Board 8 > Jesse Ranks User-Nominated Cover Art - The Rankings

(+) Yeah! (+)

Going to try to finish this tonight.

3. Metropolys by Ystari Games - Simoun
http://www.ystari.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/metcouv.jpg


Originality: 6.5
Aesthetic: 8.25
Story: 5.5
Personal: 7
Average: 6.81

The moment I first saw this image it jumped off the page to me with its fantastic artwork and vibrant coloring. This is a rare instance where all the varied colors seem to compliment each other perfectly, such as the light blue sky with pale green clouds working with the shades of blue and green on various features of the building. Also, I like the way the woman looking on stands out with the shades of red on her dress and hat, bringing some of the focus to her despite how attention-grabbing that building with the wild architecture is.

Much of the Originality score here comes from that building (or is it a group of connected buildings). In fact, it's difficult to even say what inspired the style, which has a dreamlike quality, while still managing to retain some sense of believability.

As for the Story score, I can't go quite as high, although there is some sense of atmosphere from the woman looking on at this unique environment. But it's a somewhat vague image that despite looking beautiful doesn't tells us that much about the actual plot. Still, it is clearly an eye-catching and intriguing image that makes me curious to learn more about the world of Metropolys.

Jesse_Custer posted...

While it's not quite my favorite Radiohead cover (OK Computer),

well fuck I was trying to decide between them haha
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Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Jesse_Custer posted...

While it's not quite my favorite Radiohead cover (OK Computer),

well fuck I was trying to decide between them haha

Kid A is still a pretty great cover, and was one of the more interesting ones to discuss on this list. I probably have a bit of a nostalgic attachment to OK Computer because it was the album that got me into the band in the first place.

All right, let's do this.

2. Skindred - Union Black - Murphiroth
https://m.imgur.com/bYkE1Kg?r

Originality: 8
Aesthetic: 7.5
Story: 6.25
Personal: 6.5
Average: 7.06

This is one of the most attention-grabbing covers I've ever seen, but there's also plenty of subtle details when you take the time to look more closely with all those objects and shapes on the lion’s head. It's an unapologetically bizarre image, which is what I like most about it, and I don't even think I need to explain why it gets such a high Originality score. But it also looks fantastic, the lion, the almost overwhelming barrage of images on the animal, and the coloring with just the right amount of variety despite favoring shades of yellow.

The more difficult factor to score here is Story. It's one of those covers where I'm not entirely sure of the intended message, but not due to any fault of the cover. The lion is clearly a symbolic creature, with its mouth open wide in a ferocious roar, and all that stuff to the back of the lion’s head seems to be part of the animal itself, from the Stars of David to the telephone booth and butterflies. So does the lion represent some aspect of society or a country? As I said, it would largely be guesswork, but there's certainly enough of a message here for a strong score in Story.

All in all, a very impressive and memorable cover that really stood out.

1. Scythe by Stonemaier Games - Simoun
https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic2323719.jpg


Originality: 6.5
Aesthetic: 8.25
Story: 8.25
Personal: 7
Average: 7.5

This is a gorgeous painted cover that looks even better the longer you look at it. The cover is just one of a series of fantastic paintings that resulted in a massive amount of funding through Kickstarter for the board game Scythe, each depicting the unique blend of down-to-earth rural landscapes and cyberpunk inspired war machines. The contrast of nature and technology is striking, resulting in the picture simultaneously looking like a historical painting and some kind of science-fiction video game.

This cover conveys a strong sense of story about its society in which technology is portrayed as an oppressive force, with black smog elevating from the machines into the smoggy sky as farm workers look on. It's almost as if the machines went back time to another era, but despite the fact that they do not belong, they blend in astonishingly well through the use of a consistent art style. The colors are also brilliantly utilized, with the brightest colors on the farm workers’ clothing and the wheat in the field, set off against the stark conformity of coloring for the war machines (aside from the small flags on top).

This is an extremely intriguing concept that makes me curious to learn more about the alternate history depicted in the image. Fantastic cover, and the all-around best entry on the list.

I'm glad to have finally finished a ranking topic again, and I had fun with this one as I always do with this concept. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Final thoughts on the rankings?

Bumping for discussion/feedback

More feedback is always appreciated!

I didn't wanna jinx it when I saw my last 2 noms were in the top 3. But I always knew Scythe was going to be my top!

It's funny that Metropolys has such a beautiful cover because this is one of those games where the cover sells it. The game, not so much

https://boardgamegeek.com/image/318433/metropolys?size=large

Those buildings!

The same could be said for Scythe. I mean, the premise is awesome, and so is the game. But the first time I heard of this I was like "Oooh an economic game with steampunk machines in the backdrop of a civil war." Well, War is right. So much so that War has consequences. Yeah, it turns out this game actually deters you from fighting. You'll have to fight at least once, but its just way too costly and the losers never really die. Scythe for me was one of those hyped up kickstarter games that almost made me bite the bullet. It's beautiful. But its really not what it was trying to portray cover-wise.


Just curious Jess, you mentioned at the very start of this thread that 7.5 was your average. What would be a 9 for you, then? A 10? Those must be some really high standards.
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Simoun posted...

Just curious Jess, you mentioned at the very start of this thread that 7.5 was your average. What would be a 9 for you, then? A 10? Those must be some really high standards.

Actually I treated a 5 as average, so anything I gave a 5 for Personal is something I neither like nor dislike, and a 5.25 would be just slightly liked, and so on. So even a 7 or up for me is a really strong like, and something in the 9 to 10 range would have to be one of the best covers I've ever seen.

The scoring system was probably more helpful for me in deciding placements than it was for anyone following the topic, but I figured I should share the scores to give a better idea of my thought process.

Simoun posted...

The same could be said for Scythe. I mean, the premise is awesome, and so is the game. But the first time I heard of this I was like "Oooh an economic game with steampunk machines in the backdrop of a civil war." Well, War is right. So much so that War has consequences. Yeah, it turns out this game actually deters you from fighting. You'll have to fight at least once, but its just way too costly and the losers never really die. Scythe for me was one of those hyped up kickstarter games that almost made me bite the bullet. It's beautiful. But its really not what it was trying to portray cover-wise.

This sounds interesting.

Board games are something I never really took the time to get into, at least beyond the mainstream stuff everyone and their grandparents has played like Risk, but I feel like I might enjoy some of them if I made the time.

I really didn't expect Union Black to land this high!

The images in the lion's mane are definitely significant.

I nommed Skindred in your music topic so the image might make more sense eventually, although they're a metal band so they're not gonna be your thing. They're from the UK (hence the Union Jack/telephone booth) but the music they play is a weird mix of funk/metal/reggae/hip hop so the lion itself could represent Jamaica.
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Great project as always, Jesse!
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Murphiroth posted...

I really didn't expect Union Black to land this high!

It was a really cool image. I had a feeling it was going to do well before I even scored it.

scarletspeed7 posted...

Great project as always, Jesse!

Thanks!

That was a fun ranking to follow! I really like the winner too.
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Guess I'll bump this a couple more times.

Jesse_Custer posted...

This sounds interesting.

Board games are something I never really took the time to get into, at least beyond the mainstream stuff everyone and their grandparents has played like Risk, but I feel like I might enjoy some of them if I made the time.

It's a different and very strange time now. It's like boardgaming has gone Golden Age in the past few years and we're starting to see some really good (and bad) new mechanics come and go.
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woo Scythe love

the only one of your top rankings I disagree with is Kid A - I personally think it's super ugly and also doesn't have any inherent story to it. I mean, I could come up with twenty stories to match it, but that's just english-major folderol; it's more an exercise in imagination than anything about the picture itself.

fun ranking though!
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