Catch Up on the Top 100 Games

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

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition – 60 through 51

60. Trinket Trove

Publisher: GameHead
Designer: Rocco Privetera

Buy Trinket Trove

I love how Trinket Trove has pretty simple rules. But it is a game that offers more than just simple game play. You collect cards in your hand that will be your score at the end of the game. There is a twist, though, as those cards you also use to bid on other cards. So you need to bid to get more cards or get cards that you want, but that means you mess up your hand. I think that little twist is clever as well as being able to take the cards others have bid to make for a really fun game.

59. Vampire: The Masquerade – CHAPTERS

Publisher: FLYOS
Designers: Thomas Flippi, Gary Paitre

Buy Vampire: The Masquerade – CHAPTERS

Now to another one of those big adventure games that I love, we have Vampire: The Masquerade – CHAPTERS. This is set in the World of Darkness/Vampire: The Masquerade RPG setting. And it is a scenario driven adventure game. Now all the scenarios chain together, so it is meant more as a GM-less RPG sort of setting. I like the simplicity in which it plays. And I think balancing things like hunger and abilities is interesting in the game. The story is the element that really gets me though, as the combat itself is pretty simple.

58. Five Tribes: The Djinns of Naqala

Publisher: Days of Wonder
Designer: Bruno Cathala

Buy Five Tribes is Not Available Currently

This mancala style game is going to give you a ton of ways to score points. And I like that tension of trying to figure out a good move on your turn. Now, I know for some that might introduce some analysis paralysis and there are people I won’t play it with. But I like that puzzle of figuring out what I think is a good move for me and dropping off workers until I get to that last spot. I also like that everything gives you points in the game as that makes even a less than perfect turn still give you something.

57. Too Many Bones

Publisher: Chip Theory Games
Designers: Josh J Carlson, Adam Carlson

Buy Too Many Bones

Another adventure game on the list, I own so much stuff for Too Many Bones. This one is about the Gearlocs that you have and leveling them up. Each one is going to play differently. Some of them might let you level up archery as you unlock new dice, others might start to build bombs that you can use in combat. But this game is one with a great flow. You do an adventure piece, you fight some bad guys, you level up and then you repeat. You do that until you feel that you are ready to face off against the boss, and if you are lucky, you are ready and can win.

56. First-Class Letters

Publisher: GameHead
Designer: Peter C Hayward

Buy First-Class Letters

I love roll and write games, and I like word games. This one is a bit of both. You roll letters and you need to come up with words that use them. But there is a twist to that because there is a letter that you can’t use as well. And of course that is going to be a common letter to make it tricky. To add to that, there are some spots where they set the letter the word must start with. And all the words at the end need to be in alphabetical order. There is a bunch going on, but not too much to ruin the fun.

55. Super Fantasy Brawl

Publisher: Mythic Games
Designer: Jochen Elsenhuth

Super Fantasy Brawl is Currently Unavailable

I don’t love all fighting games. There are a few that I find great, and Super Fantasy Brawl is one of them. This is a game of fighting against an opponent to knock out their characters and complete objectives. But what I love about the game is the simplicity of the play. I play three cards a turn and do their actions, one for each color. Or, if I use a color for a reaction on my opponents turn, then it’s two cards on my turn. I also like that you score objectives at the start of your turn. So you need to hold that spot through your opponents turn.

54. Century: Golem Edition

Publisher: Plan B Games
Designer: Emerson Matsuuchi

Buy Century: Golem Edition

Century: Golem Edition is a great hand management engine building game. Each turn is simple, but the better you are at figuring out how to create a combo with the cards in your hand, the better you’ll do. It’s all about getting games and leveling up those games to get Golems, who are points, in the game. You can get the regular version of this as well, it’s the same game, but I love the Golem artwork and the gems in this are just more fun.

53. Pandemic Legacy Season 1

Publisher: Z-Man Games
Designers: Rob Daviau, Matt Leacock

Buy Pandemic Legacy Season 1

This one is for all the Pandemic Games. I love the Pandemic System, though I haven’t played base Pandemic in quite a while. Mainly because I think that Pandemic Legacy Season 1 and Season 2 are so good. The system just works and the story that you get within the legacy games is great. I even played Pandemic Legacy Season 1 solo on Malts and Meeples early on. So you can see that there, if you want to see how it went for me. I almost feel ready to play it again. If legacy isn’t your thing, than maybe Star Wars, Warhammer, or Lovecraftian horrors will work.

52. Mesozooic

Publisher: Z-Man Games
Designers: Florian Fay, Alexander Ortloff-Tang

Mesozooic is Currently Unavailable

Back to back Z-Man Games on the list, but Mesozooic is very different from Pandemic Legacy. This one is a small little drafting game where you draft eleven cards to make your zoo. But those cards, you don’t get to decide where they fit in your zoo. Instead, you shuffle them up and then then a sliding puzzle, you race to get them in place in 45 seconds. You do that draft and slide puzzle three times and whomever has the best zoos at the end of that is the winner of the game. It’s silly fun and I like it as something really different.

51. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

Publisher: Grey Fox Games
Designer: Tobey Ho

Buy Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

Finally wrapping up with #51 we have Deception: Murder in Hong Kong. This is the one social deduction game that I like, and that is because there is deduction as well. You start to piece together the clues from the Forensic Scientist to figure out the murder weapon and clue. Of course the murder and accomplice are trying to keep you away from that, and the witness is trying to subtly point you in the right direction. It’s just a great time and there is always a story in this game.

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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Catch up on previous videos here

100 through 91
90 through 81
80 through 71

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition – 70 through 61

70. Sagrada

• Published by Floodgate Games in 2017
• Build the most beautiful stained glass window

This game is just a great drafting game experience. The ease of play is wonderful as well because you draft a die and place it while other people are going on drafting their own dice. Especially with the 5-6 player expansion, which can be worked into the lower player counts, it makes it so you don’t need to spend time with what others are doing. But both ways to draft the dice and place the dice are mainly the same and really good. Plus the way you need to play the dice to not have colors or numbers adjacent makes a great puzzle.

Buy Sagrada

69. Mesozooic

• Published by Z-Man Games in 2018
• Slide your dino-themed park together in this light filler game

Mesozooic has a couple of great elements to the game. Firstly it’s drafting, and I really love drafting. But the game is more than that. You also need to complete a slide puzzle. You see you draft 11 cards and shuffle them up to create a 3 tall and 4 wide grid with an open spot. Then you slide them around frantically for 45 seconds like a slide puzzle to get the best dino-park that you can. It’s silly, light, and a very fun time.

Buy Mesozooic

68. 7 Wonders Duel

• Published by Repos Production in 2015
• Draft cards and build wonders in this head to head game

I like this game better than 7 Wonders. Mainly because I played 7 Wonders a few times at two and it isn’t a good game. 7 Wonders Duel is great that way, as expected. But the game is more than just a better version, I think that the drafting is very clever. I love the trying to avoid revealing a card that is good for your opponent. And some of the cards being face down so unknown until they are revealed. And the two side ways to win with science and military add in tension to the game as well. You can’t just draft your best engine, even though you want to.

Buy 7 Wonders Duel

67. Icecool

• Published by Brain Games in 2016
• Help your penguins sneak out of class and get fish in this dexterity game

Yes, the theme of Icecool is that simple and I love it for me. I love the flicking element of the game, it’s just fun. And I really enjoy the silliness of the game. This is one of my favorites for a late night of gaming. Just sit around and flick penguins and have a laugh. It is possible to get very good at the game, but it’s also a game where players can just have a great shot by pure luck. To me that is what makes it a fun game for all ages.

Buy Icecool

66. Super Fantasy Brawl

• Published by Mythic Games in 2022
• Choose your team and face off against an opponent in an arena

This game is coming back, kind of. I say kind of, I expect that most of the game is going to be the same, but CMON bought it from the now defunct Mythic Games. So I want to see what CMON is going to do with it. Because I love the simplicity of the game. Super Fantasy Brawl has you activate three different colors of cards each round. And you can do some on defense as well, but that means you won’t do as much on your turn. Then you either try to knock out your opponents for trophies or complete goals, or most likely, do both. The game is strategic but also fast and easy to play.

Follow Super Fantasy Brawl: Reborn

65. Trailblazers

• Published by Bitewing Games in 2023
• Create the best hiking, biking, and kayaking routes

Another drafting game on the list. This is the last one for this time, but there are four and possible five if you count drafting your team in Super Fantasy Brawl. In this one you draft cards to create trails. I love the trail creation aspect of the game because you really need to strategize as to how you’re going to do that. And I like how the game becomes more complex in your trail creation throughout as you add in other hubs that you need to start and leave from for each of the three routes.

Buy Trailblazers

64. Mind Up!

• Published by Pandasaurus Games in 2023
• Play the right number to collect and create sets of colors

This game is so easy to learn and play. I actually wrote about it yesterday in that exact context, so you can checkout the article after this. But it’s simply play out a card simultaneously with the other players. Then you look to see who played the lowest number, they get the lowest number from the middle. And after that it’s about trying to get the colors you want into the highest scoring column you have. The whole thing is just a really easy to play and simple time. I explain it better in the video, by the way.

Buy Mind Up!

63. So Clover!

• Published by Repost Productions in 2021
• Can you find the right pair of words based off of one word clues?

This game is always tricky for me to explain. Basically you have cards with four words, one on each side. And you have four of them making this little four by four grid. Each side is going to have two words, if that all makes sense and you’re picturing it. You need to create a one word clue so people can guess and put it back into that same order. Not that hard, well, it is when the words don’t connect at all. And there is going to be a mystery fifth card added in. But if you give the right clues you can lead people down the right path to recreate it.

Buy So Clover!

62. The Castles of Burgundy

• Published by alea in 2019
• Take a new kingdom and turn it into a bustling land

A game that I wouldn’t have expected that I like. But I really enjoy The Castles of Burgundy, a game of using dice to purchase and place new things into your land. As well as using them to sell goods, and get workers that let you manipulate your dice. There is a bunch going on and I feel like I need to nail down my strategy for it. But I really enjoy what this offers and it’s a new type of puzzle for me to spend time diving into as a game. I even have the fancy version coming that alea did with Awaken Realms.

Buy The Castles of Burgundy

61. Letter Jam

• Published by Czech Games Edition in 2019
• Work together to figure out what everyone’s letters are because you can’t see your own

If you know what Hanabi is that will help with it. But Letter Jam is a game where you can’t see the letters that form your word. Other players can see one of them at a time but they can’t see theirs. So you give clues to help people narrow down what their letters might be for their jumbled word. Of course everyone needs to get theirs figured out by the end of the game, but it’s cooperative so the challenge is great but fun to tackle.

Buy Letter Jam

Upcoming Streams

Just a reminder on my streaming schedule.

• Monday night, time varies, I play different small solo games, though I might be looking to start up a campaign again.
• Wednesday at 9 PM central is going to continue my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition for another six weeks. After that expect this to be when I play my small games.
• Friday at 9 PM central my wife and I are streaming a playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3

The best way to know when we go live, though is to subscribe and click that notification bell. I can’t promise, and in fact it’s pretty unlikely, that I’ll have events to click on ahead of time. Though I do want to get better at it. I hope that you can join a stream and hop into the chat.

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Is Crowdfunding an Investment or a Pre-Order?

This is a challenging question yet a simple question to answer. Crowdfunding was created to be an investment system. And it is still that. However, some companies treat it as a pre-order system and that muddies the waters. But at it’s heart it is an investing system into a small company or individual to help them support a dream.

Why Does This Matter?

Well, if it is purely a pre-order system, then a company 100% owes you a board game at the end of the process. And the board game should be basically ready to go. A pre-order should be for a fully designed game that just needs to get over the finish line.

And investment, it is going to come with more risk attached to it. The game is not going to be completed, it is going to be developed enough to show it off, but it won’t be ready to hit print once the funds are transferred over. And for your investment that expectation is the game will be produced and you will get a copy. But that is the expectation, not the demand.

But the Waters are Muddied

The tricky thing is that some companies use it as a pre-order system and that changes how it’s handled or perceived for the other companies where it truly is an investment into their success. Now, because Queen Games is shipping out big boxes quickly, or Claustrophobia was ready to ship and in a warehouse before the campaign was done, people see it as a pre-order system. It’s been that way for other companies, why not for company X? Well that company actually needed it for an investment.

So What Should Expectations for Crowdfunding Be?

I do think that on both sides there needs to be a resetting of expectations. Why, because we’ve seen companies go under. The standard for companies needs to change as we look to crowdfunding in the future. And the expectation of investors (backers) needs to change as well.

Backers

Let’s start with the backers, because a lot of the issue and responses I seen do lie with the backers. Firstly, for the majority of companies, even more of the larger ones than you think, they couldn’t produce the content they do and the amount of content that they do without being invested in with crowdfunding. Companies are not getting rich from board games, in fact, the margins are razor thin on crowdfunding because crowdfunding platforms take some of the money.

So let’s get back to the mindset of what this is. It is an investment. And if you are not able to invest the money to back a game and not get that game. Then don’t invest the money in the first play. We’re seeing some of that right now with smaller campaigns often not funding because people are choosing what to invest in. But back before inflation started increasing rapidly, people are still getting mad that an investment they made then isn’t fulfilling now. If you can’t afford to lose that money, you can’t afford to back it.

Or if it’s about not getting the game. If you are worried about that loss, buy it at the 150-300% mark-up later on eBay. If money isn’t the concern, it’s the concern that the game might never deliver, then change your strategy and buy it second hand on eBay, Board Game Geek Market, or elsewhere.

Companies

Companies, I don’t think that this expectation really shifted that much. But it is the most important thing you can do right now. And I will say, that the amount you do this and what you share in this matters a lot. Keep your backers informed all the time. Even if there is nothing to update, you need to update a minimum of once a month post campaign. For me once a month is ideal, but twice a month might satisfy some people more so.

And you might think that most people don’t read those updates. Let me let you in a little secret, you are right. Most people don’t read the updates. But you still need to do them. Firstly, it reassures people that you are still there and care. Even if they don’t read it, the fact you’re updating shows that you are still active with the project.

But the other thing is when things do go sideways, inflation happens, COVID happens, the shipping crisis happens, production costs go up, materials go up, last mile shipping goes up, you can talk about it. You let people know what is happening early and often, people will be more forgiving. And if, heaven forbid, your company goes under or a game won’t deliver like planned, or you need to ask for additional funds to get pushed over the last little bit, now you have already warned people.

Yes, people will still be mad. But that is one them, that goes back to what I wrote above. If you don’t communicate, though, that’s on you. If you pretend that everything is fine, or go radio silent when things aren’t, that is on you. I am your investor, I want to know how my investment is doing.

The Sad Truth of Crowdfunding

Let’s wrap up with the downer bit, right now we are going to see more of these small companies going out of business. Holy Grail Games and Grimlord Games are two that I can think of with outstanding projects. Also the company that made Alba a puzzle book story as well. And I would not be shocked if Mythic Games follows that direction shortly.

I am privy to three of those. Alba was cheap, I don’t mind losing that money, though sucks because it is a book and should be a more stable project. But when that company went under the one who bought their assets talked about how the numbers were low. Grimlord Games, they didn’t communicate at all, don’t be like them.

Finally, Mythic Games, this is one that they haven’t gone under yet. I’m just waiting on HEL: The Last Saga, if that will ever come. I expect to be asked to double my pledge. But let me be clear Mythic Games. Start communicating right now. Communicate heavily about finances and about cost increases, decreases, and changes you might need to make. This is on your to try and save your reputation. Because with Darkest Dungeon and 6Siege, you haven’t done that.

And like I said, I expect to see more, mainly smaller companies this happen to. When it does, remember, these people aren’t stealing your money to get rich. They work with thin margins hoping to bring you something they are passionate about. Probably without business knowledge they should have. So try and give grace, be frustrated, sure, but don’t be mean. That doesn’t help our hobby grow and at the end of the day, that is what we want.

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Games from Miniature Market

Bonfire

This is a game about gnomes building a bonfire, well, maybe that’s some of it. But it’s a Pegasus Spiele game, like the next one. And Miniature Market had a sale on them. Pegasus Spiele got on my radar because they put out First Rat, a game I wasn’t sure I’d like, but then I really did. Bonfire looks more complex, so I was interested in trying it.

Raccoon Robbers

This one I bought because it looked like a fun, more simple game from Pegasus Spiele. So I wanted to give it a go and see if it would work for me. Plus it’s about raccoons, a fun theme and comes with 3D (ish) houses that they climb up on, so fun components.

Via Magica

This is a light game that I wanted to try because I thought when I heard about it on the Dice Tower a while ago, Camilla is a fan of it there, it sounded fun. You can read my whole review here.

Mesozooic: Jurassic Mini Expansion and Triassic Mini Expansion

I’ve written a review on some of the games. Mesozooic I actually bought the base game a while ago. The two expansions were unlikely to be around much longer, on closeout, so I bought them. You can read my review on Mesozooic here.

Abyss: Kraken Expansion

This is an expansion, I own both, for a game that I need to play. It is probably not the smartest plan, but I have them now, so I need to get Abyss to the table soon. Abyss looks like a massive epic game, one you’d expect a lot of minis for. Well, it’s a much smaller simpler game than that type of game. More of an engine building from what I know. So I hope it’s one I really enjoying.

Escape the Dark Castle

This is one that just came back into stock recently. It and Escape the Dark Sector or games with fun dark looking artwork and, well, a dark theme. I want to play them and see how they stack up against something like Spire’s End. I know both can be played solo, so I’ll be getting to this one soon to really know.

18 Holes: Course Architect

18 Holes: Course Artchitect actually needs to get a review written about it. Same with the next one though that one I need to play more. But 18 Holes is about building out a golf course in a roll and write game and seeing how well that you can do. It’s a bit rules heavy for how simple the game is, but the more I play, the easier it is to pick up each time and faster games go. So it’s one that might just stick around as a solo game for me.

Bargain Basement Bathysphere

Bargain Basement Bathysphere is a solo game. And you can watch me play it on Malts and Meeples. It’s a roll and write game that is a campaign. So I want to see how it is over the long run before I write a review. It’s definitely very loosely a campaign. But the two games I played of it were a lot of fun, with really simple mechanics.

Clank! Catacombs

Clank! Catacombs I knew was a game I would buy. I waited until after Christmas, and then when I was told about Bargain Basement Bathysphere, I used Catacombs to get it to a level where I could get free shipping. It’s just another version of Clank! but one with a modular board which is build every time. Clank! In! Space! has a modular board, but that one is set to start the game. This could come out differently every time.

Three Sisters

A roll and write game from the people who did Fleet and now Motor City. I am curious about this one. I like Fleet, but it is a lot of mechanics, especially solo. Though I wonder if I will feel the same with Three Sisters. But it is one that I want to get to solo.

Star Realms Deck Building Game

Star Realms is the space version of Hero Realms, kind of. They are different games and Star Realms came first. But it’s a two player deck building game. I wanted to try it and see which one I like better. I think I’ll enjoy both, but will both stay in my collection?

Thornwatch: The Dark of the Wood Expansion

Thornwatch is a game that I picked up on a sale, probably hasn’t been in a Point of Order yet. I got it around Black Friday from the publisher. It looks like an adventure dungeon crawl sort of gaming experience. And it has some work done on it from Penny Arcade guys who I like their stuff. So I am curious about it and if it’ll be a dungeon crawler for me.

Planet Unknown

This one got an order all by itself. And I still need to play it. But Planet Unknown is a game about terraforming a planet. Yes, I own two games like that already. But it uses polyominoes and a lazy Susan. Though mine doesn’t come with it. But as you select pieces for your planet, you rotate a this central piece. And where I decide to stop rotating it, that determines what you get. So there is a bit of a puzzle where I might take a slightly worse for me piece to stop you from getting the perfect piece.

Star Trek: Super-Skill Pinball

I own two, no three, versions of Super-Skill Pinball. It is a roll and write game that I really enjoy and one I should play more. It is playing pinball and this one has a, you guessed it, Star Trek theme. There is a Christmas one as well with Christmas movies that I’m less interested in. But I do like Star Trek so I wanted to play this one.

Featherlight

Featherlight, another one that I played on Malts and Meeples with Bargain Basement Bathysphere. So you can find that in the video above. I like it as a way to optimize how you are scoring. It’s kind of a puzzle with some randomness. And I think that works really well for the length and weight of the game. It is very light, but offers you good choices as you play.

Unmatched: Marvel – Redemption Row & Hell’s Kitchen

I hadn’t planned on getting into Unmatched. But Marvel is what drew me in. And I have made a promise to myself that I won’t buy other sets, unless they are Marvel. So I am trying to get my hands on Deadpool, just waiting for someone from a Discord to ship it. But their lives are busy, so I understand. And there are upcoming Marvel sets, but I will talk about those later.

The Librarians

This is one that I got to try in 2020 when I did the digital GenCon. But it is a game around the Librarians TV show. The game is good, and I didn’t back it because I was backing too many things. So when it hit retail and hit a sale, I wanted to get it into my collection. It is a cooperative game and a fun theme that I want to play.

Ascension X: War of Shadows

Ascension, I’ve talked about it, this is my favorite introductory deck building game. I have two expansions, this one and a nature themed one, that I need to play still. But more is good because they are standalone or can be all mixed together. Well, maybe not all, but somewhat mixed together.

18 Holes: Second Edition & Expansion

You saw the roll and write, this is the tabletop version. It is still building a golf course. But you do that as a group. And then you play that course to see how well you do. I’m excited to try it. Sports games often aren’t the right match for board games. But I think that a golf theme works better than a faster spaced sport like Soccer or Football.

Starship Captains

Starship Captains is one that I played at GenCon in 2022. And I enjoyed it, but it is one that I want to spend more time with. It is a fast game, and I think that end snuck up on me in my one play. Is it one for me, or will it always feel too short? We will have to see, but I want to give it more of a try.

Relics of Rajavihara & Expansion

I just wrote a review on Relics of Rajavihara and you can read that here. But it is a fun puzzle game and I hope that this week or in the next two, I can fully wrap up the game. It’s fast and fun and a great puzzle.

Solomon Kane Expansions

Mythic Games is getting rid of their extra stock as they try and raise funds to complete and ship out other games. I could explain it more, but basically the pandemic hit them harder than a lot of companies. So this is a chance to grab the last of the stuff I don’t have. I think I own basically all of it now.

Enchanters

Another Mythic Games, another one that they sold the rights to. So it is discounted as they move their stock. A deck building game, but one I wasn’t super interested in. But when it is on sale and I can get the all in Kickstarter, or near that, it is worth buying and trying.

D&D Books

Just some more setting books and different books for more D&D content. I am there for that, and I want to mix it into my game.

Kokoro: Avenue of the Kodama

This is one that Zee mentioned in his Top 100 Games. It is a rework of an existing game, with a theme that Indie Boards & Cards has used before. So I want to try it with that theme. The rest of the Kodama games are less interesting for me. But this one because it’s an existing theme is interesting.

Exit: Lord of the Rings

It’s an Exit escape room board game. And this one my wife wants to try because of the theme. And in all fairness I’m excited for the theme as well. Exit games are not my favorite of the escape room style games because they are destructive. So it’s a one time use thing. But the theme in this case pulled me in.

Skyrim: The Adventure Game

Another one where the theme pulled me in. I avoided backing it on Gamefound. The game play looked fun, but I can only back so many games so often. Then as more came out about the game, the more interesting it became to me. And I hope that it’s a pretty narrative driven game that feels like Skyrim.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice

And to wrap it up, another video game one. And one that I wouldn’t have looked at too much. But it turned into one that I was very interested in because it has that big campaign feel to it, and cooperative play. And we know that is what I like in games.

Pre-orders

Plus there are a few pre-orders to talk about.

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Discovery & Crisis Expansions

This one I should have added to my other set of pre-orders, but both of these are expansions to a game I really like a lot. Ares Expedition. One gives you ways to upgrade your action selection which will make you different and unique in the long run. The other one is going to offer a cooperative or solo play opportunity. So two things that I’m very interested in. There is a third one as well, but when it was on Kickstarter, it just didn’t interest me as much.

Earth

Another one coming from Kickstarter that I am picking up now. It’s an engine building game that looks like it should be pretty on the table. I find that I really like engine building games. And this one looks like it is in that framework of being light, but not too light. I’m hoping, mainly, that the rules are in a place where it is easy to teach and get to the table.

The Lord of the Rings: Adventure to Mount Doom

See what I said about Lord of the Rings before. This one is going to be an adventure book style game where you play through different scenes. Besides it being Lord of the Rings and based off of the same or similar system to the one used in the Princess Bride game I don’t know a ton more. But I’m more excited for this one than the escape room game.

Final Thoughts

Some of this has just been catching up on games that I’ve had an eye on and have been on my wishlist. The Librarians, Skyrim, and Assassin’s Creed were all on that list. And you can see a number of expansions as well.

But if it were you, which of these games would you play first? Of course, I’ve played some already, but I tried to call those out.

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I have a few companies like that where I generally will pay attention. And for me, that doesn’t mean back or buy everything. But it does mean that I will always check it out in detail. Rarely, if ever, will I just gloss over a game from these companies. So here are my Top 10 companies I’m always interested in

Top 10 Board Game Companies

10. Fantasy Flight Games

Fantasy Flight Games is probably a company that’d have dropped off for a lot of people. They used to come out with a whole lot more games and a whole lot bigger announcements. But I still am interested. When I saw a Twilight Imperium Roll and Write, I was interested, even with a long play time. And Marvel Champions I still buy everything for that.

I wish they would come out with something more. A new version of Star Wars Imperial Assault? I would love to see that. Or something more original from them. Maybe a smaller version of a Descent 3.0 to go along with Descent: Legends of the Dark.

9. Thunderworks Games

Thunderworks is also just on that edge if I check everything out. I will look at any announcement because I am curious about anything set in their Roll Player World of Ulos. However, anything, like Tenpenny Park, those I’ll look at, but generally aren’t what I’m interested in. But I see them because I am curious if it is more stuff for Roll Player, Roll Player Adventures, or Cartographers.

8. CMON

CMON is either on your list or not. There is no in between I feel. Some people wait anticipating what CMON is going to announce next. Other people pledge $1 so that they can complain. That is basically how it goes on everything that CMON does. And I understand some of the complaints, I also don’t care on some of the complaints. They end up being complaining for the sake of complaining. But that isn’t the point of this article.

I wait to see what CMON comes out with next. And there is no company where they can announce a game and I will always back it or buy it. But when CMON announces a Stranger Things Game, see here, I get really excited. On the flip side, I like the idea of a big Dune battling over the planet game, but it is not one that I will back.

7. Chip Theory Games

Chip Theory Games is moving up the list for me. The more I see and mess around with their games, the more interested I am in their games. I enjoy Too Many Bones, and I think the more I dive into it the more I will like it. Then I almost backed Hoplomacus Victorum because it was a solo version of a game that I thought looked cool. And Burncycle, after watching a Brother’s Murph play through, see below, I really want to get it. Their games aren’t cheap though, so I need to pace myself.

6. Horrible Guild

Probably the biggest break or one of them, from the big games on the list is Horrible Guild. Horrible Guild does some campaign or legacy games with King’s Dilemma and then Queen’s Dilemma coming to Kickstarter. But I like their small games. Stuff like Potion Explosion, Railroad Ink, I’m so excited to be getting Tiny Turbo Cars, stuff like that.

They make games with amazing toy factor to them. And I just really enjoy sitting down and playing them. They also make games that are accessible. Railroad Ink is a bit challenging for a roll and write with Railroad Ink Challenge, but it’s not hard to teach. Same with Potion Explosion or Similo. Plus with so much fun in their games, I always want to see what they make.

5. Mythic Games

Getting back to big games, we have Mythic Games. Mythic Games has made such games as Reichbusters and Solomon Kane, but the one of theirs I play the most is Super Fantasy Brawl. I really love that game, but I mainly pay attention to their big games. Now, with that said, I don’t back a ton of their games on crowdfunding. I have backed Super Fantasy Brawl and HEL: The Last Saga, but that is it.

One of the reasons is that their rule books first time around tend to be poor. You need to get, and they do send out, a new rule book. But also because their games are big and epic and tend to have a lot with them. They are like CMON in some ways, I might want to back all of them, but I certainly don’t have room to back and store all of their games. Just between Super Fantasy Brawl and Solomon Kane that takes up a lot of space on top of a Kallax shelf.

4. Roxley Games

Last game on the list that makes that many smaller games. Though, when you get everything for Dice Throne, it certainly isn’t that small. And Dice Throne is the reason Roxley is so high on the list. They have some heavy euro games, I am not interested in those. But I want more Dice Throne. And their lighter games, I am interested in.

I really only own two games from Roxley, Dice Throne and Radlands and I need to play Radlands still. But when Santa vs Krampus came out, I backed immediately. When Marvel Dice Throne was announced, I knew I’d be all in. That is going to be case whenever they come out with anything new.

3. OOMM

OOMM is a very new company to the list. And honestly, I should likely keep them lower on the list, but we’re not talking about backing everything, we’re talking about being interested. I bought Stars of Akarios because of what it looked like after the fact. I backed Mythwind because the game looked so different.

OOMM really does something that I love in creating games that feel unique. Mythwind seems really different than anything else out there. Stars of Akarios is a big space campaign game. Do I need more space campaign games, not really but I want them. And the new legacy game they announced looks very cool as well.

2. Awaken Realms

Awaken Realms maybe could be #1, but it’s at #2 because there is Awaken Realms Lite, technically it’s own company I believe, but a lot of the same people and process. But the last two on the list, I will always look and almost always back whatever they do.

There are two exceptions for Awaken Realms. I didn’t back The Great Wall as it is a massive euro game. It looks cool, I’d love to try it, but I wouldn’t buy it. And I didn’t back Lords of Ragnarok from them. Why, because I already own and love Lords of Hellas. Lords of Ragnarok might be better, but I don’t need to own both.

1. Cephalofair Games

I doubt that this is a shock. I went all in on Frosthaven. And I love Gloomhaven. I never looked at Founders of Gloomhaven once I realized it was a euro. But Cephalofair announces something, I am interested. I hope it is more for Frosthaven, after that has been out for a bit. Or another big box game, but really, anything at this point. Even with my #1 company that I will be intrigued to hear whatever they announce, not every game will be for me.

Still, I can’t wait until Frosthaven gets here. And I even started a campaign of Gloomhaven Digital recently. It is just a fun experience to play that game and it is fun to dive back into it. And I will for sure dive heavily into Frosthaven almost right away when it shows up. I suspect we’ll be done with the final Tainted Grail expansion by then, but we’ll see.

Final Thoughts

Firstly, I’d love to know what companies you are generally interested. Which ones make games that seem fun to checkout or different. I want to know what gets you excited. And as I said, I don’t like every game from all of these companies. In fact, there are some that just miss completely for me, even though I love the company.

And that is very fair to not like everything. I talk about how CMON is polarizing, the people who love CMON don’t like everything from CMON. The people who dislike CMON will never know what they are missing out on. I think it’s more important to remember that some games are going to be for you and some won’t no matter the company. And even if you enjoy all of them, some will be better than others.

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Thankfully, it isn’t something you need to be alone on. And there are a few things that make it easier if you want. The standard way or just reading through a rule book most certainly won’t work for everyone. And some of my favorite games, Lords of Hellas, or games from companies that I like, Mythic Games, consistently come with poor rule books. So how do you get around all of that?

Watch A Video

It might sound odd, but there are a lot of content creators that teach you how to play games. Meeple University, Watch It Played, and more. All of them go through and teach you the game. They might not teach you the solo mode or variant rules, but they will teach you a game. And this might be the best way for you to learn, depending on your learning style.

But beyond those videos, also watch a game play. GloryHoundd always disclaims that they do “Should You Play” videos not “How to Play” because they might get rules wrong. And yes, watching a game play, someone will likely get a rule wrong. But it should give you a general idea of the game, and what is what you want. It should show you general turn structure, and basic actions of the game. Game plays are probably supplemental to reading the rule book versus fully learning, but I recommend always reading the rules.

Play As You Go

As you go through the rule book, set-up the game and play along as you go. Get used to what the actions look like on the board. Even if you don’t fully understand it, start messing with the pieces. I tend to be a fairly hands on learner. That means, for me, that reading a rule book is how I often learn, but if I can mess around with the pieces, it sticks better.

Even if you read through the rules, and even with a competitive game, set-up the game and mess around with it. Get your hands on the pieces and the mechanics of the game. Play out a few hands or turns to see how it works. Once you do that, it’ll likely help your retention as well as give you examples for when you teach the game.

Use Board Game Geek

This one isn’t going to be the most obvious for a lot of people. Board Game Geek might not even be something you’re that familiar with. It is basically IMDb for board games. But the nice thing is what they have a “files” section. This might have better written fan rules that clarify and clean up rough rule books. It might have condensed rules just to get you going. Or it might have player aids to make things easier.

Not all games will have this. But some might, and if a game is too complex or just doesn’t make that much sense, Board Game Geek, might be your best bet. I know there is a solo game Rat Catcher, which I own, and the rules are bad. But there are better rules on Board Game Geek. So this is maybe a spot to go once you know that the rules don’t teach the game well.

Learn More Board Games

Finally, learn more games. One of the best ways to get better at learning games is to learn more games. The more rule books you get your hands on, the more games that you play around with, the more common rules things are easier to pick up on. A worker placement game, you aren’t learning what worker placement is. You just get that naturally and you learn the differences in games.

You also start to learn what matters for teaching a game. What might be an exception to the rules that needs to be taught at the start versus what is an exception that can be taught in the moment. The whole goal is to be able to understand the rules faster. And the more you read rules, the more you start to get through them faster and retain more.

Final Thoughts on Learning A Board Game

This is one of those situations where I wish that there was always a simple way to learn a game. And I love it when games offer a tutorial. Sleeping Gods and Tainted Grail, both give you that away to get your hands onto the components as you learn the game. If you watched my Sleeping Gods play through, you can see that I started with that.

Now, they aren’t perfect ways to learn a game. And a tutorial is generally only meant to teach you the basics of the game. But it is really nice when they are there. Then you really only need to learn the extra things and do the tutorial. Like I said, for me, getting my hands on a game and the pieces helps things stick for me. But that might not be what is best for you. Watch It Played, Meeple University, or Jon Gets Games might be better, but known your learning style and learn more games.

What do you find most helpful?

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But now you’ve backed one thing. Now only that, you’ve backed it and the project delivered in a year, it was a small game, and it’s in your hands. It feels great. And then you see someone talking about another game on crowdfunding. And then there is another interesting looking one, and another. All of a sudden, you’re checking daily, or more often, and backing two things a week and it’s out of control. Because, what if this is the greatest game ever? What if this game isn’t coming to retail?

Now you are in the clutches of FOMO, so let’s talk about controlling it.

Why Is There So Much Crowdfunding FOMO?

There are a few reasons why there is so much FOMO happening around crowdfunding. There are three big reasons, though, that I see. The first is the game might not come to retail. Some games are just too big to come to retail. Some games there is enough interest to get it made but no connections to get it to retail. Especially for smaller passion projects, they just don’t know how or who to work with to get it to retail. And some games are just to niche.

Next is the upgraded or deluxe version of the game. This is something that’s too fancy to come to retail. But it works on Kickstarter of Gamefound. You can pay the premium to get it knowing that the retail version is going to be more plain. Often this might be minis, or metal coins, or wooden or plastic tokens versus cardboard. This is kind of like the next reason, but the next reason encompasses even more.

The other reason is exclusives. And I talk about it as what are the benefits of going with the crowdfunded version versus retail. Am I getting it cheaper, it could happen, but most likely not. What am I getting that’s exclusive, a first player marker? Metal coins? A mini expansion? And almost all games on crowdfunding do have something like that. Something that makes you think, oh, if I don’t get that, I won’t be able to later.

So How Do You Avoid It?

There are a few things to consider, and honestly, sometimes the FOMO will just get to you, and that’s okay. But let’s talk about the things to think about.

Do You Need the Deluxe?

Let’s start off with this one, the first two are really about points I made above. But this one has to do with the deluxe. Often times that is what traps people into backing something. It seems like a good deal to get all the fancy pieces, or maybe two more factions to play, but do you really need it? Does the deluxe add to the game play? Does the deluxe add to game play? Often times without adding to game play, it won’t make the game get played more often.

Will This Be At Retail?

Next, will it be in retail. This goes back to the question, does the crowdfunding add in more game play that is exclusive? Because, most of the time, you are going to be getting the exact same game at retail. And while the MSRP might be higher, once you figure in shipping versus free shipping, it’s often cheaper to buy it at retail as part of a bigger order. I mean, a game that is MSRP $100 is basically $100 versus discounted to $80 with $25 shipping for $105 via the Kickstarter or Gamefound.

Do You Know You’ll Like The Game?

Also, why do you think you’ll like this game so much? When I started backing crowdfunding games, I backed little things that I thought looked interesting. And some of them were complete duds, and some were cool. But I backed based off of what I thought looked cool. Now when I back, I need to believe that I will really like the game and I need to see what it is doing that I will like. If that information isn’t there, or it’s just shiny minis or metal coins that are drawing you in, stand firm.

Are The FOMO Items Game Play or Cosmetic?

This is going to be a big one that probably trips up a lot of people. It goes back to getting it retail or not. But sometimes you look at a game and you see all these cool things, upgraded resources, metal coins, card sleeves, whatever it might be, and they don’t add to game play. Those are purely cosmetic. If the game is really good, you can probably find something to upgrade the game with on Etsy later, for cheaper. So don’t factor those into a decision, game play is king. A fancy game with bad game play is still a bad game.

Will It Make It More Likely That I Play It?

Now, to counter that last one, sometimes a game needs those cosmetic things to make it better. It’s more interesting when you have those resources that look like resources. Or you have miniatures instead of meeples. It brings you into the game more. They don’t affect game play, but they do affect how likely you are to play it.

On the flip side of things, sometimes games have too much. So there is an element of FOMO about all the things you can get for the game that make it sound like a great deal. But ask yourself, do you need that all in pledge where you get twelve expansions for the game? Sometimes that makes you less likely to play the game because there’s just too much stuff for it.

What Other Games Do I Have Coming?

For me, this comes down to campaign games. I have a lot of campaign games coming. Whenever I see another one on Kickstarter or Gamefound, I want to back it. But I always have to ask myself, do I need it with what I have coming. And right now, I have a number coming. So do I need another game like that, how quickly am I playing that type of game. Those are all questions I need to ask myself. And what different thing is it doing than the ones I already have.

Will It Hold It’s Value If I Don’t Like It?

Probably not a thing you’d think about in the heat of the moment, but is this a game that is going to hold it’s value. I might not like it, so can I get rid of it. It doesn’t even need to be a get 100% of your money back thing. But can you get 75% back or can you get pledge amount minus shipping? Now, this matters more on a $100+ game, or for you it might be a $50+ game. Don’t expect to get your money back on a $15 game with $5 shipping, expect $10 or less on that. But for a big game, and a game with a ton of FOMO, is it a smart buy if you don’t like it?

Options If It’s Too Much Crowdfunding FOMO?

Stop Going on Crowdfunding Sites

Firstly, and most simply, stop going to Kickstarter or Gamefound. If you don’t see it, you won’t back it. That’s the simplest way, cold turkey if it’s a big problem. I know of people who have stopped using Discord, stopped going to the crowdfunding websites, because there is always a new cool game coming out. And they had trouble not buying all the games.

Some of this is cult of the new. Cult of the new being the idea that you always need the newest thing. This happens whenever a new version of the iPhone comes out as well. People with a great working phone go out to get a new phone even though they don’t need it.

And, cult of the new is and isn’t a problem. It is a problem if every game sounds cool and you try and buy them all. That’s a way to go bankrupt. Plus, it might sound cool, but not be cool for you. And it isn’t a problem, because someone else might be really excited about it for good reason. I don’t feel FOMO when it comes to euro style games. They aren’t something excites me, I don’t mind playing them once and a while but they won’t come off my shelf.

Set A Budget

Know how much you can spend. When you set how much you can spend, it makes it easier not to spend money. Because once the money you can spend is gone, then that means that great game that is coming down the pipeline on Kickstarter or Gamefound, it’s outside of the budget. So something that might have hype, might have FOMO going on, but isn’t exactly what you want, or has a retail version coming, it is easier to say no to it.

Know Your Taste in Games

Often times the biggest FOMO regrets aren’t that big game that you got everything for that you love. If you love it you probably are glad you got everything. It’s more the games that aren’t your type that you might like okay that are the big regrets.

If you know what you like, it is easier to avoid FOMO. Now, some of this takes time, and it’s best to experiment on non-crowdfunded games. Play an Ameritrash game. Play a Euro game. Deck building, engine building, tableau building, set collection, drafting, push your luck, take that, figure out what you like. When you know what you like, then you know what really excites you.

An example of that for me was Tidal Blades 1. The game from Druid City Games looks amazing. And it has some cool things going on in it, with upgrading your dice. Just from the look of the game I really wanted it. Then I watched the Dice Tower playthrough of the prototype, and I immediately knew I wouldn’t back it. The game looks fun, but I know my taste, and I know that it is too much on the worker placement and all the world building in it, that’s the artwork, not the game. Tidal Blades 2, the dungeon crawler, was much more tempting to me.

Connect With Other Gamers

This one might seem the oddest one out there. How does that stop you from buying more games? Well, if you can build up a good board game community, you’ll know what other games people are getting.

Let’s talk about Darkest Dungeon by Mythic Games. That game looked intriguing, but I wasn’t sure it’d be my type of game exactly. Dungeon crawl, yeah, I’m into that, and leveling and fighting. But the lack of story, that’s less my taste. So I didn’t back it, but someone who I play games with often did.

Now, this isn’t say that you should encourage someone else to get a game so that you can play it. That to me is just kind of rude to suggest that. Or to ask people to help pay for a game, though with legacy or campaign games that can be different. And you need to know the people well. But knowing what they are getting can ease some FOMO.

Also, it can ease FOMO because you have more gamers to talk to. If I were the only person in my group to own games, and everyone else just played, I’d end up being tempted to back more. But I’m not, so I don’t need to worry about it as much, I can talk to them, and talk about a game and what they think about it.

Count Your Unplayed Games

This isn’t something that I do too much as for me I can avoid a lot of FOMO based off of my taste in games. But when getting into the hobby, it is tempting to get a lot of games to play because games are awesome. And yes, while they are awesome, it’s important to play your games as well as just collect them.

I’m not someone to harp on it when people like to collect games. I like to collect games. And yes, I do have a lot of unplayed games for that reason. But I also like to play games. And April has been way to light on playing games for me thus far.

But when getting into the board game and crowdfunding part of the hobby, look at what you haven’t played. This isn’t about feeling shame over it, but just know what games you still need to play. Ask yourself, do I need that extra game now, or in a little while, to sit on the shelf as well. Do I have a game I need to try that does the same thing?

Final Thoughts

FOMO is a real thing, especially when you see lots of other people being really excited about it. And it is easy to want to go all in on games because games are really exciting. Honestly, there is little that gives me as much joy as getting a new game in to play around with. Even if the game isn’t for me, that’s okay, a new game is exciting to try and then move on from.

But it is really tough at the beginning to just not back a lot of things because they look cool. And that’s the big thing. Not all cool looking games are going to be for you. And some of them might not be for anyone because they aren’t good games. But a shiny crowdfunding page with lots of exclusives, stretch goals getting unlocked left and right, it’s hard to say no.

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Crowdfunding Games I Wish I’d Backed

I don’t have too many requirements for what can go on the list. The one that I do have is that the game is out, or at least production copies are close, there is one exception to my list, I think. But generally the game needs to be out. I missed these games and now I wish I had them because the game looks good. There are some games, Arkeis, for example, that I really am interested in, and I wish I’d backed it, but I don’t know enough about it still to say for sure.

Also this is a fairly long list, though some will surprise you on the list. You’ll have to see what they are, but let’s get into the list.

Final Girl

This one is going to be an interesting one, because I am going to back it. But I just said I’m sad that I missed it. I am because now we are onto season two. So that probably means that I’ll be getting more for the game, and clearly I need even more of a game that I already don’t own.

Final Girl is kind of what it sounds like. You are the trope of the final girl in the horror movie. Can you survive the serial killer and escape? Can you rescue others, or will you truly be the last one standing? I love that theme, especially since those Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th type of movies are my favorite for horror movies. This one I don’t know why I passed it by the first time, I won’t this time.

Unsettled

Another one that is coming back to crowdfunding, I believe Kickstarter. This is a planet exploration puzzle. It reminds me, in some ways of TIME Stories, but in space instead of this weird time travel mechanism for the game. So it’s modules that you explore to try and complete objectives. The game sounds really cool.

They are coming back to Kickstarter so that they can drop some more planets into the game. That is something that is great about this game and system, that I can tell, they’ll always be able to add in more planets. And from what the reviews have said, this has some really good writing with it as well. So while not a big campaign game like ISS Vanguard which I did back, this is going to give me a lot of planets to explore as well.

Solomon Kane

Now, this isn’t my exception, but you can watch on Malts and Meeples me unboxing Solomon Kane. Well, that’s because I bought it on eBay. I wish that I’d backed this on Kickstarter. I think that Mythic Games brought it to Kickstarter when I wasn’t checking as much. And by the time I heard about it, I think it was too late, or I didn’t know about the late pledging of things.

This is one that I still need to dive into my copy of it. It was an option to stream when we chose Sleeping Gods instead. And it is very possible that I will stream it later this year. Because, while it is kind of a campaign, it is shorter stories that are campaigns. That is similar to how Roll Player Adventures is doing their campaigns as well. I like that because it means that I am not signing up for 100 hours of game play.

Vampire the Masquerade – CHAPTERS

Here’s the cheater one, this one isn’t out yet. So why is it on the list, because Quackalope has a very polished looking almost production copy that I’ve watched played. I’ll add the video below. But the game looks right up my alley. It has tactical elements for combat where you need to think about positioning. But it is so much more about story, and I love a good story in a game.

Not to mention that the whole world of Vampire: The Masquerade sounds interesting to me. This world of vampires, but not vampires who are ripping peoples necks out. This is about the intrigue and codes that they have, and being subtle about the hunger and when and how you get your blood. And the different clans and how they interact amongst each other in a struggle for power.

Maximum Apocalypse

This is an interesting one because I’ve again, had a chance to get it. And not just a chance, two chances, and then there is more of a campaign version of Maximum Apocalypse as well that I could have gotten. So why do I regret not getting it, but also haven’t pulled the trigger? This is a survival post apocalyptic sort of game, or during the apocalypse. And it’s done with random tiles that you are searching and different objectives to complete. Plus you have a lot of different apocalypses you can play in.

So theme is great for me. Game play looks like a lot of fun. It just hasn’t caught my attention quite enough. And now, and this is a bad reason, there is a lot of it. And I’m going to want to own all of it. That is a bad reason not to get it. I can get a little bit and if I love it I can get more. I do that often with games. But this one, stuff like the Kaiju expansion I really want, but isn’t part of the base box. So I haven’t bitten on it, yet.

Mars Open

You’re going to see a lot of big games on the list. We know what I like my big campaign games, but this is a small game. And I don’t actually remember what kept me from backing this one. And I keep on looking at it on eBay thinking I should pick it up. Mars Open is a dexterity game, basically paper football flicking, but instead of football, it’s golf. And you are play some holes and low score wins.

That game sounds hilarious to play. I have to imagine that I’d be bad at it, but I’m okay with that because it’ll be a good end of game night game. It reminds me of PitchCar as a game where when someone has a crazy good shot, everyone is going to be excited for them.

Horizon Zero Dawn

This one I’m glad I didn’t back, but I also wish I had. The minis in the game are amazing. And the core box has a lot of cool things. but it has a limited number of things. I likely would only have backed the core, and while people seem to like the game, the general consensus is that you need more. The base box gives you a good gaming experience, but not enough to come back to and feel like it’s different.

That said, there isn’t only the base box, there is a lot more. And if you went all in on everything, there is going to be a ton that you can play. Plus the theme, I love the theme. I haven’t beaten Horizon Zero Dawn, but I need to get back to that game. Honestly, too many video games to get through right now. But in terms of setting this is one of the coolest.

Graphic Novel Adventures

From Van Ryder Games, these are basically mini choose your own adventure in graphic novel form. But they are more than that, it’s not just flip through and read stuff, you have a character and you have stats. That is going to determine how well some things go for you. And they put so many themes into the different graphic novels. Pirates, Sherlock Holmes, and werewolves just to name a few. And I own one, which I really need to play. If I love it, they seem to do more every few years, so I can get another one. I really need to play mine.

Sea of Legends

Another one that is coming back to Kickstarter soon, or maybe Gamefound, I’m not sure. Sea of Legends is a pirate game with app assistance. To me, this looks like it’ll be similar to Merchants and Marauders, a game I like but don’t love, and then add more story into it. In Merchants and Marauders there isn’t story, it’s what you bring to the game. And while the theme is solid, I like games that have story.

Sea of Legends did start out rough with an app that was bad, issues with the rule book, and generally felt like Guildhall sent it out before they polished it. I think that there are still issues with the rule book, but the app seems to be better. And it has a whole idea, that you pick out three different things, I forget what they all are, and enter them into the app and that drives your story. So you can change them up and the story is going to change as well.

This is one that I’m probably going to either grabbed use, my FLGS has had a copy, or back when it comes back. Pirates are a theme that I love, and a generally open world game with story, I like that too. I mean, you can see me now playing Sleeping Gods, a game that I almost put on this list. I own it now, and I like it.

Wild Ascent

This is kind of a Monster Hunter style board game. Or a boss battler game, where you have a village phase and then fight a monster. Kingdom Death Monster might be the one that popularized the genre. KDM (Kingdom Death Monster) is one that didn’t make the list, but was close. I want it, but that Kickstarter was insane.

Wild Ascent does a lot of the same things, and seems like it’s a shorter campaign. KDM feels more like a lifestyle game. And while I wouldn’t mind having a solo lifestyle game that I can keep set-up all the time. Until I get a board game table, which I want to do eventually, and can get two levels and leave a game up all the time, one is about all that I can manage.

That is why I passed on Wild Ascent twice. There was a Gamefound and Kickstarter campaign, and the Gamefound one I was so tempted by. But I held off because do I need another big game that will be hard to get to the table? No, but I really really want it.

Chronicles of Drunagor

Another campaign game, and one that I did end up backing the second time around. So why is it on the list, because I was interested in it when it came out the first time. And if I had backed it then, I could be playing it now. This is another big dungeon crawl campaign game that does some really cool things.

Firstly, the terrain is 3D, meaning levels to go up and down. And when you get to a door, that door tells you what is in the next room and you set it up then. Plus the action system is really interesting. You have cubes that determine what you can activate, which is great. Because as you activate spots you start to lose what you can do. And then you pull everything back, but you cover up an ability.

The puzzle of the game just seems good. And there are a number of reviews out for it now, and they are good. So I could be playing that now, but so many games that I probably wouldn’t actually be.

QE and On Tour

So, I own half of these games now, and I wish I owned both. But it’s also one that I kind of don’t mind I don’t own it yet. I own On Tour, a great roll and write game. And one with a great app. But QE is one that I think I want to own, but for sure want to try.

QE is a bidding game where you buy companies and get points. The trick is that you are bidding and there is no set amount. So I could be 20 trillion dollars. However, the person who has bid the highest total amount of money at the end is automatically eliminated. So bidding will escalate, I think it’d be impossible for it not to, because if one person gets everything, everyone loses. how much and how crazily, who knows.

QE really doesn’t sound like it should work. But everyone who reviews it says that it does, though, often, they don’t know why. I think it might be a bit group dependent, but in the right group could be hilarious. Another one that seems like a great game night game.

Canvas

I backed the second Canvas Kickstarter and I wish I’d backed the first. Not only could I be playing it now, but I wouldn’t need the expansion. On the second Kickstarter, the option was just there to get the expansion and base game together, not just the base game. I am sure that I won’t mind having the expansion, but do I really need it.

Canvas is a game where you are painting a picture. You do that by selecting cards and layering them on top of each other. The game Gloom is one that I have which does something similar. But in this one you are creating pictures. And depending on the symbols at the bottom of the picture, you score points. The game looks simple but also like a lot of fun.

That’s The Crowdfunding Wish List

Now, I could have picked more. Lords of Hellas, wish I’d backed it, maybe, same with Deep Madness, but I own most of both of those now. Or there were games like Monumental that almost made the list. Deck building with an interesting action mechanism sounds really cool. But I want to play it more than I want to own it. And maybe once I play it I’d want to own it.

Have there been any games for you that you wished you’d backed? Do you pick up those games on eBay or hope that they get a second crowdfunding campaign? Let me know what your top game you wished you’d backed is.

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Now, if you are in the market for board games, I will say that there are a lot of sales going on. A lot of board game companies or online board game retailers have been running longer sales versus a massive “Black Friday” sale. So there are still deals to be found, but let’s talk about what I found.

All Systems Go

I think I talked about how last time I was there, I got enough in store credit to get a free $100 game, but I wasn’t sure what game I wanted to buy. Ankh interested me, but I want to try it before I buy it. Well, it’s no longer the case that I don’t know what game I want. It’s also no longer the case that I have the credit or points to get a $100 game.

Mythic Battles Pantheon + Pandora’s Box

I think it was early in this year that Mythic Battles Pantheon: Ragnarok came on Kickstarter. I backed it, but only at one dollar. And then I never upped my pledge in the pledge manager. I don’t regret that too much. I like the Viking and Norse theme a lot, but it is an expensive game. And there was a copy, I think all in on the Kickstarter, for Mythic Battles Pantheon that had been sitting in All Systems Go for a while.

Now, the base box was over $100, so I didn’t consider it for my free game. But on Small business Saturday, it was discounted by 20% off (as was Pandora’s Box), and that took the base game right to $100. So, it was time. I know I want to try this game. The concept is a lot of fun. You take gods or titans up against each other and see who wins in a fight. It comes with big minis and terrain or some sort, because you can pick up a tree and smash someone with it.

It just seems like a great big game that won’t get played too often, most likely. But when I do play it, it is going to be a lot of fun.

Marvel Champions: Hood Scenario Pack

It’s more Marvel Champions, but also a character that I don’t know a ton about when it comes to the comics. I know he’s a villain, scenario packs are for villains, and I think I’ve read a comic or two with him in it. But more Marvel Champions, what can I say, eventually I’ll have a full Kallax cube full of only Marvel Champions, but not quite yet. If I sleeved all my cards, I’d probably be there already.

Haba

Haba is running, or maybe was running, a by one get one sale on select games. And a few weeks before the toddler, who has been enjoying his first board game, Animal Upon Animal, we talked about a car game. He really likes anything with cars, or trucks, or construction vehicles. I asked on Facebook for recommendations in a board game group, the most common answer came from Haba, and was on sale.

Monza

One of two games for the toddler to play with on a theme that he loves. Monza looks like a simple racing game. And while he might just enjoy the cars right now, I want the idea of games and gaming to be common to him. He gets some of the ideas of Animal Upon Animal. This one looks like a game where you roll dice and move cars around the board.

But it is from Haba, so I expect there is a tiny bit more than that. But it will be simple and good for him eventually. I’m not sure when he’ll get the game, we already have a Christmas gift for him, or two, or three, but when something he’ll like is on sale, especially a board game.

In A Flash Firefighters

I know even less about this game than Monza. But he likes firefighters and there is one on the box. it looks like it’s maybe a speed based game, and a little bit more complex. Or at least smaller pieces, though, this is Haba, so will be good for kids I’m sure.

Now, it’s not rated as well as a lot of Haba games, so I’m guessing a bit more complex so doesn’t work as well with kids, but it is really just guessing. And, like I said above, Haba is doing a buy one get one sale. So that means, it is a free game.

Biffleys

You’ve never heard of Biffleys. That is okay. Biffleys is a use book, video game, DVD, and a board game shop. It is going out of business in my home town. Now, I don’t know if that’s because it didn’t have enough business, but I suspect because it was a lot of work. It isn’t a new business, so it’s lasted 20 years, or so. But 30% off games meant when I was in town for Thanksgiving, time to check it out.

Quadropolis

This is a Days of Wonder game that I wanted to try for a long time. Days of Wonder makes Ticket to Ride, Five Tribes, and games like that which are very accessible. Quadropolis is their take on town building. In typical Days of Wonder fashion, though, it isn’t too complex, but offers a challenge.

What I find really interesting, in theory, about this game is how you get city tiles. You place down markers and that limits rows and columns you can use in the future. At least, that’s how I think it works. It also doesn’t have some of the financial stuff that bigger games in the genre do, I’m excited to play it.

6 nimmt!

This game showed up the first time on After School Dice Club, an anime that I watched because, I like anime and board games. It isn’t super fresh in my mind, but I think it is basically a game of trapping your opponent into cards or points. It is only a card game, and I like that it’s in a small box.

I want to try this one because it was on the anime. I also want to see how tricky a game this is. If a game is very accessible, I can play it with my groups. And card games, especially those that feel a bit more familiar, are good options. I think 6 nimmt might be a game like that.

No Thanks!

No Thank! is a game that I don’t remember where I heard about it. But I like the concept for it. And I know they talk about it on the Dice Tower sometimes. You want as few points as possible in the game. To do that you are saying no thanks to cards with points. To do that, you put a marker on the card, but you only have a limited number of markers. Eventually you need to take something.

But the card you take, you get the markers on it. At what point in time is a 75 worth it to take? If you get 10 markers is it worth it, if you get 20 is it worth it? That is the question you are asking yourself. You get the 75 with 20 markers, now you can make people take lower cards and several of them. Or is it worth it to just take a 10 without any markers on it because it is a lower number?

I don’t know what strategy for this game. But the concept is extremely simple, so I’m excited to find out. This is one of those games that I think will work well in larger groups And I think it will work well with gamers and non-gamers.

Horrible Guild

Now, the most dangerous thing that happened was Horrible Guild opening a web store. I love their games. And in particular, Potion Explosion and Railroad Ink Challenge, anything for those I want. So now, because they opened a store, I own more for Railroad Ink Challenge at least.

Railroad Ink Challenge

I’m going to list everything I got here. They had a nice discount, not for Black Friday or anything, well, kind of, but for the web store launch.

• Arcade Expansion
• Eldritch Expansion
• Electricity Expansion
• Futuristic Expansion
• Sky Expansion
• Underground Expansion
• Additional Card Pack
• Collectors Storage Box
• Solo Board

That is a lot. All of the expansion ones are just small expansions that have 4 dice and some rules, maybe some challenges. I am curious and I really want to start diving into the expansions, probably will start doing that on stream. The additional cards I believe are additional challenges that can be added in. And the Collectors Storage Box just takes all my Railroad Ink and puts it into on box. Solo board is a board for solo game play, not sure what is different, but I want to see.

BGG Promos

This is kind of like Horrible Guild, Board Game Geek is doing a buy 4 get the 5th free for some of the promos they have. So I decided to grab a bunch of them, well, a few. I didn’t want to go too overboard, and I did find ones for games that I like, or that are just cool for games I have coming.

Aeon’s End: Thieving Spirits

I love Aeon’s End, we’ve been through that. This just adds in a new set of cards that you can play with. I need to, now that I’ve played through Aeon’s End Legacy, to get all my games into a single box, and then I’ll have a massive Aeon’s End experience to play around with, which is pretty exciting.

Deep Madness – Magnetic Saw Gun

It’s a magnetic saw gun, I’m not even sure what that means. But it sounds dangerous and Deep Madness is on the list of games that I am going to play this year, well, maybe not this year but soon.

Downforce: Civilized

Downforce is a game that really became interesting for me as a racing/betting game. I want to play it more because I think there’s still strategy to be tapped into. And the different powers, like Civilized is, changes up the game. This one will add in more variety to the game. I think that the powers really do make an interesting difference, and could be leveraged more in my game play.

Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game: Ra

Ra is not a character in the Dresden Files, but it is more for the game. And characters are really easy to slot in. So while I normally play characters from the current book I’m playing in the game, I could slot Ra into the game. And this one might be a little bit of me being a completionist, I won’t like.

Icecool : Blocked Doors

This is what it says it is, it is a way to block doors. And I like blocking off doors, it’s just a fun thing to add to the game. It’s also one of those things that doesn’t change up the game too much or make the rules more complicated. Some expansions add more depth to a game, but for a simple game, I want it to stay simple. Just a few more cards, and that’s really it, doesn’t change up the game much.

Silver: Marauders

Like the Aeon’s End Expansion, Downforce, and Ice Cool, this doesn’t change up the game much, it is something that is easy to slot into what you are doing. With Silver you just play with any combination of 0 through 13. This just another set of cards to drop in at a number. I don’t know that I need more combinations of cards, but also, more combinations aren’t going to hurt. I think with 4 different combinations at each numbers, that’s probably enough for life.

Time of Legends: Joan of Arc: Sam the Blacksmith

This one is because I like the Dice Tower, and I like Sam Healey. He was a lot of fun when he was on the Dice Tower. And he loves Time of Legends and in fact now works for Mythic Games. This is just him in the game, as a Blacksmith. The card looks cool and it’s more content that I’m hoping can just easily be slotted into what I already have.

That is a lot that I picked up but a lot of it was quite cheap. Even Mythic Battles Pantheon and stuff from All Systems go, which would have been over $200 was just over $50, so a massive game with a ton of stuff, but pretty reasonable for me to pick it up. Did you get anything on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or now Cyber Monday deals?

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Publisher Portraits: Awaken Realms

Awaken Realms was originally founded as a game that made minis. This is pretty apparent if you look at the board games that they have put out. Granted, not so much with the first one they put out, This War of Mine. That game was based off of the popular video game. From there, they have branched out into a lot of other genres of game with Cyber punk in Lords of Hellas, grim dark Arthurian legend with Tainted Grail, ancient China with Great Wall, dreams with Etherfields, and most recently space with ISS Vanguard.

What Are Their Games Like?

Awaken Realms prides itself in making games that have great theme in them as well as amazing components. This really comes across in all of their games that I have played. They also try and give you an unique experience in all of their games. This can be pushing the story element or it can be creating interesting mechanics.

When I did my different types of gamer article, found here, Awaken Realms very much creates those experience games. Great Wall is basically a euro game, but it has minis and tries to immerse you in the theme. But Tainted Grail, the combat is a very interesting puzzle, but the story element just has you exploring and discovering so much in this huge world. This is really a hallmark of what Awaken Realms does. The knock can be that their games can be a little rough around the edges, but that adds into the immersion and the experience of the game most of the time.

Board Game Spotlight

Tainted Grail

I’ve talked about it some already up on what type of games they make, but Tainted Grail is an immersive story driven game. It really takes you on an adventure as you fight monsters, try and survive and deal with this grim dark Arthurian legend. This isn’t about nights in shining armor, it is about surviving and seeing if you can save the lands of Avalon. The game is really driven by the exploration and the story that you play through in 15 different chapters, but the combat and diplomacy mechanics are interesting as well. I like the card puzzle that you are given when fighting someone and trying to figure out how you can optimize it. I’ve done a lot of videos on Tainted Grail that you can see below.

This War Of Mine

This is the only Awakens Realm game based on an IP (Intellectual Property) that I can think of. Another survival game, this one I have picked up but haven’t played yet. You are trying to survive in a war torn land, build things, go out and find food, and survive another night as fighting can break out at any time. It’s a very depressing game, from what I’ve heard, but has a solo mode which is why I picked it up. Rolling Solo has a video that goes over the rules and how a day works in the game.

Lords of Hellas

Lords of Hellas is a little bit like a ton of other games but also like no other game I’ve ever played. In Lords of Hellas you get a hero from Greek lore and are fighting to complete various objectives to win the game. But how the game plays is just wild, you can win by conquering lands, building and controlling temples, fighting and killing monsters, and more. And each hero that you can play is different and you unlock other things that make you even more different as the game goes on. Plus, you are building minis in this game, there are towers that you end up building and those minis are amazing looking. This game really highlights that Awaken Realms is good at minis. The Dice Tower has a great play through of the game.

Flick of Faith

Now, for something completely different. Awaken Realms also has a line of lighter games. This is one of them. I haven’t played, but I really want to, because it seems like a ton of fun. You are flicking discs onto a board and trying to get them to stop in different areas to score you points. Now, the concept isn’t the most unique, but there are discs of different sizes and values. And there are special rules each round that the players can vote on which one they want. The game seems like a lot of fun, and when Man vs Meeple played it, well, you can see for yourself.

Final Thoughts on Awaken Realms

Like Mythic Games, whenever Awaken Realms puts out a game on Kickstarter, or now on their own Crowdfunding platform GameFound, I am going to be interested. The experience of playing an Awaken Realms game is truly hard to describe. There is something that makes it unique every time. Whether it be the story that they create, or the mechanics that they put together, it works. Now, I haven’t backed everything of theirs, I did skip their worker placement in Great Wall, but even that has more theme than most worker placements. If you want a game that will have interesting mechanics and be dripping with theme, Awaken Realms does that so well.

Which Awaken Realms game interests you the most? Or do you have a favorite already that you’ve played?

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