I really like your new format. A thing that would make it perfect would be the inclusion of images of the board setups. You usually do this, and it really helps understanding what your talking about for new games. Box art alone is doesn’t quite do that. Thanx for another great list!
When you look back the whole thing is hilarious! When Immortals gets mentioned you can see the joke being formed in Zee’s mind, and he starts out the same as Tom: “are you done? Are you done!?” Just brilliant to watch their expressions!
I'm watching this while on the beach. Sitting here watching this on the balcony of my beachside condo with the waves breaking in the background, that's Dice Tower hardcore love baby. I wanted to wait til end of vacation but this couldn't wait lol. Awesome vid guys. The shogun/Wallenstein thing was hilarious.
Watching the current top 100s this last week has made me long for games like The Great War to be discussed so I had to come back to some older lists with Sam Healy to get the goods. Hope Sam puts out an individual top 100 soon. Great video.
Scott Nicholson's Going, Going, Gone uses a plaque that has the rules written on it and is used to shut down bidding by placing it on top of the cups. Handle keeps on breaking though. Great show, as always guys :)
I got R-Eco based on Zee's recommendation from another Top 10. I enjoy it quite a bit, though it works for three players only, I'd say. It took me a while to find it, but it's available from German Amazon (amazon.de), dirt cheap I might add, under the name of R-Öko. English rules available on BGG. In case someone was looking for it.
I first played Santorini with an original set and it was good then; we were tasked to create an algorithm in my Logic class to optimize the play. The new version with the powers makes it super great fun. The expansion, Golden Fleece, cranks it up to 9+. My entire family loves it.
Am on board with Zee about Notre Dame. One of Master Feld's most unique games. For all of you Euro gamers out there that enjoy excellent mechanisms and elegance, do check it out. Excellent game that I have been enjoying for years.
QUANTUM - Sam is capable of giving a quality review of a game, but every single time I hear him talk about Quantum he totally drops the ball. Aside from saying he really likes the game, nonsense spills out of his mouth. I also can't believe Tom hasn't played it yet. Has Zee played it? You guys NEED to play it, its totally worth it. Yes its pretty, the dice are over sized and cool looking. The build of all of the components is top quality and it looks great on the table. Quantum is AWESOME. The board can be different game to game. It's built from tiles based on the number of players. You choose from a set of different tile configurations during setup. Additionally, the rules layout guidelines for designing your own maps from the tiles. I LOVE this aspect of the game. The rules encourage attacking opponents. Combat is the only place math is involved directly. Lowest roll wins (ship + combat die.) Additionally there are two sets of cards that HEAVILY influence the game. You choose them in a kind of drafting dynamic and can collect a set of 3 that enable ongoing effects or choose cards that take effect immediately and are then discarded. The cards add a great dynamic by allowing extra turns, modified movement, placing more ships(dice) on the board, combat bonuses, etc. The basic rules are easily taught but the creative use of the 6 types of ships(dice) make combinations very complex and at times surprising. This is NOT a dice rolling game. Dice are used to excellent affect to represent ships and as counters to keep track of research and combat dominance. The only mechanics that use dice rolling are combat and changing the ship type. The bulk of the game is abstract strategy. Quantum is a wonderfully engaging game. Its great with 2, 3, and 4 players. I'd love to hear all 3 of you talk about it sometime soon hopefully.
Cleopatra and the Society of Architects is my 82nd favorite game, and replaces Catan for me, I think it has similar feel where you use resources to build things. It is definitely an older game as when I heard about it on a couple or more lists by the Dice Tower, I wanted it. It was OOP, so I bought a used copy at a decent price and in great condition, but was missing a couple of pieces. Of which I traded for extra pieces from someone on BGG to complete my set. Automania squeaks in at #100 for me. I think it may rise up with more plays. But I don't own a copy. Mission: Red Planet is a game I was able to beta test and is my 12th favorite game of all time. Indeed it is a great game to play with 6 players. And has become a favorite at my meetup, especially when we have a large group that wants to play together. 6 players goes for 90 minutes even with new players. The spacemen pieces were added to the game at the last minute, and the countdown of the cards also was changed from Beta to production.
Wasn't there a family game that uses the rulebook as part of an interactive tutorial so you play the tutorial in the rulebook? Eric likes it, as I recall?
Some Reviewer mentioned that they took the fun part of junta and made a game of it xD I really like Tiefe Taschen, but it needs sum ppl, bgg says best with 7
I stand corrected. Evidently my accent after 4 years of high school and college German, plus 10 years of working with German clients has not evolved :)
I haven't seen a single one. I think it's only hitting you. You must have watched something to make the algorithm think you are interested in those products.
Used to watch Thunderbirds reruns when I was younger. Watched part of an episode a few years back for nostalgia reasons, it’s super bad. Never watch shows you watched as a kid, you just sit there and wonder why you were stupid enough to enjoy it. Power Rangers, watched it all the time, it’s so bad.
His name is Roy Cannaday, he does a segment called "Favorite Game Friday" and other things on The Dice Tower channel. It seems like he is always on streroids, I don't know how they get to sit him to play board games :)
I love these all-time best lists, but this grouping seemed to be a pretty uninspiring, and in many instances obscure and/or hard to find. I know this is what is great based upon your individual opinions, but even the enthusiasm displayed about them seemed to be more muted than other parts of these lists, even this low, that I have seen. I think keeping in mind, at least to some degree, what is available might be a good idea. Keep up the great work, and just some constructive feedback.
Fair point :) Although looking up many of them, particularly those offered up by Zee, it does not seem like there was much/any commercial success in their first runs.
Good suggestion. I will try to think about that. But I guess my overall thought is that I heard more instances of, "wow, that made your top 100" by the other two people in this segment than I recall hearing before. So I just think this block had a lot of idiosyncratic selections that are surprising to see in a top seventy games of all time.
Mark Whitmore one of Zee’s games, Palazzo, has similarities to Alhambra. I wish the guys would say, after telling us that it’s hard to find, is to give the audience some suggestions on an easy to find game that have those same mechanics and themes that they like in their obscure games.
Nope, he doesn't usually have the puffy, squinty-eyed look he has in this one. There's a swelling that might be a bee or wasp sting on one side of his face, it looks to me.
I hate that if Sam doesn’t automatically know or like the game the other two say his, only “personality” (if you want to call it that) crutch he leans on is to be shitty toward them or their choice. I get that ribbing is part of their group dynamic but he never has anything witty or funny to say about them; just that they’re boring or stupid. It just gets old, like dude we get it, you don’t have anything fun to say and you only like non-mechanism-moving-plastic-men-around games.
I'm not sure where you are located but I just noticed that Target is carrying Santorini in my area. You may want to check there if you have one nearby.
I’m happy with just the box art, that way you can see it and don’t miss the name of the game. With the internet being a thing you can look up pictures of the components, I do it when I’m curious about something. For me just having the game name displayed on screen is enough. Hate lists where they just say it and move along.
The quality of the dice tower videos has reached a new level. These guys are pros. Great video.
I really like your new format. A thing that would make it perfect would be the inclusion of images of the board setups. You usually do this, and it really helps understanding what your talking about for new games. Box art alone is doesn’t quite do that. Thanx for another great list!
Zee is one hilariously funny dude.
I love that guy
I hadnt noticed till this time that the dice changed out in the intro...that was adorable
I don't know why but i loooove Zee's humour. Every gaming session with him must be entertaining whatever the game might be.
LOL, you can see Tom's face change at 2:07, when he makes the realization. Too funny!
It was so fun to see his smile. ;-)
HAHA! Thanks for pointing that out! That is hilarious! I didn't notice the first time I watched. He could barely keep himself together.
When you look back the whole thing is hilarious! When Immortals gets mentioned you can see the joke being formed in Zee’s mind, and he starts out the same as Tom: “are you done? Are you done!?” Just brilliant to watch their expressions!
The rulebook in saboteur has a ruler on the side you use to properly measure the distance from the starting point to the goals.
I love when Zee answers Tom's questions quietly when he's describing his games.
I'm watching this while on the beach. Sitting here watching this on the balcony of my beachside condo with the waves breaking in the background, that's Dice Tower hardcore love baby. I wanted to wait til end of vacation but this couldn't wait lol. Awesome vid guys. The shogun/Wallenstein thing was hilarious.
Watching the current top 100s this last week has made me long for games like The Great War to be discussed so I had to come back to some older lists with Sam Healy to get the goods. Hope Sam puts out an individual top 100 soon. Great video.
This was a nice surprise to come home to from work. Thanks guys!
Whooo!! Glad to see Battlelore 2nd Edition still getting mentioned!! 😊😊😊
It's not released yet, but Stuffed Fables uses the rule book as the board as well
Scott Nicholson's Going, Going, Gone uses a plaque that has the rules written on it and is used to shut down bidding by placing it on top of the cups. Handle keeps on breaking though.
Great show, as always guys :)
I got R-Eco based on Zee's recommendation from another Top 10. I enjoy it quite a bit, though it works for three players only, I'd say.
It took me a while to find it, but it's available from German Amazon (amazon.de), dirt cheap I might add, under the name of R-Öko. English rules available on BGG. In case someone was looking for it.
Woohoo, new Tom-ism: asperations / aspersions. This is gold, Jerry, gold!
Sam, keep this beard forever.
Bald Guys do look great with beards. :)
Daniel Korolev please!!!! He's killin that beard!
When I go bald, I'm gona rock the beard and a Kangel hat.
Agreed. Sam, keep the beard. Looks good on you.
Anyone else think the Sam's die version in the intro looks to happy to be Sam?
I first played Santorini with an original set and it was good then; we were tasked to create an algorithm in my Logic class to optimize the play. The new version with the powers makes it super great fun. The expansion, Golden Fleece, cranks it up to 9+. My entire family loves it.
The countdowns have been great so far with Jason's painted minis and Ambie with the dice and now Roy with...umm..... well just Roy. ;)
Krossmasters uses several pages in the manual as impromptu boards as part of a tutorial for new players.
Going Going Gone, the "rulebook" is the paddle you use to cover the cups.
Sunday Bonus!!!
That awkward moment when Tom Vassel asks "So what do you want...Zee....or DIEEE??!" and they decide to go with "Die"
I think he's now lost to dice, spice, and... Was it bottled water the third time they played it?
Don't forget Zee or Vomit Bag from Essen...
Going, Going, GONE! uses the rulebook as part of the game
Is it wrong that I only want Notre Dame or Palazzo in order to have an Alea section on my shelf cubes that are all vertically-shelved games?
Not wrong, but definitely kinda weird bro lol.
Zee you should probably do a review for Palazzo.
Thunderbirds is such an underrated game. Great to see it recognized!
Iona Milne Hear Hear! Thunderbirds is a fantastic game.
Am on board with Zee about Notre Dame. One of Master Feld's most unique games. For all of you Euro gamers out there that enjoy excellent mechanisms and elegance, do check it out. Excellent game that I have been enjoying for years.
So Zee? Wallenstein or Shogun? What's your preference? Tie breaker
Thanks for the pictures
QUANTUM - Sam is capable of giving a quality review of a game, but every single time I hear him talk about Quantum he totally drops the ball. Aside from saying he really likes the game, nonsense spills out of his mouth. I also can't believe Tom hasn't played it yet. Has Zee played it? You guys NEED to play it, its totally worth it. Yes its pretty, the dice are over sized and cool looking. The build of all of the components is top quality and it looks great on the table. Quantum is AWESOME. The board can be different game to game. It's built from tiles based on the number of players. You choose from a set of different tile configurations during setup. Additionally, the rules layout guidelines for designing your own maps from the tiles. I LOVE this aspect of the game. The rules encourage attacking opponents. Combat is the only place math is involved directly. Lowest roll wins (ship + combat die.) Additionally there are two sets of cards that HEAVILY influence the game. You choose them in a kind of drafting dynamic and can collect a set of 3 that enable ongoing effects or choose cards that take effect immediately and are then discarded. The cards add a great dynamic by allowing extra turns, modified movement, placing more ships(dice) on the board, combat bonuses, etc. The basic rules are easily taught but the creative use of the 6 types of ships(dice) make combinations very complex and at times surprising. This is NOT a dice rolling game. Dice are used to excellent affect to represent ships and as counters to keep track of research and combat dominance. The only mechanics that use dice rolling are combat and changing the ship type. The bulk of the game is abstract strategy. Quantum is a wonderfully engaging game. Its great with 2, 3, and 4 players. I'd love to hear all 3 of you talk about it sometime soon hopefully.
Digging Santiago de Cuba for quite some time. Although, strictly as a two players game ;)
Krosmaster uses the Rulebook as part of the game to teach it. Has printed maps and teaches you one thing at a time. Not sure if that counts?
Zee's picks this time are all fantastic games.
Zee just dropped the "it's not on my list....it's on my list face" for photosynthesis. Guaranteed it's in his top 10.
in the video he says it did not make his top 100...am I missing something?
Rulebook: Spyfall maybe
Cleopatra and the Society of Architects is my 82nd favorite game, and replaces Catan for me, I think it has similar feel where you use resources to build things. It is definitely an older game as when I heard about it on a couple or more lists by the Dice Tower, I wanted it. It was OOP, so I bought a used copy at a decent price and in great condition, but was missing a couple of pieces. Of which I traded for extra pieces from someone on BGG to complete my set.
Automania squeaks in at #100 for me. I think it may rise up with more plays. But I don't own a copy.
Mission: Red Planet is a game I was able to beta test and is my 12th favorite game of all time. Indeed it is a great game to play with 6 players. And has become a favorite at my meetup, especially when we have a large group that wants to play together. 6 players goes for 90 minutes even with new players. The spacemen pieces were added to the game at the last minute, and the countdown of the cards also was changed from Beta to production.
Can't agree more with #68 across the board
"I don't actually think the artist was on drugs." Lol. 33:57
Wasn't there a family game that uses the rulebook as part of an interactive tutorial so you play the tutorial in the rulebook? Eric likes it, as I recall?
What are the highest ranked games from last years top 100 that are no longer on each of your lists?
Dragon Lair they talk about what dropped in the last episode usually. Saying now would spoil the list.
Lol Tom 69 they're on top of each other!
Plaid Hat's upcoming Fabled Quest uses the book as the board, doesn't it?
Variable player powers in Quantum? As far as I know the different player mats only differ in color and some flavor text. Did I miss something?
He was likely referring to the cards you 'purchase' that give you different abilities as the game goes on.
It would be really helpful for new gamers such as myself if each game could have the best player count next to the games name on the text.
Thanks.
Sam rocked this one with Blood Bowl and Quantum. Really, Quantum is such a great and underrated game!
Props to Zee for the Ep I quote! Haha
Marklin hey. I've heard this often enough Sam that I'm considering grabbing it.
Will Sam star in the reboot of Cast Away?
Going Going Gone has its rules on the paddle you use to cover the cups. Wasn't a good production idea. .
a like for blood bowl! could mention the pc version, blood bowl 2 on steam :)
A real nice mix of Eurogames/Strategy and Ameritrash there ... question for Americans .. was Thunderbirds big in the USA or a small niche TV series ?
Dave Dogge I feel it was niche.
It was fairly niche, it aired ages ago. I watched reruns of it when I was younger.
I'm surprised the Bill & Ted joke was left in. Would have thought it would get caught in the family friendly net.
plastickhero I’m surprised Sam is the one who said it. Dude always comes off as the peak of piety.
arena of the planeswalkers uses the rulebook as a turn marker...which was aweful
Krosmaster Arena uses maps in the rulebook for tutorial plays
22:15 Near and Far maps?
Krosmaster Arena uses the rulebook as boards/maps
zee shaving down the scruff!
Tiefe Taschen sounds like a simple version of Junta
Some Reviewer mentioned that they took the fun part of junta and made a game of it xD
I really like Tiefe Taschen, but it needs sum ppl, bgg says best with 7
The game is very similar to "Gentleman's deal" from what I understand.
And it's pronounced "Tee-fa" Taschen, Tom :)
Rivercat0338 Its not "fa" at the end. Its "fe" as in "fell". A lot of german words have an e at the end and none of them are silent
I stand corrected. Evidently my accent after 4 years of high school and college German, plus 10 years of working with German clients has not evolved :)
"I was not casting aspirations on an entire country!" -Tom Vasel
Tom has no hope for Cuba... :(
Remember, Tom doesn't like to cast aspirations on anyone 44:07
jasonant24 aspersions
Alice Moore I know, I love the fact that Tom always mixes us his words
Sam is stealing Zee's beard!
WAYLAND GAMES, STOP THE ADVERTS!!!! Aaaaaaaagh, before EVERY Dice Tower video!!!
Emmandi Hopgrave I'm so fed up of that advert,I'm making a point not to buy from them ever. They're not that cheap anyway.
I haven't seen a single one. I think it's only hitting you. You must have watched something to make the algorithm think you are interested in those products.
Used to watch Thunderbirds reruns when I was younger. Watched part of an episode a few years back for nostalgia reasons, it’s super bad. Never watch shows you watched as a kid, you just sit there and wonder why you were stupid enough to enjoy it. Power Rangers, watched it all the time, it’s so bad.
Great list, very entertaining as always!
And tbh...the dude doing the countdown is rather hot >.>
His name is Roy Cannaday, he does a segment called "Favorite Game Friday" and other things on The Dice Tower channel. It seems like he is always on streroids, I don't know how they get to sit him to play board games :)
I love these all-time best lists, but this grouping seemed to be a pretty uninspiring, and in many instances obscure and/or hard to find. I know this is what is great based upon your individual opinions, but even the enthusiasm displayed about them seemed to be more muted than other parts of these lists, even this low, that I have seen. I think keeping in mind, at least to some degree, what is available might be a good idea. Keep up the great work, and just some constructive feedback.
They mentioned in some other list that their lists will be online for a long time. So, there's always the chance of a reprint :D
Mark Whitmore maybe suggest an in print game that may be similar?
Fair point :) Although looking up many of them, particularly those offered up by Zee, it does not seem like there was much/any commercial success in their first runs.
Good suggestion. I will try to think about that. But I guess my overall thought is that I heard more instances of, "wow, that made your top 100" by the other two people in this segment than I recall hearing before. So I just think this block had a lot of idiosyncratic selections that are surprising to see in a top seventy games of all time.
Mark Whitmore one of Zee’s games, Palazzo, has similarities to Alhambra. I wish the guys would say, after telling us that it’s hard to find, is to give the audience some suggestions on an easy to find game that have those same mechanics and themes that they like in their obscure games.
That look when the "15%" comment registers in Tom's head. Haha
#65 well that and Grizzled
Tom needs to grow out a stache and shave his head.
Hey, Tom... allergies? Stung by something? Hope you're feeling better than you look! ;)
Eric Francis he does look like shit....looked that way in all these videos...
Nope, he doesn't usually have the puffy, squinty-eyed look he has in this one. There's a swelling that might be a bee or wasp sting on one side of his face, it looks to me.
This seems like an inappropriate conversation. You're all taking time out of you day to attack someone's looks.
I apologize if my comment came off as an attack. I was actually expressing concern in what I hoped was a lighthearted manner.
Eric Francis I absolutely knew you meant it out of concern. Totally got that. But still, it feels icky.
Eco..... as in ecology...... as in eco friendly. Hope that helps.
depends on how you pronounce ecology or eco-friendly, lol!
I dont get the buzz around Cleopatra! Yes, the box and the pieces are realy nice, but the gameplay is so bland... not many things to do :/
SebastienGadoury bland*
I think it replaces Catan.
Well, at least Catan have some good expansion while Cleopatra have none :/
I hate that if Sam doesn’t automatically know or like the game the other two say his, only “personality” (if you want to call it that) crutch he leans on is to be shitty toward them or their choice. I get that ribbing is part of their group dynamic but he never has anything witty or funny to say about them; just that they’re boring or stupid. It just gets old, like dude we get it, you don’t have anything fun to say and you only like non-mechanism-moving-plastic-men-around games.
Why cant' Roy stop leaning toward the camera, closer... and closer... urr
Still can't get Santorini easily here :(
I'm not sure where you are located but I just noticed that Target is carrying Santorini in my area. You may want to check there if you have one nearby.
Who's the guy doing the numbers? He's a hottie!
dajacra Roy Canaday from Epic Gaming Night.
He's great because his opinion of games is so similar to my own.
The counting down numbers guy was a cringe fest
We can either get these videos out at a faster pace, or add the pictures, and you get one every two weeks. I opted for faster.
The Dice Tower thanks for taking the time to reply and answer the question all of us have been wondering!
I’m happy with just the box art, that way you can see it and don’t miss the name of the game. With the internet being a thing you can look up pictures of the components, I do it when I’m curious about something. For me just having the game name displayed on screen is enough. Hate lists where they just say it and move along.