Board Game Geek’s Best 10 Board Games Of 2022

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Given COVID and shipping issues, last year was a bit subdued for board gaming. Thankfully, 2022 has come back swinging with several awesome board games released. Unfortunately, a lot of these hot titles haven’t made it to our southern shores in Australia. So instead of giving you my top list, here are the 10 best board games of 2022 as ranked by Board Game Geek.

For this article, I’ll be using the Geek Rank. This magical algorithm combines the number of rankings, with how high a game is ranked. Therefore, the caveat to this list, is that these ranks aren’t final and will likely change over time.

For previous years, you can read the articles below:


10. Flamecraft

Sneaking in at number 10 is Flamecraft. This family-friendly game is about a peaceful town that integrates cute little dragons into their daily life. Need someone to cook bread? Use a dragon. Need someone to fire the forge? Use a dragon… You get the idea.

The game itself is all resource management and contract fulfilment. From turn one, you’re getting handfuls of resources each turn. Whoever spends them the most efficiently usually ends up as the winner.

Being one of the few games from this list I’ve played, I found it to be inconsistently great. While some games were amazing, others were not so much. However, even my hardened persona softened when looking at those cute little dragons.

Flamecraft 1

9. Planet Unknown

After running out of resources on our current planet, players are sent out to develop habitable environments on the surrounding planets. By placing down polynomial, or Tetris-shaped, pieces on their planets, players can create settlements fit for even the most hedonistic of human beings.

That’s just the beginning of what you do within Planet Unknown. As each biosphere you place moves you up on the appropriate improvement track. When you reach certain levels, you gain abilities and additional powers. These can then combine together to make powerful combos, scoring you lots of points and passive abilities to make tile placement easier.

However, the most interesting thing about Planet Unknown is the use of a Lazy Susan to distribute tiles. The active player picks the tile they want, rotates the board, and then everyone else has to pick tiles in front of them. It looks really neat and is perhaps the best use of Lazy Susan since Dim Sum.

planet unknown


8. Long Shot: The Dice Game

Horse racing was a hot theme this year, with both Long Shot: The Dice Game and Ready, Set, Bet being released. The latter was probably released too late to make a wide enough impact for Board Game Geek rankings, but not late enough to make it Tom Vassal’s game of the year.

Long Shot, on the other hand, burst onto the scene earlier this year. It’s a horse racing game where you’re betting on the horses, much like Camel Up. However, unlike Camel Up which is based purely on dice rolls, Long Shot gives players a lot of opportunities to manipulate the race. Such as moving them when it’s not their turn, slowing down other horses, and a range of horse abilities.

This gives Long Shot a strategic edge over other betting games. And while this should slow the tempo of the game down, all players take turns simultaneously. So the gameplay flows and builds excitement as the game gets closer to the finish line. It’s an exciting party game easily one of the best board games of 2022.

Long Shot The Dice Game


7. Return to Dark Tower

Restoration Games was all the rage when they released their revamped and redesigned Fireball Island. Since then, they’ve produced Downforce, Unmatched, and now Return to Dark Tower.

In it, players take on the roles of mighty heroes who need to cleanse the land of evils, go on epic quests, and then finally defeat the evil held up in the Dark Tower. Although there is a competitive mode, the game will most likely be enjoyed as a cooperative game where players face off against the board – and the related phone/tablet application.

Probably the biggest issue with the game looks to be the staggering price point. However, it’s not unwarranted as the central piece, the Dark Tower, holds a mini-computer capable of Bluetooth and working with the application.

Beyond this, the game looks like an extremely thematic fantasy adventure. Filled with treasure, potions, and enough story to fulfil your deepest roleplaying desires. The characters look interesting, and the mechanics remind me a lot of Pandemic. If Pandemic was jacked up on steroids, and took a Creative Writing major.

Return to Darktower


6. Endless Winter: Paleoamericans

I’ve already reviewed Endless Winter: Paleoamericans in depth. The too long didn’t read version of it, is that it’s a fantastic board game. Combining deck building and worker placement like Dune: Imperium.

But where Dune follows more traditional worker placement mechanics, in Endless Winter there are only four action spaces for workers. This makes the game easy to pick up, but the depth comes from the number of different systems that are in play. Bouncing between all these systems is a fun challenge when they all require the same three resources.

On top of this, you have to manage your deck of tribespeople. As they give you abilities as well as the labour required for action spaces. Often you’re caught between wanting the labour and being unable to make use of the ability right now. Figuring out the efficiency of how and when to use your cards, as well as manipulate all of the systems in place is so engaging and makes this game a gem.

I’m surprised it’s not higher up.

Endless Winter


5. Nemesis: Lockdown

A stand-alone expansion to the 2018 title, Nemesis Lockdown can be played by integrating the game into the previous version, or by itself. Together, they are perhaps the closest board games you’re going to get to the Aliens franchise – without actually calling it the Aliens franchise.

Now, if you’re familiar with any of Awaken Realms’ titles then you know what to expect. Gorgeous miniatures, a large rulebook, engaging theme and mechanics, insane amounts of setup and more components than the Millenium Falcon Lego set.

Once you get over the sheer amount of everything within the game box. You’ll find yourself trapped in a science facility with a goal that needs to be completed before time runs out. This isn’t your only concern though, as you get the foreboding sense that aliens are hunting you.

No one controls these aliens, but that doesn’t mean they’re not deadly.

Additionally, because this is a competitive game, you’re not only looking out for aliens but also everyone else. Who might be sabotaging your chance to escape, even as you read this. Trust no one, focus on your objective, and you might just survive.

Nemesis Lockdown


4. Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood

The boss battler genre has grown immensely. In fact, one of my favourites from 2022 was the boss battler Vagrantsong. However, according to Board Game Geek, even Vagrantsong doesn’t hold a candle to Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood.

The description of the game does it no favours, instead, it sounds like just another over-bloated Kickstarter designed to separate you from your hard-earned money. I mean, it basically boils down to you being one of four heroes who must fight the monstrosities found within Deepwood for humanity’s survival.

Of all the reviews I’ve read of Oathsworn they start with it has no right to be this good.

Setting this game apart from the games we’ve seen before is its mixture of story and combat. During the story parts, you’ll explore a map of the city, make moralistic choices, investigate different areas or talk to the town folk. Every place you visit adds time to the chapter track, and spending too much time affects your chances of winning the next boss battle.

On the other hand, the 21 boss fights are lauded as incredibly unique and interesting encounters. Figuring out how to beat them, is an adventure all by itself.

Oathsworn into the deepwood


3. Wonderland’s War

One thing all of these top 10 board games have in common, is that their production value is through the roof. Wonderland’s War is no exception. However, more than just the quality of the components is their ability to tap into the innate weirdness that is Alice in Wonderland.

A weirdness that carries through to the mechanics of the game. Which sees you taking on roles from the story and fighting over regions during the Mad Hatter’s tea party. Combat is done through area control, and bag building, not unlike The Quacks of Quedlinburg.

You spend your turns placing warriors in different regions in preparation for battle. When combat occurs, it’s done by drawing poker chips from the bag you’ve built. These chips give you strength and other benefits, but there are also Madness tokens, which if you draw too many – you go bust. The goal of these combat encounters is to have more strength than anyone else in the battle.

So it’s a game of risk and pushing your luck, while also completing quests, area control and levelling up your character. Further to all of that, it just looks fun.

Wonderlands war


2. Heat: Pedal to the Metal

Given the hype and rabid fans surrounding Heat: Pedal to the Metal I’m surprised this isn’t number one. Co-designed by one of the designers behind Flamme Rouge, it features a similar theme. Only this time it’s race cars instead of cycling.

Starting on the grid, you can race around the track with up to five other players, managing both your speed and heat. If you go too fast into the corners, you’ll spin out and waste precious time getting back on track. Likewise, if your engine overheats you won’t be able to move as fast when it really counts: on the final straight.

There’s a lot of opportunity to make big plays to move speedily around the track. Then it climaxes at the end of the last lap, with players pushing each other and their cars to the limit. Honestly, I’ve seen enough of this game that I’m counting down the days before it arrives at my local game store.

The other thing to note is that this is a Days of Wonder title. While they’ve been consistently producing games, they haven’t had a game talked about this much since Yamatai. So it’s good to see them back in pole position.

Heat Pedal To The Metal


1. Carnegie

The biggest surprise on the list is Carnegie taking the number one spot. Usually, this spot is reserved for heavy thematic games that draw players in with their narrative and cool components. However, Carnegie has none of that. Instead, it’s a game where you will recruit and manage employees, expand your business, invest in real estate, produce and sell goods, and create transport chains across the United States.

It’s very economics-heavy, and while learning the game and teaching are meant to be an effort. Once you start playing it’s as comfortable as snuggie on Winter’s Eve.

In the DiceTower review, Tom points out that even though a lot of Carnegie’s design has been done before, there’s a freshness to be found in managing your workers. You need to send them out to the map board and bring them back to get income. This coincides with the action selection mechanism so you need to do a lot of predictive planning.

It doesn’t stop there, as when they return to your factory, you need to place them in one of your many, many rooms. You’re also to move them around in your factory, and that determines what actions you can take.

For a purely economic game, Carnegie has a lot of player interaction that mixes up its strategic and tactical decisions. From this description, and its position on the list, Carnegie has shot to the top of my wishlist. Making it the best board game of 2022.

Carnegie


There were more than a few surprises in this list. Several of my personal favourites are missing, including the excellent The Guild of Merchant Explorers, and Merchants of the Dark Road.

Did you see your favourite board game of 2022 on the list? Let me know in the comments below. Otherwise, be sure to also check out the best board games of 2021.

6 thoughts on “Board Game Geek’s Best 10 Board Games Of 2022

  1. I’ve played exactly 3 of those! Carnegie was definitely good, though of these 3, I’d go with Heat myself.

    1. With Carnegie, and Heat, which is the other one? Is it Longshot?

      I think you’re still doing better than me I’ve only played Flamecraft and Endless Winter. Although I have Longshot, and Heat is on Preorder for March.

      1. Yay, it works!

        Longshot: the Dice Game is the other one. But I’m not much of a roll & write fan so that’s never going to be on my top list.

        If you like roll & writes, though, this one is great!

      2. I also usually struggle with Roll & Writes, but The Guild of Merchant Explorers may have changed my mind. I’m also a big fan of betting games… So maybe there’s hope for me yet?

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