Top 10 Board Games for Large Groups

Published On: October 17, 2025

Throwing a game night for six people or more is a logistical nightmare. You get your friends or office colleague together, ready for a fun night. Then someone starts a difficult strategy game. It takes ten minutes for a player to take a turn. Two people are on their phones. Energy decreases.

I’ve held over fifty of these events during the past ten years. In just twenty minutes, a bad game choice destroyed the vibe of the room.

Here are the list of top 10 board games that can play six or more people. I built this list by scraping thousands of BoardGameGeek (BGG) ratings, digging through their forums, and testing new expansions.

Every game here plays in 90 minutes or less, works for anyone 12 and up, and keeps everyone involved.

Top 10 Board Games for Large Groups

For every game, you’ll get the basics: how it plays, why the group dynamic works, the clear pros and cons, and setup tips pulled from veteran players.

Rank	Game	Players	Playtime	BGG Rating	Best For	Price Range
1	Cosmic Encounter	3–6+	60 mins	7.8	Strategy enthusiasts	$40–60
2	Codenames	4–8+	15 mins	7.8	Party integration	$15–20
3	7 Wonders	3–7	30 mins	7.7	Balanced drafting	$35–50
4	One Night Ultimate Werewolf	3–10	10 mins	7.1	Rapid deduction	$20–25
5	Betrayal at House on the Hill	3–6	60 mins	6.8	Narrative immersion	$45–55
6	King of Tokyo	2–6	30 mins	7.0	Thematic exuberance	$25–35
7	Camel Up	2–8	45 mins	6.7	Familial levity	$30–40
8	Captain Sonar	4–8	45 mins	7.5	Cooperative tension	$40–50
9	Citadels	2–8	60 mins	7.1	Role orchestration	$15–25
10	The Resistance	5–10	30 mins	7.3	Intrigue mastery	$15–20

10. The Resistance

At the start of our list is The Resistance, game of social deduction. In this game, some players are hidden spies and other players have to find them.

Why it works: No pieces, just talking. Every round is a new accusation.
Pro tip: Use the Avalon version for role variety.

To play this game, 5 to 10 people are needed at a time. The players must be at least 13 years old, as the game is mentally challenging and requires psychological understanding. Each session lasts about 30 minutes.

The Resistance board game box for 10 players

Large groups will love The Resistance. The rules are straightforward: no complex pieces; start arguing and accusing quickly. Every mission vote cranks up the paranoia.

9. Citadels

Citadels is a German-style card game. It is also categorized as a dedicated deck card game. Skills required to play include strategic thought, bluffing, and diplomacy.

Goal: Build 8 districts before anyone else.
Why it works: Bluffing + strategy. Works great with 6–7 players.

Basic goal of Citadels is to collect gold coins and pay to build district cards. The game ends when a player successfully builds their eighth district card in their personal playing field (tableau). player who finishes with the most points wins. value of each district card is equal to its points at the end of the game.

Citadels is designed to support various group sizes, specifically accommodating 2–8 players in later editions. For games with 4–7 players, each player controls one character during the action phase.

8. Captain Sonar

Captain Sonar is a fast-paced, high-interaction strategy board game about submarine warfare. It falls under several genres, including Deduction and Strategy, and is specifically categorized as a Naval board wargame and a hidden movement board game. It has also been described as a real time game and an “8-player party game”.

Game was designed by Roberto Fraga and Yohan Lemonnier and published in 2016.

Why it works: Real-time submarine warfare. Split into 2 teams of 4.
Pro tip: Use the turn-by-turn mode first to learn.

Captain Sonar involves two teams of players, ideally split into teams of three or four people each, who sit across a large divider so they cannot see the opposing crew. Primary goal is for one team to locate the opposing team’s submersible on the map, damage it using weapon systems, and eliminate the rival vessel.

Game offers two distinct modes of play: Turn-by-turn and Real-time.

Captain Sonar is highly useful for large groups, particularly because it accommodates up to eight players and is noted for being excellent at that player count.

7. Camel Up

Camel Up is a highly regarded strategy board game centered around betting on a chaotic camel race. this designed for two to eight players. Second edition featuring new artwork and revised game rules.

Camel Up involves players placing bets on a camel race in the desert. Goal of the game is to accumulate the most money. Player who wins the most money is declared the winner.

Why it works: Chaotic camel race. Kids and adults both love it.
Expansion: Camel Up: Supercup adds 2 more players.

Camel Up is quite useful for large groups, as the base game accommodates a relatively high number of participants.

Original board game is suitable for two to eight players.
For even larger gatherings, an expansion titled Camel Up: Supercup was released in 2015, which allows the game to be played with up to 10 players

6. King of Tokyo

King of Tokyo is a monster movie-themed tabletop game designed by Richard Garfield. It utilizes custom dice, cards, and boards. Game has been recognized as a successful party game, winning the Golden Geek award for Best Party Game in 2012.

Why it works: Dice-rolling monsters. Fast and silly.
Note: Only 6 max — but Tokyo Bay spot keeps 5–6 players engaged.

Players choose one of six monsters (such as mutant monsters, gigantic robots, or other creatures), though they are functionally identical apart from their name and design. Game’s objective is to be the first player to accumulate 20 victory points or to be the last player still in play. Players are eliminated from the game if their health drops to zero.

King of Tokyo is suitable for groups ranging from 2 to 6 players. For larger groups (5 to 6 players), the game does offer slight scaling, as the second occupation spot, “Tokyo Bay,” becomes available. Game’s designation as an award-winning “Best Party Game” also suggests its general usefulness for group settings.

5. Betrayal at House on the Hill

Betrayal at House on the Hill is a board game that combines several elements of genre and mechanics. Ccategorized by its genres as Adventure, Exploration, and Horror.

Betrayal at House on the Hill is played in two distinct phases: the Exploration phase and the Haunt phase. At the beginning of the game, players choose a character and set their skill indicators to the starting values.

Why it works: Horror story generator. Every game is different.
Tip: Use haunt roulette to speed up the haunt trigger.

Betrayal at House on the Hill is designed to support groups ranging from 3 to 6 players. Given this player limit, the game is best suited for small to medium-sized groups, as it caps out at six participants.

Betrayal at House on the Hill box for 6 players

Betrayal at House on the Hill has several variant versions that also adhere to specific player counts.

4. One Night Ultimate Werewolf

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a card game adaptation of the traditional game Werewolf. Key skills required to play the game include Bluffing, Partnership, Social skills, Roleplay, Negotiation, and Deduction.

Why it works: No elimination. 10-minute rounds. Play 5–6 rounds in a row.
App: Use the free app to narrate.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf (ONUW) is based on a concept similar to its predecessor, Ultimate Werewolf, but features significant differences that alter the style and feel of gameplay.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf box for 10 players

While the parent game, Ultimate Werewolf, is explicitly designed to handle a very wide range of players (from 5 to 75 players), One Night Ultimate Werewolf is highly useful for groups due to specific design changes.

3. 7 Wonders

7 Wonders is a highly awarded and influential board game. Its primary game mechanic is card drafting. It received critical success upon release, winning numerous awards, including the inaugural Kennerspiel des Jahres connoisseurs’ award in 2011.

Why it works: No downtime — everyone plays at once.
Tip: Use 7 Wonders Duel for 2 players later.

This Game is played over three ages (Ages I, II, and III), totaling 18 turns, with each age using its own specific deck of cards. At the end of each age, military conflicts are resolved by comparing the number of shield symbols on red cards between neighbors.

Base game of 7 Wonders is designed for 2 to 7 players. . Sources indicate that the game is quite manageable for groups up to seven players, with a relatively short playing time of 30 minutes and a setup time of only 5 minutes.

2. Codenames

Codenames is a popular and award-winning game that falls into the categories of party board game and spy-themed board game. It has also been described as a “secret agent party game” and a “terrific choice for a family friendly game”.

Why it works: Team-based word game. Easy to learn.
Variations: Codenames: Pictures, Codenames: Duet

THis involves two competing teams, Red and Blue, trying to identify all of their assigned agents on the board. Game ends (assuming the assassin hasn’t been revealed) once all of one team’s agents are found, thus achieving victory. A team can potentially win during their opponents’ turn.

Codenames board game box for large groups

Codenames is well-suited for larger groups because it is categorized as a party board game and the recommended player count ranges from 4 to 8+ players, with 6 players recommended. Larger group can easily participate as additional field operatives. The field operatives on each team work collaboratively to interpret the spymaster’s one-word clue.

1. Cosmic Encounter

Cosmic Encounter is a Science Fiction Strategy Board Game. It is designed by “Future Pastimes” (Peter Olotka, Jack Kittredge, Bill Eberle, and Bill Norton).

Why it works: Every alien power breaks the rules. Negotiation is key.
Expansion: Cosmic Incursion adds 6th player.

goal of the game is to be the first player to establish colonies on five planets outside of your home system. The game typically takes between 20 and 120+ minutes, with a setup time of 5–10 minutes.

Cosmic Encounter is inherently a social game that thrives on interaction, making it suitable for larger gatherings where player interaction and negotiation are desired.

Pro Tips

Consider these tips to have better game nights. To maintain game flow with big groups, use team turns. Purchase good storage boxes to speed up game setup. Give new life to classic games with fresh tech, such as companion apps.

Think about your guest list before the event; mix different personalities to keep the conversations interesting. To keep improving, have different people host game nights and ask for input.