Game of the Year 2024
I don’t normally do game of the year awards, because who cares what I think? This year though, I figure, why not?
I’m going to split this into three parts: Best light game, best medium-weight game, and best complex game, as I don’t think it’s fair to compare apples to oranges. There’s something for everyone, and I want to give my opinion which is the best of each bunch. I’m not including games that I previewed that aren’t available yet, and there may be games which are from late 2023, but I’m not being too fussy about release dates. This is about the games that I’ve reviewed this year.
Note that although this list is in no way sponsored or influenced by anything other than my own opinions, my retail partner kienda.co.uk happens to sell most of these games. If you haven’t already ordered through Kienda (who are great, for what it’s worth) make sure to sign up at kienda.co.uk/punchboard to get 5% off your first order of £60 or more.
Without further ado…
Best Light Game 2024
Winner – Looot
Looot came out of nowhere for me and it was a real hit. The gameplay is really easy to explain and there’s so much emergent strategy once you get the hang of it. Just the right amount of player interaction on the main board with any real take-that, a clever puzzle on your own board to maximise scoring, and the challenge of trying to tie that all together to come up with a win.
French publishers are on fire at the moment, and Looot is just another example of that. Gigamic have a hit on their hands, and when you consider the fact you can pick this up for less than £20, it’s a genuine no-brainer to have in your collection as far as I’m concerned.
You can read my full review here – Looot Review – and pick up a copy from Kienda right here.
Honourable mentions
Faraway – It was a close-run thing for me as to whether Faraway or Looot won best light game, but I just prefer Looot, and strictly speaking Faraway came out in 2023. The unique mechanism of building your simple tableau backwards works brilliantly, and messes with your brain in a way that most light games have no right to. It’s clever, quick and fun. You can read my full review here, and pick up a copy from Kienda here.
Molehill Meadows – Designer Chris Priscott is in a real purple patch. Not content with getting Zuuli snapped-up by Oink Games to become Moving Wild, he also released my favourite new flip-and-write of the year. Molehill Meadows is charming, easy to explain, and has a lot of variety and ways to explore. If you like roll-and-writes as much as I do, you’ll really enjoy Molehill Meadows. Read my review here, and pick up a copy from Kienda here.
Best Medium-weight Game 2024
Winner – Cascadero
This was by far the hardest category for me to choose this year. There are so many great games around now that won’t melt your brain but give you plenty to think about, but in the end, Cascadero from Bitewing Games and the seemingly eternal Reiner Knizia won out.
Cascadero is very easy to explain, plays out in less than an hour, but delivers a plethora of choices to make with every plonking of a horse. There’s a perfect level of interaction, it gives me cube rail feels, and ultimately turns into some kind of race game by the end of it. It’s a gorgeous, wonderfully enjoyable game which I keep teaching to new people just to share the love.
You can read my full review here – Cascadero Review – and pick up a copy from Kienda right here.
Honourable mentions
River of Gold – Described by many, including me, as feeling ‘a bit like Lords of Waterdeep’, River of Gold is great. It’s a clever mix of roll-and-move (trust me, it works), tableau building, contract fulfilment, and shared building spaces. Another game that’s simple enough to introduce to relative newcomers to the hobby, but with enough depth to keep hardcore nerds enjoying themselves, and with a beautiful board with inlaid metallic gold. Read my review here and pick up a copy for yourself from Kienda here.
Ironwood – It’s on the heavier side of medium-weight, but very deserving of its spot here. Ironwood is a two-player asymmetric game mixing area control with multi-use cards, and it’s a lot of fun. Mindclash games have delivered a game which feels like you’re getting the deluxe edition when you buy the base game. Less than £50 and including fancy wooden and metal pieces with a custom insert is great value, but on top of that the game is excellent. Check out the full review here, and treat yourself to a copy from Kienda here.
Best Complex Game 2024
Winner – Shackleton Base
This was another category I agonised over. Heavy games are my favourites, and I was spoiled for choice, but in the end, Shackleton Base won. I love the competition over the shared building space on the main board, combined with competition for achievements in each of the corporations on offer with each play. The game is pretty easy to play once you get the hang of it, but there are so many options open to you. It’s not just a case of choosing what to do, but also when to do it.
The individual boxes for everything in the game seems like a pointless extravagance at first, but it genuinely helps with set-up and teardown. There’s huge scope for variety by combining the included corporations in different combinations, and I’ve just had a huge amount of fun with the game every time I’ve played it. Bravo Fabio Lopiano and Nestore Mangone, and it’s yet another French publisher on the list!
You can read my full review here – Shackleton Base Review – and buy a copy of the game from Kienda here.
Honourable mentions
Arcs – Sacrilege to some, I know, but Arcs just missed out. It’s had a Marmite reception with most people either loving or hating the game., and I fell firmly into the former category. Cole Wehrle has some incredible designs to his name, and this is yet another. This isn’t the grand strategy 4X game you’re looking for, but it is the chaotic, ever-changing, space opera in a couple of hours nonsense you never knew you needed. If you like Cole’s other games like Root or Pax Pamir, I think you’ll get a kick out of Arcs. Read my full review here, and grab your own copy from Kienda here.
Sankoré – What’s the matter? Did you forget Sankoré came out in 2024? I’ll seem like a Fabio Lopiano fanboy including two of his games in my top three for the year, but Sankoré deserves it. It’s a vast, table-hogging game of yet more Ian O’Toole muted colours, but it’s excellent. Combining each of the mini-games on the main board (which is what they feel like) to score well requires some clever planning and often a lot of pivoting, but the end result is a satisfying, well-made heavy Euro, which you ought to try if you haven’t yet. Read my full review here and pick up a copy from Kienda here.
Summary
I’m fortunate enough to have played a lot of great games this year. Some old, some new, and it’s nice to be able to highlight the newer ones that really left their mark on me. Let me be clear by saying that on another day, any of the games in each category could have won it, and there is a whole heap of fantastic games that I just didn’t have the space to include.
What do you think? Do you agree with my choices, or have some others you’d put in their place? Am I on the money or a lunatic who has no idea what he’s doing? Let me know in the comments, or head over to find me on the various social channels and let me know.
Thank you for reading Punchboard this year and over any previous years. This is a hobby for me, but one that I love, so I’m going to keep going. Here’s to a game-filled, happy, healthy 2025 for you and your loved ones.
Adam.
