The best early board game deals of Black Friday

The holiday season is a great time to share your love of board games with friends and family. You’ll be sitting around the house, naturally, and in need of something to do with relatives that you haven’t seen in ages. If you’re looking for a new game to enjoy this winter, Amazon is already rolling out plenty of early Black Friday deals on board games, making this the best time of the year to splurge.

This year’s early discounts come from all across the industry, with everything from hardcore strategy titles like Escape the Dark Sector to joyous little roll-and-writes like Welcome To…. But the biggest surprise by far are all the high-end crowdfunded games that have made their way to the discount aisles. We’ll kick things off with some of the real standouts, then move into the modern classics, and finish out with the best of the rest.

The best crowdfunded board game deals

• Bloodborne: The Board Game, is a thrilling adaptation of the hit FromSoft game and on sale for $78.99 (was $109.99).
• Exploding Kittens blew up on Kickstarter thanks to The Oatmeal’s art, and you can grab the original version of the game for just $9.99 (was $20).
• Marvel Zombies: A Zombicide Game earned more than $9 million on Kickstarter, and you can have a copy now for $89.99 (was $130). The expansion, Clash of the Sinister Six, is also on sale for $44.99 (was $60).
• Similarly, Marvel Zombies: A Zombicide Game – Guardians of the Galaxy adds your favorite pangalactic superfamily to the party for $34.99 (was $50).
• Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon earned so much money on Kickstarter that the publisher built its own version of Kickstarter. Grab the dark Arthurian adventure game for $84.99 (was $116.10).
• Zombicide 2nd Edition, a remaster of the original crowdfunding hit that spawned CMON’s beloved franchise, is $79.99 (was $109.99).
• Zombicide: Black Plague, one of the most popular variants of the now classic game, is just $64.99 (was $87.99).
• Zombicide: Green Horde can bolster your collection for $79.99 (was $109.99).
• Zombicide: Undead or Alive takes the undead action to the wild west for $64.99 (was $87.25).

The best modern classic board game deals

• 7 Wonders, among the most influential board games of the last 15 years, is $38.10 (was $59.99).
• 7 Wonders Architects, the faster-playing version of 7 Wonders, is $34.99 (was $49.99).
• Azul, the lovely tile-laying game, is $19.99 (was $39.99). You can also snag the Summer Pavilion variant for $29.99 (was $39.99).
• Arkham Horror’s fantastic third edition will fill your holiday with horror and vice for $53.99 (was $79.99).
• Animal Upon Animal is a stacking dexterity game that makes a tremendous stocking stuffer at $15.99 (was $19.99). You can also pick up the limited edition Christmas variant for $22.99 (was $29.99).
• Camel Up, a wacky racing game now in its second edition, is $19.99 (was $39.99).
• Catan, the late Klaus Teuber’s game of viking colonization, is down to $25 (was $54.99).
• Catan Starfarers turns the game of Viking colonization into exoplanetary exploration and is on sale for $69.99 (was $99.99).
• Century Big Box, which includes three games by Emerson Matsuuchi, is $73.99 (was $79.99).
• Civilization: A New Dawn dates back to 2017, but it’s still a solid pick at $39.99 (was $54.99).
• Dead of Winter, a perennial favorite semi-cooperative survival strategy game with an excellent sense of humor, is $39.99 (was $59.95).
• Jamaica, the classic pirate-themed board game, is $29.99 (was $44.99).
• Memoir ’44, an easy to play WWII game with lots of expansions, is $41.49 (was $64.99).
• Pandemic, one of the best entry points to the modern board gaming hobby, is just $24.99 (was $44.99)
• Pandemic Legacy Season 2, available in two variants that are identical save for the color of the box, is $41.49 (was $79.99). You can also have the prequel, Pandemic Legacy Season 0, for $49.99 (was $79.99)
• Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, the original ephemera-filled mystery puzzle game, is on sale for $39.99 (was $57.99). Multiple standalone sequels, including The Baker Street Irregulars, Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures, and Carlton House & Queen’s Park Adventures are also on sale at similar discounts.
• Small World has a lighter theme compared to other area control games, like Risk. Snag it for $39.99 (was $59.99).
• Splendor, the award-winning game about gem collecting in the Renaissance, is $18.49 (was $39.99)
• Ticket to Ride, the family-friendly game for travelers of all stripes, is $25 (was $54.99).
• The Prophecy of Kings expansion for Twilight Imperium is down to $64.99 (was $109.99).
• Unfathomable, a reskin of the legendary hidden role masterpiece Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game is a steal at $53.99 (was $79.99). The expansion, From The Abyss, is also available for $44.99 (was $59.99).

The best two-player board game deals

• A Little Wordy, which plays a bit like Scrabble but in reverse, is $9.99 (was $12.30).
• The Mind, a raucous guessing game that’s a riot as a two-player duel, is $11.42 (was $14.95).
• Pandemic World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King works well with just two players, since all you have to do is double up on your heroes. It’s down to $38.99 (was $59.99).
• Patchwork Halloween Edition is a spooky variation on the classic quilting strategy game, is $20.99 (was $29.99).
• Tacocat Spelled Backwards, an explicitly two-player game all about palindromes, is $8.07 (was $14.99).

The best party game deals

• Bridgerton: A Love Letter Card Game takes the classic pocket-sized hidden role game and gives it a fun Netflix twist for $14.99 (was $19.94).
• Captain Sonar is about communication, mostly. But it’s also a simulation of submarine warfare for 2-8 players, and there is simply nothing else like it. Grab it for $39.99 (was $54.99).
• Hedbanz, the updated 2023 version of the hit party game, is now just $8.50 (was $16.99).
• Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game is here to translate the hidden-role card game to Marvel fans for just $9.99 (was $16.99). You can also have the original, Renaissance-themed version of Love Letter for $9.99 (was $14.99) or the the Star Wars-themed Jabba’s Palace: A Love Letter Game for $9.99 (was $14.99).
• Moose Match Mayhem, another speed-matching game from the team behind Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, is up for grabs at $7.28 (was $9.99).
• So Clover, the hit cooperative word association game, is a small box that packs a punch at $16.99 (was $24.99).
• Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, the bane of middle school bus drivers all around the United States, is $7.99 (was $9.99).

The best strategy board game deals

• Army of the Dead: A Zombicide Game matches one of Netflix’s pulp classics with clever miniatures and a solid ruleset and is on sale for $79.99 (was $109.99).
• Catan Junior, an extremely forgiving entree for younger players new to modern board games, is $19.99 (was $34.99).
• Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger, which replicates the act of reading those beloved childhood novels, is just $14.49 (was $29.99).
• Cthulhu: Death May Die, a cooperative horror mystery game from CMON with lots of minis, is $79.99 (was $109.99).
• Dixit Disney Edition takes the classic game about using art to interpret your dreams to the Magic Kingdom. Grab it for $29.99 (was $40).
• Dune: House Secrets features licensed character art from the films and a compelling, narrative adventure to boot. It’s on sale for $21.90 (was $45).
• Elder Sign, a cooperative exploration of the Cthulhu mythos with lots of custom dice, is $29.99 (was $39.99).
• The Lord of the Rings Strategy Board Game has just enough miniatures to make the elaborate adventure game a delight on the table. It’s down to just $70.49 (was $109.99).
• The original version of Marvel: Crisis Protocol, filled with amazingly detailed Marvel miniatures, is $79.96 (was $99.95).
• The recently updated Marvel: Crisis Protocol – Earth’s Mightiest Core Set updates the rules and adds new and exciting sculpts to the game for $97.99 (was $149.99).
• Pandemic Legacy Season 2, the follow-up to the groundbreaking Season 1 legacy-style campaign game, is $45.99 (was $79.99).
• Plague Inc, which is literally the opposite of Pandemic with players trying to infect the world for fun and profit, is $32.99 (was $44.99).
• Res Arcana, a game of elemental mage duels, is $27.99 (was $39.99).
• Star Wars: Rebellion is perhaps the most thrilling exploration of the original trilogy to ever grace the tabletop, and you can have it for $79.99 (was $109.99).
• Star Wars: Legion is a popular miniatures wargame, and the two-player starter set is a great way to get into painting miniatures. It’s on sale for $80.99 (was $119.99).
• Star Wars: Shatterpoint, the hit new miniatures skirmish game, is surprisingly up for sale at just $88.49 (was $118.79).
• Ticket to Ride Europe let’s you plan the next family vacation in style, now at just $28.99 (was $59.99).
• Ticket to Ride: First Journey, another game that bridges the wide age gaps common among parties in the holiday season, is now $19.99 (was $34.99).
• Small World of Warcraft, a mix of Risk-style territory control and the beloved characters from Azeroth, is down to $34.99 (was $46.90).

Looking for more? Check out all of Polygon’s favorite early Black Friday deals, including great discounts on video games and gaming accessories and Magic: The Gathering. And subscribe to our newsletter below to get great deals delivered to your inbox every week.