Rahdo's Top 10 Games (Revisited)

Help Rahdo Run: / rahdo ❤️ Code of conduct: conduct.rahdo.com 🙂 And now...
A video updating my picks for my 10 favorite board and card games.
Original list:
• Rahdo's Top 10 Games
Spoilers below...
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10. 7 Wonders
9. Keyflower
8. Peloponnes
7. Nations
6. Castles of Burgundy
5. Troyes
4. Agricola
3. Gloomhaven
2. Shadowrun Crossfire
1. Pandemic
www.boardgameg...

[@bluey7520]

Thanks so much for all the quality content over the last five years :) Loved the video!

[@rSlash]

Rahdo you're my favorite reviewer

[@Manny0Calavera]

Hi rSlash, I'm surprised to see you here :). What's your Top 3 board games?

[@gavinpearson74]

Now we want to know how Jen’s top ten has changed 😀

[@rahdo]

sorry to say that's unlikely to happen! :(

[@jollyroger1009]

Very consistent list. Even with a lot of new games over the last 2-3 years, the top 10 hasn't changed very much. Pandemic and 7 Wonders are favourites for me, year in year out.

[@GirlyGamer-BoardGameGran]

I love how you referred to yourself in third person lol We have the same number one. Your Pandemic Legacy S1 video is still my favorite board game video of all time. I love how you - like me - inject story and theme into the games, rather than move here, do this, pick that up.... yawn.

[@TBCfhjvhhhnbb]

Just wonderful. Genuine and honest and based on what you like and I take my hat off to you!!! A pleasure to watch.

[@frenchy1138]

This reminded me I've been meaning to pick up Crossfire for years, so I think I got the last copy of Prime Runner available in Australia (with the exception of ordering from Amazon, which I prefer not to do). IT'S SO GOOD.

[@TheTheshadow32]

My top 10 boardgames: 1. Conflict of Heroes. Awakening the Bear. Eastern Front solo expansion. 2. Enemy Action : Ardennes 3. Lord of the Rings Living Card Game 4. Panzer. Especially with the France 40 and included solo expansion. 5. Ambush 6. Arkham Horror Living Card game 7. Up Front 8. Twilight Struggle 9. The Lamps are going out 10. Breakout: Normandy Motivation: The top 6 have all included SOLO mechanics and are the creme de la creme of AI Bot mechanics. Numbers 7-10 are the BEST in competitive play (7), number 8 is the LONGEST number 1-5 overall in the top 5 of BGG (15 years now), number 9 the most exciting, streamlined historical strategy game (of a war that was actually boringly static) and the best zonal conflict simulation ever made (10). I find Pandemic games mostly suffering from the alpha male dominant player who ALWAYS dominates the game and lack of FUN for other participants. The only Pandemic game I love is the Cthuluh variant because the added (minimal use of) dice and the dreadful spreading of things replaced by Elder appearing on unexpected moments to hamper the players ... and it has a 45 minutes playing time. So the alpha player gets a bit more restrained by luck and time. I will give Rahdo 3 billion dollars the moment he will place an FFG product or historical conflict simulation game in his top 5 :)

[@rahdo]

given time, Marvel Champions might push to top five, depending on how the expansion content works out. so you better get that 3 billion ready! :)

[@mariusferreira1297]

I’m a native French speaker born in Paris France, and you pronounce Troys in French perfectly 👍

[@leecorby5662]

Lovely caveat, other board game reviewers don't seem to see that distinction, in my mind. As always, love how deep you are into the nuances of the hobby!

[@lokihve6591]

Top 30 Rhado top 30!

[@mydemon]

As a native French speaker, your pronunciation of Troyes is spot on. Don't change a thing.

[@rahdo]

merci! :)

[@arthursimsa9005]

Spot on is pushing it. The R is not right. The vowel is perfect, though:)

[@Indubitably14]

Love how this hobby has such a variety of riches that people can have completely different tastes. Most of these games are the kinds that I instantly disregard but seems like Gloomhaven is the great unifier. What a game! Pandemic was once a favourite of mine but it has dropped for me over the years. Had good times with Season 1 though it was a challenge to get it regularly played. Season 2 was a chore. We got about half-way through the campaign and just stopped. Games that are similar but are also thematic like Horrified and Alien: Fate of the Nostromo have the same feeling but are more engaging and fun for me these days.

[@arthursimsa9005]

Burgundy was not « a small French province ». For most of the Middle Ages, the Dukes of Burgundy were direct rivals to the Kings of France. Very rich and powerful.

[@staticklingon2182]

It's cool to see how you have slid into your niche without fully realizing it until this list. I was surprised to see some games like Wingspan not being on the list but I guess they're not your niche. It's a testament to how amazing Gloomhaven is for Jen to not really like Ameritrash/fighting games. Same goes for SR:CF, but the mechanics in that game are so solid that you can largely ignore the theme and enjoy the puzzle.

[@doules42]

Love the shirt Rahdo. Board games are means to that end as well!

[@SlowDaddie]

It's a Yang 2020 shirt!

[@doules42]

@@SlowDaddie I know. Just saying that strategy games can help us to get smarter

[@dddmmm21]

Observing the emotional connection you have with these games, it seems intuitive to think their ranking come from the fact you had much more time to play them A lot in the past and fall in love with them... Hence, it seems difficult for new games to make into that list, simply because with your busy review schedule, you won’t have a chance to play them a lot and continously. But I guess there is Also a 2nd force at play here, apart from the repetition, there is also the nostalgia. I bet you haven’t played most of this games in a while... So probably your evaluation is based on memories from a distant past and there is always that tendency to over emphasize the positives. So again it is difficult for newer games to compete unless they really blow your socks off like Gloomhaven didi... Are these fair assumptions?

[@adeptusorbisbrasil2783]

agree completely!!!

[@rahdo]

i agree on both fronts. nostalga of course plays a strong role, but also, i've usually found the more i play a game, the more i like it, and therefore new games are at a huge disadvantage to older ones from before i started the show...

[@rahdo]

that said, if you go beyond the confines of the top10 into the top100, then you'll find newer games get a LOT more representation. there are simply more excellent games being released every year. the industry is definitely on an upward trend to my tastes :) 2003: 1 game 2004: 1 game 2005: 2 games 2006: 0 games 2007: 5 games 2008: 2 games 2009: 4 games 2010: 8 games 2011: 5 games 2012: 8 games 2013: 7 games 2014: 5 games 2015: 8 games 2016: 12 games 2017: 12 games 2018: 9 games 2019: 10 games

[@dddmmm21]

@@rahdo I know we can always simply go to your ranking at BGG and do a detailed search, but based on the above, it would interesting to be a video of your top games released in the past 5 years. Or also, top games you wished you could invest more time (I think you did this already)... That kind of approach would prob give your public a better insight into the recent great games... Anyway, have fun at BBGCON.

[@ClaudeAndTaylor]

Yang Gang!

[@rahdo]

what's the opposite of donald trump? :)

[@EATENG]

I believe the answer Rhado is looking for is, "An Asian man who likes math." #yanggang

[@ravenvallation9553]

Thank you so much for sharing! Love your videos! Everyone needs a gaming carebear in their life sometimes.

[@luckbear87]

Now I’m curious what you would say are the 10 BEST games ever 😂

[@egoDEATH33]

Exactly! Like what is a game mechanically superior to 7 Wonders in your opinion?

[@rahdo]

that would be a LOONG and hard video to make, with tons of research to be ready to justify my 'objective' statements. easy to stay subjective :)

[@egoDEATH33]

Fair enough! 😁

[@staticklingon2182]

I guess he could go through BGG top 10 and say why he thinks the games are over- or under-rated but that's not really his style.

[@webmastervds]

@@staticklingon2182 I agree, it'll be cool to watch Rahdo review the BGG top 10!

[@TheFlymar]

Wow, Gloomhaven been on my wishlist for some time. I bought Middleearth: Journeys... to scratch that itch and thought that with an app there will be countless possibilities but... well no. So perhaps I'm going to get Gloomhaven after all:)

[@johnwilder9677]

I have to say I love the idea of combat being who can rickroll people better! How can I work that into a game...

[@TheRmm1976]

I bought Shadowrun: Crossfire last year because of Rahdo. It's not in my top 5, but is in my top 10. Great game!

[@Southfloridelphia]

After all these years, how do you feel Peloponnese the Card Game compares to the original?

[@rahdo]

well i haven't played it since i filmed it (i rarely get to go back to try games more once i've filmed them), but i am very keen to give the patronus expansion a go!

[@wheelskis]

Enjoyed the list. Thanks for sharing.

[@simontodd9631]

You're so right about 7 Wonders 2 player!

[@GlennDeBlock]

When we beat the regular Pandemic we’re kinda just sitting there like: ok, so we won, now what? Maybe I should try Legacy to have more the feeling that we actually did something.

[@rahdo]

or jump up to the next difficulty level :)

[@vanderdks9912]

Rahdo, have you played Pandemic Iberia? If so, dont you think is It better than normal one?

[@rahdo]

i've played all the pandemic offshoots. enjoy them all, but still like straight pandemic the most :)

[@spiderfingers86]

Keyflower is also in my top 10. Ever since I first played it at Gencon, I was hooked. It's currently settling in at number 7

[@MUFSpoiler]

is KEYPER much worst ?

[@spiderfingers86]

@@MUFSpoiler never played keyper, though I've heard good things

[@davegildersleeve4316]

I think there's an interesting phenomenon between reviewers and gamers, i.e,. I will never play as many games as Rahdo or any other reviewer will play. Nor do I want or need to. This, married to such different tastes in games results in that none of these are in my top ten or twenty. Now, this is not criticism!!! Wanna make that clear! I just find it interesting and a good thing ,as it allows for diversity in the hobby. Simply an observation. Anyway, always enjoy your videos Rahdo. Hope you and Tom will continue Corner to Corner. I really enjoy the interaction between the two of you. Thanks again!!!

[@AmpeZ42]

1:20 @rahdo could you name some of this games? i'm a big fan of 7 Wonders and would love to try a game you think is a better one.

[@MaVarcon]

I'd also be interested in that since 7 Wonders is one of my all-time favourite games as well.

[@zmollon]

Agreed I'd love to know what games you think are objectively better since 7w is one of my favs

[@joshestes6427]

Rahdo mentioned when he reviewed paper tales that he thought it was a better game than 7 wonders mechanically, not sure about others, but I remember considering buying that one off of his comments.

[@rahdo]

paper tales is a good one. i'd have to think about it long and hard, but i might give the nod to neom over 7 wonders on a purely objective ranking of how well implemented mechanisms are.

[@zmollon]

@@rahdo how does its a wonderful world rank compared to seven wonders. It is one of my favourite games of all time because of the memories playing it but it is so hard to teach to newbies.

[@Cardsrock65]

I've NEVER tried 7 wonders with just 2 players! I am going to have to try that!

[@MattBalara]

Even better: get 7 Wonders Duel, which is made for only 2 players. One of my faves.

[@liquidmoon3325]

Convinced me! Just picked up Shadowrun Crossfire, can’t wait till it gets delivered

[@khay0z]

@Rahdo love the list and your taste for games. I’m slowly building my collection which include Troyes, CoB and soon to be Agricola based on your reviews. I was wondering how you and Jen feel about the interaction in Agricola as it can be quite cut throat taking the spaces when the other person needs it?

[@rahdo]

we play fairly friendly. as an example, if i know jen needs clay, and she doesn't pick it up, hoping to let it accrue more, i'll warn her "you realize, if you don't take that clay now, you're leaving me no choice - i've got to go grab it myself, there's so much there. are you sure you want to plow right now?" or "you realize if you want to get family growth next round, you really should grab first player now, before this round is over" type stuff. basically trying to help each other avoid gotchyas wherever possible. also, there's a semi-official rule for 2p that really helps a lot as well: www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/487052/article/4544895#4544895 :)

[@mariusferreira1297]

Love your channel, excellent content 👍

[@davehaynes9136]

I like Defenders of the Realm much better than Pandemic. It's more than just a reskin because the side quests allow your character to level up.

[@IainMabbott]

Is the ranking of Troyes based on just the base game or with the "Ladies of Troyes" expansion?

[@Valcurdra]

Interested in thoughts too, personally I think the expansion was okay, but didn't add much to the overall experience.

[@rahdo]

agreed. ladies is nice to have, but it didn't push my ranking of troyes up any higher. the base game is still to die for :)

[@IainMabbott]

@@rahdo Thanks!

[@kamokamocsai]

My personal favorite is Shadowrun: Crossfire. I like it very much! It's an amazingly hard but easy to learn (the basics) great game.

[@kosterix123]

I would prefer dragon fire.

[@kamokamocsai]

@@kosterix123 I tried Dragonfire, and it has more content. I love it. But still... I prefer the cyberpunk more than the fantasy genre. :( Thats why (and the great balance of the hard difficulty) I love the SC.

[@RickPufky]

I completely agree here. Shadowrun: Crossfire is a fantastic game! My favorite as well. I'm glad Rahdo is still enjoying it!

[@markkreitler519]

Was going to write you and ask for recommendations. :) Glad to see Pandemic so far up the list.

[@staticklingon2182]

My hobby started with Pandemic. Then I found Rahdo. Then I got Shadowrun Crossfire and Pathfinder: ACG. My friends had no interest in the latter but Pandemic has been played by far the most but I think Splendor is about to sneak up and give Pandemic a run for it's money as most played. Charterstone is also amazing and if you have a big wallet, Arkham Horror The Card Game is an amazing experience.

[@fatcattran]

Wow, I have waited this list for a long time :)

[@rahdo]

roughly five years? :)

[@nikkirohlfing6583]

wow, was just ticking them off in my head as going through (until the top 3). So on a par with my top 10! I would include glassroads though, particularly for 2 player (things like Troyes is better with 3 than 2 imo). Glassroads is on a par with Castles of Burgundy for me, that same tight "if only I had one more round!" finale.

[@RaymondJonesnz]

Question what's your opinion of 7 wonders vs Duel and its expansions. Also, how do the card versions of Peloponnese and castles of Burgundy rate in comparison with the Board versions?

[@rahdo]

i drew comparisons between the smaller versions and the originals in my original videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZDaqHh7rriijKM kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpnKlICKbs6thqc kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnq6YaOIe6mLoNk :)

[@danielwoltanski1413]

Thanks for the great list!

[@maestro7058]

I do like your collection man. I like the way you think, although I would in all honesty say that your games are more "Euroish" and I know it's a silly term, but I myself have found am more of a Ameritrashy type in a sense of being a total eyecandy person :D. But ofc about a great board game not only the box and components matter, mechanics have to be amazing as well. In all honesty I never understood how people can have top 100 games etc. :D Even though I do respect these great reviewers but I do like those who create lets say their top 30 list and this is truly something they focus on hard with their gaming group and only if something gets moved does this list become updated.

[@Davidesonar449]

I LOVE BOARDGAME LISTS YES!!

[@tailoredfrench6194]

Grear great review - as always dear Rahdo :) I will be more keen to jump on Worker placement games then!" PS: if it interests you in any way, Burgondy was a super rich and key area, as a merchants' crossroad between European countries...as Troyes ("troa"), a city located just up to Burgondy (in the Champagne region). :)

[@rahdo]

that's cool, i wish more detail was like that in the actual rulebooks! :)

[@AkmalGameAtion]

Shadowrun Crossfire is still holding up!!

[@jollyroger1009]

Hm, how do you find Nations compared to the new Tapestry? Do you think that Tapestry has the potential to unseat Nations perhaps?

[@rahdo]

probably not, but anything's possible with expansions. i'd want to see something in tapestry done about the swingy-ness of blind tapestry drawn cards i think...

[@williammcneil6730]

do you get a time machine ? how did you get old and gray :P

[@rahdo]

well, 1) we prefer the turn based game, and 2) we're both on the ball enough that this really isn't an issue i think :)

[@errolwilde1656]

Given dragonfire is a high fantasy implementation of shadow run crossfire, and you LOVE fantasy, as much as I do, does dragon fire still not hit your top ten? Or does shadow run just count for both?

[@Gustave154]

He just likes crossfire better because it's harder haha

[@rmsgrey]

My 7 Wonders box says "2-7" for player count. Nitpick: Agricola dropping from #1 to #4 is only dropping 3 places, like others on the list.

[@rahdo]

ah, didn't know in later additions that they'd updated the offical player count. and thanks for the math correction... i just can't avoid the goofs! :)

[@leonpedraza8209]

U should try serenissima 1 o 2 edition

[@staticklingon2182]

We pay a lot of money for experiences. People will pay hundreds to go to a football game or a concert. Or spend $100 on a really nice dinner that they enjoyed together. Or they'll spend $60 for the family to go to the movies. You can't compare Pandemic Legacy to other board games. It's an experience. It took us 18 games. That's the length of watching 18 episodes of a TV show. No question it's worth the money. We're going to buy a second copy after we play S2 and replay S1 with a friend so they can experience it. It's funny because Pandemic was my gateway into modern board gaming and little did I know that Legacy was going to come along and ruin modern gaming for me. I don't play solo games anymore without there being a campaign mode. This isn't true for group sessions but I LOVE legacy / campaign games.

[@Yaoau]

So, this is top ten civilization game?

[@rahdo]

close, but not quite :)

[@ROOKTABULA]

I was a wee bairn at that time and also smoked my old man at Pong, as well as table top hockey and "Sorry!", except he would thump me or destroy the game and tell me I must've been cheating. I wasn't, I was just a brainy gaffer. Still a life long gamer in spite of him. Lolz

[@tonybowers9490]

Thank you for sharing! What is your opinion about Nations vs Nations: The Dice Game?

[@marcoschaub8978]

They are hard to compare, but Nations: The Dice Game is superior in my opinion. 1) It does everything I want Nations to do but faster albeit more abstracted, and 2) It's a unique dice game with regards to weight. I don't know any other dice game that does what it does.

[@egoDEATH33]

Not heard much about Nations: The Dice Game. What is it's unique dice mechanic?

[@rahdo]

i've done videos for N:DC and the expansion. the expansion is a *must get* if you're going to seek it out

[@priscillareads]

My husband just freaked out that you’re wearing a Yang T-shirt haha he literally shouted in glee!

[@rahdo]

not left, not right, forward! :)

[@bartl7436]

Troyes!!!! I love that game! unfortunately not shared by my game group :'(

[@kobusbrits3523]

What player count is your favourite?

[@bartl7436]

@@kobusbrits3523 I've like it best 3 player, but 2 and 4 player are great too. It plays really well with 2 players.

[@MB-fr4jh]

Are you going to upgrade to the revised edition of Agricola? Do you feel the need to?

[@rahdo]

i actually did pick up the revisted edition a few months ago and gave it a go. i really do like the upgraded components, and it's nice to know that some of the cards have been modfied after hundreds of thousands of games played and tracked to balance things out a bit. BUT, it's not 'necessary'... the main reason i did it was because i wanted to keep getting the new card expansions as they came out, and those are recommended to fit better with the revised edition. but the original version never needed expansions, it had so much in the base box :)

[@MB-fr4jh]

I do own the original. Sounds like there's no need to get the revised eh?

[@rahdo]

@@MB-fr4jh yeah, i would say the only reason is if you're jonesing for those new mini expansions, but even then, it's probably fine to mix the new cards with old. another reason i went ahead and got the new edition: my old copy was VERY worn out, having gotten a lot of play over the years, so it was nice to get a bit refreshed :)

[@MB-fr4jh]

@@rahdo awesome! i'll be good and wait for the agricola big box, if that ever happens =)

[@twinkle04evr]

I like Pandemic gameplay, but not the theme.

[@katiatargaryen516]

Same here. Thats why I do play Pandemic Reign of Cthulhu

[@Raphaelus13]

Oh, I expected some more contrived options. Most of these were industry staples at some time. Tried and true!

[@spunx44]

Is the two player variant for seven wonders just listed online or is it in an expansion?

[@rmsgrey]

The rules are in the rulebook, and the added components (two whole cards) come in the box.

[@monoludico6166]

Our op ten list is completely different except for Troyes (same spot as in your list: 5).

[@rahdo]

well 1 out of 10 ain't bad! :)

[@petercox100]

Totally unrelated to the top 10, but curious about when the runthrough for Foothills is coming. Seems like you recorded it already judging from your monthly countdown... just curious.

[@rahdo]

will be up tomorrow actually. i filmed it a few days ago, just before leaving for bgg.con. what you saw in last month's roundup was a few minutes of 'fake play' i filmed specifically for the roundup vid :)

[@petercox100]

@@rahdo Aha! Production values! :D

[@darren.mcauliffe]

So you chose Troyes over Black Angel. Thoughts?

[@3838jeroen]

when I saw Troyes at #5, I thought Black Angel would come in the top-4...

[@darren.mcauliffe]

Not me. I figured he’d pick one or the other, not both. Curious why he picked Troyes. Wonder how much nostalgia came into play.

[@rahdo]

troyes is the superior game because there's so much more variety in the card effects. i talked about this a bit in my final thoughts for black angel. also, BA is currently sitting at my #16, which is still pretty high ranking-wise :)

[@darren.mcauliffe]

You did say in your Black Angel final thoughts that you liked it better. But you admitted that it was new and too early to really tell which would come out on top. So over time that hype died down a little? I say a little. 16 is still very high, as you say.

[@3838jeroen]

@@rahdo that's a clear answer! thank you for sharing it with us :)

[@cromusz]

Great video as always. I also really enjoy the civ building style of games. I've played Through the Ages but haven't tried Nations yet. I'll check it out.

[@matthelion]

Thank you 😊

[@paulsitko7988]

Surprised not to see any Pfister stuff in your top 10. Great list though!

[@rahdo]

highest pfister is blackout hong kong at #33. haven't played maricaibo though! :)

[@mcsegobia]

Wish I could watch with subtitles for when I can't the audio up

[@rahdo]

that is weird that there's no auto-geneated english ones. not sure why that is. sorry about this :(

[@mcsegobia]

@@rahdo all good. I just waited until I was able to listen. Great vid as usual, good insights at a quick pace!

[@MrBernaar]

When you play Nations now, do you include the expansion Dynasties?

[@rahdo]

omg yes :)

[@MrBernaar]

@@rahdo Some people have complained about the randomness in the cards that come out. For example no wars coming out, or a lot of golden ages but no buildings. Do you share that opinion? I recently found out about a nice variant/fix for this. Not sure if the game needs it since I only played Dynasties a couple of times and haven't found any major problems with it. You can find it here and I am curious what you think: www.boardgamegeek.com/article/21372754#21372754

[@rahdo]

@@MrBernaar my opinion is that this is one of the strengths of the game, because it means you can get very different experiences from game to game (it's not a bug, it's a feature :)

[@MrBernaar]

@@rahdo Makes sense! Thanks for your replies! :)

[@RileyKTT]

I'm a lot like you- I prefer cooperative and WP games vs super PVP games (i.e. Scythe, for example)

[@Celestianpower]

Gloomhaven has a typo in the description.

[@rahdo]

thanks for the heads up. will fix now :)

[@ekurisona663]

see u in 2119 richard!

[@staticklingon2182]

Then we will get the top 10 games of the 2000's!

[@deepdivemusicreactions]

how about top 100 of 2010s? :D

[@rahdo]

it's funny you should mention that. something along these lines might be coming up in 2020 :)

[@rikhavok]

I know that you cannot help what games you like, but Pandemic? Really ? Number 1? You tend to love heavier games ? You like this light entry level Co-Op as your favorite all time game? Pandemic has always been way to basic for me. Must be nostalgia. Spirit Island and Robinson Crusoe, to name two, give so much more meaningful choices without feeling repetitive. I love your entire list sans your number 1. I must say that I am disappointed.

[@rahdo]

a game doesn't have to be heavy to be awesome. it can instead be a paragon of design elegance. also, if you watched my video all the way through, then you'd know i'm also including in this ranking ALL shades of pandemic, especially legacy :)

[@rikhavok]

Rahdo Ok! Guilty. I didn’t finish the video. I saw Pandemic and stopped. I should have watched the whole video. Pandemic Legacy was pretty amazing.

[@MarinerLingus]

Dungeon Petz?

[@m985225896]

yea...where is the Dungeon Petz? it no.2 game in Rahdo's Top 10 6 years ago

[@bushibayushi]

Richard, I mean it in the most friendly way possible (I'm just curious) - almost none of the games you play break the magical 9/10 treshhold on your BGG and your TOP10 has remained almost intact for all those years. Chances are that no coop will ever beat your nr 1 game and no euro will beat games like CoB or Troyes. So the question is: why do you "waste" (I'm sorry, it's a very bad word and I don't mean it literally) time and play all those "good to very good, but not great" games (and these are like 95% of games that you play) instead of just going back to your favourites? If I were you I would just keep playing all the games that I rate 9/10 and higher and have fun this way instead of trying out all the other stuff which has very little chance of climbing in your top 10 (or even top 20).

[@luckbear87]

bushibayushi minus it being his income right now to play the new games and tell us how he feels?

[@bushibayushi]

​@@luckbear87 well yes, there's that, but I'm just curious - Richard keeps saying that the last 5 years in gaming were amazing, but only Gloomhaven is a new game on the list, the rest of them are pretty old and have status of classics at this point. If the last years were really THAT GOOD, games like 7 Wonders or Keyflower wouldn't be on this list. Noone came up with a drafting game he enjoys more? Or worker placement game? Or coop game? It really makes me question the quality of the new games ;). If they aren't beating the old classics then maybe the last 5 years were not that great ;). Sure, the production quality is better, the graphic design is better, but is the gameplay better...? TOP 10s like this show me that not necessarily ;).

[@wl5609]

@@bushibayushi Being a carebear he's probably nostalgic about the older games. I get that. I love how honest he is in everything he talks about..♥️

[@luckbear87]

He admitted nostalgia was a big factor in a few of them games. There are a few of them I think would never leave the top 10. I think for personal top tens, there are more factors than if there are better games out there. I think these ones just really work THAT good for him and Jen specifically. I listen to his podcast and once he was asked something similar to this and Jen said she would rather play her top 10 for the rest of her life but Rahdo said something like (if forced by a gun like the question said) he would rather play only new games than being resigned to play his favorites for the rest of his life. Hope that insight helps and hopefully Rahdo chimes in soon because I’d also like to see what else he adds

[@marcoschaub8978]

As others have pointed out, it's a combination of nostalgia and him having played these games much more. Another factor might be the way he ranks games. If I understand correctly, he assigns a score and basically keeps it the same and compares new games against those. This system makes it hard for new games to climb to the top.

[@thursty4boardgames944]

Lost a few disease cubes from Pandemic and I’ve been thinking of getting pandemic Legacy Season 1 to get some nice replacement cubes lol and Rahdo is the only one with this video to convince me to get it, I didn’t know you can still play Pandemic on your board after you finished the campaign!

[@rahdo]

maybe someday i'll do a video demonstrating it (perhaps after pandemic legacy 3 -the end of the trilogy- has been out for awhile)

[@carlstevenwilletts]

Rahdo, do you think it was a missed opportunity to only promote Pandemic Legacy as a game which allows you to shape the game world with your storyline choices, instead of also saying that it allows you to craft a customised, replayable Pandemic experience?

[@rahdo]

yes, i think the developers of the game were insane not to not do the tiny big of additional work needed to make 100% clear to folks that once they finish the campaign, they can continue playing just fine. they woud simply need a final sticker to add a section on how 'post campaign' play would work :)

[@wl5609]

Great list... No Orleans?!😥

[@rahdo]

nope, as time has gone on, i'm less and less impressed by the "don't go through the entire contents of the bag before throwing stuff back in" approach it has. also, i've never been a fan of the total lack of setup variability

[@vanzetti7]

Thanks so much Rahdo but we would LOVE to see your top 30, I think you have one of the best favourite games lists of all time!

[@rahdo]

you can see my top300 (give or take) at ranked.rahdo.com or games.rahdo.com (might need to refresh) :)

[@Lavoye]

I feel like i'm one of the very few that is not contaminated by Gloomhaven. The game is a big pile of compromises. All you do is compromise. You have to sacrifice cards that you don't want to, you have to play the part of a card that you can't play, you have to leave loot on the ground... I find this game exhasting.

[@rahdo]

yup, you've just described what makes me love the game! :)

[@Tombola.]

yes i played 2 games from your list xD

[@MUFSpoiler]

Troyes ! Yeah! Pandemic.. lol

[@Gustave154]

We just need more Shadowrun Crossfire expansions

[@staticklingon2182]

Here's a big box! Sorry, no expansions. Meanwhile FFG says "Here's a tiny box with no inserts. Here's 2,000 more cards, too."

[@stevenjudd2383]

7 Wonders vs 7 Wonders Duel?

[@rahdo]

for us, original, definitely. as to why, search for rahdo 7 wonders duel final thoughts :)

[@jackdempsy7104]

#YangGang #Yang2020

[@jacobsteele7138]

Did your wife play board games before she met you? Does she really enjoy playing them or do you think she does it to appease you?

[@rahdo]

see kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIO2lJp6YtWWd7M :)

[@azzido851]

No Alexander Pfister games? So sad :(

[@rahdo]

my highest ranked pfister is black out hong kong at #33! all newer games have a built in disadvantage is that i simply don't get to play them as much as older games (before i started doing rahdo), and i find the more i play a game, the more i tend to like it :)

[@gooddaysgames586]

Anyone else catch the Rick Roll reference? Classic! kzbin.info/www/bejne/paetmGSjqal-aKc

[@sairam71]

I assume u like Agricola more than caverna?

[@ko9]

Yes, he's discussed this many times. The key reason is the setup variability in Agricola (the cards) which is missing in Caverna.

[@JimmySquiky]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpaThoxqhtGYjLs His top 10 Uwe Rosenburg board games ! :)

[@koomo801]

He likes Uwe’s more choice-restrictive games. “Handcuffs” is a term he uses to describe games like Agricola.

[@kotieerwee2593]

@@koomo801 i think the term is "Rosenburg Shackles"

[@MrBernaar]

@@ko9 Totally agree with this!

[@windyhillbomber]

Seems like the Golden Age of boardgaming came to a crashing stop 3 to 4 years ago. Surprised that apart from GH, there are no recent games

[@rahdo]

of my current top100 games as of today, here's the yearly breakdown: 2003: 1 game 2004: 1 game 2005: 2 games 2006: 0 games 2007: 5 games 2008: 2 games 2009: 4 games 2010: 8 games 2011: 5 games 2012: 8 games 2013: 7 games 2014: 5 games 2015: 8 games 2016: 12 games 2017: 12 games 2018: 9 games 2019: 10 games so I'd say the industry's still producing plenty of awesome titles, on on the average, each year provides more :)

[@windyhillbomber]

Rahdo don’t get me wrong, I agree with your top 10 in the main. I wonder whether new games suffer by comparison with the classics in the same way post 80’s music rarely gets lauded in the same way the 60’s and 70’s icons do.

[@windyhillbomber]

NatarisX not saying it isn’t...simply questioning the fact that not too many recent releases mad Radho’s Top 10

[@scally2112]

I would love to see Rick-rolling in a board game..

[@yyyihad]

I n have to listen to this guy at 0.75 speed.

[@Sheriff_K]

7 Wonders, but not Duels? (And shame on you for not making it number 7 :P)

[@darren.mcauliffe]

He didn’t like Duel because of the war track.

[@Sheriff_K]

@@darren.mcauliffe 7 Wonders has Military too no? (I've only ever played Duel, will be trying 7 Wonders for the first time on Thanksgiving.) I like how the war track lets you focus on a different axis for winning, I love me some alternate win-conditions. (The expansion changes up how it works too, with the Minerva token.)

[@darren.mcauliffe]

In 7 Wonders military is just about points. In Duel you steal their money, which can ruin their plans. That’s what he doesn’t like. He talks about this in a lot of games. Stealing or destroying their stuff he hates. A transfer of points he doesn’t mind.

[@rahdo]

spot on, DM! :)

[@joeysalt8974]

Trajan is his masterpiece not COB.

[@monoludico6166]

Agree with you. Actually, I think CoB is like the 4th or 5th Feld game in my list.

[@rahdo]

i would say it's his heaviest game (or maybe aquasphere) but heavy doesn't necessarily mean best IMO :) (also, it's my #2 feld) :)

[@joeysalt8974]

@@rahdo Ok we agree to disagree.

[@Nightsorrow1]

You misspelled In The Year of the Dragon.

[@joeysalt8974]

@@Nightsorrow1 Great game not Trajan though Its all subjective. Enjoy.

[@Sheriff_K]

Horrified is similar to Pandemic, no?

[@rahdo]

similar, but *much* simpler

[@sedlak87]

Aeon's End ??????

[@rahdo]

#42 :)

[@sedlak87]

@@rahdo Why so low? :(

[@rahdo]

@@sedlak87 i'd say that's pretty high over the thousands of games i've played over the last decade :)

[@sedlak87]

@@rahdo and what do you think Rahdo about mixing the big box contents together?

[@rahdo]

@@sedlak87 it's made for it, so why not :)

[@diamondmeeple]

You play Gloomhaven? .... Pandemic??? Co-op's are the devil's work 😉😬

[@willsaponaro]

#CareBearsforYang 😉