Best Miniatures Board Game – Add These To Your Game Night
What are the best miniatures board game piece out there on the market right now? There are tons of great ones to choose.
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Maybe it is the result of the pandemic or maybe kids and families are finally starting to catch on, but the popularity of board games is on the rise once again. While we love to blame anything and everything on the COVID pandemic, the actual truth behind the rise in boardgame popularity is that we have seen this rise in the past decade and the one thing that has contributed to this rise is the quality of the game. Not just the game itself, but the game board pieces that comes with these games. This is why we are going to take a look at a number of board games with the best miniatures.
PLAYING IN THE PANDEMIC
As the COVID lockdown began to take effect and schools were shut down, families had to find things to do to keep themselves occupied so as not to go stir crazy. The usual suspects of board games – Life, Monopoly, Clue, Scrabble, and even Candy Land – became even more popular, but for those who didn’t want the same old, same old, instead opted for a more “sophisticated” game. These board games came with depth. These board games came with the best miniatures.
While some may not consider it a problem, what comes with board games with the best miniatures typically is a game that is a little more complex. These games are cooperative games that require a lot of thought. Most of these games are for teens and older.
Unlike the classic board games, these new-fangled board games have reasons for their success. Fun gameplay (at times gameplay that can be quite lengthy), clever tools, a storyline that is both interesting and attention-grabbing, and finally, miniatures that stand second to none. You may recall back in the day certain games that introduced miniatures, for the most part, were cheaply made with detail that left little to be desired.
Games today, those that are not of the classic variety, take their time with production. They not only give much attention to storyline detail, but they also put in a lot of time with their miniatures design as well. The result is board games that are rich in story and lush in detail. Of course, there is a big trade-off when it comes to these types of games. This trade-off is aimed at your wallet and if you are looking to join those gamers, that wallet better be filled with greenbacks or credit cards with a hefty spending limit.
THE BEST MINIATURES BOARD GAME PRICES – NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
We won’t beat around the bush here – board games with the best miniatures carry a huge price tag. In some ways, you can understand why, especially after you see the amount of detail and time these game makers invest. But they understand that for their games to be successful, attention to detail is key. After all, board game creators are in direct competition with video games and the little money gamers have to spend.
Sometimes, though, the pricing point can be a bit overwhelming. Where video games go anywhere from $29.99 up to $69.99, this for games is that not of the “special edition” variety, the board games with the best miniatures will start anywhere from $59.99 and roll on up to well over $200. They are amazing to look at, but at some point, you will have to decide if that price point is worth it. Visually, they are all worth it.
TEN BEST MINIATURES IN BOARD GAMES
There are so many board games with the best miniatures it is difficult to narrow down the best, and when we are saying “so many board games”, we are not exaggerating here. There are literally hundreds that are vying for your hard-earned dollar. So here is a list, in no particular order, that showcases some of the best miniatures a board game can offer. We have included the price with these board games so you know just how much these amazingly crafted miniatures will set you back.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT: WRATH OF THE LICH KING
PRICE – $59.99 on Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – Like many (if not all) of the games on this list, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is a cooperative game. This means you don’t play against each other, but instead you team up to fight a common enemy. WoW is based on the video game and goes into wonderful detail to bring the video game to the board game.
WoW is both a strategy and adventure game at the same time. You take on the role of one of WoW’s legendary heroes and fight your way past ghouls and abominations while completing numerous quests in order to face off against the Lich King at the Icecrown Citadel.
What makes this game especially tantalizing is the detail put into the miniatures. They are great to look at and make the game more interesting. If you are a World of Warcraft fan, this game will sure hit the mark for you.
SCYTHE
PRICE – $61.69 on Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – This game takes you immediately into the aftermath of the first World War. It is set in the 1920s Europa in a capitalistic city-state called The Factory. This well-oiled faction has closed its doors and it is up to you to take it down. While you are doing this by building your own faction with mechs, working your land, and eventually exploring the mysterious Factory, you do this with amazing miniatures.
DESCENT: LEGENDS OF THE DARK
PRICE – $139.96 at Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – This game is actually an addition to the Descent Board Game franchise. It is the first in the series that is entirely cooperative. You will select a hero and then you can team up with up to three of your friends or family to work your way through Terrinoth.
While you and the other heroes fight their way toward their ultimate goal, all monsters are controlled by the game’s intuitive app. This app takes on the role of Overlord, not only controlling the monsters but also the story.
MARVEL CRISIS PROTOCOL
PRICE – $79.96 on Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – There are so many Marvel games on the market now, but this one is most definitely an eye-catcher. What makes this game especially enticing is that it is both a cooperative game that allows Marvel characters to team up, but is also an “assembly” hobby game as well. By that, we mean the game comes with ten Marvel Heroes and Villains, but they arrive unassembled and unpainted. The ten include Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Red Skull, Crossbones, Baron Zemo, Captain America, Black Widow, Doctor Octopus, and Ultron. As the game progresses, you will be required to assemble and paint your Marvel characters.
HEROQUEST
PRICE – $125.99 on Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – We are going old school with this game. This game was first created by Hasbro/Milton Bradley way back in 1989 and was successful until 1997, the last year it was manufactured. But like a number of games today, fans of the original wanted more. So, in 2021, the game received crowdfunding and a new version was released.
This new version retains most of the old school rules, but this time the miniatures (over 65 in total) have much more detail. As with the original, there are four heroes – Dwarf, Barbarian, Elf, and Wizard – who are ready to battle the evil forces of Zargon the sorcerer. Players are given 14 quests to get started, but they can also create their own stories and quests.
CTHULU: DEATH MAY DIE
PRICE – $209.99 on Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – With a name like Cthulu: Death May Die, you gotta know right off the bat you are working with a horror game here. So, you’ve got yourself a horror game that is melded with a mystery game, which is also a cooperative game.
You will join the game as an investigator who must team up with other investigators to stop an Elder God who has been summoned to Earth. Together they must put together clues to find the Elder Gods’ weakness and somehow defeat it. This game comes with 45 of the best board game miniatures.
A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: TABLETOP MINIATURES GAME
PRICE – $83.80 on Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – This board game is not for the young as it is recommended for ages 14+. Here players will take control of their own house from A Song of Ice and Fire. You take on only one opponent and try to defeat them by perfectly balancing your military forces with keen strategy and devious tactics. You build your army by using creating the perfect combination of calvary soldiers, infantry, and special units such as Giants and Dire Wolves. The game comes with 55 unique and wonderfully detailed miniatures.
NEMESIS
PRICE – $124.99 on Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – The quality surrounding the detailed miniatures in Nemesis is one gamers will not be dissatisfied with. Nemesis is a sci-fi horror game that involves strategy and survival. You will need to choose your character wisely as each has its own special abilities and weaknesses.
Players wake from hibernation to find that one of their crew members has perished. To make matters worse, they woke because of a system failure, and the only way to get home is to fix the failure. The dead crew member had his pod ripped open and his body pulled out. What are those strange noises you are starting to hear? Good luck.
TAINTED GRAIL: THE FALL OF AVALON
PRICE – $249.99 on Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – This game follows a blend of Arthurian legend and Celtic mythology to entertain either solo players or players in a cooperative setting. The storyline gets deep in Tainted Grail and the storylines branch out so you can take on problems in various ways to ensure that no two games play alike.
As the game moves forward, your character develops more and more abilities. But it isn’t only the storyline that is attractive here. The detail put into the miniatures is amazing. These highly detailed figures will be faced with challenges that form their personality as well as their fighting styles.
RETURN TO DARK TOWER
PRICE – $190.00 on Amazon.
THE BEST BOARD GAME MINIATURES – Old school meets new school in this reimaging of one of the best games of the very early ‘80s. Dark Tower was a smash hit when it hit the shelves in 1981. It was a competitive game where you took on up to three opponents as you traversed various frontiers to collect three keys that would eventually set you at the foot of the Dark Tower. Once there, you would have to figure out the key code to get into the tower and start your battle with the Brigands who guarded the tower. Only the bravest would win.
Restoration games decided it was time to bring the game back. They took on a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough cash to bring the game to contemporary audiences. There are numerous changes from what fans of the original were used to, mainly that the game has turned into a cooperative game. Yes, there is still a competitive mode as well, but it offers not much resemblance to the original.
What also makes this reimaging different, and to many, a more special one, is the fact that Restoration Games spared no expense when creating the tower as well as the miniatures. The detail is amazing and adds another layer to the gameplay.
FINALLY
There is virtually no end to board games with the best miniatures. Whatever your style, whether you like space adventures, superhero adventures, murder mystery adventures, or even westerns, these games have it all, including the hefty price tag. But if you are looking for entertainment in the form of a board game, it is hard to go wrong with any of the above.
