Board Game Arena

According to the year-end wrap-up post, BGA added 227 games in 2025. Looking for some recommendations here—what’s your favorite of these 227 games?

I’ll go first - I’ve been enjoying playing the very last one of these 227, Formula D. I appreciate its approach to car racing (something I am really not into) and the combination of tactics (inside lane? Outside? What gear should I be in?) and luck, along with the simulation of gear-shifting and how it forces you to slow down to go around tight corners.

Who else has a particular favorite from this last year?

I'm very biased in favor of Pirates of Maracaibo. Great game.

Cool discussion topic, too. Great idea for a thread.

Concordia, of course!

Mars4ever wrote: ↑15 January 2026, 02:12 Concordia, of course!

that was only added as recently as 2025 !?????

Strategy 4, luck 0. top 30 on BGG. Sign me up !!

Blast Radius. Highly combative annihilation game. Starts with an empty board, is played with two colors, and ends with one color.

Blast Radius is my favorite game - not just from 2025. And it's a real abstract. Not just tagged "abstract"

Full disclosure, it's my own design.

Just looked through the announcement posts and was amazed how many great games have been added last year. My favorite is Revive, but it’s not a favorite by a mile with games like Pirates of Maracaibo, Galactic Cruise and The White Castle also released in 2025. Haven’t yet tried Concordia, thanks for the reminder!

No bga awards this year?

Will give you a top 10:

1. Let's Go to Japan - by far my favourite new discovery of the year
2. Welcome to the Moon - I always liked Welcome To and this is really cool because of all the different missions (score sheets) - loving the diversity
3. Imperial Settlers - a game I already knew and loved IRL, basically the same mechanisms as 51st state, but for some reason I love this one much more
4. Aboretum - another game I already knew and loved IRL - such a fantastic brain burner
5. Concordia - yet another game I already knew and loved IRL - hadn't played for ages and had forgotten how much I love it
6. The White Castle - only this far down because my friends have had me playing a lot of it, and it's losing a little shine for me, but still a very good game
7. Tiny Towns - also already knew and loved IRL, and also been a long time since I played
8. Galactic Cruise - haven't even finished my first game of this yet, but really enjoying it so far (though the AP is real)
9. 7 Wonders Dice - have always liked 7 Wonders and a dice version is a really interesting take on it
10. Coffee Rush - this is probably my favourite light game released this year

I'll go for Zenith !

I just learned to play Cathood and am super enjoying being a cat!