Each year (usually a bit later than this post) I choose my game of the year (GOTY) from the new to me games that I have played throughout the year.

I’ve decided to shake things up a little this year by dedicating two posts to it.

There is this post giving you the contenders for this year. Which will be followed by a post announcing my GOTY.

Let’s start by using the cool 3×3 image the bgstats can generate of the top 9 played new to me games of 2023.

I should point out that being in this 3×3 is no guarantee that the winner will be one of these games.

What surprised my with this 3×3 is Stonemaier Games account for a third of the games in this top 9 played.

Ok it’s time for the raw data showing all the new to me games played in 2023.

Technically I have only played 43 new to me games in 2023. Bgstats records Dice Masters as a new to me game. Which we all know it isn’t. But my plays of Dice Masters was before I had started using the bgstats app to record all my game plays.

I also shouldn’t include 51st State Ultimate Edition as a new to me game. It’s just a new edition (no changes to the game, it’s just a fancy version) of a game I’ve already played.

So excluding these two games narrows the field only slightly. It doesn’t make the decision any easier.

Which of these would be your GOTY?