It can be argued that abstract strategy is the world's oldest board game genre. Despite that, we continue to see amazing games in the genre be released. In fact, I will go so far as to declare, despite the presence of the notable heavy dungeon crawlers Gloomhaven and 7th Continent, that 2017 was really The Year of the Abstract. Santorini, Tak, Onitama, Azul...what an unparalleled year for the genre!
For me, my favorite is Shogi: Japanese chess. The mechanic that I love is that the pieces you capture from your opponent can be placed back on the board for your own use. The pieces are all the same color, but they are wedged shaped, meaning that the direction the wedge points indicates which player owns them. Huge depth to the game and since all the pieces are in play, the end game I feel is more interesting and variable than in chess.
Shogi is also one of my personal favorite abstracts. With the fact that pieces never permanently die, and the fact that most pieces promote (not just pawns), the game can be an explosive tactical experience. Also some of the piece names are just cool. Some of my favorite pieces are the "Dragon King" and "Gold General", and it really makes the game unique from that alone. I don't know any other traditional game in the Chess family that has a literal dragon as a chess piece XD
For the record, Santorini is an island, not a city (or town) it has two notable towns, Thira and Oia. Thira is popular with cruise ships so if you did organise an European dice tower cruise, you could have people playing Santorini IN Santorini.
Back in the 1980s I used to play the heck out of a chess variant -- it's been known by several different names, and I've seen several variants of it: Team Chess. The main issue with it is that with 4 players, it requires two full-sized chess sets, and two speed-chess clocks (which at least way back when, could be expensive). There's more to it, but the general idea is that if you capture a piece, you pass it to your partner (or to the middle, if you play with 3 person teams, or around in a circle with more people). Any piece that's passed to you, you can place on your board in any legal position, instead of moving. I had the same issue with chess -- it became boring to me. But Team Chess was like a jolt of adrenaline. We used to play at this Deli in NJ, and we'd have crowds watching us play all the time (so the restaurant loved us). Games usually took no more than 10 minutes. It was a great equalizer, since it was less important that you were good at chess, and more important that you played super aggressive, and could move quickly. It also helped if you had a teammate who knew how to work with you.
My current favorite abstracts not on Tom’s list: Trexo, Hive, Blokus (possibly my favorite abstract), Rumis (aka Blokus 3D), Lines of Action, Ponte Del Diavolo, Twixt, Abalone, Volcano (and other Pyramid Arcade games).
A game you should check out is Chase by TSR Games. In came out in 1985 and is played with dice on a hexagonal square board. It is a pure abstract strategy game that is just as challenging to play as Chess. The rules are completely different than Chess. The game board board setup and various move types is outstanding. The game board has no boundaries. Some of the moves are Capture like in Chess. You can land on your own piece, which Bumps it into the next board space and if it is occupied by your opponent, that piece is capture. You can Bump you first piece, 1 on the die, into the piece beside it and cause a chain reaction. You can Swap 2 pieces that are side by side exchange values. If you land in the center of the board, this let you bring an additional piece onto the board, including captured pieces.
Latice is a excellent family weight abstract strategy game. Not super think but has gone over well with everyone we've played with. Also, easy to learn.
I don't need a theme to really enjoy a game, and I love abstract strategy. Three from the GIPF series are my favorites: Yinsh, Lyngk, and Tzaar. I like Onitama okay, and I don't care for Santorini. I'll have to check out the others on Tom's list. Thanks for the video!
How is Santorini your favorite yet Onitama is in the Dice Tower Essential line? It also is the first game you added to that new line. You also forgot to mention Hive, Tak, and Hnefatafl.
#1 Tak, #2 Kahuna, #3 Android Mainframe, #4 Hive (I still have to try onitama) Really hard to separate even superficially pasted-on themes with this list.
Can someone please tell me what is up with Tom's colored beard lately? Don't get me wrong, I like them, but just wondering if there was a reason behind this...?
i really want a game similar to chess, so its all about unit placements and planning ahead , however what i don't like about chess is that weaker units can take anything in one move. does anyone know of one where each unit has advantages and disadvantages like archers for distance but poor against cavalry ect , mabie even landscape on the board ??
IMO the ability for weaker units to capture anything is part of the beauty, it enables tactics like threatening to trade a weak piece for a stronger one, for example, making their weakness a strength, a nice self-balancing emergent mechanic. If you want a strict hierarchy, maybe Arimaa would appeal to you? It also has some sort of "landscape" in the form of trap squares(the only way to eliminate pieces). Or do you want a rock-paper-scissors style relationship where certain pieces can only capture certain types of piece?
For me Hive, Quarto and Blockus. To any who put forward Raptor. That has a theme, it is Scientists competing with a mother raptor for raptor babies. And believe it or not the theme of Azul is ceramic tiles.
d'alex dario I was wondering about it I am trying to get into board games with my son to get off the electronics as much haha plus they are fun this a good one?
The last one of these Top 10's i watched your beard and hair were green, today I see you're going with purple! Hahaha! What's up? Did I miss some explanation in another video?
I like his top 2 choices, but the rest are meh (though I haven't tried Glux, yet). However, Six Making is by far the best abstract I've ever played. It's simultaneously for people that like chess, and for people that dislike it. An amazingly clever little game.
What I didn't like about the Duke was the next power being face-down... probably because of my poor memory. I recognize it's probably a good game, just, not for me. More my own fault than the game's. I'll definitely check Vikingdoms out. Thanks.
Nice video as usual Tom. Put chess at the top of the list for me. There's good reason it has been played for hundreds of years and will continue to be played with most of these games are long forgotten. Oh, and just to be that guy, Santorini is an island, not a city.
Bill Cook cool, the Greeks had sex with children for many years and continued to do so until they died out. Kind of morbid example but my point is just because something has been around for a long time doesn’t mean it’s good. I could go even further and say tradition/religion as well but that is not a discussion I want to get into. Imo tzaar and tak were games he missed in his top 10
It can be argued that abstract strategy is the world's oldest board game genre. Despite that, we continue to see amazing games in the genre be released. In fact, I will go so far as to declare, despite the presence of the notable heavy dungeon crawlers Gloomhaven and 7th Continent, that 2017 was really The Year of the Abstract. Santorini, Tak, Onitama, Azul...what an unparalleled year for the genre!
I think there's an issue with the color correction on your camera...
;-)
Oh! I get it!
1) Hive
2) The Duke
3) Onitama
4) Pueblo
5) Fearsome Floors
Excellent list.
For me, my favorite is Shogi: Japanese chess. The mechanic that I love is that the pieces you capture from your opponent can be placed back on the board for your own use. The pieces are all the same color, but they are wedged shaped, meaning that the direction the wedge points indicates which player owns them. Huge depth to the game and since all the pieces are in play, the end game I feel is more interesting and variable than in chess.
Shogi is also one of my personal favorite abstracts. With the fact that pieces never permanently die, and the fact that most pieces promote (not just pawns), the game can be an explosive tactical experience.
Also some of the piece names are just cool. Some of my favorite pieces are the "Dragon King" and "Gold General", and it really makes the game unique from that alone. I don't know any other traditional game in the Chess family that has a literal dragon as a chess piece XD
For the record, Santorini is an island, not a city (or town) it has two notable towns, Thira and Oia. Thira is popular with cruise ships so if you did organise an European dice tower cruise, you could have people playing Santorini IN Santorini.
I think you mean ON Santorini - if you are serious about the island thing. :)
If you didn't include Through the Desert because it has a theme, then how is Santorini ok?
Do you think it's less of a theme?
Can Zee do a top five companion to your top 10 abstract strategy games?
If they happen to not record Zee's list, you could look at the last top 100 list to see his top five games.
Pleaaaaaaase!!!
Back in the 1980s I used to play the heck out of a chess variant -- it's been known by several different names, and I've seen several variants of it: Team Chess. The main issue with it is that with 4 players, it requires two full-sized chess sets, and two speed-chess clocks (which at least way back when, could be expensive). There's more to it, but the general idea is that if you capture a piece, you pass it to your partner (or to the middle, if you play with 3 person teams, or around in a circle with more people). Any piece that's passed to you, you can place on your board in any legal position, instead of moving. I had the same issue with chess -- it became boring to me. But Team Chess was like a jolt of adrenaline. We used to play at this Deli in NJ, and we'd have crowds watching us play all the time (so the restaurant loved us). Games usually took no more than 10 minutes. It was a great equalizer, since it was less important that you were good at chess, and more important that you played super aggressive, and could move quickly. It also helped if you had a teammate who knew how to work with you.
My friend introduced this variation to me 6 years ago. I’m not a chess person, but this variation was cool.
Bug house
Azul has taken over my life.
been playin games wit my lady friend. so far her favs are Azul and Hamamakoji. super fun games. also Shobu is neat.
Santorini also my fav. Often play this as we wait for everyone to show up to the game group. Have not tried the golden fleece part yet.
I like Santorini too. And don't own Golden Fleece expansion. I have the target retail version wonder how it compares to the original Roxley ver.
ahhhh, the midlife crisis purple colored beard. I sense a sporty convertible coming next. ;-)
LOL.
Lol
LoL
Azul, and Sagrada are awesome!
Thanks for the list dude!
Tom - Gord of Santorini here. Check out Urbino by Dieter Stein.
My current favorite abstracts not on Tom’s list: Trexo, Hive, Blokus (possibly my favorite abstract), Rumis (aka Blokus 3D), Lines of Action, Ponte Del Diavolo, Twixt, Abalone, Volcano (and other Pyramid Arcade games).
Haven't tried any of the others but I love Blokus!!!
A game you should check out is Chase by TSR Games. In came out in 1985 and is played with dice on a hexagonal square board. It is a pure abstract strategy game that is just as challenging to play as Chess. The rules are completely different than Chess. The game board board setup and various move types is outstanding. The game board has no boundaries. Some of the moves are Capture like in Chess. You can land on your own piece, which Bumps it into the next board space and if it is occupied by your opponent, that piece is capture. You can Bump you first piece, 1 on the die, into the piece beside it and cause a chain reaction. You can Swap 2 pieces that are side by side exchange values. If you land in the center of the board, this let you bring an additional piece onto the board, including captured pieces.
Been playing different games finally settled at Backgammon..
There is dice involved but the probability part of the dice favours a strategic player..
Backgammon is ultra cool. It's the James Bond of board games.
Lattice is one of my favorite abstract games. Also, an oldie but goodie is Pente.
Latice is a excellent family weight abstract strategy game. Not super think but has gone over well with everyone we've played with. Also, easy to learn.
Quoridor is still my favorite, but I haven't played many abstracts over the last few years...
I’m getting the urge to listen to a Prince album for some reason
I don't need a theme to really enjoy a game, and I love abstract strategy. Three from the GIPF series are my favorites: Yinsh, Lyngk, and Tzaar. I like Onitama okay, and I don't care for Santorini. I'll have to check out the others on Tom's list. Thanks for the video!
4:02 .... is he saying Yarrow ? Yarra ? Yaro ? , i'd like to look it up plz thx
How do you put it on the third level of a dome? Won't it roll off?
Tom and Zee mention games from the Gipf series quite a bit, but never talk about Gipf. Is it a bad game?
Stratego... fantasy edition Fire VS Ice... amazing!! This edition makes the game a lot more enjoyable with each character having special abilities.
Quixo, easy to learn, lovely short game. (5 on a row variant)
Not to brag too much, but 5 of these 10 games can be played on Boardspace.net
How is Santorini your favorite yet Onitama is in the Dice Tower Essential line? It also is the first game you added to that new line. You also forgot to mention Hive, Tak, and Hnefatafl.
How did he forget to mention them?
I'd place tak there
Me too
#1 Tak, #2 Kahuna, #3 Android Mainframe, #4 Hive (I still have to try onitama) Really hard to separate even superficially pasted-on themes with this list.
It was probably my # 11 or #12
Absolutely
Can someone please tell me what is up with Tom's colored beard lately? Don't get me wrong, I like them, but just wondering if there was a reason behind this...?
Seikatsu is my favorite abstract game
A few of my favorites: Hermetica, Tak, LYNGK, Santorini
Game of Thrones Hand of the King from Fantasy Flight is a delightful abstract-strategy game.
Hey Tom, what is the name of the song you use in your intro here? The earworm is real and I must know the name, hah
Triangoli didnt make it ? :)
i really want a game similar to chess, so its all about unit placements and planning ahead , however what i don't like about chess is that weaker units can take anything in one move. does anyone know of one where each unit has advantages and disadvantages like archers for distance but poor against cavalry ect , mabie even landscape on the board ??
Santorini feels like chess if you play against someone very strategic and competitive at your same level.
IMO the ability for weaker units to capture anything is part of the beauty, it enables tactics like threatening to trade a weak piece for a stronger one, for example, making their weakness a strength, a nice self-balancing emergent mechanic. If you want a strict hierarchy, maybe Arimaa would appeal to you? It also has some sort of "landscape" in the form of trap squares(the only way to eliminate pieces). Or do you want a rock-paper-scissors style relationship where certain pieces can only capture certain types of piece?
Blokus and Blokus Trigon
Santorini, yep
I actually have Santorini it's such a good game!
No Quoridor?!
1. Santorini
2. Azul
3. Yinsh
4. Samurai
5. Tak
6. Medina
6. Go
7. Quarto
8. Onitama
9. The Duke
10. NMBR 9
11. Hive
12. Backgammon/Chess
13. Quoridor
14. photosynthesis
15. Blokus
16. Otrio
17. Kamisado
Great list
Azul and Pyramix
I wanna see top 10 cowboy/old west games!
Would The Climbers qualify? I think it might. If so, that one deserves some love. :-)
Tak, Azul, Photosynthesis, Aton, Patchwork
For me Hive, Quarto and Blockus.
To any who put forward Raptor. That has a theme, it is Scientists competing with a mother raptor for raptor babies. And believe it or not the theme of Azul is ceramic tiles.
Blokus by Mattel?
Love it
Element, great abstract game
d'alex dario I was wondering about it I am trying to get into board games with my son to get off the electronics as much haha plus they are fun this a good one?
My Domain69. Yes, i highly raccomand it. Simple to learn hard to master and relatively cheap.
I think Zee should have done this list
Yeah, so Tom can do non-combinatorial abstracts
I'd love to try Kamisado, Khet, and Santorini... maybe someday
I haven't tried Khet yet but the other two are great!
Kamisado exists as an app, you could try it there.
No Hive?
please do another one 🎉
Hive, Raptor and Santorini are great!
What did you mean by Go making your brain squishy?
Not sure it would be considered "abstract" but Terrace is a good game for 2 to 4 players.
Fascinating. I'm a lover of abstract games, and I didn't care for Onitama and I hated Santorini.
Did he actually dry his beard purple? Or is this a camera color issue? Looks sweet though lml
Why isn't raptor on this list ? :(
I love Megis from Brass Engine Games
The Duke!
What about Azul?
Cathedral is still one I enjoy too.
The last one of these Top 10's i watched your beard and hair were green, today I see you're going with purple! Hahaha! What's up? Did I miss some explanation in another video?
Knack Ability I assume he’s just having fun for Mardi Gras
Definitely Can't be a good top without Hive and Abalone!!
I like his top 2 choices, but the rest are meh (though I haven't tried Glux, yet). However, Six Making is by far the best abstract I've ever played. It's simultaneously for people that like chess, and for people that dislike it. An amazingly clever little game.
What I didn't like about the Duke was the next power being face-down... probably because of my poor memory. I recognize it's probably a good game, just, not for me. More my own fault than the game's.
I'll definitely check Vikingdoms out. Thanks.
Where is Dragon Castle on this list?
I’m sure someone has already asked this...but what is up with the change in beard color?? I mean it’s fabulous...but..WHY???
what about Hive!
Othello should have been on the list .
Nice video as usual Tom. Put chess at the top of the list for me. There's good reason it has been played for hundreds of years and will continue to be played with most of these games are long forgotten.
Oh, and just to be that guy, Santorini is an island, not a city.
Bill Cook cool, the Greeks had sex with children for many years and continued to do so until they died out. Kind of morbid example but my point is just because something has been around for a long time doesn’t mean it’s good. I could go even further and say tradition/religion as well but that is not a discussion I want to get into. Imo tzaar and tak were games he missed in his top 10
wh3elson He didnt say its good because its been there for long, he said there is a reason its been there for long. You are missing his point.
That reason is probably "nothing else was around to compete with chess"
is there something wrong with the colors
TZAAR is the best GIPF game, though YINSH is great as well.
Suprised he didn't do tash kalar
th-cam.com/video/YbdCa5i6B8c/w-d-xo.html
He has reviewed it, but didn't like it.
Jumpgate Drifter oh..right. I was mixing up my memory of a dif reviewer that did like it with toms.
SU&SD liked it a lot, so I juggled their review and Tom's one, and bought it.
Tzaar and Hive for me.
Raptor and Fjords
I KNEW IT! #tom's#1
La Trel is purdy good
HIVE!
The only abstract games I like are chess and Reiner Knizia's Ingenious. Theme is extremely important.
Blokus is still better, I believe.
Azul :)
Uuuuuuuuuhhh... Did you lose a bet, Tom?
Take Back Toe
Go
No way ^_^
You look like buzz light year lol
Santorini's god powers are way unbalanced and make it not truly abstract. I never play with them.
The point of the video is: stick to chess
I’ve only started watching this to say I hate abstract games. They feel like an iq test that I am failing miserably. Leaving now.