New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and as we get ready to say goodbye to 2024, it’s time for our annual top 10 list. As is tradition here at BGQ, I’ll be teaming up with fellow reviewer Brandon to list off our Top 10 Board Games of 2024. We always pair up for these lists to help provide a bit more variety in our standout games of the year. While I tend to be more of a thematic, dice-chucking, minis-loving gamer, Brandon leans more toward the crunchy euros.
Like every year, there are also some games that we didn’t include in this list because they either just missed the cut or we didn’t have a chance to play them yet. For Tony, it was The Mandalorian Adventures, River Valley Glass Works, Moving Wild, Flip 7, Bomb Busters, Castle Combo, and Invincible: The Hero-Building Game. Brandon, was content with his choices and didn’t have any extras.
Top 10 Board Games of 2024
10. Harmonies
Brandon: The lightest game on my list has risen the 2024 BGG ranks as it nears the top 100. It’s already in the top 20 family games. And from my experience, it deserves the praise it is receiving. Using an Azul-like selection system, Harmonies finds players building habitats for animals and trying their best to efficiently build to maximize scoring. Every choice matters, as a selection of three landscape tokens may help secure a landing place for one of your animals, or it may cause you to fill space that you desperately need for another. This plays quickly, features two sides to player boards for variety, and every habitat looks great upon completion. Tactile and rewarding.
1-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 30-45 minutes • $50
10. Crossbows & Catapults: Fortress War
Tony: A bit of nostalgia creeps into my top 10 for the year as Restoration Games delivered the new edition of Crossbows and Catapults. It’s a silly-fun dexterity game where you and your opponent build castles and then try and knock them down with spring-loaded siege weapons. Their remaster of this game is great, and my son has been really enjoying playing this with me. It uses a bit of card play to help spice things up, and when you pull off a trick shot from across the table, it’s hard not to cheer.
2 Players • Ages 6+ • 20-30 minutes • $100
9. Harrow County: The Game of Gothic Conflict
Brandon: Off the Page Games with another hit! Harrow County features excellent production that lends to its graphic novel source material and features several factions to play as. This is a head-to-head area control system, which can also be played with a “hidden” third player to disrupt everyone’s progress. Harrow County features unique abilities and goals, a super cool cube tower built-into the game box, and a fun action selection design. While strategy is available, it’s primarily a tactical experience as players react to each other on their way toward destroying the village’s houses or rescuing its citizens. This game seems to have slipped under the radar this year and I hope more players have a chance to experience it. It was great having it around for the spooky season in 2024.
1-3 Players • Ages 12+ • 45-90 minutes • $59
9. River of Gold
Tony: Yes, a euro game sneaks into my top 10 for the year. What is the world coming to? Set in the Legend of the 5 Rings world of Rokugon, it gives players a different view of this world that’s most often used in the RPG or Living Card Game. In River of Gold, you’ll take on the role of a river merchant vying to exploit the river to earn wealth and glory. I like that there is a lot of ways to approach your strategy in this game whether its building locations on the riverbanks or completing missions for citizens. In addition to that, the production values are fantastic with a metallic gold river dominating the game board!
2-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 60-90 minutes • $50
8. Burning Banners
Brandon: A light wargaming experience that is all about units on the map and dice rolling! Burning Banners is approachable and doesn’t get in its way too often to provide scenario-based head-to-head battles. The highlight is the detailed illustration (some of the best this year) of each of the four maps and the unique factions vying for control over the lands. I was impressed by the easy combat and the thematic campaign designs, though I did have to get over some fiddly rules via a rough rulebook. Regardless, this has been fun to learn, and I hear there is an expansion on the horizon! More time in the lands of Kalar is something to smile about.
2-6 Players • Ages 14+ • 60 minutes • $99
8. Seaside
Tony: This set collection game has been a hit at my table (and elsewhere!) ever since it arrived. Seaside is both simple to play and also highly portable. On your turn, you draw a tile from the bag and decide which side to use–some tokens go in the communal sea to be claimed later, while others are played in front of you to help you claim those tokens. The game has a fantastic tactile feeling with wooden tokens and a canvas bag in lieu of a box. Seaside is even weather-resistant, so you can play it on the beach!
1-5 Players • Ages 8+ • 20 minutes • $29
7. Sankore: The Pride of Mansa Musa
Brandon: Released in the early days of 2024, Sankore remains on my list of quality plays this year. Designed by Fabio Lopiano and Mandela Fernandez-Grandon, this heavy Euro sees players navigating the halls of the University of Sakore in fourteenth-century Timbuktu. Enrolling students, enhancing studies through four disciplines, and leading them toward graduation, is the goal here. Everything revolves around the disciplines players choose, as they gather knowledge via book tokens that lead to how scoring is managed at the end of the game. This is a beautiful production and features a lot of central-board interactivity that begins to sing with players who understand how it all comes together.
1-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 150-180 minutes • $64
7. 6 Siege
Tony: The last game released by former publisher Mythic Games came probably just a little too late to save their company. While no one can argue that they bungled the release (and Kickstarter) of this game, once it actually got to our table, I thought it was pretty fantastic. Based on the video game of the same name, 6 Siege tasks one player with defending a location, while the other one assaults it. The gameplay is easy to wrap your head around and has a quick pace with lots of action. Much like in a video game, your troops will die in a hail of gunfire and explosions quite often, making this a tense, action-filled battle.
2-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 60 minutes
6. A Gest of Robin Hood
Brandon: A relatively new entry to my end-of-year list comes from GMT games, known for their complex COIN systems and historical simulations. Gest is almost an entry-level style of their games, keeping itself rooted to two players with an easy grouping of actions available to them. This is further enhanced by a nuanced initiative selection system that includes choices that can be antagonizing. Whether playing as the hidden Merry Men or the antagonizing Sherrif, all of Nottingham proper is in chaos as parishes feel the effects of these factions and their encounters. In the end, this tug-of-war is both streamlined and quick playing, making for an excellent way to experience some guerilla tactics.
2 Players • Ages 12+ • 45-90 minutes • $75
6. The Gang
Tony: I had a lot of friends tell me about The Gang after Gen Con this year and how much fun it was. I initially didn’t pay attention to it because I’m not a very big poker fan. Yet after so much buzz, I had to give it a try. I’m glad I did though because it’s a ton of fun. The Gang takes the mechanics from poker, more specifically Texas Hold Em’ and turns it into a corporative game. It has a similar vibe to The Crew where you have limited communication and really have to work together if you hope to succeed.
3-6 Players • Ages 12+ • 20 minutes • $15
5. Imperium: Horizons
Brandon: Horizons takes the Imperium system from designers Nigel Buckle and David Turczi into a new realm of refinement. Not only are there double the civilizations to explore (enough to make this the recommended first-buy in the catalog), but there is an official shorter variant and trade modules to explore. Imperium is always best as a solo experience with its excellent flowchart decision space for the opponent. But the trade expansion provides more incentive to play this as a two-player battle between civs. Mixing all sets together provides plenty to explore. It’s even inspired fans to create themed common decks for added variety.
1-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 40-160 minutes • $59
5. Harakiri: Blades of Honor
Tony: While I try not to overload myself with campaign games (because I rarely finish them), I was drawn to Harakiri because of its cool theme and great art. So far we’ve played through a decent amount of the campaign and I’m really enjoying it. A game is split into two parts, the first is an overland adventure phase where you are moving around the map, working on objectives and personal quests. Then the game transitions to a more tactical dungeon crawler where you are using your skills and weapons to take down monsters and save villagers. I’m still torn on if I like the adventure phase or the combat phase better, as both could be a game in their own right.
1-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 60-150 minutes • $149
4. Pagan: Fate of Roanoke
Brandon: Pagan released upon the US retail space via Capstone’s Gen Con booth. Prior to this, it wasn’t widely available, and that’s a real shame. This two-player dueling card and deduction system is superb. Players are either the village witch, or the witch hunter, and take turns using their actions in a game of hide and seek. Both players utilize a spread of village cards to enhance actions and influence individuals toward their cause. The hunter is constantly trying to learn the identity of the witch, whereas the witch is secretly working toward a ritual. The system includes allies, charms, familiars, investigations, and all sorts of thematic goodness to keep players invested in each choice they make. This game of cat and mouse is highly recommended and will continue to see play as new deck-building options released in the future.
2 Players • Ages 12+ • 30-60 minutes • $39
4. Leviathan Wilds
Tony: This cooperative game has players trying to stop giant monsters from rampaging across the world. Yet you are not fighting them, but climbing around their backs trying to remove crystals that are causing them to go wild. It’s a bit of a unique spin on the giant monster battling theme and I love it. The game also has a lot of replay value as you get to choose a unique character and combine their deck with a skill deck of your choice. There is a ton of variety here and some streamlined gameplay that makes this one appear on the table quite often.
1-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 45-60 minutes • $69
3. Slay the Spire
Brandon: I still have not played the digital version of Slay the Spire. And yes, the board game version is many times the cost of investment in comparison. Yet, there’s something about the physical tactility of a game on the table, shuffling cards, and approaching the system in a way that’s not available (yet) in the Slay the Spire world: multiplayer! Nothing beats taking on the spire with a friend or two. And this version not only allows for this, but it’s designed in a way that makes it approachable, exciting, and addicting. It’s provided so much entertainment this year that I’m now looking forward to the second installment of the digital series. This time, it will certainly enter my collection as well. Until then, it will find a way to my table many times in the near future.
1-4 Players • Ages 12+ • 30-150 minutes • $114
3. Star Trek: Captains Chair
Tony: This late addition to my top 10 games of 2024 shot up the list very quickly. I only got it a few weeks ago, but I have played it a ton. Somewhat based on the mechanics from Imperium (see Brandon’s #5 above), Star Trek: Captain’s Chair lets you command one of 6 unique captains in your quest for victory points. This is not a light game by any stretch, yet once you learn how to play, the system flows smoothly and offers a ton of depth. Each captain plays to their own strengths, so while Picard may be all about diplomacy, Sela is going to use her fleet to control lots of planets. The decks are all highly thematic to the Star Trek universe and I’ve already played every captain (more than once) and can wait for a future expansion to give me more (Where’s the love for Kirk!).
1-2 Players • Ages 14+ • 60-120 minutes • $59
2. Arkham Horror LCG: The Feast of Hemlock Vale
Brandon: Another year, another campaign release for the Arkham LCG system. 2024 brought us a new lead design team and one of the better campaigns to grace the Arkham mythos. In Hemlock Vale, players explore a small island filled with strange mysteries, interactive villagers with plenty to divulge, and branching story paths that can culminate in several different endings. Not only does the Feast re-energize the campaign system for this LCG, but it also provides great stand-alone scenarios, player cards, and an excellent finale, which has been sorely missing from recent releases.
1-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 90 minutes • $36
2. Hellbringer
Tony: I chose Hellbringer as my most anticipated game of 2024 back in January and I’m glad it didn’t disappoint. This card-based dungeon crawler draws in the essence of the loot piñata video game genre and flows it into a really fun tabletop game. It plays great both solo and cooperativly and throws a non-stop deluge of items at you to customize your character as you play. There is just so much variety here that I’ve been coming back to it quite often. I think with a bit more polish (and a much better rulebook) it could have taken the top spot. But it’s already sold out of the first printing, so be on the lookout for its reprint campaign coming next year.
1-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 45-180 minutes
1. Arcs
Brandon: No game captured my attention more than Arcs from Leder Games. A pseudo trick-taking action selection space 4x system, with fantastic art from Kyle Ferrin, and featuring plenty of emergent narrative moments, even in the base game. It gets better as you add the Leaders and Lore mini expansion, providing players with asymmetric powers. The base game alone, with its novel approach to player interaction, deserves a top spot here. But add in the Blighted Reach campaign expansion and it turns a confined system into a sprawling epic that spans three eras with a taste of Oath’s organic growth and historical archiving.
2-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 60-120 minutes • $70
1. Slay the Spire
Tony: A game I didn’t expect to be here at the start of 2024 manages to claim the top spot. I absolutely love the Slay the Spire video game, having clocked in over 88 hours on the app. So I was suspicious if a board game could recreate this video game without being overly fiddly, but publisher Contention Games absolutely nailed the gameplay. It’s not simply a clone of the video game, yet it managed to perfectly nail the feel of the combat and deck building. And while it plays well solo, multiplayer is where this one really shines. Being able to synergize your powers with the other players makes for some really interesting gameplay.
1-4 Players • Ages 12+ • 30-150 minutes • $114
