Top 10 Games of 2023 Reranked

[@browe]

Reflective, viewed-through-hindsight insights are far more valuable to me than any hot take, early impression reactions. Cheers for lists like this!

[@Mdoherty1687]

One thing I love about distilled is that it always feels like I’m progressing. I may not make what I expected, but I know I’ll get another chance next time likely with better odds.

[@iTimik]

We picked up Kutna Hora without knowing anything about the game but based on the fact that my wife is from the Czech Republic and we had visited Kutna Hora and loved the experience. It quickly became our favourite game. The market is a fantastic device that forces a player interaction instead of being just another multi-player solitaire euro city builder. It is quirky and I think that uniqueness threw off some early reviewers. Even at 2-players, in spite of the criticisms, it is a great time.

[@vincesavvy2844]

Awesome list! And I will add that seeing Burning Banners right behind you filled my heart with joy!

[@browe]

Same!

[@thomashantgin5124]

i’m so happy you put the actual best game of 2023 as your #1. kutna hora is an amazing game. give me an expansion and more

[@spike2439]

Happy new years bros! Love your content

[@jurds216]

I introduced That's not a hat to my game group and they loved it. They were a little skeptical about the simplicity of the game but it turned into a bunch of laughing and bad bluffing.

[@AndrewWatson401]

I'm enjoying videos about 2023 games, including this one, more than their 2024 counterparts. I've played more 2023 games, and the creators have had time to play and think about the games more.

[@boardtoplay]

Love the look back! Just got Kutna hora, excited to get it to the table!😊

[@jmlitwiller]

Forest Shuffle falling off your list is INSANE. That one has so much depth, especially with the alpine expansion. I was pretty bored with Thunder Road... Just tons of luck

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Agreed forest shuffle is awesome. It was just barely out of the list but I still play it a ton

[@ManusNoble1988]

Do you not feel it's a tiny bit broken with regards to scoring? There seems to be some cards that are just not worth going for (comparing hares to wolves for example)

[@coreynoemif3j29]

Hey Nick,, have you played Tobago? If not, I highly suggest checking it out. I love the way it allows you to craft the deduction element to your own benefit. Meanwhile, other people are trying to keep a close eye on the other players so as to not miss out on any dugup treasures.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Looooove Tobago!

[@coreynoemif3j29]

@ Seemed like it would be in your wheelhouse. I actually picked up search for lost species per your recommendation, but have yet to table it! Thanks guys

[@Firebeees]

Super hyped for the South Tigris Expansion playthroughs! I did a bit of playtesting for them on TTS and am excited to see the physical copies!

[@hoolio197900]

Apiary is definitely my number 1 game. I had little interest in it and it's vast possibilities had really impressed me.

[@darbyl3872]

For me, the Matcha expansion improved the play time and game play of The White Castle, but it's good either way. Hooky and That's Not A Hat make great gifts, depending on how brainy are your family / friends. Now I want to play Kutna Hora again. Economic games are fun, and there's not as many to choose from.

[@Blackwolf9]

Really love Nucleum for all the reasons you guys mentioned and it being compared to SETI really has me hyped for it. I have it on hold through Game Nerdz and now can't wait to play it that much more.

[@txsportsfreak02]

The white castle is so amazing!

[@chaniofdune]

I would loooove to play Hooky, Turing Machine was my most played game in 2024. Deduction with more interaction sounds amazing! Sadly one person in my game group hates deduction 😅

[@CheeseDud]

Hooky is so good. It’s probably the game my wife requests to play most often. Unfortunately, it’s very susceptible to the “one player accidentally gives an incorrect clue and messes up everyone else’s logic“ problem. Still fantastic.

[@ChristinaHeber-f6b]

I love the video! Will respond later with my thoughts!

[@RedEyedGhost1]

2023 was very top heavy for me, so great stuff, but also way too many middling games. Shocked to see Darwin's Journey fall off your list, that one just keeps getting better and better for me. Glad to see Kutna Hora join though, as it is legit awesome.

[@cartoon80s90s]

Your videos are all great so I searched for your Kutná Hora playthrough, but there isn't one? Or is it posted under the BGG channel?

[@TheBrothersMurph]

We don’t have one yet :( but we will live stream it here soon to get a play through up

[@spacegoatjunkie]

sad to see Apiary fall off the list. It's one of my absolute favorites atm. It just doesn't get played very often due to not having a good group for it. The solo automa is fantastic (like most Stonemeier automas), but the setup for a solo game is a little much for me.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Honestly the main reason it fell off is we just haven’t had a chance to play it again. We also down own it so it’s hard to get played

[@ericnelson382]

Completely agree with Nucleum! It should be much higher on BGG. Hope it breaks the top 100. It’s a great Euro

[@alexbower4317]

Hey Bros, I’ve got this problem that when I play a new Board Game with people, but 9 times out of 10 they don’t enjoy it. I think my rule explanations are fine, not perfect but good enough 😂 I think one issue is everyone tries to min-max every turn, even though it’s just a first playthrough. Which then makes the game take long and the overall experience is worse. Any tips for introducing new games to the group?

[@StuartHetzler]

Dang, I'll have to look into Kutna Hora.

[@Drumox]

Maybe if I could spell the Burger Canal game it would be on a list but I can't even search for it

[@StuartHetzler]

Oranienburger Kanal

[@timreuter2164]

Until now i don’t really understand the reason so many people love the White Castle that much. The 9 turn thing is quite cool but I’m missing the deepens after some plays. Scoring is always the same, basically high gardeners and getting a lot of warriors in the highest category for the multiplier. And that’s it somehow. So it doesn’t really hit our table because the crunch seems not to lead to somewhere. Compared to Praga Caput Regni, which is a fantastic game that also has way to less actions but so many different ways of scoring and getting there, White Castle really disappointed me. Forest Shuffle on the other hand has that other crunch I liked … the just one more card in the end thing, very tactical and tight. Only downside is, that it I doesn’t really work at 2, because you have to many options. But I love the tightness with at least 3 players! Most played game of the last year by far. And both expansions are so good!

[@TEN27]

Do you think Kunta Hora would work well at 2 players?

[@okoskamark]

I’ve played it at 2 before and it was pretty good! It has a 2 player main board as well!

[@nirszi]

I think it's great at 2.

[@TheDavidPhillips]

The new graphics and on-screen animations are a nice touch. Too bad the games are all trash now - it's 2025, these are dinosaurs. TRASH dinosaurs. Trashosaurus Rex. That's Latin for Trash King. This got weird real quick. Love you clowns.

[@HarryBuddhaPalm]

I've played Thunder Road with three different groups of people and all three loved it. I've had people want to immediately play it again after finishing a game. It's so much fun.

[@stefanstenke4594]

Same experience here. Its so wild because basically it's a roll and move game. But all the fun decisions and flavour make it auch a great game. It is almost magical to see the heaviest Euro gamers completely losing their turn Angst and just have a blast with the chaos. The excitement and fun while playing this game is bar to none

[@jlotrujillo]

Naw son. Always do a barrel roll!!!

[@ekurisona663]

is forest shuffle trash?

[@TheBrothersMurph]

No not at all

[@ekurisona663]

@TheBrothersMurph oh good I was confused I just got it and haven't even had a chance to learn it yet

[@jmlitwiller]

Absolutely not. It's my top played from 2023. The expansion is a must have

[@Karak-Fak]

Fine! I subscribed. Not a perv!

[@bWOOOPdeWooop]

Daaaang epic thumbnail

[@Kravian729]

I loved forest shuffle for one play and the hated it for the next two. Sold it with no regrets