27 June 2025
|
The arrival of ‘Legacy Games’ over a decade ago was one of the most significant developments in modern tabletop gaming. Games where your choices would affect subsequent games, changing them forever in unexpected ways, have been popular ever since, but here are ten of the best...
Written by Chad Wilkinson
1. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
The game that started it all. Kind of. Four years after the release of his moderately well received Risk: Legacy, Rob Daviau teamed up with Matt (Pandemic) Leacock to create this monumental modern classic. This new take on Pandemic’s formula utilised secret boxes, envelopes, and stickers - introduced over the course of at least twelve games - to gradually change the map, unfurl new mechanics, and advance the narrative. The end result was a cooperative game where no two copies looked alike. Furthermore, in a game where cities fell, characters perished, and shocks were plentiful, Pandemic Legacy was a board game with plot twists - a novel concept which became just as contagious as its subject matter.
2. My City
If you’re not into worlds brimming with either fantasy or disease, My City could provide the perfect entry-level legacy experience. Whilst the muted colour palette and vaguely European, historic setting squander its chances of becoming a poster child for the legacy format, its accessibility and addictive gameplay secures it a place on this list. This is a tile-laying game tasking players with building a city over a number of years. New mechanics and new tiles pop up in every game but never overcomplicate things, and with each game only lasting around twenty minutes, consecutive sessions are inevitable. In fact, in a hobby increasingly exhibiting a ‘go big or go home’ attitude, this might be the only legacy game you’ll actually finish.
3. Gloomhaven
Isaac Childres’ 10kg behemoth of a box reinvented the scope of legacy games, and turned thousands of sedentary board gamers into involuntary weight-lifters. More than your average dungeon-crawler, Gloomhaven lets players loose in a dynamic, ever-expanding fantasy world populated by a host of refreshingly original creatures and characters. Interestingly, unlike other legacy games, Gloomhaven doesn’t overly rely on shocking narrative reveals and regular rules shake-ups to carry the game; it’s the utterly engaging core mechanics and accompanying sense of agency. The elegant card-based combat is tactical and engaging, giving weight to the later decisions on deck customisation. But, whilst adding new cards or stickers is fun, retiring, unlocking, and unboxing new heroes is the real treat.
4. The King’s Dilemma
This ambitious 2019 title sees players acting as advisors to the king, each with their own secrets and shifting motives. The game’s story unfurls through event cards which will, over time, be modified with stickers or permanently removed from the game. So far, so legacy. Where The King’s Dilemma differs, though, is how the players themselves contribute to the emergent narrative and gameplay. Resolving dilemmas depends not only on players’ secret and often clashing motives, but also on their morals. There’s some dark subject matter here and, of course, how impactful these moral decisions become will depend on the willingness of your game group to embody their characters. Consequently, this is a game for those seeking a truly interactive, evolving narrative experience.
5. The Rise of Queensdale
Another game flaunting a very traditional, euro aesthetic, The Rise of Queensdale is nonetheless a fantastic and, perhaps, overlooked legacy title. Illustrated by the prolific Michael Menzel, this is a gorgeous, classic euro, peppered with unexpected legacy elements. Satisfying dice customisation – by way of stickers – encourages unique approaches to strategy between players, whilst regular meeple additions and changes to the hex-board valley of Queensdale keep things fresh. It’s not the most riveting story but this hardly matters when it exudes enough cosiness to make you feel like you’re living inside a eurogame. Plus, it comes with a tiny hex-pulling plunger.
6. Machi Koro: Legacy
Not all legacy games have to feel like they require a substantial commitment. Machi Koro: Legacy lasts just ten games and is just as light and breezy as the 2012 original. That is, until you start unlocking stuff. Don’t worry, though, as this simply culminates with a game that is slightly less light and breezy. All the dice-chucking randomness remains (in a good way), as does the general flow of gradually building a town in return for income, but there are still plenty of surprises along the way. Ooh, and Pandasaurus Games have replaced the original’s boring cardboard coins with shiny new metal ones. What’s not to like?
7. Charterstone
This is another town building legacy game, much like The Rise of Queensdale, but with a more contemporary take on euro mechanics and aesthetic. As is typical for Stonemaier Games - the publisher behind Scythe and Wingspan - the production level is fantastic, with great art displaying a cartoon-ish charm, and high-quality components across the board. Charterstone’s board starts off surprisingly empty, but, as stickers are added, new action spaces open up, making for a very unique worker-placement experience. Stonemaier Games also made the smart decision to create Recharge Packs, meaning players can reset the game and begin afresh!
8. Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West
One of the best-selling board games of all time received the legacy treatment in 2023, with Rob Daviau and Matt Leacock reuniting alongside original designer Alan R. Moon. Fans of the original can immerse themselves once more with the satisfying, occasionally infuriating act of laying down cute little train carts as they create routes across America, but there’s a whole lot more in store further down the line. Boxes containing new rules, components, and other secrets will be unlocked periodically as players gradually travel West across the frontier, with events forcing players to adopt new skills beyond simply establishing routes.
9. Clank Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated
The original Clank gave the deck-building genre a much-needed shakeup in 2016, and now, fans of this dungeon-delving adventure game can see its innovations play out in the legacy format. Players are still building a deck to help them delve deeper, collect the most treasure, and escape from the dragon, but there’s a more ambitious scope this time around. The long-term goal (at least to begin with) is to expand your treasure-hunting troupe’s brand and become a franchise of the mighty Acquisitions Incorporated. Frequently chaotic and riddled with luck, this is perfect for a light-hearted game night.
10. Zombie Kidz Evolution
If you’ve ever wanted your kids to get into tabletop gaming, what better way to do it than with a game where they have to rid their school of the grownups? This is the premise of Zombie Kidz Evolution, where, as you might have guessed, Zombies are invading the school and it’s up to the kids to prevent it from being overrun. Featuring several envelopes of rule changes, upgraded powers, and new heroes, Zombie Kidz Evolution is the first legacy game for kids, with simple gameplay that’s, nonetheless, still exciting for the grownups. For a touch more complexity, check out the standalone (though it can be integrated) follow-up, Zombie Teenz Evolution.