Deep and strategic games but which are not really for Experts? It's the hard-to-define category called “insider games” and here are the best of 2024 in our opinion.
Some lucky little ones have the pleasure of sharing their passion for the game with their spouse, a neighbor, a friend who is always loyal to the post! There are a multitude of proposals to satisfy various desires in this area (and 2025 promises even more!). The Campustech team voted to elect the 3 board games specially designed for two players who made their mark this year, I invite you to discover them!
Top initiated games 2024
Find all the games in this selection initiated on Le Décompte, our partner's online store! And with the code campustech, benefit from a 10% discount!
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The nominees
Here are the 5 games that passed the selections for the best initiated games of 2024.
Apiary
In the distant future, Earth is no longer populated by humans. An evolved species of bees, nicknamed Mellifera, took their place. In Apiary, each player leads one of twenty unique factions. A worker placement and hive building challenge awaits you: explore planets, collect resources, develop technologies and make sculptures to demonstrate the power of your faction!
Pirates of Maracaibo
Pirates of Maracaibo takes concepts from Maracaïbo released in 2019, with a more accessible side. The game takes place over three rounds and players sail across the Caribbean, recruiting crews, allying with other ships, exploring shores, accumulating treasure, and ideally, retiring to a remote island as a pirate the most respected in history.
Bomb Busters
Defuse bombs in this cooperative game where each player must cut the right wires…Thanks to its limited communication gameplay, its very generous content of 66 missions, and its absolutely brilliant editorial finds, Bomb Busters hits hard!
Daybreak
Matt Leacock returns to the business of cooperative gaming with this Daybreak! Equipped with solid gameplay, sourced information and a very current theme, Daybreak makes you think about society's carbon consumption. Will you be able to limit your impacts in order to contain global warming as much as possible?
Raising Robots
In Raising Robots you play as a renowned inventor whose goal is to create the best collection of robots. Each turn you will have to choose between different actions, and each action requires a varying amount of power, positively or negatively influencing its effectiveness. Be careful, the most powerful actions can also benefit your opponents.
The winners of the best initiated games 2024
3. Campus de bronze : Daybreak
Daybreak climbs onto the third step of the podium! The game won us over with its very ambitious edition, based on quality illustrations and a successful icon, and a rule that is very pleasant to read. But above all in its very advanced cooperative gameplay, which offers great replayability to the title. Matt Leacock shows that a game can boast scientific relevance: from Pandemic to Daybreak, his games offer a background worked with respect for the scientific implications of their words.
The feeling of working for realistic and impactful ecological projects is there, and the notion of urgency, of lack of time in the face of climatic challenges works perfectly. Its only flaw ultimately was its distribution: very few boxes available at launch, even though it got the Spiel? Another game sacrificed for Christmas.
Fred
Beyond the game and its cooperative mechanics which I adhere to, Daybreak brings a new editorial standard: with its QR Codes which source the arguments of the game, it will no longer be enough to announce ecological concepts in a hurry. Games in this theme will now have to back up their point if they want to achieve a certain level of relevance.
Ludikmum
Daybreak is a real success! We feared that the theme would take over the mechanics or the pleasure of the game, but not at all. The cooperative style is demanding, just enough to make you want to return again and again. The balance between the common goal and the specific challenges of each nation is brilliantly designed. Everything works perfectly with well-oiled techniques. Keep in mind, however, that this rather particular genre will not necessarily appeal to everyone. But if you are seduced by the idea, look no further: it's a must-have!
2. Campus d’argent : Raising Robots
In Raising Robots, as an inventor, you are tasked with creating robots using limited resources, orchestrating activation sequences that require a fair amount of anticipation. Playing the game over eight rounds gradually intensifies the challenge, with each choice having significant repercussions on subsequent rounds.
The aesthetic of the game is super original, and made me think of a mix between Machinarium and Fallout (video games). The overall manufacturing quality contributes to a good overall immersion.
The strategies required to excel in Raising Robots require planning and adjusting to opponent's moves. The combos will give you immense satisfaction when you successfully place them! There is a feeling of freshness with Raising Robots, which propelled him into this top!
-Ludikmum
« Raising Robots was a real surprise for me! This game is much more in-depth and demanding, every decision is really important when you build a robot, and if you make the wrong choices, the rest can be complicated. Behind its cute universe with robots and endearing inventors, hides a real strategy game, with perfectly oiled mechanics. Lovers of combos, you will be delighted to activate all your robots in a chain when activating certain actions. Here it will remain in the game library, and I will not hesitate to present it as soon as I have the opportunity!«
Fred
“With its crazy combos, and the thrill of slowly building your little robot factory, Raising Robots is a real good outsider. The range of actions is very satisfying, and the choices you make are decisive for the game. »
1. Campus d’Or : Bomb Busters
The game of 2024 not to be missed, in all categories, is obviously Bomb Busters. Everything is perfectly mastered in the game. The edition is insane, qualitative, generous, ergonomic and CHEAP, and it is a deliberate choice of non-deluxification for nothing. The deduction gameplay is both fresh and enjoyable: you will have to cut the wires of a bomb in order to defuse it.
Each player will have to cut the wires of a bomb, which we are trying to defuse in cooperation. Issue ; if you cut the red wire, the bomb explodes. Another problem: if you don't give the correct number of the wire you want to cut, you get closer to the detonation…66 different missions await you, with enormous creativity in their content. Really, huge.
But Bomb Busters also have asymmetrical powers, and absolutely epic special missions, which I unfortunately cannot spoil. Really, Bomb Busters is a universal instant-buy and soon to be crowned with lots of rewards, otherwise I don't know anything about it.
Fred
“The game of the year for me, an absolute, universal, obvious banger. Creative, innovative, well edited, one of those games that renews your passion. »
Melanoch
“The arrival of this game will have had the effect of a real bomb in the gaming sector! Few of us saw it coming, so seemingly basic and yet so rich, so surprising, so addictive!
No less than 66 different scenarios which, without ever distorting the spirit of the game and adding heaviness, enhance the experience with small touches of humor and renewal which make each game intense and immensely satisfying when the moment comes to play. truth !
It is an incredible feat that this game which keeps us in suspense, makes us both want to move forward but also makes us fear the moment when everything will be over and our sad lives will resume where we left them before start this fantastic adventure! »
They didn't go far!
Apiary
Apiary is a great game, it's a deep game, with quality equipment and gameplay that works very well. He's fast, and he really does the job, he has nothing to envy of Wingspan! And the artistic direction of the project is absolutely superb.
Pirates of Maracaibo
I think that Pirates of Maracaibo is a great entry point into the world of complex games while still being able to please Maracaibo fans and Pfister fans… a real success from this talented author
Dead Cells
The feeling of Dead Cells is really great, the roguelite sensations very present. The edition of the game is quality, and we find the universe of the historic indie video game of Motion Twin. It lacks a little depth in the feeling of progression, in the video game there are 5 boss cells…Apart from that, great game!
They were on the list too
Here are all the games cited by Campustech editors, which did not receive enough votes to remain in the final selection.
Top games for two 2024
Find all the games in this family selection on Le Décompte, our partner's online store! And with the code campustech, benefit from a 10% discount!
Buy on Le Décompte
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