Top 10 Games To Take Along Traveling

10. A Gentle Rain (Solo)

This is a good game for a number of different locations for gaming. First off the packaging is quite small for the game that is going to make it easy to take with you. The game is also cardboard tiles and wooden pieces. The good thing about that is that it means it works well outside. So it’s very portable, it does take up a bit of space though, as you lay it out.

So let’s talk about how the game plays. A Gentle Rain is a matching game where you want to complete a square of four tiles. When you do you can place a flower matching the colors of the matched flowers that created the square. The goal is to get rid of all of the flowers to win the game. It’s very simple, flip and see where you can match flowers. But it is meant to be a calming and chill game and it is that.

9. Hanamikoji (2 Player)

Now we’re onto a two player game. Some of the other multiplayer games work well at two, but this one is specifically a two player game. And it is going to give you that ideal two player experience in a small package and some interesting game play.

In Hanamikoji you are playing down gifts to win the favor of Geisha. Your goal is to, after all the gifts have been played, have the favor of four Geisha or eleven points worth of Geisha. But how you play out cards is what really is interesting. Each player has four actions that they are going to do once. You decide which order to do them. You either save one gift hidden from your opponent to use in scoring. Save two gifts hidden from your opponent that are discard. Or you either give your opponent the choice of one of three cards or one of two sets of two cards.

I love how the game creates these mind games. You need to play what you have in your hand and try and understand what your opponent is trying to hide from you based off of what they are giving you as options.

8. Arboretum (Multiplayer)

Now we’re onto a multiplayer game that is a bit mean. Arboretum is a game of creating an Arboretum and connecting paths between types of trees going from low to high. But as you play out you are also adding more cards to your hand from the discard piles out there. And you can pull from your opponents piles and your opponents see what you are building out.

So how is it mean. There are two ways it can be mean. Players can block you from scoring a type of tree. If you don’t have the most points in your hand of a tree type, you don’t score that tree type. They can also hold back cards in their hand that you need to create your paths of trees. But the game is a lot of fun because it offers a lot of tough choices and for being on the list is one of the most interactive.

7. Schadenfreude (Multiplayer)

I can put a lot of trick taking games on the list. And I maybe should pick something else, so here are some bonus games. The Crew is a great cooperative trick taking game, same with The Fellowship of the Ring trick taking game. Fox in the Forest is a good two player trick taking game. But now let’s talk about Schadenfreude.

Schadenfreude is a different trick taking game where you want to score points, but not too many. The game ends in the hand where someone goes over 40 points. But 40 points isn’t the winning total. No, it is the total that guarantees you won’t win. So you want to get as close to 40 points as possible without hitting it or going over. Because whomever is the closest to 40 when someone goes over 40 is going to be the winner of the game. It’s a fun twist and not the only one in the game.

6. Ohanami (Multiplayer)

Now we go from two more interactive games to a more laidback game again. Ohanami is a drafting game where you want to create your best garden. And it is a game for travel that comes in a tiny box. So it is very easy to travel with because it is just cards. Now it does take up a bit of room as you play, but not too bad, you just create three columns of cards.

Like I said, Ohanami is a drafting game. You pick two cards from the hand each round. And each card you pick needs to be added to the three columns of cards you can create. You also need to play it above the highest value card or below the lowest value card in a column keeping it in numerical order. It’s not complex, but it works well.

And the scoring is fun as well. When you score, it changes each round. The first round you only score one type of card. They give you the fewest points but they score each of the three rounds. Whereas others score more but in fewer rounds. That little twist gives you direction when drafting as to what to take or not take.

5. Orchard/Grove (Solo)

Orchard or Grove are little card games that either of them work great for travel. Now they won’t work as well out in nature as some games, like A Gentle Rain, but they do work well overall. And they play very quickly without taking up much table space.

Both of these games are card layering games. As you play down cards you play matching symbols over each other. And the more you overlap the better you are producing fruit of various types. And your goal is to just see how high a score you can get with nine total cards played out. You can break the placement rules in both games, but it always costs you something.

Grove also adds in some scoring objectives that you can go for. I think that both of them are great games. Grove is probably a bit better because of the scoring objectives, in my opinion. But I think either will work for you if you sound interesting.

4. Point Salad (Multiplayer)

Now another multiplayer game and one where you can get the salad themed version of this game or an Eevee themed version if you’re fine ordering it from South Korea and paying some shipping costs. But this game is all about creating a salad that is going to give you points.

The game is pretty simple but it has a fun twist to it. On your turn you either take two vegetables or one scoring card. The twist is that when you take vegetables you are flipping down cards from a pile. And on the back of those cards is where the scoring is. So when you flip a card down that scoring is gone away forever. A simple twist but one that makes for some tough turns or gives you a way to block an opponent from getting their perfect scoring card.

3. Super Mega Lucky Box (Solo and Multiplayer)

I only put one roll and write game on the list and that is Super Mega Lucky Box. There are a lot that could go on the list, much like trick taking games. And a lot of them play solo or multiplayer. But I like Super Mega Lucky Box a lot and it is one that is pretty easy to teach which makes it nice for travel. Especially if you are traveling with or to meet up with non-gamers or more casual gamers.

This game has a blackout bingo style to it. You flip cards and each player is filling in a spot on one of their three bingo cards. As you complete rows and columns you get bonuses. Those bonuses might give you more points. Or they might let you fill in other numbers. And the more you fill in, the more points you get too as you get cards filled. The concept is simple but it has some fun interactions.

2. Castle Combo (Multiplayer)

Castle Combo is a newer game on the list, though a number are pretty new. This one is about building out a grid that can score you the most points. All of this will balancing your access to the two resources.

On your turn you buy a card to fill into a three by three grid. Depending on where it is in the grid, or sometimes the color of shields it has or color of card it is, that is going to be scoring you points. You want to optimize how it scores you points at the end of the game. At the same time you need to consider the ability that happens either throughout the game, such as a discount on a type of card, or happens when you play the card. Because that is how you are going to get more money.

Now there is a bit more going on in the game. But I think that gives you the general idea. This one is that nice balance of pretty easy to learn and play but it has good decisions in it. For people who like to game, there is probably going to be enough going on that you won’t feel bad about missing your bigger games at home.

1. For Northwood! (Solo)

Finally we have For Northwood! and maybe I should have put this in with the trick taking games. But I think it deserves it’s own spot on the list. While it takes up some room on a table, it travels in a really small box. And for a trick taking fan, you will likely like this game even when you don’t have people around to play a trick taking game with.

In this game you want to win a specific number of tricks depending on your location. Each location is going to have a critter by it and a number of tricks to win. The critter is going to determine what trump is. So after you draw you hand you need to decide which spot you think you can win at. Then you play against the remainder of the deck by flipping a card and going up against that.

Now that doesn’t sound like it would work too well That is a lot of luck. But you always have access to three critters with abilities. These abilities help you get more cards into your hand or discard cards and more to get that right number of tricks. Can you pull off a perfect game and win the right number of tricks at each location?

Final Thoughts

There are a ton of board games that work great for traveling. And depending on how you are traveling you can take larger games at times. What I wanted to do was keep it down to a lot of little games. Those are consistently going to be able to go with you. And what I put on the list, these are just a few small box games. I could list off probably 100 honorable mentions between trick taking games or roll and write games and then so many other little ones.

What games do you find work well when you travel?

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Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition – 50 through 41

50. Via Magica

• Published by Hurrican in 2020
• Beat your fellow magic students in a bingo-esque game and utilize your powers best

This is a great filler level game. It’s a ton of fun to collect materials and use them to open gates. And then try and figure out what games and what elements you want to focus on opening first to get benefits from either immediately or throughout the game. As as well you need to grab points, so it’s a fun balancing act in what you’re doing. This is not going to be for everyone as it’s a light game, but I really like Via Magica for a nice relaxing and fun time.

Buy Via Magica

49. Too Many Bones

• Published by Chip Theory Games in 2017
• Chuck dice and battle enemies as you level up your Gearlocks to faceoff against the final boss

This is a fun short campaign style game. It’s not a big story game, but you get that mechanical feeling of leveling up in Too Many Bones that makes it such a fun time. And each Gearlock is unique and plays differently. I think that is part of what makes the same so special. Each characters want to level up in their own ways. And sometimes you just want better stats. But other times, getting and using your unique dice is going to create for some really fun game moments. The game isn’t a story game, but it can provide it’s own story.

Buy Too Many Bones

48. Ganz Schon Clever (That’s Pretty Clever)

• Published by Schmidt Spiele in 2018
• Place dice, fill in spots, and gain combos to get your highest score

I’ve already talked about this system two other times. But this is the original one to use the system and it’s my favorite of them. I really like how clean the puzzle is for trying to solve this game and do best at it. And there are enough combos that you can end up with some awesome turns. But the combos don’t slow down the game too much which is one element that I can really appreciate about this design compared to others. Though the flexibility in how you play is a little bit more limited.

Buy That’s Pretty Clever

47. Dungeon Kart

• Published by Brotherwise Games in 2024
• Rev your engine, take off, and mess with your opponents in this fast racing game

Dungeon Kart is obviously trying to be a Mario Kart style game. And I think it does a good job of it. I’ve played other games that offer some of that, but Dungeon Kart I really enjoy. It does a great job balancing catching up, slinging spells at your opponents and just a fun time. You get behind, no biggie, you get more and better spells. You’re in the lead, well, it’s your own fault you are there and you’re going to get blasted, but don’t worry, you can still catch-up again.

Preorder Dungeon Kart

46. Super Mega Lucky Box

• Published by Gamewright in 2021
• Combo your way into a bingo victory

This is the second bingo like game on the list where something is drawn and all players use it. But this one is a flip and write game that is more bingo like than Via Magica and has you filling in a three by three grid. Of course as you fill in rows and columns you get bonuses that can give you more. And the game provides great offsetting of the luck of the slip with powers from lightning bolts. It’s just a really fun, easy to play and fast game.

Buy Super Mega Lucky Box

45. Cartographers

• Published by Thunderworks Games in 2019
• Draw your best map as you explore the lands in this flip and write game

The theme is only kind of there, but this is a great roll and write style of game. You flip over terrain and figure out how you want to place it out on your sheet. But beware monsters because your opponents get to decide where that’s going to go and it’s going to be the worst spot for you. Plus the game has fun scoring that rotates throughout the seasons so that one of the scoring elements in spring is going to be scored for winter as well.

Buy Cartographers

44. Res Arcana

• Published by Sand Castle Games in 2019
• Can you get your magical engine up and running faster than your opponents in this race to 10 points

I like how simple Res Arcana is, but how thinky it is as well. You need to really figure out how you want to leverage the cards that you have, or draft, in this game. And drafting really adds some strategy to it as you can try and figure out what your best cards are going to be how you can get them to turn out points. The game has this great build to it until suddenly you can get points and then the game just flies to the finish.

Buy Res Arcana

43. Railroad Ink Challenge

• Published by Horrible Guild in 2021
• Can you connect your routes better than your opponents can?

Another roll and write game, last one in this section. Railroad Ink Challenge is a great game of building out routes of both trains and roads and trying connect as many of them as you can together. Challenge adds in challenges that you can push for to score more points. But beware of leaving too many unconnected pieces, those can lead to your doom as they are negative points.

Buy Railroad Ink Challenge

42. Rebel Princess

• Published by Bezier Games in 2024
• It’s Hearts with Shenanigans, in the best way as you avoid proposals you really don’t want.

That’s really what Rebel Princess is, Hearts with shenanigans. But the shenanigans really do make this game. The princess powers are all game breaking in some way, and you want the ones everyone else have. And then the card that determines the special rule for the hand is great as it messes with everything. So you need to be quick to adjust how you are playing every time, and I think that’s great.

Buy Rebel Princess

41. Rock Hard: 1977

• Published by Devir Games in 2024
• Live your best rockstar life as you go from garage band to playing stadiums in this worker placement game

This game is really about living that 1970’s classic rocker life as you build up your band, gain reputation, write more songs all in hopes of playing on the biggest stage. I love how the worker placement is split up over three different times, day, evening, and after hours. And it’s fun that you need to worry about your job, at least for a little bit, and pay your producer as you become more famous because of course, while they help you, they also hurt you. It’s just very thematic for a worker placement game and a theme that I like a lot.

Buy Rock Hard: 1977

Upcoming Streams

Just a reminder on my streaming schedule. It’s not just all my Top 100 Games (of all time).

• Monday night, time varies, I play different small solo games, though I might be looking to start up a campaign again. And generally the streams do start between 8 and 8:30 PM central time.
• 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. Only 5 more weeks left of my Top 100 Games, then likely this will switch to smaller solo games and video games.
• Friday at 9 PM central my wife and I are streaming a playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3. Join us for the adventure of Nina and Kaerok and see what choices we make.

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. And let me know what games in this list are your favorite or that you want to try.

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Top 5 Board Game Apps

Disclaimer, of course, I haven’t played them all. Some are for games that don’t interest me that much. So, like Dominion just has an app in beta or just out on Android, haven’t played it, probably won’t. And list is in no particular order.

5. Fleet: The Dice Game

Let’s start with the one that I’ve been playing the most of recently. Fleet: The Dice Game has a nice and simple app for playing their game solo. No pass and play multiplayer, but when I play a board game on an app, multiplayer is low on the list of things that I care about.

This one takes what’s not that complex a game to run solo in person, but takes up space on the table. So it makes it much more compact. And it makes me want to play the game again, and actually try it multiplayer in person. So that might not be the best sign for the app. But the app lets you get in a game much faster, as an app should, and let’s you mess around with strategies easier.

4. Super Mega Lucky Box

Next up is another roll and write style game. Actually, I could do a top 5, possibly Top 10, on this type of game. Why, because a lot of them end up with simpler rule sets and thus are simpler to program into an app. And Super Mega Lucky Box is another one without a pass and play, at this point, but one that you can play solo.

Now, I give this solid marks as a board game app not because it’s that much easier than the board game. No, I give it that because it’s more portable. I can play Super Mega Lucky Box solo easily enough in person. But there is a minor amount of set-up. With the app, it’s pull it out and play. And they give you a few ways to play which are fun to mess around with. Honestly, it’s a really good way to learn how to play the game.

3. Sagrada

Now one that isn’t a roll and write. Though, Sagrada does have rolling dice as you roll each time for drafting. This one does have multiplayer, which I have yet to use. But it also has a challenge/campaign mode. Not like the Sagrada Artisans legacy game, no, the campaign is just progressively better AI opponents. I like that sense of progression, and it walks you through the different ability cards and scoring cards.

And while the other games on the list are definitely faster in an app, Sagrada flies speed wise. I really like it for that, if I were to play a game of Sagrada solo, well, I haven’t before, but I imagine it might take a little bit. On the app, it’s about five minutes to play a whole game.

2. Railroad Ink

Now, yes, another roll and write game with Railroad Ink. This is another one that take a roll and write game that isn’t hard to play solo and makes it even easier. Railroad Ink is a game of connecting routes, which is not hard in person. But the app highlights were you can put railroad sections and makes it easier for you that way. And it keeps track of your round to help with scoring the challenge cards.

This is another one that is only solo. But it works slick, and games are definitely a little bit faster than playing solo in person. Out of all of these, I think that Railroad Ink probably saves you the least amount of time. But, it’s fun to be able to play it on a small screen in your pocket.

1. Clever Games

Finally, yes, this is a lot of games. Four games actually, though, I hope that they’ve improved the fourth one, Clever 4Ever on the app because, well, it doesn’t size correctly to all screens. But the other three are great ways to play and learn the various “Clever” games. And all of the apps work nicely.

It is only solo play, but it handles some of the solo elements like which dice end up on the platter on the “opponents” turn. No more guessing, though, the rules for that are simple in the real game. The nice thing is that it highlights what you can do when you click on a die, and shows you the options well. It’d be nice if it had a tutorial mode, but the rules are on there so you can read them as well. And mainly, if you know how to play, you just need to learn the scoring and new ability.

Honorable Mentions

Let me wrap up with some honorable mention board game apps.

Ascension – this has a nice app for the deck building game. And it comes with the base game and an expansion. You can pay for more to unlock them. The downside to this one, is it’s small on a screen. So until you know the cards it’s a bit fiddly. But it does have pass and play.

Hero Realms – Another deck building game, Hero Realms is a head to head battler. The AI is strong in this one, and you can set it and unlock more cards as you go. The system works well in this setting and it helps you remember everything, like if you haven’t attacked your opponent or your opponent has a blocker.

Potion Explosion – Finally, I want to end on Potion Explosion. This one you do lose some playing it on the app. Obviously you don’t have the tactile thing of pulling out a marble and watching everything else fall into place. That said, it still is slick and it does some of the work, auto placing ingredients if you want. I like it for that, and I like the challenge it offers.

What are some of your favorite board game apps?

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Super Mega Lucky Box

So what is it that works well for Super Mega Lucky Box as a solo and not as a solo game. Let’s start out with the more generic ones that work across the board. The big thing is that the concept for the game is simple, Super Mega Lucky Box is basically a gamer version of bingo. And most everyone knows how to play bingo. So when I grab it off the shelf, I know the people know the concept. So that makes it a whole lot easier to get to the table.

The speed of the game is also an element that works well multiplayer and solo. In both cases the game doesn’t take too much time. Solo is faster, but that is always the case (or almost always). But no matter the player count, it is easy to get to the table because there is no downtime. I flip a card, we all use that card. That is something I really enjoy in games now.

Solo, though, it still works. I often knock solo games, Trek12, where it tries to add in too much to the game. It’s no fun to play the game again without making decision. But for Super Mega Lucky Box, it keeps it simple. It just modifies the scoring slightly in one area and that is where the change occurs. So I still play the same game, just how I get points for moons, which is majority scoring in multiplayer, changes. That keeps it nice and simple to know and only one set of rules for my head.

Upcoming Streams

Let’s run through the stream structure like I normally do. You might already know the schedule but in case you don’t. Wednesday at 8 PM Central I stream either a campaign game, or with this time of year it’s my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2023 Edition. And join me Wednesday for the Top 10. It goes so fast, and now I have so many games that I want to play.

Then on Monday I stream at 9 PM Central time. It’s generally a solo game. Though I’ll also do pack openings for some TCG. But normally it’s a solo game and a one off for the game like a roll and write, or sometimes a game like Under Falling Skies or For Northwood, which was on the list today.

But the best way, if you want to know when I go live or a new video goes up (it’s basically always live), please consider subscribing. You can do that here. And click that notification bell on the channel and you’ll always know when I go live.

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Catch up on my Top 100 Games (of all Time) 2023 Edition:

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90 through 81

80 through 71

70 through 61

60 through 51

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2023 Edition – 50 through 41

50. Homebrewers

Homebrewers is a fun game about a theme that I love, homebrewing beer. It is something that I did for year and would love to get back into. We’ll see if it happens some day. But this game is about trying to be the best homebrewer when it comes around to Summerfest and Oktoberfest. Will your IPA, Lager, Porter, and Stout be the best ones?

This is done by rolling dice and taking actions on those dice. And that sounds like a lot of luck, but you can spend a dollar to change the face of a die, and you can build up an engine that gives you money to keep brewing beer. But you want to add in ingredients so that your beer gets better, you get more money, and if you build your recipe correctly, it can help level up your other beers as well. This is a fast fun game with a fun theme to play.

49. Trek 12

Then we have Trek 12 a roll and write game about climbing up mountains. I like this game multiplayer or solo, but not solo with the official rules. The official rules have you play for another character as well and it’s not exciting to play twice to try and beat that score. Instead, I just try and beat my previous score.

To climb up the mountain you are rolling dice and everyone uses those dice to try and create sets of numbers or runs of numbers. To do that, you pick from five options which you can only use five times each of taking the highest number, lowest number, the added together pair, the difference, or the multiplied value, but not higher than 12. And as you go, your options get more limited. Can you not orphan numbers on the mountain but keep them a part of a group to grab as many points as you can?

48. Letter Jam

Now we’re onto one of two cooperative games on the list. Letter Jam is a spelling game that takes from Hanabi where it has cards facing away from you. These cards are the letters that make up your word. One is facing up away from you so you don’t know what it is. Players, all the players, go around and give clues by spelling out words with the letters that they see and wild card ones. Of course, as that happens, I still don’t know what mine is.

That is what makes the game clever. As I create my word that I want to give as a clue, I want to make sure the word is unique enough that it makes sense. If you have an “o” and I make the word “form” then you know your letter is one of “a”, “i” or “o” because you can see “f_rm”. But if I pick the word “from” you see “fr_m” and it makes a whole lot easier. Now you often narrow down your letter and call it good enough to hope that with the whole word together or all the letters you’ll be able to figure it out.

47. Blood Rage

Next up a not at all cooperative game, we have Blood Rage. Blood Rage is a game of card drafting, combat, and area control. But really, I think that this is a game that brings all of those things in, but the card drafting is what makes the game. The card drafting determines what upgrades you get. It might be bringing a monster onto the board, or upgrading your troops so that they are stronger, it could be giving you new ways to score points. And that is where the game is fun.

And there are a lot of strategies that you can employ. You can go after just winning battles. You get in there, you take powerful attack cards, you win, and that is how you get your points. Or there is the option to do the exact opposite, the Loki strategy. You go into battle, you die, and you make points because when your warriors come back from Valhalla you get points. So there are ways for everyone to play even within area control and combat.

46. Betrayal at House on the Hill

Now we’re onto the second oldest game on this part of the list. Betrayal at House on the Hill is not everyone’s favorite game. And I get why people don’t like it, some of the haunts are hard to figure out with the information that they give you. They try and hide some of it both ways from the betrayer and those who were betrayed. That allows you to find out how it works as you go, but it makes it harder to get the rules right or feel like you understand what you need to do.

That said, I still really like the game. Why, because the game just works as a horror film of a game. You go explore an old haunted mansion where nothing makes sense. And as you explore, you stumble across weird omens. One that eventually triggers the haunt and then someone will betray you in the group, the scenario you land on says who. Then it’s a game of trying to figure out the puzzle whether it’s Rocky Horror Picture Show or hunting down talisman or playing chess with death, the options are all there. And I think that makes it really fun.

45. Marvel Champions

Now we have maybe the biggest drop from last year, and thanks to the person in chat who looked this up. I went from #4 to #45 for Marvel Champions. And the big reason for that, and why you see games move, is what I’ve gotten played this year. I play around 150 games a year and a lot of new ones, so ones that don’t get played drop some.

But Marvel Champions is still a great game. I love it as a Marvel themed game that makes you feel like the hero that you’re playing. When you’re Spider-Man you feel like you do Spider-Man’s moves. Same with Thor or Captain America. And that’s something great about the game that way.

But it also does other very cool things. Like when you are Spider-Man the supervillain knows where you are, and he’s going to attack you. And might suck and knock your health way down. But you can always flip back to being Peter Parker. Now the supervillain doesn’t know who you are, so they go to work on their scheme. It gives you a chance to heal up. But when you do that you can’t fight the bad guy or stop their scheme either. So it’s this interesting puzzle that you play with which I really enjoy.

44. Super Mega Lucky Box

Now we’re onto the second roll and write game, Super Mega Lucky Box. Which, I just found out there is an app for, so a great way to check it out. This is gamers bingo where you combo completing rows and columns to finish off your whole bingo card. The fast you do that, the more points that you can get. It’s a really fun game that way and a simple one.

I think that it looks more simple than it is, though. When you fill something in, you need to ask yourself, does this combo into something I need. And as you get more cards, you need to look to make sure you have a good variety of numbers, or a lot of lightning bolts to be able to manipulate those numbers that are flipped up. It’s that combination of things, with easy to follow rules, that puts it this high on the list.

43. PitchCar

Next up we have our dexterity game for this part of the list. Now I don’t have one per section, but I really do like dexterity games. And PitchCar is great because it’s a racing game. And how you race is you flick your car, a disc, around a track, it’s just as simple as that. But if you go off the track, you go back to where you shot from. Flip upside down, it is possible, you go back to where you shot from.

And a lot of the fun comes from how you built the track. You can build a long track with lots of straightaways, or you can put in a ton of turns, it is all depending on what you want to do. In fact, there are even expansions that add jumps, bridges, or crazy loops that you can use as well. So I like to tailor it to how I want to play that night, is it just a quick warm-up game, simple track. Is it the big event, a crazy track.

42. For Northwood

Next up we have a solo only trick taking game. That is a concept that feels like it shouldn’t work. Trick taking games are a lot of playing off of what other people are doing, but For Northwood makes it work really well. Yes, you have no one to play off of, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of good strategy in the game.

You play in different areas of the woods. Each of them with an animal ruler that you want to impress. To do that you need to win a specific number of tricks. So if I have to think about which section of the woods, from 0 to 7 tricks won, I want to go to with the hand of cards I have. Now, winning all of them is tricky, but you get assistance from the rulers. Some to start the game, others you get as you win locations. And they might add or remove cards from your hand to help you complete your goal. It’s a really good system of solo play and trick taking.

41. Sagrada

To round out these ten games, we have Sagrada. Sagrada is a game about making a stained glass window and one of the prettier games on the list. It’s also a game that has an app which is solid as well and does feel like you’re playing the game.

In Sagrada you draft dice to fill in your stained glass window. To do that, you need to the right colored dice or numbered dice in the right spots on the board. But it’s not just as simple as that. You also need to think about what is around that spot. What you can’t have happen is needing to place a six in a spot with a six to the left, right, above, or below it or the same with a color. And you don’t want empty spots because those are negative points.

The game also gives you goals when building your stained glass window. You might get points for the pips on all your blue dice. And then there are public scoring goals as well, like sets of 5’s and 6’s that you have, columns with no repeating numbers, or rows with no repeating colors. And that changes every time. And there are special tools that you can use which allow you to move dice or break rules in various ways. And those change each game as well.

Upcoming Streams

Let’s run through the stream structure like I normally do. You might already know the schedule but in case you don’t. Wednesday at 8 PM Central I stream either a campaign game, or with this time of year it’s my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2023 Edition. And join me next Wednesday for games 50 through 41, so hitting the half way point. It goes so fast, and now I have so many games that I want to play.

Then on Monday I stream at 9 PM Central time. It’s generally a solo game. Though I’ll also do pack openings for things But normally it’s a solo game and a one off for the game like a roll and write, or sometimes a game like Under Falling Skies or For Northwood, which was on the list today.

But the best way, if you want to know when I go live or a new video goes up (it’s basically always live), please consider subscribing. You can do that here. And click that notification bell on the channel and you’ll always know when I go live.

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So looking at this topic, I don’t just want to give you a list. I will give a few at the end that I like. But instead, I want to create, like I did for campaign games here, a guide to help you find good big group board games for yourself. What are some qualities to look for?

How To Find Good Big Group Board Games?

All my categories are going to be compared, at least to some extent, against party games. Because what I am looking for is an alternative to party games. Something that can play at six or more, it might only be up to seven, but offers that fun experience and offers that big group experience.

Downtime

So firstly, the game should limit downtime. Downtime is an major enemy in big group games. Or even in a lot of games. If a game plays in the time frame given with two players does it with four or six players. Often times that time frame grows considerably the more you add players. So a good big group board game is going to keep to a minimum.

For party games this is often done by putting you on teams. So half the time you are playing some element of the game. Or another way is when everyone is doing something, writing an answer, picking cards, at the same time. Everyone is engaged. To successfully move from party games, keeping downtime to a minimum is going to be key.

Complexity

Next up is complexity, keep it simple, stupid. Again to compare to party games, they are dead simple. Often times the most complex part is how scoring is done, and that is a detriment to the game. And with moving out of party games into big group games, keep it simple.

There are a few reasons for that. Firstly, it keeps downtime to a minimum. So see above how that is important. If the decision making space is simple enough, turns won’t take a long. Secondly, it makes it easier to teach, and you will teach this game a lot if it’s a good one. Because with a larger group you are more apt to have someone who doesn’t know the game. You might not, but it is more likely. Thirdly, it keeps the stakes of the game lower. And you might want them higher, but we are replacing a party game, so nothing too cut throat or where it feels like a wrong move and you lost the game.

On the flip side, as you try and replace a party game. Do not go too simple. The goal is not to replace a party game with another party game. So the complexity is going to be higher, but just keep in mind that Twilight Imperium and Heroes of Land, Air, and Sea play over six but wouldn’t be a good replacement.

Game Length

This one there is more wiggle room on. But I would argue that is because of a mistake that party games make. They don’t give you a good end point. This is again part of the too complex rules for scoring. If it is too complex, no one knows how or when the game ends, so you just play as long as you want. Often times this is until after the game has worn out it’s welcome.

So there is room in this one, but often times you want that filler length game, that twenty minutes, maybe up to forty. Something that can fit between games as a bit of a breather. And the reason for this is that with a lower complexity the longer a game goes, the less interesting it might be. Now there are ways around it, it might be simple but you do more or have more choices as the game goes on. So that is a smart build. But often times with a more limited decision making space, you want to limit how long the game goes.

Theme

Theme matters here, because a party game generally has an innocuous theme. Now, an easy exception to that is Cards Against Humanity with has a very specific target audience for it’s theme. But most of them give you a friendly theme or no theme at all.

As you move away from big group games just being party games you need to consider the theme. If it’s a bloody heroes killing monsters with dark artwork, that might not work for your group. Keep the theme more generic when you play a big group game. That is going to cast a larger net and catch a bigger group who might want to play.

Decision Making

Finally, and this one I touched on with complexity, but give a good but limited decision making space. And I think this is where a good big group game diverges from a party game. Often times you can, at least in some party games, put in a random card or answer and win just as often or more than if you put in thought to it.

So a good big group games is going to add in some real decision making while keeping the game pretty simple. You don’t want it to feel like you are playing the next big game. But at the same time, you don’t want it to just be another dumb game or a game purely with luck. A good replacement big group game is going to offer a limited window of choices.

What Are Some Examples?

Via Magica

Via Magica, and another below, I qualify as a gamers bingo. Something is drawn and everyone places in this case an animus or spirit on a portal that they are trying to open. Then another is drawn, and you do so again. You try and complete opening portals and first to seven ends the game, then you tally up points.

This one works well because the basic actions of the game are simple. You draw and place. And everyone is doing that at the same time from a single draw of a token. The decision making comes in two areas, firstly where you place on your portals, though that is a bit of a looser decision space. The other way is in what portal you get so you can push for more points or getting bonuses. That is where the game gives you most decision making.

Sushi Go Party

Sushi Go Party is another great options. This one offers, I think, a larger decision making space. But it keeps it limited. You setup a group of sushi and other food from a Japanese restaurant and shuffle those cards together. Then over a series of three rounds you draft cards. And that drafting is all done at the same time making it the speed no matter the player count.

This is definitely one with a few more decision. While the core mechanics stay the same, you need to learn the set of cards you are drafting from. Once you know them, it makes the turns simpler. So the game actually picks up speed as time goes on, because you learn more about the pool you are drafting from and what you want to go for.

Super Mega Lucky Box

This is the other bingo game. And it is much more bingo. As you complete columns or rows on cards you get bonuses that allow you to complete more. And you get points for completing 3 by 3 grids completely. Much like Via Magica, as cards are flipped with numbers for your bingo grid, you fill in a spot. And everyone does so at the same time.

This one I think offers more decision making, though, because of the bonuses, you might really be pushing for a bonus. And it offers more ways or more consistency in manipulating the number. While Via Magica lets you turn some things into wilds, if you get the right cards, Super Mega Lucky Box, always offers a way to do that, assuming you collect the right resource.

The Great Split

Next up we have The Great Split. This one kind of has the feel of drafting but the main mechanic in the game is I split and you choose. That I think makes it different for a bigger group game. Because everyone is picking a combination of things and splitting it into two groups.

I also think that The Great Split is one where it does offer more decision making space. Creating that good split where you’ll get back what you want but you won’t be giving your opponent too much is an interesting conundrum. For that reason, this game might run longer because some players will need more time to create that split. But every player is overlapping on when they create their split.

The game is really about going up on tracks to get the most points possible. And it pulls that off well. You are nudged in a direction by the starting card you get, but then you can really play around with it. And there’s enough variability to keep the game feeling different.

Welcome To…

Finally, and I could have picked a number here, we have Welcome To… It’s like all the rest in that everyone is doing stuff at once. You have a a setup of three pairs of cards and you activate one to work on building out your perfect town. Plus there is more going on with it.

This one has a bit more of a teach than some of them. Mainly because there are a number of moving pieces and how scoring in a lot of different areas works. But the game offers you just the right number of choices, so you always are considering what is going to be the best option for you.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of good games out there for bigger groups. But getting that one that hits the right combination is big. Because so many when you go below this level that I put out here, tend to not offer anything more than a party game. But going too far in the other direction, now you out of that almost filler type of category. So it is a balancing act.

Now, with all of this said. If you enjoy a good party game, that is great. I have party games in my collection that will stay because I really enjoy them. But sometimes you get tired of always pulling out a party game for a big group. Hopefully this helps find games that work for big groups, but aren’t too much to handle.

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Top 5 Quick and Cute Board Games

5. Gasha

Gasha is some of the reason that I’m thinking of this topic since I played it earlier this week. This is a cute set collection game about getting toys from a Japanese vending machine. You can see my whole review of it here.

This one definitely makes the list because the mechanics or action on a turn is very simple. You draw two cards or you trade in a matching set of cards for a scoring card. That is it. But there is some fun to what you do. You need to decide when to try and match up tickets, if you should push for that bigger scoring card, or maybe if you collect for a little bit so you can knock out scoring cards and maybe surprise end the game.

But mechanically it is simple and offers choices and fast choices. And theme wise it is very bright and welcoming. But because it comes in a small box and has kid like artwork (for kids not by kids) it is going to be apt to looked over.

4. Ohanami

In even a smaller box is Ohanami. This one is even simpler in how it sounds, you draft two cards and you add them across three columns. The columns go from highest to lowest, and you always add to an end, either higher or lower. That is very simple.

Where this game stands out, though, is in the scoring. It is not a simple game of just see how many you can get in a row. No, the first round the blue cards score, then green and blue, and finally pink, grey, green, and blue. So blue is the fewest points, but if you get them in the first round, the most points. So it does become a puzzle of how to maintain your columns to be able to play cards, but not take too many cards that won’t score many points.

I sometimes forget that the artwork is really pretty in this game. Why, because it is fast and fun to play, so I draft and go. But if you want, you can spend time to study and enjoy this peaceful artwork in Ohanami. Again, the small box and pretty artwork is going to hide the interesting decision making in the game.

3. Century: Golem Edition

This one I almost didn’t put on the list as I wonder if it might be a little big. But I again played this one recently, and Century: Golem Edition has snappy quick turns, great and cute artwork, and at two players, especially, doesn’t play in much time at all.

This is a hand management game as you manipulate the gems that you have in order to get golems, for points. But building up a hand of cards that you can play out and pick up to manipulate your gems is all of the game. It fits for this list, though, because you do one of four things on your turn, play a card, pick up your cards, get a new card, or get a golem.

It is that simple and while there is great strategy, for some it might seem at first look the game is going to be targeting a younger audience. But it also fits for this list because it is that quick game to play. No one said it needed to be too light, it just needs to be quick and cute.

2. Via Magica

Via Magica is kind of gamers bingo. Super Mega Lucky Box could make the list as well, as a gamers bingo. But Via Magica is cuter as you collect different elements to open portals. When you open a portal it gives you some bonus and some points.

What is going to trip up most gamers is that this is a bingo like game. By that I mean, I draw a element from a bag and everyone covers up that element on one of their portals. And you need certain elements to come up to complete those portals. The mechanics of the game are simple. But if you plan it out well, you get some good benefits for completing a portal. If I complete one that allows me to cover up two water on another one immediately, I want to make sure I have something to cover.

There are a few things that will get this one skipped over. The small box, the cute artwork, and this idea of bingo. It sounds like it is going to be random. But I think it is on par with randomness for something like Quacks of Quedlinberg, which is a bigger game, but doesn’t offer that many more choices.

1. Floriferous

Finally we have a game that might be a bit slower with more people, but it is a fun drafting game. The pretty flower theme and small box, you see a theme here of small boxes being overlooked, are going to be why gamers would skip it.

But Floriferous punches way up with the amount of game in the box. It is a drafting game where you are not only drafting flowers and things for your guardian, you are drafting your own scoring. So if I draft a scoring card, that means, for that round, I didn’t draft a card that would score. But draft too few scoring cards, you won’t score that many points.

Plus, the turn order adds to the puzzle of the game. When you draft a card, you are doing so from a column of cards. If I draft at the top of the column, I will draft first the next round. Likewise, if I draft from the bottom, where the scoring cards are, I go last. So sometimes you draft a bad card to get a card that would complete an arrangement and match up with two scoring cards for sure the next round.

This is one that I think if it had a playmat in the box, and was in a bigger box, people would be playing way more than they are. Which is a shame because Floriferous is a really fun game. And I hope that people will start seeking it out, because it is worth it.

Final Thoughts

Now, as I wrap up, I totally get why people often times will pass over these smaller games. Often times in a game store it is harder to see them all with how they are displayed. Or if it is a mass of small box games so it’s easier to overlook one game out of a group.

The box size also, so often, is a factor with that cuter artwork. But I encourage gamers to look at these games. And maybe it won’t be for you, maybe you really only play big box epic adventures or heavy thinky euro games. But I often make the argument, it is good to have some lighter games for when people wrap up and don’t have time for a big game. Or people finish a game and wait for others to finish another.

So what is your favorite game that is quick and cute? Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter.

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How To Play – Via Magica

Like I said, Via Magica is a bingo style game. Or maybe more Super Mega Lucky Box style game, though, Via Magica came out first. In this game you are trying to capture animus to open different portals, all very magical. What that means is you have three portals in front of you and as a player draws out tokens, you match the animus type, colored white, blue, red, brown, green, and black, to the animus needed on that card. There are wilds, and when that is drawn, you reset the bag of tokens and draw some more.

However, you only have a limited number of crystals. You put them out and you might have two near completion but no crystals left. Depending on what is drawn, you can move crystals around to get a card completed. When you complete a card, you pick a new card. And once someone has completed seven, the game is over.

But it isn’t just that, each card has a power, or a lot do. It might be that you score two points for each green animus that you have. Or it might give you 12 points but be a hard card to complete. And some might make a color wild or allow you to place animus of a certain type for free. So you try and build up combos that will help you get the most points. Because at the end of the game, most points wins.

What Don’t I Like?

I have played this at two and it plays up to six, so I want to play with more. The reason I want to play it with more is that the market of portal cards is pretty static with two players. I might complete a portal, take a new one, and then complete a second one with only one new portal being available. This isn’t a major issue, but with more players the market would be in flux more. It’s a minor quibble with the game, though.

I also wish that the tiles that you draw were nicer. In my final thoughts I’ll talk about how this gives me a bit of a Splendor vibe. Splendor has great chips in the game, and then fewer other components. I wish this one has Splendor like chips as you do draw them from a bag, so as they are handled they will start to wear out. Not as fast as Quacks of Quedlinburg, the chip here are handled less. But it’s worth noting.

What Do I Like?

Simplicity

I like the simplicity of the mechanics. The game is easy to setup, easy to teach, and easy to play. It says 30 minutes, I think in lower player counts that is a bit long for the game. Two players probably takes 20 minutes, unless you get really poor draws. So it falls easily into that category of from box to teach to table in 10 minutes tops. And if everyone knows how to play, probably five minutes.

The game is also going to scale really well. I draw an animus tile, everyone puts down on their portal, if they can or if they want. So while with more players it’ll take longer because it’ll take more time for people to pick portals. This is not going to be a long game ever. Maybe at the full six players it’d take 40 minutes in a slow group. Goes back to that simplicity of the mechanics.

Strategy

I also think, that while it is simple to play, there is strategy and choice in what you are doing. Not tons of a complex level, but when you finish a card matters. I play down onto a portal that lets me place out two crystals on blue animus immediately. Well, if I don’t have two open blue animus in play, that is a waste of my play. Or in the last game I played, I got three colors to be wilds for me which wasn’t a ton of points, but gave me a ton of flexibility early in the game to then go for bigger points.

I think this is an area that people will overlook. They will see it like Super Mega Lucky Box and see such a simple game but not realize the strategy that you can have. And probably lose their first game because of that. There is a lot of luck in the game, what is pulled out of the bag. But there is strategy or thought that goes into which portals you do and when you try and finish a portal.

Who Is It For?

This is a good filler game for gamers who want something quick while waiting for more people to show up. Or maybe as the game night is winding down. Not some party game, but a game with decisions that is fast to play and get to the table.

But, this is also a good game for when you are with non-gamers. The artwork is cute, the rules are so simple, and it plays fast. I could see pulling this one out with family and playing it twice or three times in a sitting, because the game is that easy to get to the table. And it is that level of a Splendor where the rules are simple, animus is drawn, you place a crystal. But as you play you learn more of the game.

Final Thoughts on Via Magica by Hurrican

I really enjoy this game. In fact, I prefer it to Splendor. There are a few games, Century Golem Edition, and now Via Magica, that I put in the same weight as Splendor, same depth of strategy as it were. And I prefer both of them to Splendor. Both Century Golem Edition and Via Magica have more strategies that you can try. And while I might eventually feel like I’ve played enough of either, it’ll take much longer than it did with Splendor.

Now, it isn’t going to be a game that works for everyone. It is a very simple game, but treating it as such should entertain most people. It is a great filler where it isn’t just a lucky party game. And there is no scaling to worry about for the game. So it will never play longer, which I love in games. That way it falls int some of those roll and write categories like Super Mega Lucky Box. But it is also like Sushi Go Party! that way with decisions but not too many.

I want to always have a game like this in my collection. The type of game I play with anyone. It might not get played all the time, but it will get played. It is like Ticket to Ride or Small World in that way. I play those once a year, maybe. But they come off the shelf, and I keep them because they will always find time to get played.

My Grade: B+
Gamer Grade: C-
Casual Grade: A

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Board Game Holiday List – 12 Roll and Writes

12. Super Mega Lucky Box

I talked about this one on Monday with my Top 100 Games list, Super Mega Lucky Box is a bingo style game where you are trying to get a “blackout” on your cards. But each time you fill in a row or a column it gives you a bonus. It might be crossing off a specific number on any of your cards. Or it might be getting you more ways to score points. Either way, it gives a lot of light fun play, but for a very simple game, more choices than you’d expect.

11. Isle of Cats Explore and Draw

Isle of Cats Explore and Draw is the roll and write version of Isle of Cats, which in the US you can find in Target. Explore and Draw takes the same concept but you are activating a column of cats and scoring objectives. Each player is doing that while trying to get families of cats onto the board all of the same color. Pick the scoring cards that work well for themselves. And, at the right times, use bonuses that allow them to break the rule of using only a column to get what they really need.

10. Super-Skill Pinball 4-Cade

A lot of roll and write games are pretty abstract. And this one is to some extent as well, but at the same time, there are also surprisingly strong elements of playing a pinball. You roll two dice and use one of them to bounce around the board in this game. The ball moves in specific ways as it bounces and it’s all about trying to get those combos, complete certain shots and see how many points you can get over two balls. And each set of boards, well, they are a different pinball machine.

There are three versions of the game, I’d probably recommend either the base game, or if you like Star Trek, there is a version like that as well. And, I believe soon, a fourth version, with holiday themed boards from classic holiday movies.

9. Sonora

Sonora is the most different of the “and write” games because it isn’t flipping cards, it isn’t rolling dice, it is flicking discs onto a board. That determines what number and area you get to fill in. Sonora isn’t the best introductory roll and write game. But if you like roll and writes that give you combos, Sonora might be the perfect game for you. Sonora gives you combos upon combos and is amazing for that. And it manages to feel different in the different scoring area. I’m still waiting for a new scoring sheet for this game to give more and different experiences while playing.

8. Paper Dungeons

Paper Dungeons is one that you can see a full playthrough of the game over on Malts and Meeples. I’ll like a video below, but it’s a roll and write with a “campaign”. I say that loosely, but you can play through a story. What Paper Dungeons tries to do, and I think does pretty well, is try to be a dungeon crawler.

You level up your heroes, go fight boss monsters, get treasure, and craft items. All in an attempt to get the most points and not to die. Now if you die, thankfully, you aren’t out of the game, but it is a lot of negative points. It’s a bigger roll and write but a ton of fun.

7. Patchwork Doodle

Patchwork Doodle is on the small side. You are making a quilt in this game. But really you are trying, at the end of each round, to have the biggest square possible. A 4×4 square scores 16 points, whereas a 3×5 rectangle scores 3×3=9 + 2 for each additional row.

I could have picked Second Chance as that game is really similar to Patchwork Doodle, But Patchwork Doodle offers a few powers and a few more choices. Not to the point where it is too complex, but to the point where it feels less like, flip something and fill it in. There are decisions to be made every time.

6. Ganz Schon Clever (That’s Pretty Clever)

I’ll start out by saying, this could be any of the Clever games. They are all a lot of fun, and I like playing all three in an evening. When you do that, well, you can find the “ultimate champion”. But if you are starting with one, Ganz Schon Clever is maybe the easiest to understand.

The mechanics are simple, roll some dice, pick one to use. Cross off something or then fill in a number. But, it does two clever things. Firstly, any number lower than the one I pick goes on a platter. So when you roll next time, you roll three times, you are rolling fewer dice. And those dice on the platter, at the end of the round, your opponents get to pick one of them to use. The game is clever and fewer combos than Sonora but still offers a lot.

5. Welcome To

Welcome To is another bigger roll and write. But kind of a classic roll and write game at this point. In Welcome To you are making your perfect Stepford neighborhood. White picket fences all go in the right spot, and house numbers all counting up the best that they can.

But, really, you are trying to build out neighborhoods, designated by fences, to score points, complete objectives, and build parks and pools. All of which give you points. One thing I like is that you have three combinations. A number and an action on each turn. So while this can play an infinite number, you feel like you can try really different strategies.

4. Metro X

Metro X is a game about building a bus route. Another one that I’ve played on Malts and Meeples, but I’ll let you find that one. In this game you are building out your routes, crossing off stops. But for each route you can only use so many numbers to cross it off. And route overlap. This means you need to plan out your routes carefully.

And as the routes overlap, they create short little bits. If that happens, now you’re dealing with filling in those spots. Because every time you hit a spot that’s been filled in, you stop. So if you fill in three spots and could have filled in six, but you hit a station that’s already filled in, you stop. It’s a light game, but clever.

3. Trek 12

Trek 12 is a game about mountain climbing. Who am I kidding, it’s one of those roll and writes with a theme, but the theme doesn’t matter. It’s about creating sets of numbers and runs. But it does so with a fun scoring way. How you score is based off of the highest number of a run or the number of the set. So a run of 4, 3, 2, 1 scores you 4 points, plus an additional one for each number in the run, so 7. And the same idea with sets, a 4, 4, 4, 4 is 7 as well.

But how you fill in numbers is what makes the game fun. You have a grid of options, and as you pick an option, you cross it off meaning you can do them only so many times. You can pick the high or the lower of the two numbers, easy enough. Or you could do the difference, combined total, or multiplied total on the dice, but each of them can be done only so many times. It’s a great puzzle.

2. Railroad Ink

Railroad Ink or Railroad Ink Challenge are great roll and writes about completing train routes and roads. You are trying to get your area as connected as possible. What I really like about it, compared to say Metro X which is about routes as well, is that Railroad Ink, you are rolling dice and those dice show you the specific type of route that you are adding.

I personally like the Challenge version of the game a ton. While the original is fun as you connect up routes. It’s simpler. The Challenge version gives you goals. If you can complete a whole column by the end of round 4 you get bonus points. Either way, though, I think it’s a simple roll and write that people can really enjoy.

1. Cartographers

Finally we have cartographers. And while most of these games are pretty solitaire, Cartographers has monsters that work best with others. Cartographers as the name suggests is about building out maps. But, as the cartographer, you are also putting where monsters are on the map. It’s silly, but monsters are bad and give negative points. Everything else, they can help you score.

What stands out about this game is the scoring. You score two things in the first round of the game, spring, let’s say goals A and B. But then when the fourth round comes back around, you are scoring D and A. So each goal is scored twice, and you need to balance how hard you go after a given goal. Because after summer, round two, B is never scored again.

Final Thoughts

Roll and writes are a great genre of game. Not all of them will be for everyone, but I really love them. I personally think that there are levels of difficulty for everyone if people gives them a chance. I have heavier ones than I listed, most of these are pretty light or medium weight, on my shelf. And I have ones that are even lighter as well.

Which of these games would you want to get as a holiday gift this year? Or are there any you’d want to give someone because of a theme you know that they’d love?

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00 through 91 here.

90 through 81 here.

80 through 71 here.

70 through 61 here.

60 through 51 here.

50 through 41 here.

Top 100 Games 2022 Edition – 40-31

40: So Clover!

So Clover is another party game on the list and another cooperative party game. In So Clover! you are trying to come up with a word that combines two. We’ve seen this before with Medium and Cross Clues. But in So Clover, each person fills out their grid. Then another card with more words is mixed into it. It’s easy to play, hard to explain without the game. But it is a step up of a party game but still not hard to play.

Buy on Amazon

39. First Rat

First Rat immediately stuck with me because of the theme. It’s about rats building space ships to go to space. But with that theme there is a really good and fun game. Mainly, a game of moving rats up a track, but it gives you different ways to do that. You move up the track collecting resources and getting what you need to build different parts of your rocket ship.

It has a cute theme and it leans into that. Plus it is a thinky game without being overly complex which I enjoy. I need to figure out my route but I can go a number of different ways. And how you build your route, while, we are fighting over scoring, so it will affect me, but not too much. And I went a very different strategy than the other players, and still ended up very close.

Buy on Miniature Market

38. Orchard: A 9 Card Solitaire Game

Next up one of two solo only games on this part of the list. Orchard made the list last year and it’s a great solo game because it’s extremely fast and just a lot of fun to play. In the game you are stacking, or layering, cards so that like fruit trees cover like trees.

The game is just nine cards per game. And the components and package are really nice. I like the game for the speed it plays. A game of Orchard takes me five minutes. If I’m bored or I want something fast to do, Orchard is a great option. Or if i want to multitask while watching a sporting event, that is great as well.

Buy on Miniature Market

37. Welcome To…

Welcome To has dropped some on the list but still a roll and write game that I really like. I say it’s about building your perfect Stepford neighborhood. All the white picket fences are in the right spot and it’s just set-up perfectly to build you little slice of town.

What makes this game work is that it scales to any player count. But also that with that, the game play isn’t too simple. You have three choices each round of what to fill in, and there is good strategy in that. Plus there are expansions of different maps that you can play with which are fun as well.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

36. Mesozooic

Mesozooic is going to be an overlooked game, and some of that is that it’s not going to be a game that works for everyone. It is a light drafting game where you are getting cards to build your dinosaur zoo, a theme that is really popular right now. The drafting part of the game is light, and then the other half of the game is a sliding puzzle. You move your cards around, like a sliding puzzle, to get the most points possible out of your zoo. It’s clever, it’s light, and it’s fun. And you can pick a more complex strategy in hopes you can slide it right, or go for the easy points.

Buy on Miniature Market

35. Potion Explosion

Another light and fun game, we have Potion Explosion. This game is all about cascading marbles so that like colors hit each other. You then use those marbles, you pick up all that cascade, to complete potions. Those potions in turn give you powers that help you get more cascading marbles and even more potions.

The game moves quickly, but it’s again one of those games that are simple to play, but you can master it. And that’s the fun of a game like that one, figuring out how you can best use your potions on a turn so that you can get more potions completed. Then use those potions to complete other potions the next turn. And when you can do that, the game clicks.

Buy on Miniature Market

34. Letter Jam

Letter Jam is an odd game on this list, now not like Mesozooic odd, but odd in that it’s a cooperative word game where you can’t see your word. In fact, you don’t know what it is or any of the letters, really any clue about it.

So, everyone is trying to give the other players clues. And the clues are done in a form of a word. So let’s say that my letter was ‘A’ and someone else gives the clue, each one corresponding to a letter in front of someone else of ‘F’, blank, ‘R’, ‘M’. It’s maybe a solid clue for someone, but for me, it could be ‘FARM’, ‘FORM’, or ‘FIRM’. It’s helped me some but not that much. Letter Jam gives you a chance to give really clever and good clues, which I like.

Buy on Game Nerdz

33. Final Girl

The other solo only game on the list is Final Girl. I won’t go into how it’s played too much, but the premise, along with fun game play, are what really sell it for me. In Final Girl you are the last survivor, or will be, in a horror film. Now, will the killer get you, the ghost track you down, the monster pull you into the swamp? Or will the final girl survive?

The game play, like I said, won’t go into it too much, is a nice hand management puzzle of playing cards to get things done, having enough to get more cards and repeating the process. Van Ryder Games is really smart with how they made this game. There are elements that are consistent across the whole game. But then other things, their feature film boxes, that give you a new final girl and killer and allow you to change everything up.

Buy on Miniature Market

32. Lost Ruins of Arnak

Lost Ruins of Arnak another new to me game this year. Or I should say, one that I played for the first time this year. It’s nice getting taught a game by someone who already knows it well. And that was my experience at Gen Con. But I’ve played it more since then.

Arnak is a game where you are exploring locations, buying better gear, you can find artifacts, idols and more. Now that makes it seem thematic, and I think that the theme does come through. But Arnak is mainly a worker placement game as you send out your explorer meeples. And then deck building which is how you can get more and more actions to do and push up the tracks.

It would be lower, probably in the 60’s if it weren’t for the Expedition Leaders expansion, though. It makes it so each player starts with a different power. Some of them are easy than another, a third explorer to place on the map. But others then have more complex systems but when you leverage them it turns negative points into positive effects or things like that. The game is really fun with the expedition leaders.

Buy From Game Nerdz

31. Super Mega Lucky Box

Final game in this section of 10 is Super Mega Lucky Box. This is another roll and write game and one that looks really simple, because it is basically bingo. But while it is simple, Super Mega Lucky Box is a lot of fun. The game has you going for a “blackout” fully filled sheet to score it. But as you complete rows and columns you get bonuses.

Sometimes the bonuses are just cross off another number on one of your other cards, you have three. Other times you get lightning bolts. And lightning bolts adjust the numbers of the card flipped that you are crossing off. You don’t have a nine, well, spend a lighting bolt and make it an eight. Spend three and makes it a six. Or stars where the more you get a round the more they are worth. Or moons where the person who has the most gets a bonus 6 points, while the least loses 6. All of those bonuses just make for a really fun game with such a simple premise.

Buy on Amazon

Upcoming Streams

If you are following along with the Top 100, you already know that the next one is going to be coming out on Monday at 8:30 PM Central Time. But if you want the link or the video you can find that here. Chat along, talk about your favorite games with me. See if we overlap as I get closer and closer to my Top 10 Games.

Then on Wednesday, no link for it yet, we have Chronicles of Drunagor. I kept this evening free so that I would have time to get it set-up and ready to be played. I’m excited to get it to the table and I hope that you’ll join with me as I play a new campaign game. Chronicles of Drunagor is going to be a big game and one that looks like a ton of fun.

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