Top 10 Heavy Board Games
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- Welcome to Foster the Meeple, a channel dedicated to board games and all board gamey things! Join us as we chat about our favourite heavy games!
..............................................................................................................
If you like what you see, please Subscribe for more board game related content!
Join our Discord: / discord
Follow us on Twitch: / fosterthemeeple
If you really like what you see, consider supporting us on Patreon: / fosterthemeeple
Interested in the games we talk about? Purchase them through our link on Board game Bliss for $10 off: www.boardgamebliss.com/FOSTER... ($200 CAD min)
We have merch! Check it out: www.fosterthemeeple.com/
Amazon Storefront: www.amazon.ca/shop/fosterthem...
We get all our music from Epidemic Sound, sign up today: share.epidemicsound.com/ozwcvc
TipJar: www.paypal.me/fosterthemeeple
Shout out to our channel sponsors Rathskellars - They design & manufacture heirloom pieces of gaming furniture, Everything is handcrafted with love!
We play on the beautiful Altar table Check out all their pieces here: www.rathskellers.com/
Check Out Many Worlds Tavern for delicious coffee & tea: manyworldstavern.com/FTMBREWS
..............................................................................................................
Jump:
00:00 - Intro
02:22 - Honorable Mentions
03:33 - 10
06:45 - 9
10:17 - 8
13:47 - 7
15:54 - 6
19:31 - 5
22:17 - 4
24:20 - 3
26:14 - 2
28:23 - 1
32:44 - Wrap Up
33:37 - A Little Bit Extra
..............................................................................................................
Follow Us on Social Media
Instagram: @fosterthemeeple
Twitter: @fosterthemeeple
Facebook: fosterthemeeple
Contact us for collabs and partnerships
Email: fosterthemeeple@gmail.com
..............................................................................................................
Do you live in Halifax/Nova Scotia? Check out The Boardroom Game Cafe: (1256 Barrington St, Halifax)
The Board Room Game Cafe is the first cafe of its kind in the Maritimes! Located on Barrington St in Halifax. Featuring a large Board Gaming area with a collection of 600+ games to play (teachers included!), The Board Room is a unique experience with espresso drinks, local craft beer and soda, tasty sandwiches, snacks and an extensive retail area.
Or shop online: shop.boardroomgames.ca/
Instagram/Twitter @theboardroomgc
Do you live outside of Halifax? Try Zatu!
www.tagserve.com/clickServlet...
Zatu Games is the UK's favourite and most affordable online games retailer... ready to change the game! Zatu Games has thousands of games to choose from across all genres, there really is a game for everyone!
..............................................................................................................
Channel Art by: Rowan Allcorn: / rowanallcorn
..............................................................................................................
#boardgames #tabletopgames #fosterthemeeple - เกม
I’m with Jaime…I played Kanban EV for the first time a couple of weeks ago and proceeded to play 3 times in three days and it gets better everytime!
It is so so good. I do not disagree
Great lists :) By the way, Hegemony is 4,19 , not 4,91.
Here is my top 10 heavy games:
1) Kanban EV (4,32)
2) On Mars (4,67)
3) Spirit Island (4,06)
4) Gaia Project (4,39)
5) Brass Birmingham (3,88)
6) Ark Nova (3,76)
7) Root (3,80)
8) Lisboa (4,58)
9) Eclipse : Second Dawn for the Galaxy (3,66)
10) Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island (3,82)
Honorable mentions:
CO2 : Second Chance (4,09)
Pax Pamir Second Édition (3,85)
Vinhos (4,01)
Gloomhaven : Jaws of the Lion (3,64)
The Gallerist (4,25)
Fields of Arle (3,85)
Spirit Island is my favorite game, but it takes so long to teach and get through a game with new players (especially since I think the game plays best at 2 and i usually end up teaching 3 at once). Too many bones is another of my favorite heavy games for all the reasons you both said, it feels SO GOOD to finally pull off a win in that game. Wish I had more friends into heavier games so I could invest in more of them without feeling like they'll sit on the shelf forever.
I know solo isn't for everyone, but both Spirit Island and TMB play excellently solo. I have played both on my own many times. If you're looking to engage with them more often, perhaps in a slightly different way, solo is definitely a great option for both.
Many shared games - and I love Galactic Cruise as well. Played at Dice Tower West and - I cannot wait until it arrives. Other faves for me are Ark Nova (1st board game i ever tried to play lol!), Kanban EV, and Voidfall. Thanks for such a great list!
Thanks for watching!
Give On Mars a shot. Just like any heavy game it might take a couple of plays to start getting how to make decent points, but it's not that crazy if you've played Lacerda level of games and figuring out how to take advantage of the interlocking mechanisms is a big part of the fun.
Good to know!! We’ve heard it’s really tough to get through. This gives me hope!
@@FostertheMeeple The first game is pretty daunting. But after that, it really clicks.
My top 10 Heavies:
1 - Voidfall
2 - Perseverance
3 - On Mars
4 - Spirit Island
5 - Tekhenu
6 - Kanban EV
7 - Nucleum
8 - Tawantinsuyu
9 - Underwater Cities (maybe stretching calling this Heavy, but wanted to include it)
10 - Trickerion
Great list, thank you! Mine is Brass, Anachrony, and Arborea....although I'm leaning Voidfall this weekend and that will surely make the list. Feudum should be on my list as well, it's great.
I saw people playing Feudum and I just don’t know if I’d ever do it.
Well done, that was an excellent summary IMHO. Thumbs up from me.
lol On Mars was my first Lacerda I ever played and own. I did just get Inventors in and we’ve learned the rules just need to get a full play in.
Own Hegemony and did most of the learn just need to figure out how to control the complex bots for when we don’t have a full count.
I know you mentioned Scholars of the South Tigris, and we absolutely love this one! And if you like it, I’d also highly recommend Encyclopedia, it’s probably in our top 10 overall. Complex learn but once you get it, similar to Scholars everything makes sense.
Brass of course is on our list as well, even blinged out my copy with all the fun bits!
This video made me look up my collection’s weights and I was surprised by quite a few. Turns out, I don’t have a ton of weight-y games. I love the heaviest games I have the most, but doubt I’d get much tougher to the table. I learned that Distilled isn’t that heavy, and I feel like Jeff is sick of hearing this from me, but it still does for me what Kanban does for y’all and I want you to try it so bad!
Rulebook complexity definitely plays into BGG weight. So does the number of options available for a turn. Great list and discussion.
Makes total sense!
Rebellion was FFG's attempt to make War of the Ring as a Star Wars game. And they did a pretty good job.
War of the Ring is also my #1 game, and my Wife's, I mostly only play FP cause my wife just loves Shadow. And guess what my arm is also full of LOTR art haha, also it is the Middle Earth map with different props on it. I got a massive palymat for it, 3D sculpted the mountains and painted every mini =b. It is sooo good!. Just found this channel and Insta SUBBED, good content. A person of culture indeed!
Concerning BGGs Weight System
I have given this a lot of thought and devoted some time into watching talks and reading articles on the subject of complexity and depth. In my opinion the ‘weight’ of a game is a triangle of 3 factors:
1. Complexity Index
2. Depth Index
3. Time Index
The ‘weight’ of a game is referring to the mental capacity or the mental burden of a player.
Complexity deals with how base rules interact in meaningful ways. The origin of the word is combination of simple things and interconnected parts, sometimes called Intricate. Intricate means entangled or perplex.
Depth is when the consequence of a decision greatly ramifies into newly created choices
Time has to do with the mental processing of the rules. How much do you need to know before you can start to play? How long to make all the mental calculations and navigate through the rules before you can make a decision? The amount of time you spend on the game are also contributing factors.
Complexity limits the depth of a game, but depth is bought by complexity. You can’t have depth without some complexity.
Some other factors that may influence the triangle or weight of a game are:
1. Elegance, 2) Game Management, Intuitiveness, and Immersion
Elegance is high depth to complexity ratio
Game Management deals with how much you have to manipulate the game often referred to ‘fiddling’ or ‘bookkeeping’.
Intuitiveness deals with the level of ease for you to understand how to play optimally. Often called ‘grokking’ or ‘seeing the matrix’, it’s how well you mentally connect with the game.
Immersion deals with the ratio of pleasure/engagement to the mental load a game has on a player. Some games can have both a high complex and high depth index, but the level of immersion can negate or lessen the mental toll a game has.
Here are some examples of this mental capacity triangle
1. Complexity Index
- The amount of rules (the size of a rulebook usually is a good indicator of this).
- Learning how to play the game for the first time - reading the rules
- Teaching the game to others
- The amount of additional rules introduced
- through cards, other mechanics, or unique variables
- Games with variable dashboards, lots of cards and more complexity
- Amount of knowledge needed to start playing - for me, I have to understand everything about a Ryan Lauket game before I’m able to play it for the first time. It’s like a code or puzzle I have to crake.
2.Depth Index
- The amount of decisions you have to make
- The degree of punishment for wrong decisions
3. Time Index
- Length of playtime - over time everyone’s mental capacity begins to diminish, some faster than others
- Setup time
- Take Down time
- Amount of time a player has to take a turn - AP, do a take 2 mins or 6 mins, how long does each turn affect the length of the game?
- amount of mental decisions per second
- Can affect the Pace of Play
I think these 3 factors (complexity- depth - time) are more measurable than what we have on BGG, and they are all contributing factors to the ‘weight’ of a board game.
A lot of games on your list that I haven’t tried (yet).
My top 5 heavy board games:
1: Darwins Journey (3,77)
2: Coffee Traders (4,24)
3: On Mars (4,67)
4: Weather Machine (4,58)
5: Teotihuacan (3,78)
Also backed The Sixth Realm recently with a weight of 3,88.
Cool to see Darwin's Journey get a lot of love in the community. I have it but haven't played it. Excited to get it to the table
I've been calling it "He-John-Mulaney", which is maybe why no one will play it with me.
This is the only way moving forward
Great list idea and, although brief, good discussion topic on what factors into weight. I LOVE heavy euros. Those are most of my favourite games. Especially as a primarily solo player. Here's my top ten heavy games:
10. Scholars of the South Tigris (4.02)
9. Sankore: The Pride of Mansa Musa (4.12)
8. Ark Nova (3.76)
7. The Great Wall (3.89)
6. Nucleum (4.10)
5. Weather Machine (4.58)
4. Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy (3.70)
3. Sabika (3.85)
2. Voidfall (4.61)
1. Wayfarers of the South Tigris (3.83)
Average weight: 4.04
All of these games are in my top 25 all-time, with Scholars at 23 and Wayfarers at 2.
My honourable mention would be Anachrony, which is 27 all-time for me.
I was going to contribute my top 10 heavy games here, but there’s no point because by your definition, that’s just my top 10 games. 😂
1) Through the ages
2) Dwellings of Eldervale
3) Riaing sun
A quick top 6 for me....
1. Paths of Glory 3.85
2. Mage Knight the board game 4.36
3. Through the Ages 4.44
4, Origins: How we became human. 3.80
5. The Isofarian Guard. 3.11
6, Shipyard 3.50
Kanban EV is one of my favorite games now, along with Root and Brass. If you like Kanban I highly recommend playing the other Lacerdas you mentioned. They're all so good (and Heavy ha)
We definitely plan on it!
Great list! Nothing like an good zesty themed top 10 🥳
How about Feudum, ever tried it? I've hesitated for years, but a new crowdfunding is coming out on Gamefound, so I decided to take the plunge.
I find Brass too boring, might be more fun if it had zombies riding the train tracks with the crates of beer 😁
My heaviest beloved game is Oath, I love it for the social experience (as opposed to pure strategic skills of Root), definitely my top 5.
Thanks for sharing your great vibes! 👍
Haven’t played Feudum!! Looks crazy though
Some of my favorite heavy games in no particular order. There’s a section of Lacerda games that I’ve played more than once that I enjoyed. Even looked up their complexity ratings.
Voidfall 4.61
Food Chain Magnate 4.2
Kanban EV 4.31
The Gallerist 4.25
On Mars 4.67
Lisboa 4.58
Inventions: Evolution of Ideas 4.67
Mr. President 4.27
Lots on here I very much want to play
Im new to this hobby but I found tmb to be one of the easiest games to learn tbh. Great list
These are the ‘heaviest games I own according to BGG. I also concur for the most part on this list.
Frosthaven / Gloomhaven
TI4
Trickerion
Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles
Anarchy
Hannibal & Hamlicar
War of the Ring
Lords of Ragnarok
Now or Never
ISS Vanguard
Eclipse 2nd Dawn
Dune: War for Arrakis
War Room
Dominant species has the best rule book ever.
6 players is chaotic in a great way… but it is looong…but as you know you are always invested even when not your turn.
It really does. It’s incredible
You all should try trickerion. Heavy but similar to Kanban it thematically makes sense so that it flows really well. It is a little less restrictive than Kanban once you get going as far as the order you do things. The theme is very unique as well
Trickerion is on my list to try for sure. I’ve heard amazing things
I just bought that, it’s on its way!
This whole time I thought it was One-Eyed Willy's map from _The Goonies._
Amazing reference
My top 3 of all times are 1. Age of Steam, 2. Arkwright and 3. Dominant Species… no change in that order for years…
Haven’t heard of Arkwright! Going to look that up. Thanks for sharing!
Great list! Makes me regret passing on galactic cruise haha. And TMB requires SO much time in the rulebook. I love the game, but looking up nuances or abilities takes away from it. It’s a catch 22, I’d learn it if I played more but the rules prevent me from playing more. Usually worth the time though.
War of the Ring is on my SoS, but really itching to learn it.
Agreed on TMB. Really good point
Love so many of these picks! Vast, Brass, and Root are terrific! And we thought Kanban EV would dominate the top of our heavy game list -- until we put our big-boy spacesuits on and played On Mars. Holy mostaccioli! What a wonderful game! (Try it. Go on. Learn it. Play it. Love it!)
I predict it will get played in 2028
@@FostertheMeeple That will be a fantastic year for gaming then! Now how 'bout The Great Wall? Forgot to mention that heavy beauty!
Great list from both of you! You should check out Pax Renaissance 2nd edition. Just got added to BGA and has a tutorial for it. Once the game clicks, it is the chef's kiss.
Nice!! Hoping to play it eventually
Pax Ren is the true G.O.A.T.
Great lists guys. My top 5 would be:
Pax Pamir second edition
Brass Birmingham
Kanban EV
Anachrony
Trickerion
Pax Pamir almost made my list!! So good
1) Pax Ren 2nd edition
2) Rolling Stock Stars
3) High Frontier
4) Food Chain Magnate
5) Pax Porfiriana
6) 1889: Shikoku
7) Stationfall
8) John Company
9) Kanban EV
10) Barrage
I very much want to try stationfall!
@@FostertheMeeple the ultimate party game for gamers. It's like Among Us on steroids.
Hedgehog Economy coming to Kickstarter this summer!!
Great video, like your channel ! I never played this game, new deluxe reprint on crownfounding and I was thinking maybe buy it. But I don't see any mention in the posted comments so not sure what to think about it, did you ever try Food Chain Magnate someone?
Haven’t played it yet. I’ve heard it can be quite punishing though, and requires repeat plays
In no particular order my 10 would be...
Scholars of the South Tigris
Inventions: Evolution of Ideas
Underwater Cities
Too Many Bones
Paladins of the West Kingdom
Spirit Island
Shogun no Katana
Ark Nova
Le Havre
Teotihuacan: City of Gods
The through the ages app is amazing!
Gimme more rooooot! And all the Garphills. And all the lecerdas.
Spirit Island
Jamie wants to win with higher average rating that in which the rating are not even all accurate😂 great list!
It would be interesting to see you give a weight rating to games in your collection.
That would be a LOT of games to rate haha
The world needs Hedgehog Economy!
I NEEEEEED to play Star Wars Rebellion. Great list! :)
Yes…yes you do. And then tell me your thoughts!
Robinson Crusoe, War of the Ring, Ark Nova
To make it even more interesting (/confusing/annoying), the word hegemony is pronounced with a hard 'g' in international English (UK, Aus, etc).
Let's goooo. Love to see War of the Ring so high. Are you hype about the new LOTR movie that got announced?
I’m cautiously optimistic
My top 5 are
1 gloomhaven
2. Ti4
3. A feast for odin
4. Ark nova
5. Lorenzo il magnifico
I know Lorenzo isn't above a 3.5, but it should be. If not then its la harve at 5. Looking forward to meeting y'all at bgg spring.
See ya there!
My guess for the next Garphill trilogy is East Empire. Also, they've been following an alphabet pattern, so I'm thinking they'll start low in the alphabet and go hight in the alphabet each time. Shipwrights, Raiders, Explorers. Architects, Paladins, Viscounts. Wayfarers, Scholars, Inventors.
Pretty sure Garphill did say it would be the east empire, modeled after the Byzantine Empire
Hegemony crickets!
This took me a second but I got there haha
TMB is definitely a great game, CTG makes several heavy games in both senses of the word. If you like WoTR, you’ll probably like Battle of Five Armies.
Yea my buddy has that one!
I am starting to watch this, Lisboa better be here .... ... .. .
.... 😫... but at least Kanban EV is there so that checks the Lacerda box ✓... awesome video btw ! : )
Hegemony is 4.19 on BGG, not 4.91
Ohhh the horror!
Most thematic moments ever, WOTR!!!!!
Agreed
YEAH AND IM GONNA LEAVE THE CHAT AGIN JEFF IF YOU DONT MAKE YOUR DAMN TURN BROTHA
ITS NOT MY TURN IN ANYTHING YA JAMOKE
Sadly, I have never played any of these games - I am very intrigued by War of the Ring and Star Wars Rebellion.
Recommend!
Is the 1st ed. of War of the Ring by Fantasy Flight? I guess 2nd ed. is Ares.
That is correct!
Jeeezzzz..... I have NOT!! played enough of these.
I checked the collection, and I only have 2 games over 3.5
They happen to be 2 of my favorites
1. Root
2. Gaia Project
Both are great!
@@FostertheMeeple
Remembered the 3rd over 3.5
3. Underwater Cities = 3.59
regarding Rebellion, did you get the expansion i told you you to snatch waaay back to enhance the game , especially combat from good to awesome ! ?
We sure did! Haven’t tried it out yet though
@@FostertheMeeple it might affect the game in your top 100 ;)
@@Scooterspade it’s already in my top 10!
@@FostertheMeeplewhat if it hits top 5 😆
@@Scooterspade I think it was!
After playing the 3 South Tigris games I'd say Scholars is as good as Wayfarers, but Inventors is not. The best games not on your list are Barrage and Woodcraft. Both are "Kanban-y", Barrage is also cut-throat.
I’ve played Barrage!! Can’t say it was a love for me. Woodcraft we haven’t tried yet
Kanban EV for the win!!!
I think the difficulty of board games should revolve around how many rules there are.
For instance, Spirit island is a very hard game to master but easy to play in general so I think it is for everyone.
Everyone can learn how to play this game within 30 min easily, not saying they will win but they can definitely play.
And as you play you’ll get better and enjoy it more
On the other hand you have games like Gloomhaven which have soooooo many rules that not everyone will be able to enjoy or even play the game. You are constantly looking through the rulebook which makes a game very hard to enjoy especially if someone is a casual player.
I myself will probably never play gloomhaven even tho i like dungeon crawlers a lot. Its just too much stuff to keep track of 🤷🏽♂️
Same with root, it doesn’t take very long to learn the rules and play the game, just like chess everyone can play chess
How good you are in such games is a different story but you can play it that is most important for me i think!
Such a valid point! Rules really are the biggest barrier! That’s why we love games that are easy to learn and hard to master!
Have you played Inventions: Evolution of Ideas?
Not yet!!
Have you guys played eclipse: second dawn?
We haven’t but it’s been recommended to me a lot!
top list heavy games.
Twilight Imperium 4
Root
War of the Ring
Eclipse
Nemesis
Ark Nova
Cthulhu wars? is heavy enough?
I want to try Cthulhu wars!
O will play hedgehog economy. Bring it!
Sonic themed
"Who cares" is the proper response to the bgg weight rating.
Meh, I mean. If people like to use it, why not. Most things in this hobby are subjective. It’s not a huge deal.
I got to number 8 before I realized it was weight in just overall, not actual weight 😂
To be fair we would do something like that haha. So I get the confusion
@@FostertheMeeple thanks for the content!
Nice list.. heavy games are my jam
They’re good!
In terms of Rebellion and War of the Ring- have you read Dune (just the first book) and then played Dune? The Game tells the story better than the David Lynch movie adaptation. I'm not sold on the third expansion though...
I’ve read the book yes! Many many years ago. I’ve played many games of Dune Imperium but not played the OG dune or Dune War for Arrakis yet
The 2019/OG is the one. I get a sense that War for Arrakis doesn't really match the books very well, especially the Spacing Guild expansion.
Too many bones is not a boss battler. You pick a tyrant (final boss) and you have x amount of days and x amount of progress points in order to fight it. Every day you will encounter a lot of baddies.
We've played it many many many times, we just describe it differently and that's okay!
FLORIDA!!!
STAAAAAWWWWPPP
Brass at PAX.
If you even show up.
The Gallerist is wonderful and really not that difficult either. Highly recommend!
Awesome! Thank you!
👋
Awww…No Mr President? 😊
Haven’t played it yet!
Hegemony is a hard G.
I don’t think it is actually!
@@FostertheMeepleUK English it's a hard G. American English it is pronounced with a J sound! Tomato/tomato 😅
Helga Moby
Haj emotionally
i like Lisboa better than Kanban ev
Does munchkin qualify as a heavy game? With all the expansions it weighs quite a bit to take to board game nights.
Totally!!
@@FostertheMeeple for real though, my favorite heavy game is terraforming mars. It’s my max brain power
Watching this one just for fun. My game group doesnt play anything above 3.2 because our game nights usually involve copious amounts of alcohol (and sometimes, maybe, other substances 🫢).
But I might force everybody to play Hegemony when we head out to a cabin and there is no escape.
Hegemony is 4.19, not 4.91 on bgg
Yep
How is root a heavy game?
Take it up with BGG.
@@FostertheMeeple It's a really simple game. Even considering learning the factions.
@@OrdemDoGraveto I mean. That’s your opinion. BGG has it at 3.81. I’ve played over 200 games of it. Calling it simple is a stretch. Learning all the factions, how they interweave for strategy, winning conditions, card play is far from simple.
Ark Nova?
It’s a game!
@FostertheMeeple hah! Burn 🔥. Have you tried it? I've only tried 2 heavy games but tend to avoid them unless playing turn based on BGA. My AP makes it painful for others at the table (or at least it feels that way)
@@zungagames yep! Have played it about 8 - 10 times now. It’s alright but I just don’t love it a ton.
That’s not how to enunciate “reposte”. Maybe in America but it’s not an American word.
You’ll be ok
@@FostertheMeeple oh I’m fine. In fencing ee simply use the correct form of the word I guess. Reggie is on to something here.
@@nobuthatsme9201 I don’t think it matters really. Tomato tomato ya know?
@@FostertheMeeple it matters to Inigo Montoya
@@nobuthatsme9201 he’s too busy avenging his father to care.