It might be getting colder outside, but we can stay warm and cozy inside. One of the best ways to pass the time during chilly weather is by playing board games with a cold or icy theme. When the temperature drops, I prefer to stay indoors where the air doesn’t sting my skin. Let’s all hide out inside together and enjoy a few games to make the time fly by.

Nunatak

Nunatak is a strategy game where players work to build an icy temple on a snowy mountain. Your score depends on the cards you collect and where you decide to build your structure. By the end of the game, you will have constructed a multi-level building using blocks and floor tiles. This game is not too hard to learn, making it a great addition to almost any game night.

Tusk

While it might be cold outside, inside you could be racing against an approaching ice age. In Tusk, you are discovering new lands, managing your supplies, and surviving wild animals. You get to live your best caveman life before the ice age makes survival much harder for everyone. A fun detail is that while many games use standard meeples, Tusk includes a small woolly mammoth meeple. That little figure alone might make this game worth owning.

The Coldest Night

This is a cooperative card game where players must find shelter in a blizzard. The goal is to keep your fire burning and stay alive until the sun rises. The concept is quite bleak—if the fire goes out, your fate is sealed—but it is also strangely fun and compelling. There is a lot of strange stuff in the old lodge to burn, like couch upholstery, hunting trophies, old newspapers, and even strangers’ photo albums. However, if you throw the wrong thing into the fire, everyone is doomed.

Icewind Dale

Of course, Icewind Dale deserves a mention. The 2020 Dungeons & Dragons book takes you right to snowy peaks where cold beasts, horrific storms, and rare magic are around every corner. It added more than 50 monsters, 26 locations, and new rules for adventures in frozen wildernesses. If you are looking for a tabletop RPG adventure through the snow rather than a board game, Icewind Dale can get you started on that icy adventure.

Dead of Winter

In this cooperative survival game, players step into a small colony on a frozen world. You must fight to survive against zombies and an unforgiving winter. Players work together to fend off external threats, resolve crises, look for supplies, and keep morale up. You also have to deal with delicate personal psychological questions. Will your own needs outweigh the needs of the group?

Winter

Or, you might need a game with slightly lower stakes. In Winter, the lake is frozen, and players are claiming pieces of the ice before it all melts again. You must plot out your next move and try to outmaneuver your friends. The goal is to make sure that you own the most of the frozen lake before spring arrives.