Kicking Off 2021 with Our top 21 Games from Last Year!

• Posted on 2 January 2021
• By Eric Bennion
• 0

We thought it might be a fun idea to kick off 2021 by sharing a list Fair Game's 21 Top-Selling games from 2020.

No doubt about it, 2020 was a wild ride and while things were far from "normal" games and puzzles were a pastime many of us had a chance to engage.  Here at Fair Game we really enjoyed the opportunity to help people find new games for people to share with their loved ones!

We thought it might be a fun idea to kick off 2021 by sharing a list Fair Game's 21 Top-Selling games from 2020. We will add one each day to this post and share them on Facebook and Instagram just look for the Hashtag #FairGameTop21.  

21. Tiny Towns

Tiny Towns is a great game that is part puzzle and part resource management.  If you have enjoyed games like Tetris, Minecraft, or Settlers of Catan this game definitely deserves a chance on your table.  Tiny Towns has been a Fair Game favorite from the moment it hit our shelves a little over a year and a half ago. 1-6 players manage a 4x4 grid of land on which they build by managing the resources they get and completing recipes to build buildings. Every game has a new group of random buildings so you never have to play the same game twice!

20. The Fox in the Forest

The Fox in the Forest is definitely a Fair Game favorite. It is a trick-taking game for two players, but it is not your standard trick-taking game. In most trick-taking games, you want to win as many tricks as possible with your hand.  That is not the case here. If you manage to take 0-3 tricks during a hand you get 6 points. You also get 6 points if you manage to take between 7-9 tricks. Take any other amount of tricks and... no points for you! So the trick is not to be too greedy. Every odd-numbered has a special ability when it is played so pay attention and use them wisely, they are the key to winning an amount of tricks that is "just right".  The game ends when one player has 21 points.

19. Trekking the National Parks

Trekking the National Parks is a great family board game that lets players experience the U.S. National Parks in a fun and competitive way. Players can gather victory points by visiting as many parks as they can and being the first to collect trail stones, claiming park cards, and by camping in the major parks. There is plenty of strategy that comes into play as they travel across the country experiencing the wonders at each of these magnificent parks. As a winner of the MENSA select award this game is great for brain as well as being fun for the whole family. 

18. Throw Throw Burrito

Throw Throw Burrito Part card game, part dodge-ball, all of the fun! Throw Throw Burrito was new to Fair Game this year and quickly found a favored space on many Fair Gamers' game shelves.  This is a fast and Frantic game with no turns and the constant threat of being on the wrong end of a thrown burrito.  During the game you are constantly drawing cards from your pile and discarding them into the pile of the player next to you.  Every time you collect three-of-a-kind play them in your score pile... Watch out though certain sets will cause players to stop and do battle via thrown burrito... 

17. The Root Beer Float Challenge

The Root Beer Float Challenge is one of our favorite party games.  Young or old everyone can have a blast with The Root Beer Float Challenge.  The goal of this game is to be the first person to collect one each of the cards representing the four key ingredients to a proper root beer float: root beer, ice cream, straw, and a cherry on top.  Those four things also happen to be the items you will use in the challenges to earn the cards: An over-sized root beer can (also used to store the game), An oversized ping-pong ball called the ice cream ball, two plastic straws, and two foam cherries.  Compete with other players in solo, co-operative, and head to head challenges to be the first one to win all the cards necessary to be the first to build a proper root beer float!

16. Kids Against Maturity

Kids Against Maturity has found that sweet spot for families that want something a little more than Apples to Apples that doesn't cross all the lines that Cards Against Humanity does. This game has all the fart jokes that can help make parents seem less "uncool" to teens and preteens and just enough double entendre to keep adults and parents laughing. This game has been a huge hit this year as a fun game for the whole family when everyone needs a good laugh! 

15. Buildzi

Buildzi is fairly new to our store. We got it just in time for the holidays and boy oh boy did it make a splash! Like its older sibling Tenzi, Buildzi is fun for the whole family and is great for all ages. There are three ways to play Buildzi and each way presents its own unique challenge.  In all of the variants you have to stack eight uniquely shaped blocks on each other as indicated on the cards. Be careful though, only one of the blocks can touch the table. Be the first to complete your construction and you win.  Speed-building and manual dexterity come together in a fun family game that will lead to hours of hilarity!

14. Pandemic

Pandemic - This one is either no surprise, or a huge surprise to people.  Either way Pandemic has been a big hit.  It is a fun and challenging co-operative game that is a lot of fun to play.  Players pick a role from amongst various types of first responders and set out to find cures for four different diseases that have broken out across the globe.  Players have to work together to move around the world between hotspots while simultaneously researching the cures. Outbreaks happen a fairly frequent pace so co-operation s the key to success.  Are you up to the challenge?

13. Klask

Klask has been so much fun to have here at Fair Game. We have as much fun playing it as we do selling it. Klask looks a little like a cross between an air hockey table and a foosball table.  Its size however makes it much more convenient to play just about anywhere. There are goals in each end of the field.  Three little white magnets pieces act as "obstacles", if you get too many on your piece your opponent gets a point. Your piece is controlled by a large magnet under the board. Take control and try to knock the ball into your opponent's goal.  This is a game about patience and precision. Can you be the first to 6 points?

12. Gobblet Gobblers

Gobblet Gobblers - Gobblet Gobblers is fun for all ages! Forget about old-fashioned pen and paper this whimsical take on Tic-Tac-Toe will have you laughing and asking for one more game again and again. You never have to worry about a "cat game" because big pieces can always move to gobble up smaller pieces.  Be careful though once you touch a piece you have to move it and you might just reveal a piece that gives your opponent "three-in-a-row". This is a great game that brings older and younger players together at the table.  It is great for keeping memory sharp and learning the basics of strategic thinking. 

11. Coup

Coup has long been a favorite here at Fair Game. In this game of influence and intrigue you must outlast the other players with you at the table. Each player has two influence cards known only to them. Influence cards have different character s on them you can use the actions on the character cards you control.  You can always bluff and try to use the actions of a card you don't control however if you get caught you lose an influence card.  Any player that loses both their influence cards is out of the game.  The last player standing has successfully seized power and wins the game.  Think you have what it takes to win this game of intrigue and deception?

10. Catan

Catan - It is probably fitting that we enter the top 10 with Catan, it is definitely one of the most popular titles we carry.  This year is its 25th anniversary, that's right 25 years of collecting sheep, ore, wood, bricks and wheat and doing our best to avoid that pesky robber.  If you've never played it now is a great time to give it a try. Players compete to be the first to 15 victory points by settling on a new island and building settlements and cities that can get you access to the riches of this new land. Trade with other settlers... but beware they may not have your best interests at heart... Think you have what it takes to be a settler of Catan?

9. Sushi Go!

Sushi Go! is such a fun game to play with the family.  There is no doubt about it, it definitely deserve's to be in our list.  Sushi Go! is a card drafting game in which you draft your favorite sushi. Kinda like you would if you were sitting at one of those sushi restaurants where the sushi travels around on a conveyor belt. If you wait too long, the sushi you want may be gone.  In this game players collect cards that make the cards they have worth more. Tempura are better in twos, there is always room for more dumplings, and wasabi makes any nagiri 3 times better.  There are also two other great ways to enjoy this game Sushi Go! Party and Sushi Roll! Any night is a great night for sushi!

8. Go Nuts for Donuts

Go Nuts for Donuts - Everyone loves donuts, which probably has something to do with why this game is such a hit here at Fair Game. This is a super fun option for family game night. To play this game 2-6 players compete for the best donuts from the donut row. The trick is to pick the donuts that work the best together without picking the same donut as someone else.  If two people pick the same donut... then neither of them get a donut that round. This game is great for all ages and is a fun way to introduce younger players to games that involve strategic thinking.  Are you ready to Go Nuts for Donuts?

7. Codenames

Codenames is a great spy-themed word game that is perfect for family game night. The goal of the game is to identify the codenames of all the secret agents on your side. One person on each team acts as the spymaster for their team and gives one word clues to help their team try to identify as many of their agents each turn.  The trick is to give clues that only identify their agents and not the other teams agents, innocent bystanders, or worst of all the assassin. This game can be played with as few as two players or as many as you can fit around the table.  It can also be played cooperatively for fans of cooperative games. 

6. Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is a classic and it is no surprise that it has made an appearance on our list. In this game you compete against other players to build a railroad empire. Each player starts with at least one ticket to complete over the course of the game. Complete the ticket(s) for victory points however if you lose points for tickets you don't complete. There are so many fun ways to play this game with all the different expansion maps that have come out.  You can play maps from all over the world as well as from different time periods, like the old west! This is a game that definitely deserves a spot on your game shelf! 

5. Just One

Just One We love a good word game here at Fair Game and just one totally hits the mark for us. It is a quick playing cooperative party game. It is easy to fit in a few games when you don't have time for longer games.  The goal of this game is to get one player to guess a mystery word by each other player giving hints.  The other players all know the mystery word and secretly write down their hints and then compare them amongst themselves. If anybody puts down the same hint they have to cancel them out and they can't be used. The player guessing only gets to see the clues that there was "just one" of. 

4. Cockroach Poker

Cockroach Poker Cockroach Poker as been a Fair Game favorite for years because of its simplicity an hilarious gameplay. The most important rule in this game is that there is no winner... there is only a loser... your goal is not to be the loser. This is a bluffing game where in players attempt to trick each other into collecting 4 cards of the same suit. On your turn you will try to trick other players by bluffing (or not) about the card you are trying to pass to them, if they can see through your attempt they may stick you with the card but if you out fox them they get the card and it is now their turn to try and fool someone. The first player with 4 of the same suit in front of them is the loser!  Think you can out bluff your friends?

3. Tenzi

Tenzi is a simple and fast-paced party game that is fun for the whole family. It is no surprise to us that it is near the top of our list this year. Tenzi is a game all ages can play. The original way to play is this – all players receive 10 6-sided dice and roll them until all dice are show the same number, that is a Tenzi. The simplistic rules and components allow for countless variety of ways to play. 77 ways to Play Tenzi is a great way to add some variety to the way you play and can give you some great ideas for how to make up your own ways to play Tenzi.

2. Wingspan

Wingspan We love Wingspan here at Fair Game. There has been a lot of  buzz about this game from the time it launched 2 years ago. We have been super excited to be able to have this game as a mainstay on our shelves. Not only is this a fun game to play, it looks great on the table as well! Wingspan, as its name implies, is all about birds and has players compete to attract birds to their bird sanctuary. As they do, they accomplish goals and earn victory points.  This is a great engine-building game for 1-5 players.  Love birds? Love games? if the answer is yes then it is time to try Wingspan.

1. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza was a new addition to our shelves this year and boy did it make an impact. Everyone seemed to love this game. Including all of us here at the store. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is like the classic card game Slap Jack but turned up to 11! As you flip over cards you say the next item in the name... Taco... Cat... Goat... Cheese... Pizza.  If a player flips over a card that matches what they said everyone slaps the pile the last one to do it adds the cards to their stack.  Watch out for the Groundhog, Gorilla, and Narwhale.  When any of those cards show up you need to do their action before you slap the pile... slap it to quickly and you have to take the cards.  This game is so much fun for gamers of all ages and has definitely earned its spot at the top of our list this year.  

Have you played any of these games?  We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!