Like so many things during the pandemic, board games have begun to surge online. Digital adaptations of board games have already existed for around a decade but didn’t have nearly the popularity they do now. Today, it’s quite easy to have a virtual board game night either using an emulator or a publisher-produced application.
These adaptations lack some of the social aspects of board games but also have some distinct advantages: No need to set up or tear down, easy to save or pause games in progress, and in many cases, the adaptation enforces rules and tracks score. They are also typically cheaper than their analog equivalents.
Tabletop emulators attempt to “port” the analog version of a game into a virtual environment. Two of the most popular apps, Tabletop Simulator and Tabletopia achieve this by using a physics engine along with images of game files—effectively replicating a tabletop experience as much as possible. The others, in contrast, code digital versions of each game into their engines. This often results in a more streamlined experience that can feel more like a video game than a board game.
Editor’s note: This list is part of a longer article focused on all digital board game applications. This list was last updated on 8/23/2021.
This list of emulators is ranked by how recently the program began operating.
18xx.games (2020)
18xx.games is primarily the work of Toby Mao, although the website is open source. It has around 30 18XX games available online. The site is also incredibly aesthetically unappealing, which I suppose is in keeping with the genre.
The 18XX games appeal to a specific audience. They are very particular offerings specifically about railroad building in the 19th century. Now you may be saying, Eli, all board games are about trains in the 19th century, and that’s true. But 18XX refers to a specific class of game that is more complicated than the average board game, lacks randomness in gameplay, and has a title beginning in “18.” Fans have their own specific 18XX conventions, and will sometimes play games over email instead of using 18xx.games.
netgames.io (2018)
Price: Free
Browser app
Netgames.io focuses on social deduction games that users can play on their phones. It currently has One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Codewords, Secret Sith, Spyfall, Love Letter, Avalon, and Enigma.
Tabletop Simulator (2015)
Price: $19.99
Steam app
Tabletop Simulator has 46 “official” implementations offered by the game publishers via paid DLC. However, the Steam Workshop contains thousands of fan-made implementations that you can download for free. In either case, only the host of the game needs the mod installed.
The app is infamous for having the ability to flip the table, which thankfully the host can turn off.
Triqqy (2015)
Price: Free
Browser app
Tabletopia (2014)
Free basic
Price for premium: $5/month
Browser app
Tabletopia has made a name for itself demoing games that are in development. This has proved particularly helpful for virtual tabletop conventions, during which designers can make their games available for free for a set period of time.
Happy Meeple (2012)
Free
Browser app
Happy Meeple has a very limited selection and an ancient-looking site, but it is free and will sometimes host tournaments.
Board Game Arena (2010)
Free basic
Price for premium: €4/month or €24/year
Browser app
The games available on Board Game Arena have less resemblance to the tabletop experience but generally have smoother controls (that were actually designed for computers) than Tabletop Simulator or Tabletopia. This also makes it more time-consuming to port in each individual game, however, so the site has a smaller catalog than either of its main competitors. Here is the game list.
Yucata (2001)
Free
Browser app
Yucata codes versions of its game into the engine like Board Game Arena and Happy Meeple. The Germany-based site stands apart from them with its emphasis on asynchronous gameplay. This type of gameplay, which Board Game Arena also supports, has players take turns on their own time in an internet-era “Chess by mail” approach. Games can take a few days this way.
It, along with Board Game World below, is by far the oldest adaptation program on this list, founded nine years before Board Game Arena and Stratego Digital. To drive home the point, out of the 46 games officially supported on Tabletop Simulator, 0 had been released when Yucata and Board Game World first hit the scene.
BrettspielWelt/Board Game World (2001)
Free
Browser app or downloaded client (both Java-based)
The website for this one is in German, so either make sure you’re using a browser with a translator or brush up on your German skills. The list of supported games can be found here.
Notable mentions: Board Game Core (2011), Vassal (2009), MaBi Web (2005)
I don’t want to link you to these apps because their sites do not have SSL security certificates. But they are emulators and are worth mentioning.