Best Tablet for Board Game Apps

Last Updated on February 9, 2021

It’s surely no stretch to claim that we are currently living in the golden age of the tablet. From iPads to Galaxy Tabs to a variety of other models from countless brands, tablets have integrated themselves deeply with our daily lives.

From organizing our schedules to entertaining us with videos and helping us take notes at work or even at school, their uses go as far as your imagination can stretch. Likewise, one popular way in which tablets are being used for is for board game apps including Chess and beloved classics like Catan and Monopoly and even Guess. 

Think about it for a second – a tablet offers you the opportunity to not only store hundreds of different board games in a single device but also removes the hassle of dealing with a million missing board pieces. You don’t even need to worry about physically storing those clunky boxes too!

So, if you’re someone interested in board games and think a tablet would benefit you, we invite you to read on to check our take on the best tablets out there for your board game cravings.

Best Tablet for Board Game Apps of 2020


Samsung SM-T720NZKAXAR Galaxy Tab S5e 64 GB Wifi Tablet Black

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e- 64GB, Wifi Tablet - SM-T720NZKAXAR,...

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Combining both an extremely light weight with a powerful punch, the Galaxy Tab S5e will more than serve as a board game tablet, fitting seamlessly into your daily and professional life beyond.

At just 0.88 pounds, carrying this tablet will feel just like moving around a small book. Yet despite its light weight, it still delivers a product with solid dimensions at 0.22 x 6.30 x 9.65 inches that provides a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels through its AMOLED display. This means that any image or video will appear crystal clear with colors looking as vivid as possible with this product.

Storage wise, it comes in either 64GB or 128GB variants which is definitely more than enough to pack countless board games. But of course, there’s always the option to fall back onto an external storage device like a hard drive or even cloud storage should you think more space is needed.

And when it comes to actually running the apps smoothly, you need not fret. Its top-of-the-line Octa-core processor easily ensures that even the most demanding of games or applications will run without a hitch. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that you could edit videos and photos as well on this machine. Finally, its solid battery life of 15 hours will be more than adequate even for the longest of board game sessions so don’t worry about reaching for the charger midway. 


Apple iPad (10.2-inch, Wi-Fi, 32GB) – Space Gray (Latest Model)

Apple iPad (10.2-inch, Wi-Fi, 32GB) - Space Gray (Previous...

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While you may be familiar with Apple and their iPad, it would be a huge disservice to any reader if we did not give them a mention. This is done for good reason: the iPad is a fantastically built product that deserves every ounce of praise it receives.

Coming in either grey, gold, or rose, the iPad is not just a slick, pretty-looker but is a highly functional product. Its 10.2 inch retina display offers some of the best viewing options in the market while its 1.07 pound weight keeps it as one of the lighter tablets out there. Yet despite this, its A10 Fusion chip and embedded M10 coprocessor ensures that even under the heaviest loads, the iPad continues operating smoothly.

From photo and video editing to even running the most graphically demanding games and movies, all will be within reach with the iPad. 

Its camera is spectacular as well at 8 megapixels while its battery life of 10 hours should do just fine for any average user. Now one little bonus feature we love about the iPad is how it easily doubles as an electronic pad of paper.

With the Apple Pencil, sketching and writing will feel as if you’re using the real thing. We think that games like Dungeons and Dragons may especially benefit from this extra feature. Now do note that it comes either as a 32GB or 128GB tablet.

While 32GB might seem generous and will more than do for board games alone, we truly believe that opting for the latter might be a better idea, especially if you plan to use your tablet for more than just board game apps later down the line. 


All-new Fire HD 8 Tablet, 8″ HD display, 32 GB,

Fire HD 8 tablet, 8' HD display, 32 GB, (2020 release),...

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If you’re not too concerned about having a large screen and are specifically looking for a tablet that is both compact and highly affordable, Amazon’s latest Fire HD 8 should be high on your list.

Checking in at just 8 inches and with a modest resolution at 1200 x 800, you won’t exactly be getting the crystal-clear experience as you would with say, the iPad but make no mistake, it’ll more than do for just your board game apps. Speaking of which, its 2GB of RAM and its 2.0 GHz quad-core should easily take care of any sort of board game ranging from Catan to Monopoly to Clue without experiencing any noticeable lag.

And on the front of storage, it comes as either a 32GB or 64GB tablet which should store a solid number of games depending on how many you’re willing to download. When it comes to actually playing the games, you’ll find its unique Game Mode a blessing. It’ll ensure that all those pesky email notifications and texts are silenced during your sessions, keeping immersion at its highest and uninterrupted. 

Beyond pure performance, its 2 megapixel camera will allow you to capture your most cherished moments while its 0.57 pound weight will make the Fire HD 8 go unnoticed when carrying it around. Its battery is also respectable despite its modest price point, checking in at roughly 12-hours under standard usage.

Finally, it too comes in four unique colors (black, plum, blue, and white) so just take your pick and begin your board game session with your friends and family.


Google Pixel C Tablet 32gb Silver Aluminum WiFi Only

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Another solid and beautiful entry to the world of tablets produced by a company that is known and loved by billions across the globe, Google’s Pixel C Tablet offers any would-be board gamer a run on their money.

With a clean aesthetic and metal composition, this 10.2 inch tablet with its dimensions of 11.4 x 8.20 x 1.70 inches should provide more than ample room for all players to view the board game app couple with a fantastic resolution that’ll more than bring out the details of whatever is being projected on its screen. That being said, where the Pixel C truly shines is in its performance. 

Kitted out with 3GB of RAM along with an NVIDIA Tegra Processor and running on the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow Operating System, it wouldn’t be a far cry to say that this tablet can outperform even some lower end laptops at times.

Accordingly, it goes without saying that running any sort of board game or application for that matter from Netflix to Adobe Suite will be an absolute walk in the park. However, this isn’t without a few caveats which should be briefly mentioned. First off, it isn’t exactly the lightest tablet on our list.

With 2.25 pounds of weight, it actually may be one of the heavier tablets we’ve reviewed. Don’t let this negatively impact your assessment of it though as it is still a marginally light weight that’ll be easily moved around.

And secondly, its storage capacity stands at a paltry 32GB. If you’re planning on purely using the tablet for board game apps, this should be fine, but should you venture elsewhere, you might want to consider using either an external storage device or take advantage of Google’s cloud storage.


Dragon Touch Notepad K10 Tablet

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While seemingly antithetical to the more popular brands on our list like Google and Samsung, our final tablet on our list is probably one that you’ve never come across yet: The Dragon Touch K10. With an IPS display stretched across its 1280 x 800 display, you’ll be getting a full HD experience here that’ll bring out every color and pixel in your games, movies, and more.

Despite this, its 5000mAh battery ensures you’ll still be getting a 10-hour long experience even under the heaviest of loads. Better yet, its IPS display also comes with a unique Eye-Care mode that’ll optimize the backlight of the screen to minimize any eye strain. Pretty helpful if you ask us if you plan on spending hours playing with your board games. Build-wise, its metal body delivers both a durable yet slick looking product that surprisingly isn’t too heavy, clocking in at just 1.97 pounds.

Storage can be a bit tricky as it comes only with 32GB but so long as you consider using cloud storage and/or an external hard drive, this won’t be an issue at all.

On the front of performance, it comes fitted with a quad-core 1.3 GHz processor along with 2G of RAM. This is a powerful tablet that’ll run everything you might want to run without breaking a sweat. Its speakers are also highly worthy of mention that’ll bring out all the details even in the quietest of songs. And beyond all this, its multi-functional capabilities promises so much more.

This includes connecting the tablet to your TV via its micro HDMI port to playing around with its in-built FM radio, calling your friends and families as though it were a phone, to even checking the temperature outside.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I use a tablet instead of getting a physical board game?

Board games can be clunky, difficult to store (especially if you’re an avid collector) and can have countless pieces that can go missing every now and then. Tablets completely eliminate all these little problems as all you’re required to do is download the app, load it up, and you’re good to go.

Tablets are also hugely portable much unlike those large physical card boxes board games tend to come in while some board game apps even come with in-built videos and audio effects that can be played through the tablet’s speakers, only adding to the immersive experience. 

Do I have to get a tablet? Why not something like my mobile phone?

It’s not wrong to think of mobile phones as mini tablets. After all, they both do essentially the same thing. But for board games, we highly recommend you get a tablet and not use just your phone. The answer to this is simple: screen size.

Can you imagine having a large group of friends over for a round of Dungeons and Dragons hunched over a tiny mobile screen? We certainly can’t! Not only will player struggle to make out what on earth is going on in the screen, heads will surely be bumped around making playing the actual board game a huge, uncomfortable hassle.

This problem is negated with a decent tablet that’ll make it seem almost as if you had the actual board game at hand in front of you.

What is the best tablet out there for board gaming?

At the end of the day, the best tablet for you depends purely on what you are looking for. If we’re being completely honest, board game apps aren’t the most demanding apps so even the cheaper options such as the Amazon Fire HD 8 should be more than adequate for the average user.

However, tablets are usually designed to do so much more so generally, it would be good to be able to do more than just board game every now and then in order to get your full money’s worth. Think about it this way: if you bought a car and intended to use it only to commute to school and back, wouldn’t it be a waste?

This is just our personal opinion of course which may or may not apply to you. So, if you’re committed on getting a tablet just for board gaming, you should be fine picking any device that tickles your fancy.