Sound of Music soundtrack album cover image. A painting of a woman in a dress in the foreground carrying a guitar case and bag. A man a children are in the background.
Brown paper packages tied up with strings…

As 2023 comes to an end, I looked back on my board game experiences and anticipated the future. Consider this my personal gaming Year in Review!

Changes in 2023

More Solo Plays. More than 70% of my games played this year were solo. Reasons include my lack of a regular gaming group after moving in mid-2022, and choosing to play mostly analog (versus digital implementations) this year.

This was also driven by two “dogs & me” cabin weekends on the Olympic Peninsula, both of which included rainy days full of solo gaming. A full 7% of my plays occurred during those weekends, which resulted in some favorite new-to-me games.

Two small dogs (one white, one black) in dog beds on an old wood floor of a cabin. Wood stove in the background.

Less Board Game Arena. My day job was a heavier lift this year and primarily computer-based, so after work I found myself time-limited and screen-averse. This resulted in far fewer plays with my online friends, which I hope to change in 2024.

Playing on the Move. Nearly one-quarter of my gaming this year occurred in transit. This was split among ferry commutes to work (mostly Button Shy card games) and board game apps on trains and planes. Cartographers, Scythe, and Terraforming Mars were my most-played digital games.

More Accessible Games. Maybe I’m self-selecting for accessibility, but I’m experiencing a shift toward more games with features like double-coding for color and larger fonts. As a colorblind gamer, I was less frustrated by unintentional barriers in 2023 than in any prior year.

Favorite Events

Orcacon 2023. Last January was my first time attending Orcacon, and I had a wonderful time playing a bunch of games with great people in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve already secured my badge for 2024!

Disney Lorcana Launch Event. My kids and I participated in the opening weekend of Disney Lorcana at my friend Chad’s friendly local game store, Cole Street Game Vault. While Lorcana didn’t make my top list due to lack of plays, I had a great time sharing the launch with a group of people all excited for the same game!

Disney Lorcana packaging for card packs and a starter deck.

Favorite New Games Played in 2023

I put together a Top 10 list of sorts, focusing on games I played for the first time in 2023. First up is an 8-way tie for my third-favorite new-to-me game this year.

  • My City Roll & Build. The roll-and-write version of Reiner Knitizia’s My City introduces a 12-game campaign that I found delightful. There are several similarities to Cartographers (CBG review), which is one of my all-time favorites.
  • Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion. A small cost, medium box, large game, I enjoyed several scenarios of Gloomhaven JOTL earlier this year, and it has increased my interest in other dungeon crawls.
  • Expeditions. This game brings the style and story of Scythe to an engine-building exploration of Siberia. As usual with Stonemaier Games, the Automa is a worthy opponent for solo play.1
  • Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game. A smooth 2-player experience, this game follows the suggestion to “name your thing what it is.” I particularly enjoyed the fan-made solo variant, Leaders.
  • Point City
  • Gloomhaven JOTL
  • The White Castle
  • Expeditions
  • Point City (CBG review). Flatout Games‘ thematic follow-up to Point Salad exceeds the first game in every way for me, including a smooth solo mode.2
  • The White Castle. The Red Cathedral (CBG review) was a favorite for me last year by this same design team and publisher. The follow-up captures similar dice-drafting-and-placement magic in a new way.
  • 5211. My wife introduced me to this card game that became our most played together this year. It includes a clever set collection mechanism and some “you know that I know that you know” bluffing.
  • Hadrian’s Wall. After a frustrating initial encounter with the meeple colors of the physical game (I still can’t play the current version), Board Game Arena introduced a new color scheme and additional accessibility support! Hadrian’s Wall has become one of my favorite “big” verb-and-writes.

And now, my two favorite games of 2023. Each is essentially a card-based boss-battler. One uses constructed decks and the other is a deck-builder.

#2: Marvel Champions

Marvel Champions game box cover

Marvel Champions: The Card Game was originally released in 2019, but new to me in early-2023. So far I’ve been using preconstructed decks, and I almost always play true solo (one hero).

Gameplay. One to four players each selects a hero deck, and as a group the team chooses a villain to fight. Turns play out in classic heroes-attack-then-villain-attacks fashion, with a villain scheme as the primary lose condition.

Play starts relatively simple, though even during the tutorial setup I found myself re-checking the rules several times. This reduced after I clarified a few things, and then by following the game’s Grim Rule in any unclear or conflicting situations: “Resolve the conflict in the manner that the players perceive as the worst possible resolution at that moment with regards to winning.”

Visual Accessibility. Fantasy Flight Games has done a great job making its games accessible for colorblind players. Components are all double-coded or triple-coded with color, icon, and/or text. For low-vision players, some icons are borderline too small, and the bottom-right collection/organization information is very small text; I have trouble reading it without magnification.

Cards for Marvel Champions set up in a 1-player game on a black mat.

What I Love. Several things stand out to me.

  • Easy to Learn. The recommended first play is described clearly in the rulebook and serves as an approachable tutorial, with just a little clarification needed. Each time I learned a previously-unclear rule, I was able to remember it later
  • Marvel Theme. I’m not a comic book reader, but my basic understanding of the Marvel universe from movies and TV is reflected in the game.
  • Near-Infinite Replayability. The core set provides 5 heroes and 3 villains, offering 15 true solo combinations, with even more variability for 2-, 3-, and 4-player games. I added two expansion this year – Sinister Motives and The Mad Titan’s Shadow – and I’ve barely scratched the surface. Oh, and I haven’t even constructed my own unique decks yet. I’ve done the math, and Marvel Champions brings no less than nine bazillion options, with more content to come.

#1: Astro Knights

Astro Knights game box cover art.

This game snuck up on me. I didn’t play it until December, and it still became my top game of the year and one of my most played.

I had previously played and liked Aeon’s End just fine, but it has been sitting on my shelf unplayed for a couple years. Hearing about Astro Knights as a smoother version of the same mechanisms let me to purchase it… and then wait 9 months… and then finally get it to the table.

Gameplay. Designed by Nick Little and Will Sobel and published by Indie Boards & Cards, Astro Knights is a simple deck-builder. Choosing 1-4 knights as heroes, players start with a small deck of mediocre cards, then build a more powerful deck over the course of the game, similar to Legendary: Marvel or Toy Story: Obstacles & Adventures. The base game comes with several heroes with varying powers and 4 bosses that bring a unique set of attacks. Players lose if their home world is defeated; in 2, 3, and 4-player games they also lose if all players are exhausted.

Accessibility. Distinguishing colors is a non-issue for Astro Knights. All card types are triple-coded by color, text, and icon. Tokens used as trackers are colored, but 1)the colors don’t matter for gameplay, and 2)color-matching between the tokens and boards is great. Fonts have good contrast and size, as do all setup instructions and the rulebook. Thumbs up all around!

Astro Knights - part of the game set up on a wooden table.

What I Love. Astro Knights introduces several quality of life improvements to deck-building and card-based boss-battling that I found particularly enjoyable.

  • Small Table Presence. At least for true solo (one player character), I can fit all components on a “side desk” in my office that I have at the ready for in-between moments. There is no board (versus the large board for Legendary: Marvel), which allows for flexible setup to whatever space I have available.
  • Less Shuffling. When my player deck runs out and I need to use my discard pile, I simply flip over the deck instead of shuffling it. Along with making that step faster, this reduces wear-and-tear on the cards. It also adds a strategy element to the order of my actions and discards.
  • Market Piles by Type and Cost. To reduce the common deck-building problem of a stale or too-expensive market Astro Knights uses 6 different market stacks: low-, medium-, and high-cost weapons; low- and medium-cost fuel (resource) cards, and technologies.
  • Turn Order Deck. I enjoy the semi-randomness of the turn order deck. For example, in true solo, the 5-card deck includes 2 boss turns and 3 player turns in random order, and after all are played it’s shuffled for the next 5 turns. An added benefit is that I always know whose turn it is (even if I’ve left it set up for hours or days) – I just flip the next card!
  • Variability and Replayability. With so many different knights, home worlds, and bosses to fight, along with an Expert and Nightmare mode for each boss, there are hundreds of gameplay combinations, even without adding a second knight, which I intend to do soon so I can learn more combos.

Based on my positive early experience, I’ve already added The Orion System expansion that introduces two more knights, a fifth boss, and more market cards. I intend to add Astro Knights Eternity in 2024. This experience has also increased my excitement for Aeon’s End, which I may bring back to the table next year.

Intentions for 2024

My intentions, hopes, and general direction for gaming in 2024.

  • More People. I’d like to play more games with others next year, both online and in person. I intend to visit more game stores near me, including their scheduled events. And it would be awesome to attend some game cons next year.
  • Fewer Purchases. I bought a lot of games in 2023 that I haven’t played yet, and I even started this year with a relatively large “Shelf of Opportunity” and a stated goal of buying less. I’ve started a Wish List for 2024 to help create more friction between the desire and purchase.
  • Dungeon Crawls. My positive experience with Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion led me to purchase Roll Player Adventures and an expansion for Star Wars Imperial Assault. I look forward to getting both to the table this coming year.

I’d love to hear more about your favorites of 2023 and desires for this next year!

Roll Player Adventures box art.

1 Disclosure: I supported Expeditions as a paid freelance proofreader for Stonemaier Games. I purchased my copy of the game.

2 Disclosure: I received an early, complementary copy of Point City from the publisher for this review, and I have served as a volunteer playtester and proofreader for several Flatout Games titles.

Image Credits: All game box images are credited to their respective publishers. The Sound of Music Soundtrack art by RCA. All other images are by Brian Chandler.

Published by Brian Chandler

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