Hello, it's been a while! Life has been busy, but I wanted to share this list of my top new-to-me games of 2024. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to some more posts and reviews in 2025 as well, but this is a start, right?
Anyway, the format here is a bit different than in the past. I'm listing out all the new-to-me games from 2024 and assigning them grades. I'll still have my top 11 games, but you'll get to see everything else, too! I'll have a short write-up for the top 11, all the runners-up, and a few other games here and there.
I also won't be linking to the BGG page for everything, just the Top 11. Nor will I have pictures for everything, just the Top 11. Sorry, I'm just glad I had enough time to get this list compiled this year. (Speaking of past lists, I do have lists made for 2022 and 2023 that I just never posted because I didn't add any details. I'll probably share those lists soon but without extra details and commentary.)
In 2024 I was fortunate enough to get invited to the Amazon Vine program and I received a number of games through that program and subsequently reviewed on Amazon. So check there for my full review of those games.
82 New Games Played (including 2 prototypes)
Grades:
I love games and there's very little I won't play. As such, even my D tier are games I probably wouldn't turn down if someone wanted to play.
S = Super - These were my favorite games of the year.
A = Excellent - I loved these games and would love to play them any time.
B = Great - I really enjoyed these games and would suggest them.
C = Good - I enjoyed these and would be happy to play them.
D = OK - I didn't particularly enjoy these, but wouldn't turn them down.
F = Not for Me - I really didn't enjoy these and will avoid them in the future.
* = games that I've reviewed on Amazon. Look there for my full review.
Top 11 (S & A):
I absolutely love everything about this game, from the puzzly tile-laying to the theme and artwork. Plus there's tons of room for variation in the game, with lots of different scoring combinations, to make the puzzle different every single game. The thick, chunky tiles are great to play with and if you want to learn more about the animals depicted there's a great overview in the rulebook.
In Aqua players take turns drafting reef tiles to add to the coral reef they are constructing. Each hexagonal tile has three diamond-shaped sides with two or three colors of coral on them. The goal is to match up the coral colors to create habitat areas of the same color. When you get three together that make a hexagonal shape you attract a small animal of the same color to that habitat. Then you're trying to create patterns of smaller animals in your reef to attract large animals. As you attract more animals you'll score more points at the end of the game. You also score points for chains of the same color coral, so even if you aren't creating habitats for the small animals you're trying to create additional scoring opportunities.
In Aqua players take turns drafting reef tiles to add to the coral reef they are constructing. Each hexagonal tile has three diamond-shaped sides with two or three colors of coral on them. The goal is to match up the coral colors to create habitat areas of the same color. When you get three together that make a hexagonal shape you attract a small animal of the same color to that habitat. Then you're trying to create patterns of smaller animals in your reef to attract large animals. As you attract more animals you'll score more points at the end of the game. You also score points for chains of the same color coral, so even if you aren't creating habitats for the small animals you're trying to create additional scoring opportunities.
The game ends after 17 rounds (when the tiles run out) and you tally points in a bunch of different ways: large animals, small animals, coral chains, and ecosystems. The scoring can seem overwhelming at first, but it does make sense. As you get familiar with the base game's scoring goals and the puzzles they present, you can start to swap out different scoring objectives to change things up. There is a ton of variety to make this multi-layered tile-laying puzzly game fresh with every play. There really isn't anything I didn't love about AQUA: Biodiversity in the Ocean
Honorable Mentions (B and a few A):
- 20 Strong (B) * - Fun solo (so far) combat game with different decks that play differently but use the same 20 base dice. Chip Theory Games plans to release more decks that keep changing things up, maybe even adding multiplier options.
- 7 Wonders Duel (A) - This is a fun two-player version of the classic drafting game. My 15yo son and I played quite a bit of this in 2024.
- Bosk (B) - I only played once, but want to get it to the table again. It's a fun abstract area-control game with a cool nature theme.
- Brass: Birmingham (B) - This ran a bit longer than I usually prefer for games, but it has a lot of meat and was fun to play. I'm looking forward to a second attempt at tackling this one.
- Cascadia: Rolling Rivers (B) - Very fun, like the original. Maybe it went a bit long for what it is, but it was quite enjoyable.
- Dice of Pirates (B) - Very similar to the casual Dice of Crowns game that I love, but this adds some player-to-player combat that I'm not sure enhances the core mechanics. It was fun, but for as light as these are I think I prefer the simplicity of the original.
- Ducks In Tow (A) - I got one game of this played on December 30 and quite enjoyed it. I want to try again now that I'm familiar with the mechanics. I like the patterns and puzzles, but I feel like there are a few other games that scratch that itch better, maybe. Also, the ducks not fitting in the plastic trays was frustrating and detracted from the overall enjoyment.
- Dune: Imperium (B) - Uprising - I quite liked this, but it went longer than what I usually prefer. I like long games, but tend to prefer shorter games so I can get more games in!
- Empires of the Void II (B) - For a big, 4x game, this was enjoyable. However, I felt it suffered from what many other 4x games suffer from in that once a player gets behind it's really hard to make more progress. A weaker player becomes a target for multiple other players and it's hard to advance.
- Empyreal: Spells & Steam (B) - An interesting route builder and pickup/deliver game that I quite liked. I wasn't a fan of the aesthetic, but not sure how it could have been improved. I did like the fun, game-breaking features of the train cars though. The magic theme really worked well there.
- Forbidden Jungle (B) - It's great to get back to the Forbidden series and the core of what made Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert great. This features fairly streamlined gameplay and familiar mechanics but with some cool new twists. It's pretty unforgiving though and can get a little fiddly with all the (awesome) alien miniatures crowding the board.
- Heat: Pedal to the Metal (A) - I really, really liked this racing game and it's probably in the top 15, definitely top 20 that I played this year (I played a lot of really good games - this list was hard to break apart into tiers).
- Jaws (B) - Fun asymmetrical play in this one. I played a few times and every game was close between the heroes and the shark. It really captures the spirit of the movie well.
- Jewels for the Emperor Penguin (B) * - I got this one to play with my 7yo and it was a surprise hit. There are some interesting decisions and combinations with the penguin bumping and sliding. It's very Speldor-esque with the gems, but it's more about resource management and conversion than engine building. A fine family game!
- Palm Laboratory (B) - This takes the mechanics of Palm Island and steps them up a notch. Instead of just playing for a score you're playing to survive. With several different modes of play, this has more variety than Palm Island to keep things interesting longer, however, it's ever so slightly less portable in a metal tin instead of the plastic wallet, so it doesn't come with me as much as Palm Island did when I first got that.
- Qawale (B) * - A fun, fast, two-player game that uses a mancala mechanic to play a four-in-a-row game. It's pretty fun and strategic and plays in less than 10 minutes! I have the small travel/pocket edition and it doesn't need to be any bigger.
- Riftforce (A) * - This is a solid two-player card combat game. It feels a little like Smash Up in that you get two faction decks and then compete for control over regions by playing cards to them, but that's where the similarity ends. In Riftforce you are attacking your opponent to take out units and score points. Or score regions at opportune times to score more points. It's fast, strategic, and has a lot of different synergies between the different factions. So games play differently every time depending on the combination of factions in play.
- Rock Hard: 1977 (B) - This was a fun journey into the world of rock stardom, complete with all the stereotypes and tons of rockin' puns and parodies. A great game to play some classic rock to.
- Skull (A) - A modern classic bluffing game that is amazingly simple but so much fun. This was very close to being in the top 11.
- Skyrockets: Festivals of Fire (B) * - This cooperative speed game about putting on fireworks displays was a ton of fun to play. As we got familiar with the game and each other it seemed to get easier… for a bit. Then the difficulty ramps up as each level presents new challenges. It's similar in feel to games like FUSE, but definitely a unique experience.
- Summer Camp (B) - I got this to play with my youngest son while his older brothers were away at summer camp with Scouts. This game really captured the feeling of earning merit badges at summer camp. It's very casual, but was quite fun.
- Switchbacks (B) * - I was pleasantly surprised by this little game about making hiking trails. It's an interesting strategy game that plays quickly, offers some interesting decisions, and looks pretty good on the table. I found the puzzle tile game board a bit annoying though.
- The Gang (A) - Who would have thought you could play cooperative poker! This has been a hit with our game group. Even if you aren't a huge fan of poker (I'm not) this is a great cooperative game that inspires some great deductive conversations and some fun emotional moments.
- Things in Rings (B) * - I only played this once, and it was a bit frustrating, but a good and fun frustrating. My game group played it a bunch for a few weeks, but I was always part of another game and only made it in to play that once. I like the combination of social, deduction, and humorous aspects of the game and look forward to my next opportunity to play.
- Tiny Epic Pirates & Tiny Epic Vikings (B) - I have the whole Tiny Epic series and have really enjoyed every game I've played, though I've only actually played Kingdoms, Defenders, Western, Galaxy, Zombies, and a brief solo play of Quest. Until this year, that is. This year I got both Pirates and Vikings to the table and really enjoyed both of them. Both presented some interesting challenges and gameplay and I'd love the opportunity to get them to the table some more. But I have a few other Tiny Epic games still unplayed in my collection.
- Tiny Towns (B) - A friend brought this to game night and we played two games back-to-back. It was quite fun and I enjoyed to spatial puzzle aspect, though felt I was sometimes more restricted than I wanted, particularly toward the end if my town was filled up or another player chose a resource that I had to take but really couldn't use. Overall though, I liked the game, it played fast, and there are a ton of different building combinations to try that will change things up.
- Trio (B) - The game group has been playing a number of quick fillers this year while we wait for people to arrive or to wrap up at the end of the night and Trio was one of them. Trio offers a cool mix of memory and deduction in a quick-playing card game.
- Widget Ridge (B) - The only thing I don't like about Widget Ridge is that there isn't enough of it! This is a fun two-player deck-builder (that can play with more players with more sets) where you are building silly steampunk gadgets. Different gadgets give you different abilities in fairly standard deck-builder ways. You can earn coins to buy new cards or spark, which is points, or affect you or your opponent in other ways. You can also add cards to your Workshop and these will stay out in front of you. Cards in your workshop can link together to create bigger contraptions that can be powered at the end of your turn (sometimes by paying coins or spark) to do pretty awesome actions. And the humor in the game is great since each card has a silly name. You get to invent things like a Solar-Powered Cheese Rocket with an Antenna or a Wood-Burning Mechanical Bison with Gold Plating. It's a ton of silly fun that plays in about 30 minutes.
Middle (C):
I'm including comments only for those that I reviewed on Amazon (look up the games there for my full reviews).
- ALDR: The High Sage
- Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game
- Biomos * - This is a nice little drafting game where each player is working on building the environments on their own planet. Gameplay is pretty simple - draft a token, add it to your planet, and claim an environment card if you've matched its required pattern. There are a few options for manipulating the drafted tokens and adjusting how your particular planet scores. There is a bit of randomness in how the tokens and environment cards come out and you might get lucky (or unlucky) at times, but it's such a fast game that it's not a big deal. This is a great filler for when you need something quick at the beginning or end of game night.
- Bruges
- Exit: The Game - The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes
- Godzilla: Tokyo Clash
- Inside Job
- Link City * - Light games and party games are very hit or miss with the group but it seemed like everyone enjoyed Link City. We actually played with 7 players while waiting for our 8th to show up and the game works fine with more players. It just adds people to be involved in the discussion. This is really a game about making silly decisions and trying to figure out what silly decisions other players would make.
- Moving Wild
- My Little Scythe
- Nautilus Island * -
- Nilsum * - In Nilsum you are trying to get a tableau of 5 cards with a total value as close to 0 as possible. It's super simple to play but has quite a few decisions to make. It can be a bit random, but there's just enough information to give you some meaningful choices (and it's no more random than a game like Uno). The game plays fast, is a lot of fun, and fits perfectly into a small filler time slot.
- Raising Robots
- Red7
- Roll for the Galaxy
- Sacred Valley * - There are some neat puzzles in the game as you try to figure out an efficient economy, where to place tiles that will benefit you and not others, and maximize your abilities by gaining technology and hiring specialists. The table presence is pretty cool with the tiered playing area and some nice components (the alpaca meeples are awesome).
- Sardegna * - This feels a bit like mini-Risk, but there are no dice and very different mechanics. But it kind of scratches a similar itch. Instead of just one generic unit type, there are several different units that each have a different ability. There's no direct combat, just calculating influence in each scoring region based on the units each player has in the region. There is a significant typo in the rules though. And the decision to make the board a wrap-around box is interesting. Overall this is a fine casual area control and action selection game that I've enjoyed playing.
- Snowfall Over Mountains
- Spicy
- Surfosaurus Max
- The Butterfly Garden
- Tiny Epic Galaxies BLAST OFF
- Trench
- Wild Gardens
- Winner's Circle
Bottom (D):
I'm just adding comments for a few that you might be surprised to see this far down plus those I reviewed on Amazon (look there for my full reviews).
- CATAN: Starfarers Duel * - I did enjoy playing this with my son, but it's definitely not a perfect game. I like how exploration works and how resources are generated, but I felt the game overstayed its welcome by quite a bit. I also felt like Trade Agreements could have been handled a lot better. Overall it's an OK game.
- Dollars to Donuts * - This was ok but it didn't really wow me. Mechanically it's pretty simple - purchase a tile, add it to your board to match donut halves for points, and then fulfill customer orders with completed donuts to increase your points. There are a few additional elements of the game, too, like earning bonus tiles when you make mismatched donuts. Overall I found the games I played to be solid mechanically, but a bit lackluster overall. The end game feels a little awkward at times, with the last turn or two often feeling pointless for one or more of the players.
- Dodos Riding Dinos
- Flapjacks & Sasquatches Dice Game * - This is a super light, somewhat silly dice game all about chopping down trees, eating pancakes, and avoiding bigfoot. This was fun, but I feel there are better games that scratch a similar itch (Zombie Dice, Martian Dice, Panda Royale, etc.) that I would prefer to play. It'll be good for Scout camping trips though.
- Imperial Settlers - I enjoyed the engine building and overall mechanics but felt it overstayed its welcome. Maybe it's faster with more experience, but I feel there are games that scratch the same itch in half the time.
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: Twinkling Lights Game
- Pocket Engineer
- Scooby-Doo! The Board Game
- Terraforming Mars - similar to Imperial Settlers, I liked everything about this except the length. If it played in 60-90 minutes I would have enjoyed it more.
- Valknut
- Wolves
- Zoo Vadis - one of the members of my game group loves this, but it wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not a fan of having to win through bargaining and making/breaking deals.
Failures (F):
- Krieg Eterna * - too fiddly, especially with calculating scoring. There's an interesting idea here, but it needs a lot more development and streamlining.
- Quin * - too fiddly, too convoluted, unclear rules, tries too hard to stand out and look cool.
- SIXEM: Sourpatch Kids * - way too random and long. It's possible it might never end. The components are great and the theme is cute though.
- Sonic Roll * - way too fiddly and too long for what it is. It does capture the Sonic theme well though.
Prototypes:
I attended Protospiel Chicago for one day this year and played just a handful of games, including a few of my own. These were the only two new prototypes I had played.
- Outpost on Planet Unknown
- Space Arena
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GJJ Games Reviews are independent, unpaid reviews of games I, George Jaros, have played with my family and friends. Some of these games I own, some are owned by friends, some are borrowed, and some were provided by a publisher or designer for my honest feedback and evaluation. I make every attempt to be both honest and constructively critical in my reviews, and they are all my opinions. There are four types of reviews on GJJ Games: Full Reviews feature critical reviews based on a rubric and games receive a rating from 0 to 100. Quick Reviews and Kickstarter Previews are either shorter reviews of published games or detailed preview reviews of crowdfunding games that will receive a rating from 0 to 10 based on my impressions of the game. Buds, Blooms, and Thorns reviews are shorter reviews of either published or upcoming games that highlight three aspects of a game: Buds are parts of a game I look forward to exploring more, Blooms are outstanding features of a game, and Thorns are shortcomings of a game. Each BBT review game will receive an overall rating of Thorn, Bud, or Bloom.
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