- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
Popular Drafting Board Games (Mechanic)
- Players: 2 - 4
- Playtime: 30 - 60 min
- Designer: Michael Kiesling
- Publisher: Next Move Games
- Players: 2 - 7
- Playtime: 30 - 45 min
- Designer: Antoine Bauza
- Publisher: Repos Production
- Players: 2
- Playtime: 30 - 45 min
- Designer: Antoine Bauza
- Publisher: Repos Production
- Players: 2 - 4
- Playtime: 30 - 60 min
- Designer: Marc Andre
- Publisher: Space Cowboys
- Players: 2 - 5
- Playtime: 45 - 90 min
- Designer: Alan R. Moon
- Publisher: Days of Wonder
- Players: 2
- Playtime: 15 - 30 min
- Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
- Publisher: Lookout Games
- Players: 2
- Playtime: 30 - 42 min
- Designer: Sébastien Pauchon
- Publisher: GameWorks SàRL
- Players: 2 - 4
- Playtime: 15 - 20 min
- Designer: Bruno Cathala
- Publisher: Blue Orange Games
- Players: 2 - 6
- Playtime: 30 - 36 min
- Designer: Richard Garfield
- Publisher: IELLO
- Players: 2
- Playtime: 15 - 30 min
- Designer: Darwin Kastle
- Publisher: White Wizard Games
Forum Posts
Near the top of that list is card Drafting. It’s a simple mechanism to teach and offers a way of nar…
(https://www.boardgamequest.com/dungeon-draft-review/) [Dungeon Draft]by trentellingsen | updated 2 months ago
by trentellingsen | updated 2 months ago
Drafting. My love of Drafting goes all the way back to Magic the Gathering. There is something u…
by 1nf1n1ty | updated 2 months ago
Before I begin I was sent a prototype of this game, and will receive a copy of
[The Original Sherlock Holmes and his Baker Street Irregulars]by Hungry Gamer | updated 2 months ago
User Activity Feed
Lots of different games played last week! Might be a review or two in the works!
- #Marvel Champions: The Card Game (physical, solo) x13: Yup. 13 plays. Really enjoying this one solo! Already picked up some expansions for it. I’m enjoying the deck building without spending tons of cash like I did on #Magic: The Gathering when I was younger. Without kids. Or a mortgage!
- #Caylus (boardgame arena, multiplayer): Second time playing this. I can see why it’s a classic. I quite enjoy the provost that adds a dollop of mean in to worker placement. Might have to pick this one up at some point!
- #Hadara (yucata, multiplayer): Played this one a few times now and I enjoy it for what it is: a quick drafting game with a fun theme on it.
- #Civilization: A New Dawn (TTS, multiplayer): Really enjoy this version of the beloved game franchise. We had to play without the new expansion as one player was having trouble getting textures to load. He’s got it fixed and we’re on again next weekend!
- #Heroes of Land, Air, & Sea (physical, solo): Picked this game up for a song at a christmas sale. I’ve played it online several times but nothing is as nice as handling the bits and pieces. Unfortunately solo mode was a bit easy against one opponent so I’m going to try it against a couple next weekend. Fun to play though and was quite quick too!
Good week!
Nifty list! Even a few games I haven’t heard of. Pre-Covid, my wife’s family would participate in a white elephant/Yankee swap in which we would always throw in a small game. Here is short list of games we’ve gifted in the past that should fit in a sock.
#Sushi Go!: Very simplistic drafting and set collecting game that works well with all ages. The artwork may inspire nightmares as the food stuffs are rendered anime style with slightly creepy faces. If more variety desired, go with #Sushi Go Party!, but be warned it comes in a tin that will stretch that sock.
#Parade: Such a neat little game. Basically players add cards to a line (5 suits with values ranging from 0-9) and depending on what they add to the line they may have to take cards from said line and placed in front of the player. The interesting thing about scoring is the player with the majority of a specific suit only counts the number of cards rather than the face value of the cards. Lowest score wins.
#Cockroach Poker: the most pure bluffing game that I can think of. This is another odd one as everyone wins aside from a single loser.
#Biblios: This is like two games in one box. First part is a draft of sorts where a card can either go in front of the start player, in front of an opponent, or in the auction pile for the second part of the game.
#Archaeology: The New Expedition: We gifted the older Z-man version (#Archaeology: The Card Game), but this newer version adds a little more variety via monuments.
#Claim: @BenjaminK mentioned the tiny epic games, here is another one from the same designer. Claim is trick taking game that work well with two (which was a shock to me). Each suit or in this case race is unique and this does take a few plays to figure out, but its worth it. Also, there are plenty of little expansions (and a standalone) available for this as well to increase variety.
#Fleet: Another odd one. Mix multi-use cards, auctions, and tableau building with the veneer of that deadest catch TV show (is that still on?) and you get this game. Will note that I refuse to play without the #Fleet: Arctic Bounty Expansion as it has those neat “going fishing cards” that really help those turns when you either can’t or don’t want to buy a new license. Also crab meeples. CRAB MEEPLES!!!
#Hanamikoji: I’ve heard this described as I pick you choose. What’s neat about this is it is both thought provoking and short. I think it was the last game we played where I was beaten in the first round.
#Port Royal: Basically building a tableau of sorts while pressing your luck with pirates.
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.
I'm a big dummy and not sure how to expand the text that I attached to the vid, so in case I screwed up the posting, here is what I wrote (mods feel free to delete this if neccesary):
I recorded this interview with Cole and Patrick at the end of last week. We covered a TON of ground, hence the exhaustive list of timestamps below, and I was amazed at the amount of details they were willing to share about the upcoming Root expansion, including confirmation of the 2 new factions (hint, one ain't Turtles), how minor factions may operate, incorporating a round structure, tournament style faction drafting, and more. In case you can't stand video interviews and don't want to listen via a background window (I get it), I'll have this up on our podcast channel this coming Wednesday.
00:24 - How is quarantine impacting work at Leder HQ?
06:05 - What makes for an ideal playtester?
10:32 - Oath - Can early public feedback compromise creative integrity?
15:19 - Oath - What was the original spark?
22:00 - Oath - Points of contention between the two of you?
24:34 - Oath - Sacrifices to make for a better game
24:34 - Root - Scrapped alternate win conditions
29:17 - Evolution of Leder's company identity
34:44 - Void Lich - A Leder take on Twilight Imperium style factions
44:05 - Vast - Tinkering with Vast 3
46:58 - Root - Scope of the new expansion
49:37 - Root - Minor Factions & Drafting
54:02 - Root - Adding rounds to a boundless game
01:00:09 - Root - Rats & Badgers; the two new factions
01:07:05 - Root - Balance becoming exponentially more difficult?
01:14:06 - Root - Clockwork expansion 2 & a Big Box?
01:19:56 - Oath & Root - Release & Launch windows
Oh, also please forgive the weird angle and if I seem a little tired. My downstairs studio / game room space had flooded 2 days before and if I panned the camera a bit you'd see loads of the recovery construction. Fortunately the family is safe, most possessions are safe, and damages to the house were altogether minimal compared to most house floods. Studio now has better flooring, new trim, a fresh coat of paint and looks better than ever.
Much to my delight, my wife wanted to play lots of games this weekend! Not only that, but she wanted to learn several games this weekend. So that's what we did!
- #Underwater Cities - the teach went quite well! I taught her the basics before the game, and then taught some details as we went along. Did not get the "eyes glazing over" effect, haha. On top of that, we both enjoyed the game. I think it'll be sticking around for a while!
- #Jaipur - always fun. I smoked her, haha
- #Everdell - one of our favorites
- #Villagers - picked this up from our local game store on Black Friday. This is a fun little game! Not too complex, and it's a drafting game that works well at 2 players, so that's neat. I look forward to seeing how strategy could develop in this one, and look forward to playing at more players.
I think that almost any game can be a gateway game for people if they're invested in learning it, but in general, I'd say that a key is showing them something they've never seen before in a game they've played before. For me, that was drafting and sort of engine building in #7 Wonders.
- Very interested, and probably yes.
- #The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, lots of laughs, it's quick whereby you can play ten rounds in a row
- #Shogun no Katana, lovely theme, great gameplay, positive player interaction, brain burning puzzle on your player board.
- (I) #The Search for Planet X (logical deduction done right, love the theme as well), (II) #Viscounts of the West Kingdom (Shem continues to innovate with seemingly basic mechanism, love how you slide the characters across your board plus the light deck-building aspect, the castle and scribing mini-games are also fun), (III) #On Mars (love me some brain burning Vital Lacerda euro-goodness, love the theme, great artwork, and the level of planning that goes into it as well as the positive player interaction of using other players' tech), (IV) #Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road (plays quick, straightforward rules, positive player interaction, and again great artwork by Ian), (V) #Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun (love me some dice drafting. Tascini and Turczi have created something special with the dice availabilities: pure, tainted, forbidden. The mini-games around the board are fantastic and the need to balance your die is a genius idea.
1. Yes! I would spend $200 on a board game. I find the art design to be great and mechanics different enough from other games.
2. #Scythe. It provides many aspects of mechanics that I enjoy. Card drafting, worker placement, and character abilities.
3. #Horrified Best cooperative game I have this year. My son loves this game. The characters are balanced and design well thoughtout.
4. Top 5 Games: 1. #Mage Knight 2. #Scythe 3. #Inis 4. #Cyclades 5. #Everdell
They all have long play time and strategic maneuvering keeping you engaged and constatly thinking throughout the game.
It was really a process, more than one game. As a kid and a teenager I got a bit into YuGiOh, which helped me learn about local game stores, competitive game scenes, and start appreciating games as a more fulfilling hobby, but a wonky metagame and the awful collectible model pushed me away. I eventually discovered The Resistance: Avalon later, which blew me away and saw so much play, but didn't really inspire me to push further just yet. Really, it was everything I wanted out of a social/bluffing game, so I didn't feel pressed to seek out more like it.
Years later, I got tired of playing Hearthstone on my PC, but wanted something I could play with my friends that gave me the feeling of Arena mode. I discovered drafting games. After a lot of articles and videos (Shut Up & Sit Down's glowing review especially), Inis was the one that spoke to me, and it really set the fire by introducing me to designer strategy games, which was the nail in the coffin for me. I had a BGG account within a year of buying Inis.

Board Game Giveaways
- Darwin's Journey Giveaway
Ends in 5 days
Prize: "Darwin's Journey Base Game" Pledge
- Darwin's Journey | Worldwide Giveaway
Ends in 2 days
Prize: A copy of Darwin's Journey; All applicable stretch goals; Eligible to anyone Worldwide;
- Board Game Empire Worldwide Giveaway
Ends in 12 days
Prize: $50
- SahmReviews.com - Holiday Giveaway 2020 - Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion Game
Ends in 7 days
Prize: We're excited to be offering our annual Mega Giveaway Promotion in conjunction with our Holiday Gift Guides. One lucky SahmReviews.com winner will receive a copy of Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion from Cephalofair Games. (ARV $50)!
netminder69 25 days ago |
I got way too much stuff. A lot of it Kickstarter deliveries, as a lot of stuff got backloaded between last month and this month because of *waves hands* all of this going on. Not as many retail purchases this month. Unless you count all the Warhammer 40K stuff I have bought... *whistles* Anyway...
The irony in making this list now is I expect to receive the #Anachrony: Infinity Box on Wednesday from the last KS. I got it through The Game Steward. So 22 new things this month. Whew.