100 through 91 here.

90 through 81 here.

80 through 71 here.

70 through 61 here.

60 through 51 here.

50 through 41 here.

40 through 31 here.

Top 100 Games 2022 Edition – 30-21

30. Sushi Go Party!

Sushi Go Party! is one of my go to bigger group games when I want to play something that isn’t just another party game. It plays up to eight and is a drafting and set collection game. What works so well with Sushi Go Party is that you have a different set-up each time. The combination of appetizers, specials, main dishes and deserts means that you end up with a huge combination that you can use. And that helps it feel different when you play it each time.

Plus, it’s not a hard game to learn, but it has more meaningful choices than a lot of party games do. So being able to play it at 8 is great because it is just more of a game than a lot of games at that player count.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

29. PitchCar

PitchCar can also be played at a higher number, but this is a flicking racing game. So fewer decisions to make. You flick your car around the track, everyone taking turns, and the first person to get around wins. I like this one a lot because it can play almost any age. I’ve played with 9-year-olds and I’ve played with over 40-year-olds. The game works and is fun for everyone.

And I can scale how difficult it is. When I build a trick, I have everything for it, I can decide how big or small I want it to be. I can make it as challenging as I want or as hard as I want. If it’s for a casual time, simpler shorter track. If it’s the focal piece of a game night, well, then I’m up for adding in a loop and other crazy things that will slow the game down but offer even bigger “wow” moments.

Buy on Eagle-Gryphon

28. Black Sonata

Black Sonata is a game that I feel like shouldn’t work. It is a solo only game of deduction. How does that work, wouldn’t you know the information? You’d think so. But the game uses a smart system with moving around the lady in black, the hidden character who you are trying to find. It does so by a deck of cards.

So you are trying to figure out how she is moving. And get ahead of her so that you can find out information at a location before she moves on. Of course, if you guess wrong, now it makes it harder for you to track her as she moves. It’s a pretty small game, some set-up at the start, but it’s worth it for a solo game that is really different.

Buy on Amazon

27. Cartographers

Cartographers, which I got to play this past weekend, is a roll and write game. And it’s one that really sells me on it with the theme, of making a map, but more so on two things that the game does. The first is there are monsters. When a monster comes up you pass your sheet to the next person and they draw the monster in the worst spot for you. So for a roll and write it’s more interactive.

I also like how the scoring is done. You score two of the four objectives each round, season, of the game. You start out with A and B objectives. And you end with D and A objectives. So you score each objective in two different seasons. But for objective A it is at the start and end of the game. It’s just something clever that allows you have some strategy. Maybe you focus in on one type of scoring. Or maybe you diversify and see which gets you the most points.

Buy on Game Nerdz

26. Super Fantasy Brawl

Now we are onto a much bigger game than Cartographers, but one that actually plays faster. Super Fantasy Brawl is a head to head tactical battling and objective based game. Where you are taking a team of three creatures and pitting them up against another player and team.

A couple of things stand out about the game. First is all the characters and how different that they play. I think I have either 24 or 21 different characters. And you can mix and match them to create the team that you battle with. I like being able to pick different characters off of abilities that I remember or off of fun looks or combos that I hope I can create.

The other thing is that this is a game where you are trying to get points. You do that by completing objectives or by knocking your opponent off the board. If you only go for objectives, your opponent will be able to control the board by just knocking out a character you need to complete it. If you go for pure combat, your opponent can sneak objectives past you. So it needs to be a balance of both.

And the objectives don’t just score when you complete them. It scores at the start of the next turn. That means even though I am all set-up for an objective. I might not get it because you have a whole turn to stop me. I think that’s a smart system because it takes care of some things, like a first player advantage.

Buy on Miniature Market

25. Under Falling Skies

Under Falling Skies is another solo game on this section of the list. The game is a combination of Space Invaders and Independence Day. In that you have waves of small alien ships getting lower and lower as the game progresses. And you are also trying to win by researching the other mothership. And once you’ve done enough research you can take it out.

Now that’s the theme, mechanically it’s about placing dice. The dice go in columns and determine how far the small alien ships advance. But they also do other things, like give you energy, let you research, or blow up the small alien ships. It’s a tense game of trying to control the small ships but at the same time not focus on that so much that you can’t make the last push on research to stop the mothership.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

24. Betrayal at House on the Hill

Buy on Game Nerdz

23. Super-Skill Pinball 4-Cade

Super-Skill Pinball 4-Cade is one of two roll and write games left in this section. It’s a game where you’re playing pinball. And I have to give it a ton of credit, playing pinball is not the easiest thing to simulate when it comes to a board game, but Super-Skill Pinball 4-Cade does a good job with it. And it’s fairly thematic for a roll and write as well.

They do that, mainly, but giving you ways in which the ball moves and bounces. So as you hit it with the flippers it is going to go a certain direction. And as it bounces off things, it’ll start to drop again. Unless you can get it into the spot that’s on most boards where it just bounces around trapped between 3 bumpers. The game even has that in it.

Buy on Miniature Market

22. Sonora

Then we have Sonora, Sonora is the other roll and write game. But instead of rolling a die, you are flicking discs and where the discs end, that’s the action on the board you’re going to take. That part of the game is fun, but I really like filling out your board or scoring sheet.

That is mainly because in Sonora everything combos. You fill in on one area and that’ll open up something else you can do in another area which might then even open up something more. And because of that you get really high scores and it feels like you re being very clever. Now, you are, because how you combo things together will be what works best for your scoring. But everyone in the game gets to be clever.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

21. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

Deception is a deduction and social deduction game and I really like it. If you know me, I don’t like social deduction. Mainly because most of the time social deduction at least at the start of the game just comes down to guessing. And randomly guessing if you’re good to vote for someone or not is not fun. But Deception gives you real information to work on.

There has been a murder and the murder, as well as everyone, has a murder weapon and a clue in front of them. The murder picks one of their murder weapons and one of their clues to be it for the game. Only the forensic scientist knows what they are (or an accomplice) and the scientist is sending up clues to get people to guess what it is. So those clues give you something to work on right away which I really like.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

Upcoming Streams

Right now there’s a chance that next Wednesday I will not stream. As that pushes it up to the day before Thanksgiving and I might not be free that evening. But on Monday, I have 20 through 11 of my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2022 Edition. So join me on Malts and Meeples then at 8:30 PM.

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The Game – Under Falling Skies

In Under Falling Skies you are rolling dice and use them to blow up alien ships, produce energy and research how to defeat the mothership. You use all the dice, and while the higher numbers are more powerful, they can blow up ships better or get further on the research track, it causes the other ships to descend faster.

The game gives you one way to win, research fully how to defeat the mothership. But it gives you two ways to lose. The mothership can get low and destroy everything. Or enough small ships can get through to take out the research base. And each turn the mothership is getting lower, so it is easier for the small ships to get all the way down.

So it is a balancing game as you try and line up ships so you blow them up. If you can that, they go back to the mothership and start coming down again. But if you spend too much time on fighting and producing energy your research will lag behind.

Each time before last night that I played Under Falling Skies, I’ve lost just barely. On the final round I am making that last push for research. And, in the other three times, I would always come up just short of a number I needed to get that last big push. The last spot costs 11 to research so that’s a fairly high total on the dice.

The game takes up a lot of space, but it isn’t too complex. I think it looks bigger and more going on than it actually is. When you get into the rhythm of the game, rolling and placing dice and moving the ship, the game is fast. My play is longer than it normally would be just because I am chatting and explaining what I am doing.

Upcoming Streams

On Wednesday we look to finish off the first chapter of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. We will see if I can beat one of these adventures on the first try. You can click that notification bell on the video here to know when I am going live. It is at the normal time of 8 PM Central.

Next Monday I am going to be streaming what I had thought about doing today. I’m going to be talking about GenCon. Going over some of the things that I’m going to be doing and what I am looking forward to. Then the following Monday is going to be the BGG GenCon Preview list. Or I believe there is another place doing a list as well, but looking at some of those games and what I want to buy or at least try.

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How To Play Under Falling Skies

Under Falling Skies is kind of a tower defense style game where there is a mothership coming towards your underground base and there are small ships coming down as well. You are trying to keep the small ships from reaching landfall and blowing them up, as too many land, you lose. Plus then you need to research the alien mother ship before it hits landfall.

In the game you roll dice and you place one per column. The dice can be used to get energy, unlock new areas, launch fighter ships, research, or fire flak cannons. Then the alien ships will move down based off of the number on each die. But they move down one less in a column where the flak cannon is firing.

Research you get to move up on the research track as much as you can based off of the total of your dice values. Energy you gain based off die value, and the fighters you launch deal damage to certain spots in the sky based off of the die value. Finally, the little drill that unlocks new areas advances to where the die was placed. You check and see if you’ve researched the last thing, otherwise the mothership lowers.

What I Don’t Like?

One thing that isn’t my favorite in the game is the amount of house keeping that the game has. By that I mean everything I need to check. It slows down some parts of the puzzle of the game. When I place a die, I need to look at see how far they will move down. Then after all the dice are placed, I need to calculate that and move the ships again. It’s not too much or too slow, but it is more than I like.

It’s a minor thing that is more of an annoyance that I don’t like, but the ships are too pointy. Yes, this is absurd to complain about, but it’s something I don’t like. The edges of the alien ships are sharp, and I’d prefer something that’s smoother. It does also make them slightly harder to pick up. So since they are harder to pick up now you really jam your fingers onto them.

What I Like?

I really like the theme of the game and the speed of the solo play. I call this Space Invaders, but you win by blowing up the mothership. So it feels like Space Invaders mixed with Independence Day. So the theme really works, and then it’s a fast game as well. I do think the house keeping does slow things down, sometimes, but after a play, I knew how most things worked.

I also like the dice placement element. What I didn’t mention is that you roll once. Now, there are ways to roll again, if you place a white die. But the idea that higher value dice are more powerful, but they also move ships further. So the whole thing creates a good puzzle. You want to do a lot of research, you want to launch powerful fighters, you want more energy. But all of those move the alien ships further.

And while I haven’t won yet, I like that the game is always close for me. In my three plays, each one ends with me needing to get that last push of research and just ending up short. I probably need to focus a bit more on research sooner. But I love a cooperative game where it’s always on that edge of will I win or not, and Under Falling Skies, it’s on that edge.

Who Is It For?

Under Falling Skies is a solo only game, so that’s going to limit who it is for. Unlike some solo games where you maybe could kind of have a person playing the bad guy, this one is so automated with the aliens that it wouldn’t be f un. Actually, you as the player make the decision what the aliens do based off dice placement. So this is a game for a solo gamer.

I don’t know what this is the first game I would get, though, for someone who wants to get into solo gaming. There is just enough house keeping that it might feel like a lot to start. And with a bigger box size and price point than some solo games, I think there are better ones to test the water with. But if someone is looking to take the next step into solo gaming, Under Falling Skies will be great.

Under Falling Skies – Final Thoughts

Is Under Falling Skies my top solo game? I don’t think so, but it is very enjoyable. I really like how the dice placement works in the game. And the theme, for me, helps sell the game. I played Space Invaders growing up, and while that wasn’t my main computer or video game, there is nostalgia too it, same with Independence Day.

And one thing that I haven’t mentioned is the campaign mode. There is a reason that I haven’t mentioned it, I have yet to play it. The base game, thus far, is enough. There is variability just with the cities you have there and that changes up the bunker. There is so much variability just with the base game that the campaign, I will get to, but one eventually.

My Grade: B+
Gamer Grade: B+
Casual Grade: B

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Pros

• Theme
• Aesthetic
• Mechanics
• Game Difficulty
• Price and price options

Cons

• Theme

The Page

I love this page, they do a great job on it and honestly, I could just look at that artwork all day. Shawna JC Tenney’s artwork is just beautiful and it fits so well for the theme and the weight of the game. This is not a heavy Euro, you are not fighting for spots on the board in hopes that you’ll be able to do what you want to.

They also have a ton of previews for the game as well. And I know it says reviews in there, but assume that anything on a Kickstarter page is always going to be more of a preview. If it were a review and it was negative, they won’t put it up on the page. So maybe checkout Board Game Geek for reviews. But that’s about the only knock that I have on the page.

The Game

This is a company with pedigree for creating good and interesting kids games and family weight games. And this game looks like it falls in line with that. The mechanics are pretty standard Euro but with a bit of dice rolling to supplement what you are trying to do. I like the idea of crafting things and building up a tableau of things in front of you to score points.

What it also does, and I commented about it above is that it’s friendly in your worker placement spots. There are generally three types of worker placement games, ones that don’t limit where you can go, ones that allow you to bump someone from a spot – generally giving them a benefit, or ones where only a limited number of people can go. This one is the friendly type where anyone can go anywhere which really does help keep it in that family weight game.

Back or Brick

For me, this is going to be a brick. Now, that seems weird considering how much I’ve been positive about it. But I’m looking for a spot for it on my shelf. Will it replace those introductory family weight games that I already have, I’m not sure. Is it one that will get played much right now or even in the next few years as I have a 2 year old, not a kid who is ready to learn a game like this, I don’t think it will. I think this is probably a really good game that most people will enjoy, and I think if you back it you’ll like it, for me, this is just not the right time for me to back a game like this one.

How about for you, is this a back or a brick?

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Roll Player

In Roll Player you are rolling up and drafting dice to try and create your best RPG character. You do this by selecting dice and placing them in the stats of Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. At the same time you are buying gear and traits in order to make your character even better. The game gives you stats that you need to target for your character, dice placement of color which can get you extra points, and an alignment that you are going for as your ideal. Plus, you have a character race with modifies your stats as well. In the end, the player who can match up their background and stats the best will get the most points and win.

Sagrada

In Sagrada you are building a stained glass window by placing translucent dice onto a grid. To get these dice you are drafting them from a pool that is rolled each round. You don’t get to just place the dice, you have to place them according to certain rules. The dice can’t be next to the same color or number on the top and bottom and left and right sides of them, the diagonal doesn’t matter. You also have to place a die so that it’s touching another die, this time it can be diagonally as well as orthogonally. Beyond that, certain spots on the board are going to tell you that it has to be a certain color or a certain number, so that limits what you can place around it. There are tools that you can use to manipulate your dice placement or the face or die itself. However, you have a limited ability to do that. The game is won by whomever has placed the most dice, how well you scored on three public objectives, and their private objective.

Comparison/Differences

The big area that these two compare is on the dice placement. Now, it’s done a little bit differently for that, because with Roll Player you’re just adding it to the end of a row of dice for the stat versus in Sagrada where you can branch out more so to fill in certain areas. This makes Sagrada a bit more strategic on that end, but not that much more, both of them are pretty straight forward with that.

Another area is dice manipulation, in this one Roll Player offers a considerable number of more options. Each time you place a die for a stat, you have a power that you can do, and all of them, minus Charisma, manipulate the dice, the side, the placement, whatever it might be somehow. So you’re manipulating your dice a lot in the game. Sagrada, on the other hand has tools that you end up using, but you have a limited number of times that you can use them. A hard stained glass window gives you five or six tokens to use, and after the first use of each tool it costs two tokens. So you’re manipulating the dice less, but also low numbers have more value if it matches a number requirement or color requirement on the stained glass window.

Battle…

Both of these dice placement, dice selection games look pretty evenly matched, with Roll Player using it’s weight advantage to push around Sagrada. It gets the early advantage with it’s simpler dice selection, but it tries for some complicated moves as it manipulates the dice. Sagrada starts to get in some quick hits and soon they are brawling again. Sagrada, knowing that Roll Player is going to come in for some bigger moves, starts to use it’s speed as it strings together move after move versus Roll Player who seems to be struggling at times to keep the momentum going. Sagrada eventually uses it’s speed to roll up Roll Player and the winner is…

Sagrada

For me, the game just plays cleaner. I do really enjoy both, but there book keeping aspect of Roll Player, having to refresh the market every turn, setting up the dice, it’s all just slower. Sagrada gives me a number of interesting choices still, and less downtime and just less overall time in the game. I can sit down with people who are familiar with Sagrada and probably knock out two games in the time of one game of Roll Player. Now, the length of Roll Player isn’t a bad thing, Sagrada is just easier and smoother to get to the table.

Which do you prefer, Sagrada or Roll Player?

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