Board 8 > Board Game Topic

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Basically I'm looking for some cool board games to put on a list and give my family so they can get it for me for christmas and was wondering if anything cool game out recently or if there's any other hidden gems out there.

I tried finding a list of best board games of 2021 but it seems like every list seems to have a ton of games that did not come out in 2021 or even recently.

Also I just like talking about board games in general so what's everyone's favorites.

It's hard for me to get buy in to play anything too complex or too long. I personally am a huge fan of worker placement, deck-building and co-op games. I would say some of my favirotes are:
-Lords of the Waterdeep
-Mansions of madness
-Dominion
-Libertalia
-Power Grid
-Puerto Rico
-Agricola
-7 Wonders Duel
-XCom The Board Game

(I like and own a lot more but that gives an idea)

Games I am currently looking at:

-The Quest for El Dorado
-Horrified
-Brass: Birmingham (This one might be slightly more complex than i'm looking for but it's highly rated, curious if anyone here has any opinions on it)

But yea, anyone have any recommendations or any games they just want to talk about/think look interesting

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Honestly, going down board game geeks list of top games and trying them out before buying us your best option. There are some up there I love (Gloomhaven, Gaia Project) and some Im really not a fan of (Terraforming mars) and some Im kind of meh on.

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masterplum posted...

Honestly, going down board game geeks list of top games and trying them out before buying us your best option. There are some up there I love (Gloomhaven, Gaia Project) and some Im really not a fan of (Terraforming mars) and some Im kind of meh on.

That's my typical strategy (well not trying them, it's hard for me to try them before getting them usually) but i've kind of gone through most of the top 100 that looked interesting to me at the first glance, so was hoping some people had recommendations that they like to give me some ideas.

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Colegreen_c12 posted...

That's my typical strategy (well not trying them, it's hard for me to try them before getting them usually) but i've kind of gone through most of the top 100 that looked interesting to me at the first glance, so was hoping some people had recommendations that they like to give me some ideas.

Try tabletop simulator. For instance Gaia Project is my favorite game of all time but its really heavy and I cant in good faith recommend you buying it without trying it on tabletop first

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If you like deckbuilding and worker placement, definitely look at Dune Imperium. My group has completely fallen in love with it.

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masterplum posted...

Try tabletop simulator. For instance Gaia Project is my favorite game of all time but its really heavy and I cant in good faith recommend you buying it without trying it on tabletop first

Playing the game on tabletop simulator is fine, its getting my friends or family to play it with me on tabletop that is the problem.

And yea, that's one i've thought looked cool for in a while but haven't got because I know it will be too complex that I never get to actually play it.

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NBIceman posted...

If you like deckbuilding and worker placement, definitely look at Dune Imperium. My group has completely fallen in love with it.

Looking at this again with your description has made me interested in this, Thanks! (I had looked at it before and passed it off for some reason)

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Dune Imperium is great and I also recommend it.

Moonrakers is a somewhat recent one for deck building that I enjoyed (only played once or twice so far though)

Incidentally, both have great Tabletop Simulator mods.

Brass Birmingham I've played once and liked it a whole lot, but it is definitely a bit complex. Might be one where it's kind of hard to understand from reading the rules until you actually play then it clicks. I think there's an App you could try to see if you like it? No idea how well made it is though.

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KommunistKoala posted...

Moonrakers is a somewhat recent one for deck building that I enjoyed (only played once or twice so far though)

Incidentally, both have great Tabletop Simulator mods.

Brass Birmingham I've played once and liked it a whole lot, but it is definitely a bit complex. Might be one where it's kind of hard to understand from reading the rules until you actually play then it clicks. I think there's an App you could try to see if you like it? No idea how well made it is though.

Moonrakers seems cool but I don't think you can buy it atm unfortunately.

Good to hear about Brass Birmingham.

Also I just want to mention that I like collecting board games, even if I get a board game and don't love it it's not a huge deal to me (although I do try to get ones that I think I will like)

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For worker placement there's also Vitticulture (expansion makes it much better but I still enjoyed the base game) and the three West Kingdom games (Paladins of the West Kingdom, Architects, and Viscounts). I can't quite remember what the differences between the 3 are without looking it up but worth looking into those and seeing if any sound good.

Played Dwellings of Eldervale a couple months ago and that was great but it's probably not for sale right now and it's also quite pricey because of the components/size

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Highly recommend:

Castles of Burgundy
Settlers of Catan
Pandemic
Azure
Tiny Towns
Hive

Probably in that order

In the more mid-weight range (slightly below Agricola territory):

- If you play with 3-5 then I very strongly recommend Hansa Teutonica, a tactical route-building game with just a tinge of area control. Highly interactive without being too mean. (On the lighter side of this, Ticket to Ride is also nice.)

- If you play with 2-3 a lot then I highly second Castles of Burgundy, where the two dice you roll on your turn determine the options you get to do. Get to build a pretty estate and make clever combos that will make your two actions per turn feel stronger.

- Concordia is a beautiful, smooth game that's fun and satisfying from the first go - building trading posts across the Mediterranean to generate (and spend) five different resources. Mostly you'll be doing your own thing, but the crux of it involves positive player interaction, similar to the way you gain resources via dice in Settlers of Catan.

- I'd also look into Keyflower, which combines auctions with worker placement; your workers are also the resources you use to bid. Major hybrid mechanics with a delicious mix.

- Among co-ops and deck-builders, definitely give Aeon's End a go. The theme of mages fighting a nemesis is pretty generic, but the way it forces you to be tactical about fighting upfront threats while also prepping to take down the ultimate boss is great. The four nemeses in the base game also play quite differently - can be very addictive. Has lots of expansions.

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On the light end:

- Magic Maze is a real-time cooperative where players together control four pawns and navigate them physically... except that instead of controlling one pawn, you control all four, and each player is restricted to moving a pawn in one direction. Can be maddeningly fun.

Exciting talking about these - it's been two years since my last list so I think I may be doing another top games list again soon!
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Colegreen_c12 posted...

Looking at this again with your description has made me interested in this, Thanks! (I had looked at it before and passed it off for some reason)

If that mechanism combo appeals to you, you might also take a look at Endless Winter and Lost Ruins of Arnak - haven't played either myself because the themes are much less interesting to me but I've heard good things and you might have the opposite taste!

I'd be remiss not to mention Everdell for really good, more straightforward worker placement as well.

KommunistKoala posted...

Played Dwellings of Eldervale a couple months ago and that was great but it's probably not for sale right now and it's also quite pricey because of the components/size

Man, I missed the Kickstarter for this and preordered it from a third party over a year ago, still have yet to get my copy. Glad to hear it sounds like it'll be worth the wait, at least.

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dang that sucks. the publisher resold it at some point in January (I think?), should have canceled the third party one and jumped on that one!

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lost ruins of arnak is pretty interesting - the cards you buy go to the bottom of your deck, so they're coming up sooner... which is good, because you really don't cycle your deck much. meaning the deck-building aspect isn't big.

honestly the worker placement, like everdell, isn't big, either. there are like 15 spots to send workers and you only have two (!) per round. so the competition isn't that fierce there. many of your turns will not involve placing a worker or playing a card at all; you'll just be spending resources to move up tracks and collect bonuses or whatever.

if you like "trade resources for better resources" games and mechanics as i've described though, it can be pretty satisfying!
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Thanks for the notes.

I forgot to mention that I do have Castles of Burgundy andenjoy it quite a bit. I Lso have everdell which is also good.

Not on my phone so it's hard to comment on everything but Ill look at everything once I'm back on a computer

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Inis might be something you would like? It's less worker placement and more army placement but there's a card drafting feature each turn. My friends and I love it (even those who don't play or like too many board games).

Spirit Island is a good co-op game as well, but if everyone isn't invested then it is prone to one player "quarterbacking" and just figuring out what everyone else should do with their turns

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tag

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KommunistKoala posted...

dang that sucks. the publisher resold it at some point in January (I think?), should have canceled the third party one and jumped on that one!

I almost did just that but IIRC it would've ended up being $25 or $30 more expensive and I couldn't quite justify that to myself!

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Colegreen_c12 posted...

Moonrakers seems cool but I don't think you can buy it atm unfortunately.

Just got an email that they're selling more!

https://www.moonrakersgame.com/

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https://www.target.com/c/board-games-toys/all-deals/-/N-5xt9hZakkos

target has some deals on board games. their selection has improved a little bit at least. gonna grab azul since ive never played any of them

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KommunistKoala posted...

https://www.target.com/c/board-games-toys/all-deals/-/N-5xt9hZakkos

target has some deals on board games. their selection has improved a little bit at least. gonna grab azul since ive never played any of them

Azul is really great. Gorgeous design too.

Checked out a board game shop and one of my family got dune imperium for 35 which seems like a great deal

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All the different Azul games are great (and so is Reef). Good light strategy games for casual families.

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