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Thanks for watching & welcome to the channel!! It’s awesome to meet other gamers who have similar interests, especially when it comes to these old-school game designs. I’m finding there are still lots of us out there who like these types of games!! Anyway, I hope you learn about some amazing undiscovered games here at the channel. Looking forward to interacting with you in the future!! Cheers!

@@undiscovered_games Likewise, thanks!

Thank you for the kind words!! Happy to have you here!!

That is an awesome idea! I will definitely have to try that next game. I like the idea of snake drafting the scarabs up front! Thanks for the great comment! I love reading such awesome comments from my viewers!!!! Cheers, my friend!

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.😊​@@undiscovered_games

I feel the same as you, so I greatly appreciate your comment! That was my entire motivation for starting this channel! There are way too many old gems out there to discover still; I can't even think about trying to keep up with all the new stuff!!

Thanks for the comment! It's such a great game no matter which version you get! Yeah, $50 is a bit much for a game this light. I think I got my copy for around $30 a few years back, but every once in awhile I see one floating around out there, so keep your eyes open! It's hard to believe this edition looks so good for it being a Milton Bradley game from the 90s. These pieces are amazing! Thanks for watching!!

Yeah the price tables absolutely make the game!! I love swingy mechanisms like that. And these are _very_ swingy 😂😂 It’s a lot of fun because of that. Thanks for the comment!!!

coldness discord is the base that holds up the pyramid of undiscovered games ;) oh btw, this video finally convinced me to get a copy of the game, because the discord didnt do a good enough job :)

@@YakovPetrovich haha that’s a great comment!! I sincerely hope you enjoy this one (I think you will 😉). Thanks so much for watching! Let me know how you like the game!

Thanks for the kind words, B7! You’re awesome!! My wallet has been punching me since I discovered this hobby 😭 😭 😂😂😂. So far, it has been worth it though 🤷🏻‍♂️ Sooo many amazing games to discover. The garage sale games are some of my most undiscovered games yet!!! Stay tuned 😁😁😁 And I STILL need to get Revolution played. It’s still at the top of my to-play list!!!!!!

Haha yesss, the tiles are brutal!!! Those tiles absolutely make the game!!! Enjoy :)

Thank you! I appreciate you watching and commenting!

Colossal Arena is great!!! That's a great flea market find! Classic Knizia. I reviewed that one on my Instagram a lonnnng time ago. I know nothing about Clash of the Gladiators! Haha, I guess you never know... it could be good, could be horrid LOL! Such is the nature of hunting for gems. Let me know how it goes :D You'll definitely like Colossal Arena though.

Ooo, good pick for this list! I played it once at a board game store a few years ago and it was quite enjoyable. I'll have to revisit it!

Super smooth game with some mischief and exciting tension!! It's a fun one for sure!!

Dude yes! In fact, your most recent comment inspired me to finally make this episode. So this episode is for you!!! I meant to give you a shoutout and totally forgot 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Grrrr!!! About three different people I trust have recommended this one to me over the past two years or so, and it was an instant buy when I first read up on it. Anyway, it's such an awesome game, so thank you for the motivation!! Thanks for the tips on the tiebreaker and the house rules. I will try that next time. My translation of the rules is a translation that's not even in the BGG files; it was just inside the box when I got the game. But some people on the BGG forums were talking about the option to pass on drawing back up to 4, so I assumed it was the rule?? I thought it was one of those unnecessary wonky rules, and I could never figure out why it was in there (other than to bide your time and wait for a different family member to show up). As far as I am concerned, I agree you should just draw from 2 or even 3 of the stacks. That seems much more intuitive! Thanks again man! This game is a treasure!!!

​@@undiscovered_games Instant buy? Where are you buying it from if it's only available in Germany? Agreed this looks like a great game. Super easy to play but looks like a reasonable amount of depth and replayability. Without having played the game yet, I kind of like the unknown element of face down laws. I could play either way. How about a third option, laws are face down until the first neighbor is played below a law. This gives a couple of turns to prepare for any rule change. I can't think of too many tiebreaker ideas, fewest scarabs seems to work. The only other thing I could think of was reverse turn order. Is there a significant advantage to potentially getting an extra turn and are ties rare or more frequent than expected?

@@grantfraser5430 This one is long out of print, but you can find copies floating around on eBay or Amazon sometimes. I bought this on Amazon Germany a couple years ago. I like your suggestion for the tiles being face down at the start and then flipping them over later. This game seems like there are lots of little variants you could try! In my experience, we have never had a tied score because the scoring tiles are all over the place with their values. So it's probably a pretty rare event. I was thinking maybe among the tied players, whoever had fewer turns (since the game ends instantly when one of the conditions is met). And if it's still tied, then maybe fewest scarabs collected.?? Thanks for the ideas and the comment!!

No worries about the shoutout - I was just excited to see you cover Cheops! Also, I may be to blame for the tile draw stuff: A friend taught the game to me incorrectly and it wasn't till I came across the rules translation on BGG that I realized we might be playing incorrectly. 😅Anyway, so glad you enjoyed it!

@@cfrost6167 I pinned a comment giving you all a shoutout!! I always try to do that because I would’ve never found this game if not for all of you who championed it! I just caught up in the editing that it totally slipped my mind. Regarding the tile draw, I think there are probably many different variants you could try with that. It probably doesn’t change the gameplay that much, honestly. It would be fun to play around with some different ideas there!!!

Completely agree. Knowing all that info ahead of time makes for some tense moments, especially when you know what your opponents are wanting to collect. It's definitely the best way to play in my opinion!

I wish I could visit Essen.... that's on my bucket list! A lot of these games I discovered early on in the hobby when I went crazy buying games around 2013 or so. But this Cheops game in particular was recommended by 3 different people over the past couple years. There are certain accounts/users who I've grown to trust to recommend games to me, and this was one of those examples! Also, I am a diehard thrift store shopper, online shopper, and garage sale attendee. So I've found a lot of gems there! Not to mention the hours and hours I spend reading through BGG forums and reviews. So I guess it's kind of all over the place! Thanks for the comment!!

It reminds me most of Quandary and Paris Connection (both of which I covered on this channel previously). However, the swingy price tables are what make Cheops different. Quandary and Paris Connection are both excellent, so I can't say I like this better or worse than those. But those would be the 2 games I compare it to the most. All 3 are unique and awesome! Thanks for the comment!

Thanks for the motivation on Concordia! That’s very encouraging to hear you like that one and Hansa Teutonica. I’m definitely prioritizing Concordia very soon! So I have to ask your view of Concordia: is there much player interaction? Or is it more multiplayer solitaire? I’ve always heard Concordia is more solitaire (which I’m not opposed to at all, but I do tend to like more interactive games). Just curious to hear your take on the player interaction since you’re so familiar with the game! Thanks in advance!

@undiscovered_games There is definitely player interaction. It's mostly getting each others way. For instance you pay double to build in cities that are occupied by one player and triple if occupied by two players and money can be tight. That alone can really change your game. Also, the public card market is really tight too. One thing I can't stress enough to a new player is how important the cards are. They determine your actions, strategy AND your end game points. Lots of people think they are doing well by building all over the board but they don't pay attention to the fact that the cards they have and bought may not or do not corelate with a building strategy. Cards, cards, cards.😀

@@timu.6452 great info!!! Thanks for sharing that! That sounds like a fantastic game, and at least I do own it already, so it’s just a matter of getting it played! It’s high on my priority list!!!

King Up is so fun!!! In fact, I have it on my future "episodes-to-make" list ;) ;) I can see where it would be somewhat similar to Ranking, but I think you'll find it's quite a different experience. Both are really fun games, though, and both have some sneaky strategies. Thanks for the kind words and welcome to the channel!! I hope you enjoy my other videos! :)

Thanks for the comment!! That's awesome you want to play this one! It's not for everyone, but there's something about it I love. In fact, my rating has increased since making this video. Once you wrap your head around the wonky & fiddly rules, it really is an awesome game! Sadly it is very hard to find right now in the USA :( You really have to keep your eyes open! I hope you can find a copy soon!

Wow, thanks for the kind words man! That's awesome you have so much overlap! It's always refreshing to meet gamers who appreciate these types of games. I've only played Fresh Fish once, and I loved it! So I simply haven't played it enough for it to make this list. I definitely want to own it someday! Also, the lack of co-op games is more because of our current game groups. All of us are pretty competitive when it comes to gaming haha. We do play Shadows Over Camelot regularly, however! That would probably be my favorite co-op! Maybe one day I'll get bit by the co-op bug! Thanks again for watching & commenting. I really appreciate it.

Thanks so much for the comment! I can understand why some people like the more complex expansions, but personally I like the smooth flow of Dominion, so anything that adds fiddly-ness, I typically don't like. Even though this video is over a year old, Allies remains one of my favorites! I think you'll really dig that one. Let me know how you like it! P.S. For what it's worth, I just played Rising Sun, the latest expansion, and it probably falls somewhere in the middle of my list. It uses debt tokens like Empires, but I think it uses them better. Still, the debt thing is not my favorite concept. Rising Sun also has some weird fiddly card mechanism for some of the cards where they stay on the bottom of the deck. It seemed a bit unnecessary. I didn't hate the expansion though. There were some cool cards, and the artwork is mostly beautiful. Okay, enough rambling. I hope you enjoy Allies as much as we do!

Yes, the gameplay is language independent. My edition in the video is the German version. The only text is the names of the provinces on the cards, which match the colors & text on the game board. So it's nothing you need to read or anything. You'll just have to download the English rules on the BGG site. Let me know if you have any other questions about it!

Completely agree!! I have never played another game like it, and I doubt I ever will! It's truly a one-of-a-kind game, and FUN!!!!!

That's awesome!! Considering how many games are out there in the world, I would say if you have more than 5 crossovers with my list, we definitely have the same gaming preference!! It's so cool to meet other gamers who share similar tastes and who appreciate the older designs. They just don't make games like these anymore, sadly. Luckily we have a huge selection of older games sitting out there waiting to be discovered. That's why I created this TH-cam channel! Thanks for watching and commenting!

That's awesome!! You are about the 5th person to recommend Vikings, so I reallllllly need to prioritize that one apparently haha 😅😅 I have never played it! I really appreciate the kind words and the awesome game recommendation. I am actively seeking out a copy of Vikings. Who knows? It might show up in a future episode! Thanks again!

That's awesome you watched the whole thing! I really appreciate the kind words, and I am so happy to have you here at the channel since pretty much the beginning if I remember correctly! It's soooo cool you guys found Keltis and Firenze from my channel! And Kingdom Builder is an all time classic!!! More episodes on the way! :)

Thanks for watching and commenting!! You bring up an interesting point, and it caused me to really analyze something about what I enjoy in games. I've never considered myself someone who really likes "take that" games, but I do love "cutthroat player interaction" (which obviously involves some "take that" moments). But I view those 2 terms slightly differently. Allow me to organize my thoughts here; forgive me if I ramble a bit haha. I like "cutthroat" more than "take that." When I think of "take that," I think of something like a card game where I play a card and you have to discard half your cards, or I have a special ability that lets me wipe you off the board for no reason (other than to hurt you). Sometimes I enjoy that (like giving players a bad quest card in Lords of Waterdeep). But what I _really_ like is cutthroat player interaction where you are forced to compete over a shared space or limited resources, games where I can block people and strategically cut them out of doing actions for my benefit, instead of simply to hurt them. I love games where you're in each others' way the entire time and everything you do affects everyone at the table. I love auction games where you have to make other players pay more for what they want, or area control games where the balance of power is always shifting. By their very nature, those games certainly have some "take that" moments. But I think "cutthroat interaction" would more accurately describe what I enjoy in a game. Anyway, thanks for the great comment!! You forced me to think deeper about what I really like in a game, and that's awesome!!

Thanks for taking the time to watch, man! I really appreciate that. Vanuatu is amazing!!

Ha nice!!! You will love Big Shot. It has to be one of the most underrated auction games of all time.

That sounds great!! I really appreciate that. If you're able, send me a message on BGG or Instagram :)

@@undiscovered_games done.

Thank you for the comment and welcome to the channel!! I appreciate the kind words, and I hope you enjoy the rest of my content! More episodes are on the way. Regarding your list, here is my take on them: - Lowlands - I have not played, I don't own it, but it's on my wish list!! - Franchise - I have the original edition called Medieval Merchant, and I plan to make an episode on that one! I have only played twice, however, so I didn't consider it for my Top 50. I need to log another play or two. But yes, it's an awesome game! Sorta like the predecessor to Power Grid. - Metropolys - I own it, and it was a contender for my Top 50. But honestly I have sort of a hit and miss relationship with that one. The game is definitely interesting, but what bothers me personally is the randomness of where the chain of buildings ends up. I find it incredibly difficult to entice my opponents to move the bidding chain a certain direction. In my experience, it's more of a guessing game that I would like. I also cannot stand the ugly board in Metropolys, haha. It hurts my eyes and my head to look at LOL. I heard that Skyrise changed some key rules, and I have not even considered that version. So while it's certainly a unique bidding game, and one I do play from time to time, I would personally choose other bidding games over that one (it reminds me most of Ra because of the fixed bidding numbers). Also, I've been really hyped on Big Shot lately (I covered that on Episode 45). It's more of a filler game, but if you like Metropolys, take a look at Episode 45. It's a really fun auction game with area control. - Keyflower - That was one I bought very early on in the hobby. We played it a few times, and for some reason I moved it out of my collection. But that was before I had the knowledge and perspective I have now. So I have been wanting to revisit Keyflower now that I have a much deeper appreciation for certain game designs. So I guess I will have to withhold my judgement and look at it with fresh eyes. I certainly didn't hate the game!

@@undiscovered_games Thank you for the response! I’ll keep an eye out for your Medeival Merchants video and check out your Big Shot on episode 45. Definitely give Lowlands a try! There’s an official variant on BGG from Lowlands designer Ralf Partenheimer that I recommend implementing. Hope to see a video about you revisiting Keyflower as well. Cheers!

Awesome! Thanks so much for the tips! :) :)

That's awesome!!! Thanks for the kind words! I am so happy my list resonated with you and that's great to hear you didn't want to skip through the video. My entire channel is focused on lesser-known games, so I hope you can find some amazing games in my past and future episodes! I rarely focus on popular games because there are sooooo many amazing games that never get any hype. Cheers! And thanks for watching!

:D :D :D You noticed Cheops on the shelf I see!!! That is a cool game for sure, but I've only played once so far, so I need to get it tabled again before I feel confident enough to make a video for it. Maybe I'll bump that up on my priority list!!! Thanks for the kind words, my friend!!

Thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate your comment, especially because this video did take a _ton of time_ for me to put together. I didn't think it would be that hard to set up and tear down 50 games, but wow! That took WAY longer than I expected haha!!! Not to mention recording and editing... so again, thank you for recognizing that. I'm so happy you enjoyed the video, and welcome to the channel! I hope you find some awesome games here! My entire focus is on lesser-known, older, and forgotten games. So check out some of my other videos, and I have more episodes on the way! Cheers!

Thank you for the kind words, and I am so happy you're enjoying the channel. It's awesome to have you as a regular viewer. More episodes are on the way (once I catch up on lost sleep from making this one haha)!! Cheers!

Knizia is the greatest! He never fails to impress me. I've played somewhere between 50-60 of his games, which means I'm not even 1/10th of the way through his library. That blows my mind! Thanks for the comment!

I appreciate the kind words! Thanks so much for watching and commenting on my stuff! :D

Thanks so much for the kind words, and I'm glad you're enjoying the channel so much! That's awesome! Monza makes such a great gift. Believe it or not, I'm a huge Knizia fan and I've never played LLAMA!!! I'm familiar with it but never actually played. I'll have to look more closely at it per your recommendation. Thanks again for checking out my content! Comments like yours motivate me to continue!

Thank you so much, and I really appreciate you taking time to mention how long it took. It really did take an unreal amount of time to record and edit this.... so thank you for noticing that. It's always nice to meet fellow gamers who appreciate the "games of yesteryear!" Very rarely does a new release captivate me the same way as these oldies do. Thanks again for the kind words!

So all games that track points are the same game? Aren't all games accounting? That seems like an extreme generalization, but I am willing to listen if you elaborate. Can you find, play, and rank 50 games that don't track points? I am genuinely intrigued by this comment and the fact you took the time to count how many games have victory tracks haha. I mean... 28 games is about half of the list. You could easily extrapolate that out to my entire collection. I'd say about half of the games in my collection track points with a victory track. The other half count points at the end. I'm just not seeing your point. ???

@@undiscovered_games you know you're in for a good time when a TH-camr replies with a wall of angry text. Anyway, games without victory tracks: Ark Nova, Spirit Island, castles of burgundy, great western trail, practically every Reiner Knizer game, chess, every campaign game, e.g. gloomhaven, arkham horror, sleeping gods Look at now many of your favorite games have a bunch of boxes of sequential numbers that go around the border of your board games. That is a victory track, a literal track of numbers to show victory points. If more than half of your favorite games share the same very conspicuous feature, then you have to admit that you like a very specific kind of game. That's fine, just own it. The only difference between them is the theme. The theme helps disguise the fact that all games with victory tracks are just resource optimization. AKA accounting.

⁠​⁠@@jimmyha5212…. Ark Nova and Castles of Burgandy…. these two games you named do have VP tracks.

@@ryokunn1 whoops my mistake. Ark Nova does have a victory track! You are an accountant at a zoo.

How was my reply a "wall of angry text?" I am not looking for an argument whatsoever. I merely wanted you to clarify your point. I understand you’re saying I like games that track points. Yes, I own that. I think I already owned that by making this video. I just genuinely don't see your point. Tons of games track victory points; that's how you determine a winner, and I don’t judge a game by _how_ you keep score, but rather the gameplay. So why is a VP track bad in your opinion? And just because a game has a VP track, how does that make every game the same? It’s just a way to keep score; it has nothing to do with the gameplay. Looking at the games you listed: That's like me saying "all the games you listed have a game board and components. Clearly, you like a specific kind of game.” No anger here, just confusion as to why you're so adamant about games not having a victory track. Are all worker placement games the same in your view? Are all games with dice drafting or auctions the same? Again, I am genuinely trying to understand your point. My argument is that a VP track is just a way to determine a winner, but it doesn’t have anything to do with how the game is being played. Please don’t take this as anger toward you.

Thanks so much as always! Dragon Parade is succcch a fun game. You're making me want to play it right now, actually haha. I really appreciate your support over the past year and a half since I started this channel. You are one of the OG subscribers, and I am happy to have you here! The environs mini-expansion is always in our Merlin games!!!!! We do a house rule where we mix in all the environs tiles and build it out the same way, except some of the tiles will be empty and some will have bonuses. The official rules for the mini-expansion say to use all those tiles and none of the original blank tiles. We like a mix of blank tiles and bonus tiles. Hope you get to try those expansions soon!!! Cheers, my friend!

​@undiscovered_games I'm the OG triple OG. 😎 We actually do a similar thing with the environs but replace all of the tiles that let you steal with blank tiles Cant wait to see what's in store this year for your channel. Have you thougth of doing paid members or patreon or anything. I'd definitely be down to support.

@@coalitionofseekers9572 thanks for that, man!! Yes, I’m considering some options there. TH-cam has some paid options for supporters… I just don’t know what little perks to offer my supporters. It’s kinda why I stick to the digital tip jar thing for now, because it’s hard enough to put out regular content, and then I’d feel like I need to make extra content for the paid members. I’m considering getting some shirts made, or maybe even dabbling in game design… like getting a simple little game produced as a way to raise money for the channel. I’ll probably just end up doing the Patreon or TH-cam membership thing at some point. We will see! I appreciate your willingness to help out! I’ll post some updates if/when it gets to that!

@@undiscovered_games sounds good dude

It’s definitely in my Top 100 and was in the running for my Top 50! Ultimately we don’t play a lot of bartering games, so I only put 2 games with negotiation in this list, but Oltre Mare is such a gem. It’s more like a “casual” bartering game, while Chinatown and Intrige are a bit more tense. But looking at my notes, it would probably be somewhere in the 60s!! Thanks for the comment!!

Thanks for the awesome comment!! You summed up so many great reasons I love that game!! I feel like it gets so overlooked in the modern hobby. This game defines elegance: Brilliantly simple with deep and player-driven gameplay. I agree, the aesthetics of this old version are so beautiful. But every version has some cool features. I haven’t played Iwari!! Thanks so much for watching!

@@undiscovered_games Thanks for the reply! Also, thanks for the awesome content - I'm loving your channel. I recommend that you try Meuterer - this is a small elegant card game that packs a bigger punch than its size would suggest. From your tastes, I think you'd like it 🙂

@@danielminutillo9998 thanks for the kind words! And thanks for the recommendation! That sounds like an undiscovered game worth looking into!! I’ll definitely research it, and who knows? Maybe it’ll become an episode one day!!!

Haha thanks!!! I would love to do a Top 100 for Ep 100, but wow, that would be sooooo much work 😩 Maybe I’ll just do a quick 100 list or something like that, instead of doing a mini-review of every game. 😅😅 We will see what happens! Thanks for watching!!!!

Amun Re is a classic! I really like it at 5p the best. I considered it for my Top 50, but I just couldn’t squeeze everything in here. I need to prioritize Vikings and Concordia. 😅 Thanks so much for all your awesome comments and for being a viewer for so long. You’re one of the original subscribers!!! 😎

@@undiscovered_games Also, Tammany Hall might be right up your alley. Area control, negotiation... Probably the only negotiation game I like.

@@RaduGaston1 man you’re making me regret selling Tammany Hall. I never got around to playing it 😩 I will keep my eyes open for that one again!

I really appreciate your genuine and heartfelt comment!! Seriously, it means a lot. I put a lot of work into this channel and it’s purely out of my passion for the hobby and for older game designs. So the fact that it’s resonating with you and so many others is SO COOL! Thanks again my friend!!

That’s so awesome to hear! I really appreciate the kind words and I’m so happy to have you as a viewer! It is awesome to meet so many gamers with similar tastes. You rock! 😎

That’s an AMAZING list right there!! Thanks so much for the kind words! I have played Automobile but only once, and I have played MarraCash but only twice! Both of those could easily make my Top 50 one day!!!! I have not played Age of Industry but it’s on my want list for sure!!! Thanks again for the awesome comment! ✌️ 😎

@@bushibayushi thank you so much! Always nice to meet other gamers who like these types of games! 😎