Get ready to save the world alongside your favourite superheroes as we check out the best Marvel board games of all time!
We love video games and films – it comes with the job, after all. But sometimes, we need to switch off our screens and get nerdy with our friends around a table, making time for some old-school couch co-op that allows us to be in the same room at the same time and engaging in real life.
Well, real life that features super heroes and evil villains making our lives as annoying as possible, but you know what I mean.
From epic tabletop card games to family-friendly titles for all abilities, this list of marvel-tastic games will keep you occupied for hours, putting a smile on your face if you win and greatly reducing your friend count if you lose.
Which titles made the cut, and which game has taken the top spot?
Stop looking at your reflection in Captain America’s shield and let’s find out!
15. Marvel Captain America: Civil War Risk
First up in our list of the best Marvel board games is Marvel Captain America: Civil War Risk, a new spin on the classic conquering game with characters from the Captain America: Civil War film.
Instead of playing as elves or orcs in the the LOTR version or Enclave of the Bear in Risk Legacy (this nerd knows his Risk games!), four players can choose between Team Iron Man or Team Captain America.
This version isn’t as long as the usual Risk, with the action only lasting 5 turns per person. Still, it’s a nice alternative if you just want to play while on holiday or don’t have 8 hours spare to wait for your mates to take their turns.
I’m looking at you Josh and Danny… and I know you’ll be reading this!
14. Clue Junior: Marvel Avengers
Cluedo, or Clue as our American friends call it, has received the Marvel treatment in our next board game. Clue Junior: Marvel Avengers is designed for younger mystery hunters and features less murder but still a decent amount of strategy to keep adults involved too.
Instead of finding out who killed who with the lead piping in the kitchen, players must solve what Loki has stolen from the Avengers. You’re finding out who he’s tricked, when he fled the scene, and what he took with him.
The character pieces are amazing too. Take control of Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Iron Man, Black Panther, Captain America, and Hulk as you figure out clues and try to be the first to guess the mystery!
13. Marvel Crisis Protocol
Marvel Crisis Protocol takes the 13th spot in our list of the best Marvel Board games. Like the Marvel version of Risk that started this list, it’s a tactical game that will test your grey cells to the max.
If you’re into your Warhammer, then this game will be right up your street. 5 heroes, 5 villains, all in miniature plastic models that must be painted up before you play. It’s for ages 14 and up, so isn’t exactly one for the younger kids… or adults with zero patience.
See Captain America go up against Red Skull, Spiderman vs Doctor Octopus, and many more skirmishes between classic characters.
And the best bit is that you can either choose to save the world or conquer it. Bad guys are always the best, right?
12. Marvel Top Trumps Match Board
Matching games are always good fun and don’t require oodles of noodle power. But as we’re learning from this list, giving anything the Marvel treatment makes it even better. Enter the Marvel Top Trumps Match Board!
There are 15 characters to match in this exciting game, with players making rows in all directions.
But there’s a twist; your opponent might be able to steal your victory by turning over their top trump card and taking your matched row.
Talk about sneaky!
This is a great game for kids and adults to play that doesn’t require a lot of learning time.
11. Marvel Collectors Chess Set
This slick Marvel Collectors Chess Set takes the 11th spot in our best Marvel board game list!
We’re big fans of chess here at Retro Dodo Towers. It doesn’t mean that we’re very good at it, but we do love collecting different themed sets from our favourite series and comic books.
There’s a reason Harry Potter Chess topped out our best Lego Board games, after all!
As you might have guessed from the symbols on the front cover, it’s Hydra vs S.H.I.E.L.D on the checkered battlefield. Instead of kings and queens, players move Thanos, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Hella, Venom, Black Panther, Spiderman, and many other classic characters from the comics and films.
It’s Chess 2.0, adding an extra element of fun that will undoubtedly bring new fans to the classic game.
10. Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War
Thanos is one scary dude, and it’s going to take all your skill and courage along with up to three of your friends to take him down in Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War.
Gather around the table and work together making teams of Marvel characters before leading them into battle against Thanos’ forces.
Take team leaders such as Doctor Strange on a mission to recruit other characters like Bucky Barnes, getting the gang back together for a showdown with the universe’s most evil villain.
9. Marvel Guess Who
Marvel Guess Who is a simple game to play for all ages. You’ve most probably played the original Guess Who, a game where you ask yes or no questions such as ‘am I a man’ or ‘am I wearing a hat’.
Well, the same rules apply in the Marvel version of the game, but players now ask questions like ‘can I fly’, or ‘do I have super powers’!
Pick a card, place it in your card slot, and try to guess which character your opponent has picked before they guess yours!
8. Marvel United
If you’re a big fan of in-depth card-based tabletop games, then Marvel United needs to be in your online basket.
Play as one of your favourite Avengers as, you guessed it, your character tries to stop a super villain from conquering the world.
Up to 4 players can take on one of three bad guys, each of the villain’s actions controlled by taking out a card from a deck. It’s a strategic game that, if playing co-operatively, requires gamers to combine their strengths and super powers to overcome tricky obstacles and problems.
In a way, you get to play a different story every time you play even though there are only 3 villains, giving you some serious value for money!
7. Marvel Spider-Man Web Warriors Chutes & Ladders
If you’ve ever played a version of Chutes and Ladders as a child, then Marvel Spider-Man Web Warriors Chutes & Ladders should be pretty easy to grasp from the get-go. It’s the same game with a Spidey theme, and players can choose different characters from the series to use while gaming.
I’ve always known this game as Snakes and Ladders, so if you’re confused as to what’s going on, then that’s probably why.
Spin the spinner to figure out how many spaces you move and watch out for the chutes, otherwise you could be heading right back to the start!
6. Marvel Avengers Monopoly
Marvel Avengers Monopoly takes the 6th spot in our best Marvel Avengers board games list, giving all those Monopoly fans a superhero twist to the game that makes or breaks families.
Seriously, my family has stopped playing this game with me because I get so competitive, and my friend Josh received all his girlfriends cards to the face the last time we had a game.
The premise is the same as always, just with different Avengers pieces to use instead of the iron and the dog, and characters from the films to buy instead of of streets.
Instead of stations, however, players must battle the Children of Thanos by rolling a dice. It’s a nice little twist and adds an extra competetive element to the formula… something which I clearly don’t need any more of!
5. Marvel: Villainous
Marvel Villainous puts you in the shoes of an evil villain, though you might well have got as much from the game title.
It’s quite exciting trying to beat back the heroes as the villains for once instead of the other way around. Playing as Thanos or Killmonger definitely excites me more than having to use Iron Man every time I step into a Marvel game. It’s the reason why I’m always Darth Vader in Star Wars games too – bad guys rule!
This is another card game that up to 4 players can take on, and the great thing is that you can make is as difficult as you want with rounds lasting around an hour, perfect for families to crack out on an evening or you and your friends to smash out a couple of rounds with some beers on a weekend.
4. Marvel Munchkin
Marvel Munchkin is certainly the most well known Marvel tabletop game in existence. It’s another card game, this time one for the dungeon crawler fans out there to step into.
And, with scope for up to 6 people to play, it can get very intense incredibly quickly!
Slay monsters and carry out scenarios in the same vain as Dungeons and Dragons or Magic the Gathering.
Fuse superpowers, build up a team of mighty heroes, battle enemies and steal their loot. It’s easy to grasp and has a long replayability value that will keep you coming back time and time again!
3. Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
While Marvel Munchkin is the most well known card game, Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game beats it hands down for me. And that’s not just for J. Jonah Jameson looking angry on the front cover!
The premise is just a little bizarre, which if you know anything about the games I like is why Legendary is taking the bronze medal in our best Marvel Board games list. I mean, any board game that sees Howard the Duck and Jessica Jones teaming up is always going to be well worth your time, right?
Weirdly, J. Jonah Jameson is the antagonist in this game, and along with other henchmen in his employ, is trying to stop the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D from carrying out his evil plots.
The plots in question are decided at the beginning of the game by figuring out what scheme you and your friends are trying to stop. Once the scheme is decided, it’s up to you to save bystanders, avoid wound cards, and save the day before the bad guys win.
This game is probably as close as you’re going to get to acting out a comic book story for yourself in real time. While I love the characters, they’re not the main attraction when it comes to the MCU, which is why I’ve resigned myself to putting Legendary in 3rd place.
Still, at least it’s ranked in the the top 3; let’s see which other titles pipped it to the post!
2. Splendor: Marvel
Thanos is one evil looking dude, but he certainly makes the cover of Splendor: Marvel look unbelievably epic.
Splendor is a great game in its own right, but when you add Marvel characters to the mix and a mission to get all the Infinity Stones before Thanos can wreak havoc on the world, then you suddenly take a game that was already at 10 and turn it up to 11!
Work through the game becoming more powerful as you aim to recruit stronger characters, gather infinity points, and eventually take down Thanos before he has a chance to click those fingers and reduce the universe’s population!
Can Dr. Strange, Captain America, and the gang stop the purple powerhouse in time? Play to find out!
1. Marvel Champions
The results are in, the Avengers have made their final stand, and Marvel Champions is officially the best Marvel Board game of all time!
Superheroes are teaming up to stop villains from carrying out dastardly schemes, and you and up to 3 friends must work together to save the world!
The counters, battle cards, and character cards are perfectly created in comic book style with so many scenarios for players to act out. Stop Rhino from causing pandemonium, Ultron from destroying the world; the terrible possibilities are endless!
And keep in mind that this is the ‘base edition, meaning that there are more stories, characters, twists, and turns to add into the equation that are being released all of the time!
If you’re looking for a game that’s wholly immersive and one that has some serious longevity, then look no further! Marvel Champions is a firm favourite of the Retro dodo team, and we hope you enjoy playing it as much as us in the future!
Seb Santabarbara has bought every Nintendo console that has ever been released in his 31 years on Planet Earth. His favourite game franchise is Zelda, and he’s patiently waiting for Banjo-Kazooie to come back to the fold. When he’s not playing games, he’s travelling the world in his self-converted camper van.
