So you've spent a few evenings rolling dice on Catan, laying tiles in Carcassonne, and racing trains across the map in Ticket to Ride. You've caught the board game bug, and now you're hungry for more.

The good news is that the world of modern board games is absolutely vast, and the skills you've picked up playing those three classics have given you a brilliant foundation. You understand resource management, strategic planning, area control, and how to read a board. You’re ready to level up.

But where do you go next? There are thousands of games out there, and it can feel overwhelming. That's why we've pulled together six of the very best "next step" board games, titles that build naturally on what you already love, add new layers of excitement, and won't send you fleeing back to Monopoly.

What Makes a Good "Next Step" Game?

The gateway games, Catan, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, are beloved because they're easy to learn, play in under 90 minutes, and have just enough strategy to keep things interesting. A good next-step game builds on these qualities rather than throwing them out the window.

The games below have been chosen because they:

• Introduce one or two new mechanics without completely changing how you play
• Still play in a reasonable amount of time (60–120 minutes)
• Are well-produced, widely available, and have stood the test of time
• Appeal to both families and adult groups

We've also flagged which gateway game each title most closely builds on, so you can pick the one that feels most natural for your group.

1. Wingspan, For Fans of Catan's Resource Management

Best for: 2–5 players | Age 10+ | 40–70 minutes

If you loved the satisfying loop of gathering resources and spending them wisely in Catan, Wingspan is going to feel like a dream. Set in the world of birdwatching (yes, really, and it's brilliant), Wingspan is an engine-building game where you play bird cards to your personal wildlife preserve, each bird triggering increasingly powerful chain reactions as your tableau grows.

The theme sounds gentle, but don't be fooled, there’s real strategic depth here. You're constantly making decisions about which birds to play, which habitats to develop, and how to balance your short-term needs against your long-term scoring goals. Sound familiar? It's Catan's resource puzzle with a fresh coat of feathers.

What really makes Wingspan special is the production quality. The cards feature stunning illustrated artwork, the birdhouse-shaped dice tower is genuinely delightful, and the pastel-coloured egg tokens are almost too pretty to use. It's a game that looks gorgeous on the table and plays even better.

Why You'll Love It

• Smooth, satisfying turn structure that’s easy to get into
• Every game feels different thanks to hundreds of unique bird cards
• Multiple ways to score means every player can find their own strategy
• Expansions available (European, Oceania, Asia) when you want more

2. Pandemic, For Fans of Ticket to Ride’s Map Tension

Best for: 2–4 players | Age 8+ | 45–60 minutes

Ticket to Ride creates brilliant tension as you watch opponents potentially block your routes. Pandemic takes that sense of urgency and cranks it up to eleven, but with a twist. Everyone's on the same team.

In Pandemic, players work together as a team of disease-fighting specialists trying to stop four deadly outbreaks from spreading across the globe. Each player has a unique role with special abilities: the Medic, the Scientist, the Dispatcher, and you'll need to coordinate your efforts carefully, because the game will constantly throw curveballs at you.

Co-operative games are a wonderful change of pace from competitive play, especially if you're playing with younger kids or people who get stressed by direct competition. You either all win together or you all lose together, which creates a very different kind of table energy, full of debate, discussion, and genuine shared excitement when a plan comes together.

Pandemic is also one of the most tense games you'll ever play. The board has a horrible habit of getting worse when you think you've got it under control, and the looming threat of an epidemic card being drawn keeps everyone on their toes right to the end.

Why You'll Love It

• Co-operative play is a refreshing change from competitive games
• Every role feels meaningfully different, so everyone has a job to do
• Scales well across player counts, including two players
• Short enough to play twice in one evening if you lose (and you will lose)

3. Azul, For Fans of Carcassonne's Tile Placement

Best for: 2–4 players | Age 8+ | 30–45 minutes

Carcassonne players love the satisfying puzzle of fitting tiles together and watching a landscape take shape. Azul scratches the same itch, but with a different and deeply clever twist.

In Azul, you're a Portuguese tile artist decorating the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora. Each round, players take turns drafting beautiful coloured tiles from a central market, then carefully placing them on their personal player board to complete patterns and score points. Simple to learn, endlessly strategic.

What makes Azul stand out is how it manages to create player interaction without direct conflict. When you pick up tiles from the market, you're also deciding what tiles your opponents don't get to pick, and sometimes leaving them with tiles they really don't want. It's quietly ruthless in the best possible way.

The components deserve special mention too. The tiles are made from chunky, weighty resin and feel wonderful to handle. This is one of those games that just looks beautiful on the table, which makes it a particularly great choice if you want to impress non-gamers.

Why You'll Love It

• Plays in under 45 minutes, making it perfect for a quick game night
• Elegant rules that can be explained in five minutes
• Gorgeous components that look impressive on the table
• Azul: Summer Pavilion and Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra offer more if you want it

4. 7 Wonders, For Fans of Catan's Civilisation Building

Best for: 2–7 players | Age 10+ | 30 minutes

If the idea of building a civilisation in Catan resonates with you, constructing settlements, gathering resources, and expanding your empire, then 7 Wonders is the logical next step. It takes those ideas and packages them into a remarkably elegant card-drafting game that plays in just 30 minutes, regardless of player count.

Each player leads one of the seven great civilisations of the ancient world, Alexandria, Babylon, and Ephesus, and must develop their city across three ages by drafting cards representing buildings, trade routes, scientific discoveries, and military strength. The clever part is the simultaneous play: everyone picks a card at the same time, passes their hand to the next player, and picks again. No downtime, no waiting, just constant decision-making.

7 Wonders is also one of the rare games that actually plays better with more people. At seven players, it's just as smooth as at three, which makes it an exceptional choice for larger groups or family gatherings where you need something that can accommodate everyone.

Why You'll Love It

• Plays in just 30 minutes regardless of whether you have 3 or 7 players
• Simultaneous turns mean there's no downtime or waiting around
• Deep strategic variety across military, science, culture, and trade paths
• 7 Wonders Duel is a superb two-player version if you usually play as a pair

5. Splendor, For Players Who Want Something Immediately Satisfying

Best for: 2–4 players | Age 10+ | 30 minutes

Not every next step needs to be dramatically more complex than where you started. Splendor is the perfect example of a game that feels like a natural evolution from the gateway titles without ever becoming overwhelming.

You're a Renaissance gem merchant building a trade empire by collecting coloured gem tokens and spending them on development cards that generate permanent income. Over time, your cards give you discounts that let you afford bigger, more valuable cards, and that snowballing sense of your engine clicking into gear is enormously satisfying.

Splendor is quick to teach, plays in about 30 minutes, and has just the right amount of player interaction to keep things interesting without ever feeling confrontational. It's also a beautiful object, the chunky poker chip-style gems feel great to pick up and stack, and the card artwork is lovely.

If you're introducing board games to friends who were sceptical about Catan being "too complicated", Splendor is often the game that converts them for good. It's genuinely one of the most accessible mid-weight games ever made.

Why You'll Love It

• One of the easiest 'next step' games to teach to complete beginners
• The poker chip tokens feel luxurious and impressive
• Fast play time makes it easy to squeeze in multiple games
• Splendor Duel offers a two-player variant with more interaction

6. Dominion, For Players Ready to Try Something Completely New

Best for: 2–4 players | Age 13+ | 30 minutes

Dominion is a bit of a legend in the board gaming world. It invented an entire genre, the deck-building game, back in 2008, and it's still one of the finest examples of it nearly two decades later. If Catan, Carcassonne, and Ticket to Ride are the gateway, Dominion is the door to an entirely new wing of the hobby.

The concept is elegantly simple. Each player starts with a small, identical deck of cards and takes turns buying new, more powerful cards to add to it. Over time, your deck grows, evolves, and (if you've built it well) begins to fire on all cylinders, generating actions, money, and victory points in satisfying chain reactions.

What makes Dominion so replayable is that each game uses only 10 of its many available Kingdom card types, so every session feels fresh and requires a different strategy. One game might reward aggressive attacking, the next might suit a quiet, economic approach. The base game alone offers enormous variety, and there’s a whole library of expansions to explore if you fall in love with it.

A word of advice: stick to the base game for your first few sessions and resist the temptation to add expansions straight away. The core mechanics are brilliant enough on their own, and learning them properly will make the expansions even more rewarding later.

Why You'll Love It

• Invented the deck-building genre and is still one of its best examples
• Huge replayability thanks to the rotating Kingdom card setup
• Short play time (30 minutes) that rewards multiple plays in one evening
• Expansions offer years of new content when you’re ready for more

Quick Guide: Which Game Should You Try First?

Not sure where to start? Use this quick guide based on what you loved most about your gateway games:

• Loved building and managing resources in Catan? → Try Wingspan
• Loved the map tension and route planning in Ticket to Ride? → Try Pandemic
• Loved placing tiles and watching the board grow in Carcassonne? → Try Azul
• Want something that works brilliantly with a large group? → Try 7 Wonders
• Want an accessible game to ease in sceptical friends? → Try Splendor
• Ready to try an entirely new genre of board games? → Try Dominion

The Board Game Rabbit Hole Awaits

Every one of the games above has turned casual players into devoted hobbyists, people who now own dozens of games and spend their evenings trawling board game forums for their next favourite. Consider yourself warned.

The beauty of modern board games is that there's genuinely something for everyone. Whether you want something quick and elegant, something epic and strategic, something cooperative or competitive, the titles above are brilliant jumping-off points for the next stage of your board game journey.

Browse our full range of board games to find your next favourite, and if you need any help choosing, our team is always happy to make a recommendation.