The 8 best card & board games in 2026
Our pick: The best card and board game in 2026 is Balatro (9.2/10), followed by Slay the Spire and Lichess.
Card and board games work great on a phone when done right. We check depth, design, how fair they are to free players, and privacy.
BalatroPoker hands, wild Jokers and runs you can't put down
9.2
Best free
Lichess8.9 overall
Most private
Slay the Spire9.0 overall
Quick answers
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Chess.com
Most popular
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Lichess
Best free · Best value
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Balatro
Best for iPhone · Best for Android · Best for Mac · Best for Windows
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Slay the Spire
Most private
The full ranking
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1
Balatro9.2
Poker hands, wild Jokers and runs you can't put down 9.20 -
2
Slay the Spire9.0
Build a deck, climb the Spire, try again smarter 9.00 -
3
Lichess8.9
Free, open-source chess with no ads and no paywalls 8.90 -
4
Wingspan8.9
The award-winning bird board game, beautifully digitized 8.90 -
5
Chess.com8.5
Play, learn and review chess with millions online 8.50 -
6
Ticket to Ride8.3
Claim train routes across the map in the board game classic 8.30 -
7
Marvel Snap7.8
Three-minute Marvel card battles with a bluffing twist 7.80 -
8
Pokémon TCG Pocket7.8
Open free packs daily and battle with Pokémon cards 7.80
Votes don't change our scores. They show whether readers agree with the order — sort by Most upvoted to see theirs.
Head to head
Guides for card & board games
Questions
What is the best card and board game in 2026?
Balatro is our top pick, with an overall score of 9.2 out of 10. Balatro takes the poker hands you already know and turns them into a roguelike you'll keep coming back to. You build hands to beat each blind, then bend the rules with more than 150 Jokers, so every run becomes a different combo puzzle. The controls are remastered for touch, and it's a single price with no ads or upsells. Your only real risk is losing whole evenings to one more run.
What is the best free card and board game?
Lichess is the highest-ranked card and board game you can use meaningfully without paying, scoring 8.9 overall.
Which card and board game is best for privacy?
Slay the Spire has the highest privacy score in this category at 9.8 out of 10.