geek
The Hotness
Games|People|Company
Dominion - Stash Promo Card
Runewars
Dominion: Alchemy
Thunderstone
Dominion
Dungeon Lords
Alexander the Great
Agricola
Twilight Struggle
Murder at the Four Deuces
Stronghold
The Republic of Rome
Race for the Galaxy
Small World
Arkham Horror
Founding Fathers
Race for the Galaxy: The Brink of War
Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
Vapor's Gambit
Battlestar Galactica
Chaos in the Old World
Le Havre
Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game
Mystery Express
Puerto Rico
Endeavor
Power Grid
Vasco da Gama
Warhammer: Invasion
Descent: Journeys in the Dark
Space Hulk (3rd Edition)
Pandemic
Hansa Teutonica
Carson City
Campaign Manager 2008
War of the Ring
Livingstone
Cosmic Encounter
Stone Age
Le Havre: Le Grand Hameau
Tobago
Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic Incursion Expansion
Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition
Summoner Wars
War of the Ring Collector's Edition
Macao
Carcassonne
Dominion: Prosperity
Neuland
Steam
The Island Of Misfit Games
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
Recommend
42
A list of ...odd... games played and collected over the years. Certainly not all of them are good, but many show marks of obsessive creation, or the kind of alien design that you just cannot get from more mass market productions.
Your Tags: Add tags
Popular Tags: obscure_games [+] [View All]
Posted Mon Oct 7, 2002 5:33 pm
1. Board Game: Tower of Babylon [Average Rating:6.00 Unranked]
[Shop]
 
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
A baffling high speed game composed of 120 hand painted (3 segments on each piece) tongue depressors. A psychotic amount of labor involved in making a mediocre game. However it is strange down to its little wooden core.
2. Board Game: Evolution [Average Rating:6.20 Unranked]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
A classic evolution type game that is remarkably complex for an educational game. Includes drifting continents, mutations, and your object is of course to BECOME A MAN. (Read that as evolve to human.)
3. Board Game: Hexenjagd [Average Rating:1.00 Unranked]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
Game where you spin the top of a mountain to try to locate the sound of a laughing witch. The most frightening thing about this game is that you can learn to do it accurately.
2
4. Board Game: Polarity [Average Rating:6.63 Overall Rank:647]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
One of my favorite games ever. (And most pics I've see on the net seem to have at least some part of my anatomy hiding in them.)
Morgan Dontanville
United States
Brooklyn
New York
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
04050607080910
mbmbmbmbmb
So then, those must be your breasts?
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
Hmm. Big furry pudgy individual wearing a gaudy shirt covered with cows.

Can't think of many other options for the subject apart from myself.
5. Board Game: Axiom [Average Rating:7.05 Overall Rank:1440]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
Ah Axiom. The best 3D game ever designed. And one of the most visually impressive.
1
6. Board Game: Die Schlacht der Dinosaurier [Average Rating:6.05 Overall Rank:3512]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
The game doesn't need to be good, but it is a decent beat-em-up. But the dinos cause more drooling in male gamers than Raquel Welch in a fur bikini.
Angela Kincaid
United States
Colorado Springs
Colorado
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron04
mb
terrific bits, it's true!
♪ Isaac Bickerstaff ♫
United States
Taylors
South Carolina
flag msg tools
designer
Avatar
04050607080910
mbmbmbmbmb
Raquel, or the dinos?
Andreas Johansson (fanatical rubber ducky cultist)
Sweden
Linköping
flag msg tools
Avatar
mbmbmbmbmb
Both.
7. Board Game: Pain Doctors: The Game of Recreational Surgery [Average Rating:5.42 Overall Rank:4999]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
Extremely disturbing art and premise mask a mediocre game. The art on the surgery cards is TRULY brilliant. And not for the squeamish.
1
Angela Kincaid
United States
Colorado Springs
Colorado
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron04
mb
This game is on my MUST HAVE list. I simply love sick things to break up the monotony of happy gaming. That's why I have Rat Splatter.
8. Board Game: Cosa Nostra [Average Rating:5.12 Overall Rank:5269]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
Also released as Vendetta (Not the Doris & Frank game). Lovely gammon variant with mafia overtones, and a huge random element with a giant spinning car that takes men out at random. Somehow the elements and theme surpass the basic roll-and-move gameplay to make this enjoyable.
Joe Scoleri
Afghanistan
(Currently far from) Herald
California
flag msg tools
designer
Avatar
040506070809
An enjoyable game for the "families"! ;)

The giant plastic wheel-of-doom spinner holding the cars with the gun wielding assassins helps level the playing field a bit and is one of those classic overproduced family gaming bits.
9. Board Game: Capital Punishment [Average Rating:4.83 Unranked]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
A guest review from the Dumpster. I've never played this one. Looks pretty tedious to me.
10. Board Game: Mare Mediterraneum [Average Rating:6.62 Overall Rank:2874]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
An insane production--even by Jean du Poel standards. Somewhere in there might be a good game, but sorely needing development. Long random, and slightly fiddly. That said, I still enjoy playing it far more than I should. There is some nice theming and flavor here.
11. Board Game: The Gothic Game [Average Rating:6.47 Overall Rank:3255]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
A roll and move Talisman-like game. The dark theming, and inherent viciousness actually do it for me. The woodcut cards and dark humor are quite appealing.
12. Board Game: Quackshot [Average Rating:6.56 Overall Rank:2873]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
The most violent children's game ever created. And not just in theme---pieces fly everywhere. This really should get a new edition so that it can terrify parents everywhere.
1
Mark Jackson
United States
Fresno
California
flag msg tools
Avatar
0406070809
mbmbmbmbmb
Although it's really cool how the animals spring wildly 1+ ft into the air when you hit them, the best part is that the archer ducks have a firing range which allows you to shoot at the players on your right & left. Granted, this has no purpose in game terms, but that's just so darn cool.
13. Board Game: Krakatoa [Average Rating:6.59 Unranked]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
What if Cosmic Wimpout had a dexterity element, and an advanced version with some strategy and arcane scoring. Another totally unusual offering from Joli Kansil
1
Randall Peek
United States
Preston
Connecticut
flag msg tools
Avatar
mbmbmbmbmb
I completely agree on this one. The dice are little dodecas with 3 yellow sides, 4 red, and 5 blue. You throw all nine of the little beggars, and then have to re-thrw certain subsets of these dice in order to hit at least one of the dice still on the table, changing its face. The scoring is sort of like bowling on a hullucinagenic. Somehow, against all odds, it works.
14. Board Game: Trial by Pylon [Average Rating:2.94 Unranked]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
About 200 cards with metallic gold backs and seperate art for EACH card. Nice full-color fantasy art as well. Terrible game, though.
Bob Wilson
United States
Northampton
Massachusetts
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron06
mbmbmbmbmb
I agree, TERRIBLE GAME PLAY, but gorgeous cards. The metallic backs are so impressive in person.
15. Board Game: Bowling Bunnies [Average Rating:5.08 Unranked]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
Showed up an Xmas present a couple years back. Cute adorable little bunnies, and you must hit tham hard with cabbages. Proff that weirdness in games is far from a new thing.
16. Board Game: Golfwinks [Average Rating:6.23 Unranked]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
The Brits get all of the odder games, and Waddingtons led the pack. Surprisingly good golf simulation though.
17. Board Game: Grade Up to Elite Cow [Average Rating:4.58 Unranked]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
It is the game about Bull semen. I honestly am DESPERATELY searching for a copy of this UK game, and have begun to wonder if it is a hoax.
Dan Blum
United States
Wilmington
Massachusetts
flag msg tools
It's not a hoax - I've seen copies on eBay.
Tony Nardo
United States
Ellicott City
Maryland
flag msg tools
Avatar
040506070809
mbmbmbmbmb
Definitely not a hoax, as I own a copy. (Have you tracked this one down yet?)
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
I've had a copy for about a year now. I have yet to play it because....people are cowards. The whole roll and move thing just turns the Eurogamer crowd off worse than...um...bull semen.
Morgan Dontanville
United States
Brooklyn
New York
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
04050607080910
mbmbmbmbmb
I'll play this if you bring it to GenCon or Origins.
18. Board Game: Legend of Zagor [Average Rating:6.11 Overall Rank:4077]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
Rather more interesting that TSR's Dungeon, and most of the dungeon crawl games thanks to: A Shop, and a fairly diffidult game. The British accents and monster falling down a flight of stairs sounds when you win can't hurt either.
Anthony Simons
United Kingdom
Wootton Bassett
Wiltshire
flag msg tools
designer
Avatar
patron040506
mbmbmbmbmb
British accents? Are you from this strange group of Americans who identify the villain (esp. in movies) by their distinctly English accent?;)

There is a great range of accents on our small but proud archipelago, and most of us do not sound like the stereotypical public schoolboys or Shakespearian luvvies who seem to grace Hollywood's chamber of horrors.:p
Chris Busse
United States
Santa Monica
California
flag msg tools
Yah, but stereotypes make it easier for human beings to identify people, it's how the human brain works; we categorize things into groups so that when we run into something else that has the same traits as a certain group we can quickly assess it's threat/potential, otherwise we would not recognize our own faces in the mirror each morning, we would have to relearn it each day.

Now run along and go brush your bad teeth, eat your over-steamed vegetables, pack the extra food in your aluminium, get to the football match, get into a fight, and regale your mates with the glory over a pint of bitters.
Andrew Clarke
United Kingdom
Unspecified
Unspecified
flag msg tools
Avatar
mbmbmbmb
I would object, but since I can't place an American accent more closely than "the USA" (I can tell the difference between different American accents, but I'd never be able to state where each was from), I really can't talk.
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
These are British accents as rendered through an early 90's toy voice recorder. Pretty much it sounds like a couple of British voice actors trying to be overly dramatic while speaking loudly through a closed door.

...and not really much like actual Brits.
19. Board Game: Pig Pong [Average Rating:5.78 Overall Rank:4546]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
It starts with ready, set, OINK! and just gets sillier from there. One of the wackier concepts in games, but actually quite fun.
Patrick Cotrona
United States
Atlanta
Georgia
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron04
mbmbmbmbmb
I concur. It's ping-pong crossed with that nameless but ubiquitous game where you try to keep a balloon or other light object from touching the ground (in this case, by squeezing a plastic pig, which emits a puff of air).
Robert Wesley
Nepal
Aberdeen
Washington
flag msg tools
designer
Avatar
patron05080910
mb
??? This sounds like a complete 'rip-off' of Videlectrix's 'Population: Tire' game! damm them purported perpetrators of porscine predicaments! :angry:
Brian
United States
Unspecified
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron04
mbmbmb
precisely
20. Board Game: Meander [Average Rating:6.27 Overall Rank:2876]
[Shop]
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
Meander. A very odd and clever two player abstract with a short playing time. Insane production with precise molded resin pieces. And as it turns out, a good game. The crew promise an expansion in November.
1
12 comments [Hide]
Bastion of Sweetness and Light
United States
Columbia
South Carolina
flag msg tools
Avatar
04050607080910
mbmbmbmbmb
What a great list! Thanks.
Lexingtonian
United States
Unspecified
Massachusetts
flag msg tools
Avatar
0607080910
mbmbmbmbmb
Thanks, Michael, but can a person even find a game by its ID number?
Brent Ross
Canada
Waterloo
Ontario
flag msg tools
mb
You can just by edit the URL on your browser to something like:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/7869

I typically do this when I want to go to the Die Macher page, since "game/1" is quick to type (I also remember Settlers=13 and E&T=42).
Frank Branham
United States
Norcross
Georgia
flag msg tools
designer
publisher
Avatar
patron0405
The Island of Misfit Games list actually predates geeklists by a couple of years. It was a section of the old Gaming Dumpster that never found a home on the geek until there were geeklists. *AND* it was a list that was slowly added to over about 3 years as I discovered stuff. The last entry on the list was added in like 2000.

I figure as I write this (1/2004), that I had to have seen something freakishly odd in the past 4 years...


Wow. Tiger Island isn't even in the 'Geek. Must fix.
Michael Evans
Canada
Nobleton
Ontario
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron09
mbmbmbmbmb
fbranham wrote:
The Island of Misfit Games list actually predates geeklists by a couple of years. It was a section of the old Gaming Dumpster that never found a home on the geek until there were geeklists. *AND* it was a list that was slowly added to over about 3 years as I discovered stuff. The last entry on the list was added in like 2000.

I figure as I write this (1/2004), that I had to have seen something freakishly odd in the past 4 years...


Wow. Tiger Island isn't even in the 'Geek. Must fix.


Do you still have a copy of the final version of that list anywhere?
Front Page | Welcome | Contact | Privacy Policy | DMCA | Advertise | Support BGG | Feeds RSS
BoardGameGeek and the BoardGameGeek logo are trademarks of BoardGameGeek, LLC.