Dinosaurs are one of the most popular themes whether for kids or adults! If you’re looking for ideas for your next dinosaur themed game night or party, we’ve got you covered. We’ll go over some of the best dinosaur board games.
In today’s article, we’ll provide you with a list of the best Dinosaur board games that you can play with your friends and family. So without further ado, let’s dive right in!
Best Dinosaur Board Games
Here are our top 9 picks for the best dinosaur board games currently on the market.
1. Tiny Epic Dinosaurs
Tiny Epic Dinosaurs is another successful game from the Tiny Epic Franchise, such as the popular Tiny Epic Pirates and Tiny Epic Galaxies.
The game is set in an alternative universe where dinosaurs were brought back from extinction. In this world, dinosaurs live in ranches and farms to be bred and taken care of to be solid to the highest bidders.
In the game, players take the role of ranchers that compete to gain resources to build enclosures for the dinosaurs as well as providing them with food. You can also research technologies to improve your work rate and outperform your opponents.
The game set comes with dinosaur meeples, contract cards, research cards, ranch and action mats, and more!
The art of the game is pretty nice and the dino meeples are colorful and decently detailed for their small size. The game has solo modes with challenging puzzles but can also be played by up to 4 individuals.
The solo game takes about 30 minutes and you should add about 15 minutes for each extra player that joins the game.
2. Evolution: Climate
Evolution: Climate is one of the greatest educational games that are ideal for both adults and kids. The game shows you how a simple disturbance in the environment, such as an increase or decrease in temperature, can cause significant changes with time.
The premise of the game is that you manage a specific number of carnivores and herbivores dinosaurs, among other species. In the game, you’re tasked with the growth of the dinosaur population and evolving their traits to make them more efficient at finding food and surviving.
The game can be played by 2 players competing in a race against extinction but is also suitable for larger groups of up to 6 players. The game usually takes anywhere between 45 to 60 minutes to finish, depending on the number of players involved.
The best thing about this game is that it doesn’t only shed light on dinosaurs’ life, but it also explains the reasons for their extinction in a marvelous way.
3. Monopoly: Jurassic Park Edition
If you’re a huge fan of the Jurassic Park franchise, you’re going to love this one! The Jurassic Park edition of Monopoly combines both monopoly board games and the dinosaur theme in an epic way!
Although there are many Jurassic Park Themed games, this one is easily one of the best because of the cool art style, perfect and exciting gameplay, suitability for all ages, as well as the sound effects included!
In the game, you’ll have to secure the park from the attacks of the T Rex. If you land on “Go”, you’ll get to press the gate where it’ll play different Jurassic Park sounds to determine your fate.
The game is ideal for all the family and suitable for 8 year old kids and older. The game’s concept of building fences and charging rent is pretty easy to grasp, especially if you’ve played the original Monopoly game before.
4. Dinosaur Island
Dinosaur Island is one of the greatest Dinosaur-themed board games ever created. The game has a cool concept of building and managing a dinosaur theme park, and the game has Jurassic Park vibes written all over it!
The game uses concepts of worker placement, set collection, tile placement, and dice rolling where the players are tasked with the collection and combination of dinosaur DNA. the more dinosaurs you have in the park, the more people will visit your park.
You spend resources to get more dinosaurs and money to research DNA and increase security in the park, so both luck and good planning are key factors in the gameplay.
Due to the limited interaction between players, Dinosaur Island can be played either solo or up to 4 players.
The wide range of possibilities makes almost every game a unique run, so it’s a highly replayable game, which adds value to its price. In fact, such variables can extend the game length from 90 to 120 minutes or even more!
5. Draftosaurus
If you’re into the dinosaur theme park but you’re looking for a less gruesome version that is less about dinosaurs escaping and devouring the visitors and more about resource management, Draftosaurus is your way to go.
What’s great about this game is that it has a variety of cute dinosaur meeples and is truly designed to suit all ages.
Although the game is designed for players that are 8 years or older, the baseboard doesn’t include any words, which makes it a friendly game for kids that haven’t learned to read properly yet.
The base game also has two expansion versions, which are Marina (dedicated to marine dinosaurs) and Aerial show (dedicated to flying dinosaurs).
Ideally, the game of Draftosaurus doesn’t take a very long time, as it typically lasts about 15 minutes. The game is played with at least 2 players and is suitable for up to 5 players.
6. Happy Little Dinosaurs
Happy Little Dinosaurs is a pretty cool game with an impressive concept, despite being a very simple one.
The game is played by 2 to 4 players with no possibility for a solo adventure. However, you can purchase a separate expansion pack that increases the maximum number of players to 5 or 6.
In the game, each player has a little dinosaur and is dealt a hand of 5 cards with different possibilities of a certain effect.
Each player then chooses a specific number that correlates to a certain world-ending event. Winners move forward and earn points while losers, according to the game rules, are out of the game. You win the game either by getting your dinosaur to 50 points or being the last one standing.
All in all, it’s a simple game with a cute art style and impressive game mechanics and is very easy to understand if you watch the instruction video.
7. Raptor
The game of raptor is set around a group of scientists that are working to catch a mama dinosaur and her babies. Two players take each of these roles and work towards their goal, which is why the game can only be played by 2 players.
On one side, the scientists’ team player is tasked with tranquilizing and catching the mama dinosaur or her babies, with special abilities such as limiting the movement of the dinosaurs by burning areas on the map.
On the other side, the player that picks the raptor has the ability to devour scientists and wins by eliminating all of them and taking her babies to safety.
The asymmetric style of the game, combined with its card based system that has special and standard actions, creates tons of possibilities on every game played.
The game has a balanced playtime, which ranges between 20 to 30 minutes, and can be ideal for competitive friends and couples.
8. Digging Dino
Digging Dino is a strategic board game that is all about dinosaur themes and exploration. In fact, this one is among the best overall options if you’re looking for an affordable dinosaur themed board game, especially for kids.
We liked that the game is specifically designed to be simple and easy to understand by kids that are as young as 4 years old.
In addition to logical thinking, the game also tests out the strength of kids’ memories and includes a variety of accurate content that will help expand the children’s knowledge of dinosaurs and their era.
The game’s objective is to draw and trade dinosaurs’ fossils in order to build a full dinosaur. The game lasts for about 15 to 30 minutes depending on the complexity of the puzzles.
9. Dinosaur Escape
Last but not least, Dinosaur Escape is also a great dinosaur board game for kids that tests out memory and logical thinking with a variety of interesting puzzles.
The premise of the game is that there’s a volcano that is about to erupt and the players have to cooperate to help their dinosaur buddies to escape to safety.
The game is played by 2 to 4 players. It features an exciting and colorful art style that appeals to children and is enjoyed by kids that are 4 years old or older.
Best Dinosaur Board Games Wrap Up
With that said, you now have a better idea about the variety of the dinosaur themed board games that you can find on the market.
The best part about dinosaur board games is that, unlike many other themes, they can be both fun and help you learn something new.
In the end, we hope that this guide has helped you find your next games for your dinosaur themed game night!
We know you love Dinosaurs, but do you also like pirates? Check out our article on the best pirate themed board games.