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It draws inexorably nearer.
You know exactly what I mean, we don’t need to say it out loud. It’s everywhere as it is, all the shops have got all their season gear in, have done for weeks, the ads are all over the place, we might as well give in and accept it. We’ve got lists. It’s time to start ticking them off. And let me help you with one list in particular.
Yes, you could buy your loved one a brand new copy of Cluedo to replace the one missing a bunch of cards eaten by the dog. Or you could buy them one of the myriad reskins of Monopoly that are on offer these days. I spotted a Squishmallow variant in HMV the other day. A Gremlins one too. And a Metallica one. I’m pretty certain there will be a Monopoly reskin based on my daft cat soon, they’ve basically done everything else on the planet.
These are perfectly valid presents, and I for one would welcome them.
But you’re here. Perhaps we can do a little better…
King of Tokyo: Duel
Cinema has its icons, and none have been bigger than Godzilla. He lit up my imagination when I first saw his films on late night Channel 4. It was an arguably crazy series of movies where he faced off against a bunch of wild monsters, and I ate up those battle scenes where entire cities got trashed. King of Tokyo came along to fuse those on screen fights with the world of fast-paced board games, and it’s rightfully been successful enough to demand a fresh variation.
The ‘Duel’ notion is running pretty strong in the latter half of 2024, with a lot of big names in the hobby adopted this game style for new releases – yes, our old pals Monopoly and Cluedo have ‘Duel’ variations on the shelves. Well, this is strictly for two players and should take no more than half an hour to play, ideal for a quick gaming fix or a best-of-five evening.
King of Tokyo Duel is a two-player tug-of-war dice game in the King of Tokyo line. Choose your uniquely-powered monster and roll new dice to draw the fame and destruction tokens toward you...or smash your rival with new special power cards to become the ultimate King of Tokyo!
Sounds to me like this would suit newcomers to the series as an entry point, or old-time fans in the mood for a new flavour. Whichever camp you fall in, head over here and check it out: it strikes me as a bit of a bargain.
Tower Up
Here’s another great choice for family board game night – and if you’re not regularly having a family board game night, it’s time to start.
Look, I’m not a fan of the sprawling metropolis. Some people love city living: I can’t stand it. Send me out in the trees and leave me be. But there is a real beauty in some of those skyscraper skylines, I can’t deny it, and Tower Up captures some of that visual excitement.
2-4 players will become master architects in a race to construct the tallest skyscraper in a game that blends strategy, resource management, and a touch of dexterity to create a dynamic and engaging gameplay experience. Players start with a foundation and a set of resources, and as the game progresses they must carefully choose from a variety of materials, including wood, steel, and glass. Manage these resources wisely, outwit competitors through clever building tactics, and face unexpected events such as weather conditions or city regulations.
As the game progresses, players will see their towers rise from the ground, creating a pretty cool looking skyline on the game board – I’m a big fan of games that use some verticality in the presentation, and it gets players thinking in an extra dimension instead of simply from one space to the next. The excitement builds until the final round, where the tallest, most stable tower earns its architect the title of the ultimate builder. Take a look at Tower Up here, and see if this striking-looking game will suit you.
Dominion: Rising Sun
These next two entries are a little different. You’re here because you’re either a board game nut, or you know one. It’s your other half, is it? Okay. Let me make a suggestion: have a look at what games they have. A lot of them are likely to have expansions available for them. I’m about to present to you a pair of opportunities to make your loved one’s favourite game even better.
Here’s a good example of a game your average board game nut is likely to have: Dominion. It’s been around for an age, arguably kicked off the deck building genre, and has sold an amazing amount of units. Even I’ve ended up with a copy, and I’ve been amazed by how easy it is to learn and how versatile. The base game is perfectly suited to a wide breadth of expansions – this is the sixteenth – due to its central mechanic of shared central card piles that all players can draw from. Swap out the ten kingdom decks in the middle of the table and you can completely change the mood, style and tactics of the game.
For this expansion we journey to the islands to the east – or west, depending on where you are relative to them. Here your title is Emperor. It has 300 cards, with 25 new Kingdom card piles. (Hardcore Dominion fans will have cards numbering in the thousands, considering that the base game alone comes with 500). There are Shadow cards that leap out from your deck, and Prophecies that will someday happen and change everything. Debt and Events return. Where can you grab this excellent expansion? Why, right here, of course.
Arcs – Blighted Reach Expansion
Our second expansion is… er… rather substantial. Arcs has been one of the big successes and talking points of the board game community this year, and that’s only set to continue as we head into 2025. In the base game – which is regarded as pretty darn heavy – 2-4 players guide their factions through a fast-playing space opera that unfolds over a trio of 60-90 minute sessions. Players begin the game in roughly symmetrical positions, but their choices will soon cause their paths to diverge. Players are given hands of action cards each turn and must balance their desire to control the game's tempo against their other interests.
With the Blighted Reach you'll get an innovative micro-campaign, where each game is one episode in an epic trilogy that stretches across an even larger galaxy. Everyone begins as petty regents in a dying empire, but your fates quickly diverge. The campaign contains twenty-four fate seeds, each with tons of branches, twists, and turns. Uncover lost knowledge, guide your people to a new home, or forge a galactic confederation. As you complete objectives and make critical decisions, the campaign grows and changes. If you destroy a world, its refugees might flood the galaxy in your next game. If you find your society driven to a state of collapse, you can even abandon your homeworld and play the next game operating out of a lone flagship.
Each game in the campaign takes less than two hours to play. You can sit down for a single skirmish and then pack up for another day, or settle in for an epic three-act saga! I agree, it’s a big chunk o’ change for a chunky expansion to a chunky game, but sometimes you get what you pay for. Visit this page and treat the heavy board game fan in your life. Or yourself…
Trickadee
We’re off to Kickstarter to round out this episode, and something for you nature lovers (which should be every single one of you and no climate deniers will be tolerated). My garden is a bit of a wild zone – nothing to do with being lazy, honest – and I love watching which visitors we get each morning. Blue tits, magpies, robins, coal tits, sparrows, finches, and I swear I know one blackbird from another. And that’s why Trickadee has caught my eye.
For 3-5 players and taking around half an hour to play, if you’re a birder and you love trick-taking games (clever title for this game, when you think about it), then this could be the game for you. Wingspaners will also be drawn (lol) by the art style, which features creator Rob Newton’s amazing illustrations. The 11 different species featured in Trickadee can all be found in the backyards of his home city of Seattle, Washington. I love little details like this, gives the game such a personal feel.
I can already see the opportunities for Trickadee to expand in the future, with birds from different states and maybe even other continents. There’s a print and play option for those of you who are a bit crafty and steady of hand, which is suitably low priced. Even the full game is pocket money stuff, so take a look at the crowdfunding page and see if you can resist the gorgeous artwork.
Revenant
Let’s end with something a bit beasty. Isn’t that the beauty of this hobby? There are so many options for so many different types of gamers. There’s cozy games about cats and quilts. There’s fun games about dragons running bakeries. And there’s some hard sci-fi too, if you think you can handle it.
Revenant from Mindclash Games is a standalone, mid-to-heavy game in the Voidfall universe for 1-4 players, and is described as a competitive worker placement game of shifting allegiances. Players take on the role of rival admirals coordinating the defense of a fleeing starfleet, and competing to earn influence with the factions that stand to survive the journey.
We’ll let the publisher tell the backstory, shall we? From the void between dimensions, an ancient cosmic entity came to corrupt and devour. In the wake of the cataclysm known as Voidfall, the admirals of the fallen Novarchon Empire formed a desperate contingency plan. To preserve the accumulated knowledge that might one day answer the Voidborn threat, a former imperial flagship, the Revenant was retrofitted to hold the Empire’s databanks. Carrying humanity’s last hope, and accompanied by ships provided by the Empire’s vassal Houses, you must now escort the fleet to safety while managing your influence with the Great Houses and securing your political future.
You'll be assigning crew to your ships, from which they will fight the Voidborn, explore planets in search of resources, upgrade their ship and crew, deploy new vessels, and more. Each ship is affiliated with one of the Great Houses, and each time you assign crew there, you gain influence with that House. In the meantime, the Voidborn’s corrupted forces will continuously attack the fleet, dealing damage to various ships at the end of every round. You can take your part in protecting the fleet by destroying enemy ships, repairing friendly vessels or maneuvering them to safe areas, or ultimately activating the Revenant’s hyperdrive to jump to a safer sector.
In Revenant, then, the resource management and engine-building will be balanced with dynamic tactical challenges, constant player interaction, and shifting allegiances. Here’s the crowdfunding page, get on over, and get involved in something that’s going to be big.
And there you go, dudes and dudettes, another news bulletin done. Hard to believe we’ve done a dozen of these. Have you got enough games yet? No, me neither, so let’s see if we can meet up another dozen times at least. We don’t have to buy them all, but we’re allowed to look, right? Looking is fine. Looking will not get us in trouble. Honest.