Man, this year’s list came depressingly close to being more “the ten new games I played this year, regardless of actual quality” rather than an actual “top ten”. Part of that is putting most of my faith on the Wii U — and we all know how that played out this year, sadly — but fortunately the 3DS stepped up to fill in the blanks. Well, the 3DS and one specific title that dominated my 2013 like few titles ever have. I also wanted to make a quick mention of my Ouya, which has served its intended purpose of allowing me to stream Twitch.tv to my big screen without needing any complicated PC setup. Oh, and I think I played a game or two on it as well!
Honorable Mention: Kersploosh!
Even in the age of mobile apps and free-to-play quickies, I have a hard time weighing a two-dollar eShop offering against what I stubbornly refer to as “real” titles. Kersploosh! is a great little time waster and a terrific value, but not something I can put on my proper best-of list in good conscience. Pick it up if you haven’t already; I’m sure you have some leftover cash in your eShop account. READ MORE
2013 was a good year for my unplugged gaming, but it could have been amazing. Unfortunately, Kickstarter delays are a fact of life. Of the dozen or so projects I backed scheduled for this year, at least four were delayed beyond my deadline for this column, and two more are currently on-schedule but sadly also due to arrive on the wrong side of my cut-off date. Those five or six games and could have made a strong impact on my list. Instead they will join the various projects already scheduled for 2014 in what could be a crazy year-end process in twelve months’ time.
And then of course there were all of the new games I played this year that had nothing to do with Kickstarter. It can be tricky to balance supporting independent designers and publishers while still making contributions to the bottom line of my FLGS, but both goals are their own reward. After all, without the store I would have far fewer opportunities to play anything, Kickstarted or not. With that, here are the ten new games I enjoyed playing the most this year. READ MORE
Territory control is a tried and true game mechanic. Usually these types of games feature a military conflict, each player wresting control from the others via show of force or trickery such as in Risk or Small World. But direct player conflict isn’t often a theme of European game design, opting instead for more passive tactics like obstruction. Terra Mystica (published by Z-Man in the US) not only eschews combat, but also puts the focus on the terrain itself. READ MORE
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is essentially a direct sequel to A Link to the Past, set in the same world and with many callbacks to one of the finest games ever made. Many of the mechanics, such as the constant switching between Hyrule and another world — in this case the kingdom of Lorule (a bit of wordplay also made by The Wonderful 101, oddly) — make a return in some form or another, but Link Between Worlds adds some modern twists to the classic Zelda gameplay. READ MORE
A couple of years ago I discussed a pair of Discworld-themed games that attempted to adapt Terry Pratchett’s hilarious fantasy satire universe to cardboard and wood. Of the two, I definitely felt that Martin Wallace’s Ankh-Morpork was the superior design, so I was thrilled to learn that he would be designing more games using the characters and world that I love so dearly. The second such offering, The Witches, has finally arrived. How does it stand up to its predecessor? READ MORE
