Last year we wrote about our favourite games discovered in 2022, it seemed like our readers enjoyed it so we thought we would write about our favourite games we discovered this year. This list is about games we tried for the first time in 2023 so some of these games aren’t necessarily new but they were new to us this year.
Just like we did last year each person in our family will list out the games they liked the best that they tried for the first time this year and why they liked them so much. I didn’t impose a limit on the number of games, I just asked everyone to list their standouts. For my youngest daughter that ended up being a long list, but I am just really pleased she has enjoyed so many great games this year. That’s enough of an intro, you’re here for the games, right? So, let’s get into it.
What you will find in Our Favourite Board Games Discovered in 2023 article:
- Kid’s Favourite Board Games of 2023
- Teen’s Favourite Board Games of 2023
- Mum’s Favourite Board Games of 2023
- Dad’s Favourite Board Games of 2023
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Kids Favourites
Youngest Daughter (9)
Favourite games discovered last year were Draftosaurus, Ticket to Ride Europe and Century Spice Road.
L.L.A.M.A
Play Time: 30 Mins / Players: 2-4 / Complexity: Medium / Age: 13+ / Publisher: Rio Grande Games / Designer: Donald X. Vaccarino
L.L.A.M.A is a game I bought specifically because I thought my youngest daughter would enjoy it. It’s a simple card game where the aim is to shed as many cards as possible before the end of the round. The more cards you are left with at the end of each round the more points you get. The game ends when one player gets to 40 points, the winner is the player with the fewest points at the end of the game.
I can’t count how many times my daughter and I have played L.L.A.M.A but it’s a lot, there are few weekends that go by where she doesn’t ask to play a few games. The great thing is that although it is simple there is still enough there to keep me interested. The cute llama illustrations on the cards are also a nice touch. If you want to find out more check out our full L.L.A.M.A review.
Dungeon Mayhem
Play Time: 10 Min / Players: 2-4 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ we think 6+ / Publisher: Wizards of the Coast / Designer: Jordan Comar, Roscoe Wetlaufer
In Dungeon Mayhem players choose a unique character and aim to be the last one standing. It’s kind of a card game based all-out brawl. Each character is unique and has their own special abilities which allows for some variation each game. This is another quick and easy to teach card game with some amusing card art and plenty of interaction. This is also a game I really enjoy playing. If you want to find out more check out our full Dungeon Mayhem review.
Gimme That!
Play Time: 5-10 Mins / Players: 3-8 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ / Publisher: Blue Orange Games and Dolphin Hat Games/ Designer: Dave Campbell
Gimme That! Was a game we all tried at Wellycon for the first time this year and we all enjoyed it. It’s a really simple concept, write numbers on a pad of paper while others roll a die and do some weird hand actions, if you can get to 50 before someone snatches the pencil away you win. My daughter loves this game for the laughs. Games frequently involve papers flying and people laughing uncontrollably because of the craziness happening around them. For that reason, it made it to my daughters list this year, her only negative is that you need at least 3 people to play. Check out our full Gimme That! review.
Mysterium
Play Time: 42 Mins / Players: 2-7 / Complexity: Low / Age: 10+ we think 8+ / Publisher: Libellud / Designer: Oleksandr Nevskiy, Oleg Sidorenko
Mysterium is a cooperative game which feels a little like a cross between Cluedo and Dixit. One player will take on the role of a ghost trying to help the other players solve a murder mystery by correctly deducing the murderer, the location, and the weapon. The catch is the ghost knows everything but can’t talk and can only communicate by giving players abstract pictures. My daughter loves the creative thinking involved in this one and enjoys being the ghost especially, she finds it so satisfying when people have correctly guessed based on her clever selection of abstract pictures. If you want to find out more check out our full Mysterium review.
Agricola
Play Time: 30-120 Mins / Players: 1-4 / Complexity: High / Age: 12+ / Publisher: Lookout Games and Mayfair Games / Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Agricola is not a game I expected my youngest daughter to try. I thought it would be too challenging for her to get her head around. But she was attracted by the cute animal meeples and really wanted to give it a go. From her first game she was hooked, she loved creating her little farm and raising livestock. Although she didn’t like the prospect of using the cute animals for food. I think the reason why she was able to get her head around the game is because the concepts make a lot of sense, improve your farm, grow food, feed your family, at a basic level it’s easy to understand. My advice for any parents wanting to try this game with youngers kids is to try it without the occupation and minor improvement cards at first, then include them gradually in later games. If you want to find out more, you can check out our full Agricola review.
Hoard
Play Time: 20-45 Min / Players: 2-6 / Complexity: Low / Age: 6+ / Publisher: Cheeky Parrot Games / Designer: Tim Kings-Lynne, Beck Veitch & Julia Schiller
Hoard is one of two games published by Cheeky Parrot games on my youngest daughters list. This is a fun and simple card game about sneaking around a dragon’s lair and snatching up loot. The theme here is something my daughter really likes and she also likes gathering up sets of gems. The great thing is that there is enough luck to allow kids to be competitive but still enough meaningful decisions to keep it interesting for adults. If you want to find out more, you can check out our full Hoard review.
Ulterior Design
Play Time: 5-20 Min / Players: 2-6 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ / Publisher: Cheeky Parrot Games / Designer: Andy Bell
Ulterior Design is also published by Cheeky Parrot games and was released this year. This is a simple and very quick card game about decorating your home in the hopes of winning trophies from the judges that will occasionally come knocking on your door. This game is a bit of a surprise package for us. It can actually be really cutthroat given you can sabotage your opponents’ decorating efforts, but the interaction is what makes this game so much fun. There have been times where my daughter and I have played as many as 5 or more games in a row, it’s just so quick and fun to play. If you want to find out more, you can check out our full Ulterior Design review.
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
Play Time: 10-30 Mins / Players: 2-8 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ we think 5+ / Publisher: Dolphin Hat Games / Designer: Dave Campbell
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is a game that the whole family enjoys. It’s essentially a variation on snap with some amusing hand actions and a set of words to chant while you’re playing. Much like Gimme That! the big draw here is the laughs and it’s the main reason my daughter loves this game so much. Every game results in us cracking up at some mistake we made or a hand action gone a little wrong. Because it’s so simple it’s a great game for younger kids. If you want to find out more, check out our full Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza review.
Oldest Daughter (12)
Favourite games discovered last year were Fort, Machi Koro 2, Azul Stained Glass of Sintra and Azul Summer Pavilion.
Gimme That!
Play Time: 5-10 Mins / Players: 3-8 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ / Publisher: Blue Orange Games and Dolphin Hat Games/ Designer: Dave Campbell
Gimme That! Is also a favourite for my oldest daughter, in fact all 3 of the games on her list were covered already so I will keep these brief. She is a big fan of games that generate some light hearted laughs so Gimme That! fits the bill nicely.
Mysterium
Play Time: 42 Mins / Players: 2-7 / Complexity: Low / Age: 10+ we think 8+ / Publisher: Libellud / Designer: Oleksandr Nevskiy, Oleg Sidorenko
Much like her younger sister Mysterium is a hit with my oldest daughter too. She loves putting on a spooky voice when playing the ghost to align with the theme. The fact that Mysterium is cooperative is also a big draw card, it makes for a more positive vibe when we play.
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
Play Time: 10-30 Mins / Players: 2-8 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ we think 5+ / Publisher: Dolphin Hat Games / Designer: Dave Campbell
The third game on her list is yet another game that is on her younger sisters list. My oldest daughter is ridiculously good at this game, she is very hard to beat. Her quick reflexes make her our reigning champion in the house. Much like Gimme That! my daughter loves the laughs that this game generates, but she is also super competitive with it.
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Teen‘s Favourites
My son is now 15 and his favourite games discovered last year were Project L, Galaxy Trucker, and That Time You Killed Me.
Wizard
Play Time: 45 Mins / Players: 3-6 / Complexity: Low / Age: 10+ / Publisher: VR Distribution / Designer: Ken Fisher
Wizard is a classic trick taking game that has been around for decades, but we tried it for the first time at Wellycon this year. My son just loves it, and he is very good at it. In Wizard player’s must predict how many tricks they will win each round and will get points for achieving their goal, they will lose points if they don’t. My son really enjoys the careful thought and card management required in Wizard. He gets a lot of satisfaction in the later rounds where the predictions can be big as well as the pay offs. A great trick taking game.
Mysterium
Play Time: 42 Mins / Players: 2-7 / Complexity: Low / Age: 10+ we think 8+ / Publisher: Libellud / Designer: Oleksandr Nevskiy, Oleg Sidorenko
For the reasons his sisters have already covered my son also enjoys Mysterium. He is a fan of deduction games, and this is one he really enjoys. He likes the careful thought involved in picking the right abstract pictures to provide hints for players as the ghost and also deducing hints correctly as a psychic in this game.
Agricola
Play Time: 30-120 Mins / Players: 1-4 / Complexity: High / Age: 12+ / Publisher: Lookout Games and Mayfair Games / Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Agricola made a big impression for my son, so much so that it is now one of his favourite games. When he first played Agricola, he was blown away. In fact, he even commented that it was one of the few games where he didn’t care about the score line, he just enjoyed building his farm and the satisfaction that came from it. It makes me so happy when my kids try a game that really gets them excited and makes an impression on them, I am really pleased my son got so much enjoyment out of Agricola. A classic worker placement game that still holds up well today.
Dominion
Play Time: 30 Mins / Players: 2-4 / Complexity: Medium / Age: 13+ / Publisher: Rio Grande Games / Designer: Donald X. Vaccarino
My son and I love deck building games, Aeon’s End and Legendary Marvel are two of our favourites. But until this year we hadn’t tried the classic that started it all, Dominion. We wondered whether it would hold up well given there are so many more modern deck builders out there. As it turns out this classic still has plenty to offer even after all these years. My son just loved the clean and simple gameplay and the large number of options for market cards in the box. We had a blast exploring all the recommended set ups and as a result Dominion not only did enough to make it to his list this year, it also made it to our best deck building games list. If you want to find out more, check out our full Dominion review.
The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
Play Time: 20 Min / Players: 2-5 / Complexity: Low / Age: 10+ / Publisher: Kosmos / Designer: Thomas Sing
The second trick taking card game on my sons list is The Crew: Mission Deep Sea. This is a cooperative trick taking game where you can’t communicate with other players except through disclosing some very limited information about one of your cards by use of a sonar token. My son and I had a blast completing the over 30 missions that came with the game. Although the box says 3-5 players there’s actually a very good 2 player variant that comes with the rules that we enjoy. If you want to find out more, check out our full The Crew: Mission Deep Sea review.
Mum’s Favourites
Favourite games discovered last year were Draftosaurus, Machi Koro 2, Azul Stained Glass of Sintra and Azul Summer Pavilion
Ulterior Design
Play Time: 5-20 Min / Players: 2-6 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ / Publisher: Cheeky Parrot Games / Designer: Andy Bell
My wife is a big fan of simple but fun card games and all three of her games are in that bucket. Ulterior Design is a game she loves, the unique theme and high level of interaction make it a game she enjoys a lot. She also likes the fact that it can be played so quickly making it easy to find the time to play.
Hoard
Play Time: 20-45 Min / Players: 2-6 / Complexity: Low / Age: 6+ / Publisher: Cheeky Parrot Games / Designer: Tim Kings-Lynne, Beck Veitch & Julia Schiller
The next game on my wife’s list is Hoard. She is the Hoard champ in our household and very hard to beat. Although there is a fair dose of luck in Hoard, she seems to have strategies that work well for her consistently. One of the things she really likes about Hoard is the way that waking or putting the dragon to sleep can be incorporated into your strategy, if your ahead you can try to accelerate the end of the round and vice versa. She also likes the quick and easy set up which makes it easy to get to the table.
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
Play Time: 10-30 Mins / Players: 2-8 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ we think 5+ / Publisher: Dolphin Hat Games / Designer: Dave Campbell
We all tried Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza at our local board game cafe earlier in the year. My wife had so much fun and laughs that she immediately bought a copy. Any game that makes you laugh the way this game does is likely to be a hit with my wife and Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is no exception.
Dad’s Favourites
My favourite games discovered last year were Cascadia, Paladins of the West Kingdom, and Dune: Imperium. This year’s favourites were so good they all made it to my best tabletop games list.
Agricola
Play Time: 30-120 Mins / Players: 1-4 / Complexity: High / Age: 12+ / Publisher: Lookout Games and Mayfair Games / Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Agricola is the first Uwe Rosenberg designed game I have tried, and it made such an impression on me that I immediately sought out other games he’s designed to try. But let’s focus on Agricola for the now. Agricola immediately got me hooked for similar reasons that my son and daughter mentioned above. It is just such a simple concept, grow food, feed your family, and improve your farm, but it is executed so well.
The thing that struck me about Agricola was how satisfying it was seeing my farm develop before my eyes. I agree with my son’s comment about not really caring what the score line is, but just really enjoying the act of creating my own little farm complete with cute animal meeples. Don’t get me wrong this game still has a competitive and strategic edge to it, in fact it can be brutal at higher player counts where there is high competition for worker spaces.
Battlestar Galactica
Play Time: 120-180 Min / Players: 3-6 / Complexity: Medium / Age: 14+ / Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games / Designer: Corey Konieczka
Probably the most exciting thing about this year board gaming wise was finally getting to try the out-of-print Battlestar Galactica board game. I am a big fan of the series, and I heard this game was amazing but hadn’t had an opportunity to try it until this year. It didn’t disappoint and it captured the essence of the theme so well. Increasing tension and crises to manage, undercover Cylon’s sabotaging the crew and the constant threat of Cylon attacks was all captured beautifully in the game. It was one of the most enjoyable gaming evenings I have ever had, and I really hope I get to try this gem again. If you want to find out how our first play went, you can check out our Battlestar Galactica playthrough article.
Race for the Galaxy
Play Time: 30-60 Min / Players: 2-4 / Complexity: High / Age: 12+ / Publisher: Rio Grande Games / Designer: Thomas Lehmann
My next game is the first of 3 amazing engine building/tableau building games I tried this year. Race for the Galaxy essentially lets you build a space empire with a deck of cards. It packs so much into a game that can be played in 30 minutes or less. There is so much depth in the different strategies and card combinations to explore. You can try to win with military might, trade your way to victory, or even just sprint to the finish line by building cheap cards quickly to rush the end game. There is a steep learning curve here, but it’s well worth it. If you want to find out more check out our full Race for the Galaxy review.
It’s a Wonderful World
Play Time: 30-60 Min / Players: 1-5 / Complexity: Medium / Age: 14+ we think 10+ / Publisher: La Boite de Jeu and Lucky Duck Games / Designer: Frederic Guerard
It’s a Wonderful World is another amazing engine builder/tableau builder combo I discovered this year that can be played in under 30 minutes. It’s a Wonderful World kind of feels like Splendor evolved to the next level. It is still a very simple card driven engine builder but there is a bit more to it that makes it amazing. In It’s a Wonderful World you have four rounds to generate as many points as possible. To do this you will draft cards into your hand, slate some for production and others to be recycled for resources. The more cards you build the more resources and points you will generate. There are also financiers and generals you can accumulate that give you a nice points boost.
This game doesn’t seem to have had a lot of hype and I am not sure why that is. I love how simple the rules are here, you can teach it in a few minutes. The part I like the most though, is the ability to set up some very satisfying combos due to the way production is staggered in the game. Because each resource is produced in a sequence, it allows you to use resources earlier in the sequence to build cards just in time to have them produce resources that come later in the sequence. There is a huge variety of cards here and plenty of avenues to explore to get your engine humming. It also scales incredibly well at high player counts and has an amazing solo mode. If you want to find out more check out our full It’s a Wonderful World review.
Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition
Play Time: 60 Min / Players: 1-4 / Complexity: Medium / Age: 14+ / Publisher: Fryx Games and Stronghold Games / Designer: Sydney Engelstein, Jacob Fryxelius and Nick Little
Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition is kind of like a trimmed down version of the very popular Terraforming Mars game but with Race for the Galaxy style action selection blended in. Much like the original game, players will be in charge of a corporation doing their bit to terraform the red planet so that humanity can safely colonise. Over the course of the game players will play project cards that will make them more effective at generating the resources they need to terraform mars more effectively and ultimately make their shareholders happy.
I really liked the original Terraforming Mars, but I found it was too lengthy a game to justify owning it, I just didn’t think it would get played much. But when I found out about the trimmed down Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition, I was keen to get a copy. I am so glad I did. It gives me that great engine building card play from the original, but it can be played in less than an hour and it also has a great solo mode. Although I enjoy the original Terraforming Mars, I like Ares Expedition better. If you want to find out more check out our full Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition review.
We hope you enjoyed our list of Favourite Games we Discovered in 2023. If you have any questions or just want to make a comment, please use the comment section below or get in touch through our contact us page.
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About the Authors
We are parents who love board gaming. We have three children and have been enjoying board games as a family ever since we had our first child. We share our real unbiased experiences and opinions on board games so you can decide if they are right for your family. We also write guides and articles to help you get the most out of your family game time. If you enjoy our content and want to support us you can do that through our Ko-fi page by clicking on the button below.