your usual gaming group and time.
How We Chose These Board Game Prime Day Deals
Games can be pretty personal, and so any suggestions we make here tend to fall back on our own experience as people who love board games. That means that we mix and match the sort of deals we put up here to ensure that everybody can find something that they enjoy, as well as get it at the cheapest price possible. That last bit is important because some board games can get exceedingly expensive, especially the more complicated they get, so it’s not always easy to justify the cost.
As such, we rely on our own experience as deal hunters, and our tools, to ensure you get the cheapest and best games in various categories so that you can buy with confidence.