15 Beautiful Board Games With Great Artwork That Are Fun To Play

When you’re buying a new board game, there are a lot of factors you should consider. If you host a regular board game night, you might be catering to a wide group of people.

If you’re in a college crowd, you might be looking for a party game that has an edge or a bit of adult humor.

But what if you’re a fan of board games and appreciate the beautiful artwork that sometimes comes with them? Or maybe you just want something that could look good on a shelf or a coffee table.

Whether you just want something that looks nice or you appreciate the kind of art that can go with a good board game, there’s bound to be something for you on this list.

Here a list of some of the best board games that are, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful board games. And as a bonus, they’re actually fun to play as well.

15. Bookshelf Editions of Classic Games

If you’re purely looking for something aesthetic, I personally love the vintage bookshelf collections.

This style offers popular games such as Sorry, Clue, Scrabble and Monopoly. You can also buy some of them separately. A set of three will run you about $100 on Amazon, which isn’t bad considering one by itself can cost $30-40.

I own a couple of these, and although I store them with all the rest of my board games, they are quite beautiful.

Alternatively, wooden games are also a great choice if you want one to permanently set out on a table.

There’s almost nothing better than a classic board game like a wooden chess board or Chinese checkers board if you’re purely going for visually pleasing.

They don’t take up too much space and it’s a fun way to add classic games to your collection.

14. 7 Wonders Architects

Okay, now we’ll dive into some of the games that have amazing artwork on them.

In this game, players will gather materials and draft cards to build a wonder.

While the pieces are made of cardboard, they are beautifully designed. I love this game because it’s not overly complicated, and you get to build beautiful pieces of architecture.

7 Wonders Architects is a drafting and strategy game for kids and families that offers about 25 minutes of play time.

It can play 2-7 players. The game retails for about $50.

13. Pandemic

While this game became a bit too real for me in the era of 2020, the original Pandemic game is a classic among board gamers.

The game board itself features a map that wouldn’t look too out of place as a decoration.

If you have a regular crew to play with, Pandemic Legacy could be a great option for you because the game plays like a series, where one round will affect future play via stickers that attach to the board and carry over throughout the game’s life.

This cooperative strategy game plays 2-4 players and takes about 45 minutes to play.

12. Salem

Salem also comes in a vintage-looking book as its container, making this a beautiful game if you’re aiming for visually appealing decor.

This social deduction game is a mix of strategy, deceit and luck. It plays similar to Werewolf but a lot more on-the-nose since it’s a literal witch hunt.

The game retails for about $25 and can be played with a large group of people.

11. When I Dream

Since this game is all about dreaming, it’s no surprise that the cards feature a whimsical art style.

This game is based on the idea of our wildest dreams. Each card incorporates two different concepts rolled up into one piece of art since there are four clues on each double-sided card.

The artwork is fun, but this game is also just a good game to play. It’s more of a party game and can accommodate a larger group. However, it still involves a good amount of strategy.

At the start of the game, players take turns dreaming while the rest of the players take turns giving one-word clues. But be careful, the boogeymen will try to trick the dreamer.

The game has a fast pace and it’s easy to learn for new gamers, yet features enough of a challenge for experienced gamers.

It retails for about $40 on Amazon.

Read Also: When I Dream board game: How to play, rules and review

10. Evolution

This ecology game has beautiful artwork of creatures that explore the sometimes harsh reality of nature.

It’s a very well-balanced strategy game that can play 2-6 players.

The game also has expansion packs like Climate that can add the all-too-real element of climate effects that will help or hinder the survival of your creatures.

It retails for about $30. Evolution: Oceans (which is perhaps even more beautiful) retails for about $50.

9. Patchwork

This is a puzzle strategy game for two players. In this game, players work together to create a beautiful patchwork quilt out of the available patches.

This is one of the best two-player board games out there and only takes about 30 minutes to play.

It retails for about $30.

8. Mariposas

In this game designed by Elizabeth Hargrave, this game is all about beautiful butterflies.

The game pieces and elements have bright, beautiful colors that are contrasted by a dark board. It’s a relaxing game to play and one of my favorite games for a relaxing afternoon.

It has a similar style to Wingspan with a bit more of a push-your-luck element.

Read Also: Is Mariposas a good board game? A review and guide on how to play

7. Wingspan

Speaking of Wingspan, this beautiful board game was also designed by Hargrave, who is known for designing games based on her love of nature.

In this beautiful engine-building game, players collect birds, lay eggs and collect as many victory points as they can along the way.

The best thing about this game is that each card is unique. The game also comes with a bird feeder dice roller and nice, quality pieces for the eggs.

The game is beautiful and tactilely pleasing and overall fun to play.

Wingspan retails for about $45 on Amazon.

6. Tussie Mussie

Okay, clearly, I’m a fan of Elizabeth Hargrave games.

This simple game is themed around the meaning of flowers, found in the writings of famous authors. Since it’s small, it’s perfect for traveling.

The game features a draft where players draw two cards and offer one face-up and another face-down to their neighbors. At the end of the drafting rounds, players reveal and score their collection.

It’s a card game that moves pretty quickly and is a lot of fun.

5. Azul

Similar in concept to Patchwork, Azul is a tile-placement game where players become artisans to create the most beautiful mosaics.

To win, players place tiles into rows on their boards, collecting points by creating certain patterns.

Of course, the game has beautiful artwork and nice-quality, beautiful tile playing pieces.

Azul can play between 2-4 players. There are different versions of Azul, including Queen’s Garden and Glass of Sintra.

The game retails for about $30-40 on Amazon.

4. Obscurio

Of course, I had to include Obscurio on the list because it’s an image-based communication game.

There’s also a secret role element.

One player guides their team by providing image clues that correlate to images on doors to get them out. Players mostly work together. However, there’s a traitor on the team who will try to lead everyone astray.

The game has a lot of variety with many different scenarios and it’s very well designed with beautiful artwork.

It plays 2-8 people and retails for about $40.

3. Parks Board Game

It’s no surprise that a game about national parks would be inherently beautiful.

The game has gorgeous nature cards that feature artwork from the nation’s national parks.

In this immersive game, players score points by visiting as many of the uniquely illustrated parks as possible while taking photos along the way.

Parks is a strategy game that is also educational. The game retails for about $45 and plays between 1-5 people.

2. The Search for Planet X

Games that deal with planets and the solar system are the most gorgeous games on the market and it’s almost not even fair.

The Search for Planet X is a puzzle game where players take on the role of an astronomer, looking for the hidden Planet X.

The game comes with a companion app that players will use, along with their deduction skills, to determine where the new planet is located.

The Search for Planet X accommodates one to four players and is recommended for ages 13 and up. It retails for about $30 on Amazon.

1. Planet Earth 

Finally, Planet Earth is my absolute favorite game on the list because it’s unlike just about any other game on the market.

The game is a strategy and drafting game that lets players have their own piece of earth in their hands. Each player’s board is a 12-sided 3D Planet Core.

Players take turns drafting hexagonal tiles that represent a landscape to create the best ecosystem.

This game was one of the best-selling games at Gen Con.

It currently retails for about $30 on Amazon.

Do you have a beautiful game in mind that didn’t make the list? Let me know in the comments below.