It’s amazing how cheap it can be these days to amass a killer board game collection, if you strike when the deals are right. This year’s Prime Day has some real gems at impressively deep discounts, including some of the most interesting releases of recent years.
When it comes to board game deals, the focus is often on family and casual games, but there’s plenty on offer this year for more diehard hobbyists—whether you’re into crunchy dungeon crawls, strategic deckbuilding, or just love big boxes full of plastic minis. With that in mind, I’ve sought out a really wide spectrum of games this year, to bring you what I think are the five coolest deals available.
King of Tokyo is my first pick, because it’s one of those board games that bridges the divide—it’s easy enough to learn and play to bring out at a family gathering, but for more serious players there’s strategic depth to be found in its push-your-luck mechanics and power cards. It was designed by the legendary Richard Garfield (creator of Magic: The Gathering), and I think it shows. It doesn’t hurt that the theme is irresistible—who doesn’t love a giant monster fight?
The newest edition of the game is already a cheap entrypoint to board games at normal price—but a massive 44% discount makes it some of the best bang for your buck in tabletop gaming.
If you’re looking for something to get a little more lost in, a half price Marvel Champions core set could be the start of a new obsession (consider this equal parts recommendation and warning). This solo or co-op deckbuilder is a “living card game”—which basically just means there’s always new sets of cards to buy to expand your experience, but there’s no randomised booster packs or other blind purchases, it’s all just in the form of complete expansions.
The core box starts you off with heroes including Spider-Man, Captain America, and Iron Man, and sends you into battle against villains like Rhino and Ultron. It’s a complete game as-is, but if you enjoy it, it’s easy to add on to it—there are so many expansions available, adding new heroes, villains, and campaigns, that it can easily become an entire hobby in itself. The option for robust solo play means you don’t even have to find a regular group to play with, either.
Sometimes all you really want to do during one of these big sales is buy a big, ridiculous, impractical board game full of cool plastic stuff, something you’d never normally be brave enough to buy. Listen buddy, I’ve been there. This year, I think your best bet is Descent: Legends of the Dark.
Even at 34% off, this dungeon crawler isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s a major savings, and you’re getting a lot of cool stuff for the money. There are detailed miniatures, a ton of cards and board tiles, and some really clever 3D terrain that makes the game visually pop on the table more than any other dungeon crawler I can think of.
The game itself is a massive, sprawling campaign through a rich fantasy world. It uses an app to enhance the storytelling and streamline gameplay—I know for some that’s an instant red flag, but I really think you shouldn’t knock it til you’ve tried it. The more I play app-integrated board games, the more convinced I am that it’s an excellent option, especially for co-op games where it allows for easier automation of the villains and randomisation of scenarios.
If you’re after a really cheap board game deal, Amazon’s practically giving 7 Wonders Duel away this year. It condenses the popular game of nation-building—basically, think the Civilization videogames but with cards—into a tense head-to-head between two players, in the process arguably making it a better, more exciting experience.
It’s small in size as well as price, so it’s a great one to squeeze in at the end of your board game shelf, ready for whenever you want to demonstrate to a guest how good you would’ve been at running Ancient Greece.
Let’s go for one last board game deal to round the list out—and let’s make it a curveball. In co-op mystery game Mysterium, you play as a group of psychics and one ghost attempting to solve a murder in a haunted house. The ghost player isn’t allowed to speak at the table, only communicating through dream cards that depict surreal imagery—the psychics must interpret these messages as they try to discover the culprit, murder weapon, and location of the crime.
It’s a unique board game experience, enhanced with some truly gorgeous artwork. At 45% off it’s a really cheap way of adding something to your collection that’ll surprise your friends at your next board game night.
