Top 100 Games (of all time) – 20 through 11

20. For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game

Published By: Side Room Games
Designer: Wilhelm Su

Buy For Northwood!

A solo trick-taking game seems like it shouldn’t work. But For Northwood! works really well. It’s a simple trick taker, you need to follow suit if you can. But the twist is that you need to win a specific number of tricks each time. You play over eight rounds and need to win between 0 and 7 tricks, exactly. That sounds impossible, but you get powers that help you manipulate your hand. It’s always a question of, which one do you go for, in terms of tricks to win, and as you get further along, can get manipulate your hand to make it work.

19. Marvel Champions: The Card Game

Published By: Fantasy Flight Games
Designers: Michael Boggs, Nate French, and Caleb Grace

Buy Marvel Champions

I love Marvel and this is the game that gives me the Marvel feel to it. You are a superhero and you want to stop the bad guys scheme and defeat them. But, thematically, when you are in your hero form the bad guy is going to fight you and you take damage. So you need to manage going between your superhero and alter ego form so you don’t get hit. Of course as your alter ego, the villains are going to be scheming away. And you can create all sorts of fun combinations of heroes and villains to face off.

18. Floriferous

Published By: Pencil First Games
Designers: Eduardo Baraf and Steve Finn

Buy Floriferous

This game is one that I think is really overlooked in the gaming community. It’s a clever drafting game that does two very interesting things. The first thing is how scoring works. You don’t have much scoring that just happens, instead you draft your scoring cards. So there is always a choice between, do I draft more flowers or do I draft scoring cards. The other is how the drafting works, and this it maybe a bigger twist. You draft from a column, how high you are in the column determines when you draft next round. So it’s very possible you want to draft a less ideal card to get a perfect card.

17. Stars of Akarios

Published By: OOMM (Open Owl Studios)
Designers: Brendan McCaskell, Jonathan Thwaites

Buy Stars of Akarios

I love my big campaign games, and Stars of Akarios is one of my favorites. This one works so well for me with the tactical space combat, the planetary exploration, and a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The tactical space combat really shines in the game as you use your dice to position your ship, attack, and avoid the enemies the best you can. And the exploration is a bit like The 7th Continent/Citadel where you flip over cards and create a map and really explore as you go.

16. Clank!: Catacombs

Published By: Dire Wolf
Designer: Paul Dennen

Buy Clank! Catacombs

While i just did sell all of my other Clanks, this Clank! Catacombs spot is for all of them. Clank! is a push your luck game where you build up a deck of cards to get into a catacombs, in this case, and get out with the most points and best treasure that you can. Of course, if you are too noisy doing that, you clank, and when the enemy activates it might knock down your health. So it’s this push your luck in making noise, and going deeper. I like, too, with Clank! Catacombs, the map gets built as you go, so the board really is different every time.

15. Roll Player Adventures

Published By: Thunderworks Games
Designers: Keith Matejka, James William Ryan, and Peter Andrew Ryan

Buy Roll Player Adventures

Another big campaign game here with Roll Player Adventures. This one is all about dice manipulation and a fun story. I had a great time playing through the first campaign, and the additional one that I have, I need to get to the table. The system works well, though I will say, with four players it becomes a bit easier than at lower player counts. But the simple map movement, the story, the skill checks and of course combat and leveling up make this a fun time.

14. The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game

Published By: Office Dog
Designer: Bryan Bommueller

Buy The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game

I like trick-taking games. Not a ton make it to my Top 100 games mainly because a lot feel similar. The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game is one that is different. Yes, it leans into a lot of standard things, but it’s also cooperative and story based. There are other cooperative ones out there, but the story based feels unique. Especially because this closely follows the books, so you get to chapters with Goldberry and Tom Bombadil as required characters which is fun. And the cooperative elements are challenging for the game.

13. Pirates of Maracaibo

Published By: dlp games
Designers: Ralph Bienert, Ryan Hendrickson, and Alexander Pfister

Buy Pirates of Maracaibo

The second of three new games on this part of the lit in a row. Pirates of Maracaibo is a pirate resource management game. I normally would want it to have more adventure, but this one is a ton of fun. I love building up my ship and seeing what strategy of building up ship, getting treasure, exploring, and competing quests can lead to victory. And it is great because all of them feel good to do. It isn’t a game where I feel like I need to go one way, though, I think some ways are more consistent.

12. Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game

Published By: Brotherwise Games
Designer: John D. Clair

By Mistborn The Deck Building Game

Another deckbuilding game on the list here with Mistborn. And I like Mistborn just a bit better than Clank! because of a little more pure deck building. But also it has a lot of fun elements to the game. It leans into Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn world and let’s you burn metals to play cards. I also like the turn track, you always bump up in power as you go up the track. This makes for a really great experience of feeling like the game is ramping up.

11. Sleeping Gods

Published By: Red Raven Games
Designer: Ryan Laukat

Buy Sleeping Gods

The final game on the list is another big one, though not a campaign game. Sleeping Gods is a sand box story game where you are dropped into an unknown world and need to find and deal with totems. Of course, it’s a new land, so you don’t know where those are. And there are monsters and other interesting things to deal with. You need to control 9 crew, but really, it’s one turn and you just need to remember a few key abilities as you play. So it sounds like a lot, either cooperative or solo, but it’s not too bad.

Join Next Week

Just as a reminder, I am streaming new videos most Wednesdays. Let me know what you want to see me play next on Wednesdays after this list is done. 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
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Lands of Galzyr – The Story

So, I think it’s worth talking about the story of Lands of Galzyr. Because, it is not a campaign game, but it is played out, if you want, over a series of games. Each time, though, you pick the story that you want to engage with. Now, a quest might continue multiple times through multiple parts and multiple games. I pushed to get the “prince” quest taken care of this time. And I think with a character there is a timer on that one. But some quests, I could do part of it, then next session go and do more.

The story reminds me of what you see in Sleeping Gods, in a lot of ways. Sleeping Gods tells little bits and pieces of the world. And Lands of Galzyr, each quest is a little piece of the world. However, there is so much to this world that there is a lot of story. And that story is what keeps it engaging and fresh. Every event I pull, not even quest story, can be different depending on where I engage with it. So it will be fresh each time that I play it.

Vs Campaign

On the other hand, and this is picking at it some, it doesn’t tell as cohesive a story as a campaign game. Something like Roll Player Adventures, Tainted Grail, Sword and Sorcery, or Stars of Akarios all tell a specific story. That means what you come back to each time is a progression of a narrative. Lands of Galzyr is an emerging narrative of the adventures you go on. But, it is not a narrative game. You make the story around your character, not a game leading them into a story.

For that reason, I think, that it is a strong gaming experience but a good campaign game is better. For me, I want to in a game be able to influence it with choice. I do that in Lands of Galzyr. But in Tainted Grail, it is baked into the story that you experience. Yes, I see more things, same with Gloomhaven or Roll Player Adventures. But I tell the story and influence key parts with how I play. Lands of Galzyr, it is more of a series of events you follow.

Upcoming Streams

Monday is going to be back at 8:30 PM again. Last Monday was earlier because I needed to get my podcast recorded still. This upcoming Monday, I want to play a new game. It is a busy weekend, so I don’t know how much time I’ll have to learn. But my goal is to learn a new game to play. I have one I see that might work well.

And next Wednesday at 8 PM Central time is part 7, February, in Lands of Galzyr. The video is available here. Click the notification bell to know when I go live and join me. I hope that the game play is fun, and like I said, I want to play a few more sessions for sure of Lands of Galzyr. But after that, let me know what campaign game I should try next. I am tempted by maybe a smaller one like Adventure Realms, but I also want to play SHEOL as well.

Which should I play?

Send an Email
Message me on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Player Involvement Benefits

There are some good reasons to have your players involved in the story telling process. The most obvious is that it keeps the Dungeon Master from having to come up with everything. Now, it doesn’t need to be large amounts of involvement. Naming places and NPC’s can be enough to help lighten the load.

Lightening the GM’s Load

But why do you want even that much help? Firstly, it keeps the players more involved in the game. Also, the character that they name, those are probably going to be more important characters to them as players. It helps create that instant connection with an NPC, because they named it. So if you have an NPC that you think will be important, have the players name that one. The same goes for locations, or even backstory for the NPC’s. It’ll make your job easier, and give the players more buy into everything that is happening.

Directing the Story

To go along with that, it also is often important because the players can help direct the general direction of the story. This piece is a kind of scary benefit in the process. It seems like it should be a very safe one to have, but what makes it scary is that the players, you won’t know what direction that they will go. I said above that the named PC’s will probably be the most interesting ones to them, and it can help you lead the players along, but the players will also pick random NPC’s, plot threads, and more that they will want to explore deeper.

You don’t need to make these things tie into the main plot, but it can certainly tell you what direction the players are interested in taking the story. If you can weave the main plot into what they are interested in, that is going to be even better. Weaving it all together will really create a more interesting set-up for your players and give you a whole lot more buy in on what is happening in the game. It might mean that you need to switch up some of your big ideas for the game, but will also give you more ideas and a more fun game.

Develop Future DM’s

Now, this is less about the current game that you’re in, but there are a lot of DM’s who get stuck in that role for for a long time. This isn’t a bad thing, I love telling stories, and playing Dungeons and Dragons gives me a chance to tell a lot of stories. But having more player direction gives them a chance to flex that story telling muscle and learn the skills to become Dungeon Masters for themselves.

But How Much Is Too Much?

Dungeons Masters are sometimes accused of railroading their players. Railroading is a term where the story is on tracks and it can’t deviate to either that left or the right from what the Dungeon Master has in mind. Players can also railroad their own characters, but that’s a different thing for another time. To the other extreme is the sandbox, where players can do anything, go anywhere, and often times have to find their own story in that.

I personally believe that a good game is going to be a little bit of A and a little bit of B. Players need to have freedom to explore, and stuff like naming NPC’s, directing what they are most interested in, those are important things for long term buy-in in a game. On the flip side, if it’s too open, there are too many options and it’s overwhelming. They can go explore the swamps of despairs, the pits of agony, or the mountains of sorrow, that’s great, but why are they going there? Maybe they’d go set-up a flower shop in the Town of Happiness instead, it seems like a nicer place there. And sandbox, true sandbox, can lead to less of a focused storyline that is going to keep the players engaged.

So, it’s a balancing act between the two. You want player input because that’ll keep them invested, but hand over the reins too much, you end up with too many choices and the players lose interest because there is no focus. For the Dungeon Master, to become a really good one, I think finding that balance for your group is important. Some groups will want more structure, others will want less, but yes, it is a collaborative journey in story telling at all times.

The Takeaways

To me one thing stands out as being the most important, and that is Dungeons and Dragons being a collaborative process for story telling. Players need input to stay involved, but the Dungeon Master needs to provide story to guide the time. Like I said above, the ratio changes depending on the group, but it’ll always be that way. Even with a convention one shot game, a scenario might be serious one time for one group and light hearted the next time. So even in those cases where the story is heavily planned, the Dungeon Master still needs to be able to adjust tone and other elements as you go along for the group you have. The Dungeon Master needs to take cues from the players on how much collaboration there is, and the players need to take cues from the other players and Dungeon Master as well in this process.

What amount of player collaboration do you have in story telling in your Dungeons and Dragons games? Do you want more?

Email us at nerdologists@gmail.com
Message me directly on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here.

The Collection

Numbers

A’s – B’s – C’s – D’s – E and F’s – G and H’s – I, J and K’s – L’s – M’s – N, O, and P’s – Q and R’s – S’s – T’s

U through W’s

Unicornus Knights

I picked up Unicornus Knights a while ago because it seems like an interesting and bigger cooperative game. I like the concept of it as well where the is a character traveling around the board, the princess, which is run by the game. You then play generals who keep her path clear so that she can make it to her goal. You defeat bad guys, deploy troops, recruit more heroes, things like that. It’s one that I was able to get on sale, so I picked it up. I hope to get it to the table after it’s been on my shelf for such a long time, but I’m always interested in a cooperative game.

Status: To Be Played

Uno

I’m not 100% sure why I have this game still. Uno was a game that I played a lot growing up, even then I knew the game wasn’t great. But we played it because it was the only thing to play. I got it when I started building my collection and it just stays because it’s a classic I guess. I don’t have a ton redeeming to say about Uno because it’s basically just a take that game that we know. And I’m not a big fan of take that games.

Status: Played

Village Attacks: Convention Exclusive Organised Play Pack

This is an expansion, I know, an exclusive one from GenCon. I’m putting it on the list because I do have the game coming from Kickstarter, fingers crossed this year. I really liked my playthrough of this, though the group I was playing with was kind of odd. It’s fun to play a tower defense game where you are the bad guys and are trying to keep the villagers, with their pitchforks at bay. I like how it has scenarios as well, but it isn’t really campaign based.

Status: Played

Welcome to New Las Vegas

I like my flip and writes, roll and writes, draft and writes, and flick and writes. When a sequel to Welcome To… came along, I knew I was going to be interested in it. This one instead of building a neighborhood, you are putting together downtown of Las Vegas, getting golf courses, hotels, and shows built, and more. This one is a step up from Welcome To… from what I’ve heard, but still really interested me because of how much I love the first one.

Status: To Be Played

Welcome To….

See above for blank and writes. Welcome To… is, as I describe it, about building your perfect stepford neighborhood, with white picket fences everywhere to meet the demand of your neighborhood. You do this by building fences, parks, pools, and more. The game is fast and plays well with any number of players because everyone is doing things at the same time. It’s one of my favorite if not my favorite of the blank and write games.

Status: Played

Western Legends

A game that I’ve wanted for a long time, Western Legends is an open world western game where you can become an outlaw and rob the bank, but watch out for the other players and the Marshall who might try and bust you. Or you can go down the good path, take cattle across the land, prospect for gold, or just play a hand of poker. And if you ever die, you can just decide to go down a different path. I love the concept of doing anything and that doing anything will get you points, which is what you need to win the game, can you just do it better and faster than everyone else?

Status: To Be Played

Wits & Wagers

A go to group game, Wits & Wagers makes trivia games fun. In this game, you don’t have to get it right, you just have to bet on the person who does, or gets it closest at least, without going over. Players put down a numerical guess to some question, they’re sorted by number and people bet on which one they think is right. If you get it right, you get a payout, if you get it wrong, you get nothing. But then you go again, and you can bet on whomever you want, so if it’s a sports question and I know more about sports than you do, bet on my answer, or maybe you know what year an album came out or would have a better idea than I would, so I’d bet on yours. Super simple but fun trivia game.

Status: Played

WWE Legends Royal Rumble Card Game

Last game starting with W is all about the WWE. The Royal Rumble is the best pro wrestling pay-per-view. This is a take that game, like Uno, but unlike Uno, this one is a silly game where you are trying to get your opponents, through card play over the top rope. When that happens a new wrestler comes in to take their place, so no player is every eliminated until the end of the game. Because the Royal Rumble is a last man in the ring event. I really want to play this one with wrestling friends who we watch the pay-per-views together, hopefully sometime in this upcoming year.

Status: To Be Played

That’s is for U through W. A number of games in there, and a handful of expansions that I didn’t mention. V is the closest letter to not having a game in it, but I’m counting Village Attacks expansion because it is there. What game should I checkout that begins with U, V, or W? What are the best games for you starting with each letter?

Email us at nerdologists@gmail.com
Message me directly on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here.

“We see that you remember us, even if you don’t search for us anymore.”

A tall lithe woman stands on the top of one of these giant creatures with her fishy lips curled up in a sneer.

Boom, drop the players into that introductory scene. The fish people who are the descendants or maybe just the people who were lost in the neon seas are coming to exact their revenge upon the land and the people who abandoned them, or did they abandon those on land.

The players are going to have to first escape or be captured and taken to the under water city under the Neon seas. I think it should be something that the players do have a choice in, they can do either and both would offer some different challenges. First, if they escape, they are going to have to be on the run as the forces from the water are going to try and take back the land. If they go down into the underwater city, it’s going to be an escape that they have to eventually complete, not from a jail cell, but from the fact that the city is surround by leagues of water and they can’t breath underwater, yet.

From there, the story can go a number of different ways as well, but eventually it’s going to be about the players learning about the Neon Sea and what happened. As the story goes, this group of people traveled to the lands in search of a new continent to start their lives on, and to see what they could make for themselves. But things on the voyage didn’t go as planned. Thorogoth the Brave, whom the players were celebrating might have been more of a tyrant who led the people on ships not through storms and destruction, but through sacrifices and pain as they got rid of those who didn’t follow him in an effort to appease the god of the sea.

But not all who were being thrown over weren’t great as well, in fact, on the way to the new continent, several spies for the old lands were on the ship and were thrown over into the Neon Sea. And these people have been stirring up this return that is happening all to claim back the lands and to finally be able to send word back to the original continent about the lands and about what might be found on the new lands.

I would say depending on what the players do, that’ll determine what they find out about first. If they run, they find out about Thorogoth the Brave first, if they are captured, about the spies and the plan to return to the continent. So the players will need to get both sides to reconcile because eventually those from the original continent will come, and they are considered “bad” for some reason.

Now, there are a few ways you can go with this, they can unite as a group after taking out the spies against those from the original continent. Or they can pick either side to back. I want for this game to have a real sandbox feel and for them to start to understand the depths of the culture that they are in and also probably start to learn more about the continent that they are on as it’s been a few generations but the people have never really left the shore area and moved further into the island. Just kind of give it some funky things about the continent, probably dinosaurs somewhere on there, hidden ruins of ancient civilizations, and probably things that are going to make them question if this continent is the paradise they had hoped, maybe even finding out, and this would be a twist I would enjoy pulling off, that this new continent is actually their old continent, the one that they had before their previous continent and that this whole situation had actually played out before to some extent.

I wouldn’t weave in all of that at once, but start to lay the groundwork for a lot of those things and see what the players latch onto in terms of what you’ll make most important in your story. Normally there is a more defined end goal, but in this, we have people from the previous continent coming, are they really a BBEG, probably not, people from under the Neon Sea, probably not the BBEG either. So see what happens when things are a bit more grey, or in this case neon.

Share questions, ideas for articles, or comments with us!

Email us at nerdologists@gmail.com
Message me directly on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here.