The Best DC Board Games for Fans of the Comics [IGN]

DC Deck-Building Game

• Players: 2-5 players
• Age Range: 15+
• Play Time: 30-45 minutes

Easily the most popular game on this list, the DC Deck Building Game has been going strong since 2012, with countless expansions covering the vast DC Multiverse and giving the spotlight to its enormous cast of the most popular and lesser known superheroes and villains. It’s a deck-building game, of course. In it, players battle it out to see who can triumph over the others with the most Victory Points – whoever does, wins. You do this by first choosing one hero to play as, then build your deck turn by turn as you power up, use unique abilities, and do battle with iconic villains. Numerous card combos help spice up your strategy each time you play.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – The Game

• Players: 1-2
• Age Range: 14+
• Play Time: 90 minutes

A huge game that can be enjoyed as a solo board game, Frank Miller’s legendary story is adapted into a tabletop experience spanning four Books, each with unique mechanics, characters, and rules, and each subsequent Book’s outcomes are affected by the previous. Each Book’s campaign lasts around 90 minutes, so planning the best strategy with your cards and items to come out on top is key. This game is light on story, and prior knowledge of the source graphic novel is highly recommended.

Funkoverse: DC Comics Board Game

• Players: 2-4
• Age Range: 10+
• Play Time: 20-60 minutes

Quick and easy to set up and friendly to all ages, the Funkoverse DC Comics is a perfect board game for kids, useful for introducing younger gamers and future comics fans to the DC Universe. The game begins by each player agreeing on one of many scenarios, then going through the steps of each round: Choose a character, take two actions, then exhaust (players can only choose non-exhausted characters at the start of their turn). Actions allow characters to move, assist others, use items, and interact with the environment. Funkoverse has a number of different expandalones stretching across different IPs that are all compatible with each other, so you can play the ultimate mash-up game.

The Batman Who Laughs Rising

• Players: 1-4
• Age Range: 15+
• Play Time: 60-90 minutes

The Op Games’ next iteration in their long-running Rising series, The Batman Who Laughs Rising shines the spotlight on one of the DC Universe’s most unique and evil villains out there: The Batman Who Laughs, a hybrid of Batman and the Joker from a different universe. Gameplay is heavily dice-based, as players will roll numerous dice in order to recruit allies, take out baddies, and use unique abilities, all culminating in a showdown with the titular antagonist at the end of your session, included with the game as an impressive oversized miniature statue.

DC Comics Dice Masters: Justice Campaign Box

• Players: 2
• Age Range: 14+
• Play Time: 30 minutes

This iteration of the DC Comics Dice Masters game is based on the Justice limited series by legendary comics writer and artist Alex Ross. This campaign box is an oversized starter set for experienced and newer players alike, including 15 playable characters, their dice, the rulebook, dice bags, over 70 cards, and more. Players begin by choosing their character cards and their corresponding dice. As the name implies, this is a dice-rolling board game. Each player rolls their dice to power up their heroes and use abilities. As an odd oversight, certain character cards have dice limits that are higher than the included character dice they can use.

The Joker: A Diabolical Party Game

• Players: 3-6
• Age Range: 12+
• Play Time: 45-60 minutes

Duke it out as some of Gotham City’s most heinous villains in this social deduction party game that has you battle for territory control, send other villains to the dreaded Arkham Asylum, hoard stacks of cash, and re-strategize as the Joker changes the board and certain aspects of the game and unleashes chaos. Your anarchal assault on the city may change drastically, so make sure you have plenty of cash to make it out. Each session offers different outcomes and scenarios from the Joker cards, and the random secret identity mechanics will keep you coming back for more. Great as a party board game, or of families and younger players!

Marvel vs. DC Board Games

Those are our picks for the best DC board games. But what is the Marvel fan to do? We have you covered; check out the best Marvel board games to see the top games featuring Spider-Man, X-Men, and the like. In fact, there are a good number of noteworthy Marvel board games, so you’ll definitely want to check them out.

Myles Obenza is a freelance commerce writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @Myles Obenza.