Top 10 Area Control Games

[@madifinley7018]

Great video but I missed seeing the game art/box.

[@thankukorea]

Ya I miss that a lot.

[@robertsell6151]

Very true, I listen passively and I will peek over when something sounds interesting. I'm used to seeing the box and titles.

[@Rikerslash]

Yes please put the art and the pictures inside the videos. I almost stopped watching, because they are that important in my opinion.

[@rockxhero]

same here.

[@thankukorea]

agreed

[@BGBarbarian]

Tom should give guidance to the cohosts if he's going be so hung up on his definition of area control.

[@corytoews5222]

I wish I could give this comment more than one thumbs up.

[@hugocristiano928]

I guess it is pretty off topic but does anybody know of a good site to stream new movies online ?

[@lukewyatt9912]

@Hugo Cristiano I use FlixZone. Just google for it =)

[@jaxxmathew7620]

@Luke Wyatt yea, been using FlixZone for since april myself :D

[@hugocristiano928]

@Luke Wyatt thanks, I went there and it seems to work :D Appreciate it !!

[@Jayd3z]

Rodney, Tom, Steven (xxx triple overlap, xx double overlap) 10 Twilight Strugglexxx, Bootleggers, El Grandexxx 9 Small World, Revolution, Medina 8 El Grandexxx, Lancaster, Hannibal 7 Cyclades, Liberte, A Game of Thronesxx 6 Carcassonne, Mission Red Planet, Blood Ragexx 5 Blood Bowl (Card Game), Dominant Species, Amun-Re 4 Forbidden Stars, Wallenstein, Nexus Ops 3 Blood Ragexx, Age of Empires III, Twilight Strugglexxx 2 A Game of Thrones, Twilight Strugglexxx, Struggle of Empires 1 Kemet, El Grandexxx, War of the Ring

[@dasnack]

Having Rodney on anything makes it way better, but it doesn't compensate for the lack of editing with pictures of the games.

[@scottgrummert3312]

so happy to see Rodney with the dice towers top ten

[@WatchItPlayed]

This was a fun thing to do :) Something you won't normally see from me!

[@yacoubhs]

+Watch It Played it was kind a strange seeing you rating games, but i liked it 👍🏼👍🏼

[@zomorion9183]

I liked it :)

[@zomorion9183]

Also, I loved your picks for top 5 in this list. You have my kind of taste in area control games

[@dapamico1]

Watching Tom internally freak out and try to politely tell his guests their lists are garbage... this was one of the most entertaining lists I've watched. Thanks!

[@WatchItPlayed]

It was fun for us to watch it up close too :)

[@SEdwards2881]

+matthlowder it's hard to tell if Tom purposely shakes things up or if he really is just kind of a jerk, either way it's entertaining

[@Walter.Kolczynski]

I think part of the problem is Tom does Top-10s all the time, so he has had to develop very strict definitions to keep all the lists distinct. Steve & Rodney aren't constantly producing Top-10 lists, so they naturally have looser guidelines.

[@Steve-L]

I thought the same thing. Some personalities, make distinctions naturally as well.

[@TylerDeLisle]

I think the problem is more that Tom always self imposes these strict definitions, but never seems to tell anyone else what those restrictions are.

[@windbane69]

Tom, you should have said non-war game area control because yeah, most war games are area control.

[@Mrmace51]

I enjoy these top ten a lot more if you give a visual of the games your talking about.

[@giovannabetancourt3064]

Me too!!!! I'm new to gaming so many of these games I've never played so looking at the contents, play pieces, boards etc. just adds to these lists and keeps me interested. I usually won't watch the whole list if there are no graphics... I stopped watching

[@TylerDeLisle]

I agree, I kept tabbing over to see the games they were talking about and was sad to not see a picture, or usually even the name on the screen. Wasn't a video guy hired thanks to the successful Kickstarters?

[@whitenoise8668]

So basically, that list was Tom's top 10, and 20 choices he doesn't agree on...

[@dpotter2113]

Got a misplaced audio cue at 4:16. Also, no title cards?

[@trevorcummins6657]

It was like getting the hurry-up music during an Oscars speech.

[@Walter.Kolczynski]

Just messing with Buonocore

[@BlimpMcGee]

ikr? I was expecting Zee and Sam to tackle them right there

[@geektome4781]

My wife thought it was a conspiracy to drown out Steven.

[@logicguy37]

I agree with Rodney and Stephen, war games do have an area control element to them most of the time, so they shouldn't be excluded.

[@Steve-L]

I think Tom wanted to exclude them, because otherwise it would have been top 10 war games. I could be wrong, but feel that it is something to this effect.

[@relentlessrock]

what happened to the pics of games you used to show while giving the countdown? Also no written lists appeared at the end of the video! :(

[@natelinhart114]

I actually agree with Tom for the most part on his arguments ........ except for Small World. That is definitely area control/majority.

[@marcoschaub8978]

I would agree that it's area control, but I don't think it's area majority

[@johchadow]

To take over an area you just have to have a majority, so I'd agree with Nate.

[@robo3007]

Yeah you get points for every area you control... I would have thought that's practically the definition of an area control game.

[@landmarkforum3652]

Dogs of War is one my favorite area control games, in part because the area control mechanism is unusual in that multiple players contribute to the outcome in an area.

[@WatchItPlayed]

That's a good one! Rats, should have had that on my list!

[@TylerDeLisle]

Love Dogs of War! Funny I never really thought of it as an Area Control game, but I guess it is.

[@ABRAELDENO1]

Do the top ten games that could use a legacy version!!!

[@Steve-L]

I think Tom discussed this in a Q&A.

[@toddhunter123]

It is pointless to go through a whole top 10 with people who don't understand the concept of the list. Bring back Sam! ... Oh wait...

[@WatchItPlayed]

Ha! :)

[@JohnCorley13]

Watch the origins video ; Sam doesn't know who Wolfgang Kramer (El Grande) is.

[@rigelrafuse2044]

I agree with Tom when it came to misunderstanding of what area control board games are. Stephens' top ten was more of a "here's a list of games with regions on the board." Great to Have Rodney on though! Fellow Canadian.

[@AlexCachineroG]

first thought: everyone seems to always get these lists wrong, when it's clear they're supposed to be limited thought experiments. second thought: wait...tom just probably sends really vague e-mails and doesn't clarify what he's thinking. which is half the fun, i suppose. but there'd probably be less confusion if he went into more detail before shoot? or people just don't read. ;p

[@SandyPaulus]

I used to play Smallworld as one and only area control game. But then I play Mission Red Planet, Cyclades, Kemet, I immediately fell in love with the genre. Still though, so sad that Smallworld did not make it that much into the top 10. It is an area control for me because some races do have some specific agenda over specific areas and other races can block them from taking advantage there. Hey Mr. Rodney, glad to see you here 👍

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks Sandy, was fun to drop by :)

[@PacifierMusic]

Blood Rage is area control

[@TrevorJust]

Hannibal: Rome v Carthage was an excellent selection

[@bryanep]

I'm surprised no one had Tigris & Euphrates on their list. Now that's an amazing area control game.

[@glenjust630]

Wonder if any of them considered Tammany Hall in this Top Ten?

[@micah4797]

Yeah, if it were my list, Tammany Hall probably would've been my #1. Amazing game.

[@SilverReaper7]

Don't see how it didn't make any of them, easily Top 5 area control of all time.

[@BrianLiming]

No game art/box? No summary list at the end? No game name even? Ahem, not good enough. We're spoiled.

[@vuel]

Weird sound effect at 4:18-4:20.

[@endgame]

Achievement unlocked.

[@andymesa3307]

This is basically what it would be like if I was in a Top 10 list with Tom.

[@corvus418]

Disliked for lack of visuals. A lot of what is said means nothing when we have nothing to see or go off of. Also, inserting random music at 4:13? Terrible video.

[@Lawtubes]

Rodney! Love you man!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks Larry :)

[@sim9771]

Yeah, it is really hard don´t like someone like Rodney. He is always smiling :)

[@kevin3003]

Tom needs this type of dynamic more often. Having people outside his gaming group pushes him more. Not to mention this is the first top 10 in ages where it wasn't full of games I've heard a hundred times before on other Dice Tower top 10 videos.....just sayin'

[@trevorcummins6657]

An ultra-rare peek inside Rodney's brain for some game opinions! Love it. Now that the cat's out of the bag, can we expect a regular Watch it Played segment where Rodney and Pep shout game rankings at each other until someone flips the table? Fingers crossed.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Ha! We plan to keep the table flipping (and shouting) to a minimum :)

[@dandurkin9735]

This list began cracking when Tom questioned Small World being an area control game (Whaaaaa?!). Then, he grimaces at Cyclades, yet includes Mission Red Planet. I "raged out" and shut it down with the Blood Rage disagreement. This list is a mess.

[@keithhart7464]

A game that was just recently reviewed fills a spot on this list: World's Fair 1893.

[@Steve-L]

Where on your top 10 would you put it?

[@keithhart7464]

+Doma Agape I would put it around 4

[@dougmann777]

Not only are Rodney’s instructional videos excellent, but he has good taste in board games too! Kemet is also my favourite area control game - it has a rich theme and interesting mechanics: the power tiles, battle cards,the monster miniatures, points for attacking but not defending (i.e. an anti-turtle-ing mechanic). I also rate Game of Thrones and Blood Rage in my top five. But I would suggest having a go at Cyclades with the Titans expansion added - it challenges Kemet for the best area control game. If you add the Hades expansion, you get all the full Greek mythologicalexperience, but perhaps a bit too much complexity. See my review here: eyeofthelynx.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/a-ludic-odyssey-a-journey-through-the-cyclades-system/ A nitpick with Tom on the definition of area control - the reason why not all war games are area control games is that many of them have hex maps. Hexes are not “areas”, but fixed amounts of space overlaid on areas. A hex in a wargame could overlap a river with flat land on one side and a marsh on the other. A game with irregular provinces based on geographical features and cubes/units fighting for control of these provinces, e.g.Small World, is an area control game. So some war games are area control games, some are not. Risk is, Squad Leader is not. The reason why I want my scorpion-led troops to evict the followers of Sobek from a temple area in Kemet is to control the AREA and get points.

[@HenrikForsberg]

I like the Top 10 lists, but there is ALWAYS some problems with definitions. Usually it's Sam who goes bananas with some wild definition but seeing Tom face palm when Blood Rage is on this list just makes me think you need to be better define your lists, you have to stop making definitions up as you go!

[@marcoschaub8978]

I agree. The problem seems to be that they never sit down to discuss the definition of the topic at hand and let everybody come up with their own and then discuss on camera. This sometimes makes for entertaining videos, but some not so useful choices on their lists

[@BillGrant3]

I can't tell if it is intentional or not... It didn't seem that hard to provide a few sentences of context. The debates are even more pronounced on the audio podcast.

[@FragRevel]

Area majority is area control but area control is not always area majority

[@RaduGaston1]

10) Cuba Libre 9) Wallenstein 8) Mexica 7) Empires: Age Of Discovery 6) El Grande 5) Byzantium 4) Liberte 3) Tikal 2) Dominant Species 1) Twilight Struggle

[@dustbustus27]

Glad to see Rodney on the dice tower!!

[@kustomkure]

Best area control game is Inis. Get it and forget everything else. You are welcome.

[@philsheep9926]

Buonocore!!!!!!!! And the Canadian invasion. Get them on more, hahahaa, loved this vid. And that rarest of things - getting opinions of games out of Rodney =9) So, a point about the discord on what's an area control game: we had two people agreeing nicely, and one inserting strife - looks like you may be the troublemaker here, Tom =8)

[@mathieumartin9344]

I haven't played most of these, but I'm surprised Tammany Hall didn't crop up anywhere.

[@rockxhero]

What's w/ the overlapping voice @ 3:47 & music @ 4:16?

[@janos150]

I think area control is an overall, general term for a style of game, area majority is a far more focused, and narrower subset of the genre. Like fiction and sci fi. In fiction you would get everything from romance to sci fi. Area control gets you everything from war games to area majority. .... and Medina, apparently?!?

[@SuperWolfkin]

sounds issue around 4:20-4:40. I laughed at it

[@juegosen30segundos53]

Tom, Blood Rage is so area control, don't fight against the obvious!

[@VideoGameTakeOut]

Any video can be made better by adding some Rodney.

[@davegildersleeve4316]

I know Tom dislikes this game, but our game group loves Gangster from Mayfair. Kind of old-school art, but love the take that element. We've played it for years! I'm no t sure if it's even available anymore.

[@ConditionallyUsed]

Will "Guilds of London " that just got released impact their lists?

[@douglaspearson1647]

I had Rodney's #1 pegged. I saw play through. I do not know about Steven's Hannibal as I thought that is more of a point to point game. My favorite Area games are war-games Breakout Normandy (1 of Jason's favorites) & Turning Point Stalingrad. BBG ranks them as Area Impulse and when I purchased they we called them Area movement. Maybe these do not fit here but there are no hexes. And Tom you are mean to Steven. I liked his choices.

[@Minotaure1]

Really liked that. What about a top 10 of civ style games next?

[@josephengelhardt]

I love that Tom's refuting of the fairly rational, well presented explanations of why the games on the other lists ARE area control basically boils down to "well, I don't think they're area control."

[@CloudBuilderMetba]

Looking rather Lumberjack, Rodney. Also I'm so glad to hear Rodney rate games. Watch out, it's a slippery slope.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Not for this lumberjack :)

[@dregen77]

Great Top 10! I find I very much agree with Rodney's choices! I was happy about Kemet, Blood Rage, Carcassonne and, especially, Blood Bowl Team Manager! This game seems so underrated to me. Great choices! I guess I'll have to try Forbidden Stars and AGoT 2nd Edition as soon as possible!! :)

[@tifpo33]

My list: 1. Imperial 2. El grande 3. 1960: The Making of the President 4. Endeavor 5. Lancaster 6. A Study in Emerald (1st Edition) 7. Shogun/Wallenstein 8. Rattus 9. Yspahan 10. Samurai

[@Bluestrikekurt]

I guess Area control is to broad a term to make a small list on and Tom was more talking abour Area influence :-) Tigris and Eufrates is also something I would expect to pop up on area control, even Cosmic Encounter even tough BGG does put it in that category. One could even reason worker placement is area control :-)

[@DasBreitschwert]

I like rewatching those videos, especially this before/after Top 10 War games. It's a war game, it is about war.It's an area control game, because it is area control. Tom being on opposite sides of those issues in these two videos.

[@Straddllw]

I agree with Rodney Smith and Stephen Buonocore more on what is area control than Tom's narrow definition. Great list from both of them whereas Tom's list was kinda meh (except Dominant Species, Dominant Species is greatness!!!) So funny watching Tom freaking out though ahahahaa

[@scottbeard1895]

knew kemit and cyclades would make Rodney list.

[@juanovo89]

These two guys are cool, but nothing is comparable to the trio of Tom, Zee and Sam

[@jtandkt4jc]

Did you change out camera? It seems like the video quality is the best it's been in this video! I can really see the disdain for Buonocore from Tom in crystal clear HD. ;) LOL!

[@benfoster6715]

I guess strategic/politically-focused war games could be considered area control, but anything in the tactical realm wouldn't be.

[@Aeradom2000]

As soon as I heard this list, I thought Small World. Then turns out that isn't even suppose to be part of the list. No I am confused.

[@FunkyTao72]

No love for Alien Frontiers? Truly a top 10 candidate.

[@Steve-L]

It made my list.

[@weakbomberman47]

Mine too! 😊

[@kdhlkjhdlk]

They may have had some strange picks, but bloodrage *is* area control. Surprised to not hear *Smash Up* or *A Study in Emerald*. And many war games don't reward your for controlling areas at all.

[@jeremysnyder8848]

Omg! At 32:01 Rodney drops the F-bomb. You'd never hear that word over on Watch it Played!

[@WatchItPlayed]

My publicist will be issuing an apology :)

[@KabukiKid]

Yeah, this is an amazingly rare insight into Rodney's head. heh We already knew he loved Kemet, but it was great to hear him also talk about other games he enjoys. Great video! :-D

[@joshuaschulz3897]

Rodney looks like a scrappy lumberjack who specializes in shimmying up trees to saw off the top. It works. I heartily approve... Tom looks like Indiana Jones' shifty younger brother, who likes to collect artifacts if people hand them to him or he cons them away from people. Buonocore looks like... the head of a board game publishing company...

[@WatchItPlayed]

And we're all wearing red!

[@joshuaschulz3897]

Well played Rodney. Well Played. P.S. Thanks for teaching me Euphoria.

[@Liz290895]

Yes! Rodney finally admitting some of his favorite games! Thanks Dice Tower for making it happen!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yep - the Dice Tower got the scoop :)

[@cerstenfrank8674]

The predecessor of "Small World", "Vinci" has a much higher area-control aspect.

[@mackthemoose529]

Tikal and Akrotiri would have made my list along with some of the ones they mention here.

[@matttinnell6874]

I feel like Tom is being kind of mean. How can you be mean to Rodney

[@crystalthompson3682]

Where does Conquistador fall in your estmation? If don't recall right off, A MID- 70 'S Game put out by SPI. Thought Age of Empires looked like a re-issue when got a glimpse of the boards, but 40 plus yrs, so just asking.

[@PacifierMusic]

I'm starting to think Tom thinks he coined the phrase "Area Control".

[@jwspiker]

curious if guilds of London would make anyone lists now.

[@dago6410]

If two different people cannot have pices in the same space it does not seem area control to me. Thats why war games dont fit.

[@cursivecurses]

I think Rodney meant asymmetrical when he said asynchronous

[@WatchItPlayed]

I think he did :)

[@Guyver78]

curious if tom would count Cosmic Encounter as an area control game.

[@Evereghalo]

Same and Zee will hold Tom's feet to the fire a bit more. Loved it though.

[@benlauson555]

I would be nervous to partake in this list, Tom is ruthless. Stephen handles himself well for nearly being bullied.

[@KBWrecker]

Small world is definitely area control imo

[@carnivorouswolf]

The lack of Chaos in the Old World is a stinkin' travesty!

[@Jeff321]

Cosmic Encounter is area control because you control planets and need to control 5 foreign ones to win. So why wasn't it on Tom's list? /sarcasm

[@eXyliad]

What about Smash Up? I consider it a fun area control/majority game, but don't know if it would have been contested as one by Tom or anyone.

[@WatchItPlayed]

That qualifies for me. I think Tom would agree. Might not make our lists - but fits the category, I think.

[@Eeeville]

el grande blood rage twilight struggle ginkgopolis alea iacta est web of power carcassonne bridges of shangri-la ys blood bowl

[@pardontherob2082]

Tom looks like he would not be fun in this video. He's so argumentative.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

No Web of Power/China? I guess it's too simple/abstract compared to El Grande...

[@sarahgreen5453]

Awkward!!! Tom why didn't you wait until after the video (before would have been even better) to have an argument about what kind of games you wanted on the list?! Couldn't watch this to the end. All the interruptions were so disrespectful.

[@thedicetower]

It may have looked disrespectful, but that's the fun argumentative style that we do on all our top ten lists, especially with me and Mr. Buonocore. Watch our other stuff, you'll see!

[@MeanNGreen17]

Seems like most games are area control lol! Tom you really need to help guide people so they know what the list is actually for.

[@BoscoBlood]

Rodney Smith you are great, Kemet is also my fav!

[@MarioEnriqueAg]

You need to make an agreement about definition of the genre before you prepare your lists. Always the same issue with this kind of videos.

[@robo3007]

They should just go with what it's categorised as on BGG imo.

[@marcoschaub8978]

Just out of curiosity: Is Las Vegas an area majority game?

[@Steve-L]

Lords of Vegas is on my list.

[@marcoschaub8978]

Not Lords of Vegas. Las Vegas.

[@lebonzo]

I totally think it is. You get paid by controlling each area. Awesome one too! I bet you'd get one of those ohhhhh I didn't think of that reactions!

[@Lyraeone]

Alien Frontiers, cmon.. Epic area control! Love it.

[@MyMav88]

This was super entertaining- even if it’s more than 7 years old!

[@jimmzik3097]

What's up with this budget video? No pics of the games or ending lists of everyone's pics. Left out = no one here likes the game but RISK started the whole "Area Control" games. I can't count hos many times I've heard "Oh, so that game is like RISK?" And where was SCYTHE? Only the most popular Area Control game in recent years! Also left out was RUNEWARS and if I was going to choose one Martin Wallace game for Area Control it would be EMPIRES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

[@thedicetower]

Also, the video is five years old.

[@eVanDiesel]

this video was seriously lacking shots of the game when the hosts were talking. it really took away from it, as if it's was only filmed to be enjoyed by people very familiar with the games talked about

[@kennyb3325]

I think this sets a precedent that might allow a Tom, Rodney, Rahdo top ten list! I think Rahdo talked about that in a recent podcast, and I thought it was a good idea! My favorite area control might be Chinatown, although I am interested to see if people agree that it is an area control game.

[@kennyb3325]

If not that, then Power Grid.

[@WatchItPlayed]

I beak all my rules on other peoples channels, but you won't see me doing this on my own content! Was fun to do it here though.

[@bruno29356]

Best area control board game for 2 players?

[@destroyillusions4222]

Twilight struggle

[@DanneJaha]

Avalon Hill Civilization 1982, pump it up with Advanced Civilization expansion and you have some (a lot) of fun (hours) ahead of you.

[@WylliamJudd]

Yes, all war games are area control games. Area control differs from other mechanics such as bidding and worker placement because vicinity matters. Not all area control games are created equal. El Grande is a better game than Risk, largely due to the fact that you don't annihilate the other player's pieces, and so it doesn't have the runaway leader problem Risk has. But, Risk is still an Area Control game, because I can prevent you from attacking some of my regions because I control bordering regions. As Stephen mentioned, including all the hundreds of war games on the list doesn't matter, because they still wouldn't make your list...they're just not as good as the types of area control games on these lists.

[@Steve-L]

1. Mission: Red Planet: Was lucky to be a part of the beta testing. I enjoy this game a lot. Needs more plays! 2. Alien Frontiers: For awhile this was in my top 10, it currently is my #11. Great game, love the expansions! 3. Belfort: This sort of replaces Pillars of the Earth for me, although that game did not have area control, that's why this is better, it has more mechanisms. 4. Lords of Vegas: Only played 3 times, but have won each game. I enjoy the game quite well, but doubt I would buy it. 2 people in my meetup have it. 5. Ark of the Covenant: Since Carcassone made it into the video, I will add this game. It is the Biblical Carcassonne. 6. Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers: I have yet to play the original Carcassonne, but have played this and liked it. 7. Age of Empires 3: I agree with Tom on this, fun game. 8. Enemy Chocolatier: Simple game, not elegant, but was fun. 9. Star Wars: Rebellion: Not sure if this counts. Controling areas is 2ndary, but has great advantages for either side. I will include an 11th game, to make up for this possible's exclusion. 10. Murana: Definitely liked it, and needs more plays (but not in a hurry), but a fairly fun game. 11. Memoir '44: yeah it's a war game, my favorite war game, and in general don't like war games much. So this probably shouldn't be on the list, since Tom seemed to want to exclude them. But these are all the area control games I like and have played, that I could think of. As for others listed: Blood Rage: I really want to play this game a lot! El Grande: a game I still want to try.

[@edmundbloxam2714]

What's with the burst of music at 4:20? Trying to shut him up?

[@EamonBurke]

This is the best top 10 I've seen in a very long time. When I started following, I imagined and hoped all the top 10s would be like this one. Congenial, insightful, faster paced (could even be shorter), and interesting. As for the definition: Grognards lose their minds when you call Small World a wargame. Including them as Area Control is a handy way to refer to those tabletop games, especially board games, that aren't wargames but give us filthy casuals the same experience. As far as drawing lines for mechanics, there shouldn't be lines defined around a mechanic until that mechanic has become a different mechanic. If you don't do that, you end up splitting hairs, you have a million exceptions and edge cases, and hamper innovation. It's Set Collection until It is Trick-Taking. It is dice combat until it is diceless combat. It is hidden role until it is cooperative. Just because Trivial Pursuit isn't roll-and-move in the same way as Monopoly, that doesn't mean it isn't Roll-and-Move; and by the same token, Outfoxed! is also roll-and-move. From a design perspective, those three are the same thing, with different results patterns: one is linear, another is a bell curve, the other is that wierd inverse bell curve that pushing your luck gives you.