Board game best of lists

I'm not sure how to figure out which games were new to me this year, so consider this list a tentative first attempt.

1. Gloomhaven - I played a ton of this at the start of the year when I had more time to myself, but I haven't been able to get back to it. I miss playing it.
2. Yellow & Yangtze - I've finally decided that I like T&E more, but this one is still fantastic.
3a. The Mind - I love this one, and I don't care if it "isn't really a game."
3b. dude - One of the silliest games I've ever played, but works brilliantly right after playing The Mind.
4. Auf Teufel komm Raus - A push-your-luck and wagering game with great production value. I don't know why it hasn't been published in English, but it's super easy and fun and worth seeking out.
5. ?

Honorable mentions that are all probably tied for 5th: Empires of the Void II (need more plays), Villainous, Root (respect, but didn't really love), Quacks of Quedlinburg

I made my own thread because I felt like it, but:

Into the Breach - a tactical, puzzly masterpiece. a video game, but my most played thing this year by far
Keyforge - if I bought this sooner than christmas, it might surpass ItB
Kingdomino - perfect at what it does
Stuffed Fables - cutest game ever
Root - best game that I didn't play

Stuff that I’ve really enjoyed this year regardless of when it came out and not restricted to just 5 games:

-Civilization: A New Dawn
-The Quest For El Dorado
-Yellow & Yangtze
-Shadespire
-War Chest
-Sagrada
-Raiders of the North Sea
-The Gaia Project
-Downforce
-Fireball Island
-Starship Samurai (which won out over Neon Gods, also an area control game from Plaid Hat)
-Tikal (20 years late!)

I played Root, but I played all this stuff way more. Blitz Bowl and Kill Team are in the wings!

Josh Look wrote: I played Root, but I played all this stuff way more. Blitz Bowl and Kill Team are in the wings!

Root in my list is kind of a joke - I haven't even played it yet, but by all accounts it's amazing or at least good.

Josh Look wrote: -War Chest

Been trying to trade for this, despite losing my regular 2-player wargame partner.

Josh Look wrote: -Raiders of the North Sea

I really liked this, too, but my girlfriend didn't. We only played it once at a game demo event that our FLGS regularly runs, but I thought it was a cool implementation of the old worker placement mechanic. I know it was popular, too, because they immediately started carrying the 57 different expansions and spinoffs for it. I keep looking for games that I know she'll be interested in and was disappointed that this didn't seem to be one of them.

Josh Look wrote: -Starship Samurai

Just traded for this because it struck me as a kind of Nexus Ops-type game: wargamey enough to sink your teeth into, but probably done in an hour or so.

For me, this year was 100% full of new games TO ME, but not new games. I played very few truly "new games" this year, to be honest.

- Exit! Games
Showed me how interesting a game can be with nothing more than a few decks of cards, and a 16 page book.

- Roll and Write Extravaganza
I played SO MANY R+W games this year. From Scho:n Clever to Qwixx to Doom Realm, it opened my eyes up. These are probably my favorite type of game right now. If I was so inclined, I'd spend almost all of my spare time making these.

- Remnants
I have really fallen for this stupid game, despite its bruises. I just wish they'd have found a more interesting way to deal with the fiddliness. I think what I ~REALLY~ want is a copy of Outlive but I'm far too broke and far too cheap to get it. Maybe someday. Shit, I still haven't even played Fallout, and I'm a superfan of the IP. Ugh..

-Pandemic Rising Tide and The Cure
I'm a sucker for Pandemic and while we liked The Cure a ton better than Rising Tide (mostly because of it being a dice game) they're both really good.

New to me this year ( I think - I don't keep track)

Root - (thanks Gary Sax for setting up a couple of vassal games). I don't know if it's the best thing since sliced bread or whatever but I've enjoyed the plays I've had of it. Especially, especially the way that the factions do their thing - the gameplay tells their stories. I liked it a fair bit.

Sekigahara - A similar vibe actually. I liked the bluffing and card play and the way you kind of have to be cautious, like Tokugawa himself.

Discworld: Ankh Morpork - I made my own copy of this which was part of the fun. It had long been on my list of things to try, I got to finally at a con earlier in the year, really enjoyed it despite the issues with it, just so simple - followed the rethemed remake on kickstarter but that was going to be just as exy as the the OOP copies (minis! yay! ugly generic videogamey artwork! yay! anachronisms galore! yay!), so, stuff it, I made a copy.

Glory to Rome - picked up a copy for 20 bucks. Love the gameplay, love the latin quotes and references and clever tie-ins on the buildings, love the thematic stuff - I mean, the patron/client thing, is just so right. I'm something of a romaphile, which helps. But then the game is a lot of fun. Seeing my kids eyes open with the wacky combos as they realise them is great.

Gaslands - I'm not a minis guy. Our deathmatches look more like Toy Story than mad max - we just play with the cars as is racing around toy obstacles down on the carpet. Great stuff.

Iron Curtain - one of the twilight struggle lite line, but I like it because of the spatial element it adds, laying down cards as well as influence. 18 cards in all I think.

Voodoo Prince - Knizia trick-taker, which I've graduated the kids to after the much lighter Diamonds. A nice little jump strategy wise, but simple enough to play - aim to be the second last person to go out with the target number of tricks, and the usual knizian "that's it??" amount of special cards that actually become more important than you think they'll be.

Here's my top 10 new-to-me, in ascending order from #10 to GOTY. It was really tough to rank them.

10. Sidereal Confluence
9. Bloc by Bloc
8. DRCongo
7. Yellow & Yangtze
6. Nemo's War
5. Sid Meier's Civ: A New Dawn
4. Ethnos
3. Bunny Kingdom
2. QE
1. The Mind

Honorable Mentions:
The Game
First Martians
Welcome To
Western Legends
Camp Grizzly

BGG geeklist with details is here: Dave's Top 10 New-to-Me Games for 2018

Worst of the year: Cryptid

Here are all the new-to-me games I played in 2018: New (to Me) Board Games in 2018

uba, do you think you'll have some extra time to expound on your AH 3rd views, even informally in the board game thread? I'd love to hear more about what you think.

I would love to put Spirit Island top of my list but it’s been up there for the last two years running. Then again, I can make this list whatever I like so screw it, it’s number one again.

I admire Root and enjoyed playing it, however The game I would choose as my favourite of the year would be Crime Hotel. Having the opportunity to spend some cosy time with it over the holidays has really sold me on it. There is a big game in a small package, uncomplicated and unhurried and just a joy to play.

Also loved Tavarua, I think this one will stick around with us for a while. Honourable mention goes to Gaslands which we enjoy but was turning into hard work so on hiatus for a bit.

So I guess it’s:
1. Spirit Island
2. Crime Hotel
3. Tavarua
4. Root
5. Gaslands

I believe these are the games I played this year, usually once per game:

1. Playtested Duhr a bit
2. Command and Colors: Napoleonics
3. Root
4. Pendragon
5. Maybe Heroes of Normandy
6. Tzaar--wait, that was this year.
7. Citadels, multiple times with the family
8. Settlers with the family
9. Some long euro that I got roped into with 18 mechanisms
10. The DnD version of Betrayal of House on the Hill
11. Star Realms with my 18 year old son

I liked playing with the family, especially. Gaming has been sporadic, but I'm on sabbatical now and have a friend who is not averse to playing high quality games in the middle of the day when he is not teaching, so this list may change next year.


I think that's it. I might have played a game with plastic pigs, but it could have been last year.