You may have seen this pic-art you can build on Pub Meeple. I finally got around to making one (because you know, COVID, and I was bored). It was a little harder than I thought it would be. Figuring out the first six of them were pretty easy, but the last three were tough. I had to really start playing scenarios out in my head to figure out which game I'd rather play of X vs Y vs Z.
And some great games missed the cut. Games I'd play in a heartbeat, but with a caveat (like with the right people). With the games that made the cut, I'd pretty much play anytime, with anyone new or seasoned in the game. I'd be happy to teach the game, or "test my mettle" against an expert. Anyway...
Honorable Mentions
These are the ones that I love, but it'd depend on the situation and players, so they didn't make the nine.
- Tichu - I love card games and Tichu (and three handed, Chimera) is such an excellent game that it was hard to leave off the list. But... it is a partner game and knowing your partner makes a difference in how much you enjoy the game. It just missed the cut.
- Marvel Legendary - I love this game, but the tabletop version takes work to setup, play, and teardown. And when COVID locked us down, I played a bunch solo. And then I found Marvel Champions which scratches a similar thematic itch, but with less effort. Again, just missed the cut today. Still a great game.
- Samurai - oh I really really love this game. Against players of equal skill. Everyone has to know how to play and play at all player counts. Want to learn? I'll teach you, but the weak player tends to throw the game to the player after them, which means I rarely get to play this.
The Nine
At least as of today, if someone wanted to play these games with me, it'd be a no brainer. If I was at a convention, I'd play one of these over anything else almost without hesitation. I'm going to start with Combat Commander (I have written about CC a lot of times) because it might be my favorite game of all time, but I'll do the rest in the order of the pictures rather than trying to rank them.
Combat Commander: Europe (and Mediterranean)
If you just opened the box and looked inside, Combat Commander looks like your standard GMT grognard affair - folded paper maps, tons of chits in little trays, and decks of cards. Behind the somewhat spartan war-game look hides an amazing game. I am not a wargamer. I don't care about trying to replay historical battles to change history. The thing I love about Combat Commander is that every game is more than just a game, its a whole experience. I can remember so many specifics about games of Combat Commander that I've played - and so do the people I've played against.
And it isn't just some moment of the game that was awesome, the entirety of each game has this narrative that is immersive. It is as if you were thrown into Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers. The chaos of war grabs hold of you and there are moments where 15 minutes into the game you are sure you have no chance of surviving for another 15 minutes and then suddenly that machine gun that had all your units pinned downed jams and reinforcements arrive, giving you new life. Or a fire starts and the wind shifts and the blaze is headed your way and you are forced to give up the cover of buildings you were in. And that stalemate you had with the Russians is suddenly your units out in the open running everywhere to get away from them before they can open fire.
It is simply an amazingly good time.
I wrote a review of Viticulture a while ago and if you want the in-depth details, please, go read it. Suffice to say, when combined with the Tuscany expansion, Viticulture is a really good worker placement game about owning a vineyard (and possibly an orchid and garden and cheese factory). I really enjoy the theme and the gameplay and the options - there are lots of ways to score points and win. You can literally win without ever making wine (which doesn't sound thematic, but whatever).
Unfortunately, I think most people are only ever exposed to the Essential Ed. of Viticulture, which is just ok - it feels like half a game after experiencing the grandeur of the full Collectors edition. If you play, it has to be the big board with structures and specialty meeples. Trust me.
Is there any boardgamer out there that hasn't played Power Grid and needs me to explain it? It is simply one of the best auction Euros ever made. It is the perfect blend of auctions, positioning and timing and back in the day, my game group would play this every week (which happened with no other game ever). Some people complain that it is too "mathy". There is some math, but it isn't just a counting exercise by any means. If you think it is, you are playing with the wrong crowd. I'm also not the only person that thinks this. In competition for "best game of all time" PG has finished at or near the top FAR more than other games.
Orléans is one of those games I took a flyer on, having read a good preview of, and it turned out to be even better than I could have expected. Its a bag builder, worker placement, euro-point salad kind of deal. We have a bunch of expansion buildings for the game, which give it a nice bit of variability in the approaches we take each game. (on a personal note, I like this one a lot because I can't seem to beat my love - she kicks my ass every time we play either head-to-head or with others).
I love that the bag draws force you to play tactically, but it isn't just tactical play, you have to have a plan as well. Just talking about this one means I'm going to get this out sooner rather than later I think.
Kingdom Builder is one of those fast playing abstracts with variable abilities (which you earn due to your placements on the board) add variable scoring, which makes each game a little like a puzzle and you have something amazing. Because of the limited size of the board, it plays differently with different numbers of players but ultimately it works pretty decently. There is a little randomness in where you can place, but smart choices can mitigate that. When you have a REALLY bad streak of luck, you can get screwed, but games are fast, so you don't have to feel too bad about a bad luck streak. This is way under-rated.
Let's call this the "spiritual successor" to Arkham Horror (2nd ed). For a tabletop game, I think this might be the finest Lovecraftian game FFG has produced. This is a big co-op game of investigators trying to stop the end of the world from bizarre terrors and cults that are worshipping horrific beings from other realms. If the theme is not your cup of tea, then you aren't going to like this one, but I find this another great game that tells a decently coherent story (unlike AH 2nd). The fact that there are all these little story bits and that it can all be tied together so well is a testament to the design. When you start adding in the expansions, you have an almost endless set of stories. Like a lot of co-ops, when things start going bad, it can be hard to stop, but in a game where the mood is grim from the start, it just fits.
This is the revision of Age of Steam, that as far as I'm concerned, cleaned up the rough edges of AoS. Both are good games, I just think the mechanics here are cleaner (and the game isn't so brutal to new players). If you've never played either - it is a train game. You are building track to move goods from one point to another (before someone else does). You have to be able to play both for the moment as well as being able to plan ahead, because if you don't, your future "now" is going to suck. And you are not in a vacuum - the board is not wide open, its cut throat and tight. Despite a small set of things to do in the game, it is wonderfully thinky and meaty.
Has anyone not played Ticket to Ride? There are at least what? 4-5 base versions, countless expansions, great app versions, a web version, etc... Its popularity speaks to what a good game it is. It is a great family game for casual players and yet is interesting enough to keep gamers coming back to it. This is one of the few games I have played an app version of that I like equally as much in both formats. I also really like that the expansion maps just tweak the game, but tweak it enough to make each map fresh and different feeling. It is also great at player counts from 2-6, which is amazing as well.
This might be the least well known of the games on the list. Some boardgamers "know of" Crokinole but have never played due to lack of access to a board. Boards are big and largely expensive (relatively speaking). I got my board about 13 years back and baring an accident, it'll get passed down to my daughter someday. My appreciation for my one-of-a-kind Crokinole board aside, this is as simple a dexterity game as there could be. Take turns flicking disks, trying to slide your disks as close to (or into) the center of the board, while knocking or blocking your opponent's disks. A good board should be slicker than ice, so control and accuracy are important and what make this such a great game of skill. This is great head-to-head or in teams. The most important rule of the game? You have to always have at least one cheek on your chair.
And yes, like I said, I'd play pretty much all of these at the drop of a hat. They are all great games that I love for one reason or another.
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