We’re back! As the first show of 2018, we wanted to share our top games from 2017. Return of special guests Claire and Asher, who share their favorites as well. Note: These games are our favorites of the year, not necessarily the most critically-acclaimed.

But first, what we’ve been playing! We had some concentrated tabletop game time in the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and it shows.

Flip City (review coming soon)

Okey Dokey (adorable co-op puzzle)

Crosstalk from Nauvoo Games

Magic Maze

Onitama

Stroop

– a prototype dice game –

Ill-tempered Tikis

OK Play

PDQ – a speed word-building game from Gamewright

BLANK

Untold: Adventures Await – we interviewed Rory O’Connor when Untold was in Kickstarter and also interviewed Michael Fox at PAX Unplugged.

Spyfall

Dicey Peaks

Bring Your Own Book

Viral

Ancestree

Rack-O – with special powers added to the prime numbers! An interesting minor change to the game.

Baseball Highlights 2045

Mouse Trap

Carcassonne

Evolution: The Beginning

Ticket to Ride: Nederland

Family Fluxx

Our Top 10 or so Games of 2017

On to the favorites! We start with our special guests.

Asher’s favorite: Untold: Adventure Awaits (and Mouse Trap). His top 5 would also include Viral and Chimera Station.

Claire’s favorite: BLANK (as mentioned above), and Batman Fluxx.

And now, the top ten(ish), in no particular order:

* Downforce (Corey’s review) – wonderfully approachable. Great for adults, kids, or both.

* Magic Maze – the simultaneous movement with little-to-no communication is so different from all the other games out there. The way the scenarios build up the game rules bit by bit keeps it fresh and keeps players from being overwhelmed all at once.

* Silly Street (Anitra’s review) – the best game for families with little kids. All about your family getting together and having fun.