Mensa identifies best board games of 2025
The Californer/10312009

PORTLAND, Ore. - Californer -- After nearly four days of nonstop gameplay at Mensa's 2025 Mind Games® competition,  American Mensa and Mensa members have recognized seven tabletop games with the coveted Mensa Select award. The 2025 winners of the Mensa Select seal of approval are:

• Agueda: City of Umbrellas, by 25th Century Games
• Diatoms, by 25th Century Games
• Farms Race Deluxe Edition, by Farms Race LLC
• HUTAN, by USAOPOLY
• In the Footsteps of Marie Curie, by Hachette Boardgames
• Plundering Times, by SimplyFun
• Treasure of the Dragons, by FoxMind Games

About 400 Mind Games participants from across the country judged the games during a four-day board-game marathon in Portland, Ore., awarding the official Mensa Select distinction to games based on how each game scored on concept, level of challenge, and design.

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The competition, sponsored this year by the Mensa Foundation, offers games manufacturers the chance to have games reviewed by the nation's most avid game-players — members of American Mensa. Learn about competing games and past winners at mensamindgames.com.

The global board games market was valued at $14.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $32 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights. North America dominates with a 41.6 percent market share, and the U.S. board game market is expected to generate $2.8 billion in revenue in 2025.

About Mensa Select®

Awarded annually by judges comprised of Mensa members, the Mensa Select seal indicates that a game is distinctive, challenging, and thoughtfully designed. These games are a good value for the price, easy to comprehend and play, and, above all, fun! Look for the Mensa Select seal when purchasing your next game.

About American Mensa

American Mensa is an organization open to anyone who scores in the top 2 percent on an accepted standardized intelligence test. Mensa has more than 45,000 members in the United States and more than 140,000 members globally. For more information about American Mensa, visit americanmensa.org (https://www.us.mensa.org/).

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