20 Games Under $20 Right Now!
/The Holiday shopping season is upon us at last, which means a lot of us will be picking up some board games as gifts for friends and family (or maybe just yourself). With the sheer number of games out there it can be difficult and overwhelming trying to find good ideas out there, so we made this list to help people find some really good ideas for what games to get. As an added bonus every game on here is under $20, so if you are looking for something small to round out a bigger present, a small gift exchange, or stocking-stuffers then this is the list for you.
All of these games were listed under $20.00 on Amazon.com as of writing this list. As things tend to fluctuate as games become more or less available some of these games might be more the $20 as time passes.
Note: We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We do earn a commission off of sales if you purchase from the links below, however we encourage people to acquire games in whatever manner they desire.
Love Letter | AEG
Everyone sends a love letter and hopes it reaches the princess and hope none of the other palace staff interfere. Whoever can get their love letter the furthest will be the winner in this incredibly small and portable card game. If the theme seems to not interest you don't fret as there are many different versions of this game from Lord of the Rings all the way to Batman!
Player count: 2-4 | Play Time: 20 minutes | Recommended Age: 10+
Balderdash | Mattel
How believable can you be? Each turn you are given an obscure word that each player must make up a definition while one player puts in the actual definition. Then each player votes on which definition you think is correct. Can you find the correct answer? Can you fool your friends with your fake answer? As an added bonus newer versions of the game branch out from just words to include obscure movies, laws, and acronyms.
Player count: 2-6 | Play Time: 60 minutes | Recommended Age: 12+
Welcome to the Dungeon | Iello
Everyone is an Adventurer preparing to enter into a dungeon. Take turns trying to best your fellow adventurers by boasting at how many monsters you can defeat or how little equipment you will need. If things start to look too hot you can back out, or keep staying in until there is only one left. Talking big is one thing, but remember end of the day someone is going to be entering into that dungeon.
Player count: 2-4 | Play Time: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 10+
Spyfall | Hobby World
Everyone is meeting up at a secret location but there is a spy among you. Ask questions to try and find whoever does not know the secret meeting place but be careful to not give it away. If the spy catches wind of where you are meeting they could ruin everything.
Player count: 3-8 | Play Time: 15 minutes | Recommended Age: 13+
Cat Tower | IDW Games
A fun dexterity game about stacking cats onto a tower. Try and be the first player to get rid of all of your cats but keep a steady hand, if you knock the tower over then you will need to keep adding more and more cats to your collection.
Player count: 2-6 | Play Time: 15 minutes | Recommended Age: 6+
One Night Ultimate Werewolf | Bézier Games
A very quick version of the classic werewolf game, work to figure out the truth about what happened during the night and root out the werewolf in your village but be careful as if you lynch one of your own the werewolves will win!
Player count: 3-10 | Play Time: 10 minutes | Recommended Age: 8+
Santorini | Roxley Games
Santorini is a beautiful abstract game where you simply move along the board and place a structure each turn, trying to win by landing on a three level structure. While it may sound simple, the strategy is quiet deep and along with the crazy amount of player powers you can play with will make every game a new puzzle to try and solve.
Player count: 2-4 | Play Time: 20 minutes | Recommended Age: 8+
Star Realms | White Wizard Games
Send your fleet of starships against your opponent in epic battle. Star Realms is a quick, compact, deck building game with a ton a replayability. Try to destroy your opponent before they can destroy you by building the perfect fleet of ships that synergize together.
Player count: 2 | Play Time: 20 minutes | Recommended Age: 12+
Hanabi | R&R Games
Hanabi is a cooperative card game about putting on a firework display. Each player has a hand of cards that you need to try and play in a specific order. Make too many mistakes and you will lose! However there is a slight twist, you can see everyone's hand of cards except your own. Try and remember the clues you are given to figure out what cards you have, otherwise things will go downhill very quickly.
Player count: 2-5 | Play Time: 25 minutes | Recommended Age: 8+
Wits & Wagers Family Edition | North Star Games
A trivia game where you do not need to know the correct answer to win. Each question has a numeric answer, whether that is an amount, a date, or a dollar amount. Everyone then writes down their answer and each answer is placed in a line. Each player then can bet on which answer they think is closest to the actual answer without going over. Try and get the most points and laugh at some of the absurd answers your friends might answer.
Player count: 3-7 | Play Time: 25 minutes | Recommended Age: 10+
Codenames | CGE
A Team vs Team version of password, each team as one spymaster who is trying to get their team to guess specific words that are laid out on a 5x5 grid by providing single word clues. The first team to guess all of their words correctly wins but be careful, there is one assassin word that is a instant loss if either team chooses it.
Player count: 2-8 | Play Time: 15 minutes | Recommended Age: 14+
The Resistance: Avalon | Indie Boards & Cards
Be part of the loyal servants of King Arthur adventuring across the land and completing quests, but beware as the minions of the evil Mordred have already infiltrated your ranks. Can you weed out your enemies before they ruin everything? Add in a few special roles and this game will create memories you will not soon forget.
Player count: 5-10 | Play Time: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 13+
Flip City | Tasty Minstrel Games
Build up your city in this deck building game where you can buy new cards to build new buildings or pay to upgrade buildings you already have and flip over your card to be more efficient. Each turn you get to keep going until you decide to stop or your city's unhappiness gets too high so try and be a good mayor and keep your citizens happy.
Player count: 1-4 | Play Time: 30-50 minutes | Recommended Age: 8+
No Thanks | Mayfair Games
A quick and simple game where you are trying to score the lowest by taking as few cards as possible, while trying to combo together the cards you do take to cancel things out. No Thanks is always so much fun and feels like the classic card games everyone has played before like Uno or Phase 10 but even easier to teach and so much better. We would recommend this game to anyone.
Player count: 3-7 | Play Time: 20 minutes | Recommended Age: 8+
High Society | Osprey Games
Try to show off to your rich friends as you all bid on luxury items. Be careful however because while you need to spend money to win, whoever spent the most automatically loses. This game is a very fine line between winning and busting that always makings it a stressful but fun time.
Player count: 3-5 | Play Time: 15-30 minutes | Recommended Age: 10+
Unusual Suspects | CMON Games
Work together by questioning a witness about a lineup of suspects, but get ready to judge as the witness doesn’t answer any questions about how the suspect looks but about their personality. Can you tell who looks like they watch ESPN or who drives a SUV? A fun and simple cooperative game that will leave everyone laughing by the end.
Player count: 3-18 | Play Time: 10-30 minutes | Recommended Age: 13+
Kingdomino | Blue Orange Games
Draft tiles/dominoes to build the best kingdom in the land. Take care however because what you choose will also determine the turn order for the next round. Choosing the best tile while setting yourself up for success in the future is key!
Player count: 2-4 | Play Time: 15-20 minutes | Recommended Age: 8+
Sushi Go Party! | Gamewright Games
Build the best plate of sushi by drafting cards to try and get combos and score the most points over three different rounds. A very simple game to teach along with some of the most adorable artwork there is ensure that this is a game that is going to become an instant crowd favorite.
Player count: 2-5 | Play Time: 15 minutes | Recommended Age: 8+
BANG! The Dice Game | dV Giochi
A dice version of the very popular BANG! card game, BANG! The Dice Game is a quick team based game where outlaws fight the sheriff and his deputy but while everyone knows who the sheriff is everyone else has a hidden role. When the action starts can you figure out who is on your team or who is out to get you before its too late?
Player count: 3-8 | Play Time: 15 minutes | Recommended Age: 8+
Age of War | Fantasy Flight Games
Conquer Castles and unite clans in this quick dice game. Roll dice to try to match different combinations on cards in the middle of the table to score points, or go for even harder rolls and try to steal cards other players have already claimed. If you are looking for a fun alternative to more common dice games like yahtzee or farkle then look no further.
Player count: 2-6 | Play Time: 15-30 minutes | Recommended Age: 14+
There are a lot of great games here to choose some, and even more of them are out there. Anyone else find any great finds for only $20? Anything on this list you disagree with? Let us know, we would love to hear from you!