Are expensive board games actually better than budget ones?

Not necessarily. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza retails under $10 and has more verified Amazon reviews than most $40 strategy titles, with BoardGameGeek and r/boardgames threads calling it disposable but genuinely fun. Premium games like Azul and Catan justify their price with deeper strategy and component quality, but for pure game-night laughs the budget options hold their own.