#69: Flamme Rouge (Mark's Top 100 - 2026)

Flamme Rouge

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 288
• rating: 7.5
• published: 2016
• designer: Asger Aleksandrov Granerud

Print Status

• in print

Why It's On The List

• It's apt to compare this game to the classic 6 Nimmt card game (what with simultaneous action selection and resolution of cards)... but it's really a well-thought-out way to simulate cycling that plays in 30-45 minutes. 

Tips & Tricks:

• Looking at the track and figuring out to shepherd your "good" cards for later in the race is an important skill.
• Drafting is key in this game - holding the lead for most of the game will end up with you sputtering at the end (just like real cycling!).
• Watch for tight spots or crowded groups - you can get caught where you can't catch the leader due to the crowd rather than your lack of good cards.

Extras

• I reviewed Flamme Rouge for the Opinionated Gamers... and also advanced my theory of the Three Buckets of Sports Games.
• There are two "big" expansions for Flamme Rouge - Peloton (which adds two more teams and more kinds of road to race on) Grand Tour (which adds specialist riders and an excellent system for building tour races). There also Meteo (which adds weather conditions), a smaller expansion. I reviewed all three of them last year.
• The Grand Tour expansion absolutely brought Flamme Rouge back to my top 100 games list - it's really well done.
• I'm a little sad that Um Reifenbreite didn't make it into my top 100 games... it's a wonderful racing game but I've had immense difficulty getting it to the table in recent years.

#70: Showmanager (Mark's Top 100 - 2026)

Showmanager

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 2,444
• rating: 7.0
• published: 1996
• designer: Dirk Henn

Print Status

• out of print

Why It's On The List

• A wonderful card-drafting game that whips along at a breakneck pace and offers a consistently enjoyable gaming experience as the players cast (and miscast) theater productions.

Tips & Tricks:

• You don't have to be a card counter to do well - but it is good to know what "9" cards are remaining in each show.
• You do not have enough money - so you're going to have to accept that one of your four shows is going to be, well, a flop.
• Use your flop show to borrow money - a common tactic is put on a flop, put it in the lowest point value city & then take the maximum amount of money out of the show.

Extras

• While I'm very glad there is a reprint available (though it's OOP as well), I do want to note that the two included variants are not necessary to enjoy the game.
• Thankfully, the truly inferior version of the game (Atlantic Star) is out of print. 
• And, no, I haven't ever played the original version, Premiere.
• Showmanager scales really well for 3-6 players... I'm least fond of 4 but it still works well.
• Here's what I wrote about Showmanager for The One Hundred.
• Finally, I got Showmanager to the table last month at Gulf Games... and it holds up beautifully.

#71: A Brief History of the World (Mark's Top 100 - 2026)

A Brief History of the World

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 3,819
• rating: 6.9
• published: 2009
• designers: Gary Dicken, Steve Kendall, and Phil Kendall

Print Status

• out of print

Why It's On The List

• It's all about the epic sweep of history - and this particular version of a game system originally published in 1991(!) is the best yet. It's tighter, smarter, and faster than any previous edition - playing time is about 3 hours for six players to experience this dudes/empires on a map masterpiece.

Tips & Tricks:

• I first played the Ragnor Brothers' History of the World in the mid-90s. The experience was a disaster - six new players coupled with the overly wargamer-tinged rules of the original Avalon Hill publication of the game meant it took us nearly four hours to complete two of the seven epochs... and then we abandoned the game.
• It was nearly six years later when I received an early prize table pick at a gaming convention and thanks evidently to a whiff of the massive amounts of plastic figures in the box decided to pick up the Hasbro/Avalon Hill edition as my first pick. The game was substantially better than I had remembered - esp. with the revisions that had been made to streamline the design. It became one of those "once a year" games (because of the length... 4-6 hours) though I wanted to play more often.
• Fast forward to late 2009 as the Ragnor Brothers announced that they had - nearly 20 years after the first edition was published - once again made some major revisions to their signature game. The early press was positive enough for me to plunk down some hard-earned cash on it - seeing as how I hadn't played my beloved H/AH copy of HOTW in nearly 3 years.
• I didn't waste a penny... though I miss the 7 different plastic minis (one type for each epoch) and the shiny capitol/city markers, everything else I love about the game system is still there - and less. It's shorter, leaner & tighter (our last six player game took 3 1/2 hours with 2 new players)... and there's actually more room in the game for tactical & strategic decision-making while reducing the number of armies on the board. The refining of the empire deck (giving more thematically specific powers to some of the empires) and the costing of the event deck (many events now come with some kind of VP cost to activate) make for an even better game.
• This is more of an experience game than a strategy game - but given the choice, you want to score when you have lots of pieces on the board (follow a late empire pick with an early empire pick) and deny the same opportunities to your opponents.

Extras

• I've quoted above pretty much the only thing I've written about A Brief History of the World.
• Here's the two (admittedly short) blurbs from The One Hundred: the group blurb & my personal blurb.
• I have not played the most recent published version of History of the World... but I'd certainly like to try.

#72: Nations: The Dice Game (Mark's Top 100 - 2026)

Nations: The Dice Game

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 1,284
• rating: 6.9
• published: 2014
• designer: Rustan Håkansson

Print Status

• in print? (easy to find the base game, expansion is difficult to find)

Why It's On The List

• While the original game Nations is enjoyable, the dice game does a lot of the same things in a much tighter time frame... and with a really clever dice manipulation mechanic.

Tips & Tricks:

• The base game is good - but this is one of those games that really shines once you add the expansion: asymmetric starting positions, unrest dice, more variety of tiles.
• The shift from engine-building (getting more dice and tokens) to point-harvesting is key - and especially pronounced in the fourth & final round of the game.
• You cannot do everything - colonies, wonders, leaders, etc. Let that impulse go.
• Don't forget that you can convert a pair of dice into other resources - it feels wasteful, but sometimes it is your best choice.
• The solo mode works - but there are better solo civilization games.

Extras

• I need to write a full review of Nations: The Dice Game (which is always a refrain as I create these posts - sheesh).

#73: Royal Turf (Mark's Top 100 - 2026)

Royal Turf

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 1,197
• rating: 7.0
• published: 2001
• designer: Reiner Knizia

Print Status

• very out of print

Why It's On The List

• Another great example of Knizia using math to make fun instead of dry as dust slogs (I'm looking at you, Auf Heller und Pfennig/Kingdoms.) It's horse racing with actual gambling & great levels of player involvement. It plays well with 4-6 players and I've never had a dull game of Royal Turf.

Tips & Tricks:

• Play with the "zero"/bluff bet variant & face-down bets. Trust me on this one.
• If you're in the lead, make sure your bets are on the better odds horses... and with the players who are closest to you in score.
• If you're behind, leave the leader on his own on a couple of horses. (This takes working together... which doesn't always happen.)

Extras

• There have been three versions of the game - my favorite is Royal Turf, but Winner's Circle may be easier to find.
• Here's what I wrote about Royal Turf for The One Hundred.
• This is the second of five games designed by Reiner Knizia on this countdown.

#74: Tanz der Hornochsen (Mark's Top 100 - 2026)

Tanz der Hornochsen

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 5,080
• rating: 6.5
• published: 2004
• designer: Wolfgang Kramer

Print Status

• out of print (but new version is sort of available)

Why It's On The List

• Designer Wolfgang Kramer took his classic 6 Nimmt game & converted it into a delightful hoot of a board game - and one I'd rather play than the original card game.

Tips & Tricks:

• One of the key decisions in the game is "when do I buy more tiles"? Making that decision correctly gives you a better chance at victory.
• There is actually more visible information in Tanz than in a standard game of 6 Nimmt... and the ability to pull back tiles when you step in the poop can really mess with what happens next.
• The game works well with 4-8 players... and is a go-to game with the larger numbers (particularly with new gamers). The game is playable with three - but there are better choices. 

Extras

• You do not need to have played 6 Nimmt/Take 6 in order to understand "The Dance of the Bulls". Everyone is pretty clear that you don't want to step in the poop.
• A new 6 Nimmt board game was released in Germany back in 2019... while I enjoyed it, I like this one better.
• There is a newer English/Korean version named Dance of Ibexes... but I haven't seen a copy yet.
• This is the first of five Wolfgang Kramer games on this countdown.

Top 100 Songs: #40-#31

OK, I admit it. Two different artists have two songs each in this ten song stretch.

• #40: Hero (Steve Taylor - 1984)
• There are multiple versions of this song that Steve recorded… but I'm still drawn to the original '84 recording, synthesizers and all. (Got to see Steve perform this live last Sunday night - singing along at the top of my lungs.)
• Hero / it's a nice-boy notion that the real world's gonna destroy / you know / it's a Marvel comic book Saturday matinee fairytale, boy / Growing older you'll find / that illusions are bought, / and the idol you thought you'd be / was just another zero. / I wanna be a hero.
• #39: Mr. Blue Sky (ELO - 1977)
• The first record album I bought with my own money was ELO's Out of the Blue… and almost instantly this was my favorite song on the record. When the tune starts playing over the initial fight scene of Guardians of the Galaxy 2, I couldn't keep the grin off my face.
• #38: Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads - 1983)
• Stop Making Sense still ranks as one of the best concert films ever made. Full stop.
• #37: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2 - 1987)
• Interestingly, the gospel version in the Rattle & Hum film (also a great concert movie) and the gospel version on the soundtrack record are not identical - but both are excellent.
• #36: Miami 2017 (Billy Joel - 1976)
• I found Billy Joel's SONGS IN THE ATTIC cassette in a bargain bin late in my college years - nearly a decade after the original recording of the song. So it's not a surprise that I love the Songs in the Attic live version the best.
• #35: Hold Me Jesus (Rich Mullins - 1993)
• Rich's heartfelt prayer rips me up every stinkin' time.
• Surrender don't come natural to me / I'd rather fight You for something I don't really want / Than to take what You give that I need
• #34: Almost Threw It All Away (Charlie Peacock - 1990)
• Charlie's confessional song about marriage gains even more resonance 35 years down the line… both in his marriage and in my own.
• #33: Elijah (Rich Mullins - 1986)
• Like Steve Taylor's "Hero", there are multiple recordings of this song by Rich - but the stripped down piano-based one from his debut album is still my favorite. I want this song played at my memorial service when I die. 
• #32: S.O.S. (Julie Miller - 1993)
• "Sick of Sex" (abbreviated title due to her skittish record label) is a blistering indictment of a culture that has lost the thread when it comes to physical intimacy. Julie (along with her husband Buddy) are some of the icons of American roots music. This song, however, is rock'n'roll.
• #31: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (Billy Joel - 1977)
• It's a mini-musical/rock opera that not only tells the story well but uses the music to draw us inside it. I first heard it as a junior high school student and have never gotten it out of my head.

#75: Tales of the Arthurian Knights (Mark's Top 100 - 2026)

Tales of the Arthurian Knights

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 3,201
• rating: 8.0
• published: 2024
• designer: Eric Goldberg & Andrew Parks

Print Status

• in print

Why It's On The List

• Building off of the classic "choose your own adventure" board game (Tales of the Arabian Nights), Andrew Parks created a richer, cleaner, and more deeply thematic take on the system that feels true to the source material (Arthurian legends and myths).

Tips & Tricks:

• When playing the full game, you'll want to choose a particular path of renown to focus on - both for scoring purposes and to better support your knight's development.
• The game is at its best with folks who cold read well and are willing to push into the lite-RPG elements of the system. 

Extras

• I wrote an extensive review of the game for the Opinionated Gamers website last year.
• This is the first of two designs by Andrew Parks on my top 100 list.