The best board games we played in 2023

polygon.com:

In a year filled with chaos on social media and digital platforms of all types, board games have continued to be a safe haven for folks looking to come together in person. But the relentless release schedule — including hundreds, if not thousands, of new board games, trading card games, and miniatures games from all around the world — can still be a lot to keep track of for most fans. That’s why we like to take the opportunity here on the last page of the calendar to slow down and to take stock of the best board games we played this year.

And maybe rebuild our stockpile of social media followers on other platforms while we’re at it.

To celebrate, Polygon asked dozens of writers, designers, YouTubers, actors, and personalities from around the world of board gaming to tell us which games stood out to them this year — even if they didn’t get released this year. Here’s what we found.

We are flooded with social deduction games nowadays; why would you ever need another? The reason you should play Blood on the Clocktower is its Storyteller, both because their death is the catalyst for each game and because their role is what makes this social deduction game special. Like most of these games, your group will be divided into the good, voting for an execution each day, and the evil, killing and hindering the good team in the night. While the evil demon and their minions all have abilities to hurt and deceive the town, the good townsfolk have useful abilities, but they must work around their outsider allies, whose abilities hinder the town. But the Storyteller plays for neither team. They keep their thumb on the scale, subtly guiding both good and evil to build explosive final days of deduction, deceit, and death. If the