Every State's Favorite Board Game, Ranked By Most Popular

It's board game night with your friends and family. But what board game are you grabbing? That might depend on where you live.

States don't see eye to eye when it comes to rolling the dice on their favorite board games. Some prefer traditional tried-and-true board games that have held a monopoly on the game world. Others are picking more modern options that might boggle the mind. And with such a variety, it's definitely not an apples-to-apples comparison.

But which board game is the top pick for your state? Here's how to stay out of trouble and bring your state's favorite to the next game night, according to research from Band Pass Design.

Monopoly

Monopoly had a monopoly on game night when it comes to the number of states that prefer it over all others. The real estate board game was picked as the favorite choice in eight states: Arizona, California, Delaware, Indiana, Nevada, New York, and Texas. It's also the favorite pick in New Jersey, where you can find the city that inspired the board game. Places like Atlantic Avenue, Tennessee Avenue, and Park Place can still be found in the city along with its famous Boardwalk.

Hungry Hungry Hippos

Kids love smacking their hands repeatedly on the black levers that make their colorful hippos eat as many marbles as possible for Hungry Hungry Hippos, but the hippos might be extra hungry in the six states that choose it as their favorite game. The hungriest of hippos can be found in Alabama, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Dungeons and Dragons

While the traditional role-playing tabletop game of Dungeons and Dragons isn't usually considered a board game, there is a board game version of the popular adventure game that you can pick up and play. You may want to try that in the four states where it's the most popular board game: Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

Chess

The origins of chess date back to the 600s CE, making it the second-oldest board game favored by any state, while the more "modern" version of chess as we know it today took shape in the 1700s and 1800s. It still has plenty of fans who love to play it today, especially in Connecticut, Vermont, and Virginia.

Mall Madness

You may remember Mall Madness as a board game that became popular in the 1990s, encouraging players to shop and save at the mall on the board. But while malls around the country are disappearing, the love for Mall Madness seems to have stuck around in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Michigan.

Codenames

The codename is…Codenames! At least, it is in the Southern states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The three states prefer Codenames over any other board game, playing team against team to make contact with their agents before they find the assassin and lose the game. There's also an online version to try if you don't have enough space to play the game in person.

Backgammon

Older than chess, backgammon is believed to have started more than 5,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, with similar examples from ancient Egypt and Persia. The modern version was introduced to Europe and the U.S. in the 1920s and is still a favorite today in Hawaii, New Hampshire, and New Mexico.

Checkers of Two Kinds

Checkers and Chinese checkers may share a name but are played in different ways, with checkers on a traditional square board with black and red boxes while Chinese checkers is played on a colorful round board. But both have a duo of state fans. Checkers is a favorite for board gamers in Florida and neighboring Georgia, while Iowa and Kentucky prefer the marbles used in Chinese checkers.

Double Trouble and Singular Delights

Like checkers and Chinese checkers, Trouble had a pair of fans in the states of Colorado and Wisconsin. Other states, however, prefer to stand alone with their pick for the best board game.

Word games are a favorite for some states. Alaska board game players boggle at the sight of Boggle, while Maine players prefer Scrabble tiles.

Some states prefer battling it out on land and sea, with Idaho picking Settlers of Catan, North Dakota choosing Ticket to Ride, South Dakota preferring Axis and Allies, and West Virginia battling on the high seas of Battleship.

Some families prefer fun for the whole family, like Chutes and Ladders in Minnesota, Blokus in Nebraska, Apples to Apples in Ohio, and Don't Break the Ice in Pennsylvania.

Drawing pictures is great in Kansas if you like Pictionary, rolling some dice playing Parcheesi in Rhode Island, or moving the marbles around if you live in Wyoming, where Mancala is the favorite board game.

And finally, you may need to grab a clue about the best board game if you live in Montana to figure out that the favorite in that state is Clue.

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