Your games of the year (by publication date)

Continuing the discussion from Anticipated games:

Yeah all right then. But I’m going to miss the point and, for each year from which I have games, pick the one that’s my favourite now.

(If your BGG collection is up to date, (your username), Profile, Stats, Games Owned By Year, may make this easier. Or follow this link. Note that this does list expansions.)

The latest year from which I do not have any item is 1996.

1997: my options are Harpoon or Harpoon expansions. Harpoon it is!
1998: Nothing I’d immediately reach for if I had people over right now, but Lord of the Fries is still good for an occasional filler; Guillotine’s not bad, and I’ve been thinking about playing Crimson Skies again. (My plane design software still works.)
1999: a pretty sparse year, so Chez Geek. Trivia: this was launched at about the same time as Munchkin, and SJGames expected that CG would be the lasting success, while Munchkin would fade away relatively quickly.
2000-2002: nothing but expansions.
2003: Hex Hex, a bit rough round the edges now and the rules are definitely less clear than they might be, but this can build up some very enjoyable complexity. Also an early example of a good-looking game, with gold on black cards.
2004: quite a hard choice between Tsuro and Ingenious. I’ve definitely played Tsuro more, but one can get one’s teeth into Ingenious. I’ll go for Ingenious
2005: expansions only.
2006: Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg, a strange early social deduction game. It’s the only one in my list for this year, and I suspect I like it largely because of the company in which I first played it.
2007: Parade! Definitely. I should play this more.
2008: Ghost Stories beats out The Stars Are Right, but Stars would still be high on any list I make.
2009: suddenly there’s serious competition. Tobago, Revolution!, original Rallyman… but it has to be The Resistance.
2010: and rather less competition again. I don’t mind Zombie Dice if I’m in the mood, but Alien Frontiers it shall be.
2011: gosh, is Rhino Hero really this old? But in any case this has to go to one of my long-term favourite games, Flash Point Fire Rescue.
2012: Coup beats out Among the Stars and Love Letter. Mark of SVWAG recently mentioned that you can win by always telling the truth… but only if people don’t realise that you are.
2013: Some competition from Castellan (which I demoed extensively for SJGames) and Concept, but this one has to go to long-term favourite Firefly. I first played this at a convention, and had gone over to the dealer and bought a copy before the game was over.
2014: Getting quite tricky now. I wouldn’t like to be without Colt Express or Red7 or Lemminge or Onitama, and probably not Splendor. But in the end I’ll take Star Realms.
2015: suddenly the list doesn’t fit in one screen height any more. Big competition, but Leaving Earth has to take it.
2016: Automobiles, Flamme Rouge, V-Commandos… but also Aeon’s End.
2017: Several contenders but I think I’ll pick forgotten classic Senators. We (IB&C) demoed this extensively at Essen, everyone loved it, it flew off the shelves… then it vanished.
2018: I like VOLT and War of the Nine Realms, but if I have to pick one it’s Renegade. (Vanished in the collapse buyout of Victory Point Games, and may one day return with a different theme… but I like the theme.)
2019: and suddenly nothing that I think of when I think of my absolute favourite games, though A War of Whispers may get there once I’ve played it some more. Honourable mention to Among Thieves, aka “Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma: The Game”.
2020: several I like, but this absolutely has to go to Rallyman GT, which I think is my most-played game and may well be my current favourite.
2021: so far it’s Gladius, but I haven’t yet played Shamans.

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Game of the Year
Going backwards. If I wasn’t sure which was the best, I chose the one I enjoyed back then. I put some runners up, usually no more than 1 but some years are so good I had to list more. My best years in gaming are: 2018, 2017, 2015 and 2014. Worst years: 2005 and 2006 (although we loved us some Arkham Horror and Shadows over Camelot back then)

  • 2021 - Oath (for now)
  • 2020 - Beyond the Sun is beyond reproach
  • 2019 - Clank! Legacy (Pax Pamir 2(1) and Die Crew)
  • 2018 - Architects of the West Kingdom (Obsession(1), Sprawlopolis, Hardback(1))
  • 2017 - Spirit Island. (Gloomhaven (1))
  • 2016 - Inis (1) (Kanagawa, Terraforming Mars)
  • 2015 - Leaving Earth (1) (Pandemic Legacy S1)
  • 2014 - Roll for the Galaxy (1) (Star Realms, Five Tribes possibly soon)
  • 2013 - Tash Kalar (Sushi Go)
  • 2012 - Terra Mystica (this was the year I “entered” the “hobby”)
  • 2011 - Kingdom Builder (Flash Point)
  • 2010 - Innovation(1) (7 Wonders, Hana-Bi)
  • 2009 - The Resistance (Small World)
  • 2008 - Dixit (Ghost Stories)
  • 2007 - Race for the Galaxy(1) (Kingsburg)
  • 2006 - at some point possibly: Royal Visit(1) and or Thurn und Taxis(1)
  • 2005 - Arkham Horror (we liked it back then)
  • 2004 - Ticket to Ride (Piranha Pedro)
  • 2003 - Yinsh (Alhambra)
  • 2002 - Goldland
  • 2001 - Traders of Genoa
  • 2000 - Princes of Florence (Carcassonne)
  • 1999 - Ra (1) (Chez Geek)
  • 1998 - Through the Desert (1) (Verräter)
  • 1997 - Ursuppe (Bohnanza, T&E(1))
  • 1996 - City of Chaos (Android Netrunner)
  • 1995 - El Grande (1) (Medici(1))
  • 1994 - Robo Rally(1) (6 nimmt (1))
  • 1993 - Magic The Gathering (1)
  • 1992 - Loopin’ Louie (1) (have yet to play Modern Art (1))

(1) games I discovered later

Of the games I listed in first place there are 5 that I have never owned and 2 that I previously owned one of which I regret giving away (a little bit).

Edit: Notable older games I have enjoyed: Illuminati (1987), Barbarossa (1988), Auf Achse (1987), Inkognito (1988), Heimlich & Co (1984), Dampfross (1979), Labyrinth (1986), Scotland Yard (1983), Die Macher (1986), Heroquest (1989), Talisman (1983), Taboo (1989), Cosmic Encounter (1977, the original version anyway), Sagaland (1981) that I think might be worth mentioning.

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1948: Scrabble - An easy win as there’s nothing else I have for that year.

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1982: Technically nothing, as I’ve still yet to play Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective

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1985: Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs - Another win by default

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1993: Once Upon a Time - Default again, but good!

1994: 6 nimmt! - Ditto

1995: High Society - Beating out Condottiere

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1999: Tikal - see OUaT

2000: Carcassonne - see OUaT

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2002: Mexica - see OUaT

2003: Hey, That’s My Fish! - Another easy win as its rivals are just LotR versions of Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit.

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2005: Another year where I have a game, but I haven’t played it. This time it’s the much more underwhelming “Doctor Who: The Interactive Electronic Board Game”

2006: Traders of Osaka - Though it might get overtaken by Royal Visit when I get a chance to play it.

2007: Race for the Galaxy - Could easily beat out so many games, but apparently doesn’t have to.

2008: Red November - One of the first games I ever bought. Still has a place in my heart.

2009: Jaipur - Again, the only choice other than Trivial Pursuit.

2010: Ghost Blitz - Beating The Great Fire of London 1666 and Troyes because I don’t think I could ever say no to it.

2011: The Metagame - Very hard to choose between this and Skull. Discworld: Ankh-Morpork is also here.

2012: The Resistance: Avalon - Apparently 2012 was a good year for bluffing as it also has Cockroach Poker Royal, Coup, and A Fake Artist Goes to New York.

2013: Concordia - It had to be. Runners up include Concept, Crossing, Funemployed, Geek Out!, Jazz: The Singing Card Game, and Sushi Go!

2014: Dogs of War - Another easy choice despite strong competition from Deep Sea Adventure, Paperback, Splendor, and Spyfall

2015: Monikers - I think I might be biased towards party games? Lots of very good runners up: Arboretum, Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn, The Bloody Inn, Bring Your Own Book, Broom Service, Celestia, Mysterium, Plums, and Raptor

2016: Inis - The only others that come close are Adrenaline and Evolution: Climate

2017: Azul - Ooh, it was a hard choice between this and Ethnos. Very much would depend on the group (and player count) if I were picking between the two. Also good: Altiplano, Bärenpark, Cursed Court, and Secrets

2018: The Champion of the Wild - Another one where the party game that’s easy to get to the table wins out. Though close competition from Decrypto and Cryptid. Also worth mentioning: Dinosaur Tea Party, The Estates, Hardback, Low Lands, Pandemic: Fall of Rome, Piepmatz, and Trapwords.

2019: Village Pillage - Getting into years where I have a lot of games with few plays thanks to Covid. Runners up (all played once): Nova Luna, Oriflamme, Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid, Tussie Mussie, Unmatched: Battle of Legends, and A War of Whispers

2020: Cindr - A clear winner with a whopping 3 plays! Though Kittin has more thanks to being quick to replay. Worth mentioning: Codex Naturalis and Letterpress

2021: Bullet♥︎ - And we’re back to a single choice, as I haven’t played the other two options (Bristol 1350 and Nanga Parbat)

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My collection is tiny, so I’m going to include some heavyweights I’d LIKE to play:

2016: Santorini. In my all-time top 10, such a clever game, does my two favourite things of having a table presence that makes anyone walking past stop and stare AND being simple enough to understand (if you’re not using Gods) that the rules teach takes about five seconds.
(But I really want to play A Feast for Odin too, which is about as opposite as it gets :slight_smile: Also Inis.)
2017: Herbaceous, although I got the recent Pocket edition.
(I also want to play the original Azul, as I like Summer Pavilion but it’s complicated as a first experience of Azul games, and London.)
2018: Everdell, no question.
2019: And suddenly it gets difficult! Probably Marvel Champions, although I have a lot of time for Parks too.
(Four that I want to play: Pax Pamir 2nd, A War of Whispers, Shobu and Horrified.)
2020: I bought a lot that year, but none of them are the best ever. I really like the inventiveness of Chronicles of Crime: 1400, and haven’t played enough Quacks Big Box.
(Also want to play Unmatched Cobble and Fog, Iwari, Beyond the Sun, Obsession, Honey Buzz…)
2021: So far, Cascadia by a mile.

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They just need to better than everything you played from that year. It is your GOTY :slight_smile:

But yeah, I also had to list a few “yet to play” games… (tangent: waiting for that Five Tribes package… I have played it. At Spiel. This was the game where my partner (and I) discovered the term “Analysis Paralysis”)

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Acknowledging that I haven’t played everything in my collection, here’s the current standings:

1982: Empire Builder might be at risk to get bumped by Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, but I think it’s safe from Sequence
1984: British Rails is a lovely smaller, tighter map for Empire Builder
1986: 1830: Railways & Robber Barons is the oldest, still widely played game I own, and it has it’s merits
1990: Eurorails is better than Empire Builder due to more interesting geographical decision points
1991: Silverton is lovely, even if I haven’t actually finished a game of it yet
1992: Modern Art definitely takes it from Nippon Rails (which is still good) as well as Scrutineyes, a favorite of my partner and her family.
1993: En Garde is unplayed, but Once Upon a Time: The Storytelling Card Game certainly doesn’t deserve the win (it’s fun, it’s just not great), no prize for 1993
1994: Iron Dragon, another crayon rails game beats out one of its own (Australian Rails) as well as RoboRally
1995: High Society takes the lead from an increasingly competitive field
1997: Tigris & Euphrates wins out against For Sale
1998: Through the Desert is the leading contender, but I haven’t played it yet.
1999: For the first really tough choice so far, Roads & Boats takes a win over Ra and the rest of the field, including: Bus, Chinatown, and Lost Cities. Unknowns in '99 are: Paths of Glory and Stephenson’s Rocket
2000: After the excitement of 1999, 2000 is a little dull by comparison. Carcassonne gets the win, I guess. I haven’t played Battle Line, Citadels, or The Lord of the Rings (Knizia)
2001: in a field of 1, Zendo wins!
2002: Age of Steam is the winner, despite me only playing the solo map that was released in 2007
2003: Bridges of Shangri-La should likely be the winner, but I haven’t played it. So it goes to Lunar Rails
2004: Power Grid in the lead with some unknowns still in the running: Blue Moon, Memoir '44, Russian Rails and Scepter of Zavandor
2005: 1846: The Race for the Midwest takes a win from some as-yet unplayeds: 18MEX, Antike, Diamant/Incan Gold, Flying Colors, Mission: Red Planet, Trans Europa
2006: Shogun is the one I’ve played (and I like it a lot, but it just lasts a bit too long). There are some hopefuls for this year as well: Blue Moon City, Imperial, and Pillars of the Earth
2007: Brass: Lancashire but there are so many unplayed this year. Special mention for Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries, a game that got my partner excited to play games with me
2008: Snow Tails may be a surprising winner, but I do adore the game. 2008 may be the first “golden era” year in my collection with many really great offerings
2009: Martian Rails (one of my favorite of the crayon rails), I think, takes the win from Summoner Wars. It’s close. Smallworld and Tobago are both good contenders too. Quite a brutal year to make a choice
2010: Troyes is fantastic. This year didn’t get any easier… In fact, I think it’s only going to be harder from here on out.
2011: Village wins out for sure. Dungeon Petz a strong second, but there’s so much more available in this year.
2012: This year is a huge gap in things I have actually played. A lot of really good contenders here, but of what I’ve actually played, I think it goes to Morels
2013: (What a year!) 1862: Railway Mania in the Eastern Counties is a big standout for me (even if I’ve only played the 2019 GMT edition). This is the year I got into the hobby, so it comes as no surprise that there’s a big jump in the number of games I have representing it.
2014: Alchemists, I think, takes the gold. But honorable mention to 18OE: On the Rails of the Orient Express, Scoville, and so many more
2015: Broom Service would have been the easy choice a few years ago, but there are a lot of competitors threatening its position.
2016: Millennium Blades, I believe, is the winner. I think I could live my entire life playing only games from 2016 and I’d be perfectly happy
2017: Maybe Iberian Gauge will take this year eventually? For the moment I think it goes to Notre Dame: 10th Anniversary
2018: I just love Cryptid so much, I’m probably not being fair to the rest. The Estates, at least, deserves a mention.
2019: 1824: Austrian-Hungarian Railway (Second Edition) is just fantastic.
2020: Now we get into the “second child” era that led directly up to the “COVID era” of my gaming, and this means there’s just very little I’ve actually played.Rallyman GT, I think, wins it.
2021: I think it’s going to Bullet :heart:. Due to my reduced buying in 2021, this was one of the easiest years of the last decade (also, I tend to buy most of my games secondhand, so most of the 2021 releases won’t see heavy traffic on the secondary market (at good prices) until 2022 when the hype is gone)

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I love Loopin’ Louie! Can’t believe it’s that old

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I used to own this. It is one of those I now regret purging… very very puzzly and I think I would like it more now after having played/learned way more games. I liked it. It was just too much brain-burn at the time.

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It is interesting to note that I have kept my copy of Chez Geek (for Nostalgia) and given away Munchkin. But Munchkin exploded and Chez Geek petered out… I don’t think I would play either now.

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The best from each year

2021 - Toss up between Kemet 2 and Summoner Wars 2 - two reimplementation. This year is disappointing so far…
2020 - King is Dead 2 but it’s a straight reprint. Polis, otherwise.
2019 - 1882: Assiniboia
2018 - The Estates
2017 - Gaia Project
2016 - Inis which is one of my Top 5
2015 - Food Chain Magnate / Cthulhu Wars
2014 - Han / Antike II
2013 - In contention: Yunnan, Impulse, Wildcatters - lack of plays is the problem
2012 BANGIN YEAR! - The Great Zimbabwe or Keyflower. They are closely followed by Seasons, Tzolkin, Kemet, Terra Mystica, War of the Ring 2
2011 - Kingdom Builder
2010 - Innovation or Dominant Species
2009 - Imperial 2030
2008 - Ghost Stories - a weak year
2007 - Another great year: toss up between Container or Chicago Express, then you have these behind them: King of Siam, Power & Weakness, Brass OG, Napoleon’s Triumph, Race for the Galaxy, Agricola
2006 - Terra Nova or Imperial
2005 - Indonesia
2004 - 1860: Railways of the Isle of Wight
2003 - Bridges of Shangri-La or Santiago
2002 - Age of Steam
2001 - the weakest year ever - San Marco, which isn’t even a fave! Maybe because I haven’t played other games like Traders of Genoa.
2000 - Carolus Magnus - again, I haven’t played Princes of Florence yet
1999 - Stephenson’s Rocket
1998 - Through the Desert
1997 - Tigris & Euphrates - Top 5
1996 - MarraCash
1995 - El Grande - Top 5
1994 - Intrigue
1993 - Stick Em - I got nothing here except Stick Em!
1992 - Modern Art
1991 - Quo Vadis?
1990 - I got nothing here.

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The other day, I saw how one of my new geek-buddies wrote that Winter Kingdom is actually an improvement over the original and not just a re-theme like I thought. Something something about having less luck of the draw and abilities from the start and also more hexagonal. I think I need that one.

(Also just put in an offer on ebay kleinanzeigen for both Intrige and Stephensons Rocket before even reading your post, because I need more old games on my shelves that I won’t play anytime soon)

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1979 - Dune (I actually had this edition for a long time)
1991 - Cosmic Encounter (I no longer like this game, but whatever!)
1994 - Robo Rally (I have all three editions of this, and in the Beforetimes they all got some playtime)
1999 - Ra (one of my favourite auction games of all time)
2003 - Game of Thrones (I have the 3rd edition still, big fan)
2004 - No Thanks! (Just played this last weekend. A classic)
2005 - Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition (My favourite game of all time before 4th Ed came out)
2006 - Shogun (Still a great “Dudes on a Map” game that’s not really a wargame)
2007 - Galaxy Trucker (My fourth favourite game of all time, still)
2008 - Space Alert (My fifth favourite game of all time, still)
2009 - Space Hulk (Just edges out “Cyclades”, but by the tiniest of margins)
2010 - Alien Frontiers (I still own it, I still like it, but it tends to be too random and long for me now)
2011 - Sekigahara (Mage Knight is so good, but Sekigahara is the only ‘real’ wargame I own)
2012 - War of the Ring 2nd Ed (A stone-cold classic)
2013 - Funemployed (silly, ridiculous… tragically out of print for now)
2014 - Imperial Assault (space wizards and laser swords… 3rd favourite game of all time)
2015 - Forbidden Stars (favourite knife-fight-in-a-phone-booth)
2016 - Scythe (2nd favourite game of all time, but man is it hard not to pick Inis!)
2017 - Twilight Imperium 4th Edition ( favourite game of all time)
2018 - Decrypto (a slightly better Codenames)
2019 - Lord of the Rings Journeys in Middle-Earth (almost as good as Imperial Assault!)
2020 - Forgotten Waters (great storytelling… really gotta play this one more!)
2021 - Cubitos (a solid race game!)

(Edits to add 2020 and 2021… turns out I haven’t updated by BGG list in at least 3 years…)

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yeah I have still not ever played with any of the complete set of expansions I picked up in the reprint kickstarter oops

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I might add some detail and earlier games later or, but as a quick list:

2021 - Cascadia so far, but still got lots of this year’s titles to play.

2020- I’m torn between Lost Ruins of Arnak and Oceans, but simply because we get it to the table far more often, I’ll go with Arnak…Or maybe the crew… No, Arnak. That’s final.

2019 - Taverns of Tiefenthal. Easy one for me, the only one I’ve not had to check the year for. Lovely combination of dice drafting/placing and deck building. Seems quite divisive with reviewers and players, but everyone I’ve played with has loved it.

2018 - Quacks of Quedlinburg

2017 - The Quest for El Dorado just pips Azul for the win this year.

2016 - Flamme Rouge. The only game that makes me laugh more is cockroach poker. It’s always hilarious how your plans in this game just fall apart.

2015 - 7 Wonders Duel was such a big part of what got me in to gaming, so it wins this year even though Viticulture EE is one of my favourite games now. We played 7WD to death when we first got it!

2014 - Orleans. Ridiculous game.

2013 - Concordia, though if I was to give great weighting to them it would be Lewis and Clark. Not that it finds its way to the table very often!

2012 - Targi. Another close one with Agricola ACBAS though.

2011 - Flash Point: Fire Rescue. Slightly edges out Castles of Burgundy by being marginally easier to set up.

2010 - 7 Wonders. It’s such an easy game to set up and play, and I do enjoy the drafting mechanic.

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Okay, so just going by the publish date (as obviously I did not play some of these games in that year), and only including games I have played:

It's a long list...

1965 - Nuclear War takes it by being the only game I own from that year.
1975 - Quest of the Magic Ring - Ditto
1981 - Axis and Allies - I actually played this quite a bit in high school…in the early to mid 90’s.
1982 - Between Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective and Survive: Escape from Atlantis, I have to go with Survive, simply because I have played it a LOT more.
1983 - Talisman - also played a lot in high school. My best friend and I would do alignment tournaments, each of us playing a character from each alignment, and seeing which came out on top, and no alignment changes were allowed.
1986 - Fortress America - Ameritrash at its finest, especially with that good ol’ American centralism baked in.
1990 - Star Fleet Battles - The Star Trek game where the rules are about as complicated as tax forms, if not more so.
1992 - Nuclear Proliferation - Stand-Alone expansion to Nuclear War, enjoyed it in high school, and is also the only game I own from this year.
1994 - Blood Bowl - So much fun was had with this game!
1995 - Going to have to give it to Mystery of the Abbey. Basically a more advanced game of Clue, where you can ask almost any question of people you encounter, but if they choose to answer, they get to ask a question back. Always enjoyed this one.
1996 - Kill Doctor Lucky. Between this or Give Me the Brain, both are fun little diversions, but I think I like Dr. Lucky just a bit more.
1998 - Lord of the Fries. Only game I own from this year.
1999 - Chinatown - Just barely squeaks in, as while it is the only game I own published in this year, I only played it for the first (and so far, only) time this past June.
2000 - The Great Brain Robbery, which just tells me I should really get my copy of Battle Line to the table.
2001 - Munchkin! While I have greatly cooled on this game, it (and it’s many renditions) did bring a lot of laughs to the table for a number of years.
2002 - Star Munchkin at the time. Though now, it would probably be Captain Park’s Imaginary Polar Expedition, which was a pretty decent CheapAss game.
2003 - Carcassonne wins this one, though Hey! That’s My Fish! is also good.
2004 - Betrayal at House on the Hill. No question. While it’s a bit of a mess of a game, it’s always a good time when playing with my friends. Unless it’s the Blob haunt again. Seriously, eff that one.
2005 - Shadows Over Camelot. The original hidden traitor game (AFAIK).
2006 - Shogun. Loved Quinn’s review of it, picked it up, and while I have only played it four times now, I have loved every play!
2007 - Galaxy Trucker takes this one, though I’ve only played it a few times. Back in the day, it would have been Munchkin Cthulhu.
2008 - Ghost Stories. Pandemic is good and all, but the theme and variability of GS wins out easily.
2009 - Jaipur, without a doubt.
2010 - Lords of Vegas. While 7 Wonders is good, Lords of Vegas is great!
2011 - This is a tough one, as I have a number of games that I have only played a handful of times, but have really enjoyed, then some games that I have played a lot, but are just so-so. I think the winner has to be Dungeon Petz. The theme is adorable, but the game is really brain burning. I just wish it was easier to get to the table.
2012 - Another tough one. But I think the winner, beating out things like X-Wing, Coup, Tokaido, and Legendary Marvel is Lords of Waterdeep. Being the first board game I got that really hooked my wife, and one she continues to excel at today.
2013 - Concorida all the way.
2014 - Crap, this was a great year for games. At the time, I’d probably have to give it to Sheriff of Nottingham. Now, though…man…Imperial Assault, Patchwork, Splendor, Orleans, Istanbul, Samurai Spirit, all great games. I think Orleans is going to take it though, by how I feel about these games right now. Though Imperial Assault, Istanbul and Patchwork are close. But factoring in my enjoyment of the games against playtime and ease of getting to the table, it’s Orleans.
2015 - Another tough year, but I think Arboretum is going to take the win here, despite me only having played it two player (where it’s real cutthroat). 7 Wonders Duel, Fury of Dracula, Codenames, Mysterium, Batman Love Letter, Isle of Skye and El Grande Big Box all get honorable mentions though.
2016 - Inis, with honorable mention going to Arkham Horror the card game.
2017 - I am going to have to go with Spirit Island. I love the idea of TI4, and hope to actually get a full game of it in someday, but lacking that experience, I just can’t pick it. Azul is another that I love, but the theme and variety of SI has really enraptured me.
2018 - A number of good games here, but the winner is Everdell. Runner ups include Quacks of Quedlinburg, Treasure Island, and Welcome To.
2019 - When I backed it, I would have bet that Batman: Gotham City Chronicles would have been the best of the year for me, but sadly the game is overly complex for what it is, and the scenarios I have played are not balanced well enough for initial plays to feel even (though I have heard repeated plays make them more even). While I have greatly enjoyed Marvel Champions, the game that has truly won my heart for this year is Unmatched: Battle of Legends, along with all of its stand alone expansions.
2020 - Pulling Unmatched sets from the running, as I just lump them in with the first one. Have a few games that I really enjoyed but have only played once, and then a couple that I’ve played a number of times, and also really enjoy. I think the winner for me here is Hansa Teutonica: Big Box. Though if you want to count that as a 2009 release, then I think I have to give it to Vampire the Masquerade: Vendetta, with Nidavellir a close second, and Lost Ruins of Arnak behind them.
2021 - Have only gotten some Marvel Champions expansion content, no actual games yet for this year. Amazingly…

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Ooooh, this seems fun.

Considering my collection is tiny, and I would rather rate games I played (but I cannot be bothered to go through that right now…)

1966: Twister (winner by default, although it can be a laugh)
1970 Buckaroo! (still makes me laugh when it scares my little one)
1992 Articulate! (by default)
2004 Beat the parents (s far, mostly rubbish games)
2005 Ticket to Ride: Europe, beating Risk Star Wars fair and square (who knew I would prefer a train game over Star Wars…? I blame you lot)
2007 Brass: Lancashire (so far, the best of a very poor list)
2008 Pandemic
2010 Forbidden Island (I still have to play Merchants & Marauders, the shame!)
2012 Love Letter (sorry Rex: FDoaE, you are still unplayed)
2013 Firefly
2014 Splendor
2015 Arboretum (very tight win over Raiders of the North Sea, and I am yet to play Blood Rage)
2017 Spirit Island (sorry Gloomhaven, set up times let you down)
2018 Root (although the teach nearly gave it away to Architects of the West Kingdom)
2019 Love Letter (again!) I am yet to play The Crew
2020 Oceans (Tiny Epic Dinosaurs was close)
2021 Tiny Epic Pirates KS (by default)

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I love making lists haha

1992 - Modern Art competition is pretty thin for these first few ones
2000 - Carcassonne, hell yeah
2003 - Hey, That’s My Fish!
2004 - Cockroach Poker
2008 - Dominion actually had competition but it had to be the winner
2009 - Jaipur
2010 - Innovation… I guess
2011 - Kulami though I haven’t played my copy of Mage Knight yet
2013 - Boss Monster one of my first games
2014 - My mostly white whale game Star Wars: Imperial Assault tough luck Irish Gauge
2015 - tough luck Blood Rage and Ashes but it has to be Champions of Midgard
2016 - oh my god the competition sorry Clank! Feast for Odin, and Scythe I’m going with Star Wars: Rebellion
2017 - Ah this is actually hard hard here this is the year with the most games but has to be Too Many Bones(though maybe TI:4 after more plays)
2018 - another tough year between Ganz Schön Clever, Quacks, Root, Shards of Infinity, and Yellow and Yangtze but right now it’s Rising Sun because I just had an absolute gem of a game with it that was one of my first post Covid games
2019 - Maybe when I figure you out more Cloudspire it’ll be you, but right now it’s Cthulhu: Death May Die because it’s just consistently fun. Honourable mention Taverns of Tiefenthal, Unmatched, and In the Hall of the Mountain King
2020 - a much slower year but MicroMacro: Crime City was simple but fun
2021 - Riftforce, Mini Rogue, and Kabuto Sumo are good but I had an amazing time with The Initiative earlier this year

Though some of these may change after I can try out some of my unplayed games (Nemesis, Summoners Wars, Oath)

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One game per year was slightly agonising for some years, but it’s just for fun so I didn’t overthink it too much!

-3000 - Backgammon
1475 - Chess
1630 - Cribbage
1972 - Boggle
1982 - Survive: Escape from Atlantis!
1995 - High Society
1997 - Jungle Speed
1998 - The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1999 - Tikal
2000 - Hive
2002 - Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers
2003 - Hey, That’s My Fish!
2004 - Betrayal at House on the Hill
2005 - China
2006 - Mr. Jack
2007 - Thebes
2008 - Pandemic
2009 - Hansa Teutonica
2010 - Snake Oil
2011 - Pictomania
2012 - The Hobbit Card Game
2013 - BANG! The Dice Game
2014 - KLASK
2015 - Mysterium
2016 - Junk Art
2017 - The Lost Expedition
2018 - Sprawlopolis
2019 - Judge Dredd: Helter Skelter
2020 - Regicide

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1800 - Perudo
1983 - Scotland Yard
1984 - Wizard
1992 - How do I choose between Modern Art and Loopin’ Louie? I can’t do it
1995 - Pitch Car (because my El Grande Big Box is 2015)
1998 - Through The Desert
1999 - Stephenson’s Rocket
2000 - Hive
2002 - Age of Steam
2003 - Coloretto
2004 - Ticket to Ride just beats out Cockroach Poker
2005 - Diamant
2006 - Carcassone Big Box
2007 - Race for the Galaxy
2008 - Dominion
2009 - The Resistance
2010 - Troyes (sorry Innovation)
2011 - Castles of Burgundy
2012 - Terra Mystica
2013 - Sushi Go
2014 - Imperial Assault
2015 - Pandemic Legacy S1
2016 - Great Western Trail
2017 - Quest for El Dorado is this far ahead of Spirit Island
2018 - Root
2019 - The King’s Dilemma
2020 - Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
2021 - Mercado de Lisboa

2016-2018 are the absolute peak of my collection. Although my favourite couple from 2017 have only been bought in the last couple of months and having looked again I have some belters from 2018-2020. I think this is when I was at my peak of buying so haven’t played these as much as from the couple of years before.

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It fascinates me how much these “by the year” lists tell me about each of you. Top 10s are nice and all… but I feel this one–by the nature of including more game perhaps and forcing harder choices both in over- and under-supplied years–gives me more insight. Not only current but past gaming habits come into it that helps, too…

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