2018 was, frankly, ludicrous. The BGG charts were exploding with absolute behemoths (Root, Brass: Birmingham, Teotihuacan…), but you know how it goes. For every game riding the top of the Hotness, there are a dozen brilliant, clever, and downright fun titles that got shuffled to the bottom of the clearance crate.
But that’s where the real treasure lies! We’ve cracked open the vault and pulled out five phenomenal “hidden gems” from 2018 that you should absolutely be dusting off and getting to your table.
Lowlands
Yes, it’s a farming Euro, so you know the drill: build pastures, raise sheep, and try to score points. But Lowlands delivers a gut-punch twist: the North Sea is coming to drown you all. Players must semi-cooperatively invest resources into building the shared dike. If the dike fails, everyone suffers, but those who didn’t spend resources on it might be in a better position to claim victory points later. It creates a beautifully devilish tension between public good and selfish ambition. If you like the challenge of The Great Zimbabwe’s communal tension, but prefer sheep over pottery, this is your hidden gem.
If you love the complexity of worker placement but crave deeper player interaction than just blocking spots, Lowlands delivers intense strategic friction. The semi-cooperative dike mechanic is a masterful addition, forcing players into uncomfortable moral and economic decisions every single round.
Kashgar: Merchants of the Silk Road
If you thought you were tired of deckbuilding, think again. Kashgar introduces the fantastic “rolling caravan” mechanism. Instead of shuffling a deck, your cards form three distinct, non-shuffled caravans. On your turn, you play the card at the front of one caravan and then cycle that card to the back of the caravan. This turns the typical randomness of deckbuilding into a meticulous logistical puzzle. It’s a medium-weight economic gem that focuses entirely on strategic card management and fulfilment, and it feels completely fresh.
This game is a must for those who enjoy engine-building Euros but dislike the unpredictability of a reshuffled deck. The innovative three-caravan system turns card management into a deliberate strategic puzzle, allowing you to reliably plan several moves ahead to secure valuable trade goods and win the Silk Road race.
SEAL Team Flix
Dexterity games usually mean shouting and knocking things over, but SEAL Team Flix is all about tactical, quiet precision. This is a fully co-operative, mission-based game where all your actions, are done by flicking discs across the map. Think of it as a serious, squad-based combat game married to Crokinole. The rules are surprisingly rich, incorporating line of sight, stealth, and enemy AI, but the core mechanism is pure, tense dexterity. It’s an absolute blast and a must-own for dexterity fans.
If you want a truly unique table experience, this game successfully marries complex, tactical cooperative combat with skill-based dexterity. It’s an incredibly satisfying feeling to line up a perfect “shot” disc, and the campaign structure offers plenty of challenging, memorable missions for you and your friends to overcome.
Caper
Need a two-player game that isn’t just a duel? Caper is a quick, smart drafting game where you recruit thieves and equip them with gear, all in the service of pulling off the biggest heists (Capers) in various European cities. You’re trying to win control of locations by having the most total power there, but the drafting is what makes it shine. It’s incredibly fast, the decisions are agonisingly tight, and the combination of drafting, area control, and set collection makes it feel like 7 Wonders Duel mixed with a cheeky bit of espionage.
If your gaming time is often restricted to two players, Caper provides a depth of strategy far exceeding its compact box size. It’s an ideal choice for couples or roommates looking for a competitive and engaging experience that sets up in minutes and offers immediate, sharp card-drafting decisions.
Pikoko
Trick-taking games are having a moment, but Pikoko had the secret sauce back in 2018. The gimmick? You don’t see your own hand of cards! You only see everyone else’s. Your goal is to bid on how many tricks you think you can win based on the information they have and how they are playing. It fuses the deduction and cooperative guessing of Hanabiwith the fierce competition of traditional trick-taking. It’s easy to teach, looks gorgeous with its peacock components, and generates huge table laughs when someone overbids wildly. A superb filler that packs a massive punch.
This game is a fantastic party piece that requires genuine deduction and clever social play, unlike most traditional trick-takers. It’s perfect for groups who love light strategy, bidding, and the hilarious moments that occur when you realise your friend has been signalling exactly what card you should play.
That’s the beauty of looking back at a massive year like 2018, you find games that never quite broke through the initial noise. From the strategic dilemmas of dike building in Lowlands to the sheer joy of tactical disc flicking in SEAL Team Flix, these five games represent the ingenuity and sheer fun that happens beneath the headlines. So, open your online wish lists or brave the back shelves of your local game store; these hidden gems prove that the best finds are often those you have to dig for!
