Look, I definitely have at least five favorite dexterity board games. Dexterity games, as a genre, are defined by breaking one of the most sacred rules of board games: you can’t just sit down at the table and roll dice; you almost always have to get up and do something. You’re stacking, you’re sliding, you’re moving, you’re slapping a penguin. Standard stuff that’s part of your every day life. You do all four of those things every single day, and it’s good that board games finally capture those quiet moments. The goal here is to get you up and moving or fighting friction, gravity, or your opponent’s best snowman. One particular highlight of dexterity games for me is that beyond just the new ways to interact with a game (flicking a ball, stacking a ladder, pulling cards out of a deck), the games themselves present a world that’s exciting and interesting. Some of the games listed here are my favorite themes of all time, not just my favorite mechanics.

Even as these games lean out of the standard board gaming genres and start trending dangerously towards sports, gamers of all ages frequently come together to fall in love with them, at least until someone gets bonked with a die or a steel ball you hung from your ceiling because someone told you it would be a good idea. I cannot stress enough that, as a genre, anything can happen with these games. They’re frequently some of the weirdest ones, and we’re all better for them. Let’s take a look at some of my favorites!