So this list is going to be completely different than the last one. I don’t want it to be games that were new in 2022 that I played. I did that list on Monday, and you can read that here. This list is games that didn’t come out in 2022 that I tried for the first time. And again, I could just go to my Top 100 games, pick the Top 5 that were new to the list, but that’s no fun, so let me go through and rank them again.

Top 5 Games New to Me in 2022

Now, I will say that this is the best of my knowledge. And I already adjusted it once because sometimes, I have games where I got them in 2021, or before, and I just played them this year. And I can see when I modified games last on BGG, but I of course can’t sort when I rated them which is what I’d really want.

5. Lost Ruins of Arnak

This one I know I owned for a while but I played it at GenCon for the first time, and it was great. I’ve played it a few more times since then, and I want to get it back to the table as I’m talking about it now. It’s a game of putting out workers, getting resources, and then going on adventures, which just give you more resources. But it’s a fun resource generation puzzle to optimize your points.

I think it would have missed the list if not for the expedition leaders. The game is a lot of fun without that expansion. But with that expansion, it is just that much better. You all start off with your own powers and abilities which changes up how you attack the game. And it’s fun to start out different like that and then go even further as you build out your deck.

4. Trek 12

Trek 12 was a roll and write that I hoped would be fun. I heard about it and thought, mountain climbing is interesting. Then I played it the first time, and I didn’t love it at all. In fact, that first play is on camera, and you can see why I don’t love it. I’m played the game twice, once for myself and once for an AI that isn’t that interesting to play. So it’s just busy work for me to play for them.

But then I played it multiplayer. I knew that the solo experience wasn’t the best, so how would it be with more people, and it was a lot of fun. What I do in the game doesn’t change at all, but what I don’t do, that extra work, goes away. And I can focus in on what I want to do in the game, not something else. It makes it way more fun.

3. Black Sonata

Black Sonata is a solo only hidden movement game. That sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it really does. You set-up a deck of cards that determines how the mysterious lady in black moves. And you are going around, tracking symbols as to where she is going, trying to catch up to her and gain clues. As you gain clues, then you can start to piece together who she might be.

It’s a bit of set-up for a solo game, but the game play is really interesting. And there is an expansion that I own but I haven’t played yet. I need to get that one to the table again and try it with the expansion to see how that works.

2. Final Girl

Another solo only game, we have Final Girl. This is a theme that I just love. It’s a horror movie and you are the final girl, the one who will survive to the end, but will you actually make it alive out the movie? Van Ryder Games got that into a small box with lots of different types of horror movies that you can add on.

It is a tough game to beat and mechanically driven. But with that said, it is still a good story game. You create the movie as you go, some story elements happen, but what do you find? Do you get a good weapon, or do you find a flashlight? That all comes down to what you look for and where you look. Who all do you rescue, and can you defeat the killer, ghost, whatever it is, in the end.

1. Destinies

And at #1 we have Destinies. Th is is a game that I knew I was going to like. It’s a story driven competitive game, which is different. But Destinies has you looking for your characters destiny in an old world where monsters exist. Can you get your destiny before another player gets theirs?

The game uses and app and the app is great. It allows the story to come up and get handled nicely without flipping through books, and allows you to try a lot of options without spoiling anything. And the game play is pretty simple but clever. It is a push your luck dice system where you can decide how many dice to roll to see what level of success you get. I really like how it works.

Final Thoughts

2022 was a great year for me for gaming. I’ve played 97 new to me games this year and about the same in games I’ve already played before. A lot of those were at GenCon, but I’ve gotten a number into my collection as well. And there are more coming in. I could almost, maybe, do a true Top 100 of just new to me games. And some of them I want to get back to the table, and others, not so much.

Plus, I look at my shelf and I see what games could have been played, which ones I still need to get tabled that likely would have made the list. Or they could have made the list potentially. What new to you games were your favorite in 2022?

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