Agreed, I thought replacing Sam on these would be tough because he’s been Tom’s friend forever, but Mike seems like part of the furniture. He has such a great manner and I really respect his opinion - even when I don’t agree
Tom, Zee, and Mike (and all The Dice Tower crew) - you're all awesome! Among other things, I appreciate Zee's wit and storytelling ability, Mike's cheese and thoughtfulness, and Tom's energy. My gaming tastes align more often with Mike, but everyone there has great taste. I want to shine on Tom, for a minute. Tom is the #1 reason I keep coming back to this channel, usually on the daily. Many other reasons to like the channel, but it wouldn't exist without Tom, so yeah. Tom's enthusiasm, drive, delivery, vast experience and knowledge, and just genuine good vibes are what, well...keep me coming back. It is interesting - Tom is older than me, but sometimes he seems like a big kid to me. You know, frequently that child-like energy will be tamped down in childhood, due to various reasons. Well, Tom's still got that energy. He's super upfront and confident with who he is, and where he's at, and I appreciate that vibe. I don't always appreciate that quality in people. If he was an upfront jerk, I wouldn't be writing this. Tom seems like a great boss (I envy the DT crew), father, and genuinely good person. I try to surround myself with people I look up to, so I’m happy to have you all as guests in my house frequently throughout the week. Keep up the honesty, thoughtfulness, great humor, and good vibes, and I’ll keep coming around. Cheers!
I had to defend myself to my wife for watching this the last couple of nights and told her that this is for me what grammies or Oscars are for other people. That Was okay to her. It was really enjoyable and I did laugh out loud some times. Keep up the good spirit and have a fun time
its nice to have four (4) different people, each with their own gaming backgrounds and play styles provide insights of which game meets their tastes. thank you for this!
4-way crossovers: Dune Imperium, Marvel United, Sleeping Gods, Wingspan. 3's: A Feast for Odin, Anachrony, Architects of the West Kingdom, Blood Rage, Chronicles of Crime, Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, Dixit, Everdell, Five Tribes, Nidavellir, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Parks, Raiders of the North Sea, Rising Sun, Scythe, Targi, Vagrantsong, Viticulture
@@EliteBeast really? I think Tom is pure cringe. Clearly values his own opinions/ego more than anything else. All he ever does is talk over anyone else. So annoying.
While Zee's top 10 isn't the one I vibe with the most, I will say; his top 10 carries the most weight. Zee's does not get suckered in by new games very often. He likes what he likes and it takes a lot for something new to rank so highly. Marvel United making his number 8 is a big deal.
Not really .Like you said he likes what he likes and that's light games or medium light games that take 30-60 minutes and have tons of content and of course lot's of coops games. Also he loves 2 player games that combine the above things. Even though Marvel United is not a two player game is everything else (light and plays fast) so I would have been surprised if this game didn't make his top 100. I agree that his list is the most consistent year after year but I think you are viewing this from the wrong angle. Is more surprising that games like The Manhattan Project Energy Empire or Power Grid make or made his list for so many years ,that this year had a lot of Felds games and of course that after many many many years Fury of Dracula wasn't on Zee's list
Apart from his adoration of tile-laying games, his taste in games aligns the most with my own. That said, I'll never get into Marvel United. I can't overcome the chibi style and Tom's/Zee's rankings are *not* for the core box--so there's the CMON money pit of buying everything for the full experience.
Zee and Mike are literally the most funny people in any boardgame channels. They are so funny that it feels so natural,no need stupid face expressions, pretend stupid, I love they make clever jokes with face remain like poker face. There are so many other boardgame youtubers try so hard to be “funny”, acting weird but it just turn out to be cringy. If people not funny, dont try to be, just like Tom, he is not always funny, but its very likeable and enthusiastic, make me want to watch him all the time.
Love having Camilla on board (and Wendy too!)! So glad to feel represented in board game discussions and see a gal participating in the fun! Great addition to the Dice Tower! ❤️
I watched all the videos and just want to say my thanks for the entertainment, I often laughed about the jokes between you guys, Zee and Mike were killing it. Love the pie(s) as well.
One of the nice things about this hobby is the variety of interests and wants and love. There’s so many games on these lists where I just wanna go ‘really?!?’ but that’s a good thing. Like music, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Games are art.
You've all surpassed yourselves! What a great journey this top 100 was year. Thanks to the whole team. I really enjoyed it, the humour was great, the pie-ing, the jokes, awesome all of you. Nice one. 😄
Wonderful set of videos, love all the chatter describing why these games are in their top 10s... including the feedback on the Peoples Choice. Well done.
Following Zee's approach of putting evertything through PubMeeple without messing with it, here is my Top10: 1 Food Chain Magnate 2 Twilight Imperium 3 Sid Meier's Civilization 4 Yokohama 5 Maria 6 Eclipse 7 Nemesis 8 Concordia 9 Antiquity 10 Inis
How cool! Two videos with Moonshell in the background!! My wife is beyond overjoyed. Hopefully the review video comes out soon! I look forward to their thoughts.
I agree. I’d love to see her Top 100. Glad she stuck up for Arnak. The game doesn’t seem to get much love on the Dice Tower top lists for some reason but is on many peoples lists, both Top 10 of the year and all time. I’ve always found that a little strange. I enjoy both Dune and Arnak equally, for different reasons, so it just seems weird. Hopefully we’ll see a Top 100 series for Camilla, Roy, Wendy, and Chris. It would be very enjoyable I’m sure. Good personalities and chemistry there. I believe that there is talk of that depending on their fundraiser.
She is nice and all that. And its great she likes spirit island. But go watch her comment on the BGG top 100. Most games she hadn't played. And a fair bit off those were because they weren't pretty enough.
@@RenbroNL I have no issue with that. She’s pretty and likes pretty games. I also start liking games visually. I think she’ll find she’ll play all sorts of games before long.
I love how board games are diverse enough and there's so many of them that these lists differ from person to person and even for 1 person it can differ depending on the day and mood. Thank you very much for introducing new and interesting games as well as mentioning ones worth getting that are older ( the Classics ). As someone who loves compiling a "Wishlist" but also not having enough money to buy all and also not enough time to do own research on most of these. It would REALLY help, if when describing the game or talking about it you could say, which player count it is meant for and what's it best at. It feels like you guys often do it but not for every game. I enjoy how everyone often chimes in and also say at which player count they like.
Dwellings of Eldervale IS being reprinted. The company has already said as much, and it is listed as coming by one of the major US distributors as well.
I didn't realize that the main influence for Dwellings of Eldervale left the company! It's such a great game, it would be so sad if it never gets a reprint.
It’s being reprinted along with going to retail. You can sign up for their newsletter for more updates. Peter Vaughn did a lot to push this game, and there has been a delay in getting this game out; but it’s still coming. Hopefully many others can enjoy this game because it’s amazing.
I'm hoping the loss of Peter to Breaking Games wouldn't end further Luke Laurie Kickstarters for Dwellings of Everdale. Let's see an expansion for people that missed that Legendary pledge!
Got a retail copy, which I will likely be happy with (I have plenty of minis in my life already, and the amount of game in just the retail version is very impressive!)
LOVE that you're still keeping strong with Outlive, Mike. It was my favourite game I didn't own and was a grail game for a long time (Collector's Ed) until I got lucky and jumped on a copy being sold by someone locally that wasn't even unpunched and for about the same price as the retail game! There's so much I love about this game, and it's a true hidden gem that doesn't get the love it deserves. The tension in timing out on the main board and the puzzle in which strength workers you're going to move where, and when is just brilliant, as is how your turns then tie into the next turn because you need to be mindful of blocking yourself. Then there's the whole bunker phase and making the most out of building that out while ensuring your people are looked after. Oh so good! I agree that the CE does suffer from component fiddliness, especially with the workers, but I'm going to paint them up next to help alleviate the issue, as I can't go back to using the meeples, even if they are clearer.
Great set of lists really enjoyed them: firstly can I say how much I appreciate the new faces and voices on the Dice tower at the moment. Particularly Camilla and Wendy. Secondly am I the only person who is slightly put off by the phrase efficiency puzzle sounds to much like work to me.😁
I love that Mike sticks to his guns on Merchants Cove. It’s a great looking game that plays well solo or with multiple players. It’s fun without being too simple. I think it’s underrated (certainly among most at the DT)
I am flabbergasted that Arnak didn't make anyone's list but the people's. I get them liking Dune Imperium more than Arnak, but Arnak isn't even on the list!?!?
Spirit island is the most amazing puzzle. The invaders are predictable and linear in power. The spirits grow exponentially. I love the idea of stalling and treading water until you can finally make some big moves and take back control of the island. It's so rewarding to succeed and such a brain burner I feel incredibly accomplished after a win.
I've only played base Spirit Island and loved its puzzle, but some others in my group were demoralized by the difficulty and prone to paralyzing AP. I just picked up Branch and Claw, which I've read--in terms that are probably a bit hyperbolic--"changes Spirit Island from a puzzle to a game." I'm excited to see how it feels with some more randomness and tactical decisions so it's not "just" an optimization puzzle.
Yeah, it is a little weird with Dice Tower and Lost Ruins of Arnac. I don’t quite get it. The game is so popular on other reviewers lists and with the general public obviously. So to have it missing completely off a Top 100 list is……just….strange. I own both Arnac and Dune Imperium and really like them both. They would both make my Top 100. I’m not saying that there’s any shenanigans going on, as others have suggested, but it does seem ‘off’ for whatever reason. Maybe it’s just that they all like 100 games more. Perhaps Camilla will have Arnac on her list as she seems to like it. Who knows?
thanks for the comparison of Spirit Island to Gloomhaven Jaws of a lion Camilla, now I will definitely have a look into Jaws of a lion. I adore Spirit Island :)
It's amazing that I have well over 500 games and out of all 4 top 10 lists I own only 3 of the games. And I haven't played many more than that either. I haven't played a single game of Zee's top 10, and I often like games he likes. There are just so many good games out there.
I love you guys, keep up the wonderful work of bringing games to the world! Truly a great endeavour that brings all people of Earth together in peace. (I don't get why pies in the face are funny... or when people smear wedding cake on their new spouse's face either)
Awesome show as usual guys! Really looking forward to the A team edition too. I wish I understood why the people like 7 wonders (duel) so much. It never did anything for me. But the other 9 choices of the people and all of the guys lists were rock solid.
When A Team does their vids, even though People's choice is done, I hope Tom, Zee and Mike take turns to interact with the other team during the list like the A Team did with these lists (was that clear? So many lists...). Seeing you guys interact and anticipate, particularly Tom who just loves lists so much, with each other, is the joy of these vids. Maybe instead of People's choice, Tom Zee Mike can make quick shortlists of games they think will be on Roy Chis Wendy Camila and bring them on?
@34:33 - I think because of the distinction, War Game should be used as Tom uses it, to denote a game where the theme is warfare of some kind; whereas, Wargame should be used to denote the more complex GMT-style or ASL-style games. There is clearly a difference, despite both dealing with "warfare."
A guy in my group got the tiles for Death May Die printed at 150% and laminated. Even with that, towards the end of the game the rooms get to be jam packed with minis. Awesome game though; like many I ended up liking it way more than I thought I would.
So I have an ongoing spreadsheet of all the People's Choice Top 100 and I like to see what are the 'evergreen' games -- those that are still on the list every year since the beginning. Evergreens: Pandemic 7 Wonders Ticket to Ride Dominion Carcassonne Power Grid Agricola Race for the Galaxy Stone Age Catan Dixit Twilight Struggle Ticket to Ride: Europe 'Close but no cigar' (games that only missed out the first year): Lords of Waterdeep Castles of Burgundy King of Tokyo 'Oh how the mighty have fallen!' (games that dropped off the list this year): Small World Puerto Rico
Interesting list. there are some games here that we like, some we don't, and some (a lot) we don't know! One of the things we (my wife and I) prefer is a game where you don't know who's won until after it's finished; we don't like games where it's first to an arbitrary finishing line. So we love Terraforming Mars and dislike Viticulture. We've also realised that we don't get on with co-operative games, so we've never liked (or been able to get anywhere with) Spirit Island, whereas we like Duel.
Maybe it's because both involve worker placement & deckbuilding? Though Dune's integration is better IMO, and Arnak's deckbuilding is disappointingly weak(as in, barely has any reason to be deckbuilding instead of handbuilding. Yes the cards can be impactful). Still great games tho
Yes, they both combine the same 2 core mechanisms, but I think the reason they are compared so much and will be for at least the next few years is because they released at the same time. Very few gamers are going to buy 2 games that close together that fill the same space in their collections, so we all sort of compared them back in 2020 and bought the one that had that extra little thing that aligned more to our taste. It's a bit like how two different publishers released Back to the Future games at the same time...you'd have to be a MEGA fan of the IP to consider them both.
@@Bonzoso21 I get it. It’s gonna be a thing. I bought them both pretty close together and played them both several times. They may both have cards and workers but the FEEL very different and that’s what makes them different. I don’t get that feeling of chaining actions to just keep taking turns in Dune. Because you literally can’t. You are limited to workers and that’s it. There are even times you may choose to pass on placing a third worker in order to buy first. Arnak is about extending your turn as much as possible by making choices that build off of each other. Like I said, I get that it’s going to be a thing but they are just so different. I guess it’s also probably people who haven’t played both games that are usually the ones making the comparison. No biggie. It’s just games.
Breaking games has stated multiple times on the dwellings of eldervale forum that they are working on a reprint of all dwellings of eldervale content. I believe it's mostly a retail reprint so it should be more widely available sometime this year, but some of the kickstarter content will be available most likely from their website. I'm assuming on that last bit cuz they haven't clarified. They said to keep an eye out for a newsletter releasing sometime soon.
Great list everyone! Just a small sidenote on outlive minis that are too hard to tell, the number of people on the minis is the same as the strength of the mini and there is a large number on the back of the mini. I know its not as easy to tell apart as a meeple with a distinguished number printed on, but there are visual cues that youl get used to :) So strenght 4 mini has 4 people and, strength 3 has 3 people on it, in case you missed that part :)
was surprised that Fury of Dracula not being in Zee's top 100 at all since that used to be his number one correct? or have i just not watched one of these in so long that i forgot how long ago it fell off.
Want to speed up a game of spacebase? Play with two12 sided instead of 6 sided. You can add or subtract the dice to get to a single number and of course use them individually.
I wish one of the core reviewers was more into interactivity in games. I feel Tom in general tends to like it more than the others, but still have quite a few low-interactivity games on his list including his number one. Nowadays there are so many games where most of the action happens on your player board (which seem to grow in size with every year) and the hobby moves more and more into multiplayer solitaires
Video games have gone through a similar trend with open world games and less narrative driven games. It does make those that buck the trend stand out more at least
I think that this is because, unfortunately for folks like us, most gamers prefer less direct interaction. My theory is that this is because it is seen as competitive, "mean", or take-that, and is thus intimidating or puts people in bad moods. It's kind of odd how many people will sit down to a competitive (as in only 1 person wins) board game, knowing it is just a friendly game that doesn't matter, yet genuine emotions are riled up when other players do something in the game that directly affects them. I like to rib people for attacking me in games in a friendly way because I think it makes it more fun, but I fully expect it, and I see it is just part of gaming. For me, without direct interaction, it's barely what I would call a game, but rather just simultaneous point puzzling, after which we compare final scores. I think Roy likes direct interaction more in games with his love of 4X. And yes, Tom is a fan but has softened over the years. I have to agree with you that it would be nice to see more love for heavy interaction games from these folks though. I never feel more into a game than when I feel like I'm really playing a character who is scheming, lying, bluffing, backstabbing, negotiating, manipulating, etc. Open info, multiplayer-solitaire, point salads are snoozers.
@@devinology7 All good points. And also there are plenty of interactive mechanisms without "take that", for example, rarely used "I split you choose" mechanism like in Dynasties (area control game without battles!) and New York Slice. Or "buy a resource from an opponent" like Troyes. Or many Paolo Mori games like Ethnos.
I’ve been playing a ton of Wingspan the last couple weeks, and it has a great similarity to gin rummy, spades, or bridge. Relatively easy to learn, some RNG, but much more skill than it seems. Just look at the weekly Automa challenge. It’s a prebuilt deck that is the same every time. The challenge is to get the most points. I’ve tried about ten times, and have maxed out at 95 points. The current leader scored 140 points.
Many crossovers for me on my Top 10 of all time! Two with Tom, one with Mike, and four with The People: #10 - Dune: Imperium #9 - Alchemists #8 - Blood Rage #7 - Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion #6 - Terraforming Mars #5 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine #4 - Clank!: Legacy - Acquisitions Incorporated #3 - The Quacks of Quedlinburg #2 - Scythe #1 - Gloomhaven
Mike is such a great addition to the Dice Tower.
Mike and Zee are really bringing me back to these videos
He’s changed the whole vibe… for the better.
Yeah Mike seems like a great guy to get a beer with. He’s got good banters and he’s light hearted about everything. Great dude
Agreed, I thought replacing Sam on these would be tough because he’s been Tom’s friend forever, but Mike seems like part of the furniture. He has such a great manner and I really respect his opinion - even when I don’t agree
@@nicksims2827 Heresy, I know, but for me I prefer Mike to Sam.
Tom, Zee, and Mike (and all The Dice Tower crew) - you're all awesome! Among other things, I appreciate Zee's wit and storytelling ability, Mike's cheese and thoughtfulness, and Tom's energy. My gaming tastes align more often with Mike, but everyone there has great taste. I want to shine on Tom, for a minute. Tom is the #1 reason I keep coming back to this channel, usually on the daily. Many other reasons to like the channel, but it wouldn't exist without Tom, so yeah. Tom's enthusiasm, drive, delivery, vast experience and knowledge, and just genuine good vibes are what, well...keep me coming back. It is interesting - Tom is older than me, but sometimes he seems like a big kid to me. You know, frequently that child-like energy will be tamped down in childhood, due to various reasons. Well, Tom's still got that energy. He's super upfront and confident with who he is, and where he's at, and I appreciate that vibe. I don't always appreciate that quality in people. If he was an upfront jerk, I wouldn't be writing this. Tom seems like a great boss (I envy the DT crew), father, and genuinely good person. I try to surround myself with people I look up to, so I’m happy to have you all as guests in my house frequently throughout the week. Keep up the honesty, thoughtfulness, great humor, and good vibes, and I’ll keep coming around. Cheers!
Couldn't agree more. I hope this trifecta remains together for a long time.
I had to defend myself to my wife for watching this the last couple of nights and told her that this is for me what grammies or Oscars are for other people. That Was okay to her.
It was really enjoyable and I did laugh out loud some times.
Keep up the good spirit and have a fun time
now I know what to tell my wife. Thank you.
Grammies or Oscars aren't even close!
@@luiscarlosqg lu
its nice to have four (4) different people, each with their own gaming backgrounds and play styles provide insights of which game meets their tastes. thank you for this!
4-way crossovers: Dune Imperium, Marvel United, Sleeping Gods, Wingspan.
3's: A Feast for Odin, Anachrony, Architects of the West Kingdom, Blood Rage, Chronicles of Crime, Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, Dixit, Everdell, Five Tribes, Nidavellir, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Parks, Raiders of the North Sea, Rising Sun, Scythe, Targi, Vagrantsong, Viticulture
Thanks for putting this together! I believe The Crew is also a 3-way cross over?
@@HEMAYATC nope wasn't on zee's or mike's list
4s: Despite my anti-campaign/legacy stance, I might have to get Sleeping Gods.
3s: and Vagrantsong is also mighty tempting.
I said it last year and I say it again: It's not bad in any way, but it's still mindboggling how few games are 4-way crossovers.
Mike is so outstanding, I am so happy he is a part of dice tower
My thoughts! When Sam was moving I thaught that no one would ever fill this gap. I'm happy to admit that I was so wrong.
"You get two points" -- outstanding, Mike!
Can't wait for the A team!!!! Glad to join yall for another year
Mike has the best opinions on games. His view is beautifully grounded and really gets what makes a game good and enjoyable.
Yeah I like Mike. All 3 of these guys have the best chemistry together
@@EliteBeast really? I think Tom is pure cringe. Clearly values his own opinions/ego more than anything else. All he ever does is talk over anyone else. So annoying.
@@samuelking6416 I agree with Hihihi. Tom, Zee, and Mike are hilarious together!
@@samuelking6416 A real Chad.
Don’t forget the pretty one. She may be new, but she’s very watchable and I like her opinions.
What a great video. Zee and Mike ad libbing "this is how we do it" was gold...pure gold. Thanks for the smiles along with my morning coffee.
Tom is such a good sport. Hilarious entertainment guys. Good job.
Does anybody else find themselves randomly singing the Mike DiLisio theme song? Thank you for the top 100. Excellent videos as always.
Been watching the top 100s for many years and I think this has been the best format - kudos DT!
While Zee's top 10 isn't the one I vibe with the most, I will say; his top 10 carries the most weight. Zee's does not get suckered in by new games very often. He likes what he likes and it takes a lot for something new to rank so highly. Marvel United making his number 8 is a big deal.
Not really .Like you said he likes what he likes and that's light games or medium light games that take 30-60 minutes and have tons of content and of course lot's of coops games. Also he loves 2 player games that combine the above things. Even though Marvel United is not a two player game is everything else (light and plays fast) so I would have been surprised if this game didn't make his top 100. I agree that his list is the most consistent year after year but I think you are viewing this from the wrong angle. Is more surprising that games like The Manhattan Project Energy Empire or Power Grid make or made his list for so many years ,that this year had a lot of Felds games and of course that after many many many years Fury of Dracula wasn't on Zee's list
Apart from his adoration of tile-laying games, his taste in games aligns the most with my own.
That said, I'll never get into Marvel United. I can't overcome the chibi style and Tom's/Zee's rankings are *not* for the core box--so there's the CMON money pit of buying everything for the full experience.
I agree
@@georgepap8512partly agree. I think project Manhattan is good, and Dracula is not that great of coop vs one
Zee and Mike are literally the most funny people in any boardgame channels. They are so funny that it feels so natural,no need stupid face expressions, pretend stupid, I love they make clever jokes with face remain like poker face. There are so many other boardgame youtubers try so hard to be “funny”, acting weird but it just turn out to be cringy. If people not funny, dont try to be, just like Tom, he is not always funny, but its very likeable and enthusiastic, make me want to watch him all the time.
Love having Camilla on board (and Wendy too!)! So glad to feel represented in board game discussions and see a gal participating in the fun! Great addition to the Dice Tower! ❤️
I watched all the videos and just want to say my thanks for the entertainment, I often laughed about the jokes between you guys, Zee and Mike were killing it. Love the pie(s) as well.
I’m so impressed by Mike’s knowledge and points he makes.
One of the nice things about this hobby is the variety of interests and wants and love. There’s so many games on these lists where I just wanna go ‘really?!?’ but that’s a good thing. Like music, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Games are art.
You've all surpassed yourselves! What a great journey this top 100 was year. Thanks to the whole team. I really enjoyed it, the humour was great, the pie-ing, the jokes, awesome all of you. Nice one. 😄
12:49 “That’s disgusting. I would not be bragging.”
This was a ride! Always love watching these lists before bed! Good night guys and ladies
Very diverse list...super awesome. I also love that you guys do the people's favorite because a lot of "enduring" titles end up there.
Wonderful set of videos, love all the chatter describing why these games are in their top 10s... including the feedback on the Peoples Choice. Well done.
Love these 4 people right here! Please stay on the dice tower forever- you guys are terrific!
@The Dice Tower: People's Choice 5 begins at 1:03:23, and Mike 3 at 1:19:20
Posting my top 10:
1. Twilight Struggle
2. Gloomhaven(including JOTL)
3. 7 Wonders (inc 7wd) franchise
4. Terraforming Mars
5. Everdell
6. Gaia Project
7. Star Wars: Rebellion
8. Targi
9. The castles of Burgundy
10. Troyes
Nice list. Troyes is a good game that didn't grab me. I should revisit.
Nice list.
Following Zee's approach of putting evertything through PubMeeple without messing with it, here is my Top10:
1 Food Chain Magnate
2 Twilight Imperium
3 Sid Meier's Civilization
4 Yokohama
5 Maria
6 Eclipse
7 Nemesis
8 Concordia
9 Antiquity
10 Inis
Do you play ti or eclipse more often?
@@delgar89 Eclipse, because it also works with two players
Finally, there's a guy whose taste in games is very similar to mine, nice to hear you Mike!
Love seeing this dice tower set on camera! Ending the list on a high note!
I love Mike's reference to Stan Bush's "The Touch" repurposed for getting face-pied.
How cool! Two videos with Moonshell in the background!! My wife is beyond overjoyed. Hopefully the review video comes out soon! I look forward to their thoughts.
That box art is awesome. I saw it and thought -- I need to know more about whatever that game is.
Based on putting Spirit Island #1 and going to bat for Arnak, I want to see Camilla's top 100!
that's right! I'm very curious now
I agree. I’d love to see her Top 100.
Glad she stuck up for Arnak. The game doesn’t seem to get much love on the Dice Tower top lists for some reason but is on many peoples lists, both Top 10 of the year and all time. I’ve always found that a little strange. I enjoy both Dune and Arnak equally, for different reasons, so it just seems weird.
Hopefully we’ll see a Top 100 series for Camilla, Roy, Wendy, and Chris. It would be very enjoyable I’m sure. Good personalities and chemistry there. I believe that there is talk of that depending on their fundraiser.
More Camilla can never be a bad thing.
She is nice and all that. And its great she likes spirit island. But go watch her comment on the BGG top 100. Most games she hadn't played. And a fair bit off those were because they weren't pretty enough.
@@RenbroNL I have no issue with that. She’s pretty and likes pretty games. I also start liking games visually. I think she’ll find she’ll play all sorts of games before long.
I love how board games are diverse enough and there's so many of them that these lists differ from person to person and even for 1 person it can differ depending on the day and mood.
Thank you very much for introducing new and interesting games as well as mentioning ones worth getting that are older ( the Classics ).
As someone who loves compiling a "Wishlist" but also not having enough money to buy all and also not enough time to do own research on most of these. It would REALLY help, if when describing the game or talking about it you could say, which player count it is meant for and what's it best at. It feels like you guys often do it but not for every game. I enjoy how everyone often chimes in and also say at which player count they like.
Dwellings of Eldervale IS being reprinted. The company has already said as much, and it is listed as coming by one of the major US distributors as well.
Makes me even more excited for my copy of Ark Nova to arrive. Still a bunch I gotta try from these lists.
On the topic of Dwellings of Eldervale, Breaking Games have said different topics on the BGG page that a retail reprint is coming this year.
Been watching the Dice Tower for years, and I completely agree with everyone talking about what a great addition Mike is to the team. Love these guys.
I didn't realize that the main influence for Dwellings of Eldervale left the company! It's such a great game, it would be so sad if it never gets a reprint.
Me either, even more happy I was able to pick it up last year.
It’s being reprinted along with going to retail. You can sign up for their newsletter for more updates. Peter Vaughn did a lot to push this game, and there has been a delay in getting this game out; but it’s still coming. Hopefully many others can enjoy this game because it’s amazing.
I'm hoping the loss of Peter to Breaking Games wouldn't end further Luke Laurie Kickstarters for Dwellings of Everdale. Let's see an expansion for people that missed that Legendary pledge!
Got a retail copy, which I will likely be happy with (I have plenty of minis in my life already, and the amount of game in just the retail version is very impressive!)
Thanks for everything you guys! I'm not too good at having fun anymore, but you guys are pretty close to reminding me how.
LOVE that you're still keeping strong with Outlive, Mike.
It was my favourite game I didn't own and was a grail game for a long time (Collector's Ed) until I got lucky and jumped on a copy being sold by someone locally that wasn't even unpunched and for about the same price as the retail game!
There's so much I love about this game, and it's a true hidden gem that doesn't get the love it deserves. The tension in timing out on the main board and the puzzle in which strength workers you're going to move where, and when is just brilliant, as is how your turns then tie into the next turn because you need to be mindful of blocking yourself. Then there's the whole bunker phase and making the most out of building that out while ensuring your people are looked after. Oh so good!
I agree that the CE does suffer from component fiddliness, especially with the workers, but I'm going to paint them up next to help alleviate the issue, as I can't go back to using the meeples, even if they are clearer.
Here's me thinking I've been watching the 2023 Top 10 list... like an idiot!
Mike: "Yeah Hatchet's tha bomb."
Tom: "No, Hatchet's the axe!"
🤣🤣
I'm late to the party. but REALLY enjoyed the crew in this vid. Good chemistry (and picks)!
Great set of lists really enjoyed them: firstly can I say how much I appreciate the new faces and voices on the Dice tower at the moment. Particularly Camilla and Wendy. Secondly am I the only person who is slightly put off by the phrase efficiency puzzle sounds to much like work to me.😁
As far as I know there will be some kind of second print run for Dwellings of Eldervale this year.
I love that Mike sticks to his guns on Merchants Cove. It’s a great looking game that plays well solo or with multiple players. It’s fun without being too simple. I think it’s underrated (certainly among most at the DT)
Kudos for putting Jamaica in top 5 Zee. It may be a family-weight game but it's solid and never gets old. It's just fun.
I am flabbergasted that Arnak didn't make anyone's list but the people's. I get them liking Dune Imperium more than Arnak, but Arnak isn't even on the list!?!?
Spirit island is the most amazing puzzle. The invaders are predictable and linear in power. The spirits grow exponentially. I love the idea of stalling and treading water until you can finally make some big moves and take back control of the island. It's so rewarding to succeed and such a brain burner I feel incredibly accomplished after a win.
Invaders also ramp - explore deck has levels
I've only played base Spirit Island and loved its puzzle, but some others in my group were demoralized by the difficulty and prone to paralyzing AP. I just picked up Branch and Claw, which I've read--in terms that are probably a bit hyperbolic--"changes Spirit Island from a puzzle to a game." I'm excited to see how it feels with some more randomness and tactical decisions so it's not "just" an optimization puzzle.
So Arnak was on no one's list except for the People's Choice? 😱
Yeah, it is a little weird with Dice Tower and Lost Ruins of Arnac. I don’t quite get it. The game is so popular on other reviewers lists and with the general public obviously. So to have it missing completely off a Top 100 list is……just….strange. I own both Arnac and Dune Imperium and really like them both. They would both make my Top 100. I’m not saying that there’s any shenanigans going on, as others have suggested, but it does seem ‘off’ for whatever reason. Maybe it’s just that they all like 100 games more. Perhaps Camilla will have Arnac on her list as she seems to like it. Who knows?
thanks for the comparison of Spirit Island to Gloomhaven Jaws of a lion Camilla, now I will definitely have a look into Jaws of a lion. I adore Spirit Island :)
It's amazing that I have well over 500 games and out of all 4 top 10 lists I own only 3 of the games. And I haven't played many more than that either. I haven't played a single game of Zee's top 10, and I often like games he likes. There are just so many good games out there.
Well done Tom. Preordered Ark Nova right after your first review. Can't wait to play!
Great job guys!! What a fun top 100!
I love you guys, keep up the wonderful work of bringing games to the world! Truly a great endeavour that brings all people of Earth together in peace.
(I don't get why pies in the face are funny... or when people smear wedding cake on their new spouse's face either)
Awesome show as usual guys! Really looking forward to the A team edition too. I wish I understood why the people like 7 wonders (duel) so much. It never did anything for me. But the other 9 choices of the people and all of the guys lists were rock solid.
So glad to see The Others getting some love.
Tom, they are reprinting dwellings with most of the content in a 2nd edition coming to retail.
There a date in mind?
Great video!
the fact there are top 5 games that these people have not played shows just how many great games out there.
I love that Tom continues to drag Rahdo about two player 7 Wonders. 😂
That's up there with Rahdo's strangest takes (including his preference for Mansions of Madness 1st edition over 2nd edition)
I LOVE Cosmic Encounter! It never fails to be fun and provide memorable moments. I cant believe more people don’t have it higher on their lists.
When A Team does their vids, even though People's choice is done, I hope Tom, Zee and Mike take turns to interact with the other team during the list like the A Team did with these lists (was that clear? So many lists...). Seeing you guys interact and anticipate, particularly Tom who just loves lists so much, with each other, is the joy of these vids. Maybe instead of People's choice, Tom Zee Mike can make quick shortlists of games they think will be on Roy Chis Wendy Camila and bring them on?
Will there be a stats video on the top 100 later like there was last year?
The Root app is really good. I'll have to try the app for Gloomhaven. I love it but set up is a chore
1:13:21 Was that a Stan Bush Transformers The Movie soundtrack reference from Z?
I'm with you, Camilla. Team Arnak! 😂 (both are great though)
Same! Arnak 4 life
Same Arnak is awesome
I agree, I don't like the combat aspect in Dune. The exploration and combinations in Arnak are also amazing
@34:33 - I think because of the distinction, War Game should be used as Tom uses it, to denote a game where the theme is warfare of some kind; whereas, Wargame should be used to denote the more complex GMT-style or ASL-style games. There is clearly a difference, despite both dealing with "warfare."
A guy in my group got the tiles for Death May Die printed at 150% and laminated. Even with that, towards the end of the game the rooms get to be jam packed with minis. Awesome game though; like many I ended up liking it way more than I thought I would.
This lady needs to be in more videos.
So I have an ongoing spreadsheet of all the People's Choice Top 100 and I like to see what are the 'evergreen' games -- those that are still on the list every year since the beginning.
Evergreens:
Pandemic
7 Wonders
Ticket to Ride
Dominion
Carcassonne
Power Grid
Agricola
Race for the Galaxy
Stone Age
Catan
Dixit
Twilight Struggle
Ticket to Ride: Europe
'Close but no cigar' (games that only missed out the first year):
Lords of Waterdeep
Castles of Burgundy
King of Tokyo
'Oh how the mighty have fallen!' (games that dropped off the list this year):
Small World
Puerto Rico
Thank you!
Basically, Evergreens are headed to the ‘Hall of Fame’
Kinda crazy to see such a new game hit #1 on Toms list. Love too see Abyss on Zees list.
I audibly gasped when Mike said CoB was a 6.5 😂😂😂
Ark Nova is an excellent choice for #1! I haven’t fallen so hard for a new game in quite a long time. I always want to play it!
Marvel United! Nice pick Zee! Also voice of the people, love Everdell and Arnak! Love the top 100, great work everyone!
Interesting list. there are some games here that we like, some we don't, and some (a lot) we don't know! One of the things we (my wife and I) prefer is a game where you don't know who's won until after it's finished; we don't like games where it's first to an arbitrary finishing line. So we love Terraforming Mars and dislike Viticulture. We've also realised that we don't get on with co-operative games, so we've never liked (or been able to get anywhere with) Spirit Island, whereas we like Duel.
Blows my mind that Dune Imperium and Lost Ruins of Arnak are constantly compared. They are so different and both so good. Not even apples to apples.
Maybe it's because both involve worker placement & deckbuilding?
Though Dune's integration is better IMO, and Arnak's deckbuilding is disappointingly weak(as in, barely has any reason to be deckbuilding instead of handbuilding. Yes the cards can be impactful). Still great games tho
very limited amount of workers (2 in both?). lots of cards, multiple tracks to go up on.
i definitely can see the comparison.
Yeah I agree dune mops the floor with arnak
Yes, they both combine the same 2 core mechanisms, but I think the reason they are compared so much and will be for at least the next few years is because they released at the same time. Very few gamers are going to buy 2 games that close together that fill the same space in their collections, so we all sort of compared them back in 2020 and bought the one that had that extra little thing that aligned more to our taste. It's a bit like how two different publishers released Back to the Future games at the same time...you'd have to be a MEGA fan of the IP to consider them both.
@@Bonzoso21 I get it. It’s gonna be a thing. I bought them both pretty close together and played them both several times. They may both have cards and workers but the FEEL very different and that’s what makes them different. I don’t get that feeling of chaining actions to just keep taking turns in Dune. Because you literally can’t. You are limited to workers and that’s it. There are even times you may choose to pass on placing a third worker in order to buy first. Arnak is about extending your turn as much as possible by making choices that build off of each other. Like I said, I get that it’s going to be a thing but they are just so different. I guess it’s also probably people who haven’t played both games that are usually the ones making the comparison. No biggie. It’s just games.
Dwellings of Eldervale second edition is available for preorder March 14th, 2022.
Breaking games has stated multiple times on the dwellings of eldervale forum that they are working on a reprint of all dwellings of eldervale content. I believe it's mostly a retail reprint so it should be more widely available sometime this year, but some of the kickstarter content will be available most likely from their website. I'm assuming on that last bit cuz they haven't clarified. They said to keep an eye out for a newsletter releasing sometime soon.
Great list everyone!
Just a small sidenote on outlive minis that are too hard to tell, the number of people on the minis is the same as the strength of the mini and there is a large number on the back of the mini. I know its not as easy to tell apart as a meeple with a distinguished number printed on, but there are visual cues that youl get used to :) So strenght 4 mini has 4 people and, strength 3 has 3 people on it, in case you missed that part :)
Where are those Gloomhaven recordings? :D
was surprised that Fury of Dracula not being in Zee's top 100 at all since that used to be his number one correct? or have i just not watched one of these in so long that i forgot how long ago it fell off.
Three of the time stamps are off in the description, Mike's 3, Peoples choice 5 and peoples choice 1
Was happily surprised to hear Zee riff on a Stan Bush song from a classic 80's nerd movie. :)
Want to speed up a game of spacebase? Play with two12 sided instead of 6 sided. You can add or subtract the dice to get to a single number and of course use them individually.
I wish one of the core reviewers was more into interactivity in games. I feel Tom in general tends to like it more than the others, but still have quite a few low-interactivity games on his list including his number one. Nowadays there are so many games where most of the action happens on your player board (which seem to grow in size with every year) and the hobby moves more and more into multiplayer solitaires
And I just ordered Hadrian’s Wall, lol.
At the same time, has Twilight Imperium IV ever been more popular?
Video games have gone through a similar trend with open world games and less narrative driven games. It does make those that buck the trend stand out more at least
I think that this is because, unfortunately for folks like us, most gamers prefer less direct interaction. My theory is that this is because it is seen as competitive, "mean", or take-that, and is thus intimidating or puts people in bad moods. It's kind of odd how many people will sit down to a competitive (as in only 1 person wins) board game, knowing it is just a friendly game that doesn't matter, yet genuine emotions are riled up when other players do something in the game that directly affects them. I like to rib people for attacking me in games in a friendly way because I think it makes it more fun, but I fully expect it, and I see it is just part of gaming. For me, without direct interaction, it's barely what I would call a game, but rather just simultaneous point puzzling, after which we compare final scores. I think Roy likes direct interaction more in games with his love of 4X. And yes, Tom is a fan but has softened over the years. I have to agree with you that it would be nice to see more love for heavy interaction games from these folks though. I never feel more into a game than when I feel like I'm really playing a character who is scheming, lying, bluffing, backstabbing, negotiating, manipulating, etc. Open info, multiplayer-solitaire, point salads are snoozers.
@@devinology7 All good points. And also there are plenty of interactive mechanisms without "take that", for example, rarely used "I split you choose" mechanism like in Dynasties (area control game without battles!) and New York Slice. Or "buy a resource from an opponent" like Troyes. Or many Paolo Mori games like Ethnos.
Mike, I did not already know how to play Outlive, I had no idea what I was doing for the first half of the game haha
So, Starcadia Quest in at what position again? And Cyclades?
The number 1 game for each person and the people features tableau building! Would love to see a list of "Top x Tableau Building games" from you all
cool top10 cheers
1:20:16 what does Mike think of North Sea with expansions v Raiders of Scythia?
Loved seeing all episodes
Hooray for 51st state... Underappreciated game (don't have the master box, but have all expansions individually)
1:01:32 - Tom: "No, you can't do that, you can't un-pull the trigger!"
Camilla - "You can, and I do."
Class dismissed!
So, if you only play the game Gloomhaven digitally, does it still count as your favorite board game?
Do you want to publish a top 20 two player game or do you already have it?
Any change you Will publish the whole list somewhere? Did whatch a lot, but Will not remember all of it 😅
I’ve been playing a ton of Wingspan the last couple weeks, and it has a great similarity to gin rummy, spades, or bridge. Relatively easy to learn, some RNG, but much more skill than it seems. Just look at the weekly Automa challenge. It’s a prebuilt deck that is the same every time. The challenge is to get the most points. I’ve tried about ten times, and have maxed out at 95 points. The current leader scored 140 points.
What about Endless Winter, has it completely lost to Arnak and Dune ? 😅😅
Many crossovers for me on my Top 10 of all time! Two with Tom, one with Mike, and four with The People:
#10 - Dune: Imperium
#9 - Alchemists
#8 - Blood Rage
#7 - Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
#6 - Terraforming Mars
#5 - The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
#4 - Clank!: Legacy - Acquisitions Incorporated
#3 - The Quacks of Quedlinburg
#2 - Scythe
#1 - Gloomhaven