Top Three Favourite Board Games 2022

Looking for a new game to play over the holiday season? Or perhaps you’re looking for a present for someone else? Well, look no further! Below are my top three games of 2022, all of which I’d recommend giving a go. I’m not sponsored or paid to promote any of these games, they’re all games that have made their way into my own collection over years of gaming.

Catan

Catan, formerly known as Settlers of Catan, is a resource gathering game.

Catan is a very popular game, where no game is the same. Each player starts with two settlements, which they use to gain resource cards, based on what they roll on two dice. Players use these cards to build more settlements or upgrade their settlements to cities, to gain more resources. Settlement placement is key, as you want to gain as many resources as possible, but you can also build on harbours to improve your trading benefits, or place your settlements to block your opponents! This game is incredibly enjoyable, and has several expansions and variants should you wish to further increase the variety of your games – we have the Seafarers expansion which we really enjoy.

The only downside to Catan is it’s intended for three or four players, so if you mostly play two player games this isn’t ideal, but there are plenty of rule variants out there for people who want to play two player games – later in the week I’ll be posting my own variation for members!

Disney Villainous

Disney Villainous is a very popular game - and every game is different!

Since receiving it earlier in the year, Disney Villainous has become a sound favourite in our house: with a whole host of evil villains to choose from, no game is the same! You can play as Prince John to gain as much Power (money) as possible or unleash Curses on the realm as Maleficent! Each player has their own objective and deck of cards, so no individual villain plays the same. The mechanics of the game itself are easy to learn, and every player has access to a handy quick reference card, but learning the tricks to each villain is a skill of its own.

The Evil Queen must defeat Snow White to achieve victory.

Interested in learning more about Villainous? You can see my review of the gameplay here and I recently reviewed each of the villains, which can you see the first post of here. If you’re not a big fan of the Disney villains, there is also a Marvel villainous and Star Wars villainous, with very similar gameplay.

Dominion

Dominion first edition - the game has been updated and expanded since its first iteration.

Dominion is a deck building game, where players work to optimise the cards in their deck to gain as many victory points as possible. Be warned though: each victory card in your deck is a card that doesn’t help you buy more, so timing is everything! Each player is working to gain money – whether this be with your Treasure or Action cards – to buy Victory cards. Within each box is a collection of Kingdom cards – usually around twenty-five – which gives plenty of options for play and allows for many different playstyles. Within the rulebook, you also gain a selection of recommended card sets, to let you see how cards synergise together, and randomizers for every Kingdom card, so no game is ever the same!

Treasure and Victory cards are needed in every game of Dominion.

Dominion has a whole host of expansions for those who enjoy it, which build on the existing game and add a host of new mechanics. With the amount of cards you get in each set, you gain lots of variability from just one or two expansions. If you’re looking for your first expansion, Intrigue is always a good building block, giving you a range of cards that offer you choices on each of your turns. My personal favourite of those I’ve played is Seaside, which has cards which focus on making your next turn better, so you need to think carefully about your turn!

With so many games out there, it’s hard to pick favourites. 7 Wonders is another game that’s very popular among some of my friends, although some people I play with really don’t enjoy it, and it’s recently been revised in its second edition to make it more streamlined. Betrayal at House on the Hill is another great game, although it can be quite time consuming and somewhat taxing, as players initially work together to explore a haunted house, before one person (usually) turns against the others. Stay tuned for later in the week when I pick out my top three small games for 2022!

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Thanks for reading!

Chris