Top 10 Games That Got Better

[@d.b.4910]

Your top 10s are still my favorites. Thanks for another one.

[@TheGunslinger019]

All hail the editing wizard! 🙇🏻‍♂️🙇🏼‍♀️🧙🏼‍♂️

[@geoffreydevereaux3272]

Hail

[@HenryRSeymour]

I LOVED the comedic editing on this one. Great job Zee!

[@ingl0rius]

I can’t express how happy your top 10 videos make me, I’m always excited to see them!

[@cjfrank8364]

100% got the like for the "nope"

[@neilfelton7268]

Charles Frank%q

[@armandoacosta9828]

What!? Sam & Zee on the opposite ends

[@DLee1100s]

My first thought was "Zee's put on some weight." Then I realised it was Sam.

[@Marta84sweden]

Haha me 3

[@mecoides]

NOOOOOO! How can I tell them apart now?

[@bogart9904]

Now Tom needs to give up the middle

[@pupski69]

so confusing!!!

[@aguilera631]

Love the editing Zee!

[@thediceodyssey4690]

So glad to see all these updates to the older lists. A few surprises on this one......loved it.

[@professormayhem3080]

Tom! You're still looking trim! Good for you! Keep it up!

[@kristaknudsen6882]

The editing wizardry is really making this video. I'm loving it.

[@lazulin]

I've had this happen with a ton of games: * Legacy: The Testament of Duke de Crecy jumped so far up that it became one of my favorite games. I just kept on playing, getting into the storytelling of the game, learning more strategy.. and it kept on becoming a richer experience. Also with the birth event cards replacing the complications, that was a really big improvement as they have different card backs (so you know you're taking a risk) and much more variety in what can happen. * Sushi Go was also a surprise. First time I played, I hated it. But because people play it all the time, I kept on playing, and now appreciate it for the light, sweet filler that it is. Same with zombie dice - it's completely random, but it's always a good time and so I've grown to love it. * Five Tribes still gets better every time play it. First time, you're just struggling to keep the AP at bay. But the more you play, the more you get into the strategy, the more there is to love. Good expansions too, but frankly, the base game is fantastic by itself. * Village is a game I originally liked, but the Port expansion brought it to a whole new level and affected the balance of the whole game so profoundly that I refuse to play the game without it. The Inn expansion added variety for replayability, but that Port expansion is really what made the game a permanent fixture in my collection. * Scythe - have to second these from the list. First time I played, I thought Scythe was 'okay, but nothing special.' Every time I played it, though, new strategic avenues opened up to me. Then, I got to play it with all the factions playing at once and got to appreciate how amazingly fast it is even at high player counts. Then, we got better at the game and it got more and more strategic. And now a new expansion has come out and a legacy expansion is coming out - and it's now one of my absolute favorites. * Terraforming Mars - another 'good, but nothing special' game based on my initial play, but boy, I was completely wrong. We played with beginner corps the first game, but the actual corporations, and the draft, make a drastic improvement. Then, the more you play, the better you understand the cards, dynamics, relative values.. and the more cut-throat and competitive it gets. What started out as a 'let's all do our own thing' euro turned into a game where I spend other players' turns desperately hoping that the other player doesn't do X. I love it. Hellas & Elysium are a great map addition. I haven't tried Venus Next yet, because the one thing I still don't like about TM is its length... but it sounds like the new Prelude expansion may be the answer to that!

[@AURAIIIIII]

that turkey impression at the beginning was so hilarious :D

[@KamranZaffar]

I bought ghost fightin treasure hunters thanks to Sam's review. Loved it and my nephew loved it even more.

[@ramonosuke]

Great list. Glad to see the pics of the games and roll off for number 1 :)

[@ufcfansmo]

After learning more about 👻Ghost Fightin Treasure Hunters, I paused the video and bought it along with Istanbul, a game that's been on my watch list for a while now. A little under an hour later, Istanbul makes an appearance in Zee's list. 🤩🎉

[@prufrock1977]

Magic is definitely on my list, too, especially because of Commander. So now I’m dying to know what Commander Tom plays!

[@anubis24354]

I want to see Sam do a "Top 10 Games to Paint" where he covers some games with minis that he thinks were fun to paint. Or really anyone in the DTN that might be interested in doing that list, you three are just the first i always think of (and my favorites).

[@RevoltzRetrogaming]

This was one of the funniest top 10 of all time. The edditing wizard must be on all videos lol

[@flupito]

I still watching this old top 10s and enjoy them. I love the new Dice Tower team right now but you 3 have a special chemistry.

[@michaelharrington6698]

I notice a lot of these games have great art. I wonder if its easier to give a game a second chance if it has great art, or if its easier to play over and over again with great art.

[@lexum09]

Great top 10! And good job editing it Zee!

[@peelyon1]

I want someone to look at me in the same way that Tom looks at Zee when he's talking about Cosmic Encounter.

[@twdpepper6012]

Hah!

[@charleshill5931]

Thanks guys for doing this one. I really appreciate that you guys are able get past your initial impressions and let these games grow to the point where you can highly recommend them.

[@DudeHUN1]

Everybody needs someone to look at him like Tom looking at Zee during Cosmic Encounters :D

[@Andromedax01]

Thanks to you Zee, I was able to pick up the ghost fightin' treasure hunters expansion. Oh boy the kids are going to love that.

[@dannys_78]

Istanbul blew me away when I first played it, and it's just gotten better. I've still not tired of the base game, and would like to play the first expansion more (and then might get the second expansion if we manage to play it enough).

[@annjourney14]

Zee - I agree with you about #6. Uchronia is under-appreciated but is actually the best re-implemention of Glory to Rome. I sold my Black Box Glory to Rome recently but am keeping both Uchronia and Mottainai in my collection.

[@aliasbrush2]

Civilization: the board game gets better over time for my group. After about 30 games, we're still discovering whole new strategies, and I swear no two games have ever been the same.

[@thomascocks9136]

Which one? There's many civilisation games

[@iuribachnivsky3022]

Tom looks like he is going to cry with joy when Zee said he likes Cosmic Encounter.

[@foyoGames]

Deception: Murder in Yggdrasil

[@UniversalSleuth]

They have such a pleasant little song at the end of the videos, but if you adjust the speed to half speed and then listen, it just makes you wanna cry.

[@ZakiJeppe]

My top 10: 1. Five Tribes 2. Cosmic Encounter 3. Glory to Rome 4. The Resistance: Avalon 5. Thunderstone Advance 6. Viticulture 7. Champions of Midgard 8. Hero Realms 9. 7 Wonders 10. Puerto Rico

[@teslavoltagames3208]

I agree about Rising Sun. The Diplomacy was overhyped. My second play was much better than my first. I really liked it the second time. I want to play it more.

[@Straddllw]

I played it 7 times now. There's definitely more negotiations the more your group plays.

[@g8kpr3000]

Funny, Rising sun has anti-hype for me. I want nothing to do with it. Chaos in the old world - super hype, Blood Rage - maximum hype... I hated both of them.. so Eric Lang comes out with yet another dudes on a map with giant dudes... I'm just bleh.

[@jgrosenblum]

Between Two Cities fell flat the first time I played it, even though I liked the idea of cooperating with your neighbors. I thought the expansion really added something and now it's one of our groups' go-to shorter games.

[@g8kpr3000]

I agree with Tom on Viticulture.. I played it for the first time (base game) a couple months ago, and wow. i was underwhelmed. I've heard the Dice Tower talk so much about it, and I love Scythe.. but Viticulture just felt dull. The choices I made felt almost like they were the obvious choices to make, and I was just going through the motions. In the end, I felt it was ok, but not great. Maybe I need to try it with the expansions.. but I don't really see that happening any time soon. The game that turned around for me was also King of Tokyo.. I played my first game years ago, and played with the full player count. I think I and someone else got knocked out early, and it just felt really dull. No one was really buying upgrade cards, and the whole thing was just blah! I swore I'd never play it again. Then last year, I thought my daughter might like it, I explained the game, and we tried it at a FLGS a couple times and ended up buying it. Now, I wouldn't say that it's my favorite game, but I enjoy it a lot more after a few more plays under my belt than I did after that first play.

[@petem4122]

Thanks for the video guys. Thought Rum & Bones Second Tide might make this list. From first edition to second, to all the expansions/factions, it has become a game I really enjoy...but took some plays to "get it" and enjoy it for what it is. Love it now.

[@MisterChris1978]

i am so glad to hear about the level of diplomacy in Rising Sun according to Zee. I don't care for the "mechanism". so great!!

[@artstsym]

Quantum is the only game I haven't bought with any recommendation, and it's still one of my favorite games to this day.

[@AP-nz8qv]

Quantum is one of my favorite games of all time! Always a hit!!

[@p4wel1sko]

Can Zee like Pandemic more? My question from the very first minute...

[@carrmak]

"Editing wizardry" ;D Great episode!

[@steelman774]

Spot on with Sam saying that about King/Queendomino creators making a game and then months later wishing they had done the thing in their game. This is suuuuuper common for most artistic creations especially including music and movies. George Lucas has a famous quote saying, “Moves aren’t released, they escape” meaning that a director would continuously edit their movie for all time if the publishers didn’t come and rip it out of their proverbial hands and put it out in the theaters. 😇

[@RGcrasyRG]

Thanks, guys! Your top ten is what I really need now.

[@dokterrd]

love your top10s! keep them coming! I would love to see a top10 games with beautifull artwork since i am a sucker for artwork lol

[@BaldMattDamon]

Looked like Kingdomino evolved into Queendomino.

[@denu22]

Sam, I watch most of the things you do and agree with you a lot of the times. But I have been playing Zombicide for years, it's one of our favorite games of all time. The reason being is because it's a great game system, the rules set is simple yet elegant, including the rule you dislike. That rule is mitigated by weapons and character skills and adds uniqueness to the game, in terms of tactics and and asymmetrical abilities of the characters. In short, it incorporated friendly fire without the need for a complicated set of rules. In other words if you don't have the right weapon or a particular set of skills you should not be firing your Thomson machine gun into an area that contains your friends. But if you have the right kind of weapon or the right kind of skill, have at it. You could also just rush in a go at it face to face. We have Black Plague also but mostly play the original, which just keeps getting better and better.

[@Straddllw]

Editing on point in this one XD

[@rightwoke]

Chariot Race is like this for us. The more we play it the more we like it. Simple but subtle complex strategies.

[@Wonderflonium]

Thanks for the video, still love the top 10 format!

[@joelbergvonlinde1389]

Zee: ‘I don’t like eurogames’ Me: ‘huh 🤔’ *checks Zee’s top 20. 10 of those are eurogames* Someone is in denial, maybe?

[@Alittlefruitgoesalongway]

He doesn't say that though, just that if he dislikes a eurogame initially then he is much less likely to give it another try.

[@johngentry2794]

Spot on with Viticulture Tom. would be my #1 for all the same reasons.

[@kerryanne]

great episode, thanks!!

[@vanzetti7]

Oh boy - another top 10 while I work on some 3D projects! Thanks guys :-)

[@13shivan]

If I had one wish,it would be to have Zee at my birthday party, critising negatively the presents I get

[@macaddct1984]

@ 21:45 - The word you're looking for is a backhanded compliment

[@pennywise988]

loving the new special effects! :)))

[@theicalvinist]

Homeworlds is my favorite game in the Pyramid Arcade. It is definitely the most complex, but very rewarding.

[@clipsolo]

My number one is Dice Tower top tens! Getting better all the time!

[@eddieb8054]

I can’t help it! I still love you guys!

[@matthewsumski8992]

Definitely Merchants and Marauders for me. Only because the expansion added more depth and complexity to the game and gives you more options to victory. Still a long game with heavy emphasis on luck of your dice rolls, but more likely to get it to the table thanks to Seas of Glory.

[@headphonecatty]

Maybe for me this game is Star Realms. I got it as a gift from a friend and gave it to that friend and didn’t think about it. Then I later got the app and started playing someone’s copy at game night, and while it is not exactly my favorite game, it’s much higher on my list than before.

[@PowrThru]

I hated betrayal at house on the hill after playing it twice. Never wanted to play again. Then I watched you guys play betrayal at baldurs gate and realized you have to play it with the right attitude. Played it again and really jumped into the silly “B grade horror flick” theme and enjoyed it much more. Not my favorite game still but there’s definitely more of a chance that I’ll actually play it.

[@headphonecatty]

Corey Small I tend to go about Betrayal games like so: “don’t try to win, make stories”. I played Fallout that way too, because I’m not fully immersed in the rules but they have enough storytelling to have fun.

[@CSManiac33]

I played that game to death and half the people don'tget into it that I play with so it has become a big turkey for me.

[@john-paullaflamme1825]

Wait a second...didn't Sam put Cash & Guns on his turkey list? Oh, I guess it was Zee. :)

[@brucekaplan5544]

Great list. For me Machi Koro its luster; I almost got rid of it. Then I got the Harbor expansion. (I play this with the 5-5-2 variant). Now MK hits the table 2-4x per month.

[@thomascocks9136]

What is the 5-5-2 varient?

[@seanbester1465]

lol I still find it hilarious how many people absolutely hated Zombicide for that one rule when it's so easy to just house-rule it. The entire game is meant to be flexible and to allow for players to get creative in making their own scenarios are rules, I just don't understand the kind of mental resistance some people have to doing that.

[@Gnarrkhaz]

I think the undercover cop is the best thing about Cash 'n' Guns.

[@TheWildernessEnthusiast]

Wow, 10 minutes in, and I own most of what you’ve listed lol

[@pascal0206]

Love the editing!

[@Dalmatinac3]

So sad to see Sub Terra there with 2017 publish date yet i still haven't received my game and im a KS backer. Ugh

[@wh3elson]

Dalmatinac3 haha

[@Steve-L]

1. Boomtown: I thought it a decent filler plus game, but the more I played it, the more it has climbed my top 100. It now sits at #10! 2. The Sheriff Of Nottingham: I thought this was a decent game, but one which some in my extended family loved. Then when I got the expansion, it soared up for me. A higher player count is a bonus for me, but the other modules are great! 3. Ark of the Covenant: The Bible version of Carcassonne. I thought it "meh", a sub-par Carcassonne game, prefferring Hunters & gatherers, but the more I play it, the closer it rises to Hunters & Gatherers on my top 100. It has not reached it, but has climbed a good 30 plces. 4. Colt Express: a good game which got incredibly wonderful with the 1st expansion. Sadly the 2nd expansion disappointed me. 5. Carson City: a game I thought similar to Deadwood, but only liked a little more, but the more I played both, Deadwood began to fall and Carson City rose. Nothing too extreme for Carson City, but rise it did. Deadwood has fallen heavily though.

[@xxporchyxx]

Doma Agape yeah Boomtown is great it's also in my top 10.

[@deedd4401]

I just thought dice is stupid and luck when i was starting to explore the world of games .. so i went for the deckbuilders. But as the time passed by, i saw one video of people playing tiny epic galaxies - and i was like ... ok , there's a way to mitigate even if yer roll isn't right. So i decided to try Castles of Burgundy and Stone Age on BGA and now i love the dice , when executed well.

[@GRex7777]

Funny thing, but one of the most powerful Magic decks I've ever touched was a Red-Black Eldrazi starter deck.

[@ZD10house]

I loooove Istanbul! Good pick!

[@joshuaacosta620]

For me, Tesla vs. Edison: War of Currents got soooo much better (and is really a different game altogether) with the Powering Up! expansion. Very much like this game now. In my top 10 for sure

[@rickthompson3843]

Great editing Zee!

[@non-alphagamer3618]

Carcassonne is the game that Sam is getting sick of, but got better. I like his flexibility.

[@dante8077]

Like seeing the editors personality come through.

[@EclecticCamel]

Puerto Rico is actually on my top turkeys list. Played out for me.

[@eddieb8054]

I wonder if rob Oren taught Sam this quantum game.

[@eddieb8054]

I was about to agree with this. Then saw who wrote it....

[@middleclassboardgamer]

I’d like to see this list happen again.

[@TheAlfsterino]

There should be a '10 Most Pointless reskins'. The two I'd have first and second would be King of Tokyo and even worse 'Carcassonne'. I know many people who have not bothered buying anymore Carcassonne expansions because they have the original subtle artwork and can only get the expansions in the bold garish artwork.

[@BLindForger]

For me, after a few plays of Kingdom Builder after buying the base box, I seriously thought about getting rid of it. It felt so bland and boring. I think I went in with the wrong mind set, hoping for it to be a more thinky, complex game than it was. I have to admit, after picking it back up again to give it another shot this year, I've come around on it. I enjoy the fun to time put in ratio. You just have to realize it is light, has a different but straight forward strategy each game, and we love the speed I which it plays. The crossroads expansion helps as well, giving more options and variation per game. For a 20 minute quickie, my wife and I love it.

[@non-alphagamer3618]

When Zee was setting up his #10, I thought he was gonna say Twilight Imperium 3 or Cosmic Encounters.

[@ClockworkWyrm]

That board for Ghost Fighter is essentially a reskin of the board (at least the room and door placement) for the Series of Unfortunate Events "Perilous Parlor Game" board game that no one has ever played but me, haha. They're both by Mattel so I guess it's OK, just lazy.

[@philheaton1619]

King of Tokyo is great. The power up expansion isn't because most of the powers are anemic. So what are your favorite Icehouse games? That sounds like a good list for you7 Tom, even if the others aren't that into the game.

[@benjaminspears8488]

Sam. We love the power up expansion for King of Tokyo too! Have you played it with the Halloween expansion? It’s kind of hokey (with the monsters able to wear or steal costumes), but it’s pretty fun too.

[@cthulwho8197]

Benjamin Spears I took out all the costumes because it just doesn’t match the theme. Played it that way for years and then some friends bought their own copy and were very confused when the costumes came up. They expressed their surprise they had never encountered them before in all the times we played and I had to admit my censorship. 😁

[@benjaminspears8488]

Cthulwho? Yeah. It’s definitely breaking the theme rules, but I find that especially with kids, it’s a pretty fun edition to the game. It is more of a Halloween add on. If we were to take the theme really seriously we would probably have to get rid of the bunny, penguin, and panda too.

[@guillermoz4914]

Another top 10, everyone grab your 🍿 !

[@expandyourgame6534]

At Sam's number 6 there's gonna be a zombicide in space by the looks of the new teaser ,

[@HarukoZ001]

Hahahaha the editing jokes.....much hilarity!

[@hondito]

Zee talking about how much better Elder Sign gets with the expansions makes me think I need to give it another chance. Any recommendations on which expansions are best to get?

[@PickleTheHutt]

It's two years later, but in case someone else has this same question, the general consensus is that Gates of Arkham is the Elder Sign expansion to get. It takes the game outside the museum and adds thematic touches not present in the base game.

[@docnoru]

so when the top ten "why are we still playing this games" is going to drop?

[@marknic]

Couldn't disagree with Sam more on the Cash & Guns art (the old art was cool, stylized, and gritty... the new is.... Munchkin. Enough said.) So, now I want to go back and find out what this passing-the-cards-under-the-table thing was... sounds cool! ;)

[@MG-oj7rr]

Splendor... felt didnt rlly satisfied any typo of "ich" for a game, also as soon as i felt okay now my engine is going, oh game is over, i lost. But the aproach was completely wrong ;) now its one of my fav small games, top3... and i win 8/10 times.

[@HeadCannonPrime]

I STILL feel like King of Tokyo is just themed yatzee. Not that its a bad thing but I just don't get the overwhelming love for it.

[@raccoon0413]

it is.

[@DieNische]

Me too. I find it quite boring. Run, Fight or die is a way better themed yahtzee game.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

What is interesting is that King of New York is the "Queendomino" to KoT's "Kingdomino", yet Sam et al seems to not have much love for that. I prefer KoNY because the boroughs, buildings and units make for a more strategic game.

[@tonkabeanicecream5698]

If you watch their original miami dice review of it they all loved KONY.

[@tonkabeanicecream5698]

KOT is boring as a gamer but for new people into the hobbie it is great.

[@Benderwii]

Lords of Waterdeep. Boringly first try, amazing with the expansion.

[@lewisgoldberg5445]

Zee, the "bad" version of Cosmic was the West End version. Don't think Avalon Hill ever published Cosmic.

[@MeanNGreen17]

Lewis Goldberg They did.

[@JangleSam]

I'd love to check out Sub Terra, Zee, but I'm still waiting for them to ship my backer copy!

[@FabianNeumann]

1. Splendor 2. Village Other than that, not too many changes in the good direction.

[@bigmop9]

Cyclades!

[@XShrike0]

The Titans expansion really fixes the anticlimactic ending to Cyclades? How does it do that?