I am fortunate enough to have a local board game group that meets every Tuesday. A couple weeks ago I brought Brass Birmingham to play with 3 of my friends. We were the only group sitting quietly and thinking very hard while everyone around us was laughing and carrying on. People playing light games get to be merry and free while I sit in a corner saying "The iron market is favorable." Yet I still love my heavy games
I love heavy games too! Here would be my top ten games of the moment that have a BGG weight of 4+: 10. Trickerion (4.25) - You know when you have a 20-page booklet as a player aid that there’s a lot to think about! But the main gameplay is fun and easy. 9. Arkwright (4.59) - Only played this once, but I thought it was charming. I didn’t find it as difficult as some of the other games on this list (or even lower than 4 on BGG), but then again, I didn’t exactly win. 😂 8. Coffee Traders (4.22) - Great game that seems to blend some mechanics I don’t like into working together in ways that I still think are great. 7. Age of Innovation (4.25) - Basically just Terra Mystica but with neutral buildings, innovation tiles, books, lots of replayability with modular boards … okay, it has a lot more in the box! But I like it a lot! 6. Golem (4.00) - This one got critically panned, and I never would have chosen to play it given the garish box art. However, what I found was a great engine builder with neat track mechanics and a theme that was lightly but thoughtfully applied. 5. Nucleum (4.15) - The more I play this game, the more I appreciate it. The action selection in this game is just genius, and it’s my favourite of the Brass/Autobahn genre, though I love those games too. I am eager to try the expansion and see what a different map can do! 4. Voidfall (4.63) - Talking of games I thought I would hate (after Golem), Voidfall had all the looks of a 4X space game with aggressive dice combat, excessive miniatures, and dice luck, and it turns out that it has none of those things. It’s really quite an elegant, strategic game with many Euro-like mechanics, and it’s just fun! Most of the time you’re attacking aliens rather than each other anyway, and the fights are all deterministic so you can plan for victories in advance. This was a huge, pleasant surprise! 3. Evacuation (4.00) - I’ve been a fan of Suchý’s since Underwater Cities, but this may just be his best game yet. Played it last night again and had a great time! I like how it has modules and variants built in so that you can play it the way you like. 2. Inventions: Evolution of Ideas (4.68) - This game is just a triumph. It’s so fun and interesting, and it never feels like the same game twice. I do find myself discovering new rules I missed last time 😂 but I have brought this game to so many things recently that my friends are starting to question my sanity! Such a great game! 1. Scholars of the South Tigris (4.06) - I teach in another language as my job, and I love colour theory, so the theme of this one was an easy sell for me! I also love it mechanically: usually I don’t love games that have this much interaction, but because there are so many moving parts that different people can control, there are usually still beneficial things for you to do by the time it comes around to your turn. It made #1 on my last Top 50 list. So good! Thanks for your lists! I’ll have to try Lisboa, Lignum, Madeira, and Small City!
Another great list! Mine would be something like this: 10) Darwin's Journey 9) Merchant's Cove 8) Rajas of the Ganges 7) Unsettled 6) Hegemony 5) Brass 4) Spirit Island 3) Lisboa 2) Dwellings of Eldervale 1) Ark Nova I haven't tried voidfall and Kanban yet, and from what you guys said in this video, both seem fantastic.
Voidfall is the greatest game I ever traded. We played, looked at each other, and said “Wow. That was amazing. I’m glad we played. Umm… I never want to do that again.” 😅 Great lists! Really enjoyed it.
Calling A Feast for Odin not that heavy is actually something I strongly agree with! It has the perception of being very heavy due to the number of worker placement spots but so many of them are just variants of a theme that its not as bad as it first looks. Medium weight euros are my sweet spot and AFfO absolutely fits there for me. Nice lists :)
I do think that weight is an interesting measure because you can say some games are heavy bexause of their rule set such as the Gallerist which has lots of information to remember when you start. While other games have in game decisions that are difficult to understand until you see the game state and the effect of others decisions. This creates dichotomy where a game could be heavy to start playing but not that heavy in a turn, while other games you feel like they have weighty decisions every turn even if the rules seem straightforward.
My top in this category would be: 1. Root (not very heavy, but the hardest learning curve I've experienced). 2. Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization. 3. John Company 2nd edition. 4. Mage Knight. 5. Pax Renaissance. 6. Gaia Project. 7. Gloomhaven. 8. Sid Meier's Civilization. 9. Pax Pamir. 10. The War of the Ring (this may be harder for some people, but I've played it so many times that I don't remember learning it anymore 😅). Great content guys!
Excellent and entertaining video. Several of the games I have never heard of -> learned a few things... Great! Others I really miss in this list. However there are so many games out there - such a ranking will always be subjective. Left you an Abo and hope to see more from you!
Nice to see you redoing this list :) When I played Madeira and also Lisboa within the same week, I had to conclude that "older" games are rated a lot heavier than in the more recent years. I feel like both games would be at like 3.5 now. For example Dani Garcia's Barcelona sits at 3.35 and I feel like it is heavier than either of those. But the 1.0 rule books of Maderia and also Lisboa are pretty, uhm, let's say difficult to read and that might contribute to the perceived weight. I didn't play enough heavier games the last few years, so I can't really put a top 10 list together, so I will just mention some that I enjoy ordered by times played using the 3.8 rule, even thought it feels wrong with quite a few games (e.g. how is Darwin's Journey a 3.9 whilst Tiletum is 3.4 and Beyond the Sun a 3.1?!) Maracaibo Tekhenu Barrage GWT: NZ Sabika Era of Tribes Evacuation Imperial Steam Thanks for the video! :)
IMHO, the best games are long and involved, that is, hard to teach and hard to get to the table. My favorite is "Die Macher." I got it to the table once, with six players, and it was an all-day affair. Everyone said they finished with a headache, but nobody had any other complaints. It's a huge commitment, though. Most of the games you mentioned are high on my list. You got me looking for a copy of Cooper Island and maybe Voidfall.
From your beginning you made my day happier, better, and brighter. You still do, thank you. I hope someday I can repay it somehow. What a great distraction to have from American politics.
Ohhh. I like this list. Sometimes they seem overwhelming, but when you settle in, they hit! Brass is on my shelf of shame right now but it's coming off soon!
Brass is much lighter than other games on this list or BGG rating suggesting. But I would recommend printing an excellent, one page summary you can find from BGG file section.
Great lists (I’d have 4 in common with Johannes and 5 with Sunniva). Haven’t played Lignum or Madeira yet but would like to try both. Really expected Johannes to mention Feudum, but there are a lot of brilliant heavy games.
When you said "The game with the most setup ever" I instantly thought of Voidfall. Haha! As for your #1 game, Johannes, that would be my #1 game as well. Let's get it to the table one day.
Great list idea! Some of these games I haven't played or even heard of so it gives me some research to do. Thank you! My top ten heavy games, using your BGG 3.8 criteria: 10. Sankoré: The Pride of Mansa Musa (4.12) 9. Scholars of the South Tigris (4.05) 8. The Great Wall (3.92) 7. Ezra and Nehemiah (3.81) 6. Nucleum (4.14) 5. Weather Machine (4.60) 4. Sabika (3.85) 3. Inventors of the South Tigris (4.24) 2. Voidfall (4.63) 1. Wayfarers of the South Tigris (3.80) Honourable mentions to Anachrony (which would have been 11) and Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy (which would have been 5 but has a BGG weight of 3.77).
You’re so correct how the weight or heaviness of a game is relative to the players’ experience. I remember the first couple times playing GWT, 2nd Ed thinking this was WAY over my head. Now it pretty much bores me.
Good list! For me, a heavy game is if I start to get headaches because the decisions are so difficult to make 😀 Some favourites: Antiquity, Indonesia, Kanban EV, Evacuation, John Company 2nd Edition, Horseless Carriage … by the way: Small City Deluxe Edition unfortunately had quite some production issues, worst cutting-offset I've seen in years. The graphics were like 2-3mm off centre on some tiles.
I would argue that Brass is a heavy game but many of us are so familiar with it and the theme is very well integtated. I feel the depth of decision making / planning is what makes it heavy to me.
For Hegemony: Which coins are you using instead of the original paper tokens? Lisboa: Played it once. Lost because I didn’t have enough people in this specific place in order to do actions. We didn’t finish at all and I don’t want to ever try it again 😂 Kanban EV looks much more streamlined and more accessible imo. Thanks for the video!
For me, heavy game is any game that has 50+ pages rulebook, takes ages to setup and clean up and it takes better half of the day to play it thru. That being said. I'm not really fan of heavy games. Most of them feel like they are complicated just for the sake of being complicated. There's ton of "fast to learn" and/or "fast to setup" games out there that can offer a lot of fun and challenge. And since wife and I got kids I appreciate those kind of games even more.
I cut two games that would have made my list (Tramways and Crystal Palace) because the BGG weight is 3.79 and I am following your criteria strictly: 1. Voidfall, 2. The Great Wall, 3. Kanban, 4. Cooper Island, 5. Nucleum, 6. Barrage, 7. Pipeline, 8. On Mars, 9. Trickerion, 10. The Colonists
I recently subscribed and have learned many new things about board gaming. I just bought three of Lacerda's games because of your reviews, but this has given me a new challenge: Table Space. I want to get a board game table, but am unsure of the size. In your personal experience, what size table would you recommend for a Lacerda game with an average of three players?
Hey :) Welcome to the channel! We’re so happy to hear you’re enjoying what we do, and are learning new things about this fantastic hobby! We have a big Geeknson Table that we are very happy with, but it was also very expensive. Our table is 120cm c 200cm, and will hopefully have space for all games ever. A friend has the smaller one from Geeknson, and that is also no problem. If you ha e specific questions, please let me know :)
I think this would be my top 5. Most of the games in my top 20 fall into that 4+ range on BGG. 1 - Voidfall 2 - Spirit Island 3 - On Mars 4 - Tekhenu (with expansion) 5 - Nucleum
So my nunber one game of all time is voidfall. But it is lighter than my number 2. Which is maybe the heaviest game of all time: Europa Universalis: Price of power. Highly recommend that to you. Should be a 5 in heaviness on bgg. Best PC game an the Board Game ist also really great. But 1 game can last over 20 hours. 1 round lasts like 4h. So its the definition of hard to get to the Table. 😅
My quick and dirty definition of a heavy game is either a game that has very significant rules overhead, or an extremely difficult set of mechanics in order to accomplish goals or score points.
On the other end of it, though... it doesn't make any sense to call Chess or Go 'light' games. Point being that 'Heavy' can/should refer to more than just rules overhead or multiplicity of mechanisms.
Oh... so many... Spirit Island, Mage Knight, Food Chain Magnate, Anachrony, Dominant Species, Lisboa, Gallerist, Kanban EV, Trickerion, Frostpunk, Madeira, Arkwright, High Frontier, John Company, Bios: Origins, 18xx series of games, Pax Ren, .... Too Many Bones....Cloud Spire....
Which of these games would you play preferably at 2 players? Most of these if not all seem to play best at 3-4. That was actually a great list that I really enjoyed! My Top 3: 1. Spirit Island 2. Anachrony 3. Tekhenu
Glad you enjoyed it! And yes, most of these would probably be best at more players. With that said, I prefer A Feast for Odin with 2 players. These are also all great at 2: -Evacuation -Lisboa -Age of Innovation -Cooper Island Probably more as well, but these are the oes I thought of first.
@BoardGamingRamblings you enjoyed Lisboa at 2? That's awesome! I have not played this game yet but I thought it was a "4-player only" kind of game. Age of Innovation was also fun for me at 2 and that's a major improvement compared to the previous two editions.
So my main criterium is complexity.: How many heavy mechanisms and options are in a game and how they are connected. For example the mechanisms in Lisboa are simple but it has a lot of options which are connected with a high complexity. How hard it is to get points or things isn't a criterium for me actually.
What is a heavy game? Great question. 3.8 is pretty good, I think of anything above 3.50 as heavy. I consider 4.00 to be the start of super heavy, not for everybody. But aside from BGG ratings? Hmm, lots of component interaction, multiple paths to victory, tough decisions. If it seems impossible to do everything you want before the end of the game (I'm thinking of you Ark Nova) or you're holding your head in your hands, you're probably playing a heavy game. Usually at least a 2 hour game, minimum 90 minutes. It doesn't have to be extremely long but not a short rulebook. Last subjective thought on the question, if you need to plan a few turns ahead, particularly because some actions have prerequisite conditions.
@@BoardGamingRamblings means you have a lot of fun ahead! I very much recommend them all. also, my deepest sympathies to one who will read the rules of #1 & 2 ;)
Do you like Arkwright over City of the Big Shoulders? I played CBS first a couple times then played Arkwright and it was meh. I can see how they borrowed the mechanics and made it better. Also recommend Trismegistus, On Mars, Coffee Traders (4p-5p), and Unconscious Mind!
I'm going to write all these down and keep the list so I know what games I never want to play! I've pretty much determined over the years that any game with a difficulty rating of over 3.5 is an absolute hard no for me. Between 3 and 3.5 I'll play if I like the theme or maybe the mechanics, but over 3.5 is more than my poor brain can handle!
The mention of Madeira stings as I unfortunately backed the reprint years (2019) ago. So far the only board game that never deliverd, and sadly never will. :(
These game are heavy games by mainstream standards, no doubt, but there are much, much heavier board games. You just have to take a detour from Euro-style games into board wargames. At least half of the wargames available from GMT, Compass, Decision Games, etc. are heavier board games than anything presented here. But I, too, am a big fan of Arkwright!
Weather Machine is our least favorite Lacerda game. We usually love his games (we have 5 of his games in our current Top 100), but this one was just dull and unfulfilling. Hegemony was a game I particularly didn't like - we played it twice, and it felt a bit scripted. Not sure I'm willing to give it another chance... My favorite heavy games, that you didn't mention, are Eclipse 2nd Dawn, Caylus, Die Macher and Dominant Species (I haven't played Marine yet). Still, Arkwright is my favorite heavy game.
Great list. Especially i like high rated Kanban, like it too. But i cant get 1 moment - why Hegemony for you "so heavy". It is just overhype crap, and definitely much easier, then almost all other games in your list. It play in itself, and players do repetative boring actions over and over
You are of course allowed to not like Hegemony, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good game! Loads of people like it, so I guess that should amount to something, even though you disagree :) I am just happy that there are amazing games out there for everyone, and I love that we have different tastes :)
A top 10 heavy games list that doesn't include 1817...or any 18xx for that matter, really? No COIN games either? No Pax games? That said, these midweight games you've chosen are good games that I really enjoy playing.
I love this hobby! Everyonoe has so different feelings for different games! I like a few 18xx games, but the ones I have played aren't heavier than these ones. Sunniva doesn't really like 18xx at all. COIN is something we haven't even looked into, as war games are usually not for us :)
I can never get them to the table. I purchase them for my pleasure and play them solo even if they require more people. I use a lazy Susan to play. 👍👍👍
So... Weather Machine? ... You say the interaction was increased. Do you mean player interaction? (Because, his games can suffer from lack thereof). Or do you mean the intricacy of mechanisms?
I wish I would love Lisboa more. But the shipping and resource value track both feel so underdeveloped for my taste. I will never understand why the resource value ever only goes down. I will also never understand why the ship aspect feels so tacked on. I would play Kanban EV over Lisboa any time of the day because every aspect feels like it needs to be exactly where it is
@@BoardGamingRamblings I've been following you for a while and I value your suggestions 😊 That's why I'd like to hear about more games on the same list. It's no secret that you play and like the same games, so... unavoidable crossovers. Speaking of which - I don't remember if you ever did a Divisive Top 10 (games one likes, but the other dislikes).
I hope you have tried 18xx at least, because I’d take issue with people that claim to be heavy gamers but haven’t even played anything from that subset of games.
The list of top heavy games, without at least: 1. Robinson Crusoe 2. Frostpunk 3. Gaia Project 4. Cloudspire? Sorry, no. You should definitely play Gaia, before comparing it to Age of Innovation. And try Stellar Horizons and Hoplomachus. There's more to gaming than Lacerda.
We don’t love a lot of coops, and we don’t play solo, so there goes three of them for us, hehe :) I have played Gaia Project 8 times, and love it to bits, but it didn’t fit on this list for me! :) Glad we can all have our own favorites 🥳
@@BoardGamingRamblings , you are entitled to like your games. That's fine. Title of the video should be then "Top 10 heavy games we like/prefer", not just "Top 10 heavy games". I was under the impression you were making a commercial for Lacerda by overlooking some great game designs. There are people watching your clips who are actually going to try some of these games out. And I think it's a shame not to mention these really iconic designs - no matter whether someone likes them personally or not.
@ Everything we do on our channel is gonna be our tastes and choices :) That is the premise of 99,99% of all boars game top lists from creators, so we don’t feel any need to specify any more than we do in the video! :)
I am fortunate enough to have a local board game group that meets every Tuesday. A couple weeks ago I brought Brass Birmingham to play with 3 of my friends. We were the only group sitting quietly and thinking very hard while everyone around us was laughing and carrying on. People playing light games get to be merry and free while I sit in a corner saying "The iron market is favorable." Yet I still love my heavy games
I love heavy games too! Here would be my top ten games of the moment that have a BGG weight of 4+:
10. Trickerion (4.25) - You know when you have a 20-page booklet as a player aid that there’s a lot to think about! But the main gameplay is fun and easy.
9. Arkwright (4.59) - Only played this once, but I thought it was charming. I didn’t find it as difficult as some of the other games on this list (or even lower than 4 on BGG), but then again, I didn’t exactly win. 😂
8. Coffee Traders (4.22) - Great game that seems to blend some mechanics I don’t like into working together in ways that I still think are great.
7. Age of Innovation (4.25) - Basically just Terra Mystica but with neutral buildings, innovation tiles, books, lots of replayability with modular boards … okay, it has a lot more in the box! But I like it a lot!
6. Golem (4.00) - This one got critically panned, and I never would have chosen to play it given the garish box art. However, what I found was a great engine builder with neat track mechanics and a theme that was lightly but thoughtfully applied.
5. Nucleum (4.15) - The more I play this game, the more I appreciate it. The action selection in this game is just genius, and it’s my favourite of the Brass/Autobahn genre, though I love those games too. I am eager to try the expansion and see what a different map can do!
4. Voidfall (4.63) - Talking of games I thought I would hate (after Golem), Voidfall had all the looks of a 4X space game with aggressive dice combat, excessive miniatures, and dice luck, and it turns out that it has none of those things. It’s really quite an elegant, strategic game with many Euro-like mechanics, and it’s just fun! Most of the time you’re attacking aliens rather than each other anyway, and the fights are all deterministic so you can plan for victories in advance. This was a huge, pleasant surprise!
3. Evacuation (4.00) - I’ve been a fan of Suchý’s since Underwater Cities, but this may just be his best game yet. Played it last night again and had a great time! I like how it has modules and variants built in so that you can play it the way you like.
2. Inventions: Evolution of Ideas (4.68) - This game is just a triumph. It’s so fun and interesting, and it never feels like the same game twice. I do find myself discovering new rules I missed last time 😂 but I have brought this game to so many things recently that my friends are starting to question my sanity! Such a great game!
1. Scholars of the South Tigris (4.06) - I teach in another language as my job, and I love colour theory, so the theme of this one was an easy sell for me! I also love it mechanically: usually I don’t love games that have this much interaction, but because there are so many moving parts that different people can control, there are usually still beneficial things for you to do by the time it comes around to your turn. It made #1 on my last Top 50 list. So good!
Thanks for your lists! I’ll have to try Lisboa, Lignum, Madeira, and Small City!
I wish I had friends like you guys to play my heavy games with lol
They are harder to get to the table, but I do love them! 🤩
Same here. I play solo friendly heavy games mostly for this reason
Me too. I feel for you. I’m forced to play the solo versions for all my heavy games.
The same here
lol me too
Another great list! Mine would be something like this:
10) Darwin's Journey
9) Merchant's Cove
8) Rajas of the Ganges
7) Unsettled
6) Hegemony
5) Brass
4) Spirit Island
3) Lisboa
2) Dwellings of Eldervale
1) Ark Nova
I haven't tried voidfall and Kanban yet, and from what you guys said in this video, both seem fantastic.
Voidfall is the greatest game I ever traded. We played, looked at each other, and said “Wow. That was amazing. I’m glad we played. Umm… I never want to do that again.” 😅
Great lists! Really enjoyed it.
Calling A Feast for Odin not that heavy is actually something I strongly agree with! It has the perception of being very heavy due to the number of worker placement spots but so many of them are just variants of a theme that its not as bad as it first looks. Medium weight euros are my sweet spot and AFfO absolutely fits there for me.
Nice lists :)
Great video, especially loved the crossover hands when your closest arms interweave to do the wave : awesomeness 😉
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it 😁
Great list and your Top Lacerda’s on this list are the ones I developed :)
So how much do you developers contribute that isn't credited to you?
Thank you for all the work 🤩
Well now I need to go and play Evacuation. Thanks both. Great video.
Hope you’ll like it! Happy to hear you enjoyed the video 🥳
@BoardGamingRamblings I'm definitely loving Johannes's picks; except Arkwright. ❎
I do think that weight is an interesting measure because you can say some games are heavy bexause of their rule set such as the Gallerist which has lots of information to remember when you start. While other games have in game decisions that are difficult to understand until you see the game state and the effect of others decisions. This creates dichotomy where a game could be heavy to start playing but not that heavy in a turn, while other games you feel like they have weighty decisions every turn even if the rules seem straightforward.
Yes! So many different ways to make a game heavy!
I picked up Lignum base on the recommendation on your previous heavy games recommendations. My wife and I both love it.
It always makes me happy to hear this! 🥳
That thumbnail makes me happy :) Worked all weekend so late to the watch party.
Happy to hear! Hope you enjoyed it :D
My top in this category would be:
1. Root (not very heavy, but the hardest learning curve I've experienced).
2. Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization.
3. John Company 2nd edition.
4. Mage Knight.
5. Pax Renaissance.
6. Gaia Project.
7. Gloomhaven.
8. Sid Meier's Civilization.
9. Pax Pamir.
10. The War of the Ring (this may be harder for some people, but I've played it so many times that I don't remember learning it anymore 😅).
Great content guys!
Excellent and entertaining video. Several of the games I have never heard of -> learned a few things... Great! Others I really miss in this list. However there are so many games out there - such a ranking will always be subjective. Left you an Abo and hope to see more from you!
Nice to see you redoing this list :)
When I played Madeira and also Lisboa within the same week, I had to conclude that "older" games are rated a lot heavier than in the more recent years. I feel like both games would be at like 3.5 now. For example Dani Garcia's Barcelona sits at 3.35 and I feel like it is heavier than either of those. But the 1.0 rule books of Maderia and also Lisboa are pretty, uhm, let's say difficult to read and that might contribute to the perceived weight.
I didn't play enough heavier games the last few years, so I can't really put a top 10 list together, so I will just mention some that I enjoy ordered by times played using the 3.8 rule, even thought it feels wrong with quite a few games (e.g. how is Darwin's Journey a 3.9 whilst Tiletum is 3.4 and Beyond the Sun a 3.1?!)
Maracaibo
Tekhenu
Barrage
GWT: NZ
Sabika
Era of Tribes
Evacuation
Imperial Steam
Thanks for the video! :)
IMHO, the best games are long and involved, that is, hard to teach and hard to get to the table. My favorite is "Die Macher." I got it to the table once, with six players, and it was an all-day affair. Everyone said they finished with a headache, but nobody had any other complaints. It's a huge commitment, though.
Most of the games you mentioned are high on my list. You got me looking for a copy of Cooper Island and maybe Voidfall.
I love Die Macher! Such an amazing game!
From your beginning you made my day happier, better, and brighter. You still do, thank you. I hope someday I can repay it somehow. What a great distraction to have from American politics.
Great list! Now I have a few more titles to look at:)
My top-1 heavy game now is High Frontier 4 all - it's definitely worth checking out!
Glad you liked it 🤩
Ohhh. I like this list. Sometimes they seem overwhelming, but when you settle in, they hit! Brass is on my shelf of shame right now but it's coming off soon!
Ooooh! Hope you’ll love Brass! Thanks for watching!
Brass is much lighter than other games on this list or BGG rating suggesting. But I would recommend printing an excellent, one page summary you can find from BGG file section.
@ hmmmm. Thats great advice. I’ll check that out. Didn’t know about it!!!
Johannes: "We cover more heavy games than any other channel."
Heavy Cardboard: "Hold my Beer!" 🤣
Hahahaha! If I said more than all, I meant more than most 😅
Johannes said "(...)than many other channels" :P
Great lists (I’d have 4 in common with Johannes and 5 with Sunniva). Haven’t played Lignum or Madeira yet but would like to try both. Really expected Johannes to mention Feudum, but there are a lot of brilliant heavy games.
Feudum is a hard one! I really like it, but the teach make it so hard to want to play it 😅
The fact that I own every single game on this list, says something about me as a gamer, i feel 😄
When you said "The game with the most setup ever" I instantly thought of Voidfall. Haha! As for your #1 game, Johannes, that would be my #1 game as well. Let's get it to the table one day.
Yes, would love to play it again!
Great list idea! Some of these games I haven't played or even heard of so it gives me some research to do. Thank you!
My top ten heavy games, using your BGG 3.8 criteria:
10. Sankoré: The Pride of Mansa Musa (4.12)
9. Scholars of the South Tigris (4.05)
8. The Great Wall (3.92)
7. Ezra and Nehemiah (3.81)
6. Nucleum (4.14)
5. Weather Machine (4.60)
4. Sabika (3.85)
3. Inventors of the South Tigris (4.24)
2. Voidfall (4.63)
1. Wayfarers of the South Tigris (3.80)
Honourable mentions to Anachrony (which would have been 11) and Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy (which would have been 5 but has a BGG weight of 3.77).
Fantastic list! Thank you for sharing 🤩
Great list ! As a Lacerda fan, I also love to play On Mars, Inventions and The Gallerist. Other heavy games are Nucleum and Trismegistus.
So many good games! 🥳
Inventions is probably the heaviest Lacerda.
You’re so correct how the weight or heaviness of a game is relative to the players’ experience.
I remember the first couple times playing GWT, 2nd Ed thinking this was WAY over my head. Now it pretty much bores me.
Good list! For me, a heavy game is if I start to get headaches because the decisions are so difficult to make 😀 Some favourites: Antiquity, Indonesia, Kanban EV, Evacuation, John Company 2nd Edition, Horseless Carriage … by the way: Small City Deluxe Edition unfortunately had quite some production issues, worst cutting-offset I've seen in years. The graphics were like 2-3mm off centre on some tiles.
Sad to hear about Small City Deluxe. I haven’t even opened our copy 😭
@@BoardGamingRamblings Perhaps you are lucking and they are okay. Either way, time to open that box! 😀
Great call on Madeira, although I like it's sister Nippon a little more.
I also think I like Nippon a bit more, but it’s also a lot lighter, so it wouldn’t fit here for me :)
I would argue that Brass is a heavy game but many of us are so familiar with it and the theme is very well integtated. I feel the depth of decision making / planning is what makes it heavy to me.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense!
Great choices! I love Evacuation, and i have to get Kanban EV back to the table.
Sooo many good games!
For Hegemony: Which coins are you using instead of the original paper tokens?
Lisboa: Played it once. Lost because I didn’t have enough people in this specific place in order to do actions. We didn’t finish at all and I don’t want to ever try it again 😂
Kanban EV looks much more streamlined and more accessible imo.
Thanks for the video!
"Cause it's Ticket to Ride..". LOL
Haha 😂
I love heavier games too! Just harder to get to the table, but a better experience overall.
I agree 🥳
For me, heavy game is any game that has 50+ pages rulebook, takes ages to setup and clean up and it takes better half of the day to play it thru. That being said.
I'm not really fan of heavy games. Most of them feel like they are complicated just for the sake of being complicated. There's ton of "fast to learn" and/or "fast to setup" games out there that can offer a lot of fun and challenge. And since wife and I got kids I appreciate those kind of games even more.
such a similar taste. Weather Machine, Kanban, Madeira, Voidfall... Love it all
So many good games to choose from! Thanks for watching 🤩
Arkwright is amazing, the only downside I feel it really shines at 4. Great video :)
Really want to play it more! 😁
Lisboa is my favorite heavy game....i would love to see a play thru of Small city
Lisboa is so good! :D
My #1 heavy euro board game is On Mars. What a masterpiece!
Great game, still cannot get my mind to understand it :P
I cut two games that would have made my list (Tramways and Crystal Palace) because the BGG weight is 3.79 and I am following your criteria strictly: 1. Voidfall, 2. The Great Wall, 3. Kanban, 4. Cooper Island, 5. Nucleum, 6. Barrage, 7. Pipeline, 8. On Mars, 9. Trickerion, 10. The Colonists
Soooo many good games! I really want to play The Great Wall and The Colonists again!!
I recently subscribed and have learned many new things about board gaming. I just bought three of Lacerda's games because of your reviews, but this has given me a new challenge: Table Space. I want to get a board game table, but am unsure of the size. In your personal experience, what size table would you recommend for a Lacerda game with an average of three players?
Hey :)
Welcome to the channel!
We’re so happy to hear you’re enjoying what we do, and are learning new things about this fantastic hobby!
We have a big Geeknson Table that we are very happy with, but it was also very expensive.
Our table is 120cm c 200cm, and will hopefully have space for all games ever.
A friend has the smaller one from Geeknson, and that is also no problem.
If you ha e specific questions, please let me know :)
@ Thanks for the reply! This answers my question perfectly.
I think this would be my top 5. Most of the games in my top 20 fall into that 4+ range on BGG.
1 - Voidfall
2 - Spirit Island
3 - On Mars
4 - Tekhenu (with expansion)
5 - Nucleum
Ok.... so Lacerda and a couple of others. Got it. Can't disagree, really
Love the list. I do not really play Heavy games. I max out medium. The Heaviest I have tried would be Gentes.
Happy that you enjoyed it even though heavy isn’t your jam! :)
Hilarious Arkwright description!
So my nunber one game of all time is voidfall. But it is lighter than my number 2. Which is maybe the heaviest game of all time:
Europa Universalis: Price of power.
Highly recommend that to you.
Should be a 5 in heaviness on bgg. Best PC game an the Board Game ist also really great. But 1 game can last over 20 hours. 1 round lasts like 4h. So its the definition of hard to get to the Table. 😅
Great choices
my top heavy games: The good old Trickerion and for sure the upcoming stress botics
Love Trickerion! Would love to try Stress Botics!
My quick and dirty definition of a heavy game is either a game that has very significant rules overhead, or an extremely difficult set of mechanics in order to accomplish goals or score points.
Love it!
On the other end of it, though... it doesn't make any sense to call Chess or Go 'light' games. Point being that 'Heavy' can/should refer to more than just rules overhead or multiplicity of mechanisms.
@@coltonbeatty6117 thats a false dichotomy. No one is saying chess or go are light games.
@@Farbulous007 Your definition called for "very significant rules overhead or difficult set of mechanics". Chess and Go have neither.
@@coltonbeatty6117ummm... Ok? I guess that means I'm not saying that those are heavy games. You are allowed to think of it differently.
There's some amazing gaming in those lists!
I agree 100% 😂
Post the lists in the description/at the end of the video before the Patron page :)
No more Feudum?? Thought that was your #1!! My top 5 are:
Through the Ages
Lisboa
Gaia Project
Feast for Odin
Anachrony
I still really like Feudum, but I don't know if I'll ever play it again because of the rules teach :(
Oh... so many... Spirit Island, Mage Knight, Food Chain Magnate, Anachrony, Dominant Species, Lisboa, Gallerist, Kanban EV, Trickerion, Frostpunk, Madeira, Arkwright, High Frontier, John Company, Bios: Origins, 18xx series of games, Pax Ren, .... Too Many Bones....Cloud Spire....
Great choices! Thank you for sharing :D
Which of these games would you play preferably at 2 players?
Most of these if not all seem to play best at 3-4.
That was actually a great list that I really enjoyed!
My Top 3:
1. Spirit Island
2. Anachrony
3. Tekhenu
Glad you enjoyed it! And yes, most of these would probably be best at more players.
With that said, I prefer A Feast for Odin with 2 players.
These are also all great at 2:
-Evacuation
-Lisboa
-Age of Innovation
-Cooper Island
Probably more as well, but these are the oes I thought of first.
@BoardGamingRamblings you enjoyed Lisboa at 2? That's awesome! I have not played this game yet but I thought it was a "4-player only" kind of game.
Age of Innovation was also fun for me at 2 and that's a major improvement compared to the previous two editions.
So my main criterium is complexity.: How many heavy mechanisms and options are in a game and how they are connected. For example the mechanisms in Lisboa are simple but it has a lot of options which are connected with a high complexity.
How hard it is to get points or things isn't a criterium for me actually.
Ah, no Feudum or Pax Renaissance. Great list though!
Haven't played Pax. Feudum is still on the shelf, and I love it, but it's been so long, and I need to experience it again.
"Everything you do is horrible." Immediately adds it to my "want to play" list.
It’s the best feeling 🥲
Voidfall is definitely my favorite heavy euro game.
I am surprisedly Kanban wasn’t that” heavy “ after serval plays and teach with rookie.
A lot of games feels less heavy the more you play them, and the more games you play in general!
What is a heavy game? Great question. 3.8 is pretty good, I think of anything above 3.50 as heavy. I consider 4.00 to be the start of super heavy, not for everybody.
But aside from BGG ratings? Hmm, lots of component interaction, multiple paths to victory, tough decisions. If it seems impossible to do everything you want before the end of the game (I'm thinking of you Ark Nova) or you're holding your head in your hands, you're probably playing a heavy game.
Usually at least a 2 hour game, minimum 90 minutes. It doesn't have to be extremely long but not a short rulebook. Last subjective thought on the question, if you need to plan a few turns ahead, particularly because some actions have prerequisite conditions.
Thanks for sharing.
I may not like heavy games given that I only have one of the many on your two lists.
Hehe 😂 Luckily, there is fantastic games in all weights!
Interesting and surprising list - that is good as I have discovered some unplayed chonky titles.
Glad you enjoyed it 🤩
4. Twilight Imperium
3. War of the Ring
2. High Frontier
1. Europa Universalis (abs. monster)
Great list! Haven’t played any of them 😅
@@BoardGamingRamblings means you have a lot of fun ahead! I very much recommend them all. also, my deepest sympathies to one who will read the rules of #1 & 2 ;)
Do you like Arkwright over City of the Big Shoulders? I played CBS first a couple times then played Arkwright and it was meh. I can see how they borrowed the mechanics and made it better. Also recommend Trismegistus, On Mars, Coffee Traders (4p-5p), and Unconscious Mind!
And here i was worried about my 27 points in Cooper Island.
I Love Lignum - soooooo good
Both Lignum and Imperial Steam by same designer are so good games
Yes, I love them both!
My favorite heavy game is probably "World in Flames"
Never played! Thanks for sharing :)
I'm going to write all these down and keep the list so I know what games I never want to play! I've pretty much determined over the years that any game with a difficulty rating of over 3.5 is an absolute hard no for me. Between 3 and 3.5 I'll play if I like the theme or maybe the mechanics, but over 3.5 is more than my poor brain can handle!
Good to be of help that way as well 😅 Glad you have found out what games you like! 🤩
I would put Lisboa, Vinhos, Madeira, Nucleum, Tawantinsuyu and Carnegie on my list of top heavy games.
Great choices! Thank you for sharing!
@@BoardGamingRamblings No problem. I have got Feudum and Europa Universalis on the way. I am pretty sure they are gonna fit as well. 😅
Aeons tresspass odyssey
The mention of Madeira stings as I unfortunately backed the reprint years (2019) ago. So far the only board game that never deliverd, and sadly never will. :(
Yeah, it’s super sad! 😭
Interesting to see that a lot of your choices are older titles
So many great older games :D
How do you prefer playing Evacuation? Race or points? Advanced or base actions? 🔥
I love it in every variant! I think I liked points with advanced cards the most!
These game are heavy games by mainstream standards, no doubt, but there are much, much heavier board games. You just have to take a detour from Euro-style games into board wargames. At least half of the wargames available from GMT, Compass, Decision Games, etc. are heavier board games than anything presented here. But I, too, am a big fan of Arkwright!
100%, but we do not play any war games, and probably never will! :)
Gaia Project should be so much higher lol =P
Such a great game!
Have you tried 'Indonesia' from splotter spellen games? really want to know what u guys think bout that. Love from Indonesia ❤
Have not tried it, but would love to!
Guessing - More than 1 Lacerda game on each of your lists?
Hmm 🤔
The heaviest game in my collection is John Company second edition.
It's on our shelf! Really want to try it out!
@@BoardGamingRamblings Get ready to update this list then!😅
My idea of a heavy game is having as much if not more anxiety about what your opponents are doing as you do your own turn. I love it!!!
I love that! Thanks for sharing 🥳
Weather Machine is our least favorite Lacerda game. We usually love his games (we have 5 of his games in our current Top 100), but this one was just dull and unfulfilling.
Hegemony was a game I particularly didn't like - we played it twice, and it felt a bit scripted. Not sure I'm willing to give it another chance...
My favorite heavy games, that you didn't mention, are Eclipse 2nd Dawn, Caylus, Die Macher and Dominant Species (I haven't played Marine yet). Still, Arkwright is my favorite heavy game.
Have you all played Colonist or Antiquity ? Does your channel have a bgg profile ? Just like to see other games you rated
Played both, love both, just didn't end up on the list!
I have a personal bgg profile, but I am very bad at remembering to rate games!
Check out any of our reviews on BGG, and you'll find it!
Still depressed I’m never getting my Kickstarter copy of Madeira 😢
How is Ark Nova not on any of your lists?
We need to play games together. One day!
Yes! For sure 🤩
Great list. Especially i like high rated Kanban, like it too. But i cant get 1 moment - why Hegemony for you "so heavy". It is just overhype crap, and definitely much easier, then almost all other games in your list. It play in itself, and players do repetative boring actions over and over
You are of course allowed to not like Hegemony, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good game! Loads of people like it, so I guess that should amount to something, even though you disagree :)
I am just happy that there are amazing games out there for everyone, and I love that we have different tastes :)
I think I just learned my first Norwegian word "engtasannt" ?
Not too far off! Great job starting your journey to fluent Norwegian 😁
I was surprised as it sounded much like the Dutch word "interessant".
You obviously forgot Federation ! :D Obviously ;)
A top 10 heavy games list that doesn't include 1817...or any 18xx for that matter, really? No COIN games either? No Pax games?
That said, these midweight games you've chosen are good games that I really enjoy playing.
I love this hobby! Everyonoe has so different feelings for different games!
I like a few 18xx games, but the ones I have played aren't heavier than these ones. Sunniva doesn't really like 18xx at all.
COIN is something we haven't even looked into, as war games are usually not for us :)
I can never get them to the table. I purchase them for my pleasure and play them solo even if they require more people. I use a lazy Susan to play. 👍👍👍
For me the heavy games are
Trismegistus
Carnegie
Great choices!
So... Weather Machine? ... You say the interaction was increased. Do you mean player interaction? (Because, his games can suffer from lack thereof). Or do you mean the intricacy of mechanisms?
You have to consider adding Splotter games to your heavy list. I think Lacerda is overrated, while Splotters are as heavy, but way more innovative
We have played a few, but only own Horseless Carriage. I really love it, and it almost ended up on the list!
My favorite heavy game is rhinoceros.
It’s heavy for sure 😅
I wish I would love Lisboa more. But the shipping and resource value track both feel so underdeveloped for my taste. I will never understand why the resource value ever only goes down. I will also never understand why the ship aspect feels so tacked on. I would play Kanban EV over Lisboa any time of the day because every aspect feels like it needs to be exactly where it is
I will always love it, but luckily there are enough awesome games for everyone 😁
Just do a common Top 15 list if you're gonna have so much overlap.
This also avoids the need to sing.
We love not knowing each others list, so we wouldn't know how much overlap there is :) We also love singing :P
@@BoardGamingRamblings I've been following you for a while and I value your suggestions 😊 That's why I'd like to hear about more games on the same list. It's no secret that you play and like the same games, so... unavoidable crossovers.
Speaking of which - I don't remember if you ever did a Divisive Top 10 (games one likes, but the other dislikes).
I hope you have tried 18xx at least, because I’d take issue with people that claim to be heavy gamers but haven’t even played anything from that subset of games.
We have played a few! I (Johannes) like most I have played, but they usually end up the the «too much work» category for Sunniva :)
Man I wish Capstone would reprint Arkwright. Like, really wish.
Don’t lose hope
That would be amazing!
The list of top heavy games, without at least:
1. Robinson Crusoe
2. Frostpunk
3. Gaia Project
4. Cloudspire?
Sorry, no. You should definitely play Gaia, before comparing it to Age of Innovation. And try Stellar Horizons and Hoplomachus. There's more to gaming than Lacerda.
We don’t love a lot of coops, and we don’t play solo, so there goes three of them for us, hehe :)
I have played Gaia Project 8 times, and love it to bits, but it didn’t fit on this list for me! :)
Glad we can all have our own favorites 🥳
@@BoardGamingRamblings , you are entitled to like your games. That's fine. Title of the video should be then "Top 10 heavy games we like/prefer", not just "Top 10 heavy games". I was under the impression you were making a commercial for Lacerda by overlooking some great game designs. There are people watching your clips who are actually going to try some of these games out. And I think it's a shame not to mention these really iconic designs - no matter whether someone likes them personally or not.
@ Everything we do on our channel is gonna be our tastes and choices :) That is the premise of 99,99% of all boars game top lists from creators, so we don’t feel any need to specify any more than we do in the video! :)
@@BoardGamingRamblings good. Unsubscribed.
I don't remember any Splotter games on the list. Not a fan?
I really like a few, but haven’t played them enough. Horseless Carriage is the only one we own, and I really like it!
Hi guys! I did not see Horseless Carriage.
Love it, but didn't end up on the list this time!
4 or higher for me… not happening. Too much like work rather than play. Fields of Arle and GWT are where I stop. 😊