Well, I have to apologize. Last year, I posted my 2024 Top New To Me Games list and promised I would add in the lists from the previous years that I missed (2023 & 2022). I never got around to finishing those posts, but I still want to. So maybe this will be the year?
However, I did work on my 2025 list.
Like last year, I'll include everything I played in 2025 that was a new-to-me game. Each game will receive a grade (from F to A, plus S for Super games). I'll include some comments on the Top 11, honorable mentions, and three games that differed from my expectations, plus a few other comments here and there on other games. Only the top 11 will include images. I'm still part of the Amazon Vine program, so I'll indicate games that I've reviewed on Amazon, too.
There were a few recurring themes in the games I played throughout the year. First, lighter fare got played a lot. You'll see some party games, light fillers, and fast-casual games. Some even made my top games list, and there were a lot from previous years that we came back to multiple times (like Skull and Scout). Second, we played quite a few trick-taking games. These are mostly a subset of those lighter games, but also a larger percentage of them than usual. Third were space-themed games. The July theme was Space, and we played some favorites (including Space Base, Planetoid, and more) but also some new titles. Three of them made my Top 11 list!
Each mont,h I have a theme for the Totally Tabletop Tuesday game nights that I host. I've been doing this since 2023, and it's been a great way to encourage everyone to pull some games out that may not normally hit the table. The theme isn't a rule, but more of a suggestion, and we play lots of games each month that don't fit the theme. But it's been fun to see what games the theme influences. Sometimes the month's theme is the subject matter of the game (e.g. Space), and sometimes it's a mechanic (e.g. Hand Management), and sometimes it's even more general. I have a random theme generator that I use for ideas, but a few months are chosen by me (or randomized until something feels right - like something spooky in October or cheerful for December). These were the themes for 2025:
- January: Player's Choice
- February: Religion
- March: Unplayed Classics
- April: Adventure
- May: Geography
- June: Hand Management
- July: Space
- August: Music
- September: Western
- October: Trick Taking
- November: Resource Management
- December: Holidays
78 New To Me 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)
When I was a kid, my parents used to get together with some friends (who had kids the same ages as my sister and me) and play the classic Sid Saxon game, Acquire. They had all the tiles in a coffee can, and the four kids used to listen to the tiles rattle away in the coffee can all night long. When I got older, I learned to play, too, and loved the game. It's still a great classic, though; when compared to modern games, it's missing the theme, artwork, story, and intricacies that define modern board games. That's where Dawn of Ulos comes in. It takes the general mechanics of Acquire and wraps them in a modern area control game that does so much more. Thunderworks Games took a classic and breathed new life into it in such an epic way.
The White Castle is one of those games where you are never sure what the right thing to do is. Instead of there being an obvious choice on your turn, you're faced with choices that all look good. As the game progresses, a puzzle emerges, and a strategy slowly takes shape. And then the game is over. Did you accomplish your goal? Or did you need one more turn? I both love and hate those games where your last turn arrives a moment before you're ready for it. If you could do two things in that last turn, your whole plan would fall into place, but alas, you're just short of what you wanted to do. The White Castle is one of those games. But that makes it so much sweeter when you play, and everything does fall into place just in the nick of time. After my first play of The White Castle, I said I really liked it, and the game owner said he had a feeling I would because it felt like a "George" game. I do have to say, my biggest disappointment with the game, though, was that it didn't come with any sliders. Wrong White Castle, I guess...
I really enjoy games with a tech tree and wish I had opportunities to play more. Beyond the Sun combines tech tree advancements with space exploration and area control in some very interesting ways. We only played once, but hopefully this will hit the table again this year because I really enjoyed it.
Castle Combo is a fast-playing, tableau-building, market-drafting game. You'll only play nine turns in a game, so they go quickly, but the card combinations and scoring situations and restriction to a 3x3 grid create some interesting puzzles. If you're looking for a fast game that's great for casual players but with enough going on to entertain experienced gamers, too, check out Castle Combo.
This is one of those games that is pretty simple on the surface, but can get pretty cutthroat when you play with others. The rules are very simple - either build a tower or get supplies each turn. You can teach the game in just a few minutes. But the decisions are pretty interesting, and the interaction between players is more than you'd expect at first. There are several strategic routes to take in the game, and you'll often feel like you aren't able to do everything. So deciding what strategy to sacrifice and what to focus on is a great puzzle to ponder.
On top of great gameplay, the components are all top-notch. Half of the insert comes out and holds the components during the game. The other half holds the player pieces securely. The tower bits, construction truck pawns, and roofs all look great. I can totally see people coming up with blinged-out copies or painting the tower pieces.
This is a really great, fast-playing, elegant game, and I'm surprised I haven't heard more about it in the board game community.
Our first game of Emerald Skulls was a bit rough as we tried to learn the rules. But once they click, the game runs smoothly and provides plenty of opportunities for excitement and player interaction. It does everything a dice game should do, and it's easy to teach to new players once you know how to play yourself. That's my only issue with this game - the rules are confusing at first. I feel like the rulebook could have been laid out better because it has a lot of flipping back and forth to get through everything. And when you're done, you're still not sure the game makes sense. But a few turns in, and you realize that the mechanics are actually very simple and straightforward. This is a great group betting and press-your-luck game with some really fun choices and opportunities for exciting turns, messing with your opponents, etc. It's not a game for everyone, but if you enjoy fast, loud, exciting gameplay, then this one may be for you.
There is a log going on in this game. From exploring the solar system to puzzling out mysterious signals from space to developing advanced technology and even discovering alien intelligence, SETI is a very thinky game that will scratch a lot of itches.
For as astronomically detailed as SETI is, Orbit takes all Newtonian physics and throws it out of the universe. In Orbit, each player is trying to visit every planet orbiting this chaotic planetary system and then return to their home planet. Gameplay is simple: just play a card, do its action, and draw back up, but the chaos is super fun. Your cards will move both your ship and one or more planets in the system along their defined orbits. However, sometimes you'll move a planet one space, sometimes two, sometimes multiple planets, sometimes all of them, and sometimes planets even reverse direction. It's a super fun game of cat & mouse, and an opponent's turn can lay waste to the best laid plans, usually in hilarious fashion. It's not a very strategic game, but every time I've played has been wonderfully entertaining.
My whole family plays instruments. Violin, cello, guitar, piano, dulcimer, and dabbles with recorder, flute, French horn, and just about anything else that makes music (even the didgeridoo). I play the radio. But I also play board games, and Luthier is a theme that really hits it out of the park for me. There's a ton going on in this game as you work to build instruments for famous composers and musicians and then watch those instruments get used in grand performances. This was a great game, and hopefully I'll have the chance to introduce my family to it, too, someday.
It's tough to find a game that feels like a full game and only plays in 15 minutes. Even with light, filler games like 2 Win, feeling like you played a whole game and not just one hand within 15 minutes is rare. But 2 Win accomplishes that goal. Everyone plays simultaneously, so it plays at about the same speed regardless of the player count. Extra players may add just a couple of minutes, but not much at all. The game seems like complete luck at first, and there is a lot of luck involved. But eventually you see how carefully arranging your cards and choosing what numbers to play can get kind of thinky. By the end of the game, you're both ready for it to be done, and you feel like you've played a full game, not just one hand in a series of hands. It doesn't overstay its welcome, is easy to teach and fun to play, has a decent balance of luck vs strategy for this style of game, and begs to be played again. So even though it's super simple and light, it's a winner in my book! Since September, we've played this eight times, and it's become a staple in my game bag for whenever we're looking to knock something out in 15 minutes. It's not my favorite game in the world, but it's always fun and does exactly what it sets out to do. Every single game has come down to a tense, exciting finish. So, it's a bit of a surprise to have such a light game at #2 on my list, but I've really enjoyed 2 Win.
One of the first big games that I played after getting back into board gaming back in 2014 was Kemet. The guy who introduced me to it had the C3K pack that enables using Cyclades monsters in Kemet and vice versa. I loved Kemet and bought it almost right away after playing (it's still a favorite that, unfortunately, doesn't hit the table as often as I'd like). But that play of Kemet got me curious about Cyclades. It went on my wish list, and about six years later, I got it as a gift from my family. Unfortunatel,y though, it's been on my shelf, unplayed, since. This year, a friend in my game group brought the Cyclades Legendary Edition, which contains elements from some of the expansions, plus new art and other updates and adjustments. It's not the exact same game as the original, but close enough that I jumped at the chance to play. And I loved it. I should have been playing it all along! I know there are some differences between this new edition and the original, but either way, it's a great game that I hope hits the table more in 2026. And who knows, maybe I'll bet my original edition to the table so Cyclades can make the top games list again next year (since they're technically two different games on BGG).
Honorable Mentions (As and Bs that might become As with more plays):
- Butterfly Garden * [A] (2012 - Capstone Games 2025 Edition) - I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. I figured I was getting a light, easy game to play with my family and my 7yo son's friends. It seemed a lot like Tsuro, and it is, but it can also get pretty cutthroat. I really enjoyed the puzzley aspect of trying to figure out how to manipulate the paths to get the butterflies to make it to your garden as well as the options to make butterflies suddenly veer away from opponents' gardens. The game plays fast, is easy to teach, and was a lot more strategic than I expected. I'm very happy to have this in my collection!
- Chronicles of Avel [A] (2021 - Rebel Studio) - Chronicles of Avel is a cooperative tower defence game perfect for families. With a variable setup, fun monsters, and simple combat, this is a great game to play with kids, young and old. We enjoyed this so much that we grabbed the expansion, too, though we haven't played with that yet.
- Commissioned [B] (2016 - Chara Games) - So often, religious-themed games fall into preachy territory or rely solely on trivia. It's rare to find a religious-themed game that's also a good game, but Commissioned is in that small subset of games. Commissioned is a cooperative game similar to Pandemic, but in reverse. Instead of clearing disease off a map, you are trying to spread the Gospel across the map. Gameplay is pretty simple, but the difficulty ramps up as the game progresses, and the end can get pretty intense as the trial cards start to run out.
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- Diamonds [B] (2014 - Stronghold Games) - Diamonds is a modern classic trick-taking game where each suit has a special action when played or won with. The goal is to collect gems for points, but stealing them from opponents is all part of the game. This is a good game to pull out when you're playing with others who are more familiar with standard deck card games.
- Flip 7 [A] (2024 - The Op Games) - Flip 7 is on a lot of game of the year lists from last year and this year. It's a press-your-luck card flipping game where the goal is to flip seven cards without flipping duplicate numbers. A few action cards mix things up, and every game is silly and exciting. It's very similar to another favorite of mine (Dead Man's Chest/Captain Carcass) as well as one of my own designs (MiniSkull Quests), though its simplicity compared to those (which, to be fair aren't all that complex either) makes this a great family-friendly game to take to those family holiday gatherings.
- Goblin Vaults [B] (2023 - Thunderworks Games) - As you go through this list, you'll see a common theme. Trick-takers were popular this year, especially those that do some unusual stuff. Goblin Vaults combines trick-taking with tableau building, and winning the trick isn't always the goal. I got the Swindler's Chest in the Emerald Skulls Kickstarter campaign, so this and Emerald Skulls are often with me together. Both are great games, but Emerald Skulls edges this one out simply for its accessibility.
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- Grand Central Skyport * [A] (2025 - 25th Century Games) - I really enjoyed this game. It's big and looks impressive with its amazing artwork, but it's super simple to teach and play. Turns move quickly, and there are simple but meaningful decisions to make each turn. The puzzle that evolves over the course of the game is pretty interesting. This is VERY much a multiplayer solitaire game, though. There is very little that you can do to interact with or affect other players. Some people like this, some people hate it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
- Ham Helsing * [B] (2025 - Fireside Games) - Ham Helsing was a surprisingly tough coop game. The theme and artwork make it look like a simple, family-friendly game and while it is family-friendly, it's not all that simple. The general mechanics aren't too challenging (though there are a lot of little details to be aware of - they're easy after the first round or two), but the game is relentless. You are constantly under attack by minions spawning everywhere. And the boss creature seems dauntingly difficult. One of the key features of the game is the card upgrade system. Each player has a deck of ten cards with various actions and abilities on them. This is a deck-builder game, but you don't build your deck in the usual way. Instead of adding cards to your deck, you increase the strength and abilities of the cards you already have. Your starting cards are sleeved, and then the cards you buy are clear. Add them to the sleeves, and you upgrade your base abilities. If you are already a fan of Ham Helsing this is a must-buy. If you like cooperative games, this is up there with some pretty good ones.
- Harvest * [B] (2024 - Keymaster Games) - This is a pretty good worker placement game that's a great middle-weight game. It's a good gateway-level game or maybe the next step in. The worker placement options are straightforward and easy to understand, and the game flows nicely. Harvest doesn't push any envelopes or try anything very new - choices and interactions are pretty standard and typical, but it does everything well. A few stand-out bits that are a little different than most other worker placement games are how the crops can grow in your field when you tend them (it feels similar to feeding and breeding your pigs in Happy Pigs) and how clearing your field populates the building market. It scratches the farming worker-placement itch without getting bogged down with slow progress. It's not perfect, but I much preferred it to Agricola (see below).
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- Inori * [B] (2024 - Space Cowboys) - Inori is a fun worker placement, resource management game that doesn't do much to push the envelope, but what it does do it does well. In Inori you are making offerings to appease various elemental spirits and gain favor. What this means essentially is that each turn you place a worker on a space, pay its cost if any, and then gain its reward. The game plays quickly and works well, though the theme feels a bit tacked on to the mechanics. This would be a good family or gateway game but experienced gamers will probably want something that is either crunchier or more tightly integrated with the theme. For a quick, casual game though it's a good way to take up about 40 minutes. In that amount of time the game doesn't overstay its welcome and felt light and refreshing.
- Leaders * [A] (2025 - Studio H) - Everything about it is top-notch, from the gorgeous box to the awesome art and great components, this game was produced to be fun and entertaining even before you play. The component storage solution is pretty awesome, with a drawer built into the box for storing the character standees. As for the gameplay, it is very simple to learn and teach but has quite a bit of depth. It's an abstract strategy similar to Chess or Onitama, but with more theme, kind of like Tash Kalar. With 10 different characters, each with a unique ability, the combinations are pretty close to endless, and no two games will be exactly the same. If you like fast-playing, two-player abstract strategy game with a rich, vibrant theme, then this is a great game to add to your collection.
- Lords of Vegas [A] (2010 - Mayfair Games) - This is a classic from 2010 that still holds up. In fact, just last year a new edition was released that was almost identical to this one (it included a 5-6 player expansion and updated components but all the same rules). It was still an enjoyable mix of resource management, area control, and a bit of gambling (because Vegas). Definitely one I'd be happy to see hit the table again.
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- Lure * [A] (2024 - Allplay) - This is a fast, lightweight filler game with an interesting mechanism for catching fish. Each turn you choose one or more of your dice that you'll use to catch fish. Then everyone reveals (casts) at the same time. Whoever chose the fewest dice fishes first, but with fewer dice you have less chance of catching a fish. Catching fish requires a high enough dice roll and sometimes special requirements (like specific numbers, matching numbers, etc.). The game plays fast - just about 15 minutes, and is super easy to teach. It's not too deep, but the few decisions there are in the game are fun and sometimes interesting. There is a lot of luck involved, but lures give you some opportunities to mitigate some of that luck. Overall I found this to be a fun, light filler and my sons (7, 15, 18) enjoyed it, too.
- Metrorunner [A] (2024 - Thunderworks Games) - We really need more good cyberpunk games. Metrorunner is a rondel-ish worker movement game where you move around a board to different districts, taking actions, collecting resources, and completing contracts. There's a cool puzzle in the center of the board where you can hack pathways to gain bonuses. Everything in Metrorunner worked well and I really want to try it again, though it seemed to fall a little flat with those in my group that played. Maybe next time it'll be better received though because I really liked it, despite losing horribly.
- Relics of Rajavihara * [A] (2021 - Crazy Like a Box) - In Relics of Rajavahara you are an adventurer (like Indy Jones or Lara Croft) working your way through an ancient temple searching for valuable relics to put them in a museum, where they belong (assuming leaving them where they were found isn't an option). But your rival is also searching for treasures to sell on the black market. At least that's the idea driving the slight bit of story. I hesitate to call this a 'game' because you don't really lose, you just restart a level if you don't solve the puzzle. This is more like the Think Fun logic puzzles, like Gravity Maze, etc. Once you've solved a level there's no reason to go back and play it again. However, there are a lot of puzzles and the complexity ramps up as you progress. I thoroughly enjoyed playing through the five main floors (50 levels total) and am looking forward to trying out the extra levels and challenges. It took me three sittings (of maybe 30-45 minutes each) to make it through all 50 levels. The components are amazing quality and a great tactile experience and it definitely has the feel of classic adventure puzzle games like Tomb Raider. If this was an actual game and not just a series of puzzles it would probably have made the top games list instead of just being an honorable mention.
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- Tournament at Avalon [A] (2020 - WizKids) - 2025 was kind of the year of trick-takers since we played quite a few different ones. Tournament at Avalon was one of my favorites. A variety of different cards with different abilities really added to the interest. I like the Arthurian theme, too (this game focuses on the Merlin side of the stories while Tournament at Camelot is more about the Knights of the Round Table, but I haven't played that yet). This is one I definitely hope makes it to the table a few more times in 2026.
- Up or Down [A] (2024 - Capstone Games) - I played this on December 30, so with barely any time left in 2025, and really enjoyed it. It's a simple game that can be taught to anyone familiar with counting in just a few minutes. Turns are fast and simple, but provide some interesting choices. There's a fair amount of luck in the game, but enough strategy and playing off of other players that it stays interesting right to the end. For such simple mechanics (play a card to get a card, add it to your tableau, then draw back to a hand of three) there's a tense progression over the course of the game and some tense moments.
- Verdant [A] (2022 - Flatout Games) - I've only played this once, but definitely want to get it to the table again. Like Planted, the theme of Verdant is raising houseplants. But unlike Planted, which focuses on resource collection and allocation through drafting, Verdant brings a puzzle and tile-laying element to the theme. I really enjoyed the puzzles that grew from the game and hope to get it to the table more this year.
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Busted Expectations:
- Candy Land [C] (1949 - Hasbro) - "Candy Land?" you might ask. "But that's not even a game." Well, you're right, sort of. Candy Land by its standard rules is really just an example of a prolonged die roll. The entire fate of the game is decided when the deck is first shuffled. It's really just designed for very young kids to learn concepts of turns, colors, movement, luck, and gracious winning/losing. These are important concepts for a 3-year-old (though I think games like Race to the Treasure and My First Castle Panic do this much better). So, what were a bunch of middle-aged guys doing playing Candy Land you ask? Well, it kind of started as a joke when one of our game group said he was bringing it to game night because it kind of fit our theme. Then we started talking about what could be done to make Candy Land a little more interesting and we decided to give it a try. So, we made up our own rules in about 5 minutes, then played for about 30. And you know what? It was still a bad game, but we had a ton of fun anyway! These are the rules we played by:
- Players are dealt hands of 4 cards. Simultaneously, players pick a card to play and pass the rest (alternating left/right in each round). All players reveal selected cards together and then movement is applied starting with the player furthest back (a tie is handled with rock-paper-scissors - winner chooses to move first or next). Single cards only move you. Double cards can move you forward or another player back. Pink cards move you. First to the castle wins. On the first turn everyone moves forward, no backward movement.
- Agricola [C] (2007 - Z-Man Games) - Agricola is one of the top games of all time. Released in 2007, it is still in the top 100 games on BGG (currently 62). There are Agricola tournaments and a huge fanbase. I bought this used about 9 years ago and finally got it to the table this past year. I was really excited to hear what all the fuss was about. But I wasn't super impressed. I can see where this was cutting edge almost 20 years ago and I can see how it's influenced so many games since, but it definitely showed its age. There were interesting decisions, but everything felt slow and mechanical. There are other games that scratch the same itch but move more quickly, feel more thematic, and feel more optimized (see Harvest, above). I get why Agricola is a classic, and I'm glad I played, but it's not one I really care to come back to given the other options out there now.
- Re-Chord [F] (2018 - Yanaguana Games) - This was probably the biggest disappointment of the year for me. I bought it on Kickstarter a few years ago because my son plays the guitar and I thought it would be fun to play with him. After sitting on my shelf for 5 or 6 years I finally got a few from my game group to try it out. The theme is awesome and that's about it. Gameplay is OK, mediocre at best. There are some interesting spatial puzzles to work on, but the good stuff is heavily overshadowed by the bad. The rulebook is a hot mess, with unclear and conflicting information right from the setup. Graphical decisions just make the game harder (why do all the cards have the same back?). Gameplay is a lot more chaotic than it should be - is this a take-that, screw your opponent game or a strategic puzzle and pattern game? Make up your mind Re-chord! Add to all that several typos, tedious set up and clean up, and more confusing rulebook sections, and you have a night of frustration, not jamming. It's a shame because the underlying concept could be great. This is a prime example of a self-published game that should have gone through a real publisher with a real development and editing team. It could have been so much more than what it ended up being.
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Other Played Games:
The Bs
- 3-2-1 Countdown * [B] - This is a great casual or filler game! It's super easy to teach, fast to play, and has a good balance of luck and light strategy (based on probability, paying attention to cards revealed, etc.). It probably won't be the primary game played in a game night, even for casual gamers (I can't see more than one or two games in a row holding interest), but it's a great filler for a bigger game night or one in a series of lighter games for casual game nights. There is a little bit of a first player advantage each round, simply because the round ends as soon as someone has a successful hand in order to Countdown or Blast Off and the first player gets each additional turn first, but it's very minor.
- A Gentle Rain * [B] - This is very simple and relaxing to play. It is heavily luck dependent, but there is a little bit of strategy. It does require a decent amount of table space to build out your pond though. I do wish there was a way to control your options a little more so you aren't just at the random luck of the draw. This is nice to pull out when you just want to kill some time and it is relaxing to play. The components are nice, too.
- Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig [B] - I've enjoyed Castles of Mad King Ludwig and really like Between Two Cities, so I was excited to try out this blend of the two games. Somehow, I think I liked it less than each individual game, though I did quite enjoy it. This adds more complexity and some craziness as per the mad king theme, but sacrifices the quick, streamlined decisions and play of Between Two Cities. I'd be down to play it again if someone brought it out, but I'd choose Cities over this given the option.
- Big Sur * [B] - There is surprisingly a lot going on in Big Sur. On its surface it's a simple game of building highways with multi-use cards. They can either be the highway you're building or used to pay the cost of building a highway. So each card costs resources to build or provides a resource. But building cards into your highway gives other benefits. Some score more points and some provide permanent resources. Each card also has scenery icons on it that help create "stretches" of highway that score end game points. It sounds simple, and mechanically it is, but choosing what cards to build and what to spend gets to be a tough choice sometimes. We found the game to be somewhat AP prone and there is a lot of downtime between turns, but overall, we enjoyed the game and would like to play again.
- Bootleggers [B] - Despite coming out in 2004, Bootleggers still held up fairly well. There were a few aspects that felt a bit dated and I'd love to see a new edition of the game that streamlines and modernizes some aspects of the game, but overall I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'd definitely be down to play it again, especially since we had to cut the one game a little short.
- Bullet Heart [B] - This kind of has the feel of an arcade game played on a tabletop. It's a cool combination of fast pattern matching and real-time play. I'm not completely sure how much I like the real-time aspect of the game, but it definitely makes it feel more like an arcade game and adds that intensity you get from arcades.
- Cast Your Nets * [B] - If you are a fan of The Chosen then you'll want this game. If you're not then this is still a fun, casual card game in the vein of Uno, SkipBo, and the like. There's a bit less direct player interaction than something like Uno, and that's mostly driven by the Galilee cards, but it's the type of game that you can get a family to play or a few friends while having a conversation. It's also a fine filler game for gamers. I played twice last night with some gamer friends, and we knocked out two three-player games in 13 minutes each. There's a little bit of strategy, a decent amount of luck, but it's a good conversation game, i.e. a game you can play while you have conversations about something else (like the latest episode of The Chosen). Overall, this is a great, casual game for fans of The Chosen, though there is one contradiction between the rulebook and reference cards (follow the rulebook), and don't bother removing cards based on player count.
- Caution Signs [B] - This is a party game about drawing crazy caution signs. Match an adjective with a noun to create crazy warnings, like caution: Suspicious Sloth or Fashionable Firefighter. Then mix all the sign-halves together and the guesser has to figure out what drawing goes with what sign pieces. It's chaotic fun, though I think the time to draw listed in the rules is too short. We played with a minute to draw and even that was stressful, but still fun.
- DCeased: Gotham City Outbreak * [B] - DCeased is essentially Zombicide but with a DC Superheroes and Villains theme. The components are great, as expected from CMON (though with cardboard standees instead of minis for the zombies to keep costs down). The gameplay is basically the same as Zombicide. There are a few minor differences, but nothing groundbreaking. If you've played Zombicide you'll be playing this in no time. The rulebook is well laid out and it's pretty easy to find references for everything. It would be nice if some of the rules unique to DCeased were highlighted, but I suspect with the DC characters their target audience includes people not already familiar with the Zombicide franchise. Overall, this scratches the same overwhelming zombie apocalypse feel as the original game, but with a minor superhero theme. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's a fine addition to my game collection.
- Detective Club [B] - I only played this once, but would be very willing to play more and with a wider variety of players. This has a Dixit or Mysterium vibe while also a touch of Spyfall. Players are trying to pick cards from their hand that matches a category or word selected by another player, but one player doesn't know the word. Then the payers have to vote on who they think the imposter is based on what they know and what picture cards everyone else played. The cards are very surreal with a lot of different imagery, so it makes things interesting as you see how others are trying to interpret the cards.
- Fishing [B] - Fishing is a pretty unique trick-taking game that incorporates an element of deck-building. It's pretty chaotic and swingy, but a ton of fun. We played this quite a bit for a few weeks before moving on to other light fare when needed, but I wouldn't be opposed to playing this more.
- Flash Point: Fire Rescue [B] - This is another game that's been around for a while now. It's a cooperative firefighting game that I've actually had on my shelf for a few years after I found it at Goodwill for just a few bucks. I finally played it this year and quite enjoyed it. I like how each player really feels like they can contribute to the overall goal and everyone falls into roles that they can excel at, but everyone can still do everything when needed.
- Fuego * [B] - If you like trick-taking games (like Hearts, Spades, Skull King, Cabaret, or tons of others) then you'll want to check out Fuego. It does trick taking with a bit of a twist. You collect flame tokens when you play low cards but win tricks with high cards. Flames are essentially points so you want to balance the cards that you play and when. You also have wildfire cards that change things up. Like most trick-taking games this is pretty light and casual, and does have some swinginess depending on the cards that are dealt, but it's a ton of fun and relatively easy to teach, especially if players are already familiar with other trick-taking games. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the awesome components and incredible box. The box is like a big box of matches, complete with striker on the side!
- Grifters: Nexus [B] - Grifters is one of my favorite games. I first played it in 2014 in its You Dirty Rat prototype version and loved it then. I backed the first Kickstarter campaign and the game became a hit with my game group. The hand-building mechanic was novel and the take-that was nice enough that it was fun and not mean. So I backed the standalone sequel Nexus when it came to Kickstarter, too. Then it sat on my shelf for years. I played the base game a few times, but never Nexus until this year. There are a few differences, namely different specialist abilities and a different method of completing jobs, but the overall game is much the same. Grifters is definitely an A rating for me, but I gave Nexus a B, not because it's worse, but because it just feels like more of the same. I don't know that there's a real reason to own both and I think I like the job acquisition in the original a little bit more. I'll probably keep both though and look at combining the decks or something.
- ito [B] - This is a kind of cross between Scattergories, The Mind, and Cardline. Everyone gets a card with a number 1-100 on it, then one player draws a category card. Everyone takes turns naming something from the category that can be ranked on a scale from 1-100. The thing they name has to be at the rank of the number they have on their card. Then they place the card face-down where they think it belongs numerically compared to the other played cards (which are also face-down). After everyone has played their card and any adjustments are made during discussions, cards are revealed and everyone wins if the sequence is correct. What makes things really interesting is that the categories are very subjective. How do everyday objects used as weapons rank from weakest to strongest? Where does a stick rank? Is it stronger or weaker than a butter knife? How about a yo-yo? These are the types of things you'll need to figure out in ito.
- Klask [B] - Klask has been around for quite a while, but, aside from a quick demo at a convention about 10 years ago, I hadn't played until last week. It's a fun, fast-paced dexterity game in the vein of air hockey or foosball, but on a very small table. Like similar games, it has the issue of pieces getting propelled off the surface every so often, but it's a lot of fun and does exactly what it aims to do. Unfortunately, it takes up quite a bit of space and isn't easy to store, so it probably won't ever be in my collection unless I somehow manage to get a dedicated game room someday.
- Marbleous * [B] - My family enjoys Potion Explosion and I thought this would also be something they would enjoy. I was right! This is a little lighter/simpler than Potion Explosion, but it scratches a similar itch, is easier to teach, and plays quicker. The standard rules are fine for younger kids, but for adults you'll probably want to play with the advanced variant that rewards combo pops. That adds a bit to the puzzle and strategy behind the decisions that you make.
- Penguin Party * [B] - This is a decent filler game. It plays quickly, is easy to teach, and has a nice balance of strategy and luck. After playing though, we were wondering if playing with imperfect information might be better. There are five colors of cards with seven cards of each color (eight of blue). You're working on making a 36-card pyramid, so it's easy to count cards and figure out how many are still in the game. We thought it might be interesting to have 8 of each card and then discard four unseen at the start of the game so you don't have perfect information. Unfortunately, there's no way to try that out without getting a second copy of the game. But, it's fine for the type of game it is. Earning negative points and then the winner being the person with the most points (i.e. closest to zero) felt awkward, too. I feel like it would have been easier to just have the points be positive and then say the winner was the player with the lowest score. But that's a minor nitpick. Overall, I enjoyed the game and would pull it out again if we needed a 15-minute filler.
- Score Cards * [B] - This is one of those games that you can pull out and just play. There's no setup (shuffle the cards and deal out five to each player), rules can be taught in a minute or two, and games move quickly. It's a great family game, filler at game night, or pub game. I love that it comes with a dry-erase score sheet built right into the box. I do wish it supported six players because it's the style of game that should work well with a few more players, but there is a balance to the cards that might make six too many. It's great at 3 or 4 though.
- Skull King [B] - This is a classic of the Grandpa Beck's lineup and I played it twice last year, most recently just a few days ago. It's a trick-taking and bidding game where you bid on the number of tricks you'll be able to win each round. You'll play ten rounds, starting with just one card in your hand in the first round and finally with ten cards in the tenth round. So each round gets harder to figure out how many hands you'll win but the stakes are higher with each successive round. And to add more chaos to the game, you also have pirates, mermaids, treasure, sails, whales, the kraken, and the Skull King that change things up whenever played. I still don't quite understand the scoring, but have had fun both times I played.
- Spots [B] - This is a light, dice rolling press-your-luck game about collecting dalmatians by applying spots (pips) needed on each card. It plays fast, has some fun options, and has a cute theme. It's definitely one I wouldn't mind playing as a filler again.
- Stable Times * [B] - Stable Times is a great, somewhat light game about collecting horses in your stable. The mechanics are very simple - on your turn you have an option to change out a horse card from your hand with a horse card from the middle of the table (the field), then get to put up to two horses into different aisles (columns) of your stable. Finally, optionally discard then draw back up to 3 horses and replenish the field. Turns can take as little as 15 seconds. The challenge is in how horses are placed in your stable. There are four aisles, and each may only have one type of horse and at most three horses. Each horse scores points differently based on where it is placed as well as where other horses are placed in the stable. And that's where the depth comes in. You get presented with a nice little puzzle throughout the game and it's fun to try and figure out what's the best choice each turn. I found Stable Times to be enjoyable and a fun, light game that had more depth than I expected. You won't be disappointed to add Stable Times to your collection, but if you aren't drawn in by the theme or looking for a gateway style game that scratches the tableau-building and situational scoring itch, then there isn't anything exceptionally unique or innovative about Stable Times. But it is a great gateway level game with simple mechanics that are easy to teach and understand. It would be great for introducing non-gamers to more modern games, especially if the horse theme speaks to them.
- Traders of Osaka [B] - This is a reskin of the classic Traders of Carthage. It is a fun pickup-and-deliver game that also has elements of press-your-luck. I enjoyed it enough that I'd be willing to play again, though it didn't stand out as being anything exceptional. It definitely held its own for being an almost 20 year old game though, which is more than I can say for some other 'classic' games.
- Tricky Kids [B] - One of the last new to me games I played this year, this was also probably the most unusual trick-taking game I played. In Tricky Kids everyone is delt a hand of cards from three different suits. But the cards have no values! You use a dry-erase marker to add your own values to the cards, but so that the sum of all cards doesn't exceed 21. Then you play, following suit with high-cards winning (ties cancel out). Each trick is played for a different amount of points, determined by randomly placed tokens. This game really makes you think differently about trick-taking and how to win tricks. Giving yourself high-value cards means you have to sacrifice on other cards. It was a very interesting take that I'd love to try again, especially with the advanced cards that add a new twist each round.
- Vampire Village * [B] - This is definitely not the type of game to play with friends that can't take a beating. What you spend the first round building up the second round will tear right back down. Then you'll build more of your village for the third round just to tear it down again. Vampire Village is a fast, chaotic destruction. It plays quickly, just 20-30 minutes, and I do wish it lasted just a tad longer. It feels a little like it's over just as it's begun, however, anything more and it might start to feel too samey from round to round. As it is, this is a fun game but probably one to play as a filler every so often and not all the time. It's fun, but I can see it wearing a little thin after a few games, especially if played multiple times in succession.
- Verdant Arizona * [B] - I'm quite enjoying Verdant Arizona. It's fast and thinky, and creates a cool puzzle. It plays great at both 1 and 2 player counts. Mechanically it's simple enough for an 8-10 year old, but the puzzles created through the simple gameplay are pretty interesting. Plus the game is small (fits in a mint tin) so you can take it just about anywhere.
- Welcome to the Dungeon [B] - A multi-player press-your-luck card game where on your turn you have the choice to either add a baddie to the dungeon, remove equipment from the dungeon that will help the hero, or pass. The last player to pass has to send the hero through the dungeon that everyone built together with the hope of survival. It's a game of waiting as long as possible but not too long, hoping if you get sent through the dungeon that you still have the tools to survive. It was fun to watch others fail and exciting when you (or anyone) succeeded.
The Cs
- 14 Frantic Minutes * [C] - 14 Frantic Minutes is just that, 14 minutes of frantically trying to solve a puzzle. There is some good and some not so good about this game. The overall package is great. The components are pretty good, the artwork is nice, and the rules are clear. This is a real-time puzzle game that scratches a similar itch as games like FUSE or even Escape the Temple. But, this only gets a C rating for a few reasons. First, this is really best at 2 players, though it supports up to 4. With four it feels like there are just too many cooks in the kitchen. I really enjoyed this with just my 15yo son and I, but when I played with four players it didn't have the same feeling. There was too much opportunity for one or two players to get pushed out of the decision space. Since it's a timed game, there's not much you can do if some players are figuring out the puzzle and someone else isn't. They just sit by, and watch things happen. Next, the choice of colors for the pieces could have been better. They're too similar in some cases, making it challenging to find your pieces between rooms. Finally, there's not much replayability to the game. I played several games in a row with my 15yo son and by the time we stopped we had a good flow going and were winning even the hardest difficulty pretty easily. It didn't take long for us to feel like we had it solved, even though it was technically a different puzzle every time. Each game and each room in each game started to feel like just more of the same thing. We enjoyed our time but after one evening I don't think either of us have a strong urge to go back to it. We experienced it, enjoyed it, and now we're done.
- Blood on the Clocktower [C] - An interesting social deduction game where everyone has a role. If you like social deduction games this is very much in line with Werewolf or Mafia.
- Finca [C] - Nothing wrong with this rondel game about collecting fruit and completing contracts. I almost gave it a B, but it just didn't do anything for me and there are other games I'd much prefer to play.
- GPS [C] - An interesting premise of trying to get your satellites in order, but it was too fiddly and a bit too random.
- Guns or Treasure [C] - A fast, simple pirate themed bluffing game. It played ok, but felt like it could be more with a few small adjustments. The optional rules might help with that a little.
- Minecraft Explorers [C] - My son got this for his birthday and we finally played it a few weeks ago. It's a light cooperative game about exploring the Minecraft world, finding items, and filling crates with various things before the monsters take over. Mechanically the game is simple, but the difficulty can easily be ramped up by increasing the required chests to fill. However, there's not much actual depth to the game. A lot of it is random and the basic strategy is to just search as much as you can and cycle through the deck looking for locations that don't cause more monsters to appear. There's a lot of luck, a little bit of strategy, a light Minecraft theme (there's no actual crafting, so the theme feels a little pasted on). My son enjoys it for now, but I imagine it won't hold his attention for very long as each game tends to feel just like the others.
- Portals and Prophets [C] - A decent religious set-collection game where you are travelling around a map trying to collect books of the bible.
- Rainbow * [C] - This is a decent pocket-sized game that plays fast (10-minutes or so) and is quick to teach. It is very light though, so didn't really have much staying power and my group and I quickly lost interest.
- Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game [C] - Enjoyable, but just like the main game I felt like the engine was too slow to develop. I'd be happy if this played in 1/2 the time. Then it would be a top-10 contender.
The Ds
- Finding Atlantis * [D] - Finding Atlantis is a deduction game that relies on an app to generate random maps so you have a different puzzle to solve every game. It's an interesting game and overall plays fine (I really liked it at 2 players). However, this suffers from the biggest problem with app-reliant games. If the app doesn't work you can't play the game. On my second play the app crashed about 75% through. I'm very disappointed because we were quite enjoying the game and were looking forward to more plays. But I don't think I'll ever play again knowing that 30 minutes in the app could crash and everything would be lost. It was a very frustrating experience that I don't care to repeat. If this didn't rely on a buggy app it would have been a favorite game, I think.
- Planet Voyagers * [D] I've played a number of Simply Fun games with my family over the years and this was pretty typical of what I've come to expect from their games. It all works mechanically, has great components, is educational and presents interesting information, but feels uninspired and dull. My 15yo says it was a game that seemed like it belonged in a classroom to teach about the planets more than entertain players with the gameplay. And my 7yo said the game felt like there just wasn't anything going on in it. He did like the space theme though
- Redemption: City of Bondage [D] - An old game from the '90s that really felt its age. It's a roll-and-move game based on biblical characters searching a city to rescue other biblical characters and defeat demons and monsters from the bible.
- Spicy Dice * [D] - This is a fun, casual solo game though there's not much interaction in a multiplayer game (unless you use the Challenge rules). For multiplayer casual dice rolling I prefer Panda Royale, though that's much more chaotic (and fun). There are different rules depending on which edition you are playing (Chili Dice in Europe).
- Tack [D] - Disappointing gameplay, but it's much better with two.
- Taco Cat Goat Cheese [D] - Absolute chaos. Not my cup of tea.
The Fs
- The Keeyp [F] - A game that seemed like a good idea, but felt unfinished. It felt like the designer rushed to self publish when this should have gone through a lot more playtesting and development.
- UNO Quatro [F] - Chaotic Connect 4 where you can actually swap the order of columns. Too easy to win and too hard to stop someone from just drawing a tile that lets them win.
Prototypes
I only played two new Prototypes this year. One was mine and the other was a friend's. I was unable to attend any Protospiels or other cons this year.
- Laners of Stoneybrook Towers - By Aaron Zvonek. A lane-battling, tower-defense game for two players where each player is trying to attack and counter-attack while defending their three towers from their opponent.
- Troll Hunters - This is my design. It's kind of a semi-cooperative trick-taking deck-builder where you don't want to have the strongest card (because that's who the troll attacks) but you want to be strong enough to deal the final blow to the attacking troll. It still needs more work and has been tabled while I work on finalizing things for Rolling Seas and get Duct Tape Roll ready for pitching.
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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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