15 Best board games from the ’70s you can play today

While board games have certainly improved quality in the last ten years or so leading up to 2024, they’ve been around for decades and have always been fun. Sometimes, looking back and finding your old favorites is fun, especially if they’re board games from the ’70s.

While I didn’t grow up in the ’70s, and you might not have either, some of the biggest banger board games were initially released during that period. The great thing about board games is that the potential for replayability is a huge part of what makes them enjoyable. If you know, you can sit down for hours and have a game that’s completely different from your last, and the next one you’ll play, you’re onto a winner. That’s been synonymous with the best board games of every era ever since we first started playing them.

The best board games from the ’70s you can play today

Below, I’ve listed the best board games first released in the ’70s that you can still play today. They’re ranked in order from worst at the top at #15 to the best at the bottom at #1. But they’re all brilliant in their own way. With so many board games on the market today, I can’t call any of these bad, but some are definitely better than others. If you can’t see one you remember, that’s probably because it’s not in print anymore, because so few have survived to see reprints and new versions.

15. Downfall (1970)

Downfall is a simple game, but one that you can play over and over again without it becoming too boring. Each player starts with a token at the top of the game and must take turns turning each circle to get it to move down to the bottom. The circles are different for each player, so turning one circle could help your opponent, and they could hinder you by turning one of theirs. The goal is to beat your opponent and get your token out first, but you’ve got to be strategic about when you move each circle and how much by.

14. Mastermind (1970)

In Mastermind, you and your opponents take turns setting codes for each other to break. You have a limited number of attempts, but your opponent must give you clues with each guess to help you break the code in as few turns as possible. It’s a great little game that has a lot of replay value, especially if you only play once per week.

13. Connect 4 (1974)

Connect 4 is a game that needs no introduction. Players each have a set of yellow or red tokens and must line up four in a row in a 6 X 7 grid as they take turns trying to best each other. You can make a line of four vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, but you’ve got to try to draw your opponent’s attention away from what you’re doing if you want to win. This is as much a game about manipulating the other player as it is about placing tokens.

12. Boggle (1972)

I’ve been playing Boggle for decades. It’s a game in which each player must write down as many words as they can from the letters on show within the time limit. Each round requires you to put the lid on the board and shape up the cubes, each of which has letters on every side. Once they’ve settled, the lid comes off, and the timer starts, and it’s your job to seek out as many words of four letters or more. However, if someone else guesses your word, then no one scores for that one. So you’ve got to think of words you don’t think your opponents will.

11. Panzer (1979)

Panzer is a classic ’70s board game that puts you in control of squads of varying sizes in conflicts and scenarios based on real wars. This is definitely a game for a World War 1 & 2 enthusiast who enjoys the idea of a lone squad working against the odds or a massive battalion wiping out the enemy. There are many expansions that add even more scenarios and give it a lot more replayability, which is essential if you want to test your mettle against some truly grueling encounters.

10. The Game of Jaws (1975)

The Game of Jaws has been updated in recent years, but the spirit of the game is still very much as it was when it was initially released in 1975. Yes, this is a board game inspired by the incredible movie, and you get to play as either the titular shark or those hunting it. The asymmetrical style of gameplay allows players to work against one another to terrorize and save the people of Amity Island and then go in for another round as they swap roles right after.

9. Conspiracy (1973)

Conspiracy is a devious game that’s been entertaining players for 50 years. The concept is pretty simple. You need to get an agent to bring a briefcase to your HQ before your opponent does. The trouble is that the player who controls the agent depends on who has paid them the most. There are several agents to play around with to keep the game feeling fresh, but it’s never a dull time when you have no idea if you’re about to win or lose because you’ve been too cheap or too generous.

8. Hexdame (1979)

The original Hexadame was created in 1979, and the game lives on as a variation of Checkers you can play today. I promise it’s not complicated. It’s essentially a diagonal version of Checkers with a slight variation on the rules to keep you on your toes. If you’re bored of the base version of Checkers and want to spice it up a bit with new rules for moves, taking, and kings, then you can employ some or all of these rules to make it feel like a new game. Unfortunately, there’s no boxed version of Hexadame you can buy at the time of writing, but with a Checkers set and some paper, you can craft an interesting new board game to fill your time without breaking the bank.

7. Hungry Hungry Hippos (1978)

Hungry Hungry Hippos is a game we’ve all played and that we all secretly love. Marbles are scattered onto the board, and up to four players battle it out, having their hippos chomp down as fast as possible to eat them and get the highest score. There really is something to be said for simplistic fun like this, and anyone of any age can join in for a few games and have a great time with it.

6. Imperium – 3rd Millenium (1977)

Imperium – 3rd Millenium is a board game with a massive scope. In it, outwardly expanding forces of humans and aliens fight for supremacy over the galaxy, and it’s up to players to take command and bring some order to all the chaos. The universe sounds like it would fit right in with Warhammer 40K, but it’s very much its own self-contained universe that just so happens to see humanity pushing back against aliens who just so happen to want to snuff them out.

5. Kingmaker (1974)

In Kingmaker, you and up to five other players battle it out to control the last crowned piece. It’s based on the period referred to in English history as the War of the White Roses. You don’t win through militaristic domination alone. Instead, you’ve got to form alliances with other lords and high-ranking families to exert control over the crown and deal with any families who would stand in your way. You must be brutal to win, but victory will see your lineage last for centuries to come.

4. Battle of Five Armies (1975)

Battle of Five Armies is a game built around the final battle on Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit. Players control either the Shadow Forces or the Free People and battle it out to see who will win control over the mountain. The game merges events and dice rolls to make for gameplay that’s thrilling because it feels like everything could fall apart within seconds if you get your next roll wrong.

3. Dungeon! (1975)

Dungeon! is a fantastic D&D board game in which you explore a multi-leveled dungeon in search of treasure. Exploring deeper into the dungeon will see you face more and more monsters that want to rip you apart. The game’s been revised over time, but you can always go back to the original rules if you really want to. The best way to think of this game is as a contained version of a D&D adventure that has an endpoint so you can finish it in a single session rather than needing to play over multiple weeks.

2. Pay Day (1975)

Pay Day is a game that pitches itself as a great way to teach your kids about how to be responsible with their money for rent, savings, and investments. It’s also just a great way to spend time together without screens for a while. In the game, you make money each month, but you’ve also got to spend that money as fast as possible if you want to keep making a decent amount.

1. The Farming Game (1979)

The Farming Game is a beloved ’70s board game that’s still just as fun to play today. Let’s be honest; we all love farming. That’s why Farming Simulator is so popular. You start the game with $5,000 and 20 acres of farmland, and you must work to plant the right crops. I hope the weather holds out so you can turn a profit. Of course, farmers have all sorts of issues to deal with, whether it’s the price of fuel, seeds, rent, climate change, or any number of other things that can go wrong. It can be a little stressful, but that’s what farming life is like, and it’s part of what makes the game feel so good to play every time you sit down with it.