2023 is the year I learned to love trick-taking games, a process chronicled in my series This Trick-Taking Life. As you can probably imagine, there were a number of contenders for today’s list. Quite a few favorites were left out, including some that were simply too old to qualify. What follows is therefore an imperfect cross-section of a genre that may as well have all been new to me this year, but one that yet reflects my newfound affection for one of our hobby’s oldest genres.

#6. Aurum

Designed by Shreesh Bhat. Published by Pandasaurus.

In some ways, Aurum is the “purest” trick-taker on this list. Which is a rather appropriate bit of wordplay if I do say so myself, as it’s about transmuting base metals into gold. Like many trick-takers, Bhat includes a trump suit. Here, though, that suit — the gold itself — is hard-earned by winning tricks, and can snake future tricks… but only by sacrificing the points it represents. It’s a simple game that showcases the genre’s depth.

Review: All That Glitters Is Not Gold

#5. A Very Civil Whist

Designed by Fred Serval. Published by PHALANX.

The first of two Serval trick-takers I played this year (although the second one hasn’t been released yet), A Very Civil Whist is most easily described as trick-taking meets States of Siege. Players command either the Royalists or Parliamentarians, playing cards to nudge themselves forward along four tracks and either save or lop off the king’s head. Trick-taking has begun to edge into hybrid design, with maps and area control and all that jazz, and this is possibly the breeziest entry point into a wild world where tricks are only one component of a larger whole.

Review: A Very Civil Schnapsen

#4. For Northwood!

Designed by Wilhelm Su.

Is there such a thing as solitaire trick-taking? If there wasn’t before, now there is. For Northwood! functions with surprising grace, capturing many of the genre’s subtleties without requiring other players. Here your goal is to parlay with the leaders of multiple kingdoms, winning them over in arguments. Those arguments, of course, are hands of tricks, and only by taking precisely the right number will you succeed. For extra credit, try the scenarios. They’re brutal.

Review: Femkort in the Woodland

#3. The Barracks Emperors

Designed by Wray Ferrell and Brad Johnson. Published by GMT Games.

At a glance, The Barracks Emperors looks nothing like a trick-taking game. Joke’s on you, because it’s also nothing like a historical game. Unlike Ferrell and Johnson’s earlier Time of Crisis, this one isn’t interested in evoking its time period so much as producing one of the most exacting placement puzzles in recent memory. Each emperor is a trick unto itself. The pesky part is that the placement of your cards will inevitably contribute to your rivals’ success. The entire design is double-edged, nipping at your fingers at the very moment you think victory is assured.

Review: Slaying Probus

#2. Sail

Designed by Akiyama Koryo and Korzu Yusei. Published by Allplay.

All you have to do is sail from one side of the board to the other. How difficult could it be? As someone who’s always thought sailing looks hella hard, I’m going with “really dang difficult.” Sail is a cooperative trick-taker that requires players to dodge rocks, outpace a billowing storm, and blast kraken tentacles. Communication is limited to a trade at the start of each round. It’s a game I’ve lost far more than I’ve won — far more — but keeps me coming back for one more try.

Review: This Is How an Angel Cries

#1. Schadenfreude

Designed by ctr. Published by Studio Turbine.

I contemplated a number of “older” trick-takers for this list. Ghosts of Christmas and Cat in the Box are two of my favorite titles ever designed. But the joys of Schadenfreude, from its comedic rules explanation to its even sillier gameplay, made it a necessary inclusion. The twist? Second place wins. That’s pretty much the game in a nutshell. Once somebody passes the 40-point mark, whomever is squatting right behind them takes the victory. Oh, there’s a little more to it than that. Winning points is all about securing cards, but duplicates cancel each other out. Schadenfreude thus marks itself as a game about dropping bombs, poisoning other players’ score piles, and laughing uproariously. It’s such a good time that I never remember who won, only the beats that led up to its climax.

Review: First Place Goes to Second Place

What were your favorite trick-taking games of the year?

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