Best Games Played is Ward Games' game of the year spectacular! Every year, we gather 'round the table and discuss the games that year that meant the most to us.

Capping off a non-traditional year, 2021 saw us taking it easy with Wardcast commitments in order to focus more time on game dev, but we can never turn down the opportunity to talk about our favorite games from the past twelve months! This year, Dylan and Alex reconvene at the midnight hour to discuss card games, death loops, and some unexpected Marios.

  Listen to the Episode

2021 also sees the return of the Road to BGP! Turns out, when you don't have many podcasts to talk about what games you've been playing throughout the year, one single episode at the end of the year isn't going to cut it! So we fall back into our old ways with a three-part Road to BGP to warm up before the main event!

  Start at Part 1

Capping off a non-traditional year, 2021 saw us taking it easy with Wardcast commitments in order to focus more time on game dev, but we can never turn down the opportunity to talk about our favorite games from the past twelve months! This year, Dylan and Alex reconvene at the midnight hour to discuss card games, death loops, and some unexpected Marios.

  Listen to the Episode

2021 also sees the return of the Road to BGP! Turns out, when you don't have many podcasts to talk about what games you've been playing throughout the year, one single episode at the end of the year isn't going to cut it! So we fall back into our old ways with a three-part Road to BGP to warm up before the main event!

  Start at Part 1

Best Games Played 2021 Lists

In a unique year filled with unique challenges, the Wardcast crew huddled around games that made quarantine during the COVID pandemic a little less lonely — party and group games stole the show this year, but there was still room for going on narrative journeys, getting in shape, and being mesmerized by Internet splorts. And to ease the burden, we forewent our traditional award write-ups in lieu of giving Dylan, Nelson, and Alex each a chance to highlight the games that meant the most to them in 2020.

  Listen to the Episode

In a unique year filled with unique challenges, the Wardcast crew huddled around games that made quarantine during the COVID pandemic a little less lonely — party and group games stole the show this year, but there was still room for going on narrative journeys, getting in shape, and being mesmerized by Internet splorts. And to ease the burden, we forewent our traditional award write-ups in lieu of giving Dylan, Nelson, and Alex each a chance to highlight the games that meant the most to them in 2020.

  Listen to the Episode

Best Games Played 2020 Lists

For Best Games Played 2019, Dylan, Alex, Nelson, and Joe gather round after a year of ups and downs, ins and outs. A year where battle royale champions got their titles challenged, a suite of beautiful, thoughtful indie games were released, and we continued to see the pervasiveness of labor abuse in the industry — also some folks really didn't like this whole Epic Games Store business!

  Listen to the Episode

This year we also introduce a new, multipart segment to our end of the year festivities — the Road to BGP! Here, we dedicate an episode to each host, along with a wrap-up episode, to give them the chance to really dive deep into the game that meant the most to them this year.

  Start at Part 1

For the second year running, we bring back The Honorables as part of our end of the year festivites. These are the games that didn’t quite make it to our top ten list that we nonetheless felt very strongly about, so we give them one more chance to fight for glory.

  Listen to Part 1
  Listen to Part 2

For Best Games Played 2019, Dylan, Alex, Nelson, and Joe gather round after a year of ups and downs, ins and outs. A year where battle royale champions got their titles challenged, a suite of beautiful, thoughtful indie games were released, and we continued to see the pervasiveness of labor abuse in the industry — also some folks really didn't like this whole Epic Games Store business!

  Listen to the Episode

This year we also introduce a new, multipart segment to our end of the year festivities — the Road to BGP! Here, we dedicate an episode to each host, along with a wrap-up episode, to give them the chance to really dive deep into the game that meant the most to them this year.

  Start at Part 1

For the second year running, we bring back The Honorables as part of our end of the year festivites. These are the games that didn’t quite make it to our top ten list that we nonetheless felt very strongly about, so we give them one more chance to fight for glory.

  Listen to Part 1
  Listen to Part 2

Best Games Played 2019 Awards

2018 — a year full of remakes, reboots, and returns to games of yore. Join Dylan, Will, and Alex as they figure out the best games that best represent the Wardcast troupe for our third foray into end of the year deliberations.

  Listen to the Episode

And new for 2018, a brand spanking new segment to complement Best Games Played — the Honorables! It’s here where games that didn’t quite make the top 10 cut get another chance at redemption, by contesting head-to-head in a double-elimination brakcet!

  Listen to Part 1
  Listen to Part 2

2018 — a year full of remakes, reboots, and returns to games of yore. Join Dylan, Will, and Alex as they figure out the best games that best represent the Wardcast troupe for our third foray into end of the year deliberations.

  Listen to the Episode

And new for 2018, a brand spanking new segment to complement Best Games Played — the Honorables! It’s here where games that didn’t quite make the top 10 cut get another chance at redemption, by contesting head-to-head in a double-elimination brakcet!

  Listen to Part 1
  Listen to Part 2

Best Games Played 2018 Awards

For our second annual Best Games Played, we were inundated with the new — new podcast hosts, new podcast name, and more new games than we knew what to do with. Our Wardast crew of Dylan, Will, Alex, and Sam entered BGP 2017 to contend with bespoke arcade cabinets, the long shadow of Breath of the Wild, and more.

  Listen to the Episode

For our second annual Best Games Played, we were inundated with the new — new podcast hosts, new podcast name, and more new games than we knew what to do with. Our Wardast crew of Dylan, Will, Alex, and Sam entered BGP 2017 to contend with bespoke arcade cabinets, the long shadow of Breath of the Wild, and more.

  Listen to the Episode

Best Games Played 2017 Awards

For our inaugural year — back when we were still the Ward Podcast — we had a smorgasbord of games and experiences to enjoy: from giant, sprawling RPGs to quiet, thoughtful experiences. It's also the year where Pokémon Go ran rampant. So join Dylan, Mason, Dan, and Alex for the culmination of a year's worth of gaming fun and memories. You'll be sure to love it.

  Listen to the Episode

For our inaugural year — back when we were still the Ward Podcast — we had a smorgasbord of games and experiences to enjoy: from giant, sprawling RPGs to quiet, thoughtful experiences. It's also the year where Pokémon Go ran rampant. So join Dylan, Mason, Dan, and Alex for the culmination of a year's worth of gaming fun and memories. You'll be sure to love it.

  Listen to the Episode

Best Games Played 2016 Awards