10 years ago, I sold my entire Magic collection. Was done with TCGs/CCGs. Then the owner of my FLGS convinced me to play in the SWU Spark of Rebellion Prerelease and now I'm hooked. Such a great game. I agree with Zee, it's fresh. The back and forth of the action system is great. Never a dull moment. I also love the multiplayer format Twin Suns! Get together with some friends and play the whole night. My most played game of 2024! And my favorite.
I really need to get Atlas Lost and Nova Roma played. They both came in when I was extremely burnt out on learning new games, and got pushed to the back burner.
I feel like the general impression of this year from what i've seen is that its been "alright" but it has been absolutely KILLER for me, just an insane number of games that are hitting my top 50 of all time and at least one cracking the top 10. Quick note if Dilisio sees this: Civolution is terrific solo, beats out AFfO as my favorite solo heavy euro. There is a fan made app on BGG that replaces the deck of cards and makes it run even smoother.
I played 13 games published in 2024. Here are my top 10. (There may be some games, marked with a “*”, that were technically published last year but I didn’t get a chance to play them until this year.) 10. BLACK FOREST. This game has such interesting resource conversions, and good action selection. I did play one game that ended unexpectedly, so I have to remember that it can go quickly! 9. FORGES OF RAVENSHIRE. I was really impressed by this. I hadn’t seen the “place a worker, take a worker” mechanic since Raiders of the North Sea, but this one is with dice whose values affect the power of the action, and the dice you pull back give you neat effects based on tiles you’ve collected. I agree with the criticism that burning all the wood for coal is probably not viable, but I was charmed by this game and really enjoyed it. 8. UNCONSCIOUS MIND. Agree with everything that was said in this video. Remarkably smooth with a beautiful theme and interesting gameplay. I didn’t quite grasp the district scoring, but I’m sure I would with more plays, which I hope to have. 7. EZRA AND NEHEMIAH. This one was enjoyable and, like Mike said, did feel like a “greatest hits” from Phillips and MacDonald. The walls are tricky to master, but certainly help you when you do! 6. PAMPERO. This one is a beautiful game, and I was surprised by how well it flowed. The decisions were so punishing, but I loved it! The only minor criticisms I’d have would be with the turn order, or with the weakness of some of the cards. However, I kept wanting to bring it back to the table. I love how you have to choose to sacrifice money to take actions, knowing that money = points. 5. EVACUATION.* Now we’re getting into some of my favourite games of all time. Suchý absolutely delivers on this mind-crunching space game, and I am all here for it. The turn phases are so unique, and I love the action point system and the ramifications of how many points you use. You often can’t do everything you want to do, so you have to make great choices! I also love how you can play with certain modes or modules to make it exactly the game you want. 4. INVENTORS OF THE SOUTH TIGRIS. Considering the authors, I was surprised at how much of a point salad this game is, but I love how you can play it many times, trying different strategies each time, and you never know who will come out on top. I have the feeling this will only improve with time. 3. VOIDFALL.* I was sure I was going to hate this game. It looked like a giant 4X game with tons of combat, excessive miniatures, and an absurdly long setup time. And you know what? It kinda is all those things. But I think the reason I don’t hate it is its Euro nature, with all the resource management and track advancement that you do. The combat is fully deterministic so you can plan out the full thing without having to worry about things like dice luck, and most of it is not even with other players, but with the Voidborn aliens. Absolutely worth the time investment. Great game. 2. INVENTIONS: EVOLUTION OF IDEAS. I’d played several Lacerdas before, but this one absolutely grabbed me from the first play. It’s incredibly complex, and yet it’s not very difficult to teach because the mechanics make sense and the iconography and player aids are excellent. The wealth tiles are admittedly the main source of points, but they are expensive to play, and you have to invest in other actions to get them. Pretty much everyone I’ve taught this to loves the game. 1. SCHOLARS OF THE SOUTH TIGRIS.* This game is about translating (I’m a French teacher) and involves colour theory (I dabble in design), plus it involves dice placement (a favourite mechanic of mine), so this game is just perfect for me. I love it so much. Not much more to say, other than that I love it! Inventions: Evolution of Ideas Inventors of the South Tigris Scholars of the South Tigris* Voidfall*
Arcs is definitely my number 1. Have to agree with Mike, astounding game that is easier to digest than root. I can absolutely see why people won’t like it, it can get pretty cut throat, so bad it hurts. But me and my group LOvE it! Still have to try creature caravan, definitely on my shopping list to get soon!
There are actually not that many things to do in "SETI", you essentially either fly, scan or upgrade. And it plays heavier than it is, because you have to consider so many details for each action. The theme is cool, but the game has problems.
their top 5 dont cross with any if thier own top 5 is probably rare. I figured all 3 would have arcs and or andromdea edge as on of thier top 5 games. Seeing zee was the only person to pick the raven game was pretty crazy to me.
My experience of LoTR Duel has been different than Zee's; the Area Control and Race win conditions are both significant but the Ring track seems like a clear third and neither me nor my housemate who I play with have been able to win with it yet.
Great stuff as usual! Thanks! Only one comment…since when lords of the rings duel is asymmetric game?! Is it because the bad guys when starting have one coin less 😂?! The rest is completely symmetrical. From the ring track to the military map…😜 such a cool game…
@@thedicetower It's good enough to be on both! But seriously, I'll go watch that list too. I'm already bought in to Heroscape heavily, but enjoy the videos.
Ezra and Nehemiah is significantly lighter than their newest release, no idea where Mike is coming from. In fact it might be lighter than the entire South Tigris series.
Is Ito that much different than Top Ten/That Escalated Quickly? I downloaded the rules for Ito and played with the Mind cards and our group prefers the quicker, less convoluted alternatives
I love the tension from having a wider possibility of cards. We had an 8-player game where the highest card dealt was a 46. That can't happen if the cards are only numbered 1-10. -Chris
@thedicetower fair. OTOH, if you get a spread of numbers but a few really close to each other like 1, 10, 30, 51, 52, 54, 75, 98, laying down the 50's seem like a crapshoot.
River of Gold is an L5R game? Where's the game where you hit Oni and zombies with tetsubo? How about a Last Bastion-style game with players defending a Crab stronghold from encroaching Shadowlands hordes?
Civolution is awesome favorite game this year, more theme then they said I think I wish it was one more round in length. And I usually don't like his designs and the components are awesome, I love the player boards. So much to do, so many paths feels like a civ game where can't do it all. Biggest disappointment is Unconscious Mind I give it like a 6. The town board disconnect and the way the end game is triggered it was so un-fun when we where likely parts of the game a lot. The art was amazing, the components great, the table/action selection and the player treating people all good brought down by the other things to the point of dislike. Other then that I have not played most of these (or heard of them) which is something to how many games came out because I played many. Also Primal and Creature Caravan are good. Don't like Star Wars much so no Unlimited.
I had thought that, too. But SWU is great! You just have to set yourself limits like $xxx per month. We built a cube and play Sealed and Draft with it.
I only get the starter decks for SWU, and I love it. I’ve not bought a single pack. It’s a great design to give you the option to go full collectible or just dabble and still enjoy it. I think they’ve likely broadened their appeal and increased their total sales by doing that, rather than forcing you into a money pit like so many others.
Arcs apparent increase in accessibility does not expand its demographics due to its length and thinky-ness. This surprised me and finally stirred me away from getting it. Still fully a gamer's afternoon game.
Roy left the Dice Tower a while back and now owns and runs an Anime and Board Games shop called Otaku. He is living his best life and seems super happy
Creature Caravan is also my wife's favorite this year. I just don't get it. I guess it works if everyone just wants to play a solo game in a multiplayer setting. I need to find the opportunity to rid of it before she notices. Just ordered Castle Combo from GN tho
I really dislike that Mike decided to not include Andromeda's edge because it is too similar to Dwellings. Basically treating it as if it was alike to a "big box" or "essential" version of the original game... none of which is the case. This was a very bad choice, and will not age well.
I think it will be fine. It's not like Mike hasn't talked about the game and loves it a ton, and I'm sure it will show up on his top 100 list. We'll all be fine. :)
I hate when creators make these lists full of crowdfunding games that you can't get anywhere, what's the point of it? Even if they will be available in retail at some point in some form, then they are not 2024 games anymore.
There's no reason to watch these lists anymore. So many of the games are crowdfunded and not remotely attainable. It's like the creators are utterly unattached from the real world and a significant portion of their audience.
Nova Roma- available at Retail, River of Gold - retail only, Creature Caravan can be purchased through Red Raven, Almost all of these games that were KS are either available at retail or will be shortly.
Serious question. Do you think we should ignore games that were Kickstarted? And if so, is there any other criteria that we should follow? We are simply telling you our favorite games. How and where they are available doesn't come into play, frankly.
I respectfully disagree. I own a bunch of these games from retail and only one Kickstarter (Andromeda’s Edge) And I really don’t mind seeing games that are difficult to obtain. I enjoy the hobby and finding out about other games I know nothing about. These are personal Top 10 lists and shouldn’t be restricted due to retail availability. Just my opinion. I really enjoy the videos.
Original poster is full of it. 26 unique games. 14 crowd funded, 12 not. Was able to find someone selling for retail for 24 out of 26. Original poster flat out refused to do basic research to confirm anything he said before posting.
Everyone at the dice tower is great but these 3 are just my favorite combo.
Top 10 list of hosting trios?
Always great to see Mike! I love the banter between the 3 of you.
10 years ago, I sold my entire Magic collection. Was done with TCGs/CCGs. Then the owner of my FLGS convinced me to play in the SWU Spark of Rebellion Prerelease and now I'm hooked. Such a great game. I agree with Zee, it's fresh. The back and forth of the action system is great. Never a dull moment.
I also love the multiplayer format Twin Suns! Get together with some friends and play the whole night. My most played game of 2024! And my favorite.
I really need to get Atlas Lost and Nova Roma played. They both came in when I was extremely burnt out on learning new games, and got pushed to the back burner.
I was pretty surprised when Tom said he's not a fan of Stefan Feld until I realized that the only game I really enjoy by him is Castles of Burgundy...
I feel like the general impression of this year from what i've seen is that its been "alright" but it has been absolutely KILLER for me, just an insane number of games that are hitting my top 50 of all time and at least one cracking the top 10.
Quick note if Dilisio sees this: Civolution is terrific solo, beats out AFfO as my favorite solo heavy euro. There is a fan made app on BGG that replaces the deck of cards and makes it run even smoother.
21:59 "I see the guy, Mike" needs to be in the funniest clips of the year video.
Go go SW:U great choice Tom! Lmk if you wanna jam Webcam games
Star Wars: Unlimited is incredible. Great choice.
Maybe Atlas Lost could be a Dice Tower essential to bring it to the US!
Will Tom do an
in-depth review of Civolution?
🤞
A Message From The Stars is not a numbers game. If you know the alphabet and can count to 6, you can play this game. (And you should, it's great!)
I’ve ignored this title because the title sounds like astrology and tarot card reading or some teen romance movie. But the alien theme makes sense. 😂
I LOVE castle combo. I stand with Zee.
I played 13 games published in 2024. Here are my top 10. (There may be some games, marked with a “*”, that were technically published last year but I didn’t get a chance to play them until this year.)
10. BLACK FOREST. This game has such interesting resource conversions, and good action selection. I did play one game that ended unexpectedly, so I have to remember that it can go quickly!
9. FORGES OF RAVENSHIRE. I was really impressed by this. I hadn’t seen the “place a worker, take a worker” mechanic since Raiders of the North Sea, but this one is with dice whose values affect the power of the action, and the dice you pull back give you neat effects based on tiles you’ve collected. I agree with the criticism that burning all the wood for coal is probably not viable, but I was charmed by this game and really enjoyed it.
8. UNCONSCIOUS MIND. Agree with everything that was said in this video. Remarkably smooth with a beautiful theme and interesting gameplay. I didn’t quite grasp the district scoring, but I’m sure I would with more plays, which I hope to have.
7. EZRA AND NEHEMIAH. This one was enjoyable and, like Mike said, did feel like a “greatest hits” from Phillips and MacDonald. The walls are tricky to master, but certainly help you when you do!
6. PAMPERO. This one is a beautiful game, and I was surprised by how well it flowed. The decisions were so punishing, but I loved it! The only minor criticisms I’d have would be with the turn order, or with the weakness of some of the cards. However, I kept wanting to bring it back to the table. I love how you have to choose to sacrifice money to take actions, knowing that money = points.
5. EVACUATION.* Now we’re getting into some of my favourite games of all time. Suchý absolutely delivers on this mind-crunching space game, and I am all here for it. The turn phases are so unique, and I love the action point system and the ramifications of how many points you use. You often can’t do everything you want to do, so you have to make great choices! I also love how you can play with certain modes or modules to make it exactly the game you want.
4. INVENTORS OF THE SOUTH TIGRIS. Considering the authors, I was surprised at how much of a point salad this game is, but I love how you can play it many times, trying different strategies each time, and you never know who will come out on top. I have the feeling this will only improve with time.
3. VOIDFALL.* I was sure I was going to hate this game. It looked like a giant 4X game with tons of combat, excessive miniatures, and an absurdly long setup time. And you know what? It kinda is all those things. But I think the reason I don’t hate it is its Euro nature, with all the resource management and track advancement that you do. The combat is fully deterministic so you can plan out the full thing without having to worry about things like dice luck, and most of it is not even with other players, but with the Voidborn aliens. Absolutely worth the time investment. Great game.
2. INVENTIONS: EVOLUTION OF IDEAS. I’d played several Lacerdas before, but this one absolutely grabbed me from the first play. It’s incredibly complex, and yet it’s not very difficult to teach because the mechanics make sense and the iconography and player aids are excellent. The wealth tiles are admittedly the main source of points, but they are expensive to play, and you have to invest in other actions to get them. Pretty much everyone I’ve taught this to loves the game.
1. SCHOLARS OF THE SOUTH TIGRIS.* This game is about translating (I’m a French teacher) and involves colour theory (I dabble in design), plus it involves dice placement (a favourite mechanic of mine), so this game is just perfect for me. I love it so much. Not much more to say, other than that I love it!
Inventions: Evolution of Ideas
Inventors of the South Tigris
Scholars of the South Tigris*
Voidfall*
Arcs is definitely my number 1. Have to agree with Mike, astounding game that is easier to digest than root. I can absolutely see why people won’t like it, it can get pretty cut throat, so bad it hurts. But me and my group LOvE it!
Still have to try creature caravan, definitely on my shopping list to get soon!
Manifest Destiny is such a cool comic! I'll have to look into that game.
Ito is a variation of wavelength
Was waiting for Zee to discover a Cleveland in his pocket
Tom! I’ve been able to ignore Star Wars Unlimited up to this point. But, now I am seriously thinking about picking up some cards.
Give it a try. It’s a very smooth design
SWU is a great game. Pick up a 2-Player Starter and give it a try.
There are actually not that many things to do in "SETI", you essentially either fly, scan or upgrade. And it plays heavier than it is, because you have to consider so many details for each action.
The theme is cool, but the game has problems.
Fun fact- you actually SKIPPED covering Atlas Lost on Crowdsurfing.
Three number 1s that don't crossover at all? That must be rare.
Actually, it's the norm, really
their top 5 dont cross with any if thier own top 5 is probably rare. I figured all 3 would have arcs and or andromdea edge as on of thier top 5 games.
Seeing zee was the only person to pick the raven game was pretty crazy to me.
Super!
58:57 LOTR duel has no asymmetry. But good pick.
My experience of LoTR Duel has been different than Zee's; the Area Control and Race win conditions are both significant but the Ring track seems like a clear third and neither me nor my housemate who I play with have been able to win with it yet.
I think it happened once in my games. But definitely feels like the weakest win con in my experience.
Great stuff as usual! Thanks!
Only one comment…since when lords of the rings duel is asymmetric game?! Is it because the bad guys when starting have one coin less 😂?! The rest is completely symmetrical. From the ring track to the military map…😜 such a cool game…
Tom didn't go with Heroscape for #1 2024!?!?!?!?!? I think it came out this year. It's solid. It's getting expensive fast. Great game.
It's a reprint of the game that came out in 2004. I have it on my best reprints list. :)
@@thedicetower It's good enough to be on both!
But seriously, I'll go watch that list too. I'm already bought in to Heroscape heavily, but enjoy the videos.
Nice selection 👌
Almost every reason you listed as positives for Andromeda’s Edge, our group finds as negatives.
No Marvel United Multiverse or Wyrmspan is shocking. I thought I'd hear at least one of these on someone's list.
Wyrmspan just missed my list, and I didn't include Marvel United Multiverse because it's an expansion, really.
Joey: Agent of chaos.
Ezra and Nehemiah is significantly lighter than their newest release, no idea where Mike is coming from.
In fact it might be lighter than the entire South Tigris series.
Technical problems with transitions ? Feels there were cut at the end
Arcs is my number 0ne game. Love Arcs!!
Is Ito that much different than Top Ten/That Escalated Quickly? I downloaded the rules for Ito and played with the Mind cards and our group prefers the quicker, less convoluted alternatives
I love the tension from having a wider possibility of cards. We had an 8-player game where the highest card dealt was a 46. That can't happen if the cards are only numbered 1-10. -Chris
@thedicetower fair. OTOH, if you get a spread of numbers but a few really close to each other like 1, 10, 30, 51, 52, 54, 75, 98, laying down the 50's seem like a crapshoot.
I've had a few really close wins with numbers like that, and find it fun still. But I can see why it feels like a crapshoot!
River of Gold is an L5R game? Where's the game where you hit Oni and zombies with tetsubo? How about a Last Bastion-style game with players defending a Crab stronghold from encroaching Shadowlands hordes?
if only atlas lost was readily available
AI 100% Ugly seems like a game I would love, but there is no way I'm ever touching those cards!
Civolution is awesome favorite game this year, more theme then they said I think I wish it was one more round in length. And I usually don't like his designs and the components are awesome, I love the player boards. So much to do, so many paths feels like a civ game where can't do it all. Biggest disappointment is Unconscious Mind I give it like a 6. The town board disconnect and the way the end game is triggered it was so un-fun when we where likely parts of the game a lot. The art was amazing, the components great, the table/action selection and the player treating people all good brought down by the other things to the point of dislike. Other then that I have not played most of these (or heard of them) which is something to how many games came out because I played many. Also Primal and Creature Caravan are good. Don't like Star Wars much so no Unlimited.
Wow. no Slay the Spire
Check toms list from the top 10 surprises of the year.
Mike back?
He's probably just visiting for the winter spectacular.
I can only recommend: Stay away from TCG/CCGs!
SWU is a great game
I had thought that, too. But SWU is great! You just have to set yourself limits like $xxx per month. We built a cube and play Sealed and Draft with it.
I only get the starter decks for SWU, and I love it. I’ve not bought a single pack. It’s a great design to give you the option to go full collectible or just dabble and still enjoy it. I think they’ve likely broadened their appeal and increased their total sales by doing that, rather than forcing you into a money pit like so many others.
Just got into Lorcana! Can't stand yugioh, Dbz tcg, or one piece but man Lorcana is so so good. Hearthstone and disney had a baby and its beautiful
I felt like this was the Top 10 of Q4 2024 with three short-term memory guys. Recency bias much? 😁
the tital blades cover sucks regarding the text positioning. having the title so low and the designers on top looks sooo weird.
In the last few videos, they have mentioned other videos they recently posted. Like Tom's top deduction games. Where are those lists?
That was during a live stream a couple days ago (Neon Reign was played)
2:02:00 is the time stamp
@Schlagathor78 thank you
And also, if you miss them, all these other top tens will be posted separately over the next few weeks.
Arcs apparent increase in accessibility does not expand its demographics due to its length and thinky-ness. This surprised me and finally stirred me away from getting it. Still fully a gamer's afternoon game.
What happened to Roy?
Roy left the Dice Tower a while back and now owns and runs an Anime and Board Games shop called Otaku. He is living his best life and seems super happy
Nova Roma is not a heavy euro game haha, it's a midweight one haha. If Nova Roma was heavy, then what would a Lacerda be? Colossal heavy? xD
With this list, Mike and I break up, sorry.
...and then Mike said he refuses to play TCGs, so we're friends again.
Was expecting Slay the Spire for sure! Maybe they’ve cooled off because it starts to feel repetitive and they just play the video game instead?
It was #1 on their "Top 10 surprises of 2024"
It's essentially toms #11 of the year.
@@LegoAssassin098 yeah I just wonder why its not higher honestly.
Creature Caravan is also my wife's favorite this year. I just don't get it. I guess it works if everyone just wants to play a solo game in a multiplayer setting. I need to find the opportunity to rid of it before she notices. Just ordered Castle Combo from GN tho
I hope you’re joking about getting rid of it! 😬😂
I found "Arcs" very disappointing.
I really dislike that Mike decided to not include Andromeda's edge because it is too similar to Dwellings. Basically treating it as if it was alike to a "big box" or "essential" version of the original game... none of which is the case.
This was a very bad choice, and will not age well.
I think it will be fine. It's not like Mike hasn't talked about the game and loves it a ton, and I'm sure it will show up on his top 100 list. We'll all be fine. :)
I hate when creators make these lists full of crowdfunding games that you can't get anywhere, what's the point of it? Even if they will be available in retail at some point in some form, then they are not 2024 games anymore.
well, it's just their top 10 games of 2024, doesn't need any more criteria
Exactly@@archip8021
Not every video is a buy guide 😅
+1
"then they are not 2024 games anymore."
Just because you don't get a game in 2024 doesn't mean it didn't release in 2024..?
There's no reason to watch these lists anymore. So many of the games are crowdfunded and not remotely attainable. It's like the creators are utterly unattached from the real world and a significant portion of their audience.
Nova Roma- available at Retail, River of Gold - retail only, Creature Caravan can be purchased through Red Raven, Almost all of these games that were KS are either available at retail or will be shortly.
Serious question. Do you think we should ignore games that were Kickstarted? And if so, is there any other criteria that we should follow? We are simply telling you our favorite games. How and where they are available doesn't come into play, frankly.
I respectfully disagree. I own a bunch of these games from retail and only one Kickstarter (Andromeda’s Edge)
And I really don’t mind seeing games that are difficult to obtain. I enjoy the hobby and finding out about other games I know nothing about.
These are personal Top 10 lists and shouldn’t be restricted due to retail availability.
Just my opinion. I really enjoy the videos.
Original poster is full of it. 26 unique games. 14 crowd funded, 12 not. Was able to find someone selling for retail for 24 out of 26. Original poster flat out refused to do basic research to confirm anything he said before posting.
Love watching a Dice Tower best of the year and seeing a bunch of games I can’t get yet 🥲