Category Archives: Best of List

Best of List

My Top 20 Best Games of All Time 2021 Edition

That’s right, what once was a top 10 list now becomes a top 20 list! It is time once again to update the favorites list, its been about a year since I did my last Top 10 Best Games back in January last year and I followed up that list with the Back 20 best games of all time list in March.

I never thought I would get to a point where I have played so many games that it would be difficult for me to trim down my list to a top 20 but here we are and I can say it was not easy. I had to cut pretty deep, it hurt, a lot of really great games did not make this list that I consider great games!

This year one change I made is how I temper the list. Namely, I have made it a point to affect the scores of games that I have not played in a long time. The way I see it, if you’re going to be on my top 20 favorite games of all time list, you need to be something that I push to get to the table.

Alright, enough setup, here we go!

20. Shogun (Dirk Henn version)

The contrast between the quiet, contemplative planning phase and the outrageously chaotic execution phase make this one of the most memorable quasi Euro historical war games in my collection.

Shogun is one of those games where a lot of people will argue is not a war game, while others may adamantly insist that it is. All I will say is that it’s an area control game, there are battles and winning is all about managing chaos, if that isn’t war then I don’t know what is.

Based very abstractly on the civil war conflict of medieval Japan, this is a pre-programming game where you define your actions with limited knowledge about which order actions will be executed in. During the execution phase, this very chaotic game uses a cube tower to resolve conflicts by taking armies represented by different colored cubes, tossing them into the tower and the winner is whoever has the most cubes that come out. This tower traps a lot of these cubes and if you know anything about statistics and the laws of chaos, you know that this is probably the closes thing you will ever come to true randomness in a game. You can have fights where 10 blue cubes go up against 2 red cubes and the battle results are 2 blue cubes and 7 red cubes. Its chaos personified.

I know it’s not everyone’s bag but I have always said that this game wins on-table atmosphere. It’s really the craps of war games, you gamble but the cube tower is just one of those game elements that gets everyone out of their chair. I love this game, always have and while it’s at the tail end of the list it beats out quite a few worthy contenders for the spot.

19. B-17 Flying Fortress Leader

This game is a guilty pleasure for me, I have my reservations about some of its mechanics and execution, but it wins on the theme in a big way and for a solo game that is critical to its success.

Given that the game is set up on my table several times a year like clockwork, I knew this one was going to appear on this list somewhere. B-17 Flying Fortress Leader by Dean Brown of DVG games to me is a very biased favorite, a game about creating a narrative in my head on a topic I’m very fond of. I don’t actually know if it’s a “good game” in the practical sense though I gave this one a very generous 4 out of 5-star review mostly driven by the success of the theme. This solo game is certainly not without its blemishes and I would not proclaim it to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I have quite a few house rules and corrections I have created and use when playing this game which shouldn’t be necessary for a game I rate so highly. The nice thing about running a blog without a comment section is that I don’t have to listen to people telling me how wrong I am! Though I’m not sure I would vigorously disagree with such statements.

Warts and all I love this game, with a bit of house rule love I find it has a deep meaningful core with intriguing gameplay, challenging scenarios and an uncanny ability to create vivid stories. This is a slightly complex game so I always recommend that if you are completely new to historical war games and solo gaming that maybe you start with something a bit lighter, but it’s a great graduation gift for yourself when you reach that point that you feel ready for something with some meat on its bones. In particular, if you’re like me and find World War II aviation engrossing.

18. War Of The Ring

There is nothing like the feeling of an epic scale game that captures a story, War of the Ring is the best of its kind.

War of the Ring plunges to number 18 after enjoying years in the top 10 of my lists. It takes a dive because honestly, it has been on my top 10 list for more years than I care to admit and I can count on one hand the number of times I have played it in recent years. It’s just hard to justify a game on this list that collects dust on my shelf most of the time.

That said I still think it’s an amazing game, both from a thematic standpoint and a mechanical standpoint, this is a highly engaging and very traumatic 2 player game tailor-made for Lord of the Rings fans of which I count myself among. The challenge is getting it to the table and there is a lot standing in its way.

It’s a fairly complex game, it’s for 2 players only, it’s quite long, has a very extensive setup (It takes a good 30-45 minutes to setup) and none of the rules are natural or intuitive so pretty much every time I have wanted to play this game I found I had to learn it from scratch. It’s just a real pain to get to the table and while I do think the payoff is so worth it, because it really is amazing, I find these days there are lots of amazing 2 player games on my shelf that are just much easier to get going.

I love it and I keep it on this list because I hope that someday some Lord of the Rings fan will come to me and pull it off my shelf and say “let’s play”. I will do so gladly and without reservation. The War of the Ring wants to be played, it needs to be played, it’s my precious!

17. Field Commander Napoleon

Solo games often boil down to solving puzzles and Field Commander Napoleon certainly falls into that camp, but there is enough to solve here that it will keep you busy for a long time.

When I discovered DVG with B-17 Flying Fortress, I simultaneously discovered the wonderful world of solo and historical war games and given how much I liked B-17, I googled “best solo historical war games” and Field Commander Napoleon popped up on a number of top 10 lists. I had just come off a stint with Napoleon Imperium which introduced me to Napoleonic era history and I was ready for more so I took the plunge.

I’m so glad I did because all of the accolades and fandom this game has produced is justified, it really is a fascinating and sometimes very challenging solo game. It not only confirmed that DVG games which focuses primarily on historical solo games knows what they are doing but it permanently swung the door open for me on solo games in general which I have been exploring ever since.

This is simultaneously a tactical and strategic game that really places you in a position to solve puzzles across several scenarios that make up the whole of Napoleon’s career. It does a great job of conveying the unique problems in the different types of campaigns Napoleon embarked on while also ensuring the mechanics remain fun and approachable as it maintains its link to history. The only drawback of this game is that once you solve these puzzles the game loses some of its steam and unlike B-17 I haven’t come up with any interesting house rules to revive the game. The good thing is that I have a really poor memory so I expect given enough time I will come back around to this one and re-experience it again. Great game, well worth the investment as these scenarios are going to take some serious hours of playtime before you discover all the nuances that will lead you to easy victories. Pro-tip, the strategy is probably not what you think it is and it’s why you are losing!

16. Star Trek Fleet Captains

I have introduced this game to people who went from “I hate everything Star Trek” to “but this game is awesome”. For a game to be so good that despite its overwhelming focus on theme it can turn your head even if you hate the theme is amazing, never seen that happen in any other game in my 30+ years playing board games.

I would say that this game much like War of the Ring is a bit of a dust collector in my collection, but unlike War of the Ring it actually is quite intuitive and easy to get to the table in theory, but what it requires is that you know some Star Trek fans. My friends, god love them are not such people and while they tolerate my Star Trek fandom and occasionally humor me and play Fleet Captains with me, they do not get the same enjoyment out of this game as a fan like me does.

This game is Star Trek in the box, it is hands down one of the most thematic and narrative board games I have ever played. It captures the feeling of the Star Trek TV shows perfectly, there is no doubt in my mind that only a true Trekie could have made such a game with so much attention to detail and love for the genre infused within it.

I adore this game, I play it every chance I get which is to say, not very often but it never lets me down when I do and it’s actually so good that even my friends who proclaim loudly “Star Trek sucks” admit that the game is actually pretty fun and that to me is evidence of just how well put together this Fleet Captain is.

If you and your friends are Star Trek fans, this is a no-brainer, it is THE best Star Trek game ever made but no I have not played

15. Washingtons War

Washington’s War is a really great entry-level historical war game, not only because it’s easy to teach and learn, but because it retains a depth of gameplay that keeps it interesting even for serious war gamers.

One of three of a growing list of Mark Herman games breaking into my favorite games of all time list, Washingtons War appears to be a kind of bastard child of a light historical war game and a distant cousin to Twilight Struggle but what it really is, is a successor to Mark Hermans long time classic We The People. I’ve never met anyone or heard anyone suggest We The People needs a re-print, so this successor really is a replacement for the game and though I have never played We The People it must be doing it justice.

For me personally, the game’s history or lineage really doesn’t matter, for me Washingtons War is my go-to game for introducing casual board gamers into the wonderful world of historical war games. The rules are simple, the strategy exciting but not overwhelming, the subject matter is a piece of history most people are already somewhat familiar with and the game is really pretty usually surprising non-historical war gamers who often think all historical war games are hex and counter ugly ducklings. This one helps me get them to convert to the dark side from which there is no return.

This is not the only reason however Washington’s War finds its way to my list, its true genius and secret is that it’s actually a deep and meaningful strategy game that you can explore repeatedly and it always finds a way to surprise you. Actually, my favorite thing about this game which I believe I have gotten quite good at is that new players pick up on it really quickly and can present a very good challenge, often beating me on their first playthrough despite my experience with the game. It’s a thing of beauty that a game like this is so approachable, easy to pick up yet represents the historical war game genre so well.

14. Twilight Struggle

I have never had a game on my best of list that dropped in its ranking because I played it too much until now.

I think most would argue that this stone-cold classic belongs much higher on everyone’s list, especially mine and to be honest with you a few hundred plays of this ago I would agree with you. There comes a time when you have played a game so many bloody times that you are just sick of it and I do not fault Twilight Struggle as a game for that. For nearly a year I was playing this game 2-3 times a week, plus an additional 2-3 games a night using the iPad app. Playing TS was a daily routine and passion.

Suffices to say for me it is played out for now and drops on my list out of sheer exhaustion. Like a retired boxing champ, it has nothing to be ashamed of, I played this game more times in a year than the rest of my collection combined times five! It’s an awesome game that gets shelved for all the right reasons!

13. Tide of Iron

It looks and feels like a heavy world war II tactical game, without that uncomfortable eliteness required from most games in the genre. This is an approachable game anyone can learn to play, but it is a historical war game, no doubt about it.

Tide of Iron has a bit of a strange history with me. When I first got it, I had only a mild affection for it, but it was long before historical war games really found their way into my collection in a big way. I got it because it was a Fantasy Flight Games release and I was something of a Christian T. Peterson fanboy for a while. Twilight Imperium and Game of Thrones (both the board game and card game) were among my favorite games of all time for a very long time. Tide of Iron however never really achieved particularly great heights for me and sort of fell off my radar becoming a coffin box dust collector on my shelf.

Then one day, after I got into historical war games I decided I was going to shop around for a really good squad-level world war II tactical game. I searched and searched and ran across Tide of Irons and realized, shit I already have that game. Pulled it out with a buddy of mine and realized that not only is this a great game, but it’s actually a really great game. Played it twice, three times.. got really into it and it sort of became “the” tactical world war II game for me and I never actually bought anything to replace it to this day.

I still love this game because it’s both a challenging and visual treat, it’s fairly easy to teach and learn, plays relatively quickly and has a crap ton of fan-made content thanks to an awesome community that latched on to this game for a time. For that reason, Tide of Iron comes out of retirement and finds its way back to my best of all-time list. I won’t dirty the waters here and say it’s the best squad-level tactical world war II game out there since I have played a total of ZERO others, but I do think it’s a fantastic game in general.

12. Peloponnesian War

My latest love affair, I can’t get enough of this one, another Mark Herman design for me to obsess over.

Every year when I make this list, there is some game that appears on the list that I recently played or I’m currently playing and its position on the list becomes inflated due to my current infatuation with the game. Sometimes these games stick and stay on the list becoming permanent residents, often they drop down or even drop off the list with the same ferocity as their arrival. I’m not going to apologize for that, but I will warn you that Peloponnesian War is definitely my current love affair.

I absolutely adore this solo game, it services all of my personal G spots as far as games go from really unique design, clever mechanics and deeply rich narrative. It’s my current obsession and while such infatuation often comes and goes, it’s worth pointing out that it’s simultaneously the 3rd Mark Herman game I have tried and the 3rd Mark Herman game to make my all-time favorite list. The guy never lets me down. I did a review of this one recently if you want some more detail.

11. 1830: Railways and Robber Barons

This is a deeply flawed game that requires quite a bit of intervention but when you play with the right variants it’s pure gold.

This classic Francis Tresham has been around since the mid 80’s and it has been fueling my passion for board games for years. I guess I’m saying that I loved this one before it was cool even though I’ve only just recently introduced it to my gaming crew here in Sweden. It was in semi-retirement before that for about a decade.

I love train games, but I would be lying if I said I love train board games. My love for train games largely comes from PC game examples, most notably the Railroad Tycoon series by Sid Meier. This game scratches that itch and though I always warn people that the hype about this game’s legendary status is a bit overcooked, it is a really awesome, very cut-throat and often mean-spirited board game that most people have a love it or hate it response to.

When I introduced it to my crew here in Sweden, it was immediatetly proclaimed a must play in Hassela game which might not mean much to my readers, but our yearly Hassela weekend retreat is a very serious, arguably almost religious matter in our group, so 1830 should be honored!

It’s a long game and there are many variants for this game both official and unofficial. I consider its status on this list assuming a very strict adherence to certain variance I believe elevate this game from a “meh” to an “aha”! One of these days I’m going to have to write an article on the proper way to play this game if you want to get the most out of it, but suffices to say its status on this list comes with that caveat.

10. Ikusa (Shogun)

While many gamers consider dice chuckers like RISK to be beneath them, to me Ikusa is KING of such games and I always say, if you don’t like chucking dice, you are in the wrong hobby.

While I won’t claim Ikusa (Originally Shogun) by Milton Bradly was the first board game I ever played, it is the first board game I played from which I emerged a fully Knighted board gamer. It is my grail game, my birthing chamber.

Now I have played all of the Milton Bradly game masters series classics extensively including Axis and Allies, Fortress America, Conquest of the Empire and Broadsides & Boarding Parties, I loved them all but only Shogun (aka Ikusa) makes the list because to me its the only one that still holds up by today’s standards. I could make an argument for Axis and Allies, but for me that game has been completetly replaced by Larry Harris’s latest brain child War Room (more on that later).

Suffices to say my absolute favorite historical period is medieval Japan, I love a good dice chucker and I love a game with hidden actions, so Shogun fits into that wheelhouse-like glove. This one still sees play today and I almost always bring it out when someone comes up with the crazy idea to play RISK… my answer is… ok you want to play RISK, let’s play RISK but let’s do it proper like.

9. Dune Imperium

I have played this one so much I had to sleeve the cards because I was wearing it out. This is a tight package that never disappoints and you don’t need to be a Dune fan to love this game, but if you are, it’s just a cherry on top of the experience.

Dune Imperium was definitely a contender for the best game I played in 2021, though it was released in 2020. While I still argue that Empires: Age of Discovery is the single best worker placement game in existence, Dune Imperium takes the worker placement genre in a whole new direction with added card play and direct confrontation mechanics that elevate it far beyond your standard Euro games.

It just gets so many things just right. The really tight worker placement mechanic forces painful decisions. The execution of the card building mechanic is perfect, making it just important enough, but not so important it overshadows the rest of the game. The tension-building battle mechanic between players at the end of each round really brings contentious gameplay to this Euro. Finally, the fact that the Dune franchise was used as the theme here just fits perfectly contrary to most Euros that feel like the theme is an afterthought.

Brilliant design, worthy of any game table whether you are a Euro fan or not, this game breaks out of the rut the Euro design space has been in for the last couple of years rehashing the same boring mechanics over and over.

8. Twilight Imperium

I easily have over 100 games under my belt with the 3rd edition of this 4x classic, I have been playing for over a decade. It always has and likely always will be the ultimate 4x sci-fi game, I have never seen any other come even close to matching it.

Twilight Imperium 3rd edition was my number one pick for many years back to back. This was a game I played extensively with a regular six-man group meeting as often as once per week over the course of several years to play the game. I don’t want to toot my own horn too much, but we were basically masters of this game. We played so often that we knew this game intimately and to such a degree that a typical game for us would only take 2-4 hours, which is saying a lot as the average playtime for most groups exceeded 6 hours.

Twilight Imperium 4th edition came out but by then my group had played this game so much it just didn’t have the same impact on us as many fans of the TI series. That is not to say that we didn’t like the game, we did and we do, in fact, I would argue that 4e is a big improvement and is overall a much better game. We never however got into this new version of the game nearly as much and now only play it once or twice a year for old times sake.

Still, TI ranks pretty high on my personal list, it is the unquestionable king of 4x grand strategy board games and knocks all other contenders out of the ring with minimal effort (I’m looking at you Eclipse!). It is the definitive experience in this genre with levels of depth that exceed expectation by any measure. This is not just an event game but it’s a lifestyle game, the sort of thing that you can build an entire gaming group around. Love it, always have, always will.

7. Empires: Age of Discovery

Bright, big and elaborate, Empires: Age of Discovery is a deluxe visual treat, but that is just a bonus here, this is easily one of the best worker placement games you will ever play.

Age of Discovery has been on my shelf since the gorgeous deluxe reprint was released and though I don’t play it often because I find its best at maximum player count giving this one an event game status, we do play it at least once a year at our annual board gaming retreat in the summer.

Worker placement games are a big thing in my gaming group, though this affection is not usually led by me, but rather certain mega fans of the mechanic in my gaming group. The result is that I have played countless worker placement games over the years and despite all of that available comparison I still think Empires: Age of Discovery is the single best worker placement game I have ever played.

Competitive, not just in a “race” way most worker placement games boil down to but in a more confrontational way. It has a very challenging puzzle to resolve in particular if you play with a full spread of 6 players. Above all else its ultra-simple to teach so really any six players will do, most people get this game right away and can play it reasonably competitively on their first go.

If you like worker placement games and you haven’t played this one yet, you are in for a treat!

6. Through The Ages: A New Story of Civilization

It looks like a Euro game because it is one, but that is just one of Through The Ages many layers. This is a deeply strategic game that has countless paths to victory.

Through the Ages is without question one of my all-time favorite games to get to the table, not only because I love civilization-building games, but from a design perspective I think this is one of the most intriguing and exciting mechanics in board games. I play this game at every opportunity but it drops on my all-time favorite list because it has two inherent and related problems that make it tough to get to the table. The length of the playtime vs. player count.

This is a game that takes 8+ hours to play which puts it square into the “event” game space. Simultaneously this game is best with 2-3 players, which isn’t much of an event. For me personally, with the size of my gaming group this is a real problem area. If I’m having an event at my house where we are going to spend all day playing a game, its unlikely I would end up with such a small player count. 4-6 players is far more typical, more if word gets out.

The result is that this game gets played once in a blue on those rare occasions when I have an event day at my house and we end up short on player count. It happens and I love it when it does, but not often.

That is not a flaw of the game, its just the reality of my compatibility with this game. I love it, its awesome and I have no guilt or reservations about putting it into my favorite games of all time list. There is an ipad/iphone app for this one, its perfect replication of the game, its a great way to try it out.

5. Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun is a very complex game and is not recommended for the uninitiated, even among serious historical war games this one asks for a lot. Once you learn to play this monster, however, you will not be able to deny its brilliance.

My instinct is to put this one much higher on the list, from a perspective of appreciation, design and sheer experience, this should be in the top 3 of my top 10 list but I have to be a little pragmatic here and say that Empire of the Sun is very difficult to get to the table. Strictly speaking I play it often, but I do so solo and since its not really a solo game, putting it in competition with games that I actually do play with other people just feels wrong.

I love this game and actually enjoy playing it a great deal solo but the complexity of this game, the sheer challenge to learn to play it correctly is so extreme that its nearly impossible to find an opponent willing to put in that effort. Its a real bummer because this IS one of the best games I have ever played. It hits my hobby table 3-4 times a year like clockwork and even as I write this mini assesement I’m itching to play it. Its deep and meaningful strategy combined with its amazing narrative telling of the Pacific Theatre is unmatched. I love this game but I acknowledge the complexity here is a real problem and takes an effort few are going to be willing to make. It just asks too much from a player, sometimes even a bit too much for me.

4. Paths of Glory

I play Paths of Glory quite a bit, far more than any other heavy and more serious historical war game on my shelf. I never tire of it, its considered a classic in the historical war game community and I can understand why.

While considerably less complex than Empire of the Sun (what isn’t), Paths of Glory too is a very heavy game. I have been fortunate however that I have a regular partner for this one so I actually play it a couple of times a year as well as playing it solo a couple of times a year.

It actually has a lot of similarities to Empire of the Sun, in a way it’s like a World War I version of a similar core concept. It’s also a card-driven game with multiple usage cards driven by operational level play. It uses point-to-point movement rather than hex movement which simplifies it a great deal but it also generally has a lot fewer rules, in particular much fewer exception rules.

Generally, it just flows better and while it also requires a bit of dedication to learn to play, like Empire of the Sun the payoff here in terms of highly addictive and challenging gameplay merged with a fantastic narrative is unmatched. This is the definitive World War I game, though I will be the first to admit I have not actually played any others. I suppose it’s the same situation as Tide of Irons, I found THE World War I game so I sort of stopped searching.

If my recommendation counts, this is an amazing historical war game, or you know, you could listen to the 2 decades of fans praising the game instead.

3. Imperial Struggle

I can’t say I agree with the tagline “spiritual successor to Twilight Struggle”, but I do think this game stands on its own two feet and is without question one of the best games on my shelf.

This new arrival to the list debuts quite high, but while I can blame infatuation for Peloponnesian Wars entry to the list, this recent arrival has already proven its stamina well beyond a one-night stand. This member of the Twilight Struggle family absolutely blew me away the first time I played it, but dozens of plays later I’m an even bigger fan. It just keeps getting better every time I play it and because I found myself a regular partner I get to play this one quite often and at peek competitiveness.

There is no question in my mind that Imperial Struggle is here to stay and though it falls into the Historical War Game genre (arguably) and it does have a very fascinating theme based on a really interesting piece of history, this game is really all about deep and meaningful strategic gameplay. That is its center, that is what makes it an unsolvable puzzle that is refreshed with every replay. Easily the single best game of 2020, I have no reservation about its appearance this high on the list.

2. Lord of the Rings The Living Card Game

I find myself apologizing for liking this game to a lot of my friends who don’t really get my obsession with this one. I don’t know what to say, sometimes a game that just does it for you.

Lord of the Rings The Living Card Game has been at or near the top of my all-time favorites list since its debut and my introduction to it back in 2017. I own almost everything for this collectible card game, most years it’s my often played game and there are times when I go months at a time playing 2-3 games a night. I generally play it solo, but I do enjoy it with two or small groups.

This is a very strange entry on my list and I feel I like I make this general disclaimer every time I talk about this game. It is the opposite of me. Generally speaking, I don’t like collectible games, I usually hate CCG’s in particular and I can count on one hand minus some fingers the number of cooperative games that I have enjoyed.

This one is an exception on all counts which I think illustrates what I consider the better half of my personality and approach to the hobby, an ability to try anything and keep an open mind. When my friends roped me into trying this one I was not excited, but after a few rounds, Lord of the Rings LCG became an immediate obsession.

Deeply challenging, highly dynamic, constantly evolving and wildly immersive this game has it everywhere it counts. I honestly can’t get enough and while there are times when I think to myself… ok I’m done with this now, a few months go by and it’s back on my table. It comes around again and again. Love it!

1. War Room

There is no doubt in my mind and I say this without reservation, this is the single best board game in existence.

Finally, my absolute favorite game of all time (at the moment), War Room by Larry Harris. Man I love this game!

I did a first impression and review of this game, so if you are interested in why this game is such a revelation for me, that is about as detailed an explanation I can offer.

The short version is that this is a mega event game that is tailor-made for me and my group’s style of play. Strategically it’s on a grand scale covering the entirety of the World War II military conflict. It uses hidden orders (pre-programming) which I think just does wonders for strategy games in my opinion. It has a tactically minded resolution system without being overwhelming allowing combat resolution to move at a reasonable pace with a simple enough system that everyone can chuck dice and enjoy it. Most of all however it’s thematically rich with big events taking place every round inspiring narrative imagery and creating stories at the table you’ll be talking about long after the game is over.

I recognize and acknowledge that this is not going to be a game for every type of player or every type of group, but for me and my friends, this just tickles every desire and hope we have for a great event game. It’s big, broad, deep and exciting all wrapped up in an obscenely over-the-top visual presentation that’s simply fun to be around. I’m not going to say always and forever, but I have my doubts about this one being challenged for the top spot anytime soon.

The Fallout

Several games drop off my radar and I always like to leave some commentary as to why.

The Song of Ice and Fire is perhaps the greatest tragedy in gaming. A miniature game that went from the best on the market to a complete and utter clusterfuck inside of a year. Me and my group still enjoy playing it using the old rules and old balance the game had though we have our complaints there as well, but the updated rules and changes that have been made to the game are a complete disaster. The game is outright broken under the new rules and CMON as a publisher leave lot to be desired releasing everything not weeks or months but years behind schedule.

Vampire: The Masquerade Heritage also leaves the list though this should not surprise anyone given that it’s a legacy game. Once you have played through it once, it’s pretty much over permanently and you will have no reason to play it again and even if you wanted to you have to purchase a new copy. It was a nice fling and I did enjoy my time with it, but it never had any hope of being a permanent resident on the list.

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Top 5 boardGames for Christmas Presents in 2021

While the year is certainly not over, given that everyone is frantically shopping for Christmas presents I thought it prudent to create a list to help potential shoppers out. Here you will find the best games I have played in 2021 and though, I make the disclaimer that some of these games have been released a bit prior to 2021 so it’s not exactly the best of 2021 but more like the best I played in 2021 with Christmas gifts in mind.

In either case, if you are shopping for a boardgame fan, these 5 games come highly recommended!

5. Great Western Trail (2nd edition)

New art, same game, Great Western Trail remains on my “play often” list and for good reason, it’s one of the best Euro games in the market today.

While the 1st edition of this game was released back in 2016 and strictly speaking very little has changed between the 1st and 2nd edition, I still felt it prudent to put this one on this list not only because it remains one of my favorite games to play with my daughter (14) but because it’s such an amazingly unique and fun game.

This new version is largely a cosmetic upgrade, is even prettier than the original if you can imagine that and comes with a few organizational bits that make setup and takedown a little quicker.

Overall Great Western Trail is kind of a uniquely designed game which makes it hard to compare with other games, but it has a very simple to grasp turn progression (you move a little meep each round on a track) so its a very easy game to grasp conceptually while the action spaces, the bread, and butter of the game create a highly cerebral strategic board game that can be played repeatedly with new experiences emerging every time.

Fantastic game that plays up to 4 players, but works great with 2 or 3. It’s just long enough to make an exciting board game evening with the family while short enough to not overstay its welcome. I have had a lot of fun with this one, makes a great Christmas present in the next level family game category, though it should be noted that there are a lot of rules in the game so I would not categorize it as a beginner game, this is more for that board gaming family who is already accustomed to playing modern euro games. Not for the Monopoly-RISK crowd, it’s a notch or two above that.

4. Vampire The Masquerade: Vendetta

In my humble opinion, the single best board game based on the world of darkness franchise and that is saying a lot as their are quite a few contenders.

My gaming group and I discovered this little gem during our yearly board gaming retreat and it stuck the landing like a pro with us. This rather simple card game falls into the “look them in the eyes” category of gaming as it’s really more of a game of bluffing, counter-bluffing and bluffing the bluff… point is there is a lot of bluffing.

Simple rules and premise, this is a game about using little to gain a lot by using human psychology of people against them. Each round players compete in a fictional world in which vampires rule cities as secret societies based on the classic tabletop RPG Vampire The Masquerade.

Naturally being a fan of the tabletop RPG is a huge boon here but even if you have never heard of the World of Darkness this is actually just a fantastic game in its own right and stands on its own. I would argue it actually makes for a great family game because it really is simple to teach and learn, while being very replayable and competitive, while remaining pretty short game, averaging around 30-45 minutes tops.

Great Christmas present if you want to surprise a boardgamer with something really unique this year.

3. Talisman

This stone-cold classic belongs on the shelf of every family board game collection along side Monopoly, RISK and Checkers!

The classic adventure game was released all the way back 1983, yet remains in print today and is every bit as fun as it always has been. I always say that if you have kids between the ages of 8-15 and don’t already own a copy of Talisman, this is a very easy decision. Far more interesting than the Monopolies of the world for a family game night, yet, so simple that rules explanation fits on a napkin.

These ultra-simple rules make this an adventure game that never seems to wear out its welcome with the board gaming world. In its 4th iteration, this latest edition still available today uses most of the original art retaining its retro feel for long-time fans, while still gorgeous laid out on the table for today’s standards.

Inspiring fantasy stories, the recognizable cast of characters with any generation and a sense of ownership and self-built into the game that draws players in as they struggle against the game itself while in competition with each other.

The great thing is that if you find it lands well and becomes a family favorite, it’s infinitely expandable which means every year for Christmas you can by any one of a dozen expansions that can create new experiences.

If you are looking for a great family boardgame this Christmas, Talisman has you covered.

2. Imperial Struggle

Without question my single favorite 2 player historical game knocking out its predecessor Twilight Struggle from the spot.

Ok this one is not for the family, this is a gift you buy for a purist board gamer with a love for history, in particular, if you enjoy games like Twilight Struggle or other 2 player competitive strategy games with a lot of depth.

Imperial Struggle for me personally is the unquestionable king of 2021, it absolutely blew me away and skyrocketed into my top 10 best games of all time like gangbusters!

There is so much to love in this complex strategy game for 2 players based on the historical conflict between Britain and France in the 18th-century colonial period. Yes, it’s heavy, complex, deep and can be quite lengthy (in the 3-4 hour range) but boy do I adore this game.

Of all the games I play this is the one I look forward to the most, it’s a true well of strategy, creating endless opportunities to fine-tune your game while at the same time the game is incredibly dynamic so there are no routines here like their often were in Twilight Struggle its predecessor.

If you have a gamer buddy who loves historical games, this is an auto-buy. It is a modern interpretation of chess if you ask me, the perfect 2 player strategy game.

1. Dune Imperium

No if, and or buts about it, this is the single best board game that came out in 2021!

Before I wrote a single word for this article I knew that Dune Imperium would be my no. 1 on this list and unless you have been living under a board gaming rock you already know that Dune Imperium IS the game of the year in 2021.

Dune is effectively a fine-tuning of 2 core game mechanics that have swept the board gaming space for the last decade, worker placement and dynamic deck building. It marries the two mechanics in a perfect union, layering it with an amazing science-fiction theme just in time to support the newly released feature film.

This infinitely replayable game is tightly woven which means that every game is going to come down to the wire, it requires deep planning, dynamic thinking and calculated risk-taking. Like all good Euro games there is very little luck involved and each time you play this game you will discover new strategies and opportunities that you will want to explore the next time you play.

The game is gorgeous on the table, very easy to teach and learn while offering wildly different experiences depending on how many players are sitting at the table. Weirdly while the experiences are different depending on player count, I can’t say that one is better than the other. Each brings something different to the table, requiring adjustment to strategies and approaches.

Super fun to play, love this one!

Honorable Metions

There were a few games I played this year that easily could have made this list if I expanded it to a top 10 or 15, so as an added bonus here I will throw out a few more gift ideas.

Vampire The Masquerade: Heritage: This was a really great legacy game based on the Vampire The Masquerade tabletop RPG. It requires a dedicated group to play it over time, but mechanically it’s full of surprises and true to its source material tells a great story of the world of darkness. Fantastic game, but definitely requires a regular group to really get the most out of it.

I’m not huge on legacy games but if any game will sell you on the concept it will be this one.

The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine: This cooperative trick-taking game falls into the puzzle category in a weird way. Essentially players are given missions that ask them to clear the board in a certain order and with specific instructions and the trick to the game is that players must communicate non-verbally through their actions while attempting to coordinate. Tricky but super fun game, great for the family.

It comes with 50 missions, each harder than the next and while the game starts out relatively simple, it becomes a real challenge in later stages making it a great game to learn together as a team.

Tapestry: While the rules of this civilization builder are simple, the strategy goes so deep it makes your brain explode all over the table. The paralysis analysis in this game is almost painful, but the game is just so good. I mean I find it difficult to recommend as a family game as it’s just a tad too much and it is a pretty long game, so it definitely falls to the hardened veteran crowd, but I haven’t played a game this good in years and it seems to have largely fallen under the radar. This game belongs in the top 10 board games on the geek, at 242 as of this writing it is criminally underrated.

It’s a civilization-building game but not in the Sid Meiers tradition, but more like a Euro version of the concept.

Best of List, Role-Player Game Reviews

Top 10 Table Top Role-Playing Games

The one thing I always tell people who enter the hobby, people who typically enter the scene through Dungeons and Dragons is that while D&D is an amazing game, it is but a small piece of a much larger world. In today’s list, we explore some of the amazing RPG’s that have been made since Dave and Gary penned the grandaddy of role-playing games decades ago. I have focused this list with advice aimed at Gamemasters looking for great systems, but I think players should find this list entertaining as well. Note also I have only included games I have actually played or run and obviously, I have not played everything that has ever been written. I’ve also tried to focus on games that are actually still available today, obviously giving you a list of RPG’s you cannot buy and play today would probably not be terribly useful.

10. Star Trek Adventures

Star Trek is a franchise that has seen a lot of renditions over the years in the RPG genre and arguably, many of them made a respectable showing, but Star Trek Adventures is the game to beat.

I was a little bit hesitant about adding this game to the list because frankly, it misses the mark a bit with some of my criteria for this list, but I still think for Star Trek fans this is a great game.

The issue with Star Trek Adventures is that the books are poorly organized, written in a narrative style where rules and story are blended into the text making it difficult to use the books as a reference and the rules are, well, kind of complicated with a lot of high-level concepts that aren’t easy to teach. This makes the game difficult to get to the table and it’s a bit of a chore to run as a GM.

That said, if you can get past this difficulty curve, Star Trek Adventures does an amazing job of bringing Star Trek stories to a group ready to take on the intricacies of the final frontier and I think if you are a fan of Star Trek and want to experience it in RPG form, this is your game and it’s worth jumping through the hurdles.

The difficult thing with bringing Star Trek stories to an RPG, in general, is that it requires a lot of setting knowledge on the part of the players to really bring the stories to life. The terminology, Starfleets command structure and how ships and technology work, are all core knowledge that is required to get the most out of the game. The game does teach you all this, but typically players aren’t the ones reading the books and I think sitting down and explaining the Star Trek universe to players who aren’t already fans is going to take a very long time and probably won’t translate well. As such, this game should be approached with assumptions that players are already in the know and it then comes down to explaining how the rules bring all these setting concepts to life.

Being an Origins Award Nominee is indeed an honor, but I think they could have won if the game had better editing. The books writing style and organization is one of the failures of Star Trek Adventures.

Here Star Trek Adventures really shines as the connection between the intricate setting concepts and the rules of the game are in perfect sync and really bring to life the complexities of technology in the Star Trek universe. The intricate relationships of the command structure, the unique skills of the Star Trek universe, the way technology works and all of the history of Star Trek are all embedded into the mechanics in this rather perfect union.

It’s a lot of work to make Star Trek come together at the table, it requires knowledgeable Star Trek fans and a DM willing to study the intricate rules, but when the stars align, this game is a Star Trek fans dream.

For me personally, it was worth the stretch to get this one to the table as I’m a huge Star Trek fan but it comes with the above disclaimer and certainly wasn’t easy, it’s definitely for more advanced players.

9. GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System)

GURPS has been a household name in the RPG community for decades, it’s been around nearly as long as D&D and Steve Jackson is a wonderful designer that makes a lot of really great stuff.

Published in 1986 by Steve Jackson, GURPS is a role-playing system designed to cover every setting and genre imaginable as a universal RPG system for all occasions. It was the first of its kind when it was published in a market where games were always published for specific settings and/or genre and despite decades of role-playing game publishing, it is even today a leading member of a small group of games that take this approach to role-playing.

GURPS is in its 4th edition of the game but unlike so many role-playing games that have many editions/versions, GURPS core mechanic has been largely unchanged and the 4th edition books are backward compatible with all material that goes all the way back to its original 1st edition which is a big plus for fans.

What makes GURPS special and the reason it’s on this list for me personally is that it’s a system that handles settings and stories that most other systems are ill-equipped to do so, the unique stuff typically not covered by other games.

This is the game I pull out when I want to run something really unique or very specific. In the last few decades, I have used this system to run westerns, unique science-fiction time-traveling stories, superhero games and modern police dramas.

GURPS also has amazing source material support, you would be hard-pressed to pick a topic that GURPS doesn’t have a sourcebook to support it, giving you specialized rules coverage for just about anything you can think of which is great for GM’s, in particular those exploring more unusual subjects for role-playing.

GURPS, as it promises, is well equipped to handle a wide range of stories and while it certainly can do the standard stuff like Fantasy for example, I personally find it excels more at times when you want some really specific customization and need a flexible system that can handle it.

If you are a fan of GURPS, this is a system that has coverage of settings and genres that have their own systems, for example, you can play Werewolf the Apocalypse using the GUPRS system. This is a great feature if you just want to stick to one system but try out a lot of different setting material.

Over the years I find I use it less and less often but this is because today there are so many RPG’s that handle so many specific topics that GURPS’s universal approach becomes less and less necessary. For example, I used to use it to run games like Star Trek, Dune or Aliens because games covering such specific genres and settings generally didn’t exist or were handled poorly, but today this is no longer the case and usually, when a game system focuses on telling a specific type of story or describing a specific setting, it will do a much better job of it than a universal system like GURPS can.

It’s still a great tool in a GM’s toolbelt however and I find that on occasion I still find a reason to use it. Don’t let the rumors of its complexity fool you, while GURPS is a very robust system that has great rules coverage, it is a very easy game to run with a very standardized system that is easy to teach. Great game, it earns its place at the tail end of this list.

8. Alien RPG

There really are very few games I recommend as a party game, but if you’re looking for something you can run for non-gamers, this is the one.

Free League Publishing has produced some really amazing role-playing games since their arrival in the role-playing market and Alien the role-playing game certainly qualifies as one of the good ones.

What I really love about Alien the RPG is that the people who wrote the game really understood not only the setting material but the core concept behind the Alien story. In particular, their attention to the structure of a good movie-driven story which is all about horror in space. They really get that concept of drama that rises from the unknown tension of being in a movie about Aliens that will kill everyone, but not really knowing how that story will evolve, what the details of this next iteration of the movie will be. Players that enter this game know that they are likely going to die, the question is how and of course their is always hope that, like in the movies, they will be one of the survivors.

The cinematic mode in the game is a great example of that specific design approach that really lets a GM tap into the heart of an Alien story setup. You have to realize that Alien(s) is based on a series of movies, which if you include all of the Alien movies, the expanded alien flicks like Prometheus and all of the Predator vs. Alien movies, this franchise is all about short, violent stories about humans interacting with these horrific monsters in space.

This cinematic mode is the perfect setup but if you want that tension to be something that rises over the course of many sessions, the campaign mode is a great way to slowly build up that tension to the inevitable clash with these monsters where players have an opportunity to get attached to their characters so that when that final moment comes, the horror is that much closer to home.

It’s a very simple system to learn and teach, there are some really great story modules that bring amazing alien tales to your table if you aren’t into writing one yourself and Free League Publishing games are masters of book organization that makes the whole experience that much better.

My one and only complaint about the game is that they use black gloss pages with white text in the book and I know that this is a design choice, but it’s really hard on the eyes, I wish publishers would stop doing this.

If you love the Alien movies as I do, this game handles the material beautifully and I would argue that in terms of games on this list, Alien the RPG is the king of one-shots. This is a game that is tailor-made for bringing a group of players together for an all-day event and because it’s such a simple system and game, it’s perfect for introducing the concept of role-playing to non-gamers.

Absolutely love this one, fantastic work coming out of Free League Publishing.

7. Star Wars (West End Games Edition)

The West End Games version of Star Wars is a bit more like the books rather than the movie, which is to say it’s a bit more gritty and serious version of the Star Wars Universe.

There have been a lot of games that tried their hand at bringing the Star Wars Universe to an RPG, but there is only one that gave George Lucas the middle finger and showed us what Star Wars should be and that is the West End Games take on the Star Wars.

This edition of the game ignores some of the fuzzy and often hard to swallow concepts that the movies represent like inept Storm Troops who can’t hit the side of a barn with blasters and the ridiculously stupid way the villains of the world behave when heroes come along to try to stop their evil plans.

West End Games allows Star Wars to be a bit more serious, it’s a world where Storm Troopers are elite soldiers not to be trifled with and the Empire is a serious threat that isn’t going collapse because a farmer from Tatooine learned to swing a laser sword around.

This more genuine take on the Star Wars universe is what West End Games was going for and I love it. It turns Star Wars into a more serious science-fiction setting, where a blaster to the face will kill you, where being shot at is actually dangerous and space battles are represented with a sense of realism that satisfies fans of the genre who wish the movies were a little bit less space fantasy and a bit more space reality.

I know it’s not everyone’s bag, but for me, a version of Star Wars that is no PG rated is just what the doctor ordered, this is my favorite version of Star Wars in RPG form. The system is easy to learn and teach and it makes itself far easier to bring to the table than the many efforts that followed like Edge of Empire or the D20 Saga version.

Great game, great system, takes itself a bit more seriously yet manages to nail the Star Wars universe perfectly and despite its age it’s still in print today.

6. Dungeon Crawl Classics

It doesn’t take itself seriously, but DCC has some really innovative mechanics that are easily portable to Dungeons and Dragons, the basis for this one which I consider a classic as its name suggests.

There are many variants of Dungeons and Dragons and though I think most would count Dungeon Crawl Classics among them, I would argue that it’s got its own thing going and really doesn’t quite count as such a variant.

DCC is more than just D&D, it’s Gonzo D&D, a game with some serious wackiness to it designed almost like a spoof of D&D, meant for a fun and silly approach to the fantasy adventure.

Now you can approach this game with some seriousness if you wanted to and really the system itself lends itself to that style of play as well with a great magic system and some really cool concepts for martial classes, but for me personally, I lean into the skid here. The game is written in a style that suggests that you should see it as a kind of comedy show and given how the adventures are designed, the artwork and general wackiness of the premise, everything about DCC makes this the ideal game for a sort of Mighty Python version of Dungeons and Dragons.

This game generates laughs and my friends and I were in stitches when running this one. It’s everything you love about D&D with a comedy twist and it simply asks you to let go of your inhibitions and grognard mentality and accept it for what it is, a light-hearted version of Dungeons and Dragons.

I recognize it’s not for everyone but personally, I love it, it’s a great game in particular in short stints, the funnel concept is amazing for a one-shot and there is plenty of meat on the bones to keep the laughs coming if you want to make a campaign out of it.

A metric ton of fun, yet a really well-designed game, it’s fantastic.

5. Forbidden Lands

If you are the type of GM that thrives on open sandbox and on the fly emergent story and gameplay, Forbidden Lands is the perfect game for you. Everything about this game screams improv.

The second Free League Publishing game on the list, Forbidden Lands is simultaneously an awesome concept, a fantastic take on the classic game of Dungeons and Dragons, while at the same time being a great fantasy setting all in one game.

I can’t say enough positive things about Forbidden Lands. It’s a survival game in a fantasy universe with very deadly mechanics and a really gritty feel to it putting it squarely in the OSR wheelhouse, yet its mechanics are sleek and modern, with an absolutely fantastic dynamic world-building concept at the core of gameplay.

Players are survivors of a world that has gone terribly wrong and they are charged with trying to find a way to not only survive in this harsh environment but to thrive. The world around them is completely unexplored and the players must follow dynamically constructed clues about what is out there and because the game is an open sandbox, every group is going to take its own approach on how to proceed.

Players don’t just contend with the monsters that dwell beyond the borders of their village but they must deal with the harsh realities of weather, basic necessities like food and water and the absence of proper civilization. There are no blacksmith shops to buy everything you need or taverns where you can easily access the basic necessities and comforts of life. Everything in this game is a struggle and players are always on the brink of death no matter where they turn. The only thing they can rely on is each other and this creates amazing table dynamics.

I adore Forbidden Lands and if your fan of Dungeons and Dragons, while this system is certainly wildly different mechanically, everything about it is going to be familiar nonetheless. An amazing experience, in particular in the hands of creative GM’s.

There are a few quirks in the game that I would say require some minor correcting like the Peddler class that has a way of spoiling some of the survival gameplay elements but these are easily house ruled issues that can be solved and there is a great community around this game from which you can get lots of great advice some.

Highly recommend this one if you haven’t tried it.

4. Vampire The Masquerade (5th Edition)

It’s a really well-designed game with a very poorly written book, but playing a vampire in the world of darkness is a gaming experience that is so much fun, its worth overcoming the hurdle of this terrible book.

I love White Wolf games, specifically their world of darkness setting and certainly Vampire The Masquerade has to be my all-time favorite game set in that world. The games 5th edition did a lot of housekeeping in terms of rules to give the game greater balance but really the big strength of this latest edition is how the mechanics of the game and the story of the game are properly connected. The mechanics really bring out the horror of being a blood-sucking monster in this latest edition by implementing the hunger system and trimming the fat off the disciplines to bring them more in line with a game of vampire politics rather than a game about vampires abusing each other with disciplines as was the case in past editions.

I love the new take on the game, I’ve been running this game for a couple of years and it just works to bring that Vampire story to life in all its gory splendor.

This game would be much higher on the list if it was not for the fact that the actual core rulebook for the game is an absolute nightmare to work with. This has to be an example of the worst kind of RPG editing in the history of RPG’s. Simply put, no matter how many times I have read the book and how long I have played this game, I still can never find a single bloody thing in that book. Everything about its layout and editing is completely illogical, the editors of this book should be fired immediately.

That said, it’s a simple enough game that after a few sessions you will have most of the important stuff put to memory and so really, the game has a natural flow and simple system that you can largely get away with running the game just with the storyteller screen in front of you. Being a vampire is a lot of fun and this game really gives that to you in every spectrum and definition of the classic monster.

Love it, if you have never played Vampire The Masquerade, I would argue you are yet to really experience the RPG hobby to its fullest.

3. The Song of Ice and Fire RPG: The Game of Thrones Edition

I’m a huge fan of The Song of Ice and Fire story and world and as such, I have huge expectations and demands from an RPG that tackles this setting. This game not only met those demands bar far exceeded anything I could have hoped this RPG to be. This is one of the best interpretations of a setting into an RPG I have ever had the pleasure to experience.

In the last decade, I have had a really wide range of gaming experiences, but without question one of my absolute favorites is a short six-session campaign I ran in the seven kingdoms using the Song of Ice and Fire RPG (The Game of Thrones Edition) <- Yes that is a mouthful.

The Song of Ice and Fire RPG has got to be one of the best translations of a setting into an RPG I have ever experienced, Green Ronin Publishing knocks it out of the park with this game.

All of the intricate relationships between characters, the house building and politics mechanics, the absolutely fantastic social combat rules, the gritty and really brutal combat mechanic and of course just the setting writing all come together perfectly in a game that conjures up the TV show and makes you feel like your part of it.

There is so much great writing in these books, the organization and GM advice you get really helps tremendously in bringing The Game of Thrones to life at the table. I especially love the character creation building that has the players working together to not just form an adventuring group but a sort of dysfunctional family.

As a huge fan of the books and the TV show, I had an absolute blast with this one and I’m certain I’m going to run it again in the future. Our game only lasted six sessions but it was one of the most memorable six sessions of my gaming career. In our story three brothers struggled against each other for control of the house the players built together and in that short period of time they were engaged in a Knights tournament, they fought The Mountain in combat, they fought alongside The Starks in war, they betrayed each other in cunning political games and ultimately destroyed themselves. It had absolutely everything you could possibly ask from a Game of Thrones story and this system helped bring it all to the table.

I love this RPG, it really is a work of art.

2. Alternity

Bill S. and Richard B. create magic in what is the unquestionable king of Science-Fiction RPG’s, Alternity. This is not only one of the best sci-fi RPG’s, it may very well be one of the best RPG’s ever made.

While all the games on this list I consider personal favorites I would happily play or run at any time, at this point in the list we are getting into the games that really define me as a GM and as a role-player and Alternity is certainly such a game.

There are a lot of science-fiction games out there but in my humble opinion Alternity is worlds apart, this is the single best science-fiction RPG ever written, period. The work of the super team (Bill S. and Richard B.), it is a combination of brilliant design and inspired writing.

Alternity covers all forms of science-fiction genres from X-Files style conspiracy, Near Earth, Post-Apocalypse to hard science-fiction and science-fiction opera. It does all of that under a single, flawless system that makes use of 4 core classes, yet is distinctively skill-driven.

I adore this game and have used it countless times in everything from time-traveling games to space exploration games and everything in between. It’s a very simple system, yet so robust that even though there are only 4 classes you will never make the same character twice.

The game’s handling of technological eras, concepts like mutations and cybernetics, ship combat from hard science reality style to Star Wars space opera style, is all handled with perfection in this one game.

As if this wasn’t enough, Alternatiy has some of the best supplements for an RPG I have ever read including the absolutely astonishingly awesome StarDrive campaign which I say without reservation is the single best RPG setting ever written, period. The fact that it’s supported by this fantastic system is just icing on the cake of perfection.

I know that availability on this one might not quite hit the criteria for the list, but this is a game that was over-printed so finding books in the 3rd party market is actually quite easy, you can find it on Amazon or Ebay at very reasonable prices. There is a new edition of the game that was put out, I don’t know anything about that one so it should not be confused with the original TSR version.

I have not a single negative word to say about this game, it’s perfect. If you want science-fiction, it begins and ends with this game.

1. Dungeons and Dragons

The one and only Dungeons and Dragons makes the top of the list which should come to the surprise of no one!

While my desire with this list was to expose my readers to other RPG’s for their consideration, this list would be a bald-faced lie if I did not put Dungeons and Dragons in the number one spot.

D&D has had many editions over the years, but in each era in which it appeared whether it was 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 5th edition, Dungeons and Dragons was always my number one, favorite game to play. The only exception in the last 30+ years of my gaming life when that wasn’t true was during the brief period when 4th edition D&D was the current version of the game. I really didn’t like that version and it was the only time that I would not have put D&D as my number one choice of RPG.

I consider all of the editions as members of my D&D toolbox and as a DM, I’m more than happy to run any edition (except 4th) and I would typically do so for different reasons. I will very soon create a top 10 versions of D&D list which would include various retro-clones, spin-offs and re-imagining into this category and certainly if pressed I could put the editions of D&D in order from favorite to least favorite, but all and all I have enjoyed all of these games and I consider every one of them excellent RPG’s.

I’m certain however if I was pressed today to pick my favorite version of Dungeons and Dragons, the one I reach for when a fantasy story pops into my head that I want to explore there is no doubt that “my” preferred version of the game is 1st edition BECMI (Basic, Expert, Companion, Master and Immortal). Typically I would use a modern retro clone like Old School Essentials if we want to get strictly down to the specifics, but ultimately 1st edition Basic D&D for me personally is the simplest game to run, the one that sticks to the D&D concept the best and is the most fun for my players. It’s fast, challenging, easy to learn and teach and above all, fun as hell. It’s D&D in its purest form.

Some Honorable Mentions

There were quite a few games that were cut from this list and though I would argue for good reason, I do think they deserve a courtesy nod for being in contention.

Star Wars Edge of the Empire is a game that teases me with one of my favorite franchises of all time and it certainly was a contender, but in the end the narrative dice system, while clever is just too fussy and demands far too much from a gaming table. I like the ingenuity of it, but it misses the mark for me personally and certainly doesn’t compete with my favorite take on the Star Wars universe.

Warhammer Fantasy Role-play 3rd edition like Star Wars Edge of the Empire has a clever take on role-playing with its narrative dice, but I find it has the same issue as its Star Wars follow up. Too much fucking about with translating these dice to make something useful out of them at the table. I want to love the concept because conceptually it’s really good, but it’s just too impractical at a gaming table and its board game approach to RPG management distances itself too much from the hobbies traditions and assumptions. It was a good effort with a lot of really great writing and I use the game for inspiration, but it’s just not something I’m interested in running.

Pathfinder 2nd edition is another take on Dungeons and Dragons and the truth is that I actually like this one as a player quite a bit. Lots of great options for character building, a fantastic game world built into the system and a really fun combat mechanic that really gets to the heart of modern D&D gameplay. As a DM however I find the 600+ page rulebook is just severe overkill, it’s just too much, there is waaay to much to juggle as a DM and really the payout is kind of limited. Anything as a DM I could do with Pathfinder 2nd edition, I can do with D&D 1st edition, yet it will be a 10th of the complexity, for me it’s just a hard pass. I think a good, dedicated GM can make it work, but it’s too mechanized for my tastes, I could never run a game that is this codified. That said I think it’s actually an amazing design achievement, it’s a really clever game and those with the patience for this much crunch will find a lot to like.

Best of List, Gaming Articles

GM Theory: OSR Games You Should Be Playing

I love role-playing games, if there was such a thing as “my thing”, it would definitely be that. It should not however be a secret that I’m a card carrying member of the OSR (Old School Revival). For those in the know, the OSR is essentially a sort of loosely defined idea that in some shape or another, old school RPG’s were better then I suppose you could say new school RPG’s. Not entirely sure that is a reasonable explanation of the OSR, but I’m not here to explain what it is, I’m here to talk about some of the games that are released in the spirit of the OSR or games that proclaim themselves to be OSR games.

I do want to say that the presumption that I don’t like contemporary games or I’m some sort of Gronard because I like OSR games is far from the truth, though a common sentiment among contemporary RPG fans about the OSR. It’s a kind of strange stereotyping that takes place that if you like old school games, it means you hate new school games. This is nonsense of course, I love all sorts of role-playing games, I just happen to have my beefs with one of them which happens to be the most popular one in the world, modern, contemporary 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. One of these days I will get to writing an article about why that is, but if you follow my blog I don’t think I hide my general distaste for the 5e ruleset. That does not however mean that I don’t like modern RPG’s, I do, my bookshelf is full of them.

In any case today we are not here to talk about what I don’t like but rather what I do like. In today’s article we are going to look at several OSR games, what makes them great and why you should be playing them! Hope you enjoy the article, release the cracken!

Old School Essentials: Classic Fantasy

Old School Essentials is effectively the 1st edition B/X rules cleaned up with a few extras. Its sort of like taking a famous painting and restoring it, its as simple as that.

I put this here first and I will be brief, mainly because all that Old School Essentials is, is 1st edition B/X rules largely unchanged. This is B/X 1st edition, but organized as a rules reference to perfection. If you run B/X D&D, the Rules Tome for OSE is all you will ever need and its definitely far superior to the original printings. Everything is indexed, categorized and laid out with a single extremely well defined purpose, playability.

Now Necrotic Games also put out The Advanced Genre Rules book and this supplement is amazing, it compiles a lot of classic early edition races and classes, adds some rules for integrating race and class, instead of the traditional just class structure. They work together so you no longer have to make a decision one way or the other, you can pretty much let your players choose, they are balanced to work in the same game. Great addition.

Now as far as how good of a game is B/X 1st edition, well that is an article in its own right but the short and sweet of it is that as far as I’m concerned this is THE BEST version of the D&D and I say that without reservation. To me, B/X and BECMI rules are D&D, accept no substitute!

Dungeon Crawl Classics

Dungeon Crawl Classics has some of the most creative and BAP (Beer and Pretzel) adventures I have ever seen put to paper, Sailors on the Starless Sea is a classic in every sense of the word living up to the Dungeon Crawl Classics name.

Dungeon Crawl Classics is a kind of combination of old school lethality, mixed in with the simplicity of the basic 3rd edition rules strip down to its birthday suit and with a layer of Gonzo style magic systems that give Rollmaster tables a run for its money. The game also uses some wacky dice to give it some unique flavor though this is largely just a gimmicky thing for funzzies.

Dungeon Crawl Classics falls into the beer and pretzel RPG category for me. The game starts out with players making 4 0 level characters each (yes a typical game starts with 15-20 characters). These nobodies get basic NPC like classes from the peasant side of the fantasy universe like candle makers, cooks, farmers etc… and these would be heroes are thrust into an adventure called a funnel where they must effectively try to get to the bottom of the adventures evil plot while being armed with pitchforks and candle sticks.

With little chance of surviving at all, players must use narrative cleverness to get through it and though most characters are likely to die horrifically tragic deaths, those that do survive the funnel become full blown first level heroes getting a choice from all of the classic D&D fantasy classes.

The funnel to me is just an absolutely fantastic concept, it effectively allows players to write their origin stories and though its clearly meant as a kind of silly one shot adventure, the system is actually quite robust once you get into hero level characters and you can turn this into a full blow fantasy adventure game.

Certainly the Gonzo style writing of the official modules, which are absolutely brilliant, does suggest that the game is meant to be taken with a great deal of humor and because the deadliness of the game remains relatively steady throughout, there is a level of old school anxiety and fear built into the game that makes this an undeniable OSR game.

Really unique concept with a great, easy to learn mechanic but one with a bit of robustness and flavor that keeps itself interesting. Great fun addition to the OSR line up of amazing games.

Forbidden Lands

A game designed from the ground up for a sandbox campaign in what can only be described as the first truly unique campaign setting I have seen in a while that breaks the typical D&D fantasy world mold.

This OSR game keeps with the spirit of the classic D&D game, but has a couple of unique twists that really separate it from the field.

It leans more towards the survivor story, where characters exist in a desolate almost post apocalyptic fantasy world where the frontier is a complete unknown. They must explore it in hopes of finding their fortune in the classic D&D tradition, but the game puts a lot of weight on the concept of survival. Food and water are scarce, supplies and weapons are not easy to come by, their are almost not towns to shop at and the result is a game where you not only need to survive the adventure, but you need to survive the elements, starvation, dehydration and the general absence of the necessities of life.

This is also a sandbox hex crawl and as players explore the frontier the DM rolls to determine what they find in the various areas which leads the players to player driven goals which I think is the key feature of the game. There aren’t large narrative stories here, the players are meant to go out into the world and make something of themselves and what that ends up being is largely driven by the opportunities the frontier presents to them.

On a high level this is a sandbox game and it can very much be run as a western marshes style campaign where you can have a large group of friends who call upon your GM services whenever they like to contribute to an ongoing story about this frontier. Much of the game is randomly generated, what happens, what the story of the game is, is going to be as much a surprise to the GM as it is to the players. Yet there is a lot of content here that will inspire GM’s that love to write and you can definitely find yourself unintentionally world building. It’s almost as if its a game designed to not only produce an adventure for your players, but a new campaign setting for you as the GM.

While there are some hiccups in the system that will require a bit of GM intervention, they are minor and easily fixed. In my book this is another great entry into the OSR must play list.

Five Torches Deep

This is old school done with new school rules which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the OSR isn’t just about old Gronards playing their coveted 1st edition D&D.

Five Torches Deep is a very clever attempt to bring 5th edition D&D fans into the OSR fold and it does it with style, proving that not only is classic D&D not about classic rules, but somewhere buried beneath the nonsense of 5th edition D&D rules is actually a salvageable system.

Five Torches Deep is a game that is clearly inspired by the Dungeon Crawls of old and systems like B/X with those old school sentimentality. The goal of the game, much as it was it the golden age of D&D is to go into dungeons, fight monsters and steal their stuff!

This game however is dangerous as hell and leans heavily on player centricity with a pretty heavy handed dose of narrative flexibility. There is not much to the mechanic, its very much driven by the player-gm conversation style of role-playing, what I like to call… normal role-playing.

It uses a clever durability system and time tracking system to give the game an earthy, realistic tone reminiscent of B/X rules, while simultaneously it is very much a fantasy adventure where players are going to be kicking ass and taking names.

I don’t want to necessarily quantify this one as a beer and pretzel game, but I think its a bit too deadly and a bit to linear in its approach to stretch into the more serious campaign, though the rules are so flexible and modular here that you can easily pull from other sources to make it a bit more robust. In fact I think you can very easily inject B/X classes into this game with minimal effort or expand by creating your own. The classes available act almost as design templates to show you how its done. I think most players however will find the game a bit too limited as written and much like B/X rules that is fun for the first few levels, it needs more after a while much the same way B/X does. Eventually you will want more classes, more options and a bit wider range.

Still its just so well made, straight to the point, easy to get to the table. This is one of those games where you can bring friends over like its board game night, pull it out, make characters and be playing D&D in no time flat and that in my book is a game worth having on the shelf.

Blades In The Dark

Blades in the Dark shows of the versatility of the OSR and how the OSR can act as inspiration for design, rather then an example of it. Rather then being a retro clone of something that already exists, Blades in the Dark breaks new ground in game design.

I fell in love with Blades In The Dark after just three pages of reading and though I’m yet to run it, from the stand point of a GM who needs inspiration, this game, this setting and really just the entire concept is a fucking revelation. This book gives you the feeling you might remember when you got your first D&D book, that first read through, that first day of deciding you are going to play, the excitement of not knowing what’s going to happen. This book has that kind of magic.

This is a game that is narratively focused on a very specific concept. You and your friends take on the roles of effectively criminals in a early-industrial fantasy world, with only one goal. Pull off “Jobs”, aka, commit crimes in the city and try to get away with it. From heists, to burglaries and everything in-between this is the oceans eleven of fantasy RPG’s.

The system itself is superbly designed with every conceivable issue running a game in this style might present perfectly laid out for you with simple and applicable rules that make sense the first time you read them. This book is so well written, the concept so well thought out that I can see how this game practically runs itself.

More than that though the concept is just so amazing, who hasn’t thought of running a D&D game where everyone plays a thief and you indulge in your criminal fantasies. Clearly John Harper has.

There are plenty of variations on the thief class for everyone to find something to play, the setting itself is just the perfectly executed dark fantasy and their are turns and twists ready made for you to throw into your game that there is absolutely no way your players are going to expect.

Without a doubt one of the best RPG’s I have read in the last decade, this is the new gold standard to beat for OSR games.

Stars Without Numbers

Not since TSR’s take on sci-fi, Alternity have I found an RPG that does science-fiction with the respect and a sense of completeness. Stars Without Number is to me the modern take on running science-fiction, while clearly being a throwback to running the game in the classic OSR style.

Stars without numbers proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the OSR is alive and well and its not just about fantasy. Inspired by classic B/X rules and the classic RPG Trinity, Stars Without Numbers is a science-fiction sandbox for players to explore, yet the universe/setting is not some pre-generated science-fiction writing. This is a dynamically created world where even the GM doesn’t know what is going to be in his game until it starts. In a sense, much like Forbidden Stars, the result of playing this game is going to be dynamic world building.

This is a game that will put your improv skills to the test as a GM and though the system itself is simple, running this game I think is really the ultimate challenge for a DM. This game has every conceivable science-fiction trope that has ever existed in what I can only describe as a setting with infinite possibilities. Though its clearly inspired by Trinity, I can help but get an Alternity vibe from it, which notably is one of my all time favorite science-fiction RPG’s.

Really well written, easy to get into, its just the most perfect system for a science-fiction GM looking to create that perfect sci-fi game for his players.

Love this one, a must buy for any serious sci-fi fan.

Conclusion

It goes without saying that the OSR produces a lot of games, to create an article that covers all the good ones would take pages upon pages. I honestly could do this for days, but an article needs to end sometime.

The games I’ve chosen here are games I have either ran, played in or read, but there are many more I’m certain deserve to be on this list.

The important part here however is to present the OSR for what it is, a diverse sea of interesting games that make great alternatives to the tried and true, but sometimes rather stale accepted alternatives like Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, Starfinder and the like.

These are some great games and I think as an RPG fan it’s everyone’s duty to explore games, to dig deeper and approach the entire hobby with an open mind. I find contemporary gamers who often claim inclusivity and tolerance in an attempt to appear politically modern are secretly some of the most judgmental and ruthlessly closed minded gamers out there refusing to touch anything without a Wizards of the Coast logo and casting a wide net of judgement against anything with the OSR label. Get out there and explore these amazing games, its nothing short of a tragedy to miss out on these experiences.

Best of List

Top 10 Board Games 2020 Edition

It has been almost a full year and a half since I have updated this list and while board gaming as a hobby has been tragically hindered by the ongoing covid crisis pretty much the entire year, I think an update is in order.

This time around there are some pretty heavy handed changes and I have to admit that even I was surprised when I was finished writing this article and making my determination, but on the bright side there is plenty of new stuff to talk about so without further delay, lets get into it.

10. B-17 Flying Fortress Leader

I know that solo games are not everyone’s cup of tea but this game has so much great depth and such an amazing feel factor, not to mention it looks absolutely stunning on the table that it just has to be on my list.


I will be the first to admit that when it comes to my top 10 list, putting this one on here I have almost a sense of embarrassment. It’s sort of like admitting that you like the Star Wars Holiday special, or are a fan of white socks with sandals.

While it’s not my first solo game on the list, this is a rather obscure DVG game that I think most people who look at my list will scratch their head and wonder where the connection is, how in the world you go from any of these game to this one. It’s just something out of left field.

The truth is however that B-17 Flying Fortress Leader is one of those “piece of engineering” games that has this very tight, story driven premise that I personally find completely engrossing. You are a commander of a fleet of American bombers during World War II, making all of the decisions about bombing targets, flight paths, plane configurations, resource management and general command decisions. You setup all of your orders and put everything into place and then the games AI takes over where your plan is executed and you watch helplessly as your decisions are put into action. Its just enthralling and though I can’t say I’m a huge history buff, there is something about this particular piece of history I just can’t help but obsess over. There is just something sexy about world war II American bomber planes.

More than that though this is a game that just looks amazing on your hobby table, it’s an intimate solo game that you can play in one sitting or spread it out over days. It has a really fine-tuned sequence and there is a tremendous amount of strategy and planning that when done well you are rewarded for, yet there are surprising twists that keep you coming back to try again and again.

It’s a hard one to recommend to a general player base but It would be dishonest if I didn’t put it on my personal top ten list given how often I play it. If you have an interest in the subject matter and are looking for a cool solo game however, if my opinion counts, I think this is one of the coolest games I have found in years. (read the full review here ).

9. Twilight Struggle

Twilight Struggle really blew me away the first time I played it despite having a lot of reservations about even trying it. It’s one of those games you always hear about but don’t actually think you will like, well I’m here to tell you, you are wrong. You will like this game, any reasonable gamer will.

Twilight Struggle is an award winning game that has maintained a strong presence in the euro gaming community on board game geek for years, keeping the number one spot for nearly a decade. It has a digital app, yearly competitions and is considered widely as one of the best designs in board gaming by some of the most prestigious designers around.

That is not however why I like it, quite to the contrary, I was fairly uninterested in the game despite all of these accolades and have only recently tried it on a whim with very few expectations. Truth is that the subject matter didn’t interest me and I feel very strongly that theme is key to any game that would ordinarily make this list.

Twilight Struggle’s surprise for me was two fold. First I was shocked to discover how amazing the game actually was and how well deserved its praises really were. This is a deep, thinky and very dynamic game that pulls on a lot of mechanical levers that beg to be explored. More importantly however it actually inspired an interest in the subject matter for me (The Cold War) which is actually a fascinating period in history full of intrigue, actions and counter actions that give A Song of Ice and Fire a run for its money.

Just a fantastic game, one of my favorite discoveries in the last few years and as you have already been told by pretty much everyone, this is a game that belongs on your shelf no matter what type of board gamer you are.

8. War of The Ring

The Asymmetrical 2 player epic is effectively Lord of the Rings in a box, if you love the books and movie, this is an amazing way the battle for Middle-Earth.

This year I have tried to be honest with myself and include “times played” as a consideration for judgement for games on this list. Truth be told, I have not played War of the Ring for nearly 3 years at this point and this is the reason it drops to the number 8 spot. I couldn’t bring myself to remove it from the list entirely because I still consider it to be one of the best 2 player epics out there, but fall it has and unless something changes, fall off the list it will.

I have spoken so much about this game over the years I could put up half a dozen links from this sight alone, it feels strange to repeat any of it. I think the game can be summed up by saying that this is the entire Lord of the Rings story in a box, if you love the middle earth saga you must play this game. This game is Lord of the Rings.

So why haven’t I played it, this I think is a fair question that should be answered. After all its on my top 10 list and I haven’t played it in 3 years, that needs an explanation. The answer however is actually quite simple. When the opportunity to play 2 player games comes up, this is usually time reserved for playing miniature games. Miniature games in my gaming group carry a lot of weight and so there is this default assumption that if there is 2, then we play a miniature game. It’s just really hard for me to get 2 player board games to the table in general no matter how good I think they are.

7. Game of Thrones The Board Game 2nd Edition

This is a game that is played in the minds of the players, the board and pieces are mostly distraction.

Game of Thrones the board game has had a consistent presence on this list for years but this year it takes a significant drop from the number 3 spot. I don’t think this is a reflection on the game itself but popularity and current plays of any game are going to fluctuate and frankly this year Game of Thrones was a bit meh all together in our group and especially for me.

I think its something that happens eventually when you have played a game often enough where you start to see some of the chinks in the armor. Don’t get me wrong, this game would not be on this list if I didn’t love it and was willing to drop what I’m doing to play it, but I certainly can think of several epics I would pick right now over this one to play in a larger 5-6 player group. It is a great game, it has been a great game for over a decade in my group, but I’m at a point with it where I have played it enough times that it may be time to retire it from this list.

For those that have never played this one however, know that its staying power in my gaming group and for me personally exceeds a decade of entertainment, if you can get that much out of any game its what I would call an auto-buy. Like that is a great record to have for a game and GoT the board games earns those stripes undisputed.

6. War Room

War Room is not a game, it’s an experience. It takes the idea of playing war games to the absolute limit, yet somehow makes it very accessible and to some degree practical. You’re going to need a huge table and a lot of time, but that is the price of entry into this theatre of the mind.

I was very hesitant about putting this game on this list because I have to be honest here, I am yet to play a full game with a full group. Its on this list largely because I know my games, I know what I like and I know that a game is “going to be amazing” from reading of rules and play testing it myself. I have done this extensively with War Room and I’m almost 100% certain that after playing it with my local gaming group this one will surge on this list to one of the top spots. For now I leave it at number 7 for the sake of propriety.

War Room is Larry Harris’s new world war II epic, the guy that brought us the ultimate classic Axis and Allies. War Room is massive both in size and scope, a game designed with about the most elegant and well thought out mechanics I have seen in years. Its very clear that Larry took his time with this one using all of the experience, feedback and knowledge he has mustard up over the last few decades with Axis and Allies.

It is absolutely astonishingly beautiful on the table, its designed with various player counts in mind and though like Axis and Allies and most “super games” as I like to call them this one is long as fuck and will not be easy to get to the table, likely taking in excess of 12 hours. Hence this is an event in a box and it makes no apologies for that.

This game will make you feel like a military commander running world war II and this is exactly what the game tries to accomplish. The rules are relatively simple but the strategies go deep and its going to cease up your brain as you try to unravel the possibilities. For fans of war games, in particular Axis and Allies, this is a must own. Unfortunately its a very exclusive and hard to get game not to mention without a doubt one of the most expensive I have ever bought so be warned before you get too excited that this one may be as hard to get on your shelf as it is to get to the table.

5. Twilight Imperium 4th edition

Without a doubt one of my favorite games of all time, Twilight Imperium is just part of the family at this point.

Twilight Imperium is a game I have talked about since I started this blog and the blog before that. In fact, I have spent the last 10+ years talking about it and frankly I’m yet to fully tire of it. This is a versatile game that offers science-fiction fans the ultimate epic in gaming today. There is no game on the market that comes even close to creating such a dynamic, one of a kind experiences as Twilight Imperium and though it has fluctuated on this list over the years and editions, this latest version of the game is in my humble opinion the best yet and by a wide margin.

I think of all the things I could say about Twilight Imperium the one that should get your attention is that despite its weight, scope and play time, it is a relatively simple game to learn to play and learn to play well. A couple of games of this and anyone can become an expert and that is what I love about it. The mechanics just work and just like all great board games, much of the games strategy and game play is very much player driven. Which simply means that every group is going to play this game differently and each time you add or exchange a player the dynamics of the game will change.

Love it, always have, always will.

4. Vampire: The Masquerade Heritage

Vampire Heritage is the new kid on the block, fresh and young and though legacy games have a tendency to rise and fall, I think this one may stick around a lot longer than what might be expected. Very strong opening.

Anyone who follows my blog may know that I’m a huge Vampire: The Masquerade RPG fan, in fact I have been running a Vampire Chronicle with my local group going on 3 years now and we absolutely love everything about this setting. When a board game set in the world of darkness was announced it was an easy decision for us, but frankly we were quite reserved in our excitement initially. Vampire as a game and as a setting is a very delicate matter to fans like us and its easy to fuck up, our confidence that someone would come along and make a great board game out of it was lets just say limited.

Boy where we wrong, holy shit balls this game is amazing. Now I have put it on my number 6 spot only because we have just started to play this legacy game, having only finished our first era of the game, but I personally fell instantly in love with this one for three key, indisputable reason.

First is that the game captures the world of vampires with perfection. This is exactly the feeling I was hoping the game would offer. The politics, the betrayals, the maneuvering, the manipulation.. its all there. It gives you that creepy sense of place and time, illustrated beautifully to also enhance the imagery. Really just a perfect execution of the theme in board game form.

The second thing is that the game is extremely simple from a mechanical “how do you play this thing” point of you, while the gameplay, the strategy itself is immensely complicated. I love it when any game does this, where I can sit down with friends and spend 10 minutes explaining “how” the rules work, but we will spend the next six months trying to figure out how to win. Again I can’t say enough how pleased I was to see this approach taken, its really amazing.

Finally its a legacy game and I know a lot of people have reservations about legacy games because they are sort of “one shot” play throughs but there are 21 games in the chronicle and even after 3 games (the first era) the game has fundamentally changed in unique ways that will not repeat if you in the future would replay this one. Those permanent alterations to the game give this amazing sense of personalization and when you really think about it one of the biggest problems with most board games is that you will eventually tire of playing them anyway. The legacy keeps the game fresh play after play which means that each time we get together though we are playing the same game, things will be very different. I love this concept, I think it works particularly well in this game.

For fans of the world of darkness, don’t hesitate, this is a game tailor made for you.

3. Lord of the Rings The Living Card Game

I love this game and true love lasts forever!

Yes, my favorite, top game of all time has dropped down from the list. What can I tell you, it happens to the best of them. I have to say however even though this card game represents the highest investment I have ever made in a game (I have an almost complete collection), I have gotten more joy out of this game then everything else in my collection combined and I know I will play it forever.

Its just an amazing game and you can read the various reviews and comments on this one all over this blog site, I speak of it often. The truth is however that I have played this game so much that its time for me to sort of move on to other things.. for a while. I will certainly be back at some point as this one has a tendency to resurge like crazy. I have periods when I play this one non-stop and periods when I don’t play at all, but it goes back and forth.

What is it, why do I love it, just read the review and you will understand. REVIEW.

2. Through The Age: A New Story of Civilizations

Through The Ages is to Civilization building games what Twilight Imperium is to science-fiction games. Its a game fit for a king.

Through The Ages drops to the number 2 spot on my list, but holds strong as one of my all time favorites. This has always been one of those games that’s tough to recommend much like Twilight Imperium and maybe even War Room simply because of the length of play. Through The Ages however has two things going for it that keeps it on my radar far more frequently then the other “heavy” board game experiences.

For one, it plays really well with a small group, even as a two player game. Far more importantly however is that its supported by a really great app allowing me to play it whenever I have time without the fuss of trying to get a table game going and nothing is lost in this resource management game when doing so. I certainly think the pandemic crisis in the world leaving me locked in my house has helped this game to claim more of my free gaming time then it might have otherwise, but I have played this game quite consistantly for over 3 years now and I still love it every bit as much as I always have.

Recently it got an expansion as well which is the first for the Through The Age franchise as the original version never got that service which has also helped to refresh the game for me.

Love this one, but it’s heavy, thinky and long so be ready for that if you plan to commit.

1. A Song of Ice and Fire: The Miniature Game

Song of Ice and Fire is one of those games that you just know 20 years from now you will look back and consider it a classic, a game that becomes representative of an age of gaming in your life. It’s just that good.

Without question or doubt, Song of Ice and Fire the miniature game is the big blow out in 2020 for me. A game I have played and obsessed over at every opportunity I could get and thanks to the ability to play the game online through the use of Table Top Simulator, I played it a lot this year.

It’s not the first miniature game to find its way to the top spot on my list, you may recall (if you read my blog) that Star Wars: X-Wing held that spot tightly for a couple of years.

Song of Ice and Fire is just one of those gems that fires on all cylinders both as a miniature game and just as a gaming experience for me. It’s deeply tactical, yet simple to learn, it adds the hobby component but makes it as painless for you as possible, it has a really strong community and tremendous support by the publisher.

More than that though its just a fun game to play, it’s one of those “sink your teeth into it” kind of games that you can analyze and experiment with, the more you play the more you discover the little nook and crannies of possibilities. List building, adapting new ways to use the same units, trying to find those great positional and circumstantial moments that tip the scales. I love that it’s so dynamic as well, rather then your standard “lets just kill each other” it’s a mission based game and each mission is as unique as the next, all of them presenting interesting and diverse challenges.

The fact that its based on an amazing franchise with a robust theme, one it incorporates amazingly well certainly adds to the games flavor but certainly at least for me personally the fact that all my friends dove in head first into it means that I have a plethora of opponents always available representing all of the factions in the game.

It’s just a really solid miniature game that dropped into my group at the right time, one that I’m totally head over heels for, it earns its stripes as the top game for this list.

The Drop Offs

I always feel compelled to mention some of the games that drop off the list, in particular given that I still consider them amazing games worth your time.

Shogun by Queen Games falls off the top 10 list for the first time since I started the list and I can’t stress enough how painful that was as I absolutely adore this game. The dice tower of terrible faith, the deeply analytical planning phase and those explosive “I can’t believe that just happened” moments as battles are resolves are just a small taste of why I love this game. It’s wonderful but it gets pushed off the list, it happens to the best of them.

Great Western Trail is another one I consider “the best in genre”. This is probably my favorite pure euro, pure victory point smorgasbord game. It’s just clever as hell and deserves all of the praise it gets from the general gaming community. It was only ever at the tale end of my top 10 list, but certainly deserving to be on the list as is any other game that made it over the years.

New Angeles was one I didn’t really lose too much sleep over, don’t get me wrong I think it’s a great game but I felt it had sort of played itself out for me personally. It’s still a staple of my gaming groups yearly super board gaming weekend for good reason as its a fantastic group game and I’m sure that will remain unchanged, but for me it was time for it to go.

Blood Rage is one I struggle with always because I do believe it to be an absolutely perfectly designed game, but I just don’t play it often enough nor find myself drawn to it frequently enough to justify its presence on my list. That does not change its status as the only game on this blog that ever got a perfect 5 out of 5 star review rating, it deserved it and I stand by it.

Star Wars Armada falls of the list and I think its largely because I just don’t feel there is room on my top 10 list for two miniature games and A Song of Ice and Fire blew it out of the sky with ease. There will always be a special place in my heart for Armada as I do believe it to be a fantastic game, but its so heavy and weighs you down so much that I just can’t bring myself up to restarting the engines. I don’t have any intentions to get rid of my collection and I do genuinely hope it comes back around in my group some day, but right now I’m battling it over the seven kingdoms of Westeros and loving it.