I haven’t done a top 10 list in a while and while I’m overdue for an updated top 10 games of all time list, I thought what we really needed on the blog was something more varied and interesting, a place for gamers to look to find something to play.  There have been a lot of really fantastic releases in the last couple of years and, not to mention other overlooked games over the years worth mentioning and while they might not compete against the spectrum of all games ever made, they are so worth your time that I thought I would make a list dedicated to games that everyone should be checking out that are commonly overlooked.

Legend of the Five Rings LCG by Fantasy Flight Games

When FFG first announced The Legend of the Five Rings LCG, long time fans of the original CCG shared both concern and delight.  The old CCG was really starting to show its age compared to modern designed CCG’s and LCG’s, but it was beloved by a very dedicated,  niche and vocal audience. Thankfully FFG has proven time and time again that when it comes to card games, they are the modern gold standard.  Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Android Net Runner, Star Wars: Destiny and Akrham Horror are just among the short list of absolutely amazing card games that they have put together.  With talents like Lukas Litzsinger and Nate French just to name a couple superstars, your beloved franchises are always in good hands at FFG, but Legend of the Five Rings is without a question their crowning achievement when it comes to taking an IP and making it better in my humble opinion.

I’m here to tell you that within the genre of Dueling games, despite amazing games like Star Wars: Destiny, Game of Thrones and Android Net Runner; Legend of the Five Rings is without question the best of the lot and by a large margin.  This is in my mind THE best complex, competitive card game on the market today and if you haven’t tried it you are truly missing out.

The smooth as silk mechanics, absolutely amazing deck building options and robust tactical play already makes Legend of the Rings a great game worthy to be on the list of best CCG/LCG’s, but Legend of the Five Rings in my humble opinion separates itself by being based on one of the most unique fantasy settings ever put to paper.  It feels like a proper medieval Japanese battle within the confines of a magical fantasy world where political intrigue and straight up warfare are constant.  Its a game of subtle moves and counter moves thematically linked to an era of Samurai, Legend of the Five Rings is a robust and very repayable experience.  Even with just a single core set you are going to find a deep tactical game and this very expandable game even in its infancy already gives all the others a serious run for their money.

New Angeles by Fantasy Flight Games

Of all the games to come out in 2016, this has got to be one of the most overlooked and underrated games on the market today.  I’m absolutely shocked that games like Gloomhaven, yet another re-hashed adventure game based on tired mechanics and premise can sit in the top spot on boardgamegeek.com while absolutely amazingly unique games like New Angeles are somewhere in the 900’s.  It’s like living in some sort of bizzare world where everything is opposite.  If there was ever a crime against boardgaming, New Angeles’s underrated status is without question one of this decades greatest atrocities.

New Angeles is  one of the best board games I have played this year and it’s definitely a contender for my best of all time list.  It embodies everything that makes board gaming a social experience while housing one of the most unique and intriguing mechanics that drives its engine I have seen in a long time.  To say its unique is kind of an understatement, its really the first time in a long time I have sat down to a board game and was surprised on all fronts.  How much fun I had, how social the game was, how mechanically well designed the game was and how almost instantly I wanted to play it again.  The word “tight” is over-utilized when describing games, but this is a game that is always close.  It has a betrayer element, a cooperative element, a competitive element and above all else its a bloody social experiment that must be experienced.

To me, if you are going to buy just one board game this year, New Angeles should be it.

Star Wars: Armada by Fantasy Flight Games

While it sits pretty on my top 10 list of best games of all time and has enjoyed considerable time in the lime light as one of FFG’s flag ship miniature games second only to X-Wing, I’m constantly shocked at how little attention this game gets.  I have talked quite a bit about this game over the last couple of years since its release, Star Wars Armada remains seriously underplayed and underrated in my opinion.  In my mind this is still very much the definitive “THE” miniatures game on the market today, if you have to pick just one, this should be it.  I’m very surprised to see how little attention it gets considering what it is, a game of capital ship combat in the Star Wars universe with what has to be one of the most tactical and strategic miniature games ever made.  I have played a lot of miniature games over the years and all I can say is that this remains among the best on all fronts.

It’s the fine wine of miniature games and while I love my X-Wing and have in the past loved plenty of others that have come and gone, Armada is one of those games I can see myself playing indefinitely.  Its a gentlemens game that requires a commitment from a veteran gamer to learn to play it well.  Its a game of deep thought, one that will have you constantly re-evaluating every inch of its components, potential strategies and tactics.  FFG has taken amazing care of this one, despite a couple of dips here and there they always find a way to bring it back to its roots.

Above all else though I appreciate the fact that while its a miniature game it does not come with the weight of the miniature hobby.  Now I understand that many have a love for the assembly and painting of miniatures and construction of terrain, perhaps this is the reason for its rather underated status but to me the best aspect of the entire miniature hobby is the gaming and its here that Armada will focus your attention..  Its a game made for veteran gamers, so no apologies for length or complexity, but I also firmly believe that its very approachable even as a novice gamer to the hobby.  I would still recommend X-Wing to Armada for casual gamers, but if you are looking for a rich miniature gaming experience that will grab and hold your attention without all the painting and assembly, this is definitely your destination.

Runewars by Fantasy Flight Game

While my initial review of this game was good, one aspect of Runewars that had negative notations was that the fantasy world its based on was rather lackluster.  This still remains true and may actually be the reason why this game has been overlooked by miniature gaming fans, in particular warhammer fantasy fans used to a rich and elaborate game setting, but from a stand point of mechanics Warhammer Fantasy has absolutely nothing on this game.  Runewars makes Warhammer Fantasy look like a toy when stacked up against the intricately designed Runewars.

What makes this game tick is the very clever dual dial action mechanic, unique for the miniature world but one that solves many of the issues I have with pretty much everything I have played in the genre before.  It boasts a lot of really unique and interesting models for the painters out there, but maintains a relatively approachable level of assembly making this a more inviting game for the novice trying to break in.  I personally love this game its really unfortunate that while my gaming group was hot and heavy at the start, the novelty wore of rather quickly.  My hope is that it bounces back because this is a game that is made to be played with plenty of list building and tactics to explore.   Highly underrated and while its too bad it has not been terribly successful, the plus side is that its very cheap to get into these days with much of its product line in the bargain bin.  It’s life might turn out to be short, but what has already been released is more than enough reason to invest.

My advice is that if you have a friend that is interested, pick up a core box and give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Cluedo by Hasbro

A game from my childhood that has made a resurgence in my house thanks to my kids going through their childhoods.  No one is more surprised to find this game on this rather prestigious list of amazing must play games, but truth be told this is a classic family game for a very good reason.  It’s pretty fantastic.

Conceptually it’s a very simple game of deduction, but underneath it’s rather simple premise is a really fun and challenging social game.  Much of the game is played making deductions based on what you see, but there is also a “poker face” element to it where you try to decipher what people say to draw clues about potentially eliminating suspects, murder weapons and locations to determine the “who done it” of it all.

This has become a family favorite at home, currently wearing out our second copy of the game.  It’s hardly a week goes by that we don’t play it several times and as people get better and better at hiding their poker face if you will, the game becomes more challenging and equally more fun.

This in my book is a far superior family game option to many of the accepted standards like RISK, Monopoly or the always boring Game of Life.  More than that, I think this is actually a fairly legitimate gamers game that can actually work at a more traditional and exclusive gamers night.  I’m almost embarrassed to say but I actually love this game.  It hits all those social sweet spots and despite its multiple decade existence it holds up quite well.  For a great family game, look no further than this classic, it really works!

Star Trek: Fleet Captain

This is one of those games where loving Star Trek the TV shows and movies is an absolute must, but given that 99% of all Star Trek franchise games basically suck balls, perhaps it’s no surprise so many Trekies might have overlooked this one.

Star Trek: Fleet Captain is one of the most thematic games I have ever played, Star Trek or otherwise.   It is the Twilight Imperium or War of the Rings of Star Trek game, essentially, the entire franchise in a single box. I adore this game both because it’s an amazing game mechanically speaking but because it’s dripping with everything a Star Trek fan could hope for.  Explore the galaxy, experience Star Trek events pulled right from the series and films and fight fleet battles using the trickery and gadgetry of the Star Trek universe.

Thematic ships, characters and events all clearly linked mechanically to their role in the Star Trek universe give Fleet Captains a distinctly familiar feel.  While competitive, this is a storytelling game and you will find yourself in all too familiar situations only a true trekie would appreciate from Trouble with Tribbles to weird timelines, from the borg to liquid space, from cloaking devices to using your warp drive to do all kinds of crazy stuff it not designed to do, it’s all here.

Thanks to two great expansions, although not easy to find these days, Star Trek: Fleet Captains is a complete package, this is a game no Star Trek fan should miss.

Illuminati by Steve Jackson Games

This stone cold classic was once among the most played games I owned and remains as far as I’m concerned a permanent fixture of my collection.  Now it is a Steve Jackson game who I believe to be a very talented designer but with a rather odd approach to his games.  I find most people either love or hate his games, but while I would consider many of his games “classics”, this is the one I’m always surprised that people have never heard of.  At this point perhaps its just my age is showing given this game was released back 1987.

Illuminati is a card game driven by a giant fuck you mechanic that pits players against each other as they attempt to complete their Illuminati power structures to take over the world.  The trick is that each player has a unique win condition and because every play anyone can make can be interrupted by any number of players or supported by any number of players its really a game of chicken, deception, prediction, resource management, a bit of luck and more fuck you than is probably acceptable at a traditional family board game night.  This is clearly a game for gamers, in particular for groups that enjoy sticking it to each other.

The rules are relatively simple, but the gameplay is anything but, this is one of those games that if you win, you win because you have truly outsmarted and out played everyone else, you can’t get lucky here.  If you have never tried it and you are looking for a truly messed up social game, in particular among a group with a great sense of humor, this satire loaded game is not to be missed.

War of the Ring by Ares Games

While this one has been and remains still today on my top 10 best games of all time list and its hardly overlooked given its number 12 spot on boardgamegeek.com, I’m still amazed how in conversation when the topic of Lord of the Rings games comes up this one is seldom mentioned.  In my mind this is not only one of the best Lord of the Rings games ever made, its also one of the most thematic games ever made and quite possibly one of the best.  This isn’t just a game, its really an experience, one of the most intimate and elaborate board games for two players you could ever play.  For Lord of the Rings fans this is the ONLY board game I would ever dream of recommending as an absolute must have.  Its the entire Lord of the Rings story, structured with perfection into a single game.  Its clearly made by a fan for fans.

Now there are plenty of Lord of the Rings games, in fact, its a bloody brick ton and I have played many if not most of them and while there are plenty of gems, nothing compares to the experience of War of the Rings.  This is the ultimate Lord of the Rings experience, period.

Battletech by Altar Games

In 1985 long before every boardgame was turned in a miniature game the card board cut-up stand ups that came with this classic where good enough because we had imagination and gameplay ruled supreme over everything else.  More than that though the original 1985 Battletech game set remains THE best ever made and despite bloody decades of trying and failing hard to re-capture interest in this genre, the Battletech franchise still largely stands on this stone cold classic.

What made Battletech unique is that it took the concept of characters from RPG’s, the many stats and custom building, the attention to detail for each unit and the tit for tat balancing of weapons, armor, and utility gear and turned it into a pure thematic tactical war game.  It was back in those days referred to as Chainmail with robots.

The only game that I played more than Battletech back in the day was Dungeons and Dragons itself but unlike those early editions of dungeons and dragons that were terribly flawed mechanically, Battletech was design perfection and holds up as strong today as it did back than.  The fact that it was not reprinted unchanged is a shame, if any game deserves it its this one.

Thanks to the digital world of PDF’s and the fact that the original game actually had no miniatures, you can basically print and play this one today and its well worth the printer ink to do so.  This overlooked and forgotten classic deserves your attention, especially if you are a modern miniatures gamer.  You will find that not only do the rules hold up, they are far superior to a vast majority of miniature games today.  Clean, hardcore robot battles, what else could a person possibly ask for.

The 18XX series by lots of people

While this is not a single game, it does have an original “classic” that most people who do play it know well, 18:30 Railroad and Robber Barons.  This entire series is built on the core premise of operating railroad companies, manipulating stock markets and constructing railways.  In on its own its very much a niche game, often maintained to be for “hardcore” gamers or “those train people”, but as a gamer, both casual and series to me this is one series of games that is severely under played, overlooked and misunderstood.  Its almost as if the community that surrounds it enjoys its “cult” status, but the truth of the matter is that its far more approachable than its typically made out to be.

Sure its a bit more complex, but I know plenty of people who play far more complicated games than this, in fact, several games on this list I would consider far more complex than 1830 and while certainly some of the sub-versions of this series get quite deep there are a wide range of levels in this series worth recommending.

To me this series represents the best of the economic line of games, you would think given that games like Monopoly are among the most played/owned games in the world, economic games would get far more attention than what is typical for a game series like 18XX.  None the less, if you like playing with play money, this game is really among the best out there with deep strategy, cut-throat tactics and replay-ability on a scale few games achieve.  Worth the investment.