Campaign

There it is. The biggest, heaviest box on your shelf. You bought it because it was the #1 game on BoardGameGeek for years. You unboxed it, maybe punched a few tokens, marvelled at the sheer volume of cardboard - and then put the lid back on. You’re not alone. Gloomhaven is perhaps the single most commonly owned-but-unplayed game in the hobby. It’s the poster child for shelf-of-shame lists, YouTube confessionals, and Reddit threads titled “convince me to finally play Gloomhaven.” ...

If you’re searching for the best legacy board games, the short answer is this: Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 is still the benchmark, but it’s far from the only great choice in 2026. The best legacy and campaign board games are the ones that make your group care about what happens next, whether that means tearing up cards in panic, naming a favorite character, or staring at the board after a session because the world now looks permanently different. ...