These five board games always cheer me up on a dull, rainy weekend, and you need to check them out

The box, tokens, components, and board of Life in Reterra laid out on a wooden table, against a black background — (Image credit: Benjamin Abbott)

It's that horrible time of year where things are glum 'n gray with spring just out of reach, so there's nothing for it but waiting out the weather with a good board game. If you want to add a little coziness to a dreary weekend, I've got some recommendations that will do the trick.

Besides writing about the best board games for a living with news, reviews, and guides, I also spend much of my free time playing them. This has given me a collection that makes my house feel like an impromptu board game cafe, but I'll always gravitate toward a few in particular when the weather closes in. Life in Reterra always helps me get out of a funk thanks to its puzzle-like mechanics and cheery style, for example, while Finspan provides a dose of the tropical when I'm missing summer vacations. And those are just two of my go-tos - I have a whole list of them. If you want something to brighten up a winter weekend, here's my full first-aid kit of board games you need to play.

Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar | $33.49 $29.57 at Amazon
There's nothing better than having a long-running game you and a partner can keep coming back to over the winter months, and this spin on the Jurassic franchise is a real tour de force. It challenges you to run the doomed dino-park and create your own version, altering the board with stickers that provide an endgame totally unique to you. Its mechanics also borrow heavily from some all-time classics, so there's a lot to love here (particularly for a pair – it's one of the best 2-player board games, in my opinion). Did someone say "island getaway"?

UK price: £63.16 at Amazon

Betrayal at House on the Hill | $59.99 $45.22 at Amazon
We're going to the opposite end of the scale for this one. It's always Halloween in my heart, and grim weather always gives me a hankering for the spooky. I'll go to my grave saying that this is one of the best horror games ever made (as you may be able to tell from my five-star Betrayal at House on the Hill review), and thanks to its many randomly-decided scenarios, you're never sure of what you'll face in this creepy mansion.

UK price: £44.95 at Amazon

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion | $49.99 at Walmart
Even though this series is pretty grungy in itself, there's no better distraction than a grand adventure – and few do it better than the 'havens. A new version of the original is now available, but this shorter take on the questing system is a better starting point if you ask me. As pointed out in our Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion review, it provides all the greatness in a more bitesize package that loses none of its predecessor's depth.

UK price: £49.99 $45.45 at Amazon

Finspan | $50 at Amazon
If you want something to play with family that's a little deeper than Monopoly or Clue, this is a bright spot. It takes us to the oceans where we have to collect different kinds of fish across a variety of zones, making this the closest we'll get to snorkelling in a dark February. Despite building on the same mechanics as predecessor Wingspan, it improves the formula with more accessible gameplay and a faster pace. That makes it amongst the best family board games, so far as I'm concerned.

UK price: £42 $32.80 at Magic Madhouse

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For more tabletop recommendations, don't miss the best card games or the best tabletop RPGs.