My Top 99 Games: 2022 Update

#99 – Eight-Minute Empire

Rank Change: -31
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 7.5

Don’t let it’s small size fool you, this is a nice mix of set collection and area control. It takes longer to play than eight minutes, but not much longer. It’s a fairly easy teach, as there’s only one action for you to consider on your turn, and there’s no hidden information. It’s not easy to play well though, which for me is a sign of good design.

#98 – Ticket to Ride (All manifestations)

Rank Change: -29
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 12
BGG Rating: 7.5

The gold standard for gateway games, this is one of the best selling modern board games of all time for a reason. Simple rules mixed with fairly good player interaction makes this series a winner. I like Europe the best that I’ve tried, but I’d recommend starting with the OG for anyone new to the hobby. The OG game with 3 players is nasty, which we’ve been playing a lot since its arrival on BGA. It is so tight on space, someone is usually getting burgled pretty hard.

#97 – Detective Club

Rank Change: +12
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 7.5

Social deduction meets Dixit, Detective club is a fun game for groups of all gaming interest. It could potentially be tricky for people who can’t deal with creative thinking under pressure. You don’t have to outright lie in this one, which is nice for some people, but you still have to BS your way through some things. We’ll probably never play Dixit again now that we’ve discovered this one.

#96 – Star Realms

Rank Change: -26
Level B- Casual
Plays in 2022 – 21
BGG Rating: 7.5

A deck-building duel game that doesn’t overstay its welcome. We love deck-building as a mechanism and that’s all you get with Star Realms, but it’s executed very well. It plays very quickly, and it gets to big turns quicker than other games of its ilk. We haven’t been playing this for a while but it still holds up.

#95 – Charterstone

Rank Change: -42
Level C- Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 7.5

The only legacy game I’ve ever completed, Charterstone unrolls at a good pace. It doesn’t bombard you with new things faster than you want, but also doesn’t drag so that you’re tapping your foot waiting for the next thing. We have a recharge pack waiting and ready to go for a while now, but we need to find the right group, and find the right time to start it.

#94 – Glen More II: Chronicles

Rank Change: -16
Level C- Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 4
BGG Rating: 7.5

We never played the original, but this most excellent tile placement game is quite fun. The chronicles aspect is nice where you can choose what particular extra thing you want to play with. I haven’t played all of the chronicles, but I’d like to try it with more of them in the near future.

#93 – Roll for the Galaxy

Rank Change: -83
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 124
BGG Rating: 7.5

The biggest dropper on the list, I played this game a lot in 2022, in fact it was my most played game. I’ve learned what it takes to play this game at a higher level, and I don’t like what I found there. A lot of it comes down to digging for specific tiles, and if you don’t get them, you likely lose. The paths for victory are narrow, and I don’t get to explore new ways to win. I do prefer it with the Ambition expansion, which I don’t get to play with much as it’s not an option for me in on the phone app or BGA. Perhaps the expansion changes things up enough so that there are more paths to victory.

If you’re familiar with Race for the Galaxy this game will be easy to learn, as it uses many of the same icons and concepts, but if you haven’t it’s tricky to teach and learn, though by no means impossible. 

#92 – The Fuzzies

Rank Change: NEW
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 7
BGG Rating: 7.5

Jenga, but all of the blocks are little balls of fuzz. To add extra spice, you don’t lose when you drop a ball, you get a penalty for your next play. Penalties range from using your incorrect hand, or with one eye closed, and sometimes you have 3 penalties all at once.

It’s a cute and fun game that you can play with anyone. It’s designed really well so it’s easy to set up even though it’s a teetering tower of fuzz.

#91 – Wizard

Rank Change: -66
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 15
BGG Rating: 7.5

I’ve been playing this for close to 30 years. A great introduction to trick-taking / trump games. Mixing in Wizards and Jesters help novices to escape the perils of playing with experienced players. The big ranking drop is because this has been usurped by Skull King for us for lunchtime games. It’s still on the list because it’s still a great game, and an easier introduction.

#90 – Russian Railroads

Rank Change: -42
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 7.5

When we first played this on BGA years ago, we had to track it down and buy it even though it was out of print. This was one of our favourite games for a while, but as we’ve come across more worker-placement games it has faded from our love list. Most games feel quite similar, so it’s best as a once and a while game, rather than an all the time game.

#89 – Hidden Leaders

Rank Change: NEW
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 8

A nice lightweight tableau-building, deduction game where you try to influence the empire and have the correct faction win. Surprisingly easy to teach, and great artwork. Plays quickly and there’s not a lot of downtime.

#88 – Can’t Stop Express

Rank Change: NEW
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 109
BGG Rating: 8

Probably the lightest game on the list, this offshoot of Can’t stop plays very much like Yahtzee, but everyone plays at the same time. Plays well on BGA, and it’s good at making you regret your decisions.

#87 – Expedition to Newdale

Rank Change: -22
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8

Continuing the story on from the excellent ‘Oh My Goods!’ this game feels familiar but adds a bunch of mechanics to broaden out the original formula. We’ve only played a couple of the scenarios so far, but it’s a fun game that feels comfortable if you know Oh My Goods!

#86 – Can’t Stop

Rank Change: -59
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 26
BGG Rating: 8

I enjoy this light push-your-luck game where the key is to know when to stop. You can keep going as long as you roll correctly. Often you are incorrect in your assessment as to when to stop, and you feel the rage. We don’t own this one, so all we do is play it on BGA. Very easy to teach, a good one to play with non-gamer types. Playing with 4 people gets a little nuts at times, it’s better with 2 or 3.

#85 – Takenoko

Rank Change: -19
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 10
BGG Rating: 8.1

Great looking game and easy to teach. We used to play a bunch on BGA, but it’s getting so that it’s too light for us to play all the time. The 2nd edition rules suck, we only play with the original rules.

#84 – Carcassonne

Rank Change: -22
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.1

We’ve always played board games, but Carcassonne was the game that opened our eyes to the hobby. Still love playing it today, though I do prefer it at 2 or 3 players. Once you get over 3 players it gets a little random, and hard to build things effectively. Apps play well, as does BGA.

#83 – Hansa Teutonica

Rank Change: +6
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.1

Classic euro that will melt your brain a bit. Very good player interaction for a dry euro game. Haven’t played this too much, but I’ve enjoyed it very much. It’s a bummer that you generally need at least 3 to play it. There have been rules for 2, but our version doesn’t have it, and I’m too lazy to look them up online.

#82 – Raiders of the North Sea

Rank Change: +3
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.1

Another digital-only game for me, this time with the phone app, which is 95% excellent. 5% bad for the way it handles timeouts and notifications. A lot of fun playing Vikings pillaging and recruiting more crew. You get points for the loot you capture, towns you destroy, and crew that get sent to Valhalla. This is generally considered the best game of the North Sea Trilogy, and so far I agree with that assessment.

#81 – Codenames

Rank Change: -1
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 7
BGG Rating: 8.1

One of my favourite party games, I’ll trot this out at any opportunity for groups that are typically too large for normal games. I personally like the pictures version as it gets around any vocabulary problems you might have playing with kids and adults at the same time. The online version works well, and is great over Zoom.

#80 – Dice Forge

Rank Change: -30
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 12
BGG Rating: 8.1

Have you ever wanted to make your own dice? This game lets you do that. It’s pretty cool when you think about it. Playing with the Rebellion expansion is a nice way to spice up the game if you’ve played it a bunch. Both the game and it’s expansion are on BGA and play very nicely.

It can be a little random / frustrating since it’s all based on dice rolling which is a bummer since it otherwise feels like strategy game. It doesn’t feel great if you roll badly.

#79 – Papayoo

Rank Change: -30
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 34
BGG Rating: 8.2

Papa me? No. Papayoo. I love trick-taking games, and this one has a great ability for wrecking people. Totally savage. We play this on BGA quite a bit. I have two friends that pretty much hate this game, and refuse to play it. It’s falling in the rankings as it can be really harsh for people, and that can be a bummer.

#78 – Alhambra

Rank Change: -4
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.2

A board game classic that I use as an introduction to the hobby. Pretty simple to teach, and the game doesn’t overstay its welcome. It won’t crunch your brain too much. Available on BGA.

#77 – Long Shot: The Dice Game

Rank Change: +24
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 8.2

Never played the original, but this fast paced dice version is my cup of tea. It’s so fun to cheer for your fake horse. There are a lot of options to consider. My only complaint is there are too many abilities that make horses move backwards, which prolongs the game a little longer than it should.

#76 – Gaia Project

Rank Change: NEW
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 8
BGG Rating: 8.2

Terra Mystica 2.0 where we change out fantasy people for spaceships and aliens. I like what they’ve done to freshen the formula, but it’s still a steep learning curve, maybe even steeper than before. The art style sucks though, I hate how it looks.

#75 – Project L

Rank Change: NEW
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.2

Stylish abstract puzzle game where you try to fit Tetris-like pieces in to bigger shapes. It’s a very nice feeling game, and I mean that from a tactile point of view. Very easy to teach and play. Good for all ages, as long as you don’t have a choking hazard concern…

#74 – Pandemic

Rank Change: -7
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.2

I’m sure this was a gateway game for many people to get in to the hobby. I still love it, though I have to try to fight the quarterbacking urge when playing it. I don’t own a copy of this myself, but it’s available on BGA, though I don’t recommend playing it asynchronously. It is really important to have those table discussions.

#73 – Caverna: Cave vs Cave

Rank Change: +2
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.2

A nice and tight 2-player game. After trying the original game, I kind of like this game better. It’s paced quite well and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

#72 – Love Letter

Rank Change: +11
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.2

I love this as an intro game for people new to the hobby. The overall mechanics are easy to teach, but there’s some extra rules for the cards. Luckily there’s reference sheets. Knocking people out is a lot of fun.

#71 – Teotihuacan: City of Gods

Rank Change: +2
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 20
BGG Rating: 8.3

I’d love to try this in person, since it looks so big and chonky. We’ve played this quite a bit on BGA and enjoy it quite a bit. Even though I’ve played it a bunch, there’s still a lot for me to learn how to play it effectively. Lots of different paths to victory.

#70 – Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small

Rank Change: -10
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.3

Take the classic Agricola game and distill it down to a smaller more puzzle-like experience and you get a nice tight game for two players. It takes out a lot of game-play elements from the original, including having to feed your people, but still leaves enough for it to be entertaining.

#69 – Downforce

Rank Change: -10
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 22
BGG Rating: 8.3

Good racing game for all levels of board game ability. Easy to teach and play, and you have lots of opportunity to screw over other players. Plays very well on BGA, which is where I’ve been playing it lately. BGA has all the expansion maps too, which is super-bonus.

#68 – Terra Mystica

Rank Change: -46
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.3

An area-control game that has no combat, is kind of weird, but it works great. A very good design, with lots of different factions to learn. This has been in the collection a long time, and I still don’t play it as much as I should.

#67 – Targi

Rank Change: -12
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.4

2-player only games don’t get much better than this. The unique worker-placement system in the game is very fun. We have the expansion which is cool, but not really needed. Plays well on BGA.

#66 – Azul

Rank Change: -3
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 10
BGG Rating: 8.4

I’ve been playing this a tonne since it came out on BGA. It’s a great puzzle, and it can be more interactive than you’d think when you first look at it. Sticking people with a bunch of bad tiles is very satisfying. Plays very well at 2 players.

#65 – Solar Draft

Rank Change: -22
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.4

The art is the really winner for this game, but the game-play itself is stellar as well. Plays well at two players, and can be played with kids very easily.

#64 – Pit

Rank Change: +17
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.4

I’ve been playing Pit for close to 30 years, and I still think it’s a cracking good time. Not for quiet spaces!

#63 – Beyond the Sun

Rank Change: +9
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 24
BGG Rating: 8.4

A non-traditional space game that centres around researching technologies. Picking what to focus on is fun, and there’s a lot to discover as you play. We’ve only played this on BGA, and it’s an excellent implementation.

#62 – Gugong

Rank Change: +17
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.4

I like the way Gugong changes the way worker placement is handled, it’s very different than any other game I’ve played. The Panjun expansion adds much needed energy to the game, breaking me out of the strategic rut that I was in when playing the base game.

#61 – 7 Wonders Duel

Rank Change: None
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 8
BGG Rating: 8.4

Generally considered on of the best 2-player only games, I really enjoy playing this tug-of-war game. I still prefer the original, but the original doesn’t play well at 2. We’ve started playing with the Pantheon expansion, and it’s quite good. Not necessary, but it adds a little something something if you’re looking to spice up the game.

#60 – Cascadia

Rank Change: +2
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.4

This game is right up my alley. When drafting you have a lot to work on and consider, but you never feel cut-off or constrained in a way that makes you feel bad about life. A nifty puzzle. Player interaction is a little light though.

#59 – Nidavellir

Rank Change: +5
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 8
BGG Rating: 8.4

Fairly abstract set collecting game with a blind auction mechanic. Really quick to play, and easy to teach. I’ve never played it in-person, but the BGA implementation is very good. I’ve had good success teaching this to all skill levels.

#58 – MicroMacro: Crime City

Rank Change: NEW
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 8.4

This town is full of some pretty serious crime, and it’s your job to figure it out. I loved Where’s Waldo as a kid, so this game is right up my alley. You have a big map to scour, looking to see what happened. I suggest that once you’re comfortable to play with the more advanced option as the default is too simple.

#57 – The Fox in the Forest

Rank Change: -1
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.5

I love trick taking games, I’ve been playing Wizard, Hearts, and Bridge for many years. One drawback of trick taking games is that you really need 3 or 4 players for the game to work. That’s where Fox in the Forest is special; it is a 2-player trick taking game. It adds special power cards and penalties for taking too many tricks to create a really engaging trick-taking experience.

#56 – Tournament at Camelot

Rank Change: NEW
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 3
BGG Rating: 8.5

Probably the most complex trick-taking game that I’ve played that’s not Bridge, Tournament at Camelot gives you a lot to think about. There are all kinds of powers to play with, either with unique player abilities, or with items that give you something different to do in the round. It can be a lot to keep track of, so it’s not for the faint of heart. The art is cool if you dig the medieval style.

#55 – Above and Below

Rank Change: -4
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.5

Story-telling meets worker-placement is not a typical genre for board games, but that’s what this is. My partner in gaming (and in life, and in crime) does not go for roll playing whatsoever, but she’ll happily play this. That speaks highly of the excellent design.

#54 – Fantastic Factories

Rank Change: -9
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.5

Fantastic Factories is a very good introduction to engine building games. Quick and light, but still with good decisions. The dice rolling is a good exercise on making do with what you have, much like Castles of Burgundy. The expansions include a bunch of buildings that add quite a few new concepts to the game which I dig.

#53 – Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure

Rank Change: -9
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 8.5

A great example of how deck building games can do more. We’ve been playing with the Apocalypse! expansion which is groovy, but not really needed to make the game great. I love how savage this game can be, but it does suck when you get eliminated from the game earlier than everyone else.

#52 – PARKS

Rank Change: +2
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.5

One of my favourite games from an art perspective, the posters for each park are amazing. The gameplay is simple, but the decisions are still fun. There’s a lot to consider with each turn. The nightfall expansion adds extra decisions that are quite nice, and I would always play with it.

#51 – Kingdom Builder

Rank Change: -4
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 15
BGG Rating: 8.6

Kingdom Builder is a very simple game on the face of it, you draw a terrain card and place 3 houses on it. Somehow, using magic I expect, this simple premise creates a delightful game full of interesting choices. There is more player interaction than you’d expect as you’re all fighting over the same limited resources. Very easy to teach, and plays wonderfully on BGA.

#50 – Secret Hitler

Rank Change: -8
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 6
BGG Rating: 8.6

My personal favourite game of the werewolf/mafia/resistance genre. I’ve had some excellent games with large groups. You do need to be able to lie when you play this, which isn’t for everyone. You need 5 to 10 players and is best with at least 7 as that’s when you add the rule where Hitler doesn’t know who his facist allies are. It’s not the easiest game to teach, but once everyone gets it, it plays pretty smoothly.

#49 – CoraQuest

Rank Change: NEW
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.6

Gloomhaven schmloomhaven, this is my kind of dungeon crawler. CoraQuest has a super-cute art style which was based on contributions from kids around the world. It’s intended to play with kids so it’s easy to learn and play, and focuses on being fun instead of complicated. Even though it’s easy to play, you still have interesting choices and you have to work together to be successful.

#48 – Imperium: Classics

Rank Change: NEW
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 4
BGG Rating: 8.6

I have a love hate relationship with Imperium: Classics. I love the game, how it plays, the theme, the art, and how it all works together. I hate how long it is, and the downtime between turns. I would strongly recommend that you only play this at 2-players, as with 3 or 4 the game lasts super duper long. It’s really fun exploring all of the different factions as they all play very differently from each other.

It’s such a strong game I can’t help but think that a few tweaks would make it an all-timer. Just needs some streamlining.

#47 – Great Western Trail

Rank Change: -35
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 9
BGG Rating: 8.6

2022 was the year that Great Western Trail came to BGA, and I was super excited. We played a few games, which worked really well, but as I played it the shine started to come off. The game feels fairly similar from play to play, and I found myself not really exploring new options. We play with the Rails to the North expansions, which I would never play without at this point as it gives you a lot more to consider.

#46 – Roll Player

Rank Change: -28
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.6

Who knew that creating a character would be so much fun? This game gives you a nice puzzle on how to maximize your scoring. We’ve recently picked up the Minions and Familiars expansion and we look forward to trying that out.

#45 – Brass: Birmingham

Rank Change: -13
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.7

The history of the era really comes through for me in this game. It’s a pretty heavy economic game, but what I like is that the player interaction is pretty good. Not cutthroat, but it’s not multi-player solitaire either.

#44 – Concordia

Rank Change: -5
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.7

Trading goods in the Mediterranean has been done quite a bit in boardgameland, but that doesn’t take away this is a great game. You have crunchy decisions all the way through, there’s no lull in the tension of the game. We play with the Salsa expansion which is quite nice and adds some extra things to consider each turn.

#43 – Orleans

Rank Change: -10
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.7

The grandpa of bag building games still holds up. You get a lot of great decisions and the tension of drawing what you need out of the bag is juicy. I would love for this to come to BGA, as the only way I have to play this is via Tabletop Simulator. This is the highest ranked game that I don’t either own physically, digitally, or is on BGA.

#42 – Cubitos

Rank Change: NEW
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 8.7

Fun racing game where you get more betterer dice to go way faster. Lots of fun things in this one: you have a push-your-luck element, dice purchasing that feels like deck building, and picking a path through the race track to gain the most bonuses. The game has a bunch of different dice powers and racetracks which makes the game feel different every time.

#41 – Circle the Wagons

Rank Change: +5
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 8.7

A tiny tiny game that fits in your back pocket. The game consists of 18 cards, but it contains a lovely puzzle for 2-players to wreck their brains over. Great replayability as your goals are always different every game you play. Plays quick, easy to teach, and good brain work, what’s not to like?

#40 – Skull King

Rank Change: NEW
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 91
BGG Rating: 8.7

Wizard with more spice, Skull King is our go-to lunch game. The simultaneous bidding is great, and the rock-paper-scissors element to the special cards is a lot of fun. We’re on to our 3rd deck of cards, as we keep wearing them out. Highly recommended for any gaming group that likes trick-taking card games. There is a lot of opportunity for tomfoolery. The whale and Kracken cards are just about the best thing ever, we love what they add to the game.

#39 – Winter Kingdom

Rank Change: -5
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.7

We love this update on Kingdom Builder. It adds a lot of agency on how things go down for you. The colour palette is a little drab, but the game-play is super good. The big bonus of this game over Kingdom Builder is that it gives you many more options to mitigate draw luck.

#38 – Undaunted: Normandy

Rank Change: -1
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.7

When I was a teenager, we played a game called Sniper, which was a small scale WW2 tactical war game. We loved the action and the drama that would unfold as you moved your dudes around the map. The Undaunted series takes that sort of game and distills it in to a deck builder that’s easy to teach and play. It’s truly an amazing feat of board game design.

#37 – Viticulture Essential Edition

Rank Change: -22
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 8.7

Wonderful worker-placement game that feels very thematic. Lots of paths to glory, and fairly easy to teach. Experienced players do kill newbies though, so it might be tough to get new players in to the group and have them not be discouraged. Also a big bonus that it plays up to 6.

#36 – Next Station: London

Rank Change: NEW
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 69
BGG Rating: 8.7

We’ve only played this on BGA, but I can’t see playing it in-person would be any less wonderful. A lovely flip and fill game where you try to plan out some subway lines in London. We play this a lot and it doesn’t seem to get old.

#35 – Kingdomino

Rank Change: None
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 32
BGG Rating: 8.8

I’ve been playing this a lot as a 2-player game on BGA and I love how quick and challenging it is. There’s a push your luck element here as well as you potentially hold out for that combo you need. It’s a real fun puzzle that is easy to teach.

#34 – Jaipur

Rank Change: +2
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 12
BGG Rating: 8.8

One of the best purpose built 2-player games that’s out there. Quick, easy to teach, and you really feel like you’re playing against the other player. We own this physically and have played it a bunch on BGA. The play is intuitive and smooth.

#33 – Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North

Rank Change: +3
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.8

A quick-playing engine-building game, that has very cute art. It’s a game that you really need to explore to play well. Each faction plays quite differently and the learning curve can be longer than 1 play. I really enjoy playing the game, it has a lot of fun decisions to make along the way. Lots of expansions available. Did I mention the cuteness? Some of the art on the cards reminds me of some of the slapstick humour of Where’s Waldo scenes.

#32 – Agricola

Rank Change: -3
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.8

An absolute classic farm game. One of the first games we bought when we got in to the hobby, and we still enjoy it today. The occupations and minor improvement that you play in the game are the real sweet sauce. You have to take a few minutes to plan out your game to see how to best utilize those cards to lead you to a great victory. Other Uwe games that don’t have those cards feel much less, and hurt the replayability.

It’s a mean son-of-a-gun though, it can be a real challenge for new players. The implementation on BGA works well, and we’ve started playing it more there in 2023.

#31 – Viscounts of the West Kingdom

Rank Change: -3
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.8

The newest game in the West Kingdom trilogy, we really need to play this one more. I’ve loved it the couple of times we’ve played it, but I feel that we’ve only scratched the surface of what this game has to offer.

We have the expansions for this as well, but I don’t believe we’ve tried them yet. Adding 2 expansions at once can be a little daunting.

#30 – Cartographers

Rank Change: NEW
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 8.8

A great flip and fill game where you get to mess with your neighbour’s map. Most games of this ilk are mostly multiplayer solitaire, but Cartographers introduces monsters that your opponents get to place on your map. That feature alone makes this a winner for me, for it’s always fun to burgle some turds.

We bought clipboards and mechanical coloured pencils for this game. I love trying to make the map look pretty, drawing little trees and houses.

#29 – The Guild of Merchant Explorers

Rank Change: NEW
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 8.9

A flip and fill game that doesn’t use a pencil, this is a fun puzzle of a game. Over four rounds you explore the land, but after each round your progress is reset which leads you to having to make some really interesting decisions. I like the art style, and there’s no downtime as everyone plays their turns at the same time.

#28 – Crokinole

Rank Change: +3
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 3
BGG Rating: 8.9

Classic dexterity game, we’ve been playing this for over 30 years. I’ve enjoyed the board game world rediscovering this Canadian classic. A great game for any age, simple concept, easy to teach, but of course difficult to master.

#27 – Star Wars: Rebellion

Rank Change: +3
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.9

This game is really great for Star Wars fans, you really feel like you’re playing an alternate version of the story from the movies. The story you create while playing this game is so rich and evocative you forget that you are playing a war game. It takes a lot of time, and setup is not quick, but if you have the time, it’s a great time. I love the minis that come with game, who doesn’t like playing with Star Wars toys?

#26 – Twilight Struggle

Rank Change: -9
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 8.9

I love this game so much, as a kid of the 80s the cold war stuff really hits me in the memories. It’s a tight head to head battle, where every decision matters. This was the #1 game on BGG when I started the hobby and I can see why.

My buddy JP taught me this with his copy, but then all I’ve ever done is play it digitally on Steam. The digital version saves you from the fiddle that comes with the physical copy, so I don’t have any baggage around that.

#25 – A Feast for Odin

Rank Change: -4
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 11
BGG Rating: 8.9

Uwe’s big worker-placement meets polyomino-placement game is not for the fainthearted. You have so many options and paths on how to progress, it can be overwhelming. You don’t get blocked very often from the things you’re looking to do, the amount of action spaces is bonkers, but that doesn’t make it any easier. There is a lot to explore in the game, so many different strategies to try out, and a lot of different occupations that tweak the game in interesting directions.

The box is thick, and it’s packed up to the rafters with so much stuff. I’d love an organizer as the trays that come with aren’t the best. We have the Norwegians expansion which is basically version 2.0 of the game, and it smooths out the rough edges of the original design.

#24 – Furnace

Rank Change: NEW
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 4
BGG Rating: 9

Furnace takes auctions in a really cool direction that makes the game feel really dynamic. You have four auction tokens numbered 1 to 4, where you’re trying to maximize winning the auctions for the buildings you want, while losing the auctions you want to to gain the bonuses. It plays very nicely, and games are quick. There’s not a lot of downtime either so your brain is constantly engaged.

We generally don’t play with the asynchronous player powers, we don’t really feel they’re balanced too well, and don’t add that much flavour. There’s an expansion on the way which could be interesting.

#23 – Anachrony

Rank Change: +1
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 9

One of the heaviest games that I own, this game has a wonderful theme, interesting concept, and engaging gameplay. There is a lot of planning involved, and adding the time travel aspect makes it even more engaging. You can get a huge jump on things if you borrow things from the future, but if you do it too much, you risk creating a bunch of paradoxes and ruining everything for yourself.

I really want to play this more, but it’s challenging to get to the table. It has a long teach, and even longer playtime. I’ve been trying to get the minis painted up, but that too is hard for me to fit in. It’s in alpha on BGA which is really exciting for me. It’ll help us keep the rules in our minds if we play it online from time to time.

#22 – Underwater Cities

Rank Change: -8
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 9

If you like building stuff in board games, this is the game for you. You build a large network of underwater infrastructure, all of which give you more resources, so you can build even more things. This is a great example of a game where you start off not being able to do much, and by the end you are making so many resources you can do anything you want. The game has this cool system where you play a card on the action space you select, and if they match you can do both things. Your turns can end up being so satisfying when you can pull off some great synergies between the card and the action space you select.

We got the expansion at Christmas, but we haven’t played it yet. The game takes some time to set up and play so it’s not easy to get to the table which is a shame since it’s so great.

#21 – Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy

Rank Change: +5
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 9

One of my favourite video games of all time is Master of Orion 2. I’d love to get that sort of game in a board game, and I’m not in a place in my life where I can spend a whole day playing Twlight Imperium. Eclipse is perfect for giving me my Master of Orion fix, since I can get a game done in a 4 hours or less, and it gives you the same kind of 4x experience.

I loved the original Eclipse, but the second edition smooths out all of the rough edges, so I’ll likely never play the original one again. The production for the second edition is top notch, though the box is massive and hard to store, it makes it really nice to set up. I would love to get this to the table more, but it’s challenging to find the time, and area control is not Queenie’s favourite thing.

#20 – Lost Cities

Rank Change: None
Level A – Family
Plays in 2022 – 122
BGG Rating: 9

A great 2-player card game that gives tough choices. I’ve never played a physical copy of this, but I have played over 1000 times on the phone app. Even though I’ve played it so much, I still love it and will always play a game. Also available on BGA.

#19 – Clash of Decks

Rank Change: NEW
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 47
BGG Rating: 9.1

I disliked this game when I first tried it, but once the penny dropped for me, it dropped right in to my heart. A quick-playing duelling card game, it really makes your brain churn thinking about how all of the card powers interact. Even though you will only have 8 cards to worry about all game, it’s still quite a puzzle to play effectively.

BGA has introduced some expansion cards, which is great, and we’ve back the latest Kickstarter so that we can get all of those cards in the real world too. Some of the new powers break my brain, and it will be a lot of fun figuring it all out.

#18 – Res Arcana

Rank Change: +40
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 23
BGG Rating: 9.1

The biggest gainer of the year, Res Arcana might not be done climbing up the list. I adore this game. Planning out how to maximize your points from the cards you’ve been given is such a delight. The game has a brutal learning curve, but not due to learning the mechanics. The real difficulty is learning how to play the game well. It’s not obvious, but it’s so very satisfying when you pull it off.

The expansions are very nice, but not required. There is lots of room for more expansions in the future, as this is essentially a card game, and all you need to do is make more cards for it.

#17 – Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization

Rank Change: +2
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 3
BGG Rating: 9.1

I grew up playing Civilization games on my computer, and TTA captures the feeling of that more than any other game I’ve played. Build your civilization over three ages, improving your infrastructure, developing technologies, and building your armies to crush your fellow players. This newer version smooths out some of the rough edges of the first game, which helps with the upkeep. The phone app is excellent, and it’s also available on BGA.

#16 – 7 Wonders

Rank Change: -10
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 9
BGG Rating: 9.1

Based on how my group plays it, which is with the Leaders and Cities expansions, this game is most delicious. Base game is good, but less crunchy, and would likely be lower on the list. With those 2 expansions it’s one of the greats. Once your group knows how to play, you can bang a game out with 7 people in less than 30 minutes. It’s a little tricky to teach, as there’s a lot of icons to learn, but the gameplay itself is easy.

We own the first edition, so we might get left out of some of the newer expansions, but I was able to pick up Armada recently for just about nothing, and it’s pretty interesting. I’d like to explore that one more.

#15 – Tapestry

Rank Change: NEW
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 17
BGG Rating: 9.2

Another game that we were exposed to on BGA, Tapestry was always a game I wanted to try but didn’t want to spend the big bucks on it. The game was not what I expected, and it’s awesome. You go in thinking it’s an area-control civilization game, and it’s really more abstract than that. You have to balance so many different things, and there are many different ways to win.

The faction you are greatly changes the gameplay which gives great replayability. I’d love to explore the expansions to see what added dimensions come with. We ended up buying it physically just so we can add the expansions, since they are very unlikely to show up on BGA.

#14 – Lost Ruins of Arnak

Rank Change: -5
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 13
BGG Rating: 9.2

Arnak is a great mix of worker placement and deck building. You are always trying to find ways to extend your turn so by the end your turns are taking much longer than your first, even though you still have the same 2 workers, and a hand of 5 cards. The fact that’s available on BGA now as well has really made it a game we’re playing all the time.

The expansion is cool which adds unique player powers. I’d love to explore it more, but we almost exclusively play this on BGA, and it doesn’t have the expansion at this point.

#13 – Architects of the West Kingdom

Rank Change: None
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 0
BGG Rating: 9.2

A great twist on worker-placement, where the more dudes you have on the spot the greater the action. There’s totally a push your luck element to the game which is lovely. The first of the games in the West Kingdom trilogy, the expansion is nice and adds some lovely options.

Doesn’t really play well with 2, but it does go up to 6, though we’ve never tried it with that many. Art is great, love the series.

#12 – Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

Rank Change: NEW
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 6
BGG Rating: 9.3

I like the original game, but don’t love it. I think it is too clunky, slow, and has too much opportunity for dead turns. Ares Expedition injects the formula with some of that beautiful streamline juice and it makes it a whole new and wonderful thing. Adding the Puerto Rico / Race for the Galaxy action selection mechanism was a great choice.

Engine building goodness, and the deck of cards is so big, every game is unique. The theme is well presented, and the art is quite nice. Simultaneous play is always a crowd pleaser, and keeps the game moving. It’s not a quick game, but it’s lightning fast in comparison to the original.

Expansions are on their way, which will be fun for us to explore. I do like the idea of introducing goals, but not wild about the co-op options.

#11 – Oh My Goods!

Rank Change: +12
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 5
BGG Rating: 9.3

One of the best size to game ratio in our collection, and one of Queenie’s favourites. A great little engine builder, that needs a few plays for you to get your feet under you. Once you “get it”, it’s a lot of fun. There is a nice push-your-luck element to the game which in the past has burnt me to a crisp, but I seem to have a handle on it now.

The expansions give you a story to play through, which is kind of fun, but the writing is pretty thin. Once we’ve completed the story we play with both expansions integrated and it’s really awesome. The base game still plays well enough, but the extra bits are well worth it, I wouldn’t go back.

#10 – La Granja

Rank Change: +6
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 23
BGG Rating: 9.3

I’ve never played this in person, only ever on BGA, but I still feel this is the best “farm” game out there. Incredibly deep gameplay where you have so many different ways to succeed. A large part of the game is deciding how to use each card you draw. Each card can be used 4 different ways! The cards you get is what gives you the variation in every game you play, so every game feels different. Oh and did I mention you can build combos? Combos!

#9 – Dead Reckoning

Rank Change: NEW
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 3
BGG Rating: 9.4

I got stupid excited for this game when it came to Kickstarter. I loved the concept and theme, and couldn’t hold off backing it. Seldom do things in life live up to the hype, but boy howdy this game did. I love everything about this game, it takes me back to playing Pirates! on the PC. As with the PC game, you can play the game in multiple ways and still have a good time. Multiple paths to victory is always a winner for me.

I need to play this more, it is a large time investment, and it plays really well with the full 4 players, especially when using the saga expansions which are amazing. The expansions make the game dynamic and gives you a real sense of discovery. You never know what you’ll find. We’ve backed the new one, which will be exciting when it shows up.

#8 – Paladins of the West Kingdom

Rank Change: +3
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 9.4

Our favourite of the West Kingdom games, and likely the heaviest. It’s a real crunch-master that makes you really plan things out. We really enjoy the puzzle this game presents you where you try to extend your turns as much as possible. When you pull off a really long round, it feels really good.

The expansion add some nice wrinkles, and makes it more difficult to fill all the tracks, which I really appreciate. We’re big fans of the series, and are really looking forward to the new South Tigris series that’s coming out.

#7 – Bärenpark

Rank Change: NEW
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 60
BGG Rating: 9.5

I never really looked too hard at Bärenpark, even though I heard positive things from the board game world. We weren’t really looking for another Tetris-shape tile laying game. That being said, when it came out on BGA, Queenie and I gave it a shot as we like to try out the big releases on that website. It has certainly made an impression.

I love this game, we’ve played it a lot, and I keep coming back for more. You’d think it would feel stale after a while, but it really doesn’t. I don’t know what magic Phil Walker-Harding used when making the game, but it never gets old. Bärenpark does a great job of being easy to play, but feeling hard because the decisions you’re forced to make.

We got the expansion at Christmas in 2022, which adds even more brain-busting decisions. I’m looking forward to exploring the game with the new elements in 2023, though our primary method of playing will likely still be BGA.

#6 – Red Rising

Rank Change: +2
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 2
BGG Rating: 9.5

I’m not sure why this game doesn’t get much love in the board game content world. I know people think it’s basically Fantasy Realms reskin, but I feel it’s a lot more. If you’re a fan of the books, (which I am) the theme is great, the cards that combo together really make sense. Every turn gives you another tough decision to make, and it moves along with a good pace. We have the deluxe version, and it’s quite nice. Who doesn’t like shiny gold cards?

I really enjoy trying to build combos and working to find the best way to use the cards effectively. The play a card, take a card mechanism is very easy to teach. I would love an expansion to leverage the characters in the later books, I feel there’s some opportunity to grow the game more.

#5 – Everdell

Rank Change: +2
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 1
BGG Rating: 9.7

Everdell is a worker-placement, tableau-building game that looks simple on first glance, but has depth that is surprising. We have been playing with the Bellfaire expansion, and now we’ve recently added the Newleaf expansion as well. Both do a good job of expanding the game without changing the central point of the game. I feel the other expansions (Pearlbrook, Spirecrest, Mistwood) change the fundamental game, which can be nice for those people that like that sort of thing, but not what we’re looking for.

Every round (Season) in Everdell is an exercise in squeezing every last ounce of resources you have to extend that round, trying to do more and more until you can do no more. It can be quite a puzzle to figure out how to optimize your play, and that’s good juice; pretty much Queenie’s favourite thing to do in a board game.

This game would be my #1 in the art category, I’m a sucker for cute woodland creatures. Production value is high, but the tree is something best left in the box.

#4 – Dominion

Rank Change: +1
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 42
BGG Rating: 9.8

The grandparent of all deck-builders, Dominion is still a big winner for us. I’m rating this as a game including the expansions, as the base game alone wouldn’t rate nearly as highly for me. The sheer number of cards in the system makes the game stupidly replayable, and I highly recommend using a helper app to manage your plays.

The secret sauce for me is figuring out how to best create a winning engine with the cards that are available. Looking for synergies between cards and understanding how best to maximize the interactions is so delicious. Although there are newer deck-builders that add other elements to build on what Dominion started, I still love the OG grandpappy.

We play this a lot online now at dominion.games, and haven’t cracked our big physical box in a long while. Though the service is a subscription, it’s still well worth it for us. If the online service went away we’d be sad, but we’d just start playing in-person again.

#3 – The Castles of Burgundy

Rank Change: +1
Level C – Hobbyist
Plays in 2022 – 15
BGG Rating: 10

The Castles of Burgundy is a modern classic. If you are a board game enthusiast, someone who likes the level C games, this is a must own. It plays well at any player count, though at 4 it can take a while if people suffer from analysis paralysis. We mostly play this on BGA now as it plays very well asynchronously because when it’s your turn you get to do all your actions for that round. That structure allows you to be able to plan it out at your own pace.

The game really shines by the way is uses dice rolling. Forcing players to pivot their plans based on what the random roll of the dice is a good way for the game to feel challenging. Another bonus is that there are no expansions needed for the game to be awesome. Some games need that infusion to really make it pop, but not this fella.

I really had some serious FOMO for the huge Special Edition that came out, but I was strong and held on to my money. It looks superfly with chonky bits, as opposed to the anniversary edition which to me looks, uh, not good. We play it so much on BGA, the physical copy we own doesn’t get a lot of play, and I don’t think that would change if we had the super-fancy.

#2 – The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine / Mission Deep Sea

Rank Change: None
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 42
BGG Rating: 10

I’ve smooshed both Crews in to one entry this year. I love trick-taking games, and these are unlike any other game out there. I like the cooperative nature of Contract Bridge or Whist, and these take that cooperation to a new level. The mind-meld a group can get to while playing is very satisfying and pulling off tricky situations make you feel very smart. I often play with the same two fellas for a 3-player game, and we have our own shorthand and internal rules when playing. Playing with 3 players has its pluses and minuses., and the problems are addressed in Deep Sea with its player difficulty scaling.

I’ve heard other board game people saying that they can get rid of the first one (Quest for Planet Nine) now that they have the ‘superior’ Mission Deep Sea, but I don’t agree with that sentiment. Both games give a different challenge, our group does switch back and forth playing them. When we finish the campaign, we switch to the other.

If you’re looking to get into the series, I suggest that you would start with Quest for Planet Nine as it’s easier to digest at first and will hurt less brains. Mission Deep Sea does start off easy, but it is far more puzzle-ly and difficult at the higher levels. We’ve had times with Deep Sea where we’re not even sure the task combination is even possible it’s so complex. That being said, when (if) you pull it off a crazy mission, it is very satisfying. High five.

These are great games to help people learn the nuances of trick-taking games. Playing suit vacancies, card counting, running long suits, and understanding what other people have in their hand are all skills you hone playing these games.  You really need to like playing trick-taking games to enjoy these games, (which I very much do) so keep that in mind when proposing this game for your group.

#1 – Race for the Galaxy

Rank Change: None
Level B – Casual
Plays in 2022 – 37
BGG Rating: 10

My number one game three years running, Race for the Galaxy is a great game. Simultaneous action selection keeps everyone engaged at all times, and the variety that the big ole deck gives makes every game feel fresh and exciting. It is best with 2 or 3 expansions, but it still plays fine with just the base.

The thing I like the best about the game is that the central focus for players is to make the best of what they’ve been dealt. Some might call this frustrating or too luck dependant, but for me it’s the special sauce. You can’t run the same strategy every game, you must adapt to be successful, which can even be true half-way through the game. At any phase of the game you may find yourself having to pivot from where you thought you were going. I love those types of decisions.

There have been 3 offshoots/sequels to it, (Roll for the Galaxy, Jump Drive, New Frontiers) and all 3 of them are lesser games that miss out of what make Race special. Other games have taken the core action selection mechanic and used them very well, but that doesn’t mean that Race for the Galaxy is any lesser for it.