Index | All | Recent | Guidelines
Article Edit | History | Editors

On-line Games RSS Feed

Getting Started

There are many places to play games online, whether you want to play with other players at the same time like you would in a face-to-face game (aka real-time ⏰), or whether you want players to take their turns at their leisure, with games taking days/weeks (aka turn-based ⏳). This listing is for sites with a selection of designer games (like those popular on BBG), a free play option even if premium features exist, and English support. Sites with predominantly traditional games are relegated to their own section.

If you're new to online games start with a starred site (aka recommended ⭐) in the category you prefer. Sites which become popular and are, thus, recommended have a vibrant user base, a wide selection, a beginner-friendly user interface, and require no installation (aka download ⬇️) whatsoever.

For help locating an individual game or a site which supports an individual game, see the links at the bottom of the page.

Real-Time ⏰

These support synchronous play with all players logged in and playing at the same time, like you would around a physical table. Some also support turn-based play.

Site
 Games
 ℹ️
Board Game Arena ⭐
 The monster of all online board game sites. Natively English but supports most languages (45).
Over 800 games including Carcassonne, 7 Wonders, Terra Mystica, Potion Explosion, 6nimmt!, Can't Stop, Kingdomino, Sushi Go!, Downforce, Stone Age, Hanabi, Puerto Rico, Seasons, Dice Forge, Takenoko, Race for the Galaxy, Saboteur, Clans of Caledonia, Love Letter, Through the Ages: New Story of Civ, Roll for the Galaxy, Jaipur, Tzolk'in, Lost Cities, Colt Express, Red7, Tokaido, Russian Railroads, Innovation, Incan Gold, For Sale, Werewolves of Miller's Hollow, Caylus, Perudo / Liar's Dice, Eminent Domain, Coloretto, Keyflower, Hive, Lewis & Clark, and Tash-Kalar.
 Board Game Arena
BrettspielWelt ⬇️
 The original online gaming platform. Once only an app you downloaded, but now also a web app. Natively German, with partial English support. The UI is antiquated and difficult at times for English-only speakers.
Over 60 games including 7 Wonders, 6 nimmt!, Bruges, Can't Stop, Carcassonne, Caylus, The Crew, Evolution, Power Grid, Hadara, Tally Ho, Helvetia, Imhotep, Imperial, Kingdom Builder, Kingsburg, Puerto Rico, San Juan, St. Petersburg, Settlers of Catan, Stone Age, Pillars of the Earth, Thurn and Taxis, Tichu, Vikings, and Wizard.
 BrettspielWelt
Board Space
 Over 100 games, mostly 2 player abstracts, but a good selection of Euros, word games, and multiplayer abstracts. The most popular multiplayer games are Euphoria, Viticulture and Container. Abstracts include Hive, the entire set of Gipf games, and a lot more you've probably never heard of. Come explore!
  • Most games can be played against bots.
  • Play from almost any platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS are supported.
 Boardspace.net Games
Boîte à jeux
 Interface is a bit more complicated/dated and it has a spotty history of being taken down. Supports German/English/French.
Over 60 games including Agricola, Alchemists, Alhambra, Bruxelles 1893, Concordia, Castles of Bugundy, Dixit, Dungeon Lords, Dungeon Petz, fearsome Floors, Ginkgopolis, GIPF (many in the series), Kanban, Mykerinos, Myrmes, Rallyman, Torres, Trajan, Tzolk'in, and Vanuatu.
Boîte à jeux
Days of Wonder
 Ticket to Ride, Gang of Four, Queen's Necklace, Fist of Dragonstones, Memoir '44. Must buy games to play online.
 Days of Wonder
Gravon
 Very hard to use. Balloon Cup, Black Spy, Bridge, Carolus Magnus, Chess, Clans, Connect Four, Hyle, Mahjong, Malefiz, Mömmen, Mühle, Scarab, Stratego, Tichu, Tic-Tac-Toe, Twilight (19 Games Total)
Gravon
Happy Meeple
Easy to use site for quick 2 player games. Cartographers, Lost Cities, Hanamikoji, Circle The Wagons, Keltis card game, Siberia Card, Glastonbury, Finito!, Migrato, Level X, Keltis Ór, Raging Bulls, HexRoller.
  • Tutorials for every game in 4 languages (English, French, German, Spanish)
  • 12 Strong AI for most 2-player games
  • A new line of solo games
  • A meeple world (metagame)
  • Chat, ranking lists, friendly community
 Happy Meeple
Triqqy
 Almost 20 games including euros and traditional games like Tigris & Euphrates, Samurai, Through The Desert, Shipyard.
VASSAL ⬇️
 Over 800 games, mostly war games, but with a surprisingly eclectic collection of modules including designer board games and some 18xx. Also supports turn-based mode. Must install Java app.

Zun Tzu ⬇️
 Over 200 games, mostly war games. Must install Windows app.

Turn-Based ⏳

These primarily support asynchronous play over days/weeks, with players logging in to take one turn at a time, even if real-time play is also supported.

Site
 Games
 ℹ️
Yucata ⭐
 Its interface makes undoing a move one is contemplating easy. Most play leans turn-based, but real-time is possible if players coordinate. Natively German but has excellent English support.
Over 200 games including A Few Acres of Snow, At the Gates of Loyang, Attika, Automobiles, Bruges, Cacao, Can't Stop, Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers, Carpe Diem, Carson City, Egizia, El Grande, Fearsome Floors, Finca, Firenze, First Class, Glen More, Hawaii, Hey that's my fish, Imhotep, Jaipur, Kashgar, La Granja, Las Vegas, Luna, Macao, Machi Koro, Mystic Vale, Navegador, Oregon, Pergamon, Port Royal, R-Eco, Rajas of the Ganges, Red7, Roll through the Ages: Bronze Age, Russian Railroads, Saint Petersburg, Snowdonia, Stone Age, Terra Mystica, The Castles of Burgundy, The Palaces of Carrara, The Speicherstadt, The Voyages of Marco Polo, Thunderstone, Thurn and Taxis, Torres, Two by Two, Valletta, Vikings, and Yspahan.
 Yucata
18xx.games
 Over 80 games, all 18xx, including Shikoku 1889, 18Chesapeake, and 1846: The Race for the Midwest. Supports real-time play.
Boardgame Core
 Food Chain Magnate, The Great Zimbabwe, Antiquity, and Wir sind das Volk!. (FCM and WSDV being playable real-time as well)
Online Board Gamers
 Food Chain Magnate, The Great Zimbabwe, Horseless Carriage and Bus.
Board Game Play
 Rurik: Dawn of Kiev, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, The Artemis Project, The Great Race, Montana, Urbino.
Little Golem
 Over 30 games, primarily traditional, abstract and word games, including chess, go, Shogi, Hex, Twixt, DVONN, TZAAR.
 Little Golem
Rally the Troops! ⭐
 16 games, mostly war including 300: Earth & Water, Crusader Rex, Hammer of the Scots, Julius Caesar, Pax Pamir, Richard III, Shores of Tripoli, and Wilderness War.
SlothNinja Games
 A handful of games including Indonesia, After The Flood, Confucius, Guild of Thieves, and Tammany Hall.
Spiel by Web
 Bus, Hacienda, Hoity Toity, Reef Encounter, Tikal, Wallenstein, Santiago
Wargame Room ⬇️
 Strategy war games with leaderboards: Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage, Twilight Struggle, Command & Colors Ancients, Up Front, 1989: Dawn of Freedom, Paths of Glory, and Fire in the Lake. Must install Java app.
You Play It
 Blue Max, Cartagena, King Me!, VampiRing, Wooden Ships & Iron Men, Gonzaga.
 You Play It
Your Turn, My Turn
 Almost 50 games, mostly older/abstract but some euros including Tally Ho!, Lost Cities, Kahuna, Hey! That's My Fish! (Penguin), Scrabble, and Triple Yahzee.
 YourturnMyturn

Simulated Tabletops ⏰

These offer real-time play in a 3D simulated tabletop environment and are sometimes known as physics engines. They do not enforce rules. The players are expected to know and administer the rules (roll dice, move playing pieces, shuffle decks) as they would when playing live tabletop games. They are also convenient for importing prototype content and play testing games.

Site
 Games
 ℹ️
Tabletopia ⭐
 Over 2000 games. Runs in browser.
Tabletop Simulator ⬇️
 Thousands of games (free & paid), more than all other platforms combined! Some games are user created, while others are official publisher releases. Search its massive catalog. The game you want may be there! Requires application install.
 Tabletop Simulator
Tabletop Playground ⬇️
 A sandbox experience featuring deep customization and choice, play immersive tabletop sessions with friends, build new games using the powerful in-game editor and play custom-made games from the community. Requires application install.
 Tabletop Playground

Traditional ♟️

These offer mostly traditional games (aka "parlor games") many of which exist in the public domain like chess or checkers.

Site
 Games
 ℹ️
Grand Games
 Chess, Draughts, Poddavki, Anti-chess, Checkers, Gomoku, connect6
Bodogemu
 Eclectic set of 17 mostly abstract (and obscure) games. All mobile friendly.
Chess Variants
 Many chess variants.
Ludoteka
 28 Board Games and 17 Card Games
 Ludoteka
Mind Sports
 Over 80 games, mainly abstracts, mostly obscure.
Mindoku
 Chess (and variants), Checkers (and variants), Entropy/Hyle-7, Go-Moku, Renju, Pente, Connect Four, Stack 4D, Othello, Sudoku, Podkidnoi/Durak, Lines of Action.
 Mindoku
Paper Games
 Tic-Tac-Toe, Connect 4, Gomoku, and Battleship
IG Game Center
 Over 100 games, abstracts.
 igGameCenter
Play OK
 About 30 various abstract/card games
Brain King
 Over 100 games and variants, predominantly things like chess, checkers, Pente and variants.
 BrainKing
Gold Token
 Classic and modern board games with variants. A vibrant community of gamers. The Official game site for a number of associations.
It's Your Turn
 Around a dozen traditional abstract games with dozens of variants.
Super Duper Games
 Over 100 games, mostly abstracts, including Icehouse pyramid games (e.g. Homeworlds, Martian chess, Pikemen, Volcano, Branches) as well as many other abstract games old and new.
 Super Duper Games
The New Amecy Games
 Chess, Connect6, Hex, Amazons, Phutball, Twixt, Toguz Kumalak
lichess
 Chess and variants (Crazyhouse, Chess960, King of the Hill, Three-check, Antichess, Atomic, Horde, Racing Kings)
lidraughts
 Draughts and variants (Checkers, Frisian, Frysk!, Antidraughts, Breakthrough, Russian, Brazilian)
World Tafl Federation
 Variations of the Viking game of Hnefatafl including Tablut, Brandubh and Berserk Hnefatafl. Also Hex.
[What Links Here]