2025 Gaming Recap
- lucasmcwhir
- Dec 31, 2025
- 4 min read
Top New To Me Games of the Year
Magical Athlete*
Homeworlds
Waddle*
House of Fado
Playprop
Galactic Cruise
Kelp: Shark vs Octopus
Beat the 8 Ball
Container
Pinatas
*Games that made my top 10 of all time list.
This past year I played more new games than many years combined. The bulk of the new games came from my new job at Allplay. I have had such a great experience blending my accounting skill set with my board game passion. Many close friends and relatives have said, "what on earth made you leave Hollywood? Oh board games? That makes total sense." I am deeply grateful that after two years struggling to keep a foothold on a dream career to be carried over to another dream career opportunity. It was not what I had planned but I thank my God for getting Katie and I on this path! In addition to Allplay, I have been working on a catalog of games coming out. Wondrous was such a great passion project but now that I know how the sausage is made, I am constantly inspired and creating new games seemingly weekly. The real trick is how to produce art, writing, marketing, and production for a game. No worries, I am learning from the best!
Now on to the awards:
Best NTM Game of The Year: Magical Athlete is really something. I had the opportunity to play the original game this year and then play the newly released version from CMYK. As someone who loves seeing how games are developed, Magical Athlete is a 10/10 example on how to improve a game. As a MTG player, I loved Richard Garfield coming in and streamlining athlete abilities and building synergies that cause the whole table to erupt in laughter. As a School House Rock kid, I loved the classic animation style which kept the game lighthearted. As a Mario Kart fiend, racing is quick and I am ready to go with a new racer with a new crazy fun ability each time. This game should have taken of Quest for El Dorado since they are both racing games in my top 10 but I loved both too much. I ended up removing Food Chain Magnate for this game for one specific reason. It has been almost two years since I last played Food Chain and I own super cool upgrades and accessories to make the experience amazing! My list must be maliable enough that when I no longer get games on the table, its time for them to be placed on the chopping block. Waddle replaced Eclipse for this exact same reason. Waddle is another area control game (clearly I have a favorite genre of game) that is about 20 minutes to play and one minute to teach. Waddle is the game that I will now be showing people to help them get into the genre and hopefully play Blood Rage with me one day!
Most Played Game of The Year: MTG again. This year was minimal in person playing but I enjoyed MTG Arena and my #1 most watched youtube channel was also LSV drafting which I watched 140+ videos! I got to go to Atlanta and play with my brother at a MTG Con which was awesome because we mostly drafted and had a good time without competing at the highest level.
Most Underrated Game of The Year: This year I am giving the award to "Family Games" genre. I have not been as interested in lighter games since I was a real stick in the mud about complicated games and BEATING people in competition of the mind. This whole year has suprised me by how many lighter games have been enjoyable and two being worthy of my Top 10! Play more family games, life is too short for only brain burners.
Most Underwhelming Game of The Year: Bomb Busters is about as forgettable as a game gets for me. I played through about 10 scenarios which I know there is more... but I just would rather play one of the many other cooperative games out there. LOTR The Trick Taking game is one that was just more enjoyable that did similar stuff but leaned more on theme rather than 60+ scenarios to explore.
Most Anticipated Game of 2026: I did not reach my goal to play all the games I own. I made a valient effort but working at Allplay has earned me more games than game plays. With that, the. most anticipated game for next year is the re-release of Container, World Order, and The Old King's Crown are my most anticipated games!
Honorable Mentions:
Pinatas
Gruntz
Bites
Container
Food Chain Magnate
Mountain Goats Legacy
Lorcana
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth
Heat: Petal to the Metal
Blue Lagoon
Everdell
Shobu
Watergate
EOY Top Ten list:
Magic The Gathering
Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory
Blood Rage
Brass Birmingham
Dune: Imperium
Tigris and Euphrates
The Quest for El Dorado
Magical Athlete
Waddle
Chess
Additionally, Katie and I started a Youtube/ Social Media initiative to grow an audience for our love of the hobby and new games we will be publishing in 2026 and beyond! Check out our Christmas video below:
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