The Best Board Game Covers of All Time 

I would like to see this done again, but with a game store owner, Tom, an art critic, and a board game artist voting. That would be interesting.

I would also add that some of these covers are simply stunning when viewed in real life. Viewing on a computer screen doesn’t do some of these covers justice.

Thank you, Dice Tower, for putting this together. I may not have agreed with all of the winners, but I had fun! We are lucky to have so many examples of great board game art!

Mike on a box cover would win every time 😍

I feel like they lose the thread of the competition at times...this is supposed to be beautiful/best covers, and Wingspan is beautiful. It's like they were arguing that a simple cover is boring, but that just isn't true and isn't true for most people. Simple art is incredibly elegant at times, and certainly can be beautiful.

Ive always thought that the monster on the Sleeping Gods cover looks a little dorky and looks slighty annoyed that theres a boat above it. Reminds me of that meme of that guy pointing to a butterfly.

This and the worst cover vids are some of the best entertainment I've seen. So much fun!

I was essentially out of board games, and what brought me back was that Everdell cover. I saw it, immediately looked up a review (Zee's), reconnected with The Dice Tower, went all in and effectively got back into the hobby, much to my wallet's dismay. It called to me and I'm not even sure why, as objectively I think On Mars is the best board game cover I've seen. My top five from this list were: 1. Everdell, 2. On Mars, 3. Weather Machine, 4. Leaving Earth, 5. Wingspan.

Wingspans cover is more eye catching then people think. Our eyes are less attracted to busy things so the negative space does well. Plus our eyes are attracted to red so the bird stands out

Inis not even being in the field is an Absolute Crime

Only 15 minutes in and some of them seem really sold on combining as many strong colors as possible all at once and opposed to a uniform color scheme with a few strong highlights. Many of the ones they were advocating for, I would describe as garish.

Almost all of the best covers I was thinking of were mentioned in the video :) Except for: - Oath - Tapestry - Brass Lancashire - Kanban EV - Escape Plan - Dixit

re: Aquatica vs Abyss - it's always interesting to me (but not shocking, because I do it too) when people are shocked -- as many of the crew were at the responses to this pairing -- that their position on a very subjective question isn't validated by others. That being said, the question here is "Which is more beautiful?" and while both of these pieces of art are well done, neither are particularly compelling to me. And I would rather look at the seascape than the off-putting close up of a not-sure-what-it-is creature.

For me it would have been Scythe. Everything on that cover 'covers' the entire game. The letter C as a scythe, the balance of farming on the foreground while there is battling in the distance. How the warfare is undeniably present, but not on the main focus. Just like the game itself.

RE: Leaving Earth. I love how the moon looks like a bow and the rocket and fire/smoke look like an arrow being shot up into the night sky.

I know it's a matter of taste, but I'm a little disappointed with many of the choices and tons of misses. I would have changed more than half of those covers. I nevertheless enjoyed as always and the winner is such a gorgeous cover. -as a side note to Roy, if he's reading this, I think the contrast was off on the screen. I double-checked some of these covers on bgg and regained my faith in what I originally thought they looked like, which were a little different due to brightness/saturation issues. Particularly Merchants of the Dark Road 35:49 is dark and dim and the details are not visible. Yet again, kudos to you Roy and love how skillfully you put all these together.

Chris going "also that's a moose... how do you fight against a moose?... you get in low, go for the jugular" and Zee going "WHAT?!" Was golden... I know it was an elk but Chris timing was great... plus... Elk or Moose... it would be the same strategy just saying😅

I don't really see why Everdell is so loved, the yellow washes out so much of the background. As for what was missing I've always really liked the Cry Havoc cover but Gale Force Nines version of Dune is just so striking.

How can this even be a legit contest without the Cosmic Frog cover?

geez the people who expect full on movie budget production sound on these videos crack me up

I find it fascinating how many of these covers have very static compositions. Primary subjects seem to be placed dead center on the covers. And in a case like Planetarium, where you have a very strong dynamic imbalance, the result is a huge win. Many of these pieces are not good cover art, even when the piece is good art when standing alone.

22:31 Formosa Tea, I’d never seen that game before and instantly my eye was caught by that cover. Very nice in my opinion.

Ahh well - it’d be boring if we all agreed about everything, especially when it comes to art. Everdell and Sleeping Gods wouldn’t get close to my top 100.

Would like to have seen Endangered. It is such a striking cover and connects the player to the emotion that they feel during gameplay.

Either of the Brass games Birmingham/ Lancashire should have been in there!!!!

I like the Everdell Cover but compared to Scythe it is not even close. However, very fun show to watch. Thank you!

A game not listed that I would have loved to have seen is the cover for King of Tokyo Dark Edition.

art vs design considerations is the key determining factor. uniqueness is another

Mike could find 30 better covers, but was wrong almost every round, lol. I want to see his top 64.

Next time you could have a wildcard where the top 4-5 losers compete for one last spot.

You constantly broadcast these live shows when most of us in the US are at work or school. I wish you'd to weekend or evenings more for some of them.

I'm so glad you're finally using overhead mics! A little echoy, but hugely improved overall!

#SaveAtlantisRising

Alternative sagrada, a stain glass window being installed with light rays coming through

Roy used the wrong cover for Dwellings of Eldervale. Should have used the limited edition Croc cover.

I would have had King of Tokyo: Dark Edition and Dinosaur World as contenders

Yeah I feel like a lot of these are determined by how much people enjoy the game more than the actual coverart

The more people there are at the table, the harder it is for Tom to wrangle the chaos.

I’m boggled that people like the Oceans cover. It looks like a Lisa Frank story exploded.

I love that Planetarium made it. From the moment that game arrived on my doorstep, I LOVED it. I actually had it displayed for quite some time. The fact that the game is about creating and seeding planets ... it's really evocative.

I really enjoyed this exploration of board game cover art. There is so much that affects a person's response to art including color, texture, style, media, theme, and the incorporation of other graphic design elements (fonts, logos, etc.) that it can generally be quite subjective so it was interesting to see how people responded to the different covers. The selections for this video were very good and I would like to see more of this including other artists such as Kwanchai Moriya (Capital Lux, Falling Skies, Catacombs, ...), Satoshi Matsuura (Hidden Leaders), Tara McPherson and Scott Hartman (Dreamwell), Jacqui Davis (Euphoria), whoever created the Mythic Mischief cover, Gjermund Bohne (Riverside) ... and so many more. This could be a fun series. (Most of the games I own are an art collection as well as being games.)

Suddenly Planitarium is on the BGG hotness list... wonder why...

Who is hammering! Lol. You guys did great keeping your composure.

I tried to vote for Vengeance in the original Facebook poll, but the poll had stopped accepting new entries by the time I go there. That cover is awesome. Days of Ire was robbed. That cover looks so iconic. No idea how Mysterium made it that far. The cover is okay, but really nothing special.

Thank you, Dice Tower! A Very interesting topic! Enjoyed tapping into the artistic realm.

I’m really enjoying these voting videos. Some I loved were knocked out early, but I do think the best cover won. Before I played Everdell, I saw it as a beautiful cover. After I played Everdell, the cover now immediately draws me in and makes me want to play, because it so accurately reflects the feeling I get when I dive into that game world.

Great video guys. You should do another one of these for sure. For me scythe or root would have won it. Contenders for next time... Cthulhu death may die, unconscious mind, and my favorite cover I've ever seen is dune war for arrakis.

Late to the video, but my favorite cover was not here and to me is better than any one shown and it is Brass Birmingham. It is such a beautiful piece of art, with the reflections in the puddle and the white box

Brilliant contest to watch! Discussion, great art and unpredictable public voting!

How was Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn not on this list. It is one of the most striking covers ever

I'm baffled that Planetarium got as far as it did. Sure it's a striking image but I found it got less interesting the more I saw it.

Lots of pretty, cartoony, and colorful. And water, lots of water. 😂 Interesting list

I don’t think Everdell is a very good cover. A bit too yellow and there just isn’t a good background in the forest, just some vague and random buildings etc.

What does the Dice Tower have against a Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher???

Before seeing the video, mine is: 1. Brass Lancashire Scythe Brass Birmingham Trajan The Lord of the Rings LCG Ultimate Railroads Arkham Horror 2nd ed. On Mars War of the Ring 1st ed. 10. Terraforming Mars

surprised no one brought up that everdell cover looks inspired by wind in the willows.

How did planetarium make it this far? Lol

"Seasons of Love" - that’s a second time I hear Tom making a Broadway reference in a video. Waiting for more! :)

Tokaido is the only one of those “mostly white” covers that I really like.

No Kwanchi Moriya? He's done some great covers.

Great work Dice Tower! I would have love to see "Covert" in there!

Formosa Tea got done dirty. It was the best cover in the whole video.

I love how tortured Mike was over the Everdell vs Sycthe match up.

For the future, because you can definitely do this a couple of times and then have the winners of these fight against each other: Darwins choice has a great cover ISS vanguard is gorgeous Fractal into the void, noz out yet but looks cool Call to adventure Mind Mgmt Transmission Dixit Oath Callico Dreams Make it happen n.n

How the heck is Tapestry not on this list? I hate the game but I love the art.

There are frequent threads in wargaming forums about cover and map art. Numerous stunning examples from over the decades (in a few cases, centuries!), and around the world.

Wingspan stands out. Same goes for Azul or Power Grid. They stand out in a store between a dozen other games.

19:50 I expected Feudum in the other competition :P 49:00 Same for Root :D

I wouldn’t even have called like 5-10 of these GOOD covers. Give me 7th Continent’s cover over all of these.

I don't quite see the appeal of Everdell. It's good, but to me it just doesn't stand out. The colors seem to blend in, and while it's very well done art, at a glance it looks similar to others I've seen. The striking look of Etherfields, the beautiful art and kind of hazy aspect to the On Mars cover, the perspective and view of Formosa Tea, and just the striking quality of Sleeping Gods are all covers I would easily have chosen over Everdell personally. So it's really quite subjective, and here the match ups can create quite a difference as well. Just interesting to watch I suppose.

When is the voting show for prettiest marble?

I like Everdell, and I think the cover is pretty good, but I don't think I would consider this the "best cover of all time". I enjoyed the Worst Covers of all Time video more.

Game covers that would have beaten *almost every covers in this video, for me: MIND MGMT, That Time You Killed Me, Horrified, Kings Dilemma and without a doubt: Unmatched Cobble & Fog (close to perfection if you ask me)

Holi looks like the face is vomiting color. And the people below are just:yay!

I completely agree with Tom on Mike's reversal of opinion, the Root art style is incredible but the composition is so flat, especially compared to Etherfields. The latter winning the poll is the moment I knew for sure that the audience were voting 'properly' rather than voting for their favourites.

Windward! Not even included for voting??

Some amazing covers here. Had a feeling whoever came out on top of the Everdell/Scythe matchup would win the whole thing. Surprising omissions from the 64 were Brass: Birmingham, Lisboa and Kanban EV (though I suppose four Lacerda/O'Toole titles might have been asking too much). My top five from the ones chosen were Scythe, Everdell, Weather Machine, Formosa Tea and On Mars. As entertaining as the bad covers video was, this was far more fun.

First three votes just shot my confidence in any of the votes.

New quest for el dorado is really nice

The worst board game covers vid is easy to agree with lol, but I have very different tastes to the ones that generally get picked for best eg bright vibrant cutesy artworks ad infinitum. Give me some dry historical euro artworks anyday, or something with some character, not just glitz and glamour!

I'm missing Pilgrim from this list, I think that's a stunning cover. If you don't know it, give it a look, gorgeous!

What I would prefer would be "Best Game BOARDS of All-Time".

Abyss, Everdell and Mice and Mystics all have very nice art. And Ryan Laukat games. Now let me check the video. I dunno about covers.

Out of these Oceans, Weather Machine, and Formosa Tea are my favorites

Very interesting introduction! Great to see Etherfields and Flamecraft two board games. 😉

Where was twilight imperium 4th edition??? That cover is lovely.

I went through the poll and my top 8 after matchups were: Aquatica, Everdell, FermosaTea, Mysterium, On Mars, Rococo Deluxe, Sleeping Gods, Unfathomable

WOW! Saying Wingpan should get blown away by Yamatai? I am now saying Wingspan is amazing but Yamatai is actively bad.

Love Mike, but I call shenanigans! Let’s see your Top 10 Board Covers that didn’t make the list then Mike! 🤪

The purple and red on Dwellings of Eldervale kill the cover for me. Just looks like a big mess. Also that split-tail bird on the Wingspan cover is super cool, why are people hating on it?

Chris is 100% right about Wingspan

No Meltscape?! This list is invalid!

How were Kanban EV and Brass not here? Seriously.

Def need a round 2 of this and then the winner of this video against the winner of round 2!

Babylonia is the one cover I thought of off the top of my head that wasn't included in the list. It's a gorgeous cover.

So you need to get Dan may on the phone to talk about making these covers.

Am I the only one then who thinks the bottom half of the sleeping gods cover is very boring? Neither looks realism style, nor scary, nor mysterious.. and the fur .. fur can not possibly behave like that under water unless the monster is actually maybe receding from the ship .. just looks bad imo.

Hmm, there were a lot of very average covers on this list, I think you should take nominations for a 2nd list and do another video, then put the winners against each other.

Scythe vs Everdel was the real final. Scythe is so artistically and represents very well the game, from the menacing robots to the farming and economic mechanics from the game, to area control. This is just amazing. But evederl was my favourite second.

Struggle of Empires and Pax Pamir (2nd ed's both) should have been contenders (and I did participate in the poll :p )