I wanted to take a moment to focus on some of the new stand out games I got to play in 2025.
I had a lot of thoughts when it came to reflecting on the games of 2025. Board games are a must, but I also ended up playing quite a few video games, and I couldn’t mention the escape rooms. Since I am still in the middle of talking about the Netherlands trip, I am going to pass on the escape rooms. There is a bit too much overlap.
But I really couldn’t make up my mind when it came to the board games and the video games. So I decided to do both!
Let’s start with Board Games because they will forever be first in my heart. This will actually be a little different from my other posts because I did not write about all of the board games that I played this year. In fact, I think all of the following games will be new.
While I played Arkham Horror and Root this year, they did not end up on the list because they are known. I have talked about them before (I probably will talk about them again). So I wanted to focus on some of the new games to me in 2025. These games are sorted in alphabetical order.
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Algomancy was a game I was both excited for and nervous about. The core of Algomancy is drafting cards and playing them. I have learned from Magic the Gathering that I am bad at this. Drafting a deck from a large pool is always fun. But when push comes to shove, I will lose pretty much every time. Putting together a big picture is difficult.
Which is what made Algomancy so interesting. Algomancy has you draft the cards you are using during the game.
Auf Teufel Komm Raus
Wanna make a deal with the devil? Push your luck? Bet on other players’ luck? Then Auf Teufel Komm Raus is the game for you! This game is wild. At the beginning of the round, you place your bets. You bet what you think the highest number pulled from the pot. Your pull or someone else’s.
I love how every player is invested in other players’ pulls. And you want to push your luck to get the high number and fulfill your bet. But when do you want to stop? What if you can stop someone else from getting a higher one? This game is fast-paced, push your luck with a dash of strategy, that makes it perfect for a fun game night.
Hot Streak
Hot Streak ended up being a family favorite this year. It was the right amount of uncontrolled and ridiculous with player input that the game felt very exciting. The game is all about the mascot race. Every game, you will play with a subset of cards that has a mixture of actions for all of the racers.
With knowledge of these actions (and some unknown ones), players bet on who they think will win or what they think will happen. And then the race begins!! I really adore the excitement around the table that can get just from moving pieces on a board. And we accidentally taught a young child how to gamble….
Innovation
Innovation was an unexpected one for me. I had seen it on the game shelf for a while, and the design always caught my interest. I was so happy to finally be able to play it. The game is centered around tableau building and effectively building your own kingdom. Going through many ages, players will build unique tableaus to help themselves and hinder others.
This one is a little more difficult to describe with a paragraph or two. But the unique building aspect and the ability to take from other players make it a highly interactive tableau game. I was only able to play it a few times, and I could not get my head wrapped around it. It feels like a good challenge to explore.
Nokosu Dice
Nokosu dice was another surprise. I was told we were playing a trick-taker, and then a bunch of dice were rolled out onto the table. While we still had a hand of cards for standard tricks (along the lines of Hearts), we also drafted dice to our “hand”. They would stay out on the table and were public information, but they were still tools for our use.
After the draft, there would be one die left on the table. Any card or die that matched the die’s color became a trump. Any card or die with the same number also became a trump. Your personal goal for how many tricks you wanted to take varied on the dice as well. It was quite a time to make someone win a hand they wanted to lose.
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