With hundreds of games hitting stores every year, it can be hard to keep track. That’s why we’ve put together our list of our favourite games for the first half of 2024!
Our Favourites
Bounty Hunters
Age: 10+ / Players: 2-6 / Duration: 15-30 minutes
Set in a galaxy far, far away, Bounty Hunters plunges you into the heart of the action! Recruit the best hunters to capture prestigious characters and earn their bounty in this fast-paced draft game! Use hunter and equipment cards to capture heroes. Collect crates and complete special contracts to earn even more points. It’s fast, it’s super simple and it’s perfectly addictive!
Coffee Rush
Age: 8+ / Players: 2-4 / Duration: 15-30 minutes
If you read our article The Games We Loved in 2023, you already know how excited we were to show you Coffee Rush! In this fast-paced game, you’ll take on the role of a barista who must get coffee orders out as quickly as possible to not end up with unsatisfied customers. ULTRA-beautiful components (the little coffee cups, perfectly miniaturized ingredients <3), a fast-paced game you’ll want to play again and again!
Harmonies
Age: 10+ / Players: 1-4 / Duration: 30-45 minutes
In Harmonies, design your dreamscape by placing colorful tokens, and encourage animals to settle in your little world! Strategically combine your landscapes and animals to earn the most victory points and win the game. An easy-to-learn game, with high tactical choices and magnificent illustrations that will immerse you in this dreamy environment.
MLEM – Space Agency
Age: 8+ / Players: 2-5 / Duration: 30-45 minutes
An out-of-this-world, push-your-luck adventure, featuring cats in space! Travel to the farthest reaches of the universe. Take your castronauts as far as possible, and score as many points as you can. With various feline skills and objectives, several strategies can lead you to victory. These intrepid felines have long conquered the Earth with their unmatched bravery, and now they’ve set their sights on conquering the entire cosmos.
Star Wars™: Unlimited – Spark of Rebellion
Age: 12+ / Players: 2 / Duration: 15-30 minutes
If we had to bet on one game this year, it would be this one! The Star Wars universe meets a collectible card game and an epic battle. Form your battle squadron with your favorite characters from the original films and attempt to destroy the opposing base via air or ground attack. In the Two-Player Starter for the game’s first set, Spark of Rebellion, you’ll find two fully built, ready-to-play decks for you and a friend to dive in and start learning the game. Shield your allies as Luke Skywalker or go on the offensive as Darth Vader!
Word Traveler
Age: 14+ / Players: 2-5 / Duration: 30-45 minutes
Designed by Quebec game designer, Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance, this innovative little word game is sure to please everyone (yes, even those who don’t usually like word games!). In this cooperative game, you’re a visiting tourist who knows only a few words of the local language. You’ll have to try to communicate as best you can with your limited words to give clues to the locals (the other players) about the place you want to visit! A fast-paced, fun game where you have to choose your words carefully!
Something New for the Whole Family
Captain Flip
Age: 8+ / Players: 2-5 / Duration: 15-30 minutes
Captain Flip is a game of obvious simplicity explained in less time than it takes to fire a canon: On your turn, draw a character from the bag. Keep it or flip it. Then place it on your board to form your crew. Seems simple, no? With its 9 characters with various effects and its 4 boards with different tactics, Captain Flip is deceptively strategic and provides an instantly fun and simple gaming experience.
Finding Atlantis
Age: 14+ / Players: 1-4 / Duration: 45-60 minutes
Embark on an exhilarating journey like never before! Equipped with cutting-edge technology and a state-of-the-art submarine, you stand at the precipice of a legendary discovery, that of the enigmatic city of Atlantis. The race is on to be the first to discover the elusive lost city. Finding Atlantis is a heart-pounding deduction and exploration game during which you will need to use judgement, strategic hand management and stealthy hidden movements to claim victory. A mobile/tablet is required to play the game.
Path of Civilization
Age: 14+ / Players: 1-5 / Duration: 60-120 minutes
Take the reins of your Civilization and make the choices that will make it the most prosperous. It doesn’t matter which path you take, as long as it leads your people to glory. In Path of Civilization, from the very first second of the game, you must make choices that will have repercussions until the end of the game. The game is played simultaneously and works with a simple card and resource management system. The diversity of its cards guarantees enormous variability.
Monstrolicious
Age: 7+ / Players: 2 / Duration: < 15 minutes
In Monstrolicious, use bluff and strategy to seat your Monsters in front of the most appetizing desserts at the banquet. If two Monsters covet the same dessert, only the strongest keeps its place… until it’s dislodged in turn! The game is played in a series of rounds and ends when all cards have been played. Each turn, draw a card, place it in front of a dessert in the banquet and resolve any battle. At the end of the game, you earn victory points for each dessert your Monsters reserve. The Monster family with the most points is declared the winner.
Expansions of Games You Already Love
7 Wonders Architects: Medals
Age: 8+ / Players: 2-7 / Duration: 15-30 minutes
The first expansion for 7 Wonders Architects features two new wonders, new tokens, and, as the name suggests, medals! These add objectives to earn more victory points. But be careful because the medals are accessible to several players, and only the first to reach the objectives will collect the points! A great addition to your 7 Wonders Architects games!
CATAN – New Energies
Age: 14+ / Players: 3-4 / Duration: 60-120 minutes
The CATAN classic needs no introduction, but there’s a new addition to the CATAN product range. In CATAN – New Energies, the island of Catan is at a crossroads. The agrarian society of the island’s Viking ancestors has long since disappeared. Today’s Catanians need energy to keep society moving and expanding, but pollution is a growing threat. Catanians face a pivotal choice: Spend resources to green up their energy or continue with cheaper fossil fuels and risk catastrophic consequences for the island. Psst: in keeping with the game’s ecological concept, this version contains only components from recycled sources and no plastic.
CATAN – Starfarers Duel
Age: 12+ / Players: 2 / Duration: 60-120 minutes
You and your rival Starfarer brave the unknowns of space as you vie for the approval of the Galactic Council. Beware of merciless pirates as you found colonies, build trade relations, and fulfill the Council’s missions. Make quick and clever upgrades to your ship and hone your astute strategy to outfly your opponent.
A reboot of the classic 2001 favourite: Starship CATAN
Heat: Heavy Rain
Age: 10+ / Players: 1-7 / Duration: 45-60 minutes
Heat was surely one of the biggest successes of 2022! Now, for its first expansion, the racing game is ready to blow you away! Heavy Rain introduces two twists and turns that will test the mettle of even the best drivers. What’s more, wet and sometimes even flooded asphalt will really test your driving skills! You’ll also find several elements that you can combine with elements from the basic game! Are you ready to race?
Ticket to Ride – Express – Paris
Age: 8+ / Players: 2-4 / Duration: < 15 minutes
Enjoy the City of Light! Find yourself transported to the glamorous Paris of the roaring twenties. Jump aboard an open platform bus, cruise down les Champs-Elysées, admire the Eiffel Tower, and conclude your day by enjoying a picturesque sunset from a charming terrace in Montmartre. In this fast-paced Ticket to Ride game, players race one another to visit the most iconic locations of the city and complete their Destination Tickets. The winning player will efficiently utilize the Parisian bus network in this new and unique board map.
There you have it – we’ve told you everything about the most exciting titles released so far in 2024. Stay tuned for more details on these and other games coming this year!
Click here to find these and other great games at a store near you.