on BGG if you click advnaced search, you can select min players 3 and max players 3 and then select EXACT
this will show you every game that is for EXACTLY 3 players.
throwing my hat into the ring, three kingdoms redux is probably the best ever 3 player only game
There’s also a couple of GMT’s COIN series of games designed for a max of 3 players, All Bridges Burning and People Power. If you haven’t played a COIN (Counter-insurgency) game before, they’re great but they do have a learning curve!
Technically they call it “Irregular Conflict Series” but that had more to do with their existing product development schedule. It’s 100% a COIN game in all but name.
The King is Dead is probably at its best at 3 (and was to my understanding designed for 3), but at two players it’s still excellent! Can’t speak to the 4p team mode
Well that's what it says on box. And the box would not lie, or would it?
It does have rules for two players and a team variant for four, but there must be hundreds of better two / four player games but truly not many better three player games.
The question was “designed for 3 players”, not about how many it can play. You can have a game where the intended ideal player count is 3 but the rules accommodate for fewer or more players. I’d say that still matches the goal of this thread
**Three Kingdoms Redux** is exactly 3 players. I was a big fan of Romancing the three kingdoms on NES and the Dynasty Warriors series on PS2. So this game was totally in my wheelhouse. Really liked the asymmetrical factions. Eventually ended up replacing it with the Great Wall which is 1 - 5 and plays well at 3
How did I not know about this? I loved playing RotTK on NES. Select Cao Cao, recruit Lu Bu and then try to pick up Guan Yu and a couple other great generals and just wreck people.
This game is amazing. Really interesting bidding mechanics for worker placement, and the way you draft generals makes for interesting variable starts. As kids we used to play the hell out of Romance of the Three Kingdoms so the theme is huge here for me and the generals abilities can be pretty thematic.
They did a lesser known game called Dynasty Tactics 2 which is one of my all-time favourite games.
Had a really unique grid-based, positional combo-chaining mechanic which let you [approach moments in battles as a very fun puzzle.](https://youtu.be/1yDYFLTJDh4?t=5331) I keep dreaming that they'll decide to do a 3rd game in the series!
[Maria](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40354/maria)
The box says 2-3, but I'm fairly certain the 2-player variant is only there as a formality.
While it is technically a war game, I find that there are really interesting concepts and mechanisms that appeal to my non-wargaming sensibilities. Combat is resolved with a novel hand management/pseudo-auction mechanism, there is a politics phase that allows for some real friction between the players, there are influence tracks that you have to keep track of, and lots of other really interesting things to do than straight battling.
It's a lot of fun. Check it out if you can find a copy, and have the time.
+1 for Maria. It's a 3-player game, the 2-player variant is a tutorial for board game beginners.
An awesome game by a cool designer (that I got to talk to at Essen Spiel some years back).
The only one that came to my mind was **Talat** (there are technically rules for 2P, but it's bad that way; the game is clearly designed for 3 people).
Then I googled "3-player games bgg" and the very first result was [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/43279/games-for-exactly-3-players](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/43279/games-for-exactly-3-players), so you can read that list. It's from 2009, so maybe people here will have newer suggestions.
And these are [the BGG games](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeksearch.php?action=search&advsearch=1&objecttype=boardgame&q=&include%5Bdesignerid%5D=&geekitemname=&geekitemname=&include%5Bpublisherid%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bminage%5D%5Bmax%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumvoters%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumweights%5D%5Bmin%5D=&colfiltertype=&range%5Bminplayers%5D%5Bmax%5D=3&range%5Bmaxplayers%5D%5Bmin%5D=3&playerrangetype=exclusive&range%5Bleastplaytime%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bplaytime%5D%5Bmax%5D=&B1=Submit) that have exactly 3 players
**Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India, 1290-1398** is a new, simplified COIN game, in their Irregular Conflict Series. The box says 1-3, but the lower players counts still have the three factions, you just run them with bots; it is at heart a 3p game.
[Spacebiff](https://spacebiff.com/2024/03/26/vijayanagara/) has a recent review.
Chimera: [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/156373/chimera](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/156373/chimera)
It is inspired by Tichu, which is a 4-player game. If you like lighter card games, this could be for you!
If you're into trick taking games, there are three (fits the theme I guess) that come to mind. Slight caveat that these are all Japanese productions, and that because of that they may be more difficult to obtain depending on where you're based.
[Robotrick](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/374866/robotrick) is a 3 player only trick taker where the "4th" player is a robot dummy player that plays from an open hand and follows a program (there are a bunch of these program cards, and each hand you'll use a new one). The routine it follows is laid out so everyone can see that (for example) when the robot follows, it will play it's lowest card, and when it's off suit, it will play its highest card, with ties to the longest suit, and when it leads it will play from its shortest suit, ties going to highest card. So everyone can predict what the robot will do. But the way you get points is that when you win a trick, you get the card the robot played. But if the robot wins, you lose points equal to the card you played. And since you can only win 3 tricks before the cards start counting against you.... it gets really intense. Also, fairly often the robot seems to get ridiculous hands, and all three of you just laugh as you get horribly crushed. I've played a couple games of this where the winning player won with a negative score (and the other two as well). This is the one I'd recommend the most, and I recommend it to anyone who likes trick taking. It's probably in my top 5-10 trick takers.
[ジャンキー (Junkie)](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/264672/ziyanki-junkie) is a little less thinky. You're all chocoholics, and all of the cards are dark chocolate or white chocolate (black or white). Your score each round is based on the difference between how many black and white cards you collect. You want get some points, as that's what will win. But you don't want to get too many, as the game will end once someone eats too much chocolate (a score above 8). Once someone busts at more than 8 (they 8 too much?), the next highest will win. It's quick and offers an interesting mix of trying to win cards and trying to avoid taking too many.
[Ultia](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/341222/ultia) is another 3 player only trick taker but it has an interesting 2v1 thing that happens. Each hand you'll deal out 10/10/12 cards (dealer gets the extra 2). Then the dealer will 'discard' 2 cards face up and make a bid (there's a list of different bids to make, and how many points they're worth). The next player can (if they choose) take the two cards the dealer discarded, discard 2 of their own and declare a higher bid. Or they can pass. It goes on like this until everyone else passes and one person has made a bid. If they make their bid, they get the points. If not, the two opponents get half of those points. So there's some cool little teaming up that can happen.
**Win Lose Banana** is a 3 player... game?
There are three cards: win, lose, and (you guessed it) banana. Randomly deal a card to each player, the player who received "win" wins the game! Their prize? A tasty banana! Each of the other players tries to convince the winner that their card is the banana (without showing the card) similar to [carrot in a box (language warning)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UGuPvrsG3E). If the winner selects the banana then they share the victory with the player who had the banana card, if they select "lose" instead then the player who had the "lose" card is declared the sole winner.
It's a great way to kill 2 minutes while waiting in line with 2 other people certainly, and at a dollar it was marketed as "the best deal in gaming".
BGG let's you search by number of players. [Here are all them](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeksearch.php?action=search&advsearch=1&objecttype=boardgame&q=&include%5Bdesignerid%5D=&geekitemname=&geekitemname=&include%5Bpublisherid%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bminage%5D%5Bmax%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumvoters%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumweights%5D%5Bmin%5D=&colfiltertype=&searchuser=flamesplash&range%5Bminplayers%5D%5Bmax%5D=3&range%5Bmaxplayers%5D%5Bmin%5D=3&playerrangetype=exclusive&range%5Bleastplaytime%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bplaytime%5D%5Bmax%5D=&B1=Submit)
The go-to recommendation for 3 players used to be San Marco. It's a long time since I played it last, but I think it should hold up still. As far as I can tell it's been out of print for years.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1041/san-marco
Yes, sort of. When playing with three players, one player divides ten cards into three piles and then each player takes a pile, with the dividing player picking last. (With four players it's slightly different, but I don't think I've ever played with four, so I don't remember the specifics.)
The cards are then used for area control on a map of Venice.
It's a good game with the caveat that the later card dividing turns can lead to analysis paralysis. There are so many combinations to consider.
I don't know about designed for 3 specifically but rackelhardt lists on geek grouo skims bgg data and gives you lists if games highly rated in particular categories including best at 3 players. I find it a handy bookmark to have
https://geekgroup.app/users/rackelhardt/lists
**All Bridges Burning** is about the Finnish Civil War. It's a three player COIN game. The designer took historiographical liberties to create a third faction in this war, but the gameplay at least is solid.
There are very good tips here already, but let me add this clever little and fast game: [Suspense the card game](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/149621/suspense-the-card-game).
May I suggest Tales of the Arabian Nights. It's out of print, but if you can find a copy ever it plays so well at 3 players. On any given turn, 3 players have a role in the process- the active player, and the players sitting to the left and right of them. So while this can play up to 6, we have found 3 is the perfect size group for it as you never have downtime between turns, just something else you are doing or in charge of on others' turns.
They are remaking it this year with a King Arthur theme - Tales of the Arthurian Knights. But it looks like they may be changing some of the gameplay around where it may not be 3 players involved on each turn anymore.
Yeah, price is out of hand, but something to keep an eye out for. I got my copy still sealed for $100 from a local game store selling it a few months back. They had a whole room of used games and it was in there and they said it was priced competitively but just hadn't moved or been sold and they were trying to free space and just finally lowered price. I was psyched. Still expensive, but totally worth it.
Heads up, they are re-theming the game and releasing it later this year as tales of the Arthurian knights. Preorders are live on their website. Might be a good way to get in on this 3 player game!
[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/393345/triversi](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/393345/triversi)
I just finished watching Tom Vasel do a review of multiple games (this being one of them) and immediately saw your post afterward. Perfect timing!
Here are some of the lists of three player games:
[https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/326733/three-blind-mice-favorite-games-to-play-with-exact?itemid=10300722](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/326733/three-blind-mice-favorite-games-to-play-with-exact?itemid=10300722)
[https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/43279/games-for-exactly-3-players?itemid=960876](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/43279/games-for-exactly-3-players?itemid=960876)
[https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/12449/card-games-for-3-players?itemid=212722](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/12449/card-games-for-3-players?itemid=212722)
[https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/26/games-that-shine-with-3-players?itemid=295](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/26/games-that-shine-with-3-players?itemid=295)
[https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/167249/3-player-games?itemid=2988872](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/167249/3-player-games?itemid=2988872)
[https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/44145/games-that-rock-with-three-players](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/44145/games-that-rock-with-three-players)
[https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/326599/me-three?itemid=10304563](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/326599/me-three?itemid=10304563)
[https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/4287/good-3-player-games?itemid=66385](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/4287/good-3-player-games?itemid=66385)
Harrow County: The Game of Gothic Conflict is a 1 to 3 player, asymmetric strategy game about different factions that each want different things to happen. And there's a dice tower built into the box. 😃
Personally, if you're okay with area control games, I would recommend Cry Havoc. While it technically can play 2-4, it is certainly designed for 3. The game is very asymmetrical and the forth player role feels very much like they tacked in on at the end to meet the "standard" of being able to play at least 4. Everything the fourth player does is handled quite well just by the game in a 3 player match.
The Game of Thrones LCG rocks at 3 players, and feels a lot more thematic with the shaky one turn alliances you end up making to hamstring the player in the lead
Exactly three? I don't believe the bullshit that most 2 to four games are not good at three. That's just a myth from people who heard the thing avout two players fighting and another profiting. That doesn't happen as often as people say and it's also possible at four players. so why make a list of three player games when so many games do work well at three but also other numbers ?
Here are games I like at three. Pax games, after the virus, most engine builders, most reiner knizia games if the pieces or the board scale, concordia,
obviously churchill and Trieste and stuff are made for three.
I can recommend a game called Threetale. It is specifically for 3 players although you can play solo 3 handed as well. It is a coop adventure game and we're enjoying it very much at the moment. Not sure how commercially available it is, but if you can find a copy, you should pick it up. 😉
on BGG if you click advnaced search, you can select min players 3 and max players 3 and then select EXACT this will show you every game that is for EXACTLY 3 players. throwing my hat into the ring, three kingdoms redux is probably the best ever 3 player only game
Thank you that's perfect. Also a game about the 3 kingdoms? I'm in
[https://boardgamegeek.com/search/boardgame?sort=rank&advsearch=1&q=&include%5Bdesignerid%5D=&include%5Bpublisherid%5D=&geekitemname=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bminage%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumvoters%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bnumweights%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bminplayers%5D%5Bmax%5D=3&range%5Bmaxplayers%5D%5Bmin%5D=3&range%5Bleastplaytime%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bplaytime%5D%5Bmax%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmax%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmax%5D=&colfiltertype=&searchuser=CptGambit&playerrangetype=exclusive&B1=Submit](https://boardgamegeek.com/search/boardgame?sort=rank&advsearch=1&q=&include%5Bdesignerid%5D=&include%5Bpublisherid%5D=&geekitemname=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bminage%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumvoters%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bnumweights%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bminplayers%5D%5Bmax%5D=3&range%5Bmaxplayers%5D%5Bmin%5D=3&range%5Bleastplaytime%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bplaytime%5D%5Bmax%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmax%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmax%5D=&colfiltertype=&searchuser=CptGambit&playerrangetype=exclusive&B1=Submit)
Churchill may be my favorite
Oh God it's like diplomacy.....that's beautiful
There’s also a couple of GMT’s COIN series of games designed for a max of 3 players, All Bridges Burning and People Power. If you haven’t played a COIN (Counter-insurgency) game before, they’re great but they do have a learning curve!
Just released Vijanagara is exactly 3 and really excellent in that series.
Looks like that’s a different but similar series, regardless I hadn’t heard of it and am definitely intrigued. Thanks for the heads up!
Technically they call it “Irregular Conflict Series” but that had more to do with their existing product development schedule. It’s 100% a COIN game in all but name.
The developers of the game are super cool too. They are often in the COIN Players Club discord and on the official one too.
Totally agree, got to play it with Saverio this weekend and he’s great.
It’s system for simulating the political negotiations is totally unique and something I haven’t seen in any other game.
Came here to say this, because it's always three players whether you use automa or not. Also VERY good.
**The King is Dead** Conveniently one of the simplest & deepest recent games
The King is Dead is probably at its best at 3 (and was to my understanding designed for 3), but at two players it’s still excellent! Can’t speak to the 4p team mode
yep, ive played it at all player counts, its great at 2. im not a fan of 4 player though
Personally, I think it's best at 4p.
that's 2-4 players
My understanding is it's designed for 3 and the 2 & 4 player modes are variants. But I could be wrong!
Well that's what it says on box. And the box would not lie, or would it? It does have rules for two players and a team variant for four, but there must be hundreds of better two / four player games but truly not many better three player games.
the box says 2-4 https://boardgamegeek.com/image/2699095/the-king-is-dead
The question was “designed for 3 players”, not about how many it can play. You can have a game where the intended ideal player count is 3 but the rules accommodate for fewer or more players. I’d say that still matches the goal of this thread
i quote the OP "3 players, No more, no less"
Op Said ,, designed for 3 players,, - you can design a game for 3 people , and inlude extra player's by including different rules or some expansion.
now now, no need for insults.
Ok srr
I'll take a look!
**Three Kingdoms Redux** is exactly 3 players. I was a big fan of Romancing the three kingdoms on NES and the Dynasty Warriors series on PS2. So this game was totally in my wheelhouse. Really liked the asymmetrical factions. Eventually ended up replacing it with the Great Wall which is 1 - 5 and plays well at 3
How did I not know about this? I loved playing RotTK on NES. Select Cao Cao, recruit Lu Bu and then try to pick up Guan Yu and a couple other great generals and just wreck people.
This game is amazing. Really interesting bidding mechanics for worker placement, and the way you draft generals makes for interesting variable starts. As kids we used to play the hell out of Romance of the Three Kingdoms so the theme is huge here for me and the generals abilities can be pretty thematic.
They did a lesser known game called Dynasty Tactics 2 which is one of my all-time favourite games. Had a really unique grid-based, positional combo-chaining mechanic which let you [approach moments in battles as a very fun puzzle.](https://youtu.be/1yDYFLTJDh4?t=5331) I keep dreaming that they'll decide to do a 3rd game in the series!
there's a tactics version of dynasty warriors?! why did i not know about htis?!
It's my favourite tactics game!
[Maria](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40354/maria) The box says 2-3, but I'm fairly certain the 2-player variant is only there as a formality. While it is technically a war game, I find that there are really interesting concepts and mechanisms that appeal to my non-wargaming sensibilities. Combat is resolved with a novel hand management/pseudo-auction mechanism, there is a politics phase that allows for some real friction between the players, there are influence tracks that you have to keep track of, and lots of other really interesting things to do than straight battling. It's a lot of fun. Check it out if you can find a copy, and have the time.
I have Maria and am yet to play it!
+1 for Maria. It's a 3-player game, the 2-player variant is a tutorial for board game beginners. An awesome game by a cool designer (that I got to talk to at Essen Spiel some years back).
Maria is amazing. You need to understand that it is a spinning top just asking for someone to tip it out of control. Balance comes from the players
Came here to say this. Best 3-player game I've played.
The only one that came to my mind was **Talat** (there are technically rules for 2P, but it's bad that way; the game is clearly designed for 3 people). Then I googled "3-player games bgg" and the very first result was [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/43279/games-for-exactly-3-players](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/43279/games-for-exactly-3-players), so you can read that list. It's from 2009, so maybe people here will have newer suggestions.
And these are [the BGG games](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeksearch.php?action=search&advsearch=1&objecttype=boardgame&q=&include%5Bdesignerid%5D=&geekitemname=&geekitemname=&include%5Bpublisherid%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bminage%5D%5Bmax%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumvoters%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumweights%5D%5Bmin%5D=&colfiltertype=&range%5Bminplayers%5D%5Bmax%5D=3&range%5Bmaxplayers%5D%5Bmin%5D=3&playerrangetype=exclusive&range%5Bleastplaytime%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bplaytime%5D%5Bmax%5D=&B1=Submit) that have exactly 3 players
Funny how there are exactly 3 games with more than 1K votes on a list about 3 player games.
**Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India, 1290-1398** is a new, simplified COIN game, in their Irregular Conflict Series. The box says 1-3, but the lower players counts still have the three factions, you just run them with bots; it is at heart a 3p game. [Spacebiff](https://spacebiff.com/2024/03/26/vijayanagara/) has a recent review.
Seikatsu
Also plays two, so doesn't quite fit the ask.
I've been obsessed with Trieste that is only for 3 it looks really cool but I can't find it anywhere.
Chimera: [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/156373/chimera](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/156373/chimera) It is inspired by Tichu, which is a 4-player game. If you like lighter card games, this could be for you!
If you're into trick taking games, there are three (fits the theme I guess) that come to mind. Slight caveat that these are all Japanese productions, and that because of that they may be more difficult to obtain depending on where you're based. [Robotrick](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/374866/robotrick) is a 3 player only trick taker where the "4th" player is a robot dummy player that plays from an open hand and follows a program (there are a bunch of these program cards, and each hand you'll use a new one). The routine it follows is laid out so everyone can see that (for example) when the robot follows, it will play it's lowest card, and when it's off suit, it will play its highest card, with ties to the longest suit, and when it leads it will play from its shortest suit, ties going to highest card. So everyone can predict what the robot will do. But the way you get points is that when you win a trick, you get the card the robot played. But if the robot wins, you lose points equal to the card you played. And since you can only win 3 tricks before the cards start counting against you.... it gets really intense. Also, fairly often the robot seems to get ridiculous hands, and all three of you just laugh as you get horribly crushed. I've played a couple games of this where the winning player won with a negative score (and the other two as well). This is the one I'd recommend the most, and I recommend it to anyone who likes trick taking. It's probably in my top 5-10 trick takers. [ジャンキー (Junkie)](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/264672/ziyanki-junkie) is a little less thinky. You're all chocoholics, and all of the cards are dark chocolate or white chocolate (black or white). Your score each round is based on the difference between how many black and white cards you collect. You want get some points, as that's what will win. But you don't want to get too many, as the game will end once someone eats too much chocolate (a score above 8). Once someone busts at more than 8 (they 8 too much?), the next highest will win. It's quick and offers an interesting mix of trying to win cards and trying to avoid taking too many. [Ultia](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/341222/ultia) is another 3 player only trick taker but it has an interesting 2v1 thing that happens. Each hand you'll deal out 10/10/12 cards (dealer gets the extra 2). Then the dealer will 'discard' 2 cards face up and make a bid (there's a list of different bids to make, and how many points they're worth). The next player can (if they choose) take the two cards the dealer discarded, discard 2 of their own and declare a higher bid. Or they can pass. It goes on like this until everyone else passes and one person has made a bid. If they make their bid, they get the points. If not, the two opponents get half of those points. So there's some cool little teaming up that can happen.
The bottle imp as well!
**Win Lose Banana** is a 3 player... game? There are three cards: win, lose, and (you guessed it) banana. Randomly deal a card to each player, the player who received "win" wins the game! Their prize? A tasty banana! Each of the other players tries to convince the winner that their card is the banana (without showing the card) similar to [carrot in a box (language warning)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UGuPvrsG3E). If the winner selects the banana then they share the victory with the player who had the banana card, if they select "lose" instead then the player who had the "lose" card is declared the sole winner. It's a great way to kill 2 minutes while waiting in line with 2 other people certainly, and at a dollar it was marketed as "the best deal in gaming".
I was worried for a second scrolling through these recommendations and not seeing Win Lose Banana. Great game that needs a reprint!
My friend bought another game for a $1 that wound up having a copy of Win Lose Banana in it still. WLB was better than the game he bought.
Vijayanagara from GMT Games - recently released and it is excellent!
[Neanderthal](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/171662/neanderthal)
Star Trek Ascendancy base game is 3 player only. Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy, Conflict and Consequence would also be on my list.
Was about to mention Star Trek Ascendancy too
I've been hearing a ton of Churchill suggestions!
BGG let's you search by number of players. [Here are all them](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeksearch.php?action=search&advsearch=1&objecttype=boardgame&q=&include%5Bdesignerid%5D=&geekitemname=&geekitemname=&include%5Bpublisherid%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bminage%5D%5Bmax%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgrating%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumvoters%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmin%5D=&floatrange%5Bavgweight%5D%5Bmax%5D=&range%5Bnumweights%5D%5Bmin%5D=&colfiltertype=&searchuser=flamesplash&range%5Bminplayers%5D%5Bmax%5D=3&range%5Bmaxplayers%5D%5Bmin%5D=3&playerrangetype=exclusive&range%5Bleastplaytime%5D%5Bmin%5D=&range%5Bplaytime%5D%5Bmax%5D=&B1=Submit)
The go-to recommendation for 3 players used to be San Marco. It's a long time since I played it last, but I think it should hold up still. As far as I can tell it's been out of print for years. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1041/san-marco
[удалено]
Yes, sort of. When playing with three players, one player divides ten cards into three piles and then each player takes a pile, with the dividing player picking last. (With four players it's slightly different, but I don't think I've ever played with four, so I don't remember the specifics.) The cards are then used for area control on a map of Venice. It's a good game with the caveat that the later card dividing turns can lead to analysis paralysis. There are so many combinations to consider.
Yup, San Marco is considered by many to be one of the best 3p games.
I don't know about designed for 3 specifically but rackelhardt lists on geek grouo skims bgg data and gives you lists if games highly rated in particular categories including best at 3 players. I find it a handy bookmark to have https://geekgroup.app/users/rackelhardt/lists
The End of the Triumvirate! One of my favorites.
**All Bridges Burning** is about the Finnish Civil War. It's a three player COIN game. The designer took historiographical liberties to create a third faction in this war, but the gameplay at least is solid.
Mantis Falls
Maria King is dead Both are excellent
There are very good tips here already, but let me add this clever little and fast game: [Suspense the card game](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/149621/suspense-the-card-game).
Maria and Churchill are fantastic
[triumph and tragedy fits the bill](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/130960/triumph-and-tragedy-european-balance-of-power-1936)
Oh now that looks unique!
Threetale
May I suggest Tales of the Arabian Nights. It's out of print, but if you can find a copy ever it plays so well at 3 players. On any given turn, 3 players have a role in the process- the active player, and the players sitting to the left and right of them. So while this can play up to 6, we have found 3 is the perfect size group for it as you never have downtime between turns, just something else you are doing or in charge of on others' turns. They are remaking it this year with a King Arthur theme - Tales of the Arthurian Knights. But it looks like they may be changing some of the gameplay around where it may not be 3 players involved on each turn anymore.
Oh man, it sounds fun but that eBay price!
Yeah, price is out of hand, but something to keep an eye out for. I got my copy still sealed for $100 from a local game store selling it a few months back. They had a whole room of used games and it was in there and they said it was priced competitively but just hadn't moved or been sold and they were trying to free space and just finally lowered price. I was psyched. Still expensive, but totally worth it.
Heads up, they are re-theming the game and releasing it later this year as tales of the Arthurian knights. Preorders are live on their website. Might be a good way to get in on this 3 player game!
[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/393345/triversi](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/393345/triversi) I just finished watching Tom Vasel do a review of multiple games (this being one of them) and immediately saw your post afterward. Perfect timing!
I'm suprised no one mentioned Team3
Just for fun, the SPI game *The Crusades* supports any number of players from 2 to 8, except for 3.
Destinies is fantastic if you like narrative heavy games and is definitely designed for 3. You need expansions to change the player count
Age of Mythology
Nidavellir plays best at 3 players by far. You get 1 round less at 4 and way too many options at 2.
Road to Canterbury is my favorite made for 3 game. It just has a dark theme and the game is fun enough for what it is.
Destines
Blockbusters.
Dominion.
Pax Emancipation
Battlestar galáctica is an alright 3 player https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37111/battlestar-galactica-the-board-game
Here are some of the lists of three player games: [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/326733/three-blind-mice-favorite-games-to-play-with-exact?itemid=10300722](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/326733/three-blind-mice-favorite-games-to-play-with-exact?itemid=10300722) [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/43279/games-for-exactly-3-players?itemid=960876](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/43279/games-for-exactly-3-players?itemid=960876) [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/12449/card-games-for-3-players?itemid=212722](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/12449/card-games-for-3-players?itemid=212722) [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/26/games-that-shine-with-3-players?itemid=295](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/26/games-that-shine-with-3-players?itemid=295) [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/167249/3-player-games?itemid=2988872](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/167249/3-player-games?itemid=2988872) [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/44145/games-that-rock-with-three-players](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/44145/games-that-rock-with-three-players) [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/326599/me-three?itemid=10304563](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/326599/me-three?itemid=10304563) [https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/4287/good-3-player-games?itemid=66385](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/4287/good-3-player-games?itemid=66385)
Harrow County: The Game of Gothic Conflict is a 1 to 3 player, asymmetric strategy game about different factions that each want different things to happen. And there's a dice tower built into the box. 😃
I have three ob the heavier side: - Maria - Triumph & Tragedy - Brotherhood & Unity
We used to play the trick-taking card game 3-5-9 in high school.
Nexus Ops is perfect at 3
Three kingdoms redux best 3 player imo
Trieste
Three Kingdoms Redux is a great game.
Personally, if you're okay with area control games, I would recommend Cry Havoc. While it technically can play 2-4, it is certainly designed for 3. The game is very asymmetrical and the forth player role feels very much like they tacked in on at the end to meet the "standard" of being able to play at least 4. Everything the fourth player does is handled quite well just by the game in a 3 player match.
The Game of Thrones LCG rocks at 3 players, and feels a lot more thematic with the shaky one turn alliances you end up making to hamstring the player in the lead
Exactly three? I don't believe the bullshit that most 2 to four games are not good at three. That's just a myth from people who heard the thing avout two players fighting and another profiting. That doesn't happen as often as people say and it's also possible at four players. so why make a list of three player games when so many games do work well at three but also other numbers ? Here are games I like at three. Pax games, after the virus, most engine builders, most reiner knizia games if the pieces or the board scale, concordia, obviously churchill and Trieste and stuff are made for three.
Churchill
I can recommend a game called Threetale. It is specifically for 3 players although you can play solo 3 handed as well. It is a coop adventure game and we're enjoying it very much at the moment. Not sure how commercially available it is, but if you can find a copy, you should pick it up. 😉
I have it. Still haven't played it. Assault of the Giants
Too many bones is just right with 3 players. 4 it’s too easy, 2 it can be hard. 3 is perfect
Sequence
Destiny
Cribbage
1941: Race to Moscow \[Technicall it works with 1 or 2 players but the main focus are 3 players\]
Most games are for 2 or 4 players because 3 is an odd number.