Ah, December, that time of the year when sites everywhere fill their click-meters with posts pointing out the highs and lows of the past 12 months. As much as I’d like to say we’re different, we’re not. In fact, you can expect our favorite games of the year to start counting down next week and wrapping up with our number one games on Christmas Eve (otherwise known as December 24). Of course, what we thought was 2018’s hay might be your chaff, so we’re opening the doors to you, the Stately Players, to let us know what your favorite digital game of the year was.
Let’s talk about rules after the jump.
While I’m not limiting the other writers to digital with their 2018 GOTY choices, I think it would make life a bit easier if we left this open voting to digital only. If there’s enough outrage about that, perhaps I’ll do a separate vote for your favorite board game of 2018. It’s up to you guys.
Anyway, the game you nominate must have been released between December 1, 2017 and November 30, 2018. (For the record, Twinfold was released on November 30. Just sayin’) It has to be a digital game, either mobile or for PC/Mac/Linux or consoles. Try to stick to the rules as I’m far too tired to actually vet these things, and will most likely just let anything slide by. I don’t want negative press when Stately Play boldly declares Joust the best game of 2018, okay?
Leave your nomination in the comments below. You can nominate more than one game or even a game that’s already been nominated, but the latter won’t actually get you anything, so don’t bother. Or do. You be you.
Once the voting closes (at some point on Sunday, December 16), I will collect all the nominees and create a poll where we can do a formal vote. My hope is voting will last all next week and we can announce both our and your #1 games on the same day. Wouldn’t that be something?
With that, I open the floor for nominations.
Have at it!
I would like to contribute but I don’t have a clue when most of my games released, and I’m pretty sure most of them are at least from last year or earlier. So…um…
Pocket City?
Twinfold. This has frustrated more of my time this year than any other release of which I can think.
Cinco Paus. Released last Christmas, and while I’m not playing it as obsessively as I was in January, I don’t think there’s been a week gone by where I haven’t fired it up at least once. (But I’ve still not yet managed to reach the 50-jogo campaign victory. My best run is 47… so close…)
Released on June 26, 2018!
You can nominate others as well, even if you’re not sure. I’ll go through and get rid of the ones I can and if one or two slip through, I think I can live with that…
I’ll throw a couple of nominations out there, 1 mobile, 1 PC: Meteorfall and Into the Breach.
I don’t know if I’d necessarily choose it myself as Game of the Year, but I think Cat Lady should be out there. It’s a really great app that just needs mulitplayer
Frostpunk (PC), Warhammer Mechanicus (PC), Cat Lady (Mobile), Pantenite (Mobile), Morels (Mobile)
Is 5 too many? Would’ve been more but I was avoiding ones already called out.
Nothing on mobile has really gripped me, which is why I’m still playing Invisible Inc obsessively.
On PC, another nomination for Into the Breach [edit: why yes, I will be me tvm] and (on the basis of 2 hours’ play so far) Bad North.
Command & Conquer: Rivals
/runs and hides.
On PC, the only 2018 game (I think?) I’ve been playing is The Council. Which I like but wish were a little better.
On ios, was One Deck Dungeon 2018? Other than that, Reigns: GoT.
I’ll nominate Istanbul, Indian summer, and 7 Billion Humans
For poops and giggles, I’ll nominate my own game, Nuclear Powered Toaster.
Also Teeny Titans 2.
I can’t believe Into the Breach was this year. Once more, dear friends.
I think I’ll have to nominate Stardew Valley for mobile. Most joy criterion.
A lot of good games but few great games for mobile looking back on 2018. Apple’s App Store game of the year for 2018 was Donut County? I played it and it was fun for a couple hours, but is that really the best of the best?
I’d assumed it was first-digital-release that counted, which would rule out Stardew Valley (but allow One Deck Dungeon); otherwise Civ 6 would be eligible, and that doesn’t seem right.
I can’t nominate it anymore, but I’ll certainly vote for Into the Breach PC! You should add a board games category to this so I can nominate Skies Above the Reich. Gotta get back to that campaign I started, although the dismal state of my staffel at the end of 1942 has been a slight deterrent.
There’s enough outrage in me to start a car.
I can understand the audience for any particular board game being much smaller just because of cost (not even to mention space!) concerns, thus possibly fragmenting the field to the point where each vote would be for a different game.
I’ll go with Apple and say Gorogoa for mobile. Google says it released December 14th of last year. Although most of my mobile gaming has gone to Civ 6 and pinball games. I have done very little pc gaming. But for console, my game of the year is actually the Prey dlc, Mooncrash. It can easily be a standalone game and cleverly blends the fps and rogue-like genres.
Also, the boardgaming year doesn’t align well with the calendar year (or even the slightly offset calendar year of this poll); most of the big releases are timed for Essen in October, and take a while to reach worldwide distribution, so a lot of the best candidates haven’t had a chance to be played properly yet.
All my nominations were released before Essen anyway, I think. Obsession, Root, SEAL Team Flix.
PC:
Warhammer 40k Inquisitor Martyr
Console:
Valkyria Chronicles 4
Mobile:
(Warhammer 40k) Horus Heresy: Legions
Best Expansion/DLC to older stuff:
Tie between Stellaris Megacorp and Stellaris Apocalypse
Honorable Mention:
Warhammer 40k: Mechanicus
Looking forward to in 2019:
Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2
Shame of the year:
Into the breach (still not on mobile)
The disappointment of the year:
The general abandonment of mobile as a premium app platform (or the decline of being a meaningful gaming platform at all)
Many of the above and … Chaos Reborn: Adventures.
The PC Gamer (in the UK at least) Game Of The Year is Into The Breach which surprises me because I thought it would have to be some “Triple A” extravaganza. So kudos to them.
I will say that my end-of-year short list does include Civ VI for Switch, Diablo III for Switch, and Stardew Valley for iOS. Our lists are different than this, however, so I guess it would be good if everyone let me know what their opinion is on this. Should older games released on a new platform be eligible?
I’d say allow them. It speaks to the quality of a game that it is released years later on a new system and is still one of the best games of the year.
I wish I could nominate Stardew Valley but I’m on Android so hopefully next year. Of course, I was waiting for Scythe on Mobile too… I’d like to nominate Heaven’s Gate but that isn’t out either.
I’m going to second/third/agree with Meteorfall and One Deck Dungeon. I’ll also nominate Morals… it’s very well done.
Some of you are making me re-consider One Deck Dungeon. Dovetailing from our conversation over in the C&C: Rivals thread, the Switch is just such a great mobile platform that I almost never pick up my ipad these days. Apps that aren’t universal just don’t get bought by me, but maybe I’ll have to make an exception for ODD.
On the flip side, you could have the same game win the award multiple years. That seems a tad disingenuous.
Would “Port of the year” category fix the problem? Or does it bloat the list to much?
Would love to have nominated Labyrinth… but that’ll have to wait till next year hopefully. Any word on it, @Neumannium?
They’re working on it.
Actually, I owe @Strangiato about a dozen emails since Gen Con and just haven’t been in a place to follow through. Now that I’ve announced my failure publicly, perhaps it will spur me to actually get it done before Xmas…
Unless that game is Dream Quest, of course.
Yes please… I’ve heard tell someone (cough, cough) sent you a screenshot at some point…
took me a second, but, well done sir, well done.
Two movies apparently scarred me as a child: The Neverending Story and Labyrinth. I don’t remember much about The Neverending Story, but I remember being terrified that something was going to come out of the headboard of my bed and eat me. I remember the creepy orange muppet things that popped their eyes out in Labyrinth. I know it’s irrational, but I’ve completely avoided those movies since early childhood. I haven’t avoided Bowie, though.
haha, my sisters used to watch Labyrinth incessantly. My mother had (has?) a crush on Bowie, so…
Ah. You got me there.
PC: Battletech
Yes, I know it’s a flawed game in some ways, but I don’t think any game has translated the nostalgic tabletop fantasies of my youth into the new digital age more accurately in a long, long time.
Mobile: I agree that it hasn’t been a stellar year for mobile releases. Barring another vote for Dream Quest, I’ll toss a nod toward Pocket City.
If games can double dip with a new platform then Fortnite, obviously.
/dodges hate like a ninja
I will say, as much as I fawn over DQ, I really would prefer not to see it win forever. However much it deserves to.
Shit, totally forgot about Bad North, and the campaign I was probably halfway through.
Oh if we’re talking physical board games I’ve gotta plug Fine Sand by Friedemann Friese.
While Cinco Paus is the objectively correct vote, I’ll add a couple of nominations that I haven’t seen mentioned yet and I believe deserve to have at least a ballot slot. The Room: Old Sins, and Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind.
(I’d have added Slay the Spire, but that apparently fails to make the cut-off, having been released in Early Access on 15th November last year, though SP didn’t discover it until January.)
Oh god, how did I forget to nominate Six Ages? It’s exile for me.
Star Command.
Aaaand I about spit my drink…
Is Horus Heresy: Legions actually that good? I must admit, I’m a 40k nut and recently MtG: Arena cured me of my card games burnout (thanks HS). And with upcoming christmas related travels I may need a mobile fix…
Well I am a bit biased.
I wasn’t hooked on HS long, I never catched on Elder signs…and didn’t bother with the LotR game.
Also Wh40k stuff! And Raven Guard! twitch
It is a bit rough around the edges,it improved on some of HS shortcomings, introduced some new hitches but overall its good. It doesn’t provide that much options than other games in the category do, but for me thats perfectly fine, I don’t have the time or willpower to be heavily invested in one game alone, so I am good with HH:L not occupying me the whole day.
Also the events (think HS Arena) are with preconstructed decks where you get to pick from a pool (per run the pool is slightly reshuffled) so no netdecking here.
Also I think the balance is ok-ish. It took me a while but I got to the Terra-Leguae (highest bracket) without spending money on the game…and with the Tutorial Warmaster on top of that.
I am fine with the free stuff handed out occasionally so overall the game is a win for me.
Sweet, I will defo give it a try then.