My Top 10 Favorite Games of 2018

5 years ago to this day, I started working at Stonemaier Games full time. This is also known as the day I stopped wearing pants to work.

As was the case before then–but especially after then–I play a lot of published games, both because I love tabletop games and because I have so much to learn from my peers.

I’m going to post my other “favorites” lists later in the year (movies, books, etc), but with the holidays coming up, I don’t think I’ll be playing any new games. So I went ahead and posted my video on the subject today, and I’m going to put the list in writing here.

All of the games on this list are games I played for the first time in 2018. Eligible for the list were late-2017 releases that most people (including me) didn’t play until 2018.

Random Mentions

  • Favorite Expansion: TIME Stories: Brotherhood of the Coast
  • New Stonemaier-Related Products Released This Year (I don’t pick our own games for the top 10): My Little Scythe, Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Scythe: The Rise of Fenris, Visit from the Rhine Valley, Scythe Encounters, Scythe Metal Mechs
  • Favorite New-to-Me Games Released Before 2018: Deep Sea Adventure, Hearthstone, Cursed Court, Sundae Split, Thebes
  • Best Game That Just Isn’t for Me: Brass: Birmingham (brilliant and beautiful, but a little too heavy for me) and Rising Sun (really cool use of area majority in every aspect of the game, but one play was good enough for me)
  • Favorite Game That I Enjoyed a Lot More This Year Than Previous Years: A Feast for Odin (this one shot up my top 10 list. I enjoyed it before, but now I love it)
  • Favorite Game That I Completely Rediscovered This Year: Magic (drafting in person)
  • Favorite Reprint/New Edition: Incan Gold
  • Favorite Game That I Can Only Play Once: Legacy of Dragonholt (there’s another on my top 10 list)
  • 2018 Releases I Haven’t Had the Chance to Try Yet (that I’m eager to try): Architects of the West Kingdom, Spy Club, Teotihuacan, Gugong, Vindication, Blackout: Hong Kong, Legendary Creatures
  • 2019 Releases I’m the Most Excited About: Wingspan, Legends of Sleepy Hollow, Tidal Blades, The Final Flicktier, The Crusoe Crew, Escape Tales, Project L, Planecrafters, Kodama Duo, On Tour, Fire in the Library, Rabbit Island,
  • Honorable Mentions That Didn’t Quite Make the Top 10: Cosmic Run: Rapid Fire, Reef, Bob Ross: The Art of Chill, Swordcrafters, Arkon, Pioneer Days, Coimbra, Newton, Cryptid, Root, When I Dream, Fog of Love, Villainous, The Fox in the Forest, Sub Terra, The Reckoners, Gizmos

My Top 10 Favorite Games of 2018

I’ll just post the games below–I talk about them in more detail in the main video (and in each of their respective videos).

10. Rajas of the Ganges (video)

9. Azul (video)

8. Dice Forge (video)

7. Fantasy Realms (video)

6. Downforce (video)

5. Gingerbread House (video)

4. The Mind (video)

3. Welcome To (video)

2. KeyForge (video)

  1. The Rise of Queensdale (video)

What were your favorite games of 2017?

Here is last year’s list, and here is my latest overall top 10 list. My video for this topic is below.

5 thoughts on “My Top 10 Favorite Games of 2018”

  1. Watched the video last night. Great list . Many of my top 10 were on yours as well. Keyforge, Rajas, Welcome To.

    So about Queensdale… How similar is this game to Charterstone? Would you say it is kid friendly, or is it heavier. And how many plays did it take you to get through the campaign. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Thanks Joe! Queensdale is very similar thematically to Charterstone, but the execution is very different. I played with adults, but I think it would be fine with kids (there’s a lot more text, in case that matters). I don’t have an exact count, but I think it took us around 15-18 plays to complete it.

      Reply
  2. We really liked Queensdale as well. We played through it and Charterstone this year. Was a great year for gaming! Looking forward to getting Rajas of the Ganges on the table soon too.

    Reply

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