I know in the last post I said I don’t like to faff about with the partial rankings, but these games are all 8.5 for me. They’re better than the riffraff that came before them, but they aren’t quite a 9/10 for me. Still, I love all these games, and some of them I’m kind of flabbergasted that there’s still 40 games that I think are better!
50 – Cartographers
Previous Rank: 44 | Full Review
My Favourite thing about Cartographers
Firstly, I love any game that has variable scoring. I love that the first thing you score comes Back to score again at the end of the game. And I love that every card has two different options for you to add to your map, often pulling you in different directions. Do you place the houses that will score this round, or do you play the trees that will score next round? Do you go against the edge for points in scoring objective B, or do you try to surround a mountain to earn a coin that’ll give you a point in every scoring? It’s an amazing and one of my favourite ‘X and write’ games.
49 – Azul
My Favourite thing about Azul
Filling rows with tiles shouldn’t be as exciting as it is in Azul, but here we are. Taking tiles from any of the factories dumps the unclaimed tiles into the centre, which is a sweet pot that builds and builds until someone chooses to take it. The presence of the first player marker is both a blessing and a curse. Going first next round is brilliant, but losing a point for it kinda hurts. It’s genius, and I’m glad Azul is as popular as it is.
Before anyone asks, I’ve played all the Azul games, and the original is my favourite by far, hands down.
48 – Hansa Teutonica
My Favourite thing about Hansa Teutonica
There is a simple, childlike joy in getting into everyone else’s way. Popping your single cube in a road that your opponent has committed heavily into feels devious and satisfying. Now they have to pay extra to get that road completed, and you get an extra benefit for getting bumped. Brilliant.
47 – The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
My Favourite thing about The Crew: Mission Deep Sea:
While I enjoy both versions of The Crew, Mission Deep Sea’s variable goal deck makes this version my favourite by far. It’s a mild complaint, but trying to bring The Quest for Planet Nine out for a casual group is mildly annoying in that you have to pick random missions to tackle. I much prefer just picking a difficulty number and flipping over goal cards until we’ve reached that threshold. And casual play is how I play The Crew the most anyway.
46 – Viticulture World
My Favourite thing about Viticulture World
It’s pretty rare that an expansion to a game gets its own entry on the list, but I think in the case of Viticulture World, it’s warranted. The twist on gameplay, turning a competitive game into a collaborative experience, was such a joy to discover. I love that each player needs to earn 20 points before the time runs out, forcing everyone to consider how best to support their teammates, in addition to building up their own vineyards.
45 – 7 Wonders
My Favourite thing about 7 Wonders
Honestly, it’s the large player count and short play time. Simultaneous play is something that I really appreciate, so having a great game to play when my table has up to 7 players is invaluable.
44 – Clans of Caledonia
My Favourite thing about Clans of Caledonia
Clans of Caledonia combines the best parts of Terra Mystica with the shifting market of Navagador, and, it condenses all the various resources down into a single one, money. No need to faff about with power cubes, or cultists, or books, or terrain types. It’s all just money. I’d play Clans of Caledonia over Terra Mystica or Gaia Project, or Age of Innovation any day of the week.
43 – Kingdomino
Previous Rank: 37 | Full Review
My Favourite thing about Kingdomino
The scoring for Kingdomino being the number of terrain tiles multiplied by the number of crowns, and where the number of crowns can equal 0, is delicious. It’s just a bit too much math for me to calculate out during the game, but the tension of having a huge pasture, and no crowns to show for it makes my heart beat a mile a minute.
42 – Russian Railroads
My Favourite thing about Ultimate Railroads
That one turn. There’s at least one turn in Russian Railroads where all of your bonuses just start cascading into one amazing turn. Where normally you only get to do one little thing, suddenly you’re charging down the line, horn blaring, collecting benefit after benefit as you smash thresholds. It’s such a great feeling.
41 – Navegador
My Favourite thing about Navegador:
Manipulating the market is pure joy. Choosing to sell gold while produce in sugar and pumping each of those resources up and down makes my heart sing. I also really enjoy that by the end of the game, you’re raking in more money per round than you did in the entire first half of the game. Just a super satisfying experience all around.
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