10 Medium Weight Board Games that We Love

[@namelessfire]

Fun facts about Mancala: - Mancala (or a progenitor of Mancala) is the oldest known game of which we have the rules. It dates back to 4000 BC in Africa. - Mancala is a game about planting seeds. - Mancala as we know it today popped up in East Africa around 700 AD. - “Mancala” is got its name from the Arabic word “Naqala” (to move). Naqala is the name of the kingdom in which “Five Tribes” is set.

[@beneeta_k]

Ahhh so happy to see Hansa on your list. Thank you again for teaching me how to play. I absolutely adore this game!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Haha you know it!! 😘

[@alisonwentland3765]

Thanks for this list. Although I already have plenty of board games waiting to be learned/played, this list is pushing me to play some we already have plus helping me find new ones in this level of complexity.

[@damaddestgamer]

The Networks works fine with 2, played it multiple times, there's a mechanic that removes cards automatically and there's less cards overall I think, so it's pretty tight.

[@christopherhealey8807]

Monique and Naveen, excellence again, you are such a great team and your game descriptions awesome.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thanks Christopher!! 😀

[@Saxofaxo]

Great selection. Love Hansa Teutonica and Tigris & Euphrates. Such clever designs.

[@benjaminpalut9162]

Hi, I just want to say thanks to you two. I'm french and i love board games and and try to improve my english comprehension. So your videos are just perfect for me. Look forward to watch the next one 🙂

[@JustinandHanna]

I love Deus, have played it sooo many times. The Egypt expansion actually doesn't replace alllll the cards. You can pick and choose which ones to replace. So you can replace just the ships or just the military and production buildings.or you can change everything but I don't think I'd suggest that first time through. It's very modular

[@theSolemnBard]

My preferred mix is Egypt production (imposes a resource limit) and ships (resource cost/value fluctuates)

[@jrobinson5053]

Holy Cow. Yellow and Yangtze and Tigris are my favorites. Didn't expect that. I love older style euros that aren't point salad and multiplayer solitaire, I wish there were more. Hansa T is great. Other favorites that are comparable in game style and board game time period are Clans, Terra Nova, Bridges of Shangri La, Carolus Magnus, China/Han/Web of Power. These are usually upheld titles by the older style board gamers.

[@heidicakessoapco5343]

My dad and I used to play a game called Oh-wah-Ree, which is basically Mancala. As a grown up, I searched and searched for the game, because it was so much fun. The set we used had polished stones in a beautiful wooden board that was round with the bowl indentations. One day a friend wanted to play mancala, and I was so excited. It was pretty much the same as Oh-Wah-Ree! I have yet to find a beautiful board with those polished stones though... Love Carpe Diem!

[@JonathonV]

Yes! Oware has African origins and mancala is South American, although the mechanics are very, very similar!

[@blackboardgaming5348]

I just played Carpe Diem last week and really enjoyed it! It's not a pretty game, but love the zig-zag tile drafting. This is the second time I've heard about Autorama. Now I'm interested to play it. My friend has a copy. Alicia & I love The Networks.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

You guys always have great taste! Please try Automania and let us know what you think!

[@Litvi90]

Another good way to define game weight is by the approximate time required to teach the game to a newcomer. E.g., "light", "medium" and "heavy" may correspond to 20 min teaches respectively.

[@adel-a]

As usual, great video. You both know how to introduce games. I usually follow your playthroughs as I find them very instructive. About the manqla mechanic used in Five Tribes: it's true Manqala is a very old game: from the Babylonians or ancient Egypt. The game still played now comes most likely from the Ottoman Empire. The noun manqala مَنقلة in Arabic comes from the verb نَقلَ which means to transport. So manqala means the place of transportation. Or if it is, as stated in Wikipedia, minqala مِنْقاة , it means the tool for transportation. In this case, the tool is the game. But, I doubt anyone says مِنقلة minqala! The original game Manqala is still played in some Middle Eastern countries like Palestine and Syria... It's a strategy game not based on luck. And the mechanic of manqala is still used in a number of games.

[@wtrollkin]

Love those classic Euros. Tigris Euphrates. Yes. Princes of Florence, Tikal, and El Grande too.

[@nikolamanojlovic7083]

It one hundred percent has a programming element to it.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

I feel validated!

[@snowchamp]

medium weights. based on 2.5 - 3.25 weighting. Dune Imperium / Path of Light and Shadow / Concordia / Terraforming Mars / Orleans / Grand Austria Hotel / Antike / Rococo / Viticulture / Vindication makes my top 10.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

All excellent choices. Naveen is a fan of Vindication but I (Monique) haven’t tried it yet ☹️.

[@snowchamp9447]

Haha. The theme is sooo… wretched. To rise out of being a scumbag! Game can end real quick too if players want to end it quick as well.

[@terryskinner5436]

I wouldn't have thought Hansa Teutonica would be a mid-weight - it seems so simple with the things you're allowed to do. The decisions can be pretty tough sometimes though so that's probably where the weight comes from. HT is a top 5 game for me. Really love that one. There's a lot on this list that I haven't played though - I'll have to check them out.

[@EngMadison]

That's what I love about Hansa (and any game), simple game play but difficult decisions. Cube rail games also fit this for me.

[@origenward3845]

Really enjoy all your content guys keep it up! Have you guys done a list of games that are out of print? Maybe a "bring it back" list?

[@BeforeYouPlay]

That’s a really good idea!

[@origenward3845]

@@BeforeYouPlay awesome wasn't sure if you've done one. I'll be standing by😁

[@davidgezelius4507]

I dont think you mentioned it, but one thing Hansa Teutonica does (and may have invented?) Is the uncovering of action spaces to form better and better actions. That is for me a selling point as great as the bumping. Great game.

[@KenCantrell]

i hadn't realized it is only a 2.38, but would also recommend Peloponnes. We find the auction system + 'only score your lowest best score' + basic engine building to be great combo.

[@shortydancer]

If you're available during Strategicon, we'd love to play Five Tribes with you two! Or many be even Trismegistus.

[@marknadeski7485]

Great list! Nice to highlight games that may not necessarily be "top ten" but are still games that are well loved and great games to have in your collection. A few mid-weight games that I love that I like to highlight are Vindication, Glory: A Game of Knights and Coimbra.

[@WhatsDaveUpTo]

Hansa Teutonica is AMAZING. The fact that its not in the top 100 is a crime

[@sarareed6897]

Castles of Mad King Ludwig was one of the first games in my collection and it is still greatly beloved. It always makes us laugh.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Love pricing the various tiles!!

[@TheGunslinger019]

Great list! You mention many games that are in obscurity these days and is very nice to hear about them again. I got Hansa Teutonica and it is really a special game that I’ve enjoyed it and I haven’t tried the extra maps yet. I had Deus once upon a time but it didn’t click and I traded it away. Also have Dead of Winter but I have many years to open that box and I wonder if it cause of the burden to set it up without an insert. The one I really want to try someday though is Tigris & Euphrates! I am just now starting to discover the genius of Knizia designs and I want to see his best game in action.

[@dgunther3373]

I really enjoyed the discussion. Thanks! We've enjoyed several of the games on your list, but the only one we own is Five Tribes. Also among the favorites we own rated between 2.5-3.25 are Roll for the Galaxy and Firefly, the Game.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Naveen just recently tried Roll for the Galaxy and got blindsided by the end game lol. Still haven't tried Firefly though 😑

[@RamonMercadoReyes]

I’ve never played Deus, but programming games commonly have two phases. A programming phase (where you write your program) usually by playing cards; not unlike building a tableau. An execution phase where you run the program that you built. If Deus don’t have those two distinct phases then it’s difficult to say it’s a programming game.

[@mshahrukh92]

Awesome video guys. Please make more content like this!!!

[@BillyIndiana]

5 Tribes was one of the games that got my wife and I to start trying heavier (more strategic) games too👍 I got to play Tigris & Euphrates this year and really enjoyed it. I hope it eventually gets a reboot like Ra.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

The box Art for that reboot has Naveen salivating lol 😝

[@shanerion]

The rumor is that it will get a reboot relatively soon. And I will be all over it. I would pay through the nose for an heirloom edition of Tigris.

[@coleheinz9170]

Nice list, love Carpe Diem and Castles of Mad King Ludwig. One of my favorite medium weight games is Riverboat, feel like it never got a lot of attention.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

We own it and it’s on our Shelf of Shame/Opportunity. Michael Kiesling was a beast that year with Azul and Heaven & Ale all released the same year!!

[@coleheinz9170]

@@BeforeYouPlay yeah, Heaven & Ale is in my top 10 games, so tight but very satisfying when you get it right. Michael Kiesling had a stellar year with all three games. So….you should try Riverboat!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

You’re totally right, we need to prioritize it. What’s the best player count?

[@gomezthechimp1116]

I also rate Riverboat highly. I believe it was not only lost amongst a plethora of other great games that year, but was also overpriced. Another honourable mention goes to Crown Of Emara.

[@coleheinz9170]

Good with all counts, more open with two players.

[@joshestes6427]

Naveen, totally love you, but Deus is definitely not programming haha On a different front, I think the term weight isn't very helpful for most, but not because of the sometimes mentioned inconsistency of how people rate a game, but because I think weight really comes in two forms for most games. First, you have the weight of the rules or maybe more accurately the rules overhead while playing. This is the ability of a player to accurately play their turn without making a mistake or missing out on an option available to them because of the complexity of the rules in the game. A key game to feature this would be MTG which has a lot of rules and timing windows that makes playing it many times very rewarding but can be difficult for new players. Second, you have the depth of strategy, which is the linking of actions over many turns and their implications toward winning the game. Games such as Kanban or The Gallerist have a great depth of decisions, yet have surprisingly few actual actions. Finding an artist is not complicated in what you are doing in the Gallerist, but the ability to make that discovery worthwhile is because the interconnections can change your ability to increase the artists popularity. I think that for some one of these items maybe mean very little, but the other may make or break the game for them. Because a game can be ranked higher for either reason I often feel a game isn't that heavy when it comes across heavy for another, and vice versus too. Great list! And keep making great content!

[@darrenmcguire7023]

Ive recently played a bunch of medium weight games new to me... Clans of Caledonia, Castell, Grand Austrian Hotel, and Great Western Trail. I consider my favorite game, Scythe, medium weight as well

[@babydemon90]

I like Deus alot. A lot of similarities in the card play to Wingspan. (Also its on BGA if you want to try it out)

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Yeah with the way you trigger the cards played beforehand! That’s why Naveen considers it a “programming” mechanism.

[@jchangaus]

Some really great games in that 2.5-3.25 weight bracket, looking at the list, The Voyages of Marco Polo is probably one of my favourites.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Haven't played the original but really REALLY enjoyed Marco Polo II when we played it 3-player.

[@lelandcheng7390]

I love Dead of Winter also! Now that Naveen mentioned it, I also don't recall anyone playing it at DTW when I was there. I may need to host a game of it next time I'm at a Con! And I also love the hidden traitor mechanic. Our game group at home as played (2) 5-player games and never had a Betrayer. But there was always that tension that one of us was and it adds a lot to the experience. And I also have the Folded Space insert for it, because I totally agree that if I had to bag all the different tokens and standees, it would be way more challenging to get motivated to get it to the table.

[@godzilla614UT]

Lots of solid choices! And I agree with the weight of the games meeting the criteria.

[@Puzzu]

Glad to see the spotlight on Dead of Winter, it is so good! Team Naveen all the way here lol. Love the hidden traitor mechanic, it makes it so fun being suspicious of everyone around the table since even non traitors can have some shady feeling personal goals :) One of the best implementations of the Walking Dead theme. I wish I could play it more often, still haven’t broken out the DoW: Long Night yet! Also love CoMKL, I have it but still went in for the deluxe KS version 😅

[@nickhuston7934]

Glad to see the DoW love too! Have you tried the Prisoner’s Dilemma variant for 2 player? You each get a good and bad goal. One or both complete the good goal, then good wins. If one completes good and one completes bad, bad player wins. But if both complete bad, they both lose.

[@Puzzu]

@@nickhuston7934 Never heard of this variant, sounds interesting, haven’t tried playing DoW at 2p but could be fun!

[@Pinstripedood]

Hansa is me and my game group's GOAT. Everyone always wants to play it.

[@Naledgeizpwr]

Tigris & Euphrates is perhaps the best ever designed, so definitely agree with Yellow & Yangtze, since T&E technically does not fit the parameters. Hansa Teutonica is also a top 10 design for me. I would add Cosmic Encounter, El Grande, San Marco, Race for the Galaxy, Railways of the World, Chicago Express, Navegador, Cosmic Frog.

[@bearhustler]

Cosmic Frog has been a pleasure for me. As it's a weird hybrid game I wasn't sure who, if anyone, in my group would like it but it was a hit with the more ameritrash people and the euro people. I was so pleasantly surprised.

[@banaa9463]

Nice list! And it's good to know your new camera arrived. I love your videos.

[@KMReviews]

Tigris and Euphrates is the one I prefer but I freakin love it. But it does melt your mind by the time you are done lol. I also love dead of winter. I got an amazing wooden insert that makes set up so nice and easy kol

[@shanerion]

I think both Scythe and Troyes (which are 3.46 and 3.43 in weight) are medium weight games. So I’d say that medium goes up to 3.5.

[@nicholasschneider6655]

Thanks for the video. Hansa Teutonica is the only one I've played (and that was just one game on Tabletopia recently). However, given that you say it's not a (ranked) top ten list, maybe it makes more sense to list them from 1 to 10 (so as to not suggest it's a countdown to the best).

[@DonGilstrap]

Great list! I need to get some of these to the table again (and buy the rest!).

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Lol love the games designed 5-7 years ago!

[@coyotemoon722]

I'm always Team Naveen.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Haha much appreciated!!

[@Jeff_Pusch]

Mad King Ludwig was my "five tribes" -- the game that got me deeper into the hobby. Got it on clearance at Barnes and Noble, and we played it a ton. It got replaced a little by Suburbia, but our copy is super-well-used. So we did back the collector's edition.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Nice!! Hope it fulfills soon!!

[@CharlesHepburn2]

More cutaways to pictures of board and cards as you describe the game would be great, thanks.

[@BezierGamesInc]

What a great list!! We're thrilled Castles of Mad King Ludwig made it 😃🏰

[@ColonelKurtz]

Based on the 2.5 - 3.25 scale, here are some titles that I own that I think are overlooked by gamers: The Godfather: Corleone's Empire, Raiders of Scythia, Francis Drake, The World of Smog: Rise of Moloch, Narcos: The Board Game, and Clockwork Wars.

[@Tekno242]

Do you have any plans of creating a list for two players? It’s mainly my spouse and I that play, so we’re a bit limited on board games that’ll get us excited.

[@dangerousbeans2907]

Played Hansa for the first time last weekend. We played it 3 times at a 5 player count and we loved it. I absolutely adore Five Tribes but it’s strictly a 2p game in my world tyvm. ;p

[@stevedaggett5702]

Yellow & Yangtze! Probably my favorite game! Midweight rules but deep gameplay

[@bearhustler]

I'd love to see you play Yellow/Yangtze, I'm curious about it and have been for some time.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Hope you can try it, Tigris & Euphrates is very very similar if you have access to that one.

[@sutul]

I have to agree with the title(s) occuping nr 1 spot. Literally yesterday we've played Tigris & Euphrates in a group of 4, and it was fantastic. One thing that wasn't mentioned tho, is that it benefits a lot from a higher number of players - it was much better for 4 ppl then it was for 3. It's getting way more tight, and conflicts become inevitable way sooner. Fully agree with recommendation for that game :)

[@tmcd5049]

Still, good fun for two!

[@JonathonV]

Five Tribes is a good game; I like it a lot! I was wary because besides mancala/oware itself, the only game that I’d played with token dropping was Fistful of Meeples. Naveen said he’s never gotten tired of this mechanism? Well, for me, the affection for it was almost over before it began, because Fistful of Meeples is essentially Analysis Paralysis: The Game. Each station where you drop a meeple is activated as you go along, so you have to pay careful attention to the order in which you play the meeples. And all the stations are in a circle like mancala/oware and do different things based on the type of station and colour of meeple. The meeples don’t often disappear from the board, either (unless they are in a duel). So it’s just a brain burner. Thankfully in Five Tribes you only have to worry about the ending spot! Much better, IMHO. Castles of Mad King Ludwig is great. I also love Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig (a mash-up game that I played before I’d tried either of the component games that were combined to make it). The Networks is a brilliant game! I love it. I also don’t often gravitate to heavily themed games but this one works very well! I disagree about it not being tight at 2 players. Cards are being eliminated every few turns so I’d say it’s perhaps even more tense! Haven’t played any of the others so I have some catching up to do! Thanks for the video! This is one of my favourite complexity ranges. Here are 10 I like from 2.5 to 3.25 on BGG, plus a bunch of runners-up: 1. Gentes 2. Import/Export (or Glory to Rome) 3. Beyond the Sun 4. Concordia 5. Rajas of the Ganges 6. Lost Ruins of Arnak 7. Acquire 8. Village 9. Alubari 10. Forbidden Sky Runners-Up: First Class, Container, Suburbia, Glen More II Chronicles

[@nacy1989]

Haven't played any of these, but Mad King Ludwig seems fun! My medium top 5 are: 1. The Castles of Burgundy 2. Everdell 3. Dune: Imperium 4. Lords of Waterdeep 5. Rococo Looking forward to your next playthrough and I hope it will be A Feast for Odin! (Btw. you guys made me try Lisboa (finally!), everything looks so simple when you explain it !)

[@neversummer5091]

Love Gold West getting some attention. Great game and one I would never part with.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

It’s such a fun game!!

[@coltonstarck8683]

I can help but think of Operation when I see the cover of Automania...The yellow, the red noses, the overall just art style.

[@Aka_Vanii]

The Castles of Mad King Ludwig are acutely based on King Ludwig the 14th, who built Versailles in France. Neuschwanstein was built by the Bavarian King Max, but was acutely inspired by Versailles. Just wanted to mention that.

[@robertkamper1048]

The game is based on King Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as the Swan King. Max was his father.

[@DenzelPF31]

Schloss Herrenchiemsee another castle by the mad king Ludwig was inspired by Versailles. And the box of the game is clearly depicting Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria.

[@jdotco23]

Five Tribes is an amazing game. Top 10 all-time for me. I have the Artisans and Whims of the Sultan expansions, and I love playing with all of it. I need to get the Thieves expansion. Deus is top 20 for me, as well. I wish the cards weren't so stingy, but other than that, it's such a great game with awesome mechanics. As for your discussion, I would simply broaden both the programming and the tableau-building terms and just say it's an engine-builder. The Networks sounds so fun! I definitely need to look into that one.

[@helxis]

T&E is just a little heavier than medium, with its slightly finicky rules. So worth it, though. Babylonia is a good truly medium weight Knizia tile game.

[@asterionlibre6748]

great selection! BTW Gold West is available in Amazon! Three of my favorites are Five Tribes, Architects of the West Kingdom and Champions of Midgard

[@stayathomegypsy5078]

We’ve been to that Castle as well! Must try to find! 😄

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Aww how nice! It’s a beautiful area in Germany!

[@filipb3839]

Hello! So happy you have icluded Dead of Winter! I love it, so immersive and fun to play! Unfortunately my group has not the same taste...hope to play it more in the future! Bye...

[@kchorst5037]

Castles of Mad King Ludwig was my favorite game for many years! I also like Gold West & would add Viticulture, Near & Far, Pioneer Days, & Shakespeare to your suggestions

[@lohengrindrd]

Not a lot of overlap with my 10, at this stage which would be (in no particular order); Viticulture, Roll for the Galaxy, Rurik, Clank, Merlin, Concordia, Orleans, Raiders of Scythia, Hansa Teutonica, GlenMore II. Honourable mentions to Five Tribes, Yellow & Yangtze, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Castles of Burgundy. But it’s pretty fluid and there are a lot in this category I haven’t played enough yet.

[@PaulMazzoni]

Played Deus. I always describe it as tableau building. Those were all very good choices.

[@diggidydiggidy]

Sweet shirt Naveen. Looking sharp, dude! 😁

[@shockwavemasta]

Kraftwagen 2.0 is being developed - confirmed by the designer

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Insta-Buy!! Thanks for letting me know, I had no idea!! ☺️

[@d-rockthegreat]

Gold West is underrated. Really enjoy it

[@aba_dab_o]

Thanks for the video! - Five Tribes was actually the very first game I played when I attended my first board game gathering. Great introduction for me to the hobby. :) - I like Castles of Mad King Ludwig, but its big halting caveat is in the master builder role-looking at everyone's castles-in-progress and pricing the room tiles. A big game theory sort-of puzzle not for the AP peoples like me. Suburbia, also by the same designer and publisher, may be a better alternative for them. - Time and again, I think of Hansa Teutonica and how I had fun playing it and wanting to play it again. How everyone is vying to expand their routes as well as improve their skills. And the hilarity of a few people trying to gain extra actions early in the game. I hope to play the game soon, post-pandemic. :) - I'll also throw in Istanbul, Res Arcana, Orleans, Castles of Burgundy, and a few dice-worker placement games like Champions of Midgard, Alien Frontiers, and Roll for the Galaxy.

[@pixxelwizzard]

I wanted so bad to love Dead of Winter because it should be the exact type of game I love. However, I found it hard to win even when playing full co-op, and games with traitors usually ended mid-game with the traitor tanking everything beyond repair in a single turn. So, it collects dust in my closet now. :(

[@andrewwalsh531]

I was initially put off by Y&Y due to the combat but the game has definately grown on me after repeated plays. There's just so much strategic depth there! Also wrt Carpe Diem, this is a game in our wheelhouse (a mid weight euro that plays well w/2) that I've had my eye on for awhile. I just can't decide which edition to get ie., 1st edition, 2nd printing of the latter or the newest (2nd edition w/white box). Frankly, they all appear to have different production issues. Five Tribes was one I looked into but it appeared wouldn't be a good fit for us....the two of us can be a little AP prone at times.

[@NikkiWirawan]

I love The Network and Castle of Mad King Ludwig the Most. The Network in particular, is I think a very underappreciated game. Five Tribes is also one of the games that hooked me up to the more strategic games

[@DontGoJake]

Love your channel. Must say you are very respectful and calm when you disagree (re: Deus). If it's me and my SO then voices raise immediately. Even if we're not upset!

[@TheTomAbz]

I would love to see a Playthrough of Five tribes!

[@Cissewis]

Great list! Thanks as always!

[@damaddestgamer]

No Rococo? Voyages of Marco Polo? Castles of Burgundy? Russian Railroads? Village? Rajas of the Ganges? Heaven and Ale? Stone Age? Haha all quintessential mid-weight euros for me.

[@ShineOnYouCD]

Thats why all lists are personal and unique!

[@Lapoire11]

Yellow & Yangtze is SO GOOD.

[@the_bearded_maximus4601]

Another great take, thank you! LOVE 5 Tribes! ;-)

[@ColonelKurtz]

If you divide games into 3 weights- light, medium, and heavy- and based on bgg's 1-5 weight scale... Medium weight games would fall in the range of (approximately) 2.34 - 3.66. Light weight games would be 1.00 - 2.33. Heavy games would be 3.67 - 5.00. Some of my favorite games on the lighter side of the medium weight scale are Targi, Wingspan, Letters from Whitechapel, and Akrotiri. Based on this, games like Obsession and Twilight Struggle still fall within the heaviest side of the medium weight category while games like Star Wars: Rebellion and Pax Pamir would be considered heavy weight games. I think there is a bias for people to hesitate to rate a game as a heavy (5) game, because people either do not want to concede that they may have had difficulty learning the rules or strategies of a game or that if they are rating the weight of a game they must already have a familiarity with the game so it doesn't seem to be extremely heavy any more.

[@j.r.cilliangreen4083]

Gold West is SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!! One of my favorite mid weight brain burners that doesn’t take 100 years to get through…

[@NoWondersTV]

There's so many games that are on my list to try out one day! I especially have been wanting to try Castles of Mad King Ludwig for a while. Each time I see only good reviews from different kind of people, I am sure I'd love it. For Five Tribes, just like Monique said, I think it was one of the first ones I've played in that weight category. I was playing much lighter games before and then I discovered Five Tribes and was like "Wow, games can actually be strategic and fun!" cause to me, back then, strategic games meant boring long games that would last for like 10 hours. That wasn't (and still isn't) my definition of fun. When I discovered Five Tribes, it blew my mind! The game is visually stunning and it is so fun. You want to do the best move but don't want to give good opportunities to your opponent. I personally love the game at a 2p count, not so much at higher. I do enjoy the bidding aspect but I prefer the control we get at 2 players. If you play at higher player count, the board might have completely changed by the time you get to your turn.

[@moo422]

Istanbul BigBox/Grand-Bazaar is on the top of our list for mid-weight, esp at 2P. I would really like to try Hansa Teutonica, but it doesn't work at all for 2P.

[@iamryanjsmith]

What do you mean you "got an insert" for Dead of Winter? We love this game, too, but agree there's so much to set up. Curious what this magical insert is. :)

[@BeforeYouPlay]

We got a Broken Token insert for it one year at a convention. Makes getting into the game so much faster compared to bags everywhere.

[@iamryanjsmith]

@@BeforeYouPlay I'm an idiot. Of course that's what an insert is.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

@@iamryanjsmith LOL!!!! That's so FUNNY!!!

[@TiagoAreiasDias]

Another GREAT video. 🔥 Regards from Dubai 🥳

[@MohamadSobh]

Very cool list! Shall we expect a playthrough of #1 then :D? Or it doesn’t work well with two?

[@zacdredge3859]

I would say a preselection of one action in a prior round doesn't qualify as programming. Needs to be a dedicated round with multiple potential actions to qualify for that mechanism as far as I'm concerned. Nice try Naveen, haha. Mancala really just refers to the board with the parallel rows of cavities, which is the oldest boardgame however it was originally played, and originates from northern Africa. Games of mancala often share the same mechanism mentioned here though, which is relay sowing and probably originates from the game being played with seeds in its earliest forms.

[@morpheus587]

Nice list! But I hate when people recommend games that are unavailable... like The Networks and Automania... they look fun but with no way to acquire them...

[@smashbroz4580]

Absolutely love dead of winter, top 5 for me. I think it gets a bad rap. The crossroad system is amazing, with or without the traitor, whichever you prefer. No lie, this is the game I teach most to new gamers to draw them into the hobby. Just my friend group loves he theme and tension, and all the craziness with the crossroad cards. I have all three and it will never leave our collection. Great vid!

[@terryskinner5436]

Out of curiosity, have you played Concordia? It's in this weight range and is one that we enjoy. Power Grid just misses it at 3.26 but it's another favorite of my group.

[@SClarkPharmD]

Dead of Winter is still in my top ten. Sp good!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Such a fun experience rolling to avoid getting hurt + the treat of a potential saboteur!

[@popgas3821]

The 1st and 2nd ones are really interesting. Love to have them for my groupmates, but they’re kind of hard to find.

[@abbynall7740]

I have not played Castles of Mad King Ludwig (or Between Two Castles) but I have played Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig and loved it! I think we played it with six (maybe eight, it was New Year's and I don't remember 😅). Have y'all played Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig?

[@hikarukaze]

My personal favorite for mid-weight euro game is Crown of Emara. I wonder if you guys ever tried it? Kinda want to know what your take on that game. Nice list btw, I have my eyes on Yellow & Yangtze and Carpe Diem but haven't got chance to play it.

[@Gathanokos]

Oh my, Y&Y is one of my top 10 of all times. It's just soooo good 😆 I've never tried it with 2 players though. I wonder if it plays well with lower player count?

[@BeforeYouPlay]

We’ve only played it 4 players, seems like at 2 would be a very different experience.

[@wafikdidi7013]

I really like these videos, but it would be great if you show us the games pieces and board and all while you speak about them.

[@jasonfields8548]

Thanks for mentioning Kraftwagon

[@gbursine]

i feel like yall have a really healthy way of disagreeing & i appreciate it.

[@cicerofranklin]

Quick question (without wanting to get into a definitions fest ...) Medium games as part of a simple 3 way split: Light, Medium and Heavy? Or as a part of a 5 way split: Light, Light Medium, Medium, Medium Heavy and Heavy? Thanks for indulging me!