If you have a dinner party coming up, take a look at our top 10 best dinner party board games to keep the conversation going while the wine is flowing.
Board games are the perfect activity to break the ice and get to know people better. So, once you’ve finished off a delicious meal, crack open another bottle of wine, and play one of these board games best suited for a dinner party!
🏆 Our Top Picks for Best Dinner Party Board Games
In a hurry? Take a quick peek before you go.
Dixit: Odyssey
Players: 3-12
Playing time: 30mins
Age: 8+
Dixit: Odyssey is an imaginative game where players tell stories as their imaginations unlock the tale. In this creative guessing game, a player selects a card and thinks up a clue inspired by the card. Other players choose a card they think might match. Cards are then shuffled and a secret vote reveals the card that best matches.
With gorgeous dreamlike illustrations, players are immersed in fantastical situations and unexplored realms.
What we liked:
Dixit: Odyssey boasts beautiful artwork and a cool design. This easy-going and amusing game works well with groups and offers a ton of expansion packs. We liked that it is communicative as everyone is able to have a nice level of participation, and it is the perfect game for families and couples.
What could be better:
This fun deductive game should be reserved for creative types and even having memories in common with your opponents is useful. The scoring element tends to be a bit tricky but once you have the hang of it, it flows nicely.
If you’ve got a creative bunch at your dinner party, bring out Dixit: Odyssey!
Splendor
Players: 2-4
Playing time: 30mins
Age: 10+
Splendor takes place in the Renaissance period where players work to become the greatest gemstone merchants to acquire glory and prestige!
Players will try to take advantage of trade routes and master the gem trade to attract the wealthiest of nobles. But, building a commercial empire is no easy job. You’ll be investing in mines, sending ships to faraway lands, and recruiting the most renowned artisans.
Splendor is a game of strategy where players work to collect gem tokens to acquire cards, like mines, boats, storefronts, and caravans that’ll help develop their empire. Although it’s a strategy game, it’s easy to learn and set up, taking only 30 minutes until you can give your strategy another go!
What we liked
Playing the roles of merchants is bags of fun in this chip-collecting gem of a game. Splendor is a competitive and elegantly designed game with varying levels of complexity throughout. It can be an excellent intro to engine building and is pretty easy to teach to your peers. The chips are of top-notch quality too.
What could be better
There aren’t any huge decisions to be made and it can seem quite chaotic when there are more than 2 players. It is best used as a warmer as the theme will likely become tiring after a few plays.
The Resistance: Avalon
Players: 5-10
Playing time: 30mins
Age: 13+
Secret identities, deduction, and deception come together as good and evil battle it out to control civilization.
The Resistance: Avalon is set in foggy medieval mythology where King Arthur attempts to bring prosperity and honor to Britain’s future. With his brave warriors by his side, he’s sure to take charge and lead Britain to glory. But, among his brave warriors lurks Mordred’s corrupt minions. Merlin, one of Arthur’s most loyal servants, knows these agents of evil but can only talk in riddles.
Avalon is a standalone version of the Resistance that’s set in the fantasy world of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. It’s a fantastic party game and will let you know who among your friends is the best liar.
What we liked
The Resistance is an awesome social deduction game filled with spicy characters providing a true fantasy and medieval feeling. The game tends to shine best with around 7-11 players so it works well for a larger dinner party.
What could be better
Players with varying levels of experience may find that the game is over too quickly if errors are made by newer participants. If players are not great at bending the truth the game could suffer too.
Hunt a Killer: Death at the Dive Bar
Players: 1-6
Playing time: 30-180mins
Age: 14+
A group of like-minded women who enjoy relaxing to serial killer podcasts will do amazingly well at Hunt a Killer: Death at the Dive Bar. After all, hours upon hours of delving into the minds of killers has got to pay off somehow.
Hunt a Killer: Death at the Dive Bar is an immersive murder mystery experience where players become investigators, examining evidence, eliminating suspects, and trying to catch the killer. A murder has taken place in a local dive bar by a masked figure. All in the town are potential suspects. The death has been ruled an accident but foul play is suspected and you’ll need to prove it. To solve the crime, players will need to decode ciphers and try to piece together all the clues and evidence.
Hunt a Killer feels like you are actually solving a real-life murder mystery by engaging everyone in the game experience, making it a perfect option for dinner parties.
What we liked:
The physical components in this mystery game are of optimal quality and give it an escape room kind of vibe. It’s a simple whodunnit, rated as relatively easy, but the slow trickle of information learned while trying to crack the case makes it a super exciting challenge.
What could be better:
The storyline is pretty basic and figuring out the culprit wasn’t too difficult. The principal issue with this game is the lack of replay value.
Do you have what it takes to crack the codes and find the killer?
Coup
Players: 2-6
Playing time: 15mins
Age: 13+
Think you’re good at calling people’s bluffs? Coup will make you question everyone, turning a dinner party into an interrogation. But, like, in a fun way.
Coup is a very simple game to learn, beginners will pick it up quickly, but it’s not so easy to win. You’ll need to be cunning and know when to lay low and when to call your opponent’s bluff.
There are only 5 roles, Captain, Assassin, Ambassador, Duke, and Contessa, each with different abilities and powers. You’ll only get two cards, playing one action each turn. The game moves fast as you try to work out who’s being honest and who’s lying.
What we liked
Bluffing can be a barrel of fun especially when you have a fun bunch that can keep up. This hidden role game can provide endless amusement and has great replay value with expansions. Coup allows depth in the decision-making process yet it remains a simple enough game that doesn’t drag on.
What could be better
Weak liars will likely be eliminated soon in the game so this may be a bit demoralizing. It could benefit from being a bit longer or even having some extra twists.
These are turbulent times, you’ll need to bluff your way to absolute dinner table power.
Llamas Unleashed
Players: 2-8
Playing time: 30-45mins
Age: 14+
Llamas Unleashed is alpaca-ed with fun and excitement.
The creators of Unstable Unicorns are back with some hilarious llama-related puns. From the ‘illamanati’ to ‘alpacalypse’, farmageddon is upon us as the most epic barnyard battle breaks out.
Llamas Unleashed is a card game where the first person to collect seven llamas, goats, alpacas, or rams, wins! Pretty simple, but with magic, instant, upgrade, and downgrade cards you can progress to winning by destroying your fellow farms.
With hilarious puns and adorable artwork, the game is sure to be a hit at the dinner party!
What we liked:
The cute theme in Llamas Unleashed is a winner for us. They have the nice option of improving gameplay with expansions and it is an easy one to teach to your fellow diners. The game can be endless fun to play with the right group and it’s useful to have descriptions on the cards.
What could be better:
There is too much reading for some players and a lack of strategy, with a couple of really awesome cards but then not much else. Using the take-that system can be enjoyable but there are few cards that can cripple anyone, so you don’t get a chance to stop opponents as much as you may like.
Codenames: Pictures
Players: 2–8
Playing time: 15mins
Age: 14+
Codenames: Pictures takes a unique spin on the classic Codenames, adding mysterious pictures to confuse and decode.
Two rival spymasters know each of their agent’s locations. Can they contact their spies through coded messages, telling them where to go for clandestine meetings? Operatives must also be careful as a decoding mistake could lead to an assassin.
A game of clues and deduction, Codenames: Pictures has players race to be the first to contact all their agents, but only one team will be successful. If you’re planning a larger dinner party there’s a Codenames: Pictures XXL version to include all your guests.
What we liked
Codenames is a fantastic board game for large groups of non-gamers as playability is easy to grasp and for a dinner party challenge it offers just the right amount of competition and cooperation between players. The online version is also becoming increasingly popular.
What could be better
The game stays dependent on the cards which are in play at any moment in time but if played repetitively players may find it tedious. You might find yourself waiting impatiently for your team captain to link words together, and after a while, it could become unappealing.
Trash Pandas
Players: 2–4
Playing time: 15-20mins
Age: 8+
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
In Trash Pandas: the raucous raccoon game, players paw through the deck of day-old pizza, luscious leftovers, and half-eaten candy as you try to stash and trash your way to victory. Roll a die and collect tokens, as you’ll need them to perform actions. But, watch out for doggo and kitteh…if your opponents gain these cards, they’ll get a leg up on you!
Another one of Gamewright’s great card games, the more you roll, the more actions you can take so you’ll need to compete fiercely without getting too greedy.
What we liked:
Trash Pandas is a push-your-luck game that can be enjoyable for all demographics. It provides simple, yet slightly chaotic fun and impressive artwork!
It’s perfect for a dinner party as it shines best with 4 or more players and part of the excitement is figuring out what your opponents are stashing. The tactical elements involve the order of using tokens and deciding when to begin stashing versus saving cards to use later.
What could be better:
It can be difficult to mitigate the luck aspect of the game and the mechanics rely too much on it. It may work best as a filler during an evening of playing more strategic games.
Mountain Goats
Players: 2–4
Playing time: 20mins
Age: 6+
If it’s coming towards the end of the night but your guests want to play one more board game, Mountain Goats is perfect for the nightcap before everyone goes home.
Mountain Goats is a quick game where players try to get their goats to the top. You’ll work to move your goats up six different mountains. Although you can share spaces with other goats, once you reach the top, there can only be one goat king!
You’ll need to get your timing right as you try to reach the top of each mountain. Others might be there already trying to knock you off. Keep an eye on your opponents while still maximizing your score and goat king should be your title in no time!
What we liked:
The focus on timing can be a nice touch for learning new tactics. It’s a chilled and easy game for a dinner party as you could play with anyone and it’s easy to teach. Participants need to not only reach the top of the mountain but arrive when no one else is in a position to knock them off. We liked that it has a rapid playing time, meaning it can also be used as a quick filler.
What could be better:
It is not the most exhilarating game on this list and there are no real choices to be made. It could go stale after a few plays so maybe it is best to play with various groups to keep it interesting.
Blank Slate
Players: 3-8
Playing time: 20-35mins
Age: 8+
The game where great _____ think alike.
Blank Slates is a fun party game where you have to try to figure out what everyone’s thinking.
In each round of Blank Slate, a player picks a word cue card. Players then have to write a word they think best completes the card’s phrase. You’ll also try to match it to another player’s word while not giving a hint.
It’s super easy to learn and quick to play, making it a great choice of board game for guests of different gaming abilities.
What we liked:
This is a humorous party game, based on wordplay which is perfect for non-gamers and it is a breeze to learn the ropes. Playing with couples can be fun as you may find them trying to predict each other’s answers. The theme is cool and it’s another game that can be played by all types, young and old.
What could be better:
For those who enjoy high-intensity challenges this one doesn’t really tick that box. It also can drag on if you don’t have a high number of players so gather your dining buddies up in their droves before pulling this one out.
Wrap-Up
We hope you enjoyed our list of the best dinner party board games and after-dinner card games to keep your guests entertained long after dessert has been served! Social party games and easy-to-learn card games are a great way to finish off a delicious meal while the wine is still flowing.
We hope you’ve found the best board game for your dinner party guests! Have you tried any of the games on this list? Did we miss any of your dinner party favorites? Drop a comment below and let us know what you think! We’d love to hear from you.
Check out our video on the best party board games
Ready Player Christine. Since my first D&D game, which took a turn for the weird and wacky (probably my influence), the world of board and tabletop games came alive. Now today, I get to write about these fantastical, fictional, and downright fun worlds.