Top Games of 2012

With the end of 2012 imminent, it is time to sum up the games of year. This year saw my collection balloon greatly, mainly due to the fact that I have a local dealer ... err I mean game store ... in the area. I cannot say enough good things about The Giddy Goblin. Great store, Great Owners, Great supply of games, Great group of people who play there. Enough of the love fest and onto my top board games of 2012.

1. Trajan - A Stefan Feld design and  probably one of his best to date. This game has a little of everything game mechanic wise but the belle of the ball is the mancala. It will truly make your head spin trying to figure it out and get it to do what you want. The game is punishing if you make a mistake but yet you are never truly out of the running. This is what I like though, a good and meaty board game which takes several plays to learn and many more to master. Looking forward to playing this a lot more in 2013.

2. Village - In Village, you control one of several families vying for fame in a simple village. This is a worker placement game at its core but with a twist. That twist shows up in how you handle family members. This game comes with 4 generations of one family and as the time track makes one full circuit then a family member must die. Depending on where that family member is on the board, he/she will go in the town records or an unmarked grave. That is where this game becomes great. Not only trying to maximize points through the worker placement but also through managing which family member will die and when is so important. It really feels like you are trying to bring honor and fame to your family.

3. Seasons - In seasons, you are competing against up to 3 other spell slingers to become the best sorcerer in a 3 year competition. How this is done is through rolling dice and collecting mana from the four seasons to power magical items and familiars. However, what really makes this game so great is the card draft at the beginning of the game. You start with 9 cards and keep one then pass the our 8 to the next player. You continue to draft one card at a time until you have 9 cards. Afterwards, you must take the 9 cards and split them into three piles of 3 cards to be used in each of the 3 years. This card draft really does have a way of making every game feel different and for that I am thankful.

4. Eclipse - Eclipse is an economics game hidden behind an space exploration/extermination theme. It is simple in its design and elegant in it play. It is big and epic and sits lots of people. On the the downside, it needs a very big table to play 6 players and it does bog down towards the end. However, with experienced players who try to plan when waiting for there turn this game really does shine.

5. Mice and Mystics - I bought this game because of the promise. That promise was a co-operative game with a narrative story arc centering around a prince and his cohorts turned into Mice to escape the evil spreading through the castle. This game has not disappointed. It comes with two books, a rulebook and a storybook containing all the scenarios. The kids and I have only played twice but we are looking forward to playing through the entire story in 2013. Hopefully, another story will be released in the new year as well.

As for 2013, I am looking forward to 2 new games from Stefan Feld (Rialto and Bora Bora), Suburbia (a city building tile laying game a la Simcity), Terra Mystica and Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar. And those are just the ones from late 2012 or early 2013. Add on top of that a road trip to Gen Con in August and 2013 is shaping up to be a great year.

Hope to see you at the table in 2013!