My nominations for the best games of 2019

A look at the game-design career of Richard Garfield with only a cursory mention of Magic: the Gathering

I look at the most hyped games from 2002-2009 and discuss how they hold up.

The card drafting mechanism from Fairy Tale plus civ building equals addiction.

The Adventurers full of theme, has a wonderful tension that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and only gets better the more people who play.

A look at Victory Point Games' version of a basic classic.

Biergarten is a fun, light tile-laying game.

Not a marketing tie-in with the Mel Gibson/Goldie Hawn movie, sorry.

Bountytown makes great use of its Wild West theme and poker-based conflict.

A Free Print and Play game with a message and pretty good game mechanics

The evolution of worker placement?

Reiner Knizia's fun, quick dice game

A quality deckbuilder that's full of theme, and requires some braaaaaains...

An interesting cross between a deck builder and Role Selection game.

Here is a reprint of my (Nerdbloggerdan) review of James Ernest's Fightball released in 2002.

If you are in need of a good family game, with rich and rewarding gameplay, and dramatic pacing that is right on the money, then Forbidden Island is for you.... This is a game that is well deserving of its Spiel des Jahres nomination.

It's Space Marines vs. Aliens in a show with everything but Yul Brynner

If baseball is your sport, this game is a home run. If not, it's a squib single.

Odd internal capitalization aside, this party game works well with all kinds of gamers.

This game is chaos in a little plastic coffin case.

This take on Liar's Dice with cards is made better by the addition of Flight cards with special abilities to affect the game.

This is a preview of the game that was on Kickstarter when this preview was published.

A mathy brain-burner with an attractive theme

It is enjoyable by casual gamers and experienced gamers equally, has a wonderful theme that only compliments the tense and exciting gameplay, and smartly tackles the deduction genre while avoiding the dry nature of some similar games.

Martin Wallace's latest is an interesting card game with a mean streak.

Danny thinks this is the best Ameritrash/Euro hybrid he has yet played.

Is that a Shoggoth in your mansion, or are you just happy to see me?

Knizia leaves modern art behind and returns to the classics

Nightfall is very successful in merging the CCG and the deck building genres.

A nice expansion to the original board game, in a portable package.

If you can't get enough of the brutal head-to-head confrontation of the original Nightfall, then you are in for a definate treat.

Billy reviews this game-changing new expansion.

Carcassonne in space, kicked up a notch.

Another winner in the family game arena from Out of the Box Publishing

A light card game that has chemistry!

Civilization with dice and a 30 minute play time

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a solid offering with a lot of personality, fun gameplay, and a theme that works surprisingly well.

When all is said and done, Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game really gives the feeling of building a civilization from scratch.

A super-light deck-builder probably best for kids and "non-gamers"

A nice casual romp in the Star Wars universe, without the expectation of an intense, brain-burning tactical game.

A nice first step into the waters of wargaming.

Stronghold is a visually stunning game, with unique non-symmetric game mechanics that successfully bridge the gap between different game styles.

The fun little puzzle game that drives word processors crazy

AEG's take on the deck-building game is thematic and fun

Manipulate the time streams to get the future you deserve in this interesting filler from Bucephalus.

Nerdbloggers reviews a Kickstarter funded worker placement game with a lot of potential.

So simple and so good you will wonder why no one had thought of it before

Danny reviews this nice little filler about feeding your friends to the zombie horde.

A new category to reward deeper strategy games reflects the state of the industry

Qwirkle is this year's SDJ winner, and 7 Wonders brings home the very first Kennerspiel (not award for best game using original Star Wars action figures).

A look at four games getting a lot of play around my house at this time.

An overview of Geek Chic's gaming furniture, and what I decided to order.