Top 10 Fantasy Games 

The banter between you guys is awesome. Add in the crowd and it's pure gold. ^>^

Dice Tower, can you please do the Top Ten Most Replayble Games please! (Ones that you can play over and over again and don't lose their shine.) Thank you :)

Best three guys in the board game review business! Zee (on the left matches a lot of my tastes), Tom (in the middle) is honest and funny and a great family man (Yes, I've met all three of them) and Sam (on the right) has a heart of gold. Thanks for all you do, guys!

This was the best one yet! Excellent job guys! thank you all very much!

Man, this top 10 are the best, you should do more of them! keep the good work

i know im late to the party, but just getting back into gaming and have been watching through the top ten lists...i find them good, because they give me some chuckles, but just watched this one and i was in tears of laughter...keep up the good work guys... and thank you

The Dice Tower You guys have manged to make me laugh on a sad day thank you ! Been saving this video for when i had time to watch it and want to say the live top ten lists are as entertaining as most stand up :)

Great job guys, love watching you all have fun. Makes my day. Thanks.

Amazing and entertaining top 10 list as always! Big shout out from Brazil, big fan here! Suggestions of top 10 list that I'd love to see: top 10 middle weight games (there's choices, but it's not brain-burner or doesn't break the 90~120 min mark); top 10 games with most replay value without expansions. Keep up the great work! Cheers!

I'd rather see you guys rank your games based on how good the game actually is, as opposed to how well the theme comes out. When someone says "I don't really like this game but the theme is strong" on a top 10 list, it doesn't do the audience much good IMO.

Thanks for another amazing top 10 list. You guys are awesome... and a lot of fun! Regards from Spain!

I think this is one of the most entertaining top tens, regardless of which ones were or weren't fantasy.

Always enjoy the opinions of you three. Had a great time watching and hopefully I'll be able to make it to a DicetowerCon one of these years! :)

I have seriously never laughed so much at a top ten list before. The back and forth here is just hilarious. Well done guys.

Love you guys. But, the lack of sleep you get at conventions comes across in these live Top Tens.

In Sam's defence D&D 4th edition is pretty much a boardgame and a good one at that.

"I don't like people... that play Magic" haha. Good one Zee

How could they forget Candy Land. It's a land made of candy.

One of the most entertaining lists ever. Best of the Dice tower material if such a thing will ever come to life.

i just gotta say i watched like 6 of your videos and you guys are hilarious

As ever, the 3 of you are very entertaining to watch. I was somewhat surprised that Lords of Waterdeep didn't get a mention at all, although I'm guessing that'll be because the theme is often regarded as simply a veneer....

Great show guys!

Any way you guys can do a top 10 dungeon crawler games list? or do you have something similar?

Three games that I thought could have made an appearance that did not, and are on my personal top 10 fantasy list, are Wiz-War, Caverna: The Cave Farmers, and Terra Mystica. I do realize that the fantasy theme in Caverna and Terra Mystica is incredibly light, which was a criterion for the list!

Always laughing when watching you guys. Keep it up!👍😀

Every time I see the three of you with a DT Top Ten list, I am left with great anticipation for the next one. This is no exception. Entertaining and enjoyable...with a little 'debate' thrown in for the 'questionable' entrees...(like, King of Tokyo for example). I can easily see why most of the games made your lists. I would have certainly included Runebound on my list though. I agree with Tom in that 'Horror' should be it's own genre...(meaning spooks, monsters, etc.). I don't think someone thinks 'fantasy' when looking at movies like 'King Kong' or 'Poltergeist' for example. For me, 'Fantasy' would be defined by a imaginary place and time, with imaginary creatures and characters...a sort of re-creation of what we currently know. Science Fiction would be similar, but generally take place in a time or place that is dependent on our knowledge of science. Horror would be a distortion or exaggeration of reality that is meant to invoke fear or reaction. Of course, all my definitions will evolve as needed, as more and more of these three genres blend to make board games the wonderful hobby it is. Thanks for your time in making this list for everyone to enjoy.

Merlin is probably the most well known wizard/magician ever. Shadows Over Camelot is a great fantasy game.

Sam, Dominion's theme works with the mechanics as well. The entire idea behind it is that you are gathering agents and allies to help you take dominion over the land, whether it be militia, witches or simply wealth.

I didn't really expect this to be on any of your lists, but what are your guys' opinions on Mice and Mystics? That's a personal favorite of mine, and I was wondering where it would stack up on your guys' lists.

Fantasy is my favorite theme by far, so any top ten list I generate is soley based on how I feel at any given time of day. Just looking around, I'd go with... 1. Magic Realm 2. Mage Knight 3. Battlelore (1st or 2nd) 4. Descent (1st or 2nd) 5. Rune Wars 6. Mage Wars 7. Wizard's Quest 8. Dragon Rage 9. Dungeon Command 10. Defenders of the Realm

10. Lords of Waterdeep 9. Quarriors 8. Defenders of the Realm 7. Tales of the Arabian Nights 6. Thunderstone 5. Elder Sign 4. Kemet 3. Small World 2. Smash Up 1 Shadows Over Camalot

Hero Quest not mentioned is my fav. Old Skool dungeon crawler. Expensive to buy but worth it!

The first thing I thought of when I saw this Top Ten was Ghost Stories. Definitely one of my favorite games and definitely a fantasy theme.

I just CAN NOT BELIEVE they didn't mention Talisman! That game has loads of fantasy elements in it. And also, it's one of my favourite game :)

Ghost Stories are clearly chinese mythology and as such asian fantasy. You're even doing fantastical things fighting these hordes of the many hells. Sure it may be a darker shade of fantasy, but so is most of the nordic and eastern european mythologies as well - you know, the origin of things like goblins and trolls. PS. D&D sure belongs in there, it's barely a RPG by todays standards any way.

Sometimes I can't believe you all are friends! But it's obvious you are because you so quickly reconcile and get over your differences.

You guys! I could listen to you talk for hours! 👍

An awesome vid, loved it! Keep them coming please!

I completely agree with Zee on Ghost Stories being considered Fantasy. The category of "Fantasy" needn't be strictly confined to the common Euro-centric themes and mythologies, particularly popularized by the works of Tolkien (dwarves, elves, goblins, etc.). Ghost Stories is steeped in more Southeast Asian mythology but is still just as fantastical. Ghosts, demons and sorcery are at the very center of the game. In fact, the game is a tip-of-the-hat to Big Trouble in Little China, which could absolutely be considered a "Fantasy" film.

Hey, guys. I'm new to board games and have always wanted to play but never really had the time to do so. Hopefully in the near future I will make the time to do so. Your videos have been really informative, especially all these top tens. I was wanting to know, and I'm sure you get a lot of requests, but do you think you could come up with a list of top 10 survival/apocalypse games. I'm not well-versed in the knowledge of game titles, but ones I've seen that may be part of this category are Pandemic and The Walking Dead game. Any suggestions?

I love the chemistry between these guys. They all clearly love to game and passion drives their opinions. They each attack the relevant point from a different perspective. What we get out of the discourse is a really great game to play. Invite your friends over for a game day and play one of these games. Don't be surprised if they wanna do it again! :)

Looking for this table top game I played growing up... i'm going to sound crazy buy I clicked this video for the thumbnail because the board game would use those green shapes and you would stack/connect them and have cards/monster and move around the map and roll dice for battle anyone got any ideas?

Damn, I laughed my ass off at some of these exchanges. I'll bet even people who don't care about board/card games would get a kick out of watching your banter. I was surprised Mage Wars didn't get more love, I continue having a hard time dealing with the art direction for Summoner Wars while Mage Wars knocks it out of the park for me. Thanks for another great Top Ten.

Great episode! Hilarious. Go Ze with your weird choices!

The Dice Tower I do think that one could make 'monster' into its own category I think. While games like King of Tokyo, Monsters Menace America, et al. are steeped in 1950s scifi, there are a lot of 'monster' type games out there. Not sure if it is an extensive enough category to merit its own list without bleedover from other lists. You could approach it from the mechanics that those games often have. If only they made a Dinosaurs Attack! game.

Surprised mage knight wasn't on anyones list... wasn't it released at the time of this video?

That was a fun one!

I was surprised no one mentioned SoC, and then my fellow BSG fan did not disappoint me.

Dungeons & Dragons when used with miniatures is a board game of sorts. Its like Descent, but with more role playing.

Ghost Stories reminds me of Big Trouble in Little China, which I would classify as fantasy.

Tom is the only one who had a clear understanding of what fantasy was in this video. Descent 2.0 and Heroscape are excellent choices.

I thought Mage Knight should have been on someones list, the game is strong, oozes a good amount of theme and really captures that feeling of running around demolishing a countryside quite well. Definitely one of my favourites. Descent 2.0 definitely belongs on the top of the list, so much fun to play and feels highly thematic.

I'd take Mage Knight, Runewars, Terra Mystica and Game of Thrones (board game) above everything you guys named. I love War of the Ring and Summoner Wars though!

My top 10 Fantasy Games; 1) Aeon's End 2) Mage Knight Ultimate Edition 3) Roll Player Complete Edition 4) Lords of Waterdeep 5) Lockup: A Roll Player Tale 6) Valeria Card Kingdoms 7) Smallworld 8) Warband: Against the Darkness 9) Tiny Epic Defenders 10) Fairytale

Please make a top ten "sword and sorcery" games list or video. I think with a more focused topic, you can actually rank them by the best games that strongly capture that theme in that genre. This would be closer to a list like "top ten train games" or "top ten card-drafting games".

D&D belongs on a list like this, since the original D&D of the early 70ies was basically a wargame - and considered so by its designers and early fans (the box even read "Rules For Fantastical Medieval Wargames..."). A term like "RPG" didn't exist until late in the 70ies, probably early 80ies. Even before being called a RPG, it was known as an adventure game - especially in the non-wargaming crowd who slowly caught wind of this new phenomenon. If you are a purist, you might even consider D&D the first coop. The aspect of roleplay came later naturally, when players started to identify themselves strongly with their characters as they progressed in level (which was quite the feat, as classic d&d was VERY deadly) and started acting out what their character would do in any given situation. Similar things have also been happening decades earlier in Diplomacy games.

The anticipation!

I found it odd when Tom mentioned how Thunderstone Advanced has replaced Pathfinder ACG when the games are very different. I own both games and have played them enough to know that they both play differently. To me both are equally great games!

I think Zee is actually right about small world being a medium weight game. If we go love letter as a 1 and TI4 as a 10, then I would place "Coup" as a 2, "The resistance" as a 3, "Pandemic/Smallworld" as a 4 maybe 5?

You know, with all that discussion about the Lord of the Rings games, it got me thinking: has the dice tower ever done a top 10 thematic games list before? I am certainly a gamer obsessed with strong, evident theme, and I think I would love a list like that! :D

I thought Stronghold would be somewhere on the list...

I have to get my ass down to dicetower con next year. You guys are great and I'd love to meet you all and talk gaming an play games with you a all.

Sam, you are a rock star! D&D Forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My favourite fantasy games are: 1. Mage Knight 2. Cherubion 3. Akham Horror with expansions 4. Descent 1st ed. with any campaign expansion 5. World of Warcraft (2005) 6. Discworld: Ankh-Morpork 7. Chaos in the old world 8. Magic: the gathering

You guys should do a best/worst art work list.

Shadows Over Camelot is definitely fantasy. Merlin, Morgan Le Fay, Excalibur. The lady of the Lake. Maybe historical fantasy.

As many lists as Sam puts Fairy Tale on, I was VERY suprised to see that he didn't have it on this list.......

Cavern Tavern would be my current #1 for this list

I have the OLD SPI War of the Ring. It was amazing.

You guys should have taken a nice nap before recording this.

My top 10: 1 - Dungeon Petz 2 - Terra Mystica 3 - Dungeon Lords 4 - Belfort 5 - Caverna 6 - Seasons 7 - Smallworld 8 - Luna 9 - Lords of Waterdeep 10 - Dungeon Roll

Sam why didn't you pick up Tom's paper after you threw it on the ground!

16:07 made me laugh until tears game. "The QUEEEN!"

Really fun video, and although I do enjoy the banter... I don't really get why their definitions are also so rigid when it comes to genres. Fantasy is more then elves and magic. The only questionable thing on any list was King of Tokyo... and even then you could make a case for it.

War of the Ring is my favorite game of all time because Lord of the Rings is my favorite book of all time and it is amazing how much they make that game feel like Tolkien. The One Ring, an RPG by the same designer, is also superb.

Ninjas fighting Ghosts made me think Smash Up. I'd like to see a Top 10 genre games list. By genre I mean, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, super hero etc the overarching name for all these wonderful things.

My top 10 fantasy: 1)Descent 2.0 2)Game of Thrones BoardGame 3)Lord of the Rings LCG 4)Cyclades 5)Lords of Waterdeep 6)Shadows Over Camelot 7)SmallWorld 8)Avalon 9)Munchkin 10)8 Minute Empire Legends

THE QUEEN!!!! SHE COULD DO EVERYTHING! ........i love it. i love you guys.

Guys, a little question: Would there have ever been a Descent I or II or a D&D board game for that matter (oh yeah, it DOES exist!) if there had never been a game like HeroQuest?!?! I believe it's one of the founders of the decent 'dungeon-grinders' we now play and love!

I can't believe Seasons wasn't mentioned. One of the very best fantasy games ever made.

Have mostly Fantasy themed boardgames. Especially dungeon crawlers :P. Need some more Sci fi i bet!

I really enjoy your videos and learn a lot! But in Zee's #8 "Claustrophobia" you say "players: 1-5".. isn't it for 2 players only? Anyway congrats for putting it in you list Zee! I love this game! Greetings from Greece.

Totally off topic and I'm sure this has been asked before. What is that big thing Tom always has hanging on his shirt. Is it a wires mic?

My top 10 fantasy games: 1. Mage Wars 2. Seasons 3. Tales of Arabian Nights 4. Defenders of the Realm 5. A Game of Thrones: The Board Game(Second Edition) 6. Pathfinder Adventure Card Game 7. BattleLore(Second Edition) 8. Mice and Mystics 9. Lord of the Rings: The Card Game 10. Thunderstone Advance

Tom, mythology is like the epitome of fantasy.

I guessed defenders of the realm was tom's #3, not seven!!! And I usually agree with zee we like a lot of the same things in games but I didn't know he didn't like fantasy and with me if a game has a fantasy theme I am immediately interested.

Where is Mage Knight?!

resistance and shadows over camelot is medieval theme.

I know Tom hates Talisman. But you think Sam would show it some love. I think it is one of the best fantasy board games ever.

I agree with Zee, Small World is medium-heavy, not light, I know from trying to explain it to light gamers, which was not that easy,maybe due to all this many many special abilities ;)

I'm agree with Tom. There's no science nor magic in King of Tokyo. It should be in another genere.

I thought that a fantasy list without Mage Knight would at least have to defend why there is no Mage Knight on it :)

Sort of surprised that Cutthroat Caverns didn't make the list.

Many Games are Genre-Mix. How would you categories the new Shadowrun Deckbuilder? It's clearly Fantasy, but at the same time it's Sci-Fi. So it's both. Many Games doesn't fit only one Genre. And normally the fronts between Genres are fluid. Horror and Fatasy also have many overlappings.

Yes for Claustrophobia... Zee wins in my book for having this on his list.

Kingsburg is my least favorite dice-as-worker placement game. I feel that it has some major flaws.

Oh, good... I thought someone was going to bring up the "Star Wars is fantasy" issue. I'm just saying, in some parallel universe X-Wing was on this list too.

This had me laughing throughout the entire thing. I can't wait to see you guys live at Gencon. I would like to see a list of games that are good to play with your kids. I don't mean games like Candyland or other mass market children's games (I'm thinking from an age range of 8 until like 12 or 13.) but games that are fun to play as an adult but are simple enough for children to understand and enjoy as well.

You guys crack me up.

King of Tokyo does not fit specifically into Sci-Fi or Fantasy. Several of the monsters (Godzilla, Mecha Dragon, etc) all fit into Sci-Fit, however a talking Panda/Ghost/Pumpkin Head monster are all clearly fantasy type monsters.