Board Game Arena

Dear Players,
Starting July 1st, 2025, the price of an annual Premium subscription on Board Game Arena will increase from 36$/36€ to $42/42€.
The monthly subscription remains unchanged at $5/5€.
This update will apply to all renewals after that date and will be adjusted accordingly for other currencies.

Why this change?
Over the past year, we have added hundreds of new games - including major titles like Terraforming Mars or Small World and recent hits like Harmonies, Castle Combo and Sky Team- while also introducing innovative experiences such as Altered, which lets you play on Board Game Arena with custom decks synched to the physical cards you own. We have expanded our team to develop new features faster, revamping key areas like the home page. We mainly worked behind the scenes to significantly upgrade our infrastructure and capability to support a growing player base. We are, however, conscious that there are still efforts to be made on some topics.
Your subscription directly supports Board Game Arena's growth and improvement, as well as game creators and publishers due to fair compensation. It plays a key role in fulfilling our mission to connect players: discover new games, practice with friends, and compete with the world.

Loyalty rewards for long-time Premium players
We are grateful for the support of our loyal Premium members- and we want to say thank you!
The details of the offer will be in the price update notification email sent to all eligible subscribers.

Thank you for your continued support and for being part of the BGA community. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us through our support page:
https://boardgamearena.com/support

As usual, we prepared a mini-FAQ for you:

When will the price increase take effect?
Starting July 1st, 2025, all yearly and monthly subscriptions will renew at the updated price (42€/$ annually and 5€/$ monthly). The exact time may vary for technical reasons.

What about “fixed duration Premium” memberships (PayPal or gift codes)?
The new price will apply to all purchases made on or after July 1st, 2025.

Will I keep my current price if I’m already subscribed?
No, all renewals after the change will be at the new rate.

I didn’t see any mention of the loyalty reward in my price update notification email.
You must have had a paid subscription for at least 6 years to be eligible for the reward.

*** Additional points from June 4th
Why is the price increase different depending on the currency?
Global, we haven’t changed the monthly subscription price in the last 5 years. To ensure fairness and consistency, we adjusted yearly prices across currencies to offer a harmonized ~30% discount compared to paying monthly.
There are few exceptions when there is a significant variation of international exchange rate.
Additionally, you can usually avoid additional bank costs by paying with your local currency.

Can I cancel my subscription?
Yes, you can cancel at any time. Your Premium benefits will remain active until the end of your current subscription period, and you can resubscribe later if you wish.

Will I get a renewal email?
Yes, as usual, you will receive a renewal notification email with the updated pricing before your annual subscription renews.

Let’s keep playing!
–
The Board Game Arena Team

Firstly, while I acknowledge the rationale behind increasing the annual price, I would appreciate the introduction of additional benefits for premium users.

Secondly, I propose that it would be more equitable for non-premium members to be required to pay a nominal fee, such as 1 euro per year, for access to the service. Additionally, I suggest that the current 31-day free trial period be reduced to 7 days.

Is there any way to renew the membership before the price increases? My renewal date is in August, but I'd like to renew for another year in advance of the renewal date.

Family plans pls thx. I have a household of 4 and would happily upgrade all of them to show support for a reasonable bundle price (which could be IP-limited to ensure we're coming from the same location). A la carte would be too much given the diminished utility.

I agree with Olivia, there should be some other benefit to accomodate this price change.

Though I don't think they should totally remove free access. Perhaps free to all non premium games and a $1 fee to play premium games. So they can at least try a feel for the UI in BGA.

Understandable! Thanks for the great new games!

The loyalty reward needing 6 years to be eligible is a bit of a high bar. Are these consecutive years? Any chance of it being lowered to like 3 years? I don't know what the reward is.

I personally find a great value for the money paid, but that being said I think there is an effective way to give premium members a benefit with small cost to the service.

If there was an annual voting for games to come onto the service (no need for the games to be restricted to premium) that only premium members could vote on it would tell you what games people want to see prioritized who are paying and maybe attract more people to subscribe. The admin could select the games for the list however they like.

A 25% increase is way too high and I'm reconsidering my renewal. I agree with the comment that non-Premium members should be paying something.

Perhaps instead of a blanket increase in pricing for all Premium members, there could be a special subscription service for those who wish to avail of the special features. It seems a bit unfair to simply increase the annual subscription (again) regardless of whether the subscribers are in fact using all those additional features. A two tier subscription service would also work for those who wish to play basic premium games vs. those who wish to play the games with the more advanced features like the sync mentioned in the official original post. The increase of 17% also seems a bit steep considering the premium fee has nearly doubled over the last 4-5 years.

From what I remember, these prices were already increased in November or December.
Not even 7-8 months and you again announce the price increase.
At this rate I'm down to a month or I'm giving up on the platform. It seems that our support is more appreciated financially.
Not ok !