Eagle-Gryphon Games | Nerdologists https://nerdologists.com Where to jump in on board games, anime, books, and movies as a Nerd Fri, 24 Oct 2025 15:40:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 https://nerdologists.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/nerdologists-favicon.png Eagle-Gryphon Games | Nerdologists https://nerdologists.com 32 32 Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition – 50 through 41 https://nerdologists.com/2025/10/top-100-games-of-all-time-2025-edition-50-through-41/ https://nerdologists.com/2025/10/top-100-games-of-all-time-2025-edition-50-through-41/#comments Fri, 24 Oct 2025 15:37:13 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=9868 Continuing the Top 100 Games (of all time) on Malts and Meeples we have games 50 through 41. What games make the list?

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Sorry for the weird schedule. With time off from school for the kid, it got everything moved around. But the videos are still coming out, so the articles are playing catch-up. But you can find the fully caught up list on Malts and Meeples YouTube channel for the Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition. The videos are out for 50 through 41 and 40 through 31 in the Top 100. The article for the next part of the Top 100 Games will come next week. But let’s look at games 50 through 41 in the Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition.

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…

Welcome To Box
Image Source: Board Game Geek

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

Lord of the Rings Duel
Image Source: Repos Production

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

Heat: Pedal to the Metal
Image Source: Days of Wonder

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

Ohanami
Image Source: Pandsaurus Games

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!

Mind Up
Image Source: Catch Up Games

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

Schadenfreude
Image Source: Studio Turbine

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

The Great Split
Image Source: Horrible Guild

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

IceCool Box
Image Source: Brain Games

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

Pitch Car
Image Source: Ferti

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

Metal Gear Solid
Image Source: CMON

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 100 Games 2025 Edition – 80 through 71 https://nerdologists.com/2025/09/top-100-games-2025-edition-80-through-71/ https://nerdologists.com/2025/09/top-100-games-2025-edition-80-through-71/#comments Thu, 25 Sep 2025 16:09:23 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=9836 What games make it onto the third chunk of my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition. Join me every Wednesday to find out.

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The Top 100 Games list continues along with games 80 through 71. There are a few new games to this section of the list. And a few games that have dropped some over the years. It is always hard to know why a game is dropping or coming back up. Sometimes it is because you haven’t played it in a while. Other times it might be that you’ve played a game too much so it is losing it’s luster. Still they are all games that I love.

Catch Up on the Top 100 Games

100 through 91
90 through 81

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition – 80 through 71

80. Rock Hard 1977

Rock Hard 1977
Image Source: Devir

Published By: Devir
Designer: Jackie Fox

Buy Rock Hard 1977

Do you want to be a rockstar? Rock Hard 1977 is all about being a rockstar and the designer is legitimately a rockstar. In this game you place out workers in day, evening and night activities that help take you from garage band playing little local shows to playing sold out stadiums. The player who can make the journey the best is going to be the winner of the game. And each part of the day is going to let you do different things, in the day you might record a record, evening perform, and night go hang out at a club.

79. The Night Cage

The Night Cage
Image Source: Smirk & Dagger

Published By: Smirk & Dagger Games
Designer: Christopher Ryan Chan, Chris McMahon and Rosswell Saunders

Buy The Night Cage

I like a good spooky game. The Night Cage gives you that spooky feeling by creating tension as you race to get out of an every changing labyrinth. Can everyone get their keys and get to a portal before the candles run out and the players are lost in there forever. That counting down of tiles as they leave the board and new ones are placed out as a timer is great in this game. And it is spooky, which is hard for a board game to do.

78. Cthulhu: Death May Die

Cthulhu Death May Die
Image Source: CMON

Published By: CMON Global Limited
Designers: Rob Daviau and Eric M Lang

Sold Out on online retailers, look for sellers on the Board Game Geek Marketplace or eBay.

Maybe your spooky is better with lots of giant monsters and a scenario where you know an elder being is going to come eventually. Cthulhu: Death May Die, called CDMD or Death May Die in the hobby, is a big game with minis and madness. You want to push your insanity up a little bit so that you unlock new powers and abilities to defeat the ancient horrors. But too much insanity and you knocked out of the game. This is a good beer and pretzels sort of game.

77. Captain Flip

Captain Flip
Image Source: PlayPunk

Published By: PlayPunk
Designers: Remo Conzadori and Paolo Mori

Buy Captain Flip

Moving on from the spooky games, we have Captain Flip. This is tile laying game about filling up your pirate ship with crew. Every crew member is going to give you points, positive or negative, in some way. When you draw a tile you see one side. Then you decide do you want to place that onto your ship, or do you want flip it? If you flip it you are stuck on that side and have to put that down. It’s this balance of optimizing your score, playing out pirates, and pushing your luck as you flip the tiles.

76. Cartographers

Cartographers
Image Source: Thunderworks Games

Published By: Thunderworks Games
Designer: Jordy Adan

Buy Cartographers

Cartographers used to be my Top Roll and Write style game. Now it is dropping a bit, some because there are so many roll and write games that I like, and some because I haven’t played it recently. But I really enjoy this one and really enjoy making a map. I like the interactivity of the monsters who I play it on my opponents board in the worst spot possible for them. And I like how you score four different things, but depending on the season you score two and the season determines the two. It’s one I need to play again.

75. Letter Jam

Letter Jam
Image Source: Board Game Geek

Published By: Czech Games Edition (CGE)
Designer: Ondra Skoupy

Buy Letter Jam

Do you like word games but it seems like some people are just better at them? Letter Jam is a cooperative word game, so everyone needs to work together. In this game you don’t know the letters or the word you have. But everyone else can see one letter of yours at a time, and you can see one letter of everyone else’s. You all need to give good clues of words so people can figure out what their letter is. Say you have an “O” if I give a clue that shows you that the word uses the letters “FR[your letter]M” you can figure out what it is. But everyone needs to figure theirs out and figure out their word.

74. Can’t Stop

Can't Stop
Image Source: Eagle Gryphon Games

Published By: Eagle Gryphon Games
Designer: Sid Sackson

Buy Can’t Stop

Can’t Stop is another push your luck game to make the list. I like a good push your luck game like this one, Push, or Flip 7. They are easy to teach and play. In this one you want to get to the top of 3 columns. If you do that, you win. How do you do that, well, you roll dice and then split them into two pairs of two. The twist is that you only move up on three numbers per turn. So I might roll and get a combo to make ten and eleven, if I am not going up on ten or eleven, I lose my progress. But if I play it too safe, I lose.

73. Under Falling Skies

Under Falling Skies
Image Source: Czech Game Editions

Published By: Czech Games Edition (CGE)
Designer: Tomas Uhlif

Buy Under Falling Skies

Do you like the movie Independence Day? Did you grow up playing the game Space Invaders. Under Falling Skies is a game that gives me the feel of both of those things. You need to research how to stop the mother ship while keeping too many of the smaller ships from making it to earth. And it uses an interesting die system. The higher the die, the more powerful the actions you can take are. But also the faster those little ships descend towards earth. I love that balancing act puzzle of the game.

72. So Clover!

So Clover
Image Source: Repos Productions

Published By: Repos Production
Designer: Francois Romain

Buy So Clover!

So Clover! is a cooperative party game. It is one that is easy to teach in person and hard to explain. Basically you create a grid of cards that have words on every side. So you need to connect the two words per side with another word. Then everyone else is trying to get those words back onto the board in the right order, but the twist is there is an extra word thrown in. Plus often times the words are not easy to match. The better you do that as a group the more points you get.

71. Rallyman: DIRT

Rallyman Dirt
Image Source: Holy Grail Games

Published By: Holy Grail Games
Designer: Jean-Cristophe Bouvier

Buy Rallyman: DIRT

Finally rounding out this 10 is Rallyman: DIRT. This is another push your luck game and a racing game. In it you plot you course down the track and then get a choice. You either roll one die at a time which allows you to stop before you spin out and bad things happen. Or you roll all the dice at once. Why roll all at once? Well, when you roll all at once, you take negative one second to your time per die rolled. So you can reduce your overall time if you don’t spin out.

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.

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
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Support us on Patreon here

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Top 100 Games 2025 Edition – 100 through 91 https://nerdologists.com/2025/09/top-100-games-2025-edition-100-through-91/ https://nerdologists.com/2025/09/top-100-games-2025-edition-100-through-91/#comments Thu, 11 Sep 2025 16:50:53 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=9803 It's time to kick of the Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition. As always games 100 through 91. Is a favorite of yours on the list?

The post Top 100 Games 2025 Edition – 100 through 91 first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
It’s that season, by that I mean fall, and I’m doing my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition list. I do a Top 100 Games every year. So let’s see how the games rank and compare to previous years. That will start in next video as I forgot to put together my spreadsheet. But checkout the first video where I go from 100 through 91. And let me know your favorite game from the list is.

Top 100 Games (of all time) 100 through 91

100. Ecosystem

Ecosystem
Image Source: Genius Games

Published By: Genius Games
Designer: Matt Simpson

Buy Ecosystem here.

I like drafting games a lot and I think that is what keeps Ecosystem on the list. It is a good drafting game with then a good puzzle as you create your tableau of cards in front of you. There are three version of Ecosystem all of which are great though I’m only going to be keeping the one that I show in the picture. That is because that one is easier to teach and learn and play. But any of the versions are pretty easy to learn and all offer their own drafting and tableau building puzzle.

99. Aquatica

Aquatica
Image Source: Arcane Wonders

Published By: Arcane Wonders
Designer: Ivan Tuzovsky

Buy Aquatica here.

Can you develop the best underwater kingdom is the theme of Aquatica. But the game is really about one central mechanism for me and that is enough to get it onto the list. I wish that the characters were more fun and diverse, but I love the card sliding. When you slide a card up to gain more resources and combo it into a big turn, it just feels good. And the puzzle of optimizing that on each turn is amazing.

It’s worth nothing that I love the puzzle in person but I find it not that great on BGA (Board Game Arena). Mainly, I think on BGA you lose that tactile nature of sliding up cards and seeing how you can work everything together. It makes a tactile thing seem a lot more mechanical on BGA and more interesting when it is in person.

98. Perolga

Pergola
Image Source: Rebel Studio

Published By: Rebel Studio
Designers: Michal Golab Golebiowski and Przemek Woljtkowiak

Buy Pergola Here.

Do you want to make a pretty garden? Perogla is game off set collection and creating a beautiful garden to play in. I like the action or item selection process for the game. The trowels are a fun way to do it, but also the changing extra bonus, depending on where you pick from, really adds to the game as well. Because of that, I think the game offers a bunch of different ways to score points and feels different when I play it

97. Crokinole

Mayday Crokinole
Image Source: Mayday Games

There is no designer or publisher on Board Game Geek to post because this game is from 1876 or around then.

Pledge for Crokinole Board Here.

I love Crokinole as a flicking game where I can build up skill. There are other higher flicking and dexterity games on the list, but Crokinole has some things I love about it. In particular that skill level that you are more apt to develop. But it is also a great game for a whole evening, you just sit around, flick discs, have a drink and chat to create a fun activity and casual time. The game is all about scoring points by getting into that center hole, but then strategy as you try and knock your opponents discs off the board.

96. Fleet: The Dice Game

Fleet the Dice Game
Image Source: Eagle Gryphon Games

Published By: Eagle-Gryphon Games
Designers: Ben Pinchback and Matt Riddle

Buy Fleet: The Dice Game Here.

Do you want a big roll and write game with two sheets? Then Fleet: The Dice Game might be the roll and write game for you. I like this one because it offers a lot of combos and a lot of paths to scoring points and possible victory. You want to get fish because that is going to give you points, but you also want to get licenses that are going to give you powers. Or maybe you are all in on the market or all in on building the different shops at the wharf. Whatever it is, there is a path for you to try and combo in the game.

95. The Castles of Burgundy

The Castles of Burgundy
Image Source: alea

Published By: alea and Awaken Realms
Designer: Stefan Feld

Buy The Castles of Burgundy Special Edition on Miniature Market.

Can you build up the best area of Burgundy to get the most points? That’s what this game is about, getting points in any and every way that you can. Whether it is by adding to flocks or filling an area or delivering goods, you are going to get points. And the dice management in the game is what really makes it work for me. I like figuring out how I can optimize my two dice for a great turn. Or maybe I can’t do that, and now I need to figure out how to pivot to something new.

94. Comic Hunters

Comic Hunters
Image Source: Spin Master and Arcane Wonders

Published By: Arcane Wonders
Designer: Diego Sa

Buy Comic Hunters from Amazon here.

Do you like comic books and do you want to have a massive comic collection? That is Comic Hunters in a nutshell as you draft comics to add to your collection. Then you need to determine which ones get added and which ones you spend from your hand putting back into the pool. Plus this game offers multiple different drafts. That sounds like a lot to teach and learn, but it isn’t bad because it’s possible to teach just one draft at a time. And the final bonus is great Marvel comic covers in this game.

93. Dungeon Kart

Dungeon Kart
Image Source: Brotherwise Games

Published By: Brotherwise Games
Designer: Michael Xuereb

Buy Dungeon Kart here.

Do you want to play Mario Kart but you also want to play a board game? Dungeon Kart is going to let you do both of those things with Boss Monster characters, special powers and spells. This is not my favorite racing game, but it is one that gives me that Mario Kart feel. And the game itself is not too slow in how it plays which I really like.

92. Ace of Spaces

Ace of Spades
Image Source: Devir

Published By: Devir Games
Designer: Benjamin Amorin

Note: This game is getting an art update after less than welcoming art was included in the game. A new version to buy will be coming.

This is Balatro the board game. Now that isn’t 100% right, but there is similarities between the two. In that you want to beat a boss in this game and you do that with poker hands. In fact you do that several times. And the different bosses you defeat will give you one off or permanent bonuses. There is a bunch of luck in the game, but it’s fast to play, fast to learn, and just a good time for a solo or two player game, in particular solo.

91. Railroad Ink Challenge

Railroad Ink Challenge
Image Source: Horrible Guild

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

Buy Railroad Ink Challenge here.

This is a great roll and write game where you are creating rail and road routes. As you create the routes the more exit points you connect, the more points you get. And longest road and rail routes are going to give you points as well. I like both the Challenge and non-challenge version of the game. But the Challenge version gives you some challenges to go for as well which just adds in a little that I really love for the game.

Join Next Week

Next week I am going to be continuing the list. The plan is 9 PM Central time every Wednesday until the list is done and you can click notify on the YouTube channel (Malts and Meeples) to know when new videos are going live. I also have put up links to some of the upcoming videos already there, so you can click notify on those. What games are going to be in my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 edition next week as I do 90 through 81.

Thanks so much for checking out the article and the videos. I hope you have fun with them. I know I have a ton of fun making the list every year.

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Can’t Stop…. playing Can’t Stop https://nerdologists.com/2025/07/cant-stop-playing-cant-stop/ https://nerdologists.com/2025/07/cant-stop-playing-cant-stop/#respond Wed, 30 Jul 2025 14:25:55 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=9731 Will you make it to the top or bust as you push your luck in Can't Stop? And is Can't Stop a game worth checking out on BGA?

The post Can’t Stop…. playing Can’t Stop first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
Does push your luck work on Board Game Arena? I feel like I’ve had mixed results with it. While I like Flip 7 a lot as a game, it is not great on BGA. Why, because a lot of the fun of a push your luck game is agonizing with those at the table if you continue or not. And then giving into peer pressure. So is a game that is purely push your luck, like Can’t Stop, a good game to play at all and good on BGA?

How To Play Can’t Stop

Can’t Stop is a simple game where you push up tracks to try and reach the top of three of them. You can also play a longer version of the game where you reach the top of five of them, but at lower player counts, 2-3 players.

On your turn you roll two dice. And then you create two combinations of two dice. And you move up on those tracks. So if you roll a two, three, five and five, you could move up on five and ten or seven and eight. Then you can keep pushing your luck. But on a turn the most you can move up on is three differently numbered tracks. So once you are locked into those three.

Then you decide if you want to keep rolling. If you do and you get a combination that works to move up on one of the tracks, you get to choose again. However, if you can’t create a combination of one of those three numbers you lose all your progress.

What Doesn’t Work

This is a purely luck based game. Yes, you can calculate your odds of a given roll, but you are rolling dice. Now, this is something that will also go in the what works section as well. Why, because it is what the game is. You know if you hate luck and risk, then Can’t Stop is probably all negative for you. If not, it’s a positve.

What Works

So let’s just say what I said, this game keeps the game streamlined for it just being push your luck. It’s simple but it works with that because it doesn’t try and over complicate things. Do I roll dice or not, that is the question. And with rolling two dice you generally know the odds of rolling a number.

I like that the tracks vary in length. It’s nice because obviously some combinations are longer. But now that I only need to move up three on two or twelve that makes it more tempting. At the same time, you never want to count on it. So it becomes this fun moment of getting a twelve or a two and deciding if you just want to stop because you’ve made progress.

The game is also quite fast. I say quite fast because while a single turn won’t take much time, the game could take a little bit. But that all depends on how much your people believe in the title of the game. If you can’t stop, then Can’t Stop might take a while to play.

The game also provides a lot of fun moments. Push your luck generally does when someone is on crazy streak of climbing up on column. Then there is either emotion of joy if they make it or heartbreak if they bust and lose all that progress. It’s something that is true with a lot of push your luck games, but it works well and provides good moments more often than some in Can’t Stop.

Who is Can’t Stop For?

Do you like push your luck? Can’t Stop is a game for you. Do you hate push your luck? Don’t get Can’t Stop. There, it is that simple.

Final Thoughts and Grade on Can’t Stop

I like this game. I think it works really well on BGA, and it is going to be one that I play a ton of on BGA. Especially at two players it is a game that just flies asynchronously. And it’s always fun to come back and see where you opponent has gotten to.

The game also just provides a lot of great moments. Can I sneak in and steal a number from you if I get really hot. Or do I risk it to keep rolling once I have made some progress because I’m on five, seven and eight and the odds or one of those coming up are good. And that is just fun.

Really, I think that best describes my time with Can’t Stop. The game is just fun with how it plays. It isn’t complex, it isn’t long, but it just works. It is what you want for a push your luck game. Some push your luck games try and add in too much and lose being fun. Others have it as smaller parts and works, but this one is that right level of just pushing your luck.

My Grade: A
Gamer Grade: B-
Casual Grade: A
Strategy (out of 10): 2
Luck (out of 10): 10

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TableTopTakes: Tumblin-Dice https://nerdologists.com/2022/12/tabletoptakes-tumblin-dice/ https://nerdologists.com/2022/12/tabletoptakes-tumblin-dice/#respond Wed, 14 Dec 2022 12:34:30 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=7606 Roll your dice and see how high a score you can get, that is what Tumblin-Dice by Eagle-Gryphon Games promises, but is the simple idea fun?

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I already talked about one light dice game this week with Strike. Today I am doing the same thing again and talking about Tumblin-Dice, another game that hit the table a multiple times over the weekend. This one, also just simple and with rolling dice, but let’s see how this one works.

How To Play Tumblin-Dice

This is a very simple game, you have a set of dice, the game comes with six sided dice (D6), and you roll them on the board. You need to hit the top and then where it ends up, if it’s on the board you get a multiplier for your points. The further down the board you roll it, the higher the multiplier is, going from x0 to x4 in a few spots at the bottom.

After everyone has rolled all of their dice, you figure out everyone’s totals and the person with the most points wins. That is the whole of the game and there are some tweaks or things to think about that you can do. But I will talk about those coming up here.

What Doesn’t Work?

Firstly, this is a simple luck based game. You are rolling dice and trying to keep them on the board so you get points. But they can be knocked off and knocked over, so you might go from a 6×3 to a 1×4 or even nothing if someone bumps you. It is purely luck in this game with what numbers you get, kind of, I’ll talk about that more in what works.

The other thing that the game suffers with a little bit is that the game play is very fast, but scoring is not as fast. Someone needs to add up everyone’s scores, and if people aren’t good at math on the fly, it slows it down. Even if people are, it’s generally a group process so it isn’t that fast. Scoring doesn’t take longer than the game, it just isn’t the fastest and easiest thing.

Tumblin-Dice Dice
Image Source: Board Game Geek (@kneumann)

What Works?

The first thing that works is that this is a fast and easy game. When we played it, we talked about how this is kind of a bar or drinking game. You don’t need to pay much attention, you can just have fun with it. Now, your math is going to get worse the more you drink. But that’s what phone calculators are for. But the sentiment still stands, it is a game meant for people to have a silly or fun time with it.

And this is a variant to the game, I don’t know if it’s needed, but it is fun. You play the game with a set of RPG dice instead. Now you’re rolling a D4, D6, D8, two D10, a D12, and a D20. It makes the game a whole lot more swingy. You could get 80 points if you rolled a 20 on a x4. But it’s fun to get those bigger numbers and if someone gets that great roll, well, it gives the next thing I enjoy.

I talk about how it is all luck, an the game is all luck. You roll a die down a board and sure, you can get decent at it to get it to stop on the board, but what number, that’s luck. How far down the board, that’s some luck. But there is some “strategy” to the game. If someone has a 6 on the x4 or x3, you want to knock them off their spot. And that is the strategy you get, going for that shot to move someone’s dice, and that is fun as well.

Who Is It For?

I kind of gave away some of it, but I think this is a good game for a bar or for when you’re just hanging out, having a beer, and want to do something but nothing too serious. I actually think this is a good option for a barbecue type of event because you could set it up, be standing around chatting and play a slow game.

Along with that, I also think that it could be a solid family game. And even a teaching tool for kids who are learning their multiplication. In the base game you can have the learn or practice their 1-6×1-4 tables. It’s not a ton but it’s practice. And with the variant that I played from the Dice Tower, you now have a whole lot higher numbers to work with, and it’d be a solid way to do something fun and learn.

Final Thoughts on Tumblin-Dice

This one I don’t think is quite as good as Strike. Mainly because Strike delivers more of those, what was that shot moments. But Tumblin-Dice is still a good time when you play it. Mainly because it is so simple. And it looks impressive on the table.

The board that you roll on is big. And everyone standing around it makes it look fun. So, Tumblin-Dice is a game that will attract people to it and to play it. And for some people it will be a miss. It isn’t a serious game, but if you can have fun with it, it works. And I think a lot of people will be able to have fun with it.

I didn’t expect deep strategy when I played it. I went in expecting that I’d have a fun time rolling dice. And I left with those expectations being met. Often times if you can do that, that is enough to make a game fun. And Tumblin-Dice meets expectations so is a fun time as a game.

My Grade: B-

Gamer Grade: D

Casual Grade: B

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Point of Order – Black Friday Board Games https://nerdologists.com/2022/11/point-of-order-black-friday-board-games/ https://nerdologists.com/2022/11/point-of-order-black-friday-board-games/#respond Wed, 30 Nov 2022 14:47:48 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=7566 It's been a busy Black Friday season, which board games are coming to my collection? And why was I even looking at so many.

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I think that Black Friday is something that’s shown up more all around the world at this point, the unofficial kickoff to holiday shopping. Now, I say unofficial because Halloween did a bad job of keeping Christmas decorations and holiday decorations at bay like it’s supposed to. But many of the best deals are still happening around Black Friday, the weekend after Thanksgiving, or even the week leading into Thanksgiving, so let’s see what board games have come in.

Eagle-Gryphon Games

Tumbling Dice

This is one that has been on my radar for a long time and I wasn’t sure where to buy it. But it’s a cool looking, pretty big game, that is really simple. You take turns rolling a die down a track. And once everyone has rolled their dice, whatever dice are on there and the face they it is on determine how many points you get. Is it a serious game, not at all, but it looks fun.

And the further that you can roll it down the higher a multiplier you get. So if you have a 4 at the top it’s worth 4 times 1. If it’s at the bottom it’s 4 times 4. Of course, you might roll a one as well.

I went with the Tom Vasel method from the Dice Tower, too, I bought some roll playing dice sets. And I’ll probably make up some more as well. That way you aren’t just rolling 4 four sided dice. You can roll the full set of seven dice and get crazy numbers if a 20 lands on the times 4.

Miniature Market

This was over a couple of orders. Miniature Market did sales throughout the month of November, plus then Black Friday sales.

Imperium Legends

This was the one from the first order. It’s a solo game, or multiplayer that I’ve heard good things about. I mainly grabbed it because it was solo and I wanted to try it. I’m not sure it’ll be a solo game for me, because I’ve also heard okay things about Imperium Legends from some reviewers who I tend to match up with taste wise. But on a sale it was worth a try.

Imperium Legends
Image Source: Osprey Games

Dragonscales

Dragonscales is another one that I’ve heard some about and I’m not sold that it’s for me. But it was on a good sale and in this case it was the last piece to get to free shipping. It’s a push your luck game, and I am hoping to find one that works well for my group I do have Can’t Stop that I need to try as well. But Incan Gold worked okay, we just have some people that really like to push their luck.

Chronicles of Avel

Chronicles of Avel I’ve seen on shelves for a while, not like a super long time the game is pretty new, but every time that I see it, I want to buy it. It’s a lighter more family focused adventure game. And the artwork on the game looks amazing. And it’s supposed to be a lighter game, really good Board Game Geek rating, that gives you the same upgrading and creating characters to play, but for the whole family.

Paw Patrol Spot It

This actually was the main reason that the Black Friday order from Miniature Market happened. I have a kid who loves Paw Patrol, and Spot It is a game that he might not quite be ready for, but I would guess in the next six months we could start playing it. I think Spot It is fine, but to get a version that he’ll love and we can play together as a family, I’m all for that.

Ascension Gift of Elements

I’ve been eying this one for a long time as well, Gift of the Elements has been on sale a lot. I don’t think that I need to get all of Ascension, but I have two other expansions and I want to add this one into the mix. Why, because I think the stuff it can add in looks cool. Really what I’m noticing about Ascension right now is that I need to get it back to the table again. I really love it as a basic deck building game.

Journey Through the Radiant Citadel

And this is D&D adventure book. I don’t tend to buy those, but part of me is wanting to pick them up and grab story elements from my own campaign. Plus it was the alt art book cover. If this one doesn’t work for me, I can trade it in, or I can glean what I want from it and then trade it in. But in terms of adventures, the book seems more interesting than some.

Lone Shark Games

Thornwatch

I know Lone Shark Games for one game, Apocrypha. I actually forgot that they had made more. And this one is with Jerry Hawkins from Penny Arcade. It has solid ratings but again, it was really cheap, cheap to the point with very cheap shipping that it felt bad not to give it a go. I want to know if it has that Penny Arcade humor in the game and if it’s going to be a fit for me, because the cover and description make it look like something I should enjoy.

Snowdale Design

Lands of Galzyr

I blame, directly, Meet Me At the Table, YouTube channel for this one. He had a really good playthrough of one game, and this looks like a choose your own adventure big game, with fun tests and characters, that I love. And it doesn’t just look like that, but it also looks relaxing. A lot of the big games like it tend to offer big decisions and big consequences, whereas Lands of Galzyr offers you good choices but the stakes, at least early on, don’t seem as high.

Brotherwise Games

Call to Adventure: Epic Origins

I almost backed this one on the Kickstarter. And yes, ordering it later means that I missed out on some of the exclusives, but it was also cheaper. And I don’t care too much about the exclusives I missed out on. But I do want to get the game to the table, and I want to see what it adds in, as a standalone game.

Chip Theory Games

Too Many Bones
Image Source: Chip Theory Games

Too Many Bones + Tink Bundle

Too Many Bones and Chip Theory got me on this one. It is a good way to start building up the collection. I have Undertow. And I backed the last one that Gamefound that they had about a year ago for two new characters. Now I’ll have a ton of characters to play with and explore the weird world of Too Many Bones.

Amazon

Get on Board

I almost picked this one up at GenCon this year. iello brought it over to the US. But it’s a roll and write, sort of game. There is a main board where everyone is creating bus routes to pick up and drop off people. But you don’t want to overlap with other people and other routes because then you are creating traffic and slowing things down.

That is on a joint main board but then you each have your own board that you are filling in things on that are tracking who you pick up, points that you are getting and possibly other abilities. I like that it has roll and write elements but overlaps more.

Abyss

Abyss is one that I wanted to demo at GenCon, though maybe was a good thing I didn’t or I’d have been tempted to buy it then. Plus Abyss has great artwork, and I think I’d have been disappointed if I bought it when it came out because it looks so epic. The game itself is a smaller game in what you are doing and now knowing that, I think it’s the type of game that I’d enjoy.

Mansions of Madness Box
Image Source: Fantasy Flight

Mansions of Madness Expansion

In this case, I finally decided to grab an expansion for a game that I love and is in my Top 10 Games of all time. This is just going to add in a little bit more that I can play, give some new tiles new characters things like that. Definitely makes me want to get Mansions of Madness to the table again though.

Dice Conquest

I thought, when I first looked at it that Dice Conquestjust looked like an okay game. And I suspect I don’t find it amazing but will find it fun, and for a game that I can play solo, I’m excited for that. I always want to find small footprint solo games, and Dice Conquest, while it can be multiplayer, is also small footprint for solo.

In this game you are rolling dice, you standard D&D combination of dice, and fighting off monsters, taking damage and trying to make it through the dungeon. Or at least I think of it was a dungeon, where you will then face off against the big bad guy. Each monster is a bit different, and the characters have unique powers, so it should offer fun repeated plays.

All Systems Go

Cascadia

Cascadia is one that I’ve known that I want to try. I actually went into my local game store not to get this game, but the used game I was interested in was already bought. And I have been wanting to try this one. I like Calico, from the same company, which has simpler game play but more punishing.

I am hoping that Cascadia is still easy enough and with the expanding board will work well for a nice relaxing and fun game to play. To me, I think I’ll enjoy that it has a good amount of variety as well. It might lack the tension that I’ll get from Calico but be more relaxing to play.

Thousand Year Old Vampire

I also grabbed this solo RPG book, Thousand Year Old Vampire. I’ve heard about a handful of times and a solo RPG just sounds interesting to me. You are a vampire and it is basically giving you prompts and things like that which you can answer. It might not be for me, it is mature in theme as you’d expect from a vampire, but I want to give it a try.

Stars of Akarios
Image Source: OOMM Board Games

OOMM Games

Stars of Akarios Minis

Final item on the list is minis for Stars of Akarios. I love Stars of Akarios, and the standee ships are cool. But to have minis for them, for the enemies since your characters have minis already, is going to be awesome. It’s just going to make the board look more epic, and I’m not going to lie, I kind of want to get it back tot he table when it comes in.

Final Thouhts

It’s a lot of games coming in for sure. And some of them are already here. Plus some Kickstarter and Crowdfunding games that I’ve ordered are starting to come in. Mainly I had Tiny Turbo Cars show up a couple of weeks ago. And I just got confirmation that Zombicide Undead or Alive is on it’s way as well. Plus I know Frosthaven is shipping so there are a ton of games.

In fact, there are enough that I’m actually going through and rearranging my game shelf, sorting things again, and possibly finding some to trade away because I need to get more room on the shelf for everything. I’m disappointed though, I have some time off, and Ikea doesn’t have a 4×4 Kallax available, otherwise I’d run and get one of those to get even more shelf space to use.

Which game out of these would you try and get to the table first? I suspect the first might either be Get on Board or Tumbling Dice.

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