If you and your friends love anime so much your eyeballs are falling out from watching it all day, it might be time for some screen-free time. With these games, you can get your fix of Yugi, Goku, Sailor Mercury and all the rest of your favorites, while still enjoying some unplugged minutes.
These options are all fun, easy enough to learn for a group new to the games, and created specifically for fans who will appreciate the themes and references. The art is, of course, awesome, and these double as fun collectibles for fans to keep proudly displayed on a shelf.
10 20th Anniversary Box Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Duel
The special Anniversary Box includes features such as a duel card protector, 6 bonus cards and 6 special packs, as well as 6 rare tokens. Based on Kazuki Takahashi's fictional game of Duel Monsters (the main action of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game uses monsters, spells and traps to defeat opponents. In 2009, the game was named the top selling trading card game in the world by Guinness World Records.
This edition comes in a beautiful, special edition box and will be a great addition to a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan collection or a nostalgic, updated toy for an adult who remembers playing the trading card game during recess with their friends.
9 One Piece - Water 7 Battle Board Game
The Water 7 saga of One Piece is the fourth saga of the series. In One Piece, after eating the wrong fruit, main hero Monkey D. Luffy gains a rubber-like body and begins his quest to find "One Piece", a treasure that will make him Pirate King. In this cooperative strategy game for 2-6 players, the objective is to reconstruct Luffy's broken ship before the board is flooded by the Aqua Laguna tide.
Appropriate for ages 8 and up, as a cooperative strategy game, this remains a fun activity that doesn't cause any stressful competition between players. Victory points are won together, for the whole team. It's a good, friendly game for a family or kids, or a One Piece fan who would enjoy a light, fun game with one or more friends.
8 Dragonball Z: The Awakening Super Card Game Starter Deck
This is a starter deck - it's all that's needed to start playing right away and is a great introductory game for a diehard Dragonball Z fan. The set works for ages 6 and up, so younger fans can enjoy the game, while older fans may have fun with this over a few beers.
The cards depict characters and images from various Dragonball series. Players engage in battles and once excited about the game, can expand by buying more cards to add (or you can make that an easy follow-up gift for the next time you're treating your friend to some Goku magic).
7 Attack on Titan Deck Building Card Game
Deck building games are insanely popular and a lot of fun. They are similar to collectible card games in that the art on the cards is part of the fun. In a lot of deck-building games, each player has their own deck, and creating a deck that will make them the strongest is everyone's main objective.
In this game, the action is cooperative and players are all striving to protect humanity from evil Titans. Each person plays as one of eight possible heroes, each with their own special ability. This works for ages 15 and up, and for 1-5 players. Invite your strongest friends over and defend your group from the man-eating humanoids that lurk beyond the walls.
6 Sailor Moon Crystal: Dice Challenge
This is for 2-8 players and good for ages 10 and up. Players can choose to take on different Sailor Moon characters from seasons 1 and 2 of the Crystal series in 2014 and 2015. Each character and combination of roles have their own special abilities.
The game has colorful and entertaining artwork, important for a show as visually pleasing as Sailor Moon. Players battle with dice as the Pretty Guardians attempt to defeat the Dark Kingdom and the Black Moon. This game can be played one-on-one and is very portable for bars or coffee shops (or playgrounds for younger fans). It can also be adapted for teams, when in bigger groups.
5 Cowboy Bebop Collectible Card Game, 2-Player Starter Box
2071 bounty hunters rejoice - this collectible card game contains two 41 card turbo decks and 2 random Ultra Rare cards. This is a UFS, or Ultimate Fighting System, card game. It's less geared towards absolute beginners, due to the level of complexity in the mechanics of the game.
If you're new to UFS, this game will require a bit of patience and research beforehand - it's not a game you can just pick up and catch on to immediately. The game resembles hand-to-hand combat between two characters, and sets are also cross-compatible, even between different licenses, so this game holds endless possibilies for variety.
4 Monopoly: Pokemon Kanto Edition
The six tokens in this edition of Monopoly represent Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Eevee, Jigglypuff. It uses sculpted Poke Marts and Pokemon Centers instead of houses and hotels, and spaces are named after Pokemon from all 8 gyms.
The basic mechanics of the game are the same as classic Monopoly, so there isn't anything too crazy to pick up other than the change in theme. There is a twist in that if players roll doubles, they can use powers designated to each number - for example, rolling double 1's allows a player to go directly to any space while rolling double 3's allows a player to collect $50 from everyone.
3 Death Note: Confrontation Strategy Board Game
In this two-player game (not a bad idea for a couple), one player takes on the role of L, trying to catch Kira. The opposing player takes on the role of Kira. Each player has a designated notebook and in this game of cat and mouse, L uncovers criminal targets to find Kira. Meanwhile, Kira tries to destroy those targets and rack up enough victory points to win the game. Gameplay lasts about half an hour and this is a classic deduction game.
The mechanics are fairly simple - Kira tries to thwart and throw off L, while L tries to eliminate possibilities until he can locate Kira. This game could be adapted for teams in a larger group if players are willing to share characters.
2 Sword Art Online Board Game: Sword of Fellows
This is a cooperative dice game, where players battle, alone or in teams, against a series of obstacles. This culminates in a final battle, where players attempt to roll Kirito 8 identical dice out of the 9. The game is great with 2-4 players, but can also be used as a solitaire game, with one person acting as multiple players and battling alone to win the game with their team of Sword Art Online favorites.
There is a wide variation for replay possibilities, as all 6 characters have different abilities and players can switch to new ones once they've mastered others. Gameplay lasts about 30 minutes, just enough time to get your fix of battling.
1 Tokyo Ghoul: The Card Game
This is a deck-building strategy game using cards depicting various ghouls from the Tokyo Ghoul universe, where 2 or more players battle to survive. The narrative of the game is a turf war, where players attempt to recruit new allies and sic enemies on opponents. The dark fantasy of Tokyo Ghoul provides for chilling art, and the game combines classic deck building with direct combat, to keep things exciting.
This turn-based game is highly competitive and contains 140 ally cards, 34 enemy cards, and 28 strategy cards. This wouldn't be a bad idea for a date, especially if you plan on ending that date with the revelation that you are in fact a beautiful ghoul.
NEXT: The Ultimate My Hero Academia Gift Guide
We hope you like the items we recommend! Comic Book Resources has affiliate partnerships, so we receive a share of the revenue from your purchase. This won’t affect the price you pay and helps us offer the best product recommendations.