The crossword world lost so many notable members in 2015. Though I was acquainted with all of these talented folks, I knew two personally: Merl Reagle, who passed away in August of 2015 (see our tribute to him by editor …
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Author: kappawp
Bioshock Infinite
The original BioShock won the coveted Electronic Game of the Year Award (December 2007 GAMES), and now the first sequel produced by the original team is scooping up this year’s GOTY.
Bioshock is one of the best games in the …
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Garden Dice/Garden Dice: The Card Expansion
First-time designer Doug Bass thoroughly deserves our top spot for his immensely enjoyable dice game that offers plenty of scope to control your destiny.
You begin this battle on a 6×6 garden with a Sundial, Bird, and Sun, and roll …
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Even the worst years have some really standout titles, and 2012 is no exception. A gaming landscape with Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dark Souls, Quantum Conundrum, Uncharted 3, and Where’s My Water is a good year, if not a particularly title-rich …
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Trajan
In last year’s Games 100, we honored designer Stefan Feld by naming two of his games as Best and Runner-Up in the Advanced Strategy category. We never expected him to surpass those wonderful designs so soon!
In top place this …
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Portal 2
Portal started as a school project, and was published as added content for Valve’s Orange Box compilation. These humble origins belie the heights to which it eventually would rise, and the original is now considered one of the classics of …
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Tiktal II: The Lost Temple
In 1999 and 2005, our Games of the Year were Torres and Australia, respectively. Superb design partners Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling have again found the key to success in a very competitive year. Their latest multi-choice masterpiece has that …
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Super Mario Galaxy 2
The original Super Mario Galaxy was a victim of poor timing here at GAMES. First, it shipped at an awkward point in the year (November), which means we didn’t get it in time for the 2007 awards. Second, a little …
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Jump Gate
This game of relatively humble appearance by a local independent designer tops the list, beating out higher-priced titles from well-known inventors. It is one of the cleanest designs we have seen, making it easy to learn quickly. Casual gamers will …
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Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum was a true last-minute upset. The idea that a licensed superhero game might not only be outstanding, but qualify as the best game of the year, just wasn’t feasible. Sure, there have been a few good superhero …
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