- Acting
- Action / Movement Programming
- Action Drafting
- Action Point Allowance System
- Action Queue
- Action Selection
- Added Mechanics
- Alliances
- Area Control
- Area Enclosure
- Area Majority/ Influence
- Area Movement
- Auction
- Auction: Dutch
- Automatic Resource Growth
- Bag Building
- Betting
- Bias
- Bidding
- Bingo
- Bluffing
- Bribery
- Campaign
- Campaign / Battle Card Driven
- Card Drafting
- Card Placement
- Catch the Leader
- Chaining
- Chit-Pull System
- Command Cards
- Commodity Speculation
- Communication Limits
- Connections
- Contracts
- Conversation
- Cooperative Play
- Crayon Rail System
- Cube tower
- Deception
- Deck Building
- Deck Constructing
- Deduction
- Delayed Purchase
- Dexterity
- Dice Building
- Dice Movement
- Dice Rolling
- Drafting
- Drawing
- Dutch Auction
- Dynamic Currency
- Enclosure
- End Game Bonuses
- Engine Building
- Events
- Feeding Workers/Characters
- Flicking
- Force Commitment
- Grid Coverage
- Grid Movement
- Hand Management
- Hand-Eye Coordination
- Hex and Counter
- Hexagon Grid
- Hidden Movement
- Hidden Objective
- Hidden Roles
- Hidden Traitor
- Hidden Victory Points
- I Split, You Take
- Income
- Increased Value of Unchosen Resources
- Investment
- King of The Hill
- Layering
- Legacy
- Line Drawing
- Line of Sight
- Loans
- Lose a Turn
- Mancala
- Map Addition
- Map Reduction
- Market
- Memory
- Modular Board
- Move with Cards
- Movement Points
- Narrative Choice
- Negotiation
- Network and Route Building
- Once per game ability
- Order Fulfillment
- Ownership
- Paper and Pencil
- Partnerships
- Pattern Building
- Pattern Movement
- Pattern Recognition
- Pick-up and Deliver
- Player Elimination
- Point Salad
- Point to Point Movement
- Pool Building
- Press Your Luck
- Race
- Random Production
- Ratio / Combat Results Table
- Real Time
- Relative Movement
- Resource Gathering
- Resource to Move
- Rock-Paper-Scissors
- Role Playing
- Role Selection
- Roles with Asymmetric Information
- Roll / Spin and Move
- Roll and Write
- Rondel
- Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game
- Score and Reset Game
- Secret Unit Deployment
- Set Collection
- Shedding
- Simulation
- Simultaneous Play
- Simultaneous action selection
- Singing
- Skill with a Doubling Cube
- Skirmish
- Social Deduction
- Solo / Solitaire Game
- Square Grid
- Stacking and Balancing
- Static Capture
- Stealing
- Stock Holding
- Storytelling
- Sudden Death Ending
- Survival
- Tableau Building
- Take That
- Targeted CLues
- Targeted Clues
- Teams
- Tech Trees / Tech Tracks
- Tile Placement
- Time Track
- Tower Defense
- Track Movement
- Trading
- Traitor
- Trick-taking
- Tug of War
- Turn Board Game
- Turn Order: Auction
- Turn Order: Claim Action
- Turn Order: Pass Order
- Turn Order: Progressive
- Turn Order: Random
- Turn Order: Roll Order
- Turn Order: Stat-Based
- Variable Phase Order
- Variable Player Powers
- Variable Setup
- Victory Points as a Resource
- Voting
- Worker Placement
- Worker Placement with Dice Workers
- Zone of Control
Popular Variable Setup Board Games (Mechanic)
- Players: 1 - 4
- Playtime: 60 - 120 min
- Designer: James A. Wilson
- Publisher: Starling Games (II)
- Players: 2 - 4
- Playtime: 120 - 180 min
- Designer: Gavan Brown
- Publisher: Roxley
- Players: 2 - 4
- Playtime: 75 - 150 min
- Designer: Alexander Pfister
- Publisher: eggertspiele
- Players: 2 - 4
- Playtime: 60 - 90 min
- Designer: Bruno Cathala
- Publisher: Days of Wonder
- Players: 2 - 5
- Playtime: 60 - 150 min
- Designer: Jens Drögemüller
- Publisher: Feuerland Spiele
- Players: 1 - 4
- Playtime: 60 - 150 min
- Designer: Jens Drögemüller
- Publisher: Z-Man Games, Inc.
- Players: 1 - 4
- Playtime: 90 - 120 min
- Designer: Daniele Tascini
- Publisher: NSKN Games
- Players: 3 - 6
- Playtime: 240 - 480 min
- Designer: Dane Beltrami
- Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
- Players: 1 - 5
- Playtime: 45 min
- Designer: Devin Low
- Publisher: Upper Deck Entertainment
- Players: 3 - 5
- Playtime: 90 - 120 min
- Designer: Eric M. Lang
- Publisher: CMON Limited
Forum Posts
#On Tour is one of the more recent entries in the roll & write genre that debuted through Kicksta
[On Tour]by philryuh | updated 23 days ago
I have now completed a coop playthrough of #Architects of the West Kingdom with #The West Kingdo
[Paladins of the West Kingdom, The West Kingdom Tomesaga]by WadeB1977 | updated 23 days ago
Follow up to hit game Terra Mystica. Space terraforming game. Asymmetrical faction powers. Absolutel
[Gaia Project]by Skurvy5 | updated 23 days ago
Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra takes what you love about Azul, runs with it, and adds a twist.
[Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra]by indigopotter | updated 23 days ago
User Activity Feed
Hmm.. I guess it really depends on the game for me. When presented with characters in eurogames, I think I typically take whatever strategy route I want to try out. And it won't always be maximizing the character's powers either. Depending on the variable setup, I could go for a strategy that could potentially go against the character's preferred tactics. As I say this, one example I'm thinking of is #Architects of the West Kingdom, where you have characters with variable powers and starting resources and level of virtue. There's that princess looking characer who is the most virtuous in the kingdom, and I typically go the almost fully virtuous route, or take advantage of her benefits and dip into the darkness to reap the benefits.
But when it comes to games such as #Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, the character deck is already tailored for that character's style/personality that there isn't that much room for branching off from it.
I tend to be about the entire game package but mechanisms that at least get my interest are (in no order):
- Deck/bag/pool building
- Hand Management
- Worker Placement
- Programming
- Variable Setup
- Variable Player Powers
- Rondel
- Connections
- Legacy aspects
- Tile Placement
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docker37 2 months ago |
My top 20
20. #Bohnanza - We've had such amazing experiences with this game. Watching my BIL get frustrated with my boys trading away 1/2 their hands for either 1 card or free drives him nuts, but they usually are competitive or win so its a viable strategy.
19. #Azul: Summer Pavilion - My favorite of the Azul games. Love the wilds and carrying items over from round to round.
18. #The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine - Love this game. The lack of communication while trying to figure out who to get everyone their necessary cards is such a great puzzle.
17. #Champions of Midgard - A great worker placement/dice chucker. Love this game. The #Champions of Midgard: Valhalla expansion is essential.
16. #Terraforming Mars - Am as surpised as you are to see it this low. Great group game, great solo game. Really need to pick up the Prelude expansion to move it back up the list.
15. #Pulsar 2849 - Only played twice but really love both plays. Need to ge to the table again to see if it holds up over multiple plays.
14. #The Quacks of Quedlinburg - How lucky do you feel? Where are all of my good tokens? I can't possibly bust on this pull? The agony of defeat and the joys of victory.
13. #Wingspan - Ease of set up and play time moved this ahead of Terraforming Mars for me. The game is great.
12. #Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure - Love this game. Love the two expansions, Love the legacy game. Was surprised it didn't make my top 10.
11. #The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire - How polluted do you want your environment to be? Which section of research do you focus on? Using an extra energy so someone else has to spend extra energy to take an action. Love this game
10. #Concordia - A fantastic game that I've only played the base game. I need to look at some of the expansion maps.
9. #Wasteland Express Delivery Service - I may be int he minority here but really love this game. Love the screwage and the variable setup/powers/end game triggers.
8. #Paladins of the West Kingdom - Great game, my favorite of the triology. Awesome solo mode
7. #Orléans - If only set up wasn't such a PITA for this game it might move up my list.
6. #Great Western Trail - Need to own my own copy so it hits the table more frequently. Would never turn down a game of this.
5. #Rajas of the Ganges - Love the end game trigger for this game. I've seen games end in a crazy number of scenarios. The dice management is super important in t his game. So, so good.
4. #Kemet - Great game that rewards agressive play. Love so much about this game.
3. #Blood Rage - My favorite dudes on a map game. Love the mechanics and drafting. Love the giant mini's.
2. #The Godfather: Corleone's Empire - This hits all the right notes for my group. It is consistently requested. Love this game.
1. #Gloomhaven - Has to be after all of the time I've spent on this game. Its amazing.
Honorable Mentions to the following legacy games which I wasn't sure where or how to rank since I've completed them all once; but would happly do a 2nd campaign of any of these again.
#Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 and #Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 were some of my best moments in gaming. #Risk: Legacy was so fun my group bought it again to re-live the experience.