Unboxed the Board Game Blog

Abstract Games generally eschew theme and instead focus on pure mechanics. These games tend to have only a few rules, but a lot of tactical and strategic depth.

App Driven Games use a digital component that is essential to playing the game.

Bluffing Games have an element of lying or bluffing that is essential to how the game works.

Dice Games are games where the focus of the game is dice. The games often include other elements but the dice form the core of the game engine.

Card Games typically use cards as the primary engine of the game with fewer other components, such as a board.

Games designed specifically to be played with children.

In cooperative games, all the players work together against the game to achieve a common goal.

Dexterity Games involve some form of dexterity, such as stacking, flicking etc. 

Economic Games encourage players to manage a system of production, distribution, trade, and/or consumption of goods.

Miniature games are games that use plastic minis to represent characters or troops etc on the tabletop. 

Negotiation games allow players to create and broker deals. Often the economy of the game is entire determined by the players as they create supply and demand. 

Party Games are intended to be played with larger player counts and typically have simple rules.

Roll & Write or Flip & Write Games always have players filling in a sheet of paper or dry-wipe board. The way players do this is typical through rolling dice or flipping cards and using that randomized data to complete their sheet

Social Deduction Games typically have a light rule set and rely instead on social interactions between players to drive the game play. Typically these games involve teams of players with secret allegiances. 

Trivia Games rely on general knowledge, typically with players scoring points for answering questions.

Word Games use words or letters as the primary way the game functions.