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Rick Baptist
United States
Redlands
California
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I've really been enjoying doing these top 10 lists -- and as someone that records their plays, I'm excited to see how they look next year at this time. As I mentioned before, it seems like these things switch places even the next day after I post, so just know that they're 10 of my favorite strategy games. The disclaimer here is to keep in mind that my favorite genre of game is "light" strategy or "family" strategy. This is my strategy top 10 -- I'm going to be doing a family top 10 to put in some of the lighter games than these. So if you think these are light games, perhaps this isn't the list for you! Onward!
#5 - Vikings
Here's a game I heard a lot about around when it came out, and then ... nothing. I remember thinking that the cover looked exciting, and then I saw a picture of the gameplay, and well ... nothing. And it just faded away. Flash forward a few years, and I had the opportunity to purchase for more than half off. As you might know from previous blogging, that's my Achilles heel. Well this time it worked out. Vikings comes with a spinner -- but you don't actually spin it for your turn, it's used as a clever bidding mechanic. And the game is quite neat -- you have to create islands to place your vikings on, and there's a column scoring thingie -- yeah, this game just doesn't sound exciting when I explain it. But I'm telling you -- get through the first of six rounds (each round takes about 5-10 minutes) and tell me you're not excited to continue. Even though these are much less combative vikings than what you're used to (they even have viking NOBLES in this game. Sign me up!) the game just works and is a ton of fun. Now I look at it and get all excited at the gameplay -- a play can make all the difference in the world. Give it a shot! One of the most underrated euros on here.
4 - Cyclades
I actually remember the first day I got turned on to Cyclades. I first saw it as a thumbnail here on the geek, in the hot photos section. "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?" I remember shouting at the top of my lungs. One click and I was invested. Of course, the art and presentation are very important to me, but the gameplay is indeed the thing, and this game delivers on a whole lot of levels. I always enjoy auction games, and this one uses the Amun-Re method of bidding. Combine that with a feel not unlike a very streamlined Risk and you have this massive, epic-feeling, god-influencing, gorgeous experience that completes in about 90-120 minutes. The components are all high-class, including the miniatures (which have different sculpts for each race). You probably all know this already. It's my #4 strategy game because there's some good strategy here in trying to overtake metropolises (metropoli?) and the meta-gaming is certainly a factor. It's simply a blast to play. And it's fun to mix euros and killing every once and a while.
#3 - Alien Frontiers
So I might lose all credibility if I put a game I've only played once as my #3-ranked strategy game of all time. Bah, I'm not Tom Vasel! I have no credibility! That's just the way I feel about Alien Frontiers, a game I don't own yet (preordered, though!) but was thoroughly blown over by both the presentation and the gameplay the one time I got to try it. A lot of folks have compared AF to Kingsburg because you're rolling dice and sticking them places, but Kingsburg would be a lot further down on my list here. I think KB is fun, but AF does it so much better and is a lot more fun (okay, I'll stop the abbreviations). First of all, I love it when strategy euro-type games incorporate theme so well. The idea to have your dice represent ships is just awesome. I love how easy the game is to teach and yet how challenging I found it to play. There seems to be several different strategies to win, and it's ripe for expansions (and they're on the way) to make things even more varied. And for a new company, Clever Mojo Games did their homework. Everything looks terrific. To be honest, I'm not sure I would have even noticed, but Dave from the Spiel mentioned a bit ago that all the colors of the colony pieces match the exact colors of the dice. And it's true! I'm not used to the colors matching perfectly in games. Sure, that isn't all that important, but that shows you how awesome this game truly is. So now I'm curious -- what happens to my rating after I play it more than once? We'll have to find out next time.
2 - Ra
Oh, yeah. The first time I found this masterpiece was online -- it was at the old FlexGames website (now Gourmet Gaming). A nice fellow taught it to me, and I was immediately hooked. I grew up being a huge Egyptian mythology nut, and the art immediately attracted me to Ra. But in the end, it's the frantic decision-making of the auction system that makes this such a great game to me. Ra was one of the first auction games I played, and it made me a huge fan of the genre -- when I hear a game has auctions I'm usually intrigued to try it. In my opinion, Ra is Reiner Knizia's best work and I really don't play it enough in person. I've probably played it online over 100 times. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this game to anyone and I really, REALLY want to make a goal to have this get on the table at least 5 times this year. An absolute classic that I feel will stand the test of time and become one of the best designs of all time.
1 - Stone Age
Okay, if you know me, this really isn't a surprise at all. If you kind of know me, you're probably wondering where Ticket to Ride and Pandemic are. Well, that's a teaser to subscribe to the blog so you can see my Top 10 Family Games that will be premiering some time in the month of May. But on to my favorite strategy game. I'm sitting here sipping a glass of water that I had on my Stone Age coaster, trying to put into words why I like Stone Age so much. It has to be something to do with the dice. Well, let me back up. Another game further down this list, The Pillars of the Earth, was the first worker placement game I played. I was new to gaming, and that mechanic really blew me away. Something about putting your dudes out to do something and then getting them AND something else back affected me in ways I can't describe. I am ALWAYS down for a worker placement game nowadays. So I guess Stone Age was going to be a winner anyway, but there's one thing that stands out for me: dice. Yup, I like rolling dice. So this just works for me. Not only that, but you're building a little engine at the same time, and you're also collecting hidden points for scoring at the end. Well, if you pay attention you can usually tell what someone is hoarding, but there's always something you tend to miss. I really like the endgame of Stone Age when you're calculating the points you've scored and just hoping you can reach the leader's. I also like the different strategies you can employ -- my favorite relies on getting the most tools and tool multipliers, then scooping up victory huts as quick as possible. A lot of people like starvation, but I'm not too good at that one! Another thing about Stone Age is the board -- I contend it's the most beautiful board in our hobby, and I love setting it up as the art for the entire game is just awesome. Stone Age -- my favorite strategy game of all time.
I hope you enjoyed the top half of this list and I apologize for the lateness of it. Stay tuned for the next post, which will detail my birthday party con that just recently went down. The Rickcon. Oh, and find out how I won a game by a literal 10th of a second!
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