Celebrating 333 Games Rated - My Top 33 Games So Far

1. Board Game: Star Wars: Imperial Assault [Average Rating:8.01 Overall Rank:49]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 33

If you know me, you know that I love Star Wars (the original trilogy, anyway). I grew up with it. I made friends through it. In a very roundabout sort of way, I met my wife because of it. And as long as I've loved Star Wars, I've loved Star Wars games. Particularly, the Star Wars RPG.

So, when I finally got a chance to pick up this game, I was fairly impressed. The theme is well-represented, the components are great and the game play is action-packed. Playing it feels like a Star Wars adventure.

"Well then, why is it so relatively low on your list?", I hear you ask. The answer is a little complicated but it boils down to a few basic complaints. The core system can get a little cluttered at times, which can slow down the action. With so many abilities, symbols and conditional rules, it can feel a little too big for its britches once in a while. Also, the delicate balance of the Imperial player's game can be awkward. I rather suspect that once the co-op app is released for this game, some of these issues will be addressed and the game could stand to climb quite a bit higher for me.

As it is, even with a few warts, it's still a great game with lots of appeal.

[+] Dice rolls

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2. Board Game: Alien Frontiers [Average Rating:7.40 Overall Rank:245]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 32

I like science-fiction. I like area control games. I like games with direct player-interaction. I like dice. Alien Frontiers checks all the right boxes.

To be fair, this game may be a bit higher on my list as a result of the iOS app. It was through the app that this game really came alive for me and I've certainly played it more digitally than face-to-face.

Even so, I've just found myself really enjoying the different elements that make up the game. I like how there are some deviously tricky combos for those players (like me) who enjoy using them but also some advantage to using the more obvious strategies.

And although I don't want to play Alien Frontiers all the time and don't like playing it with more than 3 players, when I do play it, I always get something fun out of it.

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3. Board Game: Fury of Dracula (Third/Fourth Edition) [Average Rating:7.50 Overall Rank:231]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 31

I'm a sucker for the classic "Universal" monsters. Frankenstein's monster, the Wolf-Man, the Mummy and, of course, Dracula. So, then I hear that there's this game where one player gets to be Dracula? And everyone else is attempting to drive a stake through his heart? Sign me up!

But before we go any further, let's get one thing out of the way right now: this game can be long. And not just that...sometimes this game can feel long, which is far worse a fate for a board game.

But if you get the right dynamic going, with an aggressive Dracula and a smart group of hunters, the game creates a remarkable atmosphere. Sinister, oppressive, mysterious...dangerous! As time passes, the hunters become better equipped, but the longer they let Dracula traipse about Europe, the closer he gets to completing his plans. The game feels simultaneously tense for both sides. Dracula doesn't want to be discovered until he's ready to attack. The hunters can never be quite sure whether they've got him running scared, or if they're about to stumble right into his trap.

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4. Board Game: Forbidden Desert [Average Rating:7.13 Overall Rank:399]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 30

Okay, mark this up as a weird one for me: I don't really like Pandemic. I think it's a solid game design but something about it just doesn't make for an enjoyable game. I also wasn't terribly impressed by Forbidden Island. Nice components and simple mechanisms...but again, not terribly exciting to play.

So, along comes Forbidden Desert and I'm thinking it would just be yet another "looks cool but where's the fun?" game. Yet, to my complete surprise, this game really intrigues me. I don't know if it's the shift in dynamic making the game more of a scavenger hunt, or if it's the idea of the sand piling up and the moving storm but something about this game transforms it into a delightfully tense experience.

It's difficult but, as will become evident by a few other games higher up my list, I've never been one to shy from a challenging game.

Score one (finally) for Mr. Leacock in my book! Now, where's my canteen? It's getting hot out here!

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5. Board Game: BANG! The Dice Game [Average Rating:6.95 Overall Rank:588]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 29

BANG! was a huge dud for me (pun totally intended). It was slow, clumsy and full of a sense of "rubber-banding". For a game named after perhaps the most violent onomatopoeia there is, it really didn't deliver on the thrill of a six-gun shoot-out.

Along comes the dice game and it's pretty much everything that I was hoping the original game would be. It's fast, dirty and in-your-face. Guns are blazing, arrows are flying and somebody's about to die. Hopefully they're not one of your own.

I've heard some deride the dice game for being more chaotic/random because of the dice. My response is: "That's exactly what I want from a filler game about cowpoke shootin' each other!" I personally feel that the Yahtzee-esque dice mechanisms add just the right amount of control, coupled with a delightfully-tense push-your-luck element.

If that's all the game were, it'd be good for a few yucks but it's the hidden role/team aspect that gives it legs. Combine the social deduction bit with a furious dice-fest and you've got an experience that almost always ends in a good time.

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6. Board Game: The Battle at Kemble's Cascade [Average Rating:6.73 Overall Rank:2229]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

#28

The way this game recreates the experience of an arcade shoot-'em-up like Galaga or Raiden is pretty remarkable. It's got everything you would expect to get from this sort of experience: power-ups, wipe-outs, bullet-hell, warp-zones, huge bosses and a race for the high score. And the game wraps it all up in a very welcome 8-bit art style with tons of character.

Despite Kemble's twitch-reflex roots, the underlying game mechanisms are actually surprisingly euro at their core. At first glance, you'd expect a game like this to be full of dice rolling and just sort of devolve into a random mish-mash of silliness. But that's not the case at all here. On the contrary, there are zero dice in this game and you've got to make your moves and choose your upgrades carefully.

And this brings me to the one and only potential drawback of this game: at higher player-counts, the game can become a victim of slow-down and be derailed by players with AP. To that end, I've devised a very simple house rule which I think helps return the fast-paced, seat-of-your-pants spirit to the experience. Set a 1 (or 2 if that's just too restricting for you) minute timer for each player's turn. If the player hasn't completed their actions before time is up, too bad. Since death in this game is really more of an inconvenience than anything truly punishing, getting scroll-pushed into an asteroid because you couldn't maneuver in time isn't a big deal.

There's really nothing else like this game and it is a surprisingly deep experience for those who are otherwise expecting a throw-away luck-fest.

Oh, and the game's money is called "bellonium". Classic.

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7. Board Game: Chaos in the Old World [Average Rating:7.67 Overall Rank:131]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 27

This is one of those games. You know, the kind of game where it's not enough to simply know the rules...you have to know the strategies. And as is par for course with that kind of thing, you have to play the game multiple times before those strategies become clear to you.

See, CitOW is a game that's really intended for *exactly* 4 players and each player not only has a specific set of resources and victory condition, but more importantly, each player has a role to play. Each player kind of has another player that they need to keep in check. They need to know who that player is and how to hamper their strategy. So, in this game, you need to really get to know each player's role, what their goal is and how you fit into the equation.

I make it sound like CitOW is a complicated game but that's really not true. The rules and general game play are actually pretty simple. It's looking at the bigger picture that's the most challenging part for your first several plays.

What's my point? My point is that Chaos is not a game that I think most people will "get" the first couple of plays. Hell, I'm not even sure I fully "get it" yet. But with every play, the game shows you a little more of what's under the hood and, as a result, it gets more interesting. This game could totally climb my rankings once I've really had a consistent group going at it. Even so, I can already see why it is often so highly-regarded.

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8. Board Game: Kemet [Average Rating:7.71 Overall Rank:110]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 26

In my younger and more innocent years, I used to play a fair bit of Risk. I like Risk...or rather, I like the idea behind Risk: march your armies across the board and crush your enemies beneath your heel.

As I got a little older and became more self-aware, I realized that while I enjoy this concept, Risk itself took too long to deliver and often boiled down to a few simple strategies. And it could easily leave some players sitting on their thumbs for an afternoon.

Kemet is a game that feels like the designer said: "You know what would make Risk fun? If it only took 2 hours, you could upgrade your army and you were encouraged attack, attack, attack!" That's what this game delivers.

Where Chaos in the Old World is a game where each player begins entrenched in their play style, Kemet starts everyone on even footing and then lets each player dictate their own play style as the game progresses. Wanna go for red cards, white cards or blue cards? What about a mix of all? Want better combat cards, or special troops?

It's a very clever spin on the dudes-on-a-map formula and is enhanced by some pretty delightful components. The "Mythological-Egypt" theme is pretty sweet, too. It may not quite be my favorite replacement for a Risk-like experience (just wait for it...) but, as it is, it's a great game.

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9. Board Game: Gears of War: The Board Game [Average Rating:7.46 Overall Rank:506]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

#25

This game may very well end up getting replaced by the upcoming DOOM Board Game for me but, until then, I have to give Gears of War props.

It manages to be pretty clever in it's implementation of concepts from the video game franchise into a cooperative board game experience. Nasty aliens are popping up across the board, just waiting to tear your face off and it's up to you to put them in their place.

Killing a Boomer might result in him dropping his weapon...and you want that weapon! But to get it means running right up into a swarm of nasties. But you've got your teammates to back you up! You'll really want to coordinate with them if you want a decent chance of survival. Hot-dogging it in this game will probably get you curb-stomped.

I like how many of the cards have multiple uses. You can use them for their action, save them for their reaction ability, or even just discard them to take a basic action you don't have in your hand. I like how your hand-size doubles as your health. So you can take a whole bunch of actions on your turn...but then you leave yourself open to getting taken down.

Even if the DOOM game comes in and sweeps me away, I'll still probably end up using some of the mechanisms from Gears to create my own fully co-op variant. Because the only thing more fun than shooting demons in the face is doing it with your friends!

Rip and tear!...er, sorry. Wrong game...sort of.

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10. Board Game: Dragon's Gold [Average Rating:6.44 Overall Rank:2051]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 24

I love games where the social atmosphere becomes intertwined with the game play. Where players make decisions based not only on what's happening right now but how now could potentially affect later. Where you might totally honor your word to another player...until, in a fit of defiance, you don't. Usually when they least expect it.

Also, games where players bicker over piles of plundered loot are often hilarious.

That's basically what Dragon's Gold is: a game where people pretend to be doing you a favor, just as long as it means they're doing better than you are. But with so much treasure and so many sneaky maneuvers, it's tough to tell who's in the lead...and that's what makes this game good. You're second-guessing each play, stealing from the guy who you think has what you're looking for, or trying to throw a wrench into the plans of whoever you think has been getting by on too much kindness.

It takes those kinds of rambunctious and unapologetic players to make Dragon's Gold fun. If everyone is always agreeable and nobody ever challenges the guy who always ends up with the gold nuggets, the game will probably be a bore. You have to be a little bit two-faced in this game, with a smile on your face and a dagger behind your back.

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11. Board Game: Rex: Final Days of an Empire [Average Rating:7.09 Overall Rank:851]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 23

Many of my thoughts on Chaos in the Old World apply here as well. Here's a game (formerly Dune, of course) that is really intended for *exactly* 6 players, although it works pretty well with 5.

Again, it's a game where every player has a sort of role, responsible for a "piece of the puzzle" and to achieve the optimum experience, every player needs to be self-aware. It appears on the surface to be a Risk-like game about fighting dudes and conquering territories...and while that's certainly present, it's not the whole picture here. Sure, you can win by conquering so much of the board...but you can also win by just distracting your enemies long enough to keep them from foiling your true plan.

I love games with asymmetry and Rex/Dune is a shining example of this. Every player plays the game differently. Every player has a different goal. And if you don't think you can go it alone, you might be able to team-up. Although that usually forces the other (now nervous) players into a Cold War-esque race to secure the most advantageous partnerships.

It isn't a perfect game and isn't even my favorite asymmetrical game but when you can get 5-6 people to sit down with it for a few hours of war and betrayal, it just might leave you with an experience that lingers in your mind for hours afterward.

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12. Board Game: Champions of Midgard [Average Rating:7.77 Overall Rank:107]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 22

I like dice. I like vikings. I like Mythology. I like Champions of Midgard.

You won't find Lords of Waterdeep on my list. It's a solid game and I've certainly played my share of it with a few dozen plays under my belt but it also consistently left me wanting. Wanting what? A sense of action. A sense of adventure. Of danger and uncertainty. Waterdeep feels like a very *safe* game. Sure, every once in a while another player mucks up your plans by taking the spot you wanted or dumping a stupid mandatory quest on you, but by-and-large, you're never at any risk during the game. The greatest tension is hoping you've got more bonus points in your pocket than everybody else.

Champions of Midgard feels more like a viking saga. You're out for glory, be it hunting trolls, sailing against sea monsters or just trying to keep your clansmen fed. Your warriors are mighty and brave but even (and usually) the bravest may be called home to the halls of Valhalla. You just never know how your journeys might play out. And you get to brag about all the trolls you killed, to the shame of the other clans.

I'm not huge on worker-placement. It's an okay genre when done with gusto but does not, by itself, carry a game for me. What helps make Midgard work for me is simply how interesting the implementation of it's theme is. And viking dice. I love vikings as dice!

Odin, I await thee! Your true son, am I! I hail you, now as I die!

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13. Board Game: Mechs vs. Minions [Average Rating:8.04 Overall Rank:48]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 21

It may be a little early for heaping such praise on this one, since it's only just come out and I've only played it twice thus far. But it has to be said, the two missions that we've played have really been great fun.

The programming dynamic is really interestingly tackled here, as you are slowly building up your program over several turns. This creates a "snow ball" effect, as your mech starts out ponderous and weak but then becomes a veritable wrecking machine after just a short while.

I plays a lot like a cooperative RoboRally and was clearly inspired by it, as you've got damage that mucks up your program, objective markers to interact with and plenty 'o weapons to load up on.

The components are pretty ridiculous (in a good way) for the price-point, honestly. Although you didn't need me to tell you that. Storage of the box itself may be problematic, as it's bigger than TI3 and probably heavier, too. Oh, to have such problems.

But yes, for a game that is as simple as it is at it's core, this is a really impressive package and just a box full of fun. There are just so many clever little things and it is presented with such charm that you can't help but smile, hoot and holler as you play it.

So, to the surprise of probably absolutely no one at this point, my thumbs up to this delightful "little" programming game. My fingers are crossed for the new edition of RoboRally, in hopes that it too will do great service to the genre.

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14. Board Game: King of Tokyo [Average Rating:7.18 Overall Rank:321]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 20

As I was growing up, Yahtzee was probably the most common family game we played. Mom would play. Dad would play. Even my little brother, while he was too young to read, could play Yahtzee and have a good time. As a result of all that tossing of dice in a plastic cup, the core mechanism of the game imprinted on my brain. There's some sort of primal joy that I get from the "roll, keep, roll" action of the game.

Also deeply imprinted on my brain throughout my more impressionable years is a youth of Sunday afternoons watching television matinees of Godzilla films. Guys in rubber suits battling other guys in rubber suits and cities being reduced to rubble.

King of Tokyo successfully mashes up those two core memories for me. You're throwing dice in a Yahtzee-fashion but instead of just adding up points, your dice are your monster, fighting or powering-up or trying to lick his wounds. And the added king-of-the-hill element makes for a great push-your-luck experience.

You monster can sprout poison quills, or spit acid, or have stretchy limbs and it all makes for silly-good fun. And just as my little brother played Yahtzee with us, I was able to introduce this game to my own kids who immediately latched onto it. And that was a pretty proud moment for me.

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15. Board Game: King of New York [Average Rating:6.95 Overall Rank:646]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 19

Take everything I said about King of Tokyo and let's add just a touch more:

Honestly, both games are really similar. So similar that I think either game would work flawlessly for first-timers. But why I fancy King of New York just a hair more than it's older brother is the extra little touches.

I like that you've got actual buildings to smash now. And the more you smash buildings, the more the army mobilizes. But that's okay, because you can smash the army too! I also generally prefer the new victory point system. It's not only a touch easier to explain than the original but it's also more contentious.

All-in-all, KoNY takes an already great game and just gives it more flair, more fun and more smashing!

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16. Board Game: Libertalia [Average Rating:7.16 Overall Rank:439]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 18

Simultaneous role-selection games are really intriguing to me. It fits in with a few of my favorite game mechanisms, primarily hand-management and asymmetry, while trying to out-guess your opponent's plays using the "Vizzini method" (I clearly can not choose the wine in front of me).

Libertalia is notable in it's execution of this idea, not only because of it's highly-attractive production values but because it ultimately gives every player the same hand of cards...except that when they play them is what makes each player's strategy unique.

Every card is useful under it's own circumstances...but that's only if your plays don't end up getting ruined by the unexpected plays of your opponents. Not every card will be available in every game and you also don't know the order that you'll get them in, but you've got the same hand that everyone else does, so how are you gonna out-play them at their own game?

Libertalia almost feels like a "programming" game at times. You want to make sure that your program goes off without a hitch...and if it fouls up someone else's program along the way, all the better!

A pirate's life for me, indeed!

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17. Board Game: Mission: Red Planet (Second Edition) [Average Rating:7.45 Overall Rank:281]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 17

As with the two "King of..." games, Libertalia and Mission: Red Planet occupy two very similar niches for me. Honestly, I could play either one and be perfectly happy but, if you twist my arm, I suppose I'll have to give the advantage to this one.

Players have a smaller selection of role cards and access to all of them at the start. Again, it's really about when you use each role that drives the tension of the game. Rather than fighting over a split of the loot this time, you're trying to set yourself up to have control of the best spots on the board when it comes time for scoring.

Each player can also gain access to hidden scoring bonuses, making the final score uncertain until the very end. There's sabotage, infiltration and it always creates a laugh. I like the added elements and tweaks of the second edition, particularly Phobos and the possibilities it opens up.

It plays a larger group very well, isn't terribly difficult to teach and doesn't take that long to play even with 6 players. I like area control games and this one is possibly one of the most accessible and entertaining of it's kind. A game that both my gamer friends and my non-gamer family can appreciate in equal measure.

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18. Board Game: Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game [Average Rating:7.57 Overall Rank:185] [Average Rating:7.57 Unranked]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 16

My favorite "pure" deck-building game. A little bit of that love may be owed to the theme and the bright and beautiful artwork that accompanies it. But you can't make me like a game just by slapping a bunch of spandex and energy blasts on it. No, the underlying game is a solid one, basically taking the formula of Ascension and improving upon it.

And those improvements really do make a difference here. Separating the enemies from the deck-building cards. Giving you an objective (Mastermind) to complete and special obstacles (Scheme Card) to overcome. Encouraging you to tailor the available card selection to create different combos or increase the challenge.

That's really what I find the most fun about Marvel Legendary: it's extreme flexibility. You can create all kinds of different scenarios by how you choose to mix and match the game's set-up.

The base game is pretty good on it's own and gives you plenty to work with but with even just one "big box" expansion (for my money, it's Dark City), you can really blow the lid off this game.

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19. Board Game: Star Wars: Rebellion [Average Rating:8.42 Overall Rank:8]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 15

We've already established that I like Star Wars (see # 33). We've also established that I like Risk-like games (see # 26). Finally, we've established that I like games with asymmetry (see # 23). With Star Wars: Rebellion, we have a game that provides a sense of all these elements.

Rebellion is a sort of "cat and mouse" game where one player (Rebels) is trying to avoid or distract the other (Empire) long enough to run out the clock. Of course, how the cat and mouse play their chase is much more involved than that but if you boil the game down, that's what you've got.

The Rebels are trying to draw attention this way and that. The trick is, if the Empire wants to stop their shenanigans, it will slow down their search. On the other hand, if they don't stop them, the Rebels will speed up their own progress or eat away at the Empires resources.

But make no mistake, the Rebels are very much the "mouse" here...and if they get cornered by the cat, chances are they're gonna be lunch.

This game might be higher on my list but for two inter-related problems. First is it's length. Barring really bad luck on the part of the Rebels, the game will take a minimum of 3 hours and, more likely, 4 or 5 hours to finish. There's nothing objectively wrong with a lengthy game and it's length certainly contributes to a sense of it's epic scope. But this is compounded by it's second problem, which is that it isn't a very satisfying experience for more than 2 players. Yes, the game technically supports 3 or 4 people but it doesn't really do so in any way that's clever.

It also has the misfortune of carrying a combat system that, while competent, isn't all that interesting or rewarding. But it constitutes such a small portion of the experience that I wouldn't really call it a detractor.

So, if you want to play a 2-player, competitive Star Wars saga for an evening, this is the best place to turn.

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20. Board Game: Blood Rage [Average Rating:8.00 Overall Rank:33]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 14

In many ways, Blood Rage feels like a spiritual successor to Chaos in the Old World. This shouldn't really be that surprising when you realize that Eric Lang designed both games.

In that regard, Blood Rage stands out above CitOW for me because of some of the new elements that it adds. Players now draft hands of cards at the start of each round. Combat is driven by a Cosmic Encounter-like card system instead of dice. Players will have a variety of methods for gaining victory points depending on the cards they drafted, which will skew the way they deploy their troops to the board.

Blood Rage also keeps several of the interesting facets of CitOW: alternate routes to victory, upgrading your army, area control and keeping your opponents in check.

Blood Rage is also more flexible in player count than CitOW. 4 is probably still best but the game still works fine with 3 and even pretty well with 2 players.

Blood Rage does what a good spiritual sequel should and being built on a game that is solid to begin with only makes it great.

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21. Board Game: Samurai Spirit [Average Rating:6.66 Overall Rank:1376]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 13

I like a challenging, thematic co-op. Trouble is, there aren't a whole lot of co-ops that competently and cleanly support more than about 4 players. If they do, they're often longer affairs or have some element of semi-cooperation or a hidden traitor (not that I don't love hidden traitor games, because I do).

As in the classic film The Seven Samurai, yours is a band of noble samurai who must defend a village from the heartless bandits who are trying to tear it down. Each samurai has a special ability to help them deal with the enemy, but no one warrior alone can stop the threat. It is through teamwork and chaining their abilities together that they will prevail.

Samurai Spirit is a very clean, very densely-packed design that has all the right elements for excellence. The rules are quite simple really. On your turn, you have 3 choices: Fight a Bandit, Support a Samurai or Pass. Each choice, however, must be weighed carefully. See, there's a deck of cards representing the bandits and you'll have to deal with the entire deck one way or another before the round is over. You can take on the bandits directly but each one you fight will sap your samurai's strength. Confront too many and you risk being overwhelmed. Instead of fighting, you can support your fellow samurai by lending them your powers but doing so means you must let another bandit slip through the villages defenses. Every bandit that slips through has a chance to burn a part of the village, so ignore them at your peril.

But all is not lost. As mentioned earlier, you each have a special power that helps you turn aside the invaders. Within each samurai also dwells their ferocious animal spirit which, when unleashed, makes your samurai even more formidable.

This game is very easy to teach and highly accessible, especially since it is so flexible on player count. I personally think you want at least 4 samurai. The fewer you have, the less flexibility your team has. There are also various difficulty settings...and you'll need them, as even at the "Normal" difficulty, your limits with be seriously tested. But it is a game that manages to pack such a high quantity of decision-making into such a compact design and that is the kind of game that I love.

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22. Board Game: Shadowrun: Crossfire [Average Rating:7.15 Overall Rank:907]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 12

Shadowrun: Crossfire is a hard game. I mean, it's the kind of game that will knife you in the gut, steal your wallet, dump you in the gutter and kick you in the head on it's way out. Even when you win a game of Crossfire, don't expect a parade or some sort of vacation package. You'll be lucky if you walk away with enough to pay the bills. And although playing Crossfire may surely qualify as some form of masochism, there are the underlying elements that make it so fascinating to me.

This is a deck-building game at it's core but it does things differently that most deck-builders. For one, it's a co-op game. Either your team pulls off the mission successfully, or you go down in flames together. Leave no man behind. This means you're teaming up to overcome a series of traps and enemies that the game throws at you, and if any one player is compromised, your whole team loses.

Each player has a role in the group and their beginning deck is geared toward that role. Each of the four basic roles is associated with a specific color of card and although any player can acquire and use any card, most of the cards are more powerful when combo-ed with other cards of their color. This means that each player tends to specialize in their own job. The Mage gets lots of heavy damage spells and the ability to cycle quickly through his deck. The Decker (hacker) can retrieve cards from his discard pile or cancel enemy abilities. Each role is important in keeping the team effective.

Unlike most deck-builders, players may end up acquiring "assist" cards, which lets them use abilities on another player's turn. These are hugely impactful and every role should try to pick up at least a few of these to help deal with the game's punishing obstacles.

Also unlike most deck-builders, your hand doesn't completely empty each turn. Instead, you need to decide whether it's better to spend a card now or save it for later. You'll usually want to play a few cards, since you only draw more if your hand is below a certainly limit, but any cards you don't use will stay in your hand (and trust me, you'll need them). Also, cards you purchase go straight to your hand, which adds yet another level to the strategic decision-making.

Truthfully, some of the game's overbearing difficulty can often come from the "Crossfire Event" deck, a deck that you have to draw from at the beginning of each round that will often make you roll your eyes in disgust. Some terrible, morale-crushing things can happen as a result of these cards, although you can occasionally get lucky and draw one that does little-to-nothing to hinder you. This is my one minor complaint. The fact that some of these cards can basically turn an advantageous position for the players into a veritable brick wall with one unfortunate flip.

But if you can manage to conquer a few missions, you'll be rewarded with sweet, sweet Karma that you can turn it into cool, permanent upgrades and new abilities. Like starting with extra cash, better cards in your starting deck or being able to revive fallen allies. This is what keeps you chugging forward, waiting to unlock that next tier of sweet powers. It will take you a lot of patience and more than a few scars to get there, but once you do, you've got something tangible to show for it, and that's such an exciting thing.

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23. Board Game: Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game [Average Rating:7.36 Overall Rank:567]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 11

Most of what I've said about Shadowrun: Crossfire can be applied here. This is a delightfully thematic co-op dungeon-crawler that manages to recreate the experience without any board, miniatures or tactical movement. And while I don't think it's nearly as difficult as Shadowrun, it certainly has that "legacy" appeal in spades.

Yes, your characters will team up on adventures to defeat monsters and collect treasures. Perhaps the most interesting aspect though, is between adventures, where you get to level-up, acquiring better skills and better gear.

Again like Shadowrun, you've got several different roles and each role is intended to perform a different function. Some want to stand on the front lines, while others focus on searching for the objective. The way that WHQ:ACG abstracts the experience of wandering a dungeon and fighting monsters is actually really clever and it has much more depth to it than you might expect.

The game's greatest strength is in it's potential for "campaign play". In the box is a series of 5 scenarios, each building upon the last. And, sadly, this will ultimately be the game's demise...because, as it was announced not so long ago, Games Workshop has pulled the rights, meaning this game that had so much potential, will never get the expansions that could have made it flourish.

As of right now, this game is still a great experience. It only makes me sad that it's fate seems now destined for descent into obscurity, rather than as a shining beacon of a new generation of adventure games.

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24. Board Game: Nexus Ops [Average Rating:7.22 Overall Rank:481]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 10

So, when someone asks for the nickel-tour on Nexus Ops, I tell them: "It's like a microcosm of Risk that takes 60-90 minutes and has secret objectives."

It's my go-to replacement for that Risk-like, dudes-on-a-map experience, partly because it's so compact and so quick but also because it accommodates 2, 3 or 4 players with the same level of excellence and comes boxed with a multitude of ways to play.

There's nothing spectacularly original in it's fundamentals. You collect resources, buy various units (each with their own special abilities) and march them across the board to conquer your opponents. But it's the way that the game is executed that just cuts right to the fun. The map is small and the game forces conflict early. You want to conquer enemy troops for victory points and control key areas for extra resources and special cards.

And the special cards are one of the clever little things about the battle system here. See, if the attacker wins a battle, he can claim a victory point (first to 12 wins). But the loser gets to draw a card from a special deck. So losing a few battles just means you'll have an extra edge when it comes your turn to get back into the game.

You can also gain victory points for fulfilling special conditions outside of combat. And here's the cool part, this is based on which victory cards you've drawn and nobody knows what you might be holding onto. The result is that every player is constantly striking out to capture those points and it creates a chaotic brawl of army on army and players' control of the board ebbs and flows.

All of this in an easy-to-teach, 75-minute game that is full of constant battles and surprising twists and turns. Easily Top 10 material for me.

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25. Board Game: Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation [Average Rating:7.47 Overall Rank:387]

Jordan S.

(Webhead123)

United States
Plano
Texas

"They're fallin' outta the skies like flies."

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

# 9

I like the core design of Stratego. It's a sort of Chess-like game but one where the initial set-up is variable and you don't know which of your opponents figures is which until you attack it or it attacks you.

LotR: Confrontation then, is like the ultimate modern expression of this design. You and your opponent still have a handful of pieces on the board, each with a numeric value representing it's strength. Exactly where each piece begins the game is still up to the players. But each players objective is now different. The Fellowship player only needs to get Frodo to Mount Doom to destroy the Ring. The Sauron player needs only to find and defeat Frodo. See the underlying tension, there? It's fantastic.

You still need to make your initial attacks "blindly". You won't really know if that unit in Moria is actually the Balrog until you send someone there to face him. But instead of straight-up determinism (stronger unit beats weaker unit), now when you reveal your troops, each player also chooses a card from their hand and plays it face-down. Some of these cards are simply numbers. Add the number on your card to the value of your character. But some of the cards instead have special text that might totally upset your opponents plans. The bigger number does not always win here.

Also, each character has a unique ability. Frodo, for instance, can retreat sideways if he's attacked...but only if he can legally do so. Gimli automatically wins when fighting the Orcs. Saruman can declare that no cards are played and Boromir sacrifices himself to defeat his opponent.

While the Sauron player has a clear advantage in the numbers game (which is fitting to the theme), with many of his characters having strengths of 5 or higher, the advantage of the Fellowship player is their ability to evade or counter the worst of Sauron's attacks. This is another game of "cat and mouse", with the Fellowship being very much the mouse.

This game is incredibly fast and simple, taking about 5 minutes to explain and about 20 minutes to play. So simple are it's foundations that it masks the dizzying level of "I know that you know" back-and-forth that this game evokes, particularly with repeated plays. With a regular opponent, you'll develop strategies, look for patterns, rewrite those patterns and try desperately to out-fox each other on a board that is cramped and with an army that always feels like it's about to come apart at the seams.

"He put the Balrog in Moria last time, so surely he wouldn't put it there this time. Unless he wants me to think that he wouldn't put it there so that I'll march in to my doom! Unless, of course, he knows that I know that he would do exactly that..."

A brilliant game and one I don't get to play nearly often enough.

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