Last year, Token Opinion posted our first Holiday Recommendations; which, for what it’s worth, is probably the closest I’ll ever come to a ‘best of the year’ sort of list. Last year’s list was the first of it’s kind, conceived of and written within the span of about a week. As a result it was short, and featured no explanation of the criteria involved in deciding which games make their way on to the list. I intend to rectify that here.

To be eligible, a game must:

#1) Have been released within the last two years.
I primarily look only at games that have been released during the current calendar year, but I will make exceptions for special titles.

#2) Be commercially available.
If a game isn’t readily available to purchase, there’s no sense in recommending it to you for your loved ones.

#3) Provide a reasonable value proposition.
I recognize that whether or not a game is ‘over-priced’ is a highly personal decision. That said, sometimes games cost enough that it becomes difficult to recommend them.

#4) Be family friendly.
Tabletop gaming is an all inclusive hobby for me, and I prefer that content be acceptable for all ages and environments. I am not opposed to more adult oriented games per se, but I won’t publicly recommend them.

#5) Be exceptional amongst that category of games within which I choose to present it.
I need to have a generally high level of confidence in the title in order to justify recommending it. Have faith that every game on this list is a well vetted, high quality title.

And that’s it. These five rules built last year’s list, and they’ve built this year’s list. I hope this provides a little bit of illumination for those few who were interested! The 2019 list is nearly finished, and will be posted up before the week is out.

Best holiday wishes to you all!