10 Best Economic Board Games

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Monopoly may be the original and best economic board game, but it’s certainly not the only one on the market!

If you’re looking for a fun economic board game to play, but you don’t know which one to go for, then I can help…

1. Monopoly

  • Age: 8 years and over
  • Players: 2 to 6

Well, I could hardly write about the best economic board games without including the daddy of them all, could I?

As I’m sure you know, Monopoly is a property trading game, in which the aim is to build houses and hotels and to collect rent from the other players.

The winner is the player who makes the most dough! You can buy Monopoly from Amazon (of course!) But you really should already have a copy, as no home is complete without a Monopoly set!

I’m a firm believer that Monopoly is not only the best economic board game, but the best board game, period!

2. Big Money

  • Age: 8 years and over
  • Players: 2 to 5

The name says it all, really! This economic board game has just one aim, and that aim is to make as much money as is humanly possible, or as the publisher, Ravensburger, puts it, “collect companies and become a zillionaire”!

Big Money promises “risky rolls and fabulous fortunes” and is possibly an even bigger celebration of capitalism than Monopoly if that’s possible! It’s definitely one of the best economic board games. Order from Amazon and you’ll be raking in the big bucks in no time!

3. Terraforming Mars

  • Age: 12 years and over
  • Players: 2 to 5

Terraforming Mars adds a bit of a sci-fi twist to the economic board game formula.

The aim of this unique game is to terraform Mars (the clue’s in the name!) You’re in charge of a corporation and you undertake projects by buying project cards.

If you want proof of Terraforming Mars’s status as one of the best economic board games, it’s been nominated for numerous awards since its release in 2016, winning several. If you fancy experiencing the movie The Martian, via the medium of board games, this is as close as you’ll get!

4. Power Grid Recharged

  • Age: 13 years and over
  • Players: 2 to 6

With the cost of energy soaring, you’ll either find this game a bit too close to home or think its time has come! The aim is to become the most successful energy company.

The Recharged version has updated rules and is compatible with expansion packs released for the original game.

This is as much of a game of strategy as it is of economics, so it may be a little difficult for younger players to get to grips with it. For anyone old enough to grasp its complexities, Power Grid Recharged provides a  rewarding economic board gaming experience. Electrifying stuff!

5. Acquire

  • Age: 12 years and over
  • Players: 2 to 6

As the on-the-nose title of this economic board game suggests, the aim is to “Acquire” as much money as possible. To do this, you invest in businesses, strategically trading stocks. As in any good capitalist society, the winner is the player with the most moolah.

First released in 1964, Acquire is a true classic of the economic board gaming genre, and it remains one of the best economic board games today.

Get down to business and order Acquire from Amazon today. You could be the next Trump or Musk! (if that’s something you’d want!)

6. Food Chain Magnate

  • Age: 14 years and over
  • Players: 2 to 5

Love it or loathe it, McDonald’s was undoubtedly one of the great 20th-century capitalist success stories, and this delicious economic board game gives you the chance to build your very own fast food empire, starting in the halcyon days of the  1950s!

Food Chain Magnate gives you the chance to become the next Colonel Sanders or Ray Kroc, with this fun, strategic economic board game.

Can you build the biggest fast-food empire? It’s burger-flipping good fun, and you can buy Food Chain Magnate now from Amazon.

7. Pay Day

  • Age: 8 years and over
  • Players: 2 to 4

From Monopoly makers Hasbro, Pay Day is a little simpler than most of the economic board games featured in this article, making it a good choice for a family game night if you fancy a change from Monopoly (though I’m not sure I’ll ever tire of Monopoly, personally!)

Pay Day is about making – and keeping money. Like Monopoly, it was originally made by Parker Brothers, but unlike Monopoly, it puts you in the shoes of an employee rather than an oligarch, meaning you have to balance your paycheck, bills, and loans. A much more true-to-life experience for most!

8. Container

  • Age: 13 years and over
  • Players: 3 to 5

Container was originally released in 2007 and is now available in a 10th-anniversary jumbo edition. In Container you must build your own shipping empire, which can include factories and warehouses, or you can focus on shipping your goods abroad for profit.

This Jumbo edition includes the Investment Bank add-on, which adds a new optional element to the gameplay. Another cool feature of Container is the included resin ships, which are over seven inches long. Order Container now from Amazon and you’ll be shipping all over the world before you know it!

9. Age of Steam

  • Age: 13 years and over
  • Players: 1 to 6

This strategic and economic board game is all about the development of the USA’s railroads, adding an unusual twist to the economic board game formula. If you’re a fan of trains, you’ll want to “choo-choo-se” this economic board game, and even if you’re not, there’s fun to be had!

Age of Steam is a cut-throat, aggressive economic board game that requires some economic nous to excel at. The game’s expansion packs take you beyond the USA to develop railroads in Europe!  If it sounds fun to you, then full steam ahead to Amazon to order your copy!

10. The Game of Life

  • Age: 8 years and over
  • Players: 2 to 4

Another family board game classic from the Hasbro stable, The Game of life is another economic board game in which the aim is to be the player who amasses the most cash! Like Monopoly, this timeless classic just never gets dull!

Spin to win and live your best life with a crazy career and vacations beyond your wildest dreams! If only this is what life was really like! Spin on over to Amazon and pick it up! Perfect for family game nights! Nostalgic fun for adults and great for kids.

Recommendation

Monopoly is obviously the best economic board game of them all, so that should be the first of the economics board games you buy if you somehow don’t have it yet!

But If you’ve already got Monopoly (which I suspect you do), then I’d recommend taking a look at Big Money if you want a pure economic board game. Alternatively, for a unique space-age spin on the economic board game, Terraforming Mars is well worth a look. 

And if you’d like to learn more about the most popular Monopoly games on the market, be sure to take a look at my handy article.

If none of these fit the bill and you have some economics board game project ideas, why not make your own Monopoly and change the rules to suit? Maybe you’ll end up as the creator of the best economic games…

Jenni Fielding

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Monopoly Land - an unofficial fan site. She has been a huge fan of Monopoly and has been playing the game for over 30 years. She is a stickler for the rules and loves to find vintage Monopoly sets in second-hand shops.