The New Year is upon us, and we’re in 2025. (Cue serious existential crisis as it wasn’t long ago 2025 sounded like something from science fiction).
We’ve all been busy not sticking to our New Year’s resolutions that we made drunkenly on New Year’s Eve, making our way through gallons of Christmas chocolate, and having that beautifully serene moment of popping out the plethora of cardboard tokens from our newest board games. Well, the last one might not be universal, but it is certainly what I’ve been doing!
Over Christmas my wonderful friends and family added some fantastic board games to my collection to start 2025 in the right way. For some it might be New Year New Me, but for myself its New Year New Meeples, as I detail some of the board games I will be playing, or in some cases have already played in 2025.
But that won’t be all, as at the end I will also detail some games releasing this year I am hoping to get my hands on, as 2025 looks to be one of the best years yet in board gaming.
1. Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Yes, I am fully aware how late on this Lovecraftian train I am, but finally Arkham Horror was added to my collection after it was gifted to me this Christmas, and it certainly lives up to the hype.
Released in 2016 by Fantasy Flight Games, Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a Living Card game in which you play as an investigator, working either on your own or with a team investigating the eldritch horror scenarios put in front of you.
Part role playing part deckbuilding part infuriatingly difficult adventure, I have had two sessions of this fantastic game since Christmas, and despite its extreme challenge (even though I am only playing it on the standard difficulty!), I have truly loved the immersion Arkham Horror brings.
The first scenario me and my partner did together felt like this incredible challenge for us to overcome, in which without giving any spoilers, we managed to survive with a little bit of skill, a whole bunch of luck, and an ally who truly saved the day as we just about defeated the big bad of the scenario, before they finished off plucky Roland Banks.
It created this wonderful roleplaying experience you don’t usually get outside of a traditional RPG like Dungeons and Dragons, and while I am somewhat familiar with Lovecraft, my partner truly engaged with the world created as well, despite not knowing her Miskatonic University from her Necronomicon.
The way the story built before, during and even after the game, as my character struggled to keep his sanity in this nightmarish place, was just such a wonderfully immersive experience, the like I haven’t really had before in a board game.
Its extremely rules heavy, which I did struggle to wrap my head around at first, and as a Living Card Game I could see the fact that it really pushes you into buying extras and expansions for it to get the most out of the game, would put some people off who may not be able afford such an expense, but I do think Arkham Horror as a campaign me and partner focus on, will be a big part of our year. Which won’t be easy, as 2025 for me will be the year of the legacy game…
2. My City
The second legacy/campaign game on this list, and it won’t be the last, My City is a rather different experience than Arkham Horror.
Rather than my characters dying from horrible stab wounds or going mad from cosmic horror, in My City you’re playing a lovely, serene tile laying game where in each chapter you’re building a lovely little city for your townsfolk, competing against others to build the best place.
After each episode in a chapter, you might get new pieces, new rules, perhaps a slight handicap if you won the last game, and you play again to build up your industrious city.
It really is a lovely palate cleanser after something more rules heavy or serious, and I adored my first playthrough of it.
Reiner Knizia at his cozy best, My City is different to any other legacy game I have had my eye on. Its not totally immersive, its not loud, there’s no fireworks or big moments, it is just a lovely 15-minute game, with small little additions and tweaks with each chapter to make them all feel just different enough to make your next play a bit more interesting.
It does all it needs to, and if anyone is wanting to dip their toes into the legacy genre, I would recommend My City over many others, so you can see the wonderfully inventive ways the legacy genre can make board games more of a group experience, without committing to a lengthy, 100 hour plus campaign you will never finish.
We’ve just completed one chapter so far, and when we next get a chance to have a quiet evening in and we need something to chill out to maybe after a game of Arkham or the trauma of watching the latest series of Squid Game, we’ll gladly crack open chapter 2 of My City.
3. Cockroach Poker
Moving away from big legacy games for just a moment, I was extremely happy when I found Cockroach Poker in my stocking this Christmas. (If you read my last blog, you’ll know I was hoping for it!).
A fantastically simple bluffing game, Cockroach Poker was released all the way back in 2004 (That’s over 20 years old!!) and is a fantastic small box game for an Xmas party or a quick lunch time board game session at work.
In this game you simply get dealt a hand of cards with different bugs on it, ranging from spiders to stink bugs. If its your turn you pass a card to someone, tell them it’s a type of bug (you don’t have to be truthful!), and they have two options. Either say you’re telling the truth or say you’re lying and look at the card you’ve given them, or take a secret peak at the card, see what it is, and pass the card onto someone else, either telling them it’s the same bug as you said, or a new one entirely. If the person calls the card correctly, the person called out must take the card and add it to a stack in front of them, and they then start the next round.
If you end up with four of the same type of cards in your stack, or you have no cards in hand to play, you lose, and everyone else wins. It is that brutal! While Cockroach Poker might not sound like it has much depth or strategy to it, it’s an absolute riot.
The game I played with my family over Christmas was such a good time. It worked for those who don’t play a lot of board games, because it’s simple enough to easily understand, while still
having at its core an excellent game mechanic which is always satisfying. And who doesn’t love a bit of lying after you’ve had your Christmas lunch.
I am planning on bringing into my next board game night out with work, and I already know it’s going to be a firm favourite, even if it might cause a few arguments the next day in the office!
4. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
This entry is going to be a little bit smaller, as I haven’t cracked open Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion yet, and that’s because it needs its own special day before I peek into this sacred tome.
When I opened this on Christmas day I haven’t been as excited for a Xmas present since I opened my Beyblade arena when I was a child. Gosh I loved Beyblade.
Released in 2020, Jaws of the Lion is a pared down version of the monster hit Gloomhaven.
Original Gloomhaven looks like teenage Paul’s ideal game. A ridiculously huge, fantasy role playing game which I could pour hundreds of hours into. But sadly, adult me can’t afford it, has nowhere near enough space to store it, nor has the time to properly commit to the campaign. Jaws of the Lion might hit that beautifully sweet spot where I get to experience the game changing mechanics of Gloomhaven without needing to clear out everything else I own in my board game cupboard to fit it in.
Another legacy game to add to my list (I really won’t finish all these this year will I, I’m still getting through Pandemic Legacy!), I can’t wait to make time to delve into this incredible fantasy world, as me and my fellow players dungeon crawl, defeat monsters and explore the story of Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion. Once I’ve finally given it a go, maybe a new blog will be needed to give my thoughts!
5. Those Not Yet Owned…
The four games above were the wonderful board games I got over Christmas to play throughout 2025. But I am certain they won’t be the only additions I get this year. I’ve still got my ever-growing Wishlist of board games, and I have the UK Games Expo in May to attend, but I thought I would give a quick rundown here of games releasing this year that I hope to get my hands on.
Sky Team: Turbulence Expansion: Sky Team is probably my favourite 2 player game, and I think in 2023 the game I got to the table most. We even downloaded from their website other airport tracks you could print and cut out for it. So, when the new Turbulence Expansion lands this year, I am going to be all over this. What new brilliant scenarios have they got for me and my co-pilot to overcome!?
Finspan: Rather ridiculous name aside, I am quietly looking forward to Finspan. Following on from the fantastic Wingspan, and what I have heard is a great follow up Wyrmspan, Finspan is Stonemaier Games next addition to what I am now calling the Span Multi Verse. I don’t know a great deal about it outside of it being fish rather than birds, and being potentially a bit shorter and simpler, but as Wingspan is such a firm favourite in my gaming group, I can’t help but be intrigued by this fishy variant.
The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game: What do you get when you mix The Crew with Lord of the Rings? A trick taking game set in the Tolkien universe. I read about this literally yesterday before writing this, and I was immediately sold on it.
I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, from the books to the films and especially the games, so this is a must buy for me, and I will be keeping my Sauron’s eye on the release date for this one throughout the New Year. And once I have it, no one will be able to take my precious away from me.
This is my big list of games I will be playing in 2025. It really is New Year New Meeples for me, and I can’t wait to continue my adventure into board gaming for another year. But what will you be playing in 2025??
