Wow... This was hard, my collection of hobby games hit 100 this year and trying to distil that collection to 9 of my favourites was exhausting. I did it though! That's what counts, right? There is no way I could have completed this colossal task without the help of pubmeeple.com and their wonderful ranking engine, and boardgamegeek.com.
Without further ado, let's get into it:
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion - Thematic and tactical, this game has an amazing story with great mechanics. With one of the best board gaming tutorials, I've ever seen. I will never stop loving this title.
Hadrian's Wall - The flow of this game is phenomenal. I do this over here which allows me to do this other thing over here which sets me up to do this third thing over here. Just amazing. This game introduced me to Flip-and-Write games and is the best in its class.
Lost Ruins of Arnak - Do you want to feel like Indiana Jones? If so this is the game for you. It's a beautifully crafted and thematic exploration and adventure game with a wonderful free print-and-play solo expansion.
The Godfather: Corleone's Empire - This is a mafia-themed game with no real connection to the Godfather IP. Which might make me upset if the game weren't so much fun. I feel like I am running my own family in 1940s New York. Selling my illicit goods and carving out my crime territory.
Anachrony - There is no way you could implement time travel in a board game. Wrong! This game does it and does it so well. Pick a faction, borrow resources from the future, and save humanity.
Blood Rage - Vikings are cool - Period -. War and pillage your way to victory with beautiful miniatures, yes, please. This is how you do a proper area control game. To Valhalla!
Near and Far - I have a soft spot for the Arzium trilogy. The artwork, the stories, the game-play; it's all so good. I'll be honest I hadn't realised until doing this exercise that I had a favourite among the three games. Here we are though and I'm happy with it.
Trajan - The first thing you will notice about this title is its utilitarian artwork. It has a job to do and it gets the job done without flare. Don't let that scare you away though this game is masterfully done. There is something about earning points for everything you do that is so satisfying. Add that to a wonderful roundel mechanic... sigh... perfection.
Welcome To The Moon - Another flip and write but this time with a sci-fi space theme. Not only is this game loads of fun but the value is insane. 8 boards each with unique rules plus a campaign. This is and will likely stay my most-played game in 2023.
Honourable mentions to both Dungeon Lords and Dungeon Petz two amazing games I would have loved to make this list but just fell off in spots 10 and 11.
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