Top 10 boardgames on BGG
- Thread starter MerricB
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Thanee
First Post
It's board game geek ... the games that are considered good naturally are a bit more hardcore than Settlers of Catan (which is generally considered fairly weak due to its extreme randomness, I believe, despite being a fun game).
Bye
Thanee
Hammerhead
Explorer
No way. Race for the Galaxy is all about leeching off the other guy's actions.
Agricola is by no means multi-player solitaire. You interfere in each other's games a lot by taking the wood, sheep or other resource they wanted before they do.
If you play it with the Interactive deck, it gets even more... interactive.
It's a truly great game.
Race for the Galaxy is lots of fun, and the actions of your opponents definitely affect you... but it's a lot closer to multi-player solitaire.
Cheers!
It's board game geek ... the games that are considered good naturally are a bit more hardcore than Settlers of Catan (which is generally considered fairly weak due to its extreme randomness, I believe, despite being a fun game).
Settlers of Catan is #33, which is very high. (There are almost 5000 boardgames rated on BGG).
Settlers is an excellent gateway game, and I've played hundreds of games of it. However, once you're past your initial introduction to boardgames, you discover that there are many, many good games.
Here's the list from #31-40:
#31: YINSH - this is an one of a family of abstract games. I know nothing about it at all; it doesn't appeal to my friends at all.
#32: Stone Age - a new addition; it is a worker placement game (like Agricola and Caylus), but lighter and more random. I enjoy this game a lot, and I've been playing it on brettspielwelt.de
#33: The Settlers of Catan - one of the seminal Eurogames, and a fine gateway game to the larger boardgaming hobby. I play it on BSW, and still enjoy it a lot.
#34: Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear - a very new "light-medium" wargame. Lovely components; uses action points for activation and cards for interesting modifiers during the game. It's a good introduction to WW2 wargames.
#35: Tichu - we have it; I haven't played it yet.
#36: Wallenstein - a hybrid Euro/Wargame set in Russia - it was later reimplemented as the highly ranked Shogun. This one is out of print and hard to get; I haven't played it.
#37: Crokinole - a Canadian dexterity game using a wooden board, pegs and balls. I think.
#38: Hammer of the Scots - an excellent area control wargame, where your leaders (and their troops) go home every winter. I've only played this once, but it's really great and I want to play it again.
#39: Le Havre - a new addition... so new, it isn't even out in English yet (AFAIK). It's the follow-up to Agricola, although it changes a bunch of things.
#40: Memoir '44 - a brilliant, brilliant light wargame using Richard Borg's "Command & Colours" system.
Cheers!
Rounding out the Top 50:
#41: Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) - one of the giants of the wargaming world. Released in 1985, and still having material produced for it today, ASL is a very detailed system that can handle nearly any combined arms land action of World War 2. One of my top 5 games of all time... and I only started playing in the last couple of years.
#42: Samurai - one of the great Reiner Knizia's tile games; this one's a good Eurogame, although it tends to be appreciated those who like solving puzzles. You need to surround treasure tokens with matching soldiers (and wild cards), but it can be very difficult to work against your opponents. I enjoy it, but it's doesn't thrill me.
#43: Ticket to Ride: Europe - the best of Alan Moon's "Ticket to Ride" series. It's a good family, gateway game to boardgaming. You collect sets of train cards to claim routes across Europe, whilst attempting to connect the stations mentioned in your secret hand of ticket cards. I delight in the TTR games, but this one is my favourite.
#44: Taj Mahal - this one is a lot of fun. You build palaces across India, attempting to gain trade goods and special bonuses while connecting links of palaces. It's hard to explain, but very fun to play. Eurogame.
#45: Struggle of Empires - we have it; and that's all I know.
#46: Ticket to Ride - the original TTR game. More cutthroat than Europe, although it really needs the 1910 expansion to shine.
#47: Modern Art - it's an auction game, but that's about all I know about it.
#48: Dune - the old Avalon Hill classic. Designed by the team that designed Cosmic Encounter, Dune really captures the essence of the novel - six factions fight for control of the planet. Love this one, although I rarely play it these days.
#49: Galaxy Trucker - a new game, but one that's really worth looking out for. First you design your spaceship (a chaotic affair - you blindly draw tiles from a central point, competing against your opponents...), then it's a race to the finish, with lots of event cards (smugglers, asteroids, pirates...) making it harder for you. It's not uncommon for large parts of your ship to never arrive. Highly recommended. (2-4 players)
#50: Up Front - it's ASL as a card game! Highly sought after, although MMP are working on a revised version for some year close in the future. Probably. Haven't played this one.
Cheers!
#41: Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) - one of the giants of the wargaming world. Released in 1985, and still having material produced for it today, ASL is a very detailed system that can handle nearly any combined arms land action of World War 2. One of my top 5 games of all time... and I only started playing in the last couple of years.
#42: Samurai - one of the great Reiner Knizia's tile games; this one's a good Eurogame, although it tends to be appreciated those who like solving puzzles. You need to surround treasure tokens with matching soldiers (and wild cards), but it can be very difficult to work against your opponents. I enjoy it, but it's doesn't thrill me.
#43: Ticket to Ride: Europe - the best of Alan Moon's "Ticket to Ride" series. It's a good family, gateway game to boardgaming. You collect sets of train cards to claim routes across Europe, whilst attempting to connect the stations mentioned in your secret hand of ticket cards. I delight in the TTR games, but this one is my favourite.
#44: Taj Mahal - this one is a lot of fun. You build palaces across India, attempting to gain trade goods and special bonuses while connecting links of palaces. It's hard to explain, but very fun to play. Eurogame.
#45: Struggle of Empires - we have it; and that's all I know.
#46: Ticket to Ride - the original TTR game. More cutthroat than Europe, although it really needs the 1910 expansion to shine.
#47: Modern Art - it's an auction game, but that's about all I know about it.
#48: Dune - the old Avalon Hill classic. Designed by the team that designed Cosmic Encounter, Dune really captures the essence of the novel - six factions fight for control of the planet. Love this one, although I rarely play it these days.
#49: Galaxy Trucker - a new game, but one that's really worth looking out for. First you design your spaceship (a chaotic affair - you blindly draw tiles from a central point, competing against your opponents...), then it's a race to the finish, with lots of event cards (smugglers, asteroids, pirates...) making it harder for you. It's not uncommon for large parts of your ship to never arrive. Highly recommended. (2-4 players)
#50: Up Front - it's ASL as a card game! Highly sought after, although MMP are working on a revised version for some year close in the future. Probably. Haven't played this one.
Cheers!
Asmor
First Post
It's big on BSW. It tends to attract a devoted following who are fanatical about it. I used to play it on there a lot... I'd describe it as a trick-taking game, but that's not entirely accurate.
Despite being fairly simple, rules wise, it can be very, very difficult to teach. I'm fond of a quote I heard on Boardgame Geek... something along the lines of "I once watched 3 people telling a new person how to play Tichu. It was like watching a bunch of teens kick a hobo."
Discs, actually. I've never played it either, but from what I understand you try to flick discs into the inner ring, which is surrounded by pins which block you, and there's a hole in the very center that's worth extra points if you can get a disc to fall into it.
It's the only auction game I've played which is literally an auction game. The components leave something to be desired, but the gameplay is fantastic. I'm a big fan of it. I've got a friend who's hilariously bad at it, though, and refuses to play it.
Ah... Avalon Hill's Dune. Now there's a boardgame, eh?
My favorite little mechanical set is the alternate victory conditions that some of the factions have. For example, the Guild wins if nobody else wins at the end of the game... they have preserved the status quo. So the Guild doesn't have to play for a direct victory; they can just play spoiler the whole time.
Likewise, the Bene Gesserit get to predict a winner and the turn he wins; if they're right then that player instead loses and the Bene Gesserit win. Great if you like to play mind games with people. The BG really help the Atreides on turn 3, so the others assume that they predicted his win on turn 4. So on turn 4, they all dogpile the Atreides. But this leaves several factions open, and so the Emperor is able to swoop in and win handily on turn 5... which is what the BG really predicted and so steal the win.
My favorite little mechanical set is the alternate victory conditions that some of the factions have. For example, the Guild wins if nobody else wins at the end of the game... they have preserved the status quo. So the Guild doesn't have to play for a direct victory; they can just play spoiler the whole time.
Likewise, the Bene Gesserit get to predict a winner and the turn he wins; if they're right then that player instead loses and the Bene Gesserit win. Great if you like to play mind games with people. The BG really help the Atreides on turn 3, so the others assume that they predicted his win on turn 4. So on turn 4, they all dogpile the Atreides. But this leaves several factions open, and so the Emperor is able to swoop in and win handily on turn 5... which is what the BG really predicted and so steal the win.
The Prophet
First Post
Hey Merric
Trying to establish a little BGG beachead here at ENWorld I see, he he...
Cool, cool...
As for me, I have 5 of the top 10...
Agricola (1)
- Played only once. Great game. Send your family to work to grow your farm. So much to do, so little time.
Puerto Rico (2)
- Haven’t played this one yet. I don’t know, it never seems to come up with our group.
Dominion (6)
- Instant hit with everyone I’ve played up to now. Simple mechanics, great replayability.
El Grande (7)
- Played once & went & bought the Decennial Ed. Great game. Instant favorite.
Race for the Galaxy (9)
- Disapointed by the expansion set. I don’t like the solo version & a few cards, some new objectives, isn’t much for the price.
... and 15 of the top 100
Shogun (17)
- Just played my 1st game today. Very fun. A personal favorite for me now. The battle tower worked great. Took longer to play than I tought but one player had a small case of AP.
Pandemic (24)
- Coop game. Very hard. Played 4 solo games up to now & won only one, on the very last turn, no more cards in the player’s pile, the dispatcher curing the YELLOW fever, getting the 5th card from the Op. Expert.
Twilight Imperium (3ème Édition) (29)
- Mammoth space civ game. Personal favorite. Not as long to play that it’s made to be. Last game I played lasted 6 hours, including setup, explaining the rules to 3 newbies, playing & putting the whole thing back in the box.
Go (30)
- The perfect game. Anything else is but a pale imitation. Yes, I like it that much.
Arkham Horror (55)
- As a Cthulhu mythos & Lovecraft fan, I could not pass on this. Cthulhu Talisman! Coop game. Explore locations to get clues, items & other bonuses, fight monsters, close gates & hope you won’t face the GOO at the end.
Carcassonne (56)
- Another game I like very much. Have all the expansions, except the catapult. Simple game to play with all.
Civilization (68)
- Well Advanced CIV I should say. This one takes a long time, 8-10 hours, more if you let the traiding linger on. Needs 7 commited, serious gamers.
In the Year of the Dragon (66)
- Try to manage one of the worst year in the kingdom history as Plagues, Invasions, Droughts & more will strike. Resource & action managment game.
Fury of Dracula (96)
- Haven’t played this one yet. Semi-Coop game, hunters vs. Dracula. Interesting mechanic to allow the Vampire to move unseen.
RoboRally (1ère Édition) (99)
- A favorite. Have all the extra boards. Great race-demolition-derby-obstacle-course game. You can make it as long/short, nasty/friendly, simple/complex as you want. And watching your friends twisting in all direction on their chair trying to figure out where they are going is a bonus...
Trying to establish a little BGG beachead here at ENWorld I see, he he...
Cool, cool...
As for me, I have 5 of the top 10...
Agricola (1)
- Played only once. Great game. Send your family to work to grow your farm. So much to do, so little time.
Puerto Rico (2)
- Haven’t played this one yet. I don’t know, it never seems to come up with our group.
Dominion (6)
- Instant hit with everyone I’ve played up to now. Simple mechanics, great replayability.
El Grande (7)
- Played once & went & bought the Decennial Ed. Great game. Instant favorite.
Race for the Galaxy (9)
- Disapointed by the expansion set. I don’t like the solo version & a few cards, some new objectives, isn’t much for the price.
... and 15 of the top 100
Shogun (17)
- Just played my 1st game today. Very fun. A personal favorite for me now. The battle tower worked great. Took longer to play than I tought but one player had a small case of AP.
Pandemic (24)
- Coop game. Very hard. Played 4 solo games up to now & won only one, on the very last turn, no more cards in the player’s pile, the dispatcher curing the YELLOW fever, getting the 5th card from the Op. Expert.
Twilight Imperium (3ème Édition) (29)
- Mammoth space civ game. Personal favorite. Not as long to play that it’s made to be. Last game I played lasted 6 hours, including setup, explaining the rules to 3 newbies, playing & putting the whole thing back in the box.
Go (30)
- The perfect game. Anything else is but a pale imitation. Yes, I like it that much.
Arkham Horror (55)
- As a Cthulhu mythos & Lovecraft fan, I could not pass on this. Cthulhu Talisman! Coop game. Explore locations to get clues, items & other bonuses, fight monsters, close gates & hope you won’t face the GOO at the end.
Carcassonne (56)
- Another game I like very much. Have all the expansions, except the catapult. Simple game to play with all.
Civilization (68)
- Well Advanced CIV I should say. This one takes a long time, 8-10 hours, more if you let the traiding linger on. Needs 7 commited, serious gamers.
In the Year of the Dragon (66)
- Try to manage one of the worst year in the kingdom history as Plagues, Invasions, Droughts & more will strike. Resource & action managment game.
Fury of Dracula (96)
- Haven’t played this one yet. Semi-Coop game, hunters vs. Dracula. Interesting mechanic to allow the Vampire to move unseen.
RoboRally (1ère Édition) (99)
- A favorite. Have all the extra boards. Great race-demolition-derby-obstacle-course game. You can make it as long/short, nasty/friendly, simple/complex as you want. And watching your friends twisting in all direction on their chair trying to figure out where they are going is a bonus...
Have you played this one, Merric? I'd be interested to hear what you think of it, as a budding ASLer (not a phrase that has been said often in the past decade!). CoH looks really interesting to me.
The things that put me off might strike some as superficial: I'm into the East Front but not so much Barbarossa. Too one-sided. I'm more for Stalingrad, Kursk and Bagration. Also, it doesn't look like there are any winter maps, and although it covers through '42 there's evidently nothing about Stalingrad.
Still, it looks like "ASL lite" or "ASL for ADD", which is right up my alley. If I hear good things, I might plunge in for the second installment, which covers the east front in 43-45... that's a bit more fun of a period for me (well, '43-'44 anyway).
Of course, on the Stalingrad issue... they could probably do a whole supplement just for that. Finland might be interesting, too. And Operation Cobra. And Sicily. Man... they could do a lot with this if they get going.
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