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We’re into the back end of the year now (oo-er). Halloween has been and gone, Christmas is hurtling towards us (although the supermarkets around mine had their Chrimbo stuff in before their trick or treat gear, which is sick and wrong).
I present to you, dudettes and dudes, a selection of games you can order now as Christmas presents (for someone else or for yourself, I’m not here to judge) and some that are a little further out delivery-wise. Go on, get stuck in.
Finca
We’ll start with a modern classic – an award winner, in fact - that’s had a recent refresh allowing up to five players instead of the previous limit of four, and in this version has absolutely gorgeous box art. It’s the kind of theme that can really take you away from these chilly late autumn nights, and could result in a quick trip to a holiday comparison site as soon as you’ve finished playing.
In Finca, players try to crop and deliver the fruits of Mallorca (such as oranges, lemons, almonds, grapes etc.) by means of moving workers on a traditional windmill. The object of the game is to distribute your crop as effectively as possible in order to deliver faster than your opponents.
Mallorca is a place of golden beaches and a light-blue sea. Getting those holiday vibes yet? The almond harvest is at hand, and juicy oranges, lemons, and figs are ready to be picked and taken to the market. Olive trees bewitch the country with their curled branches, and sumptuous vineyards invite passers-by to walk among their warm earth. In the midst of this landscape, your centuries-old natural stone farmhouse provides a home and supports your large windmill: your FINCA.
Then take in the course of the yearly harvest the sweetest and most valuable fruits from the land. Load them on your old donkey cart and travel around the island, selling them everywhere. If you manage this quickly, you will soon be the richest farmer on the island.
I know, the theme is irresistible, and it’s a game that won’t break the bank either. Head over here and check it out.
Survive The Island
I’ve discussed my realist approach to my likelihood of surviving apocalyptic situations in the past. Practical skills are limited, common sense is dicey at best, To be fair to myself, I’d fair better in some situations than others. Desertion on a desert island dwells at the bottom end of my survival-o-meter. The water is a big problem. I’m a stronger sinker than swimmer.
Turns out the players in Survive The Island haven’t been abandoned, they’ve actually chosen to drop in (nutters) in the hunt for treasure. Problem is, as soon as they land the ground begins to tremble and age-old volcanoes awaken, sinking the land beneath the waters and giving free rein to terrible creatures. You need to get out of there… although make sure you’ve got plenty of treasure scooped up in your arms first – kind of like those scenes in the movies where people push their luck too far (let’s see if you can learn other peoples’ lessons).
Each of 2-5 players of eight years old and up spends around 45 minutes commanding a team of 10 Adventurers, each carrying varying amounts of treasure. The more treasure they carry, the more points they earn! There's three actions per turn. First, they move their Adventurers closer to safety, either by foot or by embarking on rafts. Next, as the waters engulf the island, they select a tile to remove, revealing either a dangerous creature or a powerful special ability that they can save for later. Finally, they activate one of the monsters on the board, using it to protect themselves or seize the chance to betray other players!
Survive the Island from Zygomatic is a game that seems to be blowing up pretty big in the latter part of this year, and is likely to appear on a lot of wishlists.
Rock Hard: 1977
Subtle change of theme coming up. There’s a lot of people out there who claim that the best music has already been recording and modern stuff is rubbish. They are wrong. They clearly haven’t listened to Kahone Concept or heard Underworld’s latest album. There was some good stuff in the ‘70s though, and we’re going to throw you into the past and see if you can make some yourself.
Designed by the legendary rock star and board game lover Jackie Fox (who was part of the 70s rock band The Runaways) and illustrated by Jennifer Giner, Rock Hard: 1977 from Devir Games allows games for 2 to 5 players, and takes between 45 and 90 minutes to play. Through worker placement mechanics, players will take on the role of a rising rock star over several rounds of play.
Each round represents a typical day in a month in 1977, April through December. You win the game by accumulating the most Fame, which is the only resource that really matters to your average rocker. Increasing your reputation, skills and song quality, earning production, performance and publicity bonuses, landing record deals and royalties, playing gigs and hanging out at the hottest nightspots.
You'll even get your own manager, who will help boost your musical career with a particular skill. You've got to pay for their work, so make sure you're pulling in money from gigs if you do not want to lose Fame points. And sometimes a rocker needs a little help to get through a difficult day... Players can also consume candy to take an extra turn. But overusing (ahem) sweets can cause (ahem) a sugar rush.
The thematic design runs through every part of the product. Each player's personal board is designed as an amplifier, with its potentiometers as markers that we will modify throughout the game. The turn order tokens are guitar picks and the bills look like real dollars. The game will take you from the humble beginnings of the band, to the big concerts on the most legendary stages. All this with a lot of different event cards and unique abilities of rockers and managers, which change with each game. Are you ready to become a rock star?
Go here to order Rock Star: 1977 now and let your hair down.
Tree Society
Deep in the forest, the Tree Society is a prospering community that wants to expand the neighborhood to welcome newcomers. Near the canopy, writers, architects, bankers, merchants, botanists, and explorers have long been working together to build a new society. In the game Tree Society from Next Move Games, 2-4 players are asked to help various guilds follow the blueprints to construct new buildings. Take advantage of other players to sell your resources at the best price, and earn the favor of new guilds by skillfully combining their powers.
Trade local fruits to help them finalize their plans and use their buildings’ unique abilities to create synergies. Rise above your competition as the most prominent contributor to Tree Society! Everyone around the table works together to help the Tree Society, but only one can climb to the top and claim victory! And how do players achieve this? First, you'll sell one fruit and gain one coin for each card of that type in play. Then you'll acquire a Guild card from the Market by paying its cost and add it to your player board. You can also upgrade your guild cards to trigger their effects, create combos and earn points! If this is barking up your tree (or something), then check this link and cough up some green (sorry).
Sweet Lands
I like sweets more than I should. Always have, always will. I try my best, but stick a pack of Love Hearts in my vicinity and my willpower will melt away in a weeping puddle. I know better, I just can’t help it. Thing is, when I heard the title of this game, I instantly thought it would be something light about moving a few tiles around with pictures of sweets on. Nope. Wrong, sucker. You’re going to build a city of sweets. As soon as you say the phrase ‘city builder’, I’m in, and by all accounts this is a big, meaty strategy game.
Sweet Lands from Uchibacoya is for 1-4 players and could take up to three hours to play. Heavyweight indeed. There is a lot in the box – best have a word with your table and see if it’s up to the task of holding this one. For a start you can choose from fourteen characters. Yep, you read that right. Then there’s the main board, map boards, industry development boards and imitation boards (whatever they are), character boards and planning boards. Then there’s more than 450 wooden tokens – things like brownie buildings and cream puff houses and ice cream clock towers. Add to that hundreds of cards and tiles, and you’ve got a box that weighs in over three kilos. I could do a bit of a workout with it after chomping all them sweets.
You’re going to start with a capital city surrounded by plains, forests, mines, seas, and to develop the land you’ll have to lay tiles that match the terrain, and then build yourself some delicious properties, You’ll need to connect up these areas with transport infrastructure. The more income you can generate, the bigger and better you can expand. Has this sweetened you up for a pledge? Visit their Kickstarter but get in quick, this ends very, very soon.
Lairs
Let’s finish with a duel.
Most of the time I’m full of the joys of spring, happy-go-lucky, all that rubbish. Some days, though, I scowl at the very thought of human contact. It’s mean to be a day off, right? But people still find me. They know where I live, they’ve got my number, they seem to sense when I want peace and become hell-bent on smashing it. This is when I need a lair. A proper one. Underground, full of traps and monsters. If you can get past them and reach me, fair enough, but if you can’t, then my time is my own. I just don’t have the resources to achieve this wondrous dream.
Until now! Lairs from Kids Table Board Gaming is a two-player game (more if you plump for the Deeper Dungeons expansion box) in which you’ll be challenged to build a dungeon for your opponent. You’ll create your devious labyrinth behind a screen, and it will be up to them to draw a paper map as they explore. (There is an option in this Kickstarter to add on wipe-clean boards instead of using the paper pad – could be a wise investment.) The winner is the player who escapes first with the best loot. The recessed game boards you’ll use to build your dungeon are pretty darn cool. You get a six by six grid on which to lay your tiles and chests, and a bunch of walls to place between grid references.
Kickstarter campaign pages usually show you everything you get in the box… Not Lairs. They show you the contents that you’ll use for your first game, which I assume will be a training round, but there’s plenty of secrets in the box that they’re holding back on, meaning you’ll only find out as you play. Lairs has already had a lot of good feedback and could be one of the hot games of 2025. It’s fully funded, and a lot of the stretch goals have been unlocked, but there’s still time to join in. Here’s the crowdfunding page - the doors to the Lair are open and beckoning you in…
Get stuck into these shiny new games, don’t forget the old ones on the shelves, and get something to the table whenever you get the chance – life can be busy, but it’s also important to have yourself some downtime. Fun is good for the brain, heart and soul. Keep playing.