It’s been said that three’s company and four is a crowd, but the old adage simply doesn’t hold true when it comes to tabletop gaming. In fact, some of the best board games are simply ideal for four players. Double date nights or small get-togethers with friends can often lead to the board game closet. It’s not hard to see why, either. Game nights bring people together. However, that’s assuming you’ve selected the right game for the group (and if your group is larger, see our roundup of the best 6 player board games).
Since there are virtually endless great recommendations in the gaming space, we’ve broken down this selection of multiplayer titles into three subsections: quick games, cooperative games, and competitive games. Quick games are perfect for anyone, but especially newer players and younger gamers. Cooperative games are also often great for teaching new players and keeping things civil. Finally, the competitive section is for those who want to put their skills, and potentially their personal relationships, to the test.
TL;DR - The Best 4-Player Board Games Are...
- The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
- Decrypto
- Love Letter
- Sushi Go
- Frosthaven / Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
- Letter Jam
- Pandemic Legacy
- Nemesis
- Dune: Imperium
- Gaia Project
- Root
- Terraforming Mars
- Wingspan
Quick Games
These titles are perfect for those looking to set up and complete a game in 30 minutes or less. Not only are these games ideal for when you have limited spare time, but they are also great for newer players who prefer to learn from experience. Get a practice game and a quick match completed in around an hour.
The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
The Crew: Mission Deep Sea follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, as a unique cooperative trick-taking game. While many titles in the genre are competitive, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea tweaks the formula by introducing mission objectives that force players to work together. Each trick goes to the player with the highest card, but it might not be in the group’s best interest for the player with the best hand to play it and win. As if this weren’t mind-bending enough, players are unable to verbally communicate about what specific cards they have in their hand. At around 20 minutes, games move quickly, but with 50 missions in the campaign, there is ample replayability here.
Decrypto
Decrypto is one of the best party games available, and it plays phenomenally well with four players. It is often compared to another popular word game, Codenames, but Decrypto sets itself apart with its ability to keep all players engaged at all times. Teams stand on opposite sides of the table, with only their codewords visible, and try to guess the order of the code based on a short series of clues and a handful of words provided by their teammate. The twist is, however, that the other team can start to guess the opposing team’s codewords as well. So while encrypters want to give good clues for their team, the real strategy lies in keeping the opposing team from guessing the codewords first.
Love Letter
Despite its name, Love Letter is less of a dating sim and more of a strategic card game where the last player left standing wins. Each card corresponds with a medieval character who is entrusted to deliver your love letter to the princess. The various characters within the game come with their own set of abilities designed to knock other potential suitors out of the running. The only hurdle keeping you from courting the princess is that other players are trying to eliminate you as well. The princess’ hand ultimately goes to the player that first wins four rounds. While there is plenty of strategy baked into Love Letter, the rules are easy enough to pick up in just one or two playthroughs.
A new version of Love Letter was released in 2019 that introduced two new cards, the Spy and the Chancellor, for additional strategy. This version is playable for up to six players but is generally considered to be best with groups of four. For those not interested in a medieval setting, there are also Marvel and Star Wars variants, Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game and Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace – A Love Letter Game.
Sushi Go
Sushi Go is an easy game to pick up — both figuratively and literally as the game itself comes in a rather compact package. The adorable sushi artwork is incredibly welcoming, as is its quick 15-minute runtime. Sushi Go is a drafting card game where players take one card per turn and hand the rest to the next player. Each adorably illustrated sushi-themed card contains points, and as you might be able to guess, the highest score at the end of the game wins. The twist here, however, is that certain cards can be combined to multiply totals. Concocting the right meal isn’t always easy as other players are likely after the same pieces as you, or, at the very least, might be trying to block you from collecting the right combination. Fast-food nigiri might not be a great idea, but Sushi Go makes bite-sized board games both fun and accessible.
Cooperative Games
Cooperative board games are perfect for teaching newer players, as everyone is typically working toward the same goal. They’re also great for friends and couples who don’t necessarily want to let the ultra-competitive sides of their personalities rage.
Frosthaven / Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
The incredibly popular board game Gloomhaven created a fantasy world that was deep enough to spend dozens of hours of strategy adventure with friends. The original game is currently out of print, but you can pick up the equally enormous Frosthaven, and the more streamlined offshoot Jaws of hte Lion, both of which take place in the same world. You can even use the same characters you create in both games. For those looking to dive into a fantasy world over the course of multiple play sessions, there is arguably no better tabletop epic out there.
Letter Jam
Letter Jam is a brilliant little cooperative word game. Each player gets a letter that sits in front of them, but they aren’t allowed to see it. Rather, players can only see the letters of other players. To help them discover what is on their card, each turn asks players to make words using only the available and visible letters on the board. Through observation, numbered tokens, and note-taking, players are tasked with guessing what letter is in front of them. The more players who can deduce the cards sitting in front of them and make a new word out of the available letters will help increase the collective score of the team.
Pandemic Legacy
If Ticket to Ride is the gateway board game for hardcore fanatics, then Pandemic is just a step further. It’s yet another board game that’s easy enough for newbies to pick up but deep enough to reward dedicated players. Pandemic Legacy builds on the premise of the original game but adds an overarching campaign that can be played over the course of 12-24 sessions. Pandemic Legacy still follows the core concepts of Pandemic, working together with a team of players to fight diseases around the world and contain outbreaks, but the added campaign introduces some permanent changes as the game goes on. Pandemic Legacy introduces objectives that need to be completed under certain time constraints. Doing so can reward players with helpful event cards. Not to mention, characters can gain new skills or even be lost entirely for the rest of the game depending on how certain events play out.
Nemesis
Nemesis is best described as an unofficial board game version of the movie Alien. Nemesis is mentioned last in this section because it can be played as either a cooperative or competitive game. Arguably, the survival horror game set on an alien-infested board is best experienced as a semi-cooperative game thanks to some backstabbing elements and hidden objective cards. Sure, starting out as a purely cooperative game is great for teaching first-time players, but many will argue that the semi-co-op approach offers the truest experience. Not to mention, the tension of not knowing who to trust while also running away from bloodthirsty aliens only adds to the horror atmosphere that makes Nemesis great. Nemesis isn’t the easiest game to grasp, but its depth of content between combat and crafting is rewarding for those who want to dive into a gripping sci-fi adventure.
Competitive Games
Competitive games can make holidays and get-togethers with friends quite heated, but sometimes, it’s worth it to crown a winner. Sure, you might let out a side of yourself that isn’t pretty, but it’s all in good fun. At least, that’s what you tell yourself.
Dune: Imperium
Dune: Imperium takes the characters, setting, and political intrigue from the world of Dune and bundles it into a deep deck-building game. Warring houses are pitted against each other to gain influence from alliances and command the desert planet of Arrakis. As in the legendary novel and subsequent film series, maintaining resources and mining spice is important, as is keeping an eye on enemy factions. Featuring characters from Frank Herbert’s popular novel (many of which are illustrated to appear as they do in the Denis Villeneuve film series), the game is specially built for fans of the sci-fi franchise, but it’s fun enough for strategy game fans with little interest in Dune itself.
Gaia Project
Set in the Terra Mystica universe, Project Gaia is in many ways similar to its predecessor. Considering that many believe the original to be one of the best board games of all time, that’s certainly a good thing. Like Terra Mystica, Project Gaia is a deep tabletop experience that will likely take a few playthroughs before fully getting into the swing of things. Project Gaia is all about terraforming and colonizing neighboring planets to control the galaxy. Each player commands a different faction which comes with its own unique strengths. Still, players will want to invest in areas of development to make future colonization even easier. With an ever-changing board, however, no two games are ever the same, and with 14 different playable factions, there is already ample replayability built in.
Root
Don’t let the cutesy aesthetic fool you, Root is a hardcore asymmetric war board game with multiple different factions. As each of the various factions plays drastically differently from each other, learning and mastering one is key to getting a knack of the game before trying out other playstyles. In fact, Root is a game in which each player should come in well-prepared for the optimal experience. Sure, this requires a bit of overhead, but a dedicated group can really get a lot out of this experience. While it’s not the easiest game to get into for this reason, Root is a true gem that opens up to a core group of dedicated players who are willing to invest some time into learning the various ins and outs of the lore and gameplay.
While factions in other games might have different stats or starting bonuses, the various groups of woodland creatures in Root each play more or less like their own game. This also makes having at least a working knowledge of the other factions important in order to properly strategize. Once you have the base game fully figured out, Root offers several expansions that add even more worthwhile factions to try out. Check out our Root Buying Guide for more info on that.
Terraforming Mars
Players take on the role of rival CEOs in the 2400s to make Mars habitable for mankind. The initial phases of the game are cooperative as the mega-corporations work together to raise the temperature, oxygen level, and ocean coverage of Mars, but strategic players should always be concerned with the long-term strategy of winning victory points for end-game rankings. The drafting system with various drafting cards is what makes Terraforming Mars unique and keeps any two playthroughs from feeling the same. Cards collected can award bonuses and even hinder other players, making Terraforming Mars a thrilling competitive experience. The game ends when terraforming is complete, and the player with the most VPs at this point is the winner.
Wingspan
Taking the niche hobby of bird-watching and turning it into a board game might seem like an odd choice at first glance, but Wingspan has won over audiences to become one of the most popular titles in recent memory. Much of Wingspan’s success can be attributed to the beautifully crafted game pieces as well as its addicting gameplay loop.
The main goal of Wingspan is to play various bird cards, each of which is accompanied by a corresponding point total. However, as each bird comes with their own food and habitat requirements, playing valuable cards is easier said than done. Birds also come with their own unique bonuses, transforming the board into a sort of growing ecosystem that can later aid in playing more advanced cards. While scoring the most points to win the game is the ultimate goal of Wingspan, admiring the beautifully hand-painted cards and the bird-feeder-styled dice roller makes simply playing a joyful act in its own right.
While we have age recommendations listed with each title, feel free to check out our best board games for kids for experiences specifically tailored toward younger audiences. Additionally, we have compiled a list of the best board games for two players with even more great picks.
Bobby Anhalt is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering board games and LEGOs. He has more than 8 years of experience writing about the gaming industry with bylines at Game Rant, Screen Rant, TheXboxHub, and Ranker. You can follow him on Twitter @BobbyAnhalt.
