Honorable mention:
- When a player’s 10 was one-upped by the next player’s 11 on the final trick of my five-player game of Tricky Kids (I can still hear the laughter)
- When my then-eight-year-old won Space Diamonds, the tutorial variant of our first play of High Frontier 4 All
- Andromeda’s Edge and Nucleum being added to Board Game Arena’s Alpha catalog (joyously profane texts were sent to other gamers in my local groups)
- Gideon realizing that “The Bear” might be a reference to the word “restaurant”, Codenames
- The arrival of my production copy of Speakeasy
Best Individual Game Component: the cardboard box, Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game
For my money, the Metal Gear Solid series is still the best video game series on the Playstation. The board game only needed to check one box for me: Snake needed to have the ability to move around the maps in the famously ridiculous cardboard box item he can somehow stash in his backpack. The team at CMON had a bad year, for a lot of reasons, but the work with Konami here was solid and the cardboard box token was maybe the easiest pick in this entire article.
Honorable mention:
- The booze barrel trucks, Speakeasy
- The Cosmic Frog, Andromeda’s Edge: Genesis
- The sphinx tokens, Men-Nefer
- The red carpet on the board of Red Carpet
- The autograph tokens, Bagged & Boarded
Favorite Gaming Mechanic: the Restaurant space, Speakeasy
Yep, I get it: I called this out as one of my favorite things last year, too. After receiving my production copy of Speakeasy and getting more plays in, not enough people are talking about this. I still believe this single space is the best work of Vital Lacerda’s career. The space is genius: it’s the only place to claim public milestones. It’s the only space where all players can always use their Capos. It’s critical to change turn order, in order to more efficiently protect a player’s buildings. And in an area control game, you really want to go last.
Honorable mention:
- The action tile deployment and collection system, Men-Nefer
- The hand management system, La Pâtisserie Rococo
- Dice drafting, Minos: Dawn of the Bronze Age
- Choosing whether to add or toss cards back to their hand, Jungo
- Slotting keys to trigger bonuses before or after taking actions, Recall
Most Thematic Gaming Experience: Speakeasy
Another easy winner, Speakeasy made me feel just like a gangster in 1920s New York. The box cover, the card art, the player boards, the casinos, the trucks, the rum runners, “cooking the books”, you name it. Watching players the first time they place a Family Member next to a building is a joy. Putting Tommy gun-toting VIPs next to a building just feels good man, and it really does make me feel like the cops aren’t gonna mess with my business.
Honorable Mention:
- Red Carpet
- Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game
- Galactic Cruise
- Bagged & Boarded
- Ofrenda
Best Dice: Covenant
Not a great dice year, especially since Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan games have been on the list here before. Still, I really enjoyed how dice are used in Covenant, including the list of the die faces in the appropriate area of the board to alert players to their complete list of possibilities.
Honorable Mention:
- Rolling Realms Redux
- Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan–Clash of the Immortals or Kin of the Wild
- Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game
- Grendel: The Game of Crime & Mayhem
- Vantage
Best Graphic Design / Iconography: Ian O’Toole, Speakeasy
This was a particularly crowded category, in part because O’Toole did the graphic design for so many titles I played in 2025. It was also crowded because designers, artists and publishers are getting a lot better at visually telling players a story. Speakeasy is a big piece of chicken, but it does an exceptional job at guiding players even without its incredible player aid. This is particularly critical with game elements such as the City Tiles, because players need to be able to parse out benefits from a glance with 30-40 tiles in play at any given time.
The next ten best:
- Railway Boom
- Gatsby
- Bagged & Boarded
- Vantage
- Tiletum: Prospect for Silver
- Endeavor: Deep Sea
- Finspan
- The White Castle: Matcha
- Recall
- Ayar: Children of the Sun
The Most Game You Can Play in the Least Amount of Time: Ayar: Children of the Sun
Given my experience with Sankoré: The Pride of Mansa Musa, I was a bit frightened that Ayar: Children of the Sun was going to be a slog. Boy, was I wrong, and it’s hard to beat the amount of game you will get out of Ayar at the full player count in just 90 minutes. No matter who he is working with, designer Fabio Lopiano is absolutely crushing it right now, and Ayar is some of his most efficient work.
Honorable Mention:
- The White Castle: Matcha
- Pirates of Maracaibo: Commanders
- Rajas of the Ganges: Cards & Karma
- La Granja
- Bagged & Boarded
Best Solo Experience: Recall
Recall is a game that I have played a lot this year, both with others and solo. The solo mode is fantastic, and it’s one of the few games where I feel like I am actually playing against a real opponent. The AI is smart, the puzzle is tight, and the game is just as satisfying to play solo as it is with a group.
Honorable Mention:
- Andromeda’s Edge
- Endeavor: Deep Sea
- The White Castle: Matcha
- Men-Nefer
- Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan
Best Game I Played for the First Time in 2025: The White Castle
I know, I know. The White Castle came out in 2023, but I didn’t get a chance to play it until 2025. And man, was it worth the wait. This game is a masterpiece of efficiency. Every single action matters, and the puzzle of balancing your workers and resources is incredibly satisfying. It’s a game that I can see myself playing for years to come.
Honorable Mention:
- Andromeda’s Edge
- Speakeasy
- Recall
- Ayar: Children of the Sun
- Bagged & Boarded
Top 10 Games of 2025
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. My personal top 10 games that I played in 2025. These are the games that I couldn’t stop thinking about, the ones I wanted to play again immediately after finishing, and the ones that I believe represent the best of the hobby right now.
- Speakeasy – A thematic masterpiece that makes you feel like a 1920s gangster.
- The White Castle – A tight, efficient puzzle that rewards careful planning.
- Ayar: Children of the Sun – A game that packs a huge amount of gameplay into a short time.
- Recall – A brilliant solo and multiplayer game with a fantastic AI opponent.
- Andromeda’s Edge – A sprawling space epic that is as beautiful as it is deep.
- Vantage – A game of exploration and discovery that creates unforgettable moments.
- Bagged & Boarded – A fun, accessible game that is perfect for game night.
- Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game – A faithful adaptation that captures the spirit of the video game.
- Men-Nefer – A clever tile-placement game with a unique action system.
- Endeavor: Deep Sea – A challenging and rewarding game about deep-sea exploration.
And there you have it! My highs and lows for 2025. It was a fantastic year for gaming, and I can’t wait to see what 2026 brings. Until next time, happy gaming!
