Board 8 > Paul ranks his top 50 tabletop games (2019 edition)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Time for my third year of this! (sort of). I did a 2017 list and it went over pretty well I think. The next year I did a 2018 list but abandoned it pretty early due to life and other commitments that were distracting me from it. I am back with the 2019 edition. I used a website called Pub Meeple to help with putting my list together this time. It has a really neat ranking tool.

These rankings were made at the end of 2019. This topic is a couple of months late mostly because I was busy with school and I didnt want to take any attention away from SeabassDebestes topic. He gave me his blessing to start this whenever I was ready to, and now is a good time seeing as I have completed my current major assignments.

Looking over the rankings, theyre still pretty similar to my current thoughts, however there is one game that I finally obtained last month and I am really enjoying it, so Ill give that game an honourable mention at some point.

I plan to start by briefly paying tribute to the 7 games that were on both the 2017 and 2018 list, but didnt make the cut for the 2019 list.

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tag

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hoping i can finish before you! my pace has dropped a lot in recent weeks
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Haha Im sure you will, I dont plan to speed through that quickly.

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Starting with some of the fallen games. These will be in order based on the highest placement they've had on previous lists.

Good Cop Bad Cop
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/153064/good-cop-bad-cop
Year Released - 2014
Genres/Mechanisms: Deduction, Hidden Role, Team vs Team
Previous lists:
34/50 (2017)
29/50 (2018)

Good Cop Bad Cop is a hidden role team vs team game where players need to find out who is/isnt on their team and then take out the other teams leader. It also includes equipment cards that can be incredibly swingy, but I kinda like that in this game. Its amusing when one person ends up playing a card that changes the entire course of the game.

Smash Up
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/122522/smash
Year Released - 2012
Genres/Mechanisms: Area Majority, Take That
Previous lists:
28/50 (2017)
32/50 (2018)

Ive definitely been cooling on this game. The concept of taking two different factions and mixing them together is really neat and can lead to some cool combos. Ill still play this game if given the chance, but I dont see myself requesting it over other games.

Ars Alchimia
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/160432/ars-alchimia
Year Released - 2014
Genres/Mechanisms: Worker Placement, Set Collection
Previous lists:
23/50 (2017)
43/50 (2018)

This is a neat little anime-looking worker placement game about fulfilling alchemy orders. Youll be sending your workers out to gather resources, recruiting assistants, accepting orders, and renting cauldrons. I do still enjoy it, but there are just so many worker placement games out there that I havent been able to get this played too often.

Splendor
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/148228/splendor
Year Released - 2014
Genres/Mechanisms: Set Collection
Previous lists:
21/50 (2017)
49/50 (2018)

Splendor is a great light strategy game thats easy to teach and learn. I enjoy playing it, but there are just other games out there that have since come out that I prefer to play more. There was a 4 module expansion that was released for it a couple of years ago. Ive only played one of the modules and it was okay. Another game that Ill still play if offered.

Loony Quest
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/136991/loony-quest
Year Released - 2015
Genres/Mechanisms: Real-time, Action/Dexterity
Previous lists:
17/50 (2017)
33/50 (2018)

Loony Quest is an interesting game that plays like a platforming video game in a sense. It has a map in the middle of the table and each player has a clear overlay. Players have a time limit to draw on their overlay the path that they intend for their character to travel and then players will one at a time place their overlay on the map in the middle and see how they did. Youll score points on how well your character travelled and lose points if you walked into obstacles, etc.

Two more games coming before the real list, and these have both been in my top 10 on a previous list.

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Another one of these? Guess I'll follow this one too.

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Mechs vs Minions
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/209010/mechs-vs-minions
Year Released - 2016
Genres/Mechanisms: Co-op, Programmable Movement
Previous lists:
9/50 (2017)
16/50 (2018)

Mechs vs Minions is so far the only board game made by Riot Games. I have never played League of Legends, nor do I ever plan to. With absolutely no knowledge of LoL I still thoroughly enjoyed this game. Its also the only programmable movement game that I have enjoyed. Its a co-op campaign game with an amazing production that Riot Games basically sells at cost. After we finished the campaign I ended up selling it. The campaign is replayable and you can really play any mission you want to at any time, but I didnt see the likelihood of that happning often enough to justify keeping a box of that size.

Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/129437/legendary-marvel-deck-building-game
Year Released - 2012
Genres/Mechanisms: Co-op/Semi co-op, Deckbuilding
Previous lists:
2/50 (2017)
24/50 (2018)

I used to really like Legendary. I still do and will still play it, but Ive definitely cooled on it. This game has so many expansions that youll likely never play with anything. The main problem Ive noticed with this game is the schemes. Based on how well the deck is shuffled, the game can end way too quickly just because too many scheme twists were near the top of the deck. This was the first deck building game that I really got into, but there are a lot of better ones out there now.

Okay, onto the official list shortly.

#50: Part of this game's name contains the name of a real city.

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played thr tutorial level of mechs vs minions and it was very interesting. no chance i'd ever get to campaign it though.
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El Dorado?

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#50 - Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/156129/deception-murder-hong-kong
Year Released - 2014
Genres/Mechanisms: Party Game, Deduction, Bluffing
Previous lists:
38/50 (2017)
30/50 (2018)

Description: Deception is a hidden role game all about finding out which player is the Murderer. Cards will be dealt out to each player that will say either Investigator, Forensic Scientist, or Murderer. The Forensic Scientist essentially acts as the host of the round. Every other player will have four "Means of Murder" cards and four "Key Evidence" cards in front of them. Players close their eyes and the Murderer will wake up and point at one of each card in front of them, allowing the Scientist to see their choices. When everybody else opens their eyes, the game begins. The Scientist will have 6 tiles in front of them that they will use to give their clues with. One is the cause of death, one is the location of the murder, and four will be randomly selected other hints. Each tile has six different options on them and the Scientist will start placing wooden bullets on the tiles next to the answer that they think best leads the players toward the Murderers choices. There are a few rounds that switch out a tile for a new one, but these tiles are the main way for the Scientist to communicate. As the players are discussing amongst each other, each player has one official guess. When they think they know the answer, they select who they think it is, as well as their guesses on which two cards were selected. They have to be 100% correct or else the Scientist will say no. The game will end when the murderer is correctly identified (Investigators win) or when every player has wrongfully used up their guess (Murderer wins). There are a couple of extra roles you can add for a higher player count such as Witness and Consulting Detective.

tl;dr: One player tries to reveal which other player is the murderer by silently giving clues.

Thoughts: This game has dropped a bit for me due to lack of play. I still like it from time to time, but there are other hidden role games out there that I prefer over this one. The role of the Forensic Scientist can be stressful when you accidentally give one bad clue that people misinterpret and it unintentionally throws off the players for the rest of the game. Or when players are discussing the correct solution, but then they discuss something else and never come back to their previous discussion. Definitely a good game though and it has led to plenty of funny moments that I still remember to this day.

#49: This is a "dice game" version of a preexisting game.

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roll for the galaxy though it might be a bait, i dont know how many dice games of preexisting games exist

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#49 - Bang! The Dice Game
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/143741/bang-dice-game
Year Released - 2013
Genres/Mechanisms: Party Game, Dice Rolling, Deduction, Bluffing
Previous lists:
8/50 (2017)
50/50 (2018)

Description: Bang! The Dice Game is a better version of Bang! (card game). Players are dealt roles in secret that could be Sheriff, Deputy, Outlaw, or Renegade. They are also dealt a player ability card. The Sheriff & Deputy(s) want to kill the Outlaws and the Renegade(s), the Outlaws want to kill the Sheriff, and the Renegade(s) want to kill Outlaws and then kill the Sheriff. The Sheriff will start by revealing their identity and taking the first turn. On a player's turn they will roll 5 dice with the chance to re-roll any amount dice they want (usually). Once they have rolled 3 times, their results are locked in and they carry out actions based on what they rolled. These actions will allow you to shoot other players, heal yourself or other players, get shot by arrows, or shoot everybody with a gatling gun. When a player runs out of health, they reveal their role and are out for the game. The game ends as soon as one team completes their goal.

There are two expansions for the game. Old Saloon adds new dice that can be swapped in, new ability cards, and the option for the first eliminated player to come back as a ghost and continue playing, albeit in a very limited way. Undead or Alive adds more characters, more new dice, rage cards, and zombies. At one point, all of the eliminated characters return as zombies and the Renegade becomes the zombie leader. Then it becomes humans vs zombies. I have not tried this yet but I am at least interested to.

tl;dr: Sheriff & Deputy(s) want to kill Outlaws and Renegade(s), Outlaws want to kill Sheriff, Renegade(s) wants to kill Outlaws and then kill Sheriff.

Thoughts: I really liked Bang in 2017 apparently. That was around the time when my group was playing it almost every session. I generally dont like player elimination, but this game is quick enough that it doesnt really matter. And the expansions add the option remedy this. Definitely a fun one to play when you want a quick game to finish the evening with.

#48: The first Plaid Hat game to appear on this list.

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Summoner Wars

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deception is a cute one, though i'm glad i don't own it - those clue cards are kind of small

guessing... dead of winter?
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SeabassDebeste posted...

deception is a cute one, though i'm glad i don't own it - those clue cards are kind of small

Despite liking it, I've added it to my "will likely sell pile". I don't play it often enough to justify a spot on my shelves plus two of my other friends own it now.

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#48 - Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/167400/ashes-rise-phoenixborn
Year Released - 2015
Genres/Mechanisms: Hand Management, Dice Rolling
Previous lists:
30/50 (2017)
35/50 (2018)

Description: Ashes is an expandable card game. In this game players will select their Phoenixborn character card and a deck of 30 cards as well as 10 dice. There are 4 sets of dice and most cards need specific dice to play, so when building a deck you want to make sure you have a good balance of dice that match the cards in your deck. This game has an interesting rule where you are allowed to select the 5 cards that make up your opening hand. At the start of each round players will roll their 10 dice and draw up to 5 cards. On your turn you can play cards by spending required dice such as allies, spellbooks that summon conjurations, and other cards with random action effects. Each Phoenixborn has their own health and you win when you reduce your opponent's Phoenixborn's health to 0.

Tl;dr: A collectible card game with dice.

Thoughts: I have a good time playing Ashes, but I havent played it as much lately due to the vast amount of other 2-player games out there. I know Ashes can play up to 4, but Ive tried it with 3 once and never will play with more than 2 again. Another thing I havent mentioned yet is that the art in this game is phenomenal. Ashes is now finished and Im okay with that. There are plenty of Phoenixborns that I haven't even gotten to use yet. On a quick count I think there are 25 total.

#47: This is an example of a game that comes with a great insert.

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#47 - The Grimm Forest
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/212402/grimm-forest
Year Released - 2018
Genres/Mechanisms: Simultaneous Action Selection, Set Collection, Take That
Previous lists:
n/a (2017)
41/50 (2018)

Description: Each player is an ancestor of the three little pigs. The goal of the game is to build houses made of straw, wood, and brick. There are 4 locations full of resources and each player has a hand of cards consisting of the locations. Every round players will play a card and all reveal at the same time where they went. If one player is at a location alone, they get all of the resources there. If multiple people go to the same spot, they have to evenly divide them. There are some "take that" cards where you can do things like send monsters to locations that will attack to the players who went there. You can also get friend cards which give you a special ability throughout the game.

tl;dr: Play cards at the same time to go a location and gather resources to build houses.

Thoughts: This isn't a game I bring out all the time, but when I do it always goes over well. It's also been pretty successful as a gateway game. The presentation is really nice with GameTrayz and nice minis. One other thing of note which might be considered a spoiler for somebody who wants to get the game. There is a magic lamp card that mentions a genie, but there is no genie card. However, if you take out the insert, and remove the fake bottom layer of the box, there is a genie card. This is a nice touch and I didn't know about it until probably 8 months or so ago. I guess whenever I had the magic lamp card I would check the discard pile for the genie and when it wasn't there I just disregarded it.

#46: A small hidden identity game.

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#46 - Coup
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/131357/coup
Year Released - 2012
Genres/Mechanisms: Deduction, Bluffing
Previous lists:
n/a (2017)
48/50 (2018)

Description: Coup is a quick little hidden identity game. There are 5 different identity card with 3 copies of each in the deck. Each player is given two randomly dealt cards face down. Each identity has it's own power and on your turn you'll claim which of your identities you are using. You can lie about the identity you have, but if you're called out and you were lying, you lose one of them, and when you lose both then you are eliminated. If you wrongfully accuse somebody of lying, then you lose a card instead. Game ends when everybody has been eliminated.

tl;dr: With two face down cards, use powers that your cards have and you can try to lie if you want.

Thoughts: Coup is one of those games that I like, but don't want to play all of the time. When I play it every so often, I really enjoy it, but if I start playing it too much, then I'm done for a while. I guess the only other issue I have is when one person is targeted by a few players, there really is almost nothing they can do about it and they will be eliminated soon enough. I know that's the case with a lot of games, but it would be cool if that person had some way to help save themselves.

#45 This game plays over the course of three in-game years.


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coup is pretty decent

next one has to be seasons?
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I guess that one was pretty easy

#45 - Seasons
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/108745/seasons
Year Released - 2012
Genres/Mechanisms: Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Tableau Building
Previous lists:
29/50 (2017)
23/50 (2018)

Description: In this game players will start with a hand of 9 cards and separate them into 3 stacks of 3 cards. One stack will be your opening hand, while the other two stacks will be saved for later when you enter year 2 and year 3. Each season has their own set of dice and the start player takes the appropriate dice based on the current season and rolls them. Starting with the active player going clockwise, dice are drafted. Each face has different effects such as gaining element tokens, drawing cards, increasing your spell gauge, and collecting crystals (which are VP). Then starting with the active player, you play cards from your hand spending elements to do so. Cards have abilities that can be activated multiple times or just once, but either way they remain face up in front of you and are worth VP (sometimes - VP) at the end of the game. There will be one die not selected during the draft, and at the end of the round that die moves the time track 1-3 spaces (each season has 3 spaces). Game ends after the third year.

tl;dr: Roll big dice and then play cards to make cool combos.

Thoughts: I like the neat combos you can do with the cards in this game. Also the mechanism of the unselected die affecting the length of the game makes the last player's decision interesting because their choice can have an affect on the game ending sooner or going on longer. I also like how the dice are pretty big, but people playing next to you might not enjoy that aspect as much haha.

#44: This game has camels in it.

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Great_Paul posted...

#44: This game has camels in it.

Arabian Nights?

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five tribes?

after doing my seasons writeup, i played seasons again. i think i'd almost certainly drop it down my rankings. i felt that f'ing up the initial draft basically wrecked me. the actual game felt kind of painful to go through.
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Yeah I can see that. Messing up the draft can definitely be crucial in that game. That's why it's nice how it gives the suggested opening hands but those ones are pretty basic.

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#44 - Jaipur
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54043/jaipur
Year Released - 2009
Genres/Mechanisms: Hand Management, Set Collection
Previous lists:
16/50 (2017)
34/50 (2018)

Description: Jaipur is a 2 player game. Players will have a hand of cards consisting of 6 different goods. There will be 5 cards face up and on your turn you can either take cards or trade in cards for points. If you take cards you can either take one card for free, or trade cards from your hand for 2-5 of the face up cards. If you trade in cards for points, you take as many point chips of the good you traded in. The key is to trade fast because they decrease in value over time. Game ends when 3 of the 6 piles are depleted or the deck runs out. Best of 3 games wins.

tl;dr: Draw cards or swap cards and trade in groups for points.

Thoughts: This is a quick game, even when you do a best of 3. It has some good tough decisions on whether you should trade in your cards early to ensure the higher point chips, or if you should hold off to get more of the same cards to get more point chips in one trade. Definitely one I'll always be willing to play.

#43: Hero......"

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Sorry, brief hiatus from this.

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tag yo

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Tag!

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This has been up for a week and I haven't seen it?

Tag

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Okay back on track for updates tomorrow!

This last weekend I was at my local board game convention which was pretty cool. I was the coordinator/teacher on Friday night for a game that will be coming up on this list soon. I also got a $10 gift card to my FLGS for winning at the #2 game on my list (I guess I had a slight unfair advantage).

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#43 - Hero Realms
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/198994/hero-realms
Year Released - 2016
Genres/Mechanisms: Deck Building
Previous lists:
10/50 (2017)
39/50 (2018)

Description: Hero Realms is a reimplilention of Star Realms. When it was first released, the big difference was that you could buy hero packs (fighter, wizard, thief, etc) that came with their own cards and abilities, and this gave the players an option for asymmetry. If you're unfamiliar with Star Realms, these two games are quick deck builders where the goal is to buy cards to attack your opponent and drop their health to 0. There are also campaign expansions that allow players to co-operatively play through different scenarios, and boss decks that allow one player to play a Dragon or a Lich and battle all of the other players.

tl;dr: Fantasy-themed version of Star Realms.

Thoughts: I played this game a bunch when it came out, hence why it made it into my top 10 earlier. I really liked that you could select your class and play in completely different ways. I started the first campaign a while back but didn't get to finish. I won't be finishing that one, so hopefully I'll eventually get to try again with a different group.

#42: This game is part of a trilogy of some kind.

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haven't played any of the star realms lineup

i'll go with a century game here - new world?
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#42 - Century: Eastern Wonders
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/242574/century-eastern-wonders
Year Released - 2018
Genres/Mechanisms: Pick-up and Deliver, Resource Conversion
Previous lists:
n/a (2017)
21/50 (2018)

Description: Eastern Wonders is the follow-up to Century: Spice Road. Instead of using cards in your hands to exchange cubes, players will travel across a map and set up trading posts to exchange their cubes. As you set up trading posts, you will also unlock upgrades for your ship that can allow extra movement, extra storage, extra points, or extra abilities added to your actions. There are 4 ports at the edge of the map and those areas are where players will exchange their cubes for victory points.

tldr: Move across the map exchanging cubes for other cubes and then exchanging those cubes for victory points.

Thoughts: I do like this game, however, I feel that it's the weakest of the Century trilogy. I will elaborate further when I get to those other games on the list.

#41: The name of this game makes it sound like it's based on a much older game, despite being almost nothing alike.

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Sorry for the lack of updates, I'll get back to this tomorrow.

With the quarantine stuff going on, my game group tried out Tabletopia. We played my #10 this evening and it went pretty well, though it took a bit for me to get used to how the control works. We also did voice chat so it was almost like playing together in person.

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i definitely need to play some online games!
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