Top Tabletop Games of 2015 — Scott’s List

With the book on 2015 freshly closed, taking a look back at the year gives a specific sense of excitement. The boardgaming hobby is riding a roller coaster that is only going up. Year after year things keep getting better. Innovative game play, immersive themes and stellar components keep the over all experience one of constant surprise and enjoyment. So what rose to the top of an already awesome pile? See my most liked games of 2015!
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Pandemic Legacy

Pandemic Legacy is The Force Awakens of board gaming. Both are based on a property that is truly loved by its fans. Both have had some releases after that fans were not too happy with. Both are filled with twists and turns that no one expected (I feel like I have said too much already). And both had huge hype machines that turned out to be 100% justified. The hype is real people, go out and get a copy of Pandemic Legacy.
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Imperial Assault

I must be a Star Wars fan or something… Building on the great success of Descent, Imperial Assault is the Star Wars game we have all be waiting for (until we realized we also wanted Armada and Rebellion). One player plays as the Empire, the other players various rebel archtypes going on a grand adventure. Unlike Pandemic, I cannot wait to play through Imperial Assault again with different characters and different scenarios. While it does take somewhat of a time commitment to play, it is well worth it. I will be playing this one for years to come.
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Orleans

I thought I knew ‘bag building’ before I got to play Orleans, but now I know I didn’t know a thing. The core mechanic of the game is accumulating different types of workers and then assigning them to various actions. The catch is that your workers are drawn from a bag, so probability and proportions become a key factor. A refined game with a whole host of interesting decisions; this is my favorite eurogame from 2015. I don’t know exactly how you would go about getting a copy, but if you come across one be sure to try it out.
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Mysterium

Another in the long line of games that I couldn’t even dream of (get it? DREAM of!). In Mysterium a ghost player tries to communicate with the rest of the players using surreal artwork based dream cards. Players cooperatively try to figure out the suspect, weapon and location of a murder based on those clues. Great fun for a large group (up to 7) Mysterium almost fits into a category of its own: cooperative strategy party game. An amazing experience.