30 board games under $30—that are actually fun!

With so many board games to choose from, it’s hard to know which ones are actually fun and which ones are a bust. I compiled a list of some of my favorites that can be found at Walmart, Target or on Amazon. There are so many that I love, that are well out of the price range of $30, and quite a few that are barely out of the price range; Even without those, we still found it difficult to determine which ones to include and which wouldn’t make the cut. 

So, even though this list doesn’t necessarily reflect our very favorite games, you won’t go wrong choosing any of the ones on the list. Just pay attention to the “specs” part of each category to see if it falls within the type of games you enjoy.

So, what are the 30 great games under $30?

Let’s take a closer look at the awesome games we’ve included on the list.

1) Just One

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
3-7	20-30 minutes	8+	Very Easy	Party, Word	$22-$25

What makes it fun?

Just one is great! It is fun because it’s a cooperative game where players take turns guessing a secret word by clues given from the rest of the group. Some of the words are simple and don’t require much effort to figure out; others, though, are much more difficult and require a lot of focused brain power to piece together. There aren’t any tough rules and players can pick the game up as they play the first round. If you’re looking for a light-hearted game that still requires some thinking, this is the one to get.

2) One Night: Ultimate Werewolf

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
3-10	10 minutes	8+	Very Easy	Party, Bluffing	$15-$20

What makes it fun?

Bluffing games can be some of the best games to play at a game night with friends. One Night: Ultimate Werewolf is no exception. Friends and family can get together to play this, very fast and easy game. It takes about 10 minutes to finish and almost no effort to learn, which allows for playing as many rounds as the group wants. But as should be obvious by the fact that it’s a bluffing game, the group needs to be fine with putting on their poker face to play. Bluffing games can be the kind of game that some people don’t like. It does, however, play quickly. So the bluffing doesn’t have to last long.

3) Dixit

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
3-6	30 minutes	8+	Very Easy	Party, Card	$29-$35

What makes it fun?

Dixit is another, light-hearted and fun party game that is easy to learn. What makes Dixit especially fun is the potential creativity in the game. In essence, players each play cards and try to detect which card was played by a specific player based on the clue that player gave. That player’s goal is to get someone to guess their card based on their clue, but not everyone. The creativity lies in the player’s clue-giving ability. Too obvious and everyone will guess the right card; too vague and no one will get it. So get thinking, this game can be harder than you think!

4) LAMA

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-6	20 Minutes	8+	Very Easy	Party, Card	$10-$15

What makes it fun?

Continuing with the easy, fun games brings us to LAMA. In LAMA, players take turns discarding cards until someone goes out or all have quit. Then any cards left in a player’s hand count as points—which are bad. The player with the fewest points when one player reaches 40 is the winner. I really like LAMA as a game in which players can talk to each other while playing. It still provides entertainment, but it’s also simple enough that players can talk and joke around while the game progresses. No one has to concentrate too hard with this game.

It’s also a good game for teaching numbers. Because the highest number is a 6, and players must play a card of the same number or a number higher, kids learning numbers can play (though not necessarily strategically) and have fun. My son is always wanting to play games with us, and those games are usually too hard for him because he’s only 4. This game is one where we could play while teaching.

5) Santorini

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-4	20 minutes	8+	Easy	Tile, Strategy	$20-$35

What makes it fun?

Santorini is another fairly simple, fun game. Two teams of players are pitted against each other as they race to be the first on top of a three-story structure. What I love about Santorini is its 3D nature. Most board games are played on top of a flat board with beautiful art printed on them. Others have pieces that make them a bit more 3 dimensional.

The purpose of Santornini, however, is all about building upward. The base of the board is relatively small when compared to other game boards. The rest is about building structures and racing to the top. It only helps, that the actual gameplay is really fun too!

6) Carcassonne

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-5 or more	30-45 minutes	10+	Easy/Medium	Tile, Strategy	$29-$31

What makes it fun?

Carcassonne is the first game on the list that is a little more difficult to learn. But don’t be discouraged, it is still pretty easy. It is a medieval, economic game all about laying tiles in specific ways to earn points. Players can construct castles, build roads, farm fields and occupy monasteries.

What makes Carcassonne especially fun is its strategic focus. It isn’t too hard to learn, but still encourages players to optimize how they play each turn. With so many potential options on every turn, some yield better results than others. Players that can identify those optimal choices reap the rewards. This might be my favorite game on this list!

7) Codenames

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-8	15-20 minutes	14+	Very Easy	Party, Card	$15-$21

What makes it fun?

Codenames has been one of my family’s favorites for a while now. It’s basically the opposite of Just One. A player from each of the two teams gives one-word clues that the other players on each team must guess from a set of words on the table. Those players must link words together and guess which words belong to their team.

This game is especially fun because of the limited information players must work with. The clue-giving players can only give one-word clues, which means the guessing players have to really think to figure out which words are theirs. They need to be careful not to choose the wrong words though, there is one that automatically loses the game!

8) Pit

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
3-8	60 minutes	7+	Very Easy	Party, Card	$10-$15

What makes it fun?

Almost no other game gets as loud and exciting as Pit. The objective of Pit is to score 500 points through cornering the market on a specific commodity; or in other words, collecting all cards of the same suit during that round. This is accomplished through simultaneous card trading of equal quantities. So if there are nine players, all nine are trying to trade varying numbers of cards at the same time. And that inevitably means everyone gets louder, trying to be heard.

If you hate noise, then maybe this game isn’t for you—although there is a way to play silently.  But if you love the excitement created by loud and playful games, this is one to pick up for your next family game night.

9) Splendor

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-4	30 minutes	10+	Easy	Card, Resource	$19-$25

What makes it fun?

I love Splendor! Spendor is a resource management game all about collecting resources to buy cards. Those cards then facilitate buying more cards and earning points. What I love so much about Splendor is 1) the awesome coins that come with it and 2) the snowball nature of the game. As you buy cards, you have more of each resource to buy even better cards.

Eventually you can pretty much buy anything you want, and do it quickly. The game starts slowly (though not in a boring way) and gets faster very quickly. Buy this game if you like fast-paced, strategic games that look and feel really nice!

10) Azul

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-4	30-45 minutes	10+	Easy/Medium	Tile, Abstract	$18-$21

What makes it fun?

Azul is one of my favorite games right now, which makes sense because it won board game of the year in 2018. It’s an abstract game where players collect tiles that work synergistically to earn points. I love the physical tiles in this game (guess I’m just a sucker for nicely-made game pieces) as well as how the game works.

This is a strategic thinking game, pure and simple. Players must really think through which tiles to take and when to take them. They can gain serious points when playing prudently, and even lose points through unwise play. For people that love thinking games that are relatively simple to learn, Azul is the game to buy.

11) Blokus

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-4	20 minutes	8+	Easy	Tile, Abstract	$16-$20

What makes it fun?

Another strategic, abstract game is Blokus. Blokus is a competitive game where four players take turns laying odd-shaped tiles on a communal board. The board isn’t big enough for all the tiles to fit, so using the board effectively can make or break the outcome of the game. Why it’s so fun is that the rules are incredibly simple, and yet so much strategy can exist at the same time. Often, games that are very skill-based and strategic require more moving parts and more complexity. This game, however, is very simple to learn but hard to compete well in.

12) Deadwood 1876

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-9	30-40 minutes	13+	Easy/Medium	Card, Party	$25

What makes it fun?

This is Deadwood! Deadwood is a game with one awesome theme! Each player is part of a group that has come to Deadwood in search of Gold. Before long, players are shooting each other, stealing safes, and running to safety.

What I love about Deadwood is the social deduction aspect of the game—but it isn’t a straight bluffing game. Yes, there is lying and deceiving going on, but it’s just one part of the game—and not the entire game. Players don’t need to bluff to do well in the game, but is certainly makes things more interesting when they do. I am not a huge fan of bluffing and social deduction games, and this is one that I really enjoy!  

13) Sheriff of Nottingham

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
3-5	60 minutes	14+	Easy	Card, Bluffing	$27-$30

What makes it fun?

Let’s talk about another bluffing game! Sheriff of Nottingham is another bluffing game where players take turns being sheriff while all the other players bring goods—some legal and some contraband—into the city. The sheriff has the ability to check the goods or let them pass. The player with the most points from their goods by the end of the game wins.

What I just love about Sheriff of Nottingham is the fun nature of the game. It’s definitely a bluffing game, but the stakes just never seem too high. Everyone usually has a very playful nature in this game, with the intent to just enjoy that game and not necessarily win. Though winning the game while lying to everyone’s faces is pretty sweet too!

14) Concept

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
4-12	30-40 minutes	10+	Easy	Party, Deduction	$29

What makes it fun?

Concept is all cerebral. It is a game where players take turns giving clues to the other players based on a concept (get it?) that they select from a card. They use a game board with predefined general categories and ideas that are pieced together to help the guessing players get the concept. This is a great game that requires deduction and creativity, more than any other game on this list. If you have a group that likes games that are almost more thinking than playing, this is the perfect game to pull out on game night.

15) Double Ditto

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
4-10 or more	15-20 minutes	10+	Very Easy	Party	$20

What makes it fun?

When someone explained how to play this game to me, I didn’t understand how it would even work; but when I actually played it with a group of friends and family, it was a lot of fun! During each round, players write down two words related to the word that was read off a card. The players that have matching words/ideas get points; most points wins.

This game is incredibly simple to play, but more awesome than that, any number of people can play. Large groups of people can get together and have a structured game to play that isn’t complicated, which can sometimes be hard to find. And just as importantly, it’s actually fun!

16) Kingdomino

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-4	20 minutes	10+	Easy	Tile, Set	$20

What makes it fun?

Let’s step back into the arena of more strategic games with Kingdomino. At its core, Kingdomino is all about collecting sets of terrain tiles to earn points. The really fun part (and frustrating part sometimes) is how the collecting of tiles happens. Tiles are laid out in order from worst tile of the set, to the best tile.

The player that received the worst tile last time has first pick on the next set of tiles. Likewise, the player that received the best tile last round, has last pick this round. Which means he or she might get an undesirable tile that cannot be used to his or her benefit. Finding the right balance between being the first to choose and getting the best tiles is the dilemma each player is faced with every game.

17) Telestrations

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
4-8	20 minutes	12+	Very Easy	Party, Drawing	$27-$30

What makes it fun?

Ever played telephone, where one person whispers into another’s ear? Then that person whispers into another’s—which continues all the way to the end of the line. By the end, what was said initially is nothing like what the last person says out loud to the group. Telestrations is that idea in word and drawn form.

Many of us have played it on paper, without the boxed game of Telestrations, but I think it’s worth getting anyway. It comes with thousands of words and ideas ready to go, as well as neat little dry erase booklets to keep the game organized. This game constantly makes everyone laugh out loud at the weird distortions of the original concepts, that come out at the end of each game.

18) Coup

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-6	20 minutes	13+	Easy	Party, Bluffing	$13-$15

What makes it fun?

Coup is an awesome social deduction/bluffing game where players are given cards with certain abilities. Then players set out on a quest to be the last to survive through dissolving the influence of other players (and therefore eliminating them from the game).

What is so great about Coup is that anyone can claim to be any character AND those characters can change throughout the game. In other words, a player can use the abilities of any character—and can use them throughout the game as long as no other players challenge it; however, if challenged while possessing a character, the player gets to use the ability and discard the character for a new one.

19) Qwirkle

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-4	45 minutes	8+	Easy	Tile, Abstract	$20-$25

What makes it fun?

If you’re like me, you are always looking for simple games that are also fun. I love when I find games that I can play with my kids, that I also enjoy—so that I never have to play Candyland or Chutes and Ladders again. Qwirkle is one of those games. It is simple enough that kids can understand and strategic enough that I actually enjoy playing it.

At its core, it’s about earning points through creating sets of shapes and colors. That sounds simplistic, and it is; but there’s something about it that is just fun too. If you’re looking for a fun family game, Qwirkle is a great option that won’t break the bank.

20) Chameleon

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
3-8	10 minutes	14+	Very Easy	Bluffing, Card	$20

What makes it fun?

Back to social deduction and bluffing games. There are several on this list—which isn’t surprising because they usually contain fewer game pieces, cutting down costs. This one, however, is different than the others. In Chameleon, all players but one are given a secret word. Then they all must give a one word clue related to the word. The player that doesn’t know the secret word, the chameleon, must come up with a clue on the spot that will blend in. Then the rest of the players must find the Chameleon. If they find and vote on the Chameleon, they win; if they vote another player as the Chameleon, the Chameleon wins.

21) Bugs in the kitchen

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-4	15 minutes	6+ (all)	Very Easy	Child, Family	$15-$20

What makes it fun?

Bugs in the Kitchen is one of the simplest games on this list and one of the funniest. Whenever this game is pulled out to play with the kids, everyone else ends up wanting to play as well. In Bugs in the Kitchen, players take turns directing the cockroach into their bins by turning the fork, spoon and knife levers one way or another. The first to trap the bug 3 times wins. This game inevitably gets people excited and laughing throughout the game. There’s nothing really special about it either. For some reason, everyone wants to play, and I’m one of them. If you’re looking for a fun, enjoyable game for the family, this is the one for you!

22) Citadels

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-8	30-40 minutes	10+	Easy	Bluffing, Card	$25-$28

What makes it fun?

The core purpose of Citadels is to earn as many victory points as possible through building districts within the city. What I like specifically about Citadels is that each turn, players have the opportunity to choose different characters that have varying abilities, to help them earn points. They aren’t stuck with one specific character throughout the game, so if they want to lead the next round, for example, they can choose the character associated with that ability.

This is the perfect game for groups that are looking for a strategic game with specific characters and abilities that can alter and affect the game depending on how they are used.

23) Salem 1692

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
4-12	30-40 minutes	12+	Easy	Bluffing, Card	$25

What makes it fun?

Salem 1692 is a game where the town is hunting down the witches among them. The problem is, that throughout the game, your allegiance may change when you become one of them. Which means it’s a game of bluffing, accusing and defending those on your team. It is similar to Mafia, which so many of us played growing up; however, it is unique in many ways.

What I like so much about Salem 1692 is that it can play with up to 12 players, but it still plays quickly. There isn’t much to do in a turn, which makes them fast. Players just don’t have any reason to prolong their turns. Another thing that I really enjoy about the game is the theme and artwork. Facade Games did an outstanding job getting those game elements just right.

24) Things

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
4-15	30-40 minutes	10+	Very Easy	Party, Memory	$20-$25

What makes it fun?

Things is another great party game that is extremely simple to learn. One player reads a topic and all players write down things/ideas associated with that topic. Then they take turns choosing who wrote each answer. When a player chooses correctly, he or she earns a point, and the player whose answer was correctly guessed is out of that round. The player with the most points wins.

What I love about Things is that it leaves so much room for creativity. Players can answer whatever they want to the topic questions, which usually means it gets hilarious. Don’t be funny too often though, or everyone will know who wrote it.

25) Big Money

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-5	30 minutes	8+	Very Easy	Dice, Econ	$15

What makes it fun?

I was surprised at how fun Big Money turned out to be. The easiest way to describe Big Money is to call it a simplified Monopoly. Don’t worry, though, it’s really nothing like it in actual gameplay; however, there are some similarities. Players take turns collecting different investments that earn money throughout the game. The player with the most Zillions of dollars when the money runs out wins.

What I like about Big Money is that it’s simple to learn, fun to play, and it plays quickly. Pretty much anyone that is willing to play games seems to enjoy it!

26) Wits and Wagers

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
3-7	20-30 minutes	10+	Very Easy	Party, Betting	$25-$30

What makes it fun?

Wits and Wagers is a trivia game turned fun! If you’re like me, you don’t usually enjoy trivia games very much. Wits and Wagers is an absolutely genius way to turn a boring type of game into one that people never get sick of. The basic idea behind Wits and Wagers is betting. Players answer quantitative questions and place the answers in ascending order. Then they take bets on who is closest. The player to accumulate the most earnings from his/her bets after 7 rounds wins. If you don’t have this game, buy it!

27) Ice Cool

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-4	20-30 minutes	6+ (or 3+)	Very Easy	Child, Dexterity	$20-$25

What makes it fun?

I love playing Ice Cool with my son (4 years old). This is another game that is targeted at kids, but fun for adults. The idea is that one penguin is catching the others, while the other penguins are attempting to collect their fish before getting caught. After catching fish, players earn points. The uniquely fun thing about Ice Cool is how it plays. Players flick the penguins around the board and through doorways. It looks easy until you try it. This is another great option for fun games to play with kids. It is pretty simple though, so younger kids would be a better fit.

28) Survive: Escape From Atlantis

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
2-4	45-60 minutes	8+	Easy	Dice, Adventure	$29

What makes it fun?

You’re on an island and you have to get your people off. The only problem is that the other players are trying to get their people off too—with the same resources. To further complicate things, once you get off the island, the other players are trying to break your boats with whales and eat your people with sharks and sea monsters. The player to successfully get the most people off the island and onto neighboring islands to safety, wins. The theme of Survive is what makes this game as fun as it is. Pairing the actual mechanics of the game with the theme puts it near the top of the list of games to play!

29) Bang! The Dice Game

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
3-8	15-20 minutes	8+	Easy	Bluffing, Dice	$15-$20

What makes it fun?

Have you ever played the original Bang? It is fun in its own right, but there are a few things that take away a lot of the enjoyment. It’s almost impossible for the renegade and outlaws to win once their identities have been “revealed”. It also seems to take a long time to finish. Bang! The Dice Game, however, is much better. It plays really quickly and adds an element of luck to the game with dice that fixes the outlaw/renegade problem. Even if players know who they need to kill, they can’t always do it if they roll the wrong thing. I really enjoy playing this game!

30) Bananagrams

Specs

Players	Duration	Age	Difficulty	Type	Price
1-8 (or more)	10-15 minutes	7+	Very Easy	Tile, Word	$15

What makes it fun?

I avoided playing Bananagrams for years! Then, when I played it, I loved it! Bananagrams is made up solely of letters etched into tiles. Each player must create webs of connected words (like a crossword puzzle) with the letters they were given. Then, tiles are added, which must be worked in. Eventually, tiles run out and the player to connect all letters first wins. This game is awesome because it combines 1) creative word connecting and 2) racing. Players must come up with words with the limited letters they have—and they have to do it fast. It’s also a quick game, so when those that aren’t playing see how fun it actually is, they will want in; and they won’t have to wait too long to get in.