Two Rating Systems But One

So when I rate games on Nerdologists.com, I rate them with a letter grade scale. Then on Board Game Geek, I rate them numerically, since that is BGG’s scale. But I really use both of them as the same thing. I started with my own letter grades simply because that’s how I think of them more so. Lately, I think of grades or ratings on games in both.

So, while my grades might not always seem to align perfectly with the number scale, the two are meant to be the same. Or if there is a larger discrepancy Board Game Geek is more up to date of the two. I don’t go back and change a review article of a game increases or decreases for me.

What Do The Different Letters/Numbers Mean?

10

This generally equates to a game that I give an A+. Or it might be a game with an A rating but is really close to getting an A+.

But what does it mean? Generally these are the games that I love the most, not generally, but specifically. And generally, that means that I want to play them all the time. Now some, like Gloomhaven, I don’t know when or if I’ll come back to it. But that extensive experience that I had with it is that memorable and enjoyable. The same with other campaign games, I want to play them, but once I’m done, I might never come back.

9

This is going to be my A games. Again, these are games that I basically always want to play. I really enjoy them. The main difference between a 9 and a 10is just maybe, how memorable they are. Or how much each play can feel different. 9’s are going to be a bit less epic in my memory of the game.

8

This will be A- and B+’s in my letter grading. And they are a bit lower because I do see some flaw with the game. Not one that will keep me from playing the game, but something that might have me play it less. Or it is a smaller game, as well. Something like Arboretum is an amazing game, but since it’s not as epic as a game like Aeon’s End, for example, it gets a slightly lower grade. This is where a big bulk of the games are going to end up for me.

7

A 7 is going to be a game that is a B or B-. Fun games and one’s that I’d play, but now we’re getting to games that I’d be less likely to pull off the shelf myself. The example of this would be Air, Land and Sea. It is a good two player game where you fight for control in three theaters of war by playing out cards. It is similar to Hanamikoji, which I like a lot better. Hanamikoji is a 10 for me, and I would always pull it off the shelf before Air, Land, and Sea, but Air, Land, and Sea is still a game that I’d play if someone else wanted to.

6

6’s are going to be that C+ to C range when I give out a grade. Generally they are games that I can have fun with, but they aren’t ones that give me the same range of choice of other games, I feel. These are often, for me, gateway style games at this point, but not the really good ones that offer depth and strategy. Again, not a game that I’d say no to playing, but most 6’s leave the collection pretty quickly.

5

Following the scale, this is a C- of a game. Slightly below overage game or just doesn’t work for me for some reason. Often times there is a lot more luck in these games. Or the game is more about the laughs, which has limited replay value as well. The game does what it says but not enough to interest me to continue playing it.

4

With four, I think this often is where I stop wanting to play the game again. Though, there are some fours, for me, that I’ll come back to. This is a D+ game for me. And I think this is the spot, often, where a game promises something but fails to fully deliver on it. So, something like Codenames is a D+ for me, or a 4. Mainly because it promises to be a party game, but isn’t. And I don’t get any additional benefits like feeling clever from it.

3

D rated games go here. 3’s are games that I just find boring to play. Dominion, it might be a great game, but I find it boring to play, and I don’t want to anymore. And I find that there is a limited amount of strategy to the game. If you are good at Dominion, you spot the best combination and build that engine. The game doesn’t offer the variety to do well.

2

This is going to be a D- game. If I rate it a two, I really don’t like the game. It might do one thing, but that one thing isn’t that interesting. Exploding Kittens or Dr. Eureka are two 2’s for me. Exploding Kittens feels derivative and boring. Dr. Eureka is basically a puzzle with a speed element to it and dexterity thrown in. It just feels like a puzzle you give a kid, not a game.

1

These are straight up F’s for me. I don’t think a one is worth playing. Often times a game will get a one because it leans on it being a joke. For example, Exploding Kitten: NSFW Decks. It is just not an interesting thing to take a boring game and pretend that it’s now risqué. Actually adding in NSFW content takes a bad game and makes it worse. Or a game that is boring. Concept, for me, is a game that just adds in boredom. The game drags and it is just players thinking on something that masquerades as a fun social game.

Board Game Ratings Final Thoughts

Now, your ratings on a given game will differ from mine. That is why I try and give ratings for gamers and for casual players. I don’t care how great I think Gloomhaven might be, it won’t work that well for a casual gamer. Even the box, just the size of it, might immediately push them away. I think if they can learn it, it’ll be something they don’t find too complex, but there’s a massive barrier to entry.

And even my estimates for a gamer or a casual player, those are going to vary for each person individual. What I hope by giving a rating is that you can start to figure out how you align with my perspective on games. I want you to see what I like or dislike about a game, but then also have a quicker reference, than just reading a review, to know how you’d compare.

How do you rate board games? Do you do a letter grade, 1-10, 1-5? Do you use decimals, or do you not really have a grading system? Let me know in the comments below.

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Group Games Rankings

45: Cards Against Humanity

Cards Against Humanity, or CAH is one that I enjoyed the first couple of times that I played it. But it is not that great for two reasons for me. One, the humor is hit or miss in the game. And I know that it’s meant to be this dirty humor and I appreciate some of that, but it gets boring. And secondly, whenever someone wants to play it, it goes on too long. CAH is a game that works if you play 6-7 rounds. After that the jokes and terms have diminishing returns. And I feel like most CAH games go twice as long as that.

44: Guesstures

Guesstures is a game that I grew up playing, and honestly, I don’t remember it too well. Which says something about it. But charades, meh. That’s where I’m at with it. It’s an old party game and one that I don’t want to go back to.

43: Concept

If you watched my video on games that I dislike that I’m probably wrong about, Concept is an obvious one. But for me it didn’t work. Like I said in that video, it just feels like it’s a lot of staring at the board. And because the word can be anything, it just feels too broad and sucks the fun out of what is a cool idea. Concept is better in concept than it is on the table.

42: Magic Maze

Already on another list quite low, it’s even lower here because I think it suffers with more people. It’s a real time game which is a strike against it in my opinion. Plus, there is no communicating, and you’re working cooperatively. So if someone misses that they are the person who needs to move a figure, it just gets frustrating. Plus, real time games are just too stressful to be that fun for me, and too stressful to want to play them all that often.

41: Catch Phrase!

This one maybe should be lower, I’m very done with Catch Phrase. the concept is not too bad in trying to go fast and get people to guess words. But like a lot of party games the variety was lacking in what you did. I know we played it enough growing up that you’d almost memorize the cards and take reduces the fun even more.

40: Tsuro of the Seas

Tsuro of the Seas again isn’t a bad game in concept. I like the game it’s based on more and it’s higher on the list. Tsuro of the Seas promises to add in more by adding in dragons. And those dragons move around removing tiles and changing up the map and you need to avoid them and the other players. The issue is that it takes a pretty fast and simple game and makes it longer. So while I wouldn’t say no to playing it again, I would prefer to play the original.

39: Spot It!

Spot It! is another game that I’m probably wrong about. Granted, Spot It! is a very simple game. You have a card and you want to be the first to match what you have on your card to what is flipped. It’s a fast little filler that works well with almost all ages. And I think there are other ways to play as well. I wouldn’t tell anyone not to get it, it’s just not for me really.

38: Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples is CAH but clean. So, this again falls into the category that it sticks around too long. But it’s a bit more fun for me. And I think if you can cut it short so that you only play so far it can work. The rules as written, it takes it past the length a good party game should go, as most party games have a problem with. Plus this one you can play with anyone and there’ll be some good laughs.

37: One Night Ultimate Vampire

We’re coming up on a run of social deduction games right here. And I know that I like them less than most people do, so take this part of the list with a grain of salt and know your group. But One Night Ultimate Vampire was the most disappointing of them that I’ve played. It’s fairly basic, and it gives you the least information to go on, it feels, because it’s only one night. So stuff happens while people’s eyes are closed and then you just accuse randomly after some random talking, so there’s no real point. I’m sure people find more strategy than I do, but it doesn’t work for me.

36: Secret Hitler

Another one, like I said t here is a run of them here. Secret Hitler is better, and in terms of mechanics, it is one of the more interesting. One person gets three things, could be fascist laws or liberal laws to enact, they pass two to another player and that player picks one of those two. So it’s a double blind sort of thing, and then people discuss who is lying and who the next chancellor should be.

But for me it’s the theme, the theme kind of works for the game, but it isn’t needed for the game. You could have picked something better, and then they made it possible to be political in the US, which works, but also just isn’t what game nights are about.

35: Werewords

This one I like better than some but also disappointed me more than most social deduction games. I watched a play through of the game and I thought, this might be a social deduction game that works for me, it has more than just accusing randomly. But it is still pretty random. Yes, you can see how good the questions someone asked were, but it’s fairly random still. And the addition of twenty questions, it’s just okay.

34: Donner Dinner Party

Now we go back to more traditional social deduction. Donner Dinner Party is about cannibalism and it’s an odd theme. Who is the cannibal is the game that’s basically going on. But it does some decent things where the party leader adds in a random card, and everyone puts in the food they found blind. It works for hiding information but still giving something to talk about. But still, if you and I both claim we put in the squirrel, one of us is lying and no one knows whom. So sometimes just keeping a mouth shut is better or it’s still very random.

33: The Resistance

The Resistance and this kind of includes Avalon, though I like the Resistance “theme” better is a nice simple game. I feel like it distills a lot of what many social deductions games do, but it keeps it simpler. I like the speed that this one plays, and people slowly talk more about things. And I like that this one doesn’t expect you to start talking with little information at the start like a lot of them do. I don’t love this game by any means, but it’s the best of this group.

32: DICEcapades

I just got rid of DICEcapades, and I kind of miss it. It’s odd, but it wasn’t one that I was going to play again. I like the random challenges it made you do like stacking dice, or adding up dice really quickly, or stuff like that. But then there was a trivia section, and the trivia is bad. Not that it’s too hard, it often isn’t, but it’s a you know it or you don’t. Everything else is silly and fun, that part is just boring.

31: Farkle

Farkle is a nice beer and pretzel style of game. By that I mean you can take it to a bar and not pay that much attention and have something to do. As a bigger group game, though, it just takes a long time. The rules are simple and push your luck is fun, but when people just bust over and over and over again, or there are a bunch of people between your turns, it’s less interesting.

30: Bring Your Own Book

One of the earlier games I backed on Kickstarter, I thought the concept of Bring Your Own Book was interesting. You basically play Apples to Apples, but with picking something from a book. The issue is not all books are made equal. Having a computer programming text book sounds like a funny thing but it isn’t as good as a novel. And you need to know your book. Otherwise, you are just flipping too randomly through it. Good sounding idea, turned out to be just okay as a game.

29: Cthulhu Fluxx

Fluxx (and the versions of it) are a lot of people’s gateway games, or one that they play early on. It’s a fun little game that has one thing I don’t like about it. It can be a great time as you play it quickly, or it can take forever. If the game could last 20-30 minutes, it’s great, when it goes longer, it becomes boring. Though, there are ones that are fun themes and plays on the rules. Cthulhu Fluxx also adds in a way for everyone to lose, which is actually okay.

28: Codenames

Now, this is another one I’m likely wrong on, at least according to most people, but I do have a version of this I like better. The concept is good, and I’ll gladly play it, giving clues to get people on your team to guess words faster than your opponent can. That’s a simplification of it because it’s done in turns, but the word one I don’t love. Mainly, it’s too quiet, and you just don’t feel clever that often as the clue giver.

27: Telestrations

Telephone Pictionary is how I originally knew abut the game. Telestrations is just a version of a game that existed and was turned into print. It’s a fun game as you go back and forth between writing and drawing and see how close or far from the original phrase it was. It’s not really a game, but it’s a great party activity. Play a round of this with a bigger group or as people who up, it’s a good time.

26: A Fake Artist Goes to New York

Another drawing game, didn’t plan on having them back to back, but A Fake Artist Goes to New York is another social deduction type of game, kind of. One person doesn’t know what to draw, everyone else does. So the one person is trying to fake their way as they add to a picture. Concept is fun, and it’s an enjoyable time, but also one of those that seems to stick around too long for me. I’ll gladly play two or three rounds, but I don’t need more.

25: Zombie Dice

Zombie Dice is kind of Farkle like in that you’re pushing your luck as you try and get brains. All the time you’re trying to avoid shotgun blasts. This one I like better than Farkle because the end game is faster and then bad luck that happens is kind of funnier. Pushing your luck with no shotgun blasts and then rolling three on green dice sucks, but it’s also absurd. Just giving the concept a theme is fun.

24: Balderdash

Again, I have two similar games right next to each other, though Balderdash is nothing like Zombie Dice. Balderdash is a game where you make up what a weird law is, what an acronym stands for, what a definition might be, or more things. And then you try and guess the right answer and hope people guess yours. This generally doesn’t end as a game but devolves in a fun way into in jokes for that session and a lot of laughing.

23: Liebrary

Liebrary is very similar to Bladerdash. Instead of a definition or an acronym, you’re given the plot of a book and need to write the first sentence. It’s again really goofy and while it’s easier to know what the right one is a lot of the times, it can provide so many good laughs. And then when everyone things that a line is too crazy and it turns out to be true, that’s even better.

22: Unspeakable Words

Unspeakable Words is a Cthulhu themed spelling game where you are trying to make as big words as possible but you might also be going insane. Though, if you go insane, now you don’t have to make real words anymore. It’s goofy and simple, one that I played a bunch and then moved on from. But it’d play it again as a good little filler.

21: Flapjacks & Sasquatches

Another one that kind of falls into the filler category is Flapjacks & Sasquatches. You are trying to cut down trees and playing out different things to do that. There’s some take that, it’s kind of in that weight of a Munchkin, which isn’t on the list because I don’t consider it a big group game or it’d be very low, and Fluxx. This one I feel like is just more enjoyable and less in your face take that. Though, when it does have that, it is in your face. Plus just sillier in a different way, where Munchkin doesn’t feel that unique.

20: Tsuro

Now we’re onto Tsuro. I had Tsuro of the Sea lower, and this one works better. Firstly, the timeline is set. There are only so many tiles and it’s unlikely you’ll play all of them. Plus there is more strategy in the game while still being lighter. You just plan out how you are going to do move and nothing will break that up. But you also can manipulate it so that you might be able to take out another person. Though, now I’ve played it enough that it’s low on my list to play again, it is one that’s unlikely to leave my collection because it’s so easy to play.

19: Second Chance

Like Tsuro, Second Chance is another one that is super easy. I’m not going to remove it from my collection because it is easy, but I’ve played it enough that it’s not one I gravitate towards. It’s basically fitting Tetris shaped pieces into a board, it’s a roll and write, and then trying to end with the fewest open spots left. It’s very lucky, but it is also a relaxing game to play.

18: Coup

Coup is another bluffing game, but it’s not social deduction really. People can claim that they have whatever role they want and then take that action. But will someone call them out on if they truly have that role. If you guess right and they don’t, they lose a role, if you are wrong, you do, and the goal is to be the last one standing. Though, if you don’t ever call someone out, I think it’s that you can collect points to win. Clever game, and simple enough to play.

17: Scattergories

Another classic party game, Scattergories is one that I enjoy a lot. It’s a good one in that everyone probably has played it, because it is a classic. Though, maybe newer gamers haven’t. And it is a party game that led to others on the list. You’re just trying to come up with an answer to a prompt that might be a boys name or thing found at a beach and they need to start with the letter J. And you just don’t want to overlap. So do you take the obvious one in hopes that other people will avoid it, or go with something more out there?

16: Criss Cross

Another roll and write, and one that I still quite enjoy, but because of it’s simplicity it’s just dropped a bit. But it’s a great one, because of it’s simplicity for a bigger group. You just need to be able to see the dice. And you are trying to get the same symbols adjacent to each other in rows and columns. But you also need to put the two dice rolled right next to each other. So it’s a bit of a puzzle as you fill in your board. A good one, just one I’ve played a lot.

15: Codenames: Pictures

Now, the preferred version of Codenames for me, Codenames: Pictures. I like this one better because it gives you more of a chance to be clever. The images are so weird that you can come up with interesting ways to exclude some images or to connect others. And people discuss it more around the table. Can still suffer from silence sometimes but generally it plays with more energy.

14: Stipulations

And now another game that I’d put in the same category as Liebrary or Balderdash. The pick something and create an answer. But it also has some Apples to Apples where someone is picking their favorite answer. This one is more fun though because you have control over it. You write down a stipulation for something like the dream job of being a baker, but everything you bake is poisoned, some stipulation like that. It can overstay it’s welcome, but I try and keep that from happening.

13: Hues and Cues

Hues and Cues is a party game all about colors. In it you try and get someone to land on your color and get a lot of people close, as the clue giver to score points. And as the guessers, the closer you are the more points you can score. It’s a clever game where you give a one word then two word clue and then reveal the location. And it is one that works pretty well via Zoom.

12: Wits & Wagers

Wits & Wagers is my favorite trivia game, maybe the only one that I like. The main reason is that you don’t need to know the answer to do well. You just need to know who might know the answer and bet on their guess. Because it’s Price is Right rules, closest without going over. And all the numbers are numeric, so generally people can ballpark it. This one just works for trivia and plays fast and everyone is playing the same game, no one is putting down the right answer because it’s their turn to.

11: Not Alone

Now, we move away for a moment from party games. Not Alone is a one versus all game. The one is a monster who is trying to stop the crashed astronauts from getting off the planet. And everyone else is those astronauts waiting for a ship to pick them up. They can go anywhere they have a card for and can even discuss it, but the planet or monster is listening all the time. The idea is clever, the game play is pretty simple, and the whole thing is fun as the monster or the astronaut.

10: Medium

Now we’re back to party games. Medium is about matching words with your partner for that round. But to do that you both put down a card with a word on it and you try and say a word linking them and match up. If you don’t match, then you do it again with the words you just said. And if you don’t again, you get one last chance, and hopefully you’ve narrowed it in. It is good for laughs and everyone is thinking of the word that they’d have said as well.

9: Just One

Just One is a cooperative party game, not the last one on the list. It works really well with almost any group because the concept is simple. One person is it and they pick a random word from a list that they can’t see. Everyone else writes a one word clue. But if any of those clues duplicate, both copies of it are gone. Then with the remaining clues the person who is it needs to make a guess. There are rules to make it trickier, but generally we play it simply so that you feel like you can guess. I’ll let you find out on your own what the actual rules are.

8: Sushi Go Party!

And away from party games, Sushi Go Party! is a card drafting game. And a set collection game, or a set not collection game but mainly a drafting game. I really like it with larger groups because it doesn’t change how fast it can play. And it feels like there is more substance, because there is than a lot of other bigger group games. It’s one that won’t ever leave my collection because of how simple it is to get to the table and play and the variety it can have.

7: Cross Clues

Cross Clues is the second to last party game on the list and second to last cooperative one. This is kind of like just one, but instead of guessing one word from a bunch of clues, you’re trying to get people to guess a combination of two clues with just one word. I really like how this doesn’t have turn structure as well, whenever you have a clue for your intersection card, you can give it. Makes the game faster and keeps everyone involved at all times.

6: Similo

The final party game on the list, Similo is a blast to play. It might drop over time a bit, but when you have a lot of sets you can get a lot of weird things. One person is a clue giver who is trying to get people to guess their card from a group of 12. But they can only say if it’s similar or different from a card they play from a hand. And everyone else must eliminate one, then two, then three, then four, then one to win. It’s not too bad when you’re using animals to eliminate animals, but animals in hand to eliminate historical figures, now that’s interesting.

5: Welcome To…

Welcome To, the second highest roll and write on the list though I just realized I forgot Cartographers, is a great game, so is Cartographers for a big group. Each person is using the same poll of flipped cards and going for the same scoring objectives. So all you need is to be able to see the cards. And game plays differently every time because of how things come out. I need to play with more of the maps though.

4: PitchCar

One of two dexterity games on the list, this one is a racing one where you and up to 7 other people, maybe 9 if you get an expansion (so 10 total) are flicking cars to race them around the board. It’s silly fun as cars fly off the track or bank nicely around curves. And when someone has a good shot, you cheer. Grand old time and a silly game but in the best way.

3: Railroad Ink

Finally roll and write is Railroad Ink, and this is a bit of a cheat, as is my #1 because you technically need two sets. Thankfully Railroad Ink or Railroad Ink Challenge were released two boxes at a time. So you can play up to eight if you get both of them. It’s a route building roll and write, and with the challenges it just adds that little bit more. But I like challenges better for that more, it gives you direction when you don’t know what you want to do.

2: Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

And super high on the list is a social deduction game. I love Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, why, because you aren’t just guessing randomly at the beginning. A murder has happened and everyone has four clues and weapons in front of them. The murder picks on of each of their own and the forensic scientist knows what they are. But no one else does and the forensic scientist can only send up reports. But with that first report you can start guessing, because it’ll be meaningful, and that’s immediately when the game starts. So great and always memorable accusations.

1. Icecool

Finally, Icecool. This is a bit of a cheat, like I said, because you need Icecool and Icecool 2 to play with 8 people. But when you do, it’s a blast. Flicking the penguins around is great. And the whole racing away from the hall monitors who are out to catch you and get through the doorways to get your fish, it works. Like PitchCar when someone makes a great shot everyone is excited. And you can sometimes plan a great shot.

Final Thoughts

Big group games are interesting for me. I often play them because we have 6-7 people on a game night, but generally they aren’t my favorite. Of those 45 game that I’ve played, plus Cartographers that I missed, maybe 14 are in my Top 100. That’s a lot, but also there are 45 games on that list so I’ve played a lot of them as well.

I think it’s that a lot of the party style ones aren’t that interesting, or try and copy other games too much. And I think it’s also because I don’t like social deduction that much. I’ll play those games but I won’t pull them off the shelf myself.

But what are some of your favorite big group games?

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The List

This list was a little bit tricky to put together. I think I have generally valid reasons for not liking these games, though some more than others. Or often, I know that they are solid games but they just aren’t the game for me. I did leave a few off the list that I feel like I didn’t give a fair shake to, or something like Cards Against Humanity which I liked as a fine game. It just has a very limited life to it.

1. Concept
2. Codenames
3. Dominion
4. Forbidden Island
5. Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
6. Red Dragon Inn
7. The Resistance: Avalon
8. Spot It!
9. Tsuro of the Seas
10. Dr Eureka

I’m sure that I have some on that list that you really like. Dominion, Codenames, The Resistance: Avalon, Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game, and Concept, I know people like those a lot. And, I think I do have some valid reason for them, though you likely will disagree with them.

The Beer

The Key Lime Supreme from Surly Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota. This is a really enjoyable beer. It’s what I’d call crushable. I can get through three or four of those pretty quickly if I wanted to. They are especially good for a hot day. It also isn’t too tart, it’s more like drinking a nice tart lemonade than something like Duchesse where it has almost more of a vinegar flavor to it.

Upcoming Streams

So, I will try and get all of these onto the calendar so you know what is coming up. But I want to, I think next Monday, do the follow-up Top 10 to this past one. 10 Games that I like that I’m probably wrong about.

Wednesday, 8 PM Central, I, of course am playing more Aeon’s End Legacy. I’m excited to dive into the next chapter of that game.

And I talk at the end of the video of wanting to do a Pub Meeple Ranking Stream. The idea for this would be to stream, probably on a weekend, and just chat with people while I go through and do my Pub Meeple rankings for my played board games. To be determined when this would happen, probably a Sunday evening would be my guess.

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What’s The Answer?

Super simple answer is no. There is no minimum number of times. I know the first time I played Gloomhaven and Tainted Grail that I liked them a lot. Now I didn’t play them only once before giving them a review, but I could have basically done it at that point. The same with Concept, I knew I didn’t like that game after one slightly too long play of it.

Why, because those games show you how they work right away. You sit down and you play Gloomhaven, you know how the card play is going to work. Tainted Grail, you get an idea of the exploration and combat immediately. Concept, you get the concept of the game right away as well.

Other games, it will take longer. That’s why I’ve started doing the Beyond the Box Cover articles as well. Something like Isle of Cats, there is a lot to explore in the game and mess around with. I want to make sure that there isn’t just a better strategy than others. I also want to figure out how much the drafting will swing things. Or Railroad Ink. I can tell you how much I like the base game, but I need to play with the expansions that come in the box.

But Story Games Need the Whole Story

This is another thought that is thrown around as to why you need to play more. I’ve read a ton of books, I’ve played a number of story games. I can tell when sitting down if I will like a story. Now, the story might underwhelm or surprise me, but I have a general idea. And no, I don’t need to know how the story ends. The end of a story can dampen how much I like that story, but unlikely to flat out ruin it.

For example, not in board games, I think that the story in the Witcher TV show is alright at best. However, I want to see that second season because there are elements that I like and I really like the world. In board games, the story in Gloomhaven is solid, nothing amazing, but the rest of the world and the game play itself mean that I absolutely love that game. And with a game, so much of how well a story works is the tone it sets with the mechanics. And I don’t need to critique a whole story to know if I like the mechanics.

But You Need to Play All the Content

Again, I’ll disagree with this premise. I think that playing a lot of the content is probably smart. Again, that’s why I do the Beyond the Box Cover. However, some games, Merchant’s Cove for example, I can give a review on without playing the whole thing. Why, because I can see other people playing characters with me, and I get the general idea of the game as a whole. I still want to play those other characters, but I don’t need to, to know about the game.

In fact, Merchant’s Cove is a great example, I really liked playing the Innkeeper. I want to try the other characters, but I know I can go back and play the Innkeeper again and still enjoy the game. So who knows, maybe I’ll hate the Blacksmith, that’s fine because if I don’t want to play one out of 8 characters, I still have a lot to play.

And again, I know that I like the mechanics of the game, and in particular the ones that go across all characters. I like the loading meeples onto ships. I like the townsfolk that you can recruit. The scoring of with making and selling goods, I like. I like the corruption. All of those things in Merchants Cove work across the board.

Why Do People Push Back?

I think in the end, we have to talk about why people push back. It’s because people forget that a lot of this is opinion. Tom Vassel talks about this a lot when he doesn’t like something. Just because he doesn’t like a game doesn’t mean that someone won’t have it as their favorite game. A board game review is an opinion of the reviewer.

So why do people make a big deal about it? This tends to happen when people have a low opinion or a really high opinion. Though, there is a third category of people who push back, and that is if a game is too popular. I can find myself falling into the trap of that where I won’t play a game because it is too popular. Now, I will play it, but I won’t buy it. And I tend to be more hesitant.

Basically if we have a strong emotion towards a game, whether love or hate or annoyance of it being everywhere, we will have higher standards for reviews. We are going to want people to agree with us. So we push back on it because we think if they play it more or they must have played it wrong, and that’s why they do or don’t like the game.

So What’s the Point of Reviews?

The point is that you can find people who review whom your tastes match up with. And a good reviewer talks not only about their feelings around a game, but also the mechanics and what does and doesn’t work for them. That means you get not only an idea of the flavor of the game but how the game works.

For example, I know that when he was on the Dice Tower, Sam Healey and my taste matched up pretty well. So I could generally know if he liked a game, then I’d like the game as well. He’s no longer on the Dice Tower, had to move away, so now I don’t know who I would put in that realm. But now I also know my tastes better, so I tend to go more with thoughts off of playthroughs.

Who is that reviewer for you whom you like their reviews? Is there any channel or reviewer who is the best for you or maybe you know is the opposite of your tastes?

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What Do My Ratings Mean

The baseline that we should get started with is looking at what the numbers means. Obviously a 10 is the best and a 1 is the worst. However, it is more nuanced than that. I do use the half point scale as well. So right now I have everything from 10’s to 1’s, but no 0.5’s in there.

A 10 is a game that is as close as perfect for me as you can get. And I say for me, some board games are objectively good and some are objectively bad, but when rating games, so much as to do with taste. So a 10 is a game that is as close to perfect for me as you can get.

A 9 is a game that I love, and I’d always want to play it. 8 is a great game for me and I’d likely not say no to playin that game. 7, I like and I’d play, but I won’t seek it out. 6 is a decent game but I probably am not that interested in playing it often. 5 is okay and I’d play it if people want to. 4, I’ll try and recommend another game to play. 3, I don’t want to play it. 2, I actively don’t like the game. 1, I wouldn’t play that game again ever.

The Breakdown

10’s –

I have 12 games that I rate a 10. That is 4% of the games that I’ve played and rated. I’m sure that I’ve missed a few games, but likely not tens. There is also a wide variety of games in there, I have a massive dungeon crawler with Gloomhaven and then I also have a dexterity game with Ice Cool. But 67% of the games really immerse you in the story and world of the game, which I think will be a trend for these high spots.

9.5’s –

21 fall into the 9.5 category, this 7% of the game that I’ve played. We again stick with a lot of story with games like TIME Stories and Arkham Horror: The Card Game. We also get some lighter games like Sushi Go Party and The Lost Expedition and our first party game with Just One in this category.

9’s –

38 games fall into the 9’s, all the way up at 13%. I wonder if this might be one of the higher percentile groups out there. This is where we start to hit a lot of roll and writes with games like Clever Hoch Drei, Doppelt so Clever, and more. We also get a lot of games that aren’t as story driven anymore. More games like Letter Jam and Super Fantasy Brawl that give you more of a classic board game experience. We also get A Gentle Rain in this section.

8.5’s –

16 out of 283 are rated as 8.5’s. That is about 6% of my rated games. The trend holds pretty steady from the 9’s with a lot more of the classic board game experience. Another party game with Wits & Wagers makes the list. And we have a new game that I just played recently a few times with Merchant’s Cove.

8’s –

We likely have it the big number here, 50 games that are 8’s, which is 18% of my collection. So as you add up the percentages, keep in mind I am rounding up or down so it might not equal 100% in the end. But I feel like in the 8’s we get a number of games that are in that lighter category, more filler games. Things like Skull and Fruit Picking are easier to play and teach than a lot games earlier.

7.5’s –

At 20 games in the 7.5’s, we are at 7% of the collection again. While other sections have had games that were previously owned, with the 7’5’s, I definitely noticed a few more. Machi Koro, Winter Tale, Krosmaster: Arena and at least one more were in my collection and have left. It’s not because they are bad games, but I have other games that do it better. And with Krosmaster: Arena, I got rid of that before Super Fantasy Brawl, but I just didn’t have anyone to play it with.

7’s –

Sitting at 12% with 34 games out of 283, we again see a number of previously owned games. But we also see games that I grew up playing. Set, Dutch Blitz, and Scrabble all make it into this category as well as the party game Scattergories. I obviously have some level of nostalgia with these games, but at the same time, I’d still play them again right now.

6.5’s –

13 games in this number, for 5%. I think this is where we’ll start to see the numbers dropping off in terms of number of games rated in the area. It is also a lot of games that I don’t own but have played in this area. I guess that means that I buy games that I like a lot. Donner Dinner Party and Flapjacks and Sasquatches are two that I’d definitely play again, but I have games that I like better that do something similar, especially with Donner Dinner Party.

6’s –

A tick up here with 24 games which is 8%. Most of the time the whole numbers seem to have more than a half numbers ,I guess. I own a few games in this section, though some of that is nostalgia, or with a game like Splendor, it’s because I know other people who like it a lot. I probably won’t ever pull Splendor off the shelf to play myself, but I know my wife likes it, so I won’t remove it from the collection.

5.5’s –

5 games make up the 5.5’s which is just barely 2%. We are reaching the social deduction game area, I feel in the 5.5’s, and 5’s. Where I would play them again, but I won’t seek them out. They tend to be the very simple social deduction games like Secret Hitler, While that game does have a little double blind fun going on with it, the theme doesn’t interest me, and it’s just a fine game.

5’s –

Down in the 5’s we have 21 games at a whopping 7% again. Again more social deduction games like The Resistance and One Night Ultimate Vampire. These two really do what I don’t like about a lot of social deduction games, they don’t give you anything go on right away or in general much to go on at all. We also have all of Red Dragon Inn, a fun game but often is played with too many people. I think 4 is about my max for that game, maybe 5.

4.5’s –

1 out of 283 which is 0% for those keeping track at home. And it’s Seafall. I feel like it’s fair that Seafall falls into this spot by itself. It is a game that I want to like more, it is a game I can see the potential of it. It just ends up being a flop. The story doesn’t play out as it should, it is a just a bit too random, and the games are way too long. And the more you play the longer the games get. Yet, it’s just on that cusp of I’d play it again without an AP players.

4’s –

9 games or 3% of what I’ve played. This is where we get into a lot more of a mass market or mass market adjacent games. Not that there haven’t been some before, but we have stuff like Guesstures, Forbidden Island and Dominion. Yes, I have Dominion as a 4. It is a game that I’d play if you twisted my arm, but it is also a game that if you know the game extremely well you will win, and it’s not interesting enough for me to know it that well.

3’s –

You might be wondering where my 3.5’s are, the answer is there were none. Instead we have 10 3’s. That is 4% of what I’ve played. Again a lot of mass market games, and a lot of games I grew up with. This goes back to growing as a gamer, stuff like Malarky and Pit had their place getting me into the hobby, but I don’t need to go back to them.

2’s –

3 games or 1%. Monopoly falls into this group. It isn’t the worst of the worst, but it is very bad. Another super popular or at least well sold game, Exploding Kittens lands here as well.

1’s –

Finally, I have 5 1’s, or 2%. I really don’t like these games, and most people won’t like most of them. The two that will probably surprise people are Cards Against Humanity and Concept. Cards Against Humanity at one point in time I would have rated higher, but now I consider it a worse version of Apples to Apples because the jokes are created for you and often not funny. Concept is one that I know a lot of people like. It just didn’t work for me. It has this group feel to the game, but ends up just being boring.

Alright, there we have it, all the games in my collection rated. What do you think should be rated better? Or what do you think that I should rate lower?

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To answer that question immediately — no, I don’t think I enjoy it less. There’s a sense of excitement about figuring out a twist in a story before it happens, to connecting two things that seemly loosely connected but then really matter. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is a show that is built on these loose connections, and connecting those dots before the characters do is fun, because the show does a good job of keeping these things somewhat hidden from the viewer. So, making those connections is fun, and it doesn’t take away from the story.

However, I do think it can for some people. When I’m watching something like Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency or Dark, I’m not what I would consider actively looking for these clues. The shows are built around twists, turns, and mysteries, so as I think about the show, I naturally think about those things. And if you’ve read some of my board game reviews, you know that I enjoy puzzle-y type games, and that I love trying to figure out what clue to give in Hanabi or what cards to play in Gloomhaven to get a perfect score or beat the dungeon. I just naturally think about these patterns.

On the other hand, I know people who actively are searching to make these connections. Their enjoyment is often fulfilled, like mine is, by figuring out these connections, but figuring them out too early or not figuring them out at all can ruin their enjoyment of a story. The hunt is what is enjoyable to them, and once that has passed, it isn’t enjoyable anymore, and conversely, if they can’t figure it out, they don’t enjoy it as much because they felt like the story tricked them or didn’t give them enough to figure out the secret, and they could feel like they are slow because of that.

Finally, there is the type of person who isn’t wired for figuring these clues out, and I think that this can be split into a couple of ways as well — those who don’t care, and those who simply enjoy the story. When Kristen and I watch Dirk Gently, it isn’t as if Kristen is getting less enjoyment out of the show because she doesn’t figure it out ahead of time. She enjoys it as much as I do; I’m just bouncing up and down on the couch because I’m pretty sure I figured something out, and she’s shaking her head and laughing at my antics. That is how it should be — being able to enjoy the story as a story, even if you aren’t picking out all the twists and mysteries as soon as the other people you’re watching it with are.

However, there’s an opposite side of this as well, where someone might feel like they are missing out because they can’t figure the story out as quickly as other people. This shouldn’t be the case, because stories are worth enjoying on their own even if you don’t pick up on the secret before it’s revealed. A fine line can be drawn as to how someone can “help” in this situation, as there are some chance that a person could make it worse. If you are figuring out what is going on before someone else, it can come across as patronizing if you try and say that it is just okay that someone else didn’t figure it out. A better route would be to, when talking about the story, focus on the story itself and what it meant to you, not when you figured out the twists and turns, so that everyone can enjoy the story.

As I started out this post, this was an interesting concept to me. There isn’t a right way to engage with a story as long as you are enjoying it. Remember — even if you figured out the twist in the first scene, don’t spoil it for the rest of us, and let everyone enjoy the story in their own way. To quote what the RPG Academy says (they’re talking about RPGs and how to play them, but I think it’s very appropriate here, too) – “If you’re having fun, you’re doing it right.”

I was originally introduced to this game on TableTop, Wil Wheaton’s tabletop gaming show. My view of it then and my thoughts after playing it myself are actually surprisingly similar. This game can best be described as one that’s similar to Pictionary, but instead of drawing something, players use a board that shows several dozen images with certain meanings attached to them to express a word or phrase on the card they’ve chosen.

The game uses different colored tokens; using the large green question mark means that you are explaining the main concept of the person, place, thing, phrase, or idea that you’ve chosen from the card. There are also exclamation points that are used to signify sub-concepts, and small colored cubes that can be placed beside other squares to describe an item even more specifically. So, for example, if I picked an easy clue like “teacher,” I would put the question mark down on the occupation square. Then, using the small cubes, I would expand on that idea by placing the cubes beside other squares, such as the one that signifies the arts, or the one for math and science.

This game is very interesting in that it forces the player to think outside of the normal realm that we are used to in games. You have to combine seemingly random clues to express something like Sonic the Hedgehog (male, fictional, and blue could be enough to get the players to guess it), or to try to describe a more complex concept like “absent-minded.” The game does a really good job of challenging the players to think outside the box and figure out how to combine different concepts into a single focused concept.

It does have some of the flaws, however, that come up a lot with party games. Players tend to pick the easiest term, or the funniest, and this will eventually lead to repeats. Also, the game play is very much the same turn after turn. When you get a male character, either historical or fictional, the main concept goes on male, the second one goes on one of the other two, and you end up with a lot of guesses along the same line.

Now, when I played the game, we only played through a limited number of cards, so the pool of ideas would likely expand over time, but just from the handful of cards I saw, you’d almost always start with thing, person, female, or male (or a combination thereof) to describe most concepts. The other flaw I noticed is the fact that sometimes you just get stuck. Sometimes a person has a single way of thinking of something, or feels like they’ve already defined the term well enough (and probably have) even though no one can guess it, and you just end up with the players going in circles, and the person who is trying to make them guess what it really is starts scrounging through the different options to see how they can expand upon it or focus it back in. As they did on TableTop, we played with a “shame” meter — if you felt bad enough about not being able to get people to guess your concept, you would give up at that point. The issue with this is that it doesn’t add any real urgency to the game play, and there’s nothing else really tying people into the game, so it can lose focus from time to time.

Overall, the best way that I can describe how much I enjoyed this game is that it is one that I would like my friends to have so I can play it sometimes but don’t have to invest in it myself. It’s a fun game to play once in a while, but like many party games, it ends up being somewhat repetitive and could lead to a stale playing experience if it’s played too often. This is a good game for applying a mindset that Kristen has and has taught me to think about — the idea that it’s best to quit while you are still having fun. This is the kind of game that could drag on and become boring if you aren’t careful, but if you quit while you’re still enjoying it (which is easy to do, since, with the way we were playing it, there wasn’t a real ending to the game) you’ll have a good time playing it.

Overall Grade: C

Gamer Grade: D

Casual Grade: B