It’s that time of year once again when content creators of all types throw top 10 lists of this and that at you.

I’m not one to avoid jumping on a bandwagon.

This post is all about me choosing my game of the year for 2022 from the 54 new to me games that I played.

Now the caveat is that this is new to me. Which means that the games may or may not have been published in 2022. In fact one of them is approximately 40 years old! But until this year I had not played them.

But first here are some stats from that really great app, bgstats.

First my top 9 new to me games based on the number of game plays.

Next up the bgstats insights for those 54 new to me games.

Roll & Writes

I’ve played a few roll and writes this year. That side of the collection has grown considerably also. So I think it’s safe to say it’s a genre I enjoy playing.

There is one shown above, it’s not only my least favourite roll and write, but probably my turkey of the year also. That game is Super-skill Pinball: 4 Cade. The least said about this game the better.

Out of the remaining 8 roll and writes if I had to choose one to be the roll and write for 2022 it’d have to be…

the combotastic Three Sisters.

I really like all the others. They are great, fun roll and writes. But wow Three Sisters just blows the mind, especially when the combos kick off. The use of the rondel and die selection introduce a bit of decision making whether to take a die to deny an opponent that die and action, or go for one you really need.

A great roll and write that really does stand out.

Expansion of 2022

My expansion of the year is the Rise of Fenris expansion for Scythe.

I had a blast playing the 8 game campaign. Which can be reset and played again. However you can also add it as modules to the main game. Adding more options, variability, replay ability to the game.

But that first play through. The twists and turns. The big reveals. Epic.

Also this was the last game I played with my friend Ben before he left us. Ben will be missed. But it’s the fond gaming memories that remain behind. Rise of Fenris will be one of those memories.

Honourable mentions: Dune Imperium: Rise of Ix (I won’t play without this expansion), Tapestry: Arts and Architecture

Ok onto the main event.

54 games to choose from.

Some incredible games played.

A very very hard choice. However I did come to a decision.

My GOTY 2022 is…

Drawn to the game by comparisons to Scythe, but apart from a mechanic or two it’s not really like Scythe.

I loved this game. From the variable board setup, to the era cards, power ups via paintings, variable leader powers and player boards, being able to tailor the maps to encourage or discourage combat.

It’s a really great game.

Honourable Mentions: Survive Escape from Atlantis, Libertalia Winds of Galecrest, Portal: the uncooperative cake acquisition game, The Thing boardgame.

Obviously I’ll be returning at the start of 2023 with the monthly round up plus the stats for for 2022.