This post continues my list of the top 5 games I played in 2024. The idea for this series comes from the excellent Eggplant Podcast.

Other posts in my Top 5 list: Rank 5 - Rank 4 - Rank 3 - Rank 2 - Rank 1. And the Finnish version of my list starts here.

By the way, I left out any TTRPG sessions or campaigns I’ve run to keep things simple.

Rank 3: Gloomhaven

Our Gloomhaven group has been playing this game for over four years now.

For those unfamiliar, Gloomhaven is a cooperative dungeon-crawling board game that’s tactically challenging. Its card-based mechanics encourage teamwork while avoiding quarterbacking by prohibiting precise numeric communication during planning phases.

Well-Balanced Scenarios

Most scenarios strike the perfect balance of challenge: at the start, it often feels like defeat is inevitable, but as the scenario progresses, you start to see a glimmer of hope. At best, you’ll scrape through with just enough to claim victory. And occasionally, you’ll finish with a more comfortable margin.

An Epic Campaign

The game ties its scenarios together into a sprawling campaign where your characters grow and sometimes retire. As you progress, the game unlocks new content in true legacy style.

Our Experience

This year, my [Cthulhu-icon] character finally reached its peak after a long grind. Hitting level 7 was a game-changer, and by level 9, mass destruction was the norm. This was incredibly satisfying since up until level 7, the character was both weak in power and terrible at gaining experience.

Right before Christmas, we completed both the main campaign storyline and the game’s hardest scenario, Oozing Grove (which isn’t the campaign finale). I can confidently say none of us will miss those slimes.

A special shoutout to one of our players, who traveled from Tampere by train throughout the fall just to join our sessions — talk about dedication!

Honorable Mention: Daybreak

Daybreak is a cooperative game where players, representing world powers, work to prevent climate catastrophe before it spirals out of control.

Daybreak excels in mechanics that bring the theme to life while preventing the classic co-op pitfall of one player “quarterbacking” the game. Players simultaneously play action cards to their tableau and use their effects. Actions focus on reducing carbon emissions and creating carbon sinks. At the end of each round, you check the results—did emissions drop enough, or does climate warming continue to progress?

I’ve played Daybreak three times this fall, and each session has been gripping. The variety in playing as different world powers (e.g., the USA, China, Europe, the rest of the world) adds replay value, and there’s also adjustable difficulty — which I haven’t explored yet.

The game is designed to be intuitive and looks clean and functional. I’m excited to play Daybreak more in the future.