I would love these three plus Eric. Think that would be a killer combo but in personality dynamics and viewpoint disparity. (aka Tom the "everyman" and three versions of idiosyncratic)
I wouldn't mind hearing a list of the Top 5 games each person is actually playing every month, like what are their current obsessions and getting the most plays that month. It does not have to be five it can be any amount of games that they have played a lot in the last month, even one game if it got most of the plays and there were not any other games that had a significant amount of plays.
My favorite expansions: 1) Salsa for Concordia 2) Prelude for Terraforming Mars 3) Prophecy of Kings for Twilight Imperium 4 4) Rise of Ixth for Dune Imperium 5) Seaside for Dominion 6) On the Brink for Pandemic 7) Tuscany for Viticulture 8) Pennsylvania/UK map pack for Ticket to Ride 9) German Railroads for Russian Railroads 10) Interbellum for Furnace
I went back to playing it without. There are many aspects I like, but I 1) don't love the new units 2) don't know if I love the new combat either. Play a card from one deck, roll dice, pick up another deck, play a card... Played probably ten times both ways and in the end my conclusion is I wanted improvements but not the ones we got.
@@boardgameapprentice There are two separate videos. I believe Jason, Mike, and someone did an essential game list (where Cthulu wars made an appearance) and there's the more recent one people are references of games that should be in every house or something
Lords of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport might be the only expansion I would NEVER play the base game without...Not sure if they were counting Kickstarter expansions as true "expansions," but the Cave Paintings expansion for Endless Winter is great! Great shoutout to Rattus, Mike; Pied Piper is easily my favorite, as well. Good picks for Dominion, Tom; that's a tough decision. I like the one that added events, as well as Projects and Landmark scoring cards, too. I'm REALLY liking Plunder for the Traits more than the Loot cards. Zee, I'm pumped to try the Allies pack for 51st State! Others I like include Five Tribes: Artisans of Naqala, both Dune Imperium expansions, Merlin Travels for Shadows Over Camelot, Manufactions for Fantastic Factories, War Chest: Nobility, and Sagrada: Glory.
Lords of Waterdeep is even good without the Scoundrels of Skullport. The expansions adds a lot more depth and complexity though, which is interesting. But sometimes I like it lighter and only sometimes I want the craziness of Scoundrels of Skullport. Also, the expansion is a bit modular, you don't have to throw it all in every time.
Thank you very much to you all for this video and this top 10 listing! I love you three as a group, doing this type of content together. You three together are so fun and funny(entertaining) to me, so amazing. You have true and amazing chemistry between you and do so many entertaining jokes and comments. I hope you three keep doing such content together. I love it. Thank you!🎉
My favourites: 10. Meadow: Downstream 9. The Golden Ages: Cults & Culture 8. Five Tribes: The Artisans of Naqala 7. Dune Imperium: Rise of Ix 6. Great Western Trail: Rails to the North 5. Orleans: Handel & Intrigue 4. Merchant & Marauders: Sea of Glory 3. Russian Railroads: German Railroads 2. Underwater Cities: New Discoveries 1. Viticulture: Tuscany
Great to see Mike again. Love me some expansions! My top 10 10. 7W Duel - Pantheon 9. Splendor - Cities of Splendor 8. Dead Reckoning - Deep Legends 7. Space Base - Shy Pluto 6. Western Legends - Ante Up 5. Dead Reckoning - Sea Dogs 4. Foundations of Rome - Monuments 3. Ticket To Ride USA - 1910 2. Terraforming Mars - Prelude 1. Unfair - ABDW
My list 6.) Everdell New Leaf. Completely opens the game up with added combo possibilities, new critters and constructions, scoring opportunities and cards on offer 5.) Quacks of Quedlinburg Herb Witches. I like how it adds some reprieve if you are having a really bad round 4.) Istanbul Mocha & Baksheesh- opens up the decision space with coffee & makes the game more replayable 3.) Stockpile: continuing corruption. The investor dice make each round way more interesting and bonds give some extra decisions of spend vs invest 2.) Energy Empire: Cold War- greatly improves the solo mode and introduces some fun modules that bring some focus into the game. 1.) Dune Imperium Immortality- greatly improves the deck building aspect of the game and a way to flush the market
My favorite expansions that I wouldn't play without: 1.) "Tuscany Essential" for "Viticulture" 2.) "Invaders from Afar" for "Scythe" 3.) "Nightfall" for "PARKS" 4.) "Age of Artisans" for "Architects of the West Kingdom" 5.) "Hall of Heroes" for "Raiders of the North Sea"
A lot of this list could make mine, but my number one expansion is Shakespeare: Backstage. That small little deck finishes that game off, adds incredibly minimal rules, and is so easy to teach that new players won't ever notice. The base game is probably a 6. With Backstage it's a 10.
My Top 10 in no order after #1: 1. Scythe - Rise of Fenris 2. Arcadia Quest - Beyond the Grave 3. Eldritch Horror - Forsaken Lore 4. Quarriors - Quarmageddon 5. Roll Player - Monsters & Minions 6. The Reckoners - Steelslayer 7. Disney Villainous - Evil Comes Prepared 8. Star Wars Rebellion - Rise of the Empire 9. Ticket To Ride - 1910 10. Heroes of Land, Air & Sea - Order & Chaos
For me the Unfinished Business expansion for Outer Rim is about as close to an essential expansion as possible. Beyond that I think Corruption and Ascension for It's a Wonderful World, Bad News Bears for Barenpark, and the European expansion for Wingspan are all favorites of mine. And all for the same reason - they each add the extra amount of interest and complexity I was looking for to make the game consistently interesting.
A variant to play pitch car wich is great fun is to flick simultaneously and literally race in real time around the track! It’s chaotic great fun. Of course you can’t play with too many players this way for up to four is amazing!
I love all the Wingspan expansions but Europe is probably my favorite (just more cards). The revised boards in Oceania are essential but we ignore the nectar resource. - - Waterdeep Skullport is also awesome.
Spirit island Jagged Earth is the best expansion ever. Orleans trade and intrigue, anachrony fractures of time and 7 wonders duel Agora are also up there for me.
Tom, with a distinct lack of palpable excitement, "I'm learning so much." Great stuff, even the discussion before the list about the list itself and what everyone considered when they made their countdown.
Some nice picks here. Others that come to mind for me: 1. Nations Dynasties 2. Clash of Cultures: Civilizations 3. Memoir ‘44 Eastern Front 4. Star Wars Rebellion: Rise of the Empire 5. Village: Port 6. Terraforming Mars: Turmoil (Prelude is a must) 7. TI IV Prophesy of Kings 8. Roll Player: Monsters and Minions 9. Quadropolis Public Services 10. Civilization A New Dawn: Terra Incognita
I love this list because I get to see some of your favorite games and how they got better. I agree with Zee. Gates of Arkham really opened up Elder Sign. I think for me The Upstairs Downstairs expansion for Obsession is essential and I wont play without it. Any of the omens for Elder Sign. Valhalla for Champions for Champions of Midgard. Power up for King of Tokyo.
I have Viticulture Essentials Tuscany so I would vote for that. I might also choose Pillars of the Earth Expansion Set because if you need metal in the base game and someone else takes it, you are blocked. It also adds up to 2 more players and extends the super nice-looking map and gives more cards to help in replayability.
My favorite expansions include: 1. Tuscany - Viticulture 2. Controlled Chaos - Dinogenics 3. Prelude - Terraforming Mars 4. Puerto Rico - Expansions I own Everdell with all the expansions. However, I still need to play the base game.
My choice of the most essential expansion will always be the High Priests from Cthulhu Wars. It gives most factions an extra cultist that can be removed from the board at anytime for extra action points, which offers so much versatility for that game. I teach new players all the time, and I always play with the High Priests and have no problems.
I'm a sucker for expansions! Pick the games I love: Wingspan, Everdell, Scythe, Tapestry, Terraforming Mars, Terra Mystica, Feast for Odin, Dune Imperium, Tokaido and Caverna, to name ten, and I have ALL the expansions! I get pissed when a favorite game like Gaia Project DOESN'T have an expansion!
OOOOOOH...my list: 1) Orleans trade and intrigue, 2) Colt Express Stage Coach, 3) Obsession: Upstairs/Downstairs, 4) Argent: Mancers of the University, 5) my wits and wagers vegas style neoprene mat, 6) Lords of vegas UP, 7) Lorenzo Il Magnifico: Houses of Renaissance, 8) Ginkopolis: The Experts, 9) Downforce: Danger Circuit, 10) Xia, that one that made it better...can't recall name...
TFM Prelude, Ticket To Ride 1910 and King of Tokyo/NY Power Up are so essential that they definitively should have been in the base game. Maybe next time the Top 10 List should be "best expansions that are not essential" and multiple entries of expansions for the same game under one number should be explicitly allowed.
Mine, according to how much they add to the game experience: 0. Root: The Underworld and everything else 1. Sid Meier's Civilization: Wisdom and Warfare 2. Lost Ruins of Arnak: Expedition Leaders 3. Terraforming Mars: Prelude 4. Terraforming Mars: Hellas and Elysium 5. Russian Railroads: German Railroads 6. Race for the Galaxy: The Gathering Storm 7. Race for the Galaxy: Imperium vs Rebels 8. Carcassonne: Traders and Builders 9. Carcassonne: Inns and Cathedrals 10. Troyes: The Ladies of Troyes I don't count LCGs because expansions is what those games ARE 😅
I agree big time for those Carcassonne expansions, I really dig Carcassonne but any time I'm pulling my copy out it's going to include those 2 expansions, they're very nearly essential.
Wingspan: Oceania takes the game from a 6 to an 8.5 for me. The new game boards provide FAR more discretion on how to win and it combines wonderfully with the cards to open up many more ways to play instead of just hoarding eggs. Nectar greatly reduces feeling stuck due to resource dependency. I consider this expansion mandatory if you've played more than a handful of games of Wingspan and I introduce new players with in in the game Roll Player: Monsters & Minions - Similar to Wingspan, I consider this expansion mandatory once you have the base rules of Roll Player down, and while it does make the teach harder, I also usually include it in the base game for new players. Roll Player has a great concept but there's simply too little meat in the core game to provide for an interesting decision space over repeated plays. While it does add some additional weight, setup, and playtime to the core experience, it also makes it enjoyable long after base Roll Player has worn out its welcome.
I was very surprised I didn't see Oceania on any of their lists! Wingspan is one of my top 3 favorite games (others being Scythe and Raccoon Tycoon, both with all expansions), I only ever play without Oceania if I'm using BGA. Nectar absolutely rocks
If my game group met more often(and I wish we did) I'd probably be more interested in expansions. Currently, we haven't even played all the games in my collection, base game. So, I purchase expansions very infrequently. Still, love the video guys!! Thanks.
Surprised Lost Ruins of Arnak: Expedition Leaders isn't on this list. I'd argue its even more essential than 7 wonders leaders in elevating a good game to a great game (though I highly recommend both), and I would never play without it.
I don’t have many and not sure if I can rank them yet but: carcassone inns + cathedrals as well as traders + builders, dominion prosperity, intrigue, and seaside, marvel legendary dark city, and then these last ones I won’t play without: civilization a new dawn terra incognita and king of Tokyo power up
I think Zee would really like new leaf for everdell (the train one), it's my pick among the everdell expansions and it's so good while just enhancing the game. The new cards can be played with or without the board and I don't think I'd ever play without at least the cards. My favourite expansions are The Norwegians for A Feast For Odin which is the perfect "balance patch with a little more" expansion, Fractures of Time for Anachrony which is the perfect "upgrade the core system" expansion, and Oceania for Wingspan which is a the perfect "more stuff" expansion (I'm Australian and LOVE seeing our native birds in Oceania). The norwegians is one that I will never play without, even with first time players.
a few of my top: - Santa Monica ‘The Long Weekend’ - Near and Far ‘Amber Mines’ - Orleans ‘Invasion’ - Escape the Dark Sector, all the mission packs and the mech suit! - Fort ‘Cats and Dogs’ fun list! ❤
- I'm surprised Tom didn't mention the Monsters and Minions Expansion for Roll Player. I really like Roll Player but that expansion is such an awesome addition since it actually lets you fight monsters and fight a boss at the end with the character you're making as you go. Plus it adds a third option of fighting a minion to the normal two of buying something or collecting two gold to your turn which makes the decisions that much more interesting. And I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure Tom has also mentioned never wanting to play without this expansion as well. - I'm totally in agreement that Leaders is a great expansion for 7 Wonders. It's very easy to add but, like Zee says, what leaders you draft gives you a sense of direction for the coming match. I play 7 Wonders quite a bit solo on my iPad and always use Leaders. 👍 - Battlestar Galactica has fallen out of favor somewhat due to its rarity and length, but I will say I love the Pegasus expansion which adds the additional ship actions that have powerful effects but that come with additional risk, and the Mutiny expansion that replaces the normal 4 player rules with a Mutineer and mutiny deck where whoever is the Mutineer is playing strong Mutiny cards that also have downsides for the crew (e.g. one card can eject Cylon intruders from the ship by punching a hole in the hull, damaging the ship in the process but eliminating the threat.) I'm also a fan of the Cylon base board where the cylons build up steadily each turn and then come back in waves, partly because it's a neat mechanism but also because that board gives revealed Cylon players more options to do on their turn. - I've been enjoying the new Beyond the Sun expansion's solo mode quite a bit. It's hard to beat but it's great finally having an official solo mode in the game. 🙂 - Similarly I really like the solo mode expansion for Euphoria. Euphoria is a really fun and funny game that I didn't get to play as much as I would have liked, but the automa solo deck expansion is a solid way to play it. - I'm again with Zee that the King of Tokyo Power Up Expansion is a must have for that game. Not only does it give every monster a unique feel but it also makes rolling three Hearts actually do something useful which is a great since those are often wasted in the base game. 🙂 - Legendary Marvel is my most played solo game and also has a ton of expansions, but I think my favorite expansion was the Secret Wars set that adds a special Mastermind deck that you can use to play the game with 1 player as the Mastermind versus the others as the heroes. I unfortunately haven't had any many opportunities to play this way as I'd like, but it's just such a neat idea and a fun additional mode for this game that I think actually works better when you have 3 or 4 players than playing the game as a full cooperative game with that number. (Legendary Marvel plays well solo or with 2 but doesn't scale as well with 3 or 4 fully cooperatively. So having the option of playing 1v2 or 1v3 when you have that many players might be handy!) - Lords of Waterdeep's Corruption expansion is a must have in my opinion. It adds really interesting spaces which give you lots of resources but come with Corruption that you must deal with before the end or lose points. And the more people as a whole use these spaces the worse the penalty is for everybody at the end. I would never play without this one. - QE's expansion that adds commodities as a reward for the second highest bid is a really solid one that improves the game. I think Chris and Tom also have called this one an expansion they would never play without. - Terraforming Mars Prelude is awesome, like they said in the video. A small expansion, easy to add and use, but it significantly mitigates the slowest part of the early game to jumpstart the action. - Ticket to Ride 1910 is also great like Tom said. Just the fact that it spreads and greatly expands how many routes people are going for is such nice improvement to the base game! - Lastly, Xia Legends of a Drift System's expansion that adds some really solid solo rules and a neat persistent tech tree track that you can use for handicapping multiple games is great. It also adds economy boards that help shift things around during the game if a particular short route is too profitable by making the supplies run out until someone can deliver more goods to the emptied system.
I all honesty, Dune Imperium expansions being listed anywhere in Top 10 expansions of all time is a huge disservice to a lot of great games :D They are very basic things expansions.
Xia: Embers of a Forbidden Star, Lords of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport, Pandemic: On the Brink, Outer Rim: Unfinished Business, and any Dixit expansion. :-)
Really interesting to hear Zee's discussion of the Res Arcana expansions. I watched Candice Harris interview Tom Lehman on BGG recently about the game. Apparently he designed the second expansion first, but knew from experience that successful first expansions are usually of the "more of the same" variety. So even though he had an expansion ready to go with Perlae Imperium, he needed to figure out a good way to add more to the game without making too radical a shift when he designed Lux et Tenebrae.
My top ones would be Tapestry Arts and Architecture, Feast for Odin Norwegians, Viticulture and some Marvel Champions hero packs for variability (fave to play are Spider-Woman, Black Widow & Rogue so far)
I don't think I even own expansions for 10 different games... Have over 100 games but not a lot of expansions. I bought a dominion expansion once and hated it so much I resold it. Two of the games I own expansions for are digital board games...
Underwater Cities, Arctic Scavengers, Starship Samurai, Undaunted, Clank, Terraforming Mars, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Jamaica... the best expansions are really just patches that fix what was broken with the base game. Dune Imperium was broken in the base game. It needs Rise of Ix and/or Immortality to fix the broken balance.
My personal top expansions: 1. Jagged Earth (for Spirit Island) 2. Embers of a Forsaken Star (for Xia - Legends of a Drift System) 3. all the BSG expansions (I know they are objectively at least partially flawed, but I can't help it. I just love the stuff... Except the Caprica board) 4. Mansions of Madness 2e expansions in general, since more content for a great game is awesome And now we're reaching the "I just want more stuff for my favorite games"-region, but yeah: Jagged Earth same Embers IMHO are just the best expansions I've played so far.
Ones that vastly improve their respective games: Lords of Waterdeep Scoundrels of Skullport, A Feast for Odin Norwegians, Lorenzo ik Magnifico Houses of the Renaissance are three that come to mind.
Spirit Island: Jagged Earth & Branch and Claw. Not enough love for that game and those expansions are incredible. Even if you don’t like all the added complexity, additional spirit variety and resulting synergy is what it’s all about.
I dont have many, but few that come to mind 1. Moonrakers all three expansions that lately came out, Binding Ties, Nomad, Overload are great and fixes some issues with the game and makes the game much more exciting 2. Root, Marauder Expansions, adds 2 high reach factions 3. Tainted Grails, both Lost Knight and Age of Legends are much better than actual core game, shame most people will never experience them 4. Scythe, Rise of Fenris, amazing expansion 5. Any expansions to 7th Continent, because essentially if you love 7th Continent base game has a limited stuff to play
One of the frustrating bits about Pandemic for me is that each expansion includes parts that are likely to never be used. They could mix modules and do an expansion with: -all the extra roles -all the extra events -the virulent strain epidemics -the lab board -the superbug variant components That for me would be on the list. Now I think of it, I wonder if it would be worth doing a series of expansion deep dives where people take a title, and then rank modules/expansions for the game. There could be all the 7 Wonders modules ranked, the Carcassonne ones, Colt Express (if the team have looked at the new second train expansion)...
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone say that Rugwort was too easy and easy to manipulate. Everything I ever see is that Rugwort is too overpowered. We always play with 1910 for Ticket to Ride simply for the big cards.
