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2018 – Best Thematic Game Nominees

Join us as we review the 2018 Best Thematic Game for the Diamond Climber, the 1st Annual Meeple Mountain Board Game Awards.
We’ve announced the winners of the first annual Diamond Climber board game awards. Head on over to the announcements page to see which titles won!

Are you seeking a game that will immerse you in the universe it has created?  Do you seek to feel the struggle and victories your party or character feels in game?  Look no farther because these games kick up the immersion a notch.

Detective: Modern Crime

Detective: Modern Crime sets you in the 4th wall breaking position of a investigator out to solve and connect five separate cases.  You will need to search a real dedicated database to find the answers you are looking for. I love that this game incorporates real life features to help add a layer to the immersion and with a player count of 1-5 its sure to be a hit!

Detective: Modern Crime

Publisher(s): Portal Games
Designer(s): Przemysław Rymer, Ignacy Trzewiczek, Jakub Łapot
Artist(s): Aga Jakimiec, Ewa Kostorz, Rafał Szyma

Who Goes There?

Who Goes There has been one of my personal favorite games this year.  It sets you and up to five other players in a semi corporate game of survival at the edge of the world.  Things are not as they seem though for, as the game progresses, someone could become infected by an alien host.  The tension and choices you must make all really set this game into the champion echelon of hidden identity and traitor games.

Who Goes There?

Publisher(s): Certifiable Studios
Designer(s): Anthony Coffey, Jesse Labbe
Artist(s): Anthony Coffey, Jesse Labbe

Nyctophobia

Nyctophobia has most assuredly incorporated a brand new mechanic to the immersion game this year.  In Nyctophobia you play as hunter or hunted in this survival game. The twist is if you are hunted you are also wearing blackout glasses that render you blind.  The only way to survive is to rely on your sense of touch to move around the board and survive until the police arrive. Nyctophobia will most assuredly make you afraid of the dark.

Nyctophobia

Publisher(s): Asmodee, Pandasurus Games
Designer(s): Catherine Stippell
Artist(s): Peter Wocken

Shadows in the Forest

Shadows in the Forest is a fun lighthearted game of hide and seek. Shadows is played entirely in the dark except for the small lantern provided in the game.  In this game that can be played with up to 8 players you play as the lone seeker with a lantern searching for the shadowlings that the rest of the players control.  The game goes in turns with the seeker moving the lantern around the board trying to shine his light on the shadowlings to “freeze” them and collect their masks. The shadowlings are trying to all hide in the same tree to escape the seeker.  Shadows is a light and fun game that plays with a new element that I had never experienced before. It is a enjoyable addition to any collection.

Shadows in the Forest

Publisher(s): Kraul, ThinkFun
Designer(s): Walter Kraul
Artist(s): N/A

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About the author

Tyler Williams

Masters Student and Performance Coach. Husband to 1 and Father to 3....cats. My singular hobby/passion is board games.

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