Top 15 Campaign Games I Still Need to Play

15. Ticket to Ride: Legends of the West

I know that I’m going to like this game. So why is Ticket to Ride Legacy lower on the list? Some of it is because it is a legacy game. The two “legacy” games that I have on the list are the bottom two. But also because while I like Ticket to Ride a lot, it’s not a game that I play all that often. I think that the legacy version will likely breath new life into the game for me. But it’s more of a comfort food pick than a really exciting new bite to try. And for that reason it’s lower on the list.

14. Clank Legacy 1 & 2

The other legacy game is actually two legacy games. So did I cheat, I’ll let you decide. But this one is lower on the list because I know that I love Clank! already. And I really like the Acquisitions Inc guys as well, so that is a great theme for me. But it’s like I said for Ticket to Ride: Legends of the West, this is more comfort food. I already know that I will like both of the games. But it’s higher on the list because I like Clank better than I like Ticket to Ride, and because I think the writing is just going to be a great time that’s a ton of fun.

13. Tales from the Red Dragon Inn

Speaking of fun writing, I expect that Tales from the Red Dragon Inn is going to be another game with fun writing. This one is supposed to be a simpler, or less in depth dungeon crawler game and there are some good playthroughs of it. I’d recommend checking otu the playthrough that was done done on Meet me at the Table. They’re one of my favorite channels, and it shows how fast it is to get the game to the table and get playing.

12. Kinfire Chronicles

Speaking of another campaign game that I’ve heard a lot of good things about, we have Kinfire Chronicles. This is again supposed to be a friendlier and easier to get into campaign game than some. I like the look of the aesthetic of the game. And it’s not a mini heavy experience which might make it easier to get to the table. But it’s probably easier to see what it’s like at the table. I really do like how the cast of characters looks like a ton of fun and familiar fantasy but not the completely normal fantasy.

11. Tidal Blades 2

For this one I’ll add a video from Man vs Meeples. But I know more about this one. Some of the previous ones I just went on theme. This one is a dungeon crawler or adventure style game with scenarios where you are in this beautiful world dealing with monsters who attacked a festival and more in the story.

But the mechanisms got me to pick up this game. I like how you add in cards to a grid and then you activate a row or a column. But once every spot in a row or column is filled and you activate it, it wipes. And you have basic actions on spots without cards, but it’s a rising and falling action as you try and play through the scenario and defeat the monsters.

10. Etherfields

Now we’re onto Etherfields. The only campaign game from Awaken Realms that I haven’t gotten to the table. And this one actually left my collection for a very short time. But as I said, I love campaign games so I got it back. I put this one where because I love the theme of it. I have heard that it is rough around the edges but the theme gets me.

You are exploring dreams and each dream is going to be a little bit different. Some of them might be more dream like, but the fun of dreams, at least in a board game is that they can be nightmares as well. And that means that the game is going to have twisted and crazy and surreal scenarios and that sounds amazing to me. I know one element was a bit of a grind, but I believe that there are rules out there now that help fix that.

9. Kingdom: Death Monster

Then we get to one that maybe should be higher on the list. Kingdom: Death Monster is not the grand daddy of all campaign games, that’s Gloomhaven in a lot of ways. But this one is one of the games that really showed what you could do and create a massive game with a ton of expansions and a ton of minis in it. I only have the core box and there is a ton in there.

In this game it’s a boss battler campaign. You start at no one, really you don’t even have language yet. But as you play, you grow you tribe, figure out new things, like ways to make weapons and armor, develop language and more. All that while sending out your hunters to try and defeat boss monsters who are sometimes going to take out your hunters. And that’s why you need to keep growing your village. But Meet Me At The Table has great videos on this as well.

8. Divinity Original Sin

This is a game that I need to play through both as a video game but also as the board game. I had fun watching Felicia Day an Ryan Day play through it on their streams back in the day. So it is a game that I have played some, in the video game. But the board game sounds great for it as well. The theme definitely helps with that as does the fact that this isn’t a grid movement map but more of an area movement game. And I really like how there’s that campaign element and adventure element to it without purely being a dungeon crawler game.

7. Dragon Eclipse

Alright, I kind of lied about having played all of the Awaken Realms campaign games. This is one that might actually get to the table sooner because I think it might be easier to get to the table. I didn’t think of it though, because it just got in. In this game you are collecting dragons and battling dragons. Does that sound a bit like Pokemon, that makes sense. But it’s a game with a fun theme and compared to some campaign games, it’s a campaign game that you can play true solo which is great for me.

6. Nova Aetas Renaissance

You’ll notice and probably already have noticed a trend of the videos that I share here. A ton of them are from Meet Me At the Table. A lot of these games I had already backed before they played them. But this is one that I tracked down because of the channel. I love the 3D nature of the experience for this game. And how, in one of the scenarios a house that is 3D can be taken apart and flattened. But there is more than that as well.

The story of the game is fun. It feels like it mixes up a few things from historical to make fantastical. And then it uses a fun mechanism for whose turn it is. You spend you action points and move around a time track. Whomever is at the end of the track is going to be who activates next. There are some other rules for it as well. So you can’t just stack up turn after turn after turn before the bad guys go, but it’s a fun element to the game.

5. Agemonia

Then we have Agemonia. This is a rare campaign game that I didn’t back right off the bat on crowdfunding. Or I should say a rare one that I looked into a lot and didn’t end up backing. This game seems to have a fun world and setting to play in and that’s some of what drew me in right away for it. But there were other elements that kept me coming back for it as well.

I liked how the maps were in books and that felt different. But also beyond that, as more places are doing that now, the world would change. You draw out a card after interacting with a point and cover it up. That might create a different point of interaction or it might be nothing to do there anymore. And the game play just seems simple enough to be easy to learn and play, but offer some solid choices in combat as well.

4. The Elder Scrolls

Next is another new one to come in. But it’s a fun theme that a lot of people are going to be drawn to. For me it’s less the theme and more that it’s a shorter campaign based off of the Too Many Bones system that I really am excited for.

If you’re not familiar with the system, you level up after missions. Or you can anyways. And as you spend your points to try and level up you get better or unlock new abilities. You can add to base stats, which can be good, or you can add to the specialty dice that you roll. And while this streamlines it a bit from what it was with Too Many Bones, I’m excited for it and the world that the game is set in certainly helps.

3. Middara

Now the top 4 are going to be ones that I really would love to play. Yes, you read that correctly, we’re on #3 and we have four games to go including this one. How is that, I couldn’t pick between my top two. But Middara is very safely into that group. And soon I’m going to be having more Middara come in. I say soon, I expect maybe this time next year.

But Middara is going to be a classic dungeon crawler with a ton of story and a ton of dice chucking. But I really like the theme and look of the game. You go to another world, chosen to go there kind of it’s weird to explain. But you are chucking dice to defeat monsters, level up and become awesome. But the whole aesthetic of the game gives me a really strong anime feel. I’ve heard that sometimes trips up the writing, but overall people really enjoy it. And to me that sounds exciting.

1c. Oathsworn

Next we have Oathsworn. And this, this is the three way tie for first place. Why did I not just remove the last game from the list, because I wanted to mention it too. Oathsworn is another boss battler game. But it is a game that is split into two parts. And that excites me about the game. You get a mystery or exploration phase where you experience a lot of story. And then you go beat up that boss. But if you do well on the story the boss maybe is easier.

And I really like the mechanisms in the game. I kept games that I’d really played off of the list. I did a short demo of this one two years ago at Gen Con and I adored it. There is this great card system where cards have to cool down before you can use them again. And then you decide how many dice you are going to roll, some are required, but the more you roll the more chances you to bust and miss, but the greater a hit could be. Or you could play it safer and draw cards, but eventually that deck of cards will run cold and do you switch to dice then?

1b. Primal: The Awakening

Next tied at the top is Primal: The Awakening. This one is another boss battler game. And this one I should probably get to the table sooner than some. A nice thing about Primal is that it doesn’t need to be a campaign, you can also play it as a one off. And that would definitely make it easier for me to get it to the table.

But this is a game that is all about the boss battle. There is a little story between scenarios and a chance to upgrade, but it’s not going to be nearly as much other stuff as just a pure battle. And the battle is different as well. You play on a tiny board with just four sides of the monster that you can be on. And depending the stance the monster is in, you need to be in specific spots to do damage. Add in card play for this which you can pull of powerful combos, that’s great. Of course, depending on what cards you play, you might trigger a lot of monster reactions.

1a. Arydia

And finally the most recent game to the campaign game collection. This one barely beat out Elder Scrolls for that title, we have Arydia. Arydia is another game that I passed on originally when it was on crowdfunding but then I went back and late pledged it. I just kept on being drawn into one part of the game.

The game is at three different levels. Now I don’t mean that you build stuff up on the table. I mean that you explore the world at three different levels. You explore at a high level where you get general encounters and interactions. Then you can dive down deeper and start to interact with specific characters or explore a location in more detail. Finally, you might then drop into combat which is tactical movement on a map. And that massiveness of the world really drew me to the game.

Final Thoughts

You might think that is enough. But there is going to be another list, probably tomorrow for games that I want to come back to or that are new editions or versions of games that I’ve already played as campaign games. I expect that is only going to make it to ten, but that’s a lot. And this list even didn’t include everything. The campaign in Solomon Kane could have made the list. And I know that I just didn’t see some games on the shelf that would have made sense for the list as well. And there are games that I likely missed too because I don’t think of them as campaign games.

What campaign games do you want to get played? And how do you find time to play them all? Or are you like me where you have more campaign games than you can play?

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Top 10 Anticipated Crowdfunding Games Arriving in 2025

10. Knitting Circle

This one is lower on the list because it’s not as much my type of game. But I could say that about the predecessor to the game, Calico as well. And I really like Calico. Now the two games are quite different, one is about quilting and one is about knitting. But beyond that, there are more differences as well as you are trying to complete various scarves and things like that in knitting circle to score the most points.

One element that I do like is that it is thematic to knitting. I’m not an expert when it comes to knitting so I’ll get it wrong, just from what I know it is thematic. And I appreciate too, that it lets you “mess up” as that is also thematic. Now that sounds slightly mean, but to miss a stich somewhere, that might happen, so this game has that as an element to it. I find that just fun and unique.

9. FLOE

FLOE was one that I hadn’t originally planned on backing. But when I watched The Brothers Murph play it, I knew it was a game that I was going to like. There is a bunch going on, worker placement, adventuring, and more to basically get resources and turn in those resources to improve what you can do and get points, if I’m not mistaken. What drew me in with it is the fun theme for it. And that idea of the adventure in the game. Plus the artwork adds to that as well.

8. Marvel Dice Throne: X-Men

It might surprise some people that a Dice Throne game is so low on the list. And honestly, I am very much anticipating this one. I love Dice Throne, it’s a top 10 game of all time for me, but because that, I own everything for it. And because I own everything for it, I’m anticipating it just a bit less than I would be some others. Also, I could just put down Dice Throne, I backed the new one as well, and I expect that’ll come out in 2025 as well.

But for the X-Men I’m just really excited for it for the characters. Yes, there is Deadpool, and I get why they added him as an extra character. He is going to be a wacky one to play, once in a while. But I’m way m ore interested in the other characters. And I think it’ll be obvious why, if you listen to 10 Minute Marvel, you know that I love Gambit and Rogue, so two the characters, and then Psylocke in there is a great character as well. Sure there is Wolverine, who I know a lot of people will love, but he’s lower on my list to play.

7. Super Squad High

Now another one that is a bit out there. But this one really drew me in for some reason. I think it’s because you can set most stories in a high school setting and no matter who it is, vampires, wizards, or superheroes, it’s going to make an interesting story. And then of course, this is a board game with that theme, which is interesting to me.

I also like that there are some interesting ideas behind it. Yes, you play as heroes trying to figure out which one of your classmates if the villain responsible for the crime wave, that makes sense. But you need to do things like still go to school with it, so you need to balance your time between schoolwork, fighting crime and your dating life, because there is a dating element to the game as well. I hope it’s a fun, silly, and thematic game.

6. Spire’s End: Rangitaki

The next game in the Spire’s End line, and you’ve seen my play Spire’s End and Spire’s End Hildegard on Malts and Meeples before. This is one that I like how the designer keeps on taking new stabs at choose your own adventure story games with some combat and other mechanisms in them. Plus the artwork on all the games are just amazing.

I think some of it too is the thematic world of the game. It’s very deep in this shared world that has been created across all of the games. I want to know more of what happened before, and while it seems like Spire’s End might be the finishing point, there is a lot of story that can be told as to how the world got there. And Hildegard does a good job of telling part of that story, so I’m hopeful that Rangitaki will continue to tell more and build on it.

5. Dragon Eclipse

Next up is the one Awaken Realms game on the list. I am tempted to put down Grimcoven as well, but I think that could sneak into the start of 2024, which is why I didn’t. Plus I am also very excited for Dragon Eclipse. And I know that it has started shipping out, the date says 2024, but I think it’s really a 2025 game. Maybe, if someone is lucky, it’ll show up in 2024, but I don’t know that is even possible.

This is a one to two player card battling game where you get dragons and battle them to capture more dragons. Does this sound a bit like Pokemon, it should. But you get to build up a deck of cards and use your dragons. And while it’s not a narrative driven game, there is some campaign element to it or story element to it for the thematic setting of the world. This is totally one I plan to stream on Malts and Meeples, when it comes in.

4. The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

Chip Theory Games now almost always holds my interest. I like Burncycle and Too Many Bones from them a lot. And I want to get Cloudspire to the table, I’m just not sure when I will. So when they announced an Elder Scrolls game with the the Too Many Bones system, I was interested.

I am not a big Elder Scrolls gamer, so it is not completely the theme that drew me in. But as people spoke about it, they talked about how it took the Too Many Bones system and made it simpler. Plus there is a campaign element to it as well that I like. There is in Too Many Bones as well, but this one is going to show a bit more story around it I believe.

And from what I know the leveling up is going to be a bit more dynamic in how you do it. By that I mean that Too Many Bones you wanted to get base stats a lot. Here I think you can choose between base stats or abilities.

3. Witchbound

This is one that I got to demo at the very start of it. And I really like this game. It is a point and click adventure game about becoming a witch. I get a bit of Kiki’s Delivery Service, maybe a bit of 8-bit adventure games too. But it isn’t an 8-bit artwork game, the artwork in it is amazing actually. And there is a lot that you can interact with.

I think that some people are going to find this game too simple. You find numbers on the board and combine them with different lines of dialog or actions. That is about it, so you need to figure out the puzzles of how things work to succeed. There is combat, there are mini games of sorts, I believe, but it is mainly the setting. This world is vibrant and exciting to play in. And the theme that there were witches, but they are gone and you become one, it’s a fun story idea.

2. Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread

Next up is one that I know I am going to get this year. It is on the ships now and reviewers are starting to get some early copies. This is a game that was long in the making. And it is actually one that I didn’t even back at the beginning on Kickstarter. I like the looks of the game and I did back then, but it was competing with a lot.

There is one particular element that brought me to backing the game. Or really, I think I should say that it is three. It is the fact that you play the game at three different levels. There is this bigger world map where you travel around for your adventure. Story happens there, but it’s kind of on this grander traveling level. Then you get down to a ton or something like that. And you interact with people and things like that there. But finally, you get down to a tactical battle level. You interact with movement and enemies and do the standard dungeon crawl. But the three together is great.

1. Rogue Angels

Finally, I have hope that it comes this year, but it’s been so anticipated for a long time. And it is one that I know the work is happening, so I’ve never had a concern that it might not happen. I left a game off the list that I want to get, but it’ll get here when/if it gets here. But Rogue Angels is an amazing story driven tactical space dungeon crawler. So of course it is the top on my list. And the story in the game is great. You can see my play it multiple times on Malts and Meeples as well.

One thing that I really like about it is how you play out actions. You put out cards and they have a cooldown on them. So if I use my great gun, it might mean that I now need to wait a few rounds before I can get it back. But I can also rest to move things down faster, but that means giving up an action when I could be doing something else.

I also like how the enemies activate. It is simple to do. But with that said, the enemies are not easy and you can easily get swarmed under if you stay in place too long. And I like that there are yellow and red enemies, so two different groups that will activate. Yellow then red and back and forth. But if you take out all of one color, the other is going to go at double speed, so you sometimes want to avoid taking out one group completely otherwise the other might just come in and wipe you out because they’ll arrive faster.

Final Thoughts

Like I said, there are more I could put on the list as well. I won’t go into them, but it’s one of those things, it’s tough to wait for the games. I feel like I should give a reminder here. Crowdfunding games will get there when and if they get there. Very few, I’d say this even wasn’t Mythic Games intent, companies go out of their way to screw over their backers. But it is like anything that requires creative ideas, it’s going to take time to get right and to get it to where the person wants it to be.

And for me, it’s doubly so with the games I back. I back games that are big with lots of story. So it might be a nice long time before they come out like Rogue Angels, Witchbound, which hasn’t been that long really, or Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread.

What is the game that you anticipate most coming in from crowdfunding in 2024?

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GenCon Events

Too Many Bones

This one is because I own the game. I own the game, yet I don’t play my copy because I know how to play but don’t know how to play. I like with bigger games, I’m thinking of Burncycle last year, Lost Ruins of Arnak and Dwellings of Eldervale the year before, it’s a chance to learn the game. Someone who knows how to play the game is going to sit down and teach you the game. And then, for me, that means that I now can more easily teach and play it at home.

This year for GenCon Too Many Bones is that game. Chip Theory games I think are good for the list. A lot of them are complex with pretty dense rulebooks. So GenCon is a chance to really be able to learn a game and get the experience. At four players that might not be ideal experience, but it’ll be a good first one and help me get the game under my belt.

Stardriven: Gateway

Next up coming from Rock Manor Games is Stardriven: Gateway. I wrote about this one when I wrote about the Gamefound Feast. It still intrigues me as a game that has story to it and going to feel like an interesting space adventure. And while it is supposed to still have the grand vastness of space to it, it’s more about managing your crew. You take care of yourself and focus in on that crew level and the big things will happen.

Star Wars Unlimited

You know I like Star Wars Unlimited. This is mainly for two reasons that I want to get into this event. It’s another learn to play event, I don’t need to learn to play. But I think you might get a promo card, which is Grogu. But even if you don’t, it’s going to be playing with the new set. Yes that set will have been out for under a month, but it’s still under a month. And for an hour long session, it’s going to be a fun time to play the new stuff that I haven’t seen much.

Rebel Princess

This is one that I can’t remember if I’ve already ordered the game or not. I just know when I saw the game announced I was intrigued. You’re a princess who is basically trying not to be a princess in the “traditional” sense. And to do that, you’re playing a trick taking game. I like trick taking games a lot, so it was an easy one for me to consider picking up. And when I’m considering picking it up (or maybe did) then it’s one that I’d like to try at GenCon.

Metrorunner

Metrorunner is one that I added to the list because it’s from Thunderworks games. I haven’t played anything from Thunderworks that isn’t part of their Roll Player setting. Metrorunner is not from that setting so it’s going to be the first. I’m intrigued by the sound of it. And it’s a chance to try a game that I passed on when they did crowdfunding. So I’m curious to see what it’ll be like.

16th Annual Dice Tower Awards

Last year I went to the Dice Tower Awards and it was fun. I almost didn’t sign up for a ticket again this year. And I might have passed, or I would have passed had I gotten into one time for an event. But I like going to the Dice Tower Awards. They are fun, and it’s a chance to make that first day of GenCon last a little bit longer. But it is also a chance to not be on your feet for the whole time which is nice as well.

Is there anything super special about the event, not really? But it’s a fun event. It feels like a chance to just enjoy and celebrate games. For people like myself, I know a lot of the games already, but for the people that I’m going with, it’ll be a chance for them to see what a lot of the big newer games are.

Mistborn Deck Building Game

Finally, the event that I only got into because one of the people was in the 400’s on the queue. Mistborn is a setting that I like, don’t love. It is from Brandon Sanderson, an author who I really love. When he is having a game made from Brotherwise Games, I am interested. Plus I like deck building games a lot, so even more interested.

Why did these sell out so fast? Firstly, it’s a preview of the game, it might even almost be somewhat of a playtest of the game. I am not 100% sure on that. So people like those events, and it’s the first chance to see a game that is coming to crowdfunding. But it is also Brandon Sanderson so people will be interested because of that. The fact it filled up fast was not a surprise for me.

Final Thoughts and What I Missed Out On

Firstly, I like the number of events that I got into this year. For me, this is about the sweet spot in number of events. A few more than sometimes overlap prime walking the dealer hall time, but don’t worry, I plan to do a lot of that as well.

I didn’t miss out on much. Two Mistborn deck builder events were full before i got to my sign-up. But I got in another way, so that is amazing. Then a Stormlight RPG Demo, it is Brandon Sanderson’s series I like better, I am not surprised. The Elder Scrolls, a game coming from Chip Theory Games, I am already all in on it. It is not out yet, so people want to see it. And with Too Many Bones, I will be playing the game it is based off of. Finally, SETI, another learn to play event for a new game. I think it looks interesting, but I don’t feel bad missing on it.

Did you get into the events that you wanted?

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Initial Information for The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

So what do we know about it this far. Before you decide to get hyped about it, like I am, you probably should know why.

Like Too Many Bones

The first thing that caught my attention is that this is building off of the Too Many Bones system. I need to play my copy of Undertow while I wait for the last crowdfunding campaign to deliver. But the basic idea is that you unlock dice and you improve abilities, stats, etc.

But unlike Too Many Bones, this should offer more story. Too Many Bones tends to be focused on little runs through the game. I fully expect that The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era is going to be much bigger than that. And according to their big graphic, it’s their most ambitious game to date, which is saying something. Too Many Bones, Cloudspire, Hoplomachus Victorum, and Burncycle are all big games.

Player Count

For me, one of the next things that I wanted to see was that it is a cooperative and solo game. I don’t know how’d they’d make it competitive, but also that it’s cooperative with a solo mode. All games don’t need a solo mode, but if you have a cooperative game, try and build it into the game. You’re already going to be dealing with the enemy, so might as well be able to do that as one player.

The Setting

Now, I know a lot of people the setting will be more of a draw than it is for me. But I have Skyrim, which I need to play. I’ve played some Oblivion as well. This is a big sprawling fantasy setting that has been around for a long time. What interests me about it, besides that it’s tied to a game that I like, is that there is so much lore to draw from in Tamriel.

And that the core box, there will be expansions, is 30 main story quests. That is a ton of content. And the you play three of those in kind of a mini campaign is interesting. I wish that they were doing a full campaign, the Too Many Bones mini campaigns seem fine, but I also appreciate that they are trying to balance a game with story and with being able to get it played.

Will I Back It?

This is one of those things, I want to see more. And I want to know the price point. If I were to guess now, yes, I’d back this game because it looks great. I’d back it because it’s Chip Theory Games and it’s iterating on a very successful design with Too Many Bones. Plus it’s a world that I like.

But how much will it cost. That’s the other big question. I got Burncyle and expansions for $200 or so. I think this will cost more. Now, I might try and rush it and grab one of the pledges that gets you future Chip Theory Games pledges for future crowdfunding campaigns. But there aren’t many of those each campaign and they aren’t cheap. But probably worth it.

I do appreciate that thy put this out so far ahead of time. I want to sit down, now, and play some Too Many Bones: Undertow. It is a system that I know, but I’ll need to relearn and I need to see how much I love it. Too Many Bones isn’t easy to get your hands out, at least it isn’t cheap to get your hands on. But if The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era looks interesting, it’s worth trying to play.

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