The Best Board Games of 2018

[@gnetkuji]

That little side-quip about the GoT show was probably a little closer to reality than you might have expected or wanted.

[@captainspoof101]

Holy smokes. Amazing video my man. I want almost all of these.

[@d.b.4910]

2 quick cents: As someone who multitasks while listening, it would help if you kept the title on the screen while you talk about each game. Sometimes you say something that intrigues me, but I have to rewind to find out what you're talking about. But if I'm the only one, you can disregard. :) Great video, by the way.

[@adel-a]

You're not the only one. I thought of the title on the screen too. It would help.

[@phristo]

Hahaha, "You are like a baby" while everyone's watching a list of board games

[@mylor1066]

Yes!

[@GeneralDibs]

"That elusive but oh so sexy long piece" was my nickname in highschool... Oh who am I kidding. It was "stubby T".

[@PablowingUrMind]

I just got high and watched about 8 hours of Top Board Games lists on KZbin... yours is for sure the best so far.

[@Jaaskle]

"if you skipped ahead to see number 1, youre not gonna get this joke" he pegged me 100%

[@jiritsu0]

I, oh, so enjoy your humor. Had to pause the video many times to get a grip from all the laughing. "And Goldilocks went town on it" got me waaay too hard - I love you for it!

[@actualol]

That makes me very happy to hear that.

[@pucke1bd]

Your delivery is so intentional and clear that when you make a joke it almost sneaks up on me and I end up laughing even more a few seconds after you say it.

[@daveculling5467]

Great stuff Jon as ever! And some particularly fruity innuendoes slipped in with your customary nonchalance! :)

[@RonnieLunn84]

I really think this was your best written episode yet man! I actually lol’d.. hey, now I get the channel name!

[@infernoblayze]

Great video Jon! Had me chuckling several times. And yes, Marmite is great.

[@marapdvz]

Are you going to do a 2018 party games video? 👀 I love your jokes, great video 😂

[@actualol]

Yes I'd like to. It sort of depends on the success of this one. Glad you like the jokes 😊

[@undersci]

I suspect he loves just one party game.

[@loaf667]

"Nostalgiagasm" is my new favorite word

[@IainMabbott]

Nice list Jon. I completely agree on Detective, it's not perfect but it was sooo much fun.

[@WolfusMandrago]

Detective really is great. We'll be moving on to Chronicles of Crime after we finish up the Sherlock Holmes blue box (Carlton/Queens Park). I'm happy to see that you share the love of crime solving games!

[@actualol]

Absolutely. I love them. And we're enjoying a golden era of them at the moment!

[@ledbetter10]

Excellent video Jon!

[@vanyaserra1]

Well the one thing I learned from this video is we have completely different taste. None of these would have made my list. In fact a few would have made my worst games list. Glad you enjoy the games, shows there is a nice broad market out there. This will hopefully encourage the board game makers to continue making all sorts of games, because love them or hate them I love trying new games out, just so i can find the hidden gem among the hype.

[@diastoleny]

Great review of Detective but I don't have access to a cell phone. Gonna try The mind. Thanks.

[@ericfolsom2411]

Finally played Pyramid of Penqueen that I bought solely on this video. It was very fun and everyone loved it.

[@GourmetAcademy]

I love your new shelves, and they're straight!

[@actualol]

I typed "straight shelves" into Google and didn't settle for anything less.

[@MrTravolta7]

After 10sec watching your video i gave thumbs up. Finally someone said how many games they played when they do a Top something. It’s important because if you do a Top15 and don’t say how many games you played I don’t know how good they really are. Imagine if you said you only played 20 games in total, that would be completely diferent.

[@GirlyGamer-BoardGameGran]

I think Luxor might be higher on mine... if I could be bothered to make one lol I had a lot of fun with Penqueen with my grandson. I guess I'll have to try Detective at some point! Thanks Jon.

[@anthonyhaigh4058]

Awesome guide John! I have a list of at least 8 games to try! I’m hoping my game cafe has them so it does not cost me too much’ lol thanks

[@albertkosasih4410]

Would love to see what is your top 15 best board game of all time bro

[@simf7643]

I think with Spring Meadow and Brikks you need no other tetrisstyle game, I like them both very much. Brikks is very nice for traveling. Railroad ink I‘m playing nearly every day since I tried it first time two weeks go, love it

[@mylor1066]

Jenny "two suitcases" - love it.

[@RowantarotBlogspot]

Instantly ordered Sunset Over Water and just kept you talking in the background. :)

[@wl5609]

Have you tried Herbaceous or Herbaceous Sprouts? Must haves IMO!.. ♥

[@CeartGoLeor86]

Well, you couldn't have been more right about the final season of Game of Thrones...

[@mainanpapan]

Yes! Do more Top 10.

[@PaulMazzoni]

Per usual, great list. Jury is still out on Spring Meadow. I still prefer Patchwork and Cottage Garden. Don’t particularly like the scoring in SM and you can really get a choice of bad pieces. At least the two boards (plus pot and cloche positions) in Cottage Garden provided you more options to the pieces presented.

[@dandurkin9735]

LOL - yes, I did - many times (where intended, of course). You also had me AOLing often (Agreeing Out Loud). You expressed the magic of The Mind perfectly. I would have included Quacks. I also would have included Just One (my "game of the holidays") and Gizmos. I'm happy to support you once again on Patreon. Thank you! (Love the new background.)

[@actualol]

Haha, AOLing, I like that. Just One would be in my Top 10 Party Games of 2018 which I may still make. Thanks so much for your Patreon support, it's nice to see people recognising the effort I put in with this one. 🙂

[@AdventurerJessica]

Dang it I’ve been caught, I skipped forward to the exact part where you said “if you skipped forward to see the number spot, you’re not gonna get this joke...” 😸

[@actualol]

😂 I got someone! I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed...

[@AdventurerJessica]

I guess this means I gotta use that link to buy these games to make up for it now. 😜

[@captainspoof101]

Ok jon. You got me. I just ordered the penguin game using your link because that looks so silly I cant not have it. I'm even using double negatives because of my excitement

[@actualol]

You haven't not made a great decision 😂

[@linusottosson5425]

Intro to the number 1 was gold! 😂

[@andreasb.8953]

'Sunset over Water' has a nice Artworks. Is this Game from 2018? Your Chanel is great and funny. Keep it up...😁 (Sorry, my English is not so good 🙄)

[@republikadugave420]

Props for a Merchants and mauroders mention... Xia is another sandbox

[@ashleepradella4912]

Great list Jon!! I much preferred Chronicles over Detective because it was more streamlined and I enjoyed the use of the app and how seamless it was. I felt Detective was quite clunky and I struggled to keep track of the story/ characters and felt myself and others weren’t as engaged because of it. Would be interested to know why you prefer Detective 🙂

[@actualol]

I prefer it because it's deeper. Each case has more to discover and more ways to get information. I found myself more attached to the story in Detective because there was so much going on. It would say it really helped to play with the physical photos of the characters - did you have those?

[@mattkutrik]

Nice looking set!

[@willbeplayin]

It's so odd to find a Top 15 list of games that I haven't played nor I have any interest in playing, except Game of Thrones. I might've found myself a board gamer counterpart from another dimension who's tastes are totally different from mine.

[@weirdTubo]

You do awesome videos, I love your jokes, your approach, your channel. Only most of your top games here are pretty crappy. 😄

[@PandaWithThineGuns]

Oof...boy was he right about Game of Thrones' last season.

[@sonkiebagongfirs5334]

Pikoko looks fun!

[@LifeUntilLove]

I am so down to find two new detective games. That alone makes this a great list.

[@evatar4052]

I am terribly interested in the western game. Feels like it might give you that adventuring/engine building mix I love with delightful choices between law abiding and not so law abiding actions.. like in my beloved Firefly but hopefully with better balanced mechanics & gameplay. Also own or played&liked about half of games mentioned in this video so strong cross over of tastes.

[@actualol]

Yeah, it shares some similarities to Firefly but I would say it's more streamlined. Glad to hear our tastes align 😀

[@masood8150]

The As d'Or and now this? Detective is rolling up the awards! Though that does make me wonder if SUSD is the only big outlier on it.

[@ToucanSamich]

Other ones I know off the top of my head. Rahdo, Purge, Drive Thru and Coop Cast all gave it quite negative reviews (as would I). Just different tastes, I didn't like the amount of reading and note taking, I couldn't move past that, but lots of people love it

[@FlavioMarceloSousa35]

Rüdiger Dorn (Las Vegas the Dice Game) is no clone, he's a true genius.

[@wl5609]

Yup, starting from Jambo, I love this guy!.. ♥

[@kaneseegrell]

What do you think of hive? I’m looking for a new game like it

[@michaelcsteffens]

Loved seeing Western Legends on the list! I Kickstarted it and find it one of my best ones ever! Quite a large board, though.

[@williammcneil6730]

umm is that the kickerstarter forbidden sky? i have seen the game before but i dont think it had the plastic bits

[@actualol]

No, this is the only version. There was no Kickstarter for Forbidden Sky.

[@williammcneil6730]

@@actualol ah thank you, i just must have not seen that part of it :)

[@TargetPermanent]

Now hold up a minute: the new art for Carcassonne or the OG art? Or both?

[@johnathankonandreas6074]

If Game of Thrones does pull a Lost, I will be a broken man

[@actualol]

Yep, it will be hard to come back from that.

[@johnathankonandreas6074]

@@actualol btw, love your channel!

[@danielkeim8558]

Nice list! I LOVE Chronicles of Crime and The Mind. I agree that The Mind does things to people. I've never seen another game have such an effect on people! I love it!

[@jonathanpickles2946]

Great video but boy your taste is a mile away from mine

[@captainspoof101]

Bezos' divorce lawyer lmfao

[@fabianengeler4238]

How you say "Spiel des Jahres" almost sounds like some French poker game ^^

[@amandasupak]

My friends love The Mind!

[@ab17364]

aw man...i've been that tourist lost in the london underground XD

[@gavkenny]

Boy does your taste and mine differ. None of my top ten games of 2018 are on your list. Root? Heroes of Land, Air and Sea? Vindication? Brass Birmingham? Smartphone? It just goes to show just how different people's tastes are in games.

[@williammcneil6730]

dont want to be rude but i feel the mind is maybe the worst game i have played, theres no way to win, no tactics, no strategy, to me its awful.

[@juliebggeek6545]

Jon have you tried Bloxx! ?

[@actualol]

I haven't tried it. From what I've seen from a playthrough it didn't seem as interesting as other Tetris games to me. But I'd certainly give it a go.

[@GourmetAcademy]

Hi Jon, how do you find the time and the friends to play so many games each month?

[@actualol]

I'm lucky to have a big game group in London which runs events almost every day. I've made a lot of game obsessed friends though that, so that helps. And it's easy to find the time when you don't have much else going on in life! :)

[@williammcneil6730]

what is haribo ?

[@actualol]

It's is a brand of sweets or candy for kids.

[@seniscram7958]

Awesome yo!

[@Eggers2007]

this was hilarious!

[@MadChristoph]

Where's Monopoly?

[@VuNguyen-uc7xe]

Excluding GWT......It should have been titled "The Best Meh Games of 2018".........

[@SeroSish]

No Root on the list ?

[@actualol]

I played it once, I didn't have fun. It's not my sort of game.

[@jesuscoutofandino6280]

Or eat the sand. Thats what most kids do :P

[@actualol]

Hahahaha!

[@JClover2]

Actually, kick sand in other kids' eyes is what most kids do! Lol

[@TheLuminousCleric]

Luxor is so annoying.