100 Dice Forge (2017) 99 Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game (2014) 98 Elder Sign (2011) 97 Small World (2011) 96 Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia (2013) 95 RoboRally (1994) 94 Salvation Road (2016) 93 Arctic Scavengers (2009) 92 Cytosis: A Cell Biology Board Game (2017) 91 Space Hulk (third edition) (English edition)(2009) 90 Zombicide (2012) 89 Tales of the Arabian Nights (2009) 88 The Ancient World (2014) 87 Panamax (2014) 86 Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game (2012) 85 CO₂ (2012) 84 Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition (First edition) (2008) 83 Steampunk Rally (2015) 82 Ghost Stories (2008) 81 Roll Player (2016) 80 Modern art 79 Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture (2018) 78 Last Friday (2016) 77 Sentinels of the Multiverse (2011) 76 Maximum Apocalypse (2018) 75 Pay Dirt (2014) 74 The Grizzled (2015) 73 Galilean Moons (2018) 72 Black Orchestra (2016) 71 Pandemic (English first edition 2008) (2008) 70 Le Havre (2008) 69 Android (2008) 68 Star Wars: Imperial Assault (2014) 67 Chaos in the Old World (English Fantasy Flight Edition) (2009) 66 Secret Hitler (2016) 65 Space Cadets (2012) 64 Defenders of the Last Stand (2016) 63 Village (2011) 62 Martians: A Story of Civilization (2016) 61 Lords of Waterdeep (2012) 60 Raiders of the North Sea (2015) 59 Freedom: The Underground Railroad (2012) 58 Tokaido (2012) 57 The Networks (2016) 56 Hostage Negotiator: Crime Wave (2017) 55 Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition (2017) 54 Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game (2014) 53 XCOM: The Board Game (2015) 52 Pandemic: The Cure (2014) 51 Santorini (2016) 50 The Captain Is Dead (2014) 49 Captain Sonar (2016) 48 Potion Explosion (2015) 47 Scythe (2016) 46 Castles of Mad King Ludwig (2014) 45 Agents of SMERSH (2012) 44 Power Grid (2004) 43 GKR: Heavy Hitters (2018) 42 Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island (2012) 41 Kolejka (2011) 40 Spheres of Influence: Struggle for Global Supremacy (2016) 39 The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire(2016) 38 Suburbia (2012) 37 Caverna: The Cave Farmers (2013) 36 Empires of the Void II (2018) 35 Android: Netrunner (2012) 34 Millennium Blades (2016) 33 Above and Below (2015) 32 Thunderbirds (2015) 31 Churchill (2015) 30 Architects of the West Kingdom (2018) 29 Conquest of Paradise (2007) 28 Arkham Horror (2005) 27 Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery(2012) 26 Takenoko (2011) 25 Lords of Hellas (2017) 24 Blood Bowl: Team Manager - The Card Game (2011) 23 Healthy Heart Hospital (2015) 22 Cthulhu Wars (2015) 21 Gloomhaven (2017) 20 Argent: The Consortium 19 A Distant Plain (2013) 18 Azul (2017) 17 Xia: Legends of a Drift System (2014) 16 Between Two Cities (2015) 15 Paths of Glory (1999) 14 7 Wonders (2010) 13 Arkham Horror: The Card Game (2016) 12 Roll for the Galaxy (2014) 11 Mansions of Madness: Second Edition(2016) 10 Bloc by Bloc: The Insurrection Game (2016) 9 Chinatown (1999) 8 This War of Mine: The Board Game (2017) 7 Anachrony (2017) 6 War of the Ring (First Edition) (Fantasy Flight English edition) (2004) 5 Star Wars: Rebellion (2016) 4 Spirit Island (2017) 3 Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game (English first edition) (2008) 2 Terraforming Mars (2016) 1 Twilight Struggle (English standard edition, third printing) (2007)
I'm surprised. No Catan? No Battletech? Not a single game from Avalon Hill? Not a fan of Mayfair's Train-crayon games (Empire Builder, Iron Dragon, Martian Rails, etc.)? No Illuminati? No Rail Baron/Boxcars?
Douglas, there is a video out today that has many of those in it. "the best game i've played from every year i've been alive". Some of those games i really liked, at the time, but i either played them out (battletech) or i feel they have become out dated (Illuminati)
My man! Now THIS is how you do a Top 100. Quick and concise with just a few bullet points on each entry makes it easily digestible and a joy to watch. Excellent content and a nice list to boot. Subbed!
I put that down to a few things. I'm in NZ, so its my local scene we play in. As a result, our local meta and buzz is probably a bit different. I don't follow other reviewers that closely. I tend to watch "play-through" vids of games im interested, but don't stick around for the opinions often. And thats only if i've caught the eye of a game. I dont tend to watch reviews of random games. Also, been playing since before BGG was a thing, so had plenty of time to develop my own tastes in that regard.
This is by far the best top 100 I've ever seen. Part of that is because we have a lot of the same games, but also because of the length. I don't need a long explanation about every game, a couple of brief sentences is enough. Great job!
Concerning TI4: We just played a 14 point game in 3.5 hours. Generally we manage to average a 10 pointer in 4.5 to 6 hours with bringing a new person along. Setup and tear down ain't so bad when you have an easy to communicate dedicated spot for everything and everyone pitches in (mini race envelopes are the way to go). I have played 20 games in a little over a year and we appreciate you video very much to help new people know what they are getting themselves into. Thanks for your content man. I am really digging the channel!
Wow! What a tremendous video. Thank you for doing it and thank you to all of your sponsors. I have followed the hobby for many years now and have watched uncountable numbers of videos and this is one of the best. Very concise and well produced and the shots of each game were fantastic and so well presented. I am impressed. This video peaked my interest in several titles that I will now explore further. Keep up the excellent work. So glad I subscribe!
Great list... I almost skipped this thinking it would just be a list, but you manage to fit a right to the point comment about each and it gave me a few new games to look up.
Finally, a top 100 list without a lot of overproduction that bloats the video unnecessarily, without a lot of endless banter that you have to skip through because it's all pointless, and with games on it that I actually own.
you are my favorite gaming channel by far because you dont have an overbloated idea of what your opinion means to me, and you are able to share so many more ideas to me because you spend so much more time writing and editing than any other channel to boil down to the very bones. and because of that, your opinion actually ends up having much more influence on me than it would. thank you.
Oh man that's a humbling statement to read. Cheers. It's kinda how i like to look at things. My opinion is just that, an opinion and well it's no more valid than anyone elses. Sure, i've been in the hobby since forever, but i think all that really gives me is more stories to tell. And i've always been a fan of the idea of "why use 1000 words when 50 gets the point across better".
What a great list! Thank you for making this video. You gave me more than enough games to consider I would've never thought about adding to my collection.
Thats cool to hear. A trend i'm picking up is that this isn't a normal sort of list in some regards, and has some games that aren't often thought of, which is cool.
Cheers. Make sure to check out this years one as well, its a bit longer, but i felt i skipped past the first 50 games in this one a little too quickly.
Great stuff, man. I love your thoughtful analysis on each game. And I like how you talk about why you personally enjoy a game and not why it’s popular via the masses. I’m a new fan and have lots of your videos to watch but also looking forward to new stuff. Keep it coming!
Some games just off the top 100: Fury of Dracula 3rd edition, Race for the Galaxy, Bethel Woods, Mountains of Madness, Brew Crafters, Legacy: the testament of Duke de Crecy, Mission Red Planet, El grande, Star Wars Armada, Smash Up, Flash Point Fire Rescue, Mage Knight, Through the ages, Forbidden Island, 51st state, The Pursuit of Happiness, First Martians, 7 wonders duel, Dream Home, New Angeles. (all games I do quite like)
Because while I appreciate the design, I don't really enjoy playing it much. I completely get why so many people love it, and I covered it on the channel, but I just don't engage with it a huge amount while i'm playing. So it's a game i'll play, but not with more than 2 people due to downtime and other people taking too long to math.
Have you played The Voyages of Marco Polo? What are your thoughts on that game and why didn't it crack your Top 100? Thanks Amazing job on the list by the way. Loved all the pictures. Very well done!
I've played Marco Polo once at a random game meetup, which means i excluded it from voting as I feel i need to play a game multiple times in order to score it. I thought it was really quite good. One I certainly want to give more plays.
Fabulous synthesis exercise! Wooow! If I haven't seen this I wouldn't believe a top 100 can be as short and well done as this is. Fantástic! You sir have pushed the insta-subscribe button on me.
I was very excited to see some of my favorite games on your list. Village is in my top 5.Hostage Negotiator is in my top ten. I was happy that This War Of Mine was there too. I have Martians A Story Of Civilization but have never played because of the rule book. I even paid for painted minis when I backed it on KS. I was surprised to see Above and Below but no Near and Far. You did have Healthy Heart Hospital which I totally love. No Viticulture, The Gallerist or Grand Austria Hotel though. All great games. The Captain Is Dead is great as well as LoW. Overall you have a very solid list.
I still have not got to near and far as I want to run a full campaign. I have a KS version i got second hand dirt cheap as well. Its not on there solely because it still has not got play
Good list man. Your top picks marry well with mine. A few notables missing: Ponzi Scheme Eclipse Warrior Knights 2nd ed Game of Thrones World Without End Sid Meiers Civilization (FFG) Pandemic Legacy As we seem to like a lot of the same stuff, is try these
I see that you and I do not have the same tastes in board games and I respect that. I am just surprised you did not mention/have not played Feast for Odin, Vast, Terra Mystica, Tzolk'in, Great Western Trail, Russian Railroads, Through the Ages, Keyflower or Gaia Project.
Didn't much care for through the ages or Keyflower. Only played Terra Mystica once, and it was good, but i left games with only 1 play off. Tzol'kin looks fascinating, but yet to play. Feast, well i've played 3 uwes and enjoyed them, so would probably enjoy it.
Wow... it's my first time being in video credits... what a warm feeling:) Great, great list! What I like the most about your videos is: - thier form - as I don't have to much free time, and they are very informative, - you seems to have similar taste in games:) Keep up the good work!
Most concise, diverse top 100 I have seen. Excellent! Surprised not too see "Near and Far" as you have more than one Red Raven game on your list. Also, you seem to like narrative adventures. It happens to be my #1. We share similar tastes; If you haven't played it, I suggest it. Also, I look forward to getting my KS copy of "Architects of the West Kingdom."
True story. I own near and far. But i've been waiting to play it as a campaign, and my group I want to run it with is playing Gloomhaven atm. That's literally the only reason I haven't got to it.
Welcome to the hobby. The key is finding your own style of game that suits you. Hopefully, this lists gives you some cool ideas of what to look into next.
Chinatown was a recent discovery for me as well, got it about 18 months ago. Instant hit with every group who's played it with me. So easy to teach, and creates such good moments at the table
Nice list! Glad it was short. I haven’t played a lot of these so looking forward to grabbing a few. I enjoyed 7 wonders duel much more than 7 wonders. Both great games but duel allows for much more strategy and selection instead of being stuck with cards you don’t want. I also really enjoy a Game of Thrones the board game. Great tactics and strategy and always necessary to backstab to win. Good card management as well.
Cheers. I've recapped both Game of Thrones and 7 wonders duel on here. I like both games, but they didn't quite crack my top 100. 12 or so years ago. GoT would have been in my top 5 though
Cheers mate. Big fan of GMT, some of the first games i played when i was a kid were the older AH/SSI style counter/chit war games. So that style of gaming has always been part of my make up. I've been working on a COIN game as well, if you are a fan of that series. Long ways away from it getting anywhere. But loving the project.
M&M vs XIA was a purchasing decision I made a while back. Sci-fi beat out pirates pretty easily, so I still haven't played M&M. And the only game i've seen being played of it had people crying from boredom. But that was probably because the guy teaching it is the worst game teacher on the planet.
Arcadia Quest is a fun PvPVE game. Noir: Deductive Mystery Game is a fun game with lots of different modes if you get the black box. Room 25 is a fun hidden role game based on the movie The Cube Tsuro is a fast and easy game that is like carcassonne without points.
You need to try Elysium. I can't really compare it to another game that I know of except that it has traces of 7 Wonders. It's a very interesting card game (somewhat an interactive engine/deck builder I'd say) where you turnwise buy cards from the middle that everybody can see. The buy system is very unique as every player owns a blue, yellow, red & green pillar and all the cards require you to *have* (not to spend) 1 or 2 specific colors of the pillars and after buying a card you discard a pillar of your choice. All the cards have effects which you can activate when you own them but they usually only give out the big points when you move them to your elysium in a rummy kind of way where they lose their effects. It has ancient Greece as the theme and the artwork is incredible but so are the games mechanics. It's also more competitive than 7 Wonders because you constantly take away cards that others want to buy.
Great video to watch approaching Christmas. Unfortunately I can't find many titles in the UK. Galilean Moons and Spheres Of Influence to name two that would have been instant buys.
Try Imperial settlers (or 51st State if you like that theme better) and Triumph and Tragedy. Those are two completely different game recommendations, but I think you would enjoy both after watching and listening to your favorites and why. Thanks for great Vid
I love your channel and I greatly appreciate the respect that you show to everyone's time and intelligence, with such wonderful short form content that isn't just short, but masterfully condenses information to provide the most bang for you buck in terms of time of any content I have seen (and I watch a lot of youtube, much to my chagrin :)
Fun fact: Blood Bowl is available on XBox One Game Pass. Also, sad to see my fav game, Blood Rage, didn't crack your top 100. That said, it just goes to show how many great games are out there. Thanks for posting!
Nice video. Very informative. Puerto Rico, of course, is the best game of all time, and Twilight Struggle is positively abysmal, but I did pick up some suggestions I can't wait to try: Modern Art and Spheres of Influence, in particular. Strange how tastes run, actually.... I bought Twilight Struggle because of its high rank on boardgamegeek, played it once, and then sold it at a huge discount. And I'm a huge fan of history and international politics!
Yeah, probably the cost barrier. I only own the core, but my friend Dillon owns THE LOT. So most of my plays have been at his place. Its really good, probably only needs 1/3rd of the addons it has though. But the core faction interplay is really solid.
I would say I have well over 70% of the games in this top 100. One thing I noticed is that of that top 100 Fantasy Flight games are the ones that very suddenly kill off games with a large player base or just 'split' their player communities by doing 'new editions' as in X-Wing. I feel a lot of anger towards FFG despite their often excellent and polished games.
I used to be the biggest FFG booster around. When Arkham Horror and BSG were my top 2 games. But yeah, a lot of reliance on IPs means that when those deals end. They cut games off. Or, once a games been out for a while, they just redo it. I'm in no hurry to get Arkham Horror 3rd edition for example. Quite content with the 2nd edition.
@RIVIR it's not just the FFG franchises that are obviously licensed, it's the one's that you don't know that were licensed and they have no property rights to (conveniently they don't tell you this when they try to initially sell you the game), I mean I'm talking about Talisman (4th edition was it) and also Fury of Dracula; I just didn't know that Fury of Dracula was under license from Wizkids. Thankfully Wizkids did a reprint I believe after the rights for production were returned to them. You can bet your hat that their Game of Thrones license for their LCG is going to get swiftly taken away at some point and they will kill off their game promptly maybe with no last batch reprint of all their cards.Also if the Tolkien estate gets greedy, goodbye LOTR LCG also. It sucks and you just don't know who owns what when FFG release a game, I was pissed off when Warhammer Quest The Adventure Card Game got pulled forever after Games Workshop / FFG went their separate ways. Can I trust the Heroes of Terrinoth replacement game to not be owned by some company that after 2 years will run away with their IP and kill the game for example ? Like 3 Minute Board Games I play X-Wing casually and with the 1.0 scenarios (download them while you can !) but I've got guys at the club saying "I bought the 2.0 conversion kits, you buy them also.". Don't get me started on what I had to pay for Chaos In The Old World 'The Horned Rat expansion' in English language when they announced they were pulling the plug on it...... Funnily enough RIVIR I got some dude in Spain on BGG asking me about Battlestar Galactica : Exodus if I was selling my copy, I informed him mine was in English and I would not part with it. Here in Spain we have publisher DENVIR that translates many of FFGs' games and they do very limited print runs under strict rules I believe which usually means just 1 print run for almost everything so get it while you can in the first few months or tough luck kid off to ebay to get scalped. Also if you're into netrunner you've got one last chance soon to buy the 2nd wave (I think as you never know) of their last expansion for which they released small numbers for sale during the 1st wave a few months ago (another great game just killed off).
Also for their last Android Net Runner expansion "Reign and Reverie" which they recently did a very limited print run for, the retailers around the world that managed to get a 2nd print run copy for didn't sell it on their main website for the RRP, instead they have got it on ebay and BGG for 3-4 times the recommended retail price, scalpers the lot of them: australia: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Android-Netrunner-LCG-Reign-and-Reverie-Expansion-Pack-New/263743430408?hash=item3d68555f08:g:LVEAAOSwDyBbgDot:rk:1:pf:0 europe (these guys are a physical/online shop 'spelshop' but they're selling it on BGG more expensive instead): boardgamegeek.com/geekmarket/product/1605823
Spirit Island Baby!!!! Kickstarter for the next expansion is on and already surpassed 300k with 30 days to go. nice list there are certain ones I need to check out as I haven't heard of them. That said, Great list.
Exceptional list, and very well produced for RUclips! Instant subscribe. Love that Spirit Island made it all the way to number 4. Curious as to whether you've tried (or what your opinions are on) LoTR LCG, Rising Sun, Battle for Rokugan or Blood Rage?
Not played any of those. Although Eric Langs Chaos in the old world in on there, and that influenced his later designs (blood rage, rising sun) Rising sun i've kinda avoided for a few reasons. CMON kickstarter bloat to start. One of the guys in my group really did not like it for starters. He felt it sold itself as a wargame, but actually fighting battles was pretty pointless. Oh, and the super lazy world building involving adding a kiwi guy in as a monkey because their world building involved looking at wikipedia. That migth be small, but little things like that can put me off when there are hundreds of games coming out. Of those the LOTR LCG is the one that most interests me.
Napoleon - Avalon Hill; the game is quick, with 2-3 players fighting the battle of Waterloo Imperium - GDW; 2 player combat game with unique style to either side.
Cheers Kevin. I really hope Lukus finishes off his planning and preparation for Galilean Moons and brings it to kickstarter. I enjoyed the heck out of it.
Some great games on your list, 3MBG! I'm a big fan of "Spartacus" as well. Wish I was able to play it more. I have some recommendations of games that I think are worthy of consideration for your list as well: Kemet, Cyclades (with Titans expansion), Blood Rage, Godfather, Lancaster, Batman Gotham City Strategy game, X-men: Mutant Revolution (similar to "Spartacus in design and mechanics), Hannibal. Love your videos, so please keep up the great work!
Cheers Sebastian. Kemet and Cyclades are both on my radar. The reason I havent got them yet is Lords of Hellas, and they cover quite similar ground from what i can gather. On the radar though. I did just get lancaster in a trade as well.
@@3MBG Yes, I did indeed check out your review of "Lords of Hellas" and agree there is a definite Cyclades vibe going on, though at first glance LoH appears a bit more complicated. I'd like to play it for sure to see if I like it as much as I do Cyclades (with Titans) and Kemet.
Nice list with quite a few surprises. Some actual love for Spheres of Influence! The Networks gets a well deserved mention. Several historical themed games like Churchill. Top 30 spot for Lords of Hellas. I’m surprised though, to see a lot of heavy games on your list and only 1 Lacerda, and the old edition of CO2 at that.
Impressive run through. I may take a chance on a couple of co op games from your list. I hardly ever play co op as it doesn't engage me, but your suggestions have me wondering if I've missed out on something.
Aaaaaaahhhh!!!! Santorini was inappropriately cut off! It indeed is a simple game that you can teach ANYBODY in minutes but has incredible depth and strategy as well as tons of replayability due to 30 (more than double that with the expansions) player powers and how they match up. My favorite game to bring to the table for the last year indeed. It also looks purty….
Hi!, nice list, a lots of games to try out. Thanks for show me some like Bloc by bloc (love the theme) and Empires of the void II, these two will be my next buy. Have you played Inis? Before i tried it, i read a lot of different thoughts on it, some of them almost make me pass, but the moment when i played it was an instant love. Right now, is my way to go on "dudes on a map" games.
@@somethingelsedoesmatter Hello, if i'm more precise, cause "dudes on a map" is too wide, i'd say that i like Inis (play it) over others Area control games, like Blood Rage, Kemet, Small world as example ( games that i like to play too). Not bc Inis is the Top of them but it have a more appealing dynamic to me (how mechanics work together) . Like the way you draft plus card-based actions and turn order, the heavily importance on timing (when to pass, initiate a clash or play your red cards), play time, victory conditions rather than victory points, etc. To me, a better level of strategy. The cons on this, is that you really need to learn to play the game to catch it, thing that maybe doesn't happen until second or third game (like knowing the cards or terrain allocation), and in our modern time there is a lot of others bg to try instead. Maybe simply isn't your kind of game, do you notice a mechanic that you don't like how it works or don't understand what are you playing? In our group we ever discuss on how do we feel the mechanics on the first game of any bg we try. That help us to understand what are we playing and what to play next.
Wow, amazing rundown. Impressive that you managed to keep it short for each game. Unfortunately it seems that the Santorini segmen was cut extra short.
Wow, I love this video! Never seen so many of my favorite games in one list! Your connection to NZ and the Maori cuIture also touches me. If you ever happen to come to Berlin, give me a sign. ;-)
Enjoyed the vid muchly, not going to argue with your choices as they are yours too make. As not mentioned in the vid or in your comment about games that narrowly missed, can I recommend Pulsar 2849, Rajas of the Ganges, Merlin, Hit Z Road, Fields of Green and Clank!.
Is there a reason why Kingom Death doesn't hit anywhere or is barely mentioned by anyone? The gameplay is fun, the story is above the rest and the settlement management is unique. I think because you have the build the mini's it throws off a lot of people (and the price I guess) Overall this top 100 is amazing though. Also a fellow Kiwi here!
Cheers mate. I suspect KDM is just one of those games that you're either into hard, or you just aren't. A bit like Magic the Gathering, you can't really "casually" play KDM or just pick it up, not if you want the full experience. And, as reviewers tend to flit from game to game, a lifestyle game like that will just bounce off them. My 2 cents.
@@3MBG Fair enough mate. It can be played in quick 30-60min chunks which is nice. Gloomhaven has 5hr campaigns which is why I asked. Look forward to your next videos.
TS is a very worthy #1. The Steam app makes it all the better. Definitely one of my favs. Love War of the Ring (I have vol 2) as well. A few you may enjoy: Kemet, Brass (updated designs), Nations (not as fiddley as TTA) making it the best historical civ game IMO, Dominant Species (talk about fiddley tho), Polis, Caylus, Clans of Caledonia. Thanks for the video.
Great list. I think we share 16 games, the most surprising for me was Arctic Scavengers. I think most people have never heard of it, so it was pleasant to see on here. With all the Lovecraft games on the list, might I suggest Fate of the Elder Gods? Great multiplayer game (and hard solo game) where things are flipped and you're the cultists/elder god.
Fate of the Elder Gods is literally sitting on my bedside table as one of my regular players left it behind because he wants me to play it. Still haven't got to it yet. My first impression of the rulebook wasn't great, but it looks like one that needs to be played to see how the interactions actually work. Arctic Scavengers is pretty solid. I quite dig the bluffing./resource management mini game with the central loot card. That's enough to make a very standard deck builder interactive enough to engage me.
Howdy Emilio. My man, there are thousands and thousands of games. I've been playing for 30 odd years and there are heaps i've never even heard of. Nothing to be ashamed about for sure. Pretty much everyone not named Tom Vasel has seen and played far less games than they haven't.
Hey great job with the videos! I also live in New Zealand and wanted to ask where you buy your board games. They're seem to be so expensive (like many other things) here!
Mostly, local stores and/or mighty ape, NZ gameshop and seriously board. If i can't find it locally, I use boardgameprices.com and figure out a good price, and then ship stuff via NZ Post You Shop.
Nice list, lots of titles I don't know. Also saw some games I really like to try. The list was also suprising because of the games you don't name: Catan, Carcassonne, Dominion... Didn't you play those, or did they just not make it to the list?
I've played Dominion once, i didn't really dig it. Not enough player interaction, but that was the core box years ago. Carcassonne, i've never played. Unbelievably. Catan.... I quite dislike. I played it back in 1998 or so and it just did nothing for me. I got a copy because other people wanted to play it. But its core system always bugged me, because it's lifted from a game I loved when i was in highschool "gammarauders". Gammarauders is played on hex maps, with a 2d6 resource allocation system :)
Interesting mix of games. I haven't heard of a number of them. No surprise, considering the wealth of games that come out every single year nowadays. Nice that you added Axis and Allies! Used to play that _all_ the time as a teen.
When i was 13 I had a part time job, the first thing I got with my own money from that was the original MB Gamemaster series Axis and Allies back in 1990. Hugely influential game for me.
Your taste is very similar to mine, including the stuff you enjoy solo! Except you have many more games under your belt than mine. My favourite would be Arkham horror second edition, simply because I haven't played it nearly as much as you have to run it into fatigue, and I can't get enough of Lovecraft's universe (although I'm getting that satisfied more and more from Call of Cthulhu RPG than from AH LCG) Probably only game I just got that you'll probably love for the theme and challenge is Nemesis by Awakened Realms. Try that if you can. Ps. So pumped for my copy of Cthulhu Wars arriving soon!
Nice list! Even though our tastes are very different (I really dislike games like battlestar galactica and caverna), you've exposed me to some potentially fun games that I want to try out (churchill, distant plain, and bloc by bloc).
I think you’d really enjoy Sidereal Confluence based off of your China Town, and Terraforming Mars picks. The game has incredible negotiating and a really sweet engine builder built in. Couple that with all players having incredibly asymmetric races/engines, I think this could be a winner for you.
I'm from Brazil and I love your videos. Very objective and straight to the point. You do the same with this list. I realized we have very similar preferences in games and it gave me a lot of suggestions to take a look. I need to answer about The 7th Continent. Have you ever tried it? It is the most amazing story driven game I have ever played.
Amazing list - introduced me to a lot! Any reason why you've left off all Splotter games? Food Chain Magnate, Roads and Boats, or The Great Zimbabwe seem to match up with some of your faves. Additionally, Here I Stand might be something you could get behind.
Splotter games are..... insanely expensive in Aotearoa/NZ. Food chain magnate, with its budget looking pieces, costs the same as Gloomhaven or Twilight Imperium. As a result, I have limited exposure to them. FCM is the only one i've played and I didn't think much of it. Games are already many times more expensive in NZ than the UK/EU/US. And 250 bucks for a game that looks like an unfinished prototype really really put me off pursuing any more from that company.
What I love about "top 100 games" lists is how they paint a picture of the creator. I must say I am more than impressed by your literacy and complex taste. From heavy Wargames to the lightest of family games, from games dripping with themes to elegant abstracts, from the most popular designs to games I never even heard of.... Heavily competitive, deeply cooperative, intensively interactive, or challenging solitaire, it is all here. I will buy a hat so I can raise it to you.
You have convinced me that I need to own almost every game on this list, as usual with your videos, at this rate I will have to unsubscribe for the sake of my bank account :) I don't think that traditional war games are for me but I really want to try The Grizzled and This War of Mine but I am not going to get the same experience playing in French. I am tempted to late pledge for Pax Pamir, it would be a bit of a stretch though and I need to check how much text there is - if I can't play it with my groups who don't speak English then I might not play it enough on my own. It's going to be a beautiful game but the shipping could push it out of my reach.
The Grizzled doesn't use much language, its all icons and interactions. Its also a french game so should be easy to get. The art was done by one of the guys who died in the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack This war is very language intensive though.
Seeing some of the items you like, you need to play Kingdom Death Monsters, you'll love it! Cooperative, super thematic, dark, and you're just constantly thinking about the mystery that surrounds the world that the game is in. As you play, it also tells the story of the tribe that you built and the culture of that tribe that arises based on your decisions. Such a fantastic game. It's cost, availability and miniatures are over the top which is a big barrier to entry, but if you ever get the chance, you need to play it.
Cost and time are the big barrier with that one. I also don't like the art style, its a little too desperately edgy, and this is from a guy who at age 13 had his room decorated with posters from HR Giger. One of my friends who runs a channel, quackalope, is a massive fan. He has all of KDM, like all of it.
I just encountered your channel, and I really like the brevity, so many boardgaming channels blablabla you to death without giving relevant information. I'm currently looking for a new game, my all time favorite is Battlestar Galactica and it's what we've been playing for 10 years now and it's still good. We're just at the point of spotting the cylons, because a veteran's turn is only 99% efficient, instead of 100%, meaning we constantly need new players so there are accidental suboptimal desicions present. The boardgaming market seems to have developed into boardgames which you can play solo or where you almost play solo and barely interact with other players. Workerplacement and enginebuilders are notorious for that and while I would enjoy that as a videogame, in gaming groups I find it as entertaining as sitting together on the same couch while everyone quitely reads a book to himself. So, I want something with solid rules, easy to learn, not a ton of unneccessary parts (looking at you arkham horror), player interaction and possibly some intrigue.
Yay you tube suggestions finally gives me a great new channel to sub. With my favourite things combined; Board gaming and NZ. Also I'm rather glad I live currently in Canada, was astounded while back for a trip in Feb how much games cost there! Keep up the great content!
Yeah. I get dizzy eye rolling at people in the EU/US etc complaining about $10 shipping, or that it takes 3 days. Canada is number 2 on my list of countries I would want to live in. I feel Kiwis and Canadians have an awful lot in common in terms of values and outlook on the world.
Lots in common for sure, just wish the climate was better here. My husband is Canadian and also a board gamer. I’m north enough that we get 9 months of snow a year and shipping usually takes 7 days from Toronto (but yeah free over certain amounts). No way we could have afforded our game collection in NZ, though in a few years will have to pay for the container to ship them there. Also being able to drive to Gen Con is nice, even if it’s a 14 hour drive.
Yeah cons are such a mission for me. When I started the channel I got a lot of "you should pop over to cons and meet publishers" comments from other content creators, and it just annoyed me how everyone assumed I had such deep pockets.
Yup flights to the states don’t come cheap. It’s really hard even for us to justify flight costs for just 5 days. We tend to wrap BGG Con in Texas into bigger 2 week trips, where we travel as well. But yeah we are making the most of it while we live here for sure.
3 Minute Board Games a lot of the war games you have on your list I have never heard off! Also never knew there was a blood bowl card game either. I like that a lot of your games are very thematic and I think I tend to like more thematic games as well.
3 Minute Board Games don’t have a problem there as I just started tracking down the ffg warhammer conquest game that’s been out of print for a few years and it hasn’t been to bad and I enjoy the hunt! It’s a great game imo if you haven’t checked it out. It reminds me of mtg commander and an area control/resource management game combined.
This is a great list! I love the balance between Euro, Ameritrash and (kinda) Wargames. If you ever wanna try a heavy economic, try 18xx! It´s one of the most fascinating gaming systems that I´ve ever tried. Thanks for making this list!
100 Dice Forge (2017)
99 Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game (2014)
98 Elder Sign (2011)
97 Small World (2011)
96 Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia (2013)
95 RoboRally (1994)
94 Salvation Road (2016)
93 Arctic Scavengers (2009)
92 Cytosis: A Cell Biology Board Game (2017)
91 Space Hulk (third edition) (English edition)(2009)
90 Zombicide (2012)
89 Tales of the Arabian Nights (2009)
88 The Ancient World (2014)
87 Panamax (2014)
86 Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game (2012)
85 CO₂ (2012)
84 Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition (First edition) (2008)
83 Steampunk Rally (2015)
82 Ghost Stories (2008)
81 Roll Player (2016)
80 Modern art
79 Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture (2018)
78 Last Friday (2016)
77 Sentinels of the Multiverse (2011)
76 Maximum Apocalypse (2018)
75 Pay Dirt (2014)
74 The Grizzled (2015)
73 Galilean Moons (2018)
72 Black Orchestra (2016)
71 Pandemic (English first edition 2008) (2008)
70 Le Havre (2008)
69 Android (2008)
68 Star Wars: Imperial Assault (2014)
67 Chaos in the Old World (English Fantasy Flight Edition) (2009)
66 Secret Hitler (2016)
65 Space Cadets (2012)
64 Defenders of the Last Stand (2016)
63 Village (2011)
62 Martians: A Story of Civilization (2016)
61 Lords of Waterdeep (2012)
60 Raiders of the North Sea (2015)
59 Freedom: The Underground Railroad (2012)
58 Tokaido (2012)
57 The Networks (2016)
56 Hostage Negotiator: Crime Wave (2017)
55 Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition (2017)
54 Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game (2014)
53 XCOM: The Board Game (2015)
52 Pandemic: The Cure (2014)
51 Santorini (2016)
50 The Captain Is Dead (2014)
49 Captain Sonar (2016)
48 Potion Explosion (2015)
47 Scythe (2016)
46 Castles of Mad King Ludwig (2014)
45 Agents of SMERSH (2012)
44 Power Grid (2004)
43 GKR: Heavy Hitters (2018)
42 Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island (2012)
41 Kolejka (2011)
40 Spheres of Influence: Struggle for Global Supremacy (2016)
39 The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire(2016)
38 Suburbia (2012)
37 Caverna: The Cave Farmers (2013)
36 Empires of the Void II (2018)
35 Android: Netrunner (2012)
34 Millennium Blades (2016)
33 Above and Below (2015)
32 Thunderbirds (2015)
31 Churchill (2015)
30 Architects of the West Kingdom (2018)
29 Conquest of Paradise (2007)
28 Arkham Horror (2005)
27 Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery(2012)
26 Takenoko (2011)
25 Lords of Hellas (2017)
24 Blood Bowl: Team Manager - The Card Game (2011)
23 Healthy Heart Hospital (2015)
22 Cthulhu Wars (2015)
21 Gloomhaven (2017)
20 Argent: The Consortium
19 A Distant Plain (2013)
18 Azul (2017)
17 Xia: Legends of a Drift System (2014)
16 Between Two Cities (2015)
15 Paths of Glory (1999)
14 7 Wonders (2010)
13 Arkham Horror: The Card Game (2016)
12 Roll for the Galaxy (2014)
11 Mansions of Madness: Second Edition(2016)
10 Bloc by Bloc: The Insurrection Game (2016)
9 Chinatown (1999)
8 This War of Mine: The Board Game (2017)
7 Anachrony (2017)
6 War of the Ring (First Edition) (Fantasy Flight English edition) (2004)
5 Star Wars: Rebellion (2016)
4 Spirit Island (2017)
3 Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game (English first edition) (2008)
2 Terraforming Mars (2016)
1 Twilight Struggle (English standard edition, third printing) (2007)
Amazing video.
Several people have said that. I wonder why it is?
Try evolution its verry good game with cool mechanics
I'm surprised. No Catan? No Battletech? Not a single game from Avalon Hill? Not a fan of Mayfair's Train-crayon games (Empire Builder, Iron Dragon, Martian Rails, etc.)? No Illuminati? No Rail Baron/Boxcars?
Douglas, there is a video out today that has many of those in it. "the best game i've played from every year i've been alive".
Some of those games i really liked, at the time, but i either played them out (battletech) or i feel they have become out dated (Illuminati)
It takes some humility to dare recapping hours and hours of your time and work on this video in 25 minutes. Thank you mate !!!!
Merci. Thanks for watching.
My man! Now THIS is how you do a Top 100. Quick and concise with just a few bullet points on each entry makes it easily digestible and a joy to watch. Excellent content and a nice list to boot. Subbed!
Great job! Your list is way different than most reviewers' and BGG, really refreshing. Your channel is a wonderful addition to the scene!!
I put that down to a few things. I'm in NZ, so its my local scene we play in. As a result, our local meta and buzz is probably a bit different.
I don't follow other reviewers that closely. I tend to watch "play-through" vids of games im interested, but don't stick around for the opinions often. And thats only if i've caught the eye of a game. I dont tend to watch reviews of random games.
Also, been playing since before BGG was a thing, so had plenty of time to develop my own tastes in that regard.
This is by far the best top 100 I've ever seen. Part of that is because we have a lot of the same games, but also because of the length. I don't need a long explanation about every game, a couple of brief sentences is enough. Great job!
I really like that you were able to explain why you like 100 games in a highly produced compact amount of time. That's how you do a Top 100!
Concerning TI4: We just played a 14 point game in 3.5 hours. Generally we manage to average a 10 pointer in 4.5 to 6 hours with bringing a new person along. Setup and tear down ain't so bad when you have an easy to communicate dedicated spot for everything and everyone pitches in (mini race envelopes are the way to go). I have played 20 games in a little over a year and we appreciate you video very much to help new people know what they are getting themselves into. Thanks for your content man. I am really digging the channel!
Excellent video. Short, concise and full of info. Plus, you actually showed images of all the games. Thanks for the effort!
Wow! What a tremendous video. Thank you for doing it and thank you to all of your sponsors. I have followed the hobby for many years now and have watched uncountable numbers of videos and this is one of the best. Very concise and well produced and the shots of each game were fantastic and so well presented. I am impressed. This video peaked my interest in several titles that I will now explore further. Keep up the excellent work. So glad I subscribe!
Great list... I almost skipped this thinking it would just be a list, but you manage to fit a right to the point comment about each and it gave me a few new games to look up.
Man, I LOVED the quick pace of this list! Awesome video :D
agreed ! all board game youtubers should probably checkout the way you did your TOP 100 !
Finally, a top 100 list without a lot of overproduction that bloats the video unnecessarily, without a lot of endless banter that you have to skip through because it's all pointless, and with games on it that I actually own.
A lot of interesting glimpses of things I'd never have seen without this. The mini-summaries are quick, concise and satisfying. Thanks
you are my favorite gaming channel by far because you dont have an overbloated idea of what your opinion means to me, and you are able to share so many more ideas to me because you spend so much more time writing and editing than any other channel to boil down to the very bones. and because of that, your opinion actually ends up having much more influence on me than it would. thank you.
Oh man that's a humbling statement to read. Cheers. It's kinda how i like to look at things. My opinion is just that, an opinion and well it's no more valid than anyone elses. Sure, i've been in the hobby since forever, but i think all that really gives me is more stories to tell.
And i've always been a fan of the idea of "why use 1000 words when 50 gets the point across better".
What a great list! Thank you for making this video. You gave me more than enough games to consider I would've never thought about adding to my collection.
Thats cool to hear. A trend i'm picking up is that this isn't a normal sort of list in some regards, and has some games that aren't often thought of, which is cool.
Thank you so much for this long yet quick list! Nice variety as well!
Cheers. Make sure to check out this years one as well, its a bit longer, but i felt i skipped past the first 50 games in this one a little too quickly.
Great stuff, man. I love your thoughtful analysis on each game. And I like how you talk about why you personally enjoy a game and not why it’s popular via the masses. I’m a new fan and have lots of your videos to watch but also looking forward to new stuff. Keep it coming!
Some games just off the top 100:
Fury of Dracula 3rd edition, Race for the Galaxy, Bethel Woods, Mountains of Madness, Brew Crafters, Legacy: the testament of Duke de Crecy, Mission Red Planet, El grande, Star Wars Armada, Smash Up, Flash Point Fire Rescue, Mage Knight, Through the ages, Forbidden Island, 51st state, The Pursuit of Happiness, First Martians, 7 wonders duel, Dream Home, New Angeles.
(all games I do quite like)
Why didn't Mage Knight make top 100?
Because while I appreciate the design, I don't really enjoy playing it much. I completely get why so many people love it, and I covered it on the channel, but I just don't engage with it a huge amount while i'm playing.
So it's a game i'll play, but not with more than 2 people due to downtime and other people taking too long to math.
Have you played The Voyages of Marco Polo? What are your thoughts on that game and why didn't it crack your Top 100? Thanks Amazing job on the list by the way. Loved all the pictures. Very well done!
I've played Marco Polo once at a random game meetup, which means i excluded it from voting as I feel i need to play a game multiple times in order to score it.
I thought it was really quite good. One I certainly want to give more plays.
Was Blood Rage or Rising Sun on your list? If not, I think you’d enjoy these games :)
Brilliant! I’ve never seen such a succinct but informative review of so many games. Well done.
Cheers Matthew. It was a lot of fun to make as well. I think i'll do it yearly.
Fabulous synthesis exercise! Wooow! If I haven't seen this I wouldn't believe a top 100 can be as short and well done as this is. Fantástic!
You sir have pushed the insta-subscribe button on me.
I challenge anyone to find me a better top 100 than this. Well done!
Im so happy to see arkham horror lcg and star wars rebellion up there in your list. Grrat video
I was very excited to see some of my favorite games on your list. Village is in my top 5.Hostage Negotiator is in my top ten. I was happy that This War Of Mine was there too. I have Martians A Story Of Civilization but have never played because of the rule book. I even paid for painted minis when I backed it on KS. I was surprised to see Above and Below but no Near and Far. You did have Healthy Heart Hospital which I totally love. No Viticulture, The Gallerist or Grand Austria Hotel though. All great games. The Captain Is Dead is great as well as LoW. Overall you have a very solid list.
I still have not got to near and far as I want to run a full campaign. I have a KS version i got second hand dirt cheap as well. Its not on there solely because it still has not got play
I don't play board games but I do like making them (and hearing design details in this format). Thanks.
Good list man. Your top picks marry well with mine.
A few notables missing:
Ponzi Scheme
Eclipse
Warrior Knights 2nd ed
Game of Thrones
World Without End
Sid Meiers Civilization (FFG)
Pandemic Legacy
As we seem to like a lot of the same stuff, is try these
Nice list mate... I particularly liked the pronunciation of Agricola, Azul and Xia!
Great video! Some games i feel are missing are Dominion, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, and Friday
I see that you and I do not have the same tastes in board games and I respect that.
I am just surprised you did not mention/have not played Feast for Odin, Vast, Terra Mystica, Tzolk'in, Great Western Trail, Russian Railroads, Through the Ages, Keyflower or Gaia Project.
Didn't much care for through the ages or Keyflower.
Only played Terra Mystica once, and it was good, but i left games with only 1 play off. Tzol'kin looks fascinating, but yet to play. Feast, well i've played 3 uwes and enjoyed them, so would probably enjoy it.
Really well done mate. Great production, snappily presented.
Wow... it's my first time being in video credits... what a warm feeling:) Great, great list! What I like the most about your videos is:
- thier form - as I don't have to much free time, and they are very informative,
- you seems to have similar taste in games:)
Keep up the good work!
Cheers Piotr, thanks for being part of the patreon crew. You lot keep this gig going
I love how fast paced this list is!
holy crap this might be my favorite new channel ive discovered.. everything is so fresh! great job
Tell your friends, and your friends friends, and their moms.
Cheers Mr McAwesome.
You should try Dice Throne! I just got it last month and it easily entered my 5 most played games of all time. I'm simply obsessed
Most concise, diverse top 100 I have seen. Excellent! Surprised not too see "Near and Far" as you have more than one Red Raven game on your list. Also, you seem to like narrative adventures. It happens to be my #1. We share similar tastes; If you haven't played it, I suggest it. Also, I look forward to getting my KS copy of "Architects of the West Kingdom."
True story. I own near and far. But i've been waiting to play it as a campaign, and my group I want to run it with is playing Gloomhaven atm.
That's literally the only reason I haven't got to it.
Just discovered your channel! Thank you for the list its a refreshing take on top 100s
This channel is a hidden gem (probably not for long). So concise and clear.
Approaching 10k subs at a quick rate and only been around for less than a year. Hopefully, we will move from "hidden gem" to "sleeper hit" this year.
For someone starting their gaming collection this was a great list. Well done and thank you.
Welcome to the hobby. The key is finding your own style of game that suits you. Hopefully, this lists gives you some cool ideas of what to look into next.
That's a great list. It got me to look into a few games I didn't know. Thanks!
This is the best way to take on something as daunting as a top 100. Well done you!
Also I see that Chinatown pick up there. Good taste.
Chinatown was a recent discovery for me as well, got it about 18 months ago. Instant hit with every group who's played it with me. So easy to teach, and creates such good moments at the table
Nice list! Glad it was short. I haven’t played a lot of these so looking forward to grabbing a few.
I enjoyed 7 wonders duel much more than 7 wonders. Both great games but duel allows for much more strategy and selection instead of being stuck with cards you don’t want.
I also really enjoy a Game of Thrones the board game. Great tactics and strategy and always necessary to backstab to win. Good card management as well.
Cheers. I've recapped both Game of Thrones and 7 wonders duel on here. I like both games, but they didn't quite crack my top 100.
12 or so years ago. GoT would have been in my top 5 though
I expected GoT to be on here, but with so many great board games out there these days, I guess making top 100 is a bit of a tough call :p.
Such a great video! So much work must have gone into this and it shows! Love it
Brilliant list dude, great to see a fellow NZer rating those GMT games so highly!
Cheers mate. Big fan of GMT, some of the first games i played when i was a kid were the older AH/SSI style counter/chit war games. So that style of gaming has always been part of my make up.
I've been working on a COIN game as well, if you are a fan of that series. Long ways away from it getting anywhere. But loving the project.
Simply impressive work! Thanks!
I was sad Merchants&Marauders (specially with the exp) did not make it to this top100.
M&M vs XIA was a purchasing decision I made a while back. Sci-fi beat out pirates pretty easily, so I still haven't played M&M. And the only game i've seen being played of it had people crying from boredom. But that was probably because the guy teaching it is the worst game teacher on the planet.
XD @@3MBG
Arcadia Quest is a fun PvPVE game.
Noir: Deductive Mystery Game is a fun game with lots of different modes if you get the black box.
Room 25 is a fun hidden role game based on the movie The Cube
Tsuro is a fast and easy game that is like carcassonne without points.
I’m surprised Codenames didn’t make it anywhere on the list.
You need to try Elysium.
I can't really compare it to another game that I know of except that it has traces of 7 Wonders. It's a very interesting card game (somewhat an interactive engine/deck builder I'd say) where you turnwise buy cards from the middle that everybody can see. The buy system is very unique as every player owns a blue, yellow, red & green pillar and all the cards require you to *have* (not to spend) 1 or 2 specific colors of the pillars and after buying a card you discard a pillar of your choice. All the cards have effects which you can activate when you own them but they usually only give out the big points when you move them to your elysium in a rummy kind of way where they lose their effects. It has ancient Greece as the theme and the artwork is incredible but so are the games mechanics. It's also more competitive than 7 Wonders because you constantly take away cards that others want to buy.
Great video to watch approaching Christmas. Unfortunately I can't find many titles in the UK. Galilean Moons and Spheres Of Influence to name two that would have been instant buys.
Spheres I understand, i would have thought Gallilean moons would be available. Then again, its a NZ design so i see it in stores here all the time.
Try Imperial settlers (or 51st State if you like that theme better) and Triumph and Tragedy.
Those are two completely different game recommendations, but I think you would enjoy both after watching and listening to your favorites and why.
Thanks for great Vid
51st State ended up 138th on my list :)
This was a great way to build a list to look out for games to search for when there are sales. thanks!
I love your channel and I greatly appreciate the respect that you show to everyone's time and intelligence, with such wonderful short form content that isn't just short, but masterfully condenses information to provide the most bang for you buck in terms of time of any content I have seen (and I watch a lot of youtube, much to my chagrin :)
Cheers Alex. I consider my time valuable, and hate when people waste it. So i extend the same idea to my content and my audience.
Fun fact: Blood Bowl is available on XBox One Game Pass.
Also, sad to see my fav game, Blood Rage, didn't crack your top 100. That said, it just goes to show how many great games are out there. Thanks for posting!
Nice video. Very informative. Puerto Rico, of course, is the best game of all time, and Twilight Struggle is positively abysmal, but I did pick up some suggestions I can't wait to try: Modern Art and Spheres of Influence, in particular. Strange how tastes run, actually.... I bought Twilight Struggle because of its high rank on boardgamegeek, played it once, and then sold it at a huge discount. And I'm a huge fan of history and international politics!
I'm extremely happy that cthulhu wars is high on your list. It doesnt get much talk on gaming youtube channels
Yeah, probably the cost barrier. I only own the core, but my friend Dillon owns THE LOT. So most of my plays have been at his place. Its really good, probably only needs 1/3rd of the addons it has though. But the core faction interplay is really solid.
Fascinating list! Can't say I've ever played any board really but this was enthralling. Subbed
Get stuck in. Analog gaming is a really good change of pace. I do more of it now than PC gaming. (but i still do a fair bit of that too)
I would say I have well over 70% of the games in this top 100. One thing I noticed is that of that top 100 Fantasy Flight games are the ones that very suddenly kill off games with a large player base or just 'split' their player communities by doing 'new editions' as in X-Wing. I feel a lot of anger towards FFG despite their often excellent and polished games.
I used to be the biggest FFG booster around. When Arkham Horror and BSG were my top 2 games. But yeah, a lot of reliance on IPs means that when those deals end. They cut games off. Or, once a games been out for a while, they just redo it.
I'm in no hurry to get Arkham Horror 3rd edition for example. Quite content with the 2nd edition.
@RIVIR it's not just the FFG franchises that are obviously licensed, it's the one's that you don't know that were licensed and they have no property rights to (conveniently they don't tell you this when they try to initially sell you the game), I mean I'm talking about Talisman (4th edition was it) and also Fury of Dracula; I just didn't know that Fury of Dracula was under license from Wizkids. Thankfully Wizkids did a reprint I believe after the rights for production were returned to them.
You can bet your hat that their Game of Thrones license for their LCG is going to get swiftly taken away at some point and they will kill off their game promptly maybe with no last batch reprint of all their cards.Also if the Tolkien estate gets greedy, goodbye LOTR LCG also.
It sucks and you just don't know who owns what when FFG release a game, I was pissed off when Warhammer Quest The Adventure Card Game got pulled forever after Games Workshop / FFG went their separate ways. Can I trust the Heroes of Terrinoth replacement game to not be owned by some company that after 2 years will run away with their IP and kill the game for example ?
Like 3 Minute Board Games I play X-Wing casually and with the 1.0 scenarios (download them while you can !) but I've got guys at the club saying "I bought the 2.0 conversion kits, you buy them also.".
Don't get me started on what I had to pay for Chaos In The Old World 'The Horned Rat expansion' in English language when they announced they were pulling the plug on it......
Funnily enough RIVIR I got some dude in Spain on BGG asking me about Battlestar Galactica : Exodus if I was selling my copy, I informed him mine was in English and I would not part with it. Here in Spain we have publisher DENVIR that translates many of FFGs' games and they do very limited print runs under strict rules I believe which usually means just 1 print run for almost everything so get it while you can in the first few months or tough luck kid off to ebay to get scalped.
Also if you're into netrunner you've got one last chance soon to buy the 2nd wave (I think as you never know) of their last expansion for which they released small numbers for sale during the 1st wave a few months ago (another great game just killed off).
Amen to FFG doing its own thing. The Android universe is great. They need more worlds to build stuff in.
Also for their last Android Net Runner expansion "Reign and Reverie" which they recently did a very limited print run for, the retailers around the world that managed to get a 2nd print run copy for didn't sell it on their main website for the RRP, instead they have got it on ebay and BGG for 3-4 times the recommended retail price, scalpers the lot of them:
australia: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Android-Netrunner-LCG-Reign-and-Reverie-Expansion-Pack-New/263743430408?hash=item3d68555f08:g:LVEAAOSwDyBbgDot:rk:1:pf:0
europe (these guys are a physical/online shop 'spelshop' but they're selling it on BGG more expensive instead): boardgamegeek.com/geekmarket/product/1605823
Spirit Island Baby!!!! Kickstarter for the next expansion is on and already surpassed 300k with 30 days to go. nice list there are certain ones I need to check out as I haven't heard of them. That said, Great list.
Exceptional list, and very well produced for RUclips! Instant subscribe.
Love that Spirit Island made it all the way to number 4. Curious as to whether you've tried (or what your opinions are on) LoTR LCG, Rising Sun, Battle for Rokugan or Blood Rage?
Not played any of those. Although Eric Langs Chaos in the old world in on there, and that influenced his later designs (blood rage, rising sun)
Rising sun i've kinda avoided for a few reasons. CMON kickstarter bloat to start. One of the guys in my group really did not like it for starters. He felt it sold itself as a wargame, but actually fighting battles was pretty pointless. Oh, and the super lazy world building involving adding a kiwi guy in as a monkey because their world building involved looking at wikipedia. That migth be small, but little things like that can put me off when there are hundreds of games coming out.
Of those the LOTR LCG is the one that most interests me.
I saw some games that I never heard of that I really want to try now. Thanks for the great list!
Great selection and... wonderfully painted miniatures. You are a true artist.
Cheers Murat. Heaps more pics on my old blog "vomkrieg"
Napoleon - Avalon Hill; the game is quick, with 2-3 players fighting the battle of Waterloo
Imperium - GDW; 2 player combat game with unique style to either side.
You got me keenly interested in Oaxaca and Galilean Moons. For someone as picky as I am, that's a high percentage out of a top 100. Thank you!
Cheers Kevin. I really hope Lukus finishes off his planning and preparation for Galilean Moons and brings it to kickstarter. I enjoyed the heck out of it.
Some great games on your list, 3MBG! I'm a big fan of "Spartacus" as well. Wish I was able to play it more. I have some recommendations of games that I think are worthy of consideration for your list as well: Kemet, Cyclades (with Titans expansion), Blood Rage, Godfather, Lancaster, Batman Gotham City Strategy game, X-men: Mutant Revolution (similar to "Spartacus in design and mechanics), Hannibal. Love your videos, so please keep up the great work!
Cheers Sebastian. Kemet and Cyclades are both on my radar. The reason I havent got them yet is Lords of Hellas, and they cover quite similar ground from what i can gather. On the radar though.
I did just get lancaster in a trade as well.
@@3MBG Cheers! I may have to look into "Lords of Hellas". Have never played that one.
Have a vid on here. I think you'll see the similarities right away. Especially with Cyclades.
@@3MBG Yes, I did indeed check out your review of "Lords of Hellas" and agree there is a definite Cyclades vibe going on, though at first glance LoH appears a bit more complicated. I'd like to play it for sure to see if I like it as much as I do Cyclades (with Titans) and Kemet.
Really nicely done! I'm surprised not seeing Paper Tales though?
Never heard of paper tales before, will check it out
Nice list with quite a few surprises. Some actual love for Spheres of Influence! The Networks gets a well deserved mention. Several historical themed games like Churchill. Top 30 spot for Lords of Hellas. I’m surprised though, to see a lot of heavy games on your list and only 1 Lacerda, and the old edition of CO2 at that.
Its all about what i've played. I still haven't gotten to Gallerist, Lisboa etc. Not through not wanting to. Just havent gotten to them
Impressive run through. I may take a chance on a couple of co op games from your list. I hardly ever play co op as it doesn't engage me, but your suggestions have me wondering if I've missed out on something.
Aaaaaaahhhh!!!! Santorini was inappropriately cut off! It indeed is a simple game that you can teach ANYBODY in minutes but has incredible depth and strategy as well as tons of replayability due to 30 (more than double that with the expansions) player powers and how they match up. My favorite game to bring to the table for the last year indeed. It also looks purty….
Unfortunately, I was forced to edit out a section. I've done a recap video of the game as well.
Hi!, nice list, a lots of games to try out. Thanks for show me some like Bloc by bloc (love the theme) and Empires of the void II, these two will be my next buy. Have you played Inis? Before i tried it, i read a lot of different thoughts on it, some of them almost make me pass, but the moment when i played it was an instant love. Right now, is my way to go on "dudes on a map" games.
Inis is one i've not looked at. I think the cover made me think it was a dry euro
@@somethingelsedoesmatter Hello, if i'm more precise, cause "dudes on a map" is too wide, i'd say that i like Inis (play it) over others Area control games, like Blood Rage, Kemet, Small world as example ( games that i like to play too). Not bc Inis is the Top of them but it have a more appealing dynamic to me (how mechanics work together) . Like the way you draft plus card-based actions and turn order, the heavily importance on timing (when to pass, initiate a clash or play your red cards), play time, victory conditions rather than victory points, etc. To me, a better level of strategy. The cons on this, is that you really need to learn to play the game to catch it, thing that maybe doesn't happen until second or third game (like knowing the cards or terrain allocation), and in our modern time there is a lot of others bg to try instead. Maybe simply isn't your kind of game, do you notice a mechanic that you don't like how it works or don't understand what are you playing? In our group we ever discuss on how do we feel the mechanics on the first game of any bg we try. That help us to understand what are we playing and what to play next.
I seem to be the only person I know who prefers Arkham Horror: LCG to Mansions of Madness. Guess I'm just an analog gal!
I think both games appeared in my top 20 or so. Fond of both of them.
Wow, amazing rundown. Impressive that you managed to keep it short for each game. Unfortunately it seems that the Santorini segmen was cut extra short.
I had to clip a bit out after the vid went live.
Wow, I love this video! Never seen so many of my favorite games in one list! Your connection to NZ and the Maori cuIture also touches me. If you ever happen to come to Berlin, give me a sign. ;-)
What can I say. I love where I grew up and its a big part of who I am. Thanks man.
Enjoyed the vid muchly, not going to argue with your choices as they are yours too make. As not mentioned in the vid or in your comment about games that narrowly missed, can I recommend Pulsar 2849, Rajas of the Ganges, Merlin, Hit Z Road, Fields of Green and Clank!.
Cheers Dave. Pulsar 2849 i've seen on the shelves and been tempted by. Hit Z road is definitely on my want list. I'll check the others as well.
Is there a reason why Kingom Death doesn't hit anywhere or is barely mentioned by anyone? The gameplay is fun, the story is above the rest and the settlement management is unique. I think because you have the build the mini's it throws off a lot of people (and the price I guess)
Overall this top 100 is amazing though. Also a fellow Kiwi here!
Cheers mate.
I suspect KDM is just one of those games that you're either into hard, or you just aren't. A bit like Magic the Gathering, you can't really "casually" play KDM or just pick it up, not if you want the full experience. And, as reviewers tend to flit from game to game, a lifestyle game like that will just bounce off them. My 2 cents.
@@3MBG Fair enough mate. It can be played in quick 30-60min chunks which is nice. Gloomhaven has 5hr campaigns which is why I asked.
Look forward to your next videos.
TS is a very worthy #1. The Steam app makes it all the better. Definitely one of my favs. Love War of the Ring (I have vol 2) as well. A few you may enjoy: Kemet, Brass (updated designs), Nations (not as fiddley as TTA) making it the best historical civ game IMO, Dominant Species (talk about fiddley tho), Polis, Caylus, Clans of Caledonia. Thanks for the video.
Kemet is def one people have mentioned to me a lot as one i'd like. And nations is one I nearly got a while back.
Great list. I think we share 16 games, the most surprising for me was Arctic Scavengers. I think most people have never heard of it, so it was pleasant to see on here.
With all the Lovecraft games on the list, might I suggest Fate of the Elder Gods? Great multiplayer game (and hard solo game) where things are flipped and you're the cultists/elder god.
Fate of the Elder Gods is literally sitting on my bedside table as one of my regular players left it behind because he wants me to play it. Still haven't got to it yet. My first impression of the rulebook wasn't great, but it looks like one that needs to be played to see how the interactions actually work.
Arctic Scavengers is pretty solid. I quite dig the bluffing./resource management mini game with the central loot card. That's enough to make a very standard deck builder interactive enough to engage me.
Great list and great format. Thanks very much!
Excellent list. I see a few additional cooperative games to try out. Have you tried Too Many Bones? It's my all time favorite game.
No, the price point was pretty high, especially with shipping to NZ. Its one id like to try before buying
At first I was sure I would recognize most of the games, now I see that Im barely scratching the surface of board gaming.
Howdy Emilio. My man, there are thousands and thousands of games. I've been playing for 30 odd years and there are heaps i've never even heard of. Nothing to be ashamed about for sure. Pretty much everyone not named Tom Vasel has seen and played far less games than they haven't.
I just recently discovered your channel. Keep up the great work!
Hey great job with the videos! I also live in New Zealand and wanted to ask where you buy your board games. They're seem to be so expensive (like many other things) here!
Mostly, local stores and/or mighty ape, NZ gameshop and seriously board.
If i can't find it locally, I use boardgameprices.com and figure out a good price, and then ship stuff via NZ Post You Shop.
Nice list, lots of titles I don't know. Also saw some games I really like to try. The list was also suprising because of the games you don't name: Catan, Carcassonne, Dominion... Didn't you play those, or did they just not make it to the list?
I've played Dominion once, i didn't really dig it. Not enough player interaction, but that was the core box years ago.
Carcassonne, i've never played. Unbelievably.
Catan.... I quite dislike. I played it back in 1998 or so and it just did nothing for me. I got a copy because other people wanted to play it. But its core system always bugged me, because it's lifted from a game I loved when i was in highschool "gammarauders".
Gammarauders is played on hex maps, with a 2d6 resource allocation system :)
Learned about some new games. I will check them out. You had me scared for a second there that you would miss Terraforming and Twilight!
Interesting mix of games. I haven't heard of a number of them. No surprise, considering the wealth of games that come out every single year nowadays. Nice that you added Axis and Allies! Used to play that _all_ the time as a teen.
When i was 13 I had a part time job, the first thing I got with my own money from that was the original MB Gamemaster series Axis and Allies back in 1990.
Hugely influential game for me.
Your taste is very similar to mine, including the stuff you enjoy solo! Except you have many more games under your belt than mine. My favourite would be Arkham horror second edition, simply because I haven't played it nearly as much as you have to run it into fatigue, and I can't get enough of Lovecraft's universe (although I'm getting that satisfied more and more from Call of Cthulhu RPG than from AH LCG)
Probably only game I just got that you'll probably love for the theme and challenge is Nemesis by Awakened Realms. Try that if you can.
Ps. So pumped for my copy of Cthulhu Wars arriving soon!
Nevermind. I just saw you did the review for that. Nonetheless I shall proceed to binge the rest of your 3 minute videos!
Nice list! Even though our tastes are very different (I really dislike games like battlestar galactica and caverna), you've exposed me to some potentially fun games that I want to try out (churchill, distant plain, and bloc by bloc).
I think you’d really enjoy Sidereal Confluence based off of your China Town, and Terraforming Mars picks. The game has incredible negotiating and a really sweet engine builder built in. Couple that with all players having incredibly asymmetric races/engines, I think this could be a winner for you.
I have heard that before. Engine building + negotiation sounds exactly like my cup of tea.
Just ordered Sidereal Confluence :)
What a great game Sidereal Confluence is. Only played it once, but wow. SOOOOO me.
I'm from Brazil and I love your videos. Very objective and straight to the point. You do the same with this list. I realized we have very similar preferences in games and it gave me a lot of suggestions to take a look. I need to answer about The 7th Continent. Have you ever tried it? It is the most amazing story driven game I have ever played.
My friend has it, at some point I will borrow it off him and play it.
Amazing list - introduced me to a lot!
Any reason why you've left off all Splotter games? Food Chain Magnate, Roads and Boats, or The Great Zimbabwe seem to match up with some of your faves.
Additionally, Here I Stand might be something you could get behind.
Splotter games are..... insanely expensive in Aotearoa/NZ.
Food chain magnate, with its budget looking pieces, costs the same as Gloomhaven or Twilight Imperium. As a result, I have limited exposure to them. FCM is the only one i've played and I didn't think much of it. Games are already many times more expensive in NZ than the UK/EU/US. And 250 bucks for a game that looks like an unfinished prototype really really put me off pursuing any more from that company.
I highly recommend Viticulture and Blood Rage....Awesome in their themes and they have amazing mechanics
What I love about "top 100 games" lists is how they paint a picture of the creator. I must say I am more than impressed by your literacy and complex taste. From heavy Wargames to the lightest of family games, from games dripping with themes to elegant abstracts, from the most popular designs to games I never even heard of.... Heavily competitive, deeply cooperative, intensively interactive, or challenging solitaire, it is all here. I will buy a hat so I can raise it to you.
This might be my fav comment ever. Thank you for the kind words.
I too will buy a hat so i can raise it back .
You have convinced me that I need to own almost every game on this list, as usual with your videos, at this rate I will have to unsubscribe for the sake of my bank account :)
I don't think that traditional war games are for me but I really want to try The Grizzled and This War of Mine but I am not going to get the same experience playing in French. I am tempted to late pledge for Pax Pamir, it would be a bit of a stretch though and I need to check how much text there is - if I can't play it with my groups who don't speak English then I might not play it enough on my own. It's going to be a beautiful game but the shipping could push it out of my reach.
The Grizzled doesn't use much language, its all icons and interactions. Its also a french game so should be easy to get. The art was done by one of the guys who died in the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack
This war is very language intensive though.
Excellent video! How many hours to produce it? Great selection of games and poinant comments!
I'm not sure. A good week or so of evenings. 20 odd hours?
@@3MBG I figured as much. It shows, and the quality and content is much appreciated. Succinct styled - my fav.
Great Video. I m also pretty sure that you will really enjoy trough the ages, a feast for odin and fields of arle.
Couldn't stand through the ages :) Although, i find it very good as an app. But playing it in person was a chore for my group and I.
3 Minute Board Games I’m kind of with you on this one. It feels sooo slow in person compared to the app which is quite fun.
Some of my favourites:
Concordia
Wingspan
Through the Ages
18xx
Viticulture
Mare Nostrum Empires
Imperial 2030
Seeing some of the items you like, you need to play Kingdom Death Monsters, you'll love it! Cooperative, super thematic, dark, and you're just constantly thinking about the mystery that surrounds the world that the game is in. As you play, it also tells the story of the tribe that you built and the culture of that tribe that arises based on your decisions. Such a fantastic game.
It's cost, availability and miniatures are over the top which is a big barrier to entry, but if you ever get the chance, you need to play it.
Cost and time are the big barrier with that one. I also don't like the art style, its a little too desperately edgy, and this is from a guy who at age 13 had his room decorated with posters from HR Giger.
One of my friends who runs a channel, quackalope, is a massive fan. He has all of KDM, like all of it.
3 Minute Board Games the art style actually fits really well with what’s happening in the world. It all makes sense.
Awesome job!
I just encountered your channel, and I really like the brevity, so many boardgaming channels blablabla you to death without giving relevant information. I'm currently looking for a new game, my all time favorite is Battlestar Galactica and it's what we've been playing for 10 years now and it's still good. We're just at the point of spotting the cylons, because a veteran's turn is only 99% efficient, instead of 100%, meaning we constantly need new players so there are accidental suboptimal desicions present.
The boardgaming market seems to have developed into boardgames which you can play solo or where you almost play solo and barely interact with other players. Workerplacement and enginebuilders are notorious for that and while I would enjoy that as a videogame, in gaming groups I find it as entertaining as sitting together on the same couch while everyone quitely reads a book to himself. So, I want something with solid rules, easy to learn, not a ton of unneccessary parts (looking at you arkham horror), player interaction and possibly some intrigue.
Chinatown? Its missing the intrigue part, but simple, solid, and hugely interactive.
Yay you tube suggestions finally gives me a great new channel to sub. With my favourite things combined; Board gaming and NZ. Also I'm rather glad I live currently in Canada, was astounded while back for a trip in Feb how much games cost there! Keep up the great content!
Yeah. I get dizzy eye rolling at people in the EU/US etc complaining about $10 shipping, or that it takes 3 days.
Canada is number 2 on my list of countries I would want to live in. I feel Kiwis and Canadians have an awful lot in common in terms of values and outlook on the world.
Lots in common for sure, just wish the climate was better here. My husband is Canadian and also a board gamer. I’m north enough that we get 9 months of snow a year and shipping usually takes 7 days from Toronto (but yeah free over certain amounts). No way we could have afforded our game collection in NZ, though in a few years will have to pay for the container to ship them there. Also being able to drive to Gen Con is nice, even if it’s a 14 hour drive.
Yeah cons are such a mission for me. When I started the channel I got a lot of "you should pop over to cons and meet publishers" comments from other content creators, and it just annoyed me how everyone assumed I had such deep pockets.
Yup flights to the states don’t come cheap. It’s really hard even for us to justify flight costs for just 5 days. We tend to wrap BGG Con in Texas into bigger 2 week trips, where we travel as well. But yeah we are making the most of it while we live here for sure.
Awesome list! A lot of different games on here that arnt the norm and I appreciate that a lot as it opens up my eyes to games I never knew existed!
Cheers Jason. A lot of people have said similar things. What's some of the games you hadn't thought of or that aren't the norm?
3 Minute Board Games a lot of the war games you have on your list I have never heard off! Also never knew there was a blood bowl card game either. I like that a lot of your games are very thematic and I think I tend to like more thematic games as well.
Ha, cheers. One of the annoyances with the blood bowl card game is its out of print, and may never come back. So tracking it down will be a pain.
3 Minute Board Games don’t have a problem there as I just started tracking down the ffg warhammer conquest game that’s been out of print for a few years and it hasn’t been to bad and I enjoy the hunt! It’s a great game imo if you haven’t checked it out. It reminds me of mtg commander and an area control/resource management game combined.
Good spirit. I spent years completing my Fighting Fantasy game book collection. That was an epic hunt. Good hunting Sir.
This is a great list! I love the balance between Euro, Ameritrash and (kinda) Wargames. If you ever wanna try a heavy economic, try 18xx! It´s one of the most fascinating gaming systems that I´ve ever tried. Thanks for making this list!
Dr. Chang is Bruce Lee. Thanks for a great list and doing it FAST!
Cheers, and yes he is. In fact, almost all the characters in HHH are based on famous people. Dr Lucky from kill doctor lucky is in there as well.