20 — Critical IF Gamebooks (1994)
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New in 2023
This is a diceless series of gamebooks (which may or may not have inspired the Legacy of Dragonholt from FFG) by Dave Morris (his third appearance on my top 100). There’s some light resource management, but what really works for this one is that it’s very focused on choices instead of luck. And the settings are more interesting than the typical fantasy setting a lot of gamebooks use.
19 — Root (2018)
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New in 2023
My friend had bought this to play with the game group but ended up letting it go after realizing that it probably wouldn’t work for my brother (doesn’t like confrontation in games). But after getting in 2-player gamedays, he repurchased it, and even gifted me a copy of the app version. We played with the hirelings which were very recommended, and it worked great. This was lots of fun, and I can’t wait to try out some of the other factions.
18 — Frostgrave (2015)
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New in 2023
Miniatures games is an entire genre I wish I could play more, but it’s an expensive genre. The nice thing about Frostgrave is that you can just use the rulebook with your own minis. They have official miniatures, but the size is standard, so you can use whatever. It’s also pretty lenient with what kind of terrain and how much you want to use. And since it’s skirmish level, you don’t need tons of minis to get it played. I still really want to play it more. I’ll just need to buy the official solo book.
17 — Raiders of the North Sea (2015)
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2022 #11
This is a big one that is so much better with the expansions. They add more to do, more ways to get stuff done, ways to mitigate the randomness, and more theme! Still haven’t gotten it to the table solo, though. But now that my friend printed his own copy of the cards, I’ll probably try it.
16 — Nusfjord (2017)
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2022 #22
This finally made it to gameday for a 3-player game. It’s such an interesting system with different resources that all have something unique about them; how you collect them, how you spend them. And each deck you use can have a surprising impact on the game. If that wasn’t enough, it’s a great solo game.
15 — A Feast for Odin (2016)
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2022 #10
Despite somehow not getting the expansion to the table, I still enjoy the base game. Tons of depth. Insane levels of depth. Really tough decisions, and a classic “feed everyone” aspect that can slap you if you aren’t paying attention. Playing solo is also really fun.
14 — DinoGenics (2019)
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2022 #15
It’s a good game (with an awesome theme) without the expansion, but the expansion is another that really improves the overall experience. The new dinosaurs, new DNA cards, the specialist cards, and new enclosures; all really fantastic. This is my Jurassic Park game of choice, it nails the whole package. Now I just need a game to do the horror part where you run from dinosaurs.
13 — Champions of Midgard (2015)
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2022 #18
This year, I finally played the physical game, and even tried out a really good solo mode for it. It’s certainly not as modern as other games, but I think I’ll be getting the expansions next year. Just an easy game to pick up, thematic, and just fun.
12 — Iki (2015)
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2022 #8
I actually thought this might fall really far after the last play where my brother’s disinterest in the game negatively affected my enjoyment, but at the end of the day, I still love this game. As with most of my favorite Euros, it’s a tight economic game with tough choices, but a really engaging sense of build-up. Haven’t tried the expansion yet, but this is one where the base game feels well-rounded enough, it doesn’t feel like it needed an expansion. I’ll still play it anyway.
11 — Blood Rage (2015)
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New in 2023
I really wanted to play this ever since it came out, but my brother doesn’t usually like these types of games. But it happened to get added to BGA, so I forced him to try it! And he actually enjoyed it. And I enjoyed it enough to buy the app version to play it some more. Still unsure if we’re getting a physical copy, it depends a lot on whether my brother will enjoy repeated plays (only the Loki strategy rewards you for losing battles). Great drafting, really fun powers, even a bit of engine building to it, really tense. Great game and I’m glad I’ve finally gotten to play it.
Thomas P. King, author and game designer 
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