What a strange and crazy year it has been. Along with the uncertainty, isolation, forced lockdown, and chaos, 2020 brought me the opportunity to try more new games than any year before thanks to programs like Tabletop Simulator and sites like Board Game Arena.
As with Joel's companion list, what I am celebrating here is games that I played for the first time in 2020, though they may have been released years ago.
First, here are some honoroubale mentions:
Air, Land & Sea (2018) - A tight, elegant 2P only card game that does a lot with only a few cards, and makes excellent use of its theme to create an engaging tactical experience.
Chinatown (1999) - Only played once and had a great time with this frenzied negotiation and tile placement game. I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't play it online where mutlitple people talking at once was problematic. A very engaging and social game.
Linko (2014) - Given that I tend to focus my designs on simple card play, with small component count, I can't go past this surprisingly thinky and fun game from design hereos Kramer and Kiesling. This one seems to have flown under the radar, which is a shame because it is a great filler that is easy to learn and offers lots of interesting choices.
Downforce (2017) - Terrific racing game from all-time great Wolfgang Kramer. I have loved all my plays of this game, even though they've all been online. My only concern is how it holds up in real life play, but I love the card play and the betting mechanics and I would happily play this any time.
OK, let's crack on with the Top 10.
10/ Gloomhaven (2017) Isaac Childres
Certainly my most played game during 2020, and a great quarantine game to go through the campaign with my wife. There's no denying the achievement of this game, and it does a lot of things well. The shine has gone from the game now that we've played through the full campaign, and trying to player scenarios with more than 2P is slow to the point where I now struggle to enjoy the game. That said, with probably nearly 100 plays, I've more than got great value from this excellent game, which combines immersive world building, legacy choices, and tactical card play to create an epic gameplay experience.
9/ The Crew (2019) Thomas Sing
Another game that has gone down a few spots from overplaying, which is a testament to how much we've played it. Really enjoyed the unique combination of cooperation and trick taking, with the campaign aspect, but having now played through all the scenarios I don't feel compelled to play it again. Still, I know this will continue to hit the table as it works great with just about anyone, and will be a hit with friends and family for years to come. Makes this list based on how many hours of entertainment it has provided.
8/ For Sale (1997) Stefan Dorra
No surprise that another small, charming card game would make my list. I have played this a lot on BGA throughout 2020 and love the buying and selling phases, and the bidding aspect of the game. Works great with the real estate theme, and is so simple to learn and teach that you can play with just about anyone.
7/ Tokaido (2012) Antoine Bauza
Over the past few months I've been reminded why Bauza is my favourite designer, and this is another of his great games I only just played this year for the first time. Sleek, beautiful production, simple gameplay but interesting choices, and I love the one-way action selection track. Always a tense balance of managing your money while trying to accrue points, and a satisfying game with a relaxing theme that means winning doesn't seem to matter at all.
6/ HMS Dolores (2016) Bruno Faidutti & Eric Lang
From one extreme to another, this is a cutthroat little card game unlike anything else I've played. This certainly won't appeal to everyone, so I can't necessarily recommend it, but I will say the plays I've had were incredibly fun and suspenseful. Very much like an onion, this game will reveal it's layers over a few plays, but won't always leave the best taste in your mouth. Perfect match of theme and mechanics, and very easy to teach and learn. Finding people to play it with might be your challenge.
5/ Modern Art (1992) Reiner Knizia
I started 2020 with undying devotion to Dr Knizia, heralding him as one of my favourite designers. While he still is, I've begun to see the nuance in which of Knizia's games I really love, and those are his games that foster player interaction, often through auctioning. I think Modern Art is just about the perfect auction game, a genre I love, and this would rank higher if I'd play it more often. As it is, it left a huge impression on me after just one play. The dynamic values, and multiple auction types, married perfectly to the theme, made this one a standout and facilitated everything I love about board gaming.
4/ Draftosaurus (2019) Antoine Bauza, Corentin Lebrat, Ludovic Maublanc, Théo Rivière
A silly and fun game, with adorable dino meeples. Usually I'm not swayed but a game's components, but having played lots of drafting games, passing something other than cards, especially something so whimsical as wooden dinosaurs, was just a delight and fit the game perfectly. Very light, pick and pass drafting game, with a bit of nuance with the rolling of a dice and the way the pens score. I can see this being a hit with everyone I play with, and my wife already loves it.
3/ El Grande (1995) Wolfgang Kramer & Richard Ulrich
This game, after just one play, revealed itself as a masterpiece. Surprisingly simple to learn and play, the decision space none-the-less left me wanting to do everything all the time, and encouraged me to take risks but also play safe. Every choice felt so engaging and important, and I love love love the reveal of the Castille, which is what elevated this game from a very good game to a stone cold classic.
2/ Ra (1999) Reiner Knizia
I love all of Knizia's auction classics, so it's no surprise that Ra blew me away. I was very impressed with the use of the bidding tiles, and how that influenced my decision making, as well as the disasters and wanting to avoid them. Drawing the tiles out of the bag, or better yet, invoking Ra yourself was so satisfying. Brilliant execution of variable values for each player through an enviably elegant auction mechanic. Having a mythology theme didn't hurt either!
1/ Incan Gold (2005) Bruno Faidutti & Alan Moon
Certainly not the most elegant or consistent of the games listed here, which makes it a surprise for my number 1 slot, but its the most fun. Essentially a slot machine of elation and regret, this is one of my most played games of 2020, thanks in part to an excellent implementation on BGA. Cutting and running feels so good, when you pick up a bunch of gems on the way to safety and watch your friends bust on their own greed. Just as satisfying is the feeling of a big win when you're exploring on your own and hit the jackpot. What can I say, other than the highs are high, and the lows are just low enough to make those triumphs all the sweeter. Love it.
What do you think of my list? What makes your top 10 for games you played in 2020 for the first time? Let us know in the comments below.
Commentaires