Another year, another board game roundup! 2025 has been a great year for me, board-game wise: many two-player games, different groups of friends with different board game preferences, even up to six players routinely. I also got to go to the Tabletop Scotland convention this year, where I spent a small fortune on second hand games and cute dice trays! Now, without further ado, it is time to look at my favourite board games of 2025! You can find my posts from previous years here!
Space exploration 1: Shakelton Base
What I love most about this game is that you have exactly 18 turns, morphing this engine builder into an intriguingly neat puzzle. It makes each turn feel important, but somehow not restrictive. For each game you will randomly choose three out of the seven industries, which gives each game a new feel, while keeping the core mechanics and theme intact. They range from space tourism (instead of doing science in your space labs, why not invite tourists? They gum up your lab, but pay good money!) to cargo shipping, but none of them involve any kind of combat. Big engine builder energy in a comparatively short amount of time!
Recommended for: board game enthusiasts
Space exploration 2: SETI
Commercialising space, randomised components, no combat – sounds familiar? While SETI matches some of Shakelton Base’s attributes, it is an entirely different game centered around a massive stack of action cards that drive your strategy. It takes longer to play, gives more options and hence permits more specialisation on certain aspects, and allows you to spin up an even bigger engine. That feeling when everything just comes together on your final turn…SETI has a lot of that! This is the game we played most of in 2025, both with 2 and 4 players.
Recommended for: board game experts
Great for 6: Heat
If you have a F1 fan in your friends group, this is the game for them – however, you don’t have to be a F1 fan to love this game! You are going around different tracks trying to balance speed with the heat of your engine and ever changing weather conditions. We love this game for a group of 6: it is comparably quick, as everyone makes choices in parallel that then get resolved sequentially. For me, it is the kind of game that I can play even after a long day at work. It is not that serious and permits a quick natter in between rounds or a pizza break. I love that it can be adapted and added to over time, and it can be played as a campaign – I am delighted to say that I am second in our little Heat League!
Recommended for: casual games evenings with friends
Great for 6-8: Captain Sonar
Focus, pressure, stress – Captain Sonar is not a relaxing game, it’s basically Battleship on steroids. Two teams of 3-4 players one each side try to sink the other’s submarine without being sunk first. What makes this game unique is that you move “in real time”, i.e. if your team can complete all steps required to move the ship quicker, you can take more moves than your opponent! Every player has a different role on the ship, and while each of them is nerve-racking, the whole game is exhilarating. There is usually one sentiment after a round of Captain Sonar: let’s play again!
Recommended for: larger groups who want a high-octane, non-traditional game
Shut up and don’t die: Sky Team
Sky Team is a two-player game where you are coordinating your actions to land an airplane at different airports under changing conditions. Sounds easy, but there’s a catch: you cannot talk to each other! There are so many ways you can go wrong and crash your plane – I don’t know of any other game’s manual that uses the words “you lose the game immediately” as often as Sky Team. It is a real challenge for two peppered with just enough randomness that you can blame your crashes on.
Recommended for: testing relationships and friendships
You won’t regret it: Deep Regrets
You take your little boat out to sea to fish, and then sell your catch for profit. Sounds quaint, but it is certainly not in Deep Regrets. The deeper your fish the more regretful the creatures become that you pull from the depth of the ocean and a lovely day at sea turns into a nightmare. For the sins you commit in this game you gain regret, and while a little regret might actually not be too bad, being the most regrettable player loses you a high scoring prize catch. Exciting challenges, catchy themes, delightful artwork.
Recommended for: game enthusiasts ready for a new adventure
Attention to detail: Sherlock Holmes Consultant Detectives – Thames Murders
Do you ever wonder how well you would fare as a private detective rivalling the likes of Sherlock Holmes? Well, you are in luck as Sherlock Holmes is busy and sends his clients your way! You collaboratively decide who to question, then read their statements, and make your deductions. Turns out being a consultant detective is pretty hard! Each case is a serious puzzle that lasts 1-2 hours, after which you either feel on top of the world (when you nail the killer) or pretty dumbfounded (when you went in a completely wrong direction). Either way, it is highly enjoyable.
Recommended for: a calm evening in with serious puzzlers
Isabella Deutsch 
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