Mensa Recommended Games
In addition to the five Mensa Select® winners chosen each year, our Mensa judges also designate a category of games “Recommended for Play.”
By using the “Recommended by American Mensa” label, a manufacturer signals that its game, while not a top-five pick, was still identified by Mensa member judges as one they enjoyed playing and worth recommending to others. The “Recommended by American Mensa” designation was introduced at Mind Games 2013 and has been a part every year since.
If you buy something from a Mensa Mind Games link, American Mensa may earn a commission.
Blazon
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
25th Century Games
Players: 2–4
Age Range: 13+
A game of Blazon allows you to act as a herald, designing your own heraldic shield by acquiring elements, placing them on your shield board, and earning distinctions through careful choices.
Cellulose: A Plant Cell Biology Game
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Genius Games LLC
Players: 2–4
Age Range: 13+
Cellulose is a strategy board game where players compete over limited resources to photosynthesize produce carbohydrates and build the cell wall to score points.
Decorum
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Floodgate Games
Players: 2–4
Age Range: 13+
A cooperative puzzle game of passive-aggressive cohabitation. Compromise and communicate to decorate your shared home, with limited information on what each player wants.
Ecosystem: Coral Reef
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Genius Games LLC
Players: 4–6
Age Range: All Ages
Ecosystem is a card game of marine competition. Players choose, pass, and arrange cards representing aquatic life, creating stable ecosystems to score points.
HerStory
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Underdog Games LLC
Players: 2–4
Age Range: 13+
HerStory is a new family-friendly strategy board game from Underdog Games! In the game, you’re an acclaimed author writing a book to tell the stories of remarkable women in history. As you do research and draft chapters, you’ll uncover special advantages and powers. Complete the highest-scoring book to win.
Kill Merlin!
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Schuman Family Games
Players: 2–4
Age Range: 13+
A board game for 2-4 (awful) wizards. Buy ingredients, learn spells, cast spells to thwart your opponents, and be the first to defeat Merlin so that all may revere your glory!
League of the Lexicon
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Two Brothers Games
Players: 2–4
Age Range: 13+
A quiz game about words and language.
Outnumbered: Improbable Heroes
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Genius Games LLC
Players: 4–6
Age Range: All Ages
Outnumbered is a math board game with varying difficulty. Play as superheroes and utilize addition, subtraction, multiplication, & division to defeat villains!
Paint the Roses
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Northstar Game Studio
Players: 2–4
Age Range: 13+
Can you outsmart the Queen of Hearts? Work together using logic, deduction, and discussion to outsmart the Queen and finish the Royal Gardens.
Phantom Ink
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Resonym
Players: 4–6
Age Range: 13+
Renowned Mediums race to figure out a secret object that their teammate — a Spirit — is trying to communicate. Mediums take turns asking their Spirits questions about the secret object. But there’s a catch: Spirits work in mysterious ways and only write the first few letters of each answer on the Spirit Pad. Figure out the answers to the questions, and guess the secret object before the other team to win!
Power Plants
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Kids Table Board Gaming
Players: 2–4
Age Range: 13+
You’re a wizard growing a shared garden of magical plants with your rivals. Each turn, you choose one of the patch tiles from your hand and add it to the growing garden. Activate the added tile for its dynamic “plant” power or activate all tiles it touches for their slightly weaker “grow” powers. As fields expand, deploy your sprites to gain control of more of the fantastic flora.
Qawale
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Hachette Boardgames
Players: 2
Age Range: All Ages
Ddd a stone on top of any pile and move it, leaving a stone on each space you cross. The first player to get 4 of their stones in a row wins the game.
The Finest Fish
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Last Night Games
Players: 2
Age Range: All Ages
Fishkeeping is a competitive hobby! Every fish owner wants to win the coveted Best in Show award at the national goldfish competition. But, to have the most attractive pet, you’ll need to carefully plan its colors and design. Complete design objectives and arrange colorful scales on your goldfish to create the finest fish in the show.
Turing Machine
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
Scorpion Masque
Players: 1
Age Range: 13+
Turing Machine is a fascinating and competitive deduction game. The Goal? Find the secret code before the other players by cleverly questioning the machine. With Turing Machine, you’ll use an analog computer with unusual components made of perforated cards.
What was I thinking?
Recommended for Play 2023
Manufacturer:
PDG Games
Players: 4–6
Age Range: 13+
Put two words together and they will trigger a thought. Score points for matching other players’ thoughts. You’ll travel from topic to topic at the speed of thought, learning what others think, to connect, score, and win!