Best Anime Board Games

• 🍥   Best Overall: Monopoly Naruto
• 🔥   Best Strategy: Here to Slay
• 👾   Best Immersive: Attack on Titan: The Last Stand
• 🎌   Most Unique: King of Tokyo
• ⚔️   Best Competitive: Arcadia Quest
• 👉   How we picked and tested

Sometimes, just watching anime is not enough! So why not take your love of Japanese artwork to the next level and start playing some of the best anime board games out there? Our top pick is Monopoly Naruto for its vibrant design, action-packed gameplay, and easy-to-learn rules.

Whether you’re just starting to explore the world of anime board games or are an experienced pro, we have something in this top-five list that will get everyone excited and engaged in the game. If you want to know more about how we curated this list, read the process behind our selections here.

1. Best Overall: Monopoly Naruto

Available on

• Player count: 2-8 players
• Duration: 60 minutes average playing time
• Ages: 8+

A beloved classic with a new twist, Monopoly Naruto is a must-play for any anime fan. This reimagining of the classic board game brings all the action and excitement of the popular Naruto series to your gaming table.

Why we love it

The best thing about Monopoly Naruto is its good balance of luck and strategy. This means inexperienced players won’t get too intimidated by the gameplay while ensuring that experienced veterans won’t get bored by a too-simple game. It’s also straightforward to learn and set up, making it perfect for casual gaming sessions.

This game is a great way to educate young kids about managing resources wisely because you need to make reasonable decisions to win. The excellent level of thematic consistency and immersive gameplay also keeps kids engaged as they explore the different locations and characters of the Naruto universe.

Our only gripe is that this game missed an opportunity to have figurines of the characters, which would have made it more interactive and immersive. But overall, Monopoly Naruto is an excellent board game for all anime fans looking for a fun and exciting gaming experience.

How to play

Playing Monopoly Naruto is similar to other versions of the classic board game. Your objective is to be the last player with the most money and to do that, you’ll need to obtain Ninja and charge other players that land on them.

Maximize your earnings by collecting Ninja of the same color set. Strategically construct Onigiri and Ramen to ensure your victory!

To begin, shuffle all the Training and Mission Cards and place them face down in their respective spots on the game board. Pick one player to be your banker — their job is to manage all transactions, including distributing starting money among players and handling Onigiri, Ramen, Title Deed Cards, and Auctions!

Next, players choose from any six tokens to represent them on the gameboard. These include Gaara’s Sand Gourd, Akasutki’s Cloud, Kakashi Anbu Mask, Shinobi Sandal, Kunai, and Shuriken.

Once everyone is set, the game begins. Players take turns rolling the dice to move around the board, and when a player lands on an unrecruited Ninja, they can recruit the Ninja from the banker. When a player lands on an already-recruited Ninja, they must pay the player who owns that Ninja.

Players can also buy land with their earnings and build Onigiri and Ramen to increase their profits. The game continues until all players, but one are bankrupt. The last player standing with the most money is then crowned the winner!

2. Best Strategy: Here to Slay

Available on

• Player count: 2-6 players
• Duration: 30 to 60 minutes
• Ages: 10+

Fans of RPG and card games will love Here To Slay, the fantasy board game that combines strategic play and tactical combat in an action-packed adventure. In this game, you and your team of heroes build armies to take on the forces of evil as you battle for championship and glory!

Why we love it

What sets Here to Slay apart from other board games is its wonderfully illustrated artwork and immersive storyline. This game is full of exciting challenges and intense fight scenarios—all set in a vibrant fantasy world with unique characters and locations.

The sheer level of competitive gameplay and interaction possible with this game is even more impressive. You can stop other players from winning by boosting your party or cursing theirs, so you’ll need to think on your feet and develop effective strategies. This aspect also makes Here to Slay a great way to introduce new players to pen-and-paper RPGs.

The only downside is that the game can be pretty unbalanced at times due to the variable choices and options each player has. Regardless, Here to Slay is still an exciting and challenging board game that’ll keep you entertained for hours.

How to play

To start the game, deal five cards to each player. The first player is the one who picked their party leader card last. This hero card will grant the player an advantageous bonus once per turn, setting it apart from other cards in its class.

During your turn, you receive five points. You spend these points to help you and your party advance, including picking up a card, which requires one point, playing a card from your hand, which costs two points and attacking an enemy or a monster, which costs three points.

Your points can’t be carried over from one turn to the next, so make sure you use them wisely. As the game progresses, you play hero cards that give you one-shot bonuses and strengthen your team. At any given moment during the game, Item, Challenge, and Modifier are used to either lend you a helping hand in your quest or obstruct other players from winning.

You can win the game in two ways. The first is through fighting and defeating three monsters from the monster deck. Monsters have specific requirements that must be fulfilled before engaging them in battle, like having a particular lineup of heroes at hand.

Another way to win the game is to assemble a strong raid party by playing out six different types of hero cards, including your party leader. This strategy involves being stealthy and keeping track of your progress, as other players may not be aware of the hero cards you have played.

3. Best Immersive: Attack on Titan: The Last Stand

Available on

• Player count: 2-5 players
• Duration: 30 to 45 minutes
• Ages: 10+

Attack on Titan: The Last Stand is one of our favorites among all the anime board games for its immersive storytelling and intense battles. Wreak havoc on the fragile walls of a city as a Titan or defend the castle walls as a human hero in this 3D board game based on the hit anime and manga series.

Why we love it

What makes this game so much fun is the game’s 3D components and setup. One player can play as a 15-inch Titan standee and stomp around the board game! And the other players don’t get to miss out on the action either—they have a castle where they can tactically position familiar characters from the show, like Mikasa and Armin, to defend their castle strategically.

This game has excellent thematical gameplay, which makes it perfect for those who love Attack on Titan and are looking for a way to continue their experience. The rules and mechanics fit in perfectly with the theme and feel of the series, making this game a great way for fans to immerse themselves in the world.

There’s also plenty of replay value in this game. With four titans and eight heroes, each gameplay varies depending on who you play and your tactical decisions. Plus, the pieces are well made and not cheap, ensuring they’ll last many games.

The most significant drawback of this game is that those who don’t like dice rolling or luck-based gameplay will likely find it frustrating. But for those who don’t mind rolling dice and can embrace the luck of the draw, Attack on Titan: The Last Stand is one of the best anime board games out there for the immersive experience it provides.

How to play

To set up the game, assemble the Tower and place the six Cannon pieces on it. Assemble the Titan Standee and attach the six Platforms to it. Then, place the Titan Health Marker on the “0” space of the Titan Health Track, and move the 12 Citizen Tokens at the feet of the Titan.

To begin the game, one player becomes the Titan and the other players become heroes. In each round, the Titan player selects Action Cards, the Hero players roll their Hero dice, the Titan uses the symbols on the dice, the Hero players re-roll any returned dice, they resolve the Action Cards, and the Hero players use the remaining dice symbols.

The game continues until the Titan, or the Heroes win. The Titan wins if any of the three conditions are met: One hero dies, all twelve Citizen Tokens have been removed, or all six Cannon pieces have been destroyed. The Heroes win if they activate either the “Neck Slash” or the “Eradication” Tactics Card and kill the Titan!

4. Most Unique: King of Tokyo

Available on

• Player count: 2-6 players
• Duration: 30 minutes
• Ages: 8+

Channel your inner beast in the next board game on our list: King of Tokyo, a dice-roller game where players battle for control of the city. This smash-hit anime board game puts you and other players in the shoes of giant monsters, mutants, and robots—all vying to be the king of Tokyo!

Why we love it

The beauty of King of Tokyo lies in its unique storytelling theme and wacky artwork. The premise of controlling monsters to become the King of Tokyo is just so fun and creative, and the painting of each character is a blast to look at. Enticing people to play this game will be easy, as the King of Tokyo is anything but boring!

The game has an immense level of accessibility, with rules that are easy to understand and simple mechanics that make it fun for everyone. Because this game has a good balance of strategy and luck, even young children will delight in learning the basics of this game, while adults can enjoy the strategic elements that come with it.

King of Tokyo is also highly replayable thanks to the varied special cards, each with unique characteristics that can be used strategically. Whether damaging your opponents or boosting your victory points, these cards provide options that can be used to gain an edge in the game.

However, the player elimination aspect of the game can be frustrating for those on the losing end of the game. Especially for young kids, waiting for the remaining players to finish may be difficult, so teaching them patience is key!

Overall, King of Tokyo is a one-of-a-kind board game perfect for those who love battling it out with other monsters to become the king of Tokyo. The simple mechanics and wildly entertaining artwork make this an excellent choice for your next game night with family and friends.

How to play

To set up the game, place the Tokyo board in the center of the table where all players can easily reach it. Then, each player chooses a Monster, takes its figure and Monster board, and sets its life points to 10 and its victory points to 0. At the beginning of the game, no one is in Tokyo.

Shuffle the cards to create a deck, and deal the first three cards face-up on the table next to the deck and the counters. Place the six black dice at the center of the table, and set the green dice aside (you’ll only need them with special cards).

On your turn: All players roll the six black dice, and the player who receives the highest Attack points goes first. On your turn, you do the following:

• Rolling and rerolling the six black dice
• Resolving the dice
• Purchasing cards (optional)
• Ending your turn

When you roll the six black dice, you can reroll any or all of them up to two times. The symbols you get on your second reroll are resolved. For example, if you roll a double victory point, a monster you control receives that many victory points. If you roll an attack, monsters who are not in the same place as you lose life points.

You can also buy cards from any three face-up cards on the table. After your purchase, you get to draw one of the face-up cards and replace it with a card from the top of the deck.

Tokyo (Tokyo City or Tokyo Bay) offers some unique advantages and disadvantages. When you land in Tokyo, you earn one victory point and gain two more victory points at the end of your turn. However, you cannot heal using dice results while in Tokyo, but you can still heal using cards.

Once you’ve finished your turn, the player to your left continues. Give the six black dice to the next player, and so on. The first player whose monster reaches 20 victory points wins the game and is declared the King of Tokyo!

5. Best Competitive: Arcadia Quest

Available on

• Player count: 2-4 players
• Duration: 60 minutes average playing time
• Ages: 14+

Arcadia Quest is a dungeon-crawling game perfect for those who love a good challenge and combat. In this tactical game, you control a guild of heroes who complete quests to save the city of Arcadia against the evil Lord Fang.

Why we love it

Our favorite aspect of Arcadia Quest is its rewarding loot system. A popular complaint in dungeon-crawler and dice-driven games is that you can finish as many scenarios as you want, but there’s almost no guarantee of any rewards in each one.

Fortunately, Arcadia Quest has a loot system that rewards players with coins — which you can use to purchase cards to make your heroes stronger — as well as equipment and item cards. We appreciate this unique system of rewards because it encourages players to return for more.

Arcadia Quest keeps gameplay relatively simple and quick despite the richly detailed world. Even young players can catch on quickly and provide their strategies. The cartoony and vibrant artwork make it just plain fun to play, and the fact that no player elimination won’t leave your young ones feeling frustrated.

This game also has infinite replay value with various PvP (Player versus Player) and PvE (Player versus Environment) setups for each quest. Expansions are also available to make the game even bigger, better, and longer.

The only downside we can say about Arcadia Quest is that the setup can be pretty fiddly and takes a bit more time than other games – but once you get your bearings, it’s well worth it. Overall, Arcadia Quest is an entertaining and enticing board game, perfect for those who want an easy-to-learn, combative game you can play with friends and family.

How to play

Players starting a new Arcadia Quest campaign need to create their builds first. There are four different guilds to choose from: Orange (Lion), Blue (Eagle), Red (Fox), and Green (Panda). Each player receives a guild dashboard and corresponding tokens, which will help them organize their heroes and track their guild’s actions.

Before beginning the first scenario in the campaign, each guild receives five upgrade cards as starting equipment. Give each player one of each type of card from the starter deck: Rusty Blade, Parrying Blade, Slingshot, Life Drain, and Nova Bolt. Players can distribute their five cards among their three heroes in any way they choose.

On your turn: You can activate a hero or rest your guild during your turn. You can only do one or the other, never both. When you select one of your heroes, you can move them around the play area and perform specific actions.

All heroes have three movement points available you use after activation. For each movement point spent, the hero can move one space, use a portal, and open or close a door at the edge of his space.

Instead of activating a hero, players can spend their turn allowing their heroes to rest. When a guild rests, none of its heroes are activated, and they cannot perform any movement or attacks during this turn.

The heroes rest and prepare themselves to continue their quest. The resting player may have unexhausted cards, reorganize items, and resurrect heroes.

To win a scenario, you must accomplish 3 quests, with at least one being PvE. The first guild to achieve a quest for the first time earns a coin as a bonus. When a hero accomplishes a quest associated with a reward card, they receive it as a reward.

👉 Do you want to play right now? Check out our Anime-themed Would You Rather game and start the fun!

How we picked and tested

PsyCat Games is built by people who know how to have fun! We’ve been researching parties and games since 2018 and have published 400+ articles on our website. That’s why we’re confident that we know what we’re talking about!

We want you to have the best time possible and not waste your money on a subpar product. That’s why we spend over three months testing 20 games with groups of kids, teens, and adults. We’ve ranked the games by the fun factor, player experience, and replayability!

Our ranking is subjective, but we’ve tried our best to be as impartial as possible. However, if you stumble upon an anime board game that you think deserves a spot on our list, please reach out to us! We would love to hear from you.

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