I remind myself that the top 50, for someone who has played ~3,000 games, represents the top 1.6%. For a normal gamer, who's played ~200 games, that's her top 4! So, these really are beloved games for these guys.
Except that most games are boring, or become boring after a play or two. I've played most of these games, and found many to be a little dull. I think a lot of these are here bc out of 3000 games, 2500+ are totally uninteresting or worse.
I'm loving this format for top 100s. It reminds me of listening to Test Match Special, which is basically a bunch of people bantering with an occasional mention of the cricket match they're supposed to be covering.
Hey guys love the lists...I do miss a cut away to a screenshot of the game you used to do in older lists. I know it's more work in editing but would you mind including it in the final 10!? Keep up the amazing work!
Fun to go back and watch these two years later. I don’t remember Sam mentioning Cry Havoc in his top 100. Bought it back in March and really enjoy it. Heard it at Sam’s 50 and smiled.
The Twilight Struggle app is fantastically done. How they managed to scale the UI to mobile devices is a stroke of genius. Definitely one to own, and dirt cheap. Learned how to play off it, despite owning an unopened physical copy.
Great video! Your backdrop is beautiful, but quite bright which makes your faces look a bit dark. Maybe you could add some stronger light to your faces?
Arena Roma 2 is one of the best card/dice games ever made. A masterpiece in my book. However, it was a game that took me 10 plays to love. There are a lot of different paths to victory in this game. New gamers may feel that some cards are OP asf in the first couple of games but every offense in this game has a defense. You just gotta play it a couple of times to really understand the layers of strategy hidden within it. Probably Feld's most underrated game to date.
Got me cracking up around 53 min great lists. I also wrote off bunny kingdoms until I met a group playing it at Gen con in the library and thought enough of the groups opinion to sit down and try it. I loved it and now own it.
Tom, the majority of your top 100 don't even get played once a year? Do you think if you did play every game on your top 100 each year that it would affect placement on the list?
@Sam I was surprised you had Viral in your top 50. During the review of the game he didn't seem to think that highly of it. Did multiple plays make you enjoy the game more? Is it possible we might see Rising Sun on any list? or is it being excluded from lack of plays or not being released until 2018?
The Dice Odyssey I think you should check out more on the game. My understanding is that both players just start selecting areas of control until you end up fighting for the last area and then it's up to the play of the cards on who wins.
Phil Z yeah, I'm a sucker for religiously themed games kinda like Sam, especially when they're historically based. I'm learning Greek right now to actually translate the New Testament cause of it being mostly written in Greek, and this just naturally appeals to me. Also The reformation is an amazingly interesting time in history that I'm studying. If they have great mechanics like you say, this may need to hit my table soon. So many games, so little time lol. Thanks for your input Phil.
No Eldritch Horror yet from Tom... Last year that game was in his Top 70's, and earlier this year he made a "Why I Love" episode on Eldritch Horror. But the possibility of the game going up 40 spots on his list...
Oh man! I could tell you were about to say that you "just taught this one to a new gamer and GrandCon and it went really well (except he was really bad at it)" when talking about Clank! but you were interrupted!
Please, don't feel like you need to defend yourselves every time you rate a dice tower essentials game highly. If it's a great game then it's a great game! It would be weird if you didn't rate them highly but still wanted to make them part of your essentials line.
Below is my 50 - 41...at this point is where my taste in games begin to really diverge from DT. :) 50 - Rating: 8.50 - Mission: Red Planet (Second Edition) 49 - Rating: 8.50 - Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age 48 - Rating: 8.50 - Eminent Domain 47 - Rating: 8.50 - The Castles of Burgundy: The Card Game 46 - Rating: 8.50 - Bohnanza 45 - Rating: 8.50 - Nations: The Dice Game 44 - Rating: 8.50 - The Red Dragon Inn: Battle for Greyport 43 - Rating: 9.00 - Kanagawa 42 - Rating: 9.00 - Stockpile 41 - Rating: 9.00 - Suburbia
But you didn't say "multiple times every year", you said "one of the - few - games I play - almost - every year". So most of your games, you don't even play every year..
I imagine finding time to squeeze in already played games with all the new releases, and also have time for work and spend time doing other stuff is quite hard. I've got about 100 games in my collection now, and I have a hard time finding time to play the games I like regularly. Imagine when you've got several 100's....
I do not mean this with any hate; and most of these are good games but: Once again Sams list is dominated by the popular mainstream stuff Tom and Zee are surprised, and Sam doesn’t acknowledge it. I’m all for these new games but a TON of stuff has dropped to be replaced by new games. Apparently 2017 was the best year ever for board games! (Which it was decent)
I respectfully disagree about the Puerto Rico elitism thing. There's probably people who behave like that, but the game just has a much higher level of interaction than most euros. Like Zee said, it's not more robust. But neither is it just popularity. A new player can accidentally play king-maker in small ways because you are literally making a decision on everyone's order of actions at the same time. Imagine if you played Terra Mystica and everyone's second action had to be whatever the second person did? You could seriously mess stuff up for someone on your left and open the perfect opportunity for someone on your right. Most games don't have that level of micro-turn AND lack of overall control of 75% of the turns you play (in 4P). Therein lies the beauty of Puerto Rico for Tom and others like me, and for Zee and Sam, the pain and torment.
Brock Huffman chaos. I didn't like how strategies are determined for you. and if you sway from ot, it can be costly. khorne won because nobody realized battling him was an easy path to his victory.
That's a fair point. However, I tend to really like games that have asymmetric powers where each faction has a certain strategy you need to perfect in order to do well. In games like Blood Rage you can do whatever strategy you want since everyone starts out the same, but I really enjoy honing in on the strategy of the card I've been dealt as it gives me a focus right out of the gate on what I need to do, and the more plays you have of a game like that you really learn the strengths and weaknesses of each faction. Slaanesh won our first game, but the Khorne player was being very passive. Mistake obviously. I played Khorne in my second play of the game and knowing the mistakes of game one was able to capitalize on the original players mistakes and take the win, although it was very close. I've heard the same argument between Agricola and Caverna. Half the people like Agricola better because you're given a strategy right out the gate while the other half prefer the more sandbox style of Caverna. Honestly, I won't turn down a game of any of the above mentioned. I just love to game! The asymmetrical powers is just my preference.
We played Ethnos as a 5 player. Damn we didn't like it. I had high hopes but it is random as hell. The winner said it himself. I have no idea why I won, just better draws. Nothing more in this game. Maybe with less people you have some control.
Puerto Rico is my 103rd favorite game. It's a game my meetup will play on and off, and so I have played it a few times. It's good, but not great, and there is no elitist aspect in our group with it. I like the card game version more, that is San Juan which is my 57th favorite game. Viral is a game I probably will never play as medical games turn me off. El Grande is fairly high on my "to play" list. I expect to like it. Automania is my 100th favorite game but needs more plays. Lords of Waterdeep is a disappointment for me, I like fantasy and do like several worker placement game, but found this game bland. Quest for Eldorado is another game on my "to play" list. Expect to like it. TIME Stories another game high on my "to play" list. Blood Rage is my 34th favorite game, but the hype really turned me off, but still liked the game. Among the Stars, yet another game on my "to play" list, but not particularly high on that list. I am not a 7 Wonders fan.
We have never had a new player come anywhere close to winning. Understanding synergy between cards especially in building towards the final Age. There are a lot of games k=like this, so not really a knock on the game. New players have always had fun and had aha! moments after seeing how the more veteran players drafted and played the game. Fantastic game but definitely a huge advantage goes towards those how have played it a few times before.
But Cry Havoc is a flash in the pan, with its imbalanced factions, only 15 total actions you can do and limited card/event pool. Who knows maybe the expansion will fix it, which is par for the course with Portal games nowadays.
for me : 50. help me 49. les cités perdues 48. les inventeurs 47. nautilus 46. bombay 45. croa 44. Jaipur 43. agricola, terre d'élevages 42. takenoko 41. génial
Problem with Puerto Rico for me is that the first several moves are scripted, as tom said, a new person messes it up because of that. Every play has a single optimal choice and that sucks. I've even played solo by just making those "perfect" choices for each player.
I remind myself that the top 50, for someone who has played ~3,000 games, represents the top 1.6%. For a normal gamer, who's played ~200 games, that's her top 4! So, these really are beloved games for these guys.
Except that most games are boring, or become boring after a play or two. I've played most of these games, and found many to be a little dull. I think a lot of these are here bc out of 3000 games, 2500+ are totally uninteresting or worse.
While I lay at home sick all week, I've managed to watch some of these while conscious and they are great. Your genuine banter keeps my spirits up
I wish this series had cut scenes and screenshots of the games while you guys discuss the game.
Marcus Vlaar wish so too!!!!!!
i wish the same, but its much more, maybe to much, work i guess.
I was just coming here to say the same thing!
I agree.
ditto!
I'm loving this format for top 100s. It reminds me of listening to Test Match Special, which is basically a bunch of people bantering with an occasional mention of the cricket match they're supposed to be covering.
I love you guys top ### lists, the interaction between the 3 of you is great--Keep you the great work guys--keep making more lists!!!!
Thanks for releasing these more quickly! One per week would've taken forever.
Amen brother. My favorite thing they're releasing at moment. Keep em coming multiple times a week!
2 1/2 months < forever
Great fun to watch your top 100 videos. Good work guys.
Hey guys love the lists...I do miss a cut away to a screenshot of the game you used to do in older lists. I know it's more work in editing but would you mind including it in the final 10!? Keep up the amazing work!
Great job, guys! I love listening to you and glad to see you bounce back from the hurricane so quickly.
Great to see Puerto Rico moving up in Tom's top 100 one of the best Boardgames EVA!
Mage wars is my number 1 game. It gets no love. Love Roma too. Thanks for mentioning it Zee.
World of Adrenaline I know right!
Zee, man, you've got to play Burgle Bros.!! It's the richer, more satisfying version of Forbidden Desert!!
I could be wrong, but it seems like Sam and Zee's lists are merging to the middle weight games this time around.
The Age of War: "It just brings people together." Sam Healey, 2017
Tom's #46 Twilight Struggle is also on Sam's list at #81. He forgot he had mentioned it back in Sept 2017.
Fun to go back and watch these two years later. I don’t remember Sam mentioning Cry Havoc in his top 100. Bought it back in March and really enjoy it. Heard it at Sam’s 50 and smiled.
"What game do you farm souls in?" Dark Souls, of course!
The Twilight Struggle app is fantastically done. How they managed to scale the UI to mobile devices is a stroke of genius. Definitely one to own, and dirt cheap. Learned how to play off it, despite owning an unopened physical copy.
Great video! Your backdrop is beautiful, but quite bright which makes your faces look a bit dark. Maybe you could add some stronger light to your faces?
I smile when Tom says, in a matter-of-fact tone, that when Jason says he played Photosynthesis 40-50 times means he only played 10 times.
Tom hates Alan Moons now, 33 place drop... :)
Andris Slisans the vengeance is strongly in this one
That's awesome. 😂
Arena Roma 2 is one of the best card/dice games ever made. A masterpiece in my book. However, it was a game that took me 10 plays to love. There are a lot of different paths to victory in this game. New gamers may feel that some cards are OP asf in the first couple of games but every offense in this game has a defense. You just gotta play it a couple of times to really understand the layers of strategy hidden within it. Probably Feld's most underrated game to date.
10/10 banter on this one.
Sounds logical. When something is flying under the radar it can't be knocked out of the park :-D
I love that there are 3 of them and everyone is soooo different
Tom: " Basically, Zee has one friend" LOL
Please put "Lice Shower" back in Zee's song.
Got me cracking up around 53 min great lists. I also wrote off bunny kingdoms until I met a group playing it at Gen con in the library and thought enough of the groups opinion to sit down and try it. I loved it and now own it.
I love the contributor provided number transitions!
Brice Lory thanks much!!
Tom, the majority of your top 100 don't even get played once a year? Do you think if you did play every game on your top 100 each year that it would affect placement on the list?
I really think that Mythic Battles: Pantheon will be on someone's list next year. I am so excited to get it in December
Cutthroat Kingdoms needs a review please!
@Sam I was surprised you had Viral in your top 50. During the review of the game he didn't seem to think that highly of it. Did multiple plays make you enjoy the game more? Is it possible we might see Rising Sun on any list? or is it being excluded from lack of plays or not being released until 2018?
I gotta get Sole Fide played. It sounds pretty good.
The Dice Odyssey I think you should check out more on the game. My understanding is that both players just start selecting areas of control until you end up fighting for the last area and then it's up to the play of the cards on who wins.
Phil Z yeah, I'm a sucker for religiously themed games kinda like Sam, especially when they're historically based.
I'm learning Greek right now to actually translate the New Testament cause of it being mostly written in Greek, and this just naturally appeals to me.
Also The reformation is an amazingly interesting time in history that I'm studying. If they have great mechanics like you say, this may need to hit my table soon.
So many games, so little time lol.
Thanks for your input Phil.
Twilight Struggle is on the app and it’s AMAZING
I'll always err on the side of Zee.. .that's just how it is.
I'm loving all the Heroscape in this
I really like that middle bunch!
Wow, what a wonderful surprise to come home from the beach to! Sam's beard needs to get its own instagram now.....love MARK STREED.
The Dice Odyssey ahhh, thanks! 😎
you da man bro.
great lists guys
"You did what on yourself?" -Sam
Sam Gave Bunny Kingdoms a 1.5 thumb up in the review, wow it grew.
No Eldritch Horror yet from Tom... Last year that game was in his Top 70's, and earlier this year he made a "Why I Love" episode on Eldritch Horror. But the possibility of the game going up 40 spots on his list...
Mr. Jack is AWESOME. Tom is crazy. That is all...
I am a bit surprised Whitehall Mystery didn't replace Mr. Jack for Zee. Such a better game and better looking overall.
Oh man! I could tell you were about to say that you "just taught this one to a new gamer and GrandCon and it went really well (except he was really bad at it)" when talking about Clank! but you were interrupted!
Please, don't feel like you need to defend yourselves every time you rate a dice tower essentials game highly. If it's a great game then it's a great game! It would be weird if you didn't rate them highly but still wanted to make them part of your essentials line.
On the Endscreens it says Top 70-61 :D
seems only a few of us noticed this due to people stopping the video before it ended... so I will upvote in the cause that someone may see it.
Below is my 50 - 41...at this point is where my taste in games begin to really diverge from DT. :)
50 - Rating: 8.50 - Mission: Red Planet (Second Edition)
49 - Rating: 8.50 - Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age
48 - Rating: 8.50 - Eminent Domain
47 - Rating: 8.50 - The Castles of Burgundy: The Card Game
46 - Rating: 8.50 - Bohnanza
45 - Rating: 8.50 - Nations: The Dice Game
44 - Rating: 8.50 - The Red Dragon Inn: Battle for Greyport
43 - Rating: 9.00 - Kanagawa
42 - Rating: 9.00 - Stockpile
41 - Rating: 9.00 - Suburbia
Well Well. Lords of waterdeep still in there
Ok, that's it. Am getting Automania.
53:26 I'm dying lolol
the headers on the lists at the end weren't updated. enjoyable nonthaless
Vasel is right. Puerto Rico is amazing amazing amazing. I love it.
Sam's list is pretty much unpredictable other than he likes the cult of the new.
"It's one of the few games in my top 100 that I play almost every year for sure"
And that is why your Top 100 should not be taken seriously. :P
So if one has a top 100, they need to play every game in it multiple times a year. Is that even feasible? :)
GoldenSirius You expect someone to play all 100 games on their list yearly??
But you didn't say "multiple times every year", you said "one of the - few - games I play - almost - every year". So most of your games, you don't even play every year..
I imagine finding time to squeeze in already played games with all the new releases, and also have time for work and spend time doing other stuff is quite hard. I've got about 100 games in my collection now, and I have a hard time finding time to play the games I like regularly. Imagine when you've got several 100's....
Love Blood Rage & Cry Havoc!
47:40 Sam quotes Mrs. Pancakes
Bunny Kingdom redeemed Sam's list.
Ok, where is it-- Wiraqocha has to be in there somewhere...
Love "Forbidden Desert"... wish they would make another one.... different setting.
"Asymmetrical-ness" - Tom Vasel 2017
Asymmetry, Tom :)
List at the end of video says "Top 70-61" instead of 50-41. Just sayin'
If the Photosythesis box looks like the art you showed on screen, then that's the coolest box art I've ever seen! What do you mean lack luster?
Puerto Rico is to me the best game of all time.
I do not mean this with any hate; and most of these are good games but: Once again Sams list is dominated by the popular mainstream stuff Tom and Zee are surprised, and Sam doesn’t acknowledge it. I’m all for these new games but a TON of stuff has dropped to be replaced by new games. Apparently 2017 was the best year ever for board games! (Which it was decent)
I respectfully disagree about the Puerto Rico elitism thing. There's probably people who behave like that, but the game just has a much higher level of interaction than most euros. Like Zee said, it's not more robust. But neither is it just popularity. A new player can accidentally play king-maker in small ways because you are literally making a decision on everyone's order of actions at the same time. Imagine if you played Terra Mystica and everyone's second action had to be whatever the second person did? You could seriously mess stuff up for someone on your left and open the perfect opportunity for someone on your right. Most games don't have that level of micro-turn AND lack of overall control of 75% of the turns you play (in 4P). Therein lies the beauty of Puerto Rico for Tom and others like me, and for Zee and Sam, the pain and torment.
I like the Number call outs! Thank you Mark Streed.
Tarmagh thanks so much! I had a ton of fun with it...
Hi, newbie here. Could you please tell me what game the transitions were done with? It looks very interesting.
Heroscape! Sadly it is out of print.
Mark Streed Cheers, I'll look it up.
I know these guys were turned off by the theme, but I enjoy Chaos in the Old World much more than Blood Rage.
I played that for the first time this weekend,and I didn't see the buzz.
Mario Sickenberger Blood Rage or CitOW?
Brock Huffman chaos. I didn't like how strategies are determined for you. and if you sway from ot, it can be costly.
khorne won because nobody realized battling him was an easy path to his victory.
That's a fair point. However, I tend to really like games that have asymmetric powers where each faction has a certain strategy you need to perfect in order to do well. In games like Blood Rage you can do whatever strategy you want since everyone starts out the same, but I really enjoy honing in on the strategy of the card I've been dealt as it gives me a focus right out of the gate on what I need to do, and the more plays you have of a game like that you really learn the strengths and weaknesses of each faction. Slaanesh won our first game, but the Khorne player was being very passive. Mistake obviously. I played Khorne in my second play of the game and knowing the mistakes of game one was able to capitalize on the original players mistakes and take the win, although it was very close. I've heard the same argument between Agricola and Caverna. Half the people like Agricola better because you're given a strategy right out the gate while the other half prefer the more sandbox style of Caverna. Honestly, I won't turn down a game of any of the above mentioned. I just love to game! The asymmetrical powers is just my preference.
We played Ethnos as a 5 player. Damn we didn't like it. I had high hopes but it is random as hell. The winner said it himself. I have no idea why I won, just better draws. Nothing more in this game. Maybe with less people you have some control.
Actually, Eric Lang have said once that Rising Sun's combat system was inspired by Cry Havoc as far as I remember
Puerto Rico is my 103rd favorite game. It's a game my meetup will play on and off, and so I have played it a few times. It's good, but not great, and there is no elitist aspect in our group with it. I like the card game version more, that is San Juan which is my 57th favorite game.
Viral is a game I probably will never play as medical games turn me off.
El Grande is fairly high on my "to play" list. I expect to like it.
Automania is my 100th favorite game but needs more plays.
Lords of Waterdeep is a disappointment for me, I like fantasy and do like several worker placement game, but found this game bland.
Quest for Eldorado is another game on my "to play" list. Expect to like it.
TIME Stories another game high on my "to play" list.
Blood Rage is my 34th favorite game, but the hype really turned me off, but still liked the game.
Among the Stars, yet another game on my "to play" list, but not particularly high on that list. I am not a 7 Wonders fan.
The transitions...
The guy doing the numbers had me cracking up
AirStrike1992 😎
But Blood Rage isnt easy for a newbie against veterans?
zigzak77 we had a newbie win because we thought him a non threat and just attacked each other. Bad oversight on our part.
We have never had a new player come anywhere close to winning. Understanding synergy between cards especially in building towards the final Age. There are a lot of games k=like this, so not really a knock on the game. New players have always had fun and had aha! moments after seeing how the more veteran players drafted and played the game. Fantastic game but definitely a huge advantage goes towards those how have played it a few times before.
Zee "I already have Fury of Dracula", Proceeds to put 6 version of Pandemic on his list.
But Cry Havoc is a flash in the pan, with its imbalanced factions, only 15 total actions you can do and limited card/event pool. Who knows maybe the expansion will fix it, which is par for the course with Portal games nowadays.
I don’t think bloodrage will make Sam’s list. Seems way too old
for me :
50. help me
49. les cités perdues
48. les inventeurs
47. nautilus
46. bombay
45. croa
44. Jaipur
43. agricola, terre d'élevages
42. takenoko
41. génial
Problem with Puerto Rico for me is that the first several moves are scripted, as tom said, a new person messes it up because of that. Every play has a single optimal choice and that sucks. I've even played solo by just making those "perfect" choices for each player.
“I liked it first!” - #hipsterhealey #lumberjackbeard
34:34 Tom hates America?~?~ ? *snicker
The visuals of Automania is so off putting.
Great lists BUT the creepy ass peekaboo Mr. Rogers guy calling out the numbers was....annoying to say the least lol
These lists would be a few minutes shorter if you didn't make each other guess the game before it gets announced :/
Jean Borrero if it's too long just zip to the end and check out their full lists.
Personally, I quite like when they guess
There we go with the cringy transitions again
These transitions man..... Yikes... Just bring back Eric already.
They rly need to just get rid of these annoying skits. I don't wanna watch the Dice Tower B-Team make 100 attempts at comedy.