Roundup
The Best Board Games Under $20
Under twenty dollars you are buying a card game in a small box. That is not a compromise - some of the best games we cover live here.
By Scooter M. · Published · Last updated
How this page is funded: the buy links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change the order of the picks or what we say about them. Full disclosure.
Games we claim to have play-tested: 0. Every gift guide in this category implies a shelf of played games behind it. We do not have one, and we would rather say so. What we do instead is on this page: the publisher’s own player count, playing time and age band for every pick, cited to the publisher; a live price rather than a remembered one; and a plain answer on who should skip each game.
The short answer
The best board game under $20 is Sushi Go! - Gamewright states 2-5 players, ages 8+, 15 minutes, in a tin the size of a paperback. If the cap is tighter still, Happy Salmon is listed at $12.99 by Exploding Kittens and is the cheapest game here we would genuinely recommend owning.
This price band has a specific shape, and knowing it makes the choice easy. Under about $20 you are buying a card game or a dice game in a small box. You are not buying a board, plastic figures, or a big illustrated map, because those things cost money to manufacture.
That is a real constraint and it is not a quality ceiling. Three of the games on this page - Sushi Go!, Love Letter and The Mind - would appear on a list of the best short games at any price. What you are giving up at this level is presentation and heft, not design.
| Game | Publisher list price | Players | Time | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Salmon | $12.99 | 3-8 | 90 sec | Exploding Kittens |
| A Little Wordy | $14.99 | 2 only | 15 min | Exploding Kittens |
| The Mind | $17.95 | 2-4 | 15 Minutes | Pandasaurus Games |
| Exploding Kittens | $19.99 | 2-5 | 15 min | Exploding Kittens |
| Sushi Go! | not published | 2-5 | 15 min | Gamewright |
| Love Letter | not published | 2-6 | 20 min | Z-Man Games |
| Qwixx | not published | 2-5 | 15 min | Gamewright |
| Anomia | not published | 3-6 | 20-30 min | Anomia Press |
What you are actually giving up
Presentation. A $15 game does not look like a main present. That matters for a birthday and matters much less for a stocking, a Secret Santa or a white elephant exchange - which is why this band dominates our white elephant page.
Length. Everything here is 30 minutes or under. That is a feature for most households and a limitation if what they wanted was an evening.
Not depth. This is the part people get wrong. Love Letter is a genuine deduction game. Sushi Go! is a genuine drafting game. The Mind is one of the most unusual designs of the last decade. Cheap does not mean simple here.
How to choose between them
If it is a gift for one person, Sushi Go!, because it is the one most likely to be played for years rather than months. If it is for a household with children, Happy Salmon (6+ by Exploding Kittens) or Qwixx (8+ by Gamewright). If it is for two adults, A Little Wordy or The Mind.
And if the cap is not really $20 - if $25 or $30 would be fine - go to the under $30 page. That band is where Codenames and Jaipur sit, and both are better games than anything here.
Quick picks
Ranked on how well each one fits the job in this page’s title, using the publisher’s own player count, playing time and age band. Tap any row for the full write-up, including who should skip it.
| # | Product | Best for | Gift fit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sushi Go!2-5 players · 15 min · 8+ | Best game at this price | 8.9 | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 |  Happy Salmon3-8 players · 2 min · 6+ | Cheapest thing worth owning | 8.0 | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 | Love Letter2-6 players · 20 min · 10+ | Most game per card | 8.2 | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 | Qwixx2-5 players · 15 min · 8+ | Best dice game | 8.0 | Check price on Amazon |
| 5 |  The Mind2-4 players · 15 min · 8+ | Strangest | 7.6 | Check price on Amazon |
| 6 |  A Little Wordy2 players · 15 min · 10+ | Best for two | 7.5 | Check price on Amazon |
| 7 | Exploding Kittens2-5 players · 15 min · 7+ | Most recognizable | 7.7 | Check price on Amazon |
| 8 | Anomia3-6 players · 20-30 min · 10+ | Best for a group | 8.2 | Check price on Amazon |
#1 - Best game at this price
Sushi Go!
Gamewright · A small, cheap gift that is actually good
A tin of cards, fifteen minutes, and one of the best value-for-money gifts in the whole category. You pass hands of cards around and try to collect the sets that score well together.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A card game where you pick one card from your hand, pass the rest to your neighbor, and repeat - so every hand you see has already been picked over.
Does it fit this page?
Gamewright states 2-5 players, 8+, 15 minutes, in a tin - a complete game at the bottom of the market.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-5 | Gamewright, published product page |
| Age | 8+ | Gamewright, published product page |
| Length | 15 min | Gamewright, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Fits in a coat pocket, so it travels and it fits a stocking
- Fifteen minutes means a household plays it three times in a sitting
- Cheap enough to give alongside something else
What is not
- Caps at five - Sushi Go Party! is the version that seats eight
- Scoring is fiddly the first time through
- Almost too small to feel like a main present on its own
Who should skip it
Skip it as a sole main gift for an adult - it reads as a stocking filler no matter how good it is. Give it alongside something larger.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.2
- Works for non-gamers9.2
- Group size range7.8
- Repeat plays8.6
- Feels like a gift7.4
Gift fit 8.9 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#2 - Cheapest thing worth owning
Happy Salmon
Exploding Kittens · Ninety seconds of chaos, over and over
The publisher lists the play time as 90 seconds and that is not a typo. Everyone shouts an action at once until somebody empties their hand. As a stocking filler for a house with children it is close to unbeatable.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A card game with no turns. You call out the action on your top card until you find the person calling the same thing, do the high-five or the fist-bump, and move on.
Does it fit this page?
Exploding Kittens lists it at $12.99 for 3-8 players and a 90-second play time.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 3-8 | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
| Age | 6+ | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
| Play time | 90 sec | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- An age floor of 6, so young children genuinely play on equal terms
- Ninety seconds means it fits anywhere - before dinner, at a table, in a queue
- Ships in a cloth pouch rather than a box, so it travels
What is not
- Extremely loud and physical
- No strategy at all, which is not what every recipient wants
- Needs three people minimum, so it is not a two-person gift
Who should skip it
Skip it for anyone with limited hand or arm mobility - the game is built entirely on physical gestures - and skip it for a quiet household.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.8
- Works for non-gamers9.6
- Group size range8.0
- Repeat plays7.0
- Feels like a gift7.0
Gift fit 8.0 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#3 - Most game per card
Love Letter
Z-Man Games · Filling twenty minutes with something clever
You hold one card. You draw a second, play one of the two, and try to deduce what everyone else is holding. Z-Man's current edition takes 2 to 6 players, which is a wide range for a game this small.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A tiny deduction game with a deck of about twenty cards. Each card does one thing, and the whole deck fits in a hand.
Does it fit this page?
Z-Man states 2-6 players and 20 minutes from a deck of about twenty cards.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-6 | Z-Man Games, published product page |
| Age | 10+ | Z-Man Games, published product page |
| Length | 20 min | Z-Man Games, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- The entire rulebook is a card reference you can read in a minute
- Two to six players, which is unusually flexible for a micro game
- Rounds last three minutes, so being knocked out costs nothing
What is not
- You will be eliminated from rounds, which younger children mind
- Almost pure deduction - there is nothing to build or collect
- The box is small enough that it needs to be part of a bigger gift
Who should skip it
Skip it for a player who hates being eliminated, and skip it as a standalone main present - it is a companion gift.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.0
- Works for non-gamers8.6
- Group size range8.8
- Repeat plays8.2
- Feels like a gift6.8
Gift fit 8.2 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#4 - Best dice game
Qwixx
Gamewright · A table where somebody always complains about waiting
Six dice, a pad of scoresheets, and fifteen minutes. Everybody uses every roll, so nobody is ever waiting for their turn - which is exactly why it works with grandparents and children at the same table.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A dice game. One person rolls, but every player marks something off their own sheet from that roll, so there is no downtime.
Does it fit this page?
Gamewright states 2-5 players, 8+, 15 minutes - six dice and a scorepad.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-5 | Gamewright, published product page |
| Age | 8+ | Gamewright, published product page |
| Length | 15 min | Gamewright, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Nobody waits - every roll is used by every player
- The scoresheets make the rules self-explanatory
- Very cheap, and about as portable as a game gets
What is not
- It is a dice game; luck decides more than skill
- Score pads run out and need replacing
- Does not look like much when unwrapped
Who should skip it
Skip it for someone who wants meaningful decisions - Qwixx is mostly about making the best of what the dice gave you.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.6
- Works for non-gamers9.4
- Group size range7.8
- Repeat plays8.0
- Feels like a gift6.6
Gift fit 8.0 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#5 - Strangest
The Mind
Pandasaurus Games · A gift that will be talked about afterwards
You play numbered cards in ascending order without speaking, and somehow it works. Fifteen minutes, 2 to 4 players, ages 8+. It is the strangest thing on this site and the one people remember.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A cooperative card game with essentially one rule: play your cards low to high, as a group, with no communication of any kind.
Does it fit this page?
Pandasaurus lists it at $17.95 for 2-4 players, 8+, 15 minutes.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Play time | 15 Minutes | Pandasaurus Games, published product page |
| Players | 2-4 | Pandasaurus Games, published product page |
| Age | 8+ | Pandasaurus Games, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- The shortest explanation of any game here, by a distance
- Fifteen minutes and a very small box
- Produces a genuinely odd shared experience that people describe to other people
What is not
- Some players simply do not click with it and find it pointless
- Caps at four
- Slight - it is a deck of numbered cards and nothing else
Who should skip it
Skip it for someone who wants to see what they are buying. Unwrapped, The Mind looks like a deck of numbers, because it is.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.8
- Works for non-gamers8.4
- Group size range6.8
- Repeat plays7.4
- Feels like a gift6.4
Gift fit 7.6 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#6 - Best for two
A Little Wordy
Exploding Kittens · A small, inexpensive two-player gift
A two-player word game from the Exploding Kittens studio, listed at 2 players only, ages 10+, fifteen minutes. It is the cheap, small answer to 'something for the two of us' rather than the impressive one.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A word game for two. You build a secret word from letter tiles and give your opponent clues, while trying to guess theirs first.
Does it fit this page?
Exploding Kittens lists it at $14.99 for 2 players only, ages 10+, 15 minutes.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 10+ | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
| Number of players per game | 2 only | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
| Play time | 15 min | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Fifteen minutes and a small box, so it fits a weeknight and a suitcase
- Considerably cheaper than most two-player boxes
- Age floor of 10 makes it workable for a parent and an older child
What is not
- Strictly two players, by the publisher's own listing
- Word games are divisive and this one has nothing else in it
- Slight enough that it needs to accompany a larger gift
Who should skip it
Skip it for anyone who dislikes word games, and skip it as a main present - it is a companion gift, not a centerpiece.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain8.8
- Works for non-gamers8.4
- Group size range4.0
- Repeat plays7.6
- Feels like a gift6.6
Gift fit 7.5 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#7 - Most recognizable
Exploding Kittens
Exploding Kittens · A recognizable name at a low price
Card-game Russian roulette with cartoon art. It is fifteen minutes, it takes 2 to 5 players from age 7, and it is the game most likely to be recognized on the shelf by someone who does not follow board games.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A card game where you draw until somebody draws an exploding kitten. The other cards let you peek, skip, or make the next person draw instead.
Does it fit this page?
Exploding Kittens lists it at $19.99 for 2-5 players, ages 7+, 15 minutes.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 7+ | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
| Players | 2-5 | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
| Play time | 15 min | Exploding Kittens, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Instantly recognizable, which makes it an easy gift to hand over
- Fifteen minutes and an age floor of 7
- The art does most of the work of making it feel like a present
What is not
- You are eliminated when you explode and then you watch
- Almost entirely luck - there is very little to decide
- The joke wears out faster than the cards do
Who should skip it
Skip it for a group that wants to play the same game all evening. Exploding Kittens is a filler, and it starts to feel repetitive by the fourth round.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.4
- Works for non-gamers9.4
- Group size range7.4
- Repeat plays6.2
- Feels like a gift8.0
Gift fit 7.7 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#8 - Best for a group
Anomia
Anomia Press · A cheap gift that gets played the same night
You flip cards until two symbols match, and then the two people involved race to name something in the other's category. Pure reflex, very cheap, and over in twenty minutes.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A fast card game. When your symbol matches someone else's, you both scramble to shout an example of the category on their card first.
Does it fit this page?
Anomia Press states 3-6 players, ages 10 and up, 20-30 minutes.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 3-6 | Anomia Press, published product page |
| Age | 10 & up | Anomia Press, published product page |
| Play time | 20-30 min | Anomia Press, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Rules explained in under a minute, genuinely
- Small box and low price make it an easy add-on gift
- Being slow at it is funny rather than embarrassing
What is not
- Rewards fast recall, so it frustrates anyone who is not quick under pressure
- Caps at six players
- It is loud, which matters in an apartment or a restaurant
Who should skip it
Skip it for someone who freezes under time pressure, and skip it if the room needs to stay quiet. This game is shouting.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.6
- Works for non-gamers9.2
- Group size range7.6
- Repeat plays7.8
- Feels like a gift7.2
Gift fit 8.2 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
How these were picked
We have not played these games and we do not pretend to have. What we did was read each publisher’s own page, take their stated player count, playing time and age band, check that every pick genuinely fits the constraint in this page’s title, confirm it is still being sold, and pull a live price rather than a remembered one. Every figure here names the publisher it came from, so you can check it yourself in about a minute.
How we pick sets out the full method, including what would change a ranking.
Questions people ask
+−What is the best board game under $20?
Sushi Go! from Gamewright - 2-5 players, ages 8+, 15 minutes, in a small tin. It is a real card-drafting game rather than a filler, and it is the pick here most likely to still be played in five years.
+−Why are cheap board games always card games?
Because boards, plastic figures and illustrated maps are what cost money to manufacture. A deck of cards is cheap to print, so at the bottom of the market the design money goes into the rules rather than the components - which is why several cheap games are genuinely excellent.
+−Are cheap board games worse?
They are smaller and shorter, not worse. Love Letter, Sushi Go! and The Mind would all appear on a list of the best short games at any price. What you give up under $20 is presentation and length, not design quality.
+−How much do board games normally cost?
Card games sit around $10 to $20, mid-size boxes around $25 to $40, and large illustrated games $50 and up. Our cost guide sets out the bands with publisher list prices where publishers publish them.