5 surprisingly savage board games that will test your friendships

[@AsteroidWrangler]

I'd add Ticket to Ride. Whenever it goes, it rapidly goes from "Ooh trains, I always like trains" to "I swear to the God of the Rails, if you take that track, this table is flipping." Love it so much.

[@fernandopires981]

Oh yeah, there is one bit in the mid-south that's always a constest to get, and always at least 2 people need it hahahaha

[@reaganorton1710]

Definitely! When your brother takes the only path left that leads to the south and you just lost 50 points!!!

[@tyrannosaurusrhett]

I remember absolutely destroying one friend's plans for completing his routes and combining them into the longest line just by placing one rail care. If he didn't want his plans ruined, he should have claimed that space first.

[@abrannan]

The beautiful part is that different maps will play very differently with different numbers of players. If you’re not ready for what the map has in store for you at your player count, you’re gonna have a bad time.

[@edwardrhoads7283]

Yeah that is why we usually play with train stations even on the US map.

[@CaitlinRC]

Sushi Roll is one of them. Dicebreaker almost died over the Sushimi attack of 2019.

[@AsteroidWrangler]

That was such a fantastic video though. Need to go back and watch it today.

[@DucklynStark]

I remember that video. I feel old 🤣

[@paulprecour3636]

An 8 hour Risk game back in 1992 ended not just one, but THREE long term friendships. I haven't talked to those guys in almost thirty years. Screw them, Mongolia, Irkutsk and Siberia...

[@dunslax3]

I've heard some horror stories about Diplomacy. Like, you often hear about certain board games "ending friendships", but that's just a joke. For Diplomacy, I've actually seen many reports of it ending long lasting friendships for real. It's that vicious.

[@dicebreaker]

It's a tough one, alright!

[@wilfchapman-gandy8120]

That's not really surprising though.

[@mojoshivers]

The most brutal game we had of this ended with two camps of player whether the last betrayal was made in good faith. It literally was the difference between an allied win and a solo win, where the alliance had been in place and successful since the very beginning. Needless to say, this was a schism that divided the group for almost two years and prevented another game of Diplomacy for that time. It was all very Hatfields & McCoys.

[@CostanSequeiros]

I'd add Republic of Rome to the list of "hate every-once-time-friend" games.

[@GregArnott]

I scrolled to see if anyone had listed Diplomacy. The depth of internal abrasions and friendship disharmony this game incites is disturbing. I found out last year from someone I thought was still a friend the depth of betrayal and grudge they'd held onto eating away at them - from a game played almost 20 years ago! No one had working kidneys afterwards from the fine array of dull rusted daggers sticking out of them...

[@raptormaster666]

Photosynthesis: Tree Warfare edition. It's literally a game about casting shade on your opponents and trying to steal all the sunlight. We all said it looked cutesy until about 3 turns in, and then we realized the horror we had wrought.

[@MarSara1]

Catan is great for it: "Anyone got any wood? No... Just me then, I'll build 2 roads"

[@WellManNerd]

Or trading off all your wheat to other players to get their ore, then using monopoly card to get back all your wheat and build two cities

[@Luklebean123]

I was demonstrating the newly-released Game of Thrones Catan last year and one of the players very quickly grasped the wall mechanics and how they might be... advantageous. Cue fifteen minutes later, the wall is packed on the side that is distinctly not vulnerable, the other side of the wall falls and the game ends with the canny player winning through wall occupation. Side-eyeing intensified dramatically.

[@deleterinserepeat2079]

Game pieces can come in an infinite amount of different shapes and sizes. Azul: fancy Starburst candy

[@hannaaxelsson3687]

Carcassonne can be infuriating depending on how you play and who you play it with. If you for instance play with a friend who is trying to be as strategic as possible, to the point of looking up tactics online before playing (let's call him Erik) you can annoy him by just trying to build roundabouts the entire game because it's fun - and then enjoy the look on his face when you somehow manage to win. Ah, good memories!

[@novocode]

I remember a game that I placed a piece that screwed over a players ability to finish a very large city. Then didn't win and was VERY upset at me for placing the piece. I didn't win either, but the player always had high winning streak, so I got tired of their luck. It WAS a nasty play that I do regret, but it just goes to show that a lot of games have ways of screwing over other players.

[@edwardrhoads7283]

Only played this game once. Bought it for $10 about 2 years ago.

[@phoenixcierebiej9763]

Johnny! I can't believe you forgot X! And I completely hate you now for not including Y!

[@thundercookie3214]

No, I'm pretty sure he used both of those letters. :3

[@edwardrhoads7283]

I know X and Y are really crazy games. And clearly they are not an encyclopedia because they don't have X-Z...

[@kcollier2192]

I'd certainly give an honorable mention to Monopoly, as it's responsible for more family disruptions than infidelity, inlaws or politics. Any chance Dicebreaker will take a look at Darkest Dungeon: The Board Game once it gets out of Kickstarter?

[@dicebreaker]

There's a lets play on the channel already!

[@Mr_TheHan]

@@dicebreaker I misread this as being about a Monopoly Let's Play and I was incredibly confused

[@lunasophia9002]

Monopoly is also just a bad game. It's all luck. Most of the fun people have with it comes from unofficial house rules.

[@chakatfirepaw]

@@lunasophia9002 Most of the complaints people have, including much about it being all luck, come from unofficial house rules. Most of the rest, including the rest about it being all luck, comes from people forgetting it's a game about trading.

[@samholden5758]

@@lunasophia9002 Most of the badness of the game come from unofficial house rules. The actual game is not good but it's not terrible - there are far better games so unless it's the only game in the house it's likely not worth playing..

[@robertcampbell6042]

"Diplomacy" The game that has ended more friendships than all those listed. (It has had longer to do it.)

[@jobennett784]

Okay, off-topic, I first watched Johnny when he was making game-related food items and pulling adorable faces at his camera over tragic pastry attempts. I'm so happy to see him still creating lovely content and oh my goodness is his look so majestic! #hearteyes

[@Hisha1303]

Depending on who you're playing with, this can be every game

[@betteryou7hanme]

When i was a kid, i was hanging out with one of my closest friends, and his dad walked down into the basement to ask if we wanted to play monoply with him and a few of his old college buddies. At 15, we weren't entirely thrilled about 'family game night' but he eventually persuaded us into playing. What followed was an absolutely ruthless, and unforgiving war that lasted nearly 8 hours. His cheerful and good natured father, turned into a villainous land barron that puts families with small children on the streets the week before Christmas.

[@pimentoloaf1509]

@@betteryou7hanme Hahaha. That's hilarious. When yoh ask someone to play a boardgame with you, the average person will say no with very little hesitation. My argument is that when most people think "board game" monopoly is what comes into mind, and therefore I cannot blame them.

[@dirk_gently]

"Remember, we're a KZbin channel, not an encyclopedia." The best!

[@tomtitherington]

Perfect! I've been meaning to test some friendships!

[@tomtitherington]

Exploding Kittens...I had to send an apology email to everyone I played with. I am not joking...

[@hasko_not_the_pirate]

Junta. The classic board game definitely but even the reissue can make people cry or stomp out the room. It’s distilled pure meanness.

[@billthebodyguy]

Ticket to Ride always gets my gaming group fired up. Taking that little two piece route that would have connected their two long routes together into one large route never ceases to please me... Or cause me constant consternation.

[@gml4]

Our games of 7 Wonders are now all about "Hate Drafting", basically, watching who you are passing your cards to, and using the ones they may want or benefit from by discarding, or building your wonder with them.

[@shawnheatherly]

What better way to celebrate once things are normal again and I can see my friends in person than to ruin our friendship with some boardgames?

[@frenchy1138]

Petrichor caught me off guard. What looks on the surface like the "oh that's so sweet, you play as a cloud dropping rain on plants so they can grow!" game is, in fact, a brutal area control struggle where you and your opponents will viciously undercut each other to get the best scoring opportunities on any and every plant.

[@Adam-bh1lk]

"By and large, board games are pretty good" Ah yes, it appears I'm on the right channel

[@JachAnen]

Yeah, the channel name could be interpreted as them having the opposite opinion about board games, so I see why you needed to check it out first

[@pcuimac]

Carcassone with two players is like Azul. The fights over the posession of a lawn is much more important than all the points from the towns and streets. My wife alienated me with all her new dirty tricks of placing tiles, so I loose my lawn and can never reclaim it! Grrrr lol

[@RadishTheFool]

Haha, I totally imagine you as a stiff upper lip British person who is fighting a brutal gruelling territorial war over lawns.

[@johnellingson9320]

Possible Honorable Mention: Tigris and Euphrates. on it's surface it's a simple tile laying game, but deep down it's about destroying everyone... so many turns sitting pretty at the end of my turn, only to be completely desolated by the time it comes back around to me... such a fun, backstabby, game.

[@TheGhostrunners]

I would make a case for Arboretum as well. A game that seems to be all lovely trees but omg the cutthroat plays, stalls, and starving you can do to others ...

[@Hudson316]

Very similar to the Azul entry is Splendor. There's two ways to play Splendor, there's playing to aim to build up your own side, and there's playing to counter your opponent's picks (reserving cards you know they spent three turns building up the gems to purchase, sniping the nobles they're trying to get, and so on)

[@TheBoardgameWarthog]

Mine would be Through the Desert. You look at the pieces and they are nice little pastel colored camels. They look like candy. But they aren't. They are a way to cut off your opponents move and make them just plain angry. You think that it's just a nice little friendly kids game, until you are half way through it, and you think "Oh my Lord, I have done everything wrong and I'm going to lose by a whole bunch of points."

[@mediocredannyd3612]

Loved this vid - as with all DB vids because I like hearing the team's opinions on things. Also because this one reminded me how much the level of savagery depends on the loveable personalities of the DB team

[@jackthejedi6540]

Coup, there is nothing like watching two friends agree to assassinate you one after the other

[@TheHyra]

Settlers of Catan. When someone moves the thief next to a resource they know you need it’s infuriating.

[@johnpotts8308]

It also regularly spills over into other games. A couple of friends were involved in a Vampire: The Masquerade Campaign (LRPG) and were in a (per the rules, strictly non contact) fight. "That's for crushing the Anarchs (KICK), that's for killing my friend (KICK) and that's for putting the robber on me in Settlers (KICK)!"... and actually connecting with the last one. Accidentally, or so he claimed.

[@TheHyra]

@@johnpotts8308 that’s amazing

[@allenl5960]

Also, if you want to, you can be a _serious_ dick in Catan, especially if you make alliances with other players. Once, someone was super ahead, so I grabbed a few ports and opened 'free trade' letting anyone but that one guy trade any resources they wanted at my ports, and also giving away whatever they wanted with a 1:1 trade for whatever. The dude went from being closest to winning to only being ahead of me, the guy giving away all his resources for basically free. Also teaming up to roadblock and fence someone in, joining together to drop the thief on one player over and over, and that one time I hid how may points I had though honestly sketchy use of the rules and set two people against the 2nd place player and won easily.

[@originalhubbcap2000]

@@allenl5960 I now try quite hard to avoid playing Catan altogether because of this, despite my friends all loving it - I seem to end up playing against 'couples' of friends who team up and lock me out of the game on some flimsy premise that I'm somehow 'the main threat' (despite me trying to be as fair as possible to everyone when my own partner is playing). It turns a fun pursuit into a thoroughly joyless waste of my free time.

[@johnd1262]

Building a road and settlement to a port where someone else has already built a road to is pretty cut throat.

[@rustedbeetle]

I'd add Mille Bornes to the list. It looks like a pleasant family card game until players start to... inconvenience each other. "Oh, sorry, you have a red light. Now I'll travel 100. Oh, you have a green light? How lovely. Too bad about your flat tire. I'll move another 100. You fixed the tire? That's a job well done. Too bad about the drunk driver that just swerved into your lane and hit you head on, causing you to stab yourself with the tire iron you didn't secure in the trunk. Oh, and I'll move another 100."

[@thecocktailian2091]

Moving 100 is for rookies. Got to stay under 50(?) for the bonus.

[@somethingnotreal4674]

This is the one that I thought of too. So much fun

[@FrankieAdds]

My friends and I nearly had to end a recent holiday early because we got so into Catan that we'd started fostering deep-seated resentments over that time such and such decided to put a robber on the only brick mine in the game paying out

[@avathequeen14]

I've had some friends really rage over Lords of Waterdeep, which is one of my all time favorite board games. (Also, love to see Root on here!)

[@acerumble]

Surprising, as about the worst that can be done to someone is to block where they want to go (often not intentional) or put a mandatory quest (intentional but not crippling unless targeted by several). If Waterdeep gets them riled, those friends definitely couldn't handle these games or others were the knives really come out

[@johnfletemeyer8706]

I swear I thought Johnny was talking about Uno for a second. My family are absolute savages when we play.

[@jasonnewell7036]

Photosynthesis. It looks beautiful and it is a game about growing trees. Seems peaceful enough. But it is a mean, mean game about mean, mean trees. It all comes down to blocking other players from getting light and taking spots on the board before other players can get them. You my drop a seed on a dpace and never grow it just to stop another player from claiming it. You keep your size 3 tree just long enough to stop anothr player getting light that turn before you fell it for points. A beautiful game full of petty, cruel decisions and I love it.

[@benjaminmeusburger4254]

Oh yeah! Little colorful innicent Photosynthesis, it is passive agressive play as it's finest. We actually had new players to that game who wanted to set others in the shadow at the verry first turn ... :-)

[@CrossbowROoF]

I love this game, but damn is it vicious.

[@OstrichOwner]

Bohnanza. My cousin gifted it to my brother a couple of Christmases back and 'the bean game' has been a source of bitterness, fury and hatred every time it's been brought out since.

[@griffinraynor8425]

Ah yes, the board game equivalents of Mario Kart.

[@acetronautinspace_acm]

One of my favorites is Cover Your Assets. There is nothing quite like your friends and/or family removing your stack of squirreled-away heirlooms piece by piece as you look on in abject despair.

[@cutthr0atjake]

Perhaps not surprising, but I find City Of Horror as the ultimate F*** You! game. Each player has a team of three survivors trying to shelter from the zombie hordes waiting for a rescue copter. Then just as it looks like the zombies are about to break in, the survivors vote which of them gets thrown to the zombies as a sacrifice.

[@mattconabeer3469]

Unstable unicorns is my personal favourite of this category. Cute unicorns yes. Brutal murder, stealing, summoning the apocalyptic also yes.

[@TheGrandUser]

Don't forget Arboretum, the beautiful game about trees where you can see what your opponents need to score their paths and deny it for them

[@Iamwrongbut]

If Wingspan can be taken as a friendship breaking game, then you can interpret any game that way. Even the most passive worker placement meets this criteria if you “take” someone spot before them. Further, azul does have some hate drafting mechanics, but those opportunities are often rare, and at least in my experience are limited primarily to two player games because there are so many less tiles to take per round.

[@Onnarashi]

I read the title as "5 surprisingly savage beard games".

[@Blubbhoch2]

I want that list please.

[@Onnarashi]

@@Blubbhoch2 Me too!

[@oriolgonzalez9328]

1. Johnny Chiodini 2. Michael "Wheels" Whelan You can fill in the rest

[@edwardrhoads7283]

1. on that list James Harden

[@abydosianchulac2]

"There should be some [videos] on the screen right now" NARRATOR: There weren't.

[@arielc8584]

I'd like to mention unstable unicorns. While supposed to be a fairly competitive game, there's nothing like sitting there with 6 unicorns, and everytime you go to place down the winning one, everyone else at the table has a neigh to stop you.

[@amwoodco3049]

For my money, the moet particularly brutal was Risk 2210. That Armageddon card has almost caused fist fights at a christian youth group. By the by, have you guys considered a top something list for Risk variants? 2210 is my top pick, but there are, I believe, dozens to choose from.

[@leeperry7068]

I describe the logic of "No Thanks" as something like everyone is treading water, and you can VERY easily grab one other player and drag them down with you. When you take someone's perfect "gap filler" card, you know damn well that card is pure pain for you, just much worse pain for the victim. Usually when this happens though, yeah, no chance either player are winning that hand.

[@stayhungry7436]

Can confirm, Azul is like watching your partner sleeping peacefully while you stand over them with a pillow in hand. Highly recommend.

[@andrewdies6168]

Have you tried Exploding Kittens? I think it fits purrfectly on this list.

[@LiamDuke]

Give me a shirt that says "there's no room for losers on this nest" and take my money

[@redcrow4533]

Ok but I need 10k up front

[@Lastjustice]

My friends and I played Shadows over Camelot together. I was playing it for the first time. Things seemed well, as I collected Excalibur and helped heal others. I nearly died and they used the grail to revive me. Ultimately I had fend off a catapult from being placed or Camelot would fall. I then placed the final catapult to everyone's confusion as they assumed I didn't understand how the game worked. I flipped my card revealing I was the traitor all along!! I could imagine Emperor Palatine slow clapping and saying "...Good , Good!" as I did it. I was passively screwing them by wasting the cards they needed to get Excalibur. I played along just enough to make seem like I was helping. The concept of me being a traitor hurt my best friend's soul as he found the idea I could ever be that impossible. It was like watching a computer try to process a logic paradox in star trek. How could the most honorable and goody two shoes paladin be the bad guy? Oh the salt and bitterness that game caused.

[@johnfletemeyer8706]

Root sounds awesome. I may actually try to get my friends and family into this.

[@PaulWelsh427]

Our normally friendly group, that contains employees and their supervisors, lost their composure one evening over Citadels. We didn't let the boss win - he was brutal!

[@iwantsalmon]

I remember getting the opportunity to play Brenda Romero's Train with a friend who had it. That was a harrowing experience...

[@irrevenant8724]

Aha. I was watching the Winsgpan bit going "But we play this and don't find it super-competitive at all". Then I discovered we play on the blue side of the goal scoreboard and you apparently play the green side. Props for Stonemaier for offering both options.

[@ClockworkWyrm]

We played the blue side once. for our first learning game. After that it was green side or nothing. The blue side is just too bland f and we're very competitive players. I do agree with you that it's great SG included both.

[@irrevenant8724]

@@ClockworkWyrm Yeah, I'm sure it's a more strategic game on the green side. But I kinda like my partner talking to me. xD

[@jamesnorthup7717]

Must agree on Azul and wingspan!! Definitely favorites at our game night!!

[@meikahidenori]

This is where cockroch poker and Arboritium reveal themselves 😆 wonderful list, though must have been hard to narrow the list down to just five! ❤️

[@Justdave1472]

Cockroach Poker is even more fun when you have players (like me) who don’t even look at the card and pass it along saying it’s a different card than what they were told it was

[@VivaLaDnDLogs]

I was really expecting you to hit the easy choices: Uno, aka "If You Skip Me Again, I Swear I Will Rip Out Your Tongue" Cards Against Humanity, aka "Finding Out *Exactly* What Kind of Assholes People Are" Monopoly, aka "The Friendship Destroyer" Great job showcasing less well-known but equally intriguing games! Wonderful delivery as well.

[@Kaoss134]

Cosmic Encounters literally caused a rift in a friendship for a long time. It's really easy to pick on someone in that game since you can make and break alliances and whatnot.

[@GiantEnemyGeorge]

One of my favourite 'looks lovely but is actually cutthroat and relationship-destroying' is the Ivor the Engine boardgame. The most brutal board game about collecting sheep in a small region of Wales I have ever encountered.

[@fernandopires981]

hahahaha Love you Johnny. Great video. My group tests our friendships with Munchkin, mainly. We also play Azul, but the second one.

[@chastitymarks2185]

My old RPG-group (DSA & Ad&D) used to play a few games of Munchkin as a "warm up".

[@Hippy02]

Though not as infuriating as the ones you mentioned, I'd still glance cautiously at Munchkin. Everyone's friends until someone reaches level 8 and then all manner of shenanigans happen.

[@randybiagas-hill8161]

Cash & Guns definitely tests friendships and even familial relationships.

[@beamerball666]

Cash and guns feels incomplete to me

[@fixedG]

I fully support this sponsorship by New Belgium. I hope the Dicebreaker crew can get ahold of the Voodoo Ranger line in the UK.

[@J7041-u7m]

My wife's family refuses to play "Ticket to Ride" with me anymore because I "take the fun out of it." Also, if I die unexpectedly it's probably a result of my wife and I playing 2-person "Blokus." :)

[@sailthemarigold_7864]

Ticket to ride. I’ve played a couple times, and watched my friends start yelling over the pieces or because I screwed up their path is hilarious. It’s been a while though. I should play again.

[@ronaldsanfran]

I was gonna comment about AZUL, but you already made it the very first image you showed. Yep. AZUL...

[@jawadkarim3381]

Saw this video and now there is no excuse. I'm going off to buy no thanks immediately. Thanks for bringing such a promising gem to light.

[@teslabolts9904]

One that always throws off our gaming friends is how savage Tokaido can get as you add more players. There have definitely been plenty of moments where someone narrowly snatched a painting or made someone go hungry at the inn due to lack of money

[@doctorstrangepants6706]

Evolution is very much like Wingspan. You grow species and evolve them with abilities to counter your enemies... erm... friends. Yes. Friends.

[@vhoghul]

Broom Service..... "You are an imposter, for I AM THE BRAVE WEATHER FAIRY!!!"

[@penelopebrandybuck6059]

Great video! I've found that Catan can ruin friendships for sure. When somebody has the chance to move the bandit there's a silence of dread from the other players until they begin begging wait no why put the bandit /there/?!

[@RIlianP]

My favorite games of this type: - Nightmarium - Sheriff of Nottingham (dont like the second edition art tho) - Betrayal at the house on the Hill ( My favorite game of all times)

[@dicebreaker]

Completely agree on the new Sheriff of Nottingham art. It is... not great (Johnny)

[@Kit-and-Stoma-Bob]

Sheriff of Nottingham is one of my favourites.... My wife refuses to play it with me because of how devious I am!! (Also just checked out that new artwork. Definitely not a fan)

[@trotmieyer]

Once you play all the scenarios in betrayal what do you do? Replay them?

[@RIlianP]

@@trotmieyer If you count the expansion there are over hundred haunts in the game, I played it enough and I didn't repeat haunt once so even if there are repeats they is far enough time between them so the game wont go too stale.

[@tylerbrown9797]

Keyflower is terrifyingly brutal. Its an engine builder resource conversion game where someone might be going for stocking up on a resource to use with an endgame tile to convert those resources to points where you can just simply outbid them on it and demolish their whole game. Honestly I dont think you can make a more brutal game than keyflower, its ridiculous and also a brilliant game.

[@nickdejager8873]

I would like to add Moonrakers to the list. At its core, it is a competitive game that forces temporary cooperation, as few missions can be reliably completed solo. But that's where the savergy starts. Because if you know your opponent is looking to get the two last credits to hire a certain crew member or buy a certain part, you can put the screws to them, forcing them to give up a larger portion of the spoils to you, so you will help them get what they need. Or just buy the upgrade yourself. Because each player starts with one secret objective, and can gain more. And if you think they are trying to buy an upgrade to complete an objective, you buy it yourself to block them. If they are trying to complete a mission for an objective, you can join it and deliberately fail to help, to cut them off. And if you also happen to have the secret objective that rewards you when another player's mission fails... You can also discard missions at certain points in the game, another way to cut off someone you think might be going for a big score. Or even just a little score that they are able to complete without any help. Even for a game that is about interstellar mercenaries trying to become the top dog, there are a surprising number of ways to mess with your competition. And I love Moonrakers all the more for it.

[@insaned4666]

Ticket To Ride ended up with 2 players throwing little trains and screaming at each other ... didn’t play that one with them again.

[@ir0nleviathan577]

if you've ever played either of the first two Pokemon Master Trainer games, they'd defiantly be on this list. Brutal isn't what you'd expect from a Pokemon game of all things, but Master Trainer 1 and 2 certainly qualify.

[@deleterinserepeat2079]

Hi Johnny. Love the video. Keep up the good work!

[@WilCornish]

Got a lot of time for Johnny pushing “being nice to the content creator” as part of the process of calling for action. For me one of the best surprisingly savage games is Kakenlaken Poker, which takes a brilliant turn when I play it with my family, as both my dad and I are pretty good bluffers, and we tend to start showboating about who can deliver the most audacious bluff; shuffling the deck and tossing out an apparently random card without looking at it, forgetting the name of the card you’re lying about as you pass it, accidentally letting slip the real name because you weren’t paying attention, all of the good stuff.

[@TylerAndToast]

I feel as tho wingspan has no spot on this list. There's basically no player interaction and the round end bonus points are hardly different for 1st and second.

[@ExploreNiagaraUSA]

Loved the video! Great job!

[@fungi5350]

I love that you’re sponsored by Voodoo Ranger. They make awesome beers !

[@johnsharplin]

Much like the sea, these are all beautiful on the surface but hiding terrible, terrible horrors beneath. Fun!

[@GrandMasterYoW]

Stone Age. A friend of mine and myself, we think alike. And when seating next to each other while playing this was a real test of patience, as we both tried to do the same strategies every turn.

[@devilduckietu]

This is a fantastic video. I am adding these games to my wishlist right now. I hadn't played wingspan yet. I'm totally into it now.

[@seniscram7958]

Wow... many surprises on your list. Coool. I would go with Gunkimono. Has a lot of "take that" surprisingly.

[@jillt6748]

Oh, man. Root would have been perfect for the gaming group I was in around seven or eight years ago. It never felt like a truly successful gaming session unless two people were no longer on speaking terms. ;) I did introduce the group to Discworld: Ankh-Morpork, which has some similar mechanics (individual win and loss requirements, specifically), but it wasn't nearly that involved or strategic. Also, no one knew which person you were so they had to figure out who you were before they could strategize on how to destroy you.

[@seileurt]

I'd like to hear more from these EX and WHY games you mentioned. I haven't heard of them. Are they on Kickstarter? I'd love to add them to my collection.

[@stewartgerkin3405]

Other then possibly Cornish Smuggler. All of these should be readily available in shops and/or online shippers in most areas.

[@lukerettie]

Carcassone can be pretty cut-throat particularly if you have the Fairy and the Dragon in play. So many placements of tiles just to increase how much city has to be built or to block that promising farm from joining up with the others. Though we've managed to have some highly competitive games of Settlersof Catan as well

[@LightandFire676]

Arboretum, DEFINITELY. There is no indication at first glance that there will be any real interaction at all, let alone meannes, but when you spend your first game building up a beautiful garden of trees and then realize your opponent has built their hand so you don't score 75% of it, a little piece of your heart turns to stone.

[@SClarkPharmD]

The Estates is often described as the meanest auction game.

[@k9_coyote360]

I never thought when I clicked on this video that Johnny would say "You're a big feathery loser." Bravo Johnny, bravo.

[@JustACuteFox]

Chicago Express - The first plays of this game seem completely harmless. "Oh boy, I'll buy some stock in this railroad and build it as far as I can!" However, after a small handful of plays, subtle strategies start to reveal themselves, and they are all absolutely ruthless. And this is a game where you can be effectively taken out of the running due to a single miscalculation, once it reaches that point. Fortunately it only takes an hour to play and keeps people coming back for more.

[@kansei84]

@16:50 Love the shade!!! Tell them Johnny LOL

[@FuriouslySleepingIde]

Agricola. It's a nice farming game. Except the key mechanics are placing workers to block the other players. I find myself thingking, "I'll do something that doesn't help me much this turn so I can go first next turn. Then you can't have any kids."

[@progressivelife]

Argent The Consortium looks cute, but is the most brutal game I ever played!

[@mysticmouse7983]

Bloodrage ...simply makes the blood rage.

[@jordanleighton6893]

Is there links to the games they actually played in this one?

[@cwilliams7595]

Possibly Everdell? I was surprised at how many time people were looking at my settlement and trying to deduce what I'd need to make sure I couldn't get it

[@Salmar80]

Hey That's My Fish - cutesy little penguins just gathering fishies....which actually means scheming to block off all other players, muahhahhaa!