The 5 best campaign tabletop games

In recent years, campaign board games have been a huge hit. These are experiences that evolve and change over multiple sessions. With the launch of Pandemic: LegacyThis action-packed movie about a boardgame takes the hobby to new heights in 2015, when it released “The Tense Action Movie of A Board Game”. Then, there was Gloomhaven, which mimicked the experience of playing Dungeons & Dragons over a branching campaign with 100 bite-sized battles and an entire overworld to explore.

There is an emerging genre that exists in the shadows of these pathfinders, full of vibrant titles and surprising variety. These are the five best campaign games available right now.

The Sleeping Gods

Ryan Laukat’s The sleeping GodsRed Raven Games’ crowning achievement is Red Raven Games. It’s an open world co-operative adventure best described as tabletop’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. A crew of sailors runs a 1920s steamship. They get lost in a series of islands that promise fortune and danger. This 15-hour trip is a combination of a whimsical display and solid mechanical underpinnings.

It feels freer than others. In campaign games, players work through a narrative that is predetermined and have limited options for branching. Sleeping GodsThe game’s exploratory nature is unrestrained and less structured, with only a very faint meta-narrative. Instead of allowing the players to find a variety of distinct sub-plots and missions, it allows them to be more adventurous and free from any restrictions. Totems are surreal artifacts that can be found in ancient times. This will allow you to return home and secure your reward.

It’s impossible to explore everything. It’s nearly impossible to experience more than a fourth of the total content in a single playthrough, beckoning repeat trips to the lost isles and their secrets. You can also choose from multiple endings which offer greater insight. This game is a great way to get back into the habit of playing it again.

The Sleeping Gods

These prices were correct at the time of publication.

• 1-4 players, age 13+

• Playtime: 60-120 minute sessions

• Similar games: It’s now or never

Legends of the Dark: Descent

The third iteration of Fantasy Flight Games’ Descent series, Legends of the Dark: DescentThis stylish group of dungeon crawlers is located in the HeroQuest tradition. Legends of the DarkThis was one of the top board games in 2021. It combines tabletop minis and a strong app to create a unique experience. Combining the two creates an interesting sense of mystery and offloads some play’s procedural burden. 3D components – such as multi-level dungeons atop pillars, lavish bookcases, and large spindly trees – provide oomph to the physical aspect of the game, ensuring the app never steals focus.

You can use your phone, tablet or PC to control the enemy behavior. It allows you and other players to work together against the Dungeons, as well as a multi-adventure story. The ability to acquire new equipment and skills allows characters to increase their strength. Electronic devices can now be integrated to make it easier for players while still retaining sophisticated effects like weapons that trigger boons based on percentage chances. The system is designed in a videogame-like fashion that gives players a sense of adventure and discovery. It also makes it very efficient.

It’s easy to explore the dungeon slowly, which is its greatest strength. There’s a sense of magic here, with the beautiful 3D environment growing in various directions unexpectedly. It’s also strong in scenario writing, giving the game a unique personality. This makes it a top-notch tabletop game.

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Arkham Horror: The Card GameFantasy Flight Games also has a standout title, called “The Great Escape”. This is a story-driven adventure game composed entirely of cards – huge piles of them. Players control a different character using a deck of cards. They work together to try and solve a mystery. The thread always leads to confrontations with monstrosities from the Cthulhu mythos. There is bloodshed, and there is no sanity.

It is amazing how expansive this product can be. Many scenarios are organized into interconnected multi-session campaigns. The character decks change over time and can be used to create new ones. The adventure packs a remarkable amount of creativity considering the limited format. The adventures are filled with unexpected twists and turns, and the consequences of branching narrative decisions can be devastating.

This card pool is so large and well-established that it can be accessed by anyone. Arkham Horror, The Card Game boasts tremendous legs. You can spend hours building and organizing decks, between your madness-filled sojourns. It’s the type of experience that begs tinkering in the vein of The Gathering: Magic and the GatheringA great reward is available to those willing to put in the effort.

The Adventures of Robin Hood

The biggest surprise of 2021 was Michael Menzel’s The Adventures of Robin Hood. This game, which is family-friendly, allows you to play classic roles such as Little John, Maid Marion and Robin Hood. Four people can work in a team to navigate a board that lovingly illustrates Nottingham and the forest surrounding. The goal is to avoid the Sheriff’s guards and accomplish various story-based objectives that parallel the classic tale.

What’s so peculiar is the combination of choose-your-own-adventure with a very playful, ever-changing board. There are many points of interest on the board, including guards and caravans as well as homes and hermits. You can interact with each spot by referring to a page from a hardback novel. You’re given various narrative options of consequence, some of which permanently affect the direction of linked scenarios.

There’s a physical whimsy to the whole thing. These points of interest can change their status frequently, so players will need to take a piece off the board and flip it. Every token that is placed in the interactive areas are a token. Activity manifests in flipping, like the lonely witch who decides to leave her house and wander into the woods. There are always guards moving around, creating dynamic bottlenecks for navigation. The town may be forever altered by structures that burn or vanish. Younger players in particular will delight in pulling the chits out and seeing what’s on the underside. It’s an almost Advent Calendar-like wonder, perfectly delivering a well-structured classic piece of literature via interactive adventure.

The Adventures of Robin HoodMy family has enjoyed some of my most memorable and fun board gaming moments. It’s a singular type of campaign design that differentiates itself from the standard.

Legacy of Dragonholt

2017. Legacy of Dragonholt is the oldest title on this list – and it’s also the most unique. It’s a mix of an RPG and an adventure game. The majority of the experience can be shared using a variety of booklets. The adventure occurs through paragraphs, moving between sections in a choose-your-own-adventure format.

This game is narrative-based. Players create D&D-style characters that they will take upon a series of quests focused around Dragonholt village. As the group makes decisions, ripples of consequences happen and change the world. Mechanically, it hangs together under a light skill-based system with appropriate skills opening up additional narrative options in the choose-your-own-adventure framework. This light structure encourages immersion, and lets the attention stay on the characters and emergent stories.

Similar to the classic Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, Legacy of DragonholtThe board game format is a murky frontier. Physical props and a pre-written branching story are the anchors of discussions, which flow in a manner similar to cooperative board games. It’s an avant-garde creation with a matching socially progressive storyline that leaves quite the impression.