The Five Best Strategy Board Games

Sometimes you want a board game that you can really sink your teeth into; one that demands your full concentration in order to defeat your opponents. Let's look at the best of these brain-burning games. 

Possibly the first great worker placement game, Caylus finds 2-5 players working towards the construction of the castle that King Phillip the Fair has ordered built to strengthen the borders of France. Best with 2-3 players.

A limited edition version with metal pieces was also released; that version is pictured here.

One of the most popular eurogames since its release in 2007, Agricola has 1-5 players taking on the role of farmers and attempting to build a well-balanced farm. Players plant grain and raise animals while adding on to their houses and attempting to feed their ever-growing families.

This is a worker-placement game that has multiple levels of difficulty, making it suitable for ages 12 and up; the game plays in about two hours.

A tile-laying game for 2-4 players and the only game on this list with a playing time under two hours, Tigris & Euphrates (or  T&E) finds players building civilizations in an attempt to score the most points in the areas of farming, trade, religion, and government. The game centers around conflict, as the leaders in each of those areas do not play nicely together..

A free version of this game is available online. 

Named after British slang for money, in Brass players build coal mines, iron works, cotton mills, ports, and shipyards, they also dig canals and build rails to transport their goods. Players who run short on money can take out a loan (which never needs to be repaid, though it reduces their income for the rest of the game); however, this takes up one of their precious actions!

Brass takes 3-4 players and can be played in about two hours; it has been re-implemented as Age of Industry.

Since its release in 2002, Age of Steam has been expanded with dozens of new maps; Steam updates the rules, but the gameplay is essentially the same. Players compete to build a network of rails, delivering goods to cities of the same color to increase their income. But beware! Players must take out loans for the operating capital they need, and shareholders must be paid a dividend at the end of every turn..

The number of players depend on which map is chosen; while 3-5 is standard, maps exist for 1-9 players. 

Any of these great games can be a real brain-burner; play only with people who like to think! If you need a little help, be sure to check the links section below for some strategy guides!