Top 10 Games 2018 I Want to Play!

Today I’m looking back at ‘old’ games… aka those that released as long ago as 2018. I know! Practically ancient history now. But I hear there is still interesting things to discover amongst these ‘classic’ designs. As a connoisseur, I have in fact played a fair number of games from that period, but there are always. Still. More. Here are 10 that I haven’t had chance to play but want to, ranked according to their relative positions on Board Game Geek.

1 – Chronicles of Crime

The highest rated game on BGG from last year that I haven’t played! Which is a real shame because it is so far up my street! A co-operative mystery solving game, that cleverly integrates a VR app to let you search for evidence at crime scenes. It is an immensely cool hook and I have heard very good things from those who have played it. As is often the case for these games, they are scenario limited, but Chronicles of Crime uses QR codes on its components to ensure its components can be used in multiple different scenarios. There are therefore more that can be downloaded than come in the base box alone.

2 – Endeavor: Age of Sail

To my deepest shame, Endeavor has been sitting on my shelves since the Kickstarter delivered last year, unplayed and unloved! This is the content creator’s curse: if it’s not immediately relevant to a planned article, and if it’s not a proven favourite, it ends up low on the list of priorities. I’ve heard very positive things overall, with the possible exception of the inclusion of slavery which may or may not be well implemented. We will see. Eventually. I hope.

3 – Welcome to…

I’ve played Railroad Ink, I’ve played Ganz Schon Clever. But last year’s other hugely successful roll and write, well, flip and write, Welcome To… was always just around the next block. Considering how many people have said it is the best of the genre so far, this really feels like an unfortunate oversight on my part! Well, I would have played it if I had the chance. So really it is everyone else’s oversight for not buying it and bringing it to me on board game nights. Right?

4 – Everdell

‘That one with the big cardboard tree,’ as I know it. Everdell has certainly got table presence but it has yet to make its presence felt on my table. Components aside I can’t remember much more about it… which may be a reason to not get too excited about it. Tableau building I expect, given all the cards! Will it really be better than Wingspan though? I suppose I should try and play it just to find out.

5 – The Quacks of Quedlinburg

I desperately want to play Quacks of Quedlinburg! For one, it’s a push your luck bag building game and I love push your luck games and deck/bag builders. Even better, its by out-of-nowhere critical darling Wolfgang Warsch (The Mind, Ganz Schon Clever) and it is fascinating seeing a designer burst on to the scene the way he has! It makes me even more keen to try everything he is putting out. I wants it!

6 – Lords of Hellas

Epic minis fests are a sort of secret pleasure of mine but I sadly cannot afford to keep up with them all. Neither in time nor in money. Given most of my gaming time takes place in London pubs, it is even rarer to find people willing to drag that much weight in for game night! So Lords of Hellas remains an elusive plastic titan I remain gently curious for.

7 – Pandemic: Fall of Rome

The Pandemic series may be starting to get a little out of hand at this point. But they keep innovating on that core and doing so successfully! Fall of Rome swaps disease for invading visigoths and your doctors for roman legions. It becomes much more about territory as the invaders follow known routes through the Roman landscape. It is apparently a very good re-implementation and I would be very happy to give it a go, even as it raises the question of how long can they keep spinning things out!

8 – Betrayal Legacy

I have a big old soft spot for Betrayal at House on the Hill! I still believe it is a great game despite all its flaws, primarily for story reasons. So a Legacy version, designed around bringing out even more story, can only be a good thing for this game. Of course, deep down I know I don’t have time, nor a group, to make it practical. The sad and terrible truth shadowing most campaign style games.

9 – Forum Trajanum

Forum Trajanum appeared to me to be the lesser of Feld’s two Essen releases last year (Carpe Diem made it on my preview list and eventually into my collection) but the more I’ve heard along the grapevine the more I feel like I’ve missed out. It’s heavier than Carpe Diem, and indeed it is really the last of the mid-heavy Euros from last years Essen that I haven’t had chance to try. And that is an oversight I dearly wish to correct!

10 – Rise of Queensdale

What happened to this game?? I was so excited for it, a euro legacy game from the Brands (Exit, Village). It was released and then… nothing! I have heard precisely squat since then. I believe there may have been a long gap between its original Essen release and getting an English language edition out. Maybe it simply isn’t very good? No one else cares about Euro Legacy games? I still do… even though the same things I said about Betrayal Legacy apply here too.

Popular Games that I haven’t played and didn’t make it on to this list:

Western Legends – I’ve not been drawn into sandbox games before and while I would give it a go, I doubt I’ll go looking for it. The American West just doesn’t have that great an appeal for me.

Thunderstone Quest – I don’t think I can fit that many cards in my house.

Gizmos – I think I’m a touch burnt out on ‘Splendor-likes’, especially as none of them are ever as good as Splendor.

Arkham Horror 3rd Ed – Even a streamlined version of the insane Ameritrash classic Arkham Horror is not really my cup of tea, I don’t think. I mean, it’s never going to come close to the card game!

Dice Throne – 2 player combat games rarely get me excited but I would give this a go. There were just more interesting games out there to put on my list!

AuZtralia – This one just lost out to more intriguing competition. 

The City of Kings – I’ve demoed this and it was very clever. I’m curious! I can’t quite justify it to myself yet.

Crusaders Thy Will Be Done – Thematically some questions were raised about this, but the mechanics sound great. So I’d definitely like to try it some time!

Rise to Nobility – A reasonably well received, mid-weight Euro will always be worthy of my curiosity.

Dice Settlers – A reasonably well received, mid-weight Euro will always be worthy of my curiosity.

What games from last year do you want to try? And what were your thoughts on the games I’ve highlighted here?