End of Year & Top 100 (2024)

Posted byThomasPKingPosted inArticlesTags:, , , , ,

80 — Yokohama

2022 #60
2023 #32

Still a really solid, heavy Euro with an interesting core mechanism of worker movement, and lots of tight resource management and building up to big turns. Haven’t played the new edition, though, and it’s been a bit since we last played (and I think that was on BGA), so the drop is to be expected.

79 — Cascadia

2022 #77
2023 #54

There’s been a noticeable increase in tile-laying, pattern-building games, but Cascadia is still a great one. And it’s still one of the most streamlined without sacrificing the tough decisions. However, one such tile-laying, pattern-building game has swooped in with a theme that’s more my thing (though I enjoy animals too).

78 — 7 Wonders Duel

2022 #59
2023 #66

I suspect I’ll enjoy the Lord of the Rings version more, but I haven’t played it. Until then, it’s just 7 Wonders Duel here. I had expected it to drop more in the face of many more 2-player games that I played this year, but the core gameplay is still a lot of fun. We’ll have to see where Lord of the Rings Duel ends up next year.

77 — Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island

New in 2024

I had been looking forward to this one for a long time. Then I had to wait some more because the Gamefound campaign took forever to fulfill. And then! when we got it to the table for the tutorial, it turned out to be only for 2-players. But we eventually got a real game in. Since this one is so scenario-driven, it’s hard to say where it could land in the future. It’ll depend a lot on how good the scenarios are and if I find some favorites. But the game as a whole is still really good. It’s a survival/crafting game on the table!

76 — Tokaido

2022 #6
2023 #31

It’s continued to fall, but maybe the upcoming Stonemaier version will reignite the game for me. I still really enjoy it, and we even played the sequel, Namiji, this year. There’s just a lot of competition in this weight class, even with a Japanese setting (one in particular that the whole group enjoys).

75 — Marvel Champions: The Card Game

2022 #55
2023 #86

We tried to get this out again at the end of the year, but fate said no. I was really hoping one more play would solidify where this goes on my list. I like it (it’s very up my alley), and I love playing with X-Men characters, but I want to like it a lot more. And I haven’t even gotten into deck customization yet! There’s a lot of potential for this to jump up a lot higher.

74 — Wingspan

2022 #56
2023 #80

While my friend has Wyrmspan, we never got to it this year. I’m not really sure which I’d prefer between them, but I still really enjoy the core system anyway. There are quite a few games like this out there these days, but Wingspan is still very smooth and satisfying. I’ll have to get the app one of these days.

73 — Mosaic: A Story of Civilization

2022 #31
2023 #55

Despite not getting this back to the table this year (and still haven’t touched the expansion), it’s still pretty sharp in my memory. Strong economic elements, tableau-building, empire-building, and all wrapped in a game that doesn’t overstay its welcome. I’m really hoping this gets another play in the coming year.

72 — Star Wars: Outer Rim

2022 #27
2023 #81

It’s more or less hovering in place. It’s still one of my favorite pick-up-and-deliver sandbox-style games, and of course, a theme I’m a fan of. For whatever reason, my brother didn’t enjoy Unfinished Business as much as I did. Maybe this year I’ll try it out solo again (been a long time since I played it solo).

71 — Dead Reckoning

2023 #75

Despite having some issues with the combat (player combat felt almost pointless), I’ve continued to enjoy the game overall. We threw in a couple of small expansions last time. Saga 1 was interesting, though we didn’t get to interact with it too much. But the Sea Dogs were disappointing. Still, I look forward to playing some more and seeing what else we can throw in.

Top 100: 70-61
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

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.

      Like

      Reply
  2. Pingback: Catching Up on Games (4/9/25) – Thomas P. King, author and game designer
  3. Pingback: End of Year & Top 100 (2025) – Thomas P. King, author and game designer

Leave a comment