Top 10 Hidden Gem Board games 

Thank you so much for including Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture! We're so happy you enjoy it!

So, as asked in the video, give me your weird game suggestions. GIVE THEM TO ME.

Also, hands down you know your board games better than anyone out there. I watch a lot of review videos or top 10s or whatever it may be but you clearly explain the game, demonstrate your expertise and give personal opinions that are relatable. Awesome channel and please keep the content coming!

Thanks for the honourable mention for Assembly. Honoured to get a mention!

I love, love, love this kind of review. You are in a position to be exposed to far more games than I will ever see, and I've come to respect your reviews so much. To compile a list of great games that went unnoticed within the constant barrage of new releases is a hidden gem of a review video. Half of these game have now found their way to my wishlist. Thank you.

Excellent list! Part of the boardgame hobby is finding the next big hit and these lists are exactly that! Thanks for making.

Spectacular list. I love being introduced to new great games I've never heard of before. Thanks.

I am a big fan of Mr Cabbagehead's Garden with 330 ratings on BGG. I backed the 2018 Kickstarter for the 2nd edition. This is a lovely game of growing a veggie garden for a competition with interfering neighbors. It is a solo game but can be played as a 2 player as well. Thank you for another fantastic video and keep them coming!

Something I noticed further and further into the list was the themes! So many unusual themes, but so fascinating. And it's so cool how much can be taught about history, science, and the wider world through games.

The Risk murdering bit was hilarious, thank you!

So, true story: I saw your review of Bloc by Bloc maybe 8 or 9 months ago, sent the link to my anarchist friend, and he and I immediately bought copies. I do wonder if the publisher was really confused that two people in the same Australian city ordered the game within an hour of each other. It's a *huge* hit in my gaming group, so thanks for that. I'm also pretty sure Obsession would be a hit with the surprisingly large number of my friends in the middle of the Jane Austen fan/board gamer Venn diagram, so I want to get that on their radars.

Maybe you could do a video on your favourite print & play games. Good video!

This content is great. You’re a diamond in the rough of board game videos. Thankyou.

I picked up bloc by bloc because of your list and absolutely loved it. The pace the decisions the risk and the theme all tie in for a blast of a time. Thanks for the recommendation!

I would wholeheartedly recommend Canterbury (583 ratings on BGG). It's a semi-cooperative game about building a medieval city with a great sense of acceleration of pace, and building each others' machines up. The bigger the city gets, the more money you have to build with, allowing for bigger and more prestigious structures. Each structure built both gives you victory points, makes the amount everyone earns each round bigger, and provides new services to each district which allows for new buildings to be built. Every time the city passes 100 points, players score additional points, avoiding the typical eurogame curse of having to divine how many points the other players will end up with at the end. With just 3 actions to choose from each round (tax, build 2, or tax half and build 1), and a constantly shifting set of possibilities, there's never a real need to plan much more than an extra move ahead. This to the point that our first game was won by my mother, who doesn't like planning far ahead but plays intuitively each round. One knock is that the king's favor track, where a player earns extra points for specializing in a certain type of building, is a bit tedious to update - we've switched to just updating every scoring round.

In Andy Loony's Pyramid Arcade there is a game...a game of WONDERS! "Homeworlds" is the definitive space-chess. While many of the pyramid games are very light and share a common design philosophy, "Homeworlds" stands out. The limited pieces used to build your game provide a compelling resource management aspect as you decide whether each pyramid will be a star or spaceship. This is a fast-paced tactical game about optimizing your moves, predicting your opponents response, all while they are doing the same to you. Timing is everything. The back-and-forth shifts of the balance of power that occur in this game are amazing. All of it wrapped up in a clever theme make "Homeworlds" a unique experience. Truly, a diamond in the rough.

Wow this is a killer list and seriously is going to have me hunting for these gems. The number one is definitely something I'm going to put effort into but the whole list is GREAT! Thanks for another great vid, I really do hope you keep doing these for a long time to come.

Kachina, 452 people own it on BGG. Only 801 plays in 10 years! It’s a tile lying game with an American Indians theme. It’s not leaving my collection any time soon. And Battle Ravens, a Kickstarter game released in 2019, that nobody seems to be playing. It’s a beer & pretzel game about shield wall battles. Beautiful components. Thanks for this list. I will check out some of these games. Keep the good work!

Konja, at 489 owned, is a fun and humorous well produced dice game that has two competing shaman trying to be the first to bring rain to a parched land. I picked it up on sale for less than $20. You can even bump the player count to three with a mini expansion from the publisher.

Mine is Clue: The Great Museum Caper. Yes, the detectives have roll-and-move, so that dismisses it for a lot of people. But, the board is pretty tight and you rarely can't get to where you want to based on your roll. I like that it's hidden movement, deduction, and very fast. I would call it the family version of Specter Ops. One key difference, however, is that you can play it to where everyone takes a turn being the thief, meaning there's a metagame push-your-luck element to it.

Interesting list! One of our hidden gems is „Kraftwagen“, less than 3000 owners on BGG. Nice Eurogame, looks great, plays quite fast, interesting theme and some cool mechanics.

I’m thrilled to see Obsession on the list! (I backed it on Kickstarter.) My husband and I had a lot of fun with it, drinking tea and speaking with faux-posh dialects. I won our first game by going for broke on a huge fancy Christmas party. My husband, bless his heart, kept attracting the Wrong Sorts to his gatherings. Tsk tsk!

Good news, Bethel Woods is on sale at Garphill Games website for $14 plus $10 S&H in US and NZ! Stock is low and that's still a great deal. Thanks for bringing this game to my attention. Oh, and I reordered Circadians it should be here on Saturday. I think Garphill might be my favorite game company right now. Thanks for introducing me to their product line.🙂

Great list! I already ordered Bloc to Bloc and Spheres of Influence 🙂 Thank you for putting it together.

I love this, kudos to the neglected gems out there. How about giving 'Wendake' a look? I was pleasantly surprised. It is another game based on North Americas Natives. This one is set in the 1700's and focuses almost exclusively on the Great Lakes tribes and very little on the English/French war.

Terrific list that actually includes a bunch of games that I never heard of. I would love to get another of these down the road.

There’s a game you would probably love called Vegas to Reno. You are a trophy truck in the Baja 1000 and must prep your truck for the race and then actually race your truck but if you did not bring enough spare parts then you might break down, or if you did not put enough upgrades into your truck then you will might not win. It’s a very fun little racing game

(*Looks in amazement at how wonderful you are for knowing all these board games*)

Great list! Made me spent money during my lunch break for a copy of Healing Blade (plus one copy of the Bacterionomicon). And I even watched the video without sound ... Also my interest in Bloc by Bloc is refreshed. Thanks for this!

Kung Fu 2100 (1980) has got under 200 owners. Really enjoyed playing it as a kid, had a chit based combat system and a map to navigate that generated encounters. There was some strategy in it, and it played fairly well solo. Its puzzling how some good enough games don't seem to have a following.

Interesting pick for #1! I recall seeing it come up on KS, but I typically reject two player games since most of my game nights involve at least three people total (and I have plenty of big games that play 2 players very well; no need to add to the collection). I think what intrigues me most is how they integrated the antibody theme so neatly into the fantasy theme.

The Pez Collectable Card Game is the best family card game that never should have been a CCG. Not the kind of game that's usually in your scope but it's the first hidden gem I thought of that I ever found so it has a special place for me.

Terrace would be my obscure game. Got it in 1994 and it’s a really cool abstract strategy. I bought the 8x8 and also have 6x6 version which is just better. I remember playing that in a coffee shop and people would just stop and watch us play. It has a cool cannibalism rule so you can take one of your own pieces if that would benefit you. Great list!

I would like to suggest Spooks (638 owners). I usually describe it as "UNO but better" which is doing it a disservice but it's an okay shorthand. Basically you don't only have to follow colors and numbers but also the way you follow changes depending on which color is on the table. It's really neat and we've played it so many times that it's become a trusted friend if we ever need a short and sweet game.

So this game is not necessarily a hidden gem but I do feel like it’s very overshadowed by more mainstream CCGs, and that’s Munchkin CCG. This game is fantastic. The head to head battles and tactics and bluffing mechanic are all so engaging. This is a game that was reviewed and judged heavily based on initial starter sets, which were certainly fun, but replayability and the true fun comes with deck building and exploring the myriad of cards that add new mechanics and flavors. I wish more people played and I am very much hoping for a season 2 from Steve Jackson Games!

Big Shot would be one of my hidden gems, with 1901, Turin Market, QE, Ponzi Scheme, Mini Rails, Tulip Bubble, and Spyrium also

I love Khronos - a wonderful puzzle game take on Douglas Adams' Campaign For Real Time with the players building their settlements in 3 different time zones so they force their opponents settlements to alter or even cease to exist because their settlement is dominant or predates their opponents.

So I'm going to say shenanigans the musical with a listed 48 owners on bgg It is a werewolf like game however your role and win condition will generally change throughout the game, with out you knowing till later, and player elimination only happens at the end of the game

Now I feel compelled to hunt down spheres of influence and print out bloc by Bloc. Great video as always

Dale of merchants is the best small box deck builder I’ve ever had!

Check out Disastles! German designer who made a game with high replayability, simple rules and imense difficulty scalability. It has a sci fi theme and is about mercenaries building castles to collect treasure and survive disasters.

Well, I have three of your gems: Conquest of Paradise, Comancheria, and Obsession. I'm claiming an honorable mention because, although I don't (yet) have the game, I've spent a wonderful week in Oaxaca. Interesting city, fascinating ruins nearby, and a top-notch hotel (Hotel Victoria). "Maui is pleased." The two games that I really enjoyed a LOT in the past are Avalon Hill's "Gunslinger" by Richard Hamblen and Big League Manager Baseball. I played both of them to death as a tyke. Both are long out of print.

I like Thunderbirds, but the dice are frustrating enough for it not to kill Pandemic. (I also own 4 versions of Pandemic.)

How about a relatively recent (2013) Kramer & Kiesling game that (almost) no one has heard of? Well, 1400 owners for a K&K game is very low. It's because it was only released in a German edition - but the components are fully language independent and there's a full copy of the rulebook available, so don't let that stop you. We played it recently and it's really rather good - one of those games where the appeal isn't apparent from the rules. It's a solid shipbuilding game, with some goods delivery and shades of Puerto Rico, as everyone benefits from the lead players choice, though not as much as they do. The twist that makes the game though is that the free stuff may be great, but can really mess up your timing and eat up your actions. Very nice. The name? Nauticus. Yes... told you you'd never heard of it.

I was close to backing Oaxaca, but I had already backed too many at that’s time and had to make some cuts

Thanks for this list. There looks to be some real gems in there for sure!

OMIGA (One Minute Game) a.k.a. FLANX a.k.a. OKUMA: 277 owners on BGG Bought it at the designer's booth in Essen. He described it as a "Samurai duelling game". Personally I would say, comparing it to the Light Bike races from the Tron movies would be much more on point. It's a small real time duelling card game, and while there is luck in it, there definitely is skill, too. And stressful fun.

Love this list. Thanks! Ill be downloading bloc by bloc

Defenders of soma just blew my mind as med student

I almost backed Obsession & Assembly on Kickstarter. I guess I should have! In my collection with only 563 owners on BGG is Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge because of actual cocktail recipes in the game on each card and martini glasses as pieces.

Any opportunity to wax poetic about Safranito. 1604 owners on BGG is far too few. Safranito is a light economic euro where you go to spaces to buy spices low, sell them high, and turn sets in for recipes in order to win the game. The kicker is that it's a dexterity game. You toss discs at the spaces, bump each other around, and then flip the chips over to reveal the prices you've set for buying and selling each spice. I've literally never had a bad game of this, and multiple people I've played with have bought copies after trying it. It's pure joy.

Based on your recommendations, I purchased Oaxaca, Bethel Woods, and the last copy of Conquest of Paradise available at MM. Thumbs up for Oaxaca, so-so for Bethel Woods, and waiting for Conquest of Paradise. Thanks for your video and all your channel..

One of my favorite games, if not my most favorite, is Eclipse. We still take it out from time to time despite having played it for 100+ hours. It’s a biggy but it’s totally worth the time. For me, it considerably raised the bar for (space) ”war” games!

Obsession, spheres of influence and block by block! I will not rest until I track them down.... I've been wanting to play them for a long time now, I know I can print block by block and it will probably be a project for me and my husband to put it together in an tactilely pleasing way. The other two games are just intensely interesting to me, but both are out of print and hard to find!

This knuckle sandwich game with kobolds. It's just a quick little card game with a few options but games can take just minutes once you all know everything. So simple and very fun.

I hang out with a bunch of board game designers in Boston who are constantly bringing really nice demos every month. Too bad the vast majority will never see store shelves. There are a few designers that are serious but most are like me and design games for fun. It's such a shame because some of these games are genius and only a handful of people will play them. Oh well

If you can find it anywhere, I can recommend City of Chaos. Its like a cross between Arabian Nights & Gloomhaven. You have to investigate what is going on & there are 4 complex plots giving the answer. These all take place at the same time. Depending what is discovered defines which plot you will resolve.

Husband said no to me buying Pay Dirt for $10 a few weeks back. Because apparently I had bought too many gold mining games already (I’m in the field). *sigh* it’s sold now.

Every doctor ever just gasped as their worlds collide.

Minos (out of print) 608 owned Time Barons (in print) 288 owned For What Remains (last days on kickstarter, hope it will make it)

Oaxaca has moved straight to the top of my list. It looks gorgeous and I love engine building games but don't always have the time to lug out Terraforming Mars. Thanks for the video!

I had Defenders of the Last Stand, as well as "of the Realms", and I sold Last Stand because it's not balanced. Every game of D.Of The Realm it's finely balanced, every time, me and my group always play it and we win or lose for 1 turn, always enjoying it, but man....Last Stand? It's a cakewalk, or impossible. It's soooo swingy. We really had no fun out of it, despite the excellent production value. And also the setting, man, I love Mad Max/Fallout, and I rly wanted to like this game so much, but it's really not balanced. I still have D.Of The Realm.

Bought Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture after the video, worth every penny! Thanks!

After the Virus is a great small deck/engine builder solo or coop, by the same designer as Terraforming Mars. I don't know why it's so niche but I love it, plays quick and is super fun, and 'ard as coffin nail, it is.

Maskmen is a great game by Japanese publisher Oink games . To my knowledge , it wasn't picked up by an English speaking game producer . A little tricky to get to grips with , but once you do , it's a lot of fun .

Spheres is awesome. I've played it with so many people who roll their eyes seeing it and then later finding themselves way behind and regretting misjudging it.

Cool video! I've only played Obsession, out of all these. But you made me really curious to try Bloc by Bloc and, especially, Comanchería!

I still have a in shrink copy of spheres of influence... Need to get that to the table soon...

another boardgame gem: rival restaurants. Had so much fun playing it. it's a new game.

My hidden gem: Bone Wars; The Game of Ruthless Paleontology. Based on actual events as Ye Olde Timey paleontologists attempted to discredit and sabotage their rivals during the dinosaur discovery rush of the late 1800's.

It blows my mind you can acquire such obscure games "on sale" in New Zealand. I tried to buy the original version of One Deck Dungeon in a specialist board game shop in a city in England i live near and was told it "wasn't available". Even online its difficult to find but you pick up these ultra obscure games "on sale" all the time? Where?

I'm one of those Kolejka owners! :)

Have you tried out Survive: Escape from Atlantis? its not obscure, but it is overlooked because it originally came out in 1983. Also for a two player gem that people DO talk about, but doesn't get a lot of love. Try Raptor. ( one of my favourites, just waiting for my son to get a touch older...)

Thank you very much for this video!! Have you tried some old Splotter games like Greed Incorporated or Duck Dealer? I have never seen Splotter in your collection.. maybe they’re just not to your taste :)

Loved this top 10 list, showed me some great looking games which I hadnt heard of, which is ace. I have Thunderbirds and Obsession and cant believe how low they are on owned by numbers.

I hold you responsible that Black Orchestra, Bloc by Bloc and Obsession all found their way into my game collection over the course of time. (Architects too. Thanks.) I can contribute Chivalry (2018) to the list.

Semper Fidelis: Bitwa o Lwów 1918-1919 - Polish version only, but there's English fan translation. Semper Fidelis is fairly accessible wargame. Main theme is battle of Lwów, an episode of Polish-Ukrainian war. This conflict is completely unknown in the West. www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/238012/semper-fidelis-bitwa-o-lwow-1918-1919

You're taste is in the sweet spot. Im an anglophile. I bought the 25th anniversary edition of Divine Right in a game store in Finsbury in 2003. Oh Dear, You're a Kiwi.

My pick is easy: Beast Master Tale, 34 owners on BGG. It's a clever and very pretty game with a Pokemon feel, where you race to level up and battle the big bad enemy while the world crumbles. Since it's not easily available in the US, I'll pick another: Airfix Battles, 215 owners on BGG. It's a very clever card-driven miniatures game with cardboard tokens you can use if you don't want to paint miniatures.

Such an awesome countdown! I added several of these to my list to track down. How is Bloc-by-Bloc at 2-player?

I bought "Pay Dirt" brand new at a games convention (only one I have seen anywhere!). Got it for a bargain as well, as the guy hadn't sold it and there was only 1 hour left of the convention 👍

Here's a blast from the past "Snits Revenge" from 1977

Fool's Gold was a good game that simulates the gold rush, and it only has 792 owners on BGG.

A couple of them seems Reaaaally interesting, thank you for the info. Actually i find it difficult to catch good games in the sea of games that are existing. Any advice or sites to find good games? I'm just lost over the moltitude being a new player

Years ago a friend had a game called Ubi I think it was. It was geography based. I can't find any info on it today.

Thank you mate. My hidden gem is Serenissima. I already own Leaving Earth (thanks to Nettersplays) and Spheres of Influence ( thanks to you). I will definitely check Assembly, Dicetopia, Comancheria and Oaxaca 😊

'Leaving Earth' my favorite game no one Ever talks about. Also, I own Paydirt but no one ever wants to play it with me

Great list, they were truly obscure and I would love to play them all.

As always, great video. You should make a video about your favourite 4x strategy board games, I've been trying to find one that has little to no chance, and I can play with my friends, so I can distroy them with my powerful empire. Churr

Great list & concept. The antithesis of the Hottest Games This month concept which just recycles info on whatever is already popular & doesn't need the help.

I'll nominate Battlestations (203 ratings), Duel of Ages (both editions are very similar) (1132 ratings), and Power Struggle (2156 ratings)

It's hard to name a game I haven't heard about, but Healing Blade: Defenders of Soma is too obscure even for me and it looks interesting. If you like the gold mining theme, maybe you can find a copy of Skagway: the Last Great Gold Rush. As for hidden gems I actually own, how about Sol: The Last Days of A Star is really good.

I've always been a fan of Bootleggers, but not sure if it's rare enough for your list...thanks for your top ten though!

I'd have to say the one game I own that is the most obscure yet awesome is Full Metal Planete, love the game!

This is a good list. I own or have wishlisted several of these.

Shadows of Brimstone if you want an RPG esque zombicide.

That reminds me, I really must add Oaxaca to my collection on BGG. I'm not very good at keeping it up-to-date.. I have Assembly backed as part of Wren Games KS for Sensor Ghosts and I am making do with the excellent app for now. I already have Bloc by Bloc, Thunderbirds, Leaving Earth and Bethel Woods on my wishlist as a result of your previous videos. I think I will be coming back to this video when my wishlist has reduced a little for more inspiration :) I would recommend the wonderful push you luck game Fire in the Library from Weird Giraffe Games which has just gone to retail after a successful Kickstarter. I have had so much fun playing it. It's another game that's the same size as Oaxaca. Another one that I really enjoyed but needs the right group and a large group is Breaking Bad. It was developed here in France and published in 2017 so it didn't get much attention in the English speaking board game community. There is player elimination and you play semi-coop in factions, three drug dealing factions against the DEA. It works best with players who can get into the theme and bring a little bit of role play to the table. The player count and the type of play means that I sadly haven't played it once since I bought it, having had a great first game at a games night.

If you like exploration games I would highly recommend SpaceCorp 2025-2300 by GMT! It’s a newer great tableau/exploration game.

How big is your game shelf? Is it a warehouse?

Due to this video, I just purchased Defenders of the Last Stand on Funagain Games. Thanks, I think! :D