Theology Of Games' Top 10 Games of 2013!

Well, it's 2014, and it's early enough in the year that you're still writing 2013 on things... That sounds like the perfect time to trot out our Top 10 Games of 2013! So what made the cut? Let's see...

Okay a few things first...

1) These are in no particular order—in fact, they aren't even numbered. These are our 10 favorite games of the last year, and trying to slot them into specific numbers seems like more trouble than it's worth. We did, however, each pick one game as our personal Game of the Year.

2) Some of these aren't strictly from 2013. But for each of them, they were widely available to play here in the States in 2013. That's where we live, and it's our list, so those are the rules we're playing by.

Let's start with a few honorable mentions...

Honorable Mentions

Two Rooms and a Boom—There are two reasons this didn't make our main list. First, it's only available as a print-and-play right now, so it's hard to count that as coming out this year. Second, it really needs a larger group to work well. But if you have a large group, THEN YOU SHOULD PLAY THIS. I fully expect to see this game on next year's main list...

Space Cadets: Dice Duel—This one is conditional, too. If you're playing with the full complement of eight players—three players and a captain on each team—then this is an incredible gaming experience. Anything less than that full complement is just...less.

Lords Of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport—Neither of the two included expansions are "necessary," but they're both fun and interesting, and add some legs to this good worker-placement game.

Kemet—It's a highly confrontational game that encourages fighting over turtling. And everything on the map is the same distance from every other thing, so you're not fighting someone because they happen to be closer, but because they happen to be the person who most needs to be attacked. Plus it's got cool minis. Plus it's got tons of tiles with cool special powers. Wait, why isn't this on the main list...?

Walk The Plank—Two of my (Firestone) pals designed this take-that piratey madness. It's really fun, and just missed making the Big List.

And without further ado...

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THE TOP 10 GAMES OF 2013

Coup—

Coup is a small little card game that's just full of bluffing. There are roles, and you can bluff that you've got a role in your hand. If someone calls your bluff, though, you better hope you're telling the truth... Don't believe us? Well Wil Wheaton loves it, and 

HE RECOMMENDED OUR REVIEW OF IT ON HIS BLOG

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Hanabi—

This little card game took me completely by surprise. You can't see your own hand of cards, but you can see every other player's. Your challenge, as a team, is to place down the numbers 1 through 5 in each of five suits, in order. It's challenging and thrilling and nerve-wracking. Those are all good things. You can read our review of the game 

right here

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La Boca—

I (Firestone) wasn't sure anything could replace Ticket To Ride as my go-to game to bring out with nongamers. But then along comes La Boca and does just that. Part of the reason is that it works with gamers, nongamers, kids, youth groups, parties—EVERYONE! And there's a tricksy red piece you can add to up the challenge. Watch for a review of this one soon.

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Suburbia—

It's like SimCity, but not mind-numbingly boring. Okay, it's more than that. You're building a borough, and buying new areas based on what you have, and what your opponents have, and what you can afford. Some people don't think there's much interaction here, but I respectfully disagree.

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Forbidden Desert—

If you've played Pandemic or Forbidden Island, you'll have no problem picking up Forbidden Desert. But this game adds completely new and clever mechanisms and ideas that make it more than just a retheme. This is a great cooperative family game that we'll be playing for years to come.

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Bora Bora—

That mad genius Stefan Feld came out with four games in 2013, and I (Firestone) was able to play three of those four. While the others were "merely" good, Bora Bora was clearly the best of the bunch. It has a ridiculous number of ways to score VPs, but despite that, it all just...fit.

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Viticulture— 

This is the first release from Stonemaier Games, and what we believe should be the measuring stick for all Kickstarter projects. A very in-depth worker-placement game, Viticulture exceeded all of our expectations—in gameplay, components, and everything. This game is great from top to bottom. If you're into worker-placement games at any level, snatch up a copy of Viticulture—well, as soon as the reprint is available! You can check out our Double-Take review here

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The Duke—

If you've read Theology Of Games for any amount of time, you know that we don't often see eye-to-eye on games. We have two distinct gaming personalities, and though we do sometimes agree on games, it's rare for us to both love or hate one. 

We both love The Duke.

 It's a 2-player abstract where you're trying to move different pieces around the board in an effort to capture your opponent's Duke. It's like chess, except fun.

Here's the review.

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Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar—Tribes and Prophecies—

This is the lone expansion on the list, but with good reason. It is EXACTLY what I want in an expansion. First, there are the Tribes, which basically give you a unique special power. When you first read one, you think, "That's crazy and overpowered!" Then you read the others and realize they're ALL crazy and overpowered! And it's awesome!! The Prophecies are events that make the game a little harder by causing some things to cost a little more to achieve—but then you get some VPs for achieving those things. Great, great expansion.

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Great Heartland Hauling Co.—

Our pal Jason Kotarski designed this neat little pick-up-and-deliver game with a trucking theme. It doesn't break new ground, or change the landscape, but it's a fun and clever little game. Our families have had some great times playing this one. And

here's the review.

 

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Firestone's Game of the Year—Hanabi!

I played this more than any other game that came out in 2013. It's portable. It's cheap (when it's in print). And it's soooooo fun. And if you use one of the print-and-play decks (after you've bought a legitimate copy first, of course), you can add in some variants, such as multicolored suits, that up the replay value.

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Jeremiah's Game of

the Year - The Duke!

The last half of this year my time to game has been more and more at a premium. While I LOVE lengthy and in-depth games, there's something great about a game that is incredibly engaging, strategic, super-streamlined, and that plays pretty quickly. I've played a few of the expansions, and they add a lot to the game—we'll talk about these expansions very soon. I first played The Duke at Origins and fell in love with it, and after dozens of plays The Duke still excites me every time we bring it to the table!

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Well, there's our list. What would your list look like? What did we forget? What should we have left off? Sound off in the comments. And thanks for reading!

An Interview with Alan Gerding—Two Rooms and A Boom!

So a few Saturdays ago, I (Jeremiah) sat down to play games for 24 hours straight, as a part of the Extra Life charity fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network of Hospitals. Great people, great cause! We had a lot of fun, raised some money, and made new friends.

One of those friends was Alan Gerding, co-founder of Tuesday Knight Games and co-designer of Two Rooms and a Boom! Alan and his wife (Crystol) stopped by later in the evening and introduced us to Two Rooms in a Boom.

We played about 7-8 (or more) games of the title, which is currently blazing hot on Kickstarter. Then, at sometime past 1:00 AM, Alan and I sat down on camera and had a chat about 2R1B, Tuesday Knight Games, and whatever else you chat about with someone you just met at nearly 2:00 in the morning.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9p2Dw1fsZY&w=560&h=315]

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A Kickstarter Feature: Two Rooms and a Boom!

It's not a secret that we here at TOG we are HUGE fans of The Resistance, and every once in a while there is a game that comes along claiming to be able to topple The Resistance from its pedestal. In recent months Two Rooms and a Boom has been getting a ton of social media, podcast, and bloggy love, and while it has many similarities to games like Mafia, Werewolf, and The Resistance, there are some very intriguing differences that could make this one stand out from the crowd! Keep in mind that I have yet to play 2R1B yet, which hopefully won't be the case for long. But here's the info I've gathered from around the interwebs and various podcasts.

Much like games of this type, each player is randomly given a secret role, which determines which team they are on; the blue will have the president, and the other team has the bomber. Players are divided into two groups (or rooms) and the game consists of 5 timed rounds. At the end of each round the two rooms exchange people. The goal of the red team is to get the bomber in with the president at the end of round 5, thus blowing up the president. The blue team's goal is to save the president.

Unlike games of this type, players are allowed to ask other players to see their identity card, so more information becomes available as the game moves along. And because the rounds are timed, there is a finite play time for each game.  And what secret identity game would be complete without special role cards? Well 2R1B boasts over 150 special roles! That's not a typo! 150! Needless to say the replay value of this one should be sky high.

Despite being a Print and Play favorite for some time, the Kickstarter campaign funded within the first 6 hours, and is currently barreling down on the 300% funded mark, and they have unlocked 8 stretch goals, with more to come.

You can check out the campaign, which ends Nov. 29, and download the print and play files RIGHT HERE! If you want to back the project, it's only $20 to jump on board!

So are you backing this? Have you played it? Will it end the reign of The Resistance? Let us know in the comments below!

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