Yes, itвЂ™s just as swingy and random as other games in the genre, but itвЂ™s quick, itвЂ™s cute, and itвЂ™s rewarding, even if you get stomped on a bit. Spending 1-2 hours developing a hold on an area of the board only to have it wiped out by one small mistake or the lucky card draw/dice roll of an opponent is infuriating.

I donвЂ™t generally enjoy area control games because they are brutal. While it almost requires its expansion вЂњTo Forge a RealmвЂќ for a complete experience, itвЂ™s a brilliant game when the two are combined. I love dice and I love worker placement вЂ“ so why wouldnвЂ™t I love Kingsburg. While thereвЂ™s some concern over the power of a handful of cards, this game is so tightly balanced in every other way that it rarely matters and itвЂ™s always fun. Lewis & Clark is one of the most engaging engine building, race-style games IвЂ™ve ever played. This spot could almost be shared with the designers other Oniverse games as well, though вЂ“ Sylvion is a blast. The second edition comes with eight expansions packaged in with the box. I love a good quick solo game, and there are few games that do it as well as Onirim. That happens in Robinson Crusoe too, but it doesnвЂ™t matter вЂ“ the story is so compelling and the player differences so tightly defined that it just plain works. I often feel like IвЂ™m trapped in an echo chamber when playing co-ops, taking directions from other players and arguing over the next move. Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Isle A perfect game for two people and a fantastic app on my iPad. There are a lot of games with the вЂњone card, many purposesвЂќ mechanic and this is one of the simplest and most replayable. Such a fun game вЂ“ as either a player or the mastermind.

Mind-blowingly unique and incredibly hard to get to the table, but when it lands with a good group, the experience is unlike anything youвЂ™ve played before. Every time it hits the table IвЂ™m excited to play, though, itвЂ™s not as often as I would like. Simple, succinct, almost always different, and so fast to play вЂ“ this is a great game in a number of ways. Do I think these are the best 50 ever made? Not necessarily (though some certainly are) вЂ“ these are just the best 50 that IвЂ™ve played. Keep in mind these are MY top 50 board games, quite literally culled from my list of played and ranked games. We figured the first time around was so much fun, why not do it 6 times over! Check out the lists from Chris, Daniel, and Drew. Furthermore, this year weвЂ™re going to be sitting down and each one of us putting together a Top 50 board games list вЂ“ all of which have been compiled to create the BGA Top 100, releasing on March 27th as our Episode 100. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work, and because I was off attending the birth of my second child, I had minimal say in how that list turned out.ДЇortunately, Chris and I are of similar minds and it looked pretty good, but there were a fair number of games I would have included in that list had I been there вЂ“ so I figured why not create my own list. Last year we put together a Top 50 list to commemorate our 50th episode.

50 best board games of 2017