Bro, your channel is the most underrated board game content out there atm. Absolutely love your opinions and enthusiasm about the hobby, keep up the amazing work :)
YES!!! Finally a board game channel that talks about Dutch Blitz!!! This is one of my family's all-time favorite games. I love Massive Darkness and Unfair as well.
Great list. Probably one of the most unique top 10 I’ve seen with 0 overlap with me. I’ll say if you like anachrony you should give trickerion a go. It is a game that grabbed me and lived in my head for days after my first play and every chance I get I love it. Such an interesting theme and it’s got some really cool wrinkles in work placement, action selection, and resource management
Came to say the same Trickerion (much like Anachrony) is just so unique in so many ways immediately captivated me and I can't wait for the expansion reprint this month!
I love this list because its not like all the others showing always the same games everywhere. Thank you - need to make more investigations on some of the games ive seen here
I love seeing dune on a top 10. It's my number 1 game and I've literally spent thousands of hours playing it. It's the one game where I'll drop everything to play it with a good group.
After watching this channel a bunch, I finally went out and rented Rising Sun and after the first playthrough it was an instant buy. It gave my group the familiar feel of Bloodrage but with so much more deception and table talking and the visuals components are gorgeous. Thanks for all the great vids on it and would highly recommend to anyone else!
Thanks for sharing all this. Everdell is in my top ten, too, and I started exploring the expansions over the winter. Loving it!! I played Rising Sun for the first and only time this past winter too. We had a full player count, and it was bananas - in a way that I really enjoyed. There was so much going on and so many layers. Dune sounds rad for all the reasons you mentioned, and I was going to play this a few months ago as well, but it got cancelled due to snow. I'm not really familiar with the rest of these titles, but I've heard enough positive chatter about Massive Darkness 2 that maybe I'll start looking into that one.
It was unorthodox, but putting Bounce Off as numbers 10-1 really impressed me. Your love and support of glorious bounce off is appreciated and inspiring. In the end, bounce off deserved an entire video.
Thanks for sharing a little piece of your soul! Glad you still had it available :). I appreciate your list. I even MORE appreciate your enthusiasm and excitement.
Interesting list, definitely a few of those I"d never even heard of! I will say though base Everdell is outstanding and always will be New Leaf added some fantastic modules I have to recommend. Only played with it a few times but it is easily my favorite expansion now and it truly enhances the base game.
I've never seen a more unique Top 10. You made me curious about many of those games! Well after those official Top 20, I humbly want to add my place 21, 22 and 23. 21: Viscounts of the West Kingdom 22: Sakura Arms 23: Theurgy
It's official, those are 21-23 for everyone as well! I trust your judgement implicitly (and better play all three to be able to bask in the glory myself!
Great list. I just picked up the Dutch blitz expansion. Such a great simple, but fun game. Definitely tough to play in certain groups. Ill need to check out some on your list. Ive been looking at deluxifying games instead of buying more just recently. Definitely appreciate your approach of more does not equal better. Also, started using FB market place and BGG market place to save on games. I also just bought a BNIS Everdell Collector set from BGG user for $120 CAD and it's worth every penny for me. Solid game, now im tempted to get the wooden tree and resource containers.
Thanks for this list and your excitement about the games! 😁 Re: Anachrony, you have to get the Fractures of Time expansion. The blinking mechanic ups the complexity but fits so well into all the other mechanisms and theme. I loved it before that, but after FoT expansion, it became EPIC. 🤩
Great video and a great top 20 with lots of new options for me to check out (way to rep Canadian board gamers!). Everdell, Brass, and TM all in my top 10. Little surprised to not see Spirit Island, as the asymmetric powers plus deck building (kinda) plus a board, I figured would appeal to you. Anachrony, which I’ve never played, sounds amazing and has moved to the top of my buy next list.
Definitely really enjoy Spirit Island, it's one of those that I'd like to play more. But it also is one where I feel when playing co-op you can't really know what the other players are doing because that bogs the game down a lot, and I like knowing what everyone is doing on their turn.
Yes, yes, and yes. Rising Sun is just so damn good. It jumped to the top of my list of best games very quickly after I got it, and has stayed there ever since. Guards of Atlantis 2 is the only game that has threatened to dethrone it (and quite probably will), but there is absolutely no shame in that. I love seeing Rising Sun get the love that it truly deserves. I also really like Massive Darkness 2 and Everdell, and while I also enjoy Avalon, it has been dethroned as my first pick for social deception by Feed the Kraken. It shares a bit more DNA with Secret Hitler, but the level of overall involvement for everyone is higher and the self-balancing inherent in the ship movement results in many more close games. I still really like Avalon and I have too many good memories to sell it, but it's hard to see it getting to the table much anymore.
How dare you tell me about the existence of AOT the deck building game! One of my favorite mechanics in my favorite anime!?! And guess what, it’s nowhere to be found, I’ll just have to watch some videos and live vicariously through the people playing it 😢. Great video btw 😂
Haha I'm working on Cryptozoic to get it back ;) I'll pester them every day!! Definitely keep your eyes peeled on the secondary market, you might see it
I played Rising Sun only once but it's temporarily my second favorite game. I also extremely appreciate you picked up Dune. It is so great. However, the TH-camrs seem to totally forget about it. Thx for this awesome sharing!
Great list! 🎉 I know for sure if I have tried Anachrony, Massive Darkness and Attack on Titan, they would be in my top 10 as well. Everdell is the only overlap for now.
Love your enthusiasm! Cannot believe the number of hours you spent playing Dutch Blitze. No wonder you are so good at it. 😊I do agree it is a very addictive game.
Thanks for sharing your passion! A few titles i didnt know, so ill be diving in some more detailed reviews 😊 I love Oath for its around the table dramas and politics, Root and Dune Imperium for their clever cut-throatness strategy, and Games of Throne for the unbelievable tension it builds. I'm also enjoying Core Space for fun skirmishy/adventure big game days, and look forward to its upcoming fantasy brother Maladum. Cheers!
Anachrony is in my top 10 as well. i like MD2, but its not in my top 10. i own Everdell, i wouldnt be sad if it walked away lol. i found your list very interesting. thanks for sharing
Your top 10 is so wacky i love it. I like 1 of these (The Resisance) and would like to play 2 more (Dune and Rising Sun), dont feel i would have good time withcthe rest, but I like how your list is notcjust super popular games.
Man Dune is so good. I've had a chance to play a couple times with full groups and it's always one for the history books. I'm with you on that I just can't wait to go at it again :)
My dad bought me Avalon Hill's Tactic II in 1972 for $5. My favorite game is A Victory Lost. But I like to hear what the teenagers like today. Unfortunately, I have no interest in anime, except, Graveyard of the Fireflies. However, Dutch Blitz and Avalon are must buys from your opinion. Thanks
@@21Kikoshi it's 3-5, 6 with the expansion. For me, I obviously enjoy all player counts, some people like it the best at 4 because you always get an alliance member. I don't mind being left out of an alliance though. It's the same number of turns with any player count so you get more turns with less people. But it's hard for me to pick. I think if you have a group that's fully invested it's good at any count. 6 players is probably my least favourite, but it really changes the game and money becomes super scarce.
@@RoomandBoardReviews FYI, I'm planning to use the Warlords from White Death to replace the Daimyos in Rising Sun, so that each clan has a more meaningful leader.
Yeah there's actually two! The other is called "the last stand" was designed by Antoine Bauza which got me so stoked, but it's a one vs all where being the titan isn't as fun as being the scouts. Plus the deck builder exists so I ultimately got rid of the last stand because I was never gravitating towards it.
This was awesome to watch, thank you, thank you. I've had Rising Sun for three years and still have yet to try it...maybe this will be my catalyst to find people to try it with. I know it makes me want to be a better person.
THANK YOU! I've been trying to remember the name of a game for a few years now. It's Barony! I played it like 8 years ago, and never could find it later, until now.
Everdell is my #1 and Unfair is my #2 - I love both! Highly recommend getting the expansions for Everdell for more depth and complexity and variability.
Stop buying Dutch blitz. As a frugal dutch family we played it with decks of cards and called it Nertz. A Sharpie made any bicycle deck unique backed and player count was however many kids had their own deck of cards. Oh and 13 go in the face down pile for more challenge, more points and more bragging rights!
I end up having to do 15 sometimes to balance it out. I also sometimes play with my eyes closed for 5 seconds, eyes open for 5 seconds when playing against my parents haha
I played Nurts/Nertz the same way! Buy cancelled Vegas blackjack decks...all their backs are different and easily distinguishable and card-smashes aren't very painful lol
@@FemmeSensei you know it! My dads siblings played with their cousins and all my cousins play with the aunts and uncles and grandparents. Two family tables crammed full of us! The best is the decks that have done a few years work in the family. Well worn and broken in lol
I love this list, and really enjoyed watching both these videos. Even though none of your top 10 here were in my top 50 last time I ranked games a few months back, I really like the diversity of games. Certainly one of the more unique/personal top 10s I've seen. #9, 8, 7, 5, & 4 - haven't played these but want to try them all #10 - I recently bought this and read the rules but haven't played yet. I'm even more excited to try it now after hearing you gush about it. #6 - whaaaaat?! I love this pick. My wife will be ecstatic when I tell her this made someone's top 10 list. It's a long time family favourite of hers and she introduced it to me many years ago when we first met. We have a few copies kicking around here and it gets played a lot with family still, but I never think of it when I'm hosting a game night. It really is a great game and this reminded me I should play it more often. #3 & 1 - I've played them each a couple times and had fun, and can totally see why people love them, but for whatever reason these don't hit as hard for me. #2 - never even HEARD of this game until now, but I'm certainly interested now. I'll be sure to over-spend and buy a bunch of copies for $200 as per your advice. - Carlo
Carlo, your wife knows what's up!!! Dutch Blitz all daaayyy I'm very excited for your Barony experience. It just hits that lovely efficiency meets tactical game. I know you enjoy Santorini (as do I, don't own it yet/haven't played it enough to get on the list but would likely hit the top 20 when I do) so I hope that tactical aspect of Barony also hits. I mean, it's definitely pretty different, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed you'll be a fan :)
dutch blitz is a game they play a lot here in Pennsylvania lol. I compare it to Skip-bo or Flinch, but more chaotic. try "human dutch blitz" 8x11 cards, four tables, 8 people, and mad scrambling to get the huge cards onto the piles on the floor!
So interested to hear your views on Twilight Imperium. TI is absolutely my favourite game, huge fan. I have never played Dune, but I actually heard that it's a 'dry' (pun not intended) version of TI. So really interesting that you are saying that it's actually 'everything you wanted TI to be' 👀
Yeah Twilight Imperium was a huge miss for me. I have a full review about it (have only played TI3, but will likely never play it again for the amount of time it took and the amount of other games I could have been playing instead). Galactic Era is also one that completely did what I was hoping TI would do (also have a review on that one if you're interested in more space 4x)
@@RoomandBoardReviews yeah checked a few videos and got a trend here with your relationship with TI haha. But I’ve actually never played TI 3, only the 4th one. So can’t judge the previous one. The 4th is amazing tho 😆🤪
Thanks for overwriting my favorite games. (Well, did not work with The 7th Continent.) It's always fun to hear about how you think about different games. Nice to have seen Attack on Titan here. ^^
Awesome list! Everdell expansions are so fantastic though. It's like making that great game one or two steps even better. You like variable player powers so you'll love Bellfaire. You want more of just everything Everdell does and takes it up a notch - Newleaf. Want to change things up a bit- Spirecrest or Pearlbrook. It will just make you want to play the game even more. Anachrony base game is really good. Fractures expansion for it is also very good. I could play it either way, but would never teach the game with Fractures. Still love attack on Titan Now interested in Baron
Oh amazing! haha, yeah it's honestly so solid! I just felt it was unfair to all the other games who would look SO INFERIOR compared to the glorious game of the Gods that is Bounce Off, so I left it off so their feelings wouldn't be hurt. But let's be real, it's number 100-1!
Of all the games, I had only heard of one************* rising sun attack on titan everdell ************* dune unfair dutch blitz - (solitare) massive darkness 2 hellscape avalon ( social deduction) anachrony barony BTW, regarding Dutch Blitz, I heard Cockroach Poker Royal is good!
You're my only board game channel that praises Dune! 👏 🎉 If you're ever in Houston, I would love for you to play a game with my group! 😂 I've been praising and hosting the game consistently.
i'm suprised to see rising sun as your first, i also love it a lot, but i found people not liking it as much as me :D, also everdell is the game that i played the most with my wife, she really enjoy it and we bought all the expansions after playing the base game like 30 times with friends. I must say that the expansions add a good amount of things that after you try them you never gonna go back
Interesting list. I dont know most of these games, but i also just started playing more serious board games last year. the only one i would buy from your list is Everdell, since that gets named on top Lists a lot. The rest maybe sometime in the future, i want to try the classics first;)
@@RoomandBoardReviews it's definitely in my top 4 games i want to get next. The others are 7 Wonders, Dune Imperium, Viticulture, in that Order. We played Blood Rage before and really liked that, so i want to go with games in that complexity range for now😉
For Everdell expansions I would recommend Bellfaire at least for better events as well as other cool small modules and Spirecrest if you want to take the game to a crunchier more complex level. Also, if you play solo, then Mistwood offers a much better solo experience. The other expansions can be skipped if you are not really wanted all the extra ways to play.
I haven't played either yet unfortunately, but I'd like to! My neighbor has Eclipse so we're going to get a game in. For another great space 4x just played this game Galactic Era this year and it was really fun. I'm so so excited for Arydia to arrive by the designer of Xia but I realize they're very different games.
wow rising sun so high! I also like it more then blood rage. It is somewhere around my top 5 even though I'm bad at this game ^_^ I also like your Avalon pick, pretty unique
Man AOT deck building is very good but I got rid of it because of the difficulty and because there’s not a good way to cull cards which makes the game more difficult for those later titans
Hmm, Rising Sun is close to my favourite. Everdell is way up there for me, and the Cryptozoic DC Deck Building games are my faves. I think our tastes align pretty well so I may as well subscribe. And I best I'd best try to track down Attack on Titan! Have you played any of the other Cryptozoic deck builders?
I've played the DC deck builder and really wasn't a fan of it. It just felt so disjointed and really random depending on the card market at the time. Such a disparity between card powers. I felt they really improved upon this system with the Epic Spell wars annihilageddon series - I liked both of them a lot more because there's more interaction between the players and it feels like the swingy nature feels built for everyone. Maybe more strategies with the varying card types? It's been a while since I played DC, but really was not a fan (and I was so stoked about it because of AoT)
@@RoomandBoardReviews That's fair enough. The random lineup allows for less strategic planning, but I've found it makes it easy to onboard newer players and have them be able to do okay without needing them to plan for the long game.
After all this time I have to agree with game designer Paul Grogan. Mage Knight is still number one. Nothing else comes close. I like Gloomhaven and Sleeping Gods is great but I keep coming back to Mage Knight,and to a lesser degree Star Trek Frontiers. The sheer variety, especially with the expansions and fan made variations,is crazy. Campaigns like The Betrayal just make it even better. Return to Dark Tower is pretty fun as well as is Sword and Sorcery and Robotech Attack On The SDF-1, although I just call it Macross. I still haven't played Frosthaven though so we'll see about that.
Some very surprising choices here! I'm not too keen on Barony but there are a lot of games that land close to this genre, so take your pick people! Anachrony is hella intimidating to some but I've heard nothing but good things. I also hear that if you don't have the unnecessary minis that'll cost you a fortune you may as well not bother! (I'm not serious but I've heard that argument made) Avalon over BotC? Imma have to fight you in that one lol. I find most SD games end in a shouting contest of "That's what an evil player would say/do!" meanwhile BOTC does exactly the opposite by making it so that everyone has reasons to lie. I think you really discredit the Story teller's ability to make a game interesting, and I play mainly as the Storyteller so I come with the perspective that this game can really devolve and evolve into madness unlike others. It belongs in my top five, if not too three games. I think you should try it as the Storyteller once to appreciate some of the thought put into it. As a player, there is a never ending paranoia from the mechanics that I can't believe never ends. The payoff at the end of each game is satisfying and rewards a group with lots of debriefing. MD vs Zombicide? I'm on Zack's team 💀 Everdell 🐭 😺 🐶 enough said Attack on what now? 😂 Rising Sun...just no haha. I can't with that game. Not to mention that I have too many games as big as it. My #1 is Spirit Island and when I think of your favorite I immediately compare it to mine. I can see the taste differences immediately as opposed to whether or not we have a keener eye for the better game (let's face it, we know you do!). At the end of the day I like coops more and SI is ultimately complex enough to keep me going while working together. Rising Sun? My wife would prob shoot me in the face if I wanted to set it up every night... Thanks for sharing all your thoughts!
I don't think you need the minis or any of the expansions at all for Anachrony, and I love that there is the Essential edition because it's a good price for what you get. I get the argument of Avalon, and I think if I was the storyteller I could facilitate a good amount of fun for people, or if I had better storytellers I'd have had better experiences (I've had a really selfish one, and a pretty good one before). I just think it's nice to have the streamlined nature of Avalon which usurps it a bit.
Just bought Attack on Titan purely off your recommendation - stoked!! You cemented the respect I’ve got for ya when your #3 is the exact same as my #3 🙏
How come nobody ever puts Candy Land on these lists? It may not be as deep as Terra Nova, and no adult plays it, but it's where most of us started, and it is just as effective as it was 75 years ago. 5 years from now, this list of yours will be totally different, but kids will still be cutting their board gaming teeth on Candy Land.
Well, after a disastrous 20 -11 list 😉- I don't yet have any of those and you passed on Kremlin (who passes on a game where one secretly bids influence on Soviet Politburo members for a chance to wave at the annual October parade and sends opponents for a "relaxing" stay at a sanatorium?) - you have redeemed yourself. I actually have a few of these: Dune, Everdell, and Rising Sun. Thank you for the great Rising Sun review by the way. In addition to the gameplay that you covered, it's also great just as an art piece.
I love this hobby precisely because of its subjectivity. It's like movie taste or cuisine, there's no right/wrong answer. Despite winning a lot of Rising Sun, I don't love the game. I kept comparing it to Blood Rage but in a void, I probably would like Rising Sun more. Once upon a time, Avalon was one of my favorite games and it's one of my most played. I'm just burnt out on it and it's been replaced by Deception: Murder in Hong Kong. Our group just got Massive Darkness 2 and we're looking forward to it--something a little less mentally taxing than Gloomhaven. I'm curious about your other choices!
Yeah I can see the Avalon burnout for sure. I like deception, because of the story you can tell with it, but my group always defaults to Avalon so I ended up getting rid of Deception because of that
Love AoT anime and deckbuilders so would have liked to try it but looks like it's not really available anywhere haha. Ah well. Also Rising Sun was also my very first Kickstarter as well. Love that game. My favorite game now since then is Root and then maybe War of the Ring. One caveat to to Rising Sun though is that is that is don't exactly like the FOMO stuff for people who missed the ks. When I share favorite games it frustrates me when people feel like they can never get to experience the game with everything and it was intentionally produced that way. Which is why I like your reasons not to back videos.
Yeah totally get that with Rising Sun. Luckily I think the best expansion is the Sun and the Moon clan, combo'd with the base game is everything anyone could ever need. The extra monsters are fun, but totally not necessary and I rarely use the Kami Unbound expansion when I play. I know about AoT, but I've seen a few floating around on the secondary market, maybe I'll send Cryptazoic an email to see the print status etc
I own Rising Sun. Tough game with 3 players however. I feel 4 players would be the sweet spot but not tried yet. What do you think about Sythe? I think it’s right up there, probably even ahead of Rising Sun. You get plenty of table talk but do have to wait a little longer for your turn then Rising Sun sometimes.
I definitely enjoy scythe, but I don't find there's as much table talk or out thinking your opponents. It is a fun optimization puzzle where you try to win in as few turns as possible, really enjoy the events, but don't find the combat in there as satisfying in terms of reading your opponents. I guess there is the question of "what number will I pick" but because you know if you really need to win or not, I find most people just go all out. Still quite enjoy it, would make my top 100, I'm just not sure where
Anachrony rocks! I have and played with all the mods too, so much fun, good list! Your doing a great job! Ps word on the street you are a Torontonian is this true? Ps you ever played xwing miniatures?
I am a Torontonian! I've played it once, my friend Zach who's been on the channel (does a monthly RPG segment) got really into it and played a bunch. I'm not a huge skirmish game guy though, and the amount of content out there and money it feels like you have to spend to get a good fleet feels a bit overwhelming. I know there's a good x wing scene in Toronto though
@@RoomandBoardReviews thats awesome, I heard you drop being a Canadian and then Alex mentioned taking the trip to Toronto, lol I’m just in Oshawa, we should get a games night in! I host a ton and have great relationships with all the board game cafe’s, and stores in Durham!
I tried to make Attack on Titan a christmas tradition, we played it a few times the first year, but we didnt get it back on the table last year. Still, it is a very good game.
I actually own Attack on Titan: Deck Building Game, I bought it back in 2018 I think! Rising sun is also a very good game! I really want to try Anachrony now, it looks like it's up my alley!
Wooooo, that's great! It's hard to find a copy now, but I've emailed Cryptozoic to see if there are any reprint plans or if I can do anything to get it more out in the open. Might be decent timing with the anime finishing up this year. Definitely try Anachrony, it's so elegant. And the essential edition is usually a pretty good price I think.
![POLYCAT - ข้อความรูปยิ้ม [Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lBhIgPGCgbI/mqdefault.jpg)
I can't believe Boggle is your #1, too!
It's just so good!
@@RoomandBoardReviews Boggles my mind how both you like it.
Bro, your channel is the most underrated board game content out there atm. Absolutely love your opinions and enthusiasm about the hobby, keep up the amazing work :)
That enthusiasm tho, it’s great!
Thanks so much, I really appreciate that :)
YES!!! Finally a board game channel that talks about Dutch Blitz!!! This is one of my family's all-time favorite games. I love Massive Darkness and Unfair as well.
Yessssss dutch blitz is so so good :)
I know it as "Nurtz", and you don't need a special deck for it...I've played it all my life just with normal decks of cards :).
@@FemmeSensei someone else down below gave a Nurtz/Nertz shoutout as well
Great list. Probably one of the most unique top 10 I’ve seen with 0 overlap with me. I’ll say if you like anachrony you should give trickerion a go. It is a game that grabbed me and lived in my head for days after my first play and every chance I get I love it. Such an interesting theme and it’s got some really cool wrinkles in work placement, action selection, and resource management
Yeah I definitely should try it out. They all look really good to me :)
Came to say the same Trickerion (much like Anachrony) is just so unique in so many ways immediately captivated me and I can't wait for the expansion reprint this month!
Really unique top 10. That's great! I'll check out some more in-depth reviews of Dune and Rising Sun, they seem like games I could really enjoy 🙂
Loved your top 10 because I feel your love for the games, the detailed reasons why you like the game, and your shared experiences playing the game
I really love to see how much pleasure you have when you talk about your top 10 games. It's very genuine. Love it
I love this list because its not like all the others showing always the same games everywhere. Thank you - need to make more investigations on some of the games ive seen here
Thanks! I'm proud of it in that sense as well :) Definitely investigate them, I love them all!
I love seeing dune on a top 10. It's my number 1 game and I've literally spent thousands of hours playing it. It's the one game where I'll drop everything to play it with a good group.
After watching this channel a bunch, I finally went out and rented Rising Sun and after the first playthrough it was an instant buy. It gave my group the familiar feel of Bloodrage but with so much more deception and table talking and the visuals components are gorgeous. Thanks for all the great vids on it and would highly recommend to anyone else!
Amazing! I'm so excited you enjoyed it :)
Blood Rage is the better game😉
No love for Ankh ? ;-)
Rising Sun is so under-rated. IMO, it's Eric Lang's best game and its been in my top ten for years.
I'm new to the board gaming space and have really enjoyed your channel since I discovered it a month or so ago! Keep up thew great content!
Thanks! :)
Thanks for sharing all this. Everdell is in my top ten, too, and I started exploring the expansions over the winter. Loving it!!
I played Rising Sun for the first and only time this past winter too. We had a full player count, and it was bananas - in a way that I really enjoyed. There was so much going on and so many layers. Dune sounds rad for all the reasons you mentioned, and I was going to play this a few months ago as well, but it got cancelled due to snow.
I'm not really familiar with the rest of these titles, but I've heard enough positive chatter about Massive Darkness 2 that maybe I'll start looking into that one.
It was unorthodox, but putting Bounce Off as numbers 10-1 really impressed me. Your love and support of glorious bounce off is appreciated and inspiring. In the end, bounce off deserved an entire video.
Finally someone who gets me!!
i love that you are proof that games that people put on their bottom can be on someone elses top
Great video
Thanks for sharing a little piece of your soul! Glad you still had it available :).
I appreciate your list.
I even MORE appreciate your enthusiasm and excitement.
I will be honest Dutch Blitz is SUCH a clutch callout!! Same for my family, we have bought so many decks of it just because we have worn out so many
Really fun list! Didn't expect most of them. Glad to see some real diversity on a top 10 list!
Thanks! Yeah, I'm thrilled this is my list for sure :)
I don't think you can ever play too much Everdell. You were absolutely correct in putting that in your top 10. 😄 Spirecrest is my favorite expansion ☺
Interesting list, definitely a few of those I"d never even heard of! I will say though base Everdell is outstanding and always will be New Leaf added some fantastic modules I have to recommend. Only played with it a few times but it is easily my favorite expansion now and it truly enhances the base game.
I've never seen a more unique Top 10. You made me curious about many of those games!
Well after those official Top 20, I humbly want to add my place 21, 22 and 23.
21: Viscounts of the West Kingdom
22: Sakura Arms
23: Theurgy
It's official, those are 21-23 for everyone as well! I trust your judgement implicitly (and better play all three to be able to bask in the glory myself!
Great list. I just picked up the Dutch blitz expansion. Such a great simple, but fun game. Definitely tough to play in certain groups. Ill need to check out some on your list. Ive been looking at deluxifying games instead of buying more just recently. Definitely appreciate your approach of more does not equal better. Also, started using FB market place and BGG market place to save on games. I also just bought a BNIS Everdell Collector set from BGG user for $120 CAD and it's worth every penny for me. Solid game, now im tempted to get the wooden tree and resource containers.
Where’s bounce off!!!!
What an upset!
It is too glorious for this earthly realm. I didn't want to make the other 10 feel completely horrible about themselves
@@RoomandBoardReviews LOL. Nice list, love the channel. Keep it up!
Thanks for this list and your excitement about the games! 😁 Re: Anachrony, you have to get the Fractures of Time expansion. The blinking mechanic ups the complexity but fits so well into all the other mechanisms and theme. I loved it before that, but after FoT expansion, it became EPIC. 🤩
Awesome, I'll have to try it out for sure :)
Comments on Future Imperfect?
Great video and a great top 20 with lots of new options for me to check out (way to rep Canadian board gamers!). Everdell, Brass, and TM all in my top 10. Little surprised to not see Spirit Island, as the asymmetric powers plus deck building (kinda) plus a board, I figured would appeal to you. Anachrony, which I’ve never played, sounds amazing and has moved to the top of my buy next list.
Definitely really enjoy Spirit Island, it's one of those that I'd like to play more. But it also is one where I feel when playing co-op you can't really know what the other players are doing because that bogs the game down a lot, and I like knowing what everyone is doing on their turn.
Yes, yes, and yes. Rising Sun is just so damn good. It jumped to the top of my list of best games very quickly after I got it, and has stayed there ever since. Guards of Atlantis 2 is the only game that has threatened to dethrone it (and quite probably will), but there is absolutely no shame in that.
I love seeing Rising Sun get the love that it truly deserves.
I also really like Massive Darkness 2 and Everdell, and while I also enjoy Avalon, it has been dethroned as my first pick for social deception by Feed the Kraken. It shares a bit more DNA with Secret Hitler, but the level of overall involvement for everyone is higher and the self-balancing inherent in the ship movement results in many more close games. I still really like Avalon and I have too many good memories to sell it, but it's hard to see it getting to the table much anymore.
Amazing! I'll have to check both Feed the Kraken and Guards of Atlantis 2 out!! Sounds like they'd be right up my alley!
How dare you tell me about the existence of AOT the deck building game! One of my favorite mechanics in my favorite anime!?! And guess what, it’s nowhere to be found, I’ll just have to watch some videos and live vicariously through the people playing it 😢. Great video btw 😂
Haha I'm working on Cryptozoic to get it back ;) I'll pester them every day!! Definitely keep your eyes peeled on the secondary market, you might see it
I played Rising Sun only once but it's temporarily my second favorite game. I also extremely appreciate you picked up Dune. It is so great. However, the TH-camrs seem to totally forget about it. Thx for this awesome sharing!
Great list! 🎉 I know for sure if I have tried Anachrony, Massive Darkness and Attack on Titan, they would be in my top 10 as well. Everdell is the only overlap for now.
Love your enthusiasm! Cannot believe the number of hours you spent playing Dutch Blitze. No wonder you are so good at it. 😊I do agree it is a very addictive game.
Thanks for sharing your passion!
A few titles i didnt know, so ill be diving in some more detailed reviews 😊
I love Oath for its around the table dramas and politics, Root and Dune Imperium for their clever cut-throatness strategy, and Games of Throne for the unbelievable tension it builds. I'm also enjoying Core Space for fun skirmishy/adventure big game days, and look forward to its upcoming fantasy brother Maladum.
Cheers!
Anachrony is in my top 10 as well. i like MD2, but its not in my top 10. i own Everdell, i wouldnt be sad if it walked away lol. i found your list very interesting. thanks for sharing
Your top 10 is so wacky i love it. I like 1 of these (The Resisance) and would like to play 2 more (Dune and Rising Sun), dont feel i would have good time withcthe rest, but I like how your list is notcjust super popular games.
Man Dune is so good. I've had a chance to play a couple times with full groups and it's always one for the history books. I'm with you on that I just can't wait to go at it again :)
My dad bought me Avalon Hill's Tactic II in 1972 for $5. My favorite game is A Victory Lost. But I like to hear what the teenagers like today. Unfortunately, I have no interest in anime, except, Graveyard of the Fireflies. However, Dutch Blitz and Avalon are must buys from your opinion. Thanks
Oh yeah Graveyard of the fireflies hits REALLY hard. I hope you love both of them!
finally someone who have a unique top 10
I like your content. You seem to be a very nice guy and I feel like your reviews are very honest.
Thanks! That's very kind of you to say! :)
haha nice review, I'm glad about your number 1, I literally just got my retail copy today with the 3 expansions.
Niiiiiice, I hope you love it!!
@@RoomandBoardReviews quick question how many players is rising sun for? what's your ideal number of players?
@@21Kikoshi it's 3-5, 6 with the expansion.
For me, I obviously enjoy all player counts, some people like it the best at 4 because you always get an alliance member. I don't mind being left out of an alliance though. It's the same number of turns with any player count so you get more turns with less people. But it's hard for me to pick. I think if you have a group that's fully invested it's good at any count. 6 players is probably my least favourite, but it really changes the game and money becomes super scarce.
@@RoomandBoardReviews Thank you for the nice explanation! lol glad you got the comic book from QL
@@RoomandBoardReviews FYI, I'm planning to use the Warlords from White Death to replace the Daimyos in Rising Sun, so that each clan has a more meaningful leader.
Thank you for validating my choices with some overlapping...it's the only thing keeping me going.
I didn't even know Attack on Titan HAD a board game. And definitely would not have predicted it to be good, necessarily. Neat!
Yeah there's actually two! The other is called "the last stand" was designed by Antoine Bauza which got me so stoked, but it's a one vs all where being the titan isn't as fun as being the scouts. Plus the deck builder exists so I ultimately got rid of the last stand because I was never gravitating towards it.
@@RoomandBoardReviews Ty, will check out this one then.
This was awesome to watch, thank you, thank you. I've had Rising Sun for three years and still have yet to try it...maybe this will be my catalyst to find people to try it with. I know it makes me want to be a better person.
THANK YOU! I've been trying to remember the name of a game for a few years now. It's Barony! I played it like 8 years ago, and never could find it later, until now.
Yesssssss
Everdell is my #1 and Unfair is my #2 - I love both! Highly recommend getting the expansions for Everdell for more depth and complexity and variability.
Absolutely try the fractures of time expansion for Anachrony and the newleaf expansion fit everdell! Really wanna check out barony now
You are the one who motivates me to buy and play Rising Sun, and for that thank you so much !
You absolutely need to get the expansions of Everdell! They are all so good!
Stop buying Dutch blitz. As a frugal dutch family we played it with decks of cards and called it Nertz. A Sharpie made any bicycle deck unique backed and player count was however many kids had their own deck of cards. Oh and 13 go in the face down pile for more challenge, more points and more bragging rights!
I do love bragging rights....
I end up having to do 15 sometimes to balance it out. I also sometimes play with my eyes closed for 5 seconds, eyes open for 5 seconds when playing against my parents haha
I played Nurts/Nertz the same way!
Buy cancelled Vegas blackjack decks...all their backs are different and easily distinguishable and card-smashes aren't very painful lol
@@RoomandBoardReviews Oh...challenge accepted :)
@@FemmeSensei you know it! My dads siblings played with their cousins and all my cousins play with the aunts and uncles and grandparents. Two family tables crammed full of us!
The best is the decks that have done a few years work in the family. Well worn and broken in lol
Love 10% of your list, Everdell is fantastic :)
Haha I'll take it :)
I love this list, and really enjoyed watching both these videos. Even though none of your top 10 here were in my top 50 last time I ranked games a few months back, I really like the diversity of games. Certainly one of the more unique/personal top 10s I've seen.
#9, 8, 7, 5, & 4 - haven't played these but want to try them all
#10 - I recently bought this and read the rules but haven't played yet. I'm even more excited to try it now after hearing you gush about it.
#6 - whaaaaat?! I love this pick. My wife will be ecstatic when I tell her this made someone's top 10 list. It's a long time family favourite of hers and she introduced it to me many years ago when we first met. We have a few copies kicking around here and it gets played a lot with family still, but I never think of it when I'm hosting a game night. It really is a great game and this reminded me I should play it more often.
#3 & 1 - I've played them each a couple times and had fun, and can totally see why people love them, but for whatever reason these don't hit as hard for me.
#2 - never even HEARD of this game until now, but I'm certainly interested now. I'll be sure to over-spend and buy a bunch of copies for $200 as per your advice.
- Carlo
Carlo, your wife knows what's up!!! Dutch Blitz all daaayyy
I'm very excited for your Barony experience. It just hits that lovely efficiency meets tactical game. I know you enjoy Santorini (as do I, don't own it yet/haven't played it enough to get on the list but would likely hit the top 20 when I do) so I hope that tactical aspect of Barony also hits. I mean, it's definitely pretty different, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed you'll be a fan :)
dutch blitz is a game they play a lot here in Pennsylvania lol. I compare it to Skip-bo or Flinch, but more chaotic. try "human dutch blitz" 8x11 cards, four tables, 8 people, and mad scrambling to get the huge cards onto the piles on the floor!
That sounds incredible hahah
So are you burning all the games behind you that are not on the list??? Hmmm!!! Hmmm!!?
Haha you're right, I have to, it's the law!!
I think our tastes are REALLY different, but fun list all the same!
I have 2 copies of Dutch Blitz, recieved as gifts (I'm Dutch) and I didn't have any interest in playing but now I will check it out!
Amazing! Definitely do, it's so fun :)
So interested to hear your views on Twilight Imperium. TI is absolutely my favourite game, huge fan. I have never played Dune, but I actually heard that it's a 'dry' (pun not intended) version of TI. So really interesting that you are saying that it's actually 'everything you wanted TI to be' 👀
Yeah Twilight Imperium was a huge miss for me. I have a full review about it (have only played TI3, but will likely never play it again for the amount of time it took and the amount of other games I could have been playing instead). Galactic Era is also one that completely did what I was hoping TI would do (also have a review on that one if you're interested in more space 4x)
@@RoomandBoardReviews yeah checked a few videos and got a trend here with your relationship with TI haha. But I’ve actually never played TI 3, only the 4th one. So can’t judge the previous one. The 4th is amazing tho 😆🤪
love Barony, its not spoken of enough.
Definitely need to play that last one with you.
100% whoooo baby!
Attack on Titan is so good. My number one deck builder.
Thanks for overwriting my favorite games. (Well, did not work with The 7th Continent.) It's always fun to hear about how you think about different games. Nice to have seen Attack on Titan here. ^^
Awesome list!
Everdell expansions are so fantastic though. It's like making that great game one or two steps even better. You like variable player powers so you'll love Bellfaire. You want more of just everything Everdell does and takes it up a notch - Newleaf. Want to change things up a bit- Spirecrest or Pearlbrook. It will just make you want to play the game even more.
Anachrony base game is really good. Fractures expansion for it is also very good. I could play it either way, but would never teach the game with Fractures.
Still love attack on Titan
Now interested in Baron
What about Future Imperfect?
@@joaoantunes6858 I don't have the others yet
You get me with Attack on titan, i'm so excited to try it.
Original, fresh, very nice! Thnks.
Congrats on 10k! Your channel is awesome!
Where is Bounce Off and why isn't it at least in your top 4? I recently found it at a thrift store and 6 yr old has been loving it.
Oh amazing! haha, yeah it's honestly so solid! I just felt it was unfair to all the other games who would look SO INFERIOR compared to the glorious game of the Gods that is Bounce Off, so I left it off so their feelings wouldn't be hurt. But let's be real, it's number 100-1!
You did AoT DBG justice, good sir.
I'm so grateful for you, mister
Right back atcha!
I am so with you on Attack on Titan! Tough but great game.
Of all the games, I had only heard of one*************
rising sun
attack on titan
everdell *************
dune
unfair
dutch blitz - (solitare)
massive darkness 2 hellscape
avalon ( social deduction)
anachrony
barony
BTW, regarding Dutch Blitz, I heard Cockroach Poker Royal is good!
You're my only board game channel that praises Dune! 👏 🎉
If you're ever in Houston, I would love for you to play a game with my group! 😂 I've been praising and hosting the game consistently.
Absolutely, haha, Ive never been but this is the perfect excuse to go!!
i'm suprised to see rising sun as your first, i also love it a lot, but i found people not liking it as much as me :D, also everdell is the game that i played the most with my wife, she really enjoy it and we bought all the expansions after playing the base game like 30 times with friends. I must say that the expansions add a good amount of things that after you try them you never gonna go back
Interesting list. I dont know most of these games, but i also just started playing more serious board games last year. the only one i would buy from your list is Everdell, since that gets named on top Lists a lot. The rest maybe sometime in the future, i want to try the classics first;)
Everdell is definitely a great pick, especially if you're still getting immersed in the hobby :)
@@RoomandBoardReviews it's definitely in my top 4 games i want to get next. The others are 7 Wonders, Dune Imperium, Viticulture, in that Order. We played Blood Rage before and really liked that, so i want to go with games in that complexity range for now😉
For Everdell expansions I would recommend Bellfaire at least for better events as well as other cool small modules and Spirecrest if you want to take the game to a crunchier more complex level.
Also, if you play solo, then Mistwood offers a much better solo experience.
The other expansions can be skipped if you are not really wanted all the extra ways to play.
Renee's been on me about getting every Everdell expansion, haha, so I may have to start with Bellfaire, I've heard such good things about it.
We like a lot of the same games. Have you played games like Xia and Eclipse, and if so, did you like your experience?
I haven't played either yet unfortunately, but I'd like to! My neighbor has Eclipse so we're going to get a game in. For another great space 4x just played this game Galactic Era this year and it was really fun. I'm so so excited for Arydia to arrive by the designer of Xia but I realize they're very different games.
"Rising Sun, it's Catan in feudal Japan!" - Chris George
Excellent!
Gratz on 10k!🎉
You merged “blew me out of the water” and “knocked it out of the park” into “blew me out of the park” lol
The wind was particularly strong in the park that day...
wow rising sun so high! I also like it more then blood rage. It is somewhere around my top 5 even though I'm bad at this game ^_^ I also like your Avalon pick, pretty unique
Man AOT deck building is very good but I got rid of it because of the difficulty and because there’s not a good way to cull cards which makes the game more difficult for those later titans
Hmm, Rising Sun is close to my favourite. Everdell is way up there for me, and the Cryptozoic DC Deck Building games are my faves. I think our tastes align pretty well so I may as well subscribe. And I best I'd best try to track down Attack on Titan!
Have you played any of the other Cryptozoic deck builders?
I've played the DC deck builder and really wasn't a fan of it. It just felt so disjointed and really random depending on the card market at the time. Such a disparity between card powers. I felt they really improved upon this system with the Epic Spell wars annihilageddon series - I liked both of them a lot more because there's more interaction between the players and it feels like the swingy nature feels built for everyone. Maybe more strategies with the varying card types? It's been a while since I played DC, but really was not a fan (and I was so stoked about it because of AoT)
@@RoomandBoardReviews That's fair enough. The random lineup allows for less strategic planning, but I've found it makes it easy to onboard newer players and have them be able to do okay without needing them to plan for the long game.
@@benjiiiiiiiii yeah totally, I just enjoyed it a ton more with the ability to target each other I think!
Thank you for saving my RS from a purge. I was worried it wouldn't survive the ravages of time.
After all this time I have to agree with game designer Paul Grogan. Mage Knight is still number one. Nothing else comes close. I like Gloomhaven and Sleeping Gods is great but I keep coming back to Mage Knight,and to a lesser degree Star Trek Frontiers. The sheer variety, especially with the expansions and fan made variations,is crazy. Campaigns like The Betrayal just make it even better. Return to Dark Tower is pretty fun as well as is Sword and Sorcery and Robotech Attack On The SDF-1, although I just call it Macross. I still haven't played Frosthaven though so we'll see about that.
Some very surprising choices here!
I'm not too keen on Barony but there are a lot of games that land close to this genre, so take your pick people!
Anachrony is hella intimidating to some but I've heard nothing but good things. I also hear that if you don't have the unnecessary minis that'll cost you a fortune you may as well not bother! (I'm not serious but I've heard that argument made)
Avalon over BotC? Imma have to fight you in that one lol. I find most SD games end in a shouting contest of "That's what an evil player would say/do!" meanwhile BOTC does exactly the opposite by making it so that everyone has reasons to lie. I think you really discredit the Story teller's ability to make a game interesting, and I play mainly as the Storyteller so I come with the perspective that this game can really devolve and evolve into madness unlike others. It belongs in my top five, if not too three games. I think you should try it as the Storyteller once to appreciate some of the thought put into it. As a player, there is a never ending paranoia from the mechanics that I can't believe never ends. The payoff at the end of each game is satisfying and rewards a group with lots of debriefing.
MD vs Zombicide? I'm on Zack's team 💀
Everdell 🐭 😺 🐶 enough said
Attack on what now? 😂
Rising Sun...just no haha. I can't with that game. Not to mention that I have too many games as big as it. My #1 is Spirit Island and when I think of your favorite I immediately compare it to mine. I can see the taste differences immediately as opposed to whether or not we have a keener eye for the better game (let's face it, we know you do!). At the end of the day I like coops more and SI is ultimately complex enough to keep me going while working together. Rising Sun? My wife would prob shoot me in the face if I wanted to set it up every night...
Thanks for sharing all your thoughts!
I don't think you need the minis or any of the expansions at all for Anachrony, and I love that there is the Essential edition because it's a good price for what you get.
I get the argument of Avalon, and I think if I was the storyteller I could facilitate a good amount of fun for people, or if I had better storytellers I'd have had better experiences (I've had a really selfish one, and a pretty good one before). I just think it's nice to have the streamlined nature of Avalon which usurps it a bit.
Great list! Anachrony is always in my top 10, have not tried the rest, You should try Trickerion and Excavation earth.
Definitely have to :) just thinking about all those great ones I haven't tried gets me so stoked haha
Just bought Attack on Titan purely off your recommendation - stoked!! You cemented the respect I’ve got for ya when your #3 is the exact same as my #3 🙏
Amazing! I hope you love it!
Have you played Quest? It’s basically Avalon with a bit more differentiation. I love both! Can’t really decide which one I like better
Barony! Really love it!
How come nobody ever puts Candy Land on these lists? It may not be as deep as Terra Nova, and no adult plays it, but it's where most of us started, and it is just as effective as it was 75 years ago. 5 years from now, this list of yours will be totally different, but kids will still be cutting their board gaming teeth on Candy Land.
@@j.r.shartzer I just assumed people knew my 1-10 were all actually Candleland
Soo...I just wanna grab half of those games you listed... help another George out! 😂
Well, after a disastrous 20 -11 list 😉- I don't yet have any of those and you passed on Kremlin (who passes on a game where one secretly bids influence on Soviet Politburo members for a chance to wave at the annual October parade and sends opponents for a "relaxing" stay at a sanatorium?) - you have redeemed yourself. I actually have a few of these: Dune, Everdell, and Rising Sun. Thank you for the great Rising Sun review by the way. In addition to the gameplay that you covered, it's also great just as an art piece.
Silver Coin: AOMH team strongly supports your number 1 choice. :)
I love this hobby precisely because of its subjectivity. It's like movie taste or cuisine, there's no right/wrong answer. Despite winning a lot of Rising Sun, I don't love the game. I kept comparing it to Blood Rage but in a void, I probably would like Rising Sun more. Once upon a time, Avalon was one of my favorite games and it's one of my most played. I'm just burnt out on it and it's been replaced by Deception: Murder in Hong Kong.
Our group just got Massive Darkness 2 and we're looking forward to it--something a little less mentally taxing than Gloomhaven. I'm curious about your other choices!
Yeah I can see the Avalon burnout for sure. I like deception, because of the story you can tell with it, but my group always defaults to Avalon so I ended up getting rid of Deception because of that
Love AoT anime and deckbuilders so would have liked to try it but looks like it's not really available anywhere haha. Ah well.
Also Rising Sun was also my very first Kickstarter as well. Love that game. My favorite game now since then is Root and then maybe War of the Ring.
One caveat to to Rising Sun though is that is that is don't exactly like the FOMO stuff for people who missed the ks. When I share favorite games it frustrates me when people feel like they can never get to experience the game with everything and it was intentionally produced that way. Which is why I like your reasons not to back videos.
Yeah totally get that with Rising Sun. Luckily I think the best expansion is the Sun and the Moon clan, combo'd with the base game is everything anyone could ever need. The extra monsters are fun, but totally not necessary and I rarely use the Kami Unbound expansion when I play.
I know about AoT, but I've seen a few floating around on the secondary market, maybe I'll send Cryptazoic an email to see the print status etc
My top 5 is Barrage, Trickerion, Trismegistus, Anachrony and Through the Ages 😂
I am going to need to check out Barony. Great list.
Anachrony! Fantastic, incredible experience.
I own Rising Sun. Tough game with 3 players however. I feel 4 players would be the sweet spot but not tried yet.
What do you think about Sythe?
I think it’s right up there, probably even ahead of Rising Sun. You get plenty of table talk but do have to wait a little longer for your turn then Rising Sun sometimes.
I definitely enjoy scythe, but I don't find there's as much table talk or out thinking your opponents. It is a fun optimization puzzle where you try to win in as few turns as possible, really enjoy the events, but don't find the combat in there as satisfying in terms of reading your opponents. I guess there is the question of "what number will I pick" but because you know if you really need to win or not, I find most people just go all out. Still quite enjoy it, would make my top 100, I'm just not sure where
Great list and love your #1
Anachrony rocks! I have and played with all the mods too, so much fun, good list! Your doing a great job! Ps word on the street you are a Torontonian is this true? Ps you ever played xwing miniatures?
I am a Torontonian! I've played it once, my friend Zach who's been on the channel (does a monthly RPG segment) got really into it and played a bunch. I'm not a huge skirmish game guy though, and the amount of content out there and money it feels like you have to spend to get a good fleet feels a bit overwhelming. I know there's a good x wing scene in Toronto though
@@RoomandBoardReviews thats awesome, I heard you drop being a Canadian and then Alex mentioned taking the trip to Toronto, lol I’m just in Oshawa, we should get a games night in! I host a ton and have great relationships with all the board game cafe’s, and stores in Durham!
If you like Rising Sun then you definitely need to try SENJI or even YEDO!
I tried to make Attack on Titan a christmas tradition, we played it a few times the first year, but we didnt get it back on the table last year.
Still, it is a very good game.
I actually own Attack on Titan: Deck Building Game, I bought it back in 2018 I think! Rising sun is also a very good game! I really want to try Anachrony now, it looks like it's up my alley!
Wooooo, that's great! It's hard to find a copy now, but I've emailed Cryptozoic to see if there are any reprint plans or if I can do anything to get it more out in the open. Might be decent timing with the anime finishing up this year.
Definitely try Anachrony, it's so elegant. And the essential edition is usually a pretty good price I think.