Favorite Board Games: January 2016

Previous Installments: 
July 2015
October 2015

New to this list: 26, 17, 12, 11, 10, 9, 5, 4, and 1!


28. 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.

27. 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 quicker than you think.

26. Police Precinct

So I bought this game because I was trying to build a detective game and wanted to make sure it wouldn't overlap. Plus, I thought that it would be cool. Well, I only played it once and kind of hated it. Maybe I'll give it another shot one day. 

25. 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.

24. 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.

23. 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.

22. 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.

21. 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.

20. 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.

19. 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.

18. Zombie Dice

This is simple and fun, mostly luck based but with a touch of strategy (when to stop, when to keep rolling).

17. Flash Point

A co-op game I got for the kids. It seems like there's hardly any tough decisions to be made. You just go in and put out fires on the way to rescuing people. But I need to play it more to give a full opinion. 

16. 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.

15. 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.

14. 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.

13. 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. 

12. Splendor

This was one of the most popular games of 2014. (Currently has 566 reviews on Amazon with a 5-star rating.) I wasn't going to buy it, but the app went on sale for 99 cents. I like it better than I thought I would. I like that there are multiple strategies to win. It's basically an abstract puzzle game.

11. New York: 1901

This has the building placement reminiscent of Ticket To Ride but with layers of strategies. I don't get to play it much since it requires other people and it's above the kids for now. #sologamerproblems

10. Labyrinth

Another game I got for the kids that I like to play. There are people in a maze and by sliding a maze title in from the edge you can shift the maze for everyone. The boys have trouble seeing the moves ahead of time, but I think it's a great game to build those kind of skills. 

9. Escape: Curse of the Temple 

This is the most intense game I've ever played. You have 10 minutes to escape a temple by rolling dice as fast (and as smart) as you can. It comes with a soundtrack and when I say 10 minutes, I mean 10 minutes.

8. 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. 

7. 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.

6. Tsuro

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 Sushi Go, Tsuro, Forbidden Island, Zombie Dice, Love Letter, and Roll For it through Wil Wheaton's Tabletop series.

5. Sushi Go 

I picked this one up in Target right before Christmas 2015 as sort of an impulse item. This has all of the same qualities as Tsuro. Kids can pick up and play but I'd play this with adults only too. What I love is that there's so many different ways to win, so you really have to adapt to the cards in front of you and not rely on any one strategy.

4. Burgle Bros.

I love co-op games and I love heists. And this game pulls off both with new interesting mechanics. Where Forbidden Island takes Pandemic actions and waters them down, this takes the actions and reinvents them through the theme. Great game.

3. 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. 

2. 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.

1. Pandemic Legacy: Season One

So you take my favorite game of all time and then you create a game that unfolds over 12 months with new rules, characters, and pieces. This game is incredible. It very much feels like the story is alive, like you're in a movie, instead of just playing a game with a theme.








I decided to spend some Christmas money on presents for me. So yeah, there's a shipment of 8 games on it's way.


Ordered January 2016: 

Onirim

Hostage Negotiator

Dead of Winter

CV

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

Friday

Castle Panic

Eldritch Horror

Purchased February:

Patchwork (app)

One Night Ultimate Werewolf





Possible Wish List

Skull

Back to the Future?

Quadropolis (city building game for 2-4 with unique cool mechanics)

Between Two Cities

Onitama (2 player game somewhat similar to chess but modern)

Archaeology: The New Expedition (set collecting card game for 2-5 players, inexpensive)

Arboretum: (tree planting card game for 2-4 players, inexpensive)

TIME Stories (time travel game with multiple cases for 1-4 players)

Mafia de Cuba (secret role game for 6-12 players)

Operation FAUST (bluffing art game for 3-8 players)

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)

Patchwork (really cool game for 2 players only)

[redacted] (bluffing, hidden information spy game best with 4 or 6 players)

The Resistance (like Mafia but without eliminating players, 5-10 players)

7 Wonders (civilization game, 2-7 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)

Jaipur (quick two-player game, selling cards at the market)

Tobago (deduction and competitive treasure hunting, 2-4 players)

Train Heist (family game, 1-4 players)

Nations (civilization game, 1-5 players)

Glass Road?

  

D-Day Dice

Infection: Humanity’s Last Grasp 

Nations Dice?