A couple of weeks ago we announced our nominees for our 10th Annual Board Game Awards. Wow, has it really been 10 years already? I guess so. Well since than, we’ve put our heads together, tested games, and come up with a consensus.

Today we are excited to announce the winners of our 2022 Board Game Awards. As usual, the voting was difficult, and some categories were extremely tight. But our editorial staff (along with input from our readers) have made their selections. So, without further ado, here are the winners of our 10th Annual Board Game Grow Awards. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees.

2022 Board Game Award Winners

Best Cooperative Game

Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood
Designer: Jamie Jolly
Shadowborne Games
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While a lot of the big crowdfunding projects raise big dollars due to flashy miniatures and deluxe components, the true test of how successful a game is is based on how it plays. And Oathsworn delivers combining some familiar mechanics with some new ones in a thematic game set in a world overrun by a dark forest. Oathsworn’s fairly flexible gameplay is broken into two parts: a choose-your-adventure story which brings this grim-dark world to life and a tactical boss battler. The combat system offers a choice of using cards or dice in a push-your-luck system of exploding dice/cards where you can draw all the white cards/dice you want but miss if you get two blanks can allow for some epic moments where you roll multiple critical hits unleashing massive damage at the perfect time.

Runner Up: ISS Vanguard

Best Game Expansion

Star Wars: Outer Rim – Unfinished Business
Designers: Tony Fanchi, Corey Konieczka
Fantasy Flight Games
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This game set in a galaxy far, far, away has always been pretty fantastic. It almost won our BGQ Award for Best Thematic Game back in 2019. However this time the open world game brings how the prize. The Unfinished Business expansion not only adds more content for all the decks of cards (something we’ve long yearned for) but also added some nice upgrades, like a way to loop around the board and revised endgame goals. For fans of Star Wars: Outer Rim, the Unfinished Business expansion is a must own!

Runner Up: Wingspan Asia

Best Production Values

Foundations of Rome
Designer: Emerson Matsuuch
Arcane Wonders
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If you have an empty shelf on your Kallax, have no fear. Foundations of Rome will fill it up. Surprisingly worthy of its box size, Foundations of Rome comes fully loaded with dual-layered boards, chunky pieces, and impressively detailed ancient Roman building miniatures. If that’s not enough, you can upgrade to get metal coins, a first player statue, a playmat, and more. All of this comes with an organizer that makes set-up a breeze. The table presence of this game will wow anyone walking by and playing it feels just as good as it looks. Looking for less? There’s a rumor of a re-theme with all cardboard pieces coming at the end of 2023.

Runner Up: Return to Dark Tower

Best Thematic Game

Return to Dark Tower
Designers: Tim Burrell-Saward,
Isaac Childres, Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau,
Justin D. Jacobson, Brian Neff
Restoration Games
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Return to Dark Tower took its roots and delved them deeper, offering something thematically satisfying for fantasy and co-op fans. Each boss edges their way into the world, making the board feel like a true map detailing corruption and plight. With interesting characters, creative dungeons to delve into, and skulls falling from the sky, this game lives and breathes in its own unique world.

Runner Up: ISS Vanguard

Best Strategy/Euro Game

Ark Nova
Designer: Mathias Wigge
Capstone Games
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Ark Nova is a surprising game. The mechanics are a tad tricky to learn at first, but halfway into your first game it all starts to click and when you inevitably lose your first game with a horrible (probably negative) score, you’re ready to dive back in and play again. The game features a gargantuanly large deck and multiple zoo maps, so there is plenty of variety, but it also offers a comforting rhythm where you know the same key milestones each game to slingshot yourself from success to success. Yes, there is a bit of luck involved if you simply cannot get the card you want, but the best zoo builders are the ones who can adjust when their first plan is stymied by the bad-card gremlin.

Runner Up: Wonderlands War

Best Card Game

War of the Ring: The Card Game
Designer: Ian Brody
Ares Games
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When we first demoed War of the Ring: The Card Game back at Gen Con 2022, we instantly fell in love. While it was never going to recreate the experience of the epic tabletop game that is War of the Ring, it does distill the essence of that game down to its core: a cat-and-mouse hunt for the ring while limited resources at your disposal. War of the Ring: The Card Game is fun, thematic, and a great option for fans of JRR Tolkien’s work when they don’t have 3+ hours to spend playing the original game.

Runner Up: Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition

Best Game from a Small Publisher

Planet Unknown
Designers: Ryan Lambert, Adam Rehberg
Adams Apple Games

Planet Unknown makes a breathtaking entry into the beloved genre of polyomino tile-laying games. This one features a lazy susan for picking pieces as you try to fill your board as much as possible. Layered on top of that is a ridiculously satisfying set of tracks that you’ll be racing up to unlock benefits and new powers. Every turn is like pulling a slot machine lever and getting something new. You’re also tasked with clearing your personal board of meteors and escape pods by driving your rover(s) around all while competing over shared objectives. There are so many combinations of unique maps and player boards, so every game feels like a new puzzle. Finally, Planet Unknown can play up to 6 players in about an hour with practically no down-time.

Runner Up: Frostpunk: The Board Game

Best Two Player Game

Undaunted: Stalingrad
Designers: Trevor Benjamin,
David Thompson
Osprey Games
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Two players eye one another across the expanse of a tiled map of shelled out buildings and muddy tank tracks. Each of them represents one side in one of the most brutal battles in human history. Through thematic deck-building and a tug-of-war campaign over the fate of Stalingrad, players face challenging objectives as the tide turns in their favor one day, then against the next. As you connect to the members of your squad, you can’t help but wonder if they’ll be able to make it beyond the upcoming battle. There’s a lot of consideration that went into this production that respects the historical context and the player’s investment. Undaunted Stalingrad is the current crowning achievement of the Undaunted series and is truly a culmination of David Thompson and Trevor Benjamin’s design prowess. Are you ready to enlist?

Runner Up: Beer and Bread

Best Family Game

Long Shot: The Dice Game
Designer: Chris Handy
Perplext
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Long Shot is a hoot. It’s all the excitement of betting on a horse race with none of the financial burden. Coming in a small box, Long Shot packs a lot of game. Players will be rolling dice to determine which horse moves and which horse they can take actions on, including betting, buying the horse, unlocking the ability to bet on the horse after betting has closed, and making other horses move when that horse is rolled. There is also a concessions board in which you’ll be marking off numbers and unlocking major actions whenever you complete a row or column. Buying a horse gives you a unique ability on that horse (there are a ton in the game). While this is technically a roll–and-write, the focus on the central horse race makes it much more interactive than most. Players ~10 years old and older will be able to figure out the rules and the strategies after a few turns, making it accessible for families. Since it plays up to 8 players, it’s perfect for the next family get-together.

Runner Up: Flamecraft

Best Reprint/ Reimplementation

Return to Dark Tower
Designers: Tim Burrell-Saward,
Isaac Childres, Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau,
Justin D. Jacobson, Brian Neff
Restoration Games
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There was a fair amount of excitement over Restoration Games bringing this beloved game into the modern day. Regardless of how you feel about apps and electronics in your board game, Return to Dark Tower balances feeling familiar and intriguingly new. The centerpiece tower brings a literal and figurative elevation to the game experience. Whether Dark Tower was an old flame or a new discovery, there’s lots to love about this game.

Runner Up: Longshot: The Dice Game

Game of the Year

Foundations of Rome
Designer: Emerson Matsuuchi
Arcane Wonders
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Not only was Foundations of Rome the best-looking game this year (in our opinion), but it was also one of our favorites. It’s an accessible polyomino game that will have you building out the city of Rome as the game progresses. Not only is the game easy to learn, but it includes a number of expansions to help deepen up the gameplay. Want to play solo? Go for it. Want a bit of backstabbery? You can have that. More buildings? Have some monuments! Foundations of Rome was just a game we kept coming back to again and again throughout the year, making it worthy of our Game of the Year.

Runner Up: Ark Nova

Note: Per award rules, because it won Game of the Year, Foundations of Rome was removed from consideration from other award categories except Best Production Values.