The following are common themes for tabletop games, derived from BoardGameGeek‘s categories. Pages shows the number of pages of games with this theme (out of date now, but intended as a relative indicator of popularity).
Pages | Theme | Game Examples | ||
50+ | Economic | Terra Mystica | Caverna | Through the Ages |
50+ | Educational | 1775: Rebellion | Freedom: The Underground Railroad | Evolution |
50+ | Fantasy | Terra Mystica | Caverna | Mage Knight |
50+ | Fighting | Mage Knight | Star Wars: Imperial Assault | Eclipse |
50+ | Movie / TV / Radio | Star Wars: Imperial Assault | Battlestar Galactica | Legendary Encounters |
50+ | Science Fiction | Twilight Imperium | Star Wars: Imperial Assault | Android: Netrunner |
50+ | Trivia | Wits & Wagers | Fauna | Timeline |
50+ | Wargame | Twilight Struggle | Twilight Imperium | Star Wars: Imperial Assault |
43 | Sports | Blood Bowl | PitchCar | Formula D |
42 | Animals | Caverna | Agricola | Dominant Species |
41 | World War II | Combat Commander: Europe | Memoir ‘44 | Advanced Squad Leader |
39 | Racing | RoboRally | PitchCar | Formula D |
36 | Humor | Dixit Quest | Dungeon Petz | Galaxy Trucker |
28 | Adventure | Mage Knight Board Game | Star Wars: Imperial Assault | War of the Ring |
28 | Word Game | Codenames | Paperback | Beyond Balderdash |
24 | Medieval | Dominion | The Castles of Burgundy | Caylus |
23 | Deduction | Codenames | Battlestar Galactica | The Resistance |
19 | Horror | Dead of Winter | Eldritch Horror | Legendary Encounters |
18 | Ancient | 7 Wonders: Duel | Tzolk’n | Tigris & Euphrates |
18 | Exploration | Mage Knight | Robinson Crusoe | Descent |
18 | Nautical | Dominion: Seaside | Le Havre | Keyflower |
17 | Novel-based | War of the Ring | Robinson Crusoe | Eldritch Horror |
15 | Political | Twilight Struggle | Twilight Imperium | Battlestar Galactica |
14 | Travel | Ticket to Ride | The Voyages of Marco Polo | Orleans |
13 | Math | Sleeping Queens | Utopia Engine | Zeus on the Loose |
13 | Transportation | Brass | Ticket to Ride | Galaxy Trucker |
12 | Aviation/Flight | Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures | The Manhattan Project | Airlines Europe |
12 | Modern Warfare | Twilight Struggle | Labyrinth: The War on Terror | Fire in the Lake |
11 | Comic Book | Legendary | Sentinels of the Multiverse | Marvel Dice Masters |
10 | City Building | Puerto Rico | Lords of Waterdeep | Le Havre |
10 | Trains | Ticket to Ride | Russian Railroads | Railways of the World |
9 | Murder / Mystery | Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective | Letters from Whitechapel | Mysterium |
9 | Napoleonic | Commands & Colors: Napoleonics | Napoleon’s Triumph | Manoeuvre |
9 | Pirates | Merchants & Marauders | Libertalia | Friday |
9 | Religious | Ora et Labora | Orleans | Here I Stand |
9 | Space Exploration | Twilight Imperium | Eclipse | Race for the Galaxy |
8 | American West | Lewis & Clark | Carson City | Shadows of Brimstone |
8 | Book | Warmachine | Infinity | Warhammer |
8 | Civilization | Terra Mystica | Twilight Imperium | Through the Ages |
8 | Mythology | Tzolk’in | Blood Rage | Five Tribes |
8 | Zombies | Dead of Winter | Earth Reborn | Zombicide |
7 | American Civil War | Freedom: The Underground Railroad | Battle Cry | For the People |
7 | Environmental | Pandemic Legacy | Dominant Species | Takenoko |
7 | Industry/Manufacturing | Power Grid | Brass | Le Havre |
7 | World War I | Paths of Glory | The Grizzled | Wings of War |
6 | Farming | Caverna | Puerto Rico | Agricola |
6 | Maze | Ricochet Robots | Dungeon Twister | Burgle Bros. |
6 | Music | Opera | Rock the Beat | Schrille Stille |
6 | Spies / Secret Agents | Codenames | Battlestar Galactica | Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective |
6 | Video Game | Railways of the World | Age of Empires III | Sid Meier’s Civilization |
5 | Renaissance | Keyflower | El Grande | Goa |
4 | Mafia | Ca$h ‘n Gun$ | Nothing Personal | Junta |
4 | Prehistoric | Dominant Species | Stone Age | Evolution |
3 | Age of Reason | A Few Acres of Snow | Maria | Saint Petersburg |
3 | American Revolutionary War | 1775: Rebellion | Washington’s War | We the People |
3 | Civil War (in general) | Sekigahara | Pax Porfiriana | Julius Caesar |
3 | Medical | Pandemic | Infection | Zombie State |
2 | American Indian Wars | A Few Acres of Snow | 1775: Rebellion | Washington’s War |
2 | Arabian | Five Tribes | Tales of the Arabian Nights | Yspahan |
2 | Pike and Shot | Virgin Queen | Hamburgum | Unhappy King Charles |
2 | Post-Napoleonic | Castles of Mad King Ludwig | Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective | Letters from Whitechapel |
2 | Vietnam War | Fire in the Lake | Fields of Fire | Phantom Leader |
1 | Korean War | Fields of Fire | The Korean War | Korea: The Forgotten War |