If your ideal game night includes a bit of planning, a bit of luck, and a lot of charm, Above and Below is an easy one to recommend. Best suited to dreamers, builders, and anyone who likes their strategy with a side of story.
Aim of the Game
Above and Below is a town-building board game for 2-4 players with a twist. On the surface, you are growing a small village, taking on new villagers, building useful homes and shops, and trying to earn the most points by the end of the game. That part already feels satisfying. You gather resources, manage your people, and slowly turn a humble settlement into something much more impressive.
But the real hook is that your town is not just spreading across the land. It is also pushing down into the caves below. As you dig deeper, your villagers head underground to explore, and that is where the game shows its personality. Strange ruins, hidden dangers, odd creatures, and surprising treasures all wait below the surface. Some trips go smoothly. Others go very badly indeed.
So the aim is simple enough: build the best village, score the most points, and make the smartest choices about when to stay safe and when to take a chance on adventure. It is part strategy game, part storybook, and that mix is what makes it stand out on the shelf.
Theme
This is where Above and Below really charms its way into your collection.
The setting feels like a fantasy village built after people have been forced to flee and start over somewhere new. That already gives the game a nice sense of hope and fresh beginnings. You are not just grabbing points in an abstract system. You are building a little community. New villagers arrive with skills and jobs. Buildings appear one by one. Your settlement starts to feel busy and alive.
Then there is the underground side of things, which adds a lovely sense of mystery. Instead of the caves just being another place to collect resources, they are packed with story moments. When you explore, another player reads a short paragraph from a book and you are given a choice. Do you help someone? Take a risk? Spend supplies? Trust a suspicious stranger? Pick the wrong option and things can go sideways. Pick well and you might come away with treasure, rare goods, or a great little tale to tell after the game.
It gives Above and Below a warm, whimsical feel. It is not dark fantasy. It is not grim. Even when something goes wrong, the game keeps a playful tone. Ryan Laukat's trademark art style helps a lot here too. Everything looks colourful, welcoming, and slightly storybook-like.
Gameplay
At its heart, Above and Below is a worker placement game with a storytelling layer on top.
Each turn, you send your villagers off to do jobs. Some collect resources like fish, mushrooms, or coins. Some help you build structures in your village. Some head underground to explore the caves. You are always choosing how to use a small group of workers, and those choices matter. Do you focus on building up your town? Do you go hunting for adventure? Do you try to bring in more villagers so you can do more on future turns?
That push and pull keeps the game moving nicely. There is enough planning to make you feel clever, but not so much that the table goes silent while everyone stares at the board like they are solving a maths exam. It also means that if somebody takes that thing you really wanted, there are always other good options that you can pivot to.
The village-building side is straightforward and satisfying. You can add buildings that improve your options, score points, and make your town feel more complete. Some buildings are simple homes, while others bring extra little benefits. Watching your village grow is a big part of the fun, and there is a very pleasant rhythm to collecting what you need and turning it into something useful.
The cave exploration is the part most people will remember. When you send villagers below, you do not just pick up a token and move on. You trigger an encounter from the storybook. A player reads the passage aloud, and then you choose how to respond. Often you will need certain skills or the right villagers to do well. Sometimes you are gambling. Sometimes you have a decent shot at success. Either way, it adds tension and variety to a game that could otherwise risk feeling too mechanical.
These moments are short, which is important. The stories add flavour without dragging the pace into the mud. You get a bit of narrative, make a choice, and see what happens. Then the game moves on. That is exactly the right balance for a board game like this, and keeps the game engaging for all around the table.
There is also a gentle engine-building feel as the game develops. Early on, your options can feel small. By the middle of the game, your village is producing more, your workers are more useful, and your decisions become more interesting. You can start to shape a style of play. Maybe you invest in lots of buildings. Maybe you lean into cave runs. Maybe you try for a smart mix of both. The game gives you enough room to feel like your village is your own.
That said, it is not perfect. The storytelling is charming, but if your group does not enjoy reading aloud or getting into the spirit of the adventure, some of the magic can fade. The encounter system is also a little random, which means some explorations feel amazing while others are a bit flat. Players who like everything to be perfectly balanced and fully under their control may find that frustrating.
Importantly, Above and Below is not a harsh game. There is competition, of course, and players will sometimes take spaces or cards you wanted. But it does not feel mean. It is more about building your own little success story than smashing someone else’s plans. That makes it very easy to recommend to families, mixed groups, or people who want a strategy game without too much aggression.
Best Bits
The biggest win here is personality. Above and Below feels different from most village-building games because it actually gives your village a sense of life. Your workers are not just cubes or bland tokens. They feel like people heading out to do jobs, take risks, and come back with stories. There are many possible paths to victory, many different adventures to enjoy, and a load of beautiful art to admire along the way.
Above and Below is a lovely mix of light strategy and gentle adventure. This is a game about building, exploring, and enjoying the little stories that happen along the way.
