The Pursuit of Happiness / Similar games

18 games like The Pursuit of Happiness

The best games like The Pursuit of Happiness are The Manhattan Project, Terraforming Mars and The Networks — the closest of 18 ranked alternatives, scored by shared mechanics and category. The Manhattan Project shares economic, drafting, worker placement with The Pursuit of Happiness.

Every alternative below links to its own The Pursuit of Happiness-style fact page, drawn from MeeplePick’s economic shelf.

Ranked by shared category (3 pts) and mechanics (2 pts), bonus within 0.7 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 2.5 weight, then BoardGameGeek’s Bayesian rating — one entry per series, 18 shown.

As an Amazon Associate, MeeplePick earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

  1. 2–5 players · 120 min · ★ 7.4 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Drafting, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 3 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (60%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~45 min longer · +0.5 heavier
    View The Manhattan Project on Amazon →
  2. 1–5 players · 120 min · ★ 8.4 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Drafting, End Game Bonuses, Income · 3 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (60%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · scales to 5 · ~45 min longer · +0.8 heavier
    View Terraforming Mars on Amazon →
  3. 3. The Networks (2016)
    1–5 players · 60–90 min · ★ 7.2 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Drafting, End Game Bonuses, Income · 3 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (60%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · scales to 5 · about the same length · same complexity
    View The Networks on Amazon →
  4. 1–5 players · 30–60 min · ★ 7.9 · Medium-light
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Drafting, End Game Bonuses · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · scales to 5 · ~30 min shorter · 0.2 lighter
  5. 5. Dinosaur Island (2017)
    1–4 players · 90–120 min · ★ 7.7 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Income, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · ~30 min longer · +0.5 heavier
  6. 6. The Bloody Inn (2015)
    1–4 players · 30–60 min · ★ 7.0 · Medium-light
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, End Game Bonuses, Income, Simulation · 3 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (60%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · ~30 min shorter · same complexity
  7. 2–4 players · 90–120 min · ★ 7.3 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 2–4 players · ~30 min longer · +0.3 heavier
  8. 1–6 players · 45–90 min · ★ 8.1 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (20%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · scales to 6 · about the same length · +0.4 heavier
  9. 9. Gaia Project (2017)
    1–4 players · 60–150 min · ★ 8.5 · Heavy
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, End Game Bonuses, Income · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · ~30 min longer · +1.9 heavier
  10. 10. Belfort (2011)
    2–5 players · 120 min · ★ 7.2 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~45 min longer · +0.6 heavier
  11. 11. 7 Wonders (2010)
    2–7 players · 30 min · ★ 7.8 · Medium-light
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Drafting · 1 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (20%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 7 · ~45 min shorter · same complexity
  12. 12. Spyrium (2013)
    2–5 players · 75 min · ★ 7.1 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Income, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · about the same length · +0.4 heavier
  13. 13. Terra Mystica (2012)
    2–5 players · 60–150 min · ★ 8.1 · Medium-heavy
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, End Game Bonuses, Income · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~30 min longer · +1.5 heavier
  14. 14. Maracaibo (2019)
    1–4 players · 30–120 min · ★ 8.3 · Medium-heavy
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, End Game Bonuses, Income · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · about the same length · +1.4 heavier
  15. 2–4 players · 45–75 min · ★ 7.7 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (20%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 2–4 players · ~15 min shorter · +0.4 heavier
  16. 16. On Mars (2020)
    1–4 players · 90–150 min · ★ 8.3 · Heavy
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, Drafting, End Game Bonuses · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · ~45 min longer · +2.2 heavier
  17. 17. Calimala (2017)
    3–5 players · 75 min · ★ 7.2 · Medium
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, End Game Bonuses, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 3–4 players · scales to 5 · about the same length · +0.3 heavier
  18. 18. Barrage (2019)
    1–4 players · 60–120 min · ★ 8.2 · Medium-heavy
    Shares with The Pursuit of Happiness: Economic, End Game Bonuses, Income · 2 of The Pursuit of Happiness’s 5 mechanics (40%)
    vs The Pursuit of Happiness: overlaps at 1–4 players · ~15 min longer · +1.6 heavier
Check The Manhattan Project on Amazon →

As an Amazon Associate, MeeplePick earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Frequently asked

What game is most like The Pursuit of Happiness?
The Manhattan Project (2012) is the closest match to The Pursuit of Happiness, sharing economic, drafting, worker placement. It rates 7.4/10 on BoardGameGeek.
What should I play if I like The Pursuit of Happiness?
The Manhattan Project, Terraforming Mars, The Networks are the top-ranked alternatives to The Pursuit of Happiness in the MeeplePick database, matched on medium-light complexity as well as mechanics. All 18 are ranked on this page with the shared mechanics shown for each.
Is The Manhattan Project harder than The Pursuit of Happiness?
Compared with The Pursuit of Happiness, The Manhattan Project is +0.5 heavier and ~45 min longer (3.0 vs 2.5 complexity on BoardGameGeek's 1–5 scale).

Narrow it down

best 1-player board games · best 2-player board games · best 3-player board games · best 4-player board games · drafting games · end game bonuses games · income games · simulation games

Looking for the original? See the full The Pursuit of Happiness fact page — players, play time, age and complexity.