Happy Holidays! It’s the best time of the year…. Gamesmas! Here is this year’s list of self indulgent game offerings I am hoping to play before this year goes gently into that good night. My wish is that you will find something new-to-you here that you can get to your table soon. Cheers!
Fun Board Games for the Holidays
Start Ups (Oink Games, 3-7 Players)
This small box game packs a potent strategy punch. Players will be vying for control of six companies by playing shares (cards) into their tableau. At the end of the game, the player with the majority of stock in a company will receive a big payout from all the players who own less stock than they do. This forces you to make tough decisions about whether to invest in any given company at all, because once you start, you’d really like to have the most. The turns are super simple and the games run 30 minutes or less, but you will feel the tension from your first turn onward. With a player count of up to seven, this is a great alternative to a party style trivia game.
Wyatt Earp (Eagle-Gryphon Games, 2-4 Players)
You’ve probably never heard of this one from Eagle-Gryphon Games, but it has been around for almost two decades. The mechanics are very much like Rummy so it should be very easy to teach. But here, you are trying to apprehend seven of the most famous outlaws from American western lore. Each of the outlaws will have reward money that will build up during the round. When a player “goes out” the round ends and the players who played sets of cards representing an outlaw, can share in the reward. The first player to earn $25,000 wins. The components are solid, the theme shines through very well, and as I said before, grandma already knows how to play because it’s a timeless card game wrapped in spaghetti western’s clothing. Really fun.
RELATED: Gamesmas 2023 – Best Board Games for the Holiday Season
Winter Court (Rio Grande Games, 2 Players)
Winter Court is a strictly two player game where the players will be taking turns playing cards to one of the 12 court members lined up in between them, each represented by a pawn. The goal is to have the most pawns on your side by the time the deck runs out. Once again, the turns are simple but the choices are painful. Each Royal can only have one or two of the six suits in the deck played to their position. Each suit has ten cards ranging from 1-10. Pawns can only be moved toward your side if you play a card of a higher value than is already there. So, you really don’t want to play the 9 of a suit if the 10 is still in the deck or your opponent’s hand, but you might have to take a chance. Also adding strategy is the fact that some of the Royals have special powers that can be used to modify the rules. There’s a good number of choices for such a small box, but this a perfect Gamesmas selection for a party of two.
Rock Hard: 1977 (Devir Games, 2-5 Players)
If you want to live a year in the life of a struggling musician trying to make it big, then this is a perfect choice for Gamesmas. Practice your craft, play gigs, record a demo, get a record deal, quit your day job, and party along the way. But don’t get addicted to “candy” or your blood sugar will crash. If any of this sounds fun, then it probably will be for your group. There’s tons of theme dripping from this simple worker placement game. The sum total is as much an experience as a board game, and it is likely to be a hit that you won’t quickly forget.
RELATED: Gamesmas 2022 – Our Favorite Games for the Holidays
Wallenstein (Queen Games, 3-5 Players)
This one is certainly a self-indulgent addition to my Gamesmas list. Wallenstein is a stodgy-looking game with a colorful map of Europe and a bunch of wooden cubes. The point of the game is to control territories and score points. But there are two special features that make this one a favorite of mine. First of all, based on limited information of what is to come, players secretly program the ten actions they will take each round and then take turns revealing and executing their actions one at a time. This keeps everyone engaged and provides meaningful choices and tension. Second of all, there is the tower. This foot-tall behemoth acts as a decider of battles, as players’ cubes are simultaneously dumped into the top of it, and whoever has the most cubes exit at the bottom wins. It’s total mayhem and excitement, and I want more of it. So don’t be square this Gamesmas. Be cubed instead!
5 Towers (Pegasus Spiele, 2-5 Players)
This one features a Name-That-Tune style bidding system where you go around the table saying, “I can add to my towers using X amount of cards.” Each round there are 5 cards offered from the deck. Cards can only be added to your towers in ascending order, so you have to decide if you want to bid on these particular ones or wait until something better comes along, which might never really happen. Games play in less than 30 minutes, and the five different towers you can build have quirky art with some obvious references to geek culture intellectual properties. The cards look great assembled into the towers on the table. 5 Towers is a worthy addition to the Gamesmas list. Check it out.
RELATED: Gamesmas 2021 – The Best Time Of The Tabletop Year
Survive The Island (Zygomatic, 2-5 Players)
How better than to distract your over-politicized relative than sink their boat with a sea monster, watch them try to swim to shore and (oops) get eaten by a shark? Interested now? Well then take a look at this reprint of the now classic game, Survive: Escape From Atlantis. Players will be trying to use boats and, if that fails, swim their meeples to safety as the island slowly sinks into the ocean. You’ll win by getting the most points worth of your meeples to shore before the island goes kaput. All the while, sharks, sea monsters, and kaiju will be lurking. This game is mayhem in a box and if you can handle your opponents openly screwing up your plans, your group will have a blast this Gamesmas.
Pergamon (Eagle-Gryphon Games, 2-4 Players)
I don’t know too much about this one, but the new second edition recently caught my eye and I picked up a copy. In this one players are archaeologists digging for items to place in a museum in order to earn glory and recognition. The players use a bidding mechanism to get to the dig sites early and with the most grant money, in order to get a chance at the best pieces. Once recovered, the pieces are organized in a row to try and form complete items which are then displayed in the museum for points. This one boasts simple rules, nice components, and a theme designed to impress during any family Gamesmas night. I hope to “dig in” and test this theory very soon.
RELATED: The 12 Games of Gamesmas 2020
Incan Gold (Eagle-Gryphon Games, 3-8 Players)
Another game that is not a trivia game but can still handle a good number of players, Incan Gold is a press your luck style game, where over the course of five rounds players will try to stay in the temple long enough each round to grab the most gems and artifacts before two of the same hazards appear and cause them to lose it all. Players will stare each other down with their best poker faces as they choose either their Explore or Exit card and reveal it simultaneously. Players who stay see the next card (good or bad) and the players who leave will bank their treasures and sit out the rest of that round. There will be laughs and groans and the rules couldn’t be any simpler. Even with eight players, each game should take less than 30 minutes. A great choice for Gamesmas.
Zoo Vadis (Bitewing Games, 3-7 Players)
Designed by the great Reiner Knizia, this game is a remake of a game called Quo Vadis. While the original consisted of Roman senators trying to work their way up the line of power, the new version does the same thing, but in a zoo full of gorgeously represented wooden animal pieces. This game is one of pure negotiation. In order to move a piece out of a space and up, players need to have a majority of votes of all players sharing animals in the space they’re trying to move out of. There are limited spaces all along the way, so without negotiating you really can’t move up very well. That’s where gold comes in. Along the way, you will earn gold which you will use to bribe others. Complicating matters is that gold is what determines who wins at the end. Complicating matters even more, is that only players who have at least one of their pieces at the topmost space on the board are eligible to win. So if you have the most gold and no pieces at the top? You lose. It’s a perfect game for extroverted game geeks, if that’s who you invite to Gamesmas.
Well, there it is, Gamesmas board games List (2024). Check out my channel (www.youtube.com/fenirob) to catch some of these and many other games in action. My wish is that wherever you gather this holiday season, there too shall be Gamesmas. Stay safe, stay nerdy, and have an awesome 2025.
- Gamesmas 2024 – The Best 10 Games for the Holiday Season - December 11, 2024
- Spooktacular Board Game List 2024 - October 19, 2024
- 10 Hot Board Games for Summertime Tabletop Fun - July 10, 2024
