While the year is certainly not over, given that everyone is frantically shopping for Christmas presents I thought it prudent to create a list to help potential shoppers out. Here you will find the best games I have played in 2021 and though, I make the disclaimer that some of these games have been released a bit prior to 2021 so it’s not exactly the best of 2021 but more like the best I played in 2021 with Christmas gifts in mind.
In either case, if you are shopping for a boardgame fan, these 5 games come highly recommended!
5. Great Western Trail (2nd edition)
New art, same game, Great Western Trail remains on my “play often” list and for good reason, it’s one of the best Euro games in the market today.
While the 1st edition of this game was released back in 2016 and strictly speaking very little has changed between the 1st and 2nd edition, I still felt it prudent to put this one on this list not only because it remains one of my favorite games to play with my daughter (14) but because it’s such an amazingly unique and fun game.
This new version is largely a cosmetic upgrade, is even prettier than the original if you can imagine that and comes with a few organizational bits that make setup and takedown a little quicker.
Overall Great Western Trail is kind of a uniquely designed game which makes it hard to compare with other games, but it has a very simple to grasp turn progression (you move a little meep each round on a track) so its a very easy game to grasp conceptually while the action spaces, the bread, and butter of the game create a highly cerebral strategic board game that can be played repeatedly with new experiences emerging every time.
Fantastic game that plays up to 4 players, but works great with 2 or 3. It’s just long enough to make an exciting board game evening with the family while short enough to not overstay its welcome. I have had a lot of fun with this one, makes a great Christmas present in the next level family game category, though it should be noted that there are a lot of rules in the game so I would not categorize it as a beginner game, this is more for that board gaming family who is already accustomed to playing modern euro games. Not for the Monopoly-RISK crowd, it’s a notch or two above that.
4. Vampire The Masquerade: Vendetta
In my humble opinion, the single best board game based on the world of darkness franchise and that is saying a lot as their are quite a few contenders.
My gaming group and I discovered this little gem during our yearly board gaming retreat and it stuck the landing like a pro with us. This rather simple card game falls into the “look them in the eyes” category of gaming as it’s really more of a game of bluffing, counter-bluffing and bluffing the bluff… point is there is a lot of bluffing.
Simple rules and premise, this is a game about using little to gain a lot by using human psychology of people against them. Each round players compete in a fictional world in which vampires rule cities as secret societies based on the classic tabletop RPG Vampire The Masquerade.
Naturally being a fan of the tabletop RPG is a huge boon here but even if you have never heard of the World of Darkness this is actually just a fantastic game in its own right and stands on its own. I would argue it actually makes for a great family game because it really is simple to teach and learn, while being very replayable and competitive, while remaining pretty short game, averaging around 30-45 minutes tops.
Great Christmas present if you want to surprise a boardgamer with something really unique this year.
3. Talisman
This stone-cold classic belongs on the shelf of every family board game collection along side Monopoly, RISK and Checkers!
The classic adventure game was released all the way back 1983, yet remains in print today and is every bit as fun as it always has been. I always say that if you have kids between the ages of 8-15 and don’t already own a copy of Talisman, this is a very easy decision. Far more interesting than the Monopolies of the world for a family game night, yet, so simple that rules explanation fits on a napkin.
These ultra-simple rules make this an adventure game that never seems to wear out its welcome with the board gaming world. In its 4th iteration, this latest edition still available today uses most of the original art retaining its retro feel for long-time fans, while still gorgeous laid out on the table for today’s standards.
Inspiring fantasy stories, the recognizable cast of characters with any generation and a sense of ownership and self-built into the game that draws players in as they struggle against the game itself while in competition with each other.
The great thing is that if you find it lands well and becomes a family favorite, it’s infinitely expandable which means every year for Christmas you can by any one of a dozen expansions that can create new experiences.
If you are looking for a great family boardgame this Christmas, Talisman has you covered.
2. Imperial Struggle
Without question my single favorite 2 player historical game knocking out its predecessor Twilight Struggle from the spot.
Ok this one is not for the family, this is a gift you buy for a purist board gamer with a love for history, in particular, if you enjoy games like Twilight Struggle or other 2 player competitive strategy games with a lot of depth.
Imperial Struggle for me personally is the unquestionable king of 2021, it absolutely blew me away and skyrocketed into my top 10 best games of all time like gangbusters!
There is so much to love in this complex strategy game for 2 players based on the historical conflict between Britain and France in the 18th-century colonial period. Yes, it’s heavy, complex, deep and can be quite lengthy (in the 3-4 hour range) but boy do I adore this game.
Of all the games I play this is the one I look forward to the most, it’s a true well of strategy, creating endless opportunities to fine-tune your game while at the same time the game is incredibly dynamic so there are no routines here like their often were in Twilight Struggle its predecessor.
If you have a gamer buddy who loves historical games, this is an auto-buy. It is a modern interpretation of chess if you ask me, the perfect 2 player strategy game.
1. Dune Imperium
No if, and or buts about it, this is the single best board game that came out in 2021!
Before I wrote a single word for this article I knew that Dune Imperium would be my no. 1 on this list and unless you have been living under a board gaming rock you already know that Dune Imperium IS the game of the year in 2021.
Dune is effectively a fine-tuning of 2 core game mechanics that have swept the board gaming space for the last decade, worker placement and dynamic deck building. It marries the two mechanics in a perfect union, layering it with an amazing science-fiction theme just in time to support the newly released feature film.
This infinitely replayable game is tightly woven which means that every game is going to come down to the wire, it requires deep planning, dynamic thinking and calculated risk-taking. Like all good Euro games there is very little luck involved and each time you play this game you will discover new strategies and opportunities that you will want to explore the next time you play.
The game is gorgeous on the table, very easy to teach and learn while offering wildly different experiences depending on how many players are sitting at the table. Weirdly while the experiences are different depending on player count, I can’t say that one is better than the other. Each brings something different to the table, requiring adjustment to strategies and approaches.
Super fun to play, love this one!
Honorable Metions
There were a few games I played this year that easily could have made this list if I expanded it to a top 10 or 15, so as an added bonus here I will throw out a few more gift ideas.
Vampire The Masquerade: Heritage: This was a really great legacy game based on the Vampire The Masquerade tabletop RPG. It requires a dedicated group to play it over time, but mechanically it’s full of surprises and true to its source material tells a great story of the world of darkness. Fantastic game, but definitely requires a regular group to really get the most out of it.
I’m not huge on legacy games but if any game will sell you on the concept it will be this one.
The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine: This cooperative trick-taking game falls into the puzzle category in a weird way. Essentially players are given missions that ask them to clear the board in a certain order and with specific instructions and the trick to the game is that players must communicate non-verbally through their actions while attempting to coordinate. Tricky but super fun game, great for the family.
It comes with 50 missions, each harder than the next and while the game starts out relatively simple, it becomes a real challenge in later stages making it a great game to learn together as a team.
Tapestry: While the rules of this civilization builder are simple, the strategy goes so deep it makes your brain explode all over the table. The paralysis analysis in this game is almost painful, but the game is just so good. I mean I find it difficult to recommend as a family game as it’s just a tad too much and it is a pretty long game, so it definitely falls to the hardened veteran crowd, but I haven’t played a game this good in years and it seems to have largely fallen under the radar. This game belongs in the top 10 board games on the geek, at 242 as of this writing it is criminally underrated.
It’s a civilization-building game but not in the Sid Meiers tradition, but more like a Euro version of the concept.
Once a year me and my friends gather in a sleepy little village called Hassela in Sweden for a 4 day board gaming weekend. It started back in the summer of 2016 but quickly turned into a religiously observed yearly event. 4 days of non-stop eating, drinking and most importantly gaming.
This years event proved to be even more significant than any I can recall as it was really the first time things felt “normal” since the pandemic started. The Pandemic has been a literal plague on our ability to get together socialize and play games and even though my gaming buddies and I have had a game night here and their, it was always filled with this sort of tension and subtle fear of becoming infected and getting sick. Now with everyone vaccinated and at least a calm in the storm as temporary as it may be, I think it was the first time I spent any time with my friends where I never gave a moments thought to the possibility of getting sick. It was a wonderful feeling and an amazing weekend.
At this years event while their were quite a few new games that were introduced, we also played quite a few games I would consider “classics” at this point. It was definitely a very Euro-Gamy weekend, though I don’t think this was some sort of conscious or intentional thing, but rather a testament to some really great releases in the last couple of years and my groups general fondness for worker placement games specifically.
I present to you this years games in the order they were played, enjoy the list!
Tapestry (2019) by Stonemaier Games Designer: Jamey Stegmaier
A hidden gem that seems to have been ignored by the wider gaming public, I was shocked to see so many copies available for purchase for such an amazing game released 2 years ago. Grab a copy before people figure it out!
Without question it was unanimously agreed that this was a smash hit with us this weekend, in fact we ended up playing it a second time, something we rarely do on these big board gaming weekends simply because there are so many games people bring to the event. Tapestry however was so good that playing it once was simply not enough.
Tapestry is a sort of resource management and civilization building game where players effectively try to expand their civilization through successfully exploring, conquering and inventing technologies in a very “Euro Way”. Its actually a bit difficult to describe but it suffices to say the game is oddly thematic and has this very healthy presentation that gets you into the spirit of telling a story about your developing civilization while remaining wildly abstract and extremely strategic. This is a game where thinking and planning really pay off.
Tapestry has a lot of really unique and interesting mechanics, but really I think what makes it such a great game is the simplicity of what you do on your turn and the depth to which those simple decisions impact the outcome of the game. All you do on each of your turns in this game is choose to move up on one of 4 tracks (Technology, Exploration, Science and Military). This comes with a resource cost, but each step along these tracks has a unique benefit that helps to expand your civilization. Because each player draws a random civilization or perhaps better to say “culture type” at the start of the game, their interaction with other civilization results in each player adapting a very unique strategy/approach in each game. Which again is hard to describe, its something you almost have to experience to understand. You can kind of think of it like playing chess, but the layout, starting positions and types of pieces you and your opponent get are different each game, which means that all of the strategies you tried in your last game are not going to work in this game, even though the general rule (move one piece on your turn) is the same. Each time you play Tapestry the game re-invents itself, presenting you with an entirely different way of seeing it.
It does not surprise me at all that this game has fallen under the radar as I find myself struggling to properly describe it and do it justice. On boardgamegeek this game is rated 235 which is shockingly low given BBG’s affinity for great Euro games and how good this particular one is. I have only played it twice so it would be hard to justify a full review, but my gut on this one is that it has immense replayability and depth, based on these two plays I would not hesitate to recommend it. It is a fantastic game.
Blood Rage (2015) by CMON Designer: Eric Lang
The only 5 out of 5 stars game I have reviewed for this blog, a review I stand by, its an amazing game.
Blood Rage remains the only game I have ever reviewed on this blog that got a perfect 5 out of 5 score and as it does every time I play it, it has proven that it deserves that score and all of the accolades that come with it. Blood Rage is just straight up amazing and though I would not exactly call it a “Euro” given it’s over commitment to presentation, theme and “take that” interaction, the entire game really does hinge on smart card drafting and well timed unit placement on the board. This may have the appearance of some sort of Ameri-Trash area control game, but there is very little luck in this game, the most skillfully executed strategy will win this game every time.
It’s a brutally hard game to win and certainly players benefit from experience and player knowledge of the cards, so it can be a bit tough to win on your first go against more experienced players which might actually be the only flaw I have ever seen in the game, but in my experience it’s always a very close game and all victories are hard fought and well earned.
I love this game, naturally with a 5 star score I highly recommend it and thanks to its long term success it has been in print since it was released and you can still buy it today. I do recommend getting the 5 player expansion if you can get it (that tends to be a bit harder to find) but it plays really well with 5. While I do like the Mystics of Midgard and Gods of Asgard expansions as they add some interesting added components they aren’t really necessary and might over complicate the game a bit for less experienced players.
Vampire Rivals (2021) by Renegade Game Studios Designer: Dan Blanchett & Matt Hyra
My gaming group and I are huge Vampire: The Masquerade fans, in fact we have been actively playing the 5th edition RPG religiously for the last couple of years, so the Vampire theme has considerable meaning to us. We have also played all of the various Vampire games that have been released in the last few years including Heritage and Vendetta.
Not too shabby, really a pretty solid collectable card game, it’s not going to surprise you but its not exactly a let down unless you are hoping for something extraordinary.
Vampire Rivals is a more traditional living card game, along the lines of Game of Thrones the card game and really this felt very much almost like a kind of “based on” LCG. A lot of the mechanics and concepts of Rivals were instantly familiar to me and conceptually it really felt like the game is driven by well established card game design principles.
I think my gaming group liked this game a lot more than I did, but this may have something to do with the fact that generally speaking collectable card games for me have to do something really unique to garner my interest. I have played dozens of CCG’s and LCG’s over the years and have quite a few on my shelf not to mention some of the digital variants I play. When I clear shelf space for a collectable card game, it’s going to have be something more than just the standard fair, which is not to say I didn’t like Rivals, it was fine, but it wasn’t like Star Wars: Destiny were after one play I was ready to whip out my credit card.
I’m sure we will play this one more in the future, but I have my doubts about it becoming a thing with us and truth be told I liked both Vampire Heritage and Vampire Vendetta much better then this one, so if we are talking Vampire based card games, I think their are much more interesting options than this one. I will however say that if you like Game of Thrones the Card Game and you also love the Vampire: The Masquerade theme, Rivals is going to be in your wheel house.
Bang The Dice Game (2013) by dV Giochi Designer: Riccardo Pieruccini
Based on Bang the Card game which I have never played, Bang the Dice game is a Yahtzee like twist on the classic hidden identity genre of games.
Bang The Dice Game got introduced to the group a couple of years ago at the big board gaming weekend and it’s been a mandated filler for the event ever since. This is a quick, wildly erratic and mostly silly dice chucking and hidden identity game and while their might be some strategy to it in their somewhere, for our group its just an excuse to goof and have a laugh, fitting nicely in between drinks and dinner. It’s a great small group party game, hitting that 5 to 8 player sweet spot. I’m not sure if it replaces games like Coup or The Resistance for me, but chucking dice is always fun and the game requires very little explanation for it to click with even the most inexperienced non-gamer. Its as universal as Yahtzee but so much more fun.
Empires: Age of Discovery (2015) by Eagle-Gryphon Games Designer: Glenn Drover
Age of Empires is in the strictest sense the perfect worker placement game with some meat on the bones. The eye candy deluxe version I spent my mortgage money on looks gorgeous on the table, I regret nothing!
This stone cold classic is arguably Glenn Drovers Mona Lisa, though the man is responsible for a considerable amount of board gaming history including classics like Attack!, Conquest of The Empire, Railways Of The World and Sid Meier’s Civilization.
Age of Discovery to me however is an example of taking an awesome concept like Worker Placement and perfecting it. This is simply one of the best worker placement games ever made and it was during our big board gaming weekend what I would consider a main event game where we had a full seating of six players hunched over for several hours trying to figure who had the right to rule over the new world.
Age of Discovery is really a kind of race to the new world, it’s very much all about trying to squeeze the most out of the starting conditions and whatever benefits you can gather along the way. Turn order is huge in this game and its a constant fight to be first player so that you can land those key capital buildings, resources and specialized workers. Its one of those worker placement games where there is never an absence of tough decisions. The scoring rounds too are such a critical moment where suddenly everyone is simultaneously jocking for positions in the new world and the game goes from a very peaceful and humble management of your own resources to suddenly forcefully pushing everyone out of your way.
If it wasn’t for the fact that we played so many truly amazing games, I would call this game the highlight of the weekend, but alas there was a lot of great stuff that hit the table and I would be really hard pressed to pick my favorite. I don’t really know how well this game hits with the rest of the group, but for me personally, I love this game and I’m always excited to get it to the table, it has been and will forever remain on my must own list.
The Sheriff of Nottingham (2014) by CMON Designer: Sergio Halaban & Andre Zatz
I put this one in the same category with my beloved Galaxy Trucker, is it a good game? I have no idea, you will laugh your ass off and that is all that matters.
I have no idea if Sheriff of Nottingham is a good game or not, but I do know that it is a great time in a box. At no other time during the entire weekend did we laugh as much as we did during our play of this game. The lying, bribing, threatening and posturing of this game never fails to deliver sheer and utter silliness that has everyone in tear inducing laughter. Every time I play this game it results in some eternally quotable moments that we laugh about for years after.
If you are looking for some sort of strategy in a game like this however I think you will be disappointed, trying to play this game to win is just a silly endeavor, you just have to sort of accept and embrace the absurdity of the game, let lose and play it as it is intended, with a cocktail in your hand surrounded by friends.
I love Sherriff of Nottingham, but it’s not at all because I claim its a good game, to be honest I’m not even entirely sure we are playing it properly. It’s greatness comes from its ability to produce funny situations that has everyone in stiches and its precisely for this reason Sheriff of Nottingham makes an appearance in the big Hassela weekend almost every year.
Vampire Vendetta (2020) by Horrible Guild Designer: Martin Mottet
There are a number of board and card games based on the world of darkness setting and while I think Vampire Heritage gives Vendetta a run for its money, this is by far my favorite take on Vampire: The Masquerade outside of the RPG.
Vampire Vendetta my gaming group discovered this year during the pandemic using Tabletop Simulator. While I find playing games online is typically a considerably lesser experience, I was pleasantly surprised by this one and one of the guys ended up picking up a real copy and bringing it to the big board gaming weekend this year.
For me Vampire Vendetta falls into the, if you love the theme, you will love the game – category of games, meaning that if you are not into Vampire The Masquerade RPG and you don’t know what a Brujah is or why vampires fight over control of cities like Chicago, this game probobly will not only confuse you but seem rather arbitrarily unbalanced. For those of us in the know however, Vendetta is a perfect execution of the Vampire The Masquerade theme, nailing that political struggle between the vampire clans that as fans we find so engrossing about the world of darkness. Yes, its just as unfair and often unbalanced as you would expect the clans to be as this game designer understood that in order to be the game Vendetta needs to be, aka, a true representation of the world of darkness, those in-equalities need to be built into the game and thankfully they are.
In Vendetta each player picks a clan and gets a limited deck of cards that represent the most classic elements of each clan. There are 4 sections of the city, one of which is the princes haven and each round players are vying for control over these sections of the city. This is done by committing action cards to the zone either face up (revealed) or face down (hidden). These aren’t full commitments because in vampire feinting an action, trying to get players to over commit and tricking them into terrible situations is what the game is all about.
Part psychology, part strategy and all horror, Vampire Vendetta just has it were it counts. Simple rules, great execution of theme, well paced, highly replayable and above all else the designer knows his audience, clearly this is a person who knows his world of darkness and this game is a love letter to it.
Definitely for Vampire: The Masquerade fans only, but if you love the world of darkness, you are going to love this board game version of it.
Coup (2012) by Indie Boards & Cards Designer: Rikki Tahta
A stone cold classic, I can’t think of any reason why any gamer does not own this game.
Coup may be the only game that has made the table at every single one of our Hassela board gaming weekends over the years and this year was no different. Easily one of my favorite fillers of all time, this hidden identity game relies almost entirely on the psychology of its players and most of the strategy of the game is about reading the other players and knowing when you can and can’t lie about what cards you are actually holding. Simple, fast and quite difficult to win, its among the best of the Ultimate Werewolf inspired hidden identity games.
Condottiere (1995) by Eurogames Designer: Dominque Ehrhard & company.
THE best trick taking game I have ever played and really the magic of this game is that it feels like so much more than just a trick taking game. It tricks you!
Despite its 95 release making this a fairly old game, my group discovered it only in recent years but it has become an unquestionable established classic in our group. I have never met anyone who played it and didn’t like it, in fact I have bought it and given it away three times. Everyone who plays it feels the instant need to get their hands on it and its no surprise to me at all because the game is a perfect example of extremely streamlined game design.
This is a trick taking game with a area control element, but what really gives this particular card game an edge over the virtual sea of trick taking games out there is how the cards you draw are used over potentially several rounds. Because you don’t actually know how many rounds their will be with any given card set you draw you have to always think about the fight you are in now and its importance and what fights will come next. Often you are trying to get other players to commit to battles you have no intention of winning just so you can set yourself up for future victories, while other times you are just looking for opportunities to screw people or get a quick victory.
Easily one of the best trick taking games I have ever played and thankfully this game seems to always be in print. Another game on my must own list.
Tsuro (2004) by Calliope Games Designer: Cathy Brigg & company
I’m not the best person to ask about abstract games, its just not my bag of chips, but I didn’t outright hate it which Is my usual response to abstract games so it must be really good.
I’m not a huge abstract gamer, looking at my shelf I can count the amount of games I have in this genre on one hand minus a few fingers, but every once in a while a game comes along that I find irresistible (I’m looking at you THE DUKE).
The Duke is the only abstract game I have ever played where I can legitimately claim that I love it, it’s amazing but alas for only two players.
Tsuro however was not one of those games and though I really didn’t see anything particularly wrong with it as it was clever, simple and quick, exactly what you want an abstract game to be, it’s not the kind of game that floats my boat. It’s not an issue with the game, but rather just my general gaming preferences, in fact, I would argue that if you like abstract games, this would probobly hit the spot just right. What little I know of the genre, this game seems to have that puzzle element I think abstract gamers will love. When we played it I’m not joking when I say the game took about 10 minutes to complete, it was a very quick game.
Are you dumber than a box of rocks (2016) by AMO Toys Designer: Joe Herbert & Dave Herbert
Its a trivia game, I’m not sure how one judges that. I mean people ask me questions all the time, it doesn’t mean we are playing a game. Its a funny gimmick.
A member of our gaming group has an affinity for pulling out odd ball games for us to try and while I find that all Trivia games are basically the same, this one in particular actually had some funny elements I think Trivia fans might enjoy. For one it was a multiple choice game, essentially all questions are answered with 0, 1 or 2. Which means that you effectively have a 1 in 3 chance of guessing right. This is a team game however and your opponent is a literal rock in a box, that has 3 sides with a 0, 1 or 2 written on it. The question is asked, the rock is shaken and your effectively competing against random chance. Surprisingly enough, it was a close game and while I will admit most of us were drinking and not exactly in top form, it was kind of funny to have almost been beaten by an actual box of rocks. Its a silly concept, but as far as trivia games go, this was actually kind of funny.
Dune Imperium (2020) by Dire Wolf Designer: Paul Dennen
I love the DUNE books, this is easily one of my favorite science-fiction settings, but while loving the setting enhances the experience this is just a rock solid worker placement and deck building game, it knocks the sea of competition in this genre out of the water and then steals the water, because you need water.. trust me!
Dune Imperium was the only other game in the line up that was played twice and for the exact same reason Tapestry got a second go, this game is straight up amazing. In fact, while 2020 was an absolute shit year for gaming because of the pandemic, hence their was very little games played in general this year in our group, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Dune is the game of the year.
A combination worker placement game with a deck building/playing element, this is one of those games that has just that perfect tightness. Games are ALWAYS close, hard fought battles. The game is really well paced, wonderfully balanced, beautifully illustrated, based on an absolutely awesome theme and is just chalk full of replayability. Blood Rage currently stands as the only game to have ever gotten a perfect score from me on this blog, but if there is any game that I know of right now that has a shot at being added to that list, it is most certainly going to be Dune Imperium. You are going to have to look long and hard to find a flaw with this one, it may just be a perfect game.
Don’t bother thinking about it for another second, this is an auto-buy if there ever was one.
Stone Age (2018) by Zman Designer: Bernd Brunnhofer
It’s bright, colorful, easy to teach, easy to learn, you get to roll dice and there is a fair amount of strategy to the game. I put it into the simple and fun category, it’s not going to change your life, but its a very easy game to get to the table.
Worker placement games are what I call “highly reliable” strategy games, meaning that, they usually don’t have a luck element and if they do it’s very minimal. Stone Age flips that, by creating not only a considerable luck element based on dice rolls, but a push your luck element with how you position your workers. You often pick spots on the board you can’t afford, hoping to score the needed resources during the round, which means that the game has this sort of gambling element to it.
It’s hard to know where to place Stone Age in light of a world filled with amazing worker placement games, in particular given that the “highly reliable” strategy games are generally considered “better” because they remove luck and put control into the players hand making them games of skill. I may be alone in this but I find Stone Age kind of refreshing. To me games should have luck in them, in particular when the game has ways to circumvent the reliance on luck through good long term strategies.
Stone Age is certainly not going to blow anyone away, in fact, my early impressions of this game when I first tried it were kind of luke warm, but I have kids in the house who love to play board games and kids love rolling dice so Stone Age is popular with them. The result is that I have played this game more often than I probobly would have otherwise with my gaming group. I brought it along this year to the Hassela weekend as an alternative pick as my 4 player game in place of Dune, but by the time it was my turn to pick a game we had already played Dune twice so it made its way to the table. In light of Dune I think perhaps people were less impressed with it, but I think its a pretty fun game and its definitely more family friendly then games like Tapestry and Dune that can feel a bit heavy on the strategy end. Stone Age has very simple and easy to understand goals, quite perfect for kids or less experienced gamers.
Batman Flux (2015) by Looney Labs Designer: Andrew Looney
Fuck off Batman Flux!
Ok, I’m just going to say it, this game is stupid but I suppose a game designed by a guy named Mr. Looney, we should probobly not have expected much.
I know these flux games have a following and all, but to me this game was just complete nonsense. I won, I have no idea how or why, but I was just glad it ended quickly!
Gloom (2005) by Atlas Game Designer: Keith Baker
Great artwork, funny theme and unique gimmick with the see through cards help to set the mood the game is trying to put across.
Keith Baker of D&D fame takes a swipe at making a card game about people living tragic lives, then dying horrifically to score points. As silly as that sounds, this game was actually mildly entertaining.
It’s a bit gimicky with it’s see through cards that you layer one on top of the other and it’s rather morbid theme, but its a short enough game that the exercise doesn’t over stay its welcome and it was good for a couple of laughs. A simple and quick card game filler that might be good as a camping game or something to pull out with the kids. Nothing for my personal shelf, but given the card game we had played right before, I was mostly just happy we were not playing Batman Flux!
Conclusion
Another Hassela weekend for the history books and what a fantastic weekend it was. Lots of great games were played and a good time was had by all!
Now its time to pick my favorite game of the weekend and I have to admit I struggled with it for quite a while. Certainly established classics like Blood Rage are always contenders and my beloved Empire: Age of Discovery I’m never disappointed by was in the running briefly. In the end however it was a battle between Dune Imperium and Tapestry.
Strictly speaking I think Dune Imperium is a better game from a sort of generalist perspective. What I mean is that if it’s board game night and I’m pulling out a game no one has every played, I can get everyone playing Dune reasonably competitively on the first go in no time flat and no one will be confused about what to do or how to do it. Its a game that is easy to teach, easy to learn, its actually relatively fast and while it has plenty of nuances and potential strategies, its not going break anyone’s spirit and the result of the game is going to be tight. Whoever wins isn’t going to win by more than 1 or 2 points.
Tapestry on the other hand while the core rules are relatively simple, has a metric ton of iconography and requires considerable explanation to get people going while the depths of the strategy and nuanced ways the economy works is going to have players struggling to grasp exactly how to put together a competitive strategy. Even for a humble veteran like me it took a second game before I had even the faintness clue what I was doing and I was none the less lapped by the more experienced player. At the end of Tapestry a less experienced player might score as little as 100 points while a more experienced player can break 400. The margins of victory will require everyone to have a good grasp of the game before they get close enough to make the game feel competitive.
Still ultimately my choice for favorite game of the weekend has got to be Tapestry. I don’t consider a game having so much depth that it takes a few plays to get it figured a problem or a flaw of the game. To me, good games are challenging games and I want the game to push me to figure it out, I want that challenge of learning to play a game well and I don’t mind taking a pasting from more experienced players in that process. In fact, I prefer my games that way and while it can sometimes get frustrating to lose repeatedly and not fully understand why, the rewards for cracking the nut and winning that first game always feel so great.
More than that I think Tapestry is a really diverse game. Those culture/civilization cards really re-define the strategies and possibilities of the game creating this great replayability. Dune Imperium is a fantastic game and choosing Tapestry over it should not be seen as some sort of disparagement against it, but if you asked me this morning what game I want to play right now, I would definitely pick Tapestry.
I asked my gaming mates to call out their favorites, again I generally don’t reveal anyone’s identity on the blog so they shall remain hidden masked men behind the scenes, but their picks were as followed.
Player 1: Blood Rage This did not surprise me at all, any Viking themed game is always going to be popular among Swedes and I’m fairly certain I saw him placing an order for Blood Rage on his phone before we were even done playing. It was his first time playing the game and I do recall how excited I was about the game the first time I played it as well. It’s an awesome game!
Player 2: Tapestry Player 2 and I share a lot of the same tastes in games and I knew when I introduced him to Dune Imperium he would love it and I think he knew when he introduced me to Tapestry I would love it. We were both right, but, I agree with him that while Dune Imperium was a very close second, Tapestry wins it.
Player 3: Tapestry Again not a shocker at all, both player 2 and 3 are hardened veterans, they know a good game when they see one and while I would imagine Dune Imperium was also on the radar for Player 3, I think among the guys who fill their book shelves with games as a matter of religion, Tapestry got our attention and had us checking our bank account status.
Player 4: Condottiere Also not a big surprise, every person I have ever met who I introduced Condottiere to immediately takes to it and I have already replaced my copy 3 times as a result of giving it away to friends who loved it so much I just wanted to see the look on their face when I say, “Here you go, its yours now!” Condottiere really has that natural charm of a trick taking card game that makes it a conduit for turning non-gamers into gamers.
Player 5: Condottiere I was a bit surprised by player 5 picking this one given the field of games this weekend, but I suppose I shouldn’t be. Condottiere is on the surface a simple trick taking game, but it’s really so much more than that between the sheets.
That’s it for this year, only 360 or so days until the next Hassela weekend, I can’t wait.
Its a new year by my count and abandoned new years resolutions aside there is only one thing left to do on the checklist. Its time look back at 2016 and make Gamersdungeon.net’s choices for the best of the year. Like last year we are going to pick the best designer of the year, best game company of the year and of course the best game of the year.
Like last year I have asked some members of my gaming group to anonymously throw in there two cents so we will have a look to see what some of my friends think as well.
Enjoy the article!
Best Game Designer Of The Year
Corey Konieczka
It was a very competitive year, a great year for a lot of designers but the work horse that is Fantasy Flight Games greatest asset had a hell of a year.
Star Wars Rebellion is the kind of game that Corey specializes in. Big, bright and epic.
He kicked off his year with the highly anticipated Star Wars Rebellion which for most game designers would have been a lifetime achievement, but for Corey that’s just another stripe on the battle suit. He was knocking out content for Star Wars Imperial Assault all year long including The Bespin Gambit the third expansion major expansion. He topped that off with a number of Mansions of Mandness expansions for the new second edition while simultaneously dropping FFG’s new addicition, Star Wars: Destiny that has risen in popularity to a ridiculous degree.
Suffice to say the man had a good year and while most of the games mentioned here are not exactly what I would call my personal favorite, you can’t deny Corey’s amazing productivity.
Honorable Mention
I think its important to name a few of the up and comers who might not have the amazing support of a large company that guys like Konieczka get yet still manage to put out some amazing games.
Jamey Stegmaier for the smash hit of the year Scythe definitely deserves a slap on the ass for a job well done. Scythe again, I find myself saying this all the time, is not my personal favorite but I recognize the amazing design work and sheer amount of testing that must have gone into that game. Really great achievement.
The jury is still out on this one for me, but you can’t deny its hype and the love people show it. Its definitely an attention getter in 2016.
Jacob Fryxelius who gave us the amazing Terraforming Mars. Now personally I have just played one game of this so far, but what a fantastic design. The balancing effort that went into this game, the dynamic and unique mechanics that its based on, it all deserves praise and if this is going to be the quality of work from Jacob in the future, he has a very bright one ahead of him.
Best Company Of The Year
Fantasy Flight Games
Ok so they are getting it two years in a row from me and yes maybe I’m playing favorites here but if you look at it objectively you just can’t make this stuff.
Clearly I’m a bit biased when it comes to FFG, I love their stuff pretty much always, but there is no denying the amazing year they have had in 2016.
Not only did they complete a major merger that rose them to one of the most economically powerful table top gaming companies in the industry with world wide control, they are also responsible for hands down some of the best games of 2016, not to mention the continued growth of their existing lines, in particular their miniature games X-Wing and Armada.
Forget the endless stream of Android Netrunner, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Star Wars and many other LCG’s. These countless expansions are barely newsworthy yet they amount to more content then any 5 of the top companies out there would even be capable of producing from a production stand point let alone a talent stand point. What I’m really talking about here is the new stuff.
Star Wars Destiny, Star Wars Rebellion, Doom: The Board Game, Mansions of Madness: Second Edition and New Angeles. I’m talking about wave after wave of X-Wing, Armada, Battlelore and Imperial Assault. Fantasy Flight Games is a machine of productivity, yet the quality of the work never faulters and I think this is the most amazing aspect of FFG. Most companies that get into their late “McDonalds” stage of development start to break down, in particular in the area of quality but not FFG. The content they produce is always top notch and while I’m not always a fan of every game they put out there is no disputing how well they fair.
In my humble opinion Star Wars Destiny was near perfect with one exception that pretty much killed it for me. Its a CCG instead of a LCG. A minor difference, one that determines if I’m going to buy into a collectible game or not.
Today FFG has no less then 17 games in the top 100 games of all time on boardgamegeek.com. Its really important to understand the significance of this number, Boardgamegeek.com is traditionally a veyr conservative Euro game audiance. Consider that today among the top 10 games of all time you have bore fests like Terra Mystica, Caverna, Castles of Burgandy and Puerto Rico. No offense to fans of these games, they may be great games but you can’t possibly expect anyone to take you seriously in the idea that these games out ranks the likes of X-wing, Armada and Imperial Assault just to name a couple. These games aren’t even in the same league.
Star Wars Armada continues to get support from FFG and it had an amazing year as a game. Completely revived the game for me.
Ok I’m not going to go on a BBG rant here but suffice to say in my humble opinion no one does it better than FFG and this year they have already proven what I have already known. They are taking over the board gaming universe, so sit back and enjoy the occupation.
Honorable Mentions
Z-Man games definitely deserves an honorable mention and its not because they had some sort of amazing year with their releases, though Feast of Odin should not go unrecognized, but its really there general support of their existing lines. You just have to love a company who stays dedicated to the games they make and continue to support them via new content and expansions. So many companies create great games and then quickly abandon their audience as soon as they realize that maybe its not quite as big as they had hoped.
This year Z-man put out expansions and added content for Cacao, CamelUp, Carcassonne, Merchants and Marauders, Stone Age, and Pandemic. Some of these games are over 10 years old and Z-Man continues to support their fan base knowing its appreciate it and frankly I can’t think of too many companies that would put out an expansion for a 10 year old game, it certainly wouldn’t be Fantasy Flight Games. Noted and appreciated!
Game of The Year
Terraforming Mars
Picking game of the year is always a tricky proposition as I did not play all games that came out in 2016 and there are quite a few on my list that might deserve this spot more then Terraforming Mars. That said I can’t think of a game that captured my attention more then Terraforming Mars. In fact it was on my, most anticipated games of 2017 list because I had missed it last year, it went out of print and I wasn’t sure when I would get to try it. Well I finally did and it was love at first sight.
This is the must own game of 2016, there is no question in my mind.
I think the most notable thing about Terraforming Mars aside from the really cool theme of terraforming a planet is that its so well balanced and tested. You can see that a lot of love went into this game to ensure its as perfect as it can be. There is a lot going on in this game on many levels and while I would not call any of the mechanics revolutionary, I would say that they are the offspring of some really great concepts that have been evolved here. You have elements of 7 Wonders and Race for the Galaxy put to really good use in this game.
In the end though I think the reason why I chose Terraforming Mars is because it combined fantastic mechanics with a really great theme to create a truly unique release in 2016. As a gamer above all else I want to be surprised by a game. I want that moment where you pick up a game because you are interested in the theme and then discover that its everything you hoped it would be and more.
Honorable Mentions
Star Wars Rebellion definitely gets a nod from me as the Star Wars story in a box game, though personally I felt that it was a little less exciting then I hoped it would be. Its definitely no War of the Rings and while I can’t quite put my finger on it, it just wasn’t 100% fully there. Great game none the less and I think if it was not the last minute play with Terraforming Mars I think I may have chosen Star Wars Rebellion in its place.
Another honorable mention has to be Tides of the Underdark. This highly underrated deck builder saw a lot of play time in my gaming group this year and it was unanimously hailed as a great game, which I completely agree with. Its a simple to the point deck builder with area control driven by a great theme. If you love D&D this is definitely among the best board games in the line along with Lords of Waterdeep. Really looking forward to seeing an expansion to this one in 2017.
D&D is a great franchise to base games on and I’m glad that Lords of Waterdeep wasn’t just a one hit wonder. Tyrants is a fantastic game.
The Crew
Like last year I have asked members of my gaming crew to throw in their own two cents here and like last year I have kept their identities secret.
Player 1
Game of The Year: Tyrants of The Underdark
Company Of The Year: Fantasty Flight Games
Designer Of The Year: Rodney Thompson (Tyrants)
All good choices, I considered Tyrants of The Underdark for game of they year myself. I would argue that releasing one good game doesn’t qualify a person for Designer of The Year, but Rodney Thompson is also responsible for the wonderful Lords of Waterdeep which I know this player favors as well so I can understand the choice.
Player 2
Game of The Year: Star Wars Rebellion
Company of the Year: Fantasy Flight Games
Designer of The Year: Corey Konieczka
Great choices all, pretty in line with my own. I think if we did a consensus of board gamers there is a good chance Star Wars Rebellion would be the peoples choice given the attention Star Wars has gotten in 2016.
That’s it for this year, hope you enjoyed our picks!
2015 was nothing short of an amazing year for board, card and miniature gaming. This might explain why even as I write I’m 700 crowns into World of Board Games (sorry guys, checks in the mail!) . The year-end review is going to become a regular thing for the blog, every year I’m going to pick what I believe is the best designer, best publisher and best game of the year. I don’t really set much in the way of qualifications, it’s simply a self-serving pick based solely on my often not so humble opinion. . Let’s get the deed done!
Gamers Dungeon Designer Of The Year : Eric M. Lang
Eric Lang has already proven himself to be a house hold name in gaming in years past. His reputation for producing inventive and entertaining games with consistency is uncanny. In 2015 however he has definitely outdone himself with three memorable games, all successful each more creative than the next not to mention being involved in countless expansions to existing games. X-COM, Game of Thrones the card game 2nd edition and Blood Rage alone are sufficient to earn him the title of best of the year. Most designers are lucky to produce 3 creative and original games in their whole career let alone in the same year.
X-COM for me personally falls into one of the categories of games I usually stay clear off (pure cooperative) but the implementation of an app that puts time pressure on player decisions definitely solves one of the biggest complaints I have about these type of games, the dreaded Alpha Gamer effect. There is no time to ask experienced players at the table “what should I do” in X-Com, you have just a few seconds, you have to make your own decisions and hope it helps the team. Great way to break up the monotony of cooperative games in my opinion and really what better way to add great AI to a board game based on a computer game then adding some actual AI. It shows that Lang is inventive and perceptive about a game genre and isn’t afraid to experiment in modern ideas like using Apps for a game. What a fantastic choice for a theme as well, you really should have your gamer license revoked if you don’t know what X-COM is.
Cooperative games are a hard sell for gamers like me who drink the tears of their opponent but If your going to play one, it may as well be themed on something as awesome as X-COM.
Next up is Game of Thrones 2nd edition, which I think, it is only fair to point out upfront he didn’t design and certainly shouldn’t get the credit as such. Most of the work was done for him in 1st edition. Still, despite that pre-cursor, as far as I’m concerned if you are able to take a game that was typically associated with a very niche audience no thanks to silly levels of complexity and fussiness and streamline it to make it accessible to everyone while being able to maintain that edgy, competitive (dare I say cut throat) play style that fits so perfectly with the theme deserves mentioning. I played the 1st edition of this game a few years back several times and barely remember it, I played the 2nd edition once and was immediately captivated. Lang is great at understanding the nuances of mechanics, how small tweaks can have huge impact, a sure sign of a great designer.
Finally is Blood Rage and while it’s definitely a new mistress for me, after only a couple of plays I knew that this is going to be a smash hit and really put Lang over the top for me. Most designer could safely call themselves great designers if they have even one Blood Rage on their resume, but for Lang it’s all in a days work. What a fantastic combination of mechanics, strategic potential with tons of diversity and replay-ability yet done so simply it takes less than 5 minutes to teach the game. Lang has an amazing insight and core understanding of what makes a great game, yet the uncanny ability to avoid over designing. He keeps it simple and sweet and there is no question in my mind that this is his best design yet.
One of the biggest surprises of the year for me. After two plays I knew it belonged in my collection.
Gamers Dungeons Company of The Year: Fantasy Flight Games
On any other year I think this would have been a very easy choice for me, Fantasy Flight Games is a company that knows how to make my money with easily 70% of the games on my shelf being FFG games. They make success look easy. This year however is very special, there were so many companies that really rose up to challenge the beast that is FFG, in fact it really was the year of amazing releases for almost every major publisher out there. None the less FFG had an explosive year, even for their own extraordinarily high standards.
Star Wars: Armada, Forbidden Stars, Games of Thrones 2nd Edition, Fury of Dracula 3rd Edition, X-Com, Reprint of Red Planet and tons of expansions for pretty much everything in amounts that would dwarf ten times over every other company out there. Always with excellent quality components and attention to detail that has in many ways both set the bar for other companies and driven competition. FFG was a machine of creativity in 2015, they made so many games even with my insane spending limits I found myself buckling under economic pressure, forced to make reluctant choices on how to blow my money on FFG products. There is no question in my mind that I will spend most of 2016 trying to catch up with FFG’s 2015 lineup, but FFG never sleeps. Bursting with exciting announcements for 2016 like Star Wars Rebellion.. oh god how I want thee! It seems no matter what I get from them before the credit card bill even shows up there is already half a dozen things I want on the horizon.
Its the little things that count and its the little things that make all the difference between 1st and 2nd edition of the game.
A solid runner up for me is Cool Mini or Not, in my opinion they have risen to the challenge of producing quality games in what has become a very competitive market. They really know what gamers love, it’s in their title and they aren’t afraid to make them! Between Blood Rage, Zombiecide, Xenoshyft, Rum & Bones, Arcadia Quest and Kaosball these guys have shown without question that they can produce not only quality products (with insanely awesome mini’s), but fantastic games as well. They are the company to watch in 2016 in my (not so) humble opinion.
Gamers Dungeon Game of The Year: Star Wars Armada
Star Wars Armada didn’t really strike me hard, it took time for its depth and complexity to fall into place, but once you see the big picture you realize what a huge hit this really is.
This was not an easy decision at all, it was very competitive year and there was so much greatness to play but in the end there is a reason Christian Peterson is one of my favorite designers among others at FFG. Star Wars Armada is a complex, incredibly deep and dynamic game that makes for an unmatched, epic gaming experience. Definitely not something I would recommend to anything but the most hardened veteran gamer. Still that is what I am and Armada really caters to my inner nerd despite the fact that I generally get my ass kicked at it. The fact that it’s a Star Wars themed game is really just icing on a nearly perfect cake and while I find it such an exhaustive game that it requires me to take breaks from it periodically just to recover there is no question in my mind that like Twilight Imperium, Game of Thrones and X-Wing this is a game I will still happily play a decade from now. A masterpiece and well deserved win.
Runner ups include Forbidden Stars, quite possibly the most infuriating and wonderful science-fiction competitive board game to come out of FFG since Twilight Imperium. Not too far behind Blood Rage, the new kid on the block I predict is going to crawl its way into a top 10 spot on BoardGameGeek in 2016! It will certainly break into my personal top 10 list.
Gaming Group Feedback
Now I have a gaming group, like all proper nerds we spend as much time talking and thinking about games as we do playing them and I thought it would be fun to let them throw in their picks with my obnoxious layer of commentary (you’re welcome). I’m not going to name names to protect their precious identities!
Player 1
Best Game: Star Wars Armada Best Designer: Eric Lang Best Company: Fantasy Flight
I swear I made my list before I asked my group, but clearly Player 1 and I march to the beat of the same drummer. What can I say, I agree with him completely because clearly he is right.
Player 2
Best Game: Star Wars Armada Best Designer: Jay Little Best Company: Fantasy Flight
I have to say that if Eric Lang didn’t exist, Jay Little would certainly be a contender pick. Jay plays a heavy role over at FFG in the design of X-Wing products which alone deserves immense praise and is an incredible display of talent. It’s such an easy thing to fuck up a miniature games, if you don’t believe me just take a look at … pretty much every other miniature game ever made and tell me I’m wrong. Still I think to achieve the title of best designer of the year the bar is set quite high. Certainly designing expansions and keeping the growing complexity of a miniatures game balanced is no small feat, but starting from a blank page and inventing something awesome is really where the crown should go.
Player 3
Best Game: Star Wars Armada Best Designer: Eric Lang Best Company: Plaid Hat Games
Plaid Hat Games certainly deserves praise, the artistic and cleverly written Dead of Winter earned no less than 11,000+ votes on boardgamegeek in less than a year. Their Summoner Wars series continues to grow expansion after expansion, rising in depth and popularity and let’s not forget Specter Ops, Ashes, Tail Feathers and the clever Mice and Mystics. Suffice to say it would be hard for me to pick them myself since I’m neither drawn to, own or play their games. They tend to make games that are just a bit outside of my personal preference, though I have tried a few and certainly wouldn’t complain about them. I give them props for creative out of the box thinking, even Dead of Winter, a game about Zombies in a market flooded with Zombie games stood out from the crowd. From a stand point of reviews they always get excellent marks so I can understand why Player 3 in particular would pick them given his personal preferences.
Player 4
Best Game: Game of Thrones The Board Game Best Designer: Sergio Halaban & Andre Zatz Best Company: Fantasy Flight Games
Very interesting designer choices, way to be a hipster! Often designers like Sergio Halaban and Andre Zatz are overlooked in the same way an amazing guitar player might be overlooked in an obscure band. The creators of Sheriff of Nottingham, a sizeable sleeper hit that is often spoken off fondly among reviewers has been steadily rising on the geek as word spreads. This award winning game among others was nominated for the prestigious Origins Best Board Game of the Year award and very deservingly so. These guys have great potential and we will certainly be watching them carefully in the future.
Now for the Game of Thrones pick, this is obviously an older game released back in 1st edition form in 2003 so perhaps it doesn’t really meet the 2015 qualification. It does say something significant about the game when a gamer in my group Is still infatuated enough with a game over 10 years after its release to pick it as his 2015 favorite. Game of Thrones may just be the game of the decade and I’m quite certain if I asked my group to make a top 5 games of all-time list, most if not all would have Game of Thrones on that list. Great pick.
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