|
Top 25 Designers According to BGG Ratings 2015(ish) Edition
-
-
Sorry for being so late but I finally got around to producing the 5th thrilling instalment in our ongoing series.
I have changed it up this time by extending the games which are included for scoring to the Top 300. There have been a huge number of games released since I started doing this and Top 300 is not too shabby for any designer.
So the number one rated game scores three hundred points for the Designer(s) and the game rated three hundred scores one point.
Here are the previous four lists for comparison;
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/182787/top-25-designer...
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/166874/top-25-designe...
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/150913/top-25-designe...
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/75691/top-25-designer...
-
 -
-
The Uwe Juggernaut powered by clay and headaches has continued rolling onwards and has flattened all opposition. Nine games in the Top 300. Caverna leads the way. Patchwork and Fields of Arle bookending the weight list on two player gaming and both in the Top 70. Hengist was just to prove that he is human after all. King Wallace is dead, Long Live the King.
2014: 3rd
2013: 7th
2012: 8th
2011: 10th
-
-
 -
-
Last time around I was starting to worry a little about Mr Chvatil and his slight ratings slip. He hit back with a one, two that has taken him to an all time high by squeaking into second place by a hair's breadth. A little Codenames will boost anyone's profile and New TTA has a crazy average rating which will see it bothering Top Spot in the rankings if the first wave of TTA fans is followed by more converts. An outstanding year as new releases usually take a couple of years to find their feet in the system. Will his credit for Star Trek: Frontiers push him into first place next time around?
2014: 4th
2013: 3rd
2012: 7th
2011: 7th
-
-
 -
-
Another solid year for the Captain of the FFG team. Imperial Assault made it to Number 11. His other big hits like Eldritch Horror, BSG and X-Wing held up, the expansion policy can not be harming him in this aspect. Forbidden Stars is another game with a great average, it has popped the Top 150 and looks set to continue rising. He has only slipped because of the great year Vlaada had. Just behind the top two and his name is on Star Wars: Rebellion. What price the crown is on his head next year?
2014: 2nd
2013: 4th
2012: 5th
2011: 4th
-
-
 -
-
Steady consistency and the incredible popularity of Castles of Burgundy keep Stefan Feld steady while others drop away under the heat of an ever more competitive market. Two games in the Top 50 but eight more which score for him. He gains a place due to the extension to Top 300 with Aquasphere and Luna scoring although like a lot of his games in the rankings Aquasphere has never been quite the hit it looked like being. Nothing released in 2015 but three games already slated for 2016, The Oracle of Delphi possibly being the one to interest us for next year. Slow and steady is the order of the day.
2014: 5th
2013: 6th
2012: 7th
2011: 12th
-
-
 -
-
Four years ago he was amongst the untouchables but it has been a steady decline since then. Nothing in the Top 300 from the past five years despite twenty releases in that time. Dogged by problems with Treefrog and an unhappy fan base from crowd funding disasters. He is changing his model and starting to concentrate on being a designer and not a publisher and let's hope he rediscovers that magic that made him the King of these lists for four years in a row. Via Nebula is coming soon and more releases rumoured. Huge hits pepper his track record, he needs to find another one to stay close to the top.
2014: 1st
2013: 1st
2012: 1st
2011: 1st
-
-
 -
-
The reprints of T&E and Samurai from FFG have halted a decline in rankings. Ra is coming soon and Amun-Re is too. New clothes on old models but proof that his greatest designs really are timeless. His recent releases are very much on the lighter end and we seem to have lost him to the app world for now. So play those classics and weep that I started this too late to ever crown him.
2014: 6th
2013: 2nd
2012: 2nd
2011: 2nd
-
-
 -
-
It is tough out there without the FFG umbrella to shelter under. X-Files did not live up to hardcore hope and will not be bothering us. His name is on twelve games slated to be released in the next two years, with a heavy emphasis on minis and crowdfunding. His most likely boost will be from Fury of Dracula 3rd Edition when it cracks the top 300 sometime soon. I think we are still waiting to see who the post-FFG Kevin Wilson is.
2014: 7th
2013: 5th
2012: 4th
2011: 3rd
-
-
 -
-
Last year I said that Eric Lang was going to have a big year and I had not even heard of a little game sitting at number twenty two called Blood Rage. Arcadia Quest and Dice Masters have backed it up nicely. AGOT:LCG 2nd Edition has been hit by a cruddy core box but it has a high rating and is creeping ever upwards. His partnership with CMoN is strong and will gain an audience if the games maintain quality. He has collaborations with Bauza, Faidutti and Wilson in the works. The Godfather is going to attract interest no matter what. The Others. Bloodborne. Yeah this star is going to keep rising.
2014: 24th
2013: -
2012: 19th
2011: 15th
-
-
 -
-
7 Wonder Duel is now above big brother in the ratings and he has a knack of designing games with lasting appeal. Ghost Stories, Takenoko and Hanabi are hanging around and still being played as much as ever.
Conan has buzz. Attack on Titan a brand. Oceanos mass appeal? His track record suggests that one of the three will be a big hit. Which one?
2014: 12th
2013: 15th
2012: -
2011: -
-
-
 -
-
What does it take for a man who looked like he had hung up the prototypes and headed permanently behind the corporate desk to reverse the trend and pick up three places? Star Wars, that is what. Armada is inside the Top 200 and rising. A Game of Thrones and Twilight Imperium maintain a strong base in the rankings for him. The man behind the machine.
2014: 13th
2013: 9th
2012: 6th
2011: 6th
-
-
 -
-
Five games inside the Top 300 based on the same system. Battlelore 2nd Edition just outside the Top 100 makes up for any slide in his older titles. He has the licence to print money and rankings success and we keep buying them and loving them.
2014: 10th
2013: 11th
2012: 12th
2011: 9th
-
-
 -
-
The Ticket to Ride home bathed in the glory of success. Elfenroads was well received but very few BGGers seem to have taken the plunge. The Map Collections have been big hits and keep an old design fresh. Not going anywhere any time soon.
2014: 8th
2013: 8th
2012: 9th
2011: 5th
-
-
 -
-
Concordia is in the Top 50 but his other titles are slowly sliding down the rankings. Antike II never got the audience of the original. Steam Ship Company did not make it to our tables last year, although I got to play it with him (go me!!!) I expect he will slide a little next year and his continued presence in the middle of the list depends upon whether he bottles thinky Euro magic again with SSC.
2014: 9th
2013: 13th
2012: 13th
2011: 11th
-
-
 -
-
7 Wonders Duel and Five Tribes have transformed Bruno Cathala from a vaguely familiar name to one to look out for. Three of his five biggest hits came out in the past two years, Mission Red Planet 2 being the other one. His fifteen year career being quite the overnight success. He has seven releases slated for this year already but all eyes are on Conan. The best team player in the house now days and looking set to stick around this list for a while.
2014: -
2013: -
2012: -
2011: -
-
-
 -
-
It seems strange that Matt Leacock has never been on this list before. It remains that without Pandemic: Legacy he would not have made it this time around. Pipped by Bruno Cathala to highest new entry but his outlook may be even stronger. We know Season 2 is in the works. Knit Wit may well catch the Patchwork buzz of quirky crafty games. A 45 minute chariot racing game from Pegasus on the horizon. Also an unholy melding of Cthulu and Pandemic which is going to make the Top 300 no matter how much I shake my head. Here to stay.
2014: -
2013: -
2012: -
2011: -
-
-
 -
-
Does everyone else picture Richard Garfield riding around on a diamond Segway in a golden tracksuit eating rubies and shooting bank notes out of a blunderbuss? The reprint of Roborally will not hurt him here next year. Bunny Kingdom might be a bit niche but who cares. He can probably buy the land to make his own bunny kingdom and rule over it in platinum slippers.
2014: 11th
2013: 10th
2012: 14th
2011: -
-
-
-
-
Castles of Mad King Ludwig and One Night Ultimate Werewolf push Mr Alspach into our view for the first time. Suburbia remains popular at number 60 and his plan of releasing one rankings bothering game a year looks set to continue with Colony. He is a one man tile industry.
2014: -
2013: -
2012: -
2011: -
-
-
 -
-
El Grande and Princes of Florence hold him up as others slip away. With Tikal in the Top 150 and Colosseum just outside the Top 300 and both getting reprints, although with totally contrasting art styles, I imagine he may well surge back up a little in the next couple of years which will cheer the wizened Euros amongst us. Porta Nigra and Adventureland look destined for the 500 - 1000 mark that is festooned with his games.
2014: 14th
2013: 12th
2012: 10th
2011: 8th
-
-
 -
-
Even great designs like Combat Commander and Dominant Species could only maintain position for so long and Mr Jensen's slide has now begun to kick in for realsies. Can we hope for anything new?
2014: 15th
2013: 14th
2012: 15th
2011: 14th
-
-
 -
-
Having the Number One Game In The World will do your profile a favour and alongside Heroscape and Risk Legacy we see the debut of Mr Hot Right Now. I will say Seafall and Season 2. Heading up, up and away. Is V-Wars going to make a splash too? Tune in next time for Top 25 Designers Season 6.
2014: -
2013: -
2012: -
2011: -
-
-
 -
-
I like to think of FFG like a harem. Adam Sadler has dropped out of favour due to the exotic temptations of X-Wing, Forbidden Stars and Armada. Just too much sci fi for the ranking public to keep James Kniffen hidden any longer. The poor fella must be knackered designing all those expansions! Made his name with the pretty great Rune Age expansion.
Adam Sadler just missed out this time by the way but Warhammer Quest ACG may well bring him roaring back.
2014: -
2013: -
2012: -
2011: -
-
-
 -
-
Last seen wandering the halls of BGGland muttering 'I used to be the best. They can't do this to me. I used to be someone'
Reprint of 1960 likely to give him some pop next year.
2014: 16th
2013: 16th
2012: 21st
2011: 23rd
-
-
 -
-
Yeah it is one game and it counts twice. I know. At least Donnie X slipped away this year. I think the mooted reduced playtime for Battle of Five Armies not following through prevented it from making as big of a dent in the rankings.
2014: 18th
2013: 18th
2012: 16th
2011: 20th
-
-
 -
-
with Simone Luciani
These fellas make it for their joint efforts on Tzolkin and The Voyages of Marco Polo. They have proven themselves as designers to look out for in the Euro market. Simone also has Grand Austria Hotel which will boost just him next year but in all honesty Daniele has by far the better profile photo. No news on what is next but I will be watching.
2014: -
2013: -
2012: -
2011: -
-
-
 -
-
Roll for the Galaxy has brought to this list for the first time the man behind Race for the Galaxy and for that alone it should be thanked. They sit within four places of each other in the rankings with older brother holding the advantage for now. It is not often that the dice version of an existing game is such a hit. Favo(u)r of the Pharaoh will not worry us so Mr Lehmann needs another big hit this year to save his placing.
2014: -
2013: -
2012: -
2011: -
-
-
|
|
|
