10 Board Games We've "Cooled" On | The Games We Feel Differently About Now 

Depends on what you value most, no? Do you want to have a "minimum X amount of plays"? Then online is your friend, you'll get your games in way quicker. Do you value "X amount of years in your collection", then stay away from digital gaming. I've played Through the Ages 50+ times on Steam, something that never would've happened with the cardboard version. But I cherish my physical collection and try to stay away from their digital versions, so that burnout doesn't happen to quickly.

It's always a risk, for sure. But I think it can go both ways. I've played TONS of 7 Wonders Duel, Castles of Burgundy, Can't Stop, Coloretto, For Sale and 6nimmt online and I haven't tired or faded on any of those games. So while I agree that playing any game that many times can risk illuminating things about it or having you cool on it over time, it still really comes down to the game and the lasting power it has for you specifically. Whether you play that many times with the physical copy or the digital one.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and we'll definitely consider continuing to do them.

Thanks Nate! We'll definitely do that video at some point in the near future!

Thanks! And you're absolutely right - I don't even remember us using that term in the video, and I know Dylann and I have each corrected each other about this in the past but we might've just not realized what the other person said in here. Super important distinction to make though, as they are very different.

I could actually see Quacks being a common game for people to cool on over time. I still really enjoy it, but I can also recognize that over time, and as new games comes out, it may eventually just stop hitting the table for me as well.

I've heard the sentiment about cooling on the original 7 Wonders a lot actually from people. I actually only ever played it a few times so it still has novelty to me, but I definitely prefer the Duel version.

My list: Honourable Mention: GIZMOS: Nothing wrong with this game; it’s an excellent game. It’s only cooled slightly, and that’s because I was on an absolute high on my first few plays of it. It has such thrilling action combos and engines! But now, after over 50 plays of it, the games are starting to feel a bit same-y. Still a great game I wouldn’t refuse to play. If an expansion were to come out, I’d buy it instantly and play the heck out of it! 5. CALL TO ADVENTURE: A friend of mine who really enjoys RPGs introduced this to me, and I was hoping this game would bridge the gap for me because I’ve never liked RPGs and story games. I had a good experience and thought it’d be a good game to introduce as a bridge game for other RPG people. But the more I played it, the more I discovered the reliance on luck and the cracks in the gameplay mechanics. These days I’d probably suggest something else. 4. PARKS: This game is gorgeous and has some fun mechanics, but it’s extremely confusing thematically. The people to whom it appeals the most don’t tend to enjoy it in my experience, because they play it for the theme, but the theme application makes no sense. It’s also too long for what it is, in my opinion. I’d find myself reaching for something like WINGSPAN or MEADOW instead. 3. THE CAPTAIN IS DEAD: Awesome quirky sci-fi co-op that is actually quite challenging. I just played it enough that I came to anticipate what to do, which character to be, and so on, so it lost its original lustre. 2. SECRET HITLER: I’ve cooled significantly on all social deduction games, so there are many that fall into this category that I could have put here, but this is the biggest cooling because (a) the bluffing mechanic was more interesting to me so I loved this one a lot, but now I feel like it’s too long for what I want it to be, and (b) as I become more socially conscious I realise that flippantly throwing around the name of someone who committed genocide as part of a pasted-on game theme really is in poor taste, and I don’t want to be hurtful to people for the sake of a party game when there are so many great, inoffensive games to choose from. 1. SMASH-UP: I played this game shortly after it came out and thought it was awesome! I was still on my Dominion deckbuilding high, and I thought the base control mechanic was super interesting. Had a great time! Didn’t play it for about 7 years, so I decided to give it a go with my friend when it was the deepest throes of the pandemic. We noticed that the entire game was essentially just reading cards and doing what they said, with lots of “take that” and slowing each other down. In our over 500 plays of over 150 games together, he and I had never quit a game halfway through … until we played Smash-Up. We just got so bored by the repetitive back-and-forth. Thanks for the video, folks! 👋

@@JonathonV I had my worst gaming experience ever with Dune: Imperium my 2nd game (with the 1st Expansion) - it took forever, because one of the players was analyzing everything on the board; there were some player dynamics, which weren't cool - and also, I felt like I could do so little on my turn - especially since I didn't draw the icon actions I needed - AND the player before me took the exact action on the board which I wanted to do - so even though I had the card to do that action, it was no longer available - and it was RIGHT BEFORE my next turn - annoying... But I do still enjoy the game, even though it was the game in which I had my worst gaming experience with (but I haven't played it since - since I stopped going to Game Nights a little after that incident, which happened this past February).

Haha sorry! I see the appeal and don't fault anyone for liking it. It just doesn't really land with me the same way anymore.

@@AllYouCanBoard Haha! No worries. Games aren’t going to hit us all the same way and that’s totally cool. Good thing we have a lot of choices out there. However, I do think the new Idavoll expansion makes some very cool additions to the game. More so than even Thingavellir.

Hey Ryan! We did a 2-player games video previously but we may have an update in the works, coming soon! So keep an eye out on the channel and you'll likely have that question answered sooner, rather than later!

That's a GREAT question. I honestly don't know but if I had never played Kingdom Builder and Winter Kingdom was my first experience, especially early on in my board gaming career, I feel like I may have been more enthralled with it. But I still don't think it would have had the lasting power that Kingdom Builder has had for me due to the added complexity.

It depends on the game and the person. I personally haven't cooled on any games specifically because of overplaying them. In fact, the games I've played the most of on BGA, for instance, are ones that I actually realize I like more now than I did before lol.

Targi did not land for Carlo and I but many people love it! So it's probably worth a try for you to see if you like it. It's on Board Game Arena if you want a free way to try it out!

Yeah it really comes down to playstyles and tastes! I don't fault anyone for preferring the style of dominion over the random market, I can see the appeal of both. But for me, the random market is definitely more fun to engage with.

Tbf it's the execution of most random market deckbuilders that give players less agency. Contrast with Dale of Merchants, Volfyirion, and Copycat

As we virtually only ever play games 2-player we’ve also found that Teotihuacan has lasted much better than T’zolkin. In a 2-player game by far the best tactic was to just concentrate on trying to win the temple tracks.

Yeah I mean they're both good games and it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that someone would prefer Teotihuacan between them!

@@AllYouCanBoard I think we’d have stuck with T’Zolkin longer if we had more than 2 players, but at that player count by far the easiest way to score points was just to collect and place skulls to move up the temple tracks. The effort of collecting resources for the point scoring buildings never seemed to pay off.

I've only played the CoB card game a couple times and my thoughts were similar. I mostly just asked myself why I wasn't playing the full version haha.

I disagree on the expansion. We’ve played over 50 times and it’s still great. The base game is fun enough. Its quick whereas the expansion adds downtime.

@@shortydancer It doesn’t really add a huge amount of time, but importantly it provides new ways to break the pattern of whose turn it is. Without it we had games where defeat was almost unavoidable because of how the cards would come out, especially if one player was unlucky with the selection of Wonders at the beginning and gets only one (or even no) wonders that give an extra turn.

I actually love playing with Pantheon, Agora or base game still. I haven't really felt like any of those options has been the "way to go" for me, I just switch between all the setups and still enjoy them all!

@@AllYouCanBoard We always just play with both expansions these days. The extra options help mitigate the luck of which cards turn over for you.

Well, it’s one of our favourite 2 player games (once you add the Pantheon expansion)…

That's it. I practiced Russian Railroads and first class online for a Tournament and now I'm done with the games. Fortunately there is German Railroads. I stopped playing online now for about one year and I enjoy the games in my shelf.

I just cannot get myself to play games online. The whole joy of playing board games to me (rather than video games, for example) is to turn the clock back to a time before electronics - where we can socialize as a group.

I love being able to get games to the table more than anything. Unfortunately it’s just so difficult to do, and the ease and convenience of BGA and Tabletop Sim can’t be understated. If I couldn’t play these games online, there’s a good chance I might never get to play them at all

I wouldn't say that, out of the 5 games I covered, I've only played Nidavellir online and I've still played the physical version more than the online version. I played the web version of Dominion a couple times too, but have played the physical version probably at least a dozen more times. - Dylann

@@AllYouCanBoard It was more Carlo I was referring to. He mentioned playing a few of his games a lot online, which seems to have made him lose interest in them.

Why's that?

You've wounded me! :P - Dylann

Hey Paul, let's turn it down a few notches, lol. We don't have to agree on Dominion or any game, I think disagreeing and having different opinions and being able to discuss it constructively is part of the fun of hobbies in the first place! Carlo still really likes Dominion, it was just me that has cooled on it. And absolutely, MTG and Marvel Champions and other games I've played are deck construction and not deck-building but they can often scratch that itch for me in some ways. Which is the reason I brought it up, but maybe didn't articulate that well enough. Regardless, I stand by my feelings on Dominion and just gravitating more to other deck-builders that have a board or something else going on along with the deck-building. But that's just me! There are plenty of people who still love Dominion and buy all the new expansions and continue to explore that world, which is awesome. I'm sure it's the same with me and Marvel Champions. Carlo, for instance, isn't really drawn to MC at all. As for expansions, I've played with Intrigue and Prosperity and once or twice with Seaside and one other that is escaping me. But Intrigue is the one I played the most with. Thanks for the comment and watching the video! -Dylann

@@AllYouCanBoard hahaha dude I’m just giving you $#!%