Eurogames

2025 in Review – Top 7 Games

2025 in Review – Top 7 Games

Normally I start these posts with a rundown on my year in gaming and life, but not much happened in 2025 so there’s not much to report, especially compared to 2024 when I moved to a new continent and started a new project. I am still living in South Korea and enjoying it, so no news there. I started a new job in the spring, which ended up eating up quite a lot of my free time, especially in the autumn, so I didn’t learn nearly as many new wargames this year as I would have liked.

We Intend to Move on Your Works didn’t go into a total hiatus, but we also didn’t get very many episodes out this year, which I’m a little disappointed by. My project to play more Korean War games progressed by playing a longer campaign of OCS Korea, but I did not manage to try out Joe Balkoski’s classic Korean War game. Overall, it was a much better year for Eurogames, especially those published by Playte Games in Korea, than it was for wargames.

The Playte Games Tier List (Part 1?)

The Playte Games Tier List (Part 1?)

I mostly write about historical wargames on this website because that’s what I have the most thoughts and opinions about. However, I also love me a classic mid-weight Eurogame. Something German and from the early- or mid-2000s can really get me going. I would love to write more about them, but I don’t have anything interesting to say. In the words of a great philosopher, I just think they’re neat.

When I moved to Korea, I was interested to learn what, if any, games were being made locally. I had previously dug around a little in the Japanese board game scene when I visited there in 2019, but I had very little idea what to expect in Korea. I cannot understate my excitement at discovering Korean publisher Playte. This small operation has published several games for the first time, but it also republishes many classic German-style games with brand new art, usually lovingly made by artist Wanjin Gil. They are also known for their L-Board boxes, where the box itself unfolds into the game board – something that is sometimes brilliant and sometimes feels a bit gimmicky.