Superhero | Nerdologists https://nerdologists.com Where to jump in on board games, anime, books, and movies as a Nerd Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:46:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://nerdologists.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/nerdologists-favicon.png Superhero | Nerdologists https://nerdologists.com 32 32 Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition – 20 through 11 https://nerdologists.com/2025/11/top-100-games-of-all-time-2025-edition-20-through-11/ https://nerdologists.com/2025/11/top-100-games-of-all-time-2025-edition-20-through-11/#respond Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:07:30 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=9886 What games are on the penultimate list of my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition? Join me for 20 through 11.

The post Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition – 20 through 11 first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
Today the list is will finish. Join me on Malts and Meeples over on YouTube to watch that. But let’s catch up and see what games just miss out on the Top 10 of the Top 100 Games. These are all amazing games and just looking at the list, there are a ton that I want to get played right now. So don’t look at these are games that are lacking, but more amazing games that you can try.

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

20. For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game

For Northwood
Image Source: Side Room Games

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

Marvel Champions
Image Source: Fantasy Flight Games

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

Floriferous
Image Source: Pencil First Games

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

Stars of Akarios
Image Source: OOMM Board Games

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

Clank! Catacombs
Image Source: Dire Wolf

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

Roll Player Adventure
Image Source: Thunderworks Games

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

Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game
Image Source: Office Dog

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

Pirates of Maracaibo
Image Source: dlp games

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

Mistborn Deckbuilding Game
Image Source: Brotherwise Games

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

Sleeping Gods
Image Source: Red Raven Games

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

The post Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition – 20 through 11 first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2025/11/top-100-games-of-all-time-2025-edition-20-through-11/feed/ 0
Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition – 20 through 11 https://nerdologists.com/2024/11/top-100-games-of-all-time-2024-edition-20-through-11/ https://nerdologists.com/2024/11/top-100-games-of-all-time-2024-edition-20-through-11/#respond Thu, 21 Nov 2024 15:51:32 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=9285 We're reaching the end of the list. Which games just missed my Top 10 of my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition?

The post Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition – 20 through 11 first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
We’re almost to the Top 10. Checkout the video from yesterday as I went through games 20 through 11 of my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition. And remember that not next Wednesday but the following week I’ll be doing my 10 through 1. So join me now on Malts and Meeples for games 20 through 11 in my Top 100 Games.

Catch up on previous videos here

100 through 91
90 through 81
80 through 71
70 through 61
60 through 51
50 through 41
40 through 31
30 through 21

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition – 20 through 11

20. Heat: Pedal to the Metal

Heat: Pedal to the Metal
Image Source: Days of Wonder
  • Published by Days of Wonder in 2022
  • Fly around the track and manage your engine so it doesn’t over heat to win the race

This is a great racing game. It is a nice blend of simplicity. You play cards equal to the gear that you are in for your movement. But also some complexity as you need to be smart with how you handle the curves, straightaways, how much you push your engine and when you cool it down. That cooling down part of the game is great as it really makes a difference in how you play and when you push it. Plus there are modules you use, like drafting some cards for your deck, that make the game even more fun, or you can do a series of races which is also great.

Buy Heat: Pedal to the Metal

19. Planet Unknown

Planet Unknown
Image Source: Adam’s Apple Games
  • Published by Adam’s Apple Games in 2022
  • Terraform your planet and increase your technology better than your opponents can

Planet Unknown is a polyomino game where you are terraforming a planet. You can play it in the basic mode where everyone is doing the same planet and same tech track, or you can do unique planets and tech tracks. I love the unique ones and I think that’s the way to go after the first game. But Planet Unknown has more than just laying out tiles, how you decide which tile is picked for you is amazing. Whomever is the leader that round turns a lazy susan full of tiles and whatever one is pointing to where you pick from, those are your options. So you can stick someone with something or sometimes get the perfect thing.

Buy Planet Unknown

18. Clank! In! Space!

Clank In Space Box
Image Source: Renegade Games
  • Published by Dire Wolf in 2017
  • Race through a spaceship but don’t try and make too much noise as you grab a treasure and get out

This is a push your luck deckbuilding game, and I enjoy both of those elements to the game. I find that pure push your luck doesn’t always work for me, but add in deckbuilding a mechanism I love, it’s great. You build up your deck to move and grab a treasure, fight monsters, and buy more cards that are worth points. But you also need to be aware of how noisy you are. If you’re too noisy the villain, Lord Eradikus will start drawing out your cubes, if you clank, and dealing damage to you. And you might not make it out before you die.

Buy Clank! In! Space!

17. ISS Vanguard

ISS Vanguard
Image Source: Awaken Realms
  • Published by Awaken Realms in 2022
  • Explore a new solar system while you manage your crew and your ship

ISS Vanguard is a big campaign game and one that I’ve played on Malts and Meeples. Not the whole way through, but far enough to give you an idea of how it plays. The game is interesting because it plays over two parts. Part of the game is exploring planets and discovering why humanity was called out to this location in the stars. The other part is managing your ship. I was worried that managing your ship wouldn’t feel important, but it’s a great element to the game and makes it feel even more thematic.

Buy ISS Vanguard

16. Vampire the Masquerade: CHAPTERS

Vampire the Masquerade Chapters by Flyos Games
Image Source: Flyos Games
  • Published by Flyos Games in 2023
  • Enter a world of vampires and darkness as you play across missions and try and figure out what is happening in Montreal

Chapters is choose your own adventure RPG in a box. I love how it gives you this great story filled with depth and grit. And it also gives you tactical combat and dice chucking. It feels like a great blend of things that I love in board games and in RPG’s. The story is well written and while there are definitely issues with it there is an app that should be helping fix that and an upgrade pack for it. But even without that, the game is fun, and the app is free so the few spots it’s really busted should be fixed. Plus, I want to play a dark vampire game, and this gives me that in spades.

Buy Vampire: the Masquerade – CHAPTERS

15. Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid
Image Source: CMON
  • Published by CMON in 2024/2025
  • Sneak around the base and battle only when you need to complete missions

Yes, there is a game on my list that isn’t out yet. Spoilers, there might be another one as well coming up in my Top 10. But that is because I’ve gotten to play the final version of the game and I feel like I’ve had enough time with it. I love this game as it’s a tactical minis game where you can fight. But fighting generally is going to be noisy and messy and you’ll be swarmed. When that happens, well, it’s probably game over for you. So instead you need to be smart, sneak around, and try and avoid the guards the best you can or lose them. All while being a pretty simple game to play.

Coming Soon

14. Lost Ruins of Arnak

Lost Ruins of Arnak
Image Source: CGE
  • Published by Czech Games Edition in 2020
  • Explore the lands, find treasure, fight monsters and discover what adventure awaits you

Lost Ruins of Arnak is a deckbuilding game. It is a worker placement game, and it’s a exploring adventure game. For me all of those elements come through. And I love the puzzle of trying to manage your two workers you get place, knowing when and where to place them, buying cards, and risking fighting monsters. Because you need to do it all, and the game isn’t that long in terms of how many rounds it is. But if you’re smart, you can stretch it out for a lot of points and a lot of chaining actions. The Expedition Leaders even adds more fun to the game and more variability as well which I love.

Buy Lost Ruins of Arnak

13. XenoShyft Onslaught

Xenoshyft Onslaught
Image Source: CMON
  • Published by CMON in 2015
  • The base is under attack by bugs, you need to build up your defenses and work together to defeat them

I think I’m the champion of XenoShyft, but I really like the game. It’s another deckbuilding game, but it’s a cooperative one. And I think that cooperative element and how incredibly interactive the cooperation is, that is what makes the game stand out to me. Plus it does a clever thing where you’re never drawing dead with money, so you can always buy cards and bolster up your defenses. Because everyone needs to be able to defend their side of the base so the bugs don’t overrun it.

Out of Print, but you can find it on eBay

12. Marvel Champions

Marvel Champions
Image Source: Fantasy Flight Games
  • Published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2019
  • Heroes battle villains in this Marvel Superhero game

I love Marvel, we all know that. And Marvel Champions is one of my favorite, if not my favorite Marvel themed game. What I love about this one is that you feel like you are the hero. And not only that, you need to think about being the hero but balancing that with the alter ego. If you stay in hero form the bad guy will beat you up and probably take you out. But if you are in the alter ego side, they don’t know who you are, so they’ll go back to completing their scheme. And that’s not great as well because you can’t blow your cover in alter ego form.

Buy Marvel Champions

11. Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game

Detective A Modern Crime Board Game
Image Source: Portal Games
  • Published by Portal Games in 2018
  • Take on the role of detectives and work together, take the notes, and try and solve the cases

Detective for me is my favorite deduction game. I like deduction a lot, but Detective just makes it really immersive. In the box I’m showing it has five cases that all connect into something big and impressive. And you use information that you took notes on from one case and use it in another. I think by the end of all five cases I had between 12 and 15 pages of notes that we’d look back at. And it uses a computer system as well to let you do things like compare DNA, interview witnesses, and more. The game is just this great thematic detective game for me.

Buy Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game

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. There is one week left, which is going to be two Wednesdays out. After that I’m planning on doing some look back and look ahead videos and smaller solo games or things like Balatro and Slay the Spire.
  • 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.

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

The post Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition – 20 through 11 first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2024/11/top-100-games-of-all-time-2024-edition-20-through-11/feed/ 0
Top 100 Games 2022 Edition – 70-61 https://nerdologists.com/2022/10/top-100-games-2022-edition-70-61/ https://nerdologists.com/2022/10/top-100-games-2022-edition-70-61/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2022 12:14:56 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=7449 It's a delayed post, but what board games make it in the 70 through 61 section of my Top 100 Games 2022 edition?

The post Top 100 Games 2022 Edition – 70-61 first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
Yes, I know this post is running late. The video has been up for a few days with my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2022 Edition 70 through 61. However, I haven’t had a chance to do the write-up. I do now, so let’s dive into it and see the games that made my list.

100 through 91 here.

90 through 81 here.

80 through 71 here.

Top 100 Games 2022 Edition – 70-61

70 – Just One

Just One is the first of the party games in this section. This game works well because it is a cooperative party game. And it follows one of my keys for a solid party game, it needs to give players the ability to make choices. Not like something like Cards Against Humanity, where you don’t need to be creative. Here you are trying to give clues but each player only is allowed one word. If you match with another player, both your clues cancel out. So you don’t want to get too obvious, but also a too obscure clue might point them in the wrong direction.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

69 – Cross Clues

Cross Clues
Image Source: Blue Orange

Cross Clues is another party game. Again a cooperative game, but this time, you want to give a clue that lets other players figure out the combination of two words. You get a grid of 5×5 (or 3×3) where each row and column has a letter or number assigned. So you might get A3, and if A’s word is wood and 3’s word is flying, you might give the clue kite. But kite might work for something else, say tail and wind. So now you need to figure out if your clue is good or not. It’s a simple, but fun game.

Buy on Miniature Market

68 – Marvel United

Marvel United
Image Source: CMON

Yet another cooperative game, Marvel United is not a party game. Marvel United is a Marvel comics and superhero game where you play as heroes to defeat a villain. The game play is pretty simple, you need to complete two objectives before you can take down a villain. All the while the villain is trying to get you out by causing you to expend cards and lose the game. What works in this game is that you play down a card you give symbols to help the next player. And you also get symbols, punch, move, or heroic action, to aid in what you are doing. It gives that superhero team up feel in a simple game.

Buy on Game Nerdz.

67 – The Reckoners

The Reckoners Boards

Apparently this section also has a lot of cooperative games. The Reckoners is another cooperative game and another game with super powers. But the super powered people aren’t the good guys in this, they are known as Epics and bad. You play as a team, the Reckoners trying to take them down and eventually take down the big bad Steelslayer. I like that there is no downtime in this game. Everyone rolls dice at once and discusses as they build up their pool. Then everyone plays out their actions at once. It’s a nice game because of that and being a harder cooperative game.

Buy from Nauvoo Games.

66 – Blank Slate

Blank Slate
Image Source: The Op

Blank Slate, we’re back to party games. Blank Slate is not the newest (or highest) party game on the list, but it is new to me this year. In this game you are trying to fill in a word and match with other people. The twist comes that you don’t want to match with too many people. If you match your word with one other person, it is three points, if you match with more than that, it is one point. And all you are doing is a fill in a blank like “Truck______”. You come up with the second half, it’s simple and a lot of fun.

Buy on Miniature Market

65 – Clever Cubed

Clever Hoch Drei
Image Source: Schmidt

Clever Cubed is a roll and write game from the Clever line of games, which there are four of now. Clever Cubed is the one that I think gives you the most combos. I like it a lot because it’s fun to get a ton of combos and a lot of points in the game. If there was a knock, it could be that it takes away some strategy. But I do think there are some real things you need to think about as you play. And it does have a lot of combos which I really like.

Buy on Amazon (Note German Edition)

64 – Five Tribes

Image Source: Days of Wonder

Five Tribes, maybe my highest of the classic Days of Wonder games, I’m not sure if i have any above it. But Five Tribes is a great game with mancala style movement of meeples. By that I mean you pick up all of them from one spot and drop them off one at a time. I talk about it with Fruit Picking as well.

What makes Five Tribes so interesting, though, is the bidding for turn order. Mainly because money at the end of the game is points. So you are losing points to go sooner. Do you have a spot that for sure is going to get you more points back? Or maybe you need to block your opponent from getting a lot of points.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc.

63 – That’s Pretty Clever!

Ganz Schon clever
Image Source: Stronghold Games

That’s Pretty Clever is the first of the Clever games and so far my favorite. I need to get and play the fourth more. I have played it on the app. But That’s Pretty Clever I always enjoy because it is a bit simpler. But also because I kind of know how I want to take on the puzzle of the game. I think that’s my issue with Twice as Clever, I haven’t quite gotten clever enough to figure out my strategy, or it seems to score lower. Here I know what combos I want to create, can I do it in a way that will give me the most points is the question.

Not Available

62 – Medium

Medium
Image Source: Greater Than Games

The final party game for this section of the list. Medium follows a common trend. You want to match words with the person you are paired up with. But with Medium, you do that by each playing down a word. Then you try and come up with a word between. So it might be Mouse and Quesadilla and you need to both land on the same word. You probably could in that time with the word Cheese. But if you miss, you now use your new words and try again. It’s a lot of fun, and leads to a surprising number of laughs.

Buy on Amazon

61 – Century: Golem Edition

Century Spice Road Golem
Image Source: Plan B Games

To wrap out this section we have Century: Golem Edition. I do think I’d enjoy Spice Road version, but the Golem Edition is just cuter. So that is the one that I want to play. This is an engine building and hand management game. I like how simple the game is, you either play down a card which will get or manipulate the games you have, pick up all your played cards, grab a card to be played, or get a golem. And no action is going to take too long. It’s a very fast moving game with an opportunity to create a really fun engine in your hand.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

Upcoming Streams

Next Monday is the continuation of my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2022 Edition. I am going to be going through games 60 through 51, getting to that mid point of the list. Here is a link to the upcoming video. If you want to catch it live, click that notification bell.

And coming up next Wednesday, I don’t know what I’ll be streaming. I think I have two different options, firstly, Chronicles of Drunagor is sitting on the shelf waiting to be unboxed and played. I could dive into a game of that, or do some smaller solo games. For those I have games like Set a Watch, Black Sonata, and Final Girl that I could get to the table as well.

Let me know what you want me to stream next? I am leaning towards Chronicles of Drunagor, if I have time to learn the rules but if not, what small solo game would you want to see?

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

The post Top 100 Games 2022 Edition – 70-61 first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2022/10/top-100-games-2022-edition-70-61/feed/ 1
Top 100 Board Games 2021 Edition: Top 10 https://nerdologists.com/2021/12/top-100-board-games-2021-edition-top-10/ https://nerdologists.com/2021/12/top-100-board-games-2021-edition-top-10/#comments Thu, 02 Dec 2021 14:37:59 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=6409 What board games will make the Top 10 of my Top 100 Board Games (of all time) 2021 Edition? The list is now done.

The post Top 100 Board Games 2021 Edition: Top 10 first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
The list is at the end, and it’s kind of bitter sweet. I have had a lot of fun going through my Top 100 Board Games (of all time) 2021 Edition, but it’s time for the final 10. Thank you everyone who joined in on the live streams, has checked out the videos later and has said nice things on the discord(s) and places where I have shared the list. It really means a lot to me to have people engage and to chat with.

But, like I said, the list is at the end, and I’m not sure how much I should stall before I get to the video and write-ups on the games. Streaming will continue next week, I’m not sure what I’m going to be streaming up until the new year. Probably some solo games and talking on some board gaming topics. But 8 PM Central will be when the streams continue, at least for now.

100 Through 91

90 Through 81

80 through 71

70 through 61

60 through 51

50 through 41

40 through 31

30 through 21

20 through 11

Top 100 Games 2021 Edition – 10 Through 1

10. Blood Rage

Blood Rage
Image Source: Board Game Geek

Higher on my list being as high as number two before, Blood Rage has slipped a little bit. The last time I played it, it was still a lot of fun, but didn’t land quite as well. Probably didn’t help with two new players and a four player game. I think I like Blood Rage best at 3, and I don’t mind it at two.

Still, I love Blood Rage because it has great action management, the area control is fun, but it’s the drafting that really makes the game. A different choice in drafting means that you score in a completely different way and have a different strategy. And, that might be some of it for me too, I just am used to drafting for a lower number of players, so I need to adjust my strategy, which is never a bad thing, when more emerges in how to play the game.

Buy on Miniature Market

9. Cartographers

Cartographers
Image Source: Thunderworks Games

The only roll and write in the Top 10, though, so many on the list, (stats coming later). But this one is my favorite for the theme, for the monsters, and for the scoring. It really does so many things in an interesting way. Cartographers is all about mapping out a section of a kingdom. You put in towns, fields, farms, rivers, and I feel like I’m blanking on one right now. But they all score differently and differently each game.

And the scoring is very good because you score four different things, but each of them only twice. So you build out your map to try and optimize that scoring depending on the season. So in spring you score something that isn’t then scored again until winter. It’s simple, but it’s clever, and then there are monsters. And monsters make Cartographers interactive. You put a monster on your opponents board in the least ideal spot to cost them as many points as you can.

Just that interaction is so different when it comes to a roll and write game. Most roll and writes can be played solo because what everyone else does doesn’t matter that much for you. With Cartographers, it doesn’t, completely, but that monster interaction is just fun to add into the game.

Buy on Thunderworks Games

8. Marvel Champions: The Card Game

Marvel Champions
Image Source: Fantasy Flight Games

Dropping slightly from last year, Marvel Champions has slipped just because I haven’t played it as much as I should. Marvel Champions is a life style game of battling your favorite Marvel heroes (X-Men eventually, hopefully coming), against your favorite villains.

I like that this is a deck construction game. I haven’t gotten too far into that, but it’s something that I miss from Magic: The Gathering. But for me, I think the game itself is more fun than Magic, Magic didn’t even make the Top 100, I don’t think, because I haven’t played it in so long.

The superhero/alter-ego thing also works so well for me. I like that I can play as Spider-Man and be flipped on the Peter Parker side and the bad guy won’t attack. Why, because Peter Parker, who is he? The villain just schemes away giving Peter a chance to recover. When you flip to Spider-Man, though, now the villain comes after you. But they scheme less, so it’s balancing the game in a very thematic way.

Buy on Miniature Market

7. Mansions of Madness: Second Edition

Mansions of Madness Banner
Image Source: Fantasy Flight Games

Another bigger game on the list, this one is all about exploring mysteries in an app driven game from Fantasy Flight games. Mansions of Madness delves into the world Arkham Files to deal with monsters, cultists, and Lovecraftian mysteries.

The app is great in this game, though, I know for some people that will be a turnoff. It means that everyone can be playing the same game, though, one person doesn’t need to run everything. The app keeps points of interest as mysteries as you unfold what happening in the mansion, town, or where ever you might be. And it means that they can introduce puzzles into the game in a great interactive manner.

It’s a fun game that has a lot of scenarios that you can play, and a lot of expansions that I’d like to own so that I can play any scenario out there. I like that it’s not campaign based but still gives me that immersive story feel that I get from some bigger campaign based games.

Buy on Miniature Market

6. Aeon’s End

Aeon's End
Image Source: Indie Boards and Cards

Now, I already had Aeon’s End: Legacy on the list. To me, Legacy versions of games are different enough that they generally deserve their own spot. But as I play more don’t be surprised if Aeon’s End Legacy becomes lumped in with Aeon’s End and Pandemic Legacy becomes lumped in with Pandemic.

Aeon’s End is a deck building game where you are trying to drive back a nemesis from the town of Gravehold. Of course, that Nemesis isn’t going to be easy to beat as it attacks you, the town, and unleashes minions upon all of you as well.

The deck building aspect is a lot of fun. I don’t always love games with a fixed market, or at least competitive deck builders with that. It gives someone who can “solve” the buying puzzle the fastest an advantage. But in a cooperative game, that means that everyone can focus in on what they do best. And you need to, because, this is a hard game. If you haven’t played before I recommend starting with the easier version, Aeon’s End Legacy.

Buy on Miniature Market

5. Lords of Hellas

Lords of Hellas
Image Source: Awaken Realms

A big game from Awaken Realms this is my type of thematic, mechanical and just a little bit messy. Lords of Hellas has you in a Greek Cyberpunk Future, fighting mechanical monsters, building monuments and temples and taking over lands. There is a lot going on in this game, but also I don’t find it that hard to play. They do a good job with the actions, once you know what the actions are.

One thing I really love about the game is that you can win in multiple ways. If you control two of the large land groups, you win. Defeat three monsters, you win. Control five temples, you win. Or, if a monument is completely built, whomever controls it at the end of the third turn wins the game. So it has a nice variety of ways to win, and in a 5 player game, four of us were one turn from winning and the other person two.

Plus, Lords of Hellas has variable player powers, and that becomes even more variable as temples are built. You draft different powers and that can shape what you are doing. And what you are doing at the end of the game to win might not be the same thing at the start.

Buy on Amazon

4. Detective: A Modern Crime Game

Detective A Modern Crime Board Game
Image Source: Portal Games

Do you like Detective TV shows? This is it, but good. I know that’s not a selling point but Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game is an amazing deduction game. And the base box ties together a really interesting story.

Another game that uses technology which can’t be avoided. But it helps with the thematic immersion of the game as you look stuff up in the police database, or through a librarian to help hide information from people and spoiling the game. Plus, sometimes you get to look stuff up online because they tied in real world history to the main box of the game at least.

I like deduction and puzzles in games, and Detective, for me, does them the best. Something like the Unlock or escape room style games, those are fun to puzzle out, but Detective gives me the puzzles and the story. And the story is just interesting and brings it up that whole other level.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

3. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

Tainted Grail
Image Source: Board Game Geek/Awaken Realms

Speaking of story, Tainted Grail has the best story of a board game that I’ve played. Detective is close, but Tainted Grail, I think, is better. It’s a game that immerses you in exploring different parts of the world of Avalon and the legends of King Arthur all will a grim dark fantasy twist to them.

It is very much a survival game to go along with the adventuring, but it works so well. Now, I do recommend playing on story more. While the survival aspect isn’t bad, it can really extend your game if you need to maintain the Menhir as much and if the monsters are a bit more deadly. And like I said to start with Tainted Grail, I want the story from this game.

The card play in the game is fun as well. And when you get into it, it goes pretty fast. At the start, it feels like it’s a break from the story that you don’t always want to have. But it’s still a good time and it makes the world and the choices you make feel bigger as you go through diplomatic and combat encounters.

Not Available

2. Dice Throne

Dice Throne
Image Source: Roxley Games

Now for a different type of game, Dice Throne is much lighter, though not much smaller in terms of how much I have for it. In Dice Throne you are fighting either head to head or in a free for all against your opponents. And this is done by upgrading abilities, playing down statuses, and then rolling dice, like Yahtzee, to do as much damage as you can.

The game sounds simple, but with 16 different characters, they manage to make each one of them feel different. The Pyromancer deals out a lot of damage and wants to keep the fires of their fire mastery going. The Shadow Thief is stealing CP, the thing that allows you to play cards. The Gunslinger is going to fight a duel with you to see how much damage they take and can reload to deal even more damage.

I like this game at two, and I know some people don’t like it with more, but I do and I’ll gladly play king of the hill style with three or four people. The game adjusts y our health, so it doesn’t add that much time to the length of what you are doing. And soon I’ll have Marvel characters as well, which I’ll never complain about.

Buy on Roxley Games

1. Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven
Image Source: Cephalofair Games

Finally at Number 1 we have the number 1 board game on Board Game Geek and what has been my number one board game for several years. I have a tough time imagining Gloomhaven getting displaced, though, maybe it’s sequel Frosthaven will do that.

I just love everything about Gloomhaven, how big it is, how the combat works, the story (even though it’s not the best) and the different characters. It’s also that first massive campaign experience I’ve had. I did play Pandemic Legacy Season 1 before, but Gloomhaven is just a different animal.

Let’s talk a little bit about combat. I don’t love combat where I have to roll dice as the only thing that determines combat. The card play of picking two cards and then using a combination of the top of one and the bottom of another is just so interesting. And picking cards that won’t run through everything too fast and knock you out is important. Also picking cards that allow you to be flexible as you don’t know the order you’ll pay in.

Buy on Amazon

Top 100 Board Games

But that’s it, that’s the whole of the list of my Top 100 Board Games (of all time) 2021 Edition. Let me know your thoughts on it down below. What games to I have too high or too low? What is your favorite from my list?

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

The post Top 100 Board Games 2021 Edition: Top 10 first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2021/12/top-100-board-games-2021-edition-top-10/feed/ 3
Top 10 – My Favorite Board Game Themes https://nerdologists.com/2021/05/top-10-my-favorite-board-game-themes/ https://nerdologists.com/2021/05/top-10-my-favorite-board-game-themes/#respond Thu, 13 May 2021 14:33:55 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=5643 When you pull a board game off the shelf, do you pick a particular game because of it's theme? I look at my Top 10 favorite board game themes today.

The post Top 10 – My Favorite Board Game Themes first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
There is little to no secret that I like my board games to have theme. I talk about the experience of a board game a lot, and games with a lot of theme often have more experience in them. Now a more abstract game can provide a great experience if it allows you to be very clever, but it can be more hit or miss. Compare that to something like Gloomhaven, because of the theme and mechanics, every time I played it was a great experience.

But like any person, I enjoy certain themes more than others. You can probably guess some of them based off of the games that I talk about the most, but let’s run down my Top 10 favorite themes in board games.

The List

On this list, going back to yesterday’s post, you are going to see some things where you’ll think, that’s theme is a subset of another theme on the list. Some themes, Sci-Fi and Fantasy, for example, are really broad.

10. Fairy Tales

This is a theme that I don’t see enough in games that target adults. Fairy Tales are often used for kids games, and while that’s a great spot for them, let’s not lie, the original fairy tales were messed up stories that didn’t end well. The versions that we know, those aren’t w hat they first at the start. So I love to see that twisted, but maybe closer to the actual theme fairy tale games.

The Grimm Masquerade
Image Source: Druid City Games/Skybound Games

So, my example is going to be The Grimm Masquerade. This creates a hidden role game that is actually pretty interesting for me. I don’t love games like Mafia, Werewolf, or the Resistance because they are generally too simple. The Grimm Masquerade is all about figuring out who is what character, but how it is done is really interesting. Mainly because you have a draw a card and either keep it or give it away, and then the other action with your second card. Simple mechanics and fun game play.

9. Exploration

Honestly, I think if I do this again in two years, explorations will be higher on my list. I have mainly played a couple games that use this theme. And you could argue that it’s more of a mechanic, but I am thinking of that Indiana Jones type feel, where you have fantastic things going on, and you are discovering it with the other people at the tables. There are a few other games that dabble in this in another category that comes up. But I like the feeling of going into that new area and not knowing what I might find.

Tainted Grail

Now, Tainted Grail falls into a few other themes coming up here as well, but it works well here. The biggest element of Tainted Grail is diving in and exploring the massive, well written world that Awaken Realms has created. They even have an exploration journal which has so many things that you can do in it, and some many different paths you can go. It is probably impossible to actually find all the different options which is amazing.

8. Zombies

Yes, Zombies get their own theme. There are so many zombie games out there, and I tend to like them. Zombie games fall mainly into two categories. You either are mowing down zombies to get away from them, or you are trying to survive and it’s about the people versus killing zombies. Both are a lot of fun, and I have games with both types. I even have one where you are the zombies, but that one is a bit themeless really with Zombie Dice.

Dead of Winter

No shock which one I picked here, there are a lot of zombie games, but this one I have played the most. This is one where it is about the survivors and trying to make it through the cold of winter and complete your objectives. It’s interesting because it is cooperative with the possibility of a traitor, but it’s not as well. Because each player has a secret objective they need to complete to be part of the winning group. It is an interesting dynamic that works pretty well but won’t be for everyone. It does help simulate what your survivor(s) might care about most.

Image Source; Geek Alert
7. Lovecraftian

So another one that has a darker theme, we’re talking about Lovecraft. Now, this is not like Lovecraft’s books, but more the investigative, pulp, noir, theme that has been put on it by Fantasy Flight Games, mainly, and other companies as well. The main thing that ties it back to Lovecraft is that it uses his monsters to create a more fleshed out world of intrigue, investigation and tentacles.

Mansions of Madness

A few options I could have gone with, there are a ton of games with a Lovecraftian theme because, well, it is a public domain. Don’t have a theme, slap Lovecraft on it. But Mansions of Madness is my favorite. It is taking this city view or world view that some of the other games have and focusing it down to a neighborhood or a mansion. Add in the app which changes things up so you can play the same scenario multiple times and things will vary slightly. Just a nice, deeply thematic game.

6. Detective

Building off of what Lovecraftian themes do with their horror added, I like games where you are the person trying to figure out who done it. I would still even play something like Clue which is one of the first games that did that. But the genre has improved so much over time and you can have Sherlock Holmes, though I haven’t played any of the Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective games.

Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game
Image Source: Portal Games

It has Detective in it’s name, it has to be good, right? Well, not really, but it was very good. This takes all of the best parts of those procedural cop shows and drops you into it. You are the one making the decisions, picking up on clues, and trying to solve the case. The base box is amazing, and I have a bunch more stuff to play for it. They are now even doing a spy theme using the same system that I am really excited about.

5. Mythology

Welcome to the second category that Tainted Grail falls into it. But I really like games that can pull from different mythologies, Norse, Greek, Roman, Mayan, and more to create interesting board games. And the idea of playing as the gods or adjacent to the gods is always interesting. Especially because of the different powers the gods have and how that can translate into what you are doing. I also get to learn stuff about mythologies that I might not know much about.

Lords of Hellas

This takes a few things and puts them together. It is a bit like the world of Horizon Zero Dawn where the monsters look like creatures but are machines, and it has a cyber punk element. This game definitely leans more into the mythological side of things as you play different heroes and build towers to the gods. I love the different win conditions and the theme just makes the game that much more compelling.

Image Source: Awaken Realms
4. Sci-Fi

Broad category #1, science fiction. There are a few different types, and I tend to prefer space exploration type of Sci-Fi versus weird future worlds. Though, things like Shadowrun are technically Sci-Fi and I like that Cyberpunk theme. However, I really like the grander feel that space exploration has in general. And there are a ton of great board games that fall into the realm of space.

Star Wars: Rebellion

Now this could be consider cheating a little bit because Star Wars could be it’s own theme. But it is also a space game. While you aren’t exploring as much, the empire is exploring planets trying to narrow down where the rebels can be. This feels like the original trilogy as it is cat and mouse. The empire trying to squash the rebel fleets and find their base, and the rebels trying to subvert the empires plan. It is also a big game, probably playing in about three hours or a bit less, if you know what you are doing. Ton of fun, Star Wars in a box.

3. Fantasy

Now, the second to last category that Tainted Grail could fit into, I love fantasy games. Unlike Sci-Fi where I prefer space sci-fi, I like almost any type of fantasy. Whether it’s a grim dark world like Tainted Grail, urban fantasy like The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game, or silly fantasy like Smallworld, I like games that have fantasy in them. There’s just something about slinging spells and fighting dragons or other crazy monsters that is a lot of fun.

Image Source: Cephalofair Games
Gloomhaven

No surprise what game I am going with here, Gloomhaven is my favorite game of all time. It has you on this massive epic adventure as you try and figure out all that is happening in the lands. But beyond that, the game has amazing card play and really unique fantasy creatures to fight and play as. The amount of world building that went into Gloomhaven is amazing.

2. Superhero

I flipped the last two at the last second, but Superheroes, they are just below my #1, because, well, there are a lot of poor superhero games out there. So this theme will always get me interested whether I’m playing as a superhero or fighting against them. But because DC and Marvel are both very popular in general, that means that there are some poorer games out there. But tell me that a board game has a Marvel theme, I am always going to check it out.

Marvel Champions

A Marvel game, no surprise there. I really like Marvel Champions a lot. It is a great game that they keep on adding more great content for. This is the one that has me playing a hero that I know and love from Marvel and I feel like that hero. If I am playing Spider-Man, I can go in there with a swinging web kick, or I can flip over to Peter Parker, the bad guy won’t fight me, and I can recover. Of course, then the bad guy is scheming until I can get in there again to stop their plans and take them down.

Image Source: Fantasy Flight Games
1. Horror

Finally, my number 1, Horror. I love horror in board games. From games where it is a one off scenario to games where it is a full campaign. The grim dark fantasy nature of Tainted Grail makes it also dabble into horror. But Zombie and Lovecraftian games also fall into that category as well. Zombies can be more survival and Lovecraftian can be more investigative, so horror get’s it’s own. I love not knowing what’s around the corner, what horror might be popping up and the feeling of the impending doom if things don’t go well.

Betrayal at House on the Hill

Now, I know this one will be controversial. There are people who do not like this game, I love it. I think that it is really well done and it gives you that feeling of horror movies. You don’t know what is around the next corner, if a good twist happens, you don’t know who is going to be betray you, and you don’t know if you will survive. Is it well balanced, probably not, but I really like the thematic and cinematic feeling it gives me.

What Is Your Favorite Theme?

Let me know in the comments below or over on Twitter what themes in board games you like best. There are a lot of them out there. I could have broken down Fantasy and Sci-Fi more as well. Are there any that you feel are used too much?

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

The post Top 10 – My Favorite Board Game Themes first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2021/05/top-10-my-favorite-board-game-themes/feed/ 0
Top 5 Movies – 2020 Edition https://nerdologists.com/2020/12/top-5-movies-2020-edition/ https://nerdologists.com/2020/12/top-5-movies-2020-edition/#respond Mon, 07 Dec 2020 14:35:32 +0000 http://nerdologists.com/?p=5046 Now, I’m breaking a little bit from what I did on the last two sections, I’m not sure 100% sure that I’ve seen 5 new

The post Top 5 Movies – 2020 Edition first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
Now, I’m breaking a little bit from what I did on the last two sections, I’m not sure 100% sure that I’ve seen 5 new to me movies this year. I had the Marvel movies come out, Black Widow, and Eternals, then I probably would have seen 5 movies. But right now I can think of two movies, Sonic the Hedge Hog and Crimson Peak that I watched this year. That’s not enough for a top 5, so my Top 5 of all time will have to do, some years are just like that where I haven’t seen that many new to me movies.

5 – Tucker & Dale vs Evil

This is just a fun film, it takes the classic horror tropes and lampoons them or twists them, while still kind of being a horror film. Now, there are plenty of horror film parodies out there, but this one I’d qualify as a horror film satire. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine are amazing in this film, and if you’re a fan either of theirs this film is worth checking out. I really do think even if you don’t like horror this is a great comedy film first and foremost, so most people will like this one.

4 – John Wick

Image Source: IMDB

The Keanu Reeves renaissance was in some ways kicked off by this film. This is such a well done action film that we really haven’t seen anything like it before. Maybe Equilibrium has a little bit of a feel like it, but John Wick takes it to a whole other level with the gun play and just the artistic nature of everything. This movie has a ton of action, and surprising amount of story. It’s one that I can come back to multiple times and enjoy even with knowing the story because of just the beauty in the gun kata (or gun fu) throughout the film. It feels like a dance as much as it feels like a gun fight.

3 – Dr. Strangelove

Apparently I want humor on my list this year, though, Dr Strangelove has always been around my Top 5, probably generally in my Top 10. Dr. Strangelove is an amazing Peter Sellers and Stanley Kubrick film. It makes fun of the super United States rah-rah mindset, but does so in extremely clever ways. This is one of those films where you almost have to study in order to get all of the jokes, but the jokes in there are definitely a good payoff when you get them. But you don’t need to do that, because it blends jokes like those in with other jokes that you almost always have an absurd situation going on that you get. This is a movie that does get better with more viewings as well, I feel.

2 – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

When I have humor on a list, I like it to be satire, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is amazing for that. This film is in it’s own right a buddy cop film along the lines of Lethal Weapon and others, but it is more than that, it makes fun of buddy cop films as well. Robert Downey Jr is amazing in this film, and whole cast is great really. This film is my favorite Christmas film in the way that Die Hard is a Christmas film. I really do like it when a film can take a tried and true genre, such as buddy cop, and not really dumb down the absurd plotlines or dumb down jokes but end up with it being a really good and smart comedy as well.

1 – Avengers: Infinity War

Image Source: Marvel

Now, clearly I’m a big Marvel fan, having a Marvel Podcast, 10 Minute Marvel, so I don’t think it’ll be a big surprise that a Marvel movie is my #1. Also, I have ranked the Marvel movies fairly recently, and this was my #1 movie on that list as well. When it comes to the Marvel films, this one just really stands out to me. I think that Endgame is very good, and I like it a ton, but Infinity War just feels like more, the stakes feel higher because I knew how it was going to end, and while I knew things would be fixed in the second one, the moments where characters die are just really well done, and you get a sense that all the heroes might not make it and that anyone is fair game. This film just has what I want, it is a superhero story with a lot of action, but it is also just a good film and a good story overall.

So, to toss out some honorable mentions, films like Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Ranorak just missed the list. I know previous years I’ve had Dog Soldiers on the list as well which is a really good horror film. In terms of the two films that I remember having seen for the first time this year, I think that Sonic The Hedgehog was a more enjoyable film than Crimson Peak and honestly, as good a story. Crimson Peak just has amazing aesthetics, but everything else felt really flat.

What are the best films that you’ve seen this year?

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

The post Top 5 Movies – 2020 Edition first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2020/12/top-5-movies-2020-edition/feed/ 0
Point of Order: Sentinels of the Multiverse https://nerdologists.com/2020/11/point-of-order-sentinels-of-the-multiverse/ https://nerdologists.com/2020/11/point-of-order-sentinels-of-the-multiverse/#respond Wed, 25 Nov 2020 14:35:54 +0000 http://nerdologists.com/?p=5001 Black Friday has struck again with a vengeance, and there is an amazing sale that people should checkout from Greater Than Games. They have stuff

The post Point of Order: Sentinels of the Multiverse first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
Black Friday has struck again with a vengeance, and there is an amazing sale that people should checkout from Greater Than Games. They have stuff from 15% off to over 80% off, and if, like me, you don’t have enough Sentinels of the Multiverse, there is stuff out there that is just an amazing deal to get.

I am not going to tell you everything that I got, only that it was a lot. I know the number, it was 18 different expansions for Sentinels of the Multiverse. A lot of them being smaller little character packs like for Ambuscade, Chokepoint, and Miss Information. Those smaller character packs, $1.25 each. But there are other expansions as well like Shattered Timelines & Wrath of the Cosmos or Oblivaeon that are discounted a ton as well.

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a superhero game where you take on the role of superheroes to defeat a supervillain and their schemes. From the nefarious Baron Blade and on. Unlike games like Marvel Champions, Marvel Legendary, DC Deck Builder, etc. this is not a standard comic IP game, this game was created with it’s all new and “unique” characters for the world. In the game you use your deck of cards to get abilities into play to be able to handle bad guys and other threats as well as take down the main villain. Now, this sounds a bit like Marvel Champions, but each characters deck is set, so you aren’t doing the deck crafting like in Marvel Champions. This means that everything is going to be on theme or the character you are playing, versus the aspects in Marvel Champions.

Image Source: Board Game Geek

That’s all that I picked up, but I do want to point out a few games that Greater Than Games has. The first is Lazer Ryderz. This is a silly little game that is basically the light bikes from Tron, but you aren’t just trying to crash the other person. Though, that can be some of your strategy. It’s a fun and light game and on a super good sale at $15. Another is Homebrewers, this game is one of my favorite games. It is a fun little engine building game where you are competing to become the best homebrewer. It has a great theme and plays really fast. It gives you room to come up with a strategy, but also keeps you thinking on your feet. And finally is Medium. This one is a little party game where the players are trying to connect the two words on their cards by saying a word and hoping to match the other person. If they don’t they try again with the words that they just said. It’s a fun concept for a game that can lead to a lot of laughs.

What good Black Friday game deals have you found?

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

The post Point of Order: Sentinels of the Multiverse first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2020/11/point-of-order-sentinels-of-the-multiverse/feed/ 0
Holiday List – Alone But Loving Games https://nerdologists.com/2020/11/holiday-list-alone-but-loving-games/ https://nerdologists.com/2020/11/holiday-list-alone-but-loving-games/#respond Thu, 12 Nov 2020 14:04:02 +0000 http://nerdologists.com/?p=4933 For a lot of people board gaming is a social activity, but 2020 has made that less likely and harder to do at least in

The post Holiday List – Alone But Loving Games first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
For a lot of people board gaming is a social activity, but 2020 has made that less likely and harder to do at least in bigger groups. For some people with serious medical concerns or just general concerns about Covid, that isn’t an option, or maybe with their work, or whatever it might be, so for them, and for the people who just don’t have a game group around for other reasons as well, solo gaming can be a great option. I’m not going to repeat the two, Gloomhaven, and Onirim that I’ve already talked about, so let’s talk about some other games that are good solo and might make a great gift.

Marvel Champions

This is probably my favorite solo game right now, and it’s fun because you can customize it for the person you are getting it for. Marvel Champions is a Living Card game put out by Fantasy Flight Games, where you take on the roll of a hero (or you can play up to 4), and you face off against a villain, their henchmen and their schemes. You have two sides you can play as a superhero, you are either in your alter ego side, T’Challa, Tony Stark, Peter Parker, etc., or you are in your hero side, Black Panther, Iron Man, Spider-Man, etc. When you are in the alter ego side the villain only schemes and won’t fight you, when you are in your hero side, they’ll scheme slower, and fight you. It’s a balancing act changing between the sides of a hero. What works well in this game, is that it’s a living card game, that means that Fantasy Flight is supporting it by putting out new heroes, villains, and scenarios for it. So if someone is a huge Black Widow fan, you can grab the base game and the Black Widow expansion pack and customize for them. And there are a ton of different character options. Great for a superhero fan if you life, but also just a really good game.

Image Source: Fantasy Flight Games

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

So, I’m going with another living card game here. If you try and get someone everything for these, it’ll get extremely expensive, but Arkham Horror: The Card Game, is a great solo game, and worth talking about. In this game you are taking an investigator through a series of story where the choices you make can and will make a difference. If you kill a monster, save a person, find out all the cultists, that’ll adjust your scenario, story, and rewards going forward. This game is a really nice puzzle of a game where you are trying to find clues, pass tests, and fight monsters, using cards that are either equipment or abilities, or spending them for resources to make it more likely you’ll pass a test or so that you can buy one of the cards. It’s a really interesting game system that allows itself to tell so many stories in so many different ways in something that is just a card game. Very smartly made and really enjoyable. This is for someone who loves to try and optimize and solve a mystery/challenge the best that they can.

Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger

While the other two have been good gamery games, Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger, is basically just a choose your own adventure book, with some cards and some challenges. This one has a ton of nostalgia to it as you play through what is a completely insane story seeing how well you can do, trying not to die, and reading great story. And by great story, I mean that it’s very crazy story but that it’s a lot of fun. It’s written in a very light way and really interesting and enjoyable. This one works well solo because you can kind of just flip through the cards, make decisions quickly, roll dice when needed for the challenges, and continue. None of the decisions you make seem like they have a massive difference in how the game will go, they mainly will get you stuck in areas or having to deal challenges which you’ll probably eventually defeat. This one is good light fun for a solo gamer who is just looking to have a good time.

First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet

Image Source: Board Game Geek

For your sci-fi solo gamer out there, there is First Martians. In some ways this is almost Martian, the book and movie, the board game. You are on Mars, setting up the first colony there, and things are going to be breaking down. You need to think about food, oxygen levels, you might be out exploring the surface, building things to improve your base. This is a pretty challenging game with a not that well written rule book. Fortunately you can learn to play by watching it on the Watch It Played YouTube channel, Rodney Smith does a great job there. First Martians also gives you a number of ways to play. You can pick one off missions focused on different things, such as exploring Mars, building and adding on to the station, or just trying to make a broken station survive. But then there are also campaigns where you play through a few games in a row. Overall this game, while it has it’s flaws, is so much fun to play and offers quick experiences and longer campaigns depending on what you want.

Aeon’s End Legacy

So I mentioned campaign games above, and I think it’s fitting to wrap up this list with a game that has a campaign to it. There are a lot that I could have picked, Mage Knight, Deep Madness, Folklore the Affliction, Sword and Sorcery, Reich Busters, and a whole lot more, but I’m picking Aeon’s End Legacy because I like deck building games, and I think that the game play offered in Aeon’s End is really interesting and easy to solo. By that I mean that in lot of these games you can’t just play them true solo, even something like Gloomhaven you have to control two characters, so you’re doing more “house keeping” and keeping track of leveling up multiple characters. Aeon’s End Legacy isn’t true solo, you do have to control at least two characters, but the game play is much simpler. You don’t need to think about 10 different stats, what weapon or dice to use or roll. Instead, you are just playing your hand of cards when the turn comes up. I’m a big fan of Aeon’s End: War Eternal, so Aeon’s End Legacy is one that I have on my shelf that I need to play, but that I’ve heard great things about and that I can recommend knowing the system well.

Now, there are obviously a lot of other games I could mention, Mansions of Madness, which I’ve talked about before, really most cooperative games can be played solo. I’m even playing through, or will be soon, Pandemic Legacy Season 2 solo. So even games that aren’t truly solo, as long as there isn’t hidden information, can be played solo, but I think that hopefully these are some good options. I basically went with cooperative games, but there are solo variants for things like Alien Artifacts and Scythe out there as well, they just need a bit more house keeping in what is done.

What solo game would recommend for a solo gamer? Or if you are one, what would you want to get?

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

The post Holiday List – Alone But Loving Games first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2020/11/holiday-list-alone-but-loving-games/feed/ 0
Waiting on Kickstarter Vol 4: Marvel United and Frosthaven https://nerdologists.com/2020/08/waiting-on-kickstarter-vol-4-marvel-united-and-frosthaven/ https://nerdologists.com/2020/08/waiting-on-kickstarter-vol-4-marvel-united-and-frosthaven/#respond Mon, 24 Aug 2020 13:37:19 +0000 http://nerdologists.com/?p=4682 Now we’re getting to some games that were pretty recently Kickstarted for me, though one of them I’ll be getting the first stuff probably in

The post Waiting on Kickstarter Vol 4: Marvel United and Frosthaven first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
Now we’re getting to some games that were pretty recently Kickstarted for me, though one of them I’ll be getting the first stuff probably in the next month, which is exciting. Both of these were really big Kickstarters so lets dive into them.

Marvel United

Firstly, I love Marvel, if that wasn’t obvious from the fact that I run the 10 Minute Marvel Podcast (check it out), it could probably would be from me going to movies opening night, and previously having done some of the news around Marvel on the website prior to the podcast. So because of the theme, I was immediately interested.

Then what made me more interested was the minis for the game. I know that the chibis aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I feel like for Marvel, it works fine, especially in what turns out to be a fairly light cooperative game that targets less of a hobby or older gaming demographic, it makes sense. While I wouldn’t have minded more realistic minis to at least the comics, I really think they did a good job of capturing the essence of the characters and creating really dynamic minis.

Plus, as I mentioned above, this game is cooperative, and I like cooperative games, and I like cooperative games with a theme and a size that is going to be really easy to get to the table. Now, is Marvel a theme for everyone, probably not, but it s a theme for a lot of people who wouldn’t be interested in high fantasy or trading in the Mediterranean and that’s who would also like this lighter style game. I also like that this is a fast cooperative game. A game should last about 30-45 minutes, and that’s enough to swap out characters and get through two games in a sitting and try out a bunch of the characters when all the expansions for it come out.

Overall, my hype level is pretty high on this one. It’s the type that won’t work for everyone that is going to be great for board game nights for me.

Excitement Meter: 9/10

Image Source: CMON

Frosthaven

The sequel to Gloomhaven, enough said. The biggest Kickstarted board game, enough said. Story driven campaign game, enough said. There’s so much that I’m so excited for with this game.

First, let’s talk about how it’s a follow-up to Gloomhaven, but it adds in even more. There are going to be more puzzles to solve in the game, there’s a town building aspect to the game. New classes, monsters, and new scenarios. Not only that, they are taking what they learned from Gloomhaven and Forgotten Circles and making it better. Better ways to create more interesting and dynamic maps without as much leg work during the game. Plus the Foreteller app for doing the narration and I’m sure the Gloomhaven Helper app (or maybe a Frosthaven helper app) will help manage the monsters as well.

I’ve gone through so much of Frosthaven, talking about the campaign before it was up, and then while it was happening. There’s so much that I’m excited for with this game. I really do think that the new things are going to give the game a fresh feel to it all while keeping a feel that you’d expect from Gloomhaven. The card mechanics, leveling, and things like that don’t seem to have changed, but the stuff they are changing sounds very interesting. I mentioned town building, that’s new, and I really like it as a way that my place and game will be different from yours. Sure there was a little bit of that before with upgrading stickers and a slight branching path at times, but for the most part what you and I did would end up being pretty similar. This seems like we’ll be more apt to end up with really unique board games, which I like the idea of a lot. It makes going to town more meaningful for doing more than just buying new gear.

I also like that they’ve updated the loot. It used to be that you get gold, and gold is fine and nice for buying things. But now you’ll get things for improving your town or crafting items, or gold, depending on who you are fighting. And with that, the crafting supplies or upgrading the town, those are the two same sets of things, so you have to decide, do you need to be able to craft this item now, or can you push the town forward so that you can get better items later? It brings more tension and intentionality to the game that way.

I’m really looking forward to this, but I will say, I wouldn’t be too upset if this was delayed slightly. We have another campaign game we want to play some of before this comes in, with my Gloomhaven group.

Excitement Meter: 10/10

Have you backed either of these games? Which sounds more exciting to you, which would you play more?

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.

The post Waiting on Kickstarter Vol 4: Marvel United and Frosthaven first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2020/08/waiting-on-kickstarter-vol-4-marvel-united-and-frosthaven/feed/ 0
10 Minute Marvel Episode 32: The Power of Voodoo, Who Do? Brother Voodoo https://nerdologists.com/2020/02/10-minute-marvel-episode-32-the-power-of-voodoo-who-do-brother-voodoo/ https://nerdologists.com/2020/02/10-minute-marvel-episode-32-the-power-of-voodoo-who-do-brother-voodoo/#respond Tue, 18 Feb 2020 13:57:31 +0000 http://nerdologists.com/?p=4082 Starting off with the news, there’s a new superhero team in town that you can pick up at your friendly local comic book store (or

The post 10 Minute Marvel Episode 32: The Power of Voodoo, Who Do? Brother Voodoo first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>

Starting off with the news, there’s a new superhero team in town that you can pick up at your friendly local comic book store (or digitally) tomorrow (February 18th). Plus, some talk from Sony about what future films might be coming in their Spider-verse that they are building.

For the main topic, I’m digging into a character who might be showing up in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness according to some rumors that I talked about last week. That is Brother Voodoo, who do, he does. I look at his skill set in the comics and how Marvel might consider using him in the MCU. And there are some interesting powers that he has which might make a lot of sense for the MCU.

I just want to thank everyone who is checking out the podcast, it’s exciting for me to see monthly that the podcast is growing and I hope that you are all enjoying it. If you are enjoying the #10MinMarvel podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review. We are on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play Music. Those ratings and reviews (and subscriptions) help more people find the podcast and join the 10 Minute Marvel Community.

If you want to get a hold of me, leave a comment below, or on twitter you can find me @TheScando or you can use #10MinMarvel. Let me know what topics you want me to cover or if there’s a news tidbit that you’ve found as I’m always looking for more to talk about and more Marvel information.

Thanks for listening.

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.

The post 10 Minute Marvel Episode 32: The Power of Voodoo, Who Do? Brother Voodoo first appeared on Nerdologists.]]>
https://nerdologists.com/2020/02/10-minute-marvel-episode-32-the-power-of-voodoo-who-do-brother-voodoo/feed/ 0