Game publishers both big and small released new board games at a dizzying rate in 2018. We started looking at some of the 19 most anticipated games of 2019 yesterday, and the rest of the games we can’t wait for are presented below in no particular order.

Batman: Gotham City Chronicles

With over 19,000 backers raising $4.4 million on Kickstarter, Batman: Gotham City Chronicles comes with some ginormous expectations. Based on the gameplay of Monolith’s other comic-book-turned-board-game, Conan, Batman: Gotham City Chronicles promises to be an immersive experience in the world of the Dark Knight. Two core boxes full of minis, double-sided boards, a command board with dozens of tiles, and dice and cards galore, Gotham City has never looked this good on the tabletop before.

Unbroken

As more and more publishers include solo variant rules in their games, it’s nice to see a game geared strictly for solitaire play. In Unbroken you’re the lone survivor of a failed dungeon crawl. You have nothing but your wits, as you try to scrape together weapons and fend off the remaining monsters in order to escape. It’s basically Die Hard in a fantasy setting, as you take on all of the assorted bad guys and try to make it out alive. Yippee-ki-yay.

Wingspan

Stonemaier Games is one of the companies I always keep an eye on: I enjoy all of their games and their components should be the industry standard that all other companies follow. In Wingspan you’re a bird enthusiast seeking to attract the best birds to your aviary. Not exactly a game from the Scythe style of play, but it’s being described as being somewhere between engine building games Gizmos and Terraforming Mars. With artwork by Beth Sobel and game design by Elizabeth Hargrave, Wingspan takes flight next month.

Gen7

Gen7 marks the long-awaited return of The Crossroads system featured in Dead of Winter. This sci-fi themed cooperative game with variable player powers is based on a ship bound from Earth on a survival mission, which Plaid Hat Games teased: “Thirteen generations will be born on this vessel before it reaches its destination, each generation a steward of the hopes and ideals of the human species. For six generations everything has gone as planned. Now, just as a new command team takes control of the ship, a terrible mystery emerges that will threaten the entire mission.”

Hokkaido

From Renegade Game Studios comes the second map-building game in their Nippon series, Hokkaido. The well-received first game, Honshu, featured a trick-taking mechanism, while in Hokkaido players will draft cards for their map. After listening to players’ feedback on Honshu, designer Kalle Malmioja worked them into the new game. With different scoring rules, a new terrain type (mountain), and other additional rules tweaks, Hokkaido looks to be another surprising brain burner packaged in a small box.

Revolution of 1828

A new Stefan Feld game is always big news in board game community and Revolution of 1828 is the latest to get the hype train rolling. This time Feld sets his sights on the United States presidency in this two-player, card-driven game during the Civil War. Each player wants to become the next president and must use all of their tools at their disposal, including engaging in smear campaigns to gain the favor of voters. Gain the most votes and you’re the young country’s seventh president.

Wreck Raiders

In this dice-drafting worker placement game, you’ll dive deep into the ocean to recover precious treasures from pirate shipwrecks. Use a die from the pool to send your divers to various locations, but if you’re too close to your competition then they’ll scoop up treasures, too. With your recently acquired goodies you’ll set up museum exhibits and aquariums as well as stockpile some of those baubles in your personal vault. Gather enough coins from everything you’ve done and you’ll be the best wreck raider of them all!

Nemesis

Like the classic movie Alien, you and your crew are awakened from hibernation aboard a spaceship. There’s something wrong with the ship and you’re racing to find and fix the problem when you notice one of your crew members is dead. His hibernation capsule is damaged and his body was pulled out. Who … or what … did it? Nemesis is a sci-fi/horror cooperative game with variable player powers, dice rolling, and card-driven battle that asks one simple question: can you survive long enough to solve the mystery of your dead crew member before it’s too late?

Barrage

Set in a dystopic 1930s, Barrage is a resource management game in which players attempt to complete dams so that they may reap the benefits of a world in dire need of energy. The game is not for casual gamers; it’s not a party game and, while it may not be the heaviest game available, it will produce some brain burn. As water flows through your dams to produce energy you’re required to fulfill energy contracts, so you’ll want your dams to be as efficient as possible.

Wander: The Cult of Barnacle Bay

In this family-friendly (albeit Lovecraftian-touched) cooperative dungeon crawl game, anthropomorphic animal heroes face off against corrupted creatures. Dawn Dalton had her hands on the game earlier this year, and as she described it, “The game is really easy to learn and, while dark in places, perfect for the whole family to play.” Panda Cult Games published this title independently through Kickstarter, though they’re also doing development work for the upcoming Men In Black/Ghostbusters title with IDW. The game was supposed to release towards the end of 2018, but in trying to stuff the box with minis, production delays pushed the release to early this year, meaning it still lives on our much-anticipated lists.

What games are you looking forward to playing in 2019? Tell us in the comments!

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Featured Image Credit: Monolith Games

Image Credits: Monolith Games, Altema Games, Board Game Brothas, Stonemaier Games, Plaid Hat Games, Renegade Game Studios, Kids Table Board Gaming, Awaken Realms, Cranio Creations International, Dawn Dalton

Ruel Gaviola loves board games, books, food, travel, Star Wars, and date nights with his wife. He writes about games for iSlaytheDragon and tabletop-test.com, podcasts about games for The Five By, and his name rhymes with Superman’s Kryptonian name. Follow him on Twitter and read his blog here.