BoardGameGeek
BGG MCP provides access to BoardGameGeek and a variety of board game related data through the Model Context Protocol. Enabling retrieval and filtering of board game data, user collections, and profiles.
What is BoardGameGeek?
BoardGameGeek is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to bgg mcp provides access to boardgamegeek and a variety of board game related data through the model context protocol. enabling retrieval and filtering of board game data, user collections, and profile...
BGG MCP provides access to BoardGameGeek and a variety of board game related data through the Model Context Protocol. Enabling retrieval and filtering of board game data, user collections, and profiles.
This server falls under the Analytics category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- BGG MCP provides access to BoardGameGeek and a variety of bo
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx bggConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use BoardGameGeek
BGG MCP is a Go-based Model Context Protocol server that provides rich access to BoardGameGeek's data through a suite of specialized tools — including game search, detailed game info, user collections with filtering, the BGG hotness list, real-time retail prices from BoardGamePrices.co.uk, game recommendations from Recommend.Games, trade-finder between users, and an experimental rules Q&A tool that searches BGG forums. It is designed for board game enthusiasts who want to query BGG data, compare collections, find prices, or get rules help directly inside an AI assistant without switching to a browser.
Prerequisites
- Go 1.21 or higher installed (for building from source), or use a pre-built binary
- A BoardGameGeek API key from https://boardgamegeek.com/applications (required for v2.0+)
- Optionally a BGG username set as an environment variable for 'my collection' queries
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop or Cursor
Clone the repository
Clone the bgg-mcp repository to your local machine.
git clone https://github.com/kkjdaniel/bgg-mcp.git
cd bgg-mcpBuild the binary
Use the included Makefile to build the bgg-mcp binary. The output is placed in build/bgg-mcp.
make build
# Or directly with Go:
go build -o build/bgg-mcpObtain a BoardGameGeek API key
Apply for an API key at https://boardgamegeek.com/applications. This is required for reliable API access in v2.0+. Alternatively you can use cookie-based authentication.
Add the server to your MCP client configuration
Edit your MCP client config to point at the built binary. Include your BGG_API_KEY and optionally your BGG_USERNAME as environment variables.
{
"mcpServers": {
"bgg": {
"command": "/path/to/bgg-mcp/build/bgg-mcp",
"args": ["-mode", "stdio"],
"env": {
"BGG_API_KEY": "your_bgg_api_key_here",
"BGG_USERNAME": "your_bgg_username"
}
}
}
}Restart your MCP client
Close and reopen Claude Desktop (or your MCP client) so it discovers the bgg-mcp server and loads its tools.
BoardGameGeek Examples
Client configuration
Complete claude_desktop_config.json entry for BGG MCP with API key and username configured.
{
"mcpServers": {
"bgg": {
"command": "/home/user/bgg-mcp/build/bgg-mcp",
"args": ["-mode", "stdio"],
"env": {
"BGG_API_KEY": "your_bgg_api_key_here",
"BGG_USERNAME": "your_bgg_username"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
These prompts map to the real BGG MCP tools: bgg-search, bgg-details, bgg-collection, bgg-hot, bgg-price, bgg-recommender, bgg-rules.
- "Search for Wingspan on BGG and show me the top result"
- "Show me the current BGG hotness list"
- "Get the best UK price for Ark Nova"
- "Show games rated 9 or higher in kkjdaniel's collection"
- "Recommend 5 games similar to Azul"
- "How does end-of-round scoring work in Wingspan? use bgg-rules"
- "Find trading opportunities between users rahdo and ZeeGarcia"Troubleshooting BoardGameGeek
API errors or rate limiting when querying BGG
BGG MCP v2.0+ requires a BGG_API_KEY for reliable access. If you are getting 429 or authentication errors, verify the key is set correctly in the env section of your MCP config. Cookie-based auth (BGG_COOKIE) is an alternative if you cannot get an API key.
'my collection' queries return an error about missing username
Set the BGG_USERNAME environment variable in your MCP config env block. Without it, self-referential queries like 'show my collection' fail with a clear error message.
Binary not found or permission denied when the MCP client starts the server
Make sure you ran `make build` and the binary exists at build/bgg-mcp. Run `chmod +x build/bgg-mcp` to ensure it is executable, and use the full absolute path in your MCP config.
Frequently Asked Questions about BoardGameGeek
What is BoardGameGeek?
BoardGameGeek is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that bgg mcp provides access to boardgamegeek and a variety of board game related data through the model context protocol. enabling retrieval and filtering of board game data, user collections, and profiles. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install BoardGameGeek?
Follow the installation instructions on the BoardGameGeek GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with BoardGameGeek?
BoardGameGeek works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is BoardGameGeek free to use?
Yes, BoardGameGeek is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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