Ask HN: Best board games of 2022?
What are your favorite board games of 2022? I think saboteur might be kind of old, but it ranks for my favorite this year (as I just found out about it)
184 comments
Its not a 2022 board game - but I would really recommend Carcassonne with these two expansions:
- Traders and Builders [1]
- Inns and Cathedrals [2]
The base itself is little limited - but with these two expansions you have one of the best sets for a nice evening with friends. You can also add River or River II expansion - but they only 'divert' the beginning of the game - so you can omit them.
The Carcassonne is really a simple game - yet it takes real thinking and strategy to really master it.
What I like the most about Carcassonne is its 'minimalistic' approach. There are roads/cities/grasslands/monasteries ... and nothing else ... yet taking someone else' city or road is very important strategic move - or splitting the work between X players.
You do not need cards, figures, notes, calculators, excel or dice. You just play and move the cones on the scoring board.
Regards.
[1] https://carcassonne.fandom.com/wiki/Traders_%26_Builders
[2] https://carcassonne.fandom.com/wiki/Inns_%26_Cathedrals
- Traders and Builders [1]
- Inns and Cathedrals [2]
The base itself is little limited - but with these two expansions you have one of the best sets for a nice evening with friends. You can also add River or River II expansion - but they only 'divert' the beginning of the game - so you can omit them.
The Carcassonne is really a simple game - yet it takes real thinking and strategy to really master it.
What I like the most about Carcassonne is its 'minimalistic' approach. There are roads/cities/grasslands/monasteries ... and nothing else ... yet taking someone else' city or road is very important strategic move - or splitting the work between X players.
You do not need cards, figures, notes, calculators, excel or dice. You just play and move the cones on the scoring board.
Regards.
[1] https://carcassonne.fandom.com/wiki/Traders_%26_Builders
[2] https://carcassonne.fandom.com/wiki/Inns_%26_Cathedrals
The expansions are great, but I don't find base limiting at all!
I don't know any game that simple as versatile as Carcassone: you can play friendly or cutthroat, tactical or strategic, conservative or risky, focus on or ignore farmers...
+ Almost no setup, fast turns, equally good at any player count, you end up with a good looking map... this game is a jewel
I don't know any game that simple as versatile as Carcassone: you can play friendly or cutthroat, tactical or strategic, conservative or risky, focus on or ignore farmers...
+ Almost no setup, fast turns, equally good at any player count, you end up with a good looking map... this game is a jewel
Going to second Carcassonne, and say that one thing I really like about the game is that's almost purely contextless, in that it doesn't require you to hold long-term strategy/ideas/concepts in your head for extended periods of time. If you showed up to the middle of the game, and were told to play the turn for somebody, largely you could. This makes it a great casual game with friends, as a long continuous attention span isn't really required.
I tend to play with the River and Inns and Cathedrals. We also play with a house rule that you have a hand of 3 tiles to alleviate some of the draw-dependence of whether a strategy is successful or not.
Oh that’s a neat rule, I like that! It’s another level of strategy that you wouldn’t normally get. I can see it being fun in smaller groups, because there’s less to keep track of compared to a 5-person game
They’re good expansions if you’re playing with more than 2 people. If it’s just 2 people, the base game without the river really is the best. The tiles are far more limited so there’s the strategy of making sure it’s impossible for your opponent to complete some of their features and trap their meeples for the remainder of the game
I don’t like carcassonne at all. I find it to have too much luck involved since you always get one random tile. Is it really possible to be good at? Whenever I have played most players score about the same.
Definitely one of the best. I’ve played many many hours of this with and without expansions. Very playable with two, but best with 3 or 4 players - the negotiations between players is where the game really shines.
It's not new at all, but Cosmic Encounter blew my mind wide open. It's far and away the most chaotic board game I've ever played. I love it.
The object of the game is to occupy ten planets (you start with five) via combat, negotiation, or shenanigans. Each player drafts two unique powers, each of which breaks the rules somehow. Just for instance, in the last game I played, one player had the power "you start with ten planets, but your planets are only worth half." Eventually I won by causing this player to swap places, but not powers, with me. Some such BS happens every single game, and never the same way twice.
The object of the game is to occupy ten planets (you start with five) via combat, negotiation, or shenanigans. Each player drafts two unique powers, each of which breaks the rules somehow. Just for instance, in the last game I played, one player had the power "you start with ten planets, but your planets are only worth half." Eventually I won by causing this player to swap places, but not powers, with me. Some such BS happens every single game, and never the same way twice.
Cool! I bought Cosmic Encounter in the 80s. I left it with my parents when I moved out, and then we would play it there when we visited so I never moved it to my own house. Then of course they threw it out. I had no idea it had been republished. Very fun game--a little random but for me that makes it more fun.
Maybe I've always played it wrong but I found Cosmic Encounter horribly unbalanced and very random. My friendship group used to play it as a warm-up game before other games so I have a lot of experience with it but almost none of it I found enjoyable.
Either I just couldn't wrap my head around a winning strategy or we were getting the rules wrong because it was just miserable, and I say that even winning my fair share of games, but often times it felt like I didn't do anything particularly different to deserve that victory.
Either I just couldn't wrap my head around a winning strategy or we were getting the rules wrong because it was just miserable, and I say that even winning my fair share of games, but often times it felt like I didn't do anything particularly different to deserve that victory.
Cosmic Encounter [1] is my all time favorite. I think it works best with 5 or 6 players, which allows for lots of interactions and wacky card play. Some of the alien powers are better than others, which might seem unfair. But the fun is in assessing each situation and making the appropriate alliances, etc. to "balance" the game - hopefully to your own advantage, of course!
[1] Specifically the Mayfair edition from the 1990s, although I understand the current version is pretty similar.
[1] Specifically the Mayfair edition from the 1990s, although I understand the current version is pretty similar.
I have Cosmic Encounter with 4 expansions and I bought it after watching it played on No Rolls Barred (great Youtube boardgame channel). So far I've tried to play it once but my friends don't seem to get it at all. Quite sad since from seeing it played I think it's a fantastic game.
I love CE, but it's a long game with 4+ players and far less interesting with 3 players.
Of the games that came out this year:
- Mosaic (disclaimer, I know the designer), Bullet Star, Planet Unknown, Fjords, Long Shot: The Dice Game, Wonderland's War
2022 releases I have but haven't gotten to the table yet:
- Eleven (waiting for it to arrive), Vagrantsong, Resurgence, Caesar!, Mind Bug, Puzzle Strike II, Creature Comforts, Verdant
Best "New to me" games for 2022:
- Memoir '44, Imperium Classics, Ark Nova, Res Arcana, Trekking the World, Nemo's War, Scout, Downforce, First Class, My City
I finally played Memoir '44 for the first time, and man is it amazing. My new favorite game, edging out Spirit Island. I now have a regular person I play with online and have racked up 25 games of it just this year, working our way through all the scenarios (of which there's a ton). The online version at BoardGameArena is excellent.
Best board game-like video game I played in 2022: Inscryption. Basically a "Slay the Spire" style deckbuilder mixed with a creepy vibe mixed with an escape room mixed with...well, you should play it and find out for yourself.
- Mosaic (disclaimer, I know the designer), Bullet Star, Planet Unknown, Fjords, Long Shot: The Dice Game, Wonderland's War
2022 releases I have but haven't gotten to the table yet:
- Eleven (waiting for it to arrive), Vagrantsong, Resurgence, Caesar!, Mind Bug, Puzzle Strike II, Creature Comforts, Verdant
Best "New to me" games for 2022:
- Memoir '44, Imperium Classics, Ark Nova, Res Arcana, Trekking the World, Nemo's War, Scout, Downforce, First Class, My City
I finally played Memoir '44 for the first time, and man is it amazing. My new favorite game, edging out Spirit Island. I now have a regular person I play with online and have racked up 25 games of it just this year, working our way through all the scenarios (of which there's a ton). The online version at BoardGameArena is excellent.
Best board game-like video game I played in 2022: Inscryption. Basically a "Slay the Spire" style deckbuilder mixed with a creepy vibe mixed with an escape room mixed with...well, you should play it and find out for yourself.
Games I've NOT played, but am interested in playing/buying that were released in 2022.
Great Western Trail Argentina(I have the 2021 reprint/update of GWT and this one seems even better)
Decorum
Woodcraft
Terracotta Army
Golem
Great Western Trail Argentina(I have the 2021 reprint/update of GWT and this one seems even better)
Decorum
Woodcraft
Terracotta Army
Golem
I found it difficult to get into Inscryption. I loved Slay the Spire (450 hours played and counting), especially Spire With Friends.
Inscryption never grabbed me. Maybe I need to give it another go.
Inscryption never grabbed me. Maybe I need to give it another go.
If you like being surprised by games once in a decade, you should play it.
Not saying more for fear of spoilers :)
Wingspan (2019) was my favorite new (to me) game. I like that you can strategize and compete without directly getting in each other's way. It's great if you're tired of making enemies during games.
Other long term favorites are Castles of Burgundy, Scythe, and Viticulture.
Other long term favorites are Castles of Burgundy, Scythe, and Viticulture.
> I like that you can strategize and compete without directly getting in each other's way.
You may be aware of this - this genre is called Eurogame
https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Eurogame
It's the type of game where you don't directly or fully interact with your opponents (at most, you can usually indirectly block one of their moves, but that's about it). People seem to like the less adversarial playstyle as there are many successful games in this genre: Catan, Ticket to Ride, Puerto Rico, Carcassone etc.
You may be aware of this - this genre is called Eurogame
https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Eurogame
It's the type of game where you don't directly or fully interact with your opponents (at most, you can usually indirectly block one of their moves, but that's about it). People seem to like the less adversarial playstyle as there are many successful games in this genre: Catan, Ticket to Ride, Puerto Rico, Carcassone etc.
Not for competitive reasons (I tend to dislike hypercompetitive games and most of my favorite games are co-op), but in general I find games with this property really frustrating from a mental perspective.
Games of the style "everyone plays somewhat independently, with some interaction such as blocking, but mostly you race to score points" have the key property that you can do much better if you spend a lot of mental bandwidth carefully tracking the state of all your opponents (how many points they have, what they're doing), which also contributes to a strong "a computer, or computer-assistance, would make this better" feeling, which in turn makes a game feel less fun to me.
I actually really enjoy Catan, in large part because of mechanics like inter-player trading and the jostle for the 3:1 / 2:1 trading ports, which makes for much heavier interaction with other players. Ticket to Ride, on the other hand, is a textbook example of the mechanics I find frustrating and un-fun.
Games of the style "everyone plays somewhat independently, with some interaction such as blocking, but mostly you race to score points" have the key property that you can do much better if you spend a lot of mental bandwidth carefully tracking the state of all your opponents (how many points they have, what they're doing), which also contributes to a strong "a computer, or computer-assistance, would make this better" feeling, which in turn makes a game feel less fun to me.
I actually really enjoy Catan, in large part because of mechanics like inter-player trading and the jostle for the 3:1 / 2:1 trading ports, which makes for much heavier interaction with other players. Ticket to Ride, on the other hand, is a textbook example of the mechanics I find frustrating and un-fun.
I really agree with you on this one. I often play eurogames with my friends and really, I enjoy it because I'm with my friends, not because of the game. I often feel like I'm playing a spreadsheet.
Bluffing games, guessing games, dexterity games are much more fun for me.
Bluffing games, guessing games, dexterity games are much more fun for me.
Try Hansa Teutonic or Tigris & Euphrates. Basically two different takes on area control and route building. Definitely has a lot of player interaction, of the good and bad.
I think it really depends on the game, you can have your game with little interaction, and then the clashing of players type of euro.
I think it really depends on the game, you can have your game with little interaction, and then the clashing of players type of euro.
I am curious, do you feel similarly about chess?
No, because chess has players directly interacting, rather than just playing independently.
I enjoy chess occasionally, with a player at a comparable skill level. That computers play it far better doesn't bother me in that context, the way it bothers me that a computer would be better at carefully tracking exactly how many points other players have in Ticket to Ride.
I enjoy chess occasionally, with a player at a comparable skill level. That computers play it far better doesn't bother me in that context, the way it bothers me that a computer would be better at carefully tracking exactly how many points other players have in Ticket to Ride.
That's not a good definition. In all games you interact with your opponent. Whether we call it "killing their units" or "taking the tile they wanted", is just cosmetic. Even in a game like Yahtzee, a strategy which takes into account what the opponent does will trounce a strategy which just tries to maximize score.
It's true that modern (that is, since 1994 or so) European games try to avoid "politics", e.g. individual dealmaking between players, or players having free choice over which other player to reward or hinder. European reviewers (and, say, SdJ judges) will typically consider it poor design if
1. Who wins can be decided by who gets targeted
2. Players don't get to play to the end (I.e. get eliminated)
3. Your win status can be certain and obvious long before the game is actually over.
But there is still plenty of room for that in older European games like Catan (1995)
It's true that modern (that is, since 1994 or so) European games try to avoid "politics", e.g. individual dealmaking between players, or players having free choice over which other player to reward or hinder. European reviewers (and, say, SdJ judges) will typically consider it poor design if
1. Who wins can be decided by who gets targeted
2. Players don't get to play to the end (I.e. get eliminated)
3. Your win status can be certain and obvious long before the game is actually over.
But there is still plenty of room for that in older European games like Catan (1995)
> That's not a good definition
What isn't, the text you are replying to, or the linked definition in that text?
The linked definition includes your point that "European reviewers will consider it poor design if ... players don't get to play to the end" for example, so your listing it doesn't work as a criticism of the definition.
The BGG definition seems quite comprehensive, and definitely not just "games you interact with your opponent".
From BGG:
Eurogames (or alternatively, Designer Board Games or German-Style Board Games) are a classification of board games that are very popular on Board Game Geek (BGG). Though not all eurogames are European and not all of them are board games, they share a set of similar characteristics. A game need not fit ALL the criteria to be considered a Eurogame.
Most Eurogames share the following elements:
- Player conflict is indirect and usually involves competition over resources or points. Combat is extremely rare.
- Players are never eliminated from the game (All players are still playing when the game ends.)
- There is very little randomness or luck. Randomness that is there is mitigated by having the player decide what to do after a random event happens rather than before. Dice are rare, but not unheard of, in a Euro.
- The Designer of the game is listed on the game's box cover. Though this is not particular to Euros, the Eurogame movement seems to have started this trend. This is why some gamers and designers call this genre of games Designer Games.
- Much attention is paid to the artwork and components. Plastic and metal are rare, more often pieces are made of wood.
- Eurogames have a definite theme, however, the theme most often has very little to do with the gameplay. The focus instead is on the mechanics; for example, a game about space may play the same as a game about ancient Rome.
- Eurogames are concerned with getting the most strategy from the least or minimal mechanics.
- Eurogames typically have multiple viable paths to scoring points or securing the win condition.
- Eurogames generally correspond to the BGG subdomain "Strategy".
Examples of Eurogames: CATAN, Puerto Rico, Carcassonne, Tigris & Euphrates, Caylus, Power Grid, Ra, El Grande, Five Tribes
// As owner of the listed example games, I find the linked definition significantly superior.
What isn't, the text you are replying to, or the linked definition in that text?
The linked definition includes your point that "European reviewers will consider it poor design if ... players don't get to play to the end" for example, so your listing it doesn't work as a criticism of the definition.
The BGG definition seems quite comprehensive, and definitely not just "games you interact with your opponent".
From BGG:
Eurogames (or alternatively, Designer Board Games or German-Style Board Games) are a classification of board games that are very popular on Board Game Geek (BGG). Though not all eurogames are European and not all of them are board games, they share a set of similar characteristics. A game need not fit ALL the criteria to be considered a Eurogame.
Most Eurogames share the following elements:
- Player conflict is indirect and usually involves competition over resources or points. Combat is extremely rare.
- Players are never eliminated from the game (All players are still playing when the game ends.)
- There is very little randomness or luck. Randomness that is there is mitigated by having the player decide what to do after a random event happens rather than before. Dice are rare, but not unheard of, in a Euro.
- The Designer of the game is listed on the game's box cover. Though this is not particular to Euros, the Eurogame movement seems to have started this trend. This is why some gamers and designers call this genre of games Designer Games.
- Much attention is paid to the artwork and components. Plastic and metal are rare, more often pieces are made of wood.
- Eurogames have a definite theme, however, the theme most often has very little to do with the gameplay. The focus instead is on the mechanics; for example, a game about space may play the same as a game about ancient Rome.
- Eurogames are concerned with getting the most strategy from the least or minimal mechanics.
- Eurogames typically have multiple viable paths to scoring points or securing the win condition.
- Eurogames generally correspond to the BGG subdomain "Strategy".
Examples of Eurogames: CATAN, Puerto Rico, Carcassonne, Tigris & Euphrates, Caylus, Power Grid, Ra, El Grande, Five Tribes
// As owner of the listed example games, I find the linked definition significantly superior.
I'm not a fan of BGG, and their definition is questionable in its own ways (little randomness is wrong) but either way I was reacting to the "interaction" part in the post I was replying to. All good games are interactive, but some people seem to miss it if the theme is wrong.
A lot of those games suffer from a kingmaker issue: where a player can't realistically play for first-place but can advantage or disadvantage players who can.
Catan is particularly bad at this; if you have 6 points and someone with 9 points offers you a trade, your decision will choose who wins.
Catan is particularly bad at this; if you have 6 points and someone with 9 points offers you a trade, your decision will choose who wins.
It's bad in this dimension for being a popular "eurogame". All it has to avoid it is a few hidden points from development cards. But most of the non-eurogames are far worse in this regard (e.g. in monopoly, this is far more common), and Catan would never have gotten away with it today. It's from 1995 after all.
True that non-eurogames are pretty bad here; Vinci suffered from this problem so badly that its successor (Smallworld) made every player's points private.
Does "indirectly block" undersell that particular strategy in Ticket to Ride? Or maybe it's just a result of the limited paths available once one has more than four or five players especially mid-late game.
I’m a huge fan of Eurogames but I regret buying Wingspan, it is an absolute bore. After 5 or 6 games it became kindof a meme in my family. “What shall we do now? A round of bird game?”
Beautiful packaging and pieces though! And it’s very cool that it works single player and two player. But nothing eventful at all happens, and nobody feels any compelling reason to rack up points.
So many other great games in the genre though.
Beautiful packaging and pieces though! And it’s very cool that it works single player and two player. But nothing eventful at all happens, and nobody feels any compelling reason to rack up points.
So many other great games in the genre though.
It's one of my favorite board games, probably for the same reason you hate it. What's the reason to play a board game? To give a bunch of people sitting around a table something to do while having a drink and a chat. Bird game is great for that; it's got stuff to talk about and to think about, but it doesn't swallow up the whole conversation like Pandemic would.
The compelling reason to rack up points, if you're playing seriously, is to see if your engine works --- just like Race For The Galaxy, or games like that.
The compelling reason to rack up points, if you're playing seriously, is to see if your engine works --- just like Race For The Galaxy, or games like that.
> What's the reason to play a board game? To give a bunch of people sitting around a table something to do while having a drink and a chat.
No, that's one of the reasons.
No, that's one of the reasons.
I agree with on the basegame. It was fun the first few games, becomes kinda boring when you don't play with a large group as the bird cards don't change often.
The expansions changed the game completely for me, it's more strategic and you're interacting with other player more (i.e. in-between round activation, end of round powers, more steal resource from other players, etc). I personally love that the game play is very fast, as you have limited number of moves every round.
The Oceania expansion with the nectar tokens and new board really let you do more in the game.
I would give it another try with the expansions, it's truly a different game.
The expansions changed the game completely for me, it's more strategic and you're interacting with other player more (i.e. in-between round activation, end of round powers, more steal resource from other players, etc). I personally love that the game play is very fast, as you have limited number of moves every round.
The Oceania expansion with the nectar tokens and new board really let you do more in the game.
I would give it another try with the expansions, it's truly a different game.
That sounds great, thanks for the recommendation!
Ahh interesting. I played Wingspan before it came out and thought it was pretty good and talked about it. Then I got it and played it a few times and it hit me how uninteractive and solo focused the game is and I just got bored. You can't plan a strategy and instead have to just get random stuff. That also means it's terrible to try to counter your opponents strategies because you can't predict what they're going for. Agricola is the gold standard for me. You're focusing on your own goals but it's very important to see what your opponents want too. Wingspan is like playing darts. It basically doesn't matter if you even have an opponent. Yawn.
Have you played Wingspan with serious board gamers?
I find the returns to skill in it are, if anything, greater than in Agricola, which is also one of my favorites.
The tension is all about the competition for a complementary strategy to what your opponents are doing.
Some people just don’t like weakly interactive engine builders, which is a fair objection to it, but it’s quite deep.
One weakness is that the Corvidae are too strong; many experts seem to have converged on either removing them or nerfing them.
I find the returns to skill in it are, if anything, greater than in Agricola, which is also one of my favorites.
The tension is all about the competition for a complementary strategy to what your opponents are doing.
Some people just don’t like weakly interactive engine builders, which is a fair objection to it, but it’s quite deep.
One weakness is that the Corvidae are too strong; many experts seem to have converged on either removing them or nerfing them.
Upvote for Wingspan precisely for the reason stated. A competitive game, but without conflict. It has become the family favorite and there are so many different strategies to experiment with.
You might enjoy Caverna.
What do you like about Viticulture?
I know it's well-loved, but when my wife and I tried playing it we found it dull and tedious. I'm curious if we're just missing something.
I know it's well-loved, but when my wife and I tried playing it we found it dull and tedious. I'm curious if we're just missing something.
Viticulture, for me, is just a fun, quick game, not involving too much thought and a relaxing theme. It's actually a race game, so our plays tend to be very quick and competitive. We hang on to the purple visitor cards to make surprise end-game points.
I like the theming, making wine. I get that the game starts off a bit slow due to the build up, but that's what I like. There are so many choices, and I like that. Kinda, choose your own engine building path style of game.
I have the Tuscany expansion, playing with 4 seasons and the unique workers makes the game even better in my opinion. I can see why some wouldn't like it, as it's a choice salad style game, and on first play through can seem like you're really doing nothing expect putting meeples down.
I actually wish they made a beer themed version of the game, call Bavaria or something.
I have the Tuscany expansion, playing with 4 seasons and the unique workers makes the game even better in my opinion. I can see why some wouldn't like it, as it's a choice salad style game, and on first play through can seem like you're really doing nothing expect putting meeples down.
I actually wish they made a beer themed version of the game, call Bavaria or something.
> It's great if you're tired of making enemies during games
this is what my family needs.
also, i heard this is a good game. might get it.
this is what my family needs.
also, i heard this is a good game. might get it.
It’s funny how different everyone’s definition of “of 2022” is; I play enough board games that I expected this to be all about 2022 releases, but most of the conversation is about 5-20 year old games!
In 2022 I’ve been focusing on very fast games, to add to my group’s repertoire of mostly mid-to-heavy games. Nidavellir and Jumpdrive both have been fun, here.
My favorite game of the last 5 years is Res Arcana with or without expansions; it’s a fun enough engine builder to appeal to most folks, but has high enough returns to skill to feel like it’s worth investing more plays in.
The most surprising hit for me this year is Star Wars: Rebellion. I’m not generally an Ameritrash fan, and I usually prefer 3-4 player evenings, but if you’ve got 2-3 hours with a single friend and even mildly enjoy the Star Wars atmosphere, it’s an asymmetric game which has felt epic every time I’ve played, win or lose.
In 2022 I’ve been focusing on very fast games, to add to my group’s repertoire of mostly mid-to-heavy games. Nidavellir and Jumpdrive both have been fun, here.
My favorite game of the last 5 years is Res Arcana with or without expansions; it’s a fun enough engine builder to appeal to most folks, but has high enough returns to skill to feel like it’s worth investing more plays in.
The most surprising hit for me this year is Star Wars: Rebellion. I’m not generally an Ameritrash fan, and I usually prefer 3-4 player evenings, but if you’ve got 2-3 hours with a single friend and even mildly enjoy the Star Wars atmosphere, it’s an asymmetric game which has felt epic every time I’ve played, win or lose.
I too took it as 2022 releases, not older games. Otherwise, I'd ask simply for "best boardgames". There were a ton of fun releases this year, well worth a post and a discussion.
I've heard good things about Rebellion. Can you describe it in more detail? What do you like or don't about it, and are there any games it's similar to?
It reminds me of Scotland Yard, adding a surprisingly satisfying dice combat system, worker placement, and crazy espionage.
Basically the empire gets awesome amounts of production, great battle units, and a lot more territory. But they have trouble finding the rebel base, and even if you do, you have to bring enough ground units (or a Death Star) to defeat the rebel base before they up and move the base somewhere else.
Really gets the flavor of the original trilogy, and the workers you place are themselves iconic leaders of the Star Wars universe, not just flat meeples.
I didn’t realize I wanted to routinely see Han Solo counter an offensive move by Palpatine instead of blander workers, but yes, yes that does make the game more satisfying.
Downside is it’s really a 2 player game (there’s a 2v2 4 player variant that just seems dumb to me), and until you know the game well, setup takes half an hour.
Basically the empire gets awesome amounts of production, great battle units, and a lot more territory. But they have trouble finding the rebel base, and even if you do, you have to bring enough ground units (or a Death Star) to defeat the rebel base before they up and move the base somewhere else.
Really gets the flavor of the original trilogy, and the workers you place are themselves iconic leaders of the Star Wars universe, not just flat meeples.
I didn’t realize I wanted to routinely see Han Solo counter an offensive move by Palpatine instead of blander workers, but yes, yes that does make the game more satisfying.
Downside is it’s really a 2 player game (there’s a 2v2 4 player variant that just seems dumb to me), and until you know the game well, setup takes half an hour.
The Crew (2019). Approachable but interesting co-op trick taking with communication restrictions and 50 missions for replayability. If you liked Hanabi, you might end up spending more time on this.
Also be sure to consider its bigger brother, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea (2021).
Any tips for avoiding the, "you should have known to play X so that I could play Y" frustration that some players bring to the table with this game? I'm ok with the group tension the game manifests, but sheesh. This one seems to get people critiquing others' plays more than any other game.
After the hand finishes, reset the game to the state where somebody misplayed, and then talk it through. What information did each of the players actually have? How did the player who needed something to happen try to signal that's what they needed to happen? How did the other players understand that action (or lack of action)? Was there a way the signaling could have been clearer? If there were multiple possibilities for what the signal meant, could the other players have disambiguated it somehow?
This should not be an acrimonious process. Think of it as a blameless postmortem. The goal is not to decide who made a mistake, it is to understand how to get better as a group and avoid losing the game the same way again. It will also help everyone empathize with the other players, since they'll actually understand what information the other players had and what their thought process was.
As you get better as a group, you should quickly get to a state where either it's clear to the player who misplayed that they did in fact make a mistake (and they'll apologize before the hand is even over) or everyone agrees it was unavoidable.
This should not be an acrimonious process. Think of it as a blameless postmortem. The goal is not to decide who made a mistake, it is to understand how to get better as a group and avoid losing the game the same way again. It will also help everyone empathize with the other players, since they'll actually understand what information the other players had and what their thought process was.
As you get better as a group, you should quickly get to a state where either it's clear to the player who misplayed that they did in fact make a mistake (and they'll apologize before the hand is even over) or everyone agrees it was unavoidable.
Came here to say this. At like ten bucks it's not much of a commitment. I keep a copy in my bag just in case. You can teach it super quickly. I just got the newer version (the ocean one) but haven't played it extensively yet. It does seem like it'll spice things up though and I'm excited to try it.
Skull [1] has been my favorite one this year – it's basically a bluffing / negotitation game. The specific version I linked has particularly beautiful design of cards.
And while it's not exactly a boardgame, this year I finally got into DM'ing D&D campaign – it's more time consuming that I expected, but very satysfying.
[1] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/92415/skull
And while it's not exactly a boardgame, this year I finally got into DM'ing D&D campaign – it's more time consuming that I expected, but very satysfying.
[1] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/92415/skull
Skull is definitely in my top 5 games. Love the simplicity.
If you like games which distill the notion of bluffing, you should also try Perudo. Very similar to Skull, but it uses dice.
If you like games which distill the notion of bluffing, you should also try Perudo. Very similar to Skull, but it uses dice.
Perudo is also known as “Liar’s Dice”, and I agree both it and Skull are great.
I've described my play style to friends thusly: ALWAYS. SKULL.
It may be from 2021 but we have been playing Stella a lot lately.
It is (I think) a more strategic variant of the game Dixit and it is played with the same cards, so if you already own Dixit, you can use it as an extension to Stella and vice versa. The idea is that you have a randomly selected word and 15 randomly selected cards with surreal illustrations face up on the table. Each player has to chose a certain number of cards that he thinks represent the word. If you are the only one to pick a card, you lose, if someone else picked the same card, you both win points.
It is (I think) a more strategic variant of the game Dixit and it is played with the same cards, so if you already own Dixit, you can use it as an extension to Stella and vice versa. The idea is that you have a randomly selected word and 15 randomly selected cards with surreal illustrations face up on the table. Each player has to chose a certain number of cards that he thinks represent the word. If you are the only one to pick a card, you lose, if someone else picked the same card, you both win points.
Upvoted for it having more of a focus on knowing each other, instead of just optimizing/ solving an arbitrary problem. Just One and Codenames are others we like to play.
Favourite game from this year: John Company 2nd ed. Very complex, but in an interesting, understandable, and thematic way.
Favourite old game discovered this year: The King is Dead. An area control game with restrictions that interact in very interesting ways.
Perennial favourites:
Orleans - the most played game at my weekly board game group. Worker placement and deck building combined.
Concordia - a great resource collection game, plays well from 2-5 players with no rules changes
Hansa Teutonica - brilliant worker placement game. Looks bland, plays well, and now comes in a well-priced box with all expansions.
Favourite old game discovered this year: The King is Dead. An area control game with restrictions that interact in very interesting ways.
Perennial favourites:
Orleans - the most played game at my weekly board game group. Worker placement and deck building combined.
Concordia - a great resource collection game, plays well from 2-5 players with no rules changes
Hansa Teutonica - brilliant worker placement game. Looks bland, plays well, and now comes in a well-priced box with all expansions.
John Company 2nd edition is a fantastic game.
Instant favourite, the smoothest rules (I could not have imagined a game with this complexity could flow so well and have a manual so easy to navigate) Insanely good player interaction, at no time boring, and there's basically no downtime. Paying attention to other players is necessary and effortless. Paired with great rulebook and well defined order of actions, this made my first game flow incredibly well—even though the short scenario took over 6 hours. 2-3 hours in we all felt like we had been playing for 45 minutes.
True competitive co-op, nothing like terraforming Mars (which is co-op in flavor only). You generally want the company to do well while skimming a bit more off the top than your opponents.
And the game does not abstract away the horrible things you do. It's very clear that the players are not the good guys. Power is central to John Company, and not just in the sense of "might", although military strength s important—in the sense of political and economical power, unchecked except by those who would like that power for themselves.
10/10 might not be enough of a rating
Instant favourite, the smoothest rules (I could not have imagined a game with this complexity could flow so well and have a manual so easy to navigate) Insanely good player interaction, at no time boring, and there's basically no downtime. Paying attention to other players is necessary and effortless. Paired with great rulebook and well defined order of actions, this made my first game flow incredibly well—even though the short scenario took over 6 hours. 2-3 hours in we all felt like we had been playing for 45 minutes.
True competitive co-op, nothing like terraforming Mars (which is co-op in flavor only). You generally want the company to do well while skimming a bit more off the top than your opponents.
And the game does not abstract away the horrible things you do. It's very clear that the players are not the good guys. Power is central to John Company, and not just in the sense of "might", although military strength s important—in the sense of political and economical power, unchecked except by those who would like that power for themselves.
10/10 might not be enough of a rating
Concordia Venus is an all time favorite here. I love it's balance between deck-building and worker placement mechanisms.
Just discovered Hansa Teutonica last week and it looks very interesting although the first game was frustrating as there is a lot to learn.
Just discovered Hansa Teutonica last week and it looks very interesting although the first game was frustrating as there is a lot to learn.
Up from me, I LOVE Hansa Teutonica. I'm too lazy to buy the Big Box as I already have the original print. Wished it had better 2 player mechanics.
I played boardgames 251 times in 2022.
Here's the play counts of games we played at least 3 times in 2022, dumped from the BGStats app I use to track plays.
45: Azul
36: The Isle of Cats
36: Tsuro
22: Lost Ruins of Arnak
15: Luxor
14: Hive
9: Carcassonne Big Box 6
9: Forbidden Island
6: Everdell
6: Project L
5: Watergate
4: Endless Winter: Paleoamericans
4: Paint the Roses
4: Hidden Leaders
3: Paris
3: Lift Off! Get me off this Planet! Expanded Deluxe Edition.
All plays are with physical copies of the games.
The Isle of Cats quickly became our family favourite. We play it with our two kids (8 and 6) in "family mode", and in normal mode with our gaming group. Highly recommended.
Lost Ruins of Arnak is wonderful at 2, 3, or 4 players. The Leaders expansion is worth it to add some more depth.
Luxor is my 6yo's favourite game, but don't let that make you think it's only a kids game. We have all the expansions and there's really a heap of scope in the game.
The Everdell plays were with the New Leaf expansion, and it really brought back my enjoyment of the game. It solved a lot of the problems I'd had with the base game (mostly related to the meadow cards getting stale if no-one wanted them).
Endless Winter felt a little "mechanics soup" to me, but it's solid. Unlike Arnak, it also felt like it wasn't very well balanced across the various things you could focus on.
Hidden Leaders was the stand out 6 player game.
I really love Paris and want to play it a heap more.
Azul, Tsuro, Hive are all worth picking up as "lets just have a quick game" options.
Games we only played once so far but are very keen to play more: Mosaic, Rococco, Windward, Paladins of the West Kingdom.
Edit: my kids and I had a quick little "test play" of Forgotten Depths and I'm really keen to play it with them a heap over the holidays. A co-op dungeon crawler style game with 3 female characters. The design is really sweet.
Here's the play counts of games we played at least 3 times in 2022, dumped from the BGStats app I use to track plays.
45: Azul
36: The Isle of Cats
36: Tsuro
22: Lost Ruins of Arnak
15: Luxor
14: Hive
9: Carcassonne Big Box 6
9: Forbidden Island
6: Everdell
6: Project L
5: Watergate
4: Endless Winter: Paleoamericans
4: Paint the Roses
4: Hidden Leaders
3: Paris
3: Lift Off! Get me off this Planet! Expanded Deluxe Edition.
All plays are with physical copies of the games.
The Isle of Cats quickly became our family favourite. We play it with our two kids (8 and 6) in "family mode", and in normal mode with our gaming group. Highly recommended.
Lost Ruins of Arnak is wonderful at 2, 3, or 4 players. The Leaders expansion is worth it to add some more depth.
Luxor is my 6yo's favourite game, but don't let that make you think it's only a kids game. We have all the expansions and there's really a heap of scope in the game.
The Everdell plays were with the New Leaf expansion, and it really brought back my enjoyment of the game. It solved a lot of the problems I'd had with the base game (mostly related to the meadow cards getting stale if no-one wanted them).
Endless Winter felt a little "mechanics soup" to me, but it's solid. Unlike Arnak, it also felt like it wasn't very well balanced across the various things you could focus on.
Hidden Leaders was the stand out 6 player game.
I really love Paris and want to play it a heap more.
Azul, Tsuro, Hive are all worth picking up as "lets just have a quick game" options.
Games we only played once so far but are very keen to play more: Mosaic, Rococco, Windward, Paladins of the West Kingdom.
Edit: my kids and I had a quick little "test play" of Forgotten Depths and I'm really keen to play it with them a heap over the holidays. A co-op dungeon crawler style game with 3 female characters. The design is really sweet.
Hive Pocket is maybe the best "play it on an airplane tray table" game around.
> Endless Winter felt a little "mechanics soup" to me, but it's solid. Unlike Arnak, it also felt like it wasn't very well balanced across the various things you could focus on.
Endless Winter was super popular at Spiel, with endless lines of people waiting for the tables to play it, but I was a bit disappointed by it. "Mechanics soup" is a good description. I felt Ruins of Arnak was a lot more cohesive.
Endless Winter was super popular at Spiel, with endless lines of people waiting for the tables to play it, but I was a bit disappointed by it. "Mechanics soup" is a good description. I felt Ruins of Arnak was a lot more cohesive.
I just realized you're not referring to the game Paris: La Cite de la Lumiere, which is also a wonderful game!
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/276498/paris-la-cite-de-...
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/276498/paris-la-cite-de-...
Forgotten Depths sounds really cool - I can't figure out when it will be available though!
New to me: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/317985/beyond-sun AKA "Tech Tree".
There's enough going on that it can hold my attention, but, each turn is super simple. And now that I think about it, while there's strong degree to which it feels like an engine builder, it mostly isn't. You do get combos, but they tend to be one-turn things. It's got the right mix of determinism and random; RNG won't win or lose you the game, but every game is going to be at least a bit different because of it.
Also new to me: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/342942/ark-nova AKA "Zoo Mars", since we like it for many of the reasons we like Terraforming Mars, although it's simpler, and turns go by faster. It does have a bit of an issue in that poor card draw on your part (or, in one game, excellent card draw on one player's) can lose you the game, as you do build an engine but not all cards will work with the specific engine you're building.
There's enough going on that it can hold my attention, but, each turn is super simple. And now that I think about it, while there's strong degree to which it feels like an engine builder, it mostly isn't. You do get combos, but they tend to be one-turn things. It's got the right mix of determinism and random; RNG won't win or lose you the game, but every game is going to be at least a bit different because of it.
Also new to me: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/342942/ark-nova AKA "Zoo Mars", since we like it for many of the reasons we like Terraforming Mars, although it's simpler, and turns go by faster. It does have a bit of an issue in that poor card draw on your part (or, in one game, excellent card draw on one player's) can lose you the game, as you do build an engine but not all cards will work with the specific engine you're building.
I like the «spiele des jahre» prices, they are always good references (https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/aktuelle-preistraeger-2022/). This year it was Cascadia.
If you like games that you can always have on you, check oink games (https://oinkgames.com/en/). Scout (nominated to Spiele des Jahre 2022), Troika, Mask Men, Startups and Kobayakawa are my favorites.
If you like games that you can always have on you, check oink games (https://oinkgames.com/en/). Scout (nominated to Spiele des Jahre 2022), Troika, Mask Men, Startups and Kobayakawa are my favorites.
The best game I played in 2022 was probably Northern Pacific (which was made by Tom Russel, the creator of Irish Gauge and Iberian Gauge.)
Northern Pacific is a surprising mix of train games (which are often long and complex) and a party game with surprising strategic space. You only have two options, but the impact on other players is real. However, as the game ends in 15 minutes, you don't get the same feelings of betrayal and anger that you'd get playing something like Chinatown.
I strongly recommend it. I also recommend Irish Gauge and Iberian Gauge, but those require a bit more of a time investment (1-2 hours) and Iberian Gauge is a bit too complicated for even well-behaved children under the age of 10 or so.
-edit- I just realized it was released in 2013, but I bought it this year so :shrug:.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/138704/northern-pacific
Northern Pacific is a surprising mix of train games (which are often long and complex) and a party game with surprising strategic space. You only have two options, but the impact on other players is real. However, as the game ends in 15 minutes, you don't get the same feelings of betrayal and anger that you'd get playing something like Chinatown.
I strongly recommend it. I also recommend Irish Gauge and Iberian Gauge, but those require a bit more of a time investment (1-2 hours) and Iberian Gauge is a bit too complicated for even well-behaved children under the age of 10 or so.
-edit- I just realized it was released in 2013, but I bought it this year so :shrug:.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/138704/northern-pacific
Note that the designer is now named Amabel Holland. I think the boxes for Irish Gauge all use her old name, though; they were printed a little too early!
Spintronics! It's a puzzle game where you build mechanical equivalents of electrical circuits. It has capacitors, transistors, inductors, etc. Just got it this past weekend (bought it after the Kickstarter ended) and it's really cool.
I really love the concept and execution of spintronics.
However, having just gotten the two part kickstarter edition, it feels like they left out the … fun? The puzzles feel more like academic exercises than the joy that you get from even simple breadboard circuits that do stuff with lights, motors, speakers etc. I think maybe it needs a few more “output” parts to make the experience engaging.
Spintronics feels like a great teaching tool but not a great game.
Curious how others are digging it though.
However, having just gotten the two part kickstarter edition, it feels like they left out the … fun? The puzzles feel more like academic exercises than the joy that you get from even simple breadboard circuits that do stuff with lights, motors, speakers etc. I think maybe it needs a few more “output” parts to make the experience engaging.
Spintronics feels like a great teaching tool but not a great game.
Curious how others are digging it though.
I'd love to buy it off ya if you're not digging it! New orders won't ship until next May :(
That looks super cool. Thanks!
> What are your favorite board games of 2022?
Res Arcana - I've learned it a couple weeks ago and been enjoying it. It's light enough to learn quickly, yet I still have lots of depth to discover, seeing how my friends always destroy me.
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization - I've played it before a couple times, but really only got into it more this year. Never fails to create strong emotions for me. I play async online and suspect that playing live the game might drag out a bit.
> I think saboteur might be kind of old, but it ranks for my favorite this year
Eh, why? If you're a saboteur you can pretend you're a good guy but that's just bad play. You might like Bang too, it has a similar mechanic.
Res Arcana - I've learned it a couple weeks ago and been enjoying it. It's light enough to learn quickly, yet I still have lots of depth to discover, seeing how my friends always destroy me.
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization - I've played it before a couple times, but really only got into it more this year. Never fails to create strong emotions for me. I play async online and suspect that playing live the game might drag out a bit.
> I think saboteur might be kind of old, but it ranks for my favorite this year
Eh, why? If you're a saboteur you can pretend you're a good guy but that's just bad play. You might like Bang too, it has a similar mechanic.
> Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
There's a great iPad adaptation: it looks dated, but takes away the tedium of counting and remembering all that stuff (who has more military power? Is it time to make tactics communal? Did you forget to take away two yellow pop markers?).
Also it helped us when learning the game, even thoughwe've got the board game on the shelf, because the iPad version sometimes didn't let us do something, because of a rule we hadn't internalized already.
I highly recommend it.
Also, the expansion is good. It sounds stupid and expensive (only wonders and leaders, no new buildings or military cards), but it makes it fresh again. That said, we mostly play vanilla.
There's a great iPad adaptation: it looks dated, but takes away the tedium of counting and remembering all that stuff (who has more military power? Is it time to make tactics communal? Did you forget to take away two yellow pop markers?).
Also it helped us when learning the game, even thoughwe've got the board game on the shelf, because the iPad version sometimes didn't let us do something, because of a rule we hadn't internalized already.
I highly recommend it.
Also, the expansion is good. It sounds stupid and expensive (only wonders and leaders, no new buildings or military cards), but it makes it fresh again. That said, we mostly play vanilla.
Not a board game… but highly recommend Magic Puzzle Company puzzles as gifts for family and friends who aren’t quite ready for intense games. A bonus is that Susan Kare (of Apple/Next fame) designed the logo and branding.
https://www.magicpuzzlecompany.com/
https://www.magicpuzzlecompany.com/
I bought a couple of these from the Kickstarter, and really enjoyed them. All this with the caveat that the founder, Max Temkin of Cards Against Humanity fame, is a bit of a shit: https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/23/21300435/cards-against-hum...
Oh yay, more puzzles!
In the same vein, I really enjoyed Vizzles [0] which is a regular puzzle with themed "riddles/puns" (the ones we've done so far were plays on words of movies and books), and also Odd Pieces [1], in which you construct a puzzle that is _slightly_ different from what you see on the box (the "lore" is that the puzzle you construct is at a moment in the future of the scene played out in the box).
I found these to be refreshing twists on typical puzzles, which we enjoy a lot as well.
[0] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/samuelmilham/vizzles-vi... [1] https://oddpieces.com/
In the same vein, I really enjoyed Vizzles [0] which is a regular puzzle with themed "riddles/puns" (the ones we've done so far were plays on words of movies and books), and also Odd Pieces [1], in which you construct a puzzle that is _slightly_ different from what you see on the box (the "lore" is that the puzzle you construct is at a moment in the future of the scene played out in the box).
I found these to be refreshing twists on typical puzzles, which we enjoy a lot as well.
[0] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/samuelmilham/vizzles-vi... [1] https://oddpieces.com/
Yes, my wife and daughter really loved The Mystic Maze puzzle and the "secret" was a real treat.
Personally a big fan of ones with co-op elements (I'd guess all of these were released earlier than 2022)
- Eldritch Horror
- Fury of Dracula
- Betrayal at House on the Hill
- Nemesis
- Spirit Island
- Pandemic
And for the not-so-complex list
- Hanabi (more of a card game)
- Eldritch Horror
- Fury of Dracula
- Betrayal at House on the Hill
- Nemesis
- Spirit Island
- Pandemic
And for the not-so-complex list
- Hanabi (more of a card game)
> - Eldritch Horror
This one's essentially Arkham Horror if it hadn't sacrificed so much of its mechanics to its flavor that it became, more or less, a bad game. Plays much faster and cleaner. Does lose some of the atmosphere in the bargain, but playing Arkham Horror was such a slog that I doubt anyone at the table will want it back after playing this.
> - Betrayal at House on the Hill
The Legacy version of this is excellent. IMO adding those elements effectively completed this game, which never felt like it was living up to its potential, before.
This one's essentially Arkham Horror if it hadn't sacrificed so much of its mechanics to its flavor that it became, more or less, a bad game. Plays much faster and cleaner. Does lose some of the atmosphere in the bargain, but playing Arkham Horror was such a slog that I doubt anyone at the table will want it back after playing this.
> - Betrayal at House on the Hill
The Legacy version of this is excellent. IMO adding those elements effectively completed this game, which never felt like it was living up to its potential, before.
Complete agreement on Eldritch Horror. But the new Arkham Horror is quite good in that regard as well; it's a different game but a fun one.
Pandemic is another game vastly improved by the Legacy mechanics.
Pandemic is another game vastly improved by the Legacy mechanics.
Oh snap, didn't know there was a new AH under the same name. Will have to check it out.
Yeah, I mean the old one. It made it to our table a few times on the strength of the fluff, but it seemed like every time everyone was kinda unhappy that we'd played it, by the time it was over. Like we just kept forgetting how not-fun it had been, and remembering how fun we wished it was.
Yeah, I mean the old one. It made it to our table a few times on the strength of the fluff, but it seemed like every time everyone was kinda unhappy that we'd played it, by the time it was over. Like we just kept forgetting how not-fun it had been, and remembering how fun we wished it was.
I find that to be true of most games that are simultaneously complex and require one player to mechanically implement a bunch of the rules. The new Arkham Horror fixed that largely by having an app implement the rules.
(D&D and similar require one player to DM, but that player also gets to be subjective and improvisational and do storytelling and pull in player ideas, which is much more fun than being the mechanical interpreter of the rules.)
(I do think the new Arkham Horror still has some issues, notably an excessive opacity of mechanics sometimes that leads to "you just lose out of the blue for unforeseeable reasons". But it's still usually fun.)
(D&D and similar require one player to DM, but that player also gets to be subjective and improvisational and do storytelling and pull in player ideas, which is much more fun than being the mechanical interpreter of the rules.)
(I do think the new Arkham Horror still has some issues, notably an excessive opacity of mechanics sometimes that leads to "you just lose out of the blue for unforeseeable reasons". But it's still usually fun.)
Huh? Well, many games with complex rules can be accelerated by having a "master" player who knows the game well. You can't usually trust them in competitive games, but for a coop game like AH that's not an issue. I don't see how this should be a problem for AH, at least for us it never was with the older versions. (Same for EH, which my SO or I usually kept track of the overhead while the others could focus on playing).
I totally missed that a new AH was released in 2018. On BGG it's a 7.7 over 7.0 for the original, AND the expansions are ranked really well (obviously players who buy an expansion already liked the base game, so there is some bias). Fixing the randomness sounds really REALLY good.
Great. Due to this thread, I now have another ~200 Euros on my board game wish list. Thanks! :P
I totally missed that a new AH was released in 2018. On BGG it's a 7.7 over 7.0 for the original, AND the expansions are ranked really well (obviously players who buy an expansion already liked the base game, so there is some bias). Fixing the randomness sounds really REALLY good.
Great. Due to this thread, I now have another ~200 Euros on my board game wish list. Thanks! :P
I had noticed FFG's move to include companion apps for their games recently but haven't had the opportunity to try any of the ones that do so yet - they sound pretty convenient to use.
While the rules of Hanabi are simple, the complexity really comes from conventions. These guys take it to the next level: https://hanabi.github.io
I've had a lot of fun with Betrayal. It's got a really great cheesy theme. Huge glaring issue though is that the first half of the game is completely pointless and there are no decisions to make.
Yeah I get you, but I think a bit of random exploring/training/looting before knowing the haunt lends itself to a more dynamic experience when you play.
Still love Pandemic. I find it really well done, and quite unique on being a cooperative game.
I played the first legacy season. Have you played the other seasons? How do they stack?
I played seasons 1 and 2 before COVID. All our players loved season 1. Season 2 was more divisive for my play group (same players)... I loved season 2 even more, but the other players disliked it for its additional complexity (more RPG style character-building).
Now a few games into Season 0 (the third game to be released, but technically a prequel to the other seasons) with a different group and it's OK. It's "broader" in complexity as opposed to deeper, meaning it tries to merge several Pandemic subsystems together, like there are both Russian agents and disease cubes (hope that's not too much of a spoiler... it is a Pandemic game after all) but your characters evolve very slowly relative to the past legacy games. The upgrades feel really stingy in comparison so game to game there's not as much growth. The game is overall harder too because you have fewer options at your disposal, like they're trying to confine you to tactical location-based gameplay instead of min-maxing your characters optimally, which was the part I enjoyed more in S2 previously. Arguably the movement tactics are the heart of Pandemic though, so I don't fault them for doing that. The plus side is that Season 0 makes teamwork more critical, as you can't simply have an OP character do everything and take over the game.
A side gripe I have with Season 0 is the theme (set in Cold War USSR). It feels antiquated in tone, like I'm reading some shitty spy novel lol. There's not much of a sense of a threat, narratively, just a bog-standard "red bad blue good" story. Season 2 (post-apocalyptic) had much more narrative freedom and actually felt tense. The Season 0 story by contrast feels out of place, like grandma pulled the board game out of the attic 30 years later lol.
In order of personal preference only, of the ones I've played, favorite to least:
- Pandemic Legacy Season 2
- Regular non-legacy Pandemic with all (or most) of its expansions
- Pandemic Legacy Season 0
- Pandemic Legacy Season 1
- Pandemic Iberia version
- Pandemic base (no expansions)
Now a few games into Season 0 (the third game to be released, but technically a prequel to the other seasons) with a different group and it's OK. It's "broader" in complexity as opposed to deeper, meaning it tries to merge several Pandemic subsystems together, like there are both Russian agents and disease cubes (hope that's not too much of a spoiler... it is a Pandemic game after all) but your characters evolve very slowly relative to the past legacy games. The upgrades feel really stingy in comparison so game to game there's not as much growth. The game is overall harder too because you have fewer options at your disposal, like they're trying to confine you to tactical location-based gameplay instead of min-maxing your characters optimally, which was the part I enjoyed more in S2 previously. Arguably the movement tactics are the heart of Pandemic though, so I don't fault them for doing that. The plus side is that Season 0 makes teamwork more critical, as you can't simply have an OP character do everything and take over the game.
A side gripe I have with Season 0 is the theme (set in Cold War USSR). It feels antiquated in tone, like I'm reading some shitty spy novel lol. There's not much of a sense of a threat, narratively, just a bog-standard "red bad blue good" story. Season 2 (post-apocalyptic) had much more narrative freedom and actually felt tense. The Season 0 story by contrast feels out of place, like grandma pulled the board game out of the attic 30 years later lol.
In order of personal preference only, of the ones I've played, favorite to least:
- Pandemic Legacy Season 2
- Regular non-legacy Pandemic with all (or most) of its expansions
- Pandemic Legacy Season 0
- Pandemic Legacy Season 1
- Pandemic Iberia version
- Pandemic base (no expansions)
Season 1 was probably the best co-op gaming experience i ever had.
Season 2 got a bit convoluted mechanically and felt less smooth design wise. But it was fun.
About to play Season 0, we're excited for it.
Season 2 got a bit convoluted mechanically and felt less smooth design wise. But it was fun.
About to play Season 0, we're excited for it.
I've only played Pandemic Legacy Season 2, and it's one of the best board game experiences I've ever had.
It was intense and gripping every step of the way.
It was intense and gripping every step of the way.
Most reviews I've seen of the second season seem pretty specifically negative. The tone seems very much "you lost a pandemic" post-apocalyptic.
Honey buzz was my favorite (new to me) game of 2022. It's rare to find a game with this combination of both top tier strategic depth and aesthetics.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284742/honey-buzz
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284742/honey-buzz
If I have to limit myself to the boardgames I learned this year I'd say Ark Nova and Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition. I think they are from 2021.
Been having fun with Azul, namely the Spring Pavilion and Stained Glass versions. Great family games
Here are a bunch of my favorites, in no particular order. I don't think any of them are brand new, though I only found some of them in 2022.
- I dissent
- Panamax
- Pandemic Legacy, Season 2
- Root
- Dice Hospital
- Cthulhu: Death May Die
- Food Chain Magnate
- Letters from Whitechapel
- Terraforming Mars
- Space Base
- Dominant Species
- Cockroach Poker
- I dissent
- Panamax
- Pandemic Legacy, Season 2
- Root
- Dice Hospital
- Cthulhu: Death May Die
- Food Chain Magnate
- Letters from Whitechapel
- Terraforming Mars
- Space Base
- Dominant Species
- Cockroach Poker
Oh man, Letters from Whitechapel is so good. You either squirm for 40 minutes while dancing around the investigators as Jack with a devilish gleam in your eye or you get to play a super interesting deduction game of whack-a-mole searching for Jack.
Playing Jack is my favorite way to play; I love all the double think and laying down false trails. Sowing plausible deniability is a lot of fun!
The Slay the Spire board game, which launched a kickstarter to ship next year, has a Tabletop Simulator version and has easily worked its way towards the top of my board game list, even before receiving the physical copy. In fact, it's the first game that's made me willing to tolerate TTS to play it, my board game group during the pandemic tried to do some TTS sessions but it always fell a little bit flat.
There's plenty of info out there about it so I'll avoid giving a detailed recap, but since it's a coop game and it feels best with 3-4 players, if folks are interested in trying it out, I'd be happy to host a session. E-mail is in my profile.
There's plenty of info out there about it so I'll avoid giving a detailed recap, but since it's a coop game and it feels best with 3-4 players, if folks are interested in trying it out, I'd be happy to host a session. E-mail is in my profile.
Too many great options in this thread already so I'll stray and focus on small 2-player games I discovered this year and enjoyed:
- Trails
- Jaipur
- The Agora expansion to 7 wonders duel (added more of a unique take than Pantheon I think)
I tend to have a pretty eclectic taste.
- John Company II edition
- Root: The Marauder Expansion
- Horse and Carriage, splotter games
- John Company II edition
- Root: The Marauder Expansion
- Horse and Carriage, splotter games
I think that is "Horseless Carriage".
I love board games! I do a list every year! These are "new to me", not strictly published in 2022, for example Heat: Pedal to the Metal was in 2022, but Cuba was published in 2007. I play a lot of obscure euro-style games, I'll place a * for games that are more accessible to the general public.
1. Little Town *
2. Cuba
3. Splendor Duel *
4. Hellas
5. Anno 1800
6. Heat: Pedal to the Metal *
7. Fast Sloths *
8. Scout! *
9. Faiyum
10. The Estates
I'm writing up a BGG Geeklist for these. You can find all kinds of "top" lists here: https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklists?sort=recent
1. Little Town *
2. Cuba
3. Splendor Duel *
4. Hellas
5. Anno 1800
6. Heat: Pedal to the Metal *
7. Fast Sloths *
8. Scout! *
9. Faiyum
10. The Estates
I'm writing up a BGG Geeklist for these. You can find all kinds of "top" lists here: https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklists?sort=recent
Do you want favourites of 2022, or classics that are still great? Because Saboteur is 18 years old.
Some of my favourites from this year include:
CombiNations - a very quick tile-laying where you score points by making large contiguous fields of the same type, with added depth coming from bonus points and the way you can choose what tile to lay.
Clockworker - a kind of worker placement game with a twist: you can place lots of workers at once, but they only produce when they return home one at a time, giving the feeling of winding up devices that slowly wind down. Great concept slightly hampered by the iconography describing the various bonuses that the purchasable artifact cards provide.
Lost Ruins of Arnak -- significantly bigger than the other two, giving a real Indiana Jones adventure/treasure hunter feel. You need to have the right vehicle to travel to interesting locations where you can discover treasures, generally guarded by some monster. You're going to need some tools or weapons to defeat it. You collect stuff that you spend to get bonuses that help you get more stuff. Great atmosphere, great mechanics.
Revive -- After a big catastrophe, humanity finally crawls out of their caves and starts exploring the world again, hopefully gaining knowledge on how to operate these ancient machines. Beautiful board, clever mechanics.
Starship Captains -- Not about Star Trek at all! Honestly! Perfectly encapsulates the experience of captaining a starship on a 5 year mission to explore strange new worlds.
Some of my favourites from this year include:
CombiNations - a very quick tile-laying where you score points by making large contiguous fields of the same type, with added depth coming from bonus points and the way you can choose what tile to lay.
Clockworker - a kind of worker placement game with a twist: you can place lots of workers at once, but they only produce when they return home one at a time, giving the feeling of winding up devices that slowly wind down. Great concept slightly hampered by the iconography describing the various bonuses that the purchasable artifact cards provide.
Lost Ruins of Arnak -- significantly bigger than the other two, giving a real Indiana Jones adventure/treasure hunter feel. You need to have the right vehicle to travel to interesting locations where you can discover treasures, generally guarded by some monster. You're going to need some tools or weapons to defeat it. You collect stuff that you spend to get bonuses that help you get more stuff. Great atmosphere, great mechanics.
Revive -- After a big catastrophe, humanity finally crawls out of their caves and starts exploring the world again, hopefully gaining knowledge on how to operate these ancient machines. Beautiful board, clever mechanics.
Starship Captains -- Not about Star Trek at all! Honestly! Perfectly encapsulates the experience of captaining a starship on a 5 year mission to explore strange new worlds.
Etherfields is one of the best board games I've ever played. Beautiful, thematic, exploratory, unique, great mechanics.
Seventh Continent is also fun from an exploratory point of view, though it has a bit more self-similarity in its gameplay loop such that the mechanics can get old, but the exploration doesn't.
On the other end of the spectrum, Jaipur is a two-player quick card game with great style and fun, great mechanics, and much of the "reading another player" of a gin/pinochle/etc style game.
Seventh Continent is also fun from an exploratory point of view, though it has a bit more self-similarity in its gameplay loop such that the mechanics can get old, but the exploration doesn't.
On the other end of the spectrum, Jaipur is a two-player quick card game with great style and fun, great mechanics, and much of the "reading another player" of a gin/pinochle/etc style game.
A timeless oldie but goldie is Sid Sackson's "Can't Stop" and, speaking of Sid Sackson, his book "A Gamut of Games" is still my most favorite collection of ideas of simple (in the sense of no complicated or costly materials needed) and timeless games.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can%27t_Stop_%28board_game%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can%27t_Stop_%28board_game%29
If you like to work together, The Crew (both editions) is a good choice.
I also played a lot of Flamecraft and is fun and cute. Doesn't scale up to large player counts well though.
I also played a lot of Flamecraft and is fun and cute. Doesn't scale up to large player counts well though.
It's a bit old but more people need to know about Tigris and Euphrates.
Yes, it's extremely good. Can recommend. Also, the nice 2015 edition is on BGA.
Not a game that launched in 2022, but new to me in 2022: Tokaido.
As much as i love medium and heavy weight games, the world needs good light games too.
As much as i love medium and heavy weight games, the world needs good light games too.
On a different note, what are the best non-games a person could spend time "playing"? I have family members with whom I would like to spend relaxing time playing games, but they're not interested in "wasting" time. Maybe something like sports-betting, stock-picking, or even budget-balancing[0] could be, behind the right interface, "played" ad nauseam of an evening.
Board games have the right form-factor (sit around the table, colorful pieces dedicated to the simulation, clear rules easily referenced) but the wrong teleology. Any suggestions?
Edit: Heck, something like "doing our nails" might be seen as having sufficient utility.
Edit2: Folding proteins? Isn't that a game, somewhere?
0. The State of California "Budget Challenge" simulates exactly what it says on the tin, and I might try it at my next visit: https://www.budgetchallenge.org/
Board games have the right form-factor (sit around the table, colorful pieces dedicated to the simulation, clear rules easily referenced) but the wrong teleology. Any suggestions?
Edit: Heck, something like "doing our nails" might be seen as having sufficient utility.
Edit2: Folding proteins? Isn't that a game, somewhere?
0. The State of California "Budget Challenge" simulates exactly what it says on the tin, and I might try it at my next visit: https://www.budgetchallenge.org/
This seems weird. Do they not watch tv or play video games? I try to play board games over either of those where I can because I am spending time with my friends.
Everybody has their own priorities; it's not for me to alter them. Rather, I try and attain my goals among theirs.
It sounds like you want to invent the knitting circle
I made a boardgame in 2021 and got it fully funded on Kickstarter. It's a faster version of UNO where players can play out of turn.
https://www.swiftwave.io/
My other favorites are Pandemic Legacy (Season 0 came out in 2020) and The Crew (2019)
https://www.swiftwave.io/
My other favorites are Pandemic Legacy (Season 0 came out in 2020) and The Crew (2019)
Zendo[0] has been a great find for the whole family. Hoping to get the whole pyramid arcade soon
[0] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6830/zendo
[0] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6830/zendo
I have picked up solo board gaming as a hobby this year. It’s been great. I’ve been trying to get friends to play board games with me for years, no one is really interested. So. I decided. What the hell. I’ll just play myself. Totally underrated.
Do you have recommendations of games you've enjoyed playing solo?
I had a great tabletop group but moved to a new city a year ago. I've been thinking about playing, by myself, some of the games I'd purchased for our group that we never got to play. And, open to picking up something new as well.
I had a great tabletop group but moved to a new city a year ago. I've been thinking about playing, by myself, some of the games I'd purchased for our group that we never got to play. And, open to picking up something new as well.
Here is a long list:
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/306154/2022-peoples-choic...
I am actually playing Gloomhaven. We bought it to play with friends years ago, but it’s only collecting dust.
I am fortunate enough to have the space to have the game always setup.
I am actually playing Gloomhaven. We bought it to play with friends years ago, but it’s only collecting dust.
I am fortunate enough to have the space to have the game always setup.
Agricola is a great solo board game. You can do one offs or there’s a sort of “legacy” type mode.
Elder Sign works really well as a solo game, in addition to being a fun co-op game.
What games can be played well solo? Do you take the roll of multiple players?
Depends. Some games come designed to be played solo, others you take the role of multiple players.
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/306154/2022-peoples-choic...
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/306154/2022-peoples-choic...
Not good at picking favorites, here is a bunch we like a lot but I am probably forgetting some of my favorites:
Midweight euros: Teotihuacan, Beyond the Sun, Lorenzo il Magnifico, Tzol'kin, Marco Polo II, Troyes, Rajas of the Ganges, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Concordia
Tableau/engine builder: Res Arcana, Deus, Race for the Galaxy, Gizmos, Everdell, Wingspan
Deck/bag builder: Ascension, Tyrants of the Underdark, Clank, Dominion, War Chest
Polyomino: A Feast for Odin, Barenpark, Isle of Cats, Patchwork
Roll & write: Hadrian's Wall, Welcome To, Troyes Dice, Ganz Schön Clever
Misc: Kingdom Builder, Babylonia, Space Base, Hive, Santorini, Dice miner, Cascadia, Air Land & Sea
Midweight euros: Teotihuacan, Beyond the Sun, Lorenzo il Magnifico, Tzol'kin, Marco Polo II, Troyes, Rajas of the Ganges, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Concordia
Tableau/engine builder: Res Arcana, Deus, Race for the Galaxy, Gizmos, Everdell, Wingspan
Deck/bag builder: Ascension, Tyrants of the Underdark, Clank, Dominion, War Chest
Polyomino: A Feast for Odin, Barenpark, Isle of Cats, Patchwork
Roll & write: Hadrian's Wall, Welcome To, Troyes Dice, Ganz Schön Clever
Misc: Kingdom Builder, Babylonia, Space Base, Hive, Santorini, Dice miner, Cascadia, Air Land & Sea
The new Clank, Clank Catacombs, is amazing. We think we won't play much of the other versions, unless we're playing with someone that needs less complexity.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/365717/clank-catacombs
We also just got Dice Kingdoms of Valeria and it's making me rethink dismissing roll and write games.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/345887/dice-kingdoms-val...
Tyrants of the Underdark is also fantastic (still waiting for the fan printing of the fan expansions, though).
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/365717/clank-catacombs
We also just got Dice Kingdoms of Valeria and it's making me rethink dismissing roll and write games.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/345887/dice-kingdoms-val...
Tyrants of the Underdark is also fantastic (still waiting for the fan printing of the fan expansions, though).
So Clover (2021) is a really nice game that you'll love if you liked Code Names. It's very social, at times hilarious, many times very puzzling, and people can join and leave at random.
One of the best games we've found for sorta-involved players to join. Not everyone needs to come up with words, but everyone can guess (and like you said, come and go at random)
Have been super impressed with Taelmoor, a new take on the board game RPG genre that uses a smartphone app as the DM. For a small kickstarted game it plays really smoothly, the build quality is excellent, and the app/physical board interactions are perfect.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/delvebros/taelmoor-the-...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/delvebros/taelmoor-the-...
Spirit Island (and its extensions) remains a favourite of mine. Very cooperative, quite asymmetrical, fair but hard (at least if you play in harder difficulty levels).
I own it and played it once. We had to read the manual for two hours before starting, won and since then it hasn't been played. I don't think that will change anytime soon since nobody seems to like it.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/340466/unfathomable is fantastic, and since this is a great thread.
I'm building a "roblox for online board games", and if anyone is interested in learning more then you can email me at [email protected]
This is all I talk about online, for the most part...
I'm building a "roblox for online board games", and if anyone is interested in learning more then you can email me at [email protected]
This is all I talk about online, for the most part...
Being a fan of MLB baseball since I was a kid, I've recently rediscovered my love for tabletop dice baseball like I used to play as a kid in the 80's. Been introducing my son to it as well.
I'm a) surprised that some of the pretty older games (strat-o-Matic, etc) are still going strong and b) there are many newer games that improve on the concept and bring better accuracy and flow to the game.
I'm a) surprised that some of the pretty older games (strat-o-Matic, etc) are still going strong and b) there are many newer games that improve on the concept and bring better accuracy and flow to the game.
Moonrakers, we had so many fun game nights especially with people who don't typically play board games due to the forced interaction of the game.
Mysterium (like a mix of cooperative Clue with Dixit, everyone is a medium getting weird messages trying to find the killer)
Not 2022, but at our home the following games have a great success on the table, as in, actually have rotation instead of the usual “oooh neat, let’s give it a try and never play again”:
- Undaunted Normandy
- Quacks of Quedlinburg
- The Crew - Ruins of Arnak
- Dune (remake from GF9)
On BGA, personally I’ve really enjoyed Barrage (new!), and I keep going back to Jaipur (since forever!).
- Quacks of Quedlinburg
- The Crew - Ruins of Arnak
- Dune (remake from GF9)
On BGA, personally I’ve really enjoyed Barrage (new!), and I keep going back to Jaipur (since forever!).
I have Quacks, Dune, and The Crew as well. Only ever played the first two which are excellent - especially Quacks.
If you're in the mood for a co-operative family-friendly experience, take a look at Forest of Radgost.
Terraforming Mars, with all the expansions. Not a new game, but one of the best nevertheless.
Checkout https://terraforming-mars.herokuapp.com/ for online TM.
Dominion (dominion.games) - I must have played a thousand games since the first lockdown.
Yet another expansion is coming out. It's like, what, the fifth after what Donald X said would be the last one? Can't deny that I'm happy about it, though. It remains an extremely well-designed game.
Ancestor of the entire "build your deck during the game" genre, and for every new entry in that genre I've tried, I've thought, "yup, now I know there's a good reason Donald X. Vaccarino didn't do it like that in Dominion".
Works equally great as an over the board family game with more than 2 players as a highly competitive online 2 player game, too. That's pretty amazing, really.
Ancestor of the entire "build your deck during the game" genre, and for every new entry in that genre I've tried, I've thought, "yup, now I know there's a good reason Donald X. Vaccarino didn't do it like that in Dominion".
Works equally great as an over the board family game with more than 2 players as a highly competitive online 2 player game, too. That's pretty amazing, really.
You can play the expansion now! It's available for a few days in preview mode, named Plunder. Very money focused, with a 'loot' pile that's essentially 30 golds with actions like Discard down to 4, play an Action from your hand, etc! Very good fun.
dominion.games is great.
Also competitive Settlers of Catan has skyrocketed in 2022: https://colonist.io to play for free against friends or ranked.
Also competitive Settlers of Catan has skyrocketed in 2022: https://colonist.io to play for free against friends or ranked.
Thanks for the heads up about that site!
[deleted]
Playing Demeo, a VR board game, has been a fun way to hang out with remote friends.
ISS Vanguard! The UX of the game is wonderful given how ambitious it is.
I wanted to like Gloomhaven but it’s terrible setup time and complexity made that impossible. ISS Vanguard is the best giant coop thing. Digital gloomhaven is good.
I wanted to like Gloomhaven but it’s terrible setup time and complexity made that impossible. ISS Vanguard is the best giant coop thing. Digital gloomhaven is good.
Chess, just like every year since 1497 [1]
1. http://history.chess.free.fr/papers/Calvo%201998.pdf [pdf]
1. http://history.chess.free.fr/papers/Calvo%201998.pdf [pdf]
If I’ve never done board games before, and don’t have local friends who do either, but I want to start and maybe do game nights…
How do I figure out what I like? Is there a bluffers guide to board games? A top-3 covering set
How do I figure out what I like? Is there a bluffers guide to board games? A top-3 covering set
Try a few games on https://en.boardgamearena.com/ !
They have faithful digital versions of many eurogames and you can either play with a public matchmaking group or host private games and invite friends for a remote game night.
They have faithful digital versions of many eurogames and you can either play with a public matchmaking group or host private games and invite friends for a remote game night.
You could try BoardGameArena or if you have Steam and don't mind dropping $10 or so, pick up Table Top Simulator. With TTS, you can download a bunch of fan-made (and sometimes publisher-made) digital recreations of popular games.
I'd also say to check out some of the bigger board game review Youtubers and just watch a mixture of their videos. Some games will appeal and others you'll bounce off of just hearing about the idea of them. Some of my favorites are:
* Shut Up & Sit Down
* Actualol
* Three Minute Board Games
* Dice Tower
* GameBoyGeek
I'd also say to check out some of the bigger board game review Youtubers and just watch a mixture of their videos. Some games will appeal and others you'll bounce off of just hearing about the idea of them. Some of my favorites are:
* Shut Up & Sit Down
* Actualol
* Three Minute Board Games
* Dice Tower
* GameBoyGeek
I don't think there is an universally agreed standard of which games are worth starting with.
Different people like different things.
However, I did find some success browsing the ShutUpAndSitDown recommended list:
https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/games-page/
It's not guaranteed you'll like the game just because it's on that list but:
1. it's a good initial filter
2. they have pretty entertaining review videos for most of the board games
Sadly, I think you just have to try playing the games to see which ones you'll like.
By the way, if you're in a reasonably populated area, you can try an in-person board game group on meetup.com (or something similar). I've had good success with that, but I do live in an European capital, so YMMV.
Different people like different things.
However, I did find some success browsing the ShutUpAndSitDown recommended list:
https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/games-page/
It's not guaranteed you'll like the game just because it's on that list but:
1. it's a good initial filter
2. they have pretty entertaining review videos for most of the board games
Sadly, I think you just have to try playing the games to see which ones you'll like.
By the way, if you're in a reasonably populated area, you can try an in-person board game group on meetup.com (or something similar). I've had good success with that, but I do live in an European capital, so YMMV.
Not released this year but I still play a lot of Terraforming Mars which is a good game. From this year I have played Ark Nova and that was great as well.
I haven't gotten a chance to break into it yet, but I anticipate Frosthaven blowing everything out of the water for me.
Our party starts tomorrow!
Our party starts tomorrow!
I've upvoted some comments.
First what I did not see:
- Dune: Imperium, maybe plus Expansion. Nice mix of deckbuilder and worker placement. Only thing that bothers me is the (missing) redraw mechanic for the pool of cards to buy (if there's only crap in the pool, some sucker needs to buy something for good stuff too show up; which the next player then buys). The expansion reduces this because the player can do other things and there are more cards causing cycling/trashing, but I'm still pondering a house rule (auction mechanic).
- Unfathomable: Did not play!!, but this reimplements the Battlestar Galactica board game, which we played a lot during university (maybe a bit too much? Naaa, who needs sleep). Social deduction/traitor mechanic. This is on my wish list, since BSG with all expansions costs about 500 bucks these days (and we only have one copy in my peer group). Drawback: The vibe of BSG is awesome, a lot of aspects of the show are well captured, and I only saw the show much later. Compared to that, Lovecraft [Unfathomable] feels a bit generic. But the principle is still great. And it seems to be streamlined, which is great if you don't have 4 to 8 hours (depends on number of expansions used). [oh, mathgladiator was quicker than me. Well^^']
- Hidden Leaders - played the demo in Essen and liked it. I don't recall details on the mechanics (except: card game), but it's still on my list.
I also got relatively new:
- Goetia, nice worker placement in which you summon demons.
- Galaxy Truckers, which was out of print for a while and is back as a second edition.
Classics:
- 7 Wonders, new edition. I love how it trades player interaction (which is limited in the base game) for scaling well into 7 players (less downtime).
- Power grid, also a new edition. Great auction mechanic. And there is no clear winner until the end (or unless everyone but one player plays bad).
- Hanabi. Cooperative card game in which you only see the other player's hands and can give them tips. The goal is to play cards 1 to 5 in 5 different colors. The basic variant is easy to master, but the real fun begins once you're playing with special colors (e.g. rainbow receives all color tips), or combinations of these. Can also be played at hanab.live - I've got close to 1000 games there. Best (at least imho) is to start playing as a group and develop your own way to play, guided by logics and experience. (And now you know how friends and I spent our time during Corona shutdowns).
The ones I upvoted included
- Root: mixed results with friends, but I like it. There is also a good online adaption in Steam, nice to try it before committing to buying the physical game.
- The Crew, as well as Mission Deep Sea.
- Secret Hitler
I also liked Caverna (again, worker placement).
From other people's posts, think I'll reconsider Betrayal at the house on the hill legacy (need to setup a group for that) and the revised Arkham Horror (we played the original plus various expansions a lot, still have it, but always felt the experience varies wildly between "wow, gg, had a great time" and "meh, what a waste of time", at least after dozens of plays).
First what I did not see:
- Dune: Imperium, maybe plus Expansion. Nice mix of deckbuilder and worker placement. Only thing that bothers me is the (missing) redraw mechanic for the pool of cards to buy (if there's only crap in the pool, some sucker needs to buy something for good stuff too show up; which the next player then buys). The expansion reduces this because the player can do other things and there are more cards causing cycling/trashing, but I'm still pondering a house rule (auction mechanic).
- Unfathomable: Did not play!!, but this reimplements the Battlestar Galactica board game, which we played a lot during university (maybe a bit too much? Naaa, who needs sleep). Social deduction/traitor mechanic. This is on my wish list, since BSG with all expansions costs about 500 bucks these days (and we only have one copy in my peer group). Drawback: The vibe of BSG is awesome, a lot of aspects of the show are well captured, and I only saw the show much later. Compared to that, Lovecraft [Unfathomable] feels a bit generic. But the principle is still great. And it seems to be streamlined, which is great if you don't have 4 to 8 hours (depends on number of expansions used). [oh, mathgladiator was quicker than me. Well^^']
- Hidden Leaders - played the demo in Essen and liked it. I don't recall details on the mechanics (except: card game), but it's still on my list.
I also got relatively new:
- Goetia, nice worker placement in which you summon demons.
- Galaxy Truckers, which was out of print for a while and is back as a second edition.
Classics:
- 7 Wonders, new edition. I love how it trades player interaction (which is limited in the base game) for scaling well into 7 players (less downtime).
- Power grid, also a new edition. Great auction mechanic. And there is no clear winner until the end (or unless everyone but one player plays bad).
- Hanabi. Cooperative card game in which you only see the other player's hands and can give them tips. The goal is to play cards 1 to 5 in 5 different colors. The basic variant is easy to master, but the real fun begins once you're playing with special colors (e.g. rainbow receives all color tips), or combinations of these. Can also be played at hanab.live - I've got close to 1000 games there. Best (at least imho) is to start playing as a group and develop your own way to play, guided by logics and experience. (And now you know how friends and I spent our time during Corona shutdowns).
The ones I upvoted included
- Root: mixed results with friends, but I like it. There is also a good online adaption in Steam, nice to try it before committing to buying the physical game.
- The Crew, as well as Mission Deep Sea.
- Secret Hitler
I also liked Caverna (again, worker placement).
From other people's posts, think I'll reconsider Betrayal at the house on the hill legacy (need to setup a group for that) and the revised Arkham Horror (we played the original plus various expansions a lot, still have it, but always felt the experience varies wildly between "wow, gg, had a great time" and "meh, what a waste of time", at least after dozens of plays).
Marvel United is the best board game I got into this year.
It's fun, I love the IP, and it doesn't take 45 minutes to set up.
It's fun, I love the IP, and it doesn't take 45 minutes to set up.
My favorite new-to-me games this year have been Bullet, Canvas, Long Shot: The Dice Game, and Imposter Kings
For a different set of games that I haven't seen so far in this thread:
1. Secret Hitler (or maybe Avalon, which is the strategically marginally richer, but harder to pick up, cousin of Secret Hitler). It's a highly adversarial, intense and fun game. The main downside is that you can't have a relaxed game of Secret Hitler and it tends to expand to take up the whole night (people always want one more game).
2. Code names; more relaxed game, fun even when losing. The main drawback is that it's language focused and everyone needs to have a good command of the English language (at least in the base version of the game), which can be a problem in more international groups.
3. Chinatown; easy to pick up and play even for people with no board games experience. The core of the game involves bargaining with other players and trying to strike various deals to trade resources. The game is designed in such a way that you rarely feel like you're losing - all trades generate surplus for both parties, so the core activity of trading feels very satisfying.
I have introduced the games above to multiple groups and, generally, everyone loved all of them. The one exception being Secret Hitler, as some people found it a bit daunting at first or didn't enjoy the intensity of the game. (on the flip side, others absolutely loved it)
1. Secret Hitler (or maybe Avalon, which is the strategically marginally richer, but harder to pick up, cousin of Secret Hitler). It's a highly adversarial, intense and fun game. The main downside is that you can't have a relaxed game of Secret Hitler and it tends to expand to take up the whole night (people always want one more game).
2. Code names; more relaxed game, fun even when losing. The main drawback is that it's language focused and everyone needs to have a good command of the English language (at least in the base version of the game), which can be a problem in more international groups.
3. Chinatown; easy to pick up and play even for people with no board games experience. The core of the game involves bargaining with other players and trying to strike various deals to trade resources. The game is designed in such a way that you rarely feel like you're losing - all trades generate surplus for both parties, so the core activity of trading feels very satisfying.
I have introduced the games above to multiple groups and, generally, everyone loved all of them. The one exception being Secret Hitler, as some people found it a bit daunting at first or didn't enjoy the intensity of the game. (on the flip side, others absolutely loved it)
What a fun set. I played Avalon with workmates for years. It really shines with seven and there's nothing like teaching techy/engineering types to lie and detect lies with impunity.
We used to play Avalon at a previous job every single lunch time - so much so I made observations that led to a TEDx talk:
https://youtu.be/r4YYxQZenVU
https://youtu.be/r4YYxQZenVU
Love secret Hitler, but I do regret the theme (someone has to actually RP as Hitler...)
Was thinking of getting it for my sister who lives in Munich, but I wonder how people in Germany feel about this casual Nazi game?
Luckily, one of the coolest aspects of SH is that's it's licenced under Creative Commons! So you can just download and print the rules and paper version of all the game pieces, right from their official webpage. This means there has been a vibrant community of modders who have made e.g. a star wars themed version.
For this reason alone, you should still go buy it! But I wish there was an officially licensed alternative like "Secret Palpatine" or something.
Was thinking of getting it for my sister who lives in Munich, but I wonder how people in Germany feel about this casual Nazi game?
Luckily, one of the coolest aspects of SH is that's it's licenced under Creative Commons! So you can just download and print the rules and paper version of all the game pieces, right from their official webpage. This means there has been a vibrant community of modders who have made e.g. a star wars themed version.
For this reason alone, you should still go buy it! But I wish there was an officially licensed alternative like "Secret Palpatine" or something.
There are other games in the genre. "The Resistance" and its King Arthur-themed cousin "Avalon" are responsible for a good deal of the revival in popularity of Mafia-style social deduction games. They are both definitively German-safe. I've also had fun with "Two rooms and a boom" in settings with more players.
Secret Hitler and Avalon are so intense they can literally break relationships or cause months-long disputes between friends. I love it :)
If you want to burn bridges, try a friendly game of Diplomacy. Tip: Start early, like 9 or 10 a.m. on a Saturday.
Also, I can tell you from experience, being the only Cylon (traitor) in BSG and talking all the Humans (non-traitors) into putting every. single. Human. into the ship's brig (except you) will cause them to be less excited to play that kind of game with you - but it's hilarious and the look on everyone's face once they realize they're screwed is totally worth it. IIRC after that I didn't survive many rounds of Secret Hitler, independently of allegiance. But that's cool.
Also, I can tell you from experience, being the only Cylon (traitor) in BSG and talking all the Humans (non-traitors) into putting every. single. Human. into the ship's brig (except you) will cause them to be less excited to play that kind of game with you - but it's hilarious and the look on everyone's face once they realize they're screwed is totally worth it. IIRC after that I didn't survive many rounds of Secret Hitler, independently of allegiance. But that's cool.
Blackjack 21 and Romanian 'Macao'. Super simple.
We acquired quite a few games this year as a result of games I kickstarted before/during the pandemic finally coming in, but apparently much of them are not even considered as released in 2022 on Board Game Geek. :shrug:
And in classic board game enthusiast fashion, we are acquiring games faster than we can play them.
Disney Villainous Badder & Badder [0]
A 3-character expansion to Disney's Villainous game series. I like the game because the rules are pretty easy to learn so kids and adults can understand and play it, and with the ever-expanding universe, there are more and more favorite characters coming out. This one in particular includes Syndrome (The Incredibles), Lotso (Toy Story 3), and Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone). I actually haven't played all the characters, but it seems to be pretty well-balanced.
Future Me Problems [1]
A game by a web comic artist whose work I enjoy (Sarah Anderson). It's super simple to pick up, and the art is cute, and the premise of the game is just how hard you can slack off. Good for kids and families.
Hand to Hand Wombat [2]
I can't leave a review of this game because this game is a 3+ player game and my wife and I haven't gotten around to hosting a game night. But the premise is that everyone is supposed to build a tower with their eyes closed, and the "bad wombat" (whose identity no one knows) must sabotage. Sort of a mix of tower-building and mafia, I suppose.
Dune Imperium Rise of Ix [3]
My boss actually bought this for me and I haven't gotten around to playing it, but its an expansion to Dune Imperium, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Mechanically it's pretty deep, so not recommended for non-gamers, but it's a fun twist on the deck-building genre.
Marvel Dice Throne [4]
I've never played a Dice Throne game before, but Marvel Dice Throne is pretty fun. With 8 characters to play as and lots of ways to sabotage your opponents, no two games are ever the same.
Verdant [5]
This is a pretty easy game to pick up, we've played with my in-laws. It's a spatial competitive "puzzle" game (aim is to optimally place your rooms and plants such that you maximize the favorable conditions for each plant and room). A nice blend of strategy and min-maxing. Somehow, despite my min-maxing strategies, my mother-in-law managed to win in our last game, which either says a lot about the game, or about my strategies.
Mind Mgmt [6]
OK, not technically a 2022 game for some reason, but this is a super fun deduction game. One player secretly moves their piece around the map and the rest of the players has to "interview" various tiles to determine where/when the character is. We haven't played past the training mission, but once you start playing the real game, there's a system they call the "SHIFT" system which adds more mechanics to the game depending on which team won. I like the idea, and the game itself is super fun and the art is nice as well.
Honorable Mentions: not board games, but puzzles!
Vizzles [7]
A regular puzzle with themed "riddles/puns" (the ones we've done so far were plays on words of movies and books)
Odd Pieces [8]
Construct a puzzle that is _slightly_ different from what you see on the box (the "lore" is that the puzzle you construct is at a moment in the future of the scene played out in the box).
While video games are enjoyable (just finished collecting all 400 Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet), sometimes you can't beat a nice screen-free night with friends/family.
[0] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/352764/disney-villainous...
[1] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/360177/future-me-problem...
[2] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/356909/hand-hand-wombat
[3] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/342031/dune-imp...
[4] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/348406/marvel-dice-thron...
[5] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/334065/verdant
[6] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284653/mind-mgmt-psychic...
[7] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/samuelmilham/vizzles-vi...
[8] https://oddpieces.com/
And in classic board game enthusiast fashion, we are acquiring games faster than we can play them.
Disney Villainous Badder & Badder [0]
A 3-character expansion to Disney's Villainous game series. I like the game because the rules are pretty easy to learn so kids and adults can understand and play it, and with the ever-expanding universe, there are more and more favorite characters coming out. This one in particular includes Syndrome (The Incredibles), Lotso (Toy Story 3), and Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone). I actually haven't played all the characters, but it seems to be pretty well-balanced.
Future Me Problems [1]
A game by a web comic artist whose work I enjoy (Sarah Anderson). It's super simple to pick up, and the art is cute, and the premise of the game is just how hard you can slack off. Good for kids and families.
Hand to Hand Wombat [2]
I can't leave a review of this game because this game is a 3+ player game and my wife and I haven't gotten around to hosting a game night. But the premise is that everyone is supposed to build a tower with their eyes closed, and the "bad wombat" (whose identity no one knows) must sabotage. Sort of a mix of tower-building and mafia, I suppose.
Dune Imperium Rise of Ix [3]
My boss actually bought this for me and I haven't gotten around to playing it, but its an expansion to Dune Imperium, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Mechanically it's pretty deep, so not recommended for non-gamers, but it's a fun twist on the deck-building genre.
Marvel Dice Throne [4]
I've never played a Dice Throne game before, but Marvel Dice Throne is pretty fun. With 8 characters to play as and lots of ways to sabotage your opponents, no two games are ever the same.
Verdant [5]
This is a pretty easy game to pick up, we've played with my in-laws. It's a spatial competitive "puzzle" game (aim is to optimally place your rooms and plants such that you maximize the favorable conditions for each plant and room). A nice blend of strategy and min-maxing. Somehow, despite my min-maxing strategies, my mother-in-law managed to win in our last game, which either says a lot about the game, or about my strategies.
Mind Mgmt [6]
OK, not technically a 2022 game for some reason, but this is a super fun deduction game. One player secretly moves their piece around the map and the rest of the players has to "interview" various tiles to determine where/when the character is. We haven't played past the training mission, but once you start playing the real game, there's a system they call the "SHIFT" system which adds more mechanics to the game depending on which team won. I like the idea, and the game itself is super fun and the art is nice as well.
Honorable Mentions: not board games, but puzzles!
Vizzles [7]
A regular puzzle with themed "riddles/puns" (the ones we've done so far were plays on words of movies and books)
Odd Pieces [8]
Construct a puzzle that is _slightly_ different from what you see on the box (the "lore" is that the puzzle you construct is at a moment in the future of the scene played out in the box).
While video games are enjoyable (just finished collecting all 400 Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet), sometimes you can't beat a nice screen-free night with friends/family.
[0] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/352764/disney-villainous...
[1] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/360177/future-me-problem...
[2] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/356909/hand-hand-wombat
[3] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/342031/dune-imp...
[4] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/348406/marvel-dice-thron...
[5] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/334065/verdant
[6] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284653/mind-mgmt-psychic...
[7] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/samuelmilham/vizzles-vi...
[8] https://oddpieces.com/
Top games I've enjoyed this year:
Crew Mission Deep Sea
Wingspan
Azul
Lost Ruins of Arnak
Root
Macao
Viticulture
Castles of Burgundy
Crew Mission Deep Sea
Wingspan
Azul
Lost Ruins of Arnak
Root
Macao
Viticulture
Castles of Burgundy
Ravine or Space-Team
Chess for me.
Chess.