Previous Installments:
July 2015
October 2015
January 2016
New to this list: nr, 33, 30, 24, 16, 15, 14, 11, 6, 3
[unranked] Eldritch Horror
So this game has been in my possession for three months and it's still in the shrinkwrap. I can play it solo, but I know it takes 2-4 hours to play and haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe once I finish Pandemic Legacy.
37. 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.
36. 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.
35. 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. This is the first game in my collection I'm trying to sell.
34. Flash Point
A co-op game I got for the kids. I really don't like it. There are so many turns where you're just walking/carrying people that it's pretty dull and not any tough decisions to be made.
33. Friday
A solo deck-builder that gets rave reviews. I find it terribly difficult and also not very compelling.
32. 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.
31. 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.
30. Hostage Negotiator
A solo game that I thought would be cool...I figured out the optimal strategy in my first game and the dice make it a little random, but not much replayability.
29. 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.
28. 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.
27. 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.
26. 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.
25. 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.
24. Dead of Winter
I think this game has a lot of potential with the right group and the traitor mechanic. But there's a lot going on for not much payoff, so far.
23. Forbidden Island
This is a game by Matt Leacock, the designer of Pandemic. It's not quite as good at that game, but still has interesting co-op mechanics and great replayability.
22. 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.
21. Zombie Dice
This is simple and fun, mostly luck based but with a touch of strategy (when to stop, when to keep rolling). I play this a lot with the kids and it's always fun.
20. 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.
19. 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.
18. 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.
17. 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.
16. Onirim
This is the most relaxing game I have. There are still strategy decisions to be made, but I like how chill this game is. Something nice to unwind with.
15. CV
Played with the right people, this game provides a ton of laughs. It's more about the storytelling and having fun, then trying to win.
14. Castle Panic
This is a defend your tower game and I play it with the boys all the time. Good game. It does take at least 45 minutes, but they usually finish.
13. 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
12. 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.
11. Patchwork (digital version)
Another game in the chill camp. Very relaxing. It can be played without thinking too much, but it's nice when you want to relax.
10. 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.
9. 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.
8. 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.
7. Love Letter
This is a simple, light game that's nice because it only takes about 3 minutes to play. The more I play this, the more I like it.
6. One Night Ultimate Werewolf
I think this has so much potential but it fell flat with my group. I would love to play it with the right group.
5. 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.
4. 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.
3. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
I taught this to my non-gamer work group, and they loved it. I think it's fantastic too. It's basically a deduction game, but there's also a lot of social mechanics. Fantastic. It's going to be somewhat impossible for any game to outrank Pandemic/Pandemic Legacy, so the #3 spot should be considered #1 in the not-Pandemic division, a coveted spot.
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.
Ordered April 7
Skull (good for work & family)
TIME Stories (good for solo play)
Archaeology (good for family)
Right now my three possibilities for gaming are solo, work group, kids. So in this order I made sure to get one for each group. I'm thinking Skull can pull double duty. A game like Dead of Winter or CV doesn't fit into any of my gaming groups (except for maybe when Bridget is here) something I neglected to consider last order.
(digital) Camel Up, Galaxy Trucker
Onitama (2 player game somewhat similar to chess but modern)
Secret Hitler
Possible Wish List
Captain Sonar (real-time hidden movement game for 8 players but looks sooo cool)
GenCon2016: Beyond Baker Street, Vast, Kreo, Last Friday
Ice Cool
Secrets (secret role game for 4-8)
Imhotep (cool, simple family friendly game of building, somewhat similar to Archaeology)
Back to the Future?
Oregon Trail card game
Quadropolis (city building game for 2-4 with unique cool mechanics) maybe hold out and hope they build an app
Between Two Cities (don't have the group for this, but another cool city building game)
Dice Town (old west themed, dice rolling, economy game, when the kids are older)
Arboretum: (tree planting card game for 2-4 players, inexpensive)
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)
[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?
