2020 Top Picks
I'm back for another (late) Monday Morning Meeple! Hell, I'm going to keep the name - Thursday Morning Meeple just doesn't have that sweet alliteration...
Today I'm going to have a look back over the (silly amounts) of games that I have managed to purchase over the year and give my top picks for board and roleplaying games that I've picked up this year. Some of these will be games that were fresh out this year, while other will be things that have been out for a while but which I only picked up and played this year. So, lets get into this!
Board Games
Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Amongst board games there will always be my (currently) perennial favourite, Arkham Horror: The Card Game, which releases an ungodly amount of new content every year and, due to my love of all things Lovecraftian, has taken my top gaming spot for quite a while. It is by far and away the game I have played the most in recent years and I even got my wife to try it this year with the release of the new investigator packs. These introductory decks, containing everything you need to play, plus upgrades to see you through a campaign, are easily the best jumping in point for anyone wanting to dive into an LCG that now has a card pool in the multiple hundreds.
In addition, this year has seen two novellas released, three standalone scenarios, the culmination of one campaign with the end of Dream Eaters, and the start of the much looked forward to Innsmouth Conspiracy, which has brought the Blessed and Cursed mechanic to the card game, which has long been a part of the Arkham Files game universe.
However, Arkham hasn't seen as much play this year as perhaps it usually would have, and this is due to the Coronavirus pandemic. While my usual group did try to get some games in using Octave, starting a run through of Return to the Dunwich Legacy, that has petered out. And, despite me and Elizabeth playing through some of the short core set campaign to test out the new introductory investigator packs, Arkham has seen very little love this year in terms of games played. Still, I did buy everything released this year aside from Barkham Horror - I would have snapped it up, but with only six available in shop I let them go to our loyal customers instead...
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
I've had a copy of Gloomhaven since the second edition Kickstarter completed. A big box game boasting hours of fantasy RPG-like content? Sign me up! Yet while me and Elizabeth found the mechanics fascinating, the strategy intriguing and the gameplay innovative, we never really got beyond the second scenario. It's a huge game, and a huge time investment, not only in terms of setting aside the time to play and immerse yourself in the story, but also in set up and clean up. Step in Jaws of the Lion, Gloomhaven's streamlined baby brother...
This game has captivated and frustrated us in equal measure. With some devilish scenario designs that have had us cursing Issac Childres alongside some truly memorable victories, Jaws of the Lion presents an easier way to get into Gloomhaven while still providing the same level of tactical and strategic choices. You really have to think and plan your way to victory throughout each scenario, trying to predict what enemies might do. There has been swearing and high-fiving in equal measures. I both love and hate this game at times, but it does exactly what it says on the tin and does it to the peak of what this type of game can to.
Our other big adventure game this year was the app-based Journeys in Middle Earth, which is also a joy to set up and play through, with the map gently expanding over the course of the game as you explore Tolkein's world as the iconic characters from his books (and a few random ones thrown in for good measure...). However, I think Elizabeth has it right when she compares Journeys and Gloomhaven and says that the latter edges out the former simply due to the depth of strategy that it presents. When you beat a scenario in Jaws of the Lion it is because you have been tactical, you have strategised and synergised well, and you have managed your hand of action cards like a master general against unforgivable odds. That's where the fun comes from and Jaws provides it in droves.
Cartographers
'Roll and writes' haven't really done it for me in the past. I've found them too samey in repeated plays. Enter then Cartographers, a game based in the Roll Player universe, a game which I only really knew about because my friend Ben had once posted a picture of it being played on a train journey. I wasn't really interested in a game about creating RPG-style characters because if I wanted to I could just create some RPG characters. Still, it got good reviews and so did Cartographers when it arrived on the scene. Several of our customers in the shop were raving about it and so I decided to give it a shot as something to play in this year's second UK lockdown.
Cartographers has sold me on 'roll and writes' alongside Railroad Ink, which I also picked up this year. However, the card-based Cartographers, with its fantasy theming and sedate pace, edges Railroad Ink out in terms of it being my preferred experience. Drawing little tetris-like pieces of terrain across your map is a blissful experience, even with the added chaos of the occasional goblin horde rocking up to put a spanner in the works. It's relaxing and enjoyable, and there is something pleasantly pleasing about your completed map at the end of the game. I really enjoyed this, as did Elizabeth, and I'm looking forward to playing it again soon. Definitely recommended.
Mandala
My last top board game pick, and one of the last board games I picked up this year on the basis of a recommend from Clare, one of our loyal customers in the shop, Mandala doesn't look like much on the surface. A game about playing out varied coloured cards in the hopes of capturing these cards to score points. Sounds a bit simple, eh?
Well, this is where you'd be wrong. Mandala forces you to make difficult decisions throughout each and every game. To try and read your opponent and determine what strategy they are attempting in the hopes of preventing them from achieving it while also bolstering you own. It is simple yet elegant in its design and it has been the only game this year that has made me sit up and go "Oh!" as its true complexity sunk in. Mandala is a game that you'll have to play through once before you truly see what this little package has in store. And after that, you'll be hooked.
Honourable Mentions: other games we have enjoyed this year but haven't been mentioned above include: Under Falling Skies, Mariposas, Draftosaurus, Res Arcana, Arboretum.
RPGs
There are no two ways about it - I am an RPG nerd. I spend far more of my ill gotten gains on roleplaying than on any of my other hobbies. So, with over 50 new titles acquired this year, which ones have stood out?
Bite Marks
This is an excellent Powered By The Apocalypse (or PBTA) game based on the emotional connections that rage within the confines of a werewolf pack. I have yet to play it, so I unfortunately cannot comment on how it works at the table, but as a book it is flavourful and evocative. At its core it is similar in theme to Werewolf, one of the many World of Darkness games, but the way the playbooks in Bite Marks set up the dynamics and relationships between the pack members is sublime. I highly recommend taking a look at this one!
ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game
ALIEN is a game I have played, ably Game Mothered by Richard, one of our regulars. Published by Fria Ligan, a company whose RPGs I have fallen in love with over recent years, this is the big boy of gritty industrial sci-fi RPGs featuring your favourite xenomorphs. So far, I've picked up the core rulebook, starter set and Destroyer of Worlds boxed adventure, all of which are excellently produced. Boasting a sleek ruleset, with a stress mechanic that helps build the tension over the course of a scenario, it does its job of immersing you in the Alien universe very well. It claims to allow for both one-shot and campaign play, but I have to say that it does the former better. If you're looking for an evening of sci-fir horror entertainment, or if you are a huge Alien fan, then definitely give this one a look.
MĂRK BORG
This book is one of a kind. More art than RPG, MĂRK BORG won the Ennie for product of the year. It is touted as a doom metal RPG and it is, both aesthetically and in terms of its content. Presenting a rules light, Old-School Renaissance (OSR) style game of grim adventuring in a world that is doomed to end, it drips theme and aims to put characters through a brutal grinder, turning most, if not all, to a meaty paste. With character classes ranging from gutter rats to occult herbmasters, low hit points abound and you'll often be taking on enemies with scavenged bones than real weapons. Random tables frequent the books gloriously illustrated pages. I've just finished a play by post game over on RPG Geek and I've loved it. It's not going to be for everyone, but if you're interested in seeing what the best of the indie OSR scene can produce, check it out.
Thousand Year Old Vampire
Solo RPGs are always interesting, but have seldom clicked for me. Many are based on the old Fighting Fantasy style of numbered paragraphs that you turn to in order to find out how the story progresses. However, the downfall of these is that the story is prescripted and so there are only so many times that you can play through them to explore all the mysteries they contain. They also often have a defined ending and only a few means to get to it.
However, recent years have produced a multitude of story-driven solo RPGs that don't prescribe the story but allow you to develop it yourself. These 'journaling' style games generally use prompts defined by rolling dice, drawing cards and so on. There have been quite a few that have crossed my path this year as I looked for games I could play by myself while furloughed because Elizabeth was still working (albeit from home). Games such as Ex Novo, Quill, The Wretched, Icarus and so forth have been on my radar, but it is Thousand Year Old Vampire that takes the top pick for me. It places you in the role of a vampire born into darkness years ago. Maybe you'll be a Roman soldier, and Egyptian priestess or, like me, a German crusader in the 1100s. It then uses varied prompts to incite events throughout your vampiric life, sparking your imagination and encouraging you to develop your own story. Your record these events in a notebook or journal. However, your vampiric character can only remember so much and with only five memories, each made up of three experiences, you will find that you are forced to cross memories out as your story unfolds. It is truly an emotional rollercoaster of experience and loss as your character begins to forget who they were, where they came from, those they loved and hated, and so on.
If you're looking for a solo RPG experience, it does not get better than this. Haunting and evocative, Thousand Year Old Vampire will leave you with many memories, many of which will be ripped away from the tragic figure your character will cut. I highly recommend picking this up and giving it a go, and I would especially encourage you to seek out the physical book, which is an artefact of pure beauty and one of the most beautiful RPG books I own.
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Last, but not least, is Rime of the Frostmaiden. I currently own everything put out by Wizards for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, aside from Wildemount. However, Frostmaiden is the first book in a while that has made me actually want to run the adventure contained with in right this second!
Set in the frozen northern reaches of Icewind Dale, setting of the late 90s/early 00s isometric computer RPGs, Rime of the Frostmaiden presents an epic adventure involving a whole heap of fun things to explore and crazy challenges to overcome. Want to explore the lost ruins of Netheril? Check. Want to shoot laser pistols at illithids? Check. Want to face off against some well rounded groups of nefarious characters? It's got you covered. Showing clear inspiration from movies like The Thing and literature including H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, this campaign takes a whole heap of things that I love and mashes them together in the best way possible. I can't wait to run this and hope to get it to the table next year for some lucky group!
Honourable mentions: Malleus Monstrorum and Harlem Unbound for Call of Cthulhu, Vaesen, The Enemy Within for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Age of Sigmar: Soulbound (which I just picked up!), Agon, and Mausritter.
Thatâs all for now!
A bit of a long one this week, but we finally come to the end! Check out the âcoming upâ below for a hint of whatâs coming out next week that I am excited for and will hopefully be discussing soon. Plus, since youâre here, why not comment and let me know what youâre excited for? Got something you want to share with the world? Then hop over to our board game and RPG groups over on the Meeple Games Facebook or our Discord and let us know there. We want our community spaces to be used more, so if there is a new release youâre just loving at the moment, or a game youâre just really passionate about, we want to hear about it!
Coming upâŚ
This coming week promises some exciting new releases. I hope to be able to take a closer look at the Age of Sigmar: Soulbound RPG now that I have it in hand. Plus the new 7 Wonders: Duel expansion, Agora, just released, which I hope to try out over the Christmas period too. In the meantime, I still have a mountain of RPG books to read through and Iâll hopefully touch on a few more of these next time too.
In the meantime, I wish you all a happy festive season. I hope you take the time to relax, get in touch with friends and family, and most of all get to play some games!
Looking for any of the games mentioned?
Then check out Meeple Games! If we donât have what you want in stock, then just give us a shout via email or Facebook and look to order it in for you.