Indoor table games at a glance
“Indoor table games” is a loose label. It covers anything you play seated at a table: board games, card games, dice games, tile games, and party games. The list below groups well-known examples by the kind of evening you want. Player counts and ages are approximate and can vary by edition, so check the box before buying.
Strategy and tile-laying games
These suit players who like thinking a few moves ahead without an hours-long commitment.
- Ingenious: a tile-laying game where you score in six colors and are held back by your weakest one. Our Ingenious review covers it in detail.
- Qwirkle: match tiles by color or shape in lines.
- Carcassonne: build a medieval landscape with tiles and place followers.
- Ticket to Ride: collect cards and claim train routes across a map.
- Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon: classic two-player games that need only a board and pieces.
Party and word games
Good for larger groups and mixed experience levels.
- Hues and Cues: a color-guessing game for larger groups. See our Hues and Cues review.
- Codenames: teams give one-word clues to find their agents.
- Scrabble and Boggle: word-building classics.
- Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity: judge-based card games, the latter for adults only.
Cooperative games
Players win or lose together, which can be friendlier for mixed groups.
- Pandemic: a team races to stop disease outbreaks.
- Forbidden Island: a lighter co-op about collecting treasures.
- The Lord of the Rings co-op by Reiner Knizia: hobbits work together to carry the Ring. Read our Lord of the Rings board game review.
Classic family and card games
- Monopoly, Clue, and Sorry!: widely known, easy to find.
- Uno and Go Fish: quick card games. For something with more melding, try a rummy-style game such as Five Crowns or Tripoley.
- Yahtzee: a dice game with simple rules.
- Dominoes: flexible, with many rule variants.
Games for young children
Young players do best with short games and simple rules. For counting and early number skills, see our guide to preschool math board games.
Groups who want a story-driven evening can also try a role-playing game; our D&D beginners guide explains how to start, and best solo tabletop RPGs covers options when you cannot gather a group.
How to choose
- Count your players. Some games work only for two, others scale to ten.
- Check the age range and rules weight. A game that takes 30 minutes to explain may sit unplayed.
- Think about competition. Co-ops suit groups where some players dislike losing to each other.
- Match the time. Many party games run under 30 minutes, while heavier strategy games can run longer.
FAQ
What are some popular indoor table games?
Chess, Scrabble, Monopoly, Uno, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, and Codenames are common choices.
What are some good indoor games for a big group?
Party games such as Codenames or Hues and Cues are designed to handle several players at once.
What are some good two-player indoor games?
Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, and many modern two-player boxes, such as the Lord of the Rings Duel for Middle-earth, work well for pairs.