41 The Game 42 Takenoko 43 Sushi Go! 44 Artifacts, Inc. 45 Canvas 46 Happy City 47 Love Letter 48 Point Salad 49 Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra 50 Codenames: Pictures
When Monique and Naveen talk about their board game evenings I feel such a sense of FOMO that I'm not their friend. I bet their evenings are amazing! :D
It's pretty tough to come up with a top 50, so hats off to you guys! Here goes.... 50 - Isle of Cats - even for dog-lovers 49 - King Domimo - best gateway IMHO 48 - Lost Cities - I am currently undefeated 47 - Coldwater Crown - an amazing hidden gem 46 - Blueprints - same here 45 - Charterstone - our only legacy game so far 44 - Barenpark - love polyomino games. 43 -. Kingsburg - when we need a quick game without having to relearn the rules 42 - Qwirkle - simple yet amazing 41 - Roll for the Galaxy - a true classic. Thanks for the amazing content ☺️
SO glad that you tackling this. Your insights and opinions and overall approach to evaluating and talking about games are among those I most trust. Really looking forward to reading about your choices.
Love Splendor! I bought 5 copies of that 2 years ago to hand out to folks at work :-) The next year it was Kingdomino. Slowly they are turning into board gamers!
Thanks for all you do for the hobby and board gaming community! My partner and I really enjoy your channel and wanted to follow along with the ranking fun. Here are our 50-41: 50. Silver & Gold 49. Raptor 48. Chronicles of Crime 47. Zombie Dice/Pass the Pigs 46. War Chest 45. Lost Cities 44. Ethnos 43. Viticulture 42. Project L 41. Watergate
I did a quick sort of my rankings in BGG and found that we have a couple crossovers in this set of ten! Fun stuff, thanks for the video. 50 Splendor (2014) 49 That's Pretty Clever! (2018) 48 The Bloody Inn (2015) 47 Paris: La Cité de la Lumière (2019) 46 Colors of Paris (2019) 45 Maquis (2013) 44 Supermarché (2014) (PnP) 43 Photosynthesis (2017) 42 King of Tokyo (2011) 41 Flash Point: Fire Rescue (2011)
That pub meeple tool is amazing, I have been able to do my top 100 first time in life. Here are my 41 - 50 50 Century: Spice Road 49 Grand Austria Hotel 48 Deckscape: Test Time 47 Stone Age 46 Mechs vs. Minions 45 Lorenzo il Magnifico 44 Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan 43 Teotihuacan: City of Gods 42 Viticulture 41 Rajas of the Ganges
Thank you for this!! And for making me go through my collection with the ranking engine. Here's my 50-41: 50 Galaxy Trucker 49 Timeline: Inventions 48 Wavelength 47 Wingspan 46 Space Cadets 45 The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 44 Pictomania 43 The Deadlies 42 Azul 41 1989: Dawn of Freedom
Really enjoying following this, excited for the rest of the list! I recently made my first top 50 list as well: 50 Just One 49 Villainous 48 Shobu 47 Letter Jam 46 Istanbul 45 Curious Cargo 44 Air, Land & Sea 43 Patchwork 42 Now Boarding 41 Hardback
So happy you have decided to share your top 50! I find your thoughts in games are very aligned with mine and anxiously awaiting to see your complete lists! You had a few games on this list I have not played yet and I will have to check them out. My 50 to 41: 50. Joraku 49. Senators 48. Carnegie 47. Acquire 46. Kemet 45. Oriflamme 44. Dice Hospital 43. Nidavellir 42. Spirit Island 41. Root
Ooooh lists! I love listening to you describe your picks. Some are beloved games in my own collection, others are new to me and I am very interested in what you have to say about them! Thank you for this and I eagerly await the next segment of your lists!
I used the Pub Meeple page as well. So, I can follow along. These are my 50 to 41 games that I currently own: 50 - 5211 49 - Horrified 48 - Azul: Summer Pavilion 47 - Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards Series 46 - Legendary Encounters: A Predator Deck Building Game 45 - Sticky C'thulu 44 - Circle of Jerks 43 - Adrenaline 42 - Bang! The Dice Game 41 - Sushi-Go Party
Appreciate the content: 41 - Linko, Michael Kiesling & Wolfgang Kramer 42 - Dominant Species, Chad Jensen 43 - Santiago, Claudia Hely & Roman Pelek 44 - Can’t Stop, Sid Sackson 45 - Lord of the Rings, Reiner Knizia 46 - Antike, Mac Gerdts 47 - Coloretto, Michael Schacht 48 - Web of Power, Michael Schacht 49 - Medina, Stefan Dora 50 - Cosmic Frog, Jim Felli
SO excited that you guys are doing your Top 50, as our tastes often align! I just made a Top 50 myself and will follow along - we have a few crossovers here! 50) Kingdomino 49) Isle of Skye 48) Barenpark 47) Mysterium 46) Camel Up 45) Sheriff of Nottingham 44) Hive Pocket 43) Arboretum 42) Ra 41) Skull Looking forward to the next video!
YESSS! i've been so stoked for this series! i also love the little things you mention (like games you would play while waiting for the "bigger" one for game night)-these fillers are ones i've definitely lacked in my collection! thanks for the list friends-this was fun!
So many great games on both lists! Many of Which would probably be higher if I were making a list.....now I can't wait to see what you have listed higher. Thanks for all of the great content!
Really enjoying this series! Alchemists is one of my favorite games, the rulebook is hilarious, and and it's great production for the price as well. The Search for Planet X is also an excellent deduction game and is significantly shorter and without the cutthroat worker placement part of Alchemists.
I liked hearing about your honorable mentions. When you first stated you were eliminating games you loved but only played once, the one that first came to mind for me was Hansa Teutonica, and then ten seconds later you mentioned it! It is a heap of fun, but certainly best if you have five players.
Just did the Ranking Engine. That was fascinating! Some really tough decisions were made and when it came down to it not the decisions I would have thought I would make. Some real surprises on my list. Here's my #41-50: 41 Glen More 42 Parks 43 Mariposas 44 Trickerion: Legends of Illusion 45 Carcassonne 46 Newton 47 Valletta 48 Eminent Domain 49 Battle for Rokugan 50 Ascension: Deckbuilding Game
When I run through pubmeeple I also always ask myself "if I had the perfect group and the time which game would I rather play?" So glad you guys are doing this!
Nice to have discovered the Pub meeple tool, just did my list after watching your video, and it is interesting how it does not match my BGG rankings exactly. Here my 41-50 to follow you guys along: 41 Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 42 Azul 43 Codenames 44 The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 45 Terraforming Mars 46 Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization 47 Chronicles of Crime: 1400 48 Colt Express 49 Roll Player 50 Decrypto
Gosh, have I played 50 board games? I'm pretty new to hobbyist board gaming, but this channel keeps adding things to my list of game to keep an eye out for. My husband just got me CO2: Second Chance for Christmas after I raved to him about your Ladera series. We've played co-op twice and didn't make it to the third round. 😅
A bit of a hodgepodge if you ask me, but here is my 41-50: 41 Dice City 42 Codenames 43 Five Tribes 44 Point Salad 45 No Thanks! 46 Forbidden Island 47 Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game 48 Blokus 49 UNO Flip! 50 Arboretum
Love the list. CUBIRDS is fantastic, one of the only games I sleeved due to how much these hazards get handled. Lots of Great games, I like card games.
It’s fun watching you tackle this. I love lists! I’ve included my 41-50 and I’ll predict there is little overlap with your list; even though I think i generally agree with your taste in games! 50. 6 nimmt! 49. Targi 48. Pandemic Legacy (all seasons) 47. Maracaibo 46. Commands & Colors: Samurai Battles 45. Galaxy Trucker 44. Undaunted: North Africa 43. Coconuts 42. Butterfly 41. Rattus
I used the Pubmeeple site you mentioned and popped in all the games I at least remember playing, the results were more interesting than I thought. #50 Citadels #49 Clank! In! Space!: A Deck Building Adventure #48 Five Tribes #47 Sagrada #46 Nidavellir #45 Roll for the Galaxy #44 Wildlands #43 NMBR 9 #42 Terror in Meeple City #41 Lords of Waterdeep
I keep a running list of games I want to play and 3/4 of them are from your recommendations. I've already tried Alchemists and really enjoyed it and you introduced me to Spirit Island, which I am currently obsessed with. Really enjoyed this video!
The PubMeeple site is really cool. Thanks for pointing it out! #50 - Adventure Mart #49 - Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North #48 - Charterstone #47 - Familiar Alchemy #46 - Lions of Lydia #45 - Deep Blue #44 - Le Havre #43 - Chronicles of Crime #42 - Suburbia Acquisitions Incorporated
Really like your choices! There is a substantial overlap with my taste in games. I never heard about Animal Kingdoms until I watched this video, and Naveen inspired me to get a copy. Just got it yesterday and loved the first play of it. Thanks for putting this on my radar! Very curious for the rest of your top 50 :-)
Thoroughly enjoying your top 50! My 41-50 are as follows: 50 - Ticket to Ride: Europe 49 - Seikatsu 48 - Rolling Realms 47 - King of Tokyo 46 - Cascadia 45 - Citadels 44 - It’s A Wonderful World 43 - Lawyer Up 42 - Lords of Waterdeep 41 - Architects of the West Kingdom
Great list! I’m really happy you are doing your top 50. Looking forward for the next video. Here is my 50 - 41: 41 Tapestry 42 Railways of the World 43 Santorini 44 The Search for Planet X 45 Pandemic 46 Jaipur 47 Azul 48 Splendor 49 That's Pretty Clever! 50 Codenames: Duet We share some board games in that 50-41 portion :)
I've done my comparisons on PubMeeple and come up with my top 50: 50 - The Great Balloon Race - great game of bluff and nerve. 49 - Top Race - best racing car game I've played. 48 - Ticket to Ride: Rails & Sails - Ticket takes to the waves and monsters. 47 - 1829 - the original 18XX, brilliant in its day. 46 - 1830 - Railways and Robber Barons - 18XX moves over the pond. 45 - India Rails - one of best crayon rails games. 44 - El Grande - sculduggery in medieval Spain 43 - Great Western Trail - Rawhide in game form (showing my age!). 42 - Samurai - Reiner's best tile laying game. 41 - The Castles of Burgundy - one of Stefan Feld's best games.
I just ranked my played games yesterday, perfect timing! I used the Pub Meeple page as well. So, I can follow along. These are my 50 to 41 games: 50 - Onitama 49 - Under Falling Skies 48 - Root 47 - Small World 46 - Flamme Rouge 45 - Jaipur 44 - Holmes: Sherlock and Mycroft 43 - Jamaica 42 - Roll Player 41 - Super-Skill Pinball: 4-cade
It's great to see you guys doing a top 50, and some interesting stuff in this chunk. We love Calico and Splendor, and are keen to check out Shotten Totten and Planet X. Shawn and I just finished our top 100. My 50-41 is below: 50. Merv 49. Sonora 48. Sleeping God's 47. Euphoria (with expansion) 46. Azul 45. Hadara 44. Brass: Birmingham 43. DC comics deck building game 42. Viticulture 41. Concordia
Happy to see Splendor on your list! I get why people don't like it, or grow out of it, but it's such a great starter game when introducing people into the hobby that I feel it deserves a spot. My Dad typically grumbles when he's visiting and I ask him to play something because he struggles with too many rules, but he really got into Splendor and actually bought a copy for himself and my Mom. Thanks for sharing!
Exactly! Splendor is a fantastic game. We recently played it again and all the players agreed it still stands up to this day. That's so awesome about your dad!!! hahaha
My top games list is a couple years old (I need to update it because The Search for Planet X would make it on there now!), but here's my 50-41: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DMDOqm6dEA8.html 50. Antiquity 49: Yggdrasil 48. Concept 47. Gloomhaven 46. Sleuth 45. Catacombs 44. Android: Netrunner 43. SHH 42. Cryptid 41. Pandemic Legacy
Totally love 3 of the games mentioned today. Splendor is such a simple to teach yet fun game. Bohnanza is such a classic, the way we play, we end up not negotiating but begging to give away cards to other players! Finally, Rajas of the Ganges does have that nice dual track race you mentioned. Slight correction though, the 1st to cross does not necessarily win the game as equal turns are given in the end game trigger. aka, if 2nd player that round triggers, 3rd/4th players still get to finish their turns.
Excellent start to both of your lists! I'm really enjoying your videos more and more since I found out about you this year! Wish I had met you both at PaxU. I wish you both a Merry Christmas!
Looking forward to seeing the next 4 rounds of this. Not that I don’t enjoy looking at your lovely faces, but in the next videos if you could leave the game play clips up longer that would be appreciated. Having those visuals up while you talk about the different elements of these games is helpful and makes it more immersive. Also, it’s crime that Manhattan Project Energy Empire did not get ranked higher 😁
Love seeing this list! Trying to figure out which of you I have more in common with gaming wise. Monique has 2 games in my top 25 already (Rajas of the Ganges - #22, Five Tribes - #7) and I have one crossover with Naveen (Energy Empire - #45). I own 3 of Monique's 41-50 and 4 of Naveen's. So far I think I am closer to Monique, but once Naveen gets into his dry Euro's I might lean more his way! Here's my 50-41: 50. Concordia 49. Clans of Caledonia 48. Dominion 47. La Granja 46. Luna 45. Citrus 44. Energy Empire 43. Puerto Rico 42. Targi 41. Feudum
Thats so Clever is really good. My wife and I play and its surprisingly interactive, as you can be significantly influenced by what your opponent needs. Its quite fun. This interaction doesnt shine as much in multiple players as you cant thwart them all. Anyway, a really good presentation of a top 50. i will eagerly watch the remaining lists. take care and enjoy the holidays. Jeff
Can't wait for the rest of the list! Calico is one of my favorite games of all time too. Idk if I can pick a favorite for my collection but I will say the game my husband and I have played the most is probably New York Zoo.
A nice start to a long list :) I am glad you mentioned Lorenzo il Magnifico, as it is one of my favourite games. The big box is already available in Europe, check it out! Has a 5th tower of cards (a mix of the other 4 colours), as well as an option to play with 5 players, and much more. Give it a shot! The same creators made Grand Austria Hotel, which is also an amazing game I happened to acquire recently :) Looking forward to the rest of your list!
Guys, why don't you release the next episodes of this video? I hope you will include PAX PAMIR Second Edition. It is a masterpiece, and I think it deserves much more attention. It could be easily in the top 10 strategy list and in the top 10 overall rankings at BGG.
I did a top 100 this year. These are my 41-50: 41 Praga Caput Regni 42 Raiders of the North Sea 43 Concordia 44 Britannia 45 Yokohama 46 Lords of Waterdeep 47 For Sale 48 Paladins of the West Kingdoms 49 Nations te Dice Game 50 Tekhenu
My 50 through 41: 50. Medici the Dice Game 49. Terraforming Mars 48. Medici (the Board Game) 47. Three Little Pigs (Iello) 46. Castles of Burgundy The Dice Game 45. Criss Cross (a roll & write) 44. Lost Cities roll & write 43. Nexus Ops 42. King's Road 41. Lost Cities Rivals
I'm very excited for this series. Of this chunk of games I've only played nine and of those nine my favorite might be Bohnanza. Though that game is very group dependent. I had a great group for it but I also played it with some people who were less willing to wheel and deal and it was definitely not as good.
Love this and you two! Can't wait to see the rest of your top picks. After we get thru the holiday season I'll be expanding my collection and using these videos for insight! Thanks!
Following the original rules, Bohnanza with 3-5p just uses the 6-20 cards, which makes for a much snappier game. The extra cards in the the Rio Grande edition are an official variant (needed for higher player counts), but they really drag out the game with 5 or fewer players. Ditch the extra cards so Monique can enjoy Bohnanza!
I too am surprised at how low Splendor is on Naveen’s list. It was one of the games I taught at the Norwich Games Festival when I volunteered there for a week. It was quick and easy to teach, and most everyone liked it. I would say playing Splendor with only 2 players makes it much more aggressive. Only 4 chips of each colour means that if someone takes two in one turn, that’s half the pile. I’ve noticed that novice (or vengeful) players do this and go for high-cost cards first, then reach their max token count not being able to buy the card they want, so they just sit there buying first-row cards with the colours you don’t need, amassing cheap cards while keeping the tokens you do need. This is why I lost my first 37 games in a row. 😂 As you mentioned, it’s a gateway game, and seasoned gamers often (though certainly not always) have that one game that is their Splendor killer. For many it’s Century: Spice Road, but I never got into that one much. For me, it was Gizmos, which has all the same actions, plus super satisfying chain reactions, and with the randomised supply, if you get deadlocked, it’s your own fault! 😀
Thanks both of you for another highly anticipated video! Awesome, I love your content so much. Excellent choices and looking forward to the rest of the series!
Hi to you both! Looking forward to the full 50 game list. Quick question - do either (or both) of you post ratings on BGG? I see that you have a username of BeforeYouPlay (makes sense), but there aren't any ratings under that name (well, maybe one?). Thanks!
You guys have such a nice, pleasant demeanor. Naturals! To the point, engaging and fun! Thanks for all the hard work - I love The Search for Planet X too! I think your tastes really vibe with my wife's and mine as well so makes your videos even more valuable. Thanks again!
Splendor is a great choice! I have the digital version as well and enjoy the embedded challenge levels in it too. Also, card games; yes! I’m a big card gamer myself. I’ve never heard of the bean field game but I’m going to look it up *because* my husband is very competitive (and an excellent card counter) so it would feel extra satisfying to beat him. One for my 50-41 is Songbird which I did the Kickstarter for. Another set collection with a twist but quick with beautiful artwork.
Ellooooo! Great list. I have seen lots of reviews of Energy Empire and played the game at all player counts and have not heard about any scaling issues. The polution tokens scale up and down based on player count etc. It was Rhado's number 1 game of 2016, pretty sure he didnt see any 2 player scaling probs. In any case thanks for all you do for the hobby, hope you have a great Christmas all!
