If I had to sum up my entire childhood in one word, it would be… HE-MAN! Nostalgia is a powerful thing, but let’s be honest—trying to recapture the magic of our youth often leads to crushing disappointment. I’ve walked this road before, diving into old franchises through games, and while a few hits (looking at you, Star Trek: Fleet Captains) have blown me away, most experiences remind me that some things are best left as cherished memories.
The Masters of the Universe toys were more than just my childhood, they were very much my introduction into the world of fantasy that would culminate with Dungeons and Dragons. In a way, it paved the way for my love for fantasy and science fiction.
Enter Masters of the Universe: Battleground. I approached it with cautious optimism—expecting “meh,” hoping for “fun,” but what I got was an absolute knockout of awesomeness. Holy crap, this game surpassed my wildest expectations!
Now, let me be clear—this is just my gut reaction after a single playthrough, specifically the “learning” starter game. I didn’t think I’d have much of an opinion after such a brief introduction, but Masters of the Universe: Battleground is bursting with nostalgic goodness and mechanical brilliance.
The miniature replication here is fantastic, with clear tributes by fans for fans. Every character in the starter kit was instantly recognizable and it was clear that the point of the game is to tap into the 80’s kid still living inside you.
First off, the game looks fantastic on the table. The miniatures are high-quality, the plastic terrain—while basic—is functional, and the grid board sets the perfect stage for battle. It’s not the kind of visual feast that will blow your mind, but it’s more than enough to put a smile on this old He-Man fan’s face. However, where this game really shines is in its gameplay.
What I expected to be a simple, nostalgia-driven experience turned out to be a streamlined, deeply tactical, and combo-heavy battle of wits. Tough decisions, nuanced moves, and strategic planning take center stage. The mechanics clicked effortlessly from the get-go, offering a multitude of options and interactions that scream replayability. It all comes together to deliver an authentic, action-packed He-Man cartoon showdown.
Between the exploding dice, card-driven play, and clever dice manipulation using mana and special powers, every moment felt like a thrilling push-your-luck gamble. There are no guarantees, but the game gives you plenty of tools to tip the odds in your favor. The heroes feel powerful, but far from invincible—you need to position them carefully and make the most of their unique abilities.
The starter set is chock-full of content, it’s quite astonishing what they squeezed into a miniature game under a 100 dollars. There is no question that this is the best bang for your buck I have ever seen in a published game. I don’t know how they did it, but ordinarily, with a kick-starter like this, I would expect to pay in excess of 200 dollars for a set like this.
Precision is key in Battleground, and while we were a bit sloppy in our first game, by the final round, my gaming partner and I were already buzzing with excitement over the possibilities. We couldn’t stop talking about what we should have done, what we could do next time, and the sheer potential of the list-building system.
While playing the base starter game was fun, this is a game that is all about list building. The structure here is super clear and straightforward, but there is a ton of combos not only in the interaction between various equipment and powers but also between the different heroes. I love the fact that it’s crystal clear what everything is for, it’s one of those miniature games that doesn’t obscure the advantages and disadvantages in the minutia of the rules, it’s all very plain to the eye.
The real kicker? I wanted to play again. Immediately. And that’s always a good sign. In fact, I found myself eagerly browsing expansions the moment I got home. What I expected to be a one-and-done experience turned into something I suspect will see a lot of table time in the near future.
So, if you’re a fellow child of the ’80s—or just someone looking for a solid tactical game—Masters of the Universe: Battleground might just surprise you. It certainly did for me.
Miniature gaming, role-playing games, and board games are becoming more and more difficult to neatly categorize these days as we see more and more cross-over hybrids. Warcrow Adventures, the latest take on the adventure game genre from Corvus Belli has been my gaming group’s latest obsession, and for good reason as this hybrid adventure game has a lot to offer.
Warcrow Adventures is based on the new miniature war game of the same name (Warcrow), using the same setting background and actual miniatures for the miniature game. An app-assisted story-driven dungeon crawler, players take on the roles of adventures using the classic Dungeons and Dragons formula in which they follow along a branching storyline, make decisions, fight monsters, find treasure, and level up!
Corvus Belli, has an outstanding reputation for producing fantastic miniatures and Warcrow is no exception. Dynamic poses, highly detailed, and a good chunky size all contribute to the wonderful quality of these mini’s.
This game borrows from quite a few different gaming genres, but the attraction is the D&D DNA-inspired treadmill. It boasts a lot of very streamlined mechanics that are deceptively simple yet impactful. Every choice you make in the game, every task you complete, and every interaction you have unveils part of a unique story while creating hurdles for you to jump through in a pretty challenging risk vs. reward structure.
I will be doing a full review of Warcrow Adventures once my group completes the adventure, but beware that this is very much a legacy-style adventure game that will take many sessions to complete.
App-assisted games are becoming more and more common and the production values of these apps are improving with each new generation. Warcrow Adventures app delivers fantastic voice-overs, a simpler interface, and a very organized structure that makes it easy to use at the table.
Already now however I can tell you that if you are a fan of adventure games, if you love Dungeons and Dragons, this is an outstanding platform for bringing that classic dungeon crawl feeling to the table.
The hybrid nature of the game, being part miniature game also offers the opportunity for everyone to do some hobby painting. Know that these are not “board game pieces”, these are actual, fully detailed miniatures, and well worth your time to paint. In fact, every miniature in Warcrow Adventures is getting a full profile and will be used in the Warcrow miniatures war game so if you are already collecting and playing Warcrow the miniature game, the adventure game has the side benefit of giving you new units for that game as well.
The Warcrow miniature game on which Warcrow Adventures is based has also indoctrinated itself into my gaming club largely based on the already well-established reputation of our beloved Infinity (the other Corvus Belli miniature game we play). We just can’t help it, one look at these amazing miniatures and you know you just need to own some!
My group immediately got to work painting these mini’s and not only has it built up the excitement to play Warcrow Adventures, but it’s got us all buzzing about Warcrow the miniature game as well the setting itself. If there was ever a setting that deserved to be an RPG, this is it!
In either case, whether you do or don’t get into the miniature game, Warcrow Adventures as a stand-alone product is already proving to be a great time, Corvus Belli has done a fantastic job building an atmosphere with its amazing setting and building a story I think any role-player would enjoy sinking their teeth into.
I’m no master miniature painter, but great minis inspire great paint jobs and I have to say, I’m pretty proud of this one!
Look for a full review shortly, but for now, if you are on the fence about Warcrow Adventures, I can tell you here and now, it’s a fantastic package!
When I put 2024 down on digital paper, I feel like I live in the future. It’s hard to believe it’s 2024 and even harder to believe the year is almost over.
I would make the argument that it’s been a great year for gaming but frankly, my gaming life has been full of ups and downs this year, and tons of really surprising results. While there has been some great gaming this year, had you shown me this highlight reel at the start of the year, I would not have believed it.
There is a lot of games to talk about so sit back and enjoy, it’s going to be a serious wall of text today!
Hegemony: Lead Your Class To Victory
It’s a tough learning curve, but unquestionably one of the most unique games I have played in a long time.
This was among my favorite discoveries in 2024, even though it was technically released in 2023. It’s a robust and very crunchy Euro with a lot of psychology built into it and a fair amount of cut-throat competition. It’s not something I would recommend for everyone, but for groups like mine who love to argue and play “take that” games, it’s right up our alley. The interesting part about this game is how all of these asymmetrical mechanics come together. Testing this game must have been a real hell because there is so much interaction, and so many game states possible, it’s kind of crazy.
This one came out for the first time at our big board gaming weekend in the summer, and it was a smash hit with everyone, we talked about it endlessly afterward and everyone agreed it needed to be played repeatedly! That was the first and last time we played this game.
This is not a reflection on the quality of the game but more of a reflection of its length and its harsh learning curve. It took us a solid 7 hours for our first game. Like Through The Ages which I will talk about a little later, it’s just a long, complex game and it’s a bit of a pain in the ass to teach. It also has one of those rule sets where every single micro rule and the order it’s executed in, is a gaming-breakingly important thing, meaning, play one tiny rule wrong and the entire face of the game changes. So playing the EXACT rules to the letter in this hyper-crunchy game is critical to a fair gaming experience, but because of its complexity, it’s easy to get them wrong. This creates this unusual quandary where you need to put together a dedicated, crack-squad willing to invest in learning the game on their own so that everyone at the table is efficient and knows how everything works. Without that, you end up with a 3-hour game that takes 7 hours to play.
It’s a great game but man, it’s tough to build up the will to play it.
Part engine builder, part thought experiment, Hegemony is an exceptionally unique game design that I think if you and your gaming group are hardcore, veteran board gamers that love that Euro crunch, this is a must-own. Easily a candidate for the best game I played all year. That said, it’s not very approachable and I think most tables will find that it’s a bit too much.
Warhammer 40k got a 10th edition
Way back in the 6th edition days, I was a huge Warhammer 40k player. We played a lot, I had two armies (Tyranids and Necrons) and I did the entire hobby thing from A to Z. I honestly never in a million years would have guessed that in 2024 we would be going back to it, I thought I was done with 40k forever. It’s return to our gaming groups consciousness is one of the wildest events of the year.
The game fell out of favor in my group over a decade ago, replaced by modern miniature games that focused on stronger gameplay and in many cases like Star Wars X-Wing and Star Wars Armada, cut the entire hobby part out of the game with pre-constructed and pre-painted miniatures. This became the norm in my group and even when we did buy into more hobby-centric games, we usually played those with unpainted miniatures like Songs of Ice and Fire for example or they were isolated to small parts of our group as the case was with Bolt Action for example. In either case, the choice of miniature game was always heavily influenced by gameplay quality over “hobby focus”.
Warhammer 40k and the entire hobby part of the miniature gaming hobby made a big comeback when the 10th edition dropped last year. In 2024, shockingly, there was a lot of both, gaming and hobby in the 40k universe in my group. I rebuilt my Tyranid army and several members of our group who had never experienced 40k bought into the game for the first time. It became a thing.
I’m pretty proud of my Tyranids, this towering giant took over 20 hours to complete. When people say Warhammer 40k is a hobby, this is no joke and it’s good to keep in mind that it’s a pretty expensive hobby at that.
What I can say about Warhammer 40k is that it’s still a pretty shitty game from a mechanics perspective. Especially compared to modern-designed miniature games that focus on strong gameplay. I think anyone who plays 40k knows that the mechanics of the game are there to facilitate the hobby part of the game and playing it is just something fun you do when you and your friends get together to show off your miniatures. As a game, it leaves a lot to desire.
Warhammer 40k is almost a role-playing sort of experience. You work on your army, read the manuals and codexes, do your list building, and absorb other content like the animated series and the novels. It’s sort of a story-driven, hobby where the game is just a thing you “participate” in to complete the circle. If you’re looking for a good competitive miniature game, pretty much anything else is better, but so far as the hobby goes, GW makes the miniatures; no question about it.
It’s a lot of fun but in more ways than one, 40k is more of a robust activity than a game and I think as long as you can accept that and not get frustrated by the crazy imbalances and mechanical weirdness, it really is a fun activity.
I will say however that 10th edition is probably the best version of the game mechanically in all the years I have played 40k. Still not good by any stretch of the imagination but a vast improvement over previous editions and GamesWorkshop has gone to great lengths to try to keep the game as balanced as they can. A+ for effort even if the final grade, is a C- and I’m being very generous here.
If you’re thinking about Warhammer 40k, I think it’s important to know that you do not get into 40k for the game. You get into it for the fantasy storytelling, the art, the books, the animated series and most importantly the hobby of building and painting miniatures. That is what 40k is first and foremost and it does a fantastic job of it. The game is an afterthought. It’s fun too, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not what I would call “mechanically good” fun, more like we get to play with the toys we made kind of fun.
Empire Of The Sun
Empire of the Sun is a grid-based, card-driven historical war game that covers the entire Pacific War. A more complete game has never existed.
I play Empire of the Sun as a matter of habit every year, not to suggest I don’t enjoy it, I do, in fact, it’s an addiction that must be fed but this year, it exploded. I played a ton of games, probably more this year alone than the previous 4-5 years combined thanks to a fantastic online community.
I do not generally recommend Empire Of The Sun to most people. This is a highly complex historical war game with an extreme level of simulation and deep strategic interactions. It is not for the faint of heart and all I can say is that as a gamer you should know if a historical chit-game is for you or not. This is a very specific, very niche style of game that is or is not in your wheelhouse.
That said, I can’t think of a game on my yearly playlist that I look forward to more than Empire of the Sun. Each year when it comes out, I know I’m about to experience a masterpiece, and this game never disappointments. I typically play it with online opponents as it can be very difficult to play this one in a single sitting with a live opponent. In fact, even online, a typical game of Empire of the Sun can take the better part of a month to finish even if you do live sessions of 3-4 hours at a time on a weekly basis. It is a 12+ hour game for most partners and can take considerably more than that if you suffer from analysis paralysis, which is something this game infects you with if you don’t already suffer from the condition.
Mark Herman is one of my favorite game designers because he makes games that he loves to play and it shows in his designs. A true master of his craft, but like all masters, it takes some soul searching to understand the how and why of his designs. There is a personal connection you build with his games that will have you digging far beyond just the mechanics and design of the game, you will find yourself watching Pacific War documentaries, reading history books and imagining what the world must have been for people in the Pacific War. This is not just a game, it’s an exercise for the brain and it’s good for you!
If that doesn’t appeal to you, avoid this one, it’s for the historical buffs and no one else.
Through The Ages: A New Story of Civilization
Through The Ages has been near the top of my all-time favorite games for a long time, but I’m very careful and picky about who I pull it out with. Pick the wrong people and you are looking at a 6-12 hour game that will suck the soul right out of your body.
This long-time favorite and staple of my collection usually collects a lot of dust because it’s just a very long and robust game, that can be dreadfully slow when playing with new or inexperienced gamers.
Fortunately this year I managed to get it to the table a couple of times with some veterans and not only was it a pleasant experience, but with some great competition it was lightning fast which proves two things. First, it doesn’t have to be a long game, this game can be played in under 3 hours with experienced players who know what they’re doing and two, it’s still one of the most competitive games on my shelf, with brutally tight end games.
I will warn you that this game normally takes 3-4 people the better part of 6 to 8 hours to play and can take upwards of 12+ hours to complete. Yeah, I’m not joking here, so be prepared for some long games when learning this one. People who suffer from analysis paralysis will be in hell and drag this game out endlessly, if that sounds like you, this is one to avoid. You need to be thinking ahead and making key decisions so that you’re your turn is nice and fast, executed with precision, that is the only way to get this game’s excessive length down.
I will say that so far as Civilization builders go, meaning games that give you that Sid Meier Civ feel, this is one of the best around.
For those out there looking for a similar gaming experience but want a larger group and shorter game, Nations is a pretty decent substitute and fits the same niche playstyle. It’s a great game in its own right, but some argue it’s a very “ugly” looking game.
This is a classic civilization builder, its tight competitive nature, unique dynamic card-driven gameplay, and diverse interactions make this one of the best of its kind. There is a reason this game has been at the top of BBG lists for decades! But yeah, you need to find the right people to play with, this is not a “let’s just play with anyone” kind of game, not unless you’re ready to spend an entire day playing it.
Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan
Stratego was one of the earliest gaming experiences I had as a kid and this game definitely reminds me of those days.
I was very late to the party with this 2011 release, but Sekigahara is a well-established war game in the community, sitting pretty in the number 6 spot among war games on BBG and 207 overall. That is pretty impressive for a dry block-based historical war game based on medieval Japanese warfare. I bought into this one and managed to get it to the table a few times this year and color me impressed.
There is a solid and obvious reason for this popularity. This is an extraordinary game combining tactical and strategic dudes on a map war game that is card-driven. The core feature of the game is the hidden unit concept built into blocks that make up game units similar to classic games like Stratego which gives this game a great “feel” at the table. I think the bulk of the games fun factor has to be this idea of setting up your units and board positions, with a strategic plan based on the minimal information you have about enemy positions and strengths.
It’s a very clean, yet tense competitive war game that is easy to understand but difficult to master. I’m not at all surprised about its status among war gamers but I do think that even at 207 on the overall list which is quite high for a historical war game, this one is grossly underrated. This is one of the most unique titles I have seen in quite a while, I can’t believe I’m only just now discovering it. This is one of those games you can introduce to anyone, there is nothing complicated about it at all. It’s a kind of chess-like atmosphere with a fun theme.
Very highly recommended for pretty much anyone interested in competitive two-player war games.
Underwater Cities
Very streamlined game with a fantastic theme, dynamic mechanics, and that easy to learn – impossible to master core that elevates it above the competition.
I’m a big fan of Terraforming Mars, I play it a lot and there are a few games that I can point to and say “If you like Terraforming Mars, you should try…..”. Well, Underwater Cities is that game.
It’s not exactly a duplication or replication of the mechanics, but it scratches a similar itch with its dynamic engine-building – card-driven gameplay. Also, like Terraforming Mars, you can’t just play this game once and feel satisfied, you will find yourself obsessing about how to play it more efficiently, how to make each card play more effectively and above all else trying to find that “killer” strategy in a game that is far too dynamic to ever definitely resolve.
This is not a puzzle that can be solved as is the case with so many Euro-style games, the sand is constantly shifting under your feet and you have to adapt and overcome using a unique approach in each game, with a surprising amount of game states. It’s what I love about Terraforming Mars and it’s what I love about Underwater Cities.
Fantastic game that looks amazing on the table, it’s easy to teach but impossible to master. It’s what Euro gamers crave, a fresh take on a familiar engine building formula. If you haven’t tried it yet, this 2018 release should be at the top of your list.
Everdell
This cute game about animals living in the forest has some teeth. Lots of potential!
I only played it once for the first time this year and still, it made a very strong impression on me. This rather simple resource management, worker placement and card management game is exceedingly thinky. There are clear strategies driven by a wide range of dynamics in the game that create a great sense of competitiveness while being very straightforward from a mechanics perspective. Very tight scoring and a bit of a race between engine building and scoring. The entire game runs like a well-oiled machine, clearly the result of thorough playtesting. I see a lot of potential for replayability here, but at this stage, given that I have only played it once, that is hard to say.
What I can say is that despite a single play, this is on my “stuff to keep an eye on” as I see a lot of potential in this one. The accolades and popularity of this game are warranted.
Eclipse: The Second Dawn For The Galaxy
It’s a hit-or-miss experience, for such an expensive game I would not recommend it over far better games like Twilight Imperium. It’s not a bad game, it’s just not good enough for the price tag
This is a game I keep going back and forth on and I think a big part of the reason for it is that the gaming experience itself can be hit or miss from session to session. Sometimes it plays like a tight, 4x strategy game with battles, technology and lots of sneaky and tricky moves (exactly what you hope for). All the stuff you hope to get out of a 4x civ builder. Other times it’s just this horrifically boring and predictable Euro where essentially nothing interesting happens and someone wins by default in about the most anticlimatic way a board game can end.
I hold to it to account for its supposed claim that it’s “a better” or “lighter” Twilight Imperium, it’s not, it’s not even in the same league. In the infamous words of Will Smith, “Keep my Twilight Imperium’s name out of your mouth!”, a Twilight Imperium anything, this game is not.
That said I do love the aesthetic and the game is well-designed even if the experience can land flat. I would argue it’s way too expensive to recommend just to see for yourself if you can live with this unpredictable result, in fact, I would go further and say, don’t buy this game if you’re looking for a 4x experience because it does a poor job of it. This is more for Euro gamers who want a space theme and even there, be ready for some disappointing end games.
Imperial Struggle
Easily one of the best games in my collection, I just wish it hit the table more often!
I managed to squeeze in only three games of Imperial Struggle this year to my sad disappointment and frankly, I just wish someone made a digital version of this game already like they did for Twilight Struggle because I so desperately want to make this a nightly thing for me. I love this game but it’s kind of a pain to get to the table. This might end up being the game that I decided to digitalize myself just for my own purposes, but I’m just not sure my programming skills are up to the challenge. This game has a lot of moving parts.
It’s a fairly robust game in terms of complexity and strategic thinking and while the well is super deep, it’s sometimes a bit anti-climatic as the game can and often feels like it ends prematurely. Now I know that this is because of skill level differences, this is one of those games like Dune (Rex) where quite literally what you do in round 1 might end the game right then and there. Normally with some experience that is never going to happen but, yeah, this game has some very subtle nuances that can create exciting, long and tight games, or just these horrific early crushing defeats.
It ranks as one of my favorite games of all time, I think it is a worthy contender for the lifestyle game list but I just feel like I don’t play it often enough to be certain of that.
If you like Twilight Struggle, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to love this game even if these two games have a lot in common and are from the same creator. Twilight Struggle is more of a card game while Imperial Struggle is more of an action economy game. They are both from the influence area control genre, but not quite the same experience.
That said I still hold that Imperial Struggle is the better game… there I said it.
Great Western Trail
This is my modern-day Monopoly, I’m happy to play it anytime and with anyone. It’s just a fun, laid-back time, win or lose it’s always entertaining.
Great Western Trail continues to hit my “must play it” list periodically and I think I ended up playing it 5 or 6 times in person and a whole bunch more on BoardGameArena (online). In fact, I have 113 lifetime plays so far in this game and honestly, I’m not even remotely done with it yet. I crave it with regularity.
Why? Well, I think the biggest boon of this game is that it’s just a very clever mechanic and it’s kind of unique compared to most Euros. The unique engine building and heavier interaction between players, make this a Euro you don’t feel like you’re playing solo. It just works and it’s fun. Sometimes a good game is difficult to explain but I put this game in the same sort of ranking world as I would put Monopoly. To me, this is a family game. Sure it’s a bit more complex and has a few moving parts, but it has those types of rules that you just kind of remember after a few plays and they stick with you.
I have not gotten a chance yet to try some of the new versions of the game, there are two in total now, Argentina and New Zealand. They look interesting and are on my 2025 list of stuff to play.
Raiders Of The North Sea
Very fast worker placement game, great for a quickie, yet it has that robust, satisfying worker placement Euro feel. Great art too, I love looking at this game.
My daughter likes this one a lot, not to say I don’t but because of her we ended up playing it many-many times this year and it sort of became a thing.
As a whole, this game is a pretty straightforward worker placement game and one of the simpler ones from the Shem Philips line of games which includes stuff like Paladins of the West Kingdom, Viscounts of the West Kingdom, Architects of the West Kingdom and a bunch more. Good games all, I have tried most of them at this point but I still find Raiders of the North Sea, the first of the series I ever tried to be the most approachable and fun.
It’s a kind of combination of resource management, worker placement, and quasi-race. The race part is mostly because it is a pretty fast game that ends a lot quicker than you think. My daughter and I go like 30-45 minutes tops, so whatever your strategy is, there isn’t time to refocus or adapt, you have to ride it out and see what happens.
Most games are quite tight, generally, you’re going win this one by a hair unless you drop the ball so it’s always fun. Every move counts.
Great game, like Great Western Trail, it is a simple family game, very streamlined, and easy to understand the strategies behind it.
Star Wars Unlimited
One of the best CCG’s to come out in a very long time. Not quite a replacement for Star Wars Destiny in my opinion, but I’m kind of biased, I loved that dice mechanic. Still, so far as CCG’s go, this one is so tight, so clever, I’m not at all surprised at its success so far.
There is no question that Star Wars Unlimited stole the show this year. It’s been one of the biggest rises and most played games of the year in my group. I have so far collected all three expansions for the game and I don’t see any slowdown in my group. We love this one.
I would say it’s probably the first collectible card game since Lord of the Rings the Living Card game that I have felt comfortable just buying into it Blind. Star Wars Destiny turned out to be a big disappointment, more on that in a minute. Legend of the Five Rings was discontinued and Game Of Thrones the card game just never took off in my group. This is the first in a long time I think has some hope for becoming a Magic: The Gathering-type game where it becomes a filler for all occasions and a lifestyle choice in our group.
Very well balanced so far, with clever dueling mechanics and they are very wisely making each expansion a kind of mechanically isolated thing so that there is a kind of deck reset every time one comes out. This is great for our group as we all love deck building and it’s nice to have to sort of “re-think” strategy each time a new expansion comes out. It revitalizes the game each time a new expansion comes out and get’s us excited about getting together to play.
Love it so far, really hoping this one sticks the landing long term.
Now I want to say a thing or two about Star Wars Destiny, Star Wars Unlimited ugly stepbrother. I recently made a Top 10 Collectable Card game list where Star Wars Destiny landed in the number 5 spot, but its position on this list is mainly because the game is discontinued and because it was a CCG and it should not have been. Star Wars Destiny should have been using the Living Card Game format FFG is kind of famous for and had they done that, I think it would be Destiny not Unlimited we are talking about today. I personally think that Destiny is a much better game, but it was so poorly managed that it sort of self-destructed. It was a real bummer. Thank god that Unlimited came along and filled this gap.
Other Worthy Mentions
The above is a very inconclusive list, I played a lot more than what is here, but this article is about highlights and I think that covers the bulk of the standouts for me. There were several other games I will quickly mention here for posterity that received table time this year.
Terraforming Mars is always on my agenda each year, we played it several times this year and it continues to be the masterpiece from 2016 that just keeps on giving. It’s as good as it always has been and the expansions for this one do improve the game in so many ways, really refreshing the entire experience. I put this one on my lifestyle games list, it’s a staple of my gaming life these days and it’s one of my default recommendations to all board game fans.
War Room got played as it always does on my birthday (and hopefully always will). Love this one, but it’s 12+ hour monster that I find once a year is plenty. I never recommend it, it’s a niche game, but from my perspective, it’s one of the best games ever made. So a bit of a quandary. Let’s just say you have to be a “type” to appreciate a game like this. I suggest checking out my full review on this one.
Lord of the Rings the living card game naturally hit the table repeatedly as it always does for me each year, another lifestyle game I play regularly, mostly solo. I put this one into kind of a niche category as well because I find it’s sort of an all-or-nothing game. Either you collect everything and go full-on crazy, or skip it entirely. The same way I feel about most collectible card games. For a Lord of the Rings fan however, this is one of the best games ever made. I wrote a revised article in 2023 that surprisingly has become one of the most visited articles on the blog.
Lord of the Rings The Living Card game is 10 years old, but if the hits on this site are any indication it’s currently more popular than it has ever been in the past. This may be the result of 2nd edition being released in 2023.
Things on the agenda for 2025
2025 is looking very exciting already, there is a lineup on my shelf of games that are going to get played come hell or high water, and a few I still need to pick up (or am waiting to show up).
Dolmen Wood
I kick-started this old-school adventure RPG based on 1st edition B/X (Old School Essentials) rules. I’m a big fan of the designer Gavin Norman, he does a lot of great writing and design that speaks to me in a rather unique way.
Dolmen Wood is essentially a self-contained RPG and campaign, based largely on fairy tale lore and old myths. As a kick-starter I already have the game in PDF form in my possession and the books will arrive later this year.
If you love Dungeons and Dragons from the 80, this is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, except that it’s designed to be extremely approachable, and episodic all wrapped up in a fleshed-out open world. It’s easily among the best RPG content I have ever read and I’m eagerly anticipating its arrival.
Arcs
Arcs is a 2024 release designed by Cole Wehrle who is quickly becoming one of the big stand-outs in the board gaming world. He is responsible for instant classics like Root, John Company, Oath and Pax Pamir.
He has a unique eye for Asymmetrical game design which is definitely in my wheelhouse, but more than that, I think he knows how to bring a theme to life.
This one combines trick-taking and the 4x genre, which I will admit is a strange combo, but it’s another thing that I love about Wehrle designs. They are always a bit off, but always in a good way. I’m hoping it is going to live up to the hype but given the reputation of this designer, I go into it with confidence.
The Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game
The Battle of Osgiliath is a really cool set that comes with lots of mini’s and terrain. While there are some more modern miniatures here for certain hero characters, most of the sculpts are really old and kind of crappy. They are not the GW quality you are probably used to if you are a modern miniature game fan.
I talked about this one briefly in a recent Hidden Gems article, but my hope is that this year, MESBG becomes something that I can expand on and sink my teeth into.
The claim to fame for MESBG is that it’s one the best rule sets GW has ever put out. I don’t know if that is really true or not, and honestly I don’t really care that much. It does seem to be the most common mantra among miniature-gaming fans which is great and all but as a Lord of the Rings fan, I just want to paint and play with some Middle Earth mini’s.
My issue with this game is that I came into it too late and right now as I paint up some of the miniatures of this game based on the Osgiliath box set, while I’m excited to get it to the table, I’m not really that impressed with the quality of the mini’s. This is an age thing, some of these sculpts are the better part of 10+ years old, but this is why now is a great time to get excited about this game.
In 2025 we can expect GW to be putting out new sculpts for this game and the obvious hope is that they go back and “refresh” the lines most key armies. I’m hoping we get new sculpts for the entire Fellowship and other key heroes/villains and I really hope we see new Orcs, Goblins, Rohan and Gondor troops. A lot of these old sculpts are really crappy by today’s standard and while I’m really excited, I don’t want to paint shitty miniatures. So here is hoping GW throttles up and gives us some new mini’s!
In the world of miniature games, there is but one king of the throne and that is Warhammer 40k, but what if I told you that even among the fiercest 40k fans, almost unanimously, most people will agree that The Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game is widely considered to be the best game GamesWorkshop makes.
Originally released in 2001, this miniature game based on the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies has been the oddly-kept secret at GamesWorkshop for over two decades, and while its following pales in comparison to some of GW’s larger franchises, the cult status of this game supported by dedicated fans has kept it afloat for years. Over two editions the game has thrived and recently GW has announced and started pushing the game with an updated 3rd edition.
Unlike many of GW’s games, however, The Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game was made right the first time, and over the editions, very little has actually changed. The game has been streamlined sure, but the rules have remained largely the same for going on a decade now and the new editions is mostly just a repackaging of the same game. Minor tweaks so small if you already have the 2nd edition rules there is hardly any reason to upgrade.
Now the exciting part isn’t the new edition, GW is famous for its grandiose books, that is certain, but it’s the miniatures you want!
The books as you would expect from GW are absolutely over the top. Illustrated from front to back, carefully edited and printed using the most excessive methods available. The books are pure joy to read.
On the heels of this new edition, there is a new starter box set coming out as well as a general refurbishing of the entire line which is likely going to go on for a couple of years at least. The quality of the miniatures is outstanding from the images already released and we know from the various announcements that there is going to be a regular stream of new stuff to buy. Get your credit cards paid off people, this shit ain’t gonna be cheap!
The quality of miniatures coming out of GW is unmatched in the miniature market, they not only make the best miniatures, by they do so by a margin so wide, there is nothing that comes even close by comparison. They quite literally have no competition in this area and no one even tries to compete with them anymore. Painting GW miniatures is pure joy, they make you feel like a pro.
Now there are some very important things to note about this game before you consider diving into it, because this game is…. different.
There are three things that really make Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game unique, and it’s really important for fans of miniature games, especially those accustomed to the standard objective-based, list-building style games looking for a good balanced gaming experience to know them.
First is the fact that this game, while it offers a sort of list-building match-play mode, it’s very clear from the design that this is a game designed largely to support narrative play. The concept of narrative play drives your approach to collecting miniatures.
This isn’t a game where you “pick a faction” and then buy units to support your preference or “list”. What you do is pick a scenario or a group of scenarios, typically either scenes directly from the movies, or presumed battles that took place in the middle-earth history (off-camera) and then collect the miniatures you need to create that scenario. The goal is to effectively play the scenarios and collect the mini’s you need for that.
As such a typical player in this game might not say “I have a Mordor army”, they are more likely to list the scenarios their army is built for.
The second thing to note is that this is a “cinematic miniature game”, which is to say the goal of the game is to tell a story of a battle, by playing it out, but more than that, the mechanics are designed to reflect the action you see in the movies. Characters for example are extremely powerful and have unique abilities that let them take on entire hordes of enemies. The detail of the mechanics are designed to cover actions like hopping over a chasm and fighting on a ladder, there are rules for siege engines and running sieges, and special rules for magic even though there are only a small handful of characters that can perform such a thing. There are special timing rules for dueling and more importantly, the action is focused on individual models, so there are no weird grouping rules for movement or attack actions.
In the end the game plays out more like a tactical battle out of a role-playing game like Dungeons and Dragons with a wide range of special actions and unique effects. All of these rules are carefully crafted to bring that cinematic feel of the movies to the table top and the game really nails that concept but this really comes at the sacrifice of balance and you really feel that if you try to convert your army to work with match play and list building. This concept of match play was tact on to the game after the fans insisted it be added, but the game originally had no such thing.
Which brings me to the third thing. This game is crunchy as fuck! As the goal is for the game to be this cinematic, scenario-focused game, there are a lot of special rules and unique elements designed into this game to bring the right feel. This comes with some rules weight, the game can get quite fiddly and while there are scenarios of all shapes and sizes, there is no sort of standard play length or game. A scenario might be small with just 5-10 miniatures that lasts for 20 minutes or it can be a massive siege that can take several days to finish.
Suffice it to say, the scope here can be quite grand and yet the rules drill down to bring this scope to your table using a lot of minutia.
Is the game any good? Well, this is where answering the question gets kind of tricky. I would say, first and foremost, that you must be a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan, this might seem obvious but unlike a lot of miniature games, much of the game is not going to make much sense or even feel balanced unless you understand the context of the movies and its many characters. The story is really crammed into the mechanics.
The second thing is that you have to make your peace with the scenario style of play and collection. I see a lot of disappointment coming from the quasi-competitive scene. Match play and open play are fine concepts here, but the entire balance of the game is super iffy and there are clear winners and losers in the list-building department. This hasn’t been and likely isn’t ever going to be addressed because as already mentioned, its crystal clear that the primary way this game is meant to be played is scenario-based.
The current available product line for this game is huge and there are tons of scenarios that depict every scene and much more from the movies. There is so much to potentially collect, so many different experiences to have here that you could easily spend in excess of 10,000 dollars and thousands of hours and come up short of experiencing everything. It’s a bottomless pit and this is a good thing!
Finally, I would argue that this is the single most expensive game to collect in existence, even more expensive than 40k because there is no such thing as a 2,000 point army and done. It’s kind of a never-ending thing as you expand to include more and more scenarios your army can do and you are often collecting multiple factions. This includes tremendous efforts to paint as you are often working with a lot of models.
All that said, personally I tend to agree with the consensus, this game is without question the best thing GW makes. It’s addictive, something you can really obsess about and because it’s scenario based, the concept of balance and fairness really aren’t a thing in this game. Scenarios are built to depict the scenes and cinematics of the movies and this is where the games loyalty lays. It’s not for everyone but if re-creating the battles of the movies sounds good to you, no game does it better.
I got a chance to play The Witcher – Old World this last week and I have to say right up front, I was not disappointed.
Adventure board games fall into many different categories, I would say it’s a genre with quite a few different sub-genres, but The Witcher – Old World kind of felt like a new sub-genre was invented and that is perhaps what attracted me to the game.
In a way, Old World is a very strategic game that combines deck building, resource management and time-pressured competition. You have some of the classic things you hope to find in adventure board games via story telling through cards and other things that create a relationship with role-playing games like special abilities, leveling up, finding loot and fighting monsters, but at the heart of the game it’s all about that most optimal move each round. Trying to squeeze as many actions and gain as many benefits as possible each turn because to a certain degree, the game is a race to the finish line, giving the entire experience a more gamist feel, more like a competitive board game than what you might expect from a typical adventure game.
You can’t just sit back and do things when you are ready, the pressure comes from the other players progress and as soon as one player pushes forward, you are left with little choice but to do the same because if you’re not keeping up closely with the leader, you start to fall behind and are essentially in catch up mode.
There is also this harshness to the games monsters that you fight. There aren’t many of them and the adventurers you represent in the game are initially pretty ill-equipped to deal with these monsters. Your goal is to get yourself prepared as quickly as possible and it becomes a game of risk vs. reward. Go in to early and you get crushed, go in to late and someone might beat you to it.
I also really liked the built-in catch-up mechanic that worked very well to counterbalance players who get too far ahead of the pact. Each time you lose a battle, you gain a lot of benefits for the effort, while winning a battle costs your resources and reduces your strength, forcing you to take time to rebuild yourself. This gives the game a nice tight feel and makes taking bigger risks a plausible effort which results in you getting more of those exciting “let’s see what happens” moments.
The quality of the game components are outstanding, the art especially captures The Witcher franchise with perfection, they just nailed it with the presentation of this game.
Altogether, I really enjoyed this one, a big improvement over the last Witcher game I tried called “The Witcher Adventure Game”, which I thought was pretty shit.
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