So I like games and I like lists, so I expect you'll see a lot of posts involving each here. This are my current top ten games, subject to change based on what I have for breakfast.
1. Dominion
Even if you don't like deck building games, you have to admire the elegance of Dominion. The cards are almost universally simple and straight forward, yet they are well balanced and require no errata. I, on the other, love deck building, and to be able to build decks without the hundreds of dollars it takes to invest in a ccg is quite nice. Every game is like a mini puzzle that provides you with instant feedback on how well you solved it. I can say much more , but I think the best way to illustrate just how much I like Dominion is the following. I'm not sure I've played a thousand games of Dominion since it game out a three years ago, but I probably have. I've got a bit over 500 ranked isotropic games in there at least*, and will be hosting my 2nd tournament next month.
* hawkeye on there if you anyone is interested in head-to-head action.
2. Settlers of Catan
Settlers was my gateway to the good stuff. As it turns out if you like playing mediocre games, you'll love playing good games. I haven't played it much lately, but it remains my favorite game to use as a gateway for new gamers, and I've seen more than one person light up while playing it for the first time . It has just the right amount of player interaction, randomness, length, and complexity to be enjoyable to almost all. Plus it got me a free trip to Ohio, more than can be said about the rest of this list* And it makes a pretty wedding cake.
*I'm looking at you Macao
3. Pandemic
Most people I game with I want to beat into a bloody pulp, but occasionally, say with people I married, I don't actually enjoy seeing them losing. This brings us to the wonder of co-op games where players to be on the same team against the vile game itself. Pandemic remains my favorite of this genre. It is thematic, difficult but usually not impossible, variable, rewarding, and fast enough that you can play multiple times. Especially is the world goes boom in spectacular fashion early on.
4. Tichu
I spent a lot of time growing up at my grandma's house playing cards growing up like Casino, 7's and Rummy. It was a good thing I didn't know Tichu at that point as Nanny didn't pick up new games too well, and Tichu is a much better card game than any of them. Tichu is a climbing game with partnership that uses a slightly motivated deck of cards. It isn't too complicated, but is just inundated with strategy, which can change drastically even during the same hand. If you have 3 other people and one of them you don't hate, you should give Tichu a try.
5. Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
Thanks goodness for online gaming as it has taken TTA from a game that I played once with numerous incorrect rules, to a game that I've played so much that I've started growing tired of with only the occasional incorrect rule. I love epics in any form and TTA more than any game I've played, feels epic. You are building a civilization from ancient times to modern day and will have a tale to go with it . There are many paths to victory, but you must remain balanced enough to not be screwed. Just an incredibly deep, well thought out creation.
6.Apples to Apples
The only party game on the list and the rare game in which I'm not actively trying to win. It allows me to let my sarcasm run freely and forces others players to try to think like me. What's not to love?
7. Overpower
A nostalgic pick as I haven't played the years, but it was one of the obsessions that got me through high school. Would like to see how it has held up over the years at some point. It is highly thematic and has some fantastic mechanics, but not remotely well balanced.
8. Macao
My favorite game from my favorite non-Dominion game designer Stephen Feld. In has a really neat dice mechanic, and, well there is other stuff too, but the dice mechanic is enough.
9. Twilight Struggle
When I play war games like Axis and Allies I enjoy taking over random countries like New Zealand and Madagascar.* While Twilight is more of an area control game than a war game, it does reward such a strategy, as you are going for influence rather than domination. Alternately, you can set off a nuclear bomb, but that has the downside of resulting in an instant loss. This cold war reenactment is steeped in history, there are pages in the rulebook dedicated to telling the historical relevance of each card, but is still a good enough game that you can enjoy it without being interested in the subject matter. I just bought a copy, and am excited to break it in.
*Okay mostly just New Zealand and Madagascar.
10. Scrabble
Scrabble is a tile laying game in which.. oh you've heard of this one? It is only game of my youth that I still play regularly, albeit it mostly in Words with Friends. I do love beating people with superior vocabulary by creative use of letters. I only wish there were fewer legal two letter words, as words like qi and za upset the scoring balance.
Honorable mention
Tigris & Euphrates
Endeavor
Vasco De Gama
Ticket to Ride USA (with 1910 expansion)
Stone Age
No comments:
Post a Comment