Last modified April 5, 2025 by Jarjar

So here is the first awards ceremony for the best games of 2024 on this blog! The requirements for the candidates:
–> Games released in 2023 or 2024 (as several 2023 releases only arrived here in 2024 and as games released in late 2023 were mostly only played in 2024)
–> Games played in 2024
SETI for example arrived here in January 2025, you will probably see him in the ceremony next year 😉
Regardless of the category, please note that these are all games that I enjoyed and that I have no hesitation in recommending. I put a lot of time and thought into preparing this article and even revisited a few games to confirm my choices. I hope you enjoy!

BEST GAME BOX COVER

It was a 3-player race for this first prize awarded, which was very difficult to decide!
Planta Nubo, Honestly, with an intriguing and beautiful image like this, it was an automatic purchase. A post-apocalyptic sci-fi look, where we see strange airships and cities perched on trees. A game that I really enjoyed, too, quite original in a rather unique universe.

Evenfall, this majestic tree with detailed contours, with its captivating yellow and these magicians who seem to seek to communicate with it, arouses curiosity about the game that hides behind it. A game rich in content with all its cards, evolving in a mysterious and fascinating universe.

Black Forest , on a rather imposing box, this mythical and intriguing forest invites us along a path that offers a striking feeling of depth. A magnificent play of colors unfolds thanks to the rays of the sun that penetrate through the foliage, creating a supernatural and mystical atmosphere. On the right is the original image used for this illustration, presented without the filters.

WINNER: PLANTA NUBO

BEST ARTWORKS

Evenfall, for the quality, the detail and the magnificent illustrations on the cards, a lot of work! Small downside on the graphic assembly with these text squares and funny fonts which spoil the finish a little.
Harvest, stands out for its rather unique, vintage farmhouse-style look, with an attractive and warm color scheme and lots of details in its illustrations. Very charming!
Endeavor Deep Sea, With its numerous tiles representing the ocean floor, beautifully illustrated and rich in details that harmonize perfectly with the game mechanics.

WINNER: HARVEST

BEST BOX INSERT

In this slightly crazy category, there is only one competitor, therefore the winner: The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth. Not only is it an excellent game, a streamlined remake of 7 Wonders Duel, but the insert is perfect, eco-friendly, and everything has its place. Now, what's going to happen with the expansions? A big box coming, no doubt, as seems to be the trend.

BEST EXTENSION

Abyss: De Profundis, which somehow counterbalances the chests that sometimes reward luckier players a lot (or even too much), adds a little tension to know if we're going to get our precious loot taken or not. An expansion that doesn't lengthen or complicate the game, adding variety to the lords. And the illustrations are still top notch!
Disney Lorcana: Ursula's Return : The excellent Lorcana TCG offers us here a cooperative version that is really not easy but very fun, offering another way to explore the game. It seems imperative to take the time to build your deck well if you want to succeed in overcoming Ursula's challenges.
Lost ruins of Arnak: the missing expeditions, for this fun and challenging campaign that transforms the gaming experience by changing the importance of different elements depending on the chosen scenario. Perfectly suited to solo play.
7 Wonders: Architects – Medals, A nice expansion, which adds a small mechanic without making the game too complicated, adding another parameter that will influence our choice of card. It also includes two wonders to build and some research cards, to bring a minimum of additional content and diversify the game.
Akropolis: Athena, which adds small tiles of a single space that we receive when completing an arrangement objective, which gives a feeling to Harmonies where we must place the tiles not only to optimize the base score, but to complete these objectives.

WINNER: ABYSS: DE PROFUNDIS

BEST THEME

Apiary, for its bees conquering space, I had never seen such a theme in a game. This very original theme piqued my curiosity and it's a very good game!
Endeavor Deep Sea, exploration of the seabed, a very present and very well illustrated theme, which makes you want to do the explore action just to turn over the tiles =)
Rats of Wistar, where you play as one of four rat families planning an escape from the laboratory of the famous Wistar Institute. Using your sometimes extraordinary skills, you will explore the farm and even the pantry to retrieve the delicious cheese. Very cool theme! This game could have also been included in the best work of art category!

WINNER: RATS OF WISTAR

BEST PRODUCTION

Kutná Hora: The City of Silver, a magnificent game, very well produced with its re-wood pieces, very fun to handle, with a dynamic market mechanic balancing supply and demand represented by small displays.
Endeavor Deep Sea, the entire Endeavor game system reworked, with this super fun exploration and a superbly illustrated game. We definitely want to play it again immediately after our first game.
Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon, another beautiful production, with its corporation tiles which change from one game to another and this activation of the lines which gives surprise bonuses, really beautiful work!

WINNER: KUTNA HORA, THE CITY OF SILVER

BEST HIDDEN GEM

Creature Caravan A surprise game for me, one I hadn't really paid attention to. Produced by an author who designs practically everything himself, Ryan Laukat. A fun race in a rather unique world! This game also pushed me to research information about the author and discover the magnificent documentary " Crafting Azirum » which is dedicated to him.

BEST INNOVATIVE MECHANICS

Black Forest, with this really well thought out resource wheel which pushes our thinking each time we consume resources (note here that I have not played Glassroad), coupled with worker placement, the whole thing is very well done.
Kutná Hora: The City of Silver, for this innovative economic mechanism of dynamic markets that adjusts to supply and demand. It's truly delicious as a mechanism!
Evacuation, for this mechanic of deconstructing resource production to rebuild it on the new planet, while being assisted by satellites, really brilliant! You have to love planning games!

WINNER: EVACUATION

BEST FAMILY GAME

Harmonies : for its elegance and fun puzzles. Simple rules, but still a fairly deep game, with difficult decisions. A bit of a learning curve to master. The final result is magnificent!
MLEM, Space agency : For the quality of the components, this magnificent playmat, and the fun it offers. An excellent "push your luck" type game, without a doubt my favorite of the genre thanks to the shared rocket from which players can jump at any time. Easy to learn and always fun while offering interesting decisions.
Bomb Busters : a very accessible, legacy-style game with 66 missions, which really manages to stress us out but above all to entertain everyone! A game where you want to play one game after another.

WINNER: BOMB BUSTERS

BEST 2 PLAYER GAME

Sky Team : for a mechanic never before seen in a game: piloting a plane with dice, for the quantity of missions available and the very present theme (even if you can't talk with your teammate), the thrill of landing together safely despite all the obstacles, or the disappointment of crashing with a misplaced 6.
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth : Which really surprised me, very well-felt theme. I was hesitant that it was a rehashed copy of 7 Wonders Duel, but that's not the case. Much more streamlined, with a rather unique illustration style. Both games keep their place in my game library.

WINNER: SKY TEAM

BEST CARD GAME

Rebel Princess, a trick-taking game that takes the Queen of Spades and adds a little twist. Each player has a power and each offers specific rules that sometimes create chaos. A game that was very popular during the holiday season here!
LUZ, an almost classic trick-taking game, but which stands out with its original twist, since you will only know the color of your cards but not their values. You will then have to study the value of your opponents' cards to try to deduce your game as accurately as possible and know how to bet in order to take your bet tricks. Original, subtle and quite strategic!
Forest Shuffle, a clever little card game with quick turns and a suspenseful ending. You grow trees and fill them with animal and plant species to score points (really a lot of points), where you share an open draw pile with other players.

WINNER: REBEL PRINCESS

BEST PRINT AND PLAY

Waypoints, a completely open game where you have to visit and see as many animals as possible, but be careful, the temperature sometimes complicates things! Super fun, you want to start exploring again immediately. Several maps available, even in the community which is quite impressive. Very active Discord server for this publishing house (Postmark Games) that I love! I'm cheating a little here, because the game was released in 2023, but I played it a lot in 2024.

BEST DICE GAME

I love dice games. Yet there is only one nominee and winner in this category: White Castle. With a clean and elegant design, this game manages to create surprising strategic depth despite its constraints – only 9 possible actions during the game. This limitation requires careful thought to optimize each decision. The execution is remarkable both visually and mechanically. I like this dice selection system: choosing the lowest value offers a beneficial bonus, while the highest allows access to more playable areas. Definitely a great game. It arrived here in late 2023, but I played it extensively in 2024.

BEST SOLO GAME

WaypointsThis excellent print and play game, although it can be played with an unlimited number of players, doesn't really offer any interaction. Several monthly challenges have been proposed on BGG and a pack of new cards is available in the community. It's an excellent game system that is likely to last a long time.
Black Forest, no automation to manage other than a worker that must be moved. Allows you to learn all the subtleties of the wheel.

WINNER: WAYPOINTS

GAMES OF THE YEAR

Finally, the last category and not the least! The nominees:
Endeavor Deep Sea offers us a simple mechanic that is perfectly integrated into the theme, offering numerous possible combinations. The gaming experience is rich without being unnecessarily complex. Thanks to the variety of scenarios and the random drawing of ocean tiles, the game benefits from excellent replayability!
Kutná Hora: The City of Silver, for the quality of the production and the overall realization, for this dynamic market economic mechanic which fluctuates according to supply and demand, which I really loved, and finally for the historical side well presented in the game.
Evacuation, Despite the rules being difficult to grasp, once you get the hang of it, the game runs really well. You have to do some good transport planning, it's super fun and it offers a really attractive and beautiful visual!
Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon, for production, these different corporations offering unique challenges, as well as the possibilities offered by the game systems are simply delicious.
Pirates of Maracaibo: for its rather tactical side, this board which changes as the game progresses, its numerous options, its numerous scoring paths and its dynamic side: the game only lasts three rounds, entirely managed by the players. Coupled with a pirate theme which I like.

MAJOR WINNER GAME RELEASED IN 2023: KUTNA HORA: THE CITY OF SILVER

MAJOR WINNER GAME RELEASED 2024: ENDEAVOR DEEP SEA