This post is for those who are interested in stats about the best 30 family board games.
Best 30 family board games sorted by BGG rank
BGG Rank | Game | # of players | Best with | Min Age | Average playing time | Weight |
1 | 7 Wonders | 2-7 | 4 | 10 | 30 | 2,3 |
2 | Crokinole | 2-4 | 4 | 8 | 30 | 1,3 |
3 | Patchwork | 2 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 1,7 |
4 | Stone Age | 2-4 | 4 | 10 | 75 | 2,5 |
5 | Pandemic | 2-4 | 4 | 8 | 45 | 2,4 |
6 | Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries | 2-3 | 3 | 8 | 75 | 2 |
7 | Ticket to Ride: Europe | 2-5 | 4 | 8 | 45 | 2 |
8 | Splendor | 2-4 | 3 | 10 | 30 | 1,8 |
9 | Jaipur | 2 | 2 | 12 | 30 | 1,6 |
10 | Ticket to Ride | 2-5 | 4 | 8 | 45 | 1,9 |
11 | Sheriff of Nottingham | 3-5 | 5 | 13 | 60 | 1,7 |
12 | Carcassonne | 2-5 | 2 | 8 | 38 | 1,9 |
13 | Small World | 2-5 | 4 | 8 | 60 | 2,4 |
14 | Love Letter | 2-4 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 1,2 |
15 | King of Tokyo | 2-6 | 4 | 8 | 30 | 1,5 |
16 | Ticket to Ride: Märklin | 2-5 | 4 | 8 | 45 | 2,2 |
17 | Forbidden Desert | 2-5 | 4 | 10 | 45 | 2 |
18 | Fresco | 2-4 | 4 | 10 | 60 | 2,6 |
19 | Takenoko | 2-4 | 3 | 8 | 45 | 2 |
20 | Hanabi | 2-5 | 4 | 8 | 25 | 1,7 |
21 | Survive: Escape from Atlantis! | 2-4 | 4 | 8 | 60 | 1,7 |
22 | Small World Underground | 2-5 | 4 | 8 | 60 | 2,6 |
23 | Flash Point: Fire Rescue | 1-6 | 4 | 10 | 45 | 2,2 |
24 | Pandemic: The Cure | 2-5 | 3 | 8 | 30 | 2,1 |
25 | Airlines Europe | 2-5 | 4 | 10 | 75 | 2,4 |
26 | King of New York | 2-6 | 4 | 10 | 40 | 1,8 |
27 | Kingsburg | 2-5 | 4 | 13 | 90 | 2,4 |
28 | Catan | 3-4 | 4 | 10 | 90 | 2,4 |
29 | For Sale | 3-6 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 1,3 |
30 | Smash Up: Awesome Level 9000 | 2-4 | 3 | 12 | 45 | 2,1 |
Best player count
Best Player count | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Average BGG rank | 8 | 17,4 | 15,7 | 20 |
# of games | 3 | 4 | 21 | 2 |
The games that play best with two players have by far the best BGG ranks.
Game weight
The average game weight is 1,99 and there is a correlation of 0,14 between BGG rank and game weight. This means that there is a very slight tendency of lower game weight for the better ranked family games.
Playing time
The average playing time across these family games is 47 minutes. The correlation between BGG rank and playing time is 0.24. This means that the lower the BGG rank, the longer the playing time tends to be.
Weight to playing time ratio
The correlation between weight to playing time ratio and BGG rank is -0,2. This means that that there is a tendency that higher ranked family board games tend the be relatively deeper for their playing time than lower ranked family board games.
This information can help with designing & publishing a game. Is your game a family or already a strategy game? If so, does its metrics (weight, playing time etc.) resemble the ones that top the respective lists? The board game industry is fairly competitive and making strategic and informed decisions can help to make sure that there is a good product-market fit. If the metrics of your game are similar to the ones of strategy board games then you should also market it towards strategy gamers. Make sure the graphics, the theme and the story resonate and match with your target audience.