End of Year & Top 100 (2024)

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20 — Champions of Midgard

2022 #18
2023 #13

I was all set for this to fall by a lot, but I managed to get both expansions this year and played with both of them. They really do update the game and make it more modern. It’s no wonder they’re re-releasing it as one giant box. Just a really smooth game that still holds up (with the expansions) as a great hybrid game. Even though the dice frequently don’t like me for some reason!

19 — Undaunted 2200: Callisto

New in 2024

The Undaunted series is another one I have wanted to try for some time. When my friend and I started getting 2-player games in, he bought a copy of the original, but before we got around to it, they announced Callisto. The sci-fi theme is way more my style, and it includes the solo/co-op mode in the box! The solo rules are far more complicated than I was expecting, but the general flow of the game is very easy to get the hang of. And I love the new stuff like the elevation dice and the mechs. I’m still learning the solo bot, but it’s been a lot of fun so far.

18 — Stroganov

2022 #17
2023 #6

RIP Game Brewers. This is honestly an incredible game overshadowed by its terrible initial production (which I, personally, think was a counterfeit shop and not a real printer). The expansion and reprint are still on the way, but the base game is such a fun experience. Tons of different actions to take and different strategies to pursue. I hope once the reprint gets out to people I can get a copy or even someone’s old copy.

17 — A Feast for Odin

2022 #10
2023 #15

Still haven’t played the expansion, but it’s just such a great game. And wow, the depth of this game. It took me at least a few games to feel like I knew what I was doing, and it’s still daunting when we start. Unlike most Euros where you’re very much encouraged to focus on one or two strategies, this one actually has built-in ways to jump from one strategy and go into another. Have some wood lying around? Build a ship; that opens up all kinds of options. Done with the ship? Send it off for big points and move on to something else. I can’t wait to try out the expansion.

16 — Knarr

2023 #5

I’m glad to see others enjoying this one. It’s such a small, unassuming game, but a really great one. Very easy-going set collection with just a bit of engine-building. But you’re encouraged to dismantle part of your engine! And I have to say, the solo mode I released is pretty great too.

15 — A Game of Thrones: The Card Game 2nd Edition

2022 #67
2023 —

I had first played this with print-and-play demo decks way back when it was coming out as a CCG. Loved it then. And this was the game I saw in Barnes & Noble years ago when the LCG had come out, and recognizing it led me down a rabbit hole to Runebound, the game that got me into modern board gaming. Finally, my friend decided to get into 2nd edition because we’ve been playing 2-player card games more and he loved Game of Thrones. 2nd edition made some great improvements, and I can’t wait to get it back to the table. Luckily, my friend managed to get a great deal on a whole collection.

14 — Heat: Pedal to the Metal

2023 #51

I’m still kind of surprised at how far this has moved up. It’s not normally my kind of theme, and family-weight games aren’t usually the ones that grab me, but the card play in this is just so satisfying. And the modules you can add in, especially upgrades, are amazing (except the campaign mode; it was just okay). I hope they support this one for years. The solo mode is also probably one of my favorite solo modes; incredibly easy to operate and works very well.

13 — Arkham Horror: The Card Game

2022 #86
2023 —

I wanted to love this one when I first played the old (bad) core box. But at the time, I couldn’t really afford to dive in. For some reason, my friend decided he wanted to get into this one, despite not previously being into the Cthulhu theme (though AuZtrailia was the first game to teach him that he doesn’t mind it). We played through the whole Dunwich campaign this year, our first completed campaign of the few campaign games we’ve tried. Great card play, just the right amount of story that doesn’t add 1-2 hours of reading, and some unique challenges in the scenarios.

12 — Obsession

2023 #8

This is certainly one of the weirder games that I love. The theme really shouldn’t do it for me, but it does. It should be considered an ugly game, but it’s actually not? It should be a very dry experience, but it’s not? Everything in this one clicks. I love the economics of it, the worker management, and the evolving of your estate. And it has an amazing solo mode! I’ve been tempted to get my own copy, but there’s quite a bit of it out there (and several different printings).

11 — Frostgrave

2023 #18

My miniatures game of choice. Just super clean rules, great customization with your wizard and apprentice (the main reason I prefer this over Rangers of Shadowdeep), and now with official solo rules (that I haven’t tried out yet). 2025 is very likely going to be the year I buy some real terrain (and a playmat, if I can; these things sell out constantly) and dive back in for another campaign.

Top 100: 10-1
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5 thoughts on “End of Year & Top 100 (2024)”

    1. It’s mostly the rules that are listed in the rulebook, but there are a couple of extra variant rules in the Wizard’s Companion (including how to generate a point threshold for winning). It’s very easy to run.

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