This post was last updated on October 19th, 2023
Are you hunting for the best superhero-themed board games? You are in the right place!
We are used to seeing superheroes mostly behind a movie theatre screen, doing inhuman things such as whizzing in the sky or unleash the power of thunders. How many times have you pictured yourself doing some of those crazy actions?
Spoiler: 99% of the time that is CGI, not reality!
I’ve been daydreaming about superpowers since I was very young and a few years later I was finally able to feel those powers through my hands.. how?
…of course, by playing some superhero board games! You are here for this too, right?
Over the last few years, I tried many superhero-themed board games and this is my personal list of the ones you should try at least once.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I will get a commission at no extra cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
BEST SUPERHERO BOARD GAMES
Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive Edition
1 – 5 players | 30 – 60 mins | Age 14+
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
1 – 5 players | 30 – 60 mins | Age 14+
Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-Men
2 players | 60 mins | Age 14+
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures
1 – 5 players | 45 – 150 mins | Age 14+
Marvel Champions: The Card Game
1 – 4 players | 45 – 90 mins | Age 14+
Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War
2 – 4 players | 60 – 90 mins | Age 10+
Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive Edition (2022)
Choose your favourite superhero and defeat brutal villains!
This is by far the number one game on my list and probably on every superhero-themed board games list ever made.
It’s a very simple game with basic mechanics, but it has the enormous value of being one of the games that really makes you feel like a Superhero with unique powers.
Game info
- Designer: Christopher Badell, Adam Rebottaro
- Players: 1 – 5 players
- Play Time: 30 – 60 minutes
- Age: 14+
How do you play?
Shortly, each player controls their own superhero and every turn you may play a card, use a hero power and draw an additional card from your deck. (There are also a villain deck and an environment deck, each run themselves)
If the villain’s life drops to 0 you win, if all the heroes’ lives drop to 0 you lose. That’s it!
Very simple, but… there’s always a but… it’s also very important to familiarize yourself with your hero’s card/powers and find the best way to synergize with your allies, to avoid getting caught in tricky situations.
What does the core game include?
The base game consists of:
- 12 Heroes: Legacy, Tachyon, Wraith, Bunker, Absolute Zero, Unity, Argent Adept, Fanatic, Captain Cosmic, Haka, Tempest and Ra;
- 6 Villains: Baron Blade, Omnitron, Grand Warlord Voss, Citizen Dawn, Matriarch, Akash’Buta;
- 6 Environments: Megalopolis, Ruins of Atlantis, Wagner Mars Base, Insula Primalis, Magmaria and Freedom Tower.
- Sentinels of the Multiverse is back, and better than ever!
- With all-new art, notably streamlined mechanics, and new stories to experience, this is the award-winning cooperative comic-book card game you’ve been waiting for!
- Sentinels of the Multiverse is a cooperative game in which each player controls a Hero, using their powers, abilities, and wits to work together with their fellow Heroes and save the world!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game (2012)
Recruit and assemble a group of Marvel superheroes and lead them to a legendary victory!
If you like deck-building games and if you are a Marvel fan (or if you just know what we are talking about), you will absolutely love this game.
And if you’re not a fan? Well.. you will probably like the game anyway, but it can give you the feeling of being a step behind the story
You can still enjoy the game even if you are a DC fan!
Game info
- Designer: Devin Low
- Players: 1 – 5 players
- Play Time: 30 – 60 minutes
- Age: 14+
How do you play?
You play as an agent of SHIELD who has the aim to defeat an evil Mastermind (such as Magneto or Loki) by recruiting powerful Marvel superheroes in your personal deck.
If you defeat the Mastermind 4 times before he completes his scheme, you win. On the other hand, if the villain completes his evil plan, you lose.
This is a cooperative game, so you win or lose together with your allies… However, you can be the most heroic player if you earn more Victory Points than the others.
What does the core game include?
The base game consists of:
- 15 Marvel Heroes: Black Widow, Captain America, Cyclops, Deadpool, Emma Frost. Gambit, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Rogue, Spider-Man, Storm, Thor, Wolverine;
- 4 Mastermind: Dr. Doom, Loki, Magneto, Red Skull;
- 8 Villains groups (each has 4 cards): Brotherhood, Enemies of Asgard, HYDRA, Masters of Evil, Radiation, Skrulls, Spider-Foes, Henchmen groups;
- 8 Evil Schemes
- A bunch of general cards, such as basic SHIELD agents and troopers.
- Easy to learn, with fast-paced gameplay
- Features incredible original artwork of Marvel heroes and villains
- Game consists of nearly 600 cards, Full color Game board & Color Rule Book
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure
Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-Men (2014)
Roll the dice and hit the opponent for a Marvel(ous) victory!
Game info
- Designer: Mike Elliott, Eric M. Lang
- Players: 2 players
- Play Time: 60 minutes
- Age: 14+
How do you play?
This is a 1 vs 1 game in which you are a Mastermind who controls a team of Heroes (represented by dices) who fight against the opponent.
The gameplay is very simple, shortly: each turn you roll the dice, buy new character dice and action dice, send the character on the field and hit the opponent Mastermind with the power of your team!
Both players start with several life points (it is suggested 10 for the first game, then the number can be raised to 20); if the opponent’s life hits 0 you win, otherwise, If your life hits 0 you lose.
- 2-Player Starter Set includes 44 Custom Dice & 38 Cards
- Featuring Marvel Superheroes Officially Licensed
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure
Expansions
Like some other superhero-themed board games, this is a collectable game with loads of expansions.
I would suggest getting at least 2/3 of them as the base game could become a bit boring after a few matches.
They are also pretty cheap for what they can add to the game, so why not?
My favourite expansions are:
- X-Force Team Pack
- Spider-Man Maximum Carnage Team Pack
- Dark X-Men Team Pack
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- X-Men First Class
- Deadpool
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures (2020)
The Turtles fight together in a series of mini-campaigns.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are probably my favourite superheroes ever.
These four lads made me laugh since I was a young kid and I basically grew up together with them, spending most of my after-school afternoons watching them TV or playing with their action figures.
I still remember the day I lent Donatello to a classmate and I never got it back! Shame on you wherever you are!
I couldn’t be so happy to say that finally, many years after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of The Past, IDW Games released a new TMNT game.
And this time not only one! Yes, you haven’t misread.
Game info
- Designer: Daniel Lansdown, Pete Walsh, Kevin Wilson
- Players: 1 – 5 players
- Play Time: 45 – 150 minutes
- Age: 14+
What’s the game like?
This reboot is composed of two standalone core games, while also being compatible with each other:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures – Change is Constant (2020)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures: City Fall (2020)
A mix between a miniatures skirmish and a dungeon crawler board game in which you take control of your favourite Turtle (aka Leonardo) to defeat a bunch of enemies through different mini scenario-driven campaigns.
The first core game (Change is Constant) focuses on the first narrative arc of the story and you fight, as one of the 4 Turtles, together with Casey Jones to defeat Old Hob.
The second core game (City Fall) focuses its attention on another narrative arc of the story when one of the turtles (….spoiler ahead, you’re warned!) is recruited into the Foot Clan and the protagonists here are Splinter, April, Angel, Slash and Old Hob.
The game is playable in two different modes:
- 4vs1, where a player takes control of the main villain;
- 4vsAI, a fully cooperative mode (finally introduced after many requests from the fans).
The interactive dice-sharing mechanic allows players to really be strategic when it comes to choosing their next action and it blends perfectly with the co-op mind settings.
The quality of the miniatures is good (but honestly, it could have been better) and the artwork is stunning, especially for a TMNT lover, who can really feel projected into the Turtles world.
Marvel Champions: The Card Game (2019)
Create powerful teams of Champions and defeat some of the strongest Marvel enemies!
Launched in 2019, in this cooperative Living Card Game you have to create some unique teams, mixing up some of the most iconic Marvel Superheroes, with the aim to defeat very well-known villains, such as Rhino.
Game info
- Designer: Michael Boggs, Nate French, Caleb Grace
- Players: 1 – 4 players
- Play Time: 45 – 90 minutes
- Age: 14+
How do you play?
The gameplay is pretty simple: you choose your hero and its deck of cards, then one of the four “aspects” and its related deck (e.g. “Justice” or “Leadership”) and finally some general cards. Shuffle them all together and your deck is ready!
Once you make your villain’s deck too, the game is ready to start.
“Finally, the fun part!” you say.. I agree!
During your turn’s phase, you can do many actions:
- play a card from your deck, paying the cost of it by discarding other cards in your hand;
- flip your Hero card from alter-ego side to Hero side or vice-versa in order to enable special abilities;
- use hero or ally actions, such as attack an enemy, recovery, and so on;
- use card abilities.
Then it’s the villain’s turn which can draw cards and perform actions, such as attacking your hero or starting/continuing with its scheme.
There’s a little bit of a learning curve at the beginning, but once you’ve figured it out, the gameplay will be pretty smooth!
The strongest pro of this game is probably the replayability, in fact, you can choose a combination of heroes, villains, difficulty, modules and so on, which allows you to play different games any time you open the box.
The base game includes:
- 5 Heroes: Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Iron-Man, Black Panther, and She-Hulk;
- 3 Villains: Rhino, Ultron and Klaw (they can be played at 2 levels of difficulty).
- EPIC SUPERHERO ADVENTURES: Join forces as Marvel’s iconic heroes and thwart the schemes of powerful villains.
- COOPERATIVE GAMEPLAY: Work together with your friends to save the day and defeat the forces of evil.
- EXPANDABLE CARD GAME: Customize your deck with new hero packs and scenarios, adding endless replayability.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure
Expansions
Being a living card game (LCG) means there will be constant updates with new heroes, new scenarios (including villains and schemes) and new campaigns.
You can check all the released expansions here!
Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War (2018)
Defeat Thanos before he collects all of the Infinity Stones!
Last on the list, I’ll try to make it quick and painless.
The aim of the game is imaginable, assemble a group of Superheroes and prevent the SNAP by defeating the supervillain Thanos!
Players must work together to recruit Heroes and defeat villains before Thanos collects all six Infinity Stones.
Game info
- Designer: Andrew Wolf
- Players: 2 – 4 players
- Play Time: 60 – 90 minutes
- Age: 10+
How do you play?
The gameplay itself is not too difficult and it is first-time-player-friendly thanks to its easy rules.
Being a game with a strong dice mechanism though means the difficulty of it can be a bit random, but you can still have fun while praying for a good roll (or screaming if you’re unlucky most of the time like me… lol).
Due to the roll-dice gameplay, each match is different from the other, giving the game enough replayability for a few games.
Strategic decisions are possible, but only to a limited extent.
The production quality of the game components is very high, probably one of the best among the superhero board games listed in this article!
I hope you enjoyed reading this Superhero board games list and if you made it until the end, congrats! You’re the true Hero here!
And if you are a Marvel fan, there is also an article in which I list my favourite Marvel board games out there.
Let’s go defeat some Villains, now it’s all in your hands! (and wallet! lol)
If you fancy, drop a message in the comment section below and let me know if you have ever played one of these games, I’d like to know your thoughts.
…until the next article, bye!
