The Best 2024 Board Game Decisions and Games We Look Forward to in 2025
Jan 22, 2025
The hosts award medals for the best board game decisions of 2024, diving into interesting strategic choices. They share personal stories about balancing game design and fatherhood amidst sleepless nights. Exciting announcements for new Kickstarter games feature prominently, alongside playful discussions of titles like 'Magical Openings' and 'Stamp Swap.' Collaborative storytelling and innovative mechanics, such as auction-based gameplay, spark their enthusiasm for the unique gaming experiences ahead.
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Strategic Bluffing in Stamp Swap
In Stamp Swap, use face-down stamps to bluff and influence opponents’ choices strategically.
Place fake or valuable stamps carefully to create a psychological edge in an I Cut, You Choose game.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Dro Polter Bell Decision Tension
Paul Solomon shares an anecdote about the dexterity game Dro Polter involving bells that can cause point loss if dropped.
The decision tension grows as players decide how fast to push for points without dropping bells.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Mastering Castle Combo's Key Decisions
Learn to balance multiple resources, like keys and money, to manipulate drafting options effectively.
Use keys to force opponents into less favorable choices or to flush card rows carefully.
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Fromage is a mid-weight Euro game designed by Ben Rosset and Matt O'Malley with novel mechanisms and a unique feel. The game features a central cheese wheel with four sections, where players place workers to collect resources and score points. The player places the workers and then the central board rotates, offering simultaneous play. The decisions have many considerations, from blocking opponents to planning worker placements. The choice of which worker and how long to leave them provides a unique and dynamic experience.
Arcs
Conflict & Collapse in the Reach
Cole Wehrle
Arcs is a card game by Cole Wehrle, where players use a trick-taking inspired mechanism for turn order and action selection. Initiative allows players to declare ambitions, influencing how points are scored. Players can seize initiative by trashing a card, granting agency even with a weak hand. Players are limited by their hand of cards, creating opportunities to pivot and declare an ambition. The game combines strategic card play with control over scoring criteria.
Zivolution
Zivolution
A game from Feld
Steffen Feld
Zivolution is a civilization-building game designed by Steffen Feld, where players take on the roles of superior alien races. The game features a maximalist worker placement and dice placement system, where players roll dice and combine pips to take actions. The action selection mechanism is a grid with 36 possible actions, which can be upgraded for unique effects. Players must carefully parcel out their dice, as using a die for one action limits its availability for others. The game challenges players to explore novel action selection mechanics.
Confusing Lands
Confusing Lands
By Zach Eidfog
Zach Eidfog
Confusing Lands is a two-player micro game where players construct a two by three grid of squares, featuring terrains or icons. Each card has two sides: one with icons and another with a cloud that offers a scoring condition. The twist lies in the minus 10 point penalty associated with each cloud scoring objective. Players must strategically weigh the potential benefits of adding a scoring condition against the immediate point loss, making each decision crucial. The game requires careful planning.
Shut the Books
Shut the Books
aka Magical Openings
Taiki Shinzawa
In Shut the Books, players bid with cards from their hands, aiming to win tricks that match their bids. The game is unique in its bidding decisions and the strategic choices of which books to shut. Winning tricks allows players to cover up their bids, with the goal of accurately fulfilling their initial predictions. This game challenges players to carefully manage their hand and anticipate the actions of others. With its blend of trick-taking and strategic bidding, Shut the Books offers a compelling experience for fans of card games.
Stamp Swap
Stamp Swap
An I cut, you choose game
Paul Solomon
Stamp Swap is an I cut, you choose game where players engage in a strategic draft to acquire stamps and utilize special power cards. A key element of the game is the scoring system, which allows players to choose which of the five different objectives they want to prioritize each round. This decision-making process influences their strategy, as they must balance immediate gains with the potential for larger point accumulations in later rounds. Stamp Swap combines drafting mechanics with thoughtful planning.
The fellowship of the ring
J.R.R Tolkien
In this epic novel, Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo and learns from the wizard Gandalf that it must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom to prevent Sauron's return to power. Joined by a fellowship of eight other members, including Gandalf, Sam Gamgee, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, and Merry and Pippin, Frodo sets out on a treacherous journey across Middle-earth. The Fellowship faces numerous challenges, including treacherous landscapes, ferocious enemies, and internal conflicts, as they strive to complete their mission and save their world from darkness.
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Episode 198 - The Best 2024 Board Game Decisions and Games We Look Forward to in 2025
Award season isn't over, at least not yet on Decision Space. Today, we welcome the 'Naughts to a gala event, where Paul, Pete, and Jake will each award bronze, silver, and gold medals for best decisions in 2024 games.
Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
9:07 - Shut the Books
10:13 - Fellowship of the Rings the Trick Taking Game
12:49 - Stamp Swap
16:08 - Dro Polter
18:07 - Bronze Medal Round
18:26 - Castle Combo
21:35 - Shut the Books
24:15 - Confusing Lands
26:45 - Silver Medal Round
27:44 - Wilmot's Warehouse
32:09 - The Gang
36:45 - Skyrise
41:07 - Gold Medal Round
42:10 - Civolution
48:45 - Arcs
52:50 - Fromage
59:32 - 2025 Excited About
Decision Space 
