Campaign games are board games where it remembers or something persists throughout it. Probably an easier example of this would be Dungeons and Dragons. You play as character and that character levels up and gets better. Or in video games, Baldur’s Gate 3, Dragon Age: Origins, or even games like Halo campaign demonstrates what that is. It’s a story where it remembers where you are in a story and you continue playing through that story.

Campaign Games

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion

Let’s start off with the small version of one of the biggest and well known campaign games. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion has you leveling up your characters and fighting through a twenty mission campaign of Gloomhaven. It uses the same mechanisms, but it gives you a nice five scenario tutorial and then lets you explore the rest of the story and game with unique characters.

The game is a dungeon crawler as well as a campaign game. That means that you’re moving around a dungeon and fighting monsters, or moving around a location and fighting monsters tactically on a board. And it uses Gloomhaven’s great card mechanism of using two cards to activate your character. Top of one card and bottom of the other for movement and attack and how you play around with that is great.

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Next up we’re going to go with a card game. Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a great cooperative game, as are all of these campaigns, but it’s just cards. So no minis, standees really anything like that. In this game you’re trying to solve cases and figure out what is going on through several scenarios.

This game is great because there is a ton of content for it. And because there is interesting deck construction and hand and resource management going on. But let’s talk about the content. You can buy the main box and have a short campaign to play. If you like the game there are more campaigns, more investigators, and more cards to play with. So you find that you can dive deep into what Arkham Horror: The Card Game has to offer.

Aeon’s End Legacy

Another card game for the campaign games. I wanted to try and do a few different types. Plus I wanted them to be available. The next one is maybe the hardest to get. But Aeon’s Legacy builds on the Aeon’s End system, and really is a great spot to jump in and learn the system.

You are breach mages who are protecting the town of Gravehold against a nemesis. In the Legacy version you don’t start with a character, you build that character throughout the game. You get new cards and you make choices to unlock some cards and not others and add some abilities and not others to characters.

Plus you get a new nemesis to face off against each time. And that is a great element of the game. Because not only are your mages unique, the nemesis is going to give you a different experience each time. And they give you a lot of fun options to deck build as you play.

Sleeping Gods

Sleeping Gods might be the hardest of the campaign games to find. But there are a few different versions out there, so hopefully it won’t be too bad. This is a game of exploring a new world that was created, written, and illustrated by Ryan Laukat, mainly, and his wife.

So you find as a crew that you’re dropped into a new world. It is a world where the gods are sleeping, and you are tasked with waking them, or at least finding totems, so you can get back home. But it’s not an easy task and you are only given some vague leads to go on.

This one is less of a campaign than some of the others because as players you have more freedom in what you are doing. You explore the world and decide which direction you want to go. But there are stories and quests that will persist between times playing the game. Because the game is too big to play over just one sitting.

Finally, I know you play as nine different members as the crew. And that is intimidating to play with all of that in front of you, or in front of multiple people. But I think of it as you have a whole team of people. They work and act as one. You need to know what they do, but it’s not like one crew members takes a turn and then another. The ship, and the crew as a whole are what take the turn.

Paper Dungeons

And now for a finale one that is really different. This one is just in the campaign games category because of the story that it has. But I really think that Paper Dungeons is a fun game. So I want to get it into this group for your consideration.

This is a roll and write game. That means that you roll dice and use those dice to fill in spots, the write part, on your sheet. Paper Dungeons is about leveling up your heroes, delving through a dungeon, crafting loot, and beating the boss monsters. All of this is done through die rolls which is a simple mechanism.

I like how this game makes you think on your feet. And how you can get combos and really explode with some great exciting turns to level up quickly, fight a lot of little monsters, or whatever it might be. The campaign part is lacking, though. It’s just a loose story that holds it into a campaign. But the game itself is fun, and it’d be a nice one to play a game every once in a while without needing to remember as much from other campaign games.

Final Thoughts

I kept the campaign games on this list smaller rather than larger. I love campaign games, and a lot of them are very large. That isn’t something that is reasonable for everyone to ask for or give. So what I put on the list is much more reasonable and sometimes even budget friendly.

If you want bigger games, tracking down things like Tainted Grail, Gloomhaven, or ISS Vanguard are going to provide those big box options. And there are a ton more I could mention as well. Those games are going to provide a much longer and more in depth campaign. So if you want to jump in at that point, or you know you already love campaign games, than those will be great options for you.

Do you have a favorite game in the campaign games genre? And are you putting any on your holiday list this year?

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Streaming After Mythwind

I’ve covered Mythwind a lot. But I’m getting close to when I’ll wrap up streaming it. I like to show a game like this off, but there are so many campaign games or adventure games that I can play. Which is the one that I should play next? Here are a few that I’m considering.

Tales form the Red Dragon Inn

This one actually got talked about on the stream. Tales from the Red Dragon Inn is supposed to be a fun and lighter dungeon crawling game. You play as characters from the Red Dragon Inn board game. Whereas that game is about what you do after an adventure, this one is the adventures, or at least them being retold. I feel like I shouldn’t trust the narration in the game for what actually happens, but we’ll see. Plus the game uses a map book which makes set-up and teardown a whole lot easier.

Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies

I already did a play of Sleeping Gods on the channel, so continuing with the sequel to talk about what is new and different, I like the sound of that. Plus, I’ve watched some of the game play over on the Meet Me At the Table Channel. A lot of what it changes in the game are things that I got wrong in the first one. Or at least one of the main items is. I want a chance to experience that from the game, plus I want to see what adventures it has to offer that I can find.

Wild Assent

Wild Assent got added into the collection recently. This one is going to be a monster hunting type of game. If I had my Primal in, it’d take this place. But I do want to play Wild Assent and see what the game is all about. Th is is about taking hunters out and defeating monsters/creatures in a boss battling sort of experience. I haven’t done too many boss battlers so that element is very intriguing to me. And I think less heavy campaign elements could be good for me as well.

Hoplomachus Victorum

This one is going to be less of a story driven campaign and more just a campaign. The story is going to come from the locations that I choose than narrative prose. But that sounds intriguing. And like Distant Skies, it’s going to be a shorter campaign. There are a set number of combats and events to play. So it hits my list of potential ones for that.

Others

Let me know if there are other games you’d be interested in seeing me play. I have mentioned Nova Aetas Renaissance recently. That one I left off the list, for right now, because I think there is more to get ready. And the sessions might take longer to play, so it’s does it fit into my evening time slot.

Aeon’s End Legacy of Gravehold is another that I’d love to play. Like Distant Skies, it is a game that I’ve already played on the channel. Well, it is kind of. I went through Aeon’s End Legacy and I love that game. So my hesitation comes from doubling up on that one. I expect that that there will be new elements, so the game might be different enough.

Let me know which one sounds the best to you? Or, checkout my games over on Board Game Geek and let me know which one you want to see played?

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I stream at 9 PM Central. That is sometimes a bit hit or miss, but that’s the goal. And I do small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well.

On Wednesdays, well, I said that I plan to play at least a few more games of Mythwind. This is going to continue how I play my solo campaign games on the channel. The reason for that is with how many campaign games I can play solo, I want to try more. That is at 8 PM Central time for the campaign games.

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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And catch up on any you’ve missed before:

100 through 91 here.

90 through 81 here.

80 through 71 here.

70 through 61 here.

60 through 51 here.

50 through 41 here.

40 through 31 here.

30 through 21 here.

20 through 11 here.

Top 100 Games 2022 Edition – 10-1

10. Roll Player Adventures

We know that I like my big box adventure games, and the more that I play Roll Player Adventures the more that I like the game. It might even be higher now after having played it a couple more times since making the list. But Roll Player Adventures is a choose your own adventure style of adventure game tied in with dice manipulation.

The game takes a world that didn’t exist too much in Roll Player and creates a greater and more interesting story around it. And the story is just fun, some of the backstories are a bit heavier, but the main story is a great and lighter fantasy experience. And beyond the story, I really like the dice manipulation that can go on. It can be a bit easy, sometimes, at 4 players, but that doesn’t make it less puzzly to figure it out, it’s just that we can make it so we rarely miss a challenge.

Buy from Thunderworks Games

9. Mansions of Madness

Mansions of Madness has consistently been in the Top 10, and it’s going to stick around, I’d guess, in my Top 20 at least for a long time. I really like that it’s a story driven game, but one without a campaign to it. Though, I do want a campaign from time to time with the game. But each scenario is something completely different as you try and solve a mystery, stop a ritual, or maybe just get out of a town.

Mansions of Madness also offers such good game play. It is more of a die chucker, but it implements puzzles and monsters, and so much through an app system that doesn’t take over the game, but supports it in the play. It takes something that’d need to be one versus all and turns it into a cooperative experience.

Buy on Miniature Market

8. Xenoshyft Onslaught

Xenoshyft is the next game in the Top 10. This is a deck building game of tower defense as you fight off waves and waves of bugs. I really like it because it does a couple of things that make it feel different for a cooperative game and for a deck building game.

Firstly, it handles the currency really well. Every round you need to have troops and money to buy more, so you get money at the start of each round. You draw your hand and you take a money so that you always can buy something. Plus, you can then trade in money, in future rounds to go from having 3 1’s in the deck to 1 3 in your deck of cards. So you keep the deck lean.

The other thing is how much interaction there is. You don’t have enough troops to defend your side, not a big deal, I can give you an extra I have in hand. Or you can pass a weapon over to me if you have extras. And I can use a stim pack on your guy or you can toss a grenade on my side to take out my bugs. It is very cooperative in what you do, which I really like.

Buy on Amazon

7. Stars of Akarios

Stars of Akarios, you can watch game play of that on Malts and Meeples but it’s one of my top gaming experiences for 2022. I love this game so much which is how it can make it so high. The story is just fun, and the different game modes for the most part work really well.

The game really shines with it’s tactical space combat. It is such a good puzzle as you roll dice and then need to figure out how to use those dice to activate abilities, get in position for attacks and blow the enemy ships out of the sky. That is a puzzle every turn as you activate and then the enemies go so by the time you come around, they might be flanking you and you need to scramble to be able to target them again.

Plus the planetary exploration works well. And it’s a lot of fun with a 7th Continent type of vibe to it as you explore and open up a map and a whole world as you discover new things. It’s a bit more fiddly, but there is a lot of story to discover there. And they do a good job of giving you different things that you can play around with, different story elements or mechanics on the various planets.

Buy from OOMM Games

6. Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game

Detective made the list last year in a big way and some of that was because it was one of the gaming experiences that worked really well during COVID. But also because it is legitimately a really fun game of deduction as you try and figure out which paths to go down to solve cases. I’ve liked all the different versions that I’ve played and I have a lot more of Detective to play.

In the original box, and the Batman box, I like how the cases are tied together as well. Each case might be solving it’s own thing, but there is an overall story that runs together. And I don’t mind at all the addition of technology into the game. The database to update with what you’ve found, and looking up information or finding matching information from previous cases is just a lot of fun and would be hard without the website.

Buy on Miniature Market

5. Aeon’s End

The last deck building game on the list is Aeon’s End. And I really enjoy this one as well because of a few different things starting with the turn order. Now that turn order might make it into a two player game only for me. Because it’d be too long between turns otherwise, but it being a random card draw from a deck of two cards for players one and two and two for the nemesis is great.

I think Aeon’s End also does a great job of giving you unique nemesis to fight against and unique mages to play as. And as the game has gone along further, the legacy version offers an amazing point to jump into the game. Plus just enough legacy goodness, the story is just okay, that you want to see what you unlock next for your character.

Buy on Game Nerdz

4. Marvel Champions: The Card Game

Marvel Champions is a deck construction game, so slightly different than deck building. You are taking a Marvel hero into battle against a villain where you need to try and thwart the scheme and defeat the bad guy. All before the bad guy can either complete their scheme or knock you out.

The game does a good job of giving you that superhero feel to it. And I really appreciate how the cards flip. So you can go from Peter Parker to Spider-Man and back and that’s part of the strategy of the game because if you just stay as Spider-Man, the bad guys will beat you down. If you just stay as Peter Parker you can’t fight or thwart their schemes. So it’s a fun balancing act.

I wish that there were more campaigns or a more in-depth campaign like Arkham Horror LCG, but what they have works well. And, theoretically, it makes it easier to get to the table because you don’t need to worry about getting it back tot he table repeatedly.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

3. Tainted Grail

Next is another big campaign game that I’m nearing the mid point of the third Tainted Grail campaign, and I have Ruin of Kings ordered as well for more game play. But this is a survival adventure game where you really aren’t a hero. You are close a hero, but you all have weaknesses and rough pasts. In fact, in the base campaign there are heroes who have gone out to see what is happening and they haven’t come back. So you are the B-team sent out to see what is going on.

But that’s not what makes the game so much fun. I do like the combat and diplomacy checks. But it’s all about the story for this game. I’d read the story of our adventures as a novel because the writing is so good in what is going on. And for that reason we play in story mode, it makes it a bit less grinding, but it also means that we can explore more which means we get more of that story.

You Can Maybe Find on Ebay or Board Game Geek Market

2. Dice Throne

My number two is still Dice Throne. This is a game that doesn’t feel like it should work, it looks like Yahtzee and combat all rolled into one, but it works really well. There is someone much smarter than me who has figured out how to balance abilities and make abilities feel unique for so many characters from classic fantasy to Marvel heroes and anti-heroes to Santa vs Krampus.

I know that most people like this game only as a two player head to head battle. But I think as a game where it’s king of the hill, which incentivizes hitting the player with the most health it works well as well. Overall, this is just a nice filler game while waiting for more people to come to a game night. Or one that I’ll pull out when I do have two players and we can try all sorts of combinations.

Buy on Miniature Market

1. Gloomhaven

Finally, no change with my number one. And I don’t think with Frosthaven coming soon, it’ll get dethroned. Mainly because Frosthaven is more of that same Gloomhaven goodness from what I can tell and I’m so excited to get it to the table.

But Gloomhaven is a massive dungeon crawler that doesn’t have you chucking dice. In fact, there are no dice at all to be chucked it is all done through card play. Card play that determines your attacks, your moves, and how fast you even act in initiative order. It also is a game where with just cards, each character really feels different in what they are doing, maybe that is one of the things that I really appreciate about a game, unique characters.

Looks at Top 10, yeah, seems reasonable to say that I enjoy unique characters.

Buy on Miniature Market

Upcoming Streams

So on Wednesday I am going to be streaming Spire’s End Hildegard, the follow-up, prequel, similar but different game to Spire’s End. In fact, over the next few weeks I’ll probably stream both of them. Just so that I can play them enough and be able to review both and compare and contrast both. So look for Spire’s End and Spider’s End: Hildegard on upcoming Wednesdays.

Monday is no longer going to be the Top 100 games, the list is done. Instead, I want to stream some of the more casual solo games that I have, maybe play some of them I’ve already played before. And just use that time to get in some gaming but also be able to just hang out and chat with people as we get closer to the new year. Then starting in 2023, it’ll be time for a new campaign game.

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Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven, and I’ll include Jaws of the Lion, is going to be a campaign game for the person who wants a lot of control over what they are doing. The card play in Gloomhaven is great and really smart. I love picking two cards, one to use the top of and the other to use the bottom. But if I’m slower than other players or the enemies, now I need to put flexibility into what I’m doing. Gloomhaven also provides great character progression. It isn’t too fast so you learn and can use and enjoy the new cards but then be gaining XP for the next new card.

I also think that Gloomhaven, the big box, works well for players who like the change it up. You retire a character after some time. You’ll hit your secret goal and it’ll be time to retire them and move on. If you get really attached to a character or a way to play the game, Gloomhaven won’t be for you. It is better for a game that changes everything up as you get new characters with how you play them.

Sword & Sorcery

As compared to Gloomhaven, Sword and Sorcery is light and small. Now it’s still a big box with a lot of minis in the box. But Sword and Sorcery is all about the dice chucking. The story is pretty light, the decision making space in where the story goes really doesn’t exist. But when it comes to optimizing how many dice you can have and roll, Sword & Sorcery does that.

Stars of Akarios

Stars of Akarios is an interesting hybrid. I would say that this game is for people who want something like Gloomhaven, though the game is very different, but set in space. You can watch game play here. But this is going to be your big space epic game, and probably the biggest space campaign game, at least until ISS Vanguard comes out soon.

But this is also the game for the person who wants a little bit of everything. There is some choose your own adventure. Tactical space combat and then space and planet exploration. So really a little bit of everything that you could do. And they manage to make all of them work, though you need to be in for the space combat because that is the biggest piece.

Pandemic Legacy

This is one I’d say three introductory campaign games. And Pandemic Legacy is a legacy game on top of that. This one, though, might be the best, because in Pandemic Legacy Season 1, if you’ve played Pandemic, you can basically jump in and play the game. If not, it’s an easy teach and a cooperative game.

This is really just a story driven version of Pandemic. It does introduce rules as you go along. But it ramps up players slowly. So if you know someone who is interested at all in gaming, this is a great option to start.

Tainted Grail

Moving to the other extreme, this is not introductory friendly. There are rules you kind of need to look up to figure out what is going on. And there will be situations where the rules maybe don’t explain everything. But Tainted Grail offers some of the best story experience I’ve had in a game.

The story is dark, the story is adult. And the game has a strong survival element as well. I really recommend this one on story mode. The game is still very hard at times. There are going to be combats where you just look at it and run away. But when you dive into the story, it is just so good. So much depth to the world and every expansion gives even more story that is just amazing.

Charterstone

Charterstone is a euro campaign game. It’s one that I think euro players will like, it is a campaign game, and it adds in things. I also think that Charterstone is also a good one for a budding euro player. It’s pretty simple to start and definitely adds in a lot as you go along.

The story for me on Charterstone is very weak, and I honestly thing it pretends too much with it. But the game play is solid. It is a good euro game. And for a legacy game, you can still it after. They even offer a recharge pack, as does the next one on the list as well. But I don’t know what I’d want it.

Aeon’s End Legacy

Aeon’s End Legacy is another one with a weaker story to it. But a story that I sound fun. You can watch the whole of the game over on Malts and Meeples, I’ll put the first part down below. But if you like deck building or are interested, this is a great spot to start.

I also think that this is a great game for players who want to make their own character. As a legacy game it allows you to build up your breach mage with the cards you want the way you want. Other games allow you to customize somewhat, here you really get so much choice over that. Deck building helps provide some of that, but also with the powers you get, it works nicely as well.

My City

Another legacy game on the list and another one that is really easy to get to the table. It is a tile laying game where everyone has their own set of tiles and a card if flipped over to determine which one to put down. There are additional rules that are added as you play further into the game, but it is never too much.

This is also a great campaign or legacy game for people who don’t have that much time. Or don’t have a big block of time. It’s easy to pull out and play a game that takes maybe 30 minutes. Then you do that again two nights later, and so on and it’ll never take you that long to be back up and running.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Another one that I played on Malts and Meeples. This one is kind of like Aeon’s End Legacy, but instead of deck building through game play, this offers deck construction. So if you like optimizing your character to be good at some things, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is good for that.

I also think that this works well for maybe the person who doesn’t have time to play Pathfinder. If you’ve played Pathfinder and done the adventures, you’ll get more into the story, recognize characters and places. But it’s less of a commitment than jumping into another campaign and planning out 3 hours every week or two to play, at least.

Paper Dungeons

Paper Dungeons is an odd one on the list. It is technically a campaign game, you play through cards with monsters to fight. But it doesn’t need to be, it can be a one off. Nor do I think the campaign is all that great. But if you really like roll and write games, and Paper Dungeons is a very good roll and write game, this is going to give you a heftier roll and write to play. And also one that I played on Malts and Meeples.

Sleeping Gods

Alright, one more that is on Malts and Meeples. Sleeping Gods is for the player who wants a weird fantasy world but also wants to be able to do whatever they want. All the other campaigns on the list give you a general order of doing things. Some might have side missions but generally they’re about the main story that is going through.

Sleeping Gods gives you fun card play and a lot of interesting powers and decisions. Now, I’d recommend that you get the sequel one, it’s coming out sometime probably next year. It’ll make a few things cleaner, like not having to control as many characters. But the one you can get now is great as well and the story tends to be one of the lighter ones and more fun. And the story works as well which is impressive with no real direction.

Risk Legacy

Another legacy game on the list and only one more after this one before the list is finished off. But Risk Legacy is going to be for the person who likes that in your face game. But whereas Risk can be annoying and take forever. In Risk Legacy the games are much faster, so it’s also for the person who likes that in your face but finds Risk way to long. I’m one of those people, so this one is a lot of fun when you want something very competitive.

Seafall

Finally, I had to put it on the list because I technically did play probably half of it or a bit more. This one I don’t really recommend. I think that there are elements of the game that work but most don’t. If you go back to Sleeping Gods where I talk about open world, that one tells a great story in spite of that. Seafall is also open world but it doesn’t tell a good story.

Also the games are just too long, so I really don’t recommend it for that. The longer you play the higher the points get, plus you unlock things so that means there is even more to think about. I want this to be so much better than it is, it had potential and it just falls flat.

Final Thoughts

13 campaign games on the list. And I thought about adding in Arkham Horror the Card Game, and when I get around to a campaign box for Marvel Champions. So clearly I love campaign games, but like I said, not all of them are for everyone.

If you are looking to dive into a campaign game, I really recommend probably three games as my top choices. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is a great small box version of Gloomhaven. And it’ll give you the exact same game just with less stuff and less cost. Pandemic Legacy is a good one to jump into as well because a lot of people know Pandemic. Start with Season 1 and it’ll be an easy way to see how much you like legacy games and campaign games. And finally, I think that if you want something bigger and maybe a bit more challenging, I recommend Sleeping Gods. I like it solo, but I think most people will like it at three players.

But let me know what your favorite campaign games are? And how do you play them?

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Top 10 Campaign Games

10 – Marvel Champions: The Mad Titan’s Shadow

I had to put one of the campaign boxes onto this list for Marvel Champions. There are a number of them, a Spider-Man one, a Red Skull one, Guardians of the Galaxy, soon to be Mutants as well. But I went with The Mad Titan’s Shadow just because that box feels the most epic. And I can take anyone into that one and it makes sense thematically.

I’ve heard that these are lighter campaigns which is not a bad thing. It means that I could and maybe will, set it up sometime and just play it over a few evenings. And you know I’m going to be running Thor up against them, or maybe Doctor Strange. There are enough characters know that it might actually be a tricky decision.

9 – Massive Darkness 2

I picked this one up because it did have a campaign. And I want to get it to the table, at least for scenarios fairly soon. I like that you level up a lot in this game, and the minis are cool, the classes are cool, the weapons are cool.

Plus, this is also a lighter game. You don’t need to know nearly as much how to play it as some of the other games on the list. That means that even if I don’t play it as a campaign soon, it’s probably one I can sit down and knock out a scenario with some friends easily in an evening.

8 – Reichbusters: Projekt Vril

One that I also need to sort some more, which is why I haven’t played it yet. Reichbusters came out with an errata pack for improved card wording and rules. But because that was coming, I waited on playing it. Now I own it and, well, I need to sort the cards in.

This is going to be a game of sneaking into enemy base and trying to stop their experiments. Think kind of Howling Commandos vs Hydra, if I were to take it over to Marvel. There are crazy experiments going on, and monsters you need to fight. But every mission has an objective and if you’re too noisy, well, things are going to go sideways for you fast and you’ll get swarmed. So it’s not a guns blazing game, which I think sounds interesting.

7 – Betrayal Legacy

I did put a few legacy games on the list. Legacy games are campaign games too, and it surprised me a little bit, but the one at the bottom of that is Betrayal Legacy. I love Betrayal at House on the Hill, even with it’s wonky scenarios and problems with sometimes the traitor being too strong, sometimes the other characters. And I want to see what the legacy one has to offer.

I am really curious about the legacy aspect of it. You play as a family versus a character coming back generation after generation. I want to know how that plays out in the game. I think it could offer some cool game options and ways to progress and tell a bit story.

6 – Descent: Legends of the Dark

Moving back to just a campaign game, we have Descent: Legends of the Dark from Fantasy Flight Games. This is going to be their Descent, but not third edition, game, of exploring tiles, fighting monsters, and interacting on the map.

Like a lot of bigger Fantasy Flight games in recent history, Mansions of Madness, Journeys in Middle-Earth, and Star Wars: Imperial Assault, there is an app piece. I like it for this game, it was a bit much in Journeys in Middle-Earth, but in Descent it offers some fog of war. It is in that category of games like Massive Darkness 2 for me. It looks like a blast to play as a fun dice chucking game.

5 – Folklore: The Affliction

Now moving into another bigger game, and I think the top 5, with the exception of the legacy ones, are the heaviest of the campaign games that I own, at least right now. Of course there are more coming in. But Folklore: The Affliction is going to be a game that borrows a lot from pen and paper RPG’s. You roll more than a standard six sided die. And that is intriguing to me.

Plus, I like that it’s a darker setting. I don’t need all my fantasy to be grim and dark, but sometimes that is what I want. And since I always am the Dungeon Master for D&D, I believe that it’ll give me that RPG feel without me needing to be in charge of everything. Though, if I paly it solo, I will be, but I’ll be doing the same thing as the players.

4 – Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold

Another Legacy game and this one just came in from Indie Boards & Cards. I played through the first Aeon’s End Legacy on stream. And I had a blast with that game. Plus, just in general I really like Aeon’s End, so much so that I keep on backing and tracking down everything for it.

Legacy of Gravehold is going to be another legacy campaign. Where I knew a little bit of the campaign for the original Aeon’s End Legacy, I know nothing about the story this time. I just know that the box is bigger and heavier. That probably means more cards, but I’m hoping for more story as well.

3 – Clank! Legacy

And the other legacy game is Clank! Legacy. This one is higher for me just because I want to play it with some friends. I love the Acquisitions Inc theme on it as their game play is hilarious. And I suspect that the humor in the game will be great as well. Plus, I like the system that it is built upon. I prefer Clank! In! Space! to Clank I think, but the legacy version with the fantasy theme, I’m still there for it.

This is a deck building push your luck game. You are going into it trying to complete missions and get treasures. And it’s competitive in that you are trying to be the best so that you can end up with the franchise within Acquisitions Inc. I have to imagine that the whole of the story is going to be goofy, and it sounds like there is a lot to unlock so that is exciting as well.

2 -Middara: Unintentional Malum

A huge box with two more huge boxes on the way. I give that as my excuse for not getting it to the table sooner, I want Acts II and III to show up as well. But really, it’s just such a table hog and such a big game, I am not sure that I want to play it solo, but I really do want to play it.

Middara has more of an anime style to it’s game look. The artwork, and from what I can tell, the world building and story look fairly anime. It is going to be a leveling up, dice chunking, monster fighting, dungeon crawling game. And I think it’s going to be one that I find to be a lot of fun to get to the table and play. But like I said, I suspect the game would work best with four players, or two players controlling two characters each.

1 – Stars of Akarios

Call me cult of the new if you want, and it’d be fair in this case. But I am excited to plays Stars of Akarios. This is a big space exploration and adventure game. What really intrigues me is how it is split into two parts. There is that space exploration and then you can be down on an planet as well. That is intriguing.

It also looks like it uses a combination of cards for modifying your attacks and things but also uses dice. And just the production quality on the game is great. While it is a big game, compared to some of the others, it looks like it should be easier to play solo. And I want to get it to the table and play it on Malts and Meeples.

Final Thoughts

I say this almost any time I talk about a campaign game. And I feel like I can redo this list in different ways pretty often. But I have a lot of them coming in. 15 more campaign games in fact, which is a lot. Now some can be played as more of a one off situation such as Primal: The Awakening. Otherwise might be smaller sit down and play a campaign of it in a sitting, Spire’s End: Hildegard. But most of them are going to be much much bigger than that.

Just to show everything that is coming, and there is a lot, in alphabetical order, we have:

1. The 7th Citadel
2. Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread
3. Chronicles of Drunagor
4. Divinus
5. Ehterfields
6. Frosthaven
7. HEL: The Last Saga
8. ISS Vanguard
9. Mythwind
10. Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood
11. Primal: The Awakening
12. Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies
13. Spire’s End: Hildegard
14. Valor & Villainy: Lludwik’s Labyrinth
15. Vampire: The Masquerade – Chapters

What campaign games do you own, if any, that you want to get played?

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What Are Legacy Board Games?

A Legacy Game is going to be similar to a campaign game in some ways. You play the game over several sessions or sittings with an unfolding story, or at least tracking everything that you are doing, whether you win or lose and things like that.

But different than a campaign game you make changes to the game. This could be placing stickers on a board game, adding rules to the rule book, or tearing up cards. The idea is that every decision you make in a legacy game is going to be permanent and persistent. For example, in Risk Legacy you can blow up a country or area. In Pandemic Legacy your character can die or gain scars. And these don’t ever go away, or in the case of a blown up country ever come back.

The Issue

So you can see how that issue would start to present itself. If the game is played over a campaign style set number of games, and you can never go back and play it again, is it a good value?

The Case Against

Let’s use Pandemic Legacy as an example. In Pandemic Legacy you play through a year, that is 12 games, but if you lose in a month, you play through it again. So you are looking at 12 to 24 games that you can play. With that you are placing stickers on the board, rule book, and cards. When you are done with your year of games, you have a map that isn’t all that playable. You could maybe get down to base Pandemic, but there’d be extra things thrown in, and extra powers for characters that you’d need to ignore.

So is it worth it to buy, when it was first out, a $70 game? I could break down the math, say 12 games, four players, if you have that many, and an hour a game, so 48 hours of game time/entertainment time, which is a pretty cheap value for entertainment. Better than the movies. But once you are done, you are done, compared to other board games out there, or even base Pandemic, which is cheaper and you can play forever, the price per hour value will be higher.

The Case For

On the flip side, what case could be made for it. Firstly, because you are putting things down permanently on the board, decisions matter more. I don’t love it when it feels like there is a wrong decision, but decisions carry more weight when you are adding a scar to a character, or have a city yet again have an outbreak and the panic level rises yet again.

Plus, there is the unfolding story element of the game. Not all legacy board games have a ton of a story to them, but it provides an opportunity to play with story more. Now, campaign games can do that as well, but with less consequences, or consequences in different ways. For a legacy game, the story can unfold and change up the world completely or the board completely as you play. It might be hard to get into a city in Pandemic because of too many outbreaks in a location that is unique to you.

Are Legacy Board Games Good?

Legacy board games aren’t going to be for everyone, but generally, I do think that they are good. The reason for that is that they provide a different gaming experience than almost any other game out there. The experience they can bring because you make permanent choices adds that extra weight to a game like Pandemic that could get played out if you play it often enough.

I also think that the concern about how many times you can play a legacy game is less of an issue than most people think. Let me dive into that a bit more. Most people play a game, 4-10 times a year. Not play games, but just play a given game in their collection a limited number of times. Now, that might be different for you, and it is for everyone. Some games are played more, others are played less. But it’s rare for games to get played a ton of times if you have a few games in your collection.

So a legacy game provides 12 plays, on the lower end that is more than you’ll play most games in a year. That might be more than you play a game in three years. Let’s say you have Twilight Imperium and you can play that once or twice a year, that’s at minimum 6 to 12 years to equal the amount you’d play Pandemic Legacy likely in a year. Plus some legacy games offer modes to play post the legacy campaign.

Three Recommendations

I’ve played a number of legacy games, and some work better for me, others won’t make the list, Seafall, because it isn’t a great legacy game. So let’s talk about some legacy games that you could maybe checkout. If you are interested, these could be a good spot to jump into the mechanic and see if it is one for you.

My City

This one is pretty easy to recommend because it is a cheap game and a simple game. It is a tile laying game where you score points and get rewards with how well you build out your town each game. Compared to a lot of legacy games, this is much cheaper. You can probably find My City for about $20 right now, and the game is an easy one to get into.

It is a game with less story in it. It gives reasons for what you are adding to the rules throughout the game. But that story is very loose and it’s mainly just a tile laying game. But it adds in more things as you go, so the game feels like it develops and progresses over time. And you can play it once the game is done, granted with slightly different rules.

Pandemic Legacy Season 1

I’ve talked a lot about Pandemic Legacy and I’d be remiss to put it on the list. I think that Pandemic Legacy Season 1 is a good jumping in point to the series of games. There is Season 2 and Season 0 as well, but Pandemic Legacy Season 1 is the most like Pandemic and easy to pick up.

This has more of a story going throughout it and creates some very fun and interesting moments in it. There is even a very nice twist that happens as the game goes along. I won’t spoil when or where that is in the game, but it is interesting. It takes the Pandemic system and makes it so much more thematic as you play without changing up the game that much.

Aeon’s End Legacy

Finally, Aeon’s End Legacy. This is one that I played on Malts and Meeples and is a game that I really enjoy. It is a cooperative deck building game where you don’t shuffle the cards in the deck. Which I find fun because you can set-up some things as you go, or at least attempt to. Plus the different nemesis that you face offer a nice variety to the game.

Aeon’s End Legacy has less story than Pandemic Legacy, but more than My City. Where Aeon’s End Legacy really shines, though, is as a jumping in point for Aeon’s End. It takes a game that is not too complex, makes it a bit simpler and then slowly adds back in the complexity of the game.

Final Thoughts on Legacy Board Games

I don’t believe that everyone needs to have them or play them. But I also do not believe that because a game says legacy someone should immediately reject it. Often times the experiences in a legacy game are going to be more interesting or unique than those in other games that are one off. And they are something that can’t be replicated in that style of game. And as I talked about before, it’d probably be playing a game more often than people play most of their games.

But if you only own a few games and you play those few games all the time, I totally get not wanting to own a legacy game. They would reach the point where you wouldn’t be playing them anymore and it wouldn’t provide the value for you long term.

Though, I believe that story and experience element of the game does make it worthwhile. It is like a movie in a lot of ways. You go to the theater and you see a movie and hopefully you remember that experience and story. The same can be said for a legacy board game, you are paying for that memory of the story and experience, even if it’s not something you can play again. I do find it odd when people don’t bat an eye at going to a movie but a legacy game is something that is so obscene to them. The experience is not that different except the game is cheaper per hour of fun.

What is your favorite legacy board game? Or do you avoid them, if so, what is the reason?

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Campaign Game List

Let’s see all of the games that I put on the list. We have several that are fantasy, really all are, one with more of an anime theme to it. And then we also have a legacy game on the list as well. Some are bigger campaigns, some are going to be more focused on shorter stories. But let’s see what they all are.

Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold

Starting of with Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold. This is the continuation of what has happened before in Aeon’s End. Kind of an arc from Aeon’s End Legacy, two big box standalone games, and now Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold. You can see how the game plays down below, as I played Aeon’s End Legacy already. That said, I’d be really happy to play the new one.

Why do I want to play this one? Firstly, I know that I love the game already. My game play includes Aeon’s End, Aeon’s End: War Eternal, and Aeon’s End Legacy of the five, now six, games of the series. And I really love Aeon’s End Legacy as a jumping in point for the game. It teaches you how to play the game so nicely. The story was there, but the game was a lot of fun. So I want more of that from Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold. On the flip side it is one that I’ve kind of already showcased.

Folklore: The Affliction

Next up we have Folklore: The Affliction. This is going to be an RPG like board game. You get a character with a class, and you take them on adventures. I picked this one up because it seems to do a lot of things I like in RPG’s. And it’ll give me a chance to be a player in the game instead of always the dungeon master.

The darker theme of this game drew me in. Now, it doesn’t seem too dark, but it’s about werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and things like that. Those, I really don’t consider too dark, but more it seems to lean into a grittier and more violent world. I’m playing Roll Player Adventures that has some of that stuff, but has a much lighter tone. So I am curious to see the whole story of all that I have for this game.

HEXplore It: The Forest of Adrimon

HEXplore It is a series that I was only so interested in after watching a play through. I think I saw for the Sands of Shurax, and the game does seem fun. You go around, you find some adventures to go on, and you level up your characters.

This one interested me, though with that more grim forest setting than it did with the desert setting for some reason. And I am curious to see how the characters work for this game. It appears to be an interesting system without the heavy narrative driving direction of the story. It is more about the adventure and story that you find along the way.

Middara: Unintentional Malum Act 1

Now, if we want to talk about a game with a ton of story, most definitely Middara: Unintentional Malum does the trick. This is the game that gives me the anime feel. You are from Earth, but you have a connection or genes that connect with this other world. And brought through a space gate, of sorts, you are transported to this new world where things are very very different than Earth. The themes and artwork might not be for everyone, but I am very curious.

Having an anime dungeon crawler seems like a no brainer for me. I really like anime, and I really like dungeon crawls. As for streaming this game, I am worried about fitting it all on the camera, or on the table, as there is a lot to it. That said, I still really want to get it to the table to dive into and experience the story.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Now for a game with a very different scope. Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is just that, a card game, but like something like Arkham Horror: The Card Game or Apocrypha (which it is based on), this one uses cards as locations and builds up challenges for the players.

I am really interested to see what is different in the second edition compared to the first. I do have the pirate base game for the first edition as well. So I could play either. I know that it’s a system I find interesting and have had fun with. There is even a solid app that I should maybe download and play with again. But it tells a lighter story than some with good deck construction fun in the game.

Perdition’s Mouth: Abyssal Rift

I wrote about this one not to long ago, and this is another very dark dungeon crawling game. That said, it is an interesting take on it, and has some very nice components. It is also going to be very different than a lot of the games because it is nice a dice chucker. Instead, it builds it’s combat all around a rondel action system.

Each character has action points, and that determines how far they can, if they want, move around that rondel. However, action points are used for other things as well, which means that moving too far isn’t always the best plan. It is a really interesting puzzle with simpler mechanics than a lot of dungeon crawl games. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have depth, because picking the right options and setting up turns is tricky.

Solomon Kane

Finally, but not least, we have Solomon Kane. This is going to be a big story driven adventure game from Mythic Games. In Solomon Kane you play as virtues who are helping Solomon Kane go around through stories trying to keep the darkness at bay and figure out what he needs to do.

There are a lot of good reviews on this one, and I am very curious about it. Part of me wants to hold on a little bit, because I need to reach out to Mythic Games to get the updated rules and cards for the game. I didn’t back this on Kickstarter, I got it on eBay so that means I don’t automatically get it, at least not without contacting them. But this feels like a very different story and way of handling things in a game.

Final Thoughts

Firstly, here is the poll again now that you know more about all of the games.

But let me know your thoughts on what I should play. There are a number that I am interested in, and I think all, while being covered are going to be interesting ones to get to the table. And I’d love to start knocking out some of these campaigns that I can play solo. Especially before the likes of Frosthaven, ISS Vanguard, HEL: The Last Saga, and Isofarian Guard come in to add themselves to the mix as well.

I really probably need to stop getting more campaign games. But I did just add Middara Acts 2 and 3 through the pledge manager re-opening. So even more campaign to play. And I know I skipped mentioning other ones that I have backed as well, or that I will be backing Rogue Angels when it comes back to Kickstarter around the start of August.

Which one do you think I should stream?

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Deck Building vs Deck Construction

So let’s talk about this really quickly because one game that isn’t on this list is Gloomhaven. Though, you do add cards to your deck throughout the whole of the Gloomhaven campaign. And there is another one on the list, no spoilers, where you do the same thing. But it’s done in a different way.

Deck Building allows you to add cards to your deck when you can purchase them. And while you might be able to do things to manipulate how many cards you have in your deck, those rules aren’t as in place. In some of them you might need a lot of cards in your deck.

Deck Construction, on the other hand, allows you to focus your deck. You decide what you want to put into your deck and keep in your deck. Often times there are rules as to how you can even construct your deck. Gloomhaven only allows you to have a set number of cards. Or Magic: The Gathering, in standard, you can have a 60 card deck, no more, no less.

The Rankings

14. Dominion

I know that Dominion would top a lot of people’s lists. But for me, Dominion is not that interesting a game. The mechanics are perfectly fine, but it’s just deck building for the sake of deck building. It is just the mechanic for the sake of the mechanic. And it doesn’t look good on the table. Plus, Dominion misses on one big thing for me. A person who can look at all the cards and figure out the best strategy before the game starts will win. I like a bit more randomness in my deck building so it’s more on the fly decisions versus from the very start.

13. DC Comics Deck-Building Game

This one I haven’t played in so long. I remember it being perfectly fine but nothing really stood out to me. Add in the fact that DC Comics don’t interest me that much, mainly because there are too many comics overall to keep up on, and it is low for me. I would play this one again, but it is mainly a forgettable experience.

12. God or War: The Card Game

Another one that falls into this category, God of War was just a dud when I played it at GenCon. The game play seemed too easy and the decision making space was so limited. I get that it was a demo scenario, and maybe the game is more challenging, but I like a cooperative game challenging. This I felt like I’d win 75% or more of the time, and that doesn’t interest me. Plus, how you got the cards was just okay. You divided them amongst the group, and did it cooperative, but the choices were limited. It barely, if at all, qualifies as a deck building game.

11. Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game

Now to a theme that I love, but one that is really low on the list. Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game should work for me, but it misses on three things. Firstly, the game set-up is way too long. Some of that is too much stuff for the game. The other part is just it’s too complex with it’s set-up. Then the game takes too long. You take forever to start being able to hit the boss. Finally, the theme is missing for me. I want it to feel like a super hero team-up. But when you have cards of five heroes, and I have cards of those five heroes as well, it doesn’t feel like that.

10. Legendary Encounters: A Firefly Deck Building Game

Another Legendary game from Upper Deck, and this one I like a bit better. Mainly because the balance feels better. The scenarios, different episodes, are fun to play through. And while it does have the same thing as Marvel version where we are all playing all the characters, it just works smoother. I think having less stuff makes it play faster and be faster to get to the table.

9. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle

This is one that I’m bummed I never got to play through the whole game. I could have kept Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle in my collection. And it might come back to my collection later. But it wasn’t getting played, and in terms of campaign games, I felt like it wasn’t going to be one that I came back to any time soon. The game is fun in that you unlock things as you go along. So not a legacy game, but a resettable campaign which is cool. And it took you through the books.

8. Cry Havoc

Another one that left my collection, and this one it is because I have Root. Cry Havoc and Root do different things, but I’d prefer to teach and play Root if I’m going to play an asymmetric game. Combat is really cool where you put your troops on a track to determine how it goes and then manipulate it with cards. And the deck building is interesting as you use them in combat, for powers, or to do basic actions. So card uses were really cool in the game.

7. Clank!: A Deck-Building Game

Now we start to get into the heavy hitters and games still in my collection. Clank! A Deck-Building Game is a wonderful time. It is a nice light deck builder, but one that isn’t only deck building. You build up your deck as you adventure down into a dungeon. All the time you are trying to do it as quietly as you can so the dragon doesn’t find you. But some of the better cards make you go clank. It’s a great push your luck game with a nice theme.

6. Ascension: Deckbuilding Game

Ascension goes back to being a pure deck building game. But I like this one so much better than Dominion. Firstly, there isn’t a fixed market. That means that I need to think about and adjust my strategy on the fly. And there is fighting monsters. Yes, everything can give you points. But in Dominion, everyone works towards the same points, here, someone can focus on getting cards for points or for combat, or do both.

5. Aeon’s End: Legacy

This is almost cheating, because it maybe should be combined with an entry coming up. But I do think that Aeon’s End Legacy and Aeon’s End are two different games. At least until the legacy experience is done. I really enjoyed my time with Aeon’s End: Legacy, and I do think it’s a great game. If you want to learn Aeon’s End, I would recommend you play this before you dive into the base game. But once you are done and you play against other nemesis, the game will seem easy.

4. Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Game

Another Clank! game on the list. I prefer Clank! In! Space!, because it is even goofier than regular Clank!. And I do think that I like the space theme better. Plus, the game play is better for me. It adds in two changes. Firstly, how the game ends, there is no longer a timer, it is just until the players all get out, or Lord Eradikus takes them down. In Clank! it is a set number of rounds. And I like that you need to unlock the treasure room. It means there is more than just rush in grab treasure and rush out.

3. Aeon’s End

Later this year when I do my Top 100 Games (of All Time) 2022 Edition, I might combine this with Legacy. But I do think that the base game, or any of the expansions are better. Aeon’s End is a great cooperative deck building game. I like that you don’t shuffle, if you are good, it adds to the challenge. I also like how different the breach mages are and how different the nemesis are. It gives the game a lot of good challenges. Plus there is so much content to dig into.

2. Xenoshyft: Onslaught

I’m trying to remember, I’m not sure I’ve ever beat Xenoshyft: Onslaught. I think maybe one time. But I have come close a lot of times. This is another cooperative game, and you defend a base from waves after waves of bugs. Yes, this might sound like Starship Troopers the board game. I would say it is, but maybe slightly more serious. I love the challenge, and I like how each different area you can play has different powers and abilities.

What pushes this game ahead of Aeon’s End for me is how you can help others. I might draw a hand where I hold three weapons. But I only need two. I can give you that card to equip to one of your guys. Your line of defense getting weak, I can drop a paratrooper in. I’m getting some tough monsters, you can throw a grenade. It is highly cooperative and I love it for that.

1. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

Finally, this is the one I was talking about when I was talking about deck building versus deck construction. And in all fairness, I don’t play this for deck building. I play Tainted Grail for the story. But you do deck building, spending XP to get random card draw and then picking between them to add to your deck. And while you can remove cards from your deck whenever, there aren’t a lot of limits on how many you can have, just how few you can have. It’s a small part of the game, but making a great combat deck can be a challenge.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of deck building games that I still want to play. In particular, I want to play Clank! Legacy because I love the theme for that one. And I know there are more deck building games out there to try. It is a mechanic that I really love, like roll and writes, so I don’t think I will ever complain about finding new favorites to work into the rotation. I’ll probably do deck construction games here soon, because I do like them as well, though I own and have played fewer.

What are your favorite deck building games? If you’ve played Tainted Grail, would you consider it one? Let me know in the comments below.

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Games Coming to Crowdfunding in 2022

Slay the Spire

This one I’ve been waiting on for a long time. In fact, the first two are ones that were supposed to come out in 2021 and then didn’t for some reason or another. Might be supply chain wanting them to hold back, but Slay the Spire, I believe that this one is because of development on the game. They weren’t completely happy where it was, so they wanted to refine it more. I give them credit for delaying for that reason.

But if you aren’t familiar, Slay the Spire is a video game that uses deck building to go through a rogue-like game. You start out as a character, fight monsters, get cards as rewards, as well as relics, potions and more. Sometimes curses even get added to your deck and you want to avoid those. I am really curious to see how this translates to a board game, because the deck building will obviously work. But will the game play as smoothly as the video game?

Iron Forest

Iron Forest is the other one, from the makers of Ice Cool. This game does some of the same things as Ice Cool with flicking. But it does some different things. Mainly that there are two levels. So you launch up from the bottom and go to the top. I got to mess around with this a little at GenCon in 2019, and it was fun. And that only was launching penguins.

This is a bigger game than Ice Cool. While Ice Cool is great silly fun, it doesn’t have many rules. Iron Forest looks like it will be more of a game. And it looks like it is team versus team. That is different and intriguing as to how it will work. But I hope it won’t end up being too complex. What I love about dexterity games is when they are easy to get to the table and play.

Unsettled

We went from two that were delayed to two that are reprints of games. Unsettled by Orange Nebula is a big space game. But it is different from something like ISS Vanguard which is a massive campaign. Unsettled is maybe more like TIME Stories, not with an over arching story that doesn’t matter too much. But because it plugs and plays a lot of different planets into the main system.

This is a game about exploring those planets and trying to complete objectives. But each time you play it’s its own separate game. And each planet has it’s own puzzle to work with as you try and do your job and leave before time runs out.

I almost backed this when it was on Kickstarter before. But I didn’t and now with reviews coming out, I wish that I had backed it. The new Kickstarter I’m sure will give me an option to get the base game, which might be all I need. But because of the plug and play nature, it is going to add in even more planets.

Sea of Legends

The other game that is coming back is Sea of Legends. This is a pirate game that changes up every time that you play it. If you watch the Top 10 of the year over on the Dice Tower with Chris, Camilla, Wendy and Roy, Camilla talks about how it works. But the app gives you a different story depending on who your lover and nemesis are. Plus gives you a lot of ways you can win.

This is another game that I almost backed. It was fairly expensive, and with a poor deployment of the app initially, I’m okay that I didn’t. But the concept of the game seems great. I like the variability that the app can provide as well for the story. If it had been cheaper used, I might have picked it up already from my FLGS.

Dark Quarter

This might be the one I know the least about, or close to it. And this one I think is coming to crowdfunding, but I don’t know for sure. But Dark Quarter is a game from Lucky Duck Games and Van Ryder Games. Van Ryder is known for their graphic novel adventure books and more. Lucky Duck Games for Chronicles of Crime and Destinies.

They are working together to create a darker version of something like Destinies. Destinies is a competitive adventure game where you are trying to complete your destiny. It’s kind of that Time of Legends: Joan of Arc type of setting. Dark Quarter is going to be set in French Quarter of New Orleans with monsters around in the summer of ’81.

This one is really interesting but I’ll know more after I play Destinies, which is coming to me soon. Now, this won’t be a 1 to 1 comparison between the two games, but I think it will help me decide. The theme is definitely right up my alley though.

Marvel Zombies – A Zombicide Game

Of course Marvel Zombies is on the list. I’ve talked about this one a bunch already. But basically you are superheroes who have been turned into zombies. But maybe you can play as the heroes as well fighting off zombies? I need more details on it eventually, but it’s Marvel and Zombicide so I’m interested.

Plus it’s from CMON so the sculpts are amazing. Including the giant 2.5′ or so tall Galactus that actually can be used in the games. That is just crazy. I did just back Zombicide: Undead or Alive, but this one, when it comes in, might replace that because I don’t know if I need two Zombicide Games.

Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar

I haven’t gotten many of the dinosaurs games that have come out. Or at least many of the bigger ones. I have Draftosaurus which is great, plus Welcome to Dinoworld and Dinosaur Island Rawr ‘n’ Write. But this might be the first big box one I get because of one word, legacy. I love legacy games and dinosaurs.

I don’t know much about this game, it is probably the one I know the least about, that or Dark Quarter. But coming from Funko, yes, they make board games, I’m very curious. And it’s interesting that Funko is taking this to Kickstarter because they could just make it. I think they want to gauge the level of interest. And if it does well, then what I’m expecting will be a big box will go to retail.

But I really like the aesthetic of this. And I hope that it’s an interesting legacy game. Funko has been putting out good games, and not that complex games. If this is on the complexity level of legacy games like Aeon’s End Legacy and Pandemic Legacy that’d be perfect. I also imagine this will have more story than something like My City or Charterstone.

Catapult Feud: Hydra

This wouldn’t be on my list, except I’m getting the base set and the siege expansion on Saturday. This is a game, or activity, where you are launching attacks with catapults or other weaponry at your opponents castle. And you literally are launching them.

You build up your castle, put your guys on it. Then you take turns firing your projectiles at the other persons castle until their soldiers are knocked down. It’s a silly idea, and I have no idea what the Hydra is going to add. Maybe another way to attack? But I’m going to check it out. I don’t know how much of this game I need, but if I like it a lot before the Kickstarter comes out, then I might back it.

Rogue Angels

I wrote on Rogue Angels, as a preview, not too long ago. You can read my preview of it here. I am not putting it on the list because I previewed it. It was genuinely a really fun time. The story is solid, not the best, not the worst. The game play is really slick. I love the card cool down system.

This is another space campaign game, though. And I know I want to back Unsettled and have ISS Vanguard coming. With that said, this feels different. ISS Vanguard feels like a grand space odyssey. Unsettled is smaller planet missions. Rogue Angels is more story driven than either of them. So I do think Rogue Angels feels and seems different than other space games I have or have coming or want to buy.

Astro Knights

This is another one that I’m assuming is going to come to Kickstarter, why because Aeon’s End always has. And this is the successor to Aeon’s End. I believe that Aeon’s End is completely done now, maybe they’ll do a big box but the game is. Astro Knights looks like it will have some similarities but also build upon it.

I really am curious about this one because I love Aeon’s End. And I doubt that this will replace it for me. But I could also see wanting to have both to try them both out. And if this starts to grow on me, who knows. I really like the art for the game, though, so that’s always a good thing. I think the art is better than early Aeon’s End art.

What Crowdfunding Are You Excited For?

I did some quick research, not a ton for this list. I know some because I am part of a lot of board game groups and go to BGG (Board Game Geek) but still, I know more people will know a whole lot more than I do. If there is a different one you’re interested in, let me know. I want to look into more games always. But what from my list is the most interesting to you?

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Honorable Mention Board Games

There are a lot that could go on here. Downforce has been great fun as well as Night Cage, I’m not sure, but I think I played Super Fantasy Brawl for the first time this year. So that one isn’t getting added to the list. Aeon’s End Legacy which I streamed. I’m not sure which all roll an d write games, but I think Metro X, for sure Deadly Doodles, Patchwork Doodle, and maybe Super-Skill Pinball 4-Cade. Tiny Towns would be this year and has been played a number of times.

And I think that’s it, there might be more for the list as well. I have played a lot of new board games this year and I’m sure I’m missing some. Unfathomable is one I just saw on my shelf, as well as Similo or Ohanami. And I just did my Top 100, so I could just pull from that list, which you can see here.

5. A Gentle Rain

A small little solo game, this is one that I’m thinking might slowly drop on my list, which is a weird thing to say for a game that is my Top 5 for 2021. I got to game more with people this year, but not as much as I wanted. I didn’t get to cons and things like that, which gave different gaming experiences. So some small solo games got a lot of enjoyment this year.

A Gentle Rain is a very relaxing game to play. In it you are flipping out tiles trying to place them down in a way that all four sides can match. In fact, all four sides need to, to get fully surrounded – like Carcassonne. But if you get a square of four tiles, that corner you create you put in a disc matching one of the flower sides you matched.

It’s very simple, flip a tile and play it. It’s more of an activity in some ways as you are just trying to see how high a score you can get, or can you get all 8 discs out. But there is some strategy as to how you create your pond to optimize how you can finish those squares. So it’s not just luck.

4. PitchCar

This is a game that I keep adding more to. Whenever Eagle-Gryphon has some of it on sale, I buy more of it. I think I own all but one expansion which allows big PitchCar to connect to mini PitchCar, and I still want more. I wouldn’t mind another base set to just get more of some of the basic shapes.

But PitchCar is a simple racing game. You flick car discs around the board trying to be the first one to complete a circuit. The game play is simple but a lot of fun, and half the fun is building crazy tracks. I even have a loop for it that you can go around, and yes, flicking a disc around a loop is possible.

3. Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

I love this vesion of Terraforming Mars. I still need to play actual Terraforming Mars, but this one works well for me. It’s still about Terraforming Mars, but it does so in a smaller package. You just keep track of resources and then playing out cards to raise the oxygen levels, flip ocean tiles and raise the temperature. So stuff you do in the bigger game.

But it does it with very slick card play and action selection. Each round everyone selects an action from five different actions. It can be building, doing research, getting resources, but it’s always done in a specific order. If I pick an action, I get to do it and you do as well, but I get a bonus. It’s a fun system that keeps everyone involved the whole time.

2. Orchard: A 9 Card Solitaire Game

Another solitaire game. I think I’m up to 110 plays of Orchard: A 9 Card Solitaire Game, just because it’s so fast to play. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t offer good decisions and isn’t fun. It’s a lot of fun and a really good puzzle as you try and beat your previous high score.

You are layering cards, matching the different fruit tree symbols of apples, pears, and plums. The higher you stack and overlap the more you get. So, for example, if I get a pear on a pear, that gives me one fruit, or one point. Another layer, I’m up to three fruit. And you can go as high as ten. But getting the cards, with nine cards, to overlap that much is hard. It’s a great little puzzle of a game.

1. Railroad Ink Challenge

Finally, I put down Railroad Ink Challenge. I really like this game, because it’s fun in person and great on the app.This is one where the app gives such a fast experience it’s almost as good as playing in person. I already liked Railroad Ink a lot. It’s a good roll and write game about connecting routes along the edge of the board. You get points for filling middle spots and lose points for having roads or train tracks not connect.

But Railroad Ink Challenge takes it up a notch. It adds in, well, challenges. These are basically things like, on turn three have a complete row or column filled in. On turn five have five spots in the middle filled in. I like that better than the base game as it gives something more to focus on. When a route doesn’t easily connect to an exit, now you know what to do with it.

It’s a great roll and write and really high quality. I own a ton of tiny little expansions that I really need to play with. Even the base game without mixing in any expansion is a ton of fun, though. Highly recommend this game and the app. It’s a roll and write that I think is accessible, but also very thinky, a really good combination.

Final Thoughts on 2021 Board Games

It was so nice to play a lot of board games again this year. For my birthday I did a full day of board gaming. That is probably what I missed most in 2020, sitting around a game table and playing with friends. And I didn’t even start doing much in person gaming until almost half way through 2021.

If you’re reading this, you are probably a board gamer. But maybe you are here to see what new games might work well as a gift for a board gamer in your life. I really recommend all of them, though if they don’t play solo, I wouldn’t recommend Orchard or A Gentle Rain. But for a lot of us board gamers in the past two years, what we want is more time to play board games. And more time to play with people, so that’s a great gift to give.

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