[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Best board games of 2022? ___________________________________________________________________ Ask HN: Best board games of 2022? What are your favorite board games of 2022? I think saboteur might be kind of old, but it ranks for my favorite this year (as I just found out about it) Author : palidanx Score : 55 points Date : 2022-12-14 21:37 UTC (1 hours ago) | mathgladiator wrote: | https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/340466/unfathomable is | fantastic, and since this is a great thread. | | I'm building a "roblox for online board games", and if anyone is | interested in learning more then you can email me at | boardgames@mathgladiator.com | | This is all I talk about online, for the most part... | maest wrote: | For a different set of games that I haven't seen so far in this | thread: | | 1. Secret Hitler (or maybe Avalon, which is the strategically | marginally richer, but harder to pick up, cousin of Secret | Hitler). It's a highly adversarial, intense and fun game. The | main downside is that you can't have a relaxed game of Secret | Hitler and it tends to expand to take up the whole night (people | always want one more game). | | 2. Code names; more relaxed game, fun even when losing. The main | drawback is that it's language focused and everyone needs to have | a good command of the English language (at least in the base | version of the game), which can be a problem in more | international groups. | | 3. Chinatown; easy to pick up and play even for people with no | board games experience. The core of the game involves bargaining | with other players and trying to strike various deals to trade | resources. The game is designed in such a way that you rarely | feel like you're losing - all trades generate surplus for both | parties, so the core activity of trading feels very satisfying. | | I have introduced the games above to multiple groups and, | generally, everyone loved all of them. The one exception being | Secret Hitler, as some people found it a bit daunting at first or | didn't enjoy the intensity of the game. (on the flip side, others | absolutely loved it) | cableshaft wrote: | Of the games that came out this year: | | - Mosaic (disclaimer, I know the designer), Bullet Star, Planet | Unknown, Fjords, Long Shot: The Dice Game, Wonderland's War | | 2022 releases I have but haven't gotten to the table yet: | | - Eleven (waiting for it to arrive), Vagrantsong, Resurgence, | Caesar!, Mind Bug, Puzzle Strike II, Creature Comforts, Verdant | | Best "New to me" games for 2022: | | - Memoir '44, Imperium Classics, Ark Nova, Res Arcana, Trekking | the World, Nemo's War, Scout, Downforce, First Class, My City | | I finally played Memoir '44 for the first time, and man is it | amazing. My new favorite game, edging out Spirit Island. I now | have a regular person I play with online and have racked up 25 | games of it just this year, working our way through all the | scenarios (of which there's a ton). The online version at | BoardGameArena is excellent. | | Best board game-like video game I played in 2022: Inscryption. | Basically a "Slay the Spire" style deckbuilder mixed with a | creepy vibe mixed with an escape room mixed with...well, you | should play it and find out for yourself. | JoshTriplett wrote: | Etherfields is one of the best board games I've ever played. | Beautiful, thematic, exploratory, unique, great mechanics. | | Seventh Continent is also fun from an exploratory point of view, | though it has a bit more self-similarity in its gameplay loop | such that the _mechanics_ can get old, but the exploration doesn | 't. | | On the other end of the spectrum, Jaipur is a two-player quick | card game with great style and fun, great mechanics, and much of | the "reading another player" of a gin/pinochle/etc style game. | surfsvammel wrote: | I have picked up solo board gaming as a hobby this year. It's | been great. I've been trying to get friends to play board games | with me for years, no one is really interested. So. I decided. | What the hell. I'll just play myself. Totally underrated. | awithrow wrote: | What games can be played well solo? Do you take the roll of | multiple players? | dmnd wrote: | The Crew (2019). Approachable but interesting co-op trick taking | with communication restrictions and 50 missions for | replayability. If you liked Hanabi, you might end up spending | more time on this. | countersixte wrote: | Also be sure to consider its bigger brother, The Crew: Mission | Deep Sea (2021). | ptasci67 wrote: | Too many great options in this thread already so I'll stray and | focus on small 2-player games I discovered this year and enjoyed: | - Trails - Jaipur - The Agora expansion to 7 wonders duel (added | more of a unique take than Pantheon I think) | Archipelagia wrote: | Skull [1] has been my favorite one this year - it's basically a | bluffing / negotitation game. The specific version I linked has | particularly beautiful design of cards. | | And while it's not exactly a boardgame, this year I finally got | into DM'ing D&D campaign - it's more time consuming that I | expected, but very satysfying. | | [1] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/92415/skull | maest wrote: | Skull is definitely in my top 5 games. Love the simplicity. | | If you like games which distill the notion of bluffing, you | should also try Perudo. Very similar to Skull, but it uses | dice. | LesserEvil665 wrote: | I've described my play style to friends thusly: ALWAYS. SKULL. | SonOfLilit wrote: | So Clover (2021) is a really nice game that you'll love if you | liked Code Names. It's very social, at times hilarious, many | times very puzzling, and people can join and leave at random. | IlPeach wrote: | Still love Pandemic. I find it really well done, and quite unique | on being a cooperative game. | dmarcos wrote: | I played the first legacy season. Have you played the other | seasons? How do they stack? | JoshTriplett wrote: | Most reviews I've seen of the second season seem pretty | specifically negative. The tone seems very much "you lost a | pandemic" post-apocalyptic. | spiffytech wrote: | I've only played Pandemic Legacy Season 2, and it's one of | the best board game experiences I've ever had. | | It was intense and gripping every step of the way. | jeremymims wrote: | Not a board game... but highly recommend Magic Puzzle Company | puzzles as gifts for family and friends who aren't quite ready | for intense games. A bonus is that Susan Kare (of Apple/Next | fame) designed the logo and branding. | | https://www.magicpuzzlecompany.com/ | conartist wrote: | Moonrakers, we had so many fun game nights especially with people | who don't typically play board games due to the forced | interaction of the game. | bravura wrote: | If I've never done board games before, and don't have local | friends who do either, but I want to start and maybe do game | nights... | | How do I figure out what I like? Is there a bluffers guide to | board games? A top-3 covering set | molsongolden wrote: | Try a few games on https://en.boardgamearena.com/ ! | | They have faithful digital versions of many eurogames and you | can either play with a public matchmaking group or host private | games and invite friends for a remote game night. | falcolas wrote: | Been having fun with Azul, namely the Spring Pavilion and Stained | Glass versions. Great family games | roryisok wrote: | Ravine or Space-Team | p0pcult wrote: | Not a game that launched in 2022, but new to me in 2022: Tokaido. | | As much as i love medium and heavy weight games, the world needs | good light games too. | eddsh1994 wrote: | Dominion (dominion.games) - I must have played a thousand games | since the first lockdown. | thdc wrote: | Personally a big fan of ones with co-op elements (I'd guess all | of these were released earlier than 2022) | | - Eldritch Horror | | - Fury of Dracula | | - Betrayal at House on the Hill | | - Nemesis | | - Spirit Island | | - Pandemic | | And for the not-so-complex list | | - Hanabi (more of a card game) | yamtaddle wrote: | > - Eldritch Horror | | This one's essentially Arkham Horror if it hadn't sacrificed so | much of its mechanics to its flavor that it became, more or | less, a bad game. Plays much faster and cleaner. Does lose some | of the atmosphere in the bargain, but playing Arkham Horror was | such a slog that I doubt anyone at the table will want it back | after playing this. | | > - Betrayal at House on the Hill | | The Legacy version of this is excellent. IMO adding those | elements effectively _completed_ this game, which never felt | like it was living up to its potential, before. | JoshTriplett wrote: | Complete agreement on Eldritch Horror. But the _new_ Arkham | Horror is quite good in that regard as well; it 's a | _different_ game but a fun one. | | Pandemic is another game vastly improved by the Legacy | mechanics. | yamtaddle wrote: | Oh snap, didn't know there was a new AH under the same | name. Will have to check it out. | | Yeah, I mean the old one. It made it to our table a few | times on the strength of the fluff, but it seemed like | every time everyone was _kinda unhappy_ that we 'd played | it, by the time it was over. Like we just kept forgetting | how not-fun it had been, and remembering how fun we | _wished_ it was. | TheMaskedCoder wrote: | Wingspan (2019) was my favorite new (to me) game. I like that you | can strategize and compete without directly getting in each | other's way. It's great if you're tired of making enemies during | games. | | Other long term favorites are Castles of Burgundy, Scythe, and | Viticulture. | maest wrote: | > I like that you can strategize and compete without directly | getting in each other's way. | | You may be aware of this - this genre is called Eurogame | | https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Eurogame | | It's the type of game where you don't directly or fully | interact with your opponents (at most, you can usually | indirectly block one of their moves, but that's about it). | People seem to like the less adversarial playstyle as there are | many successful games in this genre: Catan, Ticket to Ride, | Puerto Rico, Carcassone etc. | spiffytech wrote: | What do you like about Viticulture? | | I know it's well-loved, but when my wife and I tried playing it | we found it dull and tedious. I'm curious if we're just missing | something. | greenie_beans wrote: | > It's great if you're tired of making enemies during games | | this is what my family needs. | | also, i heard this is a good game. might get it. | kaczordon wrote: | I tend to have a pretty eclectic taste. | | - John Company II edition | | - Root: The Marauder Expansion | | - Horse and Carriage, splotter games | benji-york wrote: | I think that is "Horseless Carriage". | jbm wrote: | The best game I played in 2022 was probably Northern Pacific | (which was made by Tom Russel, the creator of Irish Gauge and | Iberian Gauge.) | | Northern Pacific is a surprising mix of train games (which are | often long and complex) and a party game with surprising | strategic space. You only have two options, but the impact on | other players is real. However, as the game ends in 15 minutes, | you don't get the same feelings of betrayal and anger that you'd | get playing something like Chinatown. | | I strongly recommend it. I also recommend Irish Gauge and Iberian | Gauge, but those require a bit more of a time investment (1-2 | hours) and Iberian Gauge is a bit too complicated for even well- | behaved children under the age of 10 or so. | | -edit- I just realized it was released in 2013, but I bought it | this year so :shrug:. | | https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/138704/northern-pacific | pmontra wrote: | If I have to limit myself to the boardgames I learned this year | I'd say Ark Nova and Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition. I think | they are from 2021. | supersrdjan wrote: | If you're in the mood for a co-operative family-friendly | experience, take a look at Forest of Radgost. | spiffytech wrote: | Here are a bunch of my favorites, in no particular order. I don't | think any of them are brand new, though I only found some of them | in 2022. | | - I dissent | | - Panamax | | - Pandemic Legacy, Season 2 | | - Root | | - Dice Hospital | | - Cthulhu: Death May Die | | - Food Chain Magnate | | - Letters from Whitechapel | | - Terraforming Mars | | - Space Base | | - Dominant Species | | - Cockroach Poker | Tyr42 wrote: | If you like to work together, The Crew (both editions) is a good | choice. | | I also played a lot of Flamecraft and is fun and cute. Doesn't | scale up to large player counts well though. | vermaden wrote: | Its not a 2022 board game - but I would really recommend | _Carcassonne_ with these two expansions: | | - _Traders and Builders_ [1] | | - _Inns and Cathedrals_ [2] | | The base itself is little limited - but with these two expansions | you have one of the best sets for a nice evening with friends. | You can also add _River_ or _River II_ expansion - but they only | 'divert' the beginning of the game - so you can omit them. | | The Carcassonne is really a simple game - yet it takes real | thinking and strategy to really master it. | | What I like the most about Carcassonne is its 'minimalistic' | approach. There are roads/cities/grasslands/monasteries ... and | nothing else ... yet taking someone else' city or road is very | important strategic move - or splitting the work between X | players. | | You do not need cards, figures, notes, calculators, excel or | dice. You just play and move the cones on the scoring board. | | Regards. | | [1] https://carcassonne.fandom.com/wiki/Traders_%26_Builders | | [2] https://carcassonne.fandom.com/wiki/Inns_%26_Cathedrals | 6LLvveMx2koXfwn wrote: | Chess, just like every year since 1497 [1] | | 1. http://history.chess.free.fr/papers/Calvo%201998.pdf [pdf] | powerset wrote: | Honey buzz was my favorite (new to me) game of 2022. It's rare to | find a game with this combination of both top tier strategic | depth and aesthetics. | | https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284742/honey-buzz | Yoric wrote: | Spirit Island (and its extensions) remains a favourite of mine. | Very cooperative, quite asymmetrical, fair but hard (at least if | you play in harder difficulty levels). | mirashii wrote: | The Slay the Spire board game, which launched a kickstarter to | ship next year, has a Tabletop Simulator version and has easily | worked its way towards the top of my board game list, even before | receiving the physical copy. In fact, it's the first game that's | made me willing to tolerate TTS to play it, my board game group | during the pandemic tried to do some TTS sessions but it always | fell a little bit flat. | | There's plenty of info out there about it so I'll avoid giving a | detailed recap, but since it's a coop game and it feels best with | 3-4 players, if folks are interested in trying it out, I'd be | happy to host a session. E-mail is in my profile. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2022-12-14 23:00 UTC)