Do you hear the screams? Do you smell the beer and chili dip? You guessed it, folks, NFL time is here! It might not be September 9th, but there is no better time than tonight to gather some of your rowdy friends, and throw down on a football-themed game night! Please avoid any harsh tackles over losing – GameCows does not condone football-themed violence.
Since most of these games have a playing time dependent on football knowledge, it is up to you as to how quickly you will secure a touchdown or go home empty-handed. Let’s play ball!
Check out our best NFL Football board games below.
🏆 Our Top Picks for Best NFL Board Games
In a hurry? Take a quick peek before you go.
Blitz Champz
Blitz Champz is a new game designed by Adrienne Smith, a gold medalist and national tackle football champion.
Blitz Champz is a perfect game for kids who are interested in football. It introduces a lot of football concepts that are easy to learn for younger crowds and helps sharpen rudimentary math skills.
Blitz Champz isn’t just for kids either. It’s extremely portable and quick to play making it the perfect football game for on-the-go and tailgate parties.
Spot It! NFL Edition
Players: 2-8
“Spot It!” is a game for all age ranges, as you can make it whatever you want.
Want to play a quick find-and-match game with the kiddos? Memory practice with Grandpa and Grams? Or possibly you’re aiming to test your friend’s drunk levels by making it a drinking game?
This NFL spinner is set up with multiple circle cards to which you must match a symbol as quickly as possible. Between any two cards has one matching symbol, so no excuses when you can’t find two 49ers symbols.
Keep your eyes on the ball!
NFL Matching Game
Players: Up to You!
If you think you have a young footballer in the family, start them young with this tile-matching game. This is best for children above three years of age and focuses primarily on picture recognition and memory.
You can play as teams, individuals, or just test your own focus one on one with the tiles. You will not run out of choices quickly as it features 32 different teams. Now, where was that Chiefs card again?
Go Long! Football Dice Game
Players: 1+
In the mood for a quick tailgate round? Grab a cold one, roll some dice and check your fate.
Your goal is to score a touchdown within 60 seconds, grab some two-point conversions, and kick as many field goals as you can muster whilst you plunder to the goal. This is an easy game to pack up and travel with, perfect for kids and adults alike.
Test your luck and see if you deserve a Superbowl Ring!
NFL Showdown
Players: 2
Are you feeling offensive or defensive? Either way, bring the heat as you face off against your opponent in this strategy-based card game.
Showdown includes all of the 32 NFL teams, assigns them a personal strength, and then the rest of the choices are yours! The game comes with Rookie mode for the newbies, and Pro Mode for the superfans so replayability is high.
Pick a play from your team’s playbook, and choose to kick a goal, play big, turn over the ball, catch a throw, and more!
Big Sunday
Big Sunday is the best game on the list for die-hard football fanatics.
The playbook is comparable to real-world football play-outs, listing countless cause-and-effect actions: fumbles, penalties, sacks, interceptions, blocked kicks, running, kicking, and more! It is more technical in the gameplay and the closest game on the market to playing real football.
The 2-minute warning adds a speedy dimension to the mix, and will have you making some quick plays!
NFL Checkers
Players: 2
Unless your childhood was completely without fun, then it is a solid bet you have played checkers. The NFL version lets you personalize your game pieces, so whatever match-up you have been missing on the field, bring it to the table.
Game rules are the same as classic checkers, but when you are crowned king, your majesty parades amongst the table in a football outfit. You can do this as well if you are feeling extra festive and have an old football jersey lying around.
1st & Roll
Players: 2-4
One of the longer games on the list, 1st and Roll plays out at about 60 minutes playing time. The board is different too — featuring a magnetic playing field and customized dice. The rules change based on the number of players so expect new strategies for each round.
It is all about defense versus offense: do you think you can read your opponent’s plays? If the offense has a leg up on you, they will score yards that you will have to gain back in order to win. Players make calls from the cards in their hands and it is vital to have the right dice to carry out your plays. You won’t know what is coming until the opponent reveals their play simultaneously — then first to score a touchdown wins!
NFL-Opoly Junior
Players: 2-4
Monopoly, another cult classic board game, with an added NFL twist. As it is the Junior version, you can play with most age ranges effortlessly. Choose your team alliance and set out to run rounds drafting, trading, and collecting the players you want for your ultimate victory!
Try to keep personal player opinions to yourself, as you will still need the same cards of a color to succeed in the NFL. Don’t worry, when you go to jail in this game, you’re bonded out within 24 hours.
Honorable Mention: Bloodbowl
If you’re looking for a more intense game to play, why not look into some collectible miniatures games that are football-centric?
Blood Bowl comes from the creators of Warhammer and they’ve taken their fantasy franchise and created an American Football miniatures game using iconic Warhammer factions. Players can create their own teams like the hobbit team Greenfield Grasshuggers, the ork’s Gouged Eye, or my personal favorite, the Skavenblight Scramblers.
These are definitely more of a hobby than a simple board game and they come with a rather expensive entry cost which is why they only get an honorable mention instead of their own feature.
MasterPieces NFL
Wrap-Up
We hope you enjoyed our list of the best NFL board games and American football tabletop games! Did we miss any of your favorites? Have you played any of the games on this list? Drop a comment below! We’d love to hear from you.
Lurking deep in the dungeon is an intermediate board gamer, testing her luck in Clank! When Jess isn’t writing about board games, she’s probably at a gaming cafe learning the ropes of a new game or savagely harvesting wheat in Catan. Her favorite types of games are deck-building, strategy table toppers, or social deduction thrillers like Werewolf. If you don’t see her after dark, you know why.