Christmas is yet again upon us.
If you’ve been able to control yourself at all this year at your FLGS, then there are hopefully games that sit patiently, wrapped in beautiful paper under your Christmas tree.
If you haven’t, then you’ve already got all the games you wanted and that’s awesome for you! Here, we’ve compiled a list of the games that the League is looking for under their trees, shiny and new in their shrink and wrapping paper, just waiting to be torn open and played with.
Burano
I love to melt my brain! And according to trusted sources, this is a solid new game that will accomplish just that. The usage of a “cube-pyramid driven” mechanism which dictates how you operate each turn sounds innovative and exciting. This one appears to be extremely hard to find at the moment, so a true Christmas miracle will be needed.
Time of Soccer
I am huge a huge fan of soccer (Go Gunners!), yet sports themed games always fall flat for me. This game however, manages to cohesively combine euro-style elements into managing a soccer team (my favorite element of FIFA video games).
Tales of the Arabian Nights
This is one that has been sitting on my wishlist ever since I got to try it out a while back, and for some reason just haven’t grabbed it yet. I loved the experience, which was a hilarious mess. The storytelling drives this game and I had a lot of fun with it.
Besides my usual group of folks at the League, I have another gathering of friends that are highly into RPG-style systems and role-playing in general. I’m looking forward to playing Tales with them, and seeing how they approach this storytelling game.
Tail Feathers
I like Mice and Mystics and bought it as a game that I thought my wife would enjoy, too. The mechanics of Tail Feathers, including the combat and flight system, are intriguing. I also have respect for the quality of Plaid Hat games in general and usually pay attention to their releases. I’ve found that I like most of them.
Twilight Struggle
I’ve managed to play the #1-ranked game on BGG once, recently, and I’m quite interested in giving it another few shots! If I had not supported the Kickstarter, I would’ve been able to get a copy already, so part of this anticipation is delay-induced grumpiness!
Blood Rage
Cool minis, vikings, and Eric Lang euro-style area control. Three components that contribute to what many are considering their “Game of the Year.” Must have!
Legends of Andor
Forever in the hunt for great cooperative campaign-style games, this one stands out as an excellent fantasy adventure that the group could dig into after Pandemic Legacy is finished. I have a constant itch to save the world from peril!
Among the Stars
I like tile placement, I like space, and when I played this one before, I built a stellar space station that kicked serious butt.
Linko!
Easy to learn, it plays quickly, and it is so satisfying when your hand is arranged in beautiful rainbow order!
La Granja
This was one of my favorites from this year. It features a nice blend of different mechanics coupled with card-driven engine-building to produce goods for your farm. It may not sound very exciting, but I loved it.
Istanbul: Mocha & Baksheesh
I already love Istanbul so having an expansion is a no-brainer. I have yet to play it, but I have heard that it is pretty good. This expansion adds new market tiles and coffee products to the game, as well as new and powerful actions to help snatch up those rubies.
