Payday has been and gone, and maybe you’re looking to get yourself a well-earned treat for another hard month of working. Or perhaps you’re much more organised than me, and you’re wanting to get your Christmas shopping done early this year, and are looking for the perfect gift to get your board game loving friend or relative.
If you’re in one of these two camps, then do I have a list feature for you! I have spoken about games ranging from inexpensive brilliance like Sea, Salt and Paper at under £10, to gaming goliaths like Terraforming Mars at under £50, but now we’re going to be talking about some games that I consider real purchases, proper commitments.
As soon as you get in the £50 and over bracket, you’re buying something important, something that you’re trusting is quality, but rising prices don’t always translate to better games.
But fear not, as I have some fantastic board games to talk about here, games that you don’t need to worry about spending that little bit more on, as they more than justify their cost with incredible gameplay mechanics, brilliant themes, and endless replayability.
So treat yourself and others, with these 5 Great Board Games Under £60.
All prices correct as of 08.09.25
1. Everdell
The sheer definition of cozy gaming, Everdell has become a titan of the board gaming sphere ever since its release in 2018, and its easy to see why.
An incredible mix of cozy vibes with some actual tense and at times quite ruthless competition, Everdell sees you competing to build the best city for your incredibly cute and brilliantly designed creatures.
With tableau building and worker placement mechanics, you will construct buildings, meet townsfolk, and host events as you look to score the most points, slowly creating incredible synergy within your warm and comfy city.
Everdell is simply a joy to play. If you have anyone who isn’t a massive gamer but likes the cuter things in life, then Everdell would draw them in quickly. Its general play its pretty simple, place a worker down, get the resource, spend that resource to play cards from your hand to score points or do abilities.
Yet somehow without making something overly complicated, it still feels tight and engaging, so that even experienced, hardcore board game fans will get lost in the ever tree of Everdell.
Incredibly wholesome and fun to play, even if you lose its one of those games you don’t really care because you got to look at some incredible artwork for an hour two. Works great at any player count, Everdell rightfully is discussed as one of the greatest games of all time.
And that’s all without me rabbiting on for five minutes about how wonderful that tree is, and how it makes the table presence exquisite, and how it gets its own spot in my board game cupboard as I don’t want to risk breaking it by keep putting it up and down out the box and I will stop now, just get Everdell. It’s great. And take a look at pictures of the tree to see what I mean.
2. Seti: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Released only last year, Seti has quickly become one of the biggest board games of all time, so it’s surprising to see that its very reasonably priced as well.
Leading a scientific expedition, which unsurprisingly is searching for extraterrestrial life, players explore moons and planets using probes, all while making key decisions on sample collections, upgrading equipment or trying to detect traces of alien life.
This brilliant Eurogame leans into its theme wonderfully, something that greatly interests me personally so I found myself very drawn to it, and you can see the love the designers of the game themselves have for the subject matter.
It can be a LONG game, and wouldn’t be something you would want to introduce someone to if they’re fairly new to board games, as they are a lot of decisions to be made which might slow down an already somewhat slow game. And don’t get me started on the lengthy board setup.
But ultimately Seti is a game that thrives in the experience of it. Once it is all setup and you properly get going, it plays wonderfully, looks great, creates stories with each game, and does an excellent job of competing in a packed Eurogame market against the likes of Ark Nova and Terraforming Mars.
If you love board games, love space, and have a sneaking suspicion we’re not alone in this universe, then Seti is a must buy for you!
3. Scythe
I give a lot of credit to Scythe for getting me into the board game hobby, and for under £60 you really do get a whole lot of game in this big, beautiful box.
Set in an alternate reality 1920s, you will control a faction battling for dominance over a land filled with resources, war, and cool as anything mechs.
A pure engine building game, Scythe was one of my first introductions to heavier board games, and I quickly fell in love. Its tactical, with every turn a difficult decision to be made. Its tense, with real competition with your fellow players as you try to spread yourself over the gloriously realised alternate reality Europe, and it’s downright beautiful, with exceptional artwork on the encounters cards to make you feel part of the world, fantastically different game boards for each unique faction, and the mechs that you desperately want to place as quickly as possible even if it offers you no tactical advantage, just because it looks and feels awesome.
Again like Everdell and Seti I am not in a minority heaping praise on Scythe, as its already a beloved game so I am hardly providing a hot take here, but there is a reason why it’s so popular.
The heavy ruleset might put people off, and the battles might feel a bit spicy for some, but honestly once you get playing you realise it’s a fairly straightforward game with each action clearly explained in the rule book and highlighted on your player board, and if you don’t like going to war with people, don’t, it’s a valid tactic to play peacefully. (Don’t expect your fellow competitors to have the same world view though).
I will say it doesn’t work great at two players, which is such a shame as that is my usual player count and it means I haven’t played it nearly enough, but when you’ve got an afternoon to kill and a few people round for a lovely board game session, Scythe is one I would crack out for people who love board games, love making tricky decisions, and love themselves, a big old fancy mech.
4. Dead of Winter
If you like your board games with less cute animals and mechs but more zombies and tactically astute dogs, then Dead of Winter might be right up your zombie infested street.
Released in 2014, Dead of Winter has been dividing board game enthusiasts for over 10 years.
Playing as a group of survivors, you and your fellow players are doing what feels almost cliched at this point, trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. You have a victory condition you are all trying to achieve, and by making decisions about where to put your characters, how to use them and avoiding those pesky zombies, you might just win as a team….
But wait, in a zombie apocalypse often the zombies aren’t the real baddies…
Because Dead of Winter is only a semi cooperative game, as each of you also has their own personal objectives they’re trying to achieve, which might include sabotaging other players, or doing something at the detriment to all other players, while trying to keep your true objective a secret from everyone else. Meaning some but not all players can win any game, with no actual guarantee of a traitor, but suspicion rampant throughout.
Whilst horror adjacent Dead of Winter doesn’t create the same level of tension to games like Nemesis which has the same semi cooperative nature. Instead where I think it thrives is in its silliness, in its difficulty to actually win, and in its wonderful tribute to the zombie genre.
Each game of it does genuinely feel different from the last with various encounters and goals making every play feel fresh, and I love the fact it doesn’t take itself too seriously, even if for others it goes against the theming of the game or the tension that could be built. I do agree its traitor mechanic doesn’t work as well as in games like The Thing or the previously mentioned Nemesis, but unlike those games I don’t think you’re there for a nail biting, oh my god you betrayed me experience. Instead it’s a bit goofy, especially if you’re Sparky the dog randomly able to bring medicine home for the group while killing zombies on the way, and a bit of fun, always a great time to play and a perfect gift for anyone who loves the zombie genre.
5. Pandemic Legacy Season 2
My last recommendation is a bit of a cheat one, as it’s a game not only have I not owned or played, but I don’t even know anything about it. So pray tell Paul why you’re recommending it? Firstly, because Pandemic Legacy Season 1 is not currently on stock on Zatu, and second, because Season 1 is possibly my greatest board game experience of all time and I want more of it so I need to get myself the second one quickly! The reason I know nothing of Pandemic Legacy Season 2 is because I don’t want to spoil it, I want to be surprised by the new game rules, the reveals, the tweaks to the pandemic formular, what the brilliant legacy mechanic will throw up this time for me and my team to face. If it is anything like Season 1, then I know for a fact it will be an incredible game, and I can feel safe recommending it to you, as I am myself!
In season 1, Pandemic Legacy became the model for all legacy games. It was thrilling, always surprising, always close whether you win or lose, and truly a once in a lifetime experience which
I am sad I won’t get to experience again… But with season 2 I think I might just be able to recapture that feeling.
For under £60 I can honestly say any Pandemic Legacy game is an easy recommendation. Matt Leacock and his team are so clever at incorporating the legacy mechanic into the already brilliant formular of Pandemic that each game in the series I am sure would be an amazing experience.
If you or someone you know has played and loved pandemic, I can’t recommend it enough. The additions to each game through stickers, new game changing rules, new pieces are wonderfully thought out and fit the theme so superbly, and even if you start with Season 2 as its currently available, you could see how it strikes you and give another of the series a go once you have completed it.
There is no experience like Pandemic Legacy, and I urge any board game fans to give one a go at the earliest opportunity.
About the author:
Paul Websell is a freelance contributor for Zatu who spends his time either playing board and video games or talking about them. While he’s not on social media, you can view his other blogs right here on Zatu!
