Top 10 Worker Placement Games 

We have very similar taste in worker placement games. Anachrony, Trickerion, Kanban, and Architects are all in my favorites. I have considered picking up Viticulture but didn't know if I would need it in my collection with the previously mentioned already being there. Great video!!

Great choices I love your top 2 choices! Have yet to play the Viticulture with Tuscany but still enjoyed the base game. Raiders is awesome and would be neck and neck with #2 for me!

Nice vid , good insights as someone slowly getting into more games. As for the seasons mechanic, how about Everdell? Played it recently at a con, loved it. Waiting for it to come back into stock at local games shop.

Haven't tried too many worker placement but Viticulture and Architects are my favorites aswell. Your 10th really sparked my interest.

So excited to watch this one...

Ooooohh!! Anachrony! I love that game and its theme!! And you also got the same Leader box as me 😍😍 The time travel mechanic is really great, can’t think of any other game that does something so cool

Thank you Luke. Always enjoy your lists. You have a few I need to play. Not on your list which I really like are Champions of Midgard, Raiders of North Sea and Stone Age. I just bought Architects. Can’t wait to play it!

Targi, Keyflower, Feast for Odin, Village (with Inn exp), Voyages of Marco Polo, Rajas of the Ganges, Fresco, Aquasphere, Stone Age (with exp) and Agricola ACBS

Great list and explanation. Gives me lots of suggestions and pointers to consider. Not sure if you mind listing your top 100? Btw, I'm currently setting my eyes on Yokohama. What's your take on that?

“Don’t care about the books”... they’re pretty good though. 👌🏻 I have yet to play Pillars, but it’s on my list. Good list, I agree with your #1, it’s my favorite with Lorenzo in a close #2. Audio was fine btw. Cheers

Don't worry about the noisy neighbors, can't hear them at all!

I know this video is a bit older, but I just recently discovered your videos and I love all of them :) Keep up the amazing job! I don't know if you still check these comments, but I have a couple of thoughts and a question :) I see in the comments you dislike Champions because of the luck factor. Yes it is a bit on the longer side (2 player I often think I would like 1 round less, but it is not a big issue for me), but that actually to some degree reduces the luck factor - you can get lucky/unlucky on some rolls, but overall you roll dice so often that if you look at the entire game it does even out most of the time. Don't get me wrong, it is still on the lighter side, but it is fun. The Valhalla expansion reduces feelbad moments, but overall a good roll is still much better than a bad one - you can roll nothign, loose your dice and get valhalla tokens, getting something for them, but another player might roll well and kills their monster, they still often loose most/all dice and get the same token you got as well, so they got both the valhalla goodies and the VPs of the the monster... I still like that expansion a lot, since it does feel better if you roll nothing and it gives you more balanced factions (a second power with the leader die for each of them) and with the leader die you get to the fun monster slaying part even faster. A good way to look at it is a "push your luck" worker placement game - will you go for the "safe" battle with a lot of redundant dice or are you pushing your luck doing more battles at once, most of them stretched pretty thin? And for the question - have you tried "dungeon pets"? It sounds like something that fits what you like with thematic WP games that have some unique twist. There is the hand management part of the game which makes it go pretty long, since it can be extremely complicated to think through especially if you push for 3 or even 4 pets and it leads to some downtime (though I do like the puzzle of that part of the game - BTW it is also quite a problem to teach, you sometimes just need to play through a round for people to see what is actually happening during that part of the game). The twist in the WP part is that you have to split your workers into groups behind a screen at the start of the round - more groups means you could get more actions done, but the order in which you place the groups is by size - bigger groups first; meaning you have to balance how early you want to go vs how many actions you would like to take. I don't know how often you get to play the same game with the same group - in my opinion this is amazing to play with people who you've already tought it in the past and everyone knows what is going on.

Audio worked for me. Good list of 7-8 not being the obvious choices.

Thanks for the list. Audio was fine and I didn't hear any of the outside noises.

Viticulture, caverna, kanban, architects, anachrony are all on my list as well. I also really like raiders of the north sea with expansions and champions of midgard.

Good choice for number 1. Actually a little shocked Champions of Midgard or Feast for Odin were missing, but regardless, great list.

I agree about Forgotten Folk expansion for Caverna. I think it's my favourite expansion of all time. It took a great game to a whole new level.

This video came at the right time. I just got home and the wife says is that another game in the package yep. I tell her how viticulture is a very good game. Of course I had tuscany with it.

Argent, Anachrony and Tidal Blade are my favorites. Honorable mention goes to Champions of Midgard and Lords of Waterdeep.

Hi, thanks for the video. Which of these would you recommend for 2 players?

I can't give a good top 10 because I haven't played enough. There are so many on this list I haven't played but want to. The only ones I can think of that weren't here and I really like are Lords of Waterdeep & Rococo.

I have only played a few wp games myself But the order of the list is 1. Champions of midgard (if you don't like the base game the expansions won't change it) 2. Viticulture (its just relaxed and smooth) 3. Agricola (havent tried caverna yet)

If I were to make one: 1. Dominant Species 2. Agricola 3. Caylus 4. Tzolk'in 5. Vinhos 6. Keyflower 7. Bruxelles 1893 8. Lewis & Clark 9. Lancaster 10. Village I don't know if dice placement/dice manipulation counts as worker placement, but if it does, then Troyes and Bora Bora would be on this list ;).

You should try Spyrium, it takes the worker placement genre and puts a twist on it.

Nice list ! As we don't have KANDAN nor ARGENT in France, I would replace 2 other awesome games: ROKOKO and LORENZO IL MAGNIFICO. Of course, TZOLKIN is also a must have ! Thanks for you review though

I love these kind of videos, I love personal opinions for games - that help me decide which game could be interesting for me. However I would like you to show (more) of the game's pictures - art, design, mechanics, components, whatever. Talking is fine but for a such long video you need to show more for the eyes.

My top ten: 10. Lorenzo il Magnifico - need to play it more 9. Rajas of the Ganges 8. Champions of Midgard - this has really been slipping for me lately 7. Stone Age 6. The Voyages of Marco Polo 5. Energy Empire 4. Viticulture 3. The Gallerist 1b. A Feast for Odin 1a. Anachrony Tzolk'in has a chance to make it onto my list, but it's another one I need to play more. I also need to figure out where to slot Architects of the West Kingdom into there, because it definitely goes in there somewhere. Still need to play Kanban and Trickerion.

What are Lacerda's duds, in your opinion? I'm just starting to explore his games and would love to hear your thoughts.

Anachrony, Viticulture (with expansion), Architects, Champions of Midgard (with expansions), Raiders of the North Seas (with expansions), and Lords of Waterdeep (with expansion) are my favorite worker placement games. Without expansions the only 2 that would be in my top 6 are Anachrony and Architects. While Dinosaur Island is in my top 10 games of all time, it is too much of a hybrid to be considered WP.

Trickerion Collector's Edition sounded good. Unfortunately KS expired 7 months ago.

What do you think about Architects in solo compared with the other players?

The expansion for Energy empire will be out on kickstarter within a few months.

Nice Luke...did your results just mirror your top 100 games position? My top worker placement's that I own... 1.dinosaur island 2.Raiders of the North sea 3.discworld ankh morpork 4.dice hospital 5. Lords of waterdeep 6.egizia 7.harbour 8. Tiny epic western I would love to put scythe on the list but it's not really a worker placement game... Think that's all I own... Look forward to the next one mate. 😁

Viticulture would be my nr. 1. Then ... In no particular order... Rajas (no dice placement. Dice are just a resource 😉), stone age Anniversary Edition(those mini expansions and rules changes help a lot) , lowlands, lancaster big box and perhaps Outlive...not sure in that one.

Tribune is the best worker placement game in my opinion. Lancaster would be up there as well.

Adore Architects. As for Viticulture: I only have essential edition. I adore every single aspect of this version EXCEPT....I loathe the cards. I clearly don't get something about this game. Every part of it is amazing, and then massively random game-changing cards. I know other people have this issue. Luke, help me understand what I'm missing .... PLEASE. I honestly want to love it, but the randomness of the card draws that appear utterly game-changing drives me crazy! Thanks for nay help. Great video as always.

Also have you Played Gugong? It belongs on this list

The UN track on Energy Empire seems a little tacked on...would like to see the winner of the race given some unique power

Played this 3 days ago with 4p took us 3 hours and realized that the luck of the draw is the only think that desides who will win ... but we will try it again soon with Tuscany hoping it will fix some stuff.

1.Caylus 2.Agricola 3.Orleans 4.Hansa Teutonica 5.Tzolk'in 6.Finishing Time 7.Lorenzo 8.Raja of the Ganges 9.A feast for Odin 10.Stone Age

My top 6 are Robinson Crusoe, Lords of Waterdeep, Stone Age, Agricola, Pursuit of Happiness, and welcome to Walnut Grove... I don't like Caverna because it has no variability in initial state and the theme is less well integrated in order to allow more choice.

Feel the same way about Feast for odin

My top 8: 8) The Manhattan Project (Love that you have to use a turn to get the workers back) 7) Edo (Programmed hidden worker placement) 6) Alien Frontiers (dice makes worker placement interesting) 5) Empires: Age of Discovery (Upgradable workers! Need I say more?) 4) Keyflower (Using the workers to bid and work? Cool!), 3) Tzolkin (The time mechanic) 2) Yokohama (Worker placement with movement) 1) Orleans (The bag building and worker roles).

It's not only a game. It's the only game!

Do you think you can win Viticulture (only the base game) without focusing on fulfilling the wine orders?

Luke i am a bit surprised carson city was not on your list.

Tzolk'in should be on the list for uniqueness and theme - and just for being a great WP game!

Have you ever done a top 10 favorite designers? If not......*wink wink*

where would you place Gugong (+ expansions) in this list ?

I'm sad that Teotihuacan didn't make the list :( Also sad that Teotihuacan and Champions of Midgard didn't earn honorable mentions :(

Tuscany is top 10 for me.

Pillars of the Earth recently got a reprint mate

4 years later...is Viticulture still your #1? If not what has taken its place?

Just ordered Great Western Trails, how does that rank for you?

Lords of Waterdeep. Dominant Species. Global Mogul. Lowlands. Robinson Crusoe. Kingsburg. My game bud would add Pillars of the Earth, Caylus, Anachrony, and Feast of Odin.

10) Counterfeiters 9) Euphoria 8)Marco Polo 7) Lords of Water Deep 6)Architects 5) Stone Age 4)Rajas of the Ganges 3)Lorenzo 2)Tzolk'in 1)Viticulture Not sure if Teotihuacan is a WP game but it is my favorite game. Also have but haven't played A Feast For Odin and Agricola.

Dude, Great vid you made! Love your channel :3 Will you be at Essen 2019? Please let me know, I’d like to meet you :)

It's always interesting to see reviews and top-10's - if nothing else, then to find out how the taste of the host matches your own, so you know how much trust to put into his opinions. ... and you really lost me in the end. A game being "dated" is *NOT* a reason for it to be bad. And I don't see why a game being punishing (like Agricola) makes it bad. - at all, actually. Games are not supposed to be easy.

Really? Architects #2 and it was a coin toss for #1? I am a little burned out on worker place mechanic; there has been a lot of lazy game design with worker place. Designer and publishers just throwing stuff out there to feed the insatiable demand of our hobby. So i have passed of playing this at the Cons, BGG, dice retreat..... i will have to take at it look now.

Would suggest Troyes and Raiders of the north sea.

Architects front-loads all of the interesting decisions in the game. Your character is super important. The draft is really important. Your first Apprentice is incredibly important. The other 95% of the game? Surprisingly stale. You build up some resources, you lose your tempo when they get arrested. You build up some more resources. You lose tempo spending turns arresting other players and the cashing in because you need to. There is no build up. There aren't any big moments. You just watch the other players and try to figure out when everyone is wanting to end the game and build as much as you can as late as you can. Its not terrible but its moment to moment gameplay is worse than any WP game in my collection.

For me: 1. Dinosaur Island 2. Lords of WaterDeep 3. Dice Hospital 4. Alien Frontiers 5. Carcassonne 6. Kingdomino Ones I'm excited to try: 1. Champions of Midgard 2. Heroes of Land Air and Sea (?) 3. Blue Moon City

pillars of the earth .............IS the game ...................... there are some good locations in the expansion that i use but not all............................ life lesson, got it when it came out, i bought the expansion as soon as i could and no , im keeping mine........love it.. ( i s frum samtum, l yum ( ampshur ? ) accent )

How dare your neighbors play in their backyard with their children whilst you are filming your top ten video. Such a more important & worthwhile endeavour than spending time with one’s children.

Haven't played Architects but I think I'll like it. Viticulture is one of my top games. But I don't really like worker placement games. I think the fact that so many of them are "game ends after x turns" turns me off badly (even Viticulture does this). Architects doesn't do this, I believe. This is my biggest board game rules pet peeves.

Where's the love for Argent: the Consortium???

Not related to boardgames, but to the video quality itself. The lighting you use is not ideal. Try something warmer, more yellow and red.

Russian railroads Spyrium Caverna Targi Alien frontiers Water deep Stone age Caylus

Yea, not that good list sorry to say. You should play more games. :D

You can make weed? 31:20 😳

27:00 Agricola Review :)

Needs more Simone Luciani.