Draco Ideas

2023 in Review and My Top 8 Games of the Year*

2023 in Review and My Top 8 Games of the Year*

I’ve now been running this blog for two whole years, but somehow it feels a lot longer. I’ve been very pleased with how it has grown over the past year and I’m hoping to continue that growth going into 2024. I received several review copies of games this year which was really gratifying and allowed me to cover games that would otherwise have probably been beyond my budget - wargame blogging is not particularly lucrative. To mark the end of the year I want to reflect a bit on how I feel the last two years have gone and then, of course, provide my top ten games of the year. As per last year’s list, these will be games that I played for the first time in 2023 not necessarily games that were released in 2023 (although unlike last year this year’s list does is that were released during the year).

First Impressions - Tetrarchia by Miguel Marqués

First Impressions - Tetrarchia by Miguel Marqués

I was lucky enough to be invited to guest on a teach and play of Tetrarchia Second Edition, published by Draco Ideas. I’ve been interested in trying this game after I was very impressed with Draco Ideas’ game 1212 Las Novas de Tolosa, and I was excited to give it a shot. You can see our full replay as well as an extended discussion on a variety of topics in the video below:

First Impressions - 1212 Las Navas de Tolosa by Pablo Sanz

First Impressions - 1212 Las Navas de Tolosa by Pablo Sanz

1212 Las Navas de Tolosa is immediately visually arresting with a fabulous aesthetic inspired by medieval manuscript art. This aesthetic alone was enough to make me look twice but what really got my attention is how the game is powered by a deck of only nine cards. I love games with small decks - I’m a huge fan of the ever popular Japanese microgame Love Letter - and I was really interested to see how the principles of a small deck could be applied to a fairly abstract wargame. I’m also always on the lookout for short games, especially ones I can either carry around with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love an all day gaming session but these days I rarely have the time or energy for that. Great aesthetics, interesting mechanism, and a short playtime was a trifecta I just knew I had to get to the table. Despite it’s short playtime it took me a while to get it to the table as real life got in the way of in person gaming, but I finally played it and I had a really great time. As usual, I have a few thoughts.