Top 10 Thematic Euro Games
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2024
- It's time to prove once and for all that Euro Games can be highly thematic experiences! Also no, Anachrony isn't on the list. We won't be taking questions at this time.
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00:00 Intro
01:40 #10
04:32 #9
06:48 #8
09:46 #7
13:24 #6
18:50 #5
22:01 #4
25:09 #3
28:31 #2
32:12 #1
#boardgames #top10 #bestlist - เกม
Man you guys are killing it with some great content the last couple of months.
Aww cheers we are so stoked to hear you’re liking it! Gotta keep it pushing
I love that you guys are part of the Castell hype train! That game is so underappreciated.
Couldn’t agree more!
I've been watching a bunch of board game content recently, and just wanted to give you props for including lots of B-roll footage, and screenshots from the games themselves. Quite refreshing from just staring at someone talking about the game and occasionally popping up a screenshot of just the box artwork.
Thanks so much! We’ve been really trying to step up this part of our production
Lost Ruins of Arnak is so thematic and so pretty and so fun. I love it that every time I play, the item cards just makes so much sense like the Packmule lets you draw two extra cards, the map gives you exploration tokens, etc. That just makes sense and I love when mechanics tie in like that too, so I love this list because euros are the best and euros don’t have to be dry and beige! Also, can’t wait to try woodcraft
Yeah we didn't really touch on the cards but they're also very thematic in terms of what they do
you guys are by far the most engaging reviewers to watch! these type of lists are so fantastic since most of the time i havent heard of half of them and sends me on a rabbit hole!
I really enjoy and share your enthusiasm for our hobby. Keep it up boys, this is great content !
Thanks, will do!
Uwe Rosenburg was already my favorite designer. After Atiwa, he became one of my favorite people.
You guys are so good lately. I love the new stuff!
Awww shucks we really appreciate you saying that!
I agree about Lost Ruins. And I love that you're fighting for the beasts'/guardians' respect rather than to kill them. The snake side of the board really does give us this creepy feeling as you're trying to rescue the assistants and figure out secrets about the dangerous snake king by researching.
GREAT choices, wow, and I love the explanation of a Euro. You guys are edutainment for me! :) Petrichor is super interesting and we love the theme, too. We don't play it often but it almost reminds me of a thematic chess. Castell is so fantastic. You can go so many different directions in how you build up your human towers!
I absolutely love the theme explanation...especially how people won't remember the time you broke your hip, just your best and grandest performance. SO TRUE!!!! XD XD XD XD XD XD
Yo where obsession at?
We gotta try that one!
@@TheBrothersMurph what? You guys would love that one!!! Highly recommend it. I’m not even into the theme and I love it
@@TheBrothersMurph a playthrough with you two would je very entertaining!
Exactly!!!!
You're going to LOVE it!!!
I agree with the comments above. Obsession is best when your silly and really getting into the parties and the theme. And watching your play throughs, you guys would dive into this so hard.
Yesss thematic euro games have always been some of my favorites!! I still need to play Castell sometime! (And probably the other ones on your list that I haven't played too 😆)
I love the theme of Atiwa. I do think it's hilarious the bat meeples are the same size as the goats! XD The artwork looks beautiful and what an exciting theme.
Just the most giant of bats
Man, what a great thumbnail :) I love the block text with colour removed so we can see you behind it. It looks really cool
hey thanks! We've been experimenting with these kinds of thumbnails lately. I'm glad you're enjoying them!
Messina 1347 flew way under the radar, and it's a very thematic euro game you should try. Ships bring rats to Europe and spread the plague throughout the town. You have to help people flee to the countryside, quarantine sick people, kill off the rats, and ultimately resettle your villagers. The decision tree is massive, but everything you do is totally on theme. Great job on the video guys, keep up the good work!
REALLY want to try this one
Nice list. I'd include that Lacerda games are very thematic, especially Kanban EV. Also Architects of the West Kingdom is really thematic. I like Terraforming Mars for this list too.
Truth!
Was Subrubia an inside joke? Or an inside strategy? ;) Haven't finished the video yet, but it seems like a great, if not the best, topic. Thanks for the video, all the best to you guys.
Yup definitely a joke to see whose paying attention. Definitely. Not a typo. Definitely a calculated decision...definitely
Looks almost identical to that game Suburbia. Must be a Chinese ripoff.
Twilight Struggle (even after all these years) is the absolute King of this list. You feel the chaos of trying to “control” the entire Cold War. If you are not tried it I 100% recommend; it is long but just make mistakes on your first play and don’t get caught up in doing well. It is absolutely fantastic!
We have played that game once and absolutely agree on the thematic feelings it gives
Any Vital Lacerda game is typically pretty thematic. Also Clinic Deluxe, Agricola, Clans of Caledonia.
I agree that Lacerda manages to embed theme and mechanic so expertly - although I've heard Weather Machine is not as great in that regard. I would say Kanban is my favourite of his though, and possibly the best execution of theme I've seen. I also might disagree on Clans (a game I love), but the theme is not as tied to the mechanics as some others. It could be in space (i.e. Gaia Project) or other setting with the same market and swapped resource producers. Have to agree on Clinic though!
Great theme for a list (hahaha). So many games on this list I enjoy / really want to try!
your channel covers such wide range of games! 😊
We try to!
I think the theme really helps my joy of Ark Nova. I don't think the theme is really that baked in with the mechanisms much, but I do feel like I am building a zoo. And that to me enhances it over something like Terraforming Mars (I prefer these nature/animal themes).
I love some of your selections here! Sometimes I look at some of my theme selections and decide they're really not a Euro at the end of the day...
One that could be a strong contender for this list would be Manhattan Project: Energy Empire.
We do love some MP: EE!
Great video! The first Euro game for me where the theme helped explain the gameplay was Brass. MP Energy Empire would be up there for me.
Heck yeah thanks for sharing!
I justt started but SubRUBia made me laugh :D
Little slip there but I think it makes the video better
Happy to see Stone Age on the list. I have been interested in the game since I first saw it played on Table Top. I was just unsure if it was still a good game today. I will definitely have to pick it up next time I hit my local game store.
Nice list.
I feel like every Lacerda game is super thematic and makes so much sense.
Yeah, I love the ones we have tried. They have really great themes and I think that they are getting better and better with the integration with each new game. We are making a mission to play a bunch of his games this year because we have played a woeful few
I don't know if it is that thematic, but i think the theme of Architects of the west kingdom really helps to teach the game, all things "make sense"
Totally agree! It was on our short list for sure
Thanks for turning me on to Castel.
No problem! It's so good!
Interested to try subrubia!
I think Stone Age is thematic, too, despite the fact that the math is also so easy to see in the buildings. I wish they made a version where the buildings had unique names and artwork.
I’ve seen a few people recommend Architects of the West Kingdom, but I think Raiders of the North Sea is more thematic. You need Silver to hire a crew, a crew to raid a place, food to make a voyage, loot to appease the chief, etc. it all makes sense.(mostly)
Cool video
Raiders is a great choice!
My favorite type of list. Hoping my game Reel Them In makes this list one day
For me, Euros are about victory through personally excelling rather than crushing others - no player elimination for eg. The process rather than the people at the table is what itches at me and says, “play me again…”
I really like this way of defining euro games well done!
36:12 It sounds VERY interesting! I would very much like to try this one out!
It’s funny, I never really understood what a EuroGame was lol. I’m slowly getting more into heavier games- I will have to try some of these.
Ha we’re really trying to work on listing out the definition of game terms because we realize not everyone has heard them before! Definitely give them a go sometime!
26:07 Funny… I didn’t really care as much about the theme of games until later on. When I started playing games, I started playing pretty themeless games.
For example, my gateway game was Catan. Then from Catan, because of the board with the hexes, that led me to my first medium/heavy weight game - Terra Mystica - because it looked like “Catan on steroids”. So I started playing games just because they looked interesting mechanically - where we are facing off with each other on a common board and have interaction.
I was expecting to see "Robinson Crusoe" at #1. It is a soul crushingly difficult euro which is possibly one of the most thematic games I have.
That is definitely a worthy choice
So glad for this video. Just the other day my fiance asked me "so what does euro game mean" and my answer was...you hungry? Let's go get something to eat. Because I truly have no idea. I've heard mechanics over theme but I feel like so many games people call euros these days are busting at the seams with theme. To me euros are almost becoming a lot about the theme working with the mechanics. Lots of the games on the list have been on my "want to play list" for awhile! Any that are great solo?
Lots of great solo euro games! From this list:
Woodcraft
Viticulture
Atiwa
Lost Ruins of Arnak
Hard agree on Woodcraft! It's incredible how simple but unique the concept is, and the game is quite crunchy! Love to play it solo.
For me, I would choose Bitoku without hesitation. I have no idea why people say there's no theme, sure it's not something as easy to grab as space, zoo, cars.. etc. Instead it's a spirit realm, and I think it's beautiful and fantastic. As a Bitoku spirit you summon the Yokai (play the card) then send them out to specific parts of forest to work (place the die), you can use amulets to make them stronger so they can do more stuff. If you want to visit the Hills you must cross a sacred River, and prove humbleness by reducing the value of the die. All this so that at the end of the game you can ascend as the Great Spirit of the forest. My personal favorite part is sending out the little fireflies to guide the wandering Mitama Souls out of the forest before they are lost for eternity. Oh I love Bitoku so much, it's a wonderful experience for me every single time.
I would also love to mention Merchants of the Dark Road. I love love love the concept of balacing your reputation and money, it makes it very thematic in my opinion. Will you sell your goods to heroes to make money, or will you instead fulfill the queen's orders to gain reputation? Oh but it's not a choice- you have to do both!! I think the atmosphere and mood of this game is just perfect.
Great list. Woodcraft is my favorite new game. The dice manipulation is perfectly thematic like you said. The action saw wheel is a brilliant balancing mechanism.
My top picks not on this list are Ecos First Continent and Barrage.
Nice worthy picks!
I think I might finally have to grab Castell! It genuinely sounds very cool
It's soooooo good!
When I was starting in the hobby, the distinction of Euro games was much clearer. Now, I can't even think about it anymore. Especially Arnak - I always hear it called a Euro game with strong theme, but to me it is all deeply thematic for what it makes me feel whenever I play it. I guess it's the strong roleplay feelings I get given certain themes and ease-of-use with the mechanisms attached.
Yeah the term "Euro Game" means less and less every year. Which is probably a good thing as it just confuses people
@@TheBrothersMurph I agree. Since the categorization no longer matters, and especially since games are marketed by weight (complexity) and theme (genre and art) instead.
I think you need to make a part 2 just to include pursuit of happiness. Definitely the most thematic euro. It has so many fiddly rules but they're so easy to learn because of the theme.
Yeah we missed that one for sure, we were talking about it after we filmed this
Gallerist for sure
What do you guys think of the replayability of Atiwa? Only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger on it as I am highly interested in the theme, I have heard it doesn't have much staying power though. Mage Knight would be my choice for this list, I definitely feel like a magically empowered commander of armies conquering the land one tile at a time. It's a high-fantasy lovers dream of complex decision space and painstaking choices wrapped in a wonderfully realized theme through the cards and game feel. I feel like Spirit Island is quite thematic too concerning the different spirits and the way they interact with the game.
Still need to play Mage Knight. In terms of Atiwa, we've only played it 2-3 times, but it's possible it could get samey after 10+ plays, but in our opinion that's great value for the price. And we (and most people) don't play most games more than 10 times anyways. So for us the replay ability isn't an issue
ive heard yall talk about prodigals club for years and it sounds so ridiculous im really wanting to try it out. Heres hoping I can snag a copy someday!
It's soooo good!
Theme is #1 attraction for me in board games. I need to check out Woodcraft since I like all things made of wood so why not a board game theme too.
You should try some Mindclash games! Trickerion and Anachrony are amazing and thematic.
Just got my hands on Castell and love it.
I really want to try Trickerion, but am intimidated by how complex I've heard it is. The theme looks amazing!
@@teejleague3838 Complex, sure, but not as bad as you would think. Literally everything in the game is in support of performing magic tricks in the theater. So all the actions build towards that one goal in what I consider a logical fashion. I would give it a try, even just try the base game without Dark Alley expansion stuff.
@@npckse8508 Definitely going to put this on my list to try to play!!! Thank you!
We have played Anachrony and it's on the second list over on our patreon. We've only played it a few times but if we played it more it would probably have made this list
@@TheBrothersMurph I want to try it with the expansion. I sort of got intimidated by the massive box for the all-in and haven't touched it since.
I knew Dungeon Petz would be on here. Just got into this game… it’s so good!
It had to be!
I need a theme that I'm interested in and that's connected enough to the gameplay for my brain to process rules, otherwise I really struggle for some reason. I love Arnak, Rococo Deluxe, and Oak the most out of my collection of Euros, but I'm noticing that Euros are starting to outnumber the rest of my collection suddenly!
Euro games do that, all of the sudden your collection is 75% euros
Come Together is probably my favorite in this category, with Woodcraft as a tight runner up :)
Really wanna try come together!
@@TheBrothersMurph Ah you are going to love it so much!
Yea! We Castell'n it up!
You know it!
Unrelated to this specific video, but do y’all have a table tour showing off your gaming table?
We did a vid a couple years back for BoardGameGeek check it out.
th-cam.com/video/IagAVR4Wy1E/w-d-xo.html
I clicked on the video completely expecting you 2 sitting there trying to think of games and listing none for 37 full minutes
That would have been rad haha
Great list. Atiwa, Woodcraft, and Suburbia all on my list.
Heck yeah! Am I(N) seeing you at DTW??
@@TheBrothersMurph Yessir! You can msg me on Discord or IG let's meet up 🎲
Yasssssssssss
I like how the research track has the magnifying glass then the boom… like search than take notes… very thematic.. Arnak
Great point!
I feel like the magic of theme in a heavy Euro is that through Theme, it makes the specifics and nuances of rules make sense because they tie together... Sure, there's a specific rule to unlock this to do that...but if the theme helps it make sense, I'll remember that rule, that choice, that path to game success so much better instead of having my nose in a rulebook puzzling through why the heck I should put this widget in this gadget...
YES! A strongly implemented theme makes teaching and understanding a game soooo much easier
Have you two played Obsession yet?
No not yet but it’s really high on our want to try list
I teach physics at my high school, and today I learned I need to add a new unit to the curriculum... goat physics 🐐
We need answers!
Obsession and Rococo are both definitely missing here guys
We really do need to try obsession.
Love Dungeon Petz. So good and thematic. It should be number 1!
It def could have been #1!
Great Top 10 🎉
Here is my list:
1. Lisboa
2. Pursuit of Happiness
3. Kanban
4. Obsession
5. Castell
6. Power Grid
7. Vinhos
8. The Gallerist
9. Viticulture
10. Rococo
11. Manhattan Project
For me Lacerda is the best thematic Euro game designer.
Yeah we haven't played much Lacerda unfortunately, trying to change that this year
Nice. Kanban EV is next on my wishlist!
Totally agree with you about viticulture. when I teach it I just tell people to just follow the workflow from plantings to selling wine.. The only thing that’s not thematic is that grapes do not age on the crash pad year by year . They would actually just rot . Thematically they should not advance but go backwards but that would probably break the game.
Yeah it's so linear. Love it!
Also, pink wine is done with red grapes only. I haven't heard of a good pink wine that was a mix between red and white grapes.
Dungeon Petz ❤️
Edit: Yay! It made the list!
Woot!
Top 10 games that make sense 😅
Great list, great video, but where is Wingspan?
It just didn’t make our list but it’s definitely a solid thematic game
You guys really should play some Lacerda games. Try Lisboa!
We are hoping to make that happen real soon!
@@TheBrothersMurph Careful, though. You may lose your faith in Rosenberg.
Goat physics!! 🐐
Terraforming Mars and Brass Birmingham are super thematic euros imo.
Where's Ark Nova? Easily my favourite Euro BECAUSE it's theme shines through throughout.
That’s fair! Could totally be on this list
I always see people saying Arnak has no theme, which I’ve always thought is interesting because it’s one of the games that is the easiest to teach using the theme. One of my favorite thematic rules explanations is how the journal can never move passed the magnifying glass on the research track, because you have to do your research before you write about stuff. It’s so much small stuff like that that really fleshes it out.
Exactly!! It’s all thought through! So nice
have you tried great wall?
No haven’t had a chance to yet
Not a fan of euros but not seeing Obsession for the second time in your thematic euro lists is a crime.
Haha to be fair Mike only played it for the first time like 5 days ago so we can’t help what we don’t know! Maybe the Third time around it’ll show up as he quite liked it!
The networks was missing from the list...
Also:
The alchemists
Fort is super thematic
In the year of the dragon
Iki
In the
Was sure Castell would be your no. 1 or Viticulture.. was surprised Stoneage outranked them...
love Atiwa theme but don’t like less eco-friendly strategies so it ends up not replayable to me 😅
So, subrubia more thematic then suburbia?
By just a bit
im so surprised Brass Birmingham didnt make the cut :) love the list though
Nick isn’t a fan of that one but I suppose it’s a worthy choice! I haven’t ever thought about it that way
Though it’s not released yet Unconscious Mind would be on my list.
Yeah we definitely considered it
I do wonder where u'd rank "Beer and bread"
Love the game! And while it’s decently thematic it probably wouldn’t make this list
Two Suchy games to top the list. Shouldve went ahead and included Pulsar and Underwater Cities!!
The two we put are definitely the most thematic, but we do love all his games. Just played Pulsar last week
themes help remember and understand mechanics and rules, besides piquing interest in the subject matter 😊
With the luck to mechanics argument, idk if I would consider stone age a euro if I'm honest
But you can mitigate the luck with tools and how many people you send! Euro goodness yummy yummy
You guys gotta play Alchemists
Truth
Gents! Ark Nova surely?!
It definitely could work for this list. It didn’t really jump up in our minds at the time of making it, but a worthy choice for sure!
You didn't mention 'that' hut in Stone Age 😉
Gotta love the love hut bb!
I would have put Barrage in the list.
Outlive is also very thematic even if I'm not sure it would be top 10.
I honestly had such a bad time playing barrage that I have blocked it out from my memory, but it is indeed a thematic game
does Distilled and ancient knowledge count as thematic Euro? 🤔 💭
haven't played ancient knowledge but definitely think distilled counts!!
Ever played Anachrony?
Yeah, a couple times. It’s definitely a thematic one. It made our secondary list on Patreon simply because we haven’t played that game enough to really understand what the heck we’re doing it.
Next video: 10 games that are not Viticulture 😅
Can't help that it's the greatest game ever made ;P
So is chess a euro game?
It’d fall more into the category of abstract strategy game
Abomination , field of arle, trickerion are missing from the list
Well, strictly speaking, nothing is missing from the list because it would be on it otherwise. We do really want to try trickerion someday though
@The Brothers Murph if you play it between of you try it with the expansion that makes the two player game feel like a 4 player experience
suburbia or subrubia?
Depending on the context, both
I think Ark Nova is also sneakily thematic.
Good call!
Petrichor discussion was a bit concerning. I heard “I wish we liked it more”. Then I heard “It’s freaking awesome”. Are they a sponsor? What’s the verdict on this game?
Lol, no they are not a sponsor, we would never say we liked a game when we didn't even if it was sponsored. We love the theme of petrichor so much, and we like the game a lot, but we wish we liked it more. We also haven't had much chance at other player counts. So we're kind of all over the place on it. Overall like it a lot, we think it's really good, but we want it to be great, and for us, at the player counts we've played, it's just very good.
i think champions of midgard is thematic.
Circles, cubes and no dice 😂
Gotta love those thematic cubes
Somehow I forgot to mention tracks and tableaus. Great video
SUB RUBIA! 😂 I only point out the funny... my vote is leave it! 🤪
Have you never played the award winning game Sub-Rubia? it's a classic
16:18 …There is an equal and opposite reaction!… 😉
Tigris & Euphrates for me
Knizia, the King of Theme
@@TheBrothersMurph Agreed, The Quest for El Dorado is another gem.
@@toddkauk6099 Real talk Quest is incredible
Number 10: Subrubia 😅
The "theme makes sense" is affordance. Thematic, in regards to board games, is closer to dramatic narrative. These games have a theme in the sense that they have a setting. The rules and components are well integrated to provide good affordance. But, there's not a dramatic story arc to the gameplay. These games are rooted in economic tension.
A thematic Euro, to me, would be something like Blood Rage. The game is very much about your rage economy, card drafting, and building a scoring engine with your tableau. But, there's a smidge of dramatic narrative that squeaks in. It's not quite enough to consider it a hybrid.
The next step, a hybrid, would be something like Kemet. There's a tech race with the market and a Euro-y action selection system. But, the combat is more in your face than Blood Rage. There's an emphasis on drama and emergent narrative.
It's almost funny how years ago Euro gamers wouldn't want to be caught dead using the term "thematic" to describe their games. But, as new gamers came into the hobby, the pushing of cubes in drab brown settings wasn't enough of a hook. So, they slapped on some paint, worked a smidge harder on affordance, and started calling these games are thematic Euros.
This was a very thorough comment