I wanted to update my rankings, but instead of just editing the previous post, I figured I would be better served making a new post and keeping the old one intact. Anyways, here is a ranking of the games that I own in some format or another.
19. Scrabble
I've played some good games of Scrabble. But it's slow and being good at Scrabble involves memorizing two-letter words and manipulating the game instead of being creative.
18. Monopoly
For being America's most popular game, it gets a bad rap both from casual gamers and hardcore gamers. Amongst families, it has a reputation of lasting forever and being boring. Among hardcore gamers, they think it's child's play or crap. But if you actually play by the rules of auctioning every property and not placing money on free parking, it can play quickly.
17. Clue
This was my favorite game as a kid. I loved the mystery element and that it required deduction and not luck. Also, as an adult there are advanced strategies that eluded me as a child. Unfortunately, winning is more based on luck (randomly finding the missing cards first) than deduction skills.
16. Roll For It
I bought this both for kids and adults, but in my opinion it's really just a kid's game. It's a little more fun than Yahtzee, but that's about it.
15. Ticket to Ride
This was the first modern game I was introduced to. I think I played it too much. Also, the fact that it's the same map every time, limits the replayability for me. Basically, to win you need to construct a route that goes from coast to coast and get route cards to match up.
14. Cleopatra
A good game with a nice twist of eliminating the most corrupt player. Has some great mechanics. Still, it feels like the same strategy every time.
13. Lost Cities
A two-player game that is not very complex. The simplicity makes it fun and easy to play but also not very deep or engaging.
12. Clue: The Great Museum Caper
This game really has nothing to do with Clue at all. It's an art heist game, which to me is really the best theme ever. The gameplay isn't perfect but it's still a cool game.
11. Zombie Dice
This is simple and fun, mostly luck based but with a touch of strategy (when to stop, when to keep rolling).
10. Settlers of Catan
I've never owned the board version or even played it, but I have extensively played a computer game version. It's the gateway modern board game for good reason. It requires strategy and a bit of luck, with multiple different ways to succeed.
9. Forbidden Island
This is a game by Matt Leacock, the designer of the #1 game on my list. It's not quite as good at that game, but still has interesting co-op mechanics and great replayability.
8. Carcasonne
Along with Catan, one of the most famous modern games, I think Carcasonne is interesting and fun. I've only played the Android app, which makes it easy to learn the rules. Yet, despite all the strengths, I find it a little lacking.
7. A Duel Betwixt Us
This is a two-player game that I bought on Kickstarter. Okay, I didn't buy in on Kickstarter. I saw it on Kickstarter and then bought it on Amazon. It's pretty cool and has some great mechanics, but for the first time ever, I had to make some house rules to fix some broken mechanics. As created, it's way too easy for the game to be lopsided, not fun in a 2-player game that can take 90 minutes to play.
6. Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
This is the best detective board game I've come across yet. It very much simulates solving a murder case and gives you free reign to go wherever you want to find clues and piece it all together. There's so much that I love about this. And yet, there are 10 cases. I've only played 2 and once you play them all, that's it. Unless you can forget what happened. Also, I find it terribly difficult. I'm glad it's not too easy, but I was pretty lost in the first two cases.
5. Love Letter
This is a simple, light game that's nice because it only takes about 3 minutes to play. It might drop in future ratings, but for now I rate it pretty highly.
4. Scotland Yard
Along with Clue, this is a game that I grew up with. But finding people to play it with was always a problem. Well, I just recently got the Android version (4.99) and it's awesome. It's nice to be able to control all 5 detectives against an AI Mr. X.
3. Tsuro
Just got this game in June 2015 and it's awesome. The amazing thing about this game is that it's strategic enough for adults but a three-year-old can play it too. It's quick and fun. Every game is different because of the tile-based gameplay. I think it's a great game for non-gamers. Also, for what it's worth, I learned of Tsuro, Forbidden Island, Zombie Dice, Love Letter, and Roll For it through Wil Wheaton's Tabletop series.
2. Codenames
This is a word game that revolves around making strange connections. It seems like a party game but it is actually intense. I think it's awesome. Although there's a 2 or 3 player variant, and you can play standard with 4 or 5, this game shines when you have at least 6, but it's flexible up to 12 or more. One game can be finished in about 20 minutes, but I always want to play 4 or 5 at a time.
1. Pandemic
Do you have what it takes to save humanity? I love this game. It's a co-op game. Either everyone at the table wins or everyone loses. What makes this game #1 for me? You can use cards in different ways and you have to balance priorities: finding cures and removing diseases from cities. This game is intense. With the game on the line, you could have three equally viable options to decide between. And the difference between winning and losing can be razor thin, so every decision is important.
Ordered October 9th:
Escape: Curse of the Temple (real-time dice rolling game, 1-5 players)
New York 1901 (city-building game, 2-4 players)
Burgle Bros. (co-op heist game)
Possible Wish List
Onirim? (1-2 players)
Hostage Negotiator (a solo game, using cards and dice to save hostages)
Robinson Crusoe (longer, complex survival game for 1-4 players)
The Networks (tv executive game, 1-5 players)
Freedom: The Underground Railroad (co-op historical game with serious theme)
[redacted] (bluffing, hidden information spy game best with 4 or 6 players)
The Resistance (like Mafia but without eliminating players, 5-10 players)
Sushi Go (light, quick game, good for the boys, 2-5 players)
King of Tokyo (good first serious game for kids, 2-6 players)
Two Rooms and a Boom (cool party game for 12+)
Tesla vs Edison: War of Currents (complex invention and stock market history simulation, 2-5 players)
Letter Tycoon (better version of scrabble gameplay where you can patent letters, 2-5 players)
Colt Express (western game on a 3-d train, good for kids, 2-6 players)
Portal: The Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game (cool theme, not sure if good gameplay, 2-4 players)
Dead of Winter (zombie survival with betrayer, 2-5 players)
Jaipur (quick two-player game, selling cards at the market)
CV (better version of the game of life, 2-4 players)
Tobago (deduction and competitive treasure hunting, 2-4 players)
Train Heist (family game, 1-4 players)
Nations (civilization game, 1-5 players)
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