Board games with miniatures sit at the intersection of two hobbies: strategy gaming and miniature painting. You get the depth of a complex board game alongside dozens of beautifully detailed plastic miniatures that you can paint to whatever standard you choose — or leave unassembled and play with grey plastic. This guide covers the best board games with miniatures available today, covering dungeon crawlers, skirmish games, narrative campaigns, and big-box adventures. All of these are excellent games first and foremost; the miniatures are a bonus.
Quick Pick: Best Board Games with Miniatures
| Pick | Game | Type | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meilleur résultat global | Gloomhaven : Les mâchoires du lion | Dungeon crawler campaign | Check price → |
| Epic Campaign | Gloomhaven 2nd Edition | Massive legacy dungeon crawler | Check price → |
| Best Sequel | Frosthaven | Massive legacy dungeon crawler | Check price → |
| Best Star Wars | Star Wars: Shatterpoint | Skirmish wargame | Check price → |
| Best Warhammer Box | Warhammer Quest: Cursed City | Adventure dungeon crawler | Check price → |
| Best Horror | Mansions of Madness (2nd Ed) | App-driven horror investigation | Check price → |
| Best for Painting | Descent: Legends of the Dark | App-driven dungeon crawler | Check price → |
| Best Zombie Game | Zombicide (2nd Edition) | Co-op zombie survival | Check price → |
Best Board Games with Miniatures — Reviews
1. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion — Best Overall
Jaws of the Lion is the entry point to the Gloomhaven universe and arguably the best single purchase in this entire list for most players. It is a fully self-contained dungeon crawler campaign for 1–4 players with 25 scenarios, 4 character classes, and a progressive tutorial that teaches the rules gradually over the first five missions. The Gloomhaven system is renowned for its tactical depth: no random dice combat, permanent character development, and decisions that carry forward across the entire campaign. Jaws of the Lion was specifically designed as a more accessible version of the full Gloomhaven box — same core gameplay, fraction of the complexity overhead. The miniatures are pre-coloured plastic (no painting required to play), though many painters treat the included figures as their first painting project. If you are unsure where to start with miniature board games, start here.
2. Gloomhaven 2nd Edition — Epic Campaign
The full Gloomhaven 2nd Edition is one of the most celebrated board games ever designed — at time of writing, it has held positions near the top of BoardGameGeek’s all-time ratings since 2017. It is a massive legacy dungeon crawler with 95+ scenarios, 17 character classes, and a campaign that takes most groups 100+ hours to complete. The 2nd Edition updates components, fixes rules inconsistencies, and improves the insert and organisation. The miniature count is enormous — hundreds of enemy figures across dozens of monster types. Many painters work through the enemy figures as a painting project alongside the campaign. This is the definitive commitment purchase: if you love Jaws of the Lion and want more, this is the obvious next step.
3. Frosthaven — The Worthy Sequel
Frosthaven is Isaac Childres’ (Gloomhaven’s designer) follow-up and it exceeds Gloomhaven in nearly every way: a more cohesive narrative, improved character classes, town-building between scenarios, and refined rules. It is a standalone game — you do not need to have played Gloomhaven first — but knowledge of the Gloomhaven system is assumed. Frosthaven’s miniatures are generally considered higher quality than Gloomhaven’s, with more dynamic poses and more detail. At 100+ scenarios and 17 new character classes, Frosthaven is as large as Gloomhaven while being mechanically superior. If you are deciding between Gloomhaven and Frosthaven for a first purchase, consider starting with Jaws of the Lion and then going directly to Frosthaven if you want the bigger experience.
4. Star Wars: Shatterpoint — Best Star Wars Miniatures Game
Shatterpoint is Atomic Mass Games’ skirmish miniatures game set in the Star Wars universe. Unlike the Gloomhaven games, it is a competitive two-player skirmish — you build a squad of Star Wars characters and fight for objective control across themed scenarios. The miniatures are exceptional by any standard: highly detailed, dynamic sculpts of characters across all Star Wars eras. The core set includes Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and several other iconic figures in 35mm scale. Shatterpoint plays in 60–90 minutes and is designed to grow with squad packs. For Star Wars fans who want something more competitive and visually impressive than a dungeon crawler, Shatterpoint is an excellent entry point to the miniatures hobby.
5. Warhammer Quest: Cursed City — Best Warhammer Box Game
Cursed City is Games Workshop’s narrative dungeon crawler set in the Age of Sigmar universe. It includes 64 miniatures — heroes, undead enemies, and the vampire lord Radukar who serves as the campaign’s central antagonist. The quality of the miniatures is exceptional, even by GW’s high standards, and the box represents outstanding value for painters who want a large variety of undead and gothic fantasy figures. The game itself is a cooperative campaign with procedural scenario generation that provides significant replayability. As a bonus, all the enemy miniatures (Deadwalker Zombies, Vyrkos Bloodborn, Nightguard) are usable in Age of Sigmar and can expand a Soulblight Gravelords army. For Warhammer painters, Cursed City is one of the best value purchases in the product range.
6. Mansions of Madness (2nd Edition) — Best Horror Game
Mansions of Madness is a Lovecraftian horror investigation game from Fantasy Flight Games that uses a companion app to run the scenario — generating maps, managing monster behaviour, and handling narrative events without a game master. 1–5 players cooperate as investigators exploring a procedurally generated haunted location. The miniatures span investigators (human characters) and a wide range of Lovecraftian monsters: cultists, deep ones, mi-go, and the terrifying Dimensional Shambler. The app integration means scenarios play differently each time and the game handles all the bookkeeping. For painters, the monster variety is excellent — a Mansions of Madness painting project covers everything from human figures to alien horrors. Multiple expansions are available to extend the creature variety further.
7. Descent: Legends of the Dark — Best Miniature Quality
Descent: Legends of the Dark from Fantasy Flight Games is the current flagship dungeon crawler in the Descent line. Like Mansions of Madness, it uses a companion app to run scenarios — the app handles monster AI, map reveals, and narrative decisions. The miniatures in Legends of the Dark are widely considered some of the best-quality plastic figures in any board game: large, highly detailed, and with dynamic poses that paint up beautifully. The hero figures in particular are excellent painting subjects. The game features a persistent campaign with character progression across 30+ scenarios. For painters who want the miniature quality of a Games Workshop product in a self-contained board game format, Legends of the Dark is the recommendation.
8. Zombicide (2nd Edition) — Best Zombie Game
Zombicide is CMON’s cooperative zombie survival game and one of the most accessible miniature board games available. Players work together to complete mission objectives while managing an ever-growing horde of zombie miniatures. The rules are deliberately simpler than Gloomhaven — Zombicide is designed for casual gaming sessions with family and friends as much as dedicated hobbyists. The miniature count is very high (40+ zombies in the base game plus unique hero figures), giving painters a large project if they choose to paint the full set. The 2nd Edition improves components and rules clarity over the original. Multiple standalone games and expansions exist in different settings (Black Plague for fantasy, Invader for sci-fi), all sharing the same core rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to paint miniatures to play these games?
No — all of these games can be played with unpainted miniatures straight out of the box. Many players never paint their board game miniatures at all. Painting is entirely optional and adds significant time (a full Gloomhaven miniature set, painted to a good standard, is a 100+ hour project). That said, painted miniatures on the table dramatically improve the atmosphere of play, and board game figures are often easier to paint than wargame miniatures because they are larger, more detailed, and you do not need to paint 30 identical figures in a batch.
What is the best board game with miniatures for beginners?
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is the consistent recommendation for new players. It has a built-in tutorial, excellent cooperative gameplay, a self-contained campaign, and wide availability. If you prefer something shorter and more accessible than a campaign game, Zombicide is an excellent alternative — a single session takes 60–90 minutes and the rules take 20 minutes to learn.
Which of these games has the best miniatures for painting?
Descent: Legends of the Dark and Warhammer Quest: Cursed City have the highest quality plastic miniatures from a painting perspective — large, highly detailed, and with complex sculpts that reward careful painting. Star Wars: Shatterpoint has exceptional character sculpts at a smaller 35mm scale. Gloomhaven miniatures are good but simpler in design, consistent with a game that prioritises the board game experience over the miniature painting experience.
Are board game miniatures compatible with Warhammer?
Some are — particularly GW’s own box games. Warhammer Quest: Cursed City miniatures are fully compatible with Age of Sigmar (the undead figures can join a Soulblight Gravelords army). Other board game miniatures are generally usable as proxies in casual Warhammer games, though not in competitive play. Non-GW miniatures are typically in a compatible scale (28–35mm) but their base sizes may differ from GW standards.
Want to paint the miniatures from these games? See our priming guide, best paints for miniatureset best brush guide.