Shelfside's Best (and Worst) Board Gaming of 2025 @Shelfside

Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

Here’s Shelfside’s best and worst games of 2025, and we got to play TI4 almost every month! We go through honorable mentions like the war game Firelock all the way to GMT games like Twilight Struggle. During this 2025, we didn't get to play too many Euros but leaned more towards Ameritrash. This is not a review, but we cover covers Europa Universalis: The Price of Power with some worst gaming mentions as well. Will there be Euros admits all of the living card game selections? This is not a top 10 list, but ultimately covers multiple rising games on boardgamegeek and big gamefound launches.

Other games mentioned: Incan Gold, Thunder's Edge, Prophecy of Kings, Nemesis: Retaliation, Arkham Horror, That's Wizard, Frosthaven, Star Wars: Rebellion Rise of the Empire

Table of Contents:
Hello and Announcements! - (0:00)
Ashton's Worst Gaming of 2025 - (1:51)
Most Surprising Game - (4:12)
Alexander's Honorable Mentions - (5:18)
Alexander's Worst Gaming of 2025 - (5:57)
Alexander's Best Gaming of 2025 - (8:21)
Ashton's Best Gaming of 2025 - (11:41)
What's next in 2026 - (20:47)

Support us:
patreon.com/shelfside
ko-fi.com/shelfside

Our Website!
shelfside.co

Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
amazon.com/shop/shelfside

Shelfside Social Media:
twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
instagram.com/shelfsideboardgames
facebook.com/ShelfsideYT
discord.gg/U7QQKqYT62

Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: youtube.com/user/doyduh2

#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames

Shelfsides Best (and Worst) Board Gaming of 2025

Europa Universalis: The Price of Power | Shelfside Review

$Whats wrong with Social Deduction? Social deduction has some big key issues in using it to develop a board game, mostly stemming from how group reliant they are. Issues can be player elimination in long games, or by the game boiling down to a 50/50 pick. Sure, theres also the issue where your group just does not want to lie, which also is a counterpoint to how group dependent these games are. You dont want to be playing a subpar team game for many hours after the traitor has been revealed! Tabletop traitor games issues get somewhat solved by Human Punishment: The Beginning, but that unleashes so many more mechanics for this more casual genre. Are the super big memories from Battlestar galactica worth it, or should you just play other games for swingy moments? Or maybe just play shorter social deduction party games, like Werewolf. Or just look into video game social deduction! Use our code ‘SHELFSIDE’ at checkout for a free custom play surface and help the channel (worth $200): https://bbopokertables.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=39&url=70 Games mentioned: Battlestar Galactica (with Pegasus and Daybreak expansion), Dead of Winter (with Long night Expansion), Spyfall, Spyfall 2, Fake Artist goes to New York, The Mole, Nemesis, Blood on the Clocktower, Shadows over Camelot, SanGuoSha, Mafia, Werewolf, Secret Hitler, Bang!, Dark Moon, Unfathomable, Human Punishment: The Beginning Table of Contents: Intro - (0:00) What is social deduction? - (1:17) Why is it so good? - (2:51) Issues - (5:51) Human Punishment: The Beginning - (11:22) Final Thoughts - (13:12) Support us: https://www.patreon.com/shelfside https://ko-fi.com/shelfside Our Website! https://www.shelfside.co/ Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link) https://amazon.com/shop/shelfside Shelfside Social Media: https://twitter.com/ShelfSideYT https://www.instagram.com/shelfsideboardgames/ https://www.facebook.com/ShelfsideYT/ https://discord.gg/U7QQKqYT62 Links to our other stuff: Ashtons Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu Daniels Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2 Stuff Used: Upbeat Travel Event by Infraction [No Copyright Music] / Afro Beat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJLia2d3WoQ Music: Full Moon Lofi Vibes by EdiKey20 Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7672-full-moon-lofi-vibes Music: Good Mood LoFI by EdiKey20 Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8370-good-mood-lofi Music: Airport Lounge by Kevin MacLeod Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3347-airport-lounge Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license #boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames$

We Finished the Drowned City Campaign! (Arkham Horror LCG)

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$7 Steps to Get Rich QUICK From Board Games Board games are fun to play, but did you also know you could turn a profit through 7 easy steps? Follow this satirical guide to make some real cash, and maybe even run a company of your own one day! Works for Ameritrash OR Euro games, FFG is best. Games mentioned: Battlestar Galactica, Campaign for North Africa, Tigris and Euphrates, Star Wars: Queens’ Gambit, Twilight Imperium, Thunder’s Edge, Prophecy of Kings, Grimcoven, Catacombs, Winds of Numa Sera, Brass Birmingham, Nemesis: Retaliation, Monopoly, Taboo, Catan, Cosmic Encounter, Sid Meier’s Civilization (2010), Descent, Mansions of Madness, Throw Throw Burrito Support us: https://www.patreon.com/shelfside https://ko-fi.com/shelfside Our Website! https://www.shelfside.co/ Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link) https://amazon.com/shop/shelfside Shelfside Social Media: https://twitter.com/ShelfSideYT https://www.instagram.com/shelfsideboardgames/ https://www.facebook.com/ShelfsideYT/ https://discord.gg/U7QQKqYT62 Links to our other stuff: Ashtons Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ashtonwu Daniels Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/doyduh2 Upbeat Funk Vintage Cooking by Infraction [No Copyright Music] / Motor City https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uzOjqXjrQI&list=RD1uzOjqXjrQI Upbeat Funk Retro by Infraction [No Copyright Music] / Funk Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpjl8ybe2aQ&list=RDtpjl8ybe2aQ Sascha Ende — Time is Now https://ende.app/en/song/395-time-is-now #boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames$

Heroes of Might & Magic: The Card Game ▸ Shelfside Plays

Skyrim the Adventure Game Stream ft. Modiphius Chris Birch!