Best Economic Board Games
How often have you heard the famous quote “It’s the economy, stupid”? Well in these economic board games, it certainly is. Though the games in this list feature a wide variety of themes and settings, they each require a fundamental focus on economics.
Just like in real life, if you ignore the economy, you are setting yourself up for epic failure.
So, have you got what it takes to balance budgets, maximize profits, and manage your finances to become an economic powerhouse? Read on as we discuss the best economic board games out there today.
🏆 Our Top Picks for Best Economic Board Games
In a hurry? Take a quick peek before you go.
Brass: Birmingham
Players: 2-4
Playing time: 60-120 minutes
Brass: Birmingham takes you back to the Industrial Revolution in Birmingham. You and your fellow players are entrepreneurs competing to build your business empire and score Victory Points.
You’ll build rails and canal connections, sell goods, and more. Becoming a captain of industry is the name of this game.
What We Liked
In this game, like in the real world of industry, your actions affect others. You might benefit from a rail connection another player builds.
You can hurt another player by occupying a space crucial to their network. While this sort of give-and-take action is seen in many games it is beautifully weaved into Brass: Birmingham.
What Could Be Better
The design of Brass: Birmingham could be improved upon. Some color choices make it difficult to see the game. You can solve this by making sure you play in a brightly lit place.
Concordia
Players: 2-5
Playing time: 100 minutes
In Concordia, the Roman Empire is thriving and you are the head of a powerful dynasty. Send out colonists to create resources and grow your power and curry favor with the gods.
You’ll need to keep an eye on the competition and develop strategies to keep them from becoming the strongest power in Rome.
What We Liked
While you are competing to build your empire Concordia doesn’t have a lot of negative player interaction. In fact, actions can benefit all players. With point tallying saved for the end, this can foster a great community feeling while playing.
What Could Be Better
The scoring can be a bit unclear in your first couple of play-throughs. You’ll soon get the hang of it and be building your own Mediterranean paradise.
Barrage
Players: 1-4
Playing time: 60-120 minutes
Barrage is set in a dystopian version of the 1930s where humanity has exhausted fossil fuels and is reliant on hydroelectric power to continue to run its powerful machinery.
In this game, you are competing to build dams and divert the water stored there to your energy turbines via pressure tunnels.
Water is king in this game and you will be competing for the largest share or find yourself in an industrial desert.
What We Liked
This game creates a lot of player interaction. Just as you have your dam built and the water flowing to your turbine, BOOM your friend has built a dam upstream and diverted your water flow. These interactions make for a fun and competitive game.
What Could Be Better
The player powers can feel unbalanced. The player who has the first turn picks their powers last and can be left with options that are rarely useful.
The differences between the powers are an interesting and smart addition to the game, however. Maybe just try not to get the first turn.
Twilight Imperium (4th Ed)
Players: 3-6
Playing time: 240-480 minutes
Galactic conquest is your destiny in Twilight Imperium. Each game is set in a player-created galaxy where you will vie for control of the capital planet, Mecatol Rex, through diplomacy, trade, and military might.
Players will compete as one of seventeen different factions that each offer different abilities. Goals also evolve through the game as strategy cards are revealed and dealt out offering additional paths to victory.
What We Liked
This game is truly immersive. You create the galaxy, each faction has unique abilities, and the game evolves as new objective cards are revealed. Additionally, the politics of the game become truly immersive in the agenda phase as players pass new laws and set agendas.
What Could Be Better
Twilight Imperium can easily stretch on for five or more hours. While being engaged in an epic space opera for an entire Saturday might appeal to many, unfortunately, time does not always allow it.
Terraforming Mars
Players: 1-5
Playing time: 120 minutes
The year is 2400 and humans are set to become an interplanetary species. The World Government on Earth has contracted you, and your fellow players’ corporations, to terraform Mars to make it habitable for humans.
In Terraforming Mars, each round you will buy projects, complete actions like raising Mars’ temperature and claiming awards all with the goal of welcoming humans to Mars.
What We Liked
The goal of Terraforming Mars is to, well, terraform Mars. As all the players are working towards bringing Mars to optimal conditions for human life it has a fun cooperative aspect. You and your fellow players have the same goal while also working toward your own path to victory.
What Could Be Better
While there is strategy involved in where you place your various tiles on Mars the impact of these choices can be a little underwhelming. The game can feel a little too heavy on spending resources rather than other actions.
Gaia Project
Players: 1-4
Playing time: 60-150 minutes
In Gaia Project, you will play as one of fourteen different factions spreading across the universe. Each group is tied to their home planet and must terraform planets to match their home planet.
You’ll improve your skills in six areas as you compete to spread your faction far and wide.
What We Liked
Gaia Project at its core is about transforming planets. This theme of transformation extends to the resources you collect as well. All resources can become each other via your actions and calculations. This can lead to some fun gameplay.
What Could Be Better
As an abstract game, Gaia Project is light on player interaction. While there are some actions you can take, like claiming a planet an opponent was aiming for, overall the game is very individual and this might not appeal to all players.
Ark Nova
Players: 1-4
Playing time: 90-150 minutes
Can you combine business acumen with a love of the world’s wildlife? In Ark Nova, business and conservation collide as you compete to create the best zoo.
You’ll house animals and support conservation across the globe. You’ll achieve your goals through implementing specialists, building unique buildings, and more all in the name of collecting conservation points to prove your zoo’s worth.
What We Liked
The slot that you choose to place your card changes its power. As you play your cards, you will need to balance its utility to you now, versus waiting to place it in a more powerful position. This balancing act adds a fun element to the game.
What Could Be Better
Ark Nova features a very large deck of unique cards. It can feel like a hunt for “the one” you need. However, strategies can be adjusted to fit what you do draw.
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
Players: 2-4
Playing time: 120 minutes
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is a resource management game that takes you from antiquity through to the modern age.
You will need to develop new technologies, elect leaders and create a military to build an epic civilization for the ages. All of these endeavors will require you to allocate resources and be careful to not overinvest in any one area.
What We Liked
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is a very well-balanced game. No one card feels overly powerful. The balance makes for a strategic game not dependent on luck of the draw elements.
What Could Be Better
This game asks you to do everything all at once. Each turn will require making hard choices about what to sacrifice as you advance through the ages. While it might feel like you aren’t able to achieve your goals you might also enjoy making the hard decisions.
Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King
Players: 2-5
Playing time: 30-50 minutes
Welcome to Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King. As the title suggests, it is set in the stunning Isle of Skye and you take the role of an ambitious chieftain with regal ambitions.
It’s a cutthroat world and there are few you can trust. You need to use your wit, cunning and strategy to expand your territories and influence.
What We Liked
The tile auction mechanic is great and allows for excellent player interaction. It’s all about supply and demand, as players will clearly be desperate for certain tiles throughout the game.
You can set the price accordingly. This keeps tension high throughout.
What Could Be Better
There’s not much wrong with this game except its replayability. At its core, the game is quite simple. Once you’ve had a few run throughs it can start feeling pretty repetitive.
The Gallerist
Players: 1-4
Playing time: 60-150 minutes
In The Gallerist, you take on the multifaceted, complex role of art dealer, museum curator and artist’s manager.
The stakes are high, as fortunes can be made or squandered in the subjective, lucrative world of high end artwork. Achieve renown as a world class gallerist, promote the arts, discover unsung artists, and make your millions.
What We Liked
The economic mechanisms in this game are immersive and complex. There’s a lot of moving parts and combining them all in an effective, winning strategy is deeply rewarding. This combines with the excellent theme for a very memorable gaming experience.
What Could Be Better
The Gallerist is going to be too complex for some gamers. It’s a Eurogame through and through, so you need to stay focused and fully understand the mechanics of this game.
If you’re looking for a more relaxed, handsoff gaming experience, this isn’t for you.
Wrap-Up
We hope you enjoyed our list of the best economic board games! Have you tried any of these games before? Did we miss any of your favorites? Drop a comment below and let us know what you think! We’d love to hear from you.
