Welcome to my personal top 10 Tabletop Games that were released this year (2019). There are so many games that come out all the time and I am sure there are a lot of games that I missed. If you have a game that you loved that came out during 2019 leave a comment! I will always give a game its fair run. Without further ado here is my list in no particular order.
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10. Band of Blades
Quick Info
Release Date: August 1st, 2019
Genre: RPG (Dark)
Company: Evil Hat Productions
Number of Players: 4-6
Playtime: ~2-6 hours
You are apart of the legion trying to make it back to skydagger keep after a crushing defeat. In this grimdark world, you are trying to survive against the undead commanded by the Cinder King. This takes the standard role-playing experience and adds some fun new mechanics. Create maneuvers, make deals, send offensive strategies, and lean on your fellow legionnaires to hopefully survive.
This is a very dark take on the standard roleplaying experience many are used to. But if you are familiar with games like Warhammer then this might be up your alley. It has the brutality of Game of Thrones and it really keeps you engaged.
Recommendation
If you love games like Dungeons and Dragons and Warhammer, this might be for you it depends on what kind of dark gameplay you are comfortable with.
9. Disney Villainous – Evil Comes Prepared
Quick Info
Release Date: July 2019
Genre: Card Game with Hand and Resource management.
Company: Ravensburger
Number of Players: 2-6
Playtime: 40-60 min
The original game came out in 2018, but I’ll just focus on what this expansion brings. I am always looking for a game to play with my family.
This expansion brings in Scar from the lion king which I felt was missing from the prior versions. Yzma and Ratigan are nice additions when I feel the need to throw off someone’s groove. But I really like the way that each villain has their own victory rules so it is different for each character you play giving higher replay value.
Each villain tracks towards their goal and throws fate at other players to try to put up roadblocks to prevent players from winning. Although sometimes the fate cards end up helping players, like Scar getting his succession line pile for his victory.
Recommendation
If you are a fan of card management and enjoy the bad guys in Disney classic movies then this might be a good game for you. Sometimes it is fun to be the bad guy.
8. We Need To Talk
Quick Info
Release Date: March 20th, 2019
Genre: Party Game
Company: Smirk and Dagger Games
Number of Players: 4-8 players
Playtime: 40-60 minutes
This game might seem intimidating at first, but luckily the whole intervention idea is centered around drawn hidden cards of a made-up nonsense type of problems. and you are trying to figure out the problem that your friends are concerned about.
This is a really fun game to have friends over and relax. It has a kind of jack box feel to it. I really enjoyed playing it and was able to get a few of my shy friends to be engaged in the fun. You can add additional rules as you would any house game and it doesn’t lose its touch.
There are some really out there “problems” that I don’t think are really guessable unless someone is really good at coming up with a metaphor for the problem. The primary rule is you have to come up with ways to give your concern without actually saying what it is. Like charades.
Recommendation
This is a fun game to do with friends, it is fun the first few times and you can add to the “problems” to make it more fun. It is a nice change-up from standard party games.
7. Wingspan
Quick Info
Release Date: March 8th, 2019
Genre: Card Game with hand and resource management
Company: Stonemaier Games
Number of Players:1-5 players
Playtime: 40-70 minutess
Are you a bird enthusiast? This one feels a little like zoo tycoon only its birds. You have four rounds to amass the most points. Attract the best birds to be apart of your wildlife preserve. The birds have various combos that allow you to create different chains.
The game is centered around generating food, laying eggs and the extremely diverse number of birds. There is also this nifty bird feeder dice tower that is a nice extra touch to the game. This game brings a couple of player types together.
For instance, I like all the various birds but I am a strategy game lover first and this one has a lot of potential strategies that can be really engaging.
You may also be on the other side and really enjoy the extremely diverse number of birds this game shows off and just want to build a habitat that fits your personal style, whether or not that makes you win the game is a different story. But it is all about having fun in the end.
Recommendation
A great strategy game with a lot of fun chaining mechanics. I did not expect to enjoy this game as much as I did. If you like strategy and birds then this one is at least worth a playthrough.
6. Zombie World
Quick Info
Release Date: July 2019-August 12th Kickstarter, now available on Amazon
Genre: Card Game, Horror
Company: Magpie Games
Number of Players:3-9 players
Playtime: 120-240 mins
There are a lot of different zombie-based games out there but one of the most enticing thing about this one is just how fast you can get up and running. It only just takes a few minutes to roll up the survivors, create events, and figure out how you complete those events.
Each player has a survivor they create with the cards but the primary story has to do with the group more than just a single survivor.
The cards look amazing and I really like how the cards give that sense of the unknown instead of the standard just run from the zombie and don’t get a bit from the zombie chasing you on the board.
Recommendation
There are a lot of Zombie Games out there and some are better than others. This one is a really nice Zombie game that is easy to get into and keeps you engaged. So as long as you are not sick of zombie games then this very much worth going after.
5. Maracaibo
Quick Info
Release Date: November 2019
Genre: Strategy, Card and Resource management
Company: Alexander Pfister (primary designer) and multiple publishers like Game’s Up
Number of Players:1-4 players
Playtime: 60-150 minutes
This is a pretty fun game if you enjoy strategizing and resource management. In this game, you and your friends are sailing around the Carribean trying to get as much coin, cards, ship upgrades and based on which faction you align with you can gain more points to help you win the game.
You sail around the various villages and have commodities you can trade in to upgrade your ship and help win the game. There is also explorer gameplay where you have a character that can go through the forest to gain more income and upgrades.
This game really ticks off a lot of my strategy game options but for those who do not like a lot of upkeep and keeping track of multiple assets and paths might be turned off by this game.
Recommendation
This game is great for all strategy game lovers, other players might get bored with the upkeep.
4. Star Wars Outer Rim
Quick Info
Release Date: May 15th, 2019
Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy, Card Game, Resource Management
Company: Fantasy Flight Games
Number of Players: 1 – 4 players
Playtime: 120-180 mins
I am a huge fan of Star Wars (As I assume most of us are) in this version of Star Wars you get to play as a scoundrel and dodge the empire.
Smuggle cargo and try to achieve your personal goals while getting help from some of the characters from the lore. Starting with a simple starship you get to gain reputation, gear and get some modifications done.
To accomplish your goals but you need to do jobs and bounties without being taken out by the empire or other scoundrels not wanting to be shown up by you or your crew. Can you become a legend of the Outer Rim?
One of the nice parts of the game is that there is no force, no jedi, no sith and no lightsabers. This lets players not worry about some mega player type that can wreck your bounty.
Recommended
This is a super fun game that is not centered around the force, where you can enjoy being the bad guy and outsmart your rivals and the law.
3. Obscurio
Quick Info
Release Date: November 15th, 2019
Genre: Fantasy, Mysterium-like
Company: Libellud
Number of Players: 2 – 8 players
Playtime: 40 mins
In this game, you play as mages trying to rip off a sorcerer only to find out that it is not an easy task and is now after your lives. He has turned his tower into illusions and traps that aim to kill your party.
One person plays as the Grimoire to lead the party to exit and another player is a traitor that is trying to lead the party down illusions that will kill the party. This is not a Mysterium killer, we should just keep this as a separate game inspired by Mysterium.
Something that I do wish was improved was the traitor play was downplayed as it feels too obvious even having the players close their eyes. There should have been a way that the traitor’s action happens at the same time as the players trying to escape in order to keep the traitor play more enjoyable.
Recommendation
As with all fantasy games I do enjoy them, and even with the traitor play not being as awesome as I would like this game is still fun and the playset is really fun. I do think it is worth playing.
2. Res Arcana
Quick Info
Release Date: March 21st, 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Company: Sand Castle Games
Number of Players: 2 – 4 players
Playtime: 20 – 60 minutes
Perhaps it’s because of my love of fantasy games, like Dungeons and Dragons and really anything in a fantasy-like setting, but I really loved this game.
Play in a style that you most enjoy, whether that is a Necromancer, Druid, Witch, Duelist and more.
Your goal is to gather elements called essences, craft unique artifacts and after a bit of play, you can summon dragons in your quest to conquer places and mages. It is a card management game that has some nods at games like Magic the Gathering.
Recommendation
This is one of my favorite games from last year. I highly recommend you play this game if you enjoy fantasy games, then I know you will enjoy this.
Honorable Mentions
Wave Length
A fun game that takes its inspiration of charades with a physic twist
Horrified
A Ravensburger game, where your goal is to rid your town of the classical monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and more!
Growl
This fun fast-paced card game one player starts as Werewolf Zero and is tasked with infecting the other players and getting them to help infect the entire village. Find out if humans or werewolves win!
1. Lord of the Rings: Journey in Middle Earth
Quick Info
Release Date: April 19th, 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Company: Fantasy Flight Games
Number of Players: 1 – 5 players
Playtime: 60 – 120 minutes
In what I feel like is the closest to a Dungeons and Dragons game without the prep, is Lord of the Rings Journey in Middle Earth. While is not the same as a Dungeons and Dragons session it is a really great way to bring those friends of yours that do not understand it!
I see this game as a gateway to D&D. Fight the evils of middle earth and play adventures as part of a larger campaign. The only thing can be a little off-putting is the app companion but the game is still really fun and worth playing.
It can also be a good way to start getting your friends addicted to Mini collecting and they can finally understand your obsession.
Recommendation
I absolutely recommend this game! Bring your friends and save middle earth from the darkness. Play in your favorite style in J.R.R Tolkien’s universe. May this be the leap into many more RPG games for you.