Rating the BEST and WORST games of BGG Top 100 (That We've Played)

[@MarvelOfRain]

One thing about TI4 complexity - unlike Gloomhaven, Brass or other games on the list a lot of the complexity comes from competion and hidden information. There is ton of secret objectives and action cards (most of them unique), techs, faction abilities etc. You really need to know what is happening on your board and the board of other players to play propertly and that is super hard to do - especially for a newer player. In Gloomhaven you really need to explain just the "play 2 cards" & "this is what the symbols mean" and you are good to go. The main player can take care of the monsters, complex rule calls etc. In Brass you can ask question about the board state or just observe what other players are doing if unsure. In TI4 none of those strategies really help. You can still have fun without deeper knowledge but it is necessary to understand everything to have a good shot at winning.

[@primatch777]

Yep? and it has a tremendously big entry barrier, and it is a conflict game. I know a man who played lots of games in TI4. He constantly dodges games with new players because the game is generally very long - around 10 hours.

[@brandobombchu8827]

I feel like if you haven’t played a large amount of the games in the top 100, maybe just review the top 10? I was really looking forward to hearing thoughts on SO many games and instead it was so much “Never played it.”

[@pumpkinhead76]

I’m at 98 and already wondering why this video was made, gotta love hearing thoughts on games they have no idea about. Journeyers in Middle earth is just like descent 2e…..uhhh what?

[@flaring_nostrils2665]

"We haven't played most of the top 100, but we'll still make video." I'm still here watching that video

[@michaelbobpetersen7544]

Do it again next year and maybe make it a priority to try 10 or maybe 20 more of the top 100 games to get a sense of why they are om the BGG top 100

[@Shelfside]

good idea! Will have to revisit for sure -Ashton

[@tahubob]

Daniel's brain is so trained from Frosthaven that he's finally ready to go galaxy brain and ascend with PAX, COIN and 18XX games

[@patrickpmcbride]

Hell, it's about time.

[@Table.Fables]

I disagree about War of the Ring getting stale after repeat plays. I’ve played over a dozen games within 6 months of just the base game and each play still feels fresh & unexpected things happen 🙂 great video btw, great fun 👏🏻

[@Uduhno833]

I was extremely surprised that you did not even know what Architects of the West Kingdom was about. I would give all of the West Kingdom games a try.

[@gamehaus6386]

Actually, I'd make the case that only 3 of the BGG Top 10 games are really Euros: Terraforming Mars, Ark Nova and Brass: Birmingham. So, Euros are actually a little less loved by the BGG community (at the very top anyway) than campaigns, cooperative challenges and epic two player battles. All that said, I love your videos. I think you have the best intros in the business and your recommender score / personal score split breakdown is awesome! Thanks for all you do.

[@Shelfside]

thanks for sharing this! I keep associating Gloomhaven with 'Euro', but yep, its in fact Euro styled Dungeon crawler, so still mostly a dungeon crawl! -Ashton

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

@@Shelfside I think it's past time we stop using "euro" and "ameritrash", those are outdated concepts. Nowadays most games are hybrids with elements of both design schools.

[@superbadisfunmy]

​@@OrdemDoGravetoso what else would you call it? Cause when you hear euro style people understand what it means

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

@@superbadisfunmy The "problem" is that nowdays a good chunk of games have charecteristics of both Euro and Ameritrash. Games with heavy interaction, but with little to no RNG. Limited number of turns to end, with someone winning by points, but where the mechanics are verry integrated with the theme. And so on.

[@adriangutierrez7686]

Most games are a mix of euro and american(or thematic) these days, but they usually are not 50/50. They usually skew much more towards one side. Games like Dune Imperium, for example, are much more Euro but has elements of American mixed in. I agree that in the top 10 those games are the only pure "Euros".

[@CptToast_]

I‘ve got a vastly different taste as you guys do, but i love your videos. Keep it up and have a happy new year!

[@VieneLea]

7 Wonders is okay online, but it truly shines in-person. That's because it's the only boardgame I ever played that doesn't feel like a party game and yet you can still play it smoothly with seven people at the same time, even if there are new players playing it.

[@paulhamrick3943]

I love 7 Wonders and I started with Sushi Go but 7 Wonders had way more staying power. I highly recommend it at 3 players, the game is super tense in a good way at that player count.

[@flash21de34]

Mage Knight is the holy grail for solo players

[@TheMexicanSuperman1]

Would love this be an annual video by year. For example, reviewing top 100 after 2023. Etc. Then maybe notice some changes, etc

[@VaultBoy13]

Tainted Grail is a great example of distorting the ranking system based on the price of the game and availability.

[@Shelfside]

Yeah I'm bewildered as to how it's even up there -Daniel

[@thomascocks9136]

If you think that's bad how do you explain 7th continent?

[@Uduhno833]

Tainted grail has been fairly readily available on most websites for the past several years. I don't think its availability is a concern. Also, it is perhaps the most thematic game I have ever played. However, it definitely has some pretty crippling gameplay issues.

[@stefansibbes2440]

I think you guys should specialize in reviewing highly interactive and thematic games. Its ok if you're not well rounded but being so dismissive of games that are outside your wheelhouse (going by this video like 80% of the top 100 games) feels kind of disrespectful to the designers. I mean, why cover Euro's if they are not your thing?

[@ejim941099]

Never played it. So let’s assume the worst about it and judge it.. Let’s see, never played it… Never played it… Never played it… Never played it… I know someone who played it… I unboxed it, never played it… I played it once…or did I? So the games we played, the score seems right…but the games we haven’t, we can’t say so the numbers are skewed so we’ll keep assuming. Wtf is going on?

[@warpo007]

you guys are missing out with the 'west kingdom' series. Nice refreshing games.

[@Shelfside]

will have to give it a go! -ashton

[@joeymcjoeysalot6596]

I'd say Journeys in Middle Earth is more like Mansions of Madness than Descent, but I've only played Descent 2.0.

[@VaultBoy13]

Yeah, and even though it shares some things in common with Mansions, it's still pretty different in how it actually plays.

[@Shelfside]

dang that sounds awesome! Ok my interest has been reinvigorated -Ashton

[@nathanhajek9039]

Oh good! I was scrolling through all the comments to see if someone would point this out. I designed Descent 3 and JiME (and many of the Descent 2 expansions) and it pained me greatly to hear that comparison 😜

[@BlakeTheBookEater]

Aeon’s End is wonderful and is definitely worth more of your time!! I love it so much!

[@stefanopaolini1345]

Rising Sun have been top 60 for a lot of time... It recently got a lot of hate from a few of big reviewers, which took it as the examples of everything wrong with Kickstarter. Which is unfair, like right now the average Kickstarter-with-minis-game costs 3x what Rising Sun was at KS or is at retail... And it's an amazing game, it turned my 5 friends into boardgamer as their gateway game.

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

I like Rising Sun, but it feel flat for me, specially comparing to other games in the genre like Blood Rage or Kemet. I went into Rising expecting that diplomacy would pay a much major role then it does.

[@joshestes6427]

Just for clarity, Journeys in Middle Earth is like Mansions of Madness second edition, but you don't have to run from everything.

[@joshestes6427]

Also, BGG does not have a great system for differentiating editions versions of games, some have crazy combinations that make no sense why they are in the same entry, while others are virtually the same and have separate entries... I could go forever on this haha

[@woutervandekoppel3424]

I really like these videos and you guys are not afraid to critique even the games seen in general as very good games. But when you skipped over the absolute classic El Grande and just shrugged "doesn't ring a bell" I chuckled because I thought it was a joke. Maybe it's less known in the US than in Europe? Again, really nice that you have your own unique view in the boardgame review scene and I would love to see a review of El Grande big box by the two of you. Cheers!

[@Shelfside]

we'll have to give it a shot! Pretty sure Daniel has played it, and I've had the chance but never sat down for it. Cheers! -Ashton

[@InXLsisDeo]

And Tigris & Euphrates !

[@sonnyliew]

Troyes is very good :)

[@Sz4r1ej]

How about a video on your experience with Megan table vs your expectations from on year ago and comparing it to DYI and Origins table ?

[@bernardorippe7024]

I use to like your videos, but this one only shows that you guys can provide a biased opinion, and that you need to play more games in order to make this list. Your videos usually draw the best and good part of each game but this is superficial and unfair with many designers.

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

They were just looking at the game and sharing their opinions about the ones they have played...

[@iphatbass]

Android: Netrunner is THE BEST card game ever! I love it so much!

[@BobbyJuno]

I happened to be browsing through Barnes and Noble and remembered you guys mention Skull King and Sushi Go Party. I picked them up, they look like something I can break out during the holidays with family. Maybe next year TI4 lol

[@Shelfside]

haha TI4 requires a little more warmup. I wanna try skull king now haha -Ashton

[@HeyImBode]

Found your channel this week, awesome vids, super thorough. I love getting a sense for what makes a game click for someone and you guys are super consistent and great at explaining your wants & needs from a game. Great stuff

[@TheSchaef47]

I'm kind of amazed at the number of these games that I have played and you have not. There are so many games I haven't played that people always put in their top lists, but I've played a bunch of these: Mombasa, Raiders, Architects, Beyond the Sun, I even played Troyes once

[@lystic9392]

If you just get Nullsignal's System Gateway then it's not so heavy. The games don't take an hour after the first few. But if you want to try, there's people who would love to teach and have you explore it.

[@QuintiniusVerginix]

I strongly disagree with the notion that the base game of Marvel Champions - The Card Game contains less content than Arkham Horror LCG. In fact, I'm pretty sure counting just the core set, Marvel Champions is a vastly more attractive deal when it comes to content and replayability. While on the surface the content is pretty similar (5 investigators, 3 scenarios vs. 5 heroes, 3 scenarios), Marvel Champions is significantly more modifiable than Arkham Horror. While in Arkham Horror every investigator has pretty strict deckbuilding restrictions and scenarios are pretty much set in stone (especially in the core set), in Marvel Champions you can freely mix and mash any combination of villain + encounter set or heroes and card type. Where in the core set of Arkham you can basically make one functional deck per investigator, in Marvel Champions you can make four per hero (one per card type). And on a scenario level, where in Arkham the core set the first scenario always kinda plays out the same, in Marvel Champions you can go "Well, but what if Rhino had a bunch of strong minions or very powerful attachments instead of this Bomb Threat?". With just the core set, you can play about five or six different variations of each scenario. I'd honestly say that for someone who just wants a great LCG experience that they can play over and over again without spending more, Marvel Champions is probably the one I'd recommend (even if in general, Arkham has my preference). Pretty sure the core set is also cheaper than the Revised Core of Arkham Horror, but that can vary from store to store obviously.

[@Shelfside]

thanks for sharing this! I only briefly looked at Marvel LCG, so this is really illuminating for me. -Ashton

[@Coffeemaker1978]

Thanks guys! Fun as always 👏🏻

[@hunterbarella8402]

The unmatched drip both y'all got on is top tier

[@RichardArpin]

Star Wars Rebellion is based on the pc game from the 90's of the same name, and it has the same worker placement mechanic where you send your characters on missions.

[@raodvanlaontotaoke4993]

Raiders of the North sea is a great game. Teotihuacan is a great game.

[@kyleweeks2941]

TI4 all the way baby!! The expansion really elevated it for me and the codexes fixed some balance issues. It's just epic.

[@pidgeotroll]

The Crew: Deep Sea changes up the original game enough by adding a much more diverse array of missions with infinite random but balanced replayability instead of a single quest line to be completed like in the base game. It deserves to be on the top 100 and also above the original. 7 Wonders is a lot better than Sushi Go as a big fan of drafting in games like MTG and also tableau-building in games like Race for the Galaxy. Also the Duel version is great too.

[@jwehner6]

Y’all *really* need to try El Grande. It’s hard to find, it’s visually dated, has some player count sensitivity (five is amazing, four is okay)… but it’s an absolutely stunning design. Relatively simple rules, compared to the depth of gameplay, tons of player interaction without combat, doesn’t overstay its welcome. As much as you like Eric Lang’s designs, you owe it to yourselves to track it down, as a lot of his games have direct references to El Grande in them, especially Blood Rage. (Or maybe to late-90s German games - Rising Sun owes a lot to Puerto Rico, Ankh to Through the Desert…)

[@Shelfside]

Cheers! Will have to take a look then :) -ashton

[@lystic9392]

38:36 SkullKing. Yes that one is fun. (Oh you found it already.) Besides Crokinole there's also one called Carrooka. It's more like Pool. You might be interested in that ^_^

[@justsumCrumbs]

I dig the Seto Kaiba drip, Dan.

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

Robinson Crusoe is on my Top 10 List. I recommend that you two try it.

[@Uduhno833]

Robinson Crusoe could have a quarterbacking problem. However, a cooperative game is just a joint puzzle. I just view them as puzzles to solve collectively as a group.

[@grog3514]

You guys need to play hansa teutonica. That's a euro you will like.

[@grog3514]

Marvel champions is actually really good value. Of all the CCGs I think champions has the best core set. You also get a ton of content with the big box expansions. You can get a crazy amount of content for $100. If someone wanted to try a CCG, I would recommend champions.

[@kikkoarceo353]

It's awesome you guys have so much b-reel of a lot of the games in the top 100! Looking forward to more of your content and to catchup on your previous videos!

[@JonArt_As_Board]

you guys really should try more Lacerda games!

[@Tamahome109]

Are you guys ever going to do a review for Eclipse 2nd Ed?

[@Shelfside]

I want to for sure! -Daniel

[@billmiller5722]

Basic Clank! is an amazing game with more casual friends. For a full group of heavier gamers, the in space or catacombs versions would be better

[@Luclidity]

Shelfside should play Clank! Legacy. It is not for people who just play clank a lot. The game is just fun. I think they might like it a lot. Daniel really liked Everdell! Glad to see Everdell get more love!

[@Shelfside]

Everdell makes my brain go brrrr and it's oddly cutthroat when we play hahaha -Daniel

[@RocketSlug]

While I haven't played Pax Pamir, you mentioning playing as sneaking bastards manipulating things from the shadows makes me think of War of Whispers which I played and rather enjoyed

[@VaultBoy13]

It's kind of similar. With Pax Pamir your allegiance is known, and you're building up that allegiance to score better. But, you can switch it. Instead of worker placement, Pax Pamir allows you to take actions via hand management and your tableau. If you're looking for a next step, then you should check out Pax Pamir. It's great.

[@nickvandam1214]

Eldritch horror deserves to be over so many of these games for its ability to create emergent stories as you play just like Robinson Crusoe

[@cozmicshroomzpro1]

El Grande is a Euro game but it has a lot of fun interaction between the players but it's long out of print but if it ever comes into print, i'd recommend checking it out.

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

I want to play this game.

[@chesterlang6593]

It's 100% an area control game. What are you talking about? Haha

[@cozmicshroomzpro1]

@@chesterlang6593 area majority rather than control which i associate with euros since you can still get points for not having majority.

[@zakmartel3022]

For War Of The Ring I highly recommend the Lords of Middle Earth expansion for replayability.

[@edvind9560]

You guys should do a similar video but top 100 based on user ratings, and just filter through number of voters. p.s. Decrypto is not in top 100! Congrats everyone!

[@johannesstal270]

you guys should try some boardgames 🤔

[@olivierjodoin2283]

29:54 Never played Leagues of Legend and really don't care but Mechs vs Minions is amazingly good for the gameplay and production, irrespective of theme.

[@Ozymandiusz]

I will wait for light version of frosthaven. I mean comon. scenario book? xD after jaws of the lion I want that everywhere.

[@stuartshannon8561]

Clash of Cultures and the Monumental edition are very different the Monumental edition gives you all the expansions and the rules are a bit cleaned up.

[@joeymcjoeysalot6596]

TI3 is way more complicated than TI4

[@qmurec]

maybe, but it has the forced "pick imperial" mechanic which kinda limits the game

[@MichaelBomholt]

TI4 with POK is much more complex than TI3

[@Jorn2u]

Not to be mean, but this is kinda a lazy video. Would be more respectful of your viewers time to take some time and think about what you wanna talk about, and at least check if you know the games you're gonna talk about.

[@willn9568]

Check out Null Signal Games if you like Android: Netrunner: they’re the nonprofit continuation and the new System Gateway is an awesome self-contained game that you can enjoy by itself or start from there to go big with the game.

[@williammcneil2045]

you never played robinson crusoe ?!?!?! its so good, yeah its hard, but thats what makes it good, if winning was easy, then winning would be meaning less. also it has a ton of replayablity and its a masterpiece, its so different, from so many other games.

[@KMReviews]

I still think Dwellings of Eldervale needs to be top 100. Deserves to be top 10.

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

On my To Play list.

[@Shelfside]

Criminally underrated imo -Daniel

[@flash21de34]

Agree, the problem is availability

[@muCephei_]

I started Pandemic legacy with few friends and now were on the fourth month. It is fun. But I wouldn't put it at number 2. I have way more fun playing games like Dune and Terraforming Mars.

[@jamesbond1409]

Watched the whole video and just have one question. You guys never mentioned you are friends with Cousin Greg from Succession, who casually materializes in the vid at 1:24:52?

[@morpheus587]

This was entertaining, Thanks Guys!

[@buddhistpossum3462]

Netrunner. The license got pulled by WotC. It's still living through community content.

[@nuuqbgg]

So many Euro classics haven't been played... Burgundy... Oh God. I think it should be in top 10 to be honest.

[@EngMadison]

This was fascinating. As someone who hates "thematic" games/dungeon crawl games and loves Old school German euros, this was pretty funny. Regarding Mansions of Madness...played for 4 hours and all we did was walk down a hall, talk to some dude in a kitchen, looked out a window, annnnd we lost. Yeah, I'm don't with these games. Let's play a cube rail game.

[@EngMadison]

Regarding Agricola, it should be the same entry. The original was a lot tighter, but the difference is pretty much all balance.

[@OrdemDoGraveto]

Blood Rage is my favorite game ever. It has some balance problems that i corrected with house rules. But its definatly the game i like to play the most. And i think its so weird that Kemet isnt in the top 20. It is the better game i have ever played mechanically speaking.

[@LoneWolf-zc7nw]

It is amazing review. I am so fascinated that how much our experience and taste different in board games. I did not try 90 percent of games you guys try and I play majority games you skipped :))). For example, Troyes is the most tactical game that you can find. Marco Polo has insane asymmetric player power. Le Havre is open information chess like game with less punishing aspect of Agricola but with no luck and randomness. Brass Birmingham is one of my favorite game all of time. Brass Birmingham compare to brass Lancashire is more strategic, less tactical, less random and luck driven however is more forgiving and harder to learn. I think Brass Birmingham is better especially on 3 player count. I hope you guys also do a run on top 1000 games on BGG.

[@mateusznosiadek3319]

Hi guys, i've been watching you for some time and seems that you know what you are doing! And running through bgg top 100 and most of your answears were "dont know", "never played it" etc - its shows that actually your lack of BG knowledge is quite appalling... i think that with this movie you shot an arrow to your knee..

[@Shelfside]

haha, we haven't gotten to play every game out there for sure, but the ones we play, we really like to go deep into. One day we will get these all played! -Ashton

[@mateusznosiadek3319]

@@Shelfside thats exactly what i like in your movies - deep analyze from couple views - not only copying what others are saying. And not affraid of criticism :) keep up good work! And try some euro classics from bgg top100 :)

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

Puerto Rico is my #1 game of all time. I follow your channel because of how similar our tastes are. I'm surprised that you are not heavy into Puerto Rico.

[@Shelfside]

Only played it once, so will see what I think in the future! I know Daniel has pretty little interest though haha. -ashton

[@AdamJorgensen]

Main reason Android NetRunner died is because WotC didn't renew the license for the NetRunner license.

[@lkjkhfggd]

I also love Skull King, but man this game is so different from the Crew I don't see why anyone can't own both. One is a crazy cutthroat chaotic trick taking game, while The Crew is fully cooperative.

[@anonvideo738]

11:40 whenever something was on kickstarter (especially if it is some bigass box full of plastic figurines) I always subtract 1 point of the score. Because there are a ton of "10/10 I just pledged 500 bucks" votes

[@TheSchaef47]

Clans of Caledonia is basically Terra Mystica but in Scotland. I'm being reductive in that description but I actually like this game better.

[@cvok34]

This video is going to rattle some people, looking forward to the comments 😄 Good thing about you guys is its fairly easy to see what you like in terms of the heavier games (not mentioning games like burrito ofc). Balanced competitve games that you can min max (mostly) While not really sharing your opinion on a lot of games, its easy to see your perspective.

[@melski9205]

It's good to see them go through it. You're right they are highly biased in their tastes but I think that's why we are here to get that opinion that's different to other channels like Chairman of board. They are certainly characters!

[@Ahatch0788]

Architects of the west kingdom is so good as a mid-light weight euro worker placement, I definitely recommend it; it plays up to 6. Tainted Grail, I could kind of tell after one scenario that it just isn't as fantastic as people hype it up to be. The video game is good though. Paladins is pretty awesome too. West Kingdom really is just a great trilogy all around. Cascadia is my go-to for introducing people to the hobby who have only ever played Catan. Scythe is so overhyped!! I just took everything out of my Gloomhaven box and never put anything back. I've accepted that I will never return it all to it's original state.

[@sebastienvivas9319]

Amazing video. You guys are the number one board game bros!

[@paulhamrick3943]

I bet you guys are actually quite competitive.

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

Viticulture is my #2 favorite game of all time. I love it.

[@bookedroomer]

Do you play dota2 I noticed the sound effects from the every gloomhaven series

[@manfrombc5162]

Ark nova is a great game. Should definitely be top 5.

[@TylerAndToast]

Havnt played architects? And you think it's a solo game!? Smh. Look that one up. The player interaction is cool. Great game

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

On my Shelf of Shame is Everdell (Big Box), both Brass games, and Castles of Burgundy.

[@jeffersonwu952]

It would be interesting to see you guys re-rank BGG's current top 100 into a new list.

[@Shelfside]

looks lke we'll have to play more of these :) -Ashton

[@Omalley69]

You should definately play nemesis. Its so unique compared to the rest of the 100.

[@paxgamer3003]

7 wonders you can play with anybody....ok od rather just hang out and converse than play a game like that!

[@jccusell]

Imperial Assault is not the same system as Lord of the Rings Journey Through Middle Earth.

[@Shelfside]

oh snap! Thanks for letting me know -Ashton

[@williammcneil2045]

um keyflower is very good, you can outbid people so they dont get what they want, you can put your workers on their places so they cant use the place, i think, i recall hearing you can steal other peoples workers. sure it looks like another workers placing game but it does alot of things differently. i have not heard of any one who played it, saying they dont like it

[@joncasso]

Can’t believe I watched 90 minutes of your content Straight. It was solid

[@derek_davidson]

Y'all should do this for the games 101-200. There's some real gems in there that are forgotten because they're not "top 100"

[@olivierjodoin2283]

37:06 Cascadia is only going up from there. Amazing game. There are a lot of similar weight and themed games but that's the best of them.

[@grog3514]

Habitats is better.

[@flash21de34]

Cascadia has won Game of the year award 2022 in Germany and as an effect of this can be bought in every supermarket what helps marketing a lot.

[@MaximumImpactGames]

TI3 is far and away more complicated than TI4. Tech is more complicated, you have the one reposition action that's just more complicated, action cards are more complicated, Setup is longer than TI4, with expansions you have some absurdly more complicated modules like mercenaries, Distant suns are more complicated than the POK decks. As far as base games go, TI4 has more "stuff" but the core game is so much more streamlined, it's a bit silly to say TI4 is heavier than TI3 when the base TI3 has so many weird fiddly rules that were streamlined in 4, and the most complicated parts of TI4 base game are present in TI3, and like you said with tech, TI3's tech system is considerably more complicated than TI4. Caylus is one of, if not the best worker placement game ever made, and one of the older ones too. I can't recommend that game enough.

[@MaximumImpactGames]

Teotihuacan is incredible too. Absolutely recommend you try that.

[@judgemario]

I always have fun watching your content, but we are very different gamers. 😆

[@Shelfside]

haha no worries mate! Happy holidays! -Ashton

[@robertthurman9866]

Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth is Mansion of Madness but with different tiles.

[@stuartshannon8561]

Clank Legacy is the best! Will die on this hill.

[@dragonzord6615]

I found human punishment the beginning to be one of the worst board games ive ever played.

[@AdamJorgensen]

Architects of the West Kingdom...a solo game...XD

[@aaronandrews755]

Not in the top 100, but have you tried Sentinel’s of the Multiverse?