Agreed, I thought replacing Sam on these would be tough because he’s been Tom’s friend forever, but Mike seems like part of the furniture. He has such a great manner and I really respect his opinion - even when I don’t agree
I had to defend myself to my wife for watching this the last couple of nights and told her that this is for me what grammies or Oscars are for other people. That Was okay to her. It was really enjoyable and I did laugh out loud some times. Keep up the good spirit and have a fun time
Tom, Zee, and Mike (and all The Dice Tower crew) - you're all awesome! Among other things, I appreciate Zee's wit and storytelling ability, Mike's cheese and thoughtfulness, and Tom's energy. My gaming tastes align more often with Mike, but everyone there has great taste. I want to shine on Tom, for a minute. Tom is the #1 reason I keep coming back to this channel, usually on the daily. Many other reasons to like the channel, but it wouldn't exist without Tom, so yeah. Tom's enthusiasm, drive, delivery, vast experience and knowledge, and just genuine good vibes are what, well...keep me coming back. It is interesting - Tom is older than me, but sometimes he seems like a big kid to me. You know, frequently that child-like energy will be tamped down in childhood, due to various reasons. Well, Tom's still got that energy. He's super upfront and confident with who he is, and where he's at, and I appreciate that vibe. I don't always appreciate that quality in people. If he was an upfront jerk, I wouldn't be writing this. Tom seems like a great boss (I envy the DT crew), father, and genuinely good person. I try to surround myself with people I look up to, so I’m happy to have you all as guests in my house frequently throughout the week. Keep up the honesty, thoughtfulness, great humor, and good vibes, and I’ll keep coming around. Cheers!
@@EliteBeast really? I think Tom is pure cringe. Clearly values his own opinions/ego more than anything else. All he ever does is talk over anyone else. So annoying.
4-way crossovers: Dune Imperium, Marvel United, Sleeping Gods, Wingspan. 3's: A Feast for Odin, Anachrony, Architects of the West Kingdom, Blood Rage, Chronicles of Crime, Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, Dixit, Everdell, Five Tribes, Nidavellir, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Parks, Raiders of the North Sea, Rising Sun, Scythe, Targi, Vagrantsong, Viticulture
its nice to have four (4) different people, each with their own gaming backgrounds and play styles provide insights of which game meets their tastes. thank you for this!
Love having Camilla on board (and Wendy too!)! So glad to feel represented in board game discussions and see a gal participating in the fun! Great addition to the Dice Tower! ❤️
Zee and Mike are literally the most funny people in any boardgame channels. They are so funny that it feels so natural,no need stupid face expressions, pretend stupid, I love they make clever jokes with face remain like poker face. There are so many other boardgame youtubers try so hard to be “funny”, acting weird but it just turn out to be cringy. If people not funny, dont try to be, just like Tom, he is not always funny, but its very likeable and enthusiastic, make me want to watch him all the time.
While Zee's top 10 isn't the one I vibe with the most, I will say; his top 10 carries the most weight. Zee's does not get suckered in by new games very often. He likes what he likes and it takes a lot for something new to rank so highly. Marvel United making his number 8 is a big deal.
Not really .Like you said he likes what he likes and that's light games or medium light games that take 30-60 minutes and have tons of content and of course lot's of coops games. Also he loves 2 player games that combine the above things. Even though Marvel United is not a two player game is everything else (light and plays fast) so I would have been surprised if this game didn't make his top 100. I agree that his list is the most consistent year after year but I think you are viewing this from the wrong angle. Is more surprising that games like The Manhattan Project Energy Empire or Power Grid make or made his list for so many years ,that this year had a lot of Felds games and of course that after many many many years Fury of Dracula wasn't on Zee's list
Apart from his adoration of tile-laying games, his taste in games aligns the most with my own. That said, I'll never get into Marvel United. I can't overcome the chibi style and Tom's/Zee's rankings are *not* for the core box--so there's the CMON money pit of buying everything for the full experience.
One of the nice things about this hobby is the variety of interests and wants and love. There’s so many games on these lists where I just wanna go ‘really?!?’ but that’s a good thing. Like music, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Games are art.
I love how board games are diverse enough and there's so many of them that these lists differ from person to person and even for 1 person it can differ depending on the day and mood. Thank you very much for introducing new and interesting games as well as mentioning ones worth getting that are older ( the Classics ). As someone who loves compiling a "Wishlist" but also not having enough money to buy all and also not enough time to do own research on most of these. It would REALLY help, if when describing the game or talking about it you could say, which player count it is meant for and what's it best at. It feels like you guys often do it but not for every game. I enjoy how everyone often chimes in and also say at which player count they like.
How cool! Two videos with Moonshell in the background!! My wife is beyond overjoyed. Hopefully the review video comes out soon! I look forward to their thoughts.
You've all surpassed yourselves! What a great journey this top 100 was year. Thanks to the whole team. I really enjoyed it, the humour was great, the pie-ing, the jokes, awesome all of you. Nice one. 😄
Following Zee's approach of putting evertything through PubMeeple without messing with it, here is my Top10: 1 Food Chain Magnate 2 Twilight Imperium 3 Sid Meier's Civilization 4 Yokohama 5 Maria 6 Eclipse 7 Nemesis 8 Concordia 9 Antiquity 10 Inis
I watched all the videos and just want to say my thanks for the entertainment, I often laughed about the jokes between you guys, Zee and Mike were killing it. Love the pie(s) as well.
Wonderful set of videos, love all the chatter describing why these games are in their top 10s... including the feedback on the Peoples Choice. Well done.
When A Team does their vids, even though People's choice is done, I hope Tom, Zee and Mike take turns to interact with the other team during the list like the A Team did with these lists (was that clear? So many lists...). Seeing you guys interact and anticipate, particularly Tom who just loves lists so much, with each other, is the joy of these vids. Maybe instead of People's choice, Tom Zee Mike can make quick shortlists of games they think will be on Roy Chis Wendy Camila and bring them on?
I love that Mike sticks to his guns on Merchants Cove. It’s a great looking game that plays well solo or with multiple players. It’s fun without being too simple. I think it’s underrated (certainly among most at the DT)
Spirit island is the most amazing puzzle. The invaders are predictable and linear in power. The spirits grow exponentially. I love the idea of stalling and treading water until you can finally make some big moves and take back control of the island. It's so rewarding to succeed and such a brain burner I feel incredibly accomplished after a win.
I've only played base Spirit Island and loved its puzzle, but some others in my group were demoralized by the difficulty and prone to paralyzing AP. I just picked up Branch and Claw, which I've read--in terms that are probably a bit hyperbolic--"changes Spirit Island from a puzzle to a game." I'm excited to see how it feels with some more randomness and tactical decisions so it's not "just" an optimization puzzle.
LOVE that you're still keeping strong with Outlive, Mike. It was my favourite game I didn't own and was a grail game for a long time (Collector's Ed) until I got lucky and jumped on a copy being sold by someone locally that wasn't even unpunched and for about the same price as the retail game! There's so much I love about this game, and it's a true hidden gem that doesn't get the love it deserves. The tension in timing out on the main board and the puzzle in which strength workers you're going to move where, and when is just brilliant, as is how your turns then tie into the next turn because you need to be mindful of blocking yourself. Then there's the whole bunker phase and making the most out of building that out while ensuring your people are looked after. Oh so good! I agree that the CE does suffer from component fiddliness, especially with the workers, but I'm going to paint them up next to help alleviate the issue, as I can't go back to using the meeples, even if they are clearer.
I didn't realize that the main influence for Dwellings of Eldervale left the company! It's such a great game, it would be so sad if it never gets a reprint.
It’s being reprinted along with going to retail. You can sign up for their newsletter for more updates. Peter Vaughn did a lot to push this game, and there has been a delay in getting this game out; but it’s still coming. Hopefully many others can enjoy this game because it’s amazing.
I'm hoping the loss of Peter to Breaking Games wouldn't end further Luke Laurie Kickstarters for Dwellings of Everdale. Let's see an expansion for people that missed that Legendary pledge!
Got a retail copy, which I will likely be happy with (I have plenty of minis in my life already, and the amount of game in just the retail version is very impressive!)
Dwellings of Eldervale IS being reprinted. The company has already said as much, and it is listed as coming by one of the major US distributors as well.
It's amazing that I have well over 500 games and out of all 4 top 10 lists I own only 3 of the games. And I haven't played many more than that either. I haven't played a single game of Zee's top 10, and I often like games he likes. There are just so many good games out there.
Great set of lists really enjoyed them: firstly can I say how much I appreciate the new faces and voices on the Dice tower at the moment. Particularly Camilla and Wendy. Secondly am I the only person who is slightly put off by the phrase efficiency puzzle sounds to much like work to me.😁
I agree. I’d love to see her Top 100. Glad she stuck up for Arnak. The game doesn’t seem to get much love on the Dice Tower top lists for some reason but is on many peoples lists, both Top 10 of the year and all time. I’ve always found that a little strange. I enjoy both Dune and Arnak equally, for different reasons, so it just seems weird. Hopefully we’ll see a Top 100 series for Camilla, Roy, Wendy, and Chris. It would be very enjoyable I’m sure. Good personalities and chemistry there. I believe that there is talk of that depending on their fundraiser.
She is nice and all that. And its great she likes spirit island. But go watch her comment on the BGG top 100. Most games she hadn't played. And a fair bit off those were because they weren't pretty enough.
@@RenbroNL I have no issue with that. She’s pretty and likes pretty games. I also start liking games visually. I think she’ll find she’ll play all sorts of games before long.
So I have an ongoing spreadsheet of all the People's Choice Top 100 and I like to see what are the 'evergreen' games -- those that are still on the list every year since the beginning. Evergreens: Pandemic 7 Wonders Ticket to Ride Dominion Carcassonne Power Grid Agricola Race for the Galaxy Stone Age Catan Dixit Twilight Struggle Ticket to Ride: Europe 'Close but no cigar' (games that only missed out the first year): Lords of Waterdeep Castles of Burgundy King of Tokyo 'Oh how the mighty have fallen!' (games that dropped off the list this year): Small World Puerto Rico
Many crossovers for me on my Top 10 of all time! Two with Tom, one with Mike, and four with The People: #10 - Dune: Imperium #9 - Alchemists #8 - Blood Rage #7 - Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion #6 - Terraforming Mars #5 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine #4 - Clank!: Legacy - Acquisitions Incorporated #3 - The Quacks of Quedlinburg #2 - Scythe #1 - Gloomhaven
Awesome show as usual guys! Really looking forward to the A team edition too. I wish I understood why the people like 7 wonders (duel) so much. It never did anything for me. But the other 9 choices of the people and all of the guys lists were rock solid.
I am flabbergasted that Arnak didn't make anyone's list but the people's. I get them liking Dune Imperium more than Arnak, but Arnak isn't even on the list!?!?
thanks for the comparison of Spirit Island to Gloomhaven Jaws of a lion Camilla, now I will definitely have a look into Jaws of a lion. I adore Spirit Island :)
Interesting list. there are some games here that we like, some we don't, and some (a lot) we don't know! One of the things we (my wife and I) prefer is a game where you don't know who's won until after it's finished; we don't like games where it's first to an arbitrary finishing line. So we love Terraforming Mars and dislike Viticulture. We've also realised that we don't get on with co-operative games, so we've never liked (or been able to get anywhere with) Spirit Island, whereas we like Duel.
Maybe it's because both involve worker placement & deckbuilding? Though Dune's integration is better IMO, and Arnak's deckbuilding is disappointingly weak(as in, barely has any reason to be deckbuilding instead of handbuilding. Yes the cards can be impactful). Still great games tho
Yes, they both combine the same 2 core mechanisms, but I think the reason they are compared so much and will be for at least the next few years is because they released at the same time. Very few gamers are going to buy 2 games that close together that fill the same space in their collections, so we all sort of compared them back in 2020 and bought the one that had that extra little thing that aligned more to our taste. It's a bit like how two different publishers released Back to the Future games at the same time...you'd have to be a MEGA fan of the IP to consider them both.
@@Bonzoso21 I get it. It’s gonna be a thing. I bought them both pretty close together and played them both several times. They may both have cards and workers but the FEEL very different and that’s what makes them different. I don’t get that feeling of chaining actions to just keep taking turns in Dune. Because you literally can’t. You are limited to workers and that’s it. There are even times you may choose to pass on placing a third worker in order to buy first. Arnak is about extending your turn as much as possible by making choices that build off of each other. Like I said, I get that it’s going to be a thing but they are just so different. I guess it’s also probably people who haven’t played both games that are usually the ones making the comparison. No biggie. It’s just games.
Yeah, it is a little weird with Dice Tower and Lost Ruins of Arnac. I don’t quite get it. The game is so popular on other reviewers lists and with the general public obviously. So to have it missing completely off a Top 100 list is……just….strange. I own both Arnac and Dune Imperium and really like them both. They would both make my Top 100. I’m not saying that there’s any shenanigans going on, as others have suggested, but it does seem ‘off’ for whatever reason. Maybe it’s just that they all like 100 games more. Perhaps Camilla will have Arnac on her list as she seems to like it. Who knows?
I love you guys, keep up the wonderful work of bringing games to the world! Truly a great endeavour that brings all people of Earth together in peace. (I don't get why pies in the face are funny... or when people smear wedding cake on their new spouse's face either)
I’ve been playing a ton of Wingspan the last couple weeks, and it has a great similarity to gin rummy, spades, or bridge. Relatively easy to learn, some RNG, but much more skill than it seems. Just look at the weekly Automa challenge. It’s a prebuilt deck that is the same every time. The challenge is to get the most points. I’ve tried about ten times, and have maxed out at 95 points. The current leader scored 140 points.
#10.Fields of Green #09.Fantastic Factories #08.Extraordinary Adventures Pirates #07.Terraforming Mars #06.White Chapel #05.Century spice road/New World #04.Empire Builder/Australian Rails/Iron Dragon.. #03.Dice Throne #02.Five Tribes #01.MTG Simply the best deck building game out there. "In my opinion" That's my top 10
Top 10 Games that Play Better at *Higher* Player Counts is a great idea. I'll chime in with mine... Pandemic (or Forbidden Island). These two feel similar to me, in that the 3-player and 4-player games feel similar (enough), but the 2-player game feels like a different game (to me). I've thought about it.. the only thing that I can come up with is that not every player (in a 3- or 4-player game) has to cure a disease or find a treasure. In a 2-player game of Pandemic, both players almost have to cure two diseases, or you're toast.
Marvel United! Zee, you are a legend. It’s such a great game on every level. I see so many reviewers absolute loving it but then feeling that they should talk themselves out of that as it looks so simple. That base simplicity should be seen as excellent design and not something to be ashamed of, especially given how fun, varied, and challenging the experience ends up being.
@@morpheus587 You can try most of them out on Tabletop Simulator, if you have it. I don't know if they have the X-Men expansions yet but they had the base game. Sinister Six is the best value because it has the most villains, hence the most game modes. You don't need that many heroes but the more villains you have to fight, the better. The Infinity Gauntlet one is also good for the same reason.
@@SvanMagic Yeah, a coworker brought in the base game and we played it. I thought it was a simple kids game and didn't think much about it but then I played the expansions on Tabletop Simulator and they do make the game much better. The problem is that, while the base game is very cheap, the expansions are pretty damn expensive for what they are. I found them to not be worth getting and just played on TTS until I got tired of the game.
@@morpheus587 : If you can get them, Sinister Six and The Infinity Gauntlet add the most variety. We have seen the X-Men expansions yet but my guess is that Blue or Gold Team will replace The Infinity Gauntlet recommendation. Of the more usual expansions, Spiderverse and Guardians of the Galaxy are both great.
Ark Nova deserves to be Tom’s #1. It’s such a rewarding game. It actually feels that you are operating a zoo and doing conservation efforts instead of playing a euro-style game.
Great list everyone! Just a small sidenote on outlive minis that are too hard to tell, the number of people on the minis is the same as the strength of the mini and there is a large number on the back of the mini. I know its not as easy to tell apart as a meeple with a distinguished number printed on, but there are visual cues that youl get used to :) So strenght 4 mini has 4 people and, strength 3 has 3 people on it, in case you missed that part :)
My Top 10: 1. Memoir '44 2. Clash of Cultures 3. Twilight Imperium IV 4. Nations 5. War of the Ring: Second Edition 6. Terraforming Mars 7. Star Wars: The Card Game 8. Twilight Struggle 9. Root 10. Orléans Next 10: Dominant Species, Power Grid, A Feast for Odin, Village, Scythe, Wingspan, 7 Wonders, Civilization: A New Dawn, Tapestry, Hands in the Sea. Hyped games on these lists that I wanted to like, but actually don’t: Spirit Island, Le Harve.
Bit of a beef. Maybe it’s just the mood I’m in, who knows. But I’m disliking how it seems, maybe I’m wrong, that people are only now getting acknowledged only if they give money. I understand that’s what they are trying to do to get a new studio and equipment but some people are just avid viewers (like myself) and appreciate the content but don’t have the money to spend on supporting them. I support them by watching every single video, buying games based on their views (mostly Toms because we seem to think alike) and when game nights happen (they happen often) dice tower video playlists are always playing on the game room tv. Love these guys. Just feel like it’s becoming a “we love you if you give us money” thing. Honestly, if I won the lottery, you’d get a good chunk as long as I got to meet and play games with each of you! ❤️
Hey, feel how you feel, but they do fairly regular Q&As and other live streams where the whole point is to interact with the community, and for these other ones, there are often DT folks in the chat who are not on camera. They just make an effort to call out and thank those who donate. It's a big community and they can't really respond while they're in the middle of filming something that is not community-facing. There's no shame in being unable to support, but I will say that many superchats and backers only throw them a buck or 5 every once in a blue moon. They get nothing from the games you buy and they don't interrupt videos with ads like other channels, so it takes direct fan support to keep their cameras on. And, while this will surely come off like shade and I wish it didn't, it's hard to take "I don't have money to support them" seriously when it's only 1 sentence away from "game room tv".
A guy in my group got the tiles for Death May Die printed at 150% and laminated. Even with that, towards the end of the game the rooms get to be jam packed with minis. Awesome game though; like many I ended up liking it way more than I thought I would.
This is my first time seeing Camilla, and she is an absolute delight! Such a great addition to this group. Witty, charismatic, knowledgeable, and with good group chemistry. More, please! (I still love Roy, too!)
