Revisiting the Best Board Games of 2023

The wheel of time ever turns, and so it must come to pass that we revisit the very best board games of 2023. With more plays under my belt and more distance from their hype-infused releases, I’m now ready to look back on all the 2023 releases that I played.  For those who don’t know, this has become a yearly tradition, and you can still go back and peruse my reflection of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 releases. You can also compare the list below to my Top Games of 2023 which was posted back in February (spoilers: most of those remained Lovers).

With over 50 games to cover, I’ll simply be offering my brief thoughts on each game as I categorize them into Lovers, Keepers, Dumpers, Flingers, and Seekers.

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Lovers

The must owns, can’t get enough ofs, top 50 games of all time candidates, going through withdrawals if I wait too long to play it again type of games.

• Patterns – Patterns is the equivalent of capturing lightning in a bottle twice. This sequel to the revered Mandala is just as good, if not better. I love the marriage of simple actions with deep strategy. If you’re into Euro-abstract strategy games, then Trevor Benjamin and Brett J Gilbert are two designers to keep an eye on. 

• That’s Not a Hat – Memory games are all the hotness, baby! Thanks to this game and the next one, this genre has become far less taboo. I believe the secret to changing our collective minds is the fact that these games expect players to forget, which results in funny and relatable mistakes. That’s Not a Hat is all about passing gifts around until you forget where everything is at and have to bluff your way out of trouble.

• Trio – Simple, addicting card games often make for the best tabletop moments with friends and family. Trio is one such game that always hits the spot. This memory game is far more fun than it has any right to be.

• Viking See-Saw – Much like Trio, Viking See-Saw has been a killer filler to bust out between games and delight the table. The challenge of stacking pieces on top of each other is always engaging, but the tilting see saw and variety of pieces takes this one to the next level.

• Trailblazers (from Bitewing Games) – I have more plays of Trailblazers than any other game we’ve published. That’s because the solo modes of Trailblazers are so stinking challenging and addicting. Plus this one is now on Board Game Arena! My favorite ways to play Trailblazers are either the crunchy solo modes or the spicy Sasquatch Expansion which makes the game cooperative with a potential hidden traitor.

• Lacuna – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “The simplicity and speed of Lacuna, combined with the unique abstract challenge and a perfect production, make this one of the most fresh 2-player games in years. Lacuna has a breezy timelessness to it that many 2-player titles can only dream of providing. It’s not the most tense or riveting game among my collection of duelers, but it doesn’t want or need to be.”

• For One Series – It takes a special kind of solo game to get me hooked for hours. The For One Series is that perfect blend of ingredients that has kept me coming back to beat its series of challenges. While For One is probably the least flashy any games on this list, it’s all the more impressive that Reiner Knizia’s solo series thrives on nothing but the carefully crafted gameplay. If you’re like me in preferring your solo games to be quick, streamlined, tense, and challenging, then nothing beats the For One series. Hopefully it reaches beyond the German market soon.

• Witchcraft – In most other years, Witchcraft would have easily been my favorite solo game, but second place is nothing to be ashamed of. Witchcraft feels like a refinement of the stellar formula laid out in Resist. I love everything about this game, especially the tough decision of when to reveal your witches and let them go out in a blaze of glory.

• Gussy Gorillas (from Bitewing Games) – This remains my only published design! I’m fine with that. I enjoy the process of publishing a game more than designing a game. But Gussy Gorillas was fun to design because it is such a simple and social game. The premise is Hanabi (hold cards away from yourself) meets Pit (chaotic trading). If that sounds great, then this is probably up your alley.

• Sky Team – The 2-player smash hit of 2023 remains one of our favorite date night games in my home. Sky Team offers a golden combination of approachable rules and interesting variety within an engaging cooperative system. It seems that we have many more flights ahead of us.

• Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West – Ticket to Ride Legacy is paradoxically a lover and yet not a keeper. But the only reason that is the case is because we finished this legacy campaign and have moved on to other games. But it was definitely an enjoyable campaign that did not overstay its welcome (finishing out at 12 sessions total). I suppose it’s time for me to recycle the box and its components and await the time when my girls are old enough to play regular Ticket to Ride.

• MLEM: Space Agency – I crowned MLEM as my #1 game of the year, and I still stand by that declaration. Few games elicit social banter and captivating dice drama as well as MLEM and its push-you-luck rocket-launching antics. If you can manage to wrangle together four or five humans at a table for an hour tops, then MLEM is a must.

• Sea Salt & Paper – I was honestly surprised to realize that Sea Salt & Paper had landed on my Top 100 Games of All Time list. This charming and breezy yet spicy little card game has been especially great at 2-players. It straddles the fence well between casual card game and hobbyist filler game. 

• Zoo Vadis (from Bitewing Games) – Perhaps more than any other title, I’m most proud of Zoo Vadis. That’s because the original game (Quo Vadis) was absolutely dead in the industry, but I felt like it deserved a second chance. So I drew up a plan and recruited some incredibly talented people (Reiner Knizia, Kwanchai Moriya, Brigette Indelicato) to bring that vision to life. Since the very first play of the new ruleset from Reiner, Zoo Vadis has been one of my absolute favorite board games to play. It’s a streamlined sandbox of thrilling negotiations. This project also paved the way for many more great successes of bringing new life to hidden gems including Cat Blues: The Big Gig, SILOS, EGO, and more to come.

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Keepers

The solid games that have survived many purges over the past year.  I would be sad to see them go, but I don’t need to bring them to the table constantly either. 

• Big Top – This one has flown too far under the radar for being one of Allplay’s best small box games. The core twist of bidding exact amounts to complete the cards that you already won in previous auctions is a ton of fun, and the metal coins are a satisfying upgrade for this game.

• Wandering Towers – I was more enamored with Wandering Towers during my initial plays, before the novelty began to wear off. But I’m keeping this one around because it is still a worthwhile family-weight game to break out once or twice a year. It just the type of game that doesn’t reward more frequent plays.

• Pick a Pepper – I find it rather easy to hang on to small card games with an interesting twist, even if they aren’t my absolute favorite. Pick a Pepper has some neat bidding / hand-management decisions and a great theme that keep it around on my shelf.

• My City: Roll & Build – This roll and write twist on My City started out slow but proved to be worthwhile as we progressed into the second half of this polyomino city building campaign. My City is still the best in this line, but Roll & Build is a fun twist on the concept.

• Inside Job – Trick taking meets social deduction! While this Kosmos card game didn’t quite reach the heights of The Crew, I found it to be a great experience nonetheless. It works so well because the restrictions of trick taking allow for plausible deniability.

• Archeos Society – I still haven’t decided whether I’m keeping Archeos Society or selling it off and just sticking with Ethnos 1st Edition. They both scratch the same itch, although Ethnos obviously does it with an area majority flavor (compared to Archeos Society’s variable track advancement flavor). But both games are great, so here it resides for now.

• Ninja Master – For the longest time, speed games have never really been my thing. But I must say that some recent releases have really surprised me with how enjoyable they’ve made quick reflex challenges. The common denominator between these hits is that they allow for players to be too hasty and make hilarious mistakes. Ninja Master is one such design where players must react to the dice results by snatching up the most valuable ninjas and avoiding the bad ones. This game really puts you in the mood as you all assume the katana pose with your fingers before the dice chucking and quick snatching begins.

• Sail – Sail remains one of the best trick takers of this current flood of them. That Weberson Santiago artwork is as good as ever, and the novelty of steering a ship through troubled waters via 2-player cooperative trick taking is still a treat.

• General Orders: World War II – General Orders may not be the strongest offering from legendary duo David Thompson and Trevor Benjamin, but it’s a darn good one. This almost feels like a micro worker placement game with a tactical war skirmish theme. It’s quick, compact, and smooth.

• My Island – We hit a brick wall with our progression through My Island (made it about 2/3s through the 24 episode campaign), but I remain hopeful that we’ll go back and finish it someday. Although it is not encouraging to hear that many folks who did finish it did not enjoy the final third. Either way, I can’t deny that the polyominoes of My City are fundamentally more satisfying than the hex shapes of My Island. Kudos to Knizia for mixing things up, though.

• Sunrise Lane – This lightweight Knizia board game remains one that I’m happy to play anytime thanks to its quick pace and breezy decisions. It’s reminiscent of Ticket to Ride, but a bit more spicy and strategic in my opinion. The UI on the game board could be better (readability of colors/icons), but it hasn’t been a major issue for us.

• Havalandi – I’m a sucker for Knizia tile layers. Sadly, I seem to enjoy Havalandi more than most people. The vague rulebook and restrictive die rolling are probably to blame. Havalandi is best recommended to Kniziaphiles who are already a few years down the rabbit hole. The rest of you can ignore this one and keep exploring the absolute cream of the crop.

• Match of the Century – 2023 was a year loaded with solid 2-player games, so Match of the Century might have been overshadowed by others, but it nevertheless remains a keeper in my collection. As a game about a game (Chess), this one packs a surprising punch. It feels like there is plenty more strategic depth that I’ve yet to explore here.

• Reif für die Insel – Reiner Knizia has more than a few hidden gems buried among his 800 game catologue. Reif für Die Insel is one the newest hidden gems from the good doctor that has never missed for me. This little auction game plays great all the way up to 6-players and utilizes my favorite part of Amun-Re — the bumping style of auctions. Players each commit a monkey card to one of the bananas on display, and the larger monkeys can scare off smaller monkeys. The brilliant twist is that a spent monkey is gone forever, and an unspent money is worth its value in points at the end of the game, so you must use them very carefully over the three rounds.

• Bacon – Bacon turned out to be my favorite release from Allplay’s latest trick taker project (featuring Pies, Lunar, Mori, and Bacon). Part of that is just because Bacon is the most approachable of the bunch. The other part is simply because Bacon is specifically a ladder-climbing game which makes it slightly more unique among my collection of card games. Also bacon.

• Prey Another Day – This simple little filler game has been more hit or miss with my groups than it deserves. Then again, the people who tend to dislike it are the ones who get especially unlucky. You can think of this card game like Love Letter, but with even more mind games. The artwork is a delight too.

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Dumpers

Some made me question my life decisions, others simply made me wish I was playing something else.  None are welcome back at my table.  So long and good riddance.  May you find a better home

• Pick a Pen Series – Reiner Knizia’s pick a pen series feels a bit too late to the roll and write party. True, the concept of rolling pencils and drafting them is unique. But the overall experience still comes out feeling no better or different than any other roll and write.

• Judge Domino, Stick Collection – These two Funbrick games from Itten didn’t fare nearly as well as Viking See-Saw and Ninja Master. While I appreciate their novel productions, the gameplay didn’t quite measure up. After one play of each, we never felt compelled to return to them.

• Dragonkeepers – I wouldn’t call Dragonkeepers a bad game… just a bad one for me. Here is what I said about it in my first impressions post: “For a box that revolves around fire-breathing dragons, Dragonkeepers surprisingly lacks that teeth or heat that I prefer in a short card game. The influence you can have on opponents is faint and distant. The tension of when to pull the trigger on playing out a rummy set is mild. The focus is on milking your turns for maximum points rather than outwitting your rivals. This one is as harmless as the adorable creatures on the cards. Carebear gamers will be right at home.”

• World Wonders – Much like the rise and fall of the civilizations it evokes, World Wonders is slow, convoluted, and overstuffed… at least in comparison to my favorite polyomino games. I’m obviously in the minority with my opinion, as this game has been mega popular. But my distaste for World Wonders merely stems from my preference for more tight, interactive, and streamlined games. Most hobbyists will enjoy this one, especially the great production featuring loads of wooden wonders.

• Mori – Mori is a very weird trick taker. Do you like strange games? Are you a strange person? Do you wish your skulls were mixed with a bit more flowers, or vice versa? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then Mori might be perfect for you. Unfortunately, this one just never clicked for me. Beth Sobel’s artwork is amazing, regardless.

• Earth – Earth is an interesting title to consider. It was far and away the number #1 hobbyist board game of 2023 (with nearly twice as much acclaim as the second highest game), and yet it represents the opposite of practically everything I love about board games. My preferences lean heavily toward games that are interactive, focused on a shared space, and streamlined yet deep. Earth is undoubtedly a deep game, but it gets there by focusing the group’s attention on a cornucopia of personal cards and solitaire player tableaus.

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Flingers

Do you like to dabble?  I dabble from time to time.  These games were amusing to try.  Didn’t love em.  Didn’t hate em.  And sure, I’d play them again… given the right mood and circumstance.

• Fiction – Fiction is a flinger in the truest sense of the word. I only got to try this game very briefly at a convention. It was interesting, but I could tell that I only scratched the surface of its Wordle deduction antics.

• High Score – A Knizia push-your-luck dice game that is by all accounts, fine. That probably isn’t good enough when he has so many better ones. But I do like the variety of competitive challenges in High Score.

• Roll to the Top: Journeys – This is another Allplay game that I briefly tried at a convention, and I enjoyed it more than I expected! The wide variety of dice and boards are obvious highlights. But ultimately, this is still very much a roll and write which is a genre I don’t love.

• Mind Space – Like Roll to the Top, Mind Space is another Allplay roll and write that I enjoyed sampling. I would even go so far as to say that this is one of the better roll and writes I’ve tried in recent years. It’s hard to dislike polyominoes, and this game does it with style by having players cram emotions into their brain.

• Amun-Re: 20th Anniversary Edition – I’ve enjoyed Amun-Re as a grand auction board game, and I still maintain that this is the best version thanks to the new modules that improve the game for 3 players. That said, Amun-Re has also proven to be an overly procedural game that often overstays its welcome. All of the steps and phases of each round slow down the game more than I’d like. After a particularly long play session, I decided I was ready to part ways with this one.

• Blind Business – Blind Business offers a great presentation with the Cuphead-style art and a fun premise of making blind deals with each other. But it didn’t quite hit the highs I was hoping for. As an alternative bluffing/set-collection card game, I would instead recommend Agent Avenue.

• Chomp – In Chomp you are building out a personal grid of regions and collecting scoring criteria as you work to feed your Dinos. Nothing here is groundbreaking or flashy. And it certainly lacks the fangs of more interactive fillers. Fortunately, Chomp is just quick and thinky enough that I didn’t mind chomping around for a few minutes.

• Couture – Couture is another clever auction game released by Allplay last year. In this one, you are deciding where to invest your best cards by simultaneously assigning them to different locations — it’s three auctions at once! Couture also boasts some of the most impressive artwork of any Allplay title thanks to the authentic fashion sketches by a real fashion designer. I’d happily play this one again, but I don’t feel compelled to keep it in my collection.

• Undaunted: Battle of Britain – It’s cool to see the creators of Undaunted venture off into new and exciting territories, like arial combat in Battle of Britain or more recently futuristic sci-fi war in Callisto. But unfortunately, these games have mostly made me wish I was continuing our unfinished campaign of my favorite Undaunted game: Stalingrad. I simply don’t have the bandwidth to keep up with all of these new releases in the Undaunted line, but I’m happy to watch its continued success.

• Hollywood 1947 – My favorite play of Hollywood 1947 remains our playtest with friends way back before it launched on Kickstarter. With the right group, this movie making communist conspiracy game can be a real hoot. I haven’t found that group again, but I hope to someday.

• Fit to Print – For better or worse, Fit to Print is like a modern gamer’s version of Galaxy Trucker. You still have the chaotic first phase of digging for and claiming the best tiles from the huge facedown stack. But the second phase replaces galactic swingy events with optimization scoring (you are trying to assemble the best newspaper). I enjoy everything about this one from the artwork to the frantic gameplay, but I suppose I ultimately prefer more interactive board games.

• Thunder Road: Vendetta – My favorite play of Thunder Road remains my first one. It’s a blast to discover the chaos that awaits this Mad Max style racing game. Sadly, my second and third plays were not nearly as riveting. By my second play, I was wishing for more variety to the experience, more nuance to the decisions, and new surprises to the chaos. And then our third play ended up dragging on an hour longer than it should have (because the end game doesn’t trigger until a player is eliminated, and our attacks kept failing due to unlucky rolls). Before the end of play three, I had had my fill of Thunder Road.

• Battle Card – Battle Card is a neat little print and play solo game from one of the creators of Undaunted (David Thompson) that I have only scratched the surface of. I’ve only tried the first two scenarios so far and enjoyed them as simple yet thematic puzzles. But it’s hard to get this back to the table with so many other tasks and games demanding my attention.

• Lunar – Lunar is a gorgeous 4-player game with a neat trick taking twist: one teammate plays the suit and the other plays the value. I think this one is solid all around, and it is definitely worth exploring if you love this genre. My only problem is that Lunar is in a couple overly crowded genres for my table (4-player games, trick takers). I knew right away that it would be hard for me to justify keeping this game in my collection when it would rarely get played, so I passed my copy along.

• Pies – Ask my wife what my favorite foods are and it won’t take her long to get to pie. I wish I loved the gameplay as much as I love the theme and artwork. The main issue is that Pies reminds me of similar yet spicier games that I would rather play over it (namely Art Robbery, For Sale, and Hot Lead… yes, I am extremely biased).

• Wonder Bowling – From my experience, Wonder Bowling sounds more fun than it actually is to play. Even so, it is still pretty fun. I just wish it was easier to reset the pins every time somebody clumsily knocked over all the pins and busted.

• Chicken! – Chicken is one of those games that works best as a social facilitator — a way to gather and engage your close friends who are especially good at banter. If you’re looking for a great dice game, there are roughly a bagillion better options out there.

• Die Patin – This game seemingly only exists in Germany (despite including an English rulebook), so it’s one of those titles that nobody around here has heard of. Fans of old-school German-style games should take note, because Die Patin hits that genre dead-on (except for the anthropomorphic animals, I suppose). I love how players are forced to strive for a different objective each round, and only one player can claim each objective in a round. The only reason this didn’t stick around in my collection is that it is kind of long (roughly two hours) and living in the shadow of El Grande.

• Trailblazer: The John Muir Trail – It’s been two and a half years since I played this one (it was an early demo at a convention), so my memory is fuzzy. I remember enjoying the artwork and theme but wishing it was a few rounds shorter. So here it stays.

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Seekers

I’m still open to trying out these leftovers.  I’ve heard good things about them here and there.  Of course, I’ve now had over a year to find and play them, so I’m obviously not that desperate.  Although sometimes they are much harder to track down or get to the table…

• Darwin’s Journey – I’m not one who tends to seek out heavy Eurogames, but I don’t mind dabbling in the best of the genre from time to time. Darwin’s Journey sounds like it was among the best of 2023, so I’m keen to try it eventually.

• Forest Shuffle – Forest Shuffle sounds like a faster and smoother version of several popular modern Eurogames of recent years including Earth and Wingspan. Granted, I’m not super into Earth or Wingspan, so I haven’t felt the urge to track down Forest Shuffle. But I’m interested in giving it a shot sometime since it is such a popular title.

• Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game – Popular IPs have never been a huge draw for me in the realm of board games. But I’ve heard nothing but good things about Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game. The idea of a head-to-head Rebels vs Empire 2-player game sounds neat. And it appears that the publisher wisely steered clear of the hot garbage sequel trilogy, so I really have no reason to not try this one.

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What’s Next for Bitewing Games?

I hope you enjoyed our final post of 2024! We’ll be taking a brief break over the holidays, but there is a lot to look forward to next year. I’ll eventually be sharing my Top Games of 2024 and Most Anticipated Games of 2025. We’ll be releasing the first games in our 2-player line (the Mythos Collection) — Ichor and Iliad — as well as our Cosmic Silos Trilogy — SILOS, EGO, and ORBIT. Plus we have some additional epic projects in the works. Thanks to all of you for following along and supporting Bitewing Games. If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to the Bitewing Games Newsletter so you don’t miss out on the massive year ahead.

Happy Holidays!

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Article written by Nick Murray. Outside of practicing dentistry part-time, Nick has devoted his remaining work-time to collaborating with the world’s best designers, illustrators, and creators in producing classy board games that bite, including the critically acclaimed titles Trailblazers by Ryan Courtney and Zoo Vadis by Reiner Knizia. He hopes you’ll join Bitewing Games in their quest to create and share classy board games with a bite.

Disclaimer: When Bitewing Games finds a designer or artist or publisher that we like, we sometimes try to collaborate with these creators on our own publishing projects. We work with these folks because we like their work, and it is natural and predictable that we will continue to praise and enjoy their work. Any opinions shared are subject to biases including business relationships, personal acquaintances, gaming preferences, and more. That said, our intent is to help grow the hobby, share our gaming experiences, and find folks with similar tastes. Please take any and all of our opinions with a hearty grain of salt as you partake in this tabletop hobby feast.