I have put together my top 10 games for 2023. Note that these are games that I have played for the first time in 2023, not necessarily games that were released in 2023. With all the games that I already have, I got another x games plus expansions last year. Some were gifts, some were purchased at the thrift stores, and some were new.
The new games were: Chosen Men, Don’t Look Back – second edition, Gelatinous, Marvel Splendor*, Marvel Villainous: Twisted Ambition, Marvel Villainous: We Are Venom, Scooby Doo: Betrayal at Mystery Mansion, Silver Bayonet, Spectre, Star Wars Villainous: Scum and Villainy, Unmatched – Brains and Brawn, Unmatched – For King and Country, Unmatched – Teen Spirit, Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze, Warhammer 40,000 – tenth edition - Leviathan.
The ones I picked up not new were:
A lot of these did not hit the table this year. Some games from previous years were finally played.
Games that I played for the first time that did not make my list were:
10 – Boggle Jr – a very simple version of the regular game for young kids.
9 – Stay Alive – I had seen this one as a child but had never played it. You have to move sliders and try to drop your opponents’ balls while keeping your balls from falling into the holes. It does play pretty well.
8 – Draftosaurus – is a quick drafting game using dinosaur shaped meeples instead of cards. You draw 6 dinos from a bag and place them on your own board to score depending on the areas and number of dinos in them.
7 – Trash Pandas – a quick card game for up to 4 players where you play as a raccoon digging through trash cans for leftovers. It combines set collecting with push-your-luck.
6 – Cover Your Assets – a card game for 4-6 players where you try to make sets of assets cards but your topmost pile can always be stolen.
5 – Gelatinous – is basically a gamer version of LCR. There is no decision making or strategy involved, you just roll your dice, move them depending on what you rolled, and then continue until someone wins. The green sparkly dice are very pretty though.
4 – Pokemon Jr Adventure Game – a very simple RPG for young kids, with a very preprogrammed path. It would have been much better enjoyed if we had been able to get to this ten years ago, but was still fun.
3 – Munchkin – The Nightmare Before Christmas – it is our first Munchkin game played. It is a dungeon crawl kind of game with a heavy take-that element. It was a bit slow to start but picked up as we got the hang of it. I don’tknow if it is different from the regular Munchkin but the rest of us were at level 9 when someone won.
2 – Dust Tactics Revised Core – I was finally able to play the introductory scenario. The rules seem pretty basic once we got the hang of it. I was glad to finally play this as I keep buying forces for it. It seems like there will be enough depth to satisfy that miniatures battle need.
1 – Blitz Bowl – I also got to play this with someone who had only played Blood Bowl online. The players and rules are somewhat similar to Blood Bowl but a lot more simplified. It took me a few turns to get used to the differences but then it really played quickly.
