Here we are again, counting down my top 100 games of all time. It’s been about 3 years since I last did this, and a lot has changed in my heart and soul. Not to mention, I’ve played a lot more games since then, so, let’s get right into it!
I won’t be spending a huge amount of time on each game, as many of them now have full reviews, which I’ll try to link in where appropriate. What I will be doing is just focusing on something that I love about each of these games. This isn’t to say that each of these games is perfect, far from it. But each of these games does have something to love, something that makes them stand out in my mind.
100 – La Granja
My favourite thing about La Granja:
La Granja takes multi-use cards and takes them to the next level. Every card can be used in 4 ways, either to expand your farm on the left or right side, as an order along the top, or as a player power along the bottom. Forcing players to make the choice between either an excellent power or the perfect order to fulfill makes La Granja a delight to play
99 – Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun
One of my favourite new-to-me games in 2022!
My favourite thing about Tekhenu:
Much like La Granja, I love the way multiple ways dice are used. 3 dice are rolled into every action of the game board. The pip value can affect the power of the action, and the colour affects the ‘pure, tainted, or forbidden’ quality of the dice. At the end of each round, your karma must be balanced, or you may suffer some penalties.
Also, having a standing Spire is fairly unnecessary to the gameplay, but it does make the board look so much more impressive when it’s on the table
98 – Alhambra
My favourite thing about Alhambra:
I really like the turns in Alhambra when the stars align, and you happen to buy several cards in the same turn. It feels amazing slapping down the perfect amount of cash three times in a row, slot all the tiles into your garden, then your opponents suddenly realize that you just overtook their green majority right before the scoring phase. So satisfying!
97 – Photosynthesis
My favourite thing about Photosynthesis:
The core mechanism of the sun going around the board and the ebb and flow of the sun and shade is a really fascinating puzzle. I also love the 3d trees and watching the board grow from just a few saplings to a dense forest.
96 – Troyes
My favourite thing about Troyes:
The dice worker placement is excellent. I like the mechanic where you can use other players dice, for a cost. This grants you access to more actions than what would normally be available, or, if you’re first in player order, can snipe all the dice of a specific colour (for a cost) to control access to the associated action. I really appreciate that level of freedom.
95 – Pandemic: Rising Tide
One of my favourite new-to-me games in 2022!
My favourite thing about Pandemic: Rising Tide:
The aspect of the game that sets it apart from the rest of the Pandemic universe! The way the water flows is wildly interesting to me. I also find Pandemic: Rising Tide to be quite a bit more difficult than the other Pandemic games that I’ve played, and the challenge is something I appreciate.
94 – The Isle of Cats
One of my favourite new-to-me games in 2021!
My favourite thing about The Isle of Cats:
The polyonmino puzzle, especially with the oval play space. So many Polyonmino games (Like Patchwork or Bärenpark) have you playing your tiles on a square plane. The Isle of Cats choice to make the boat a bit rounded on the ends makes it a much more interesting game
93 – Tak
My favourite thing about Tak:
It’s so simple, yet surprisingly deep. I love it when someone proclaims that a game is stupid or has no strategy, then can’t beat me in it. Such is the case with Tak. It’s so easy that it feels like it’s anyone’s game at any point, but a sufficiently skilled player will win every single time.
92 – Star Realms
My favourite thing about Star Realms:
Speed and size. I love that Star Realms contains an eminently replayable and engaging 1 v 1 deck building experience in a tiny deck of cards. Many games have tried to do similar things to Star Realms with much more production, but I still feel compelled to come back to this little deck of cards (disclaimer: I have no expansions, which is why my copy of Star Realms is still so small)
91 – Red7
My favourite thing about Red7:
The constantly changing rules keeps players on their toes. Because every player has to be ‘winning’ at the end of their turns, the rules and table situation is constantly changing, and I love the way these colours bend my brain!
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