It’s games night – here are the best board games you need

Catan's tagline is "Trade, Build, Settle". In truth, that about sums it up. This market leading game has players embark on settling the isle of Catan through the collection and trading of resources, and the building of roads, towns and cities. Each milestone of settlement earns the player a Victory Point – the first to ten wins. It is simple, highly intuitive and highly addictive. Players: 3-4. This number can be increased with the purchase of expansion packs.

In this two-player adaptation of the original game, players vie for control of Catan by gathering resources and bartering with their rival. Each player strives to have their clan develop the quickest, through the construction of roads, churches, marketplaces, cities and ports, or by attracting local heroes into their settlement. This Deluxe edition includes three expansions, The Era of Gold, The Era of Turmoil and the Era of Progress, which introduce additional buildings and hero types to develop the story of Catan with every play-through. Players: 2.

This is the blockbuster movie of board games. Taking the market by storm, the award-winning co-op board game Pandemic has infected hundreds of thousands of players with its addictive, fast paced, high-tension gameplay. Taking advantage of each character's special ability, players must work together in an effort to save the world from four diseases, working against the tide of epidemics and outbreaks to find the cures. Players: 2-4. Expansions are available.

Set in an alternate-history 1920s landscape, this beautifully drawn board game will have the players take on the role of fallen faction leaders attempting to rebuild their forces and reclaim honour. As an engine-building game, players will conquer territory, enlist recruits, build structure and activate dormant mechs in an effort to gain the upper hand and dominate the board. Elements of luck are reduced to the minimum in this game, so a win feels like a true board game win should – earned. Players 1-5. This game can be played solo against the board-controlled foe.

In this co-op game, players find themselves lost in a desert, having crashed their flying machine. With limited water, an aggressively hot sun, mirages and way-blocking sandstorms creating an ever-shifting environment, players must locate the scattered remains of their machine to escape. This game appears simple but as time marches quickly on, you'll find yourself relying on clear adaptive planning, quick thinking and keen communication. Players: 2-5.

Risk is a classic military strategy board game. The premise is simple – build up your forces, war against fellow players and conquer regions in a ceaseless effort for world domination. The game is traditionally a slow burner, lasting anywhere from hours to days, depending on player investment, skill and preference. Luckily, Risk now includes alternate games modes to vary play and offer quicker games. There's the classic mode, which has already been mentioned, and Capital Risk is a shorter version of this mode. Secret Mission play mode offers an exciting and varied play-through, and involves each player racing to complete a mission known only to them, be it wipe another player colour or control a specific location. Players: 2-5.

During the Second World War, Colditz Castle was an impregnable and inescapable Nazi prison – but, despite the odds, one Major Pat Reid escaped. Reid then went on to be involved in the making of this very board game. This game sees players attempt their own break from the hilltop fortress as an Allied captor, or prevent such an escape as a German security officer. Brave barbed wire or man the watchtower in this iconic board game. Players: 2 to 6.

Plague Inc., originally a multi-million selling video game, is in effect the exact opposite of Pandemic. In this board game, players work to develop and manipulate their particular plague to such a level that it wipes out humanity. But in an ever-changing world, it isn't going to be easy.Players: 1-4. This game can be played solo.

This is a game of great skill and strategy, set in ancient eastern Mediterranean and the near East. Each player takes control of a nation and seeks to dominate the area, and while war is inevitable, the goal is not to destroy other nations but exert control through political, economic and cultural factors. Players: 2-7.

World War Two - now with zombies! The classic Axis & Allies board game sees players battle in 1941 for world supremacy as one of the world's five major powers. In this variation, not much has changed, apart from the fact there are now zombies to tackle, too. They're board-controlled and add an extra dimension of planning and threat into the standard gameplay – you can even take control of chainsaw tanks and zombie mind control rays. This is a quirky and entertaining twist to a great strategy game. Players: 2-5.