40 — The Castles of Burgundy (2011)
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2022 #39
Almost the same place! That’s impressive for the middle of the list. We played the new special edition this year (with the acrylic tiles but we looked at the minis too). There are some interesting modules they’ve added, but the original game is still great.
39 — Fire & Axe: A Viking Saga (2004)
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2022 #16
It’s a little sad to see this one drop this far, but it is showing its age at this point, and it didn’t make it to the table this year. A drop was bound to happen. I’ve even been toying with ideas on how to add a little something extra to the game. I’m actually surprised that despite being reprinted with new editions over the years, it never got an expansion of any kind.
38 — Golden Dragon Fantasy Gamebooks (1984)
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New in 2023
I was a little apprehensive about the mechanisms in this one which are even simpler than Fabled Lands (by the same person), but I found that this simplicity worked really well. And it being a stand-alone game instead of a campaign was a plus. Campaigns can just be really hard to get through. I’ll definitely get more of this series which has been re-released with very affordable print-on-demand versions on Amazon.
37 — The Witcher: Old World (2023)
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New in 2023
I had given up playing this one when I was the only one in our group interested during the crowdfunding campaign, but luckily, my friend bought the core box to try it out and we all enjoyed it. I had planned to try it out solo too, but didn’t find time for it (we got into it pretty late in the year). I could see this one going up next year.
36 — League of Dungeoneers (2022)
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New in 2023
While this probably wins the award for most problems with the rules and components (so many problems), the gameplay is actually smoother than Folklore and it’s basically a board game version of my favorite RPG. While this and Folklore try to bridge the gap between board games and RPG, I enjoy LoD more because it leans more into RPG whereas Folklore leans more board game. Hopefully, the updates will help fix the severe rules and components issues.
35 — Chronicles of Frost (2018)
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2022 #3
It surprised me to see this drop so far, but I have played it a lot, and I don’t have the one expansion for it (which I had heard isn’t that great anyway). It’s still a great game, but it has felt a little played out. I don’t see it dropping much further because I still enjoy it, but it’s such a shame that this one didn’t get more support.
34 — Magic: The Gathering (1993)
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2022 #14
This one fell simply because last year, there were several sets I really enjoyed, but since then, there were several sets that I skipped. I just didn’t have an interest in the Phyrexian storyline, and I have no investment in those characters. I just want Magic to go to other cool planes (which they’ve started doing again). It doesn’t help that Wizards of the Coast has been abusing their own game like crazy. Who knows what 2024 will look like for Magic.
33 — London (Second Edition-2017)
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2022 #51
I’m a bit surprised to see this move up, but I just enjoy this style of game a lot. Really tight economic game, card game, a little bit of an engine builder, and definitely has some satisfying turns. It can also be brutal when things go off the rails!
32 — Yokohama (2016)
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2022 #60
I think Yokohama moved up for some of the same reasons London did (minus the card game part, of course). It’s a tight economic game with a very different sense of engine building as the literal buildings you build around the board improve your actions at those locations. And the tech cards you can buy can feel really powerful. Like Lacerda games, Yokohama can also give you really satisfying turns where you fire off with things that you spent turns lining up perfectly.
31 — Tokaido (2012)
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2022 #6
This one dropped a bit. It’s hard to really put my finger on why. I think I’ve just been playing heavier games this past year and also been enjoying a lot of mid-weight games, so it’s harder for light games to make the same splash they used to. Still, 31 is a good place.
Thomas P. King, author and game designer 
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