Board games are up to 30 percent off on Amazon today

Amazon has billed today’s Deal of the Day as its “Epic Daily Deal,” and the shoe certainly fits when it includes one of the most epic RPG-in-a-box titles of all time. Gloomhaven is currently on sale, tying its all-time low price of $85 just for today. This shaves 40 percent off its usual MSRP of $140. If you have ever considered playing Dungeons and Dragons but could never get one of your friends to buckle down and put in the work as gamemaster, Gloomhaven might be the perfect solution for you and up to three friends.

Gloomhaven

Perhaps the closest you’ll get to playing a video game on paper, Gloomhaven is an expansive board game filled with detailed miniatures, evocative art, and a sweeping narrative. As players progress through the story, they’ll open sealed boxes and change the board, making a game that is truly unique to the group that plays it.

The cardboard gaming deals don’t end there, with plenty of lighter and easily approachable titles also on sale. If you’re partial to simple games that use cards and dice and can be learned and played in less than an hour, consider Dragonwood for only $10. Are you a murder mystery fan? You can pick between two Cold Case games by ThinkFun to solve, A Story to Die For, and A Pinch of Murder — each just $10. Prefer something totally unique? Grow trees in the beautifully designed game of Photosynthesis for $23. Want to play co-operatively with friends and family in a fantastical game of exploration and survival against the elements? Gamewright’s Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are amazing introductions to getting newer players into designer board games, and they’re only $14 and $17, respectively.

If some of those titles are relative unknowns to you, this one might need no introduction. Catan helped create the era of modern tabletop and board games we currently live in. It has been an institution of the gaming world since it was released in 1995 and has maintained popularity and influence throughout the years. There are many expansions and spin-offs, as well as myriad games taking inspiration from it. The base game of Catan is currently on sale at Amazon for just $30, while the 25th Anniversary Edition is $52, and some further expansions range from $16 to $30.

Catan Board Game

The iconic board game classic that has players strategically competing and trading for resources.

Catan 25th Anniversary Edition

The gateway drug for board game fans the world over has turned 25. This hexy board game comes in a bigger and beefier box with some new art, premium wooden playing pieces, and collectors edition dice.

There are so many great games to choose from, with enough variety in genres that should satisfy classic and modern board game fans alike. Here are a few more highlight titles we recommend:

Risk: Legacy

The Legacy game that started it all, Risk: Legacy began a novel approach to board games. The outcome of each game changes how each subsequent game is played. Rules will change, cards will be destroyed, territories will be wiped off the map depending on how each game plays out — making each Risk: Legacy board into a unique hallmark of the group that played it.

Air, Land and Sea

A game that distills the grand scale of the 2nd world war into 18 cards, Air, Land and Sea is a fast-moving card game that rewards smart bluffs and guile, steeped in the flavor of Axis vs. Allies.

Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game

Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game is about as close as you can get to performing the interesting parts of police work without needing a badge or gun. Playable alone or with up to 5 players, Detective is a game that rewards careful deduction as you race the clock to follow up on the right leads to crack the case. This is all done with the help of a colorful companion app that really helps sell the experience.