I said that boss battlers were unlikely to get done by me. That is an area that I want to play more games in. When you think of traditional boss battlers, Kingdom Death Monster, Oathsworn or Primal for newer games maybe make that list. Boss battlers, from what I can see, is not that old a genre or at least one that people are using a lot more. So while I do need to play some more, let’s go through a few of them that I have (and see if I can get five).

Top 5 Boss Battlers

5. Marvel United

First of two Marvel games on the list. This one I think most people would overlook as a boss battler. I think it is even loose in terms of that. I go up against the villain with other players who are dealing with threat, rescuing bystanders and dealing with schemes from the villain. But it doesn’t feel like that traditional boss battler. Might be because you need to work up to facing down the boss.

But the game is great. And I like the variety in both the heroes and the villains. Each villain does things slightly differently, and it feels comic like in that. So when you face off against Red Skull or Ultron they feel different. And while the characters don’t massively change they play differently as well.

4. Final Girl

We’re going from Marvel to horror here with Final Girl. Final Girl is interesting because it really is a boss battler. If you’re not familiar with the concept, the final girl is the last survivor in a horror film. This is a very consistent trope, whether they make it out of the movie alive or not, well that is not guaranteed. But they are going to face off against the killer.

Final Girl the board game is going to lean into that trope. You are the last girl and you need to rescue people, find a weapon, and see if you can take out the bad guy. This is a great game and there are a ton of different girls you can play as and killers or bosses that you have to deal with. It’s a different feeling game, again, for a boss battler, but one that is a ton of fun.

3. Aeon’s End

One without minis, but Aeon’s End is definitely a boss battler. You face off as breach mages against a nemesis of some sort. This is a phenomenal game because each character does some things better than others. And each has a power that you want to use, but also that you need to balance against just doing damage and doing your deck building the most efficiently and effectively.

And then the nemesis is great as well. You need to worry about a number of things from them. The actions that are delayed that you can stop or the minions that are coming out that’ll keep on activating. This game just has that right blend of enough to always be interesting but not too much so it isn’t hard to play. And it is one that if you want to watch the legacy playthrough, I did one of those.

2. Marvel Champions

Second Marvel game on the list. Champions has you (and maybe one other) taking up Marvel heroes against a Marvel villain. This is one that was on the Dice Tower Top 10 list. And I think that it works, but it isn’t what I think of, traditionally, when I think of a boss battler. Mainly because there is no big mini that you are fighting.

But in Marvel Champions you take a hero up against a singular villain in a one off fight. You want to beat that villain and that’s your goal. Some villains might need to be beat in different ways but it comes down to that heroes versus villain. And that is what it is with a boss battler. Or at least part of what it is.

1. Oathsworn

Yes, this did end up on the list. Why, because I have played it, technically. It wasn’t a full playthrough of the game, but I got to do a combat at Gen Con in 2022. And I like Oathsworn a lot in what it does. The game uses a slick card management system where you are playing out cards to push others down to get them back into your hand. Cards only really flow as you play out more cards.

Each boss is also unique from what I’ve seen. I only have faced off against the first one, the rat on the box, but that one felt like a unique monster to fight. And then I’ve seen a tiny bit of the Meet Me at the Table gameplay that Bairnt and Colin did. But I didn’t want to watch much of that so I could avoid spoilers.

Final Thoughts

This is a trickier list, like i said. But I got to five and I like all five on the list. The one that I want to get to the table soon is Primal. But I am also painting the minis on that one. So I need to get a few more of them painted, and even consider which one I’ll face off against first. Once I do that, then I’ll be getting that one to the table, and likely streaming it.

Plus Kingdom Death Monster is sitting on my shelf waiting to get tried. And Catharsis is another boss battle that I should play. I’m guessing if I look around the game room more, I am likely to find more boss battlers that I need to get to the table. Like Wild Assent and who knows what else.

What are your favorite boss battlers? And which boss battlers do you think I need to try?

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