Catch Up on the Top 100 Games

100 through 91
90 through 81
80 through 71

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition 70 through 61

70. Meadow

Published By: Rebel Studio
Designer: Klemens Kalicki

Buy Meadow Here

This game is a beautiful nature game. It’s all about creating a meadow and stacking cards on top of each other really. Each card you select is going to have requirements as to how to place it. To go along with that, the selection process is great. I like how you place a token on a row or column and that token determines which thing you take. So you need to plan that out and sometimes make due with the limited placement access you have.

69. Mountain Goats

Published By: Allplay
Designer: Stefan Risthaus

Buy Mountain Goats Here

Mountain Goats is a little, simple, climbing game. All you do is roll your dice and decide how to split them up. Then you move your mountain goat up the tracks that are those numbers. If you reach the top or are at the top, you gain those points. If someone else is at the top when you get there, you knock them down to the bottom again. The game is so simple, but it works really well

68. burncycle

Published By: Chip Theory Games
Designers: Josh J Carlson, Shannon Wedge

Buy burncycle Here

Now we move to burncycle which is a much bigger game. In this game you complete one off missions as robots. I like the theme of the game, robots took over and now big corporations and people have taken it back and are out after the robots. You need to sneak around to complete missions both in buildings and on the network. And the burndown of the cycle is a great tool for the game as well. Just a lot of really fun elements into a big game.

67. The Lost Expedition

Published By: Osprey Games
Designer: Peer Sylvester

Buy The Lost Expedition Here.

The Lost Expedition is back on the list. This game is a great cooperative game. And I always like to mention, it is a good one for not having too much alpha gaming. The players all make their card choices with no input. And it changes up from morning trek to evening trek, I like that about the game as well. The former is playing cards in numerical order, or they slot in that order, while the other you just play out cards. So it changes up the strategy and sometimes you just end up stuck.

66. ISS Vanguard

Published By: Awaken Realms
Designers: Andrzej Betkiewicz, Krysztof Piskorski, Marcin Swierkot

Buy ISS Vanguard Here.

Now to another big campaign game. This one is all about exploring space and figuring out the mystery of why a message brought humanity out here in the stars. The game is also interesting because it’s split into two parts, the planetary exploration part and then the ship management aspect. I like both parts and it makes for a fun campaign, one that I need to get back to, ideally in a group.

65. Mansions of Madness

Published By: Fantasy Flight Games
Designer: Nikki Valens

Buy Mansions of Madness Here.

Now another scenario based game, Mansions of Madness is a classic at this point. Do you want to go on some big Lovecraftian adventure, but as a one off? This game is going to give you that. I like how grand it is, I like how the app lets the scenarios be different each time (albeit just slightly), and I like how the scenarios you play are so different. This is a good beer and pretzels type of game when you want a big game for an evening.

64. Sonora

Published By: Pandasaurus Games
Designer: Rob Newton

Not Available Currently

I like my roll and write games. And Sonora is a great one for that and it has a fun twist with it. Yes, you get all the combos that you get from a lot of roll and write games. But you also get to flick discs. So instead of rolling dice you are flicking discs with numbers to see what areas you activate. It’s fun to knock someone off a spot that they really wanted. And then, like I said, you go heads down and get to combo as many things as you can.

63. Lands of Galzyr

Published By: Snowdale Design
Designers: Seppo Kuukasjarvi, Sami Laakso

Buy Lands of Galzyr

Lands of Galzyr is an interesting game because it’s really different than most games that I’ve played. This one is all about going on adventures and completing quests. But the stakes, while often cool and interesting, are never that high because what quest you go on, that’s determined by whatever shows up. I like as well how you can rotate your skills, so you might start out sneaking and then end up with great lore, it’s up to you and the quests you take.

62. Kohaku

Published By: 25th Century Games
Designer: Danny Devine

Not Available Currently

I like games where you can draft. And Kohaku gives you that as well as being a beautiful game to play. The copy as own has the acrylic tiles which give it a depth from the surface of the water to the bottom which looks amazing. But the game play is good as well. You pick out a koi and a scoring tile and they need to be adjacent to each other. Then when you play them out, you can never put a koi orthogonally adjacent to another koi and same with scoring tiles. So it’s a bit scoring tableau that you create.

61. Nidavellir

Published By: GRRRE Games
Deisgner: Serge Laget

Buy Nidavellir Here

Finally is Nidavellir. This is a game that I actually got rid of at one point. But then I decided to hop into a three player game on BGA. And I realized what I had not liked about the game before. Nidavellir is a great bidding and dwarf set collection game, but for me, only as a three or more player game. It’s fun to try and get your bids just right and still upgrade your coins. Plus you need to diversify what you collect so you can get the bonus powerful dwarves.

Join Next Week

Just as a reminder, I am streaming my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition every Wednesday night at 9 PM Central Time. The next few videos have their links up, so you can click notify on them to know when I go live. Or you can subscribe to the channel and click notify to know whenever a new video comes out. Currently I am playing through Legendary Kingdoms on Monday and then my wife and I are playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on Fridays. So join us for those videos.

And thank you for checking out the video and articles. Let me know what your favorite game from this chunk of 10 is and which one you would love to get played.

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Top 100 Games (of all time) 100 through 91

100. Ecosystem

Published By: Genius Games
Designer: Matt Simpson

Buy Ecosystem here.

I like drafting games a lot and I think that is what keeps Ecosystem on the list. It is a good drafting game with then a good puzzle as you create your tableau of cards in front of you. There are three version of Ecosystem all of which are great though I’m only going to be keeping the one that I show in the picture. That is because that one is easier to teach and learn and play. But any of the versions are pretty easy to learn and all offer their own drafting and tableau building puzzle.

99. Aquatica

Published By: Arcane Wonders
Designer: Ivan Tuzovsky

Buy Aquatica here.

Can you develop the best underwater kingdom is the theme of Aquatica. But the game is really about one central mechanism for me and that is enough to get it onto the list. I wish that the characters were more fun and diverse, but I love the card sliding. When you slide a card up to gain more resources and combo it into a big turn, it just feels good. And the puzzle of optimizing that on each turn is amazing.

It’s worth nothing that I love the puzzle in person but I find it not that great on BGA (Board Game Arena). Mainly, I think on BGA you lose that tactile nature of sliding up cards and seeing how you can work everything together. It makes a tactile thing seem a lot more mechanical on BGA and more interesting when it is in person.

98. Perolga

Published By: Rebel Studio
Designers: Michal Golab Golebiowski and Przemek Woljtkowiak

Buy Pergola Here.

Do you want to make a pretty garden? Perogla is game off set collection and creating a beautiful garden to play in. I like the action or item selection process for the game. The trowels are a fun way to do it, but also the changing extra bonus, depending on where you pick from, really adds to the game as well. Because of that, I think the game offers a bunch of different ways to score points and feels different when I play it

97. Crokinole

There is no designer or publisher on Board Game Geek to post because this game is from 1876 or around then.

Pledge for Crokinole Board Here.

I love Crokinole as a flicking game where I can build up skill. There are other higher flicking and dexterity games on the list, but Crokinole has some things I love about it. In particular that skill level that you are more apt to develop. But it is also a great game for a whole evening, you just sit around, flick discs, have a drink and chat to create a fun activity and casual time. The game is all about scoring points by getting into that center hole, but then strategy as you try and knock your opponents discs off the board.

96. Fleet: The Dice Game

Published By: Eagle-Gryphon Games
Designers: Ben Pinchback and Matt Riddle

Buy Fleet: The Dice Game Here.

Do you want a big roll and write game with two sheets? Then Fleet: The Dice Game might be the roll and write game for you. I like this one because it offers a lot of combos and a lot of paths to scoring points and possible victory. You want to get fish because that is going to give you points, but you also want to get licenses that are going to give you powers. Or maybe you are all in on the market or all in on building the different shops at the wharf. Whatever it is, there is a path for you to try and combo in the game.

95. The Castles of Burgundy

Published By: alea and Awaken Realms
Designer: Stefan Feld

Buy The Castles of Burgundy Special Edition on Miniature Market.

Can you build up the best area of Burgundy to get the most points? That’s what this game is about, getting points in any and every way that you can. Whether it is by adding to flocks or filling an area or delivering goods, you are going to get points. And the dice management in the game is what really makes it work for me. I like figuring out how I can optimize my two dice for a great turn. Or maybe I can’t do that, and now I need to figure out how to pivot to something new.

94. Comic Hunters

Published By: Arcane Wonders
Designer: Diego Sa

Buy Comic Hunters from Amazon here.

Do you like comic books and do you want to have a massive comic collection? That is Comic Hunters in a nutshell as you draft comics to add to your collection. Then you need to determine which ones get added and which ones you spend from your hand putting back into the pool. Plus this game offers multiple different drafts. That sounds like a lot to teach and learn, but it isn’t bad because it’s possible to teach just one draft at a time. And the final bonus is great Marvel comic covers in this game.

93. Dungeon Kart

Published By: Brotherwise Games
Designer: Michael Xuereb

Buy Dungeon Kart here.

Do you want to play Mario Kart but you also want to play a board game? Dungeon Kart is going to let you do both of those things with Boss Monster characters, special powers and spells. This is not my favorite racing game, but it is one that gives me that Mario Kart feel. And the game itself is not too slow in how it plays which I really like.

92. Ace of Spaces

Published By: Devir Games
Designer: Benjamin Amorin

Note: This game is getting an art update after less than welcoming art was included in the game. A new version to buy will be coming.

This is Balatro the board game. Now that isn’t 100% right, but there is similarities between the two. In that you want to beat a boss in this game and you do that with poker hands. In fact you do that several times. And the different bosses you defeat will give you one off or permanent bonuses. There is a bunch of luck in the game, but it’s fast to play, fast to learn, and just a good time for a solo or two player game, in particular solo.

91. Railroad Ink Challenge

Published By: Horrible Guild
Designers: Hjalmar Hach, Lorenzo Silva

Buy Railroad Ink Challenge here.

This is a great roll and write game where you are creating rail and road routes. As you create the routes the more exit points you connect, the more points you get. And longest road and rail routes are going to give you points as well. I like both the Challenge and non-challenge version of the game. But the Challenge version gives you some challenges to go for as well which just adds in a little that I really love for the game.

Join Next Week

Next week I am going to be continuing the list. The plan is 9 PM Central time every Wednesday until the list is done and you can click notify on the YouTube channel (Malts and Meeples) to know when new videos are going live. I also have put up links to some of the upcoming videos already there, so you can click notify on those. What games are going to be in my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 edition next week as I do 90 through 81.

Thanks so much for checking out the article and the videos. I hope you have fun with them. I know I have a ton of fun making the list every year.

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Catch up on previous videos here

100 through 91
90 through 81

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition – 80 through 71

80. Flamecraft

• Published by Cardboard Alchemy in 2022
• Deliver on the most goals and score points as you play out adorable little dragons who help around the town

This game immediately grabs you with the artwork. The dragons are amazing, and Sandara Tang gives each of them such great personality. Beyond that the game is simple but fun, you go to a location and are either activating the cards and dragons there, or adding some, or spending resources to complete goals. As the locations get more and more dragons the more powerful they become. It’s a great ramping mechanism for a simple game. Though the game is not fast one, which might be my only knock on it.

Buy Flamecraft

79. Just One

• Published by Repos Productions in 2018
• Work together to get the guesser to the right answer with just one word

A party game on this section. I’m not sure, I expect that there are two more party games on the list, but we’ll see. I honestly have forgotten. But Just One is a great cooperative party game. One person is the guesser and everyone else needs to write down a one word clue to get the guesser to guess their one word. Sounds simple, right, but if you double up with anyone, now both those words are gone. That means that an easy clue can become very hard very fast. So you want to be obscure with your clue, but not so obscure that it won’t lead the person to the right answer.

Buy Just One

78. On Tour

• Published by BoardGameTables.com (AllPlay) in 2019
• Create the best route for your band to tour the map going from low to high numbers

This one is a fun roll and write. While I love a ton of roll and write games where they have a lot of combos, this one is a different type of puzzle. In On Tour two dice are rolled and players each place the numerical combinations on two spots on their board. But there are rules as to where they can go. And you may want to watch the city to gain bonus points, but if it won’t connect well to your route, is it worth it to push your luck?

Buy On Tour

77. Mythwind

• Published by Open Owl Studios in 2023
• Build up your settlement and play your mini game in this cozy gaming experience

Open Owl Studios went into making Mythwind with the plan of making a cozy game. So something that works well like a Stardew Valley or an Animal Crossing. They do that by creating a peaceful story world to play in, there are interesting elements to it though. And then each person plays their own little minigame. I demonstrate what the minigame for the farmer looks like. And One Stop Co-op Shop and Meet Me At The Table play some of the other ones. It’s just a unique feeling game that is fun, and relaxing to play.

Preorder Mythwind

76. Betrayal at House on the Hill

• Published by Avalon Hill in 2004
• Explore a haunted house but beware, someone is going to be come the traitor

This is a game that I still love though I haven’t played it in a few years. I fully recognize that the game has issues. When you sit down to play you know that the haunt may not work as planned because either the traitor is going to be overpowered or the other survivors will be. And the haunts themselves have janky rules. But I still love the game anyways because it’s thematic, silly, and just a fun time.

Buy Betrayal at House on the Hill 3rd Edition

75. Clever 4Ever

• Published by Schmidt Spiele in 2022
• Another combotastic game in the Clever line of roll and writes

I don’t know what else to say about this one. Clever 4Ever offers a ton of fun combos and a few different feeling sections of your sheet. How Wolfgang Warsch keeps on coming up with different and interesting ways to handle rolling five dice, using one, getting rid of lower ones and then rolling them again, I don’t know. But he does and this one is great, I especially like the sections where you can fill in different shapes depending on the number rolled. That element really feels different.

Clever 4Ever is either new to my Top 100 Games (of all time) this year or it just made the cut last year. I know I hadn’t had the game for long.

Buy Clever 4Ever

74. SpellBook

• Published by Space Cowboys in 2023
• Learn spells and feed your familiar to get the most points

This is a really simple game. All it is when you boil it down is set collection. You collect materia, you get enough of a color, you learn that spell. Then you use that spell you learned to collect more materia or learn new spells easier. Each spell you learn gives you points, or you can just feed the materia to your familiar for more points as well. The is fast, and there is a fun puzzle as to how you can optimize your spell usage as you get into the game.

Buy SpellBook

73. Century: Golem Edition

• Published by Plan B Games in 2017
• Get crystals, upgrade crystals and get golems to give you points

Another engine building game. Century: Golem Edition again, like SpellBook, has quick snappy turns. In this game it’s all about hand management and using those cards in hand to get more and upgrade crystals. Then you use those crystals to grab Golems that are going to score you points. But you literally just play a card, trade crystals for a golem, pick-up all your cards, or buy a new card. One of those things on a turn and the game just flies.

Buy Century: Golem Edition

72. New Frontiers

• Published by Rio Grande Games in 2018
• Build out the grandest space empire by doing the best action for you

New Frontiers is another engine building game. In New Frontiers you are doing it at a space level though, colonizing new planets, getting new technologies, fighting and conquering planets. All of that done through action selection where what action you pick gives you a bonus. But, everyone else is going to follow along with that action as well. So what is the best action for you and maybe not a great one for other players? I believe that New Frontiers is new to my Top 100 Games (of all time) as well though it isn’t a new game.

Buy New Frontiers

71. Meadow

• Published by Rebel Studio in 2021
• Create a beautiful tableau of nature through tricky card drafting

Meadow is another gorgeous game. I start out and end this section with beautiful games. In Meadow you want to score points by playing out creatures, taking pictures, and gaining trinkets. But to do that you need to build up your meadow from the land type up through bugs and maybe eventually all the way into deer, foxes, or other creatures. How you pick the cards you get is great. You use a fence post that tells you how far into a row or column you are picking. So you need to determine the best spots to play to get all the cards that you want and hope no one blocks you.

Buy Meadow

Final Thoughts

Firstly, let me know what your favorite of these games are. I obviously enjoy all of the tones in my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition, so Meadow needs to be my favorite. But in terms of easily getting it to the table, I’m kind of feeling a big old stream and playthrough of all the clever games on Malts and Meeples. And let me know if there is one that you would want to get played as well that you haven’t tried in my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition.

Join me next week for the next batch of games in my Top 100 Games. It’ll be starting around 9 PM Central on Wednesday if everything goes as planned. You can subscribe and click the notification bell to get notified when the video goes live. Thanks so much for watching.

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Dice Tower Mega Announcement

Rock Manor Games

Maximum Apocalypse 2nd Edition

This is basically making it fitting the Wasted Wilds to make it easier to play and make it faster to play. There’s going to be more information coming, but just very quickly.

Brass Empire 2nd Edition

This is a steampunk deck building game. I am curious about it just because it’s deck building. But it seems like it’s very in your face compared to what I’d want, which is a shame. But then again, maybe I’d like it as a two player game.

Merchants of Magick Expansion

This is their crunchy roll and write game. It’s going to be coming up on Kickstarter with some new modules of the game. It’s not one that I’ve played, but if Rock Manor has some at Gen Con, I might pick up the base game. I think that it sounds interesting and of course I’d love to check it out prior to the crowdfunding campaign.

Bright Eye Games

The Plot Thickens

A cooperative story creation game. We actually talked about this yesterday on the Malts and Meeples for sale at Gen Con live stream. I am curious about it with the Science Fiction version to at least see what it’s like. But I don’t love it in theory.

Ponzi Scheme

This one is coming out in 2024. It’s a game about creating a ponzi scheme and seeing if you can stay afloat with the most money when someone goes bankrupt. It sounds okay, a light, silly game, I’m hoping.

Ares Games

Fire and Swords – War of the Ring The Card Games

This is an expansion, and there is a new expansion at Gen Con, but this one is going to be coming out in 2024. This one doesn’t interest me as much, but the one at Gen Con to make it soloable that one interests me. And if it’s an interesting game, I could see it being one that my wife likes as we’re both big Lord of the Rings fans.

Horrible Guild

Quicksand

A real time cooperative game. That isn’t my sort of game, I’m not a fan of real time. But it does sound fairly interesting to try once or twice because you are playing against puzzles. It’s just that I’m not a big fan of real time.

Sunrise Lane

This is a game from Dr. Reiner Knizia one of the most prolific designers. I’m somewhat interested in it, it’s about building out houses and scoring points. I like the idea of building out houses and how you build out houses. It sounds actually really good now that I hear more about the rules, because it looks very pretty on the table. And it has some fun scoring options with it. Sunrise Lane is very high up there for me from what’s been announced thus far.

Pencil First Games

Sunrise at the Studio

This looks like a small game, and it’s kind of in that Floriferous style of game, or at least box size. This one is a pottery themed games. I like this weight of game, and it has set collection, drafting, and shared goals. So this sounds a lot like Floriferous again, but I’m down for that.

Snowfall over Mountains

Pocket sized solo tile laying game. That is a lot of things that I like. I am very used to a lot of snow. But you build it out a map from your cabin to create different scoring options. This one looks very cool. Pencil First Games makes amazing looking games aesthetically and very fun games.

Stoneblade Entertainment

Solforge Fusion App

It’s meant to improve the game play. Your collection gets automatically imported. That said, this is not a game that I was ever interested in. They are demoing it, and showing stuff off at Gen Con. It’s a fine idea, you don’t have to buy stuff again; it’s still a very specific announcement.

CGE

Kutna Hora

The announcement for a game that is already out. It’s talking about how it is using Re-wood. Re-wood is similar to plastic, but it’s sustainable to use over and over again. And it’s going to be at a similar detail level for plastic components. A cool thing, for a game I’m not interested in. The game is going to be at Gen Con to demo.

Grey Fox Games/Ludeon Studios

Rimworld

A board game adaptation of a video game. I’m not familiar with the video game, but I like the aesthetic thus far. It’s going to be coming to Kickstarter. There is not much information on this, unless you are familiar with Rimworld. Could definitely be a cool one, but I’ll be waiting to see it on Kickstarter.

Board & Dice

Nucleum

This one is going to be a big hit for a lot of people. This is about the nuclear power plants and it’s a very heavy euro game. Unless I build up to something like this over time, I don’t think it’s going to be one for me. There’s definitely a lot going on in the game which is why I think that a lot of people will enjoy it. It’s coming out in October at Essen Spiel

Inside Up Games

Clock & Key

This is going to be a Kickstarter coming in 2024. Another puzzle sort of game like Block & Key which is one that I thought looked interesting but I’ve never tracked it down to learn. I’m curious to see if this game is going to be similar or not. It reminds me of the pipe connecting games, which is something that I do enjoy.

Kosmos

Ingenious

It’s a relaunch of this game, also another Reiner Knizia. Don’t know a ton about this one, but I have heard of it. I think it’s supposed to be a family style abstract game. Probably not one that I’ll look into too much

Dragon keepers

A dragon game where you are taking care of dragons. This is done through card play, and they like to talk about the cute dragons, not to Flamecraft level, but definitely cute.

Rebel Studio

Meadow Adventure Book

It’s now coming out in 2024. This is a campaign or scenario style game. It was going to be a 2023 game, but now it’s been pushed back.

Avel: the Card Game

This is going to be pushed back as well. The timeline is still be determined.

Klink

It’s a number game, supposed to be a quick game. It’s a small box game, not a ton of a details on it. General impression was that this is going to be a family weight filler style game. And this is going to be a card game, or at least an action selection or playing game. Coming in early 2024.

MLEM: Space Agency

Cats… in… space….

That seems like a dangerous combination. It’s going to be a fun game with hopes of creating some laughs. This is going to be a dice game, so I’m thinking it’ll be a pushing your luck kind of game. Another Reiner Knizia game, like I said, he’s very prolific.

Cardboard Alchemy

Bistro Bay

An animal cooking game, but not cooking animals, if that makes sense. This looks like the same artwork style as Flamecraft, so a ton of fun to see it. You are trying to do the best and impress the the food critic. I am going to be looking at this one coming to Kickstarter in 2024.

Pandasaurus

Unrest

An asymmetrical two player card game. The rebellion vs the empire. Now this is not a Star Wars game. The aesthetic of the game is pretty solid, but I’m not sold on it. I feel like it’s a bit like Hanamikoji in some ways with having limited actions, it’s intriguing that way. It could be good. November retail release, and not expensive.

Unexpected Games

3000 Scoundrels Expansion

It’s not a game that I’ve played, but from what I heard of the original game was that it was fine. I this is definitely one that I’d want to checkout. And it sounds like the expansion is going to improve some things or will help with some of the complaints that people had. Definitely makes it sound more intriguing to me. As I do like the Wild West theme. And it’ll now have a solo mode as well, which again interests me.

Arcane Wonders

Foundations of Metropolis

This is going to be a retail version of Foundations of Rome. I’m guessing that this is going to be a smaller version because Foundations of Rome is huge. No miniatures in it, but that might get me to play the game and buy the game. Still looks really good, and it’ll be coming to retail in 2024, I think they said early. This one I’m very excited for, again because it makes it more accessible for more gamers.

Final Thoughts

Goodness, this is a ton of write really fast. I try and pause the video as little as possible because it’d take so much longer if I did pause all the time. I did have to do that a few times. Which ones are most interesting to me, I’m going to say my Top 5 are Foundations of Metropolis, Bistro Bay, and Sunrise Lane, Sunrise at the Studio, and Snowfall over the Mountain.

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Osprey Games

Undaunted Battle of Britain

Take to the sky. It’s continuing the series of games. Undaunted games are deck building and war games. This is going to add in airplanes with is different. Undaunted is one that I would like to try. I really do enjoy deck building and while the theme isn’t my normal one that I love, I think that it could be a game that I enjoy a lot to play. And there is an expansion to what is already out there that makes it solo.

Arcane Wonders

10 Years of Arcane Wonders

A new logo for Arcane Wonders as they have reached 10 years. They talked about some games that they have already announced.

Foundations of Rome

New Kickstarter August 2nd. I believe this is going to have a new expansion. The announcement that they officially had was just the 10 years of being around and the new logo.

Horrible Guild

The Great Split

The Great Split is where you are drafting cards, collecting riches and trying to get the most prestigious of all of them. You split your cards and your opponent picks one, so you split and choose. Looks like a very light game but also one that is going to be a lot of fun as you try and figure out what to collect and how to get points. Honestly looks like one that I’ll enjoy a lot.

Pencil First Games

Floriferous Pocket Edition

Continues the trend of taking their games and making smaller editions of games. They take everything and basically make it smaller. So it’s going to be the same game but in a smaller package. I don’t know that it needs a smaller edition, the game is already small and I own it and I really enjoy it. But I’ll look at it as maybe a small stocking stuffer for people I know.

Forbidden Games

Mosaic Wars and Disasters

Adds in more cards to the base game. This is a civilization themed game. I am curious about the game as I’ve heard very good things. But It’s also a big game and that means that it is going to be a longer game. Mosaic was a try before I buy and Wars and Disasters seems intriguing but it doesn’t change the fact it’s a try before I buy. Coming to Kickstarter in September. This is a chance to get the game if you missed out on it though. And who knows, maybe I’ll back it if I can demo it at Gen Con.

Unexpected Games

3000 Scoundrels

Old west game that definitely looks to have some weird west vibes to it. And it is going to have cards and sleeves that change up characters. It seems to have a lot of interesting things to it. There are in fact 3000 unique scoundrels. It is going to be an engine building game with some push your luck as well to it. I really love the aesthetic of the game that’s for sure. More information is going to come out tomorrow for more details and is coming out Fall of 2022 or demo it at Gen Con.

Pegasus Spiele

Caldera Park

This is a tile placement game where you are trying to place large herds of animals. The active player is picking what you do and you play them on your own map. It sounds interesting, you try and place things out so that you can not block yourself out for what other people pick, because you are trying to get large herds. I like this a lot reminds me of Tiny Towns.

Spaceship Unity

A space themed game, I don’t know a ton about it at this point in time. It has some great artwork and a fun video introducing it. It is going to be a campaign game over 5 episodes. You need to interact with your own house, I am less convinced on that. They want it to be kind of that Star Trek or Orville theme but to me that sounds too odd.

Dan and Cora Hughes

Cora Quest: Keep on Questing

It’s a family dungeon crawling game. This is more for the game, more quests. It’s coming to Kickstarter in October. It’s going to be adding in more to the game, leveling up characters, more items things like that. Just basically more for the game, so if you like it, you know, and you know if you want more. And there is a box design contests or things for kids from all over the world to get artwork on the box.

Portal Games

Basilica

A 2nd of the game. I don’t know much about it, but it looks quite euro. A two player tile laying game. Ignacy described it as Carcassonne with combat and area control. I like tile laying, I don’t mind area control, especially as two players. So I am curious about it but it is a try before I buy easily. It’s going to be an Essen Spiel release.

Granna

Space Craft

You are building a space craft. You get different resources to let you buy different ship pieces. One interesting piece of the look is that the pieces click together. Plus you are trying to build your space craft to get orders completed. There is some interesting movement to gather your resources and how they are limited. This is one that I’m curious about just because it is building a space craft, and while it’s 2D it looks like a lot of fun. It’s going to be premiering at Essen Spiel.

Matagot

Peter Pan

It’s panic in Neverland as the lost children has been kidnapped. It looks like a game with players trying to figure out where the lost children were taken while avoiding Captain Hook. I think it looks like a lot of fun, it’s a dry erase board which allows you to figure out information. And there is a campaign mode which is interesting. It reminds me of Treasure Island but this one being cooperative is way more interesting to me.

Smirk and Dagger

Tesseract

An other dimensional tesseract is collapsing down. Can you figure out how to control it or will it blow up and destroy our earth. The goal of the game is to get cubes off of the Tesseract and get them into a matrix. If you can contain a cubes into matrix. It’s all about collecting different sets of cubes to fill up that matrix. Looks like a fun puzzle of a game and is going to be cooperative as well. Coming to Kickstarter in October. And it has a lot of cool dice in it.

Gale Force Nine

Enola Holmes: Finder of Lost Souls

It’s an all versus one game of reasoning and deception. I like the idea of a one versus all game where it is set-up with figuring out what the one has set-up. It’s made as a family weight game which to me is interesting but probably not for me. I find that one versus all are hard to get to the table. And it sounds like there is a bit of Mastermind element to it as well. For me, I’d play this but I don’t think I’d ever pick it up not because it looks bad, but it doesn’t look like it’s for me.

Plaid Hat Games

Hickory Dickory

You are trying to collect different things to get points. Now, that sounds boring or standard. But there is a clock with a moving hand around the board. Which I think is pretty interesting. And it isn’t just collecting sets, it’s collecting rows and columns. And the artwork is amazing for this game. I actually think I want to pick this one up because the game just looks so pretty on the table. And Q4 in 2022 for the release date.

Grey Fox Games

Prophets of Doom

You’re the leader of a doomsday cult but you are really bad at figuring out what is happening. You’re trying to get followers and build up your compound. It’s a fun theme and fairly unique. Honestly, don’t know what I think about this, the artwork is nice. The theme, like I said is fun, but also I don’t know too much about how it’s played. And it’s a Q1 game in 2023.

Reavers of Midgard Expansion

I haven’t played Champions or Reavers of Midgard. I think that they look pretty but also they don’t seem like my type of game. But if you like Reavers of Midgard, then this is going to be interesting to you. It’s a game that I wouldn’t mind playing. And it’s coming to Kickstarter or crowdfunding towards the end of 2022.

Navoo Games

Raising Robots

It’s interesting strategy game with robots for 1 to 7 players. I find that interesting because that’s a big number of players but they have engine building, simultaneous action selection and variable player powers. I really love the artwork from Howard McWilliam. The game looks like it’s going to be pretty heavy which is not a bad thing, but it might be heavier than the art makes it look. Looks like a try before I buy because there is a lot going on. And while you do stuff simultaneously, it looks like you pick actions and then set stuff up then everyone activates. It’s one you can checkout at Gen Con.

Rebel Studio

Meadow Downstream

An expansion for Meadow. It is releasing at Spiel Essen this year. There is a river board and water tiles that you use. It’s going to add more to Meadow and if you like Meadow then you are probably going to want more of this

Meadow Adventure Book

Another expansion but this one is going to be adding in scenarios. It will be legacy like experience in 2023. So think adding rules as you go and playing the specific scenarios. They said legacy like, though, so I am assuming somewhat replayable. Meadow is a game that I should try and checkout at Gen Con because I love the artwork and look but don’t want to take the plunge to buy it yet.

Chronicles of Avel: New Adventures

It’s adding in three more scenarios and three modules. This is going to be an expansion, if that’s not obvious, for Chronicles of Avel. This is a game that I keep on seeing at stores. I believe it’s an adventure game for a younger audience, or at least that is the feeling that I’ve gotten. I don’t know if this is making it more complex, but the game always interests me. Another one I’d love to checkout at Gen Con. And the components really do look amazing for this game.

Avel the Card Game

This is going to be a deck building game set in the Avel setting. There is no shuffling of the cards. This is going to be a bit of a step up, and is going to be a cooperative card game that they call as a next step game. That definitely makes me think that Chronicles of Avel might be too light for me, at least until the kid is a bit older, but this one could be intriguing for playing with more casual gamers.

Rock Manor Games

Set a Watch: Forsaken Isles

This is going to be a standalone expansion, which they have done before, for their Set A Watch game line. You face off against monsters, new ones, with new adventurers. But it still maintains mix and match ability with the other Set a Watch stuff you already have. This is one, Set a Watch, that is on my shelf that I need to get played. I am not sure that I need to grab more of it, but we’ll see once I get my copy of Set a Watch played, which I should soon.

City of Games

Race to the Raft

From the designer and company that brought you Isle of Cats, this is about the cats left behind. A cooperative game where you play as the cats to try and get the ones left behind off the island on the last remaining raft. It definitely is interesting to me. I like Isle of Cats and I want to try City of Kings. I like the idea of cooperative with those same cats and cat artwork. Definitely one I’ll be keeping an eye on.

WizKids

Ascending Empires Zenith Edition

A new version of Ascending Empires. I don’t know anything about this game, it’s a Sci-Fi themed 4x game with about a 60-90 minute play time. Whenever I hear 4x, I am intrigued, but I also know I have troubles getting the ones I own to the table. It’s a new edition so it’ll be interesting to checkout for me as there is a dexterity element to the game with how you move your ships. I do like games with dexterity but again, it is still 4x. For sure it is one that I’d want to try. And like a lot of games now, it is going to add modules to allow you to change it up. I often wonder how likely I am to play with a module, I need to try them in Isle of Cats.

CMON

Stranger Things Upside Down

If you could have seen me when I saw what the announcement was. It is by Rob Daviau from Pandemic Legacy which I love. And Cthulhu Death May Die which I need to see. I literally got goose bumps and I had to pause the video because I am so excited. There was an Asmodee Stranger Things social deduction game announced. This, however, is not that.

It is coming to retail in 2023. Not a ton of details yet for it, but I don’t need to know more about it. It is Rob Daviau, it is a cooperative game. And you are trying to save Hawkins from the Upside Down. I don’t need to know more, I will get this game. I don’t know that I have ever had a reaction to a board game announcement like I did now. Maybe for Frosthaven but that would be about it. Shut up and take my money!

Dire Wolf

Dune Imperium – Immortality

I really need to play Dune Imperium. I assume that anyone who knows the game is going to be exciting. This expansion is going to be more for the deck building element. Plus there is also going to be research track as well, which is interesting. It is definitely making the game more complex, and I think it could be exciting. Dune Imperium is one that I should track down and play, but it never shows up used that I’ve seen. Expected to be available around the end of 2022.

CGE

Deal with the Devil

It’s an engine building Euro game. it is going to have secret roles, though, which is going to be changing up the standard thing. The game looks interesting on the table with buildings that are player screens to hide who you are and what you want to do. Not my type of game, but it is going to have a table presence for sure. And there is going to be an app that hands out the roles as well, which is intriguing. I would try it just because it seems to add in a little bit more than just a standard Euro game but then again, there is social deduction. It is a Gen Con first look coming out around Essen Spiel.

Final Thoughts

There are a ton of games in this announcement. There are some that aren’t all that interesting to me, but then again, there are others that I am clearly excited for. I will be finding out everything I can about the Stranger Things game. Like I said, it is going to be on that I immediately seek out and it’s a theme that I want a great game with it. Rob Daviau is a designer that I want to doing it. But besides that, I got to say, I think that Race to the Raft and The Great Split interest me the most next.

What is the game that stood out to you that you want to try out or need to get?

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