Top 10 Board Game Mechanisms

In this Top 10 we take a look at our Top 10 Game Mechanisms, mechanics? We don't know. What are YOUR favorite mechanisms in games!? Let us know in the comments below!
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[@pnutbutrncrackers]

I don't find a lot of company among gamers here, but my six favorite board/card game mechanics would be: 1. Subtle/advanced DEDUCTION (you could also call it inference) 2. DECIPHERING (clues, codes, ciphers, riddles, texts, visuals) 3. Deep-level LOGIC (often includes a predictive dimension) 4. DECEPTION (sometimes takes the form of a traitor) 5. HIDDEN MOVEMENT (adds an air of mystery) 6. SUSPENSE (i.e. specific design features or rules that exist intentionally to intensify this feeling)

[@txsportsfreak02]

I haven't finished the video, but I'm guessing #1 is going to be worker placement.

damn, you are good!

[@paulmccaffrey2985]

I think you guys nailed several things--we like to build and we're satisfied when something work well. Brilliant! That truly distills games down to a common element.

[@JosephFlemming]

Love roll and write too. So excited for Imperial Settlers roll and write!!!

[@mjerchull4265]

Great Heartland Hauling Company is among our favorite pick-up-and-delivers. It's super compact, but there's a lot of game in that box, and it plays well 2 player since the size of the area you are driving through changes based on player count

[@zacdredge3859]

So in CCG's, TCG's and LCG's, which is most of my gaming experience, Deck Constructing is probably the right term. I realise that doesn't help distinguish much but they are effectively the same thing in different contexts so it's always going to be a technical difference. In Magic there are two main kinds of play; Limited, meaning your pool of cards is limited by unique circumstances, as in Draft, Sealed and any related Cube format, where you build to 40 cards and can use whatever you open/draft, and Constructed, which covers Standard(current cards) and Modern(cards from all kind) and similar formats where you can use up to 4 copies of any given named card but need minimum of 60. Basic Lands are freely available in any of the above; you need Land to play after all. Drafting MTG boosters is technically still building a deck before you play but drafting itself is a kind of game and is the precursor to drafting in many other games and lays the groundwork for Deckbuilders as well. There's also Deck Upgrading which means you swap out cards rather than adding and/or shedding, which appeared in the Starcraft Board Game by Fantasy Flight a year before Dominion was released. I may be a little obsessed though...

[@Nettersplays]

I think worker placement is my favorite game mechanism too. I have more worker placement games in my collection than any other type of game. I really enjoyed playing Architects of the West Kingdom with you at DTW.

[@Sl1vers]

Favcorite Mechanic: Dice Rolling .... D&D is my soul :-)

[@jenniferhaar7934]

My favorites are Drafting, tile placement and worker placement...I dont know if there is a game that has all 3 of those, but damn...if there is, I need to check it out!!

[@RusselFleming]

A great worker placement (my favorite) is Carson City, which is dripping with theme and instead of a worker "blocking/filling" a space, you can duel for locations.

[@patrickfoster93]

My two favorite mechanisms are probably Deckbuilding and Worker Placement. I recently played Direwild which is a cooperative deckbuilding adventure game. The most interesting element is you actually have some decisions to make w/ your hand of cards other than just playing them out in front of you. You "construct" an animal to assist you in combat out of your hand of cards. It was a fun game and interesting take on deck building. Check it out!

[@kirkbeiser]

My favorites are Deckbuilding and Engine Building because they are very similar. I love the feeling of getting stronger and stronger as the game goes on.

[@magentalizard1679]

My favorite pickup and delivery is Firefly. You should give it a try.

[@JosephFlemming]

Istanbul is the third best game in pick up and deliver on BGG. It’s not only that mechanism but does include it and it is very fun

[@JosephFlemming]

Oracle of Delphi is also a fun one I own.

[@JosephFlemming]

Niagara is the last one I’ll mention... it’s chaotic but fun. Not many games in this category I like but a few are nice

[@gadou95]

There is a good engine building on kickstarter for few hours: it's a wonderful world. It's one of the best mecanism for me too, with deck building and worker placement. Have a nice day les Bro :)

[@davetheandroid5382]

Y'all should try Via Nebula! It's a Pickup and Deliver game with Route Making! (And a bit of worker placement and tile laying)

[@thursty4boardgames944]

Actually MECHANIC is the guy who fixes your car up.

[@philipmoser3784]

Good List. I would attempt to find a spot for card drafting/ dice drafting.

[@marcusleja7133]

Best fusion of Pickup and Deliver, with Route Building: Iron Dragon (2017 edition) from the Mayfair crayon rails games.

[@johngaliettaiii2440]

agree on Worker placement, one of my favorites. Waterdeep, Stone Age, Viticulture. Games like Dungeon Lords and, most recently, Victorian Masterminds, which add more strategy and choice to when and where you place your workers are a great step up.

[@nonameyet9165]

Waterdeep is a great city in the north. The north is a great wilderness area with cities far apart. Visit Silverymoon if you are really in the middle of nowhere. But what I really want to know is what's on the other side of the spine of the world?

[@radioonfire]

Is the Brothers Murph event in the Gen Con event list? I would love to attend, but I can't find details.

[@commandershepherd3467]

I like the synergies of deck building, engine building, and tableau building. Legendary, Tiny Epic Galaxies, and Discoveries.

[@marlonestella9855]

Holy $hiznite.... Never thought of roll and writes like that!! It definitely is a troll of roll and move. Hahahhaha! Good stuff guys! Keep it up.

[@warrengeorge6819]

I think you guys should check out Flow of History by TMG. It's an civ building auction game with a neat mechanic almost like I cut you choose. On your turn you can choose to bid or buy, which sets the price of the card you want and any following players can buy that card for the price you set, it has to go round a full round without anyone buying your card before you can take the card you bid on. If someone buys the card you bid on, you also get rewarded for it, so it's a fine balance of do I set the price high so i get it, or try and snag it for a deal, or bid on a card I know someone else needs, but setting the price so my money doesn't get stuck on that card, or stuck buying the card. It has card driven civ/engine building, interaction, bidding. I think you guys would love it.

[@kristastoddard9874]

I’m all about engine/deck building in all shapes and forms in games; they meet my need for puzzly games without falling into hardcore strategy. My favorite game of all is Valeria Card Kingdoms which at its core is an engine builder with some medieval fantasy theming (it’s a better Space Base in my book). Also, hell yes you should do a top 10 of games that you love but suck at.

[@ielmie]

7. My favourite pick up and deliver is century: eastern wonders but I know your bias ;) so maybe try Steamrollers which has pick up and deliver, route building and roll and write. 5. The difference between roll and write and roll and move is agency. In roll and move, you have no choices, you land where you land but in roll and write, you have choices and later in the game, if you get stuck, you know that you did it to yourself.

[@suevyue]

You may enjoy Broom Service (update to Witch’s Brew)...pick up and deliver with a touch of push your luck. Vincent Dutrait art and Alexander Pfister co-designer.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Broom Service is amaaazzziiinnngggg

[@larryjex215]

Whistle Stop is a good pick up and deliver game with tile laying. And it's pretty quick.

[@txsportsfreak02]

Favorite roll and write is fleet the dice game, favorite pick up and deliver firefly and xia.

[@edmundengland]

I love your energy.

[@eVanDiesel]

Not something I really think about much, but here we go top 5-- 5. Deck building 4. Roll & write 3. Worker placement 2. Tile laying 1. Set collection

[@JosephFlemming]

Odd. Engine building is not a category of game mechanics on BGG. It seems like they call it hand management. ..?

[@DutchYoda]

My favorite Worker Placement is Tales of the Northlands. Never thought about a favorite mechanism. I know auction/bidding and bluffing wouldn't be high on that list.

[@MarinerOrk]

Bastion is a fun fantasy tower defense themed pickup and deliver game. its not rated very well, but I like it a lot.

[@redeyedghost1406]

This video really needs to hit that 500 likes. Need to see that top 10 games we suck at. Oh, and action selection > worker placement (partly because WP is just a subset of action selection).

[@franciscocarranza9941]

KEYFLOWER checks off 5 of your favorite mechanisms. It has bidding, pick-up and delivery, route building, tile placement, and worker placement. It's a fantastic game too!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

That it is! Love this one!

[@viridian8853]

Zee says Saint Malo is basically a roll and write and would be a heavier one for you guys

[@cgrice1971]

Fleet: the Dice Game is a great heavier roll and write. You should check it out!

[@netmommy4]

Loooove tile laying games! But I knew you would sacrifice it for worker playcement *ts :D

[@YTEEsenior]

One of my best worker placement games is Anachrony.

[@redeyedghost1406]

It's constantly fighting with A Feast for Odin as my favorite WP game.

[@valioso78]

you guys should cheak out steamrollers, is a roll and write with pick up and deliver, also fleet the dice game is pretty good

[@jeremyjcpaul]

You NEED to try welcome to dino world! It's a big roll and write 😍😍😍

[@TheBrothersMurph]

We just got it in the mail and LOVED IT!

[@jeremyjcpaul]

@@TheBrothersMurph awesome!! One of my favourite games now!

[@joshestes6427]

MTG is either a TCG or CCG, deck building as a mechanic is Dominion or DC deck builder, while pregame deck building is generally considered to be a collectable card game, or trading card game. I think Trading Card game fits best as you are trading out cards before the game.

[@danielmaniskas7580]

I think you guys would love glenn more for tile laying.

[@ThomasLiljeruhm]

I really like High Society. You should check out the new game QE

[@kevinrivera5554]

Thoughts about Root in terms of mechanics and how well it ranks as a game using those mechanics?

[@RowantarotBlogspot]

Pick up and deliver co-op -- Thunderbirds! Try it. :)

[@linezero9016]

it matters in chemistry

[@craftecowgirl]

Hey! Sent you couple questions thru Patreon, do you get notifications?

[@TheBrothersMurph]

We do indeed

[@nonameyet9165]

The structural capacity maybe.

[@bWOOOPdeWooop]

Incredibly right. Do top 10 games you suck at playing, top 10 mechanics you dislike, next 10 mechanics you do like

[@MisterChris1978]

They both can be used. but, when using: Mechanic is an adjective, mechanism is a noun.

[@mikolajwitkowski8093]

Unless you mean somebody fixing your car, then it's a noun, and that is probably the origin of the confusion.

[@michaelchase2126]

Pick up and deliver/route making. If you can find it, Iron Dragon.

[@JosephFlemming]

Bidding = AWESOME

[@JosephFlemming]

Best for me is Ra but many others are great too. Money, Isle of Skye, and also Byzanz is a super epic auction game. Should be more well known then some of the Knizia auction card games

[@JosephFlemming]

Oh and my, auction is WAY funner than real time games. One of the top mechanisms IMO

[@JosephFlemming]

False. I’ll add more auction gems. Power grid. Biblios. Keythedral. Ys.

[@romainb9174]

Sandbox games ! :D

[@Willow_Ufg]

New subscriber here, hi:)

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Hi Dariusz!! Thank's for the sub brother!

[@maltebrigge]

Real-time pick-up and deliver: Now Boarding

[@benbolyard4348]

What did Suzanne Sheldon do for Roll and Writes?

[@franciscocarranza9941]

For me at least, she introduced me to Qwinto. She ranked it #7 on her Top 50 Board Games list back in 2016.

[@deathrace8287]

Roll and Move..FTW

[@lora6938]

25:38 please tell me name game!

[@elizabethdoney6025]

Yes, let's hear the top 10 games you suck at! 😀

[@squared82]

Niagara is one of my favorite pick up and deliver games. Don’t let the negative nancies sway you. It’s fantastic.

[@Gafweebo]

I could stomach Mike much better if he was himself and not just trying to be Jack Black.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Don’t know what to tell ya pal I’ve been exactly myself my whole life so.... get a stronger stomach? Take some pepto? Whatever ya gotta do.

[@Gafweebo]

@@TheBrothersMurph Yeesh, touched a nerve, I think. You must hear it a lot, sorry I brought it up.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

@@Gafweebo I think what you were looking for was simply saying "I'm sorry" to which I'd say "hey no worries man we're good"

[@Gafweebo]

@@TheBrothersMurph I thought about it, but I decided to go for something a little more facetious.