This list grows from easier to harder to learn engine building games. But first…

What is an Engine Building Board Game?

An Engine Building board game is one where players start with less powerful actions. Then you acquire bigger and better actions as the game goes, growing your “engine”.

It often looks something like “Action A will give you 2 gold round 1. If you purchase card X, then Action A will give you 3 gold next time you use it.” This allows you to keep making your actions stronger and stronger which allows you to buy bigger and better cards/items.

I would say most/all deck building games are also Engine building games. But I left them off this list as I have already made a separate post that focuses on deck building games.

5 Great Entry Level Engine Building Games

Here’s some really fun yet simple engine building games to introduce someone to the genre.

1. Splendor – Very Easy Game to Learn that Rewards Planning Ahead

 

Difficulty – 3/10
Ages – 10+
Players – 2-4
Length – 30min.

Splendor is a fairly short but strategic game that uses cards and poker chips which represent gems.

You and your friends take on roles of merchants competing to gather gems to please nobility (for points of course). 

The theme is fine. The art is nice and simple. The gameplay however, is very satisfying.

You are constantly gathering the poker chips (gems) and turning them in. As you turn them in for property (cards), those become part of your engine. Each property is worth a certain color of gem, making all of your future property cost less. This allows you to buy bigger and better properties which are needed to attract the nobility.

Again, the theme is fine. I don’t think about it much as I’m crafting my game plan. I do love the planning ahead and fiddling with the poker chips throughout the game.

Simple to learn game but with plenty of strategy to unlock as you master the game.

Also Checkout: Splendor Duel. A newer game specifically designed for 2 Players

2. Machi Koro – Super Fun City Building Game that Involves Dice Rolling

 

Difficulty – 3/10
Ages – 10+
Players – 2-4
Length – 30 min.

Machi Koro is another fun Engine Building Game that is great to teach non gamers and new players. It’s very simple to learn. 

I own both Machi Koro and Splendor, but honestly play Splendor more over the years. 

I think Machi Koro’s theme is really cool and the artwork is satisfying. Players are developing their own city as the newly elected Mayor. 

Note: This game has dice rolling involved which basically tells you what actions you can and can’t perform. So there’s a bit more variance and less strategy than Splendor, but still enough strategy to be engaging for several playthroughs. 

I would bring Machi Koro out in more of a social situation where people are wanting to have a good time and talk while playing.

Also Checkout: 10 Fun Board Games to Play with Kids

3. Space Base – A Newer and Possibly Better Version of Machi Koro that is “Out of this World”

 

Difficulty – 4/10
Ages – 12+
Players – 2-5
Length – 60 min.

The “Out of this World” pun was uncalled for and I know it’s probably not funny enough. But sometimes my brain latches on to a pun and it’s hard to NOT put it in. So sorry for that 🙂 

Space Base is a much more strategic version of Machi Koro in my experience. 

I still think Machi Koro’s theme is the cutest and most fun out of the 3 games we’ve talked about so far. But Space Base has great strategy for what it is.

Space Base also uses dice for saying which actions you can and cannot take. So there are games where your build will pop off and score A LOT more points than it should. And some games where your engine doesn’t quite get going quick enough as you miss some important dice rolls.

It also feels a bit solitaire enough that players can still have fun even when they don’t get the exact rolls they need.

I’ve played Space Base competitively on Board Game Arena. It was really fun having the computer keep track of points and set up. I would highly recommend playing there if you want some high level games with people from around the world.

4.Gizmos – A Super Satisfying Resource Management Game with Increasingly Powerful Gadgets

 

Difficulty – 4/10
Ages – 14+ 
Players – 2-4
Length – 45 min.

Gizmos is another game with great little fun pieces to fiddle with as you play.

The theme is fun. I felt like a scientist crafting bigger and better gadgets (gizmos) as my engine got stronger and stronger.

You start the game with pretty simple actions. As you buy new cards, your actions get stronger and stronger which allows you to buy even more powerful cards.

I find this to be a slightly more complex version of Splendor. I think they are both highly strategic, but Gizmos gives players a bit more options to think about in the actions they are allowed to take.

Also Checkout: Games to play with Grandparents

5. Wingspan – An Engine Building Game so Good it Overcomes it’s Boring Theme

 

Difficulty – 5/10
Ages – 10+
Players – 1-5
Length – 35-75 min.

A lot of people enjoy the bird theme of Wingspan. I don’t hate it but I will say it’s a reason I didn’t play it for so long. It didn’t excite me which is ok because games can’t please everyone.

Once I finally played this game with my brother, I enjoyed it a lot! The more birds you discover in any given zone, the stronger that action becomes when you take it. This sets up a lot of cool combos you can get with the birds.

Wingspan also uses really cool wooden egg tokens that feel nice to move around.

I showed this game to my Mom and she enjoyed it too! She appreciated the theme which was nice to see. Also, I did notice myself seeing birds in real life and knowing some of their names. This made me appreciate the theme even more too!

The newer game, Wyrmspan is also out if you want to try a similar game with a fantasy dragon theme. While I have not played it yet, this seems to be more what I’m used to loving in games.

3 More Complex and Strategic Engine Building Board Games

I love me some deep strategy games. The engine builders listed below are some of my favorite, more complex games in this genre.

6. Kingsburg – The Super Punishing City Defense Game set in a Fantasy Medieval Times

 

Difficulty – 6/10
Ages – 13+
Players – 2-5
Length – 90min.

I played the first edition Kingsburg many years ago now at a convention. They are on the 3rd edition as I write this post. I’m not sure if they’ve updated much outside of the art but I love this game! 

It’s actually somewhat easy to learn but I put it in this section because of punishing the game can be when you don’t prepare properly.

The first time I played Kingsburg, I spent almost an entire year (you get 5 years of rounds.) building something only to have it torn down by the attackers which I had not been ready to defend.

It was quite deflating even though the rest of the game I was able to bounce back somewhat. 

After playing a few more times, the game got much more fun as I knew what I needed to fend off during the winter of every year.

Tip: It might be worth looking through the attacker cards that could possibly hurt you at the end of each year before you play the game. Just so you know how bad/not bad they are. Though if you don’t like spoilers, then just don’t forget to prep your defenses!

7. Terraforming Mars – Develop and Inhabit an Entire Planet!

 

Difficulty – 7/10
Ages – 12+
Players – 1-5
Length – 120min.

Terraforming Mars is a highly strategical game that tops a lot of board game charts and for good reason.

It has some elements of engine building though I would say it’s more casual sequel game, Terraforming Mars Dice Game focuses more on the engine building aspect. I highlighted the original game in this post as there were already a few dice games listed above in this category. 

Terraforming Mars Dice Game is a bit more casual to play with newer players while the original Terraforming Mars is great for repeatedly playing as you maximize strategies and builds.

Also Checkout: Terraforming Mars Dice Game

9. Caverna – Super Deep Worker Placement Game with MANY Options for Building Your Engine

 

Difficulty – 8/10
Ages – 12+
Players – 1-7 (recommended 2-4)
Length – 30-180min.

Caverna is one of my favorite board games I learned in 2024. The setup of the physical game took quite awhile but was worth the gameplay. 

There are several engines you can get going in this game. You can develop your houses in the mines below ground. You can plant more food in the fields above to get them ready for harvest. And you can send your characters (workers) on quests, leveling them up to make them stronger for future actions.

The setup was  so tedious for me that I found board game arena because I was wanting to play Caverna. So most of my plays have actually been on BGA as it handles the setup and point scoring for me which I loved.

Outro

So there’s some of my favorite engine building games! I hope you enjoyed the list and found some fun ones to try yourself (whether in person or online!)

Another popular post here is how to print card games at home. I made this post for aspiring game designers in mind if you want to check that out.