You are in good company. Board games are one of my all-time favorite ways to bond with people. There are so many options. Wanna learn more about someone? There’s a board game for that. Wanna play a game for the next 12 hours straight? There’s a board game for that too! Want something on butterflies? It exists. Dinosaurs? Yup. Zombie kittens? Absolutely. Pretty much anything you can think of has a board game. They’re also beneficial to the brain, which makes me feel good when playing them. If you can’t already tell, I really like board games. But not all games are created equal. For me to truly love a game, I have to want to keep existing with it past when I’m done playing. Essentially, I like games that stick with me in some way, whether because of the theme or the gameplay. Luckily for me, there are often books that can match the general vibe of a game, so I can stay immersed past the gaming experience itself. With these books, the experience of your favorite board games doesn’t have to end with the final move taken. Because of the sheer volume of games I want to talk about, we’re gonna start with just the classics. I couldn’t make a list about board games without talking about…
The most classic board game: Chess
While it isn’t the oldest board game (that title belongs to The Royal Game of Ur), it has been around for at least 500 years in its current form and is easily one of the most played games in history. In fact, it’s actually gotten even more popular as of late. Whether you’ve been playing for many years, or just recently started, chess has wide-reaching appeal for many people. Because of its popularity, I have to give two recommendations for this incredibly influential game. First, if you want a romance that actively features chess, you’ve got to check out “Check & Mate” by Ali Hazelwood.
In Hazelwood’s YA debut romcom, Mallory has been avoiding chess since it tore her family apart years ago. However, after she is convinced by a friend to join a charity tournament, she’s drawn back into the game when she unexpectedly defeats Noah, the world’s reigning champ. She absolutely plans to stop there and never look back. But the cash prizes offered are very helpful for her family, and she can’t help but be drawn to the person she bested. What will happen between the two of them, and will she be able to keep her family safe from the game that ruined them in the first place?
While “Check & Mate” is a great book, I know I personally don’t exactly associate romance with chess. For me, chess is all about strategy and critical thinking. It’s about figuring out how you handle adversity with nothing but your own skill and training. If this is why you like chess, you might want to check out “The Ruins of Gorlan” by John Flannagan.
This popular fantasy series follows Will, an orphan, as he learns how to be a king’s ranger from the aloof and impersonal Halt. Morgarath, the King of the Mountains, has been amassing forces to attack the Kingdom of Araluen since he was exiled for treason 15 years ago. Just like in chess, Will has to use critical thinking and training to try and outsmart his equally competent adversary. What I love so much about this series is that Will doesn’t have magical powers. He doesn’t have the upper hand (in fact, he often has the opposite). He’s not destined to succeed. In fact, while Will is highly trained, of course, the vast majority of his skill comes simply from using strategy and critical thinking to outmaneuver the opponent. This perfectly captures what I think makes chess so popular. Bonus to the fact that the sixth book in the series, “The Siege of Macindaw,” fills the war game niche that chess also occupies. And speaking of war games…
The most famous war game: RISK
I have heard much debate on whether or not Risk fits the war game category or not. All you have to do is search “Is Risk a war game?” to read a lot of impassioned opinions on the question. Personally, I think the exact categorization doesn’t matter. Whatever you call it, you can’t debate the impact of this politics-based game. In it, players vie for control over the countries of the world. Your goal is to use your armies and your ever-changing alliances to conquer every territory possible. The best games of Risk are full of secret alliances, subterfuge, and political intrigue, in my opinion. These are exactly the same things that are present in “Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard.
In this dystopia, your status in life is based on the color of your blood. Those with red blood are considered lower class than the silver-blooded elites. Mare Barrow, a Red, manages to survive by pickpocketing and stealing. Everything changes when she finds herself in front of the Silver Court and discovers that they are not the only ones with powers. The king forces her to assume the role of a long-lost Silver princess to cover up this problem. She’s thrust into an unfamiliar world of court politics, where everything has a double meaning and nothing is as it seems. She uses her new privileged position to help a red uprising gain traction, all while betrayal seems inevitable from every side. Just like in Risk, alliances are made and broken, territory is given and taken, and privilege gained and lost. If you want intrigue without all the angst, however, you might like something based on…
The most famous detective game: CLUE
While politics can be fun in the right mood, I’m definitely one of those people who appreciates some silly fun. As strange as it can be given that it’s a murder mystery game, CLUE is perfect for that. I don’t know if it’s simply because I associate the game with the riotously funny movie, but every time I play, it ends up being a hoot. Players have to move their tokens around the board to gather clues in order to figure out the specifics of a murder. You have to figure out which character committed the heinous act, where they were, and what item they used. Despite its age, this classic whodunit game is the perfect mix of mystery and lighthearted fun. That very distinct combo is why not just any murder mystery will do. Luckily, “Gideon Green in Black and White” by Katie Henry exactly fits the bill.
This novel seamlessly mixes a coming-of-age story with film noir and rom-com elements. When I first heard of it, I didn’t think it was possible, but Henry does an absolutely fantastic job making something that is heartwarming and funny but also intense and emotional at the exact same time. Gideon Green is now 16. Once a kid detective, he was abandoned by his once best friend and now sits alone at the lunch table. His detective career is brought back to light, however, when said ex-friend comes back and asks him to help her investigate the uptick in non-violent crime in the area. It isn’t long, however, before they find a dead body and the stakes are suddenly much higher. In the middle of all of this, Gideon is drawn into a romance with the paper’s editor-in-chief. Follow Gideon as he figures out who he is, what he can do, what he feels, and a murder on top of it all. If murder isn’t your thing and you want something more casual (unless you’re playing with my family), try…
The most famous trivia game: Trivial Pursuit
Sometimes you don’t want to try to figure out your opponent’s next move or struggle with strategy. Sometimes you just want to show off how smart you are. If that’s the case, go for Trivial Pursuit. All you have to do is go around the board answering trivia questions from whatever colored category you land in. The key is that you have to have a relatively large working memory of completely useless facts. That’s where trivia books come in! No matter how old I get, I will always love learning completely random facts. Trivia books are the perfect way to do that.
If you’re looking for something you can easily flip through, National Geographic Kids “Weird but True” series is definitely the place to go. They’re quick reads, and won’t give you much information beyond just the immediate fact. Despite that, they’re still quite fun. And not only that, but there’s also many, MANY of them. We have over 15 in our collection on various topics. There’s sports, and oceans, and history, just to name a few. You’re bound to find something that interests you.
If you’re looking for more deep dives into interesting topics, I have to recommend “Stuff You Should Know” by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, the duo behind the famous podcast of the same name. This book is truly a treat. Each chapter covers a specific interesting topic. You can absolutely read it cover to cover, but it’s also great to just leaf through if you’ve only got 15 minutes to spare. It’s full of snark and puns, along with truly enlightening information. Two notes. Chapter 16 covers trichotillomania and chapter 23 is about the history of guns. If these are topics that may be triggering to you, you can absolutely skip those chapters without missing much!
There are so many other games I want to cover. Luckily, we’ve got a part 2 coming! Be on the lookout for books based on more modern games. If you just can’t wait, check out this awesome book list that Michael did. There’s some really solid YA recommendations in there! Until next time, happy gaming!
