Hi all,
None of you have any reason to really care about my top 100 games. But since things have quieted down a bit around here since Christmas I figured a good top 100 list could stir up some conversation.
I have played around 340 unique games which is small for some but a fair amount so hopefully my list is useful. But maybe not!
So poke, prod, and pummel my list to your hearts content. I won't mind!
My personal rating criteria is, generally, the following:
- Is it fun? This is a combination of does it get me laughing and/or does it get me thinking hard in a way I find fulfilling.
- Does it give me good enjoyment for the time commitment to the game? I'd rather play a really excellent short game than a just fine longer game any day of the week.
- Was the experience memorable in some way? I like interesting and unusual mechanisms or genres. However, amazing components and art will also show up here too.
- Generally how does the game feel overall during and after play. This is sort of that hard to pin down magic that some games have.
To come up with this list I first organized my games in to 3 groups. 10's (amazing), 8.5's (great), and 7's (good) games. I then put each set through the Ranking Engine (pubmeeple.com) and then combined the lists.
Why did I do this? I am not really sure. I felt like I had been adding game scores in willy nilly lately and I wanted to do a reset. I felt that #Feierabend was a perfect 7 game and it made me want to rebalance around that.
One last note. For many of these games I have played them once so further plays will definitely adjust their positions.
Let's look at the list in chunks of 10 with my comments and see if anything interesting comes out of this!
Rank | Game |
100 | DC Comics Deck-Building Game |
99 | Streets |
98 | Star Wars: Rebellion |
97 | The Quest for El Dorado |
96 | War of the Ring: Second Edition |
95 | AuZtralia |
94 | Gugong |
93 | Trickerion: Legends of Illusion |
92 | Tawantinsuyu: The Inca Empire |
91 | Key Flow |
I am a bit surprised that #AuZtralia didn't go higher since I recently played it and it is quite an unusual game. But in general it is a good game behind the quirkiness but not a great game.
#Star Wars: Rebellion & #War of the Ring: Second Edition fell prey to my "enjoyment for the time commitment" criteria. They are both really good games that I enjoy playing but they are LOOONG games too. Depending on my mood they could go higher on the list but the time commitment was important to me when I made this list.
#Tawantinsuyu: The Inca Empire, a T game on the bottom of the list? Well it's still the top third of all the games I have ever played but I definitely think this is my least favourite of the T games at this point. More plays are needed though.
Rank | Game |
90 | Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North |
89 | Wingspan |
88 | The Castles of Tuscany |
87 | Ecos: First Continent |
86 | Zona: The Secret of Chernobyl |
85 | Azul |
84 | Cockroach Poker |
83 | Naramata |
82 | Love Letter |
81 | Imhotep |
#Love Letter (2019 Edition) is the edition here. It benefits with good enjoyment in a short play time much like #Cockroach Poker.
I suspect more plays of #The Castles of Tuscany will move it up the list.
#Zona: The Secret of Chernobyl feels a bit low to me. Mechanically it's not perfect but it feels good around the table and is based on a genre I REALLY enjoy.
Rank | Game |
80 | Fortune and Glory: The Cliffhanger Game |
79 | Le Havre |
78 | Ethnos |
77 | Pipeline |
76 | The Castles of Burgundy |
75 | Dice Throne: Season One |
74 | Root |
73 | Clans of Caledonia |
72 | DOOM: The Board Game |
71 | Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia |
The surprises for me here is that #The Castles of Burgundy and #DOOM: The Board Game are not higher. They have definitely been higher on my lists before but it could just be my current mood and the vagaries of how I did the comparison.
Rank | Game |
70 | Paladins of the West Kingdom |
69 | Five Tribes |
68 | Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure |
67 | Inis |
66 | Istanbul |
65 | 6 nimmt! |
64 | Everdell |
63 | Imperial Settlers |
62 | Battle for Rokugan |
61 | A Feast for Odin |
All good games. No real surprises here. Somehow I have #6 Nimmt! and #Take 5 + Take a Number on the list. They are basically the same game but I guess I played two different versions.
#Battle for Rokugan is definitely in the unusual game mechanic. I really like the way this game plays with the bluffing, double bluffing and just the general groans and cheers around the table.
Rank | Game |
60 | Altiplano |
59 | 51st State: Master Set |
58 | Caylus |
57 | Big Trouble in Little China: The Game |
56 | Yellow & Yangtze |
55 | Coimbra |
54 | Power Grid |
53 | The Search for Planet X |
52 | Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar |
51 | The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire |
#Big Trouble in Little China: The Game - Deluxe Edition is also a bit low. Much like Zona mechanically it's not perfect but it's a genre I hugely enjoy. But there it is for now.
#Power Grid has dropped a fair amount in the last year. The last game I had was kind of meh and I see some flaws in it. It's still a great game mind you, just not top 10 for me anymore.
50 | Lorenzo il Magnifico |
49 | Blood Rage |
48 | Caverna: The Cave Farmers |
47 | Kemet |
46 | Mechs vs. Minions |
45 | Hadara |
44 | Village |
43 | The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine |
42 | Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure |
41 | Yokohama |
Cracking the top 50. Not much to say here. These games all feel like they are in the right spot.
Rank | Game |
40 | Civilization: A New Dawn |
39 | Heroes of Land, Air & Sea |
38 | Cacao |
37 | Mansions of Madness: Second Edition |
36 | Imperial 2030 |
35 | Anachrony |
34 | Condottiere |
33 | Villagers |
32 | Tiny Towns |
31 | Western Legends |
#Anachrony took a ranking hit after the last game I played didn't go so well. Definitely wasnt enjoyment value for the time in that game!
#Condottiere, #Villagers, and #Tiny Towns all benefit from being really fun games with quite reasonable play times.
Rank | Game |
30 | Viscounts of the West Kingdom |
29 | Heaven & Ale |
28 | Race for the Galaxy |
27 | Maracaibo |
26 | Lords of Hellas |
25 | Architects of the West Kingdom |
24 | Cartographers |
23 | Underwater Cities |
22 | Cyclades |
21 | Spirit Island |
No surprises to me here. These are all great games that I really enjoy.
Rank | Game |
20 | Russian Railroads |
19 | Keyflower |
18 | Terraforming Mars |
17 | Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy |
16 | Champions of Midgard |
15 | Orleans |
14 | Viticulture Essential Edition |
13 | Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun |
12 | Forbidden Stars |
11 | Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game |
10 more amazing games.
I think #Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game benefits from me loving Civ IV the most but also having acquired it for such a great price (with expansions to boot!) and then having some great games with my board game group. It's not a perfect game but it's the most complete civ experience you can get for the time commitment.#Civilization: A New Dawn is good, especially with the #Civilization: A New Dawn - Terra Incognita expansion but it's not quite as comprehensive
Rank | Game |
10 | Concordia |
9 | Great Western Trail |
8 | Gloomhaven |
7 | Marvel Champions: The Card Game |
6 | Gaia Project |
5 | Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated |
4 | Brass: Lancashire |
3 | Teotihuacan: City of Gods |
2 | Brass: Birmingham |
1 | Scythe |
I usually don't include both versions of Brass but I decided I should this time for some reason. These 10 games are definitely the top games I've played.
#Concordia has the smoothest game play and great enjoyment for the time commitment.
#Great Western Trail is just super crunchy but has a variety of systems that mesh together so well.
#Gloomhaven takes an amazing system and melds it with a super ambitious campaign in a box that actually works.
#Marvel Champions: The Card Game is deckbuilding done differently. Sure the marvel genre is a part of the enjoyment but there is a great game here which has just started to explore the design space it has.
#Gaia Project is a crunchy euro with a lot of ways to win. I still haven't quite comprehended all of the ways to approach the game or how to see the best path with a given setup but I enjoy each play through anyway.
#Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated is my #1 legacy experience combined with one of my favourite deck building games.
#Brass: Lancashire & #Brass: Birmingham have the amazing interconnection between players. The best actions for you often benefit other players as well and weaving your way through the game to make sure you benefit just a bit more than anyone else is just delicious. And the art work on these versions. Wow! Birmingham is just a bit more tighter and cleaner putting it up higher.
#Teotihuacan: City of Gods is by far my favourite T game. The build up of dice power, ascension, the tightness of cacao, that very cool pyramid you are building all add up to a great game.
#Scythe has been in my top games since the day I bought it. I've expanded it and blinged it out but the core game play is still what I enjoy the most. It's an action selection, engine building, cold war, territory control game. Plus more. And all of the mechanisms work well together. With amazing art that really draws you in to the world.
I hope you enjoyed my list! Any comments? Any surprises? What would your list look like?
R0land1199 Premium User104 minutes ago |
The chancellor is also new I believe.