Many board games have narratives attached to them. However, this doesn't mean that this story is an integral part of the gameplay. A good, thematic story can add flavor to even the most basic of games. If it doesn't integrate properly into the game mechanics, players are often left wanting more.
Some developers have made the story an indispensable element of their games. Some games leave the plot in the gamers' hands as they play. Storytelling has been a social activity since the dawn of time. Board games can add another level to it with nuanced strategies for decision-making and objectives with epic stakes.
Updated 17th of February by Isaac Williams: Board games are bigger than ever, and this comes as a boon to many genres. There's never been a better time to get into storytelling board games. This list has been updated with even more of the best narrative-driven tabletop games for players to try out.
15 The 7th Continent
1-4 Players
The 7th Continent takes its commitment to storytelling very seriously. For one thing, its stories are very lengthy. A single game can take many hours. To this end, it contains a saving system to let players jump back in quickly. For another, much of its story is undecided at the beginning of the game.
The 7th Continent follows explorers stranded on an unknown landmass and afflicted with a terrible curse. Almost everything else is up in the air. It even takes several hours of exploration before players even discover how to break their curse and win the game once and for all.
14 Rory's Story Cubes
1-12 Players
Rory's Story Cubes is an ideal choice for a no-frills tabletop storytelling game. The game comprises a set of nine cubes, and each of the cubes' six sides features a different image. The baseline set of rules has the players roll the cubes like dice. They then have to tell a story beginning with "Once upon a time..." that integrates all nine elements displayed on the cubes.
Rory's Story Cubes' full instructions include other ways storytellers can use the cubes to foster inspiration and add new concepts to their tales. Rory's Story Cubes provide tabletop storytelling fun at its most simple. The resolution happens all at once and the rest is down to the players' imagination.
13 Pandemic Legacy: Season 0
2-4 Players
Pandemic has taken the board gaming world by storm. It's considered one of the best board games ever made. However, many versions of the game have minimal storytelling. There are plagues ravaging the world and the players have to stop them. Pandemic Legacy: Season 0 goes above and beyond with its story.
Pandemic Legacy: Season 0 is a prequel to the other two seasons of Pandemic: Legacy. It adapts the franchise's beloved gameplay to an espionage thriller tale. Players have to travel the world under several aliases to thwart a Soviet bioweapon threat. The story evolves through several chapters, as the players' actions affect the ones after.
12 Once Upon A Time
2-6 Players
Once Upon A Time: The Storytelling Card Game is an older title that holds up remarkably well. Its initial release was in 1993. There have since been subsequent editions released in 1995 and 2012, each expanding upon or improving upon the game.
In Once Upon A Time, one player assumes the role of the Storyteller and uses the cards in their hand to guide the story to their chosen ending. The other players use their own cards to interrupt the Storyteller and attempt to usurp their position. The first player to empty their hand and conclude the story with their Happily Ever After card wins.
11 Kingdom Death: Monster
1-4 Players
Kingdom Death: Monster is best known for its engaging gameplay and its lurid aesthetic. However, it also boasts impressive storytelling under the hood. Players control hunters in a dark and hostile world. They go out and hunt monsters to build up a settlement that thrives against all odds.
Kingdom Death: Monster's narrative is full of events both pre-scripted and randomly determined. Villagers are born and die. Unique monsters appear in response to certain actions. Each campaign has a story that builds towards some epic and tragic encounter. There are many reasons to play Kingdom Death: Monster, and the story is yet another.
10 Choose Your Own Adventure: House Of Danger
Any Number Of Players
The Choose Your Own Adventure book series has been a childhood staple for several generations. Choose Your Own Adventure: House Of Danger brings the classic title to life on the gaming table. Each choice the players make leads them to the next stage of their adventure, which can mean either progress or death, depending on their decisions.
House of Danger is simple to reset. Players can easily pick up where they left off if they choose poorly and reach one of the game's many death endings. There are many stories told within Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger, and the players will never see them all their first time through.
9 Stuffed Fables
2-4 Players
The stories of Stuffed Fables center on stuffed animals fighting to protect and rescue their beloved child companion from the forces of evil. It's a uniquely whimsical dungeon-crawler board game that can branch out across many of the different maps in the Adventure Book. Players have to make impactful choices to further the story of their brave band of plushies.'
On their turn, each player draws dice from the bag, and these dice determine which actions they can take. Players can choose to heal themselves or their companions, attack, or perform other strategic actions. These small choices build up as part of Stuffed Fables' grander narrative.
8 Descent: Legends Of The Dark
1-4 Players
Descent: Legends of the Dark is an updated version of the classic dungeon-crawler Descent: Journeys in the Dark. It takes a very narrative approach to gameplay, owing to its app-enhanced gameplay. There is a digital side to the game that dictates enemy movement, scenarios, and the story being told.
Descent: Legends of the Dark's narrative is notable for its length. It contains many scenarios, each of which can be a game night in its own right. An entire campaign can easily last dozens of hours. Players get to shape the lengthy story through their victories, defeats, and gameplay choices.
7 Above And Below
1-4 Players
In Above and Below, players seek to rebuild their village in a new environment after a raiding band of barbarians destroys the previous one. However, they discover the ground beneath their new village contains an intricate network of caverns.
Players must balance their exploration of the caverns' promise and mystery with setting a stable foundation for developing their new village. Each expedition and decision carries unique results and consequences for players to discover as they strive to secure the best future for their people.
6 Sleeping Gods
1-4 Players
Sleeping Gods has players take on the role of steamship captain Sofi Odessa and her crewmates as they explore the magical world of an unknown ocean. They must find the totems of the gods so they can awaken them and return home to their typical world of 1929.
Each session of Sleeping Gods can last as long or as short as the players wish. They always build upon the last to continue the crew's odyssey. Players' choices affect the ongoing plot and the characters they meet on their travels. The ship's ability to return home is squarely in the players' hands.
5 The Adventures Of Robin Hood
2-4 Players
The Adventures of Robin Hood defines itself as a living board game. It is a cooperative board game that recreates the classic folk tale. Players control Robin Hood and the Merry Men and live as outlaws against King John. The choices they make, the places they go, and the secrets they find have lasting impacts on the game.
Choices don't just affect the story in The Adventures of Robin Hood. They change the board itself. The environment shifts and changes in response to the players' actions. Areas can become accessible or inaccessible. Secrets can be uncovered or hidden. No two games will ever tell the same story.
4 Oath: Chronicles Of Empire And Exile
1-6 Players
Players' decisions have so much impact in Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile that no two games will ever be exactly the same. Each session sets the stage for the next one. The consequences of every action permanently alter Oath's world.
Players can use any number of strategies to gain power and forward their agendas. However, what they do will determine the attitudes of the kingdom's rulers for generations to come. Future players will have to contend with the outcome. Oath can be played solo or in a group, and it doesn't have to be reset between different groups.
3 Forgotten Waters
3-7 Players
In the adventures of Forgotten Waters, players sail together on a pirate ship while trying to accomplish both their own narrative goals and serve a common interest. Forgotten Waters approaches the classic genre of high-seas piracy with whimsy and joy, placing comedic beats at every turn.
Players should take care to think through their ventures, however. Every choice can invoke consequences that ripple through the rest of the game's tale. Forgotten Waters encourages players to seek treasure in uncharted waters and check every detail of the world around them to see what they find.
2 Betrayal Legacy
3-5 Players
Gamers who enjoyed Betrayal at House on the Hill may have wondered why the mansion's reputation as a site of horrific tragedies never kept explorers away. Betrayal Legacy takes an in-depth look at the tapestries of tradition and superstition that can develop around such a place and the families whose lives become intertwined with it.
In the tradition of other legacy-style games, sessions of Betrayal Legacy build upon each other. The game tells the decades-long story of the infamous haunted house and its many legends. Items and characters can persist through the different chapters of the story, gaining useful information and skills as they go.
1 Gloomhaven: Jaws Of The Lion
1-4 Players
Gloomhaven is widely beloved among gaming enthusiasts for its narrative-driven, choice-based adventure. However, the expansive dungeon-crawler can require a significant commitment and learning curve for new players to overcome. Some want to enjoy a simpler version of Gloomhaven's story.
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is a prequel to the events of Gloomhaven. It comes with streamlined rules and setup to assist newcomers in acclimating to the game. Jaws of the Lion also replaces the original title's map tiles with maps included in the scenario book. As a result, the previously protracted setup process is much more efficient as well.