There'll Be Plenty More in '24

Everybody had a list of Most Anticipated Games for 2024. Everybody! Everybody but us. Why? Because we are lazy.

Stidjen's not lazy.

John's not lazy.

Tom's not lazy.

Mike's not lazy.

Maggie and Amy aren't lazy.

Nobody who is somebody is lazy. Even everybody who's a nobody isn't lazy!

It's just us.

But I must have a wishlist lying around here somewhere. I can copy-paste.

20 2 live 4

Life sucks. What will keep us going this year?

Retail therapy

1. Windmill Valley - I am Dutch, how can I resist? Plant tulips, build windmills, ah, national escapism at its best. I actually do own wooden clogs in case you wonder. Two feet firmly planted in the past.

2. Nusfjord: Big Box - Nusfjord was my favourite game by Uwe Rosenberg for a few years. I am hoping the new expansions that are included in this new edition will rekindle my love. I may buy the Trout and Besoekende decks separately instead of the big box, depends on the price.

3. But Then She Came Back - A solo horror game by Amabel Holland about heartbreak, grief and exhaustion. If that doesn't cheer us up this year I don't know what will. But seriously, she's one of the more interesting current designers.

4. Aeon's End: The Descent - I've sold half my Aeon's End collection and hated Astro Knights but it looks like this box might actually be just to my tastes with its new Friends & Foes module.

5. Miracle at Dunkerque - This reworked version of A Spoiled Victory has been on my wishlist for years now. I hope it will see the light in 2024.

6. New Frontiers: The Starry Rift will bring some very welcome solo campaigns to a game I get to play way too little right now.

7. Marvel Champions: The Card Game – Age of Apocalypse (and Hero Packs) - This will be the last Wave I buy, I promise. It's downright stupid how much content I own for this game by now.

8. Imperium: Horizons - More civilisations for a great deck-builder. I may not buy it this year yet as I don't get it to the table that often, but if I'm ever able to play this without checking the rulebooks every 5 minutes, I guess it will be a must have.

9. Undaunted 2200: Callisto - I would have bought it as I always long for more space. But I will have to watch videos of the solo mode in action as I am doubtful I'd enjoy it.

10. Wyrmspan - I'd buy this if I didn't have Wingspan already. And yes, I know about the differences. And yes, I realise this may be the better game. But I also didn't buy Dune: Imperium - Uprising while the original is in my Top 3 of solo games. And Wingspan isn't close to being in my Top 100 for solo.

Delayed gratification

1. Rogue Angels: Legacy of the Burning Suns - Mass Effect the Boardgame, the stuff that dreams are made of.

2. Helionox Chronicles. The original Helionox is a great little deckbuilder. Cool mechanisms, very smart. I am curious to see what it has grown into after almost 10 years.

3. Red Dust Rebellion - a COIN game on Mars that I pre-ordered through the P500 system. I'm counting on the designer to be able to explain this game in 3 minutes, on his YouTube channel. Or I'm screwed.

4. Freedom Five: A Sentinel Comics Board Game - the lore and characters of Sentinels of the Multiverse are great and this reimagination of Defenders of the Realm will provide a great setting for new adventures. Production and delivery of this campaign has been delayed, but communication has been great the last year so no problem.

5. Onimaru - this Kickstarter campaign is even more delayed, but this time with bad communication and no clear excuses. I hope I have grown personally, because I never played Unbroken and was too frustrated to enjoy Diceborn Heroes when it finally arrived.

But that's not twenty games! You promised twenty games to live for.

Yeah.