Everything including the kitchen sink... but with special attention paid to board games, Jesus Christ, my family, being a "professional" (and I use that word loosely) Christian, and the random firing of the 10% of the synapses I'm currently using.
Card drafting meets civilization building... and it's playable with 3-7 players in a pretty consistent 45 minutes. No "wonder" it got all those awards...
Tips & Tricks:
You don't have to jump on the science train to score big points - but you do need to burn up science cards for cash or wonder building to prevent others from doing it.
Military still doesn't make sense to me - the worst point loss you can take is -6... and it can be less than that if you can talk your neighbor(s) into a truce.
The new edition is nice - the symbols are easier to teach/use. (They are based on the system used for 7 Wonders: Duel - another game I highly recommend.)
Extras
I'm a big enough fan to picked up all of the available first edition expansions - including the oddball stuff like the Wonder Pack, the Anniversary Leader & Cities cards, and the Catan wonder. And with experienced players, I like playing with all of them, though it is a bit overwhelming.
Cities is the easiest expansion to add to the game - and it contains the rules for team play, which is actually pretty cool. (Note: team play will allow you to play with 8 players.)
Armada is quite enjoyable - and adds some nice twists to the game that require players to pay attention to more than just their immediate neighbors.
The laws portion of Babel and the Leaders expansion are the two most difficult expansions to add to the game - they have lots of new symbols that can confuse players.
Here's my first look at the Cities expansion after I played the prototype.
I wrote a preview of the Babel expansion back in 2014 as well.
The 7 Wonders Dice game is pleasant but not particularly compelling... but 7 Wonders: Architects is actually a lot of fun and very easy for non-gamers to learn. (I think the Medals expansion is worth adding to the game so you can play with up to 9 players and have more interesting scoring opportunities.)
I've now played all of the new edition expansions except Armada - and they are all improved with better iconography, better player aids, and clearer rulesets. Edifices strips out the not-completely-functional "law" module of the original Babel expansion and focuses on the Great Works module - an excellent choice.
Games like Endeavor: Deep Sea are the poster children for designers taking a second (or third!) pass at their designs... and a stunning argument for the power of excellent graphic design (both art & iconography).
Tips & Tricks:
You cannot ignore the track that lets you recover action discs from your crew members... getting hamstrung on actions because your people are "tired" is a quick way to lose.
Each scenario has different scoring bonuses - pay attention to those choices as the first/second place positions will often be the difference between winning and losing.
Extras
My copy of the deluxe edition FINALLY arrived just before Thanksgiving. (Braeden & I had played it at Gulf Games last summer and I promptly came home and ordered a copy from Game Steward. BTW, a unsolicited plug for Game Steward’s customer service – they dealt with my questions and concerns quickly and kindly as the waiting dragged on.)
The real measure of how much I like Endeavor – it took me eight games to finally beat an opponent (yes, the solo system or a real live human). And I still enjoyed each and every game… so much so that it was #3 on my Best New (to me!) Games of 2025 list.
Gorgeous production coupled with easy gameplay... a classic theme (trains!) coupled with a classic Rummy set-collection mechanic... just as playable with 2 as it is with 5.
Tips & Tricks:
Playing with 3 or 5 players is MUCH more cutthroat than playing with 2 or 4, due to how crowded the board can become.
Figuring out the "choke points" on any map is an important step in choosing tickets both at the beginning of the game and as you take ticket turns later.
We have a house rule that players can keep taking turns while someone decides on tickets as long as their action is to draw cards or take tickets. If a player is going to play to the board, they must wait until the ticket-taker has made their decision.
Most importantly, this is an excellent "gateway" game for non-gamers.
Extras
There are a number of expansions & stand-alone versions of the game. I'm partial to the 1910 card expansion - as well as...
My sons & I played Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks last year... it was a wonderful experience and well worth our time.
Here's what I wrote about Ticket to Ride for The One Hundred... and for my personal top 100 in 2005.
A think-y, puzzle-y dungeon crawl that's dripping with theme and story. The designer (Andrew Parks) mixes deck-building with tactical movement on the board to create a rich world for competitive, cooperative, and solo play.
Tips & Tricks:
Dungeon Alliance is not for the faint of heart - there's a lot going on here - but it's incredibly involving. In complexity, it is in the same range as the Mage Knight Board Game.
Speaking of Mage Knight (which I used to own)... I think they're both brilliantly designed games, but Mage Knight didn't hit the table after I got Dungeon Alliance.
While the game works with up to 4 players, there is a substantial increase in playing time with that many players. We have liked it better with 2 - smaller dungeon, less down time.
The newest expansion (Paragons) is actually in the pipeline after a LONG wait.
If you'd like to see more about the intricate stories behind the game, there are two webcomics that keep growing from the Quixotic Games team - I'm just going to link to the very interesting design diary about the comics on BGG.
In my ever-so-humble opinion, this (and not Acquire) is Sid Sackson's masterpiece. It's so simple & yet so engaging.
Tips & Tricks:
One of the niftier variants to try is "one piece per space" - in other words, you can't stop rolling if you would have to place a marker on an already occupied space.
Dan Blum once suggested that there are two basic ways to play Can't Stop based on Star Trek: you can play like Kirk (take crazy risks) or Spock (analyze the odds). I find that both funny and accurate.
Extras
There are some enterprising folks who have scavenged copies of Advance to Boardwalk to add extra playing pieces to their copies of Can't Stop - I am not one of them. First, that's rude to a very nice game (Advance to Boardwalk). Second, Can't Stop isn't as much fun with 5+ players.
My last four games of the 2013 Gathering of Friends were the Can’t Stop tournament. I won my first two rounds, then squeaked forward in the semifinal with a second place finish over my arch-nemesis (and good friend) Larry Levy. (There were two semifinal games with 3 players each – the first two players to complete 3 columns advanced to the final.) So, I found myself in the final against Daryl Andrews, Rebecca, and the designer of two of my favorite games: Tom Lehmann. I quickly shot up the board & claimed the 6 and the 8… but it took what seemed like forever (thanks to a couple of near-misses) for me to finally nail down a 3rd column and the win! That win SHOULD have meant that I got the first pick off the amazing prize table in 2014... but as I was not able to attend, I got nothing but the thrill of victory. Sigh.
designers: Ralph Bienert, Ryan Hendrickson, & Alexander Pfister
Print Status
in print
Why It's On The List
The first time I saw Alexander Pfister’s Maracaibo played, it took a crew of dedicated heavy gamers 4+ hours to finish. (They all loved it – but it was, well, “a lot”.) So, rather than invest in the physical game, I picked up the iPad app and played multiple games against the AI. It was, still, “a lot”. So I was hopeful that Pirates of Maracaibo would be a little more manageable. What I didn’t expect is that it would have all of the stuff I liked about the original game with all of the churn surgically removed.
Tips & Tricks:
As far as I can tell, there is not a single winning strategy - so much depends on the layout of the cards and the actions of other players.
There isn't any direct combat in the game - but other players can purchase cards before you get to them or raid for treasure in ways that make the treasures you have less valuable.
Many of my early plays of the game ignored the Black Markets you can build. I've come to believe that they can be quite useful, depending on the placement of the Location (aka "island") cards in the board layout.
Extras
The Commanders expansion adds some downright nifty twists to the game - rum, commanders, forts, "cannons"... in addition to a greater variety in the game due to additional cards and a more variable exploration board. (The picture above is from a solo game played with the Commanders expansion.)
I am aware of but have not played the Bermuda Triangle expansion - but I want to!
This is the third of three games on this countdown designed by Alexander Pfister.
The name implies the genius of the design - with a six card hand, you aren't simulating a whole baseball game... you're just showing us the highlights. Set in a future timestream where robots are batters and pitchers have cybernetic arms, this wonderful game melds deck-building with hand management in clever and interesting ways.
Tips & Tricks:
Drafting well is key... and part of that key is paying attention to the types of players your opponent is drafting.
Losing a game on your way to the World Series can be beneficial, if you stack your team with popular players that enable to get higher quality draftees.
While I'm not a fan of the three player variant in the rulebook, the 2 player game is great and the 4 player tournament is amazing with four experienced players.
Extras
The expansions that add players have some nice twists - but the coaches and ballpark expansions are just for variety (aka non-essential).
I haven't seen a copy of the reprint (yet!) - but all of the expansions are included in the box.
This is the third of three Mike Fitzgerald designs on my top 100 list.
follower of Jesus, husband, father, "pastor", boardgamer, writer, Legomaniac, Disneyphile, voted most likely to have the same Christmas wish list at age 58 as he did at age 8
