I love a good board game no matter the theme. But there are a lot of themes that show up in a lot of board games. Right now the super popular ones are nature and anthropomorphic animals. A few years ago every other board game would show up with a zombie theme on it. And then there are evergreen themes like Lord of the Rings, Fantasy or Space that are super common. But let’s talk about some that are less common and why I want more games with those themes.

5 Board Game Themes We Need More Of

5. Literature

Now, this one is an odd one for me to put down. We have a lot of board games that are based off of books, and that is what I mean. I want more like that. I want more games based off of my favorite series. Right now, for example, there is a game based off of The Dresden Files. But I’d say that the game it out of print. I want another game around that, I want five more games around that really.

And I think we are starting to see more games in that area. That is why it is lower on the list. But it’s been pretty recently with Brandon Sanderson making waves in the board game industry that we are starting to see more games, like the Wheel of Time board game or Dungeon Crawler Carl get picked up. And I know there are so many series that I’d love to see more board games about or even one off books.

Stories are just a massive pool to draw from. And a good board game could be made about any book. But finding that audience and knowing which one to grab onto is the hard part. Or, maybe it’s not that hard, but getting a good board game out of that might be tricky instead of something just generic.

4. Werewolves

This one is really specific but I mean it. I want more games with werewolves. Now, I do have a Werewolf big campaign board game coming from Flyos Games the same company that made Vampire The Masquerade Chapters. But I want more games with this theme. I think that transformation element is giving a lot to play with.

I find it interesting how vampires are super common and zombies offer a survival type of game. But generally werewolves are very much under utilized in the board gaming space but also just in general in media. So give me more with them, I think the ability to be a werewolf at night but not during the day and maybe more randomness at night but less during the day, that could create an amazing combo for a game.

3. Fairytale

Now, this is maybe something that is close to fantasy and just falls under that. But we get a lot of games with fantasy in them and maybe pull a little bit of fairytale. I want more games that just use the classic fairytales in different ways. A good board game around Hansel and Gretel where it’s maybe one versus all, that sounds cool to me.

Also, make your fairy tale board game dark and gritty as well. I love a good dark storyline where it is something we know but twisted. No, I haven’t watched the Winnie the Pooh horror movie, but stuff like that is often fun. And when it comes to the Grimm Fairytales and things like that, they are dark and disturbing, not that happy Disney version.

2. Pirates

Yes, I know there are a good number of pirate games out there. But I find that not many of them give me that pirate feel. I want swashbuckling on the high seas. And a lot of them give me pick-up and deliver without the fun and adventure. Now, I have some games that I need to play with this them. Mainly I have Sea of Legend and Scoundrel’s Bay. But I want more games like that.

And I think some of this is that I want a big legacy game that gives me this. Y es, there is a game out there called Seafall. No, Seafall is not a good game when it comes to this. I actually have ideas of how to take the base of Seafall and turn it into something better. That said, I want more with this theme and with that adventure feel.

1. Anime

Now, this is starting to pick-up a little bit. And there are some companies, Japanime and Level 99 who have games with anime themes. But, I hate to say it, a lot of those games aren’t that great. They take an anime and they slap a pretty generic game to it and ship it out. And some of that might be the companies that are being worked with, or it might be what the licensing company is asking for. But I want a great board game with an anime theme, and I haven’t found one yet. Middara is probably the right answer, but I haven’t played it yet.

And I think the easiest way to make this work is to not use an existing anime. A smart designer who knows anime will be able to create a game that feels like an anime. But they won’t be tied down to making a board game that needs to fit perfectly with an anime vision.

What type of board game, in terms of theme, do you want more of? Is there one that maybe hasn’t had the quality or is maybe just not used as much?

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