End of Year & Top 100 (2024)

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100 — Friday

New in 2024

This just missed my top 100 last year, and I really tried to figure out if I should swap it here with something else. But, at the end of the day, I really like the gameplay. But I hate the art (hence the tiny thumbnail), and I can’t stand the theme of “Robinson Crusoe is such a mouth-breathing, smooth-brained moron that you have to help him or he’ll just accidentally kill himself.” How has this never gotten a reprint with a new theme and art? I’ll just have to make my own.

99 — Golden Dragon Gamebooks

2023 #38

It’s dropped quite a bit, but I’d happily pop one of these open for another play. Very easy to play, and fun to explore. I wish there were more gamebooks like this series; lately, it seems everyone is trying to one-up Fabled Lands instead—bigger campaigns with more stuff.

98 — Tokaido Duo

New in 2024

This is one of those anomalies where I’m not sure if it should really be here, but the more I’ve thought about this game, the more I remember enjoying it. It’s such a snappy game with some neat ideas. Sure, some turns won’t have decisions to make—the dice have decided for you—but there’s plenty to think about on most turns, and it’s such a fast game anyway.

97 — Unsettled

2022 #65
2023 #57

Despite this not getting to the table much this year, though it did get played, it still made it on the list! Not all of the planets have been great; one with little puzzle pieces felt a little too random with how you acquire the puzzle pieces. But it’s still a unique co-op with a focus on solving a pretty smooth puzzle with unique planets (or non-planets). The writing is still not for me, though.

96 — Ra

New in 2024

Our first Knizia game. We weren’t sure if it’d go over well with my brother, but we all enjoyed it. The auction system here is just super clean and tense. In a weird way, it reminds me a lot of head-to-head card games and trying to math out whether you have a good attack or not. And then the set collection is also really satisfying. We’ll definitely be looking to get this back out soon.

95 — Near and Far

2022 #58
2023 #87

While it shares some of the same problems as Now or Never (which did not make it onto the top 100), it takes up far less space and time. The combat isn’t nearly as good, but it has stronger Euro mechanics. So, though it’s been a while since this hit the table, it’s just easier to get to the table. The expansion adds some neat stuff, too. I’d still like to play it again, though it’s unlikely to make it on her next year. There are just a lot of other games that tick the same boxes for me.

94 — Legends of Andor

New in 2024

Speaking of, this is one of them. Legends of Andor has a similar feel of being a hybrid game between puzzly Euro and thematic Ameritrash, but it has far less narrative than Near and Far (which is where much of the playtime comes from) and better combat. We didn’t get too much into this yet, which is why it’s still low, but I suspect it will go up with more plays further into the scenarios that up the complexity.

93 — Summoner Wars

2022 #93
2023 —

For some reason, this had dropped a LOT last year and totally fell of the list, but here it is somehow getting back to the exact same spot as before. I’ve not had a chance to play 2nd edition, but first edition is still a lot of fun. It’s a very streamlined mix of card game and tactical skirmish game. These days, though, I’ve got a lot of head-to-head games to play, so I don’t know if I’ll ever have time to give 2nd edition a go.

92 — Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition)

2022 #42
2023 #49

Though the drop was expected, it’s still hanging on. The dungeon-crawling genre has gone off in directions I’m not interested in, so this is still one of the best for me, despite some notable flaws. But one of the spiritual successors has finally supplanted it.

91 — Root

2023 #19

19 was probably higher than it really should have been. This is another I’d love to get back to the table, but we just haven’t gotten to it yet. But it’s a really interesting game with plenty of tough decisions. The rules, especially for the mercenaries, could have been clearer, but it’s overall not as difficult to learn as people often make it out to be.

Top 100: 90-81
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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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