Best in tabletop of 2024

The number of tabletop games that come out in a single year these days is nothing short of incredible, and to say that this list of what the tabletop team here at GamingTrend put forth is definitive and exhaustive would do a disservice to the hundreds of games that we still haven’t gotten to the table yet. That said, there were quite a few amazing gaming experiences we had in 2024 that we felt we needed to call attention to, so here a few selections provided by each Tabletop Editor:

Chris Hinkes, Tabletop Editor

Star Wars Unlimited

Star Wars Unlimited brings the entire Star Wars universe to your tabletop in a collectible and competitive trading card game format. Deploying your leader and fighting over separate ground and space battlefields brings the game and theme to life. The first three chapters were a blast to discover in 2024 and introduced all three main Star Wars cinematic eras. Star Wars fans can rejoice with an amazing card game that appears to be here to stay.

Chris Wyman, Tabletop Editor

Magic: The Gathering Bloomburrow

From our review: “If the theme of cute small anthropomorphized animals banding together to save their world is for you, go play some Bloomburrow. This set is one of the best starting sets for Magic: The Gathering…maybe ever? If you’ve ever wanted to learn Magic, or you’re just interested in Bloomburrow itself, I can recommend this set to everyone who’s curious.”

James van Tonningen, Tabletop Editor

Wyrmspan

From our review: “A true sequel to Wingspan, trading birds for dragons. The game truly benefits from the huge success of its predecessor, and feels like a game with several high quality expansions built in.”

James’ other picks:

• Compile
• Gnome Hollow
• Arcs:: Conflict & Collapse in the Reach
• Tabriz

Nick Dubs, Tabletop Editor

River of Gold

From our review: “You know how sometimes you sit down to a new game not expecting too much, only to be blown away by every little thing put in front of you? That was my experience with Keith Piggott’s River of Gold, a surprise masterpiece of delivering resources, sailing down, and building next to a major trade river loosely set in the Legend of the Five Rings universe.”

Nick’s other picks:

• Creature Caravan
• Compile
• Kutna Hora
• Pagan: Fate of Roanoke

John Farrell, Lead TTRPG Editor

Shadowdark

Though we’ve seen many attempts to remake the wheel of old school dungeon crawling, Shadowdark has the advantage of clarity, presentation, and style. Its rules are comprehensive but approachable, varied but cohesive, and laden with the kind of grime that 80s fantasy knew how to deliver. Much as I love Dungeon Crawl Classics, Shadowdark is the more approachable of the two by far.

John’s other picks:

• Final Girl (multiple expansions)
• Pagan: Fate of Roanoke
• Slay the Spire: The Board Game
• Aeon’s End (multiple expansions)

Steven Starkey, Lead TTRPG Editor

D&D 5e 2024 Player’s Handbook/Dungeon Master’s Guide

From our review: “The organization is a huge improvement over its predecessor, and the changes overall seem well thought out. An argument can be made that this is really 5.5 or maybe even a stealth sixth edition, but I can see why WotC chose to call it an update. Many of the plethora of little rules tweaks and adjustments may slip by without much fanfare or notice, but the changes to the character classes will be meaningful and probably translate directly to more effective characters and tougher adventuring parties. “

Steven’s other picks:

• Undergrove
• Wyrmspan
• Gnome Hollow
• Da Da Da

Randy Gregory II, Lead Hobby Editor

Army Painter Fanatics paints

From our review: “These paints set a new bar for quality. I really feel like Army Painter has listened to the audience, and really worked on producing paints that not only paint well, but are easily understood. That attention to detail is something that other companies could learn from, and I can’t wait to keep using them on my projects.“

Randy’s other picks:

• Lethal Shadows Fluorescent paints
• Turbo Dork Color Shift paints
• Magic The Gathering Foundations / Bloomburrow / Duskmourn
• Warhammer 40k Darktide

Mark Julian, Lead Tabletop Editor

Crossbows & Catapults

From our review: “Crossbows & Catapults recaptured my childhood in the best way and had me smiling and laughing so much that my face hurt. Not only is it a top-notch game, but the components and weapon design are the best in class. You need to try this one.”

Mark’s other picks:

• Star Wars Unlimited
• Lorcana 2024 expansions
• Diatoms
• Dungeon Kart

Dan Hinkin, Lead Tabletop Editor

Gnome Hollow

From our review: “As someone who likes deeply strategic games, I find a lot of lighter-medium weight games lacking to hold my interest. Gnome Hollow is one that I would be happy to teach and play again and again. With a constantly changing strategy, a different experience at all player counts, and different variants to add into different sessions for different groups, Gnome Hollow strikes a perfect balance.”

Dan’s other picks:

• Windmill Valley
• Endeavour: Deep Sea
• Duel for Middle Earth
• Wyrmspan

Mike Dunn, Editor-in-Chief of Tabletop

Arcs: Conflict & Collapse in the Reach

This game became an obsession of ours for several weeks, with us coming back session after session eager to experience as much of what came in the box as possible, then folding in the asymmetry of the leader cards, finally culminating in the expansion’s campaign mode and its promises of subverting the considered gameplay of the core box. Each play was like exploring different parts of the same archeological dig site, with new surprises and wonders at literally every turn. A game so good it had me re-examine my opinions of Wehrle’s other Leder offerings.

Mike’s other picks:

• Wyrmspan
• Gnome Hollow
• The Gang
• Inferno