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.
It's a great theme (the running of the bulls) with great art and even better game play... you must have courage to win - and the willingness to shove your opposition to the ground.
Tips & Tricks:
The tempo of the game can vary wildly - depending on how the Toro cards appear. That's not a bug... it's a feature - part of what makes the game so charming..
Extras
I was pleasantly surprised how well this game works with 3-4 players... of course, it's a "more the merrier" game that is an absolute joy with the full complement of six people around the table.
This is from the same gaming design family as Viva Topo and Midnight Party. (It's a family I'm fond of...)
I've often wondered about how you can lose courage points when someone else shoves you (and worse yet, they get them!), but it's still fun.
This is the second of five (5!) games designed by Wolfgang Kramer on this countdown.
Yes, I'll be the first to admit there can be some wild swings of luck - some card combos are unbelievable in their massive synergy - but one of the real joys of the game is discovering those, whether you get to do it yourself or watch someone else find the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And the card-splaying mechanic is just cool.
Tips & Tricks:
One of the great temptations in Innovation is the "I need to do something IMPORTANT every turn" longing... it can talk you into cranking up a Dogma action that helps others more than it helps you. Watch out.
The game is very good with 2-3 players... if you want to play with 4, you should use the partnership rules - they're a lot of fun.
Extras
I can not recommend the first expansion (Echoes of the Past) highly enough - not only does it introduce some nifty new mechanics to the game (echoes, forecasts & bonuses) but they also finally put all of the special wonder info on the new player mat.
I like the Figures in the Sand expansion, but it makes play even more complicated.
There are new rules for how to integrate the expansion cards into the game... evidently, it is to help with upcoming expansion plans. While I didn't have any problems (except a lengthy set-up/deck shuffling issue) with the original expansion rules, these work great and reduce set-up time. (This note is primarily here for folks like me who own the earlier edition of the game.)
I've been able to play the newer expansions finally (Artifacts & Cities)... and while they're great for completionists, I don't personally need to upgrade to own them.
If you're new to the game, however, the Innovation Ultimate box is currently in production with late pledges (it was crowdfunded) likely to open in the near future.
The implementation on BGA is really solid... a great way to play if you have trouble getting this one to the table in "real life".
A tableau-building push-your-luck game with some "you scratch my back, I'll scratch your back" added in to increase the fun... and the current version available in the U.S. has all the expansions along with the base game in a single box.
Tips & Tricks:
You need to properly assess what your opponents are getting from the number of cards you flip (or don't flip) on your turn. Alternately, you can vocalize what you see happening to warn less savvy players.
Buying something just because you can afford it is not always a good idea... patience is a virtue and no gamer hath enough of it.
Extras
This is the second of three designs by Alexander Pfister on my top 100 list.
A cooperative game that's simple enough to play with elementary age kids... and (with the additional cards added in) difficult enough to challenge gamers.
Tips & Tricks:
Getting the jewels out is how you win. Failing to contain the ghosts and haunts is how you lose. You have to think "clean up" as much as "run for the door".
Try not to get stuck landing in the hallways - no chances to shoo away ghosts plus you could be blocking the pathway for someone else.
Extras
I have the Expansion Pack... which is difficult enough. I haven't yet had the chance to play the Creepy Cellar expansion (and the going aftermarket OOP price is likely to keep it that way.)
This three-handed trick-taking game resets trump on each and every trick - and yet the unique scoring system (with bargain piles and junk piles) is surprisingly easy to understand. It's just difficult to play well!
Tips & Tricks:
There is a memory element to the game - but you can refresh your memory between hands.
The game will play with four players - but three is the number you really want.
Don't be ashamed of a low score - it took me 2-3 games to get a positive score.
Extras
This game just ended up on Chris Wray's 20 Favorite Trick-Taking Games list for 2024 over on the Opinionated Gamers site. "If I could pick one game that is undervalued by those newer to the trick-taking obsession, it is Bargain Hunter. The game is a masterpiece!"
I'm not sure why Ra jumps on & off my top games list... it's a splendid auction game that scales well from 3-5 players and is filled with tension and constant reevaluation of values.
Tips & Tricks:
Timing is everything. Seriously.
My first play of Ra was 90 minutes - which was miserable and turned me off the game for a good year or so. When I finally got to play it at normal speed (30-45 minutes), it jumped considerably in my estimation.
There are times (particularly in the final epoch) where winning an auction simply to trade up for a better sun is a good idea. These do not happen as often as I see people making these kinds of trades.
I finally had the opportunity to play with the new DELUXE edition (wooden big tiles, fancy bag, etc.)... it was very cool but I'm ok with my old skool original edition. (The best thing about the new set is the player boards.)
This is the second of seven (7!) Reiner Knizia designs on the list.
An attractive remake of the very abstract dice game Level X... but don't let the abstractness fool you. It's highly entertaining with some tricky decisions on when to spread yourself thin and when to focus intensely on a single mountain goat.
Tips & Tricks:
Setting yourself up to take over a mountain when no one else is close is really nice - particularly if you can hoard all of a particular number chip and keep folks from claiming the "one of everything" bonuses.
If you have alternatives, it can be worth it to let another player "win" the mountain so you can butt them off. (That's the way mountain goats roll, right?)
Extras
Not a lot to say here... but it is a part of a series of games being reprinted by Allplay. (The UI here is much better than their GPS reprint of Finito!.)
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 six player game this year 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.
As much as I love Entdecker (the parent game to the Im Reich series), I love this gamer-friendly take on desert nomads & the struggle for water & goods even more.
Tips & Tricks:
The name literally means "in the realm of the desert sons". And while the game rules are in German, almost all of the actual components are language-neutral.
This is designed by Klaus Teuber - the same guy who gave us Catan.
There is one other game in this series: "In the Realm of the Jade Goddess" - which is a little more of a family game. There was supposed to be a third game - "In the Realm of the Demons" - but it was never published. (This continues to make me sad in my heart.)
Water is your friend - do not (if you can help it) run out of water.
Camels are also your friend - you'll need some in order to win the game.
An important rule change was made AFTER publication - in order to complete an oasis on the edge of the board, the outer edge of the piece must be desert. Makes the game trickier - and better.
Extras
I need to actually write a review of this game... which is probably not going to happen any time soon.
I also need to bug my friend (who shall remain nameless) with a connection to Herr Teuber to see if
a. this can be reprinted
b. In the Realm of the Demons could be released into the wild!
Just a thought: a Kickstarter "big box" with all three games in one box. :-)
This is the third of five (5!) Klaus Teuber designs in my top 100 games.
The best of the customizable dice games out there... and it moves along at a furious pace as you develop your little medieval realm.
Tips & Tricks:
Much like Dominion, being able to look at the collection of special powers/die faces available in the game and make a coherent plan for development is a key to victory.
When there are "attack" die faces in play, you want to make sure you have some defensive capabilities... as the combination of attacks + winter can put you into a death spiral (and hasten the end of the game).
Extras
There is an expansion on the way (Trade) which I not had the opportunity to see.
Tom (the designer) published solo & cooperative rules for Dice Realms... they are worth checking out.
This is the third of seven (7!) games designed by Tom Lehmann on the countdown.
A clever puzzle of a game that incorporates deck-building, dice placement, and a nicely thought-out series of mini-expansions in the base game box.
Tips & Tricks:
Sequencing your card purchases is an important skill... working so that you group nobles together, for example, makes it much easier to spin through your deck.
It isn't necessary to throw in every mini-expansion on your first play to prove your "gamer cred" - the base game is enjoyable on its own merits.
Extras
There is an expansion (Open Doors) that adds some neat extra twists to the game... but I still haven't got to play through all of the modules. (Sigh.)
My younger son refers to Taverns as "gamer Quacks"... not sure I completely agree, but I see where he's coming from.
This is the first of two games designed by Wolfgang Warsch on the countdown. (I don't think you'll have a difficult time figuring out the other one.)
While I'm not a fan of Martin Wallace's "classic" games (Age of Steam, Brass, etc.), I think that this card-based skirmish game is brilliant. It plays quickly, each faction has it's own flavor, and the plethora of expansions and maps available give the game system great variety. (And the miniatures are excellent.)
Tips & Tricks:
There are two tricky concepts when introducing the game to new players - first, the pictures on the cards are not "who can use this card". (That is indicated by the flags on the edge of the card.)
Second, the wise use of the Interrupt actions can often be the difference between winning and losing... but it's really tempting to use the wild movement or draw 2 capabilities of those cards.
While some teams thrive on being in a tight group (or at least in LOS of each other), it's often smart to spread out your team to find your shards.
The balance of victory conditions (you get 1 point for each opponent figure eliminated and 1 point for each shard recovered - first to 5 points wins) means that some teams will focus on getting rid of opponents, some will race to harvest their shards, and still others will aim for a balance of objectives.
Extras
I own all of the expansions - and while I think they all have things to recommend them, my favorites are the second map pack (The Fall of the Dark House) and the incredible big box (The Ancients).
Speaking of The Ancients, it not only adds a couple of great maps, a team play mode, and a new faction of high-powered Ancients... it also adds an excellent solo mode as you face off against those Ancients.
A really well-thought-out "dudes on a map" game that subverts the ever-present turtling problem with a varied set of rewards for attacking other players.
Tips & Tricks:
Hordes of cheaper figures can work just as well as a few expensive figures - and sometimes even better.
This is the rare combat game that works well with 2, 3 or 4 players.
I know I said it in the previous section - but it's worth saying again: turtling does NOT work in this game. ("Turtling" is emphasizing heavy defense and little or no offense, in hopes of getting your opponents to exhaust themselves fighting each other and/or throwing themselves against your defenses in vain.)
Extras
The FFG edition (2nd edition) evidently contains some variant stats for the units as well as some extra tiles and an alternate middle hex - but I haven't played it and am perfectly happy with my H/AH original edition.
There's a new edition with new art coming from Renegade Games Studios this summer... with a molded plastic Monolith (and some of the rules variants from the FFG edition).
Have a massive multiple armada space battle... in 60 minutes. With almost no luck.
Tips & Tricks:
Important safety tip: I was a long-time playtester on this game... it's not my baby but it certainly feels like it.
I do wish the colors of two of squadrons in the blue fleet weren't so dang close. I need to use a Sharpie to mark one of them.
Like Catan, initial placement is important. You have to make wise choices based on your special power and your judgement about the relative aggressiveness of your closest foes.
Extras
I wrote an ode to joy about the publication of Battle Beyond Space on my blog back in 2009.
The inscription on my "thank you for playtesting" copy of the game...
While I didn't like Klaus Teuber's attempt to make Anno 1503 deeper via an expansion - I thought it was bloated & made the game much too long - I think his 2nd attempt at a similar game was very, very successful. And that's Anno 1701, which feels like a cross between Catan & Anno 1503.
Tips & Tricks:
There are lots of options to harvest victory points (which can win you the game) - but you can't try to do all of them.
The island tile sets are nearly identical - the brown ones are just farther from the starting point.
Extras
Sadly, this game has never been published in English - there are some translation issues but they shouldn't be an insurmountable barrier.
Not liking Catan does not necessarily mean you'll dislike Anno 1701 - give it a try!.
My hot take: I think this design informed the design of Catan: Explorers and Pirates... they share a number of very good design ideas.
This is the second of five games on my top 100 list designed by Klaus Teuber.
A fast-moving game of space conquest with built-in variety and room for great tactical play. And I love the cover art.
Tips & Tricks:
Thanks to the modular board format, the game works like a charm with 2, 3 or 4 players.
The combat system is pro-attacking... wise players will take advantage of this to slow down opponents, even if it doesn't directly benefit your plans for placing quantum cubes.
Learning how to use the "free" ship powers is the key to playing well. They are easy to overlook in your first play.
The technology cards may seem out of balance at first - but each card can be very helpful when paired with the right strategic and tactical play. I'm constantly finding new ways to combine card powers and ship powers.
When I say "fast", I'm not kidding. A long game of Quantum lasts an hour.
Extras
I haven't written much about Quantum - which is really too bad. It's a great, great game.
The Void expansion - which was available through the BGG shop - is a nifty addition to the game.
A city-building game that does three things really, really well: 1) it plays cleanly, 2) it uses the Age of Steam braking system in a way that doesn't make me want to throw myself out a window, and 3) every player ends up with a city/neighborhood with it's own personality.
Tips & Tricks:
Over-obsessing about goals early can cause real problems in creating the proper engines to get income and population growth.
Hate-drafting is possible here - if for no other reason that you need another lake to generate some quick cash.
The game is (except with five players) almost perfectly pitched for playing time - you have enough turns to do interesting things but not so many turns that the game wears out its welcome.
In some ways, the 2 player game is more swing-y than the 3 or 4 player game... because of the number of tiles you don't see in the game. (I still really like as a 2 player game.)
Extras
There is are two expansions for Suburbia - I really like Inc. for adding borders and other interesting twists. Five Star is a little clunky but it's the only way to add a fifth player.
The new edition is available now... along with a single box that contains both previously mentioned expansions plus Nightlife and two smaller sets of tiles.
I love the expedition mechanic at the heart of the game. There's nothing quite like it... (well, this isn't altogether true - but look in the Extras for more on that.)
Tips & Tricks:
Travel bucks are a relatively scarce currency that aids you in game play and must be managed VERY carefully.
Watch the number of arrows left in each expedition - other players can run them out to keep you from certain sections of the board.
There are a variety of options in how loops work - we like the "place anywhere on the loop" one - but you should give them all a try.
While the game will work with 2-6 players, it's best with 2-3.
Extras
The designer (Wolfgang Kramer) actually revised his classic Ravensburger game (Wildlife Adventure) which became Expedition - and then he gave it a big tweak and turned it into a children's game (Schatzsucher). While I haven't played Schatzsucher, I've enjoyed my couple of plays of Wildlife Expedition (and still kick myself for not picking up a copy back when you could find them at zoo gift shops).
There were some rules changes for National Geographic Expedition edition - I only played once but I didn't like them. Frustratingly, I don't remember what I didn't like!
designer: Asger Harding Granerud & Daniel Skjold Pedersen
Print Status
in print
Why It's On The List
Riffing on the same basic system as Flamme Rouge (also a great game), the designers created an even more interesting and fluid early '60s racing game, complete with customizing your cars, multiple tracks, weather conditions, and even a coherent way to play a season of races.
Tips & Tricks:
Management of your engine heat is crucial... I've seen more than one game won simply by one player having enough heat left to boost his final shot at the finish line.
The base race system is solid - but the game floors it when you add in the additional modules.
The Legends module allows you to run non-player cars - I recommend it highly to have full field.
Extras
The first expansion (I'm guessing, since there's room in the original box insert for another expansion) has just been released - Heavy Rain. It includes new tracks, a new car, and new upgrade/championship/event cards.
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 becoming a refrain as I create these posts - sheesh).
The lightest of the Race for the Galaxy family games is not just a sci-fi retread of Tom Lehmann's The City... it's an interesting blend of the two systems to make for a very quick and highly enjoyable tableau building card game.
Tips &Tricks:
Chances are excellent that someone who hasn't played much will tell that a certain building strategy is "broken" and "always wins". See my personal information below for why I raise a Spock-ish eyebrow to that claim.
You only have 6-8 rounds before the game is over... so exploring (drawing extra cards instead of building) is a serious decision. Doing it twice is just a nice way to say "let's play again after you beat me."
Extras
I have played Jump Drive 139 times and The City 111 times.
The new expansion for Jump Drive, Terminal Velocity, not only adds some new elements to the game but also has a really well-done solo mode.
I wrote a review of Jump Drive for the Opinionated Gamers website. (I will note that I am now incorrect in that review - the newest edition of The City makes it much easier to teach - it's in English - and score - it has point chips just like Jump Drive.)
This is the second of seven (7!) Tom Lehmann designs on the countdown... and the first of three Race for the Galaxy-themed games.
the name means "Magic Sword & Dragon Egg" - and it's a fantasy-themed game of auctions, negotiation and engine-building that has won my two sons over
Tips & Tricks:
There are two basic truths you must remember in order to play Z&D well:.
remember that you can negotiate - but never trust that the player following you in the turn order will honor your deal
remember there is a certain level of engine-building that must be done in order to be successful - just saving up energy to zap monsters for victory points will not win you the game
I am a huge fan of both expansion boxes - they add some great twists to the base system that increase the variety of paths to victory. They do, admittedly, add some length to the game.
I've played this over & over and I'm still intrigued each time. How far can I push my luck? Should I play aggressively or defensively? For such a simple game, it continues to draw me in. (Probably doesn't hurt that the production of the game is gorgeous.) Now, it's not that I win all that much. My wife is a pro... and my oldest son gets better every game we play.
Tips & Tricks:
I know some people don't like the big cards or the board... but I do.
Good Lost Cities play is based not only on the cards you draw but also on the play of your opponent. It is a game about reading their plan as much as executing your own.
Lost Cities spawned a whole series of games:
Keltis & it's uglier cousin, Lost Cities: The Board Game (I enjoy them both)
Keltis: Die Orakel (which I have not played)
Keltis: Der Weg der Steine (which I like enough to put on my old top 100 games list)
Keltis: The Dice Game (so-so)
Keltis: The Card Game (decent - but I like Lost Cities better)
Lost Cities: Rivals (which is very good!)
Lost Cities: Roll'n'Write (which is decent as well)
Extras
Here's a link to what I wrote about Lost Cities for The One Hundred...
This is the first of seven(!) Knizia game designs on my top 100 list.
A solidly Alexander Pfister game - but less complicated and long than Great Western Trail and substantially more thematic than Oh My Goods and/or Expedition to Newdale. Added bonus: post-apocalyptic theme sans creepy post-apocalyptic art design.
Tips & Tricks:
Once you head down a particular scoring/development pathway, the shortness of the game requires you to make sure you are doing everything you can to keep that particular game engine fed.
Resources are much more plentiful in 3 & 4 player games... switching back to solo is sobering!
The game can be played as a campaign (7 games long) or as a single game - it works well both ways.
It is not a legacy game - but it does have campaign elements that hang on from game to game.
Extras
I've enjoyed the solo campaign so much that I've played through the seven game arc twice!
Any game that involves guys riding dinosaurs into combat around a volcano is totally worth my time. The fact that it's stupidly fun just makes it even better.
Tips & Tricks:
Sometimes, it pays to decimate a particular type of dino (raptors, for example)... so you can use their cards as wild cards for other dino types with more firepower.
Whatever happens... no matter how bad you want revenge for a sneak attack... remember the win condition - when one player is knocked out, the player with the most dinos left wins. It's "all too easy" (thank you, Lord Vader) to get preoccupied and give the game away to satisfy a thirst to beat on the guy who's been hitting you.
Extras
The literal translation of the game's name is "The Battle of the Dinosaurs"... but I've always called it The Battle of the Dinosaur Riders.
Yes, I've badgered the good folks at Restoration Games to take a close look at re-imagining this game.
This is the first of two games on my countdown designed by Stephen Baker... who is assisting Restoration Games in restoring the classic Crossbows & Catapults.
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
