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.
Based on the recommendations of others gamers (especially fellow Opinionated Gamer Chris Wray), I splurged on the Everdell Complete Collection without ever having played the game. As you can tell by where I placed this on my top 100 list, I don't regret that decision.
Tips & Tricks:
Everdell is a combination of worker placement and tableau building... all in service to the creation of a world filled with anthropomorphic forest critters. The whimsical and beautiful card and board art makes the game even more enjoyable to play.
The seasons mechanic has a number of interesting strategic considerations - since by not moving into the next season, you block other players from certain worker placement spaces.
While the game will play five players, we've found it most enjoyable at 2-3 players.
My sons' favorite expansion is Spirecrest (which add the large animals and the trek across the mountains)... I'm partial to Newleaf (which adds the train station and all the visitors).
Timing is everything in Everdell...
Extras
The production of the Everdell Complete Collection is stunning - the only problem is how dang big the box is.
Picture above includes both Mistwood and New Leaf.
There are two solo modes: Rugwort (which is mildly entertaining) and Mistwood (Nightweave & her spider crew) that really shines. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the personalities, plans, and plots available in the Mistwood expansion.
BTW, Chris Wray posted a weeks worth of Everdell reviews that are a great read if you’re interested. (These reviews pre-date the newest expansions, New Leaf & Mistwood.)
designers: T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, & Koltin Thompson
Print Status
in print
Why It's On The List
Galactic Cruise isn’t a huge step forward in gaming innovation – it’s a worker placement game with a variety of ways to score in-game and end game points. But the design accomplishes that with such style and thematic integration that I was instantly won over.
Tips & Tricks:
The game has what I lovingly call “the Tom Lehmann curve”. Those of you who’ve played some of Tom’s designs (particularly Res Arcana or New Frontiers) have experienced it – where the pace of the game accelerates dramatically as we approach the end of the game. I’m not complaining – I actually like this arc in games instead of the tendency of some Euros to get slower and slower as the number of decisions required make each turn longer & longer. (I still have PTSD from my last game of Tikal where I spent the final 30 minutes watching other players attempt to min-max their action points for the final turn.)
The biggest "blocking point" in the game is the competition for customers - it's the most limited resource.
Speaking of customers, you can use assign customers to flights that you have not scheduled in order to grab the bonuses... sometimes, that's easier than other ways to get cash plus it ties up customers that other players want to use.
Don't get fixated on a single strategy - a lot depends on what is available and what openings other players are leaving for you.
Extras
I told my adult sons (whom I have brainwashed into being rabid board gamers) that Kinson Key reminded me of Paverson Games – small companies with new designers who knocked it out of the park with their first big game. (Paverson is the company behind Distilled, my favorite “new to me” game of 2024.) Both games sport excellent rulebooks, splendid quality production, smart use of GameTrayz storage to make the game easier to set up & tear down, and really enjoyable game systems. Both used Kickstarter wisely to fund their big games – and, honestly, these kinds of games from small companies is a best use case scenario for crowdfunding.
The solo system works really well - and it's a pleasure to play.
I wrote a review of the game & solo system for the Opinionated Gamers site.
Note: I received a discounted review copy (yes, that means I paid for shipping and some part of the cost of the game).
A slightly more gamer-y 7 Wonders-ish card drafting game of civilization building... but that description sounds like damning with faint praise. The major difference is that you’re drafting a set of cards that you then use as resources (discarding them) or construction (building them) - the interplay can be fascinating and fast-moving... with the right players.
Tips &Tricks:
Creating production is key to winning... but you can make a huge production engine that doesn't generate a lot of points if you're not careful.
Learn when to give up on a card - preferably before you've invested too much in it.
Easy to forget rule: when you discard a card in your construction area, the resource pictured on the card goes to your civilization card - it's not used on another card in the construction area.
The main expansion offers some really interesting cards to mess with producing and scoring... and does so without doing any damage to the base game system.
Warning: a single AP player can slow this game to a crawl.
I also reviewed the newest game in the Wonderful universe, a 1-2 player stand-alone named It's A Wonderful Kingdom. (Second warning: this review contains a lot of Princess Bride references.)
The solo mode is very good - especially when you use the scenarios.
My younger son is a savant at this game... the student has become the teacher.
Take the part I like best about Kingdomino (the drafting system), use it to drive a tile placement game with thematic scoring (like Carcassonne but without the arguments about which set of farm rules we’ll be using), and provided the proper components (big cloth bag, easy to read tiles, clever use of cards to add variety) to make a really enjoyable game experience.
Tips & Tricks:
The scoring has a number of elements... however, they all make sense AND the scoring track includes a reminder of all the rules in play.
Start with the Family game... the Advanced Game has some risk/reward elements that won't be clear until you've got a couple of games under your belt.
Extras
The first expansion (Putt of No Return) does some helpful things: it adds interesting new course tiles and investors, it provides two-layer par boards (a welcome addition), and it fixes my main complaint about the original game with new and better art for all the cards.
The second expansion (Minigolf Empire) adds a bunch of new land cards as well as a campaign game version. I'm glad I own it but don't consider it essential.
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.
Flip your standard adventurers v. monsters around and put players in the role of harried dungeon masters trying to fend off sticky-fingered heroes. Add loads of RPG and WoW-related humor... and tie it together with an almost perfect melding of mechanic and theme.
Tips & Tricks:
My original impression of Dungeon Lords is that it only worked with a full complement of four players. I'm happy to say that I was wrong. My oldest son and I really enjoy playing two player - there are some interesting decisions in choosing actions for the non-player dungeon lords.
The Festival Season expansion makes the game a little longer & adds some more wrinkles... but they're really good wrinkles and worth the time if you like the game system.
You MUST pay attention to what other players can and cannot choose as actions to avoid losing an action.
CGE published a blinged-out version of the game (Happy Anniversary) - I spent too much money getting the pieces to upgrade my set, but the Anniversary set is just so darn cool.
Final warning: a 4 player game with the expansion fills up a dining room table - but it looks good doing it.
Extras
I'm really proud of my review of the Festival Season expansion... I think I managed to capture the humorous tone that adds so much to this game system.
The game that launched the European "game" invasion... the first true "franchise" game for Kosmos & Mayfair... a game so simple & yet so innovative that it could inspire devoted play with almost any crowd. This infinitely variable game of trading & building is still a personal favorite, even when way too many gamers have left it behind.
Tips & Tricks:
There are lots of strategy guides out there - the best I've ever seen was compiled by Scott MacPherson - and I republished it so you could find it:
While your first game may take 90+ minutes, it's not unusual for experienced players to knock out a game in 60 minutes or less. A lot of that depends on how quickly trading goes and how "aware" the people you're playing are - example: it doesn't matter how many times you ask for "brick", if we haven't rolled it in two rounds, it isn't there for trade. Sigh.
Our local group prefers playing 5 player with the slightly larger board and the "build around" rule.
Extras
The picture above is my well-worn but well-loved original German Die Siedler von Catan collection - which includes (pictured) the base game, Seafarers, Cities & Knights, the first twohistorical boxes, "The Book", and "The Chocolate Market"... and the 5/6 player expansions for all of the big boxes. Not pictured are Settlers of the Stone Age, Struggle for Rome, Rise of the Inkas, Candamir, and the original Starfarers (with the resin figures!). And let's not forget the numerous official country and state maps, a plethora of official variants, and even some oddball scenario maps created nearly 20 years ago and released at Essen by various folks. I've loved Catan for a very long time.
I wrote my Unofficial Guide to Catan back in 2007 - but the basic information is still pretty helpful, if not complete due to age. (Part 2 focuses on Catan spinoffs; Part 3 is a 2010 update of Part 1.)
I also wrote about my visit to the very first CatanCon.
Most recently, I wrote a review of Klaus Teuber's memoir, My Journey to Catan.
Despite not being a particularly big fan of Dune (the books or the movies), the game manages to combine deck-building & worker placement to evoke the feel of the Dune universe in an incredibly playable format.
Tips & Tricks:
One of the things I like best about the game is the ability to adapt your tactics/strategy to the character you are playing and the ever-changing board situation.
You don't have to win every conflict - in fact, sometimes the smartest thing you can do is let two other opponents duke it out and save your troops for a later battle.
The House Hagal mechanic (an AI deck) makes sure that 2 player games have enough filled board space without complicating the game unnecessarily.
I've played the game at all player counts (1-4 players) and enjoyed them all.
Extras
The Rise of Ix expansion has some great twists/additions to the game... highly recommended.
The Immortality expansion adds yet another layer of complication - but does add new ways to spend/use resources. Only for advanced players.
The solo design uses the House Hagal deck to create two feisty AI opponents... highly recommended as a solo game.
The app (available as part of the Dire Wolf games app) automates the House Hagal deck and helps walk you through set-up... as well as offering some alternate play modes.
I've played Dune: Imperium - Uprising a couple of times solo... it's working in the same basic space but adding some interesting changes to how the system works. (It also offers a 6 player team mode.)
The Bloodlines expansion mostly expands Uprising - in some intriguing ways.
I reviewed a 3D printed insert for Uprising & Bloodlines for the Opinionated Gamers site created by Play Mode.
This is the second of two Paul Dennen designs on my list.
designers: Dave Chalker, Brett Myers, Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobsen, Brian Neff, Jim Keifer, and Noah Cohen
Print Status
in print
Why It's On The List
A classic 80s roll'n'shoot received a substantial and extremely-thoughtful re-imagining to turn it into a game worthy of the moniker "a tabletop version of Mad Max's Fury Road". Plus, it's loads of fun.
Tips & Tricks:
While randomizing the road boards is fine, it's not a bad idea to avoid some of the more vicious/difficult ones (I'm looking at you, Scenic Route... and you too, Bunker.)
You can play with five players - we certainly have! If you do, I'd recommend using The Parking Lot as your starting board. (The Carnival of Chaos expansion adds a fifth "normal" team of cars.)
The Big Rig is an absolute hoot to play - but we still haven't seen it win a game.
Save the crew leaders and Choppe Shoppe cards - use them once you & your friends have a couple of games under your belts. The ability to evaluate how useful a crew leader or car modification will be based on the terrain you're facing is much easier once you have a feel for the game.
Extras
This is decidedly NOT a Euro game – there are way too many die rolls, tile flips with potentially horrible consequences, chain reaction events that can hurt or help you in your quest to win, etc. Everyone I’ve taught the game to has – with that understanding – enjoyed it immensely… but if your gaming tastes run more in the “think-y/crunchy/puzzle-y” direction, this is probably not going to be a good fit for you. Thunder Road: Vendetta is a game filled with improbable events and great stories… and while there are tactical decisions to be made, the amount of random tiles and dice rolls definitely slide TR: Vendetta towards the “experience game” end of the scale.
Back in 2010, I actually had the original game as #96 on my top 100 games list for that year.
I like the Carnival of Chaos expansion a lot but given the choice, I'd rather play the road race version of the game.
There is a simplified version on the way (Ignition!) as well as a second expansion with campaign elements (Interstate of Decay).
If anybody wants to get me a decadent completely over-the-top stupidly expensive present, the 3D terrain pieces for Thunder Road: Vendetta from Adrena Creative are at the top of my wish list.
This is the third of five (5!) games on my top 100 list designed by Rob Daviau, the second of three by Justin Jacobsen, and the first of two by Noah Cohen and Brian Neff.
Normally, I’d balk at a game with a non-random combat system and heavy intertwined mechanisms – but the theme of defeating the Voidborn is so tightly woven into the design & flow of the game that I find myself lost in the world and the puzzle of trying to expand my civilization’s capabilities whilst fending off the encroachment of mind-altering evil.
Tips & Tricks:
You have to know two things about this game going in: first, there's a LOT going on and it's going to be overwhelming. Second, for as heavy as it is, it's not a tremendously long game - 2 hours as a solo game and 3 hours or so as a two player competitive game.
I don't care if you're the savviest gamer in town, you should NOT skip playing the tutorial. It's an actual game with an excellent guardrail system that gives you a pretty full tour of the complex game system without sending you down a railroaded pathway.
It takes a bit to get used to the combat system. Remember: the "battles" in this game are multi-year wars, not a single battle. (It's a highly abstracted and non-random system... but it works well in the context of the game.)
All but two of my plays of Voidfall have been solo - and that system (which is similar to the cooperative system) works like a charm.
Extras
The copy pictured is the Galactic edition - which has cool miniatures and lots of other bling. The underlying game engine is strong enough not to need the bells & whistles.
Yes, I've already backed the upcoming expansions (Resurgence and The Last Novarch) as well as the "sister" game in the Voidfall universe, Revenant.
This is the fourth of four games on this countdown with design work from Dávid Turczi and the second of two games from Nigel Buckle... not to mention the second of two games designed by this team!
A cooperative comic book game that uses multiple card decks (heroes, villain, environment) to tell the story of a "battle royale". It's enhanced by a well-developed mythos and a plethora of sly references to various "real" (read: DC/Marvel) superheroes.
Tips & Tricks:
Some games have the potential to divide gaming groups into "wow - love that! let's play again" and "I'm pretty much done with that one after one play" - Sentinels is definitely one of those. I get to play a lot because both of my boys and one of my best friends LOVE the game.
When teaching new players, you MUST let them get to know their hero decks on their own. Avoid the temptation to tell them which cards to play - it will kill their enjoyment of the game... and shortchange them of the joy of "discovering their superpowers".
Building a good superhero team is a little like building a good D&D party - you need a variety of skills to take on different situations.
One of the skills that is difficult to master is creating a challenging but not impossible game - the right combination of heroes, villain & environment.
Extras
There are a LOT of expansions for this game system - we own pretty much everything that has been published because part of the fun is getting to take on a new challenge each time. However, the game out of the box is quite enjoyable.
OblivAeon is the final expansion for the game... and it's a table-eating 3.5-4 hour slugfest against multiple foes. It's an attempt to recreate the full-on nuttiness of the original comic book Crisis on Infinite Earths... and it succeeds. It's not for the faint of heart... but my eldest son and I love it. (Out of 6-7 plays, we've only won once.)
My boys & I created a way to play that we really like - The Bloodsworn Arena. Basically, you send one team up against one weak villain after another and see how long you can last. My younger son managed to get ALL of Unity's mechanical golems in play - which is an impressive amount of firepower. (The picture here was taken during that game... and Collin is pictured with his plushy Mr. Chomps.)
I don't think the Sidekick app is necessary - I've found it to be as fiddly as using tokens. (I have added some more generic tokens to my set for marking Nemesis status and Setback's Unlucky pool, etc.)
OTOH, I think that the Sentinels app is a fantastic addition to my iPad gaming library... we have all the expansions in digital form as well.
As of writing this post, Sentinels of the Multiverse has been bought by Handelabra, the company that publishes the digital/iOS app version of Sentinels. This gives me some hope that the Definitive edition will continue to grow.
designers: Wolfgang Kramer, Richard Ulrich, and Jens Christopher Ulrich
Print Status
back in print
Why It's On The List
You have 21 moves - 7 auctions & 14 actions - in order to turn your estate into the perfect place for great artists & scientists to create their masterworks and bring prestige to your name... each action, each bit of coinage, each building, each recruitment is vital. What a perfectly formed & thematically rich (yes, I think it is!) Euro game...
...it's the perfect balance between game length (70 minutes) and an unforgiving system. Any longer, and it would be soul-deadening to play out the final rounds when you know you've lost all hope of winning. Any shorter, and there wouldn't be enough time to make meaningful decisions in this game's Spartan structure.
Tips & Tricks:
I first started playing The Princes of Florence with a German version and cheat sheets to translate the cards. The game was/is good enough that people were willing to get over themselves & learn to play this way. (I have since replaced all of the components in my set with English language equivalents except for the player boards... which is what you see in the picture above.)
This game is subject to groupthink - despite much debate online, jesters & recruitment cards (both of which are valuable) are worth what the market will bear, not some arbitrary number established by a bunch of game nerds (he sez with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek).
There are two expansions available with newer versions of the game that are nice but not necessary. (For those of us who've played it a lot, they offer some variety - but the original game is so good that even I, the Man Addicted to Expansions, don't feel like they are important.)
The building strategy (building LOTS of buildings) can work - but only if you commit to it and only if you're the lone person attempting it.
Extras
Here's what I wrote about The Princes of Florence for The One Hundred: both the list entry & my personal entry.
This is the fifth of five (5!) games designed by Wolfgang Kramer 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