It’s that time of year again…at least in our household. With last year’s DGA Awards being an overall success, we decided to sit down again this year to hash out our favorite board games of 2013. Like last year, it’s important to stress that Dad’s Gaming Addiction is a quote unquote “small, one-man show” that simply doesn’t have access to all of the games released in 2013…both my closet and girlfriend seem to appreciate this fact, even if I don’t. As such, we’ll be listing only the games that we own and played throughout the year.
Still, we had some tough choices to make…
My apologies for the cutoff date being two months before the end of the year, but I wanted to release this article early so that folks had a few ideas for the upcoming Christmas holiday…something that the majority of my friends and I celebrate. If any of the games listed below sound interesting to you, please feel free to check out the review (simply click the link) to get more information on how they play.
If you are a developer / publisher and see your game listed below, feel free to use the awards listed at the very end of this article. I’m admittedly better at writing than I am at graphic design, so I won’t take offense if you thumb your nose up at them. Still, considering I was using PowerPoint, I think they didn’t turn out THAT bad. As always, a big thank you to both my readers and business contacts alike for helping to make this website possible. Most importantly, special thanks need to be extended to “Dad’s Review Crew” for all of their hard work and support.
Vinnie (12), Anthony (17), Carolyn (14) & The Official DGA Mascot, Lucy
—
Vinnie’s Top Ten (12 Years Old)
9. Castle Panic
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation Deck Building Game
3. Pandemic
2. Dominion
1. Dead Panic
Honorable Mentions: Alien Frontiers, Tetris Link, Crappy Birthday, Last Night On Earth, Forbidden Desert, Forbidden Island, Pandemic: On The Brink (Expansion), Rise of the Zombies!, Monopoly: Electronic Banking Edition, Stratego: Fire & Ice Variant
—
Carolyn’s Top Five (14 Years Old)
3. Say Anything & Say Anything Family
2. Apples to Apples (Junior Edition)
1. Jenga
Honorable Mentions: Tetris Link, Lost Cities, Ingenious
—
Anthony’s Top Ten (17 Years Old)
10. Monopoly Deal
6. Tsuro
2. Othello
1. Wiz-War
Honorable Mentions: Khet, Castle Panic, Othello, Pandemic, Apples to Apples (Junior Edition), Dominion, Lost Cities, Mancala, Pandemic: On The Brink (Expansion), Star Trek Deck Building Game: The Original Series, Stratego: Fire & Ice Variant
—
Dad’s Top Ten (Still Not Telling!)
10. Wrong Chemistry
9. Lost Cities
8. Garden Dice
5. Pandemic
4. Castle Panic
Honorable Mentions: Chess, Convert, Eight-Minute Empire, Jambo, Khet, Power Grid, Sunrise City, Tsuro of the Seas, Hexica, The Great Heartland Hauling Company, Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game & Expansions, Lords of Waterdeep, Clue: The Great Museum Caper, Blokus, Bloodsuckers
—
This is how I feel when I open my board game closet…
Last year, I filled this space with what I thought to be the most educational games in my collection. This year, I’m going to try something a little different. While each of us have games that we personally enjoy, I found myself reflecting on the times where we had the most fun. Did we have more fun playing educational games? How about war games? Strategy games?
It turns out that cooperative games, through and through, won that contest. It makes sense in a way…team building and noncompetitive environments are often more fun for all involved, especially where kids are concerned. To that end, the following is a list of our favorite cooperative games.
Once again, we’ll be listing only the games that we own and played throughout the year.
4. Dead Panic
2. Pandemic
1. Castle Panic
Being a deadly disease has never been so fun…
—
If your game’s name is mentioned, feel free to post the appropriate below award on your website. If you can, please be sure to hyperlink the image to my main page at: http://www.dadsgamingaddiction.com/ or to this article at: http://www.dadsgamingaddiction.com/dga-awards-2013. If you need assistance in resizing the image, please drop me a line or leave a comment below.
Use this image if you see your game’s name mentioned on any of the numbered lists.
Use this image if you see your game’s name mentioned in any of the “honorable mentions” lists.
—
Finally, to celebrate my journey into the wonderful world of video, please enjoy this eight-minute outtakes compilation: