TDG: Cody's Top Ten Great Games in Small Boxes (November 2022)

[@offearthgames]

One of my favorite board game KZbinrs! Your tastes seems to line up with mine.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks!

[@klavierfruhlingswochen4825]

Some of my favourites (that did not already appear in your list): - Time Barons (One of my all time favourites) - Mantis Falls (With a good friend and this unbelievable Spotify soundtrack, this takes you really, where it wants you to take to.) - Castellion (A brother of Onirim, which is also just great.) - Star Cartel (A great futuristic stockpile game.) ...and if the box is small enough: Master of Orion - such an awesome game for about 20$! Great Video! Thank you!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks a ton!

[@jenn5572]

So happy to see The Grizzled on here. An all time favorite here too, but often very difficult to get people to play. Another game that transcends the play- for me it’s totally experiential. You’re there with those soldiers.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Agreed. Very good game that plays on the tension very well.

[@chrisdonovan8795]

Great video! A few points: Yes, Coup is a great small box game, but once you know that you like it, check out Coup Rebellion G54, it has many more roles to mix and match. As soon as you said, "Depressing," I knew it was The Grizzled! At your orders is a great expansion for it, and it doesn't increase box size. The artist's death is tragic, but we should all strive to leave a positive mark in this world, and he did. Cody, your new channel needs catchy music. I've got your lyrics: Cody Carlson, Phd! Cody Carlson, that is me. History's fun, Come with me! That's for you, bro. Totally free. Star Trek is life. Love long and prosper.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Hey, thanks for the great song. Amazing how you managed to rhyme Phd so well. ;)

[@samimerila1074]

Great list. My small box favorites include - in no particular order: Mandala, Scout, Grizzled, Watergate, Tournament at Avalon, Biblios, Condottiere, High Society and Innovation.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Excellent. Thanks.

[@garryknox1614]

Hello Cody, thank you for that list it was very entertaining and informative. Small box games that I really love include: Ohanami, Archaeology the new expedition, Silver and Gold, No Thanks, Enchanted Plumes, Valley of the Kings and Fantasy Realms.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Valley of the Kings is great. It's been a while since I've played No Thanks, but I really enjoyed it as well. I liked Fantasy Realms, but I prefer Star Trek: Missions, which is essentially the same game. Thanks.

[@danacoleman4007]

Cody still killing it with the jokes!!!!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Danke, baby.

[@thunderccr5056]

Hey Cody, thanks for the list, I haven’t played any of them. I like the look of Star Realms. I can recommend Hot Shots, it is a wild fire battling game with different fire fighters/resources. Lots of variety with set up and a great press your luck mechanism. Regards from England!😉

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks. I haven't heard of that one.

[@thegamesninja3119]

The clerk was doing you a favor by that, while exposing others to a biohazard.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

The water runs cold at midnight. (Is that the correct countersign?)

[@thegamesninja3119]

@The Discriminating Gamer I meant literally they made you return Batman Forever.

[@yishnir]

I like the list. I'd heard that 'Love Letters' was very good, but the theme just bored me. I'm thrilled to hear there's a Batman themed version. I also hadn't heard of several games on this list, and they sound interesting. Finally, my suggestions: Cabo, Cubirds, Lost Cities, Archaeology: The New Expedition, Songbirds, Illusion, Sea Salt & Paper, SET, Pit, and Trailblazers. The travel version of Trailblazers is just as much fun as the larger set, but I do really like the Animal Meeples in the bigger box. I also like Mascarade, but it seems very similar to Coup, which I haven't played.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks.

[@Bryan-v6s]

tetrarchia is indeed a gem. it looks a bit dusty but it is what pandemic rome should've been

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Great game.

[@NexusBaum]

the list I was waiting for and didn't realize ;D

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Happy to help.

[@sylwester_bugiel]

I love Scout, Startups, Deep Sea Adventures, SpyNet, Evolution: The Origin of Species,

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I don't think I've played any of those. Thanks.

[@sylwester_bugiel]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer well, you should try

[@grog3514]

Scout is excellent although I will only play it with 4 players.

[@jwspiker]

air, land and sea is one that should have made the list!

[@rubengarciacarmona8384]

Clean bathrooms!!!!…..😂😂😂 awesome😊

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Fantastic!

[@perezoso9206]

Dale of Merchants is one of may favourite small box games. Also Valley of the Kings and Love Letter. And Bohnanza.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Valley of Kings is awesome!

[@Juz_P]

Having just travelled with the family to Australia, small games for your luggage are essential. Love Letter is a classic. Hive-brilliant, tiny, and tough. Kakerlaken Poker (Royal variant) gives us all the bluff fun we need and works for larger groups. Hanabi is a twist on most games, everyone else knows your cards but you, and we finally got a bunch of games of The Crew in. With trick taking card players, that one is spicy cooperative fun. Do not forget the brilliant Air, Land and Sea, you can pack Spies, Lies and Supplies in the same box. And if you want small box two player fun, Targi is a treat.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I love Hive, but haven't played it in years. Thanks!

[@rudyjansen4242]

Yeah, Star realms totaly agree, play it to death on the app!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Right?

[@wartable]

Early 1980’s two of my favorite small games were The Creature That Ate Cheboygan and Ram Speed

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Interesting. I'm not familiar with them.

[@eatingweevils]

I wish I kept my collection of Steve Jackson pocket box games from the eighties. So many classics. I loved both pocketbox Car Wars and Ogre but not remotely excited about the relaunch of Car Wars now it comes in a gigantic box. If games keep getting bigger I'll have to build a house extension

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Right! I considered putting Steve Jackson's Knightmare Chess on here, but considering that you need an actual chess board I felt it didn't really qualify.

[@dhmcarver]

Great list-could also have had the title “Games You Can Pack for Vacation”. Agree completely about Star Realms, which is one of my favourite games as well as one that regularly travels with me. I thought Seven Wonders Duel and Battle Lines would make your cut. Some others favourites from my shelves are Odin’s Ravens, Thunder & Lightning (which I think once was Zeus & Hera), Fight for Olympus, Jaipur, Trails (a scaled-down Parks), Age of War, Lost Cities, and 13 Minutes (which I was also certain would make your list). It all goes to show that many good things come in small packages!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks. I’ve only played 7 Wonders Duel once, but I loved it. Maybe if I had played it more…

[@lukerettie]

Star Realms and Coup are both very fun games. I also enjoy Citadels 1st edition which came in a fairly small box.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Yes, Citadels is good. Been a long time since I played it.

[@john-qz3fu]

The Crew and Biblios are the small box games that get most play in my groups.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Excellent.

[@chrisromeyn5450]

Jack the ripper mystery rummy is a classic 2 player card game. The Red Cathedral is a bigger game in a small box and worth your time. Antidote is also a favourite!!!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks!

[@toddboughn5168]

Don't know if you're familiar with the company Small Box Games, but Omen: Reign of War and Hemloch are worth checking out.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I'll look into it. Thanks.

[@deadfalltropics6422]

So many great ones, but Radlands and Watergate are top of the list for me.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I haven’t played either. I’ve heard great things about Watergate.

[@mustardsword]

I haven't played that much Star Realms, but among the games we play when waiting for someone to arrive or as the last game before leaving, it's probably the one we play(ed) the most. There are probably lots that I'm forgetting about right now, but two more neat small games I like are Jump Drive (the quick card game version of Race/Roll for the Galaxy) and Hand of the King.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Awesome. Thanks.

[@AmbersKnight]

Good list, can't really argue with any there although I was a little surprised none of the Tiny Epic games made the list.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

They're good, but haven't played them in a while, so it wasn't on my radar. Maybe if I played them again it would jog my memory.

[@chrisdonovan8795]

I was expecting that too! I guess they don't tickle his fancy.

[@grog3514]

They are pretty average games. More meat than others of the same size for sure, but I would rather play different games even if they are larger. They end up occupying a strange space in gaming for people who want to travel with a variety of more complicated games.

[@thedavegreen1893]

Great Batman joke

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thanks!

[@zirkvandenberg7776]

Most played game of all time? Battle Line. And I haven't even used the optional rules, ever. Out of print, but Schotten Totten is a slightly reworked version.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Excellent. I've heard it's a great game.

[@chrisdonovan8795]

A couple of other small games come to mind: Cockroach Poker, Cheating Moth, Pairs, and Imagine. I don't think Imagine is available anymore though.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Cockroach Poker is pretty fun. I haven't played the others.

[@skarnl]

Love these kind of lists ... I often grab to these smaller games, when we don't have lots of time and we want to play something. Some of my favorites (in no particular order, except probably alphabetical): The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine - amazing coop trick-taking game Desolate - lovely solo-game with a simple mechanic and stunning aesthetics Hive Pocket - strategic game in a small bag (best game to bring to the beach or anything, the bag isn't even necessary) Lux Aeterna - solo game with just a set of cards ... very nice, also lovely aesthetics Schotten Totten - love this classic and +1 for Love Letter, one of my favorite deduction games ever Your video did make me now want to pick up Star Realms again - haven't played it a lot yet

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Great list there. Thanks.

[@grog3514]

Maquis has a problem. I wind up doing the same thing the first two turns. Drop zone, grocery, recruit. If I get caught, I restart. If I don't, I have enough resistance to not lose. Kinda breaks the game.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Interesting. That hasn't been my experience.

[@ColonelKurtz]

For Blitzkrieg to only receive an honorable mention made me curious to see the rest of the list. I really enjoyed Blitzkrieg, but I can see how the amount of luck in the game could bump it out of a list. Not a big fan of social deduction games and comic book IPs so a lot of these games aren't for me.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

To each their own. Blitzkrieg is great, I just like these others better.

[@jwspiker]

how do you spell honorable mention #2?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

With a “T”

[@barry_t]

Cockroach Poker and Werewords should have made this list...I won't play Avalon if Werewords is available. Period. And Cockroach poker killed Coup for me... I know other small games like How to Rob a Bank or almost any Oink Game may or may not be for everyone, but Cockroach Poker and Werewords are great

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

CP is a lot of fun.

[@silverfang6668]

Tiny Epic series, Oniverse series, Friday, and a plethora of games from the Kosmos 2-player line, but my favorite small box game is the Too Many Bones trove chest.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Interesting.

[@elqord.1118]

Why do you hate timestamps so much :(

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

They are of the Devil!

[@jakubjerzak2981]

I would add na Arboretum...

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I haven't played that one, but I've heard good things.

[@chrisdonovan8795]

I also like Parade, by the same distributor, I think.

[@af1762]

Holy shit who is this dude. Don't look like the discriminative gamer!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

But it is! It is The Discriminating Gamer!!!!