We’ve arrived at the cream of the crop. My top 10 games of all time. Serendipitously, this is also my 200th post on this blog! Nothing more to say, other than thanks for reading!
10 – Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
My favourite thing about Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization:
How deep and satisfying the puzzle is. I really cannot overstate how much I enjoy wrestling with the systems in Through the Ages. Now, it’s a game I’ve only played offline once, and it was tedious and took hours, but, I’ve played dozens of games online and on the app, and in those venues, the brilliance of this game shines through.
9 – Glen More II: Chronicles
My favourite thing about Glen More II: Chronicles:
The tile roundel and being able to leap as far forward as you want allows for so much freedom in how you want to grow your village. Leaping ahead to get the best tile ensures you’ll get what you want but it allows your opponents to take everything that was left behind. Sometimes it’s worth it to claim that castle, but other times, slow and steady produces fistfuls of goods.
8 – Agricola
My favourite thing about Agricola:
Yeah, that’s right. I have the OG Agricola where animals are cubs and resources are disks. My favourite thing about Agricola is easily the occupation and minor improvement cards that you get, and how drastically they impact every game. These cards are by far the reason why I prefer Agricola over Caverna.
7 – Paperback Adventures
My favourite thing about Paperback Adventures:
The way they took the word building of Paperback and meshed it into a roguelike Slay the Spire-esque tabletop game is really fascinating. The mechanic of splaying your word left or right to get different icons, and choosing which card you want on top to trigger its ability, feels so satisfying. So many decisions to make on each turn, I am utterly in love with Paperback Adventures
6 – Concordia
Previous Rank: 6 | Full Review
My favourite thing about Concordia
The positive player interaction that I mentioned in Brass: Birmingham is here in full force. Weasling your way into the same province as the other players to benefit from their Prefect action. I love this peaceful economic game, and there are so many maps to explore, I never get tired to playing it.
5 – 7 Wonders Duel
Previous Rank: 3 | Full Review
My favourite thing about 7 Wonders Duel
It might be kinda silly, but I really love the fact that there are 3 ways to win. While achieving a science victory or military victory when playing against equally skilled players is incredibly rare, I love that they exist. And when one player makes a move towards one of the victory conditions, the other player is forced to respond. Commit too far and not achieve it, and you’ll have wasted a ton of precious actions, but still, the threat is palpable and exciting.
4 – Race for the Galaxy
Previous Rank: 7 | Full Review
My favourite thing about Race for the Galaxy:
It’s fast, it’s variable, and it’s satisfying to build a functioning engine and goose it for fistfuls of points. So many other tableau building games wish they could achieve the level of satisfaction that Race for the Galaxy nails in just 30 minutes. Race for the Galaxy is my most played game on Board Game Arena, but that doesn’t mean I won’t play the physical version any chance I get!
3 – Bullet❤️
Full Review | Solo Mode Review
My favourite thing about Bullet❤️
The boss battle mode is just the perfect solo puzzle for me. It’s fast to set up, it’s wildly variable as each boss and each heroine have drastically different skill sets, and it takes less than 15 minutes to play. The puzzle is endlessly satisfying, and the push your luck element always has me on the edge of my seat. The expansions, Bullet⭐, Bullet🍊, Bullet 🐾, and Bullet🎨 all add more characters, and characters from any expansion can be mixed together, giving this excellent game almost endless variability.
2 – Galaxy Trucker
Previous Rank: 2 | Full Review
My favourite thing about Galaxy Trucker
No game has made me belly laugh more than Galaxy Trucker. From the moment I finish building my first ship until the final card in the game has been resolved, I have a stupid grin on my face, and when any ship gets cleved in two, my own included, I just feel giddy inside. A childlike sense of joy that comes from senseless and slapstick destruction makes me love Galaxy Trucker more than almost every other game I’ve ever played.
1 – Food Chain Magnate
Previous Rank: 1 | Full Review | Expansion Impressions
My favourite thing about Food Chain Magnate
Everything. Okay, I know it’s a cop-out to say ‘everything’ to my favourite game of all time, but honestly, yeah, I love everything about Food Chain Magnate. The no luck strategy, the interaction that comes from all the players competing over the same customers, the way the economy seems dead for 5 rounds then BAM money starts flying all over the place. I love Food Chain Magnate with all my heart. My heart rate literally accelerates when I get to play it, and just thinking about playing it makes me salivate. I have a physical reaction to this game, and while my game group doesn’t share my level of enthusiasm, it does not deter my love for this masterpiece.
