The year is coming to an end and 2024 has been another tremendous year for new hobby board games! Here are our picks for 10 of the best from this year.

Flip 7

Flip over cards one by one without flipping the same number twice. Sound easy? Think again! This isn't just any deck of cards… In Flip 7 there's only one 1 card, two 2's, three 3’s, etc plus a bunch of special cards that can score you extra points, give you a second chance, or freeze you or your opponents in your tracks.

Are you the type of player to play it safe and bank points before you bust, or are you going to risk it all and go for the bonus points by flipping over seven in a row? Press your luck meets strategy in this addictive card game that's sure to be the greatest card game you’ve ever played!

Yokohama

Once Yokohama was just a fishing village, but now at the beginning of the Meiji era it's becoming a harbor open to foreign countries and one of the leading trade cities of Japan. As a result, many Japanese products such as copper and raw silk are collected in Yokohama for export to other countries. At the same time, the city is starting to incorporate foreign technology and culture, with even the streets becoming more modernized. In the shadow of this development was the presence of many Yokohama merchants.

In YOKOHAMA, each player is a merchant in the Meiji period, trying to gain fame from a successful business, and to do so they need to build a store, broaden their sales channels, learn a variety of techniques, and (of course) respond to trade orders from abroad.

Bomb Busters

There is a bomb full of wires and the countdown has started... Who are you gonna call? YOU, the Bomb Busters! To clear the bomb, you need to collaborate with your team of bomb disposal experts! Using the wires on the tile holder in front of you, try and figure out your teammates’ wires. Find and cut identical wires, but watch out, if you cut a red wire: BOOM! Use your equipment wisely to meet the varied challenges which get harder and harder. Tick tock tick tock... Will you figure it out before it’s too late?

Panda Royale

Each year as the mid-summer festival begins, the seven panda clans gather to celebrate their many years of peace and prosperity. After all the feasts, stories and games the Elders host the annual competition wherein the bravest of all pandas gather together to battle for honor and glory. The panda clans each have their own powers and abilities and the Elders consider those strengths carefully as they assemble their teams from members of each of them.

In this dice drafting game each player starts with a single yellow die and over ten rounds builds a hand of ten dice to earn the most points. Each color of dice has its own unique scoring properties. Players vie for the best drafting order to pick from the allotted dice each round. This quick paced game can play up to 10 players and games play quickly in 20 to 30 minutes.

Nekojima

In Nekojima, “The Island of Cats” in Japan, an electricity network is developing to supply the various lively districts of the island. The installation of electric poles becomes more complex due to the narrowness of the territory and its curious population of cats strolling on the cables.

Nekojima is a wooden game of skill and dexterity in which you will have to keep an entire installation in balance. Players must take turns placing or stacking Denchuu 電柱 (Electrical Poles) respecting the locations without any hanging cables touching. But be careful not to be the one to bring down the structure. This game requires reflection, concentration and skill.

In competition, the player who knocks down the structure loses. In cooperation, the goal is to go as far as possible.

SETI: Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence

In SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a eurogame for 1–4 players, you lead a scientific institution tasked with searching for traces of life beyond planet Earth. The game draws inspiration from current or emerging technologies and efforts in space exploration.

Players will explore nearby planets and their moons by launching probes from Earth while taking advantage of ever-shifting planetary positions. Decide whether to land on their surface to collect valuable samples, or stay in orbit for a broader survey. Additionally, by directing your telescopes to gaze into distant star systems, you may detect traces of alien signals or undiscovered exoplanets, and collect promising data to examine and study back home.

Back on Earth, you can invest in upgrading your equipment so you can analyze incoming data more efficiently, boost your telescope signal capacity, or increase your supply of resources—all to expand the scope of your search that could lead to a discovery of extraterrestrial life forms.

Landmarks

Landmarks is a word game of hidden paths and clever clues. Your party is lost deep in an island jungle, relying on you to guide them to safety and treasure! In this jungle, every word matters. Use strategic wordplay to send a chain of one-word clues. The connections between them will create a path leading to fortune and glory.

The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth

A dark rumour rises from Mordor. The Eye turns to Middle-earth. The hour has come. The Fellowship is reunited. The Heroes prepare for battle. In Duel for Middle-earth, you’ll have to choose sides. Play as the Fellowship of the Ring, prevent the Enemy from gaining ground and destroy the One Ring. Or play as Sauron and send your Nazgûl after Sam and Frodo, spreading your hordes over enemy cities. The fate of Middle-earth is in your hands!

Gardlings

Cleverly build your garden. Harvest gems and enrich your seed bag with new, amazing creatures so your next garden can grow even more abundant. Combine the unique abilities of your creatures, and be the first to acquire the victory trophy.

Each round in Gardlings, all players simultaneously build their garden in front of themselves. You do this by drawing and placing tiles from your bag. You may stop drawing tiles at any time because if you draw too many gnomes, they will steal gems from you. At the end of the round, use any gems you matched in your garden to buy a new tile, then return all of your tiles to your bag to prepare for the next round. Each tile features potential ways to match gems, as well as a creature with a special ability. Your garden will grow larger and better each round, and the puzzle of placing tiles will become increasingly complex. The goal of the game is to match enough gems to buy the victory tile.

Arcs

Arcs is a sharp sci-fi strategy game for 2–4 players, set in a dark yet silly universe. Ready yourself for dramatic twists and turns as you launch into this galactic struggle.

Take actions with multi-use cards. Copy the leader, pivot to new tactics, or take the initiative for next round. Timing is everything. In each game, you define the objectives that everyone competes over to win. Amass your navy for battle, plan your strategy with three kinds of dice, then roll them all at once to resolve the battle in a flash.

Each game contains a hundred wooden ships and agents, 18 custom engraved dice, a beautiful six-panel board, and tons of cards with over 60 pieces of unique art.

Honorary mentions go to Wilmot's Warehouse, Andromeda's Edge, Tilt n Shout, Spectacular and Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs! 

Do you agree with our list? Let us know what you think!

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