Yesterday we talked about the best board games that embodied our hobby’s unique sense of togetherness. Today, we must invert the concept. These are the best board games of 2024 that are also about togetherness… in the word’s more uncomfortable sense. Cramped alliances, awkward bedfellows, partners of convenience. A fitting end for one of the strongest years in memory.

#6. Torchlit

Designed by David Spalinski. Self-published

Dungeon diving has always seemed like a testy proposition to me. Not because of the monsters — ho hum — but because of the ruffians watching your back. This trick-taker comes to life once everyone realizes they can work together to maximize their earnings. Or, you know, ensure the current leader winds up in a chamber with barely any treasure at all. Torchlit is one more reminder that modern board gaming’s oldest innovation still has something to teach us about group dynamics. See also: pettiness.

Review: Journeys in the Dark

#5. Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India, 1290-1398

Designed by Cory Graham, Mathieu Johnson, Aman Matthews, and Saverio Spagnolie. Published by GMT Games.

What’s the best course of action when the Mongols invade? Let’s get down to business, to defeat… the dominant empire! Vijayanagara inverts the fantasy trope of everybody coming together to tackle some existential threat, instead putting history’s messier corners on full display. While the Delhi Sultanate is occupied with the Mongol hordes, two southern kingdoms take advantage of the crisis to declare their independence. To win, it will be necessary to make peace with your neighbors, or at least batter them into submission, but political agreements tend to be short-lived when everybody stands a chance of founding the next big dynasty.

Review: From Grave to Cradle

#4. MLEM: Space Agency

Designed by Reiner Knizia. Published by Rebel Studio.

Trust Reiner Knizia to generate complex interpersonal dynamics with hardly any rules load. As a member nation in a feline space agency, your goal is to colonize far-flung planets. This requires trust and cooperation as each player staffs the rocket with their best catstronauts. But there’s nothing preventing these kittens from ditching the ship the instant they happen across a ball of yarn, leaving their companions to continue their (likely doomed) voyage. The result is a smart press-your-luck dice game, one where everybody’s fraying allegiances produces moments of surprise, delight, and regret.

Review: Three Little Kittens Awaiting Ignition

#3. Red Dust Rebellion

Designed by Jarrod Carmichael. Published by GMT Games.

When a misfired round could crack the eggshell that separates your entire community from violent decompression, trust becomes an essential currency. As the first non-historical volume in the COIN Series, Red Dust Rebellion may seem outlandish, but it also centers the foundations of any fledgling society — and how those foundations crack when factional disputes threaten everybody’s survival. From its disruption of the usual turn order to its handling of moveable populations, this is a necessary intervention into the COIN Series, not to mention a timely look at a world on the brink of transformations both cultural and ecological.

Review: Pink Mars

#2. Arcs

Designed by Cole Wehrle. Published by Leder Games.

I love Arcs for a thousand reasons, but perhaps foremost among them is its ambition. Thanks to The Blighted Reach, the game’s massive expansion — and the actual source of its “arc,” the titular campaign that sees your interstellar societies develop and change over three acts — this is not only a firecracker of a board game, but also one of the few portrayals of space empire that emphasizes the drama and beliefs of its people instead of their tech trees. I’ve tackled that campaign four times, and each story has been as distinct and thought-provoking as it was thrilling. Arcs will be discussed and debated for years to come. So say we all.

Review: Arcs Supra Arcs

#1. Pax Penning

Designed by Matilda Simonsson. Published by Milda Matilda Games.

Compared to some of the titles on this list, Pax Penning encompasses nearer horizons. Set in the dimming years of the Viking Age, King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden brings transformation in the form of new religion and new currency. To prevent themselves from being left behind, the local noble houses must navigate their allegiances to their king, country, and one another. The rub is that loyalty is an actual currency, gifted and traded between houses, and one which will, in the end, decide whether one house usurps another’s victory or perhaps forges a coalition between new allies. Very few board games are interested in state formation, but that’s precisely where Pax Penning shines, asking hard questions about identity, devotion, and how far you can trust the kinsmen seated at your hearth. As far as I can tell, it’s as close to perfect as a board game comes.

Review: Pax Partying

The wheel has turned once more. Best Week 2024 has ended. But don’t assume that’s all there is to say! What were your favorite board games of the year? What did I miss out on? Keep the faith, and I’ll see you in the new year.

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