The best board games to play online in 2026

What is the best board game to play online?

Wingspan, Terraforming Mars and Ticket to Ride are the safest picks for a strategy night online, Codenames is the best free game for a video call, and Root is the best for two to four players who like a fight. For a Catan-style trading game, we suggest Hearthsea, which we make.

This list covers board games that play well online, as digital editions or browser tables, not the new boxes released in 2026. For each one we give where to play it, what that costs and how many people it seats. Prices are US list prices from Steam or the game’s own site, checked on 11 October 2026. Player counts are those of the board game; a digital edition can differ, so check the store page.

One disclosure: Hearthsea is our game. It is on the list because it fills a slot the others don’t, a hex-island trading game that runs in a phone browser, and we explain below what it does and where it falls short.

The list at a glance

Hearthsea’s free account plays 3 games a day against bots or pass-and-play; online rooms need the host to have a pass, from $3.99 a month.

Which strategy board games play best online?

The strategy games that work best online are the ones with official digital editions, because the app handles the bookkeeping. Wingspan, Terraforming Mars and Root all have one on Steam, priced at $14.99 to $19.99.

Wingspan

Wingspan is a card game about attracting birds to your wildlife preserves, where each bird you play makes the next turn stronger. The digital edition costs $19.99 on Steam. Online, the app does the scoring and the end-of-round goals for you, which is most of the table admin in the box version. It suits a group that wants a relaxed game with real decisions.

Terraforming Mars

Terraforming Mars has each player run a corporation raising the temperature, oxygen and oceans on Mars, with hundreds of different project cards. The digital edition is $19.99 on Steam. It is a long game, so it suits a group with a full evening, and the digital edition saves you from setting up and scoring a table full of cubes.

Root

Root is an asymmetric war game for 2 to 4 players in which each faction of woodland animals plays by its own rules. The digital edition costs $14.99 on Steam. Because every faction is different, learning it in an app that enforces each faction’s rules is easier than learning it from the rulebook at a table.

Hearthsea: a Catan-style trading game

Catan deserves a slot on any list of online board games, and there are several ways to play it. The official app is CATAN Universe, Board Game Arena hosts a licensed CATAN table, and Colonist is the busiest browser site. Our head-to-head of Colonist, CATAN Universe, BGA and Hearthsea compares them row by row.

We put Hearthsea in this slot because it covers the cases the others leave open. It is an independent hex-island game, not affiliated with CATAN GmbH, where you settle, roll for resources, trade and build. It runs in any phone, tablet or desktop browser without an app, seats 2 to 6 at every table, and has 46 maps in three modes: Classic, Seafarers with ships and fog, and Highlands, with cliffs, copper mines and a yeti. Its three bot levels make and answer trade offers, so a solo game still has a market.

Hearthsea needs a free account. That account plays 3 games a day against bots or pass-and-play on four maps; a pass for each mode, from $3.99 a month, adds every map of that mode, online rooms and quick match. At a friends’ table only the host needs one. The pricing page has the details.

Hearthsea needs a free account, and with it every mode, all 46 maps, online rooms and quick match are free, with no daily limit. Cosmetics such as dice, frames, house themes and pets are sold separately and never change the rules.

Where it falls short: it isn’t the official game, it has no Cities & Knights, and as a new game it has a smaller crowd for matchmaking than Colonist.

Which games suit new players and mixed groups?

Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne and Splendor are the easiest to teach over a call. Each takes a few minutes to explain, and the digital editions cost $9.99 to $14.99 on Steam.

Ticket to Ride

You collect coloured train cards and claim routes between cities to complete secret tickets. The current digital edition, released in 2024, costs $14.99 on Steam. The older Classic Edition is no longer sold there, so if a friend bought that one years ago, check which edition they have before you plan a game.

Carcassonne

Players draw and place tiles to build a medieval landscape of cities, roads and fields, then score them with their followers. The digital version, Carcassonne: Tiles & Tactics, is $9.99 on Steam. It plays well with two, and games are short.

Splendor

Splendor is a race to buy gem cards that make the next card cheaper. The digital edition is $9.99 on Steam. A game is quick, the rules fit in a paragraph, and it is a good warm-up before something longer.

What is the best party game for a video call?

Codenames. The official browser version at codenames.game is free: you type a nickname, share the room’s link, and nobody needs an account or a download.

Two teams each have a spymaster who gives one-word clues to point their team at the right words on a grid of 25. Because the game is all talking, it works on any video call, and teams can be as big as your call. For other free games you can open in a browser with friends, see our list of free board games to play online with friends.

Can you still play Pandemic online?

Yes, on Board Game Arena. The Asmodee digital edition was delisted from Steam and mobile stores in January 2022, so you can’t buy it any more, but BGA hosts the game in the browser.

In Pandemic the players are a team of specialists trying to cure four diseases before outbreaks spread too far, and everyone wins or loses together. That makes it a good choice for a group that doesn’t enjoy beating each other. Board Game Arena is free to join. Some games on BGA are Premium, which means one player at the table needs a Premium membership to create it, so check the Pandemic game page before your session.

What is the best online board game for 2 players?

Rivals for CATAN, if you both like Catan. It is the two-player card game in the Catan family, and you can play it in the CATAN Universe app.

CATAN Universe is a free download, and its FAQ says Rivals for CATAN is unlocked with CATAN Gold, the app’s currency. On iOS, Gold packs start at $2.99 for 200. We couldn’t confirm how much Gold Rivals costs in 2026, so check in the app. The Steam version also includes a free introduction to the Duel.

Carcassonne, Splendor and Root also work well with two. If you want a hex-island game for two, our guide to two-player Catan-style games covers how the rules change.

Is Tabletop Simulator worth it?

Tabletop Simulator is worth its $19.99 if your group wants to play games that have no official digital edition. It is a physics sandbox: the table moves pieces, and the players enforce the rules themselves.

Tabletop Simulator

You pick up, roll and flip pieces by hand, as you would at a real table, and the rules are up to you. That makes it flexible and slower than a dedicated app. It costs $19.99 on Steam. Check whether everyone in your group needs a copy before you plan around it.

Tabletopia

Tabletopia is the free alternative: a virtual table in the browser and on Steam, with a free Bronze plan. More than 100 premium games and setups need a paid Silver or Gold plan, and only Gold lets free and guest players join your premium games. Video chat needs one premium player at the table. There is a 7-day free trial. We couldn’t verify the current Silver and Gold prices.

Board Game Arena sits between these two. It enforces the rules like an app, lists 1,403 games, and is free to join; some of its games need one Premium player to create the table.

How we picked

We chose games that have a working way to play online in October 2026, an official digital edition, a licensed browser table or a free official web version, and we left out games you can only play in person. We grouped them by the kind of night they suit and gave each a price you can check. If a game you love isn’t here, Board Game Arena’s catalogue or Tabletopia is the first place to look.

Questions people ask

Sources

Steam prices are US list prices with no discount, read on 11 October 2026. Facts about Hearthsea come from the game and its pricing and rules pages.

1. Wingspan on Steam
2. Terraforming Mars on Steam
3. Root on Steam
4. Ticket to Ride (2024) on Steam
5. Ticket to Ride Classic Edition on Steam
6. Carcassonne: Tiles & Tactics on Steam
7. Splendor on Steam
8. Codenames Online
9. PC Gamer: Pandemic delisted from Steam
10. CATAN Universe FAQ: Rivals for CATAN and CATAN Gold
11. CATAN Universe on the App Store: Gold prices
12. CATAN Universe on Steam
13. Tabletop Simulator on Steam
14. Tabletopia: player plans
15. Board Game Arena home page
16. Board Game Arena: Premium games

Keep reading

• How to play a Catan-style game with two players7 min read
• Games like Catan you can play online in 20266 min read
• How to play a Catan-style game online with friends5 min read

CATAN is a registered trademark of Catan GmbH. Hearthsea is an independent game and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Catan GmbH or its publishers. Other game names belong to their owners and are used here only to describe and compare.