On-line Games | Wiki | BoardGameGeek

Introduction

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 (real-time), or whether you want players to take their turns at their leisure, with games taking days/weeks (turn-based). This page lists sites that support multiple games, are free to play (some with premium features), and support at least English. See very bottom for list of where to play specific games online.

Most popular sites with large selection of free games

These will be the sites most players will want to start with. These websites offer access to a wide variety of games through webpage sign ups or apps and most allow playing games in real-time (everyone playing at the same time) or taking turns over days or weeks with notifications when it’s your turn. These sites tend to have games that are the more popular games on BGG (compared to traditional games like chess/checkers; see Traditional Games section for that).

Site

Description

Selection of Popular Games Included (not complete list)
Board Game Arena

Over 400 games. Fairly easy to use site where rules are enforced by the game, supporting the most languages (45). Wiki: Board Game Arena

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, Tash-Kalar,
Yucata

Over 150 games, English/German. Interface a bit more complicated/dated. Wiki: Yucata

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, Yspahan,
Boîte à jeux

Over 60 games, German/English/French. Interface a bit more complicated/dated. Wiki: Boîte à jeux

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, Vanuatu.
BrettspielWelt

The original. More than 60 games. Originally an app that you download (they still have that, which feels antiquated now) but now also with a web interface. Some discrepancies between app and web versions, particularly around game creation/joining. Weird meta-game stuff that nobody understands. Wiki: BrettspielWelt

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, Wizard.

Other Real-Time

Sites in this list mainly support playing with all players logged in and playing at the same time, like you would around a physical table. Some also support turn-based (over days/weeks).

Turn-Based

Sites in this list mainly support playing over days/weeks/months, with players typically logging to take one turn at a time (aka “turn-based”). Some sites also support real-time play (but are primarily turn-based). These sites also have relatively small number of games and/or interfaces which are not as modern/easy as the sites in the first section.

Traditional Games

Sites in this list support games commonly referred to as “traditional games” or “parlor games”.

Finding where to play specific games online

There are numerous sites dedicated to individual games. This list grew too long to include here. Please see the excellent list below for looking up where to play a specific game:

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