12 Days of Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 12 - Top 12 Board Games that I Own but Haven't Yet Played

Welcome to this year's edition of my 12 Days of Christmas.  This theme will run through Christmas Eve with each day's topic somehow related to the number of days remaining until Christmas itself!  

To start us off, we've got the Top 12 Board Games that I Own but Haven't Yet Played.  My main board gaming time is when my youngest brother comes visits over Christmas - he lives in Kansas so I don't see him much other than right around the holidays.  How many of the twelve games will we actually get to play this year?  I don't know, but I'm hoping to take at least a few of them out for a spin!

#12:  Frosthaven

Frosthaven is the follow-up campaign game to the blockbuster hit Gloomhaven.  I don't own Gloomhaven but I do own it's "smaller cousin" Gloomhaven:  Jaws of the Lion.  Jaws of the Lion is a great game and I know Gloomhaven is too as I have played it a tiny bit online.  Frosthaven promises more of the great game play from the previous two games as well as even more on the RPG side of things (which is right up my alley).  This is a game that I am super excited to play, but probably won't get to play over the holidays since it doesn't make a lot of sense to start a new campaign with my brother that I only see once or twice a year.

#11:  Food Chain Magnate

Food Chain Magnate is a Splotter game that gets a lot of buzz.  I bought my copy off of eBay earlier this summer but the game itself is still sitting in shrink wrap.  Food Chain Magnate is known as being a tough, vicious game so I'm not sure it's exactly holiday fare but I am definitely wanting to try this one out sooner than later.  

#10:  Belfort

Another large game, Belfort is one of the earlier Kickstarter games I backed and it's still sitting on my shelf unplayed.  The sad truth is that when I have someone here to play games of that type, I always seem to have other (probably better) games to play instead of Belfort.  I'd still like to give Belfort a shot though, maybe this will be the year...but then again, probably not.

#9:  Apex

A dinosaur deck builder game, what more can you ask for?  Actually, I think this one might play better solo than at two players so for as much as I do want to play this one, I can't be overly confident that it will see the table in 2022.  

#8:  Great Western Trail

This is one of those famous games that I've heard about for a long time but actually know very little about in terms of specifics.  I ended up buying this for myself for my birthday in November but still haven't got it to the table.  

#7:  Dinosaur Island Rawr 'n Write

The only "roll and write" game on my list this year is one that I've had in possession for over a year without playing it.  I did open it up to play it earlier this year but was turned off by the lengthy rulebook (for what should be a relatively simple game).  I think it's safe to say that heavy roll and writes aren't my thing - or at least, I don't think they are since I haven't tried this one yet!

#6:  Dinosaur World

I enjoyed Dinosaur Island quite a bit and by all accounts the follow-up game (Dinosaur World) is an even better take on the same basic concept.  This is another game that is a table hog, but one that I am hoping to get to the table this holiday season.

#5:  Intrepid

Another coop game to make the list!  I think cooperative games are great options for the holidays, win together or lose together but either way there shouldn't be people angry at each other.  After all, the holidays can be stressful enough, no reason to make board games add to the stress levels.  As for Intrepid, it's a space themed coop game and that's about all I can remember about it.

#4:  Green Team Wins

A party game that I recently heard about on a board game podcast.  It was relatively inexpensive so I grabbed it and figured it was worth a shot.  My brother likes most board games but the rest of family definitely only are willing to try lighter, easier games.  Green Team Wins should be exactly that.

#3:  Just One

Another popular party game that I've never played.  Just One is a cooperative game so again, this should be a perfect fit for my family at the holidays.  I'm hosting Christmas at my house this year for the entire clan and I certainly plan to get this game out during the day in between meals.

#2:  Fun Facts

The third party game in a row, this one I also learned about via a board game podcast.  Fun Facts is basically a coop game where a question is read with a numerical answer and then each person secretly answers the question using a plastic arrow and a whiteboard marker.  The arrows are flipped over and then you go around the table trying to place your arrow in the correct ranking among everyone playing.  For example, a question might be "How many hats do you own?" and then the table needs to get the order as correct as possible to score the most points.  

  

#1:  Keep the Heroes Out

This is one of my more recent Kickstarter games to be delivered and it's the one bigger game that I definitely hope to play with my brother.  Keep the Heroes Out is a coop game where you play as the "baddies" in a dungeon with the goal to keep the heroes away from your treasure.  It's an asymmetric game with various factions of bad guys to play as and it looks quite cute.  I'm definitely excited to give this one a spin in a few days!

That does it for today's list.  I'm curious if any of you have played any of the games on my list...and if so, would you recommend that I move that game up or down my list of "must plays" for this holiday season.