Every Marvel board game ever published, as ranked by BoardGameGeek

Marvel-themed board games vary tremendously in quality. The mega franchise has licensed its name to so many companies and projects over the years that we can find literally hundreds of unique games bearing some form of the Marvel brand. Some of these games are original and well-designed, like Marvel Champions or Marvel United. A few are themed adaptations of popular designer games, like Codenames or Splendor. Some are dreck that simply “reskinned” a best-selling game like Monopoly or UNO. Still others are interesting curios that never sold well but aren’t obviously hot garbage. And some are obviously hot garbage. Literally five games are just called “Spider-Man.”

All of these Marvel games are listed below. My only criteria were that the game had to be published, have a listing on BoardGameGeek.com, and it could not be an expansion to or a different printing of another game on the list. (aka no doubles). Below this text you will find a table listing all these games. The links on their titles will bring you to the appropriate game on this list. If you’d prefer to just browse through games, skip past the table! Descriptions are focused on games in U.S. circulation, ordered roughly according to average rating on BoardGameGeek.com at time of publishing.

Some of the descriptions of these games will be sparse or absent at first but we are dedicated to filling in more details. If you feel that we’ve missed a game, please let us know and we will add it! This is meant to be a living post that is updated as new Marvel games come to our attention or into the world.

Game Title	Avg. rank	No. of BGG raters*	Year	Broad classification
Marvel: Crisis Protocol	8.41	281	2019	Miniatures game
Smash Up: Marvel	8.4	31	2021	Adaptation of Designer game
Marvel Universe Miniature Game: The Avengers Starter Set	8.3	17	2016	Miniatures game
Marvel Champions: The Card Game	8.21	7870	2019	Modular game system
Jogo Liga da Justiça (2017)	8	1	2017	Outside U.S.
Splendor Marvel	7.77	160	2020	Adaptation of designer game
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game	7.6	246	2018	Modular game system
Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-Men	7.44	5476	2014	Modular game system
Marvel United	7.4	632	2020	Original design
Marvel Villainous: Infinite Power	7.36	233	2020	Adaptation of designer game
Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War	7.25	1734	2018	Original design
Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game	7.2	513	2020	Adaptation of designer game
Marvel Heroes Chess	7.11	27562	2011	Reskinned "classic"
Munchkin X-Men	7.1	278	2017	Adaptation of designer game
Marvel Heroes Jogo	7.05	10	2006	Outside U.S.
Heroscape Marvel: The Conflict Begins	7.01	1826	2007	Modular game system
Spider-Man and Friends Hide 'n Seek Card Game	7	1	2004	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Avengers Jeu Hero Rush Game	7	2	2020	Outside U.S.
HeroClix: Captain America Civil War Starter Set	7	3	2016	Modular game system
Vs System 2PCG: The Marvel Battles	6.99	534	2015	Modular game system
Munchkin Marvel	6.95	971	2016	Adaptation of designer game
5-Minute Marvel	6.95	1542	2018	Adaptation of designer game
Spider-Man Swing into Action	6.71	7	2003	3D or dexterity
Hail Hydra	6.7	1074	2017	Original design
Super Hero Squad Card Game	6.7	51	2012	Attempted CCG
Marvel Fluxx	6.66	195	2019	Adaptation of designer game
X-Men: Mutant Insurrection	6.6	50	2021	Adaptation of designer game
Marvel Super Heroes Game	6.51	36	1992	Roll-and-move
Apples to Apples: Marvel (2020)	6.5	0	2020	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Heroes	6.38	2403	2006	Original design
Marvel Battleworld	6.45	33	2020	Modular Game System
Captain America Game (Featuring the Falcon and the Avengers)	6.36	22	1977	Roll-and-move
Wakanda Forever	6.345	77	2019	Original design
The Avengers: Uniti per vincere	6.33	3	2015	Outside U.S.
Stratego: Marvel Heroes	6.31	67	2007	Reskinned "classic"
Codenames: Marvel	6.31	770	2017	Adaptation of designer game
X-Men: Mutant Revolution	6.28	203	2015	Miniatures game
Avengers: Infinity War – Das Spiel	6.25	4	2018	Outside U.S.
The Amazing Spider-Man Labyrinth	6.25	20	2012	Adaptation of designer game
Captain Marvel: Secret Skrulls	6.17	63	2019	Adaptation of designer game
Marvel Ultimate Spider-Man Trickshot Duel Action Game	6.17	3	2014	3D or dexterity
The Uncanny X-Men Alert Adventure Game	6.15	419	1992	Original design
Sinister Six"	6.1	97	2019	Original design
Spider-Man	6.1	56	2002	Original design
Attacktix Battle Figure Game Marvel Superheroes	6.1	74	2006	Modular game system
Marvel Comics Super Heroes Strategy Game	6.1	16	1980	Abstract Strategy
Marvel Heroes Breakout DVD Game	6	1	2007	Trivia
Spider-Man	6	2	2001	Print and Play
The Amazing Spider-Man	6	3	1984	Outside U.S.
X-Men Deck the Mutants Card Game	6	22	1992	Attempted CCG
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Gear Up and Rock Out! An Awesome Mix Card Game	6.0	25	2017	Original design
Spider-Man 3 3D Skyscraper Game	6	1	2007	3D or dexterity
Yahtzee: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	5.9	10	2017	Reskinned "classic"
Spider-Man Ultimate Power	5.83	4	2007	Original design
Superhéroes Marvel: Juego de cartas no coleccionable	5.8	1	2009	Outside U.S.
Spider-Man	5.8	1	2003	3D or dexterity
Marvel Avengers Assemble: Slide Strike Battle Game	5.8	5	2014	Roll-and-move
X-Men: Under Siege	5.74	225	1994	Original design
Marvel Contest of Champions: Battlerealm	5.73	59	2018	Modular game system
Jenga: Spider-Man	5.71	14	2012	Reskinned "classic"
Overpower	5.7	448	1995	Attempted CCG
Risk: Marvel Cinematic Universe	5.7	43	2015	Reskinned "classic"
Scene It? Marvel	5.69	21	2007	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Comics Super Heroes Game Book	5.67	3	1994	Roll-and-move
UNO: Avengers	5.66	29	2015	Reskinned "classic"
Yo! Marvel Heroes	5.63	7	2007	Original design
The Incredible Hulk Smash	5.61	45	1998	Roll-and-move
Risk: Captain America – Civil War Edition	5.6	64	2016	Reskinned "classic"
Memory Challenge: Marvel Comics Edition	5.58	12	2013	Reskinned "classic"
Ultimate Spider-Man: Face Off Dice Game – Spider-Man vs. Rhino	5.56	8	2014	Original design
Monopoly: Fantastic Four	5.55	11	2005	Reskinned "classic"
Trivial Pursuit: Marvel Cinematic Universe – Data_Archive: Volume_1	5.52	23	2013	Trivia
Marvel Avengers Floor Dominoes	5.47	5697	2014	Reskinned "classic"
Pictopia: Marvel Cinematic Universe Edition	5.43	7	2017	Trivia
Marvel Battlebooks: Captain America	5.41	21	1998	Print and Play
UNO: X-Men	5.4	22	2003	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Hedbanz	5.39	288	2015	Reskinned "classic"
Yahtzee: Avengers – Age of Ultron – Iron Man	5.38	11341	2015	Reskinned "classic"
The Captain America Game	5.33	3	1966	Roll-and-move
Monopoly: Marvel Avengers	5.31	59	2015	Reskinned "classic"
UNO: Spider-Man	5.28	59	2002	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Ultimate Battles	5.28	27	2008	Attempted CCG
Cardline: Marvel	5.21	295	2015	Adaptation of designer game
Monopoly: Marvel Comics	5.2	77	1999	Reskinned "classic"
UNO: Fantastic Four	5.2	10	2005	Reskinned "classic"
Spider-Man Web Slinger	5.18	9	2007	Original design
Spider-Man: Spider Sense	5.12	170	2008	Reskinned "classic"
Monopoly: X-Men	5.11	57	2000	Reskinned "classic"
Monopoly: Spider-Man 3	5.11	28	2007	Reskinned "classic"
Avengers Mighty Battle	5.11	9	2012	3D or dexterity
Sorry! Spider-Man 3	5.03	20	2007	Reskinned "classic"
Monopoly: Spider-Man	5.02	53	2002	Reskinned "classic"
The Amazing Spider-Man	5	1	1994	Roll-and-move
Les Super Héros Marvel: Guerres secrètes	5	4	1985	Outside U.S.
Jogo do Hulk	5	1	2003	Outside U.S.
Spider-Man 3 The Battle Within Game	5	2	2007	Original design
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse Prowler Attack 3-D Game	5	2	2018	3D or dexterity
Marvel Slingers	5	2	2011	3D or dexterity
Spider-Man & Friends Hide & Seek	4.99	72	2005	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Trivia Game	4.95	50	2001	Trivia
UNO: Hulk	4.9	10	2003	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Comics Super-Heroes Card Game	4.86	14	1978	Original design
Marvel Super Dice	4.8	27	1997	Original design
Monopoly: My Marvel Heroes	4.76	30	2014	Reskinned "classic"
Spider-Man 2 Make a Match Game	4.75	4	2002	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Avengers Assemble Memory Game	4.74	2365	2013	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Heroes Battle Dice	4.73	67	2006	Original design
Marvel Comics Trivia Box	4.57	14	2015	Trivia
UNO: Marvel Heroes	4.54	22	2010	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Trivia Game	4.52	30	2003	Trivia
Fantastic Four	4.5	2	1994	Roll-and-move
Marvel Civil War Skirmish	4.5	2	2016	Miniatures game
Captain America: Civil War	4.5	2	2016	Original design
Spider-Man, The Boardgame	4.5	2	2001	3D or dexterity
Amazing Spider-Man Web Spinning Action Game	4.5	2	1979	3D or dexterity
The Amazing Spider-Man Game	4.48	21	2012	3D or dexterity
X-Men: Crisis in the Danger Room	4.47	29	1994	Roll-and-move
Marvel Superhero Showdown!	4.47	15	2005	Original design
Don't Wake Hulk	4.46	353	1992	Reskinned "classic"
Fantastic Four vs. Dr. Doom Game	4.36	19	2005	Roll-and-move
UNO: Spider-Sense Spider-Man	4.33	3	2012	Reskinned "classic"
Ultimate Spider-Man Hide and Seek	4.33	3	2014	Reskinned "classic"
Avengers Assemble	4.33	3	2007	Print and Play
Marvel Spider-Sense Spider-man Battle Game	4.33	3	2012	Original design
Avengers Hide and Seek	4.33	3	2004	Original design
Spider-Man & Friends Gotcha Card Game	4.25	2	2005	Original design
Spider-Man vs The Green Goblin	4.25	15	2002	3D or dexterity
The Amazing Spider Man Game with the Fantastic Four!	4.19	25	1967	Roll-and-move
Incredible Hulk Smash-Up Action Game	4.17	15	1979	Roll-and-move
The Incredible Hulk with the Fantastic Four!	4.12	12	1978	Original design
Spider-Man	4.12	4	1995	3D or dexterity
Operation: Spider-man Origins	4.09	3452	2012	Reskinned "classic"
Operation: Hulk	4.09	3452	2008	Reskinned "classic"
Spider-Man	4.07	7	1996	Original design
Hulk Busts Loose	4.06	17	2003	Roll-and-move
X-Men Trading Card Game	4.06	114	2000	Attempted CCG
X-Men	4	2	1994	Roll-and-move
The Incredible Hulk	4	2	1994	Roll-and-move
The Avengers	4	2	1994	Roll-and-move
UNO: Spider-Man 2	4	3	2004	Reskinned "classic"
The Incredible Hulk Game	4	1	1979	Print and Play
Marvel Avengers Assemble Lotto	3.76	235	2014	Reskinned "classic"
Spider-Man Crime Stopper Card Game	3.71	8	2005	Original design
Marvel ReCharge CCG	3.66	25	2001	Attempted CCG
Marvel Heroes Unite!	3.62	4	2011	Original design
Jogo X-Men	3.5	2	1996	Outside U.S.
The New Fantastic Four Game	3.33	3	1978	Roll-and-move
The New Avengers Board Game	3.25	4	1977	Roll-and-move
Spider-Man Web Attack	3.25	4	2003	3D or dexterity
Spider-Man 3: The Ultimate Game	3.21	12	2007	Original design
The Amazing Spider-Man Game	3	2	1993	Roll-and-move
UNO: Marvel Ultimate Spider-man Web-Warriors Card Game	3	2	2014	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Avengers: Captain America vs. Loki	3	3	2012	Outside U.S.
Marvel Power Game	3	1	1996	Original design
The Incredible Hulk 3-D Rampage Board Game	3	5	2003	3D or dexterity
Chutes and Ladders Super Hero Squad	2.85	3608	2014	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Avengers Assemble Bingo	2.83	2055	2014	Reskinned "classic"
Spider-Man Vs. Doc Ock	2.8	5	2003	Roll-and-move
Marvel Avengers: Iron Man Armor Up	2.67	3	2012	Original design
Game Box: Family Feud – Marvel Edition	2.5	6	2016	Trivia
Ultimate Spider-man	2	1	2012	Roll-and-move
Spider-Man versus Doctor Octopus: Race to Rescue Board Game	2	1	2004	Original design
Marvel Avengers: Hulk's Smashing Challenge	2	2	2012	3D or dexterity
Guess Who? Marvel Heroes Edition	0	4430	1979	Reskinned "classic"
Top Trumps: Marvel Captain America Civil War	0	917	2016	Reskinned "classic"
Spiderman & Friends Yahtzee Jr.	0	0	2014	Reskinned "classic"
Marvel Spider-Man & Friends Memory	0	2365	2011	Reskinned "classic"
The Incredible Hulk Game (1983)	0	0	1983	Roll-and-move
Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock Game (2004)	0	0	2004	Roll-and-move
Spider-Man vs Doc Octopus (2013)	0	0	2013	Roll-and-move
Spider-Man: Goblin Grab! Card Game (2003)	0	0	2019	Reskinned "classic"
Monopoly: Marvel 80 Years (2019)The game of Monopoly helps Marvel Comics celebrate their 80th anniversary.	0	0	2019	Reskinned "classic"
Ultimate Spider-Man: Spiderman contra el mal (2002)	0	0	2002	Outside U.S.
Tiens Bon Spider-Man (2009)	0	0	2009	Outside U.S.
Il labirinto di Hulk: Hulk's Labyrinth (2008)	0	0	2003	Outside U.S.
X-Men Skirmish (2002)	0	0	2002	Miniatures game
Marvel Super Heroes Collector's Club Trading Cards (2006)	0	0	2006	Attempted CCG
Clout: Marvel (2006)	0	0	2006	Adaptation of designer game
Spider-Man Web Launch Game (2004)	0	0	2004	3D or dexterity
Spider-Man 3 Wall Crawl Race Game	0	0	2007	3D or dexterity

The Marvel Universe’s definitive hobby miniatures game has 25 optional character packs available and counting. This is the miniature game you want if you’re into assembling and painting minis, and the BGG community also rates it highly as a game.

Marvel Dice Throne

• 8.4 average BGG rating
• 2-6 players
• 20-40 min. stated play time
• 2022 release
• Publishers: The Op, Roxley
• Designers: Gavan Brown, Nate Chatellier, Manny Trembley
• Broad classification: Adaptation of designer game

Smash Up: Marvel

It’s more than a little strange that AEG licensed Marvel characters for its 2021 Smash Up set, especially since the game already had a superheroes faction not dissimilar from the Marvel Multiverse. This standalone expansion covers much more detail, however, including sets for The Avengers, Hydra, Kree, Masters of Evil, S.H.I.E.L.D., Sinister Six, Spider-Verse and Ultimates. Have fun coming up with in-universe reasons to shuffle the Kree and Spider-Verse together.

Knight Models’ miniatures were highly expensive and made of metal. You can still find them, but they are no longer being published. Apparently the ruleset that goes along with it is fairly well liked, although at this point collecting enough miniatures to play would likely cost several hundred dollars.

From the publisher:

This game is a small scale skirmish level game where Superheroes and Villains face off against each other in a 3D tabletop set up. It could be a city, the Wakandan desert, the Savage Lands, the blue area of the moon or anything you like. In Marvel they fight anywhere.

It is played on a 36″ x 36″ board so will fit on most tables without a problem.

Source: Knight Models

Marvel Champions made a splash in the living card game world when it came out in 2019, and several expansions and characters are already available. The game is heavily customizable, so you can purchase whichever heroes and villains you want that are available. In fact, you don’t even need the base game to start playing; All the individual decks come ready to play, aside from a seven-card standard encounter set that is only available in the base game. (You do need a minimum of one hero and one villain and something to use as tokens.)

I would love to mock this, but honestly, Thanos collecting infinity stones makes a lot more sense as a theme than… whatever vague conceit the original Splendor provides for collecting gems. The publisher claims that the Marvel adaptation differs mechanically from the original with a different color structure, a new endgame trigger, and new victory conditions.

Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game

Legendary is maybe the best-known Marvel designer game. The 2012 title has spawned 23 direct expansions and seven spinoffs that use a similar system with other franchises. As deck-builders go, it’s a bit setup-heavy. It’s also a “co-op” game where the players win or lose together… except the person who KOs the most enemies wins the most. And you can sabotage your fellow heroes while they’re trying to do that. So maybe not so cooperative. Still, it was foundational to the genre in 2012 and holds up well enough that Upper Deck is still releasing expansions for it. Devin Low also designed another Upper Deck title on this list, Super Hero Squad Card Game

Of course the collectible behemoth that is Dice Masters covers the Marvel universe. The expandable pool-construction dice game currently also includes DC Comics, Dungeons and Dragons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Warhammer 40K, WWE, and Yu-Gi-Oh. If Dice Masters hasn’t come for your favorite thing yet, it’s just a matter of time. I’m personally looking forward to someday fielding a team consisting of Steven Universe, Robot Chicken, L from Stranger Things, Mr. Darcy, Jason Vorhees, and Barack Obama.

If you like your games with miniatures but are not obsessive about assembling and painting them, this might the option for you. You can paint the minis if you want, but they are game pieces first and foremost (and they arrive assembled). CMON went with an unusually cute and a cartoony style for the art and miniatures, which may be a pro or a con for you. It also means there might be a place for this game on the miniature gamers’ shelf next to Crisis Protocol.

This reimplementation of the successful Disney-branded game apparently uses the same asymmetrical gameplay mechanics: using a personal board and deck of cards to complete a unique goal faster than their competing villains. The Marvel theming may make slightly more sense than the Disney version, given the game’s implication that all these villains are in the same universe. That’s definitely true for the Marvel villains; way more questionable for Disney villains.

Ravensburger recreated the semi-abstract player figurines from the Disney version, which for the most part are easily identifiable and artistically interesting. It also reduced the maximum player size from six to four, which makes sense in that 6-player Villainous was quite a slow-going experience. Prospero Hall also designed another game on this list, Marvel Battleworld.

Thanos Rising was released around the same time as the “Avengers: Infinity War” film, and features events that take place in that movie. I’m not saying it was released just as a marketing opportunity for the movie, but I’m also not not saying that. The game plays as a co-operative dice and card game wherein players try to stop Thanos from obtaining all the infinity stones. It also has a giant Thanos figurine as one of its game components, so that’s fun. The game design has since been adapted to four other IPs: Star Wars, SpongeBob SquarePants, Harry Potter, and Batman. Andrew Wolf also worked on 1.5 other games on this list, Munchkin Marvel and Munchkin X-Men.

Getting increasingly ridiculous with its variations, Love Letter developed a Thanos-themed version of its iconic game for 2020, joining Batman as a very strange theme for a deduction game about competing suitors. In the original Love Letter, players are trying to court a princess before their competitors. The Batman adaptation… didn’t fundamentally change this. So the Marvel adaptation turns the mechanics into a one vs. all game, with one person playing Thanos and the other players trying to stop them from obtaining the right cards.

“They really changed the game a ton in infinity gauntlet,” shared Reddit user AstroLaddie, “but they may have poisoned the well with all the reskins and people just assume it’s the same game+maybe one new rule which it’s definitely not.”

Yes, this is the third game on this list directly about Thanos collecting infinity stones.

It’s chess! I doubt the Marvel-themed models change very much about the gameplay but your mileage may vary.

Everyone’s least-favorite dungeon crawler has approximately 600 variations, two of which (by my count) are Marvel-branded, X-Men and Marvel. I feel strongly that this could have been an expansion to the Marvel version of Munchkin, but it isn’t. It’s a standalone game with a different card back, annoyingly. Andrew Wolf also worked on 1.5 other games on this list, Munchkin Marvel and Thanos Rising.

The HeroScape series of games started coming out in 2004 and Hasbro discontinued production in 2010. The game had relatively simple dice-rolling combat, but its real appeal was in the extensive terrain and scenarios the game included. If players wanted board games to bring back the feeling of playing with childhood toys, HeroScape probably fits the bill (sorry if this offends). The game also notoriously took longer to set up and tear down than it did to play.

HeroClix is a miniature-ish game based on the Mage Knights combat system. From the developers:

The game plays much like a miniatures game, but without the measure-and-move system or the constant consultation of hit charts. Rather, most of the vital statistical information is directly on the base of the characters, which can be rotated as characters take damage from hits.

Source: WizKids

Although it is out of print, you can still find copies secondhand or, if you’re willing to pay up, in shrink.

The Vs System was a 2004 attempted collectible card game that combined Marvel and DC characters. Its reimplementation, the pithy “Vs System 2PCG,” streamlined a few mechanics and moved from a CCG random pack sales format to a more LCG-like established deck format. It also focused on Marvel at first, but then went on to create expansions that mixed in characters from the Aliens movies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, and X-Files, just to name a few.

The game’s publisher, Upper Deck Entertainment, also makes the popular and expandable Legendary series. They are very different kinds of card games, but Upper Deck clearly knows how to market them—just keep releasing expansions.

No, I’m not sure why it has a lower average ranking than the X-Men version either. But they do have different card backs to stop you from combining them! To make this even more unreasonable, the Munchkin Marvel set does have two other expansions that have the same card back and which you can combine (Munchkin Marvel 2: Electric Boogaloo Mystic Mayhem and Munchkin Marvel 3: Cosmic Chaos). Licensing is weird. Andrew Wolf also worked on 1.5 other games on this list, Munchkin X-Men and Thanos Rising.

This franchise began life as 5-Minute Dungeon, a chaotic, real-time game in a stupidly shaped box where players cooperatively match symbols on dungeon cards to progress through the levels. Each level, including a Dungeons and Dragons-esque boss, has a 5-minute timer, hence the name. Ideally a group would be playing for longer than 5 minutes unless they lose at the first boss. 5-Minute Marvel takes the same formula and uses Marvel bosses of increasing level of difficulty. One big change from 5-Minute Dungeon is that where, in the original, each player has their own unique deck, in the Marvel version each player has one generic deck and one smaller deck unique to their character. Players choose which deck to draw from every time they need cards. I found this version substantially easier than 5-Minute Dungeon.

The temptation to make Spider-Man games 3D is just too strong for most publishers. From RoseArt:

A 3 dimensional board game where Spiderman swings from a web suspended between 4 towers above a rotatable disc simulating a manhole cover … Spiderman swings around and seemingly at random chooses a bad guy to be collected.

Source: RoseArt

Hail Hydra is a hidden role/deduction game that calls back The Winter Soldier. If you’ve seen the movie or read the comic it’s based on, the premise will be familiar to you: There are Hydra agents hidden among the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization—We don’t know who they are. In Hail Hydra, this plot manifests as a werewolf-inspired game that gives each player a card letting them know if they are a S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra agent. All the players are superheroes, but one or two are loyal to Hydra—which is a bit of a departure from the source material if memory serves. In 2018, the game was nominated for the Golden Geek Best Party Game award. Nick Metzler also designed two other games on this list, Sinister Six and Wakanda Forever.

Upper Deck attempted to get this trading card game off the ground before it came out with Legendary or the Vs. System. You can see why they’d think it was a moneymaker if there weren’t already 3000 TCGs popular at the time. From the publisher:

Utilizing a simple system of attacks and blocks, players construct decks based around 6 power types (Energy, Tech, Strength, Speed, Animal and Elemental). Hitting your opponent causes them to lose cards from their deck. Deplete your opponent’s deck completely, and you win! 

In the “Foundation” base set, fans can pick up intro packs themed around Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine and Hulk. Each includes one super-rare foil card and a collectible coin per intro pack. A two-player intro pack is also available, pitting The Avengers against the X-Men, and features the collectible coin plus two exclusive play mats! Additionally, booster packs consisting of six common cards, three uncommon cards and one rare foil card are available, with one ultra-rare Loot card per box!

Source: Upper Deck Entertainment

Devin Low also designed another Upper Deck title on this list, the Marvel Vs 2PCG System.

Fluxx is a card game by Looney Labs with 34 standalone variations and a number of expansion packs. They are all functionally the same: The rules are in flux (ayyy) and the game starts with no victory condition. Players can play “Goal” cards that allow someone to win if they have a certain cards in their tableau. This randomness means a game can end within a few turns or last up to an hour. The Marvel Fluxx box is differently sized than the other Fluxx editions, which means there’s something annoying for everyone! Fluxx collectors will be annoyed that the box size doesn’t match their collection, and Marvel fans will be annoyed because it’s Fluxx. But it comes with a pointless coin, so that’s something.

X-Men: Mutant Insurrection isn’t technically sold as an adaptation, but it’s well-understood to be a reimplementation of Richard Launius’ 2011 title Elder Sign. They are both cooperative dice-rolling games that follow the same basic structure. Elder Sign could accommodate up to eight players even though the community didn’t recommend anything about four. So as a recognition of that, Mutant Insurrection caps at six. Well, progress has to start somewhere.

This version of Apples to Apples has more Marvel characters and less replayability! I guess you could combine it with the base Apples to Apples, although I’m not sure all the prompts would make sense. From Mattel: “Watch out for the unique “Thanos Snaps” card; it’s a game-changing wild card removing half of players’ Red Apple cards!”

I wasn’t entirely sure whether to classify this as a modular game system or an attempted collectible card game. It’s definitely a collectible game, it even has booster packs where you don’t know the contents. But it’s not really a card game, and certainly not in the way people usually use the term CCG.

When you buy a Battle Ball, you get a random superhero figure and an associated card. The game’s advertising encourages players to “collect all 30 heroes,” but there’s no way to avoid getting doubles. Interestingly, they have characters like Ultron and Zombie Red Skull among said “heroes.”

The actual game is a fairly simple cooperative dice chucker. The consensus seems to be that it’s best for kids. A big tipoff here is that it’s made by Funko, the same company that makes a fortune selling vinyl pop figures without a game attached. Can be played solo. Prospero Hall also designed another game on this list, Marvel Villainous.

This miniatures game never really took off and it is no longer being published. You have to wonder whether the appeal of these products was the game design or the action figures. The publisher’s description doesn’t really clear that up:

High-quality plastic figures of many of the major Marvel Super Heroes, including Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four and The X-Men, as well as of the Nemesis characters, are included in the game. Each character featured in the game is represented by a detailed 40 mm plastic figure and an accompanying character card describing the character’s special abilities. Power-ups can be added with special effects, which are different depending on who is acquiring these bonus items, so that all the different incarnations of the character can be played.

Source: FFG

Marvel’s Stratego edition is a straight reskin of the base game, so there’s not much to say other than that it exists. No designer credited is a warning sign. But the Marvel edition puts a unique spin on base Stratego. “You have heroes with power to trigger special attacks or protections,” explained Reddit user Flavuk. “Fantastic four can be stronger together or Spider man can use the buildings to attack someone protected for example, it is really a neat twist far better than the original game!” And hey, if you love Stratego but would rather look at Marvel characters than random 19th century war miscellany, seems like a reasonable pickup.

One criticism of Codenames Pictures was that the illustrated cards were less open to interpretation than the simple words of the base game. Codenames: Marvel compounds that issue by making the cards extremely specific Marvel characters. And I mean really specific. I’m not the most attuned Marvel fan in the world, but I thought I knew most all of the characters at a general level. Nope. Malekith? Lockjaw? No idea.

This adaptation of “Spartacus: A game of Blood and Treachery” takes place after the X-Men’s Dark Phoenix plotline. It also includes HeroClix dials, weirdly.

One of the oldest games on this list—in case the title and art didn’t already give make that clear. Description from the publisher makes it sound much more frustrating than your vanilla roll-and-move game, Candyland (I’m so sorry)

Each player has two pieces (one for Cap and one for the Falcon). Spin and land on an Avenger square and move ahead X amount of spaces. Spin and land on an enemy square and be stuck there until you spin a pre-set number. First to get both pieces to the end (Satellite Lookout) wins.

Source: Milton Bradley

Wakanda forever puts up a conceit that players are working together to protect Wakanda. However, there is one winner, as each player wants to take the throne. Nick Metzler also worked on two other games on this list, Sinister Six and Hail Hydra.

From the publisher:

A slew of villains threaten Wakanda! As the five tribes of Wakanda, battle together to keep the country safe. Leading the fight is the King of Wakanda and ultimate warrior, the Black Panther, who alone earns more points than the other four tribes — but you want the throne for yourself, so time your moves carefully, challenge for the throne when the moment is right, and take the mantle of Black Panther! Win the game with the most points and cement your legacy as the Black Panther.

Source: Spin Master

Get it? Because the original game was called the aMAZEing Labyrinth? They basically had to make this adaptation (they didn’t). You can see the publisher struggling to explain why this is different than the original:

The Amazing Spider-Man Labyrinth uses the same basic game play as Ravensburger’s decades-old title The aMAZEing Labyrinth. Players try to move through a labyrinthine game board in order to reach a desired symbol shown on a game board tile that matches a hidden card held by this player. The game board consists of a number of fixed tiles as well as rows and columns in which tiles can slide back and forth; these tiles show tunnels – T-shaped, straight, and otherwise – and a player can move his token only along the path as it exists on his turn … To this basic game, The Amazing Spider-Man Labyrinth adds one twist, with the Lizard having a presence on the game board in a variant included with the base game.

Source: Ravensburger

From the publisher:

Face off in the game arena as Spidey or Green Goblin and fire discs to take out your opponent’s hero or villain pucks. Last one standing in the Helicarrier arena is the winner.

Source: Wonder Forge

Secret Skrulls was released to capitalize on the Captain Marvel film, and apparently wasn’t given much care. The game is a reimplementation of Bang! The Dice Game but no designer is credited and it’s not clear to me whether it has many mechanical differences from the original. Feel free to inform me otherwise.

It’s a shame because the shapeshifting skrull theming works really well with the Bang concept, where you are in team-based combat but don’t really know who’s on your team.

The action figures in this title look almost identical to those included in X-Men: Under Siege. From the publisher:

Each player starts with two of eighteen X-Men superheroes each with its own strength, endurance, intelligence and cheater power. Three battle zones on the board are populated with cards that show either villains to fight or heroes to recruit. Special dice determine whether players give or take hits in each battle. The goal of the game is to build up your team of superheroes and use them to defeat villains for points to win. The game includes detailed plastic figures for each of the X-Men.

Source: Pressman

In a similar vein to Villainous, Sinister Six puts you in the role of one of Spider-Man’s nemeses and has you race to complete your goal (in this case committing the biggest heist) before your rivals. Despite the promise given in the name, Sinister Six gives you the option of 10 different Spider-Man villains, each with two variations: Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Venom, Sandman, Mysterio, Vulture, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, Rhino, and Lizard. The game theme provides a semi-cooperative conceit of committing heists together, but it’s an illusion. There is only one winner. Nick Metzler, who designed two other games on this list, Hail Hydra and Wakanda Forever, was a contributed to the design.

I find it somewhat endearing that in the early aughts there were all these designers trying to apply rulesets to what amounted to action figures. Attacktix apparently had some success in that vein, as Hasbro came out with several different themes for the game. From Hasbro: “Each figure comes on a base that contains information such as speed, defense, point value, and special powers unique to that character. The goal of the game is simple – be the last one standing.”

The box does not state how long this game should take, but based on the description from the publisher, rounds could take less than 5 minutes:

Players are each dealt a face down card. There is a round of forced trading and a round of playing special modifiers, after which the worst card is the loser and loses a battery. If you lose all your batteries you are out. The heart of the game is in judging if a forced trade is worthwhile, with some take-that spite to prevent a runaway leader.

Source: The Op

You gotta love that Yahtzee: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 does not exist and never will.

This 90’s title had some cheap-looking plastic miniatures, but another version came out in 2004 with encouragement to paint them. The rerelease redesigned Wolverine, Havok, Storm and Cyclops’ models, and replaced Colossus, Shadow Cat and Professor X with Bishop, Jean Grey and Maverick. If you want X-Men miniatures, I think you probably have better options at this point.

Making the most of its Marvel license, Upper Deck based this 2018 title on the mobile game of the same name. Who knows why they decided to push another title rather than another Legendary expansion. Was the mobile game good enough to warrant an adaptation? Let me know in the comments if you happen to have experience with it.

I love that this came out before most of the MCU movies, so it’s based on things like the Toby Maguire Spider-Man and the 2005 Fantastic Four with Jessica Alba. Who remembers that Chris Evans played Human Torch in that one? Man, they wanted him to be a Marvel superhero. Apparently Deadpool 2 almost included a cameo of this, but decided it would be too confusing for fans.

One of the more successful collectible card games on this list (despite its modest rating), Overpower eventually covered several other IPs including characters from DC and Image Comics. It was well-known for being different from Magic: The Gathering, which was unusual for trading card games at the time. The game is now out of print and available booster packs cost a pretty penny.

This version of Risk has a map that’s basically just part of Manhattan. I guess the alternative would have just been a world map like normal, but this one looks super small. The box also includes a bonus map that works with Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Gear Up and Rock Out! An Awesome Mix Card Game, for dedicated fans (?) of the Op Marvel board games.

More trivia, this time with some betting. From the publisher:

Answer trivia about Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the greatest Guardians of the Galaxy, and all Realms in between! Earn tokens for each correct answer! For a daring twist, risk what you’ve earned for the chance to win big!

Source: Ravensburger

Basically trivia with some fun components.

This version of Yahtzee comes in either an Ultron head or an Iron Man head. Haven’t played either but I bet they’re the same.

According to Sababa, this version differs in that it has a “‘Spider Sense’ card which is both a wild card and allows you to view an opponents hand.” Profound.

In this version of Cardline, players rank characters based on weight, IQ and “fighting ability.” I don’t know how you’re supposed to order that last metric.

If you had a gun to your head and had to pick one Marvel Monopoly version to buy, I think this is your pick. Features cover art from the original comics, which is at least somewhat interesting as Monopoly sets go.

This is the product to get if you love Monopoly and the X-Men, but not any other Marvel properties. You know who you are (and probably own this already if you exist).

More trivia. From the publisher:

Each question card contains five questions of varying difficulty:

– Innocent Bystander – general Marvel comics knowledge
– Teen Side-kick – slightly better knowledge
– New Warrior – a newbie collector
– Super Hero – starting to become a comic freak
– Avenger – knows everything that was ever printed about the Marvel Universe

Every player, or team, begins the game at the New Warrior difficulty level and is given a set of ‘Power Tokens’ and a Villian score sheet. On a turn a player must answer questions to ‘capture’ a villian and has the opportunity, by surrendering a power token, to drop a difficulty level, capture more than one villian, or challenge an opponent to advance a difficulty level.

The first player to capture a pre-determined number of villians [sic] is the winner.

Source: Cardinal

This version of Monopoly was published with most spaces empty, instead including a sheet of stickers so the consumer could customize the spaces themselves. On the one hand it’s a spectacularly lazy design decision, since the producers had to give literally no thought to what should be on each space. On the other hand, it must have raised production costs quite a bit to print all of those stickers. And then even if the consumer aligned all the stickers properly, it didn’t look quite as good as a normal Monopoly board. Overall, a deeply strange product.

This game seems like an early draft of Dice Masters.

From the publisher:

Each boxed set includes 18 random dice (3 rare, 6 uncommon, and 9 common), plus full-color cards representing street sections, cut-out counters, and a rulebook. The rare and uncommon dice are the superpowered heroes and villains; the common dice are various civilians, minions, and military.

Source: TSR

The (checks notes) third Marvel dice game on our list is the only one that wasn’t trying to be an expandable franchise. Maybe ambition counts for something because the community didn’t think too highly of this one.

Comes with 200 trivia cards with 5 questions each. Slightly more involved than straight trivia.

From the publisher:

The questions are assigned to five categories, although these categories (Strength, Ultimate Intelligence, Power, Energy Control, and Resistance) are not clearly defined.

The game also comes with 24 “Super Tokens,” small chits with one of the categories printed on it. Each turn, the player draws one of these “Super Tokens” to determine which question they will answer.

Scores are recorded on a special scoring sheet with five scoring tracks for each player, one for each category. If a player correctly answers a question, he gets two points on the scoring track for that category. If a player incorrectly answers a question, all of his opponents score one point on the scoring track for that category. The winner of the game is the first player to score five points in all of the five categories.

Source: Pressman

Another 2000s title that tried to apply a ruleset to action figures.

This UNO is apparently different from the original because it has the Feats of Fate Card. When you play this card you can trade it with another player for either a draw 4 wild or a draw 2. Can’t have added too much to the game because this version is rated substantially below the base UNO (average of 5.4).

A reskin of the 1992 classic “Don’t Wake Daddy.” Essentially a roll (draw) and move game but with more randomness.

Not to be confused with “The Amazing Spider-Man,” a worse roll-and-move that came out 25 years later.

From the publisher:

Capture as many villains as you can with the help of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

A game for young and old ages 6+. Comes with 52 jumbo cards with artwork from the various comic book series

Source: Briarpatch

The main appeal of this game seems to be that it all fits into (and comes in?) a lunch box. Which, I mean, it’s hell of a sell. Not to be confused with Marvel United, the eighth-highest rated Marvel game on Board Game Geek.

The lowest-rated Marvel game that seems like it was trying to do something vaguely interesting or original. That should be commended, right? Marvel probably shouldn’t try to design its own board games.

Appears to be a straight reskin of the original.

From the publisher:

Ready for a climbing, sliding, super adventure? Race to the top with your favorite Super Heroes! Choose to be one of 8 popular characters to move along the gameboard. Ladders will zoom you forward, but watch out for chutes that will slide you back! Be the first to the finish line and you’re the super hero winner!

Source: Hasbro

The truly lowest-rated Marvel game on the list was focused on fitting on a keychain and consisted of slapping cards on a table. The packaging is not clear about how many people can play the game.

Although this is a straight reskin, the way you play Guess Who would make it somewhat unique.

Seems to me you could play Top Trumps with the components in pretty much any game on this list.

Naturally, there is a Spider-man adaptation for Yahtzee Jr. but not regular Yahtzee.

According to this box, the game works perfectly well with 300 4-year-olds. Quite a feat.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated from the original posting to correct information on Marvel Stratego and to add entries for Marvel Battleworld, Overpower, Sinister Six, and Wakanda Forever.