Catch Up on the Top 100 Games

100 through 91
90 through 81
80 through 71
70 through 61
60 through 51

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition – 50 through 41

50. Welcome To…

Published By: Blue Cocker Games
Designer: Benoit Turpin

Buy Welcome To

This one is a classic roll and write style game. I really like the decision space for Welcome To… of deciding what goals to go after and what combination of cards to write down on your board. The three choices of number and bonus works really well and has been fun in other games in the system, but the classic Welcome To is the best still.

49. The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth

Published By: Repos Productions
Designers: Antoine Bauze and Bruno Cathala

Buy The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth

Now, I like this and 7 Wonders Duel very similarly, but only one is staying in my collection and that is going to be the Lord of the Rings one. But both do similar things and are great games. This one, I find, cleans up some things like no end game scoring. And while I find the end game without the win in one of the three game ends if you get them situations isn’t 100% satisfying, going for those other goals is great. And they most of the time do pull of the win with them whether that’s getting the ring to Mordor or getting support from the various groups.

48. Heat: Pedal to the Metal

Published By: Days of Wonder
Designers: Asger Harding Granerud and Daniel Skjold Pederson

Buy Heat: Pedal to the Metal

Not my favorite racing game, but Heat: Pedal to the Metal is up there. I really like how the game works pretty quickly, so it has that racing feel, but you still make a lot of meaningful decisions in it. Heat is all about managing the heat on your engine so that you can push the corners at the right time. But the more heat you get, the more it clogs up your hand and then you need to back off and let the engine cool down. It’s just a clever and enjoyable system that’s easy enough to teach and gives you a great racing feel.

47. Ohanami

Published By: Pandasaurus Games
Designer: Steffan Benndorf

Buy Ohanami

Ohanami and the next game on the list are the two smallest ones. Ohanami is a great game for pulling out and playing a round or two of when you want a simple game to play. But it offers some fun with the twist that it provides on scoring and how you need to set-up the cards into the columns as you draft them. The drafting and adding always needing to be higher or lower than the top or bottom card in a column, at least if you want to play them, is fun as well. It’s not that common for someone to be stuck without something to play, but if you make that happen it’s fun.

46. Mind Up!

Published By: Pandasaurus Games
Designer: Maxime Rambourg

Buy Mind Up!

Mind Up! is another one of those games that just really works for me. There is so much luck in the game as you try and get the cards that you want, it kind of feels like it shouldn’t work. But at the same time, you always have a decision to make that matters and just enough knowledge. The fact that the order of the cards and how you want to fill in to get points changes each round while the cards in your hand don’t as much is a really fun system. Because, yes, I am guessing what is going to work to get the card I wanted, but I might remember a little what you have.

45. Schadenfreude

Published By: Studio Turbine
Designer: ctr

Buy Schadenfreude

I guess Schadenfreude is the third small game on the list. But it’s a pretty different game because it’s a trick taking game and it’s a trick taking game that does some really interesting things. Mainly it’s about not flying too close to the sun and getting burned as you try and get points. You get points and lose points based off of what is played into the trick that doesn’t match your suit. The other piece is you want to get as close as you can to 40 points. If you go over and everyone who goes over, that causes you to lose. But someone has to because that determines the end of the game.

44. The Great Split

Published By: Horrible Guild
Designers: Hjalmar Hach and Lorenzo Silva

Buy The Great Split

I like the mechanisms of “I split, you choose” in games, one of my favorite two player games has that in it. And The Great Split is primarily that in a game. Each round you are splitting up your hand of cards and then your opponent on the left picks one of them. You are doing that at the same time with the cards passed to you. Everyone is trying to optimize the contracts that they are getting the points from the various arts they are getting. But at it’s heart, the game is “I split, you choose” and it just works.

43. ICECOOL

Published By: Brain Games
Designer: Brian Gomez

Buy ICECOOL

Two dexterity games in a row and my two favorite dexterity games. First is ICECOOL, this is a game that was around my Top 10 for a long time because it’s just a simple but fun game. It’s been passed as my favorite by the other because that one has more customization.

ICECOOL is all about either being a penguin sneaking out of class to get fish or the hall monitor who is trying to catch them. The flicking works well and the ability to jump the penguin over walls is fun, assuming you don’t jump too far. Plus the box set-up and how it comes together is really fast and fun.

42. PitchCar

Published By: Ferti
Designer: Jean du Poel

Pre-Order PitchCar

PitchCar is the other dexterity game of the two and the one that I like just little bit better. PitchCar is another racing game as well,. This one is about flicking race cars, discs, around a track and being the first to cross the finish. It’s another game that is very simple to play but so fun. And this one gets the nod because of the track and how you make as hard or easy a track as you want. Do you want a loop or an overpass, you can do that, or you can just play with straightaways and some turns if you want the game to be faster.

41. Metal Gear Solid

Published By: CMON Global Lmtd
Designer: Emerson Matsuuchi

Buy Metal Gear Solid

Finally we have Metal Gear Solid a game that took a while to come out, but that is so worth it. Metal Gear Solid is a cooperative game where you want to sneak around as much as go in guns blazing. And that element is a blast for the game because it makes it feel different than a lot of games with minis. I like that the game also has a campaign, which I need to play, and one off scenarios that you can try and complete. And to add to that, while the enemy movement takes a moment to understand, the player turns are streamlined really well.

Join Next Week

Just as a reminder, I am streaming my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition every Wednesday night at 9 PM Central Time. The next few videos have their links up, so you can click notify on them to know when I go live. Or you can subscribe to the channel and click notify to know whenever a new video comes out. Currently I am playing through Legendary Kingdoms on Monday and then my wife and I are playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on Fridays. So join us for those videos.

And thank you for checking out the video and articles. Let me know what your favorite game from this chunk of 10 is and which one you would love to get played.

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Top 50 Anime – 50 through 41

50: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

This one I have trouble placing on the list. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is fun, and I’ve watched a lot of it and I’ve read a lot of it. But it’s a lot, and it starts to feel a little bit the same over time. That said, it is a fun one. I like the main slime, and I like the world building. The story is an isekai, so that means that the main character is getting drops into another world . Well, this time it’s as a slime, not as a person, and which is a solid twist on it. Because it is focused on the monsters of the world versus the humans, dwarves, and elves.

Like I said, the overall story itself isn’t that unique. It’s a lot of the same thing over and over again. A group coming after them and then repeating the process, which is a fine trope to use. And the main character does branch out some and isn’t just a basic slime the whole time. And while that is nice, it also makes it a bit more traditional of an isekai that way.

49: Ancient Magus Bride

Now to one that I really need to watch more of. I’ve watched most of the whole first season and it is a gorgeous show. The Ancient Magus Bride is a cool and weird romp through the fey realms and fey characters. But it is very meandering. So while I very much enjoy the aesthetic the anime itself sometimes feels lacking. At the same time, the anime is enjoyable because you kind of float along with the main character Chise. She is very much at the whim of the world and kind of detached from everything and so you kind of feel like you’re with her going through it.

48: Kill la Kill

Now for something completely different. I’m going from more comedy to more serious and back again. We’ll see if this tread holds up. This anime is completely bonkers as two factions fight in a school over fashion and just do completely absurd battles with a nudist group hanging out in the story as well. It’s over the top, completely absurd, and has a ton of fan service to it. But with all of that, it tries to be somewhat serious in the messaging of the story. What that is, it’s been a while since I watched it, but it’s mainly just bonkers.

This is one for someone who wants to watch anime at the peak this is weird anime. But you’ll find yourself liking the characters and if you’re like me, enjoying the absurdity of the show. I think if the show was longer, it’d feel like too much, but it moves fast and doesn’t overstay the welcome.

47: Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

For some people it might be a travesty that Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood is this low. I know it’s one of the classics in the anime realm. For me, I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen of it. And it was a lot of it in a single day, so that was a fun time. Again a more serious anime, the pattern will stop, eventually. But I liked the depth of it and the intrigue of the world and everything that happened. All of that said, it feels now a bit paint by numbers where I’ve seen through. That might change over time, but some of that is because it is an influence on other anime out there.

46: Fire Force

Okay, the pattern continues,. Though this one is a blend of action and comedy and well a lot of fire and absurdity. I enjoy that about this one and I consider it to be one of those kind of keep on in the background and don’t pay too much attention to it.

Demons, I believe, are causing fires, but are they really and what’s going on with the world. There are people out there who fight fire with fire, but the whole thing is just over the top. And it’s one of those that blends a lot of things into a fast moving shonen anime. Nothing really stands out as being great, but the whole of it is a good time and a lot of fun.

45: Full Metal Panic

Then we break the pattern with another one that kind of goes between serious and absolutely absurd. Full Metal Panic is a grand time of serious episodes and then completely absurd moments. It reminds me of other anime that I’ve watched where you have your protagonist protecting someone who is a McGuffin that the bad organization wants. And if that person wants to be protected, probably not, they just want their own normal life back again. That’s pretty much painting by the numbers, the absurdity that you get a times in Full Metal Panic make it a fun and fast watch.

44: Our Last Crusade

This one might go up higher as I catch up on it. I didn’t get through all of the first season, but our first romance on the list. This one is about two factions who are fighting against each other. Well, the two main characters are on opposite sides. And they find themselves working together, and falling for each other, but neither of them can admit it. It’s a good premise, a bit of a Romeo and Juliet to it, without the death likely coming at the end, but we’ll see. Maybe it will play that the whole way through, but it feels like it’s going against the tone of the show.

It’s heartfelt with the main characters and their desire for the world to be a better place. Plus you mix in some humor as they try and keep it hidden. Plus there’s a whole crazy magical world where neither side is really truthful about what is going on. So both sides are finding out what is actually happening, which likely is how they’ll end up together in the end.

43: The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really Love You

I expect this one to go up over time as it’s really really really really goofy. See what I did there? But at the same time it works, it’s definitely got fan service and so many odd situations. But let’s just talk about the premise and you can decide if this is one for you. The main character has no luck with love, in middle school he is rejected 100 times. When he goes to a temple to pray the deity there says that he’ll find his true soulmate. And everyone is supposed to have one.

Well, clearly from the title, he has 100, so that is going on with that. Turns out the deity while filling out the paperwork on this guy, yup it’s that absurd, accidentally put down 100 because they were watching a movie that they considered just perfect. Yes, it is that absurd. And if your soulmate rejects you or you don’t fall for your soulmate they will die. So now so 100 people don’t die, or at least some don’t die, he has to have 100 Girlfriends who really really really really love him.

42: Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies moved to a Starter Town?

Let’s keep the humor train going with another really long title. This one basically says, what if a world has video game rules. Not an isekai, but say there were spots in the world that were more dangerous and harder to live. So the weakest kid from this part of the world, allegedly weakest, shows up in a town where adventurers are trained and head out to start adventuring. He wants to become an adventurer, turns out that he’s stronger than everyone already. It’s goofy, it’s fun, and while it definitely has harem elements, less so than the last one, it doesn’t spend too much time on fan service. It’s more about the absurdity of how strong the kid is.

The storyline itself isn’t anything that special. It’s a world where demons are attacking and there are groups trying to bring them back. If that sounds familiar, well, it’s because it’s really a common trope. But the play of comedy and action works for me in this one.

41: Fruits Basket

The final one for this ten is Fruits Basket. I’ve only seen the newer version and I have an episode or two to finish it. I need to get back to that and do it soon. But this one is much more serious in nature. A good hearted orphan gets brought into a family where everyone is one of the zodiac animals. And if they are hugged, I believe it is, they turn into that. Plus there’s a curse around it, and a whole lot of other weird family dynamics.

The main character is so earnest in what she does and who she is that she pulls everyone out of their shells. And I like how the story is built around that and how it’s about her finding out more about the Soma (zodiac) family members and what they are like. Almost all of them have good arcs throughout the show. And it doesn’t shy away from some heavier topics, so a good one for a more serious sit down and watch.

Final Thoughts

More coming up on my Top 50 Anime (of all time) 2024 Edition. Let me know which one is the most interesting to you? Is there one that stands out or one that you want to watch? What I notice from this section is that there are a number that I need to pick back up with and continue.

Though some of them, Ancient Magus Bride, Fire Force, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Our Last Crusade, I’m not running back to do that right now. Honestly, there are just enough anime out there that it’s a lot to try and keep up with everything and there are new ones coming out. But I do want to finish them up, and for Fruits Basket, we’re so close to the end, we need to wrap it up.

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