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Top Ten BEST BOARD GAMES I’VE PLAYED Ep.01: My 10 Favorite Boardgames (Not Necessarily Undiscovered)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ส.ค. 2024
- To provide some context for my future videos, the first episode looks at my TOP TEN FAVORITE BOARD GAMES OF ALL TIME (as of February, 2023). The games on this list are not necessarily the "undiscovered games" my channel will normally cover, but I wanted to introduce you to what type of gamer I am, what games I enjoy most, and how I got hooked on hobby gaming. I hope Episode 01 gives you some context going forward as you watch my future videos and listen to my recommendations.
WHY I STARTED THIS CHANNEL: Each year, thousands of new games hit the market, but only a handful become popular. The rest remain undiscovered. My wife and I love to sift through these endless piles of forgotten and undiscovered games from the past 30+ years and share our favorite hidden gems with you!
If you like my content, please subscribe and consider donating to the channel at the link below.
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Payments are processed securely by PayPal, and all proceeds go toward helping us produce more video reviews and better quality content in the future. We are a small channel trying to build an audience who appreciates these hidden gems and lesser-known games. Thank you for your support!
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Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro & Welcome
1:50 - How I Got Hooked on the Hobby
3:16 - What Type of Gamer am I?
5:12 - Number 10
6:59 - Number 9
8:23 - Number 8
9:45 - Number 7
11:54 - Number 6
13:24 - Number 5
15:47 - Number 4
17:50 - Number 3
20:18 - Number 2
22:18 - Number 1: My All Time Fav!
24:37 - Outro
![[LIVE] สิ้นสุดการรอคอย | พี่ดู๋ สัญญา คุณากร | #คุยให้เด็กมันฟัง EP.44/1 (10/08/67)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rBNZCh-QEYE/mqdefault.jpg)
I love the concept of this channel. As someone who loves both historical and modern board games - for different but overlapping reasons - I think it's great to look at other facets of this wide and varied interest besides the very narrow popularity contest.
Five Tribes is great fun. I *think* it's the very first modern game I played (showed up cold to a gaming group meeting) right after it came out.
Thank you for the kind words and welcome to the channel! I am excited to share my favorite finds over the past 10 years I've been into the hobby. Five Tribes is so good! I could play that any day of the week.
I know your YT channel is brand new, but let me encourage you with this sincere compliment: It's already outstanding in every way. Your unique approach to the hobby (discovering the undiscovered), your expert yet relatable way of communicating, your discerning judgment of games (as evidenced by the content of your impressive top ten), the superb camera work, etc. I'm no easy-sell, but can say confidently after one video that your channel will be one of the most excellent in quality to be found regarding board games. If there's one negative it's just that we might not be hearing your valued opinions on various games that ARE popular. Lastly, I wanted to mention one other new, small board games channel that I think is similarly top-drawer in case you wanted to give it a look. It's called Man Seeking Meeple. Sorry for the long post, and every good wish!
Wow, thank you so much for those kind words… you just made my day. Maybe every once in awhile I will put out some sort of comparison video between an undiscovered vs. a popular game or something like that. Also, when I do some other top ten lists, I bet some more popular games will sneak into those lists. My instagram page has a few of the more popular games too, so that would be another way to find out what I think about some of the newer stuff. Anyway, we will see what happens! I genuinely appreciate your comment. Thank you!
@@undiscovered_games You're very welcome, and it was all sincere.
The theme of this channel is great. I love these underrated/unknown games :
- water of Nereus
- Honshu
- Kashgar:merchants of the Silk Road
-Queen’s architects
- Citrus
- Bora Bora
- Santa Maria
- Guillotine
Nice! I actually did a video on Honshū already in case you didn’t see it yet. And Citrus + Bora Bora are in my collection and both are on my to-do list for this channel 😃 I will have to check out some of the others you mentioned! I’m always looking for these types of games. So many great hidden treasures out there! Thanks for the comment!!
I’m sure you have these, but some of my “beige beauties,” as I like to call them, are - Goa, Thurn and Taxis, Race to the New found land, Saint Petersburg 1st Ed., Il Vecchio, Shipyard, Navegador, Oregon, Royal Palace, Arkadia, Diamonds Club: the list goes on…..I’m also a huge fan of the Rennaissance themed games. Signorie is one of my favorite games of all time. You should do a “my favorite Rennaissance-themed games” vid. With all these huge Kickstarter productions, I tend to go back to the simpler, old schoo euro feel and look! Some have better table presence than newer thematic euros.
I completely agree with you. The classic euros are so much better in my opinion. Of the ones you mentioned, Thurn and Taxis is high on my want-to-play list. I have played all the others except Il Vecchio, but you can bet I’m adding that to my list. I like a lot of Rudiger Dorn games. Goa is great!! Thank you for the comment!
Excited for your channel!
Thank you! Glad to have you here!! 😊
Great list! El Grande, Hansa Teutonica, Ra, Caylus, and T&E are all in my Top10 as well. I typically don't like Feld games for how point-salady they feel, but you've got me interested in Merlin. Will need to give Rajas a try as well.
Now I'm curious to see your 20-11 :)
Thanks for the comment and that’s awesome you share similar interests. I feel like it’s hard to find board gamers who appreciate these older classics as much as I do. Merlin is one of the least point salad Feld games I’ve played, so I think you might enjoy it! Once I get some more “undiscovered games” posted maybe I’ll do my 20-11!
Welcome! A great start to your channel and hoping it goes well for you! I think what always interests me about watching/reading different Top 10 lists is how incredibly diverse tastes and preferences can be. With so many games available to the hobby today, there is so much room for people to find games that are meaningful to them. There are some outstanding games on your list, although, interestingly enough, none of them make my own top 10. Some of Dr. Knizia's games come very close, though, as I find many of his designs simply brilliant.
Just for giggles (and to see how dramatically different my own list would be), here are my current rankings, 10 to 1:
Gaslands, The Menace Among Us, Radlands, Marvel United, DOOM, Memoir '44, Marvel Champions, Twilight Imperium 4E, Wiz-War, Cosmic Encounter
Cheers!
Well said! Yes, top ten lists are so subjective, but I find them very interesting as well! Knizia is my favorite designer, but only 2 of his games make my top 10 which is kinda weird haha. You have a very interesting top ten list! I love Cosmic Encounter! Thanks for the comment and the kind words. Much appreciated!
Solid top 10. Many crossovers with my personal top 10. I also follow this idea that the best games are simple in rules but deep at the table. Hansa Teutonica is such an underrated clasic, it deserves so much more love. It's my top 2, right below Dominion.
Thank you! That's awesome you have Hansa Teutonica _and_ Dominion in your top 5. I have not met too many gamers who like both of those as much as I do. Very cool! Stay tuned to my channel because Episode 50 is coming up in a few weeks, which is going to be my Top 50. Cheers!
@@undiscovered_games I've been in the hobby since 2012. Carcassonne was my first modern game after years and years of Clue, Risk and so on without knowing about modern gaming. Modern BG became a thing here in Brazil around 2009. Eventually I found Dominion but here we only have the base game and intrigue nationally printed. When I managed to import my first expansion, Seaside, boom, mind blown, and it has never left my top 10 ever since.
@@luisperdomo4873 that’s such an awesome story! Thanks for sharing that! 🤩 2012 is right when I started in the hobby too. Dominion absolutely blew my mind, and the rest is history!! So cool that you found my channel! You’ll probably enjoy lots of the games I feature. Chat soon!
Very solid list. Love that you have steered away from ‘cult of the new’ and lots of the bloated games now available. Nice solid Euro top 10 here
Thank you for the comment! I find that I am usually disappointed when I finally try all these new games I “have to play” according to what’s most popular on board game geek. It’s not that they’re bad games; just way overhyped. Anyway, thanks again!
Awesome man. My brother and I have been looking for a channel like this for some time. We too like the castle themed games but have only been attracted to close nit strategy type games. We love games like The King is Dead. Reef Encounter. Chess. Hansa. Brass. Tirgis and so on. Keep it brother. We will be watching.
Awesome, thanks for watching! I'll be releasing my Top 50 on Episode 50 coming up in a few episodes. You'll probably see many games you love in my top 50 (Hansa and Brass and Tigris are all there) The King is Dead is an awesome game too! I have yet to try Reef Encounter...might need to bump that one up on my research list!!
Sweet, can’t wait!!
We would love to see a top tier 2 player list too some time. For us strategic players :)
@@zachburnett2433 It just so happens I am also planning a separate episode for my all-time favorite 2-player games. In fact, I think of 2p games as their own genre, so my Top 50 list will be all multiplayer games. And then later I'll do an episode with just my fav 2p games. :)
@@undiscovered_games
Awesome, can't wait!
That’s actually an awesome Top Ten! Great mix of styles and designers! Ganges is the only one we share, it’s 7th on my list. But I’ve never played half of your list. I love worker placement and Caylus looks awesome! Great video!
Glad you enjoyed! If you like WP games, then you absolutely MUST try Caylus. It’s so intense in the best way possible. Thx for the comment!
Cool idea. New suscriber
My game is 15.768 in bgg "Heroes y Dados"
Every game outside of europe/usa is severaly underrated. Regards From Argentina
Thank you for the comment and welcome to the channel! 😊 I love finding games that did not get released worldwide. There are some great games that never made it to mass market. I will look into Heroes y Dados! 😎
Love the idea of your channel, and this top 10 is really great; absolutely a must to give us an idea of your taste.
I love Five tribes, and it's in my top 10 as well.
Ra and Rajas of the Ganges are also great games I like a lot.
Regarding Merlin; what's the best way to play that game, in your opinion (both playercount and which expansions to play with/or none of them)?
I also got the Big Box, but we haven't gotten around to it yet, so your thoughts on that will be very appreciated.
Really looking forward to keep up with your stuff!
Sure thing! Thanks for the comment! Regarding Merlin, I haven’t had a chance to try ALL the big box content, but starting out, we played only the base game with 4 players for like 30 games before we ever felt the need to expand it.
Once we expanded it, we used the Arthur expansion first, and that really beefs up the decision space. So I’d suggest starting there. I have not tried the other expansions yet, but Arthur is great!
In addition to that, we like to mix all the Queenie hexagon tiles to build the “environs” randomly (still the proper size, just a random mix instead of what the rule book says). Therefore, it provides a completely random setup of those area tiles, some with bonuses and some without. Even though it’s not in the rulebook, I highly recommend that setup!
Some people swear the game “needs” an expansion, but as someone who has played this game over 60 times, the base game is really good as it is and gets better the more familiar you become with it.
You can learn the game with any player count. If you like area control, I’d say 4p really shines because there are 2 different area control sections to keep an eye on and 4p really brings that out. But the game is still very enjoyable at other player counts. I pretty much always play it at 4p though. It’s my game group’s favorite game so it gets a ton of table time, and as I mentioned in the video, it took several plays to really reveal its true genius (especially if all the players are equally familiar with the game). I hope that helps! Glad you found the channel! 😊
Major props for this top ten list! I get sooo tired of seeing Wingspan, Terraforming Mars, Scythe, etc. on everyone's top ten lists... those are good games but far from the best. El Grande is in my top ten. Trajan is awesome, but Bruges is my favorite Feld game. I like the multi-use cards. Curious how you feel about Yellow & Yangtze vs. Tigris & Euphrates? I have only played Y&Y on the app but would love to play IRL. Excited to watch some of your other videos! Subscribed
Amen to that! I have nothing against those games, but I agree it gets tiresome seeing the same games over and over. Whenever I see a top ten list with games that came out in the past 5 years, I have to wonder if those gamers have even played any of these classics? I digress.
Regarding Y&Y vs. T&E, I have only played Y&Y on the app, so my experience is a bit limited. I do like the app a lot, and the rules are similar enough where you could easily switch to T&E. I enjoy both games, but I still prefer T&E. Y&Y feels like the conflicts are slightly less intense, so that would be a personal preference thing. T&E can be brutal with the conflicts. Y&Y tones it down a bit. I personally like the brutal nature of T&E.
Most of all, I just prefer the square grid of T&E better, as well as the classic look of it. It's a very nostalgic game for me, so the visual look of the game plays a big part of why I like it better. In fact, I prefer the Mayfair edition over the Fantasy Flight edition because I love the wooden discs. I'm a very visual person, so I am picky about which editions of games I get (see my video on Tutankhamen).
It's also worth noting I have no interest in the newest Huang reprint of Y&Y. It looks way too flashy and overproduced for my taste. But you might want to check it out if you didn't know about it! Thanks for the comment and welcome to the channel!
Rajas of the Ganges is another favorite of ours. We also have and enjoy the Roll and Write version.
Yes, Ganges is one of those games that didn’t impress me too much at first, but the more I played it, the more I liked it. It kept growing on me, and now it’s in my top 5!
Love Merlin. We recently picked up the deluxe big box version with all the expansions!
The big box is awesome! We have played Merlin sooo much and still love it. I think it deserves more attention.
I have played 7 of your 10. Stefan Feld is perhaps my favorite designer. Of his many games, I like Merlin, Castles of Burgundy, Aquasphere and Oracle of Delphi. Not big on Trajan myself.
I don't have a top 10 but I think Medina is in there. Enjoyed your list....
Thanks for the comment! We love Feld too (my wife's favorite designer). Castles of Burgundy is JUST outside my top ten. We both love that one. Great to hear you also like Merlin. I think that game got treated unfairly. I need to play Aquasphere and Oracle... both are on my radar!! Glad you enjoyed the video :)
amazing choices😊
Thanks for watching! I'm considering doing a Top 50 video sometime this year. My top ten is mostly still the same, with a few slight edits. Happy gaming!
Really enjoyed your commentary/style, and I'm intrigued by the premise of your channel. I've only played 5 of these, but it seems like we have similar tastes. Hansa Teutonica and El Grande are also in my top 10. I love how simple the rules are but how tactical they feel responding to your opponents' actions. For me, all of my top 50 games are highly reviewed and covered with the exception of The Godfather: Corleone's Empire (in top 5) and Small Samurai Empires (in my top 11-15).
Hey thanks for the comment and the kind words! I am happy you found the channel. I really like Small Samurai Empires! It reminds me of a miniature version of Shogun (which is my favorite action programming game). Small Samurai Empires is a great little hidden gem that I don't hear many people talk about. I don't own it, but maybe I'll feature that one once I get a copy of it. I do have Corleone's Empire and really enjoy it. It doesn't get played enough for whatever reason! Like I said in the video, I tend to favor the medieval themes as a personal preference, so that's probably the only reason it doesn't get played as much. Thanks again for stopping by!
Stumbled upon your channel by "accident" and I glad I did. I own several of the games you listed here and I fully enjoy them, which means that hopefully future videos will give me some ideas of undiscovered games for me to discover. And great quality as well! Best of luck.
Awesome, thanks for the comment and I'm so glad you stumbled on the channel! Hopefully I can introduce some interesting games you've never heard of. And if not, it's always nice to meet a fellow gamer who shares similar gaming interests! Cheers!
Great list of classic games
Thank you! Glad to meet someone else who appreciates these classics.
Awesome list! I enjoy all the games on your list. Really look forward to your undiscovered games as we seem to have similar tastes.
Thanks for the comment! I’m so glad you found the channel and I hope I can share some hidden gems with you!
You put in this list some great classic games that are among my favourites of all time too... So now I need to check Merlin and Rajas of the Gange, for which I didnt pay too much attention when they were published!
That’s awesome to hear! I hope you like both of those games. I will say both are best at 4p, but they are still fun at all player counts. Also, both games improve when you play with equally skilled players who understand the push & pull as well as the subtle tactics and strategies. So give them both a couple plays before you decide. Thanks for the comment! Let me know how you like those when you play them.
This is a great video. Funny how tastes run... whereas I love Ra I can't stomach Dominion. Love auction games but just can''t enjoy the shuffle shuffle shuffle of deck building games. Five Tribes is great, too. Caylus is a bit of a conundrum for our group... the gameplay is really, really solid, but my oh my it seems to take forever to play. My other favorite auction game: Modern Art.
Thanks for the comment! Funny you say that: Dominion is the only deckbuilding game I really enjoy... for the exact reason you say. But since it was our gateway game and we have kept the collection complete, it will always have a special place for my wife and me. Plus I think it's the best and most streamlined deckbuilder out there. I never really understood why deckbuilding became such a popular mechanism. I think Dominion is the only one that ever needed to exist haha. Caylus does take FOREVER to play, especially with 4-5 players. That prevents it from seeing our table as often, unfortunately. But it's still one of the greatest games I've ever played. It sounds like we share a lot of similar tastes. Modern Art is great fun!!!
Great list! Will definitely be checking out your number one game. I've been gaming for many years but haven't seen this one before.
Oh nice! That’s cool that my number one was an “undiscovered game” for you. It’s a bit cutthroat, just a warning. But it’s so good!!! Let me know how you like it. I love when I can show someone a new game. And thanks for watching! Stay tuned for more games you’ve probably never heard of. I have lots to share!
Great list!
Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching! :)
It´s a pleasure :-) I also try to balance out the cult of the new al little bit - and your vids are of great help@@undiscovered_games
I am probably one of the more extreme "anti-cult-of-the-new" reviewers out there. I pretty much avoid all new releases, with the exception of a few each year. This year's big surprise for me was 3 Ring Circus. It's such a charming game that feels like an old-school euro. And it got mixed reviews, go figure... Just goes to show most of the modern reviewers are not into the older euro designs. But by focusing on these older games, I am finding there are LOTS of gamers out here who are tired of the cult of the new, and that's encouraging!!
You nailed it! There are so many older good games - damn... if I take a quick look at my shelfs I can see ATON, CHINATOWN, DREAM FACTORY, EL GRANDE, HANSA; KA-CHING, MEDICI, RA, STONE AGE, THEBES, TUTANCHAMUN, VABANQUE and so many more that are still unique...@@undiscovered_games
Those are some awesome games you just listed!!! I have 7 of those in my collection. Ra and El Grande are in my top ten of all time. Chinatown is my fav negotiation game ever. I think I've played all except Dream Factory and Kaching (doing research now!!).
I’m glad to see you included Merlin. I also have the deluxe BB, but haven’t explored all the content. I think I’ll try to table that this weekend, thanks to your vid! Subscriber here! Well done.
Awesome!! Always good to meet a fellow Merlin player. It just didn’t get enough love. We have not explored the big box either, except the Queenie where you add the other terrain tiles to the environs, and the Arthur expansion is really good. I would recommend starting with Arthur if you haven’t tried it yet.
An opportunity for improvement: Your logotype features two illegal dice. Two opposing faces of a standard D6 total 7 pips. So 6 and 1 are not neighbors.Replace 6 or 1 with 5 or 2! Good video.
It's a secret reference to one of my favorite dice games, where 6 and 1 are neighbors ;) I plan to make a video about it one day! Thanks for the comment! P.S. I think I am going to change the logo, because you are the third person to mention that haha.
Thanks for doing this! Personally love a lot of these games, Ra, Caylus, and T&E have never left my Top 10. It’s so refreshing to be able to follow a channel where the top 10 doesn’t include like 3 different Garphill games, Root, and Wingspan. (not that these are bad games by any means)
The only question I had for this type of list is I was surprised not to see at least one Rosenberg game, many of which are pure genius. For me, I would have Le Havre in the top 10 although there are several all-time classic games that could be. Also Pfister has several games that rise to this level, for me it would be GWT. Broom Service used to be in my top 10 but it might be crowded out by now.
I’m right there with you! I just wanted to provide and alternative channel for gamers. Like you said, it’s not that those games are bad, but just way overhyped in my opinion. Whenever I play one of the new trendy games, I can usually think of an older game that feels similar and that I’d rather play 🤷🏻♂️. Thanks for following and I’m happy to have you on board!
Older games really are different. It’s not that no games can ever supplant them, it’s just that the design trend is to tack on more and more things that distract from the core gameplay - which not only makes them more annoying to teach but also tends to reduce competitiveness. People have waaaay the wrong idea about “replayability” these days imho! (It doesn’t mean variable setup.)
I definitely enjoy lots of Uwe games, and Pfister’s Great Western Trail is very high on my want list. I actually like a lot of Uwe’s lesser known titles which I plan to feature on this channel. His big games like Le Havre and Feast for Odin are great games but borderline too rules-heavy for my taste, like I talked about in the video. For some reason the rules of his bigger games don’t stick in my head like Feld or Knizia games do. I really love when I can remember the rules without always consulting the rulebook, which is true for every game in my top ten. Just my personal experience. Stay tuned for some lesser known Uwe games! I have several in my collection that I enjoy. And I’m right there with ya on replay value. So much more than variable setup haha!
Wow! What a great idea. Subscribed! I love this concept of exploring the undiscovered gems in board games. I was thinking about how many great games go undiscovered every year when they publish 3000 per year! Cult of the new.
My wife is new to board games and over the last year I’ve been slowly introducing her to some classics and some newer games. She loves them and gets excited for the crunchy ones. I haven’t played five tribes yet! On my to do list.
You definitely need to do some 2 player content; casual, medium and crunchy. I’m trying to curate a modest 2 player collection and your ideas have pushed me back to the classics on my shelf like dominion. I’m excited to see what you think.
Thank you for the comment and welcome to the channel! That’s an excellent idea! I was just thinking about some great 2p hidden gems today, so some 2p content is definitely on the horizon!! 😃
Nice list and style of video. Looking forward to your undiscovered games. Surprised to see Merlin on your list, I love that game. Subscribed.
Thanks for the comment and the sub! Happy to have you on board!! Merlin just didn’t get enough love and I think it’s an excellent game. I’m glad you figured that out too!!
Just subscribed. Your top ten has a lot of overlap with mine, and I love your voice. Looking forward to more videos!
Thank you very much and welcome to the channel! I don’t like the sound of my own voice so thanks for the encouragement haha!
The moment I saw Hansa as your #1, I knew I had to subscribe. It’s such an elegant design.
That’s awesome! Welcome to the channel! Always nice to meet someone who appreciates Hansa Teutonica 😎👍 That game just gets better and better the more I play it!!
subscribed. been looking for a channel like this, really looking forward to hearing more about your undiscovered games. great top ten list btw. i love tigris and el grande. sooooo good.
Welcome! Thanks for the sub! I could play T&E or El Grande any day of the week. What's crazy is how long both of those have been around! 1997 and 1995??!! I wish I would've discovered those WAY sooner in life haha.
Very nice list, but made me wonder if you have played Keyflower?
I have! Great game! It’s not in my collection yet, but it’s currently on my wish list. I have only played twice and really enjoyed both plays. My main complaint is I wish the artwork/graphic design looked better. I’m not sure if there is a better edition, but the version I played kinda reminded me of the art in Suburbia, and I just remember wishing it looked better. But it’s still a great game! I just need to log more plays, and I could definitely see it climbing my list. Thanks for the comment!!
Did you play Concordia Venus ? Cause it's very simple rules with a really nice deep gameplay. It's so elegant. This one is famous.
Like you I appreciate unknown or forgotten boardgames, I spend many times on internet (probably to much) to find the gem that nobody talks about anymore. I recently discovered Deus, 9 years after. I still haven't played this one but I plan to do it. Simple rules, many cards combos, ressources management and a modular map with area control system.
Concordia is great! I have not tried Venus, but I have played the original and I do enjoy it quite a bit! I have heard great things about Deus, but I have never played it. I will have to look into it!!! Thanks for the comment :)
@@undiscovered_games so much games to discover and enjoy ! You also can check Paper Tales, a very nice enginebuilder (and draft) game with a pretty fary tale theme and a really good replayability due to plenty of strategies (and différents dards) This one is not so famous and i dont know why.
I will keep following your videos to find some gems !
@@EX3LO I remember seeing Paper Tales when it first came out, and then I totally forgot about it! Thanks for reminding me! It definitely looks like one I would enjoy. :)
Wow wonderful list …. I share with you 7 of them the only missing gems in my opinion Agricola and Puerto Rico which are also a masterpieces .. it’s rare to see these days people like these magnificent old school masterpieces …. You have the best and most elegant choices . Me also adhere to the school of simple rules but tough decisions and Difficult to master … Congratulations
Thank you for the kind remarks, and I am happy to meet a gamer with similar interests! You are correct: it is hard to find gamers today that appreciate these masterpieces (as you rightfully call them). In my opinion, most new releases lack the elegance of these classics. Puerto Rico is definitely in my Top 30. I love that game! Sadly, Agricola is not my favorite, but I do appreciate the design. I want to like it more, but whenever we play, it takes such a long time. I think I would like it more if it was a bit shorter, and possibly with better artwork and less text. I digress. It's definitely a great game!! Thanks for the comment :)
@@undiscovered_games we share similar tastes my best games El Grande , Tigris , Ra , Puerto Rico , Dominion Caylus and Hansa we only disageee on Agricola which is my best ever gale roll today …. Agricola is very deep and strategic and it doesn’t take too much time me and n’y wife play it in 75 minutes .. yeah maybe the drafting phase and if people are not familiar with the cards it will drag a little bit ….. another time I was very happy to see a board gamer that appreciate these old evergreen classics continue the great job ….What’s your opinion on power grid and Prince of Florence ?
@alitahtah401 that's awesome! It's nice to meet someone who enjoys these games as much as I do, especially Hansa, Caylus, and Tigris! :) Regarding Power Grid, I enjoy Power Grid for 1 main reason: the end game scoring. I love how the entire game builds and builds, but the winner is simply whoever supplies the most houses on that last round. I really like that idea. I do find Power Grid to be quite fiddly with board maintenance (the cards to auction, as well as adding/removing goods from the market). I still really like the game. Princes of Florence is another gem! I have the original printing and I love it. It's hard to go wrong with Wolfgang Kramer games. Thanks again for the comments!
Really enjoyed this list. Lots of overlap with our family
That’s great to hear! Most gamers I know tend to forget about these older games in favor of the latest trends. Glad you enjoyed and thanks for watching!
Aweosme list and awesome video! I like how you explain the games in such little time but with such eloquence, I just subscribed to your channel, looking forward to watching more of your content :)
Thank you!! I really appreciate that. I’m new at this TH-cam thing, so I’m trying to improve with each video. Glad you found the channel!
I knew your list was going to be good when you started with a favorite of mine El Grande. We have a lot of similar tastes and I will subscribe.
Awesome! I really appreciate the comment and the sub. Welcome to the channel! El Grande is so good. I just played it 2 nights ago and it never gets old. :)
Great list. lots of heavy euros. I've only played 3 of those games. Don't really like Dominion anymore. Used to be fun when there weren't many deckbuilders.
Thanks!! Yeah what’s weird for me is I actually don’t like many deck builders except dominion. It’s probably because it was my gateway game and now we just like adding in as many expansions as possible. What is your favorite deck builder?
@@undiscovered_games Clank
Great choices. Earned yourself a subscribe.
Awesome! Thank you so much and I’m happy to have you on board! 😎 😎
Wow. What version of Ra is that, with the Bakelite tiles? It looks like Uberplay? But I thought that version had cardboard tiles. Are those somehow custom-made?
Thanks for the comment! You're correct, it is the Uberplay version of Ra, but the bakelite tiles are an upgraded component from the BGG store. There is a BGG Geek Up Bit set you can purchase for these old printings. I believe they are compatible with the Rio Grande and Uberplay printings of Ra. boardgamegeekstore.com/products/geekup-bit-set-ra
@undiscovered_games Wow. Thanks! I didn't even know BGG 'had' a store, though I was familiar with the market. Thanks for the review, and thanks for the reply and the link.
Sure thing!! Happy gaming!
Great list! Good luck with your channel! (By the way: are the dice in the logo supposed represent loaded dice? 6 & 1 are always on the opposite sides of properly constructed die. So I'm trying to suss out if this is a joke I'm missing.)
Haha you win the Super Sleuth award! I wish I thought it out that much, but honestly it was the best royalty-free dice image I could find to fit the logo. And I didn’t even notice that. That’s great!! I love your observation, and maybe I’ll just go with that from now on LOL! Thanks for the comment!! Love it!
I really like your list, here's a suggestion, could you make a similar list but using only games that came out in the last 10 years? Because that's when the board gaming industry really ramped up, but there are a lot of hidden gems as you call them that got outshone by the avalanche of so many major hits like blood rage, scythe, wingspan, clank!, Azul, etc.
I like that idea a lot! Thanks for the comment!! Yes, there have been SOOO many great games in the past few years overshadowed by the ones you mentioned. I tend to ignore the hyped games because I’m usually disappointed haha.
@@undiscovered_games I agree with you, I often use the analogy that I wouldn't agree if someone said that McDonald's is the best burger out there because it's the one that sells the most, in the same way I wouldn't agree if someone said "bad Bunny" or Taylor Swift is the BEST music to listen to just because that's what EVERYBODY is listening to right now, I think something similar could apply to board games, that's why I really like how you focus more on the "gourmet" type of board games, that's a refreshing take on the TH-cam Board Gaming content, kudos ! 👍👏
Hansa is truly magnificent. Excellent choice as a number one.
Thank you! Glad to meet a fellow gamer who also appreciates it. I feel like the people who know about it love it. But generally it does not seem to get much attention in the board game world.
I really think they should re theme Hansa as hackers hacking a network. Maybe a cyberpunk theme. I agree it’s a great game but cyberpunk theme would fit the mechanics better (imo)
Ha nice! I like it!! I haven't given much thought to the theme of that game because I just love the mechanics. So yeah, I would totally play Hacker Teutonica!
I really like your concept for the channel. You have convinced me to look into Hansa Tutonica, despite de possible problems concerning colour blindness that it may cause. Also, one of my favourite simple but amusing little known games is "Land Grab" (1974)...
Thank you for the comment and the kind words! One member of our regular game group is color blind, and he plays Hansa Teutonica regularly with us. Blue and green cause him the most problems, but he still plays it and seems to do pretty well. I really hope you get to try it and enjoy it; it's truly something special once you figure out how the game works. I will have to look into Land Grab. Thanks for sharing that; it sounds interesting to me!
Love your list, have all of them except el grande and Tigris and Euphrates. Hope they get a reprint because nobody has said a bad thing about either of them
I think it’s a travesty that El Grande and Tigris are so hard to find. I think El Grande is getting a reprint soon? But I haven’t heard anything about Tigris. Regarding Tigris, check out the Yellow & Yangtze app. This is a reimplementation of Tigris & Euphrates with slightly different rules but the app is excellent and you can get a feel for the game. You’ll at least learn if the game is for you or not. Just an idea! Thanks for the comment!
thats a great top ten list. always wanted to try el grande & tigris but cannot find them here. cant wait for the ian o'toole's reprint of grande.
I didn’t hear about the Grande reprint… that’s great news!! Now someone just needs to reprint Tigris. Both of those games should be in print for sure! Thanks for the comment!
They're both on Board Game Arena if you're into digital adaptations of board games.
@@bleble6666 thank you for the info. might try then there. 🙏
Awesome picks! Subscribed. Really like your tastes. I’d recommend trying Troyes. That’s a classic euro that you’d probably like.
Thanks for the comment and welcome to the channel! What’s funny is I know I should like Troyes, but my first play was not too good unfortunately. What’s your favorite player count? I still have the game and plan to revisit it. Your comment will convince me to try it again soon! I like to try games 3x before making a final decision, so I’m really hoping it grows on me!!
@@undiscovered_games Trying a game 3 times is a smart idea, especially for someone reviewing games. About Troyes, I also had a terrible first experience but it's since become my favorite game. I love how even though it's competitive you have to work together to counteract the black dice that keep destroying everyone's plans. I also love the secret objectives and since they apply to everyone you need to really pay attention to what everyone else is doing and prepare. Honestly, I like any player count but I think the community prefers 2 or 3. Been watching your videos all morning. Love the channel!
@@jonathanauffarth5646 Thanks for the info! I will take that into consideration. Good to know your first play was rough too... definitely gonna revisit it! And I appreciate the kind words. I have no idea where this channel will lead me, but I love sharing my discoveries with everyone so I'm glad you are enjoying it so far!
This was awesome! Excited for more content :). Dominion was also my and my husbands gateway game. And it’s currently my all time favorite game. Any chance you could do a video ranking the expansions and sharing which is your fav?
Absolutely! In fact, that exact idea is on my list of videos to make! Since you requested it, I’ll bump it up on my priority list. My wife said she’d be happy to help me with it. So stay tuned! Thanks for the comment and the kind words, and most of all, Happy Dominioning!
@@undiscovered_games awesome! Looking forward to the video ! As well as all the others you have planned :)
@@missmermaidatheart6424 🤗🤗 I haven’t forgotten about your request! I’m awaiting the arrival of the latest Dominion expansion, which is currently on its way to my house! Once I play that a few times, I plan to rank EVERY Dominion expansion in a video. Stay tuned!
@@undiscovered_games awesome ! Can’t wait !!!
@@missmermaidatheart6424 I just posted the Dominion video :) Enjoy! I hope it helps give you a good overview of every expansion!
Fun list. I have not played Merlin or Hansa Teutonica, but I can see why someone would put all the others on here. I actually do not like Caylus, but I can appreciate the design.
Based on your list, I‘d imagine you‘ve played Orleans. If not, it‘s definitely one I‘d recommend to you and others with similar tastes.
Cheers.
Thanks for the comment and the recommendation! Orleans is a GREAT recommendation. My wife and I recently discovered Orleans last year and it is climbing my list rapidly. Such a great game! Re: Merlin and Hansa Teutonica... definitely ones to check out. HOWEVER, we have been playing both of those with the same group of 4 players for quite some time now, and I would say both games drastically improve when you have equally skilled players. There is a good push and pull to both, and it takes a couple plays to really discover that.
Whenever you try them out, come back and let me know how you like them! :)
very surprised to see Merlin and Ganges in the list with the rest of the heavy hitters. I think Burgundy is better than Merlin because it's cleaner and it awards multiple plays. As for ganges, there are so many much better dice placement games, but Voyages of Marco Polo is probably my favorite.
Great list though
Thanks for the comment! I have played all the games you mentioned, and while my wife agrees with you about Burgundy, I love the area control of Merlin. To me, Merlin feels way more interactive than CoB, where you're building your personal board. I prefer a little meaner and more interactive experience. But that's just my personal preference. CoB is my wife's favorite game of all time, and it's definitely in my top 20. Merlin and CoB are among our game group's most-requested games over the past 3 years. Regarding Ganges, here's why I prefer it to Marco Polo (again, this is all based on my personal taste in games): there seems to be a bit more tension from important worker spaces filling up quickly, the looming end-game race is a constant stress, and the lack of variable player powers is just something I prefer. Of all the dice placement games I've played (Kingsburg, Marco Polo, Grand Austria, Alien Frontiers, Artifacts Inc, Ganges, and I'm sure I'm missing a few others), none of them match the heart-attack tension that Ganges brings. Kingsburg probably comes closest. Marco Polo is a GREAT game (in my top 50), but to me it feels very relaxed in comparison to Ganges. Also, I am not a fan of variable player powers, which is another slight knock on Marco Polo for me personally. However, Marco Polo is definitely my fav game with variable player powers! I think it utilizes it well. I also hear Marco Polo is better with the Venice expansion, which I have not yet tried. It's on my shelf, waiting for the right moment! Have you played the Venice expansion?? Thanks for your thoughts! I appreciate the comment.
Only one I haven't played is Merlin. These games are all pretty popular though. I love hansa teutonica as well.
Yeah, this list is not meant to be lesser-known games. I just wanted to give some context going forward so you know what types of games I like. From here on out, it’s all about the undiscovered games! Thanks for the comment!
Five Tribes, I tried it and had fun with it. Its like a similar game Manancala which is one of our native games in the Philippines.
Yes! I love playing Mancala with my family 😃
@@undiscovered_games for deckbuilding, you should also check Warmachine High Command and Hordes High Command.
Thanks for the recommendations!! I will look into those!
This is the most beige list I've ever seen
Haha! And that’s exactly why my logo is beige.
CAYLUS!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Yes!! Love it!!
I like your list though I havent played a lot of the games here. I recently got Ra, the new edition, and oh man I love it. The production on the new edition is some of the best ive ever seen, if you love Ra, look into it!
My top 10:
Spirit Island
Dune: Imperium
Scythe
Raiders of the North Sea
Ra
Obsession
Dominion
Aeon’s End
Paleo
The Quest for El Dorado
Can you tell I like Deck Building a lot? Probably because dominion was my first love as well.
Maybe youve played all of these so Id be interested to see what your opinion is of them and if you havent try them!
Thank you for the comment! That's a great list there! I have not played several of them because they are mostly newer, and I am still trying to catch up on all the older games I missed (hence, my "undiscovered games" focus). I agree, I absolutely love how the new edition of Ra looks, but my brain is so used to the old symbols, I wouldn't be able to adjust LOL! El Dorado is a wonderful game too (Knizia is one of my fav designers).
Believe it or not, deck-building is not a favorite mechanism of mine. I just fell in love with Dominion, and all other deck-builders have fallen short for me. There are a couple I like. I do enjoy Star Realms if I'm in the mood to attack someone haha. But I HIGHLY recommend Valley of the Kings if you have never played. That one hits on all cylinders for me. Valletta is another deck builder I enjoy because it's by one of my other fav designers.
Raiders of the North Sea is a game I am coming around to. I've been on a worker placement kick lately. My brother in law has Raiders, and I have played a couple times. I just have some other worker placement games I like better right now (one is being featured on my next episode ;).
Scythe was not for me, unfortunately. I tried and tried to like it, but I had similar experiences with Terra Mystica and Terraforming Mars, where I got soooo excited for them because of all the hype and then they just didn't deliver for me. I don't want to rant about it too much because it's a favorite for you and for so many others. And even though I didn't particularly enjoy it, I'd be happy to play it anytime someone wanted to. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing something with that game because SO many people love it.
Obsession is on my want to play list; that looks like my kinda game. I enjoyed my one play of Dune Imperium, but I also have this weird prejudice against IP games. I don't have any IP games in my collection (i.e. Star Wars, Marvel, Lord of the Rings, etc.). I could go on another meaningless rant about IP games, but I will save you the boredom haha. In short, I just think using an IP is an easy way for a designer/publisher not to have to come up with their own theme, and as an easy tactic to sell more games. But I digress. I just prefer games where the designer creates the theme, even if it's weak lol.
I haven't played the others! I hear tons of good things about Spirit Island but it's co-op right? I am not a big co-op gamer either. But I'd be willing to give it a whirl. And I would love to try all the others someday!
Based on your list, I think you'd really like Caylus and Five Tribes from my Top Ten. Also, Merlin is one of my go-to recommendations for ALL types of gamers. It has such a wide appeal.
Thanks again for the comment! Great to meet you!
You like Amun-Re? Knizia himself rates this game among his best. Ra, El Grande and Tigris & Euphrates (both can be played online at boardgamearena) and Hansa Teutonica are for sure great games! In addition to these I also got Caylus in my collection, but not played it that much yet.
I really enjoy Amun Re! The auction mechanism works best at 5p in my experience, and since most of our game nights are 4p, we usually play Ra. But Amun Re is in my collection and gets played fairly often... just played it last week actually! Thanks for the comment!!
@@undiscovered_games Nice. Through the Desert is one of my other favourites of Knzia. I got Babylonia, but not tried it yet.
Lately I've had great fun with Renature (Kramer & Kiesling). Much better than I expected. Cuzco (by them also) is in my top 10.
What are your thoughts of Imperial and Imperial 2030? I like them 🙂
Through The Desert is great! Babylonia is really fun, too. Similar to those is Blue Lagoon, which disguises itself as a family game, but with 4p it is one of the meanest area control games I've played. I like all 3 of those for different reasons.
Renature is on my want-to-play list, and yes, Cuzco is excellent! Ugh, I need to play that one again really soon! I have some lesser-known Kramer & Kiesling games I plan to feature on this channel soon, so I think you will enjoy those videos.
I have not played Imperial or Imperial 2030, but I enjoy some Mac Gerdts games, so I'm definitely gonna add to my list. Is one better than the other? Or should I play whichever I can find?
@@diamondmeeple imperial is a weird game. You can get in situations where one person just watches everyone else play. It also has the problem of players knowing they have no chance of winning.
@@undiscovered_games I think both are excellent. But needs at least four players. Imperial is abit more intense. I like that.
Thanks for the introduction. While I like your clear presentation, I do not find me liking your top 10. El Grande, and Ra are two Great games. I own both. The other 8 I will never sit down to play again. Therefore, I can't say your channel will be for me. Best of wishes for your success.
That's exactly why I posted this video! Context is so important when watching game reviews. I wish more reviewers were open about which games they prefer to play. It would help the viewer SO much. Before I learned this, I ended up buying so many games I hated, just based off one review I saw. So I wanted this to be my very first episode, so viewers knew exactly the type of gamer I am. Thanks for the honest and respectful comment! All the best!
Would you believe I've never played any of these!
😱😱😱 no way!!
Change out your number 1 for Troyes and your list is perfect!
Thanks for the comment! Someone else mentioned Troyes too. I have the game, played it once, and unfortunately had a really bad first play, so I am waiting for the right moment to revisit it. Like I always say, I will happily give a game 3 plays before deciding whether I like it. So I am hoping for a better second play! In theory, I should love that game. So we will see what happens!
I am a huge fan of almost everything on your list and I never got into Troyes either. I did enjoy my one play of Black Angel (spiritual successor to Troyes) a lot more.
@ntompkins I’ve never heard of that one so I’ll make sure to check it out!
This is from my. Great selection, rules small and great strategy.
Yes, I love when a game has lots of strategy but not too many rules. I like to spend my time exploring the game, not the rulebook haha!
Euros na raiz.