Root

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Root from Leder Games disguises rich asymmetric area control under the facade of cute and cuddly woodland critters. Anywhere from one to four players struggle against one another, attempting to take control of areas and complete unique faction-specific goals to earn Victory Points. Whoever reaches 30 points first wins.

This digital adaptation successfully captures the visual style of Kyle Ferrin’s art and benefits from different aspects being automated. Root offers both Local and Online play in addition to some wonderful tutorials, which are especially helpful and a great resource in learning all of the factions. Speaking of factions, developer Direwolf Digital (expect to see that more on the list) continues to release expansions, unlocking new maps and playable factions.

Dune: Imperium

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With the physical version winning SXSW’s Board Game of the Year in 2022 and the digital adaptation recently winning BoardGameGeeks’ 2024 Golden Geek award for Best Board Game App, Dune: Imperium is an easy recommendation. This mixture of a worker placement and deck-building title set in the Dune universe is a modern classic that offers a fun time for board game hobbyists while not being overly complicated to get into for newcomers. Players take turns placing their spies around Dune, improving their standing with different groups, and waging war in an effort to earn enough points to trigger the end game.

What’s really neat about this digital version is that not only does it feature a good tutorial, solo play against computers, and online play (ranked, events, and casual options), but you can also test your skills with special Challenge games with unique rules. Regardless of how you play it, anyone even remotely interested in board games should try Dune: Imperium – or its sort of 2nd Edition, Dune: Imperium – Uprising – at least once. Check out our Dune: Imperium board game review for more details about the game itself.

Spirit Island

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You are a powerful spirit, and your island and its inhabitants, the Dahan (who are also your worshippers), are in danger from foreign invaders who are laying claim to portions of your home. It’s up to you and your fellow spirits to deal with this problem. Spirit Island is a cooperative deck-building and area control game, where you and your friends will have to use your spirits’ special abilities and build out a power deck to force these colonists off your island.

This digital implementation streamlines the process, offloading all of the upkeep between turns like spawning more colonists and moving them around, making this feel like an overall much faster game. Despite being a cooperative title, this game can be challenging, but luckily, the various spirits are ranked in terms of complexity, so even board game beginners can have a good time. Adding in the expansions will provide you with even more spirits to choose from, more customization choices for your island, with Horizons of Spirit Island designed as the ideal jumping-in point for those learning Spirit Island.

Machi Koro with Everyone

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What’s even better than getting one digital board game? Getting two! Machi Koro with Everyone is a digital bundle that provides players with both the first and second versions of this delightful and charming game. In Machi Koro, players spend coins to buy new properties for their small cities and roll dice to try to earn money, with the end goal of being the first person to build three special buildings.

This adaptation features colorful art and cute customizable avatars. It is an excellent board game for families to enjoy, thanks to its local play functionality and short game time of approximately 20 minutes. When you’re ready, though, you can go online and test your skills against other players around the world. Machi Koro with Everyone is the easiest game to learn on this list, and arguably one of the most charming.

Scythe: Digital Edition

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Set in an alternate version of the 1920s Europe where giant mechs exist and help with farming (and war), Scythe is an engine-building / worker placement game where players manage not only gathering resources but also waging war on one another. This digital adaptation of the game captures all of the tense moments and rich strategy that players have fallen in love with in the physical board game, but speeds things up thanks to the automation of various systems that only a digital game can provide.

As a nifty added bonus, Sythe Digital allows you to customize the paint scheme of your units. If you’re looking to play against your friends instead of just the computer or random folks online, Scythe: Digital Edition features crossplay, allowing you to play with others regardless of the platform.

Gloomhaven

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It could be argued that one of the games that has defined this new era of tabletop was 2017’s behemoth of a game, Gloomhaven. This sprawling campaign title featuring 95 unique scenarios, branching storylines, a ton of characters, and intricate card-based combat has left it’s mark on the scene, but one thing that has always held it back somewhat are the space it takes up and the large amount of time investment it takes to get to the end. Thankfully, Gloomhaven has a digital version that allows you to play online with your friends, instead of trying to organize 50 in-person game nights with friends, regardless of what platform someone may own the game on. If you find yourself a master Gloomhaven player already, then you can take on the 100 special Guildmaster missions or build your own levels with the game’s built-in level editor, and share with the community.

Our love for Gloomhaven here at IGN is well established, being featured on a number of our various board game buyer’s guides including “The Best RPG Board Games Worth Playing”, “The Best Campaign Board Games”, “11 Board Games Like Dungeons & Dragons Worth Playing”, and now you can add one more to the list. The game really is just that good, and this is the easiest way to play, including its Jaws of the Lion expansion. And there is no better way to get ready for the upcoming digital version of its follow-up, Frosthaven!

Dominion

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The progenitor of the deck-building genre of board games, Dominion is the perfect game to bust out when you have a little time to kill. In Dominion, players take turns buying cards from a shared pool of available options, determined by the expansions and sets they have, creating unique scenarios. What makes this game beloved is how different card effects and triggers play off of one another, requiring you to plan out not only what cards you will purchase, but also the order in which to play them from your hand.

This digital version continues to see strong support, with many of the physical game’s expansions seeing release in this format as well, and with the option to play not only against computer opponents of various difficulties, you can also play online against friends and random players around the world, regardless of the platform.

The fact that the base game, which can provide hours of fun on its own, is completely free, when paired with just how many expansions you can also get for this digital game, make it an easy inclusion on the list, and we have also featured Dominion on some of our other lists too, including the best deck-building games.

One Night: Ultimate Werewolf

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How well can you tell when your friends are lying, and how well can you hide when you are? Werewolf / Mafia is the purest form of social deduction and deception out there, and while it balances the lines of whether it’s a social experience or a game, there are still a ton of options available to folks who want to play this online with their friends. Many of these can be played right from the internet browser on your smart device or computer (https://wolfy.net/ , Mafia The Game, https://mafia.gg/, and One Night Ultimate Werewolf are some free examples), others like Town of Salem and its sequel, which have higher production values and more “stuff” to them, can be found on Steam or the various app stores.

Werewolf is a blast to play at parties, and thanks to these online options, you can play with your friends whenever you want! There is also a really interesting history behind the game that you can check out on No Pun Included YouTube channel.

Wingspan

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Birds. Birds everywhere! Wingspan is one of those games that has seemingly been able to break into the mainstream consumer environment (and we think it’s pretty great, too). If your family or game group is one of those who adores collecting these feathered friends, this digital version of Wingspan is a must-have. Wingspan is an engine-building game in which you attract different types of birds to roost on your board, lay eggs, and earn points. Thanks to this release, you will be able to play all the Wingspan you can handle, including against your friends, regardless of where they buy it.

If you don’t have a bunch of time all at once to sit down and play a complete game of Wingspan, this digital version also lets you play over the course of numerous days in the form of its asynchronous play. This also allows you to have multiple games going on all at once!

Board Game Arena

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With over 1,000 games, more than half of which are available to play even with a free account, Board Game Arena is an amazing option when you and your far-off friends want to enjoy a night of game playing. Playable straight from your phone, tablet, or computer’s browser, BGA lets players connect with other players around the world, take part in tournaments, play either in real time or asynchronously over the span of a week or longer, and even create a friends list so it’s easy to connect with loved ones.

Classic and beloved titles like Catan, Ticket To Ride, River of Gold, and Wingspan are all available, in addition to some brand-new games that aren’t even out yet. A vast majority of the games on BGA (917 currently) come with in-depth step-by-step tutorials to help you learn the game, too. This is a handy tool for individuals who want to make sure they like a game before spending a bunch of money on the physical product.

If you want access to the entire catalog that Board Game Arena offers, you will have to pay to get a Premium account, but at only $5 a month or $36 a year, the price is well worth it just for the additional games you get alone. However, free players can still play those games, they just can’t make a table of those games, meaning they are still able to join other premium players’ tables without having to drop a dime.

Out of all the games on this list, Board Game Arena is by far the best value for your buck. The service runs on your normal internet browser, so anyone with a smartphone can join and play, though we recommend playing it on your computer or tablet instead.

For the very opposite of the idea behind this list, check out our picks for the best board games based on video games.

Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.