Thanks Luke, Love your enthusiasm. I really like Arnak & Dune Imperium. Surprised to see Whistle Mountain right up there; I haven’t looked at it much as I dismissed it as a weird looking game. Even after watching this video I’m thinking…what is the theme? I mean what are you doing? Making a mountain of machines? Have you covered this in it’s own review video?
There were some interesting designs released in 2020. The 3 that have really continue to impress, for me, are Cosmic Frog, Dinosaur Table Battles, and Versailles 1919. I also can’t forget the good doctor, with My City and Babylonia.
The problem with apps is, for how long will you be able to play that game that needs an app? App stores change policies over the years, the company can decide to stop updating the app to work on the new OS versions, so, having a game that needs an app, it's basically adding a due date to the game. A standard board game is playable until the game pieces disintegrate 😄 Nice list btw 😁
Loving Search for Planet X. My friends Louis & Kat (who you may recognise the names of) picked it up for me at a bring & buy at Dice. My copy came with the upgraded pieces which, although not necessary, are actually really nice to have.
I forgot Viscounts came out last year. I give it an edge over Paladins and Architects myself, but they are each so different. Glad to see someone say something about Kanban EV! I greatly enjoy Lacerda games and would love to add EV to my collection one day (On Mars, Coffee Traders, and Great Western Trail are ahead of it though).
Ok, I'm adding Whistle Mountain to the 'check out' list. I've played about 15-20 games of Lost Ruins. I love the theme and art and the gameplay is engaging. I have found, with experienced players, the luck factor seems to ratchet up quite a bit (which artifacts show up, which guardians show up, etc). I have thought about houseruling a 3 card option when guardians or artifacts or new items come out (draw three, choose one, place on board and the other two on the bottom)
Thanks for sharing! Coffee Traders I've looked at but hearing iffy things about the rulebook makes me not want to attempt to learn such an overwrought game. Also Capstone aren't my favs at the moment as they even unfollowed me on Twitter for no reason which soured me a bit.
@@TheBrokenMeeple Having now read through the rule book for coffee Traders I would say it's not my favorite rulebook but I this far have seen no real issues. Planning to play tonight and we'll see how it all plays out.
After watching this, convinced we prefer the same games and hence wishlist has grown. Neutral on Beyond the Sun. Not a bad game, just not one would pick over others. BGA is actually a good place to learn the game tbh.
Not sure about Honey Buzz being a tip ten. Praga was an interesting first choice as well although I haven't played I watched a playthrough and didn't think much of it at the time. Calico makes sense...more of an Azul type game...but I can see that one being up there base on theme. On Mars I'm very much on board with. Totally disagree with you on learning games on Arena...I love arena for learning games and have learned several games on Arena. Wasn't Isle of cats 2019? Dune Imperium...makes sense. Haven't playing it, have to watch you're thoughts on that one, I have heard folks rave about it. Thanks for presenting this list...loved it :)
Beyond the Sun was fantastic- innovation is so incredibly bad that it, and Glory to Rome are the only two games I’ve said I’ll never play again. Although I like Mottiania. That to say- it doesn’t feel like innovation at all so don’t go in expecting that lol
If you're not burnt out on polyomino games just yet and I assume you're not since Mountain King is on here, I highly suggest checking out Cosmic Colonies. Just jump straight to the "advanced" mode. It's a really cool mix of card drafting and polyomino tile placement. It's high up on my 2020 list.
Hope you're feeling better Luke. Still want to try Tekhenu, (and lol... love Trajan!), the top one deserve to be the #1, I know a lot of people might not agree, oh well....😜
Probably a shortlist of about 20? Obviously more games were played, but when it comes to a Top 10 I only even remotely consider the highest rated among them.
Beyond the Sun might be too dry for you. It does look bad, and I do think it's still a good game, but the theme... isn't really there, unless the theme is to spend resources to research. :D I quite liked your top overall. Tekhenu, Viscounts, Whistle Mountain, and Arnak are all good to great games IMO. And I hear you about Dune: I really wanted to love it, but it's just an 8 (or maybe 7?) for me. Aaaand I also agree with you about On Mars: way too difficult to grok for its own good.
Paladins is the WK game my wife is most interested in based on the play through she watched. We haven't played any of them so I'll be happy to try one (or all) of them as soon as I can.
It’s been a whole year of board gamers comparing Dune: Imperium and Lost Ruins of Arnak and after playing them I feel like these comparisons are pure bollocks. They might share some mechanics but they’re totally different games with a totally different feel to playing them. Don’t get me wrong, Lost Ruins of Arnak is great, and is probably my 4th favorite game of 2020. But Dune Imperium is just one of the best games ever made, not just from 2020, where it’s my favorite that year. I know you love being a contrarian though :)
Lol, I have found too many issues with Dune after many plays to call it best game of all - my cull video goes into more detail, but I think many fans overlook these critical issues in the game. But I agree, I don't get the comparison of the two either.
@@TheBrokenMeeple mostly the blind faith of a boardgamer in the long list of kickstarters and preorders me and my buddies have. It very well may be poorly placed trust on my part. Of stuff out so far After the Empire, Lawyer Up, Brew, and Tortuga 2199 have been hits for me I will admit many others this year have been a miss for me
I agree with the no. 1 except the good production part. How is it a good production? Some of the bits are cool 3D plastic bits but others are cardboard. The cards are insanely thin and warp very easily. There is no insert to everything will just tumble around that big box.
I got a Folded Space insert but even before that, they were fine in baggies and most games can't do a good insert. But yeah the pieces are either wooden meeples or cool plastic bits. The art work is sublime, the cards I actually found to be quite sturdy until the point I sleeved them anyway and you've got big chunky tiles for the monsters and locations.
I haven't played whistle mountain yet, but I was rather disappointed by Ruins of Arnak. I played it live online during Spiel digital. I really enjoyed it at first, but it got pretty dull after like 5 plays. My current highscore on bga is 106 points and I noticed that actually spending resources for exploring is just a waste of time. If you spend compasses to explore new locations, then it is just to punishing. It is just better to let other players do the exploration and just focus on climbing the track. I really like the game, but I hope they will fix these issues with expansions.
Shame about Arnak, though I find exploring is still good, after all, those idols are really handy and compasses aren't that difficult to get hold of if you pick up a few cards to help.
Beyond the sun has a great cover and it is a wonderful tech tree game but yes is horrible, my recommendation try it first at 3 as it can fall in the too long category, iirc what you say of terraforming mars
In you #1, does it say Should have won Kennerspiel under the label? Yes, it should have won. Kenner is a joke. It's not an advanced game. It's a family game.
Disagree in arnak for kennerspiel. I love paleo and I felt it was very deserving. I’ve played arnak a half dozen times and I really dislike it quite alot.
Yeah I know, it's easy to do with these ones especially when you know you're not going out all day....... Actually I mean this was a cunning plan to distinguish this video from the last list...... 😁
Thanks Luke! Really looking forward to your eventual review of Beyond the Sun.
I doubt it would get a full review, but at least impressions but first it needs to exist in the UK!
@@TheBrokenMeeple Why not a full review? It's widely acclaimed. Hope it gets your full attention. But I understand, your time is limited.
@@CarlosRodriguez-ez3ls That and no copy exists in the UK. If I can get a proper copy then I'll certainly try!
Beyond the Sun is fantastic
i think viscounts is probably going to appear on my top ten aswel great video luke Stay Hexy!
Viscounts is great!
Great list, Luke! I own several of these that I have yet to play. Maybe they will finally hit the table this year.
I have a shelf of shame too!...😉
@@wl5609 Shelf of Opportunity, not Shame! lol
Thanks Stasia Doster! Appreciate it!
Thanks Luke,
Love your enthusiasm.
I really like Arnak & Dune Imperium.
Surprised to see Whistle Mountain right up there; I haven’t looked at it much as I dismissed it as a weird looking game. Even after watching this video I’m thinking…what is the theme? I mean what are you doing? Making a mountain of machines?
Have you covered this in it’s own review video?
Yep back in March I did a full review. 👍
Back in my day every game had "sound bases" we just called it our mouth. :P
Always fun to see a retrospective list.
Yeah with so many games at the end of the year, a retrospective list is now mandatory.
The bit about kennerspiel is hidden by the number/name.
Lost Ruins was my #1 of 2020, followed by Calico and The Grand Carnival. I do own Whistle Mountain, but haven't played it yet. Must play it now.
YES INDEED! Not even seen Grand Carnival.
There were some interesting designs released in 2020. The 3 that have really continue to impress, for me, are Cosmic Frog, Dinosaur Table Battles, and Versailles 1919. I also can’t forget the good doctor, with My City and Babylonia.
Dinosaur what?! :P
Under Falling Skies is on my list to grab. I love solos especially with Corona still raging.
The problem with apps is, for how long will you be able to play that game that needs an app? App stores change policies over the years, the company can decide to stop updating the app to work on the new OS versions, so, having a game that needs an app, it's basically adding a due date to the game. A standard board game is playable until the game pieces disintegrate 😄
Nice list btw 😁
Apps in this day and age will keep working for years yet.
awesome list.. yeap need to play arnak more to figure it out to get high scores.. any thoughts on why paleo won the kennerspiel
Because the awards committee have no concept of their own categories?
Awesome content as always, keep up
Appreciate it!
Clicked solely because I saw Tekhenu on the thumbnail. I honestly haven’t been keeping up with all the new boardgames coming out. It’s just too much.
Don't blame you, always too many!
Loving Search for Planet X. My friends Louis & Kat (who you may recognise the names of) picked it up for me at a bring & buy at Dice.
My copy came with the upgraded pieces which, although not necessary, are actually really nice to have.
I agree! This was the game I was hoping Alchemists would be!
Yeah this and Cryptid make for good deduction games that aren't too complex.
Loved it!!
By the way, have you done a review or 1st impression video for Isle of cats?
A full review, no I don't believe so. Bit late to the party.
That's ok 😂 All I need to know is whether you will be keeping it 😉
@@yovankablack6250 Ha ha yes! :P
I forgot Viscounts came out last year. I give it an edge over Paladins and Architects myself, but they are each so different. Glad to see someone say something about Kanban EV! I greatly enjoy Lacerda games and would love to add EV to my collection one day (On Mars, Coffee Traders, and Great Western Trail are ahead of it though).
Ok, I'm adding Whistle Mountain to the 'check out' list. I've played about 15-20 games of Lost Ruins. I love the theme and art and the gameplay is engaging. I have found, with experienced players, the luck factor seems to ratchet up quite a bit (which artifacts show up, which guardians show up, etc). I have thought about houseruling a 3 card option when guardians or artifacts or new items come out (draw three, choose one, place on board and the other two on the bottom)
Thanks for sharing! Coffee Traders I've looked at but hearing iffy things about the rulebook makes me not want to attempt to learn such an overwrought game. Also Capstone aren't my favs at the moment as they even unfollowed me on Twitter for no reason which soured me a bit.
@@TheBrokenMeeple Having now read through the rule book for coffee Traders I would say it's not my favorite rulebook but I this far have seen no real issues. Planning to play tonight and we'll see how it all plays out.
After watching this, convinced we prefer the same games and hence wishlist has grown. Neutral on Beyond the Sun. Not a bad game, just not one would pick over others. BGA is actually a good place to learn the game tbh.
Thanks Shannon Low! Appreciate it! With BGA I can't manipulate any pieces though.
@@TheBrokenMeeple yeh it ain't the same but atleast it saves money to try and being a rules lawyer it's perfect 🙂
Not sure about Honey Buzz being a tip ten. Praga was an interesting first choice as well although I haven't played I watched a playthrough and didn't think much of it at the time. Calico makes sense...more of an Azul type game...but I can see that one being up there base on theme. On Mars I'm very much on board with. Totally disagree with you on learning games on Arena...I love arena for learning games and have learned several games on Arena. Wasn't Isle of cats 2019? Dune Imperium...makes sense. Haven't playing it, have to watch you're thoughts on that one, I have heard folks rave about it. Thanks for presenting this list...loved it :)
Isle of Cats is a bit like Mountain King, I think for many it came out like start of the year even though it was fulfilled in 2019.
I love beyond the sun, it’s vying for my number one game of all time (vs innovation)
If it's got an Innovation vibe I should probably like it.
Beyond the Sun was fantastic- innovation is so incredibly bad that it, and Glory to Rome are the only two games I’ve said I’ll never play again. Although I like Mottiania.
That to say- it doesn’t feel like innovation at all so don’t go in expecting that lol
If you're not burnt out on polyomino games just yet and I assume you're not since Mountain King is on here, I highly suggest checking out Cosmic Colonies. Just jump straight to the "advanced" mode. It's a really cool mix of card drafting and polyomino tile placement. It's high up on my 2020 list.
I'm cool with polyomino games that have a unique twist!
Have not played any version of Kanban. Is it better to play with mean Sandra or nice Sandra?
Mean Sandra is the better game, but in the new version they balanced Nice Sandra so you couldn't exploit it completely.
@@TheBrokenMeeple Thank you for the quick response. We seem to have similar tastes in games other than a couple exceptions.
I predict you are not going to like Beyond the Sun, but that you are going to have a lot of fun ranting about it :)
Ha ha, either way it's entertaining!
Excellent list, great games from 10 to 1
Glad you like them!
Hope you're feeling better Luke. Still want to try Tekhenu, (and lol... love Trajan!), the top one deserve to be the #1, I know a lot of people might not agree, oh well....😜
Ha ha glad you agree! And yes thanks I'm back at 100% again 😁👍
Sorry if this has been said, but could you give an estimate out of how MANY games these came in top 10?
Probably a shortlist of about 20? Obviously more games were played, but when it comes to a Top 10 I only even remotely consider the highest rated among them.
Rocking that inside out shirt look 🤓🤪
So you can tell the two lists apart! 😁
Lol good spin
Beyond the Sun might be too dry for you. It does look bad, and I do think it's still a good game, but the theme... isn't really there, unless the theme is to spend resources to research. :D
I quite liked your top overall. Tekhenu, Viscounts, Whistle Mountain, and Arnak are all good to great games IMO. And I hear you about Dune: I really wanted to love it, but it's just an 8 (or maybe 7?) for me. Aaaand I also agree with you about On Mars: way too difficult to grok for its own good.
Well Innovation is bone dry and a tech tree game and i love that one!
But if you had easy access to Both Mysterium AND MP, which would you generally go to?
Go with Mysterium park…easy to get to the table ,easy setup
MP is easier yes, base Mysterium does have more variety though.
Paladins is an amazing game. It is my favorite of the three.
Nooooooooo, Architects and Viscounts first!
Paladins is the WK game my wife is most interested in based on the play through she watched. We haven't played any of them so I'll be happy to try one (or all) of them as soon as I can.
Ohh yeah I knew it, you were gonna like ITHOTMK. Up to 7th place, thats cool. Sadly you removed Merv, which I found pretty good at 2
Rarely play games at 2 - Merv was decent, just a bit too dry and a little one-note for me.
It’s been a whole year of board gamers comparing Dune: Imperium and Lost Ruins of Arnak and after playing them I feel like these comparisons are pure bollocks. They might share some mechanics but they’re totally different games with a totally different feel to playing them. Don’t get me wrong, Lost Ruins of Arnak is great, and is probably my 4th favorite game of 2020. But Dune Imperium is just one of the best games ever made, not just from 2020, where it’s my favorite that year. I know you love being a contrarian though :)
Lol, I have found too many issues with Dune after many plays to call it best game of all - my cull video goes into more detail, but I think many fans overlook these critical issues in the game. But I agree, I don't get the comparison of the two either.
Is your polo inside out?
Apparently! But they're so comfy, you just throw it on and it feels no different! :P
Two things...
#1. Lost Ruins is 100% fantastic, and deserves the crowning spot.
#2. Is your top inside out?
Yes and yes 😅
2020 was overall a decent year quite a few solid games though 2021 is shaping up to be a really good year
What's out in 2021 that's faciliated that thought?
@@TheBrokenMeeple mostly the blind faith of a boardgamer in the long list of kickstarters and preorders me and my buddies have. It very well may be poorly placed trust on my part. Of stuff out so far After the Empire, Lawyer Up, Brew, and Tortuga 2199 have been hits for me I will admit many others this year have been a miss for me
Also for me Nidavellir and Project L weren’t available until 2021 though they are considered 2020 on BGG
So 8 Dune fans disliked the video huh? Or are you some of those out to get me? Answer!!! 😜
Which of these would you recommend for 2-players?
Whistle Mountain is good with 2.
@@TheBrokenMeeple Thanks, I’ll check out a video.
Check out my one!
@@TheBrokenMeeple Now I know you have one, I will! 🙂
Great list!
Thanks Emilia M! Appreciate it!
IN THE HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING
But was it valid?
Concoooooordiiiiiaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!
Seriously, Paladins is the best one of the series.
Noooooo! We played Architects today expanded with 5 players in 62 min post teach, you just can't top that!
@@TheBrokenMeeple that's actually pretty good... I play mostly 2 players. Paladins shines at 2.
Someone still needs to play Forgotten Waters… 🙂
Ha ha yes....
Just read a pirate choose your own adventure and leave the occasional decision up to a roll of a die. Saved you 60 bucks.
I agree with the no. 1 except the good production part. How is it a good production? Some of the bits are cool 3D plastic bits but others are cardboard. The cards are insanely thin and warp very easily. There is no insert to everything will just tumble around that big box.
I got a Folded Space insert but even before that, they were fine in baggies and most games can't do a good insert. But yeah the pieces are either wooden meeples or cool plastic bits. The art work is sublime, the cards I actually found to be quite sturdy until the point I sleeved them anyway and you've got big chunky tiles for the monsters and locations.
I haven't played whistle mountain yet, but I was rather disappointed by Ruins of Arnak. I played it live online during Spiel digital. I really enjoyed it at first, but it got pretty dull after like 5 plays. My current highscore on bga is 106 points and I noticed that actually spending resources for exploring is just a waste of time. If you spend compasses to explore new locations, then it is just to punishing. It is just better to let other players do the exploration and just focus on climbing the track. I really like the game, but I hope they will fix these issues with expansions.
Shame about Arnak, though I find exploring is still good, after all, those idols are really handy and compasses aren't that difficult to get hold of if you pick up a few cards to help.
Beyond the sun has a great cover and it is a wonderful tech tree game but yes is horrible, my recommendation try it first at 3 as it can fall in the too long category, iirc what you say of terraforming mars
Noted, thanks!
Viscounts, 10 rounds before the game ends we feel as if the game should already be over. Traded it for Palaces of Mad King.
10 rounds?! Haven't heard much buzz for Palaces.
In you #1, does it say Should have won Kennerspiel under the label? Yes, it should have won. Kenner is a joke. It's not an advanced game. It's a family game.
Yes, bad timing! :P
Disagree in arnak for kennerspiel. I love paleo and I felt it was very deserving. I’ve played arnak a half dozen times and I really dislike it quite alot.
Fair enough but don't you agree that Paleo doesn't fit in Kennerspiel as a category?
Shirt inside out ^
It's hot, I wasn't going out in public anyway 😂
@@TheBrokenMeeple
Thanks for not going ‘skins’😂
Dune Imperium beats the crap out of Arnak on BGG (Rank 37 versus 57). Beyond the Sun is also better than Losers of Arnak.
Never trust BGG anyway 😁😁😁
@@TheBrokenMeeple Who to trust then? :>
I played beyond the sun a couple of times, but its really good. Its a nice mix of mechanics and it has its very specific atmosphere. I love it!
It's high on my try list, if I ever see it!
Your shirt is on inside out.
Yeah I know, it's easy to do with these ones especially when you know you're not going out all day....... Actually I mean this was a cunning plan to distinguish this video from the last list...... 😁
First :D