Top 10 Board Games of 2019 by Man vs Meeple

[@annamatthews3551]

Jeremy, I agree with your comment on Oros regarding the designer's passion for his game. I LOVE backing new designers. We have had so much fun with a game called Cultivate that came from a small wonderful group. We just want support the new people that really put themselves out there for our board game enjoyment. Man vs Meeple is a joy. Thank you for your hard work and Happy Holidays to the crew!

[@meeple]

Thanks for that comment--so nice to hear. And yes, if you haven't seen Brandt's videos for his game, he really knocked it out of the park on all fronts.

[@diegogarciacampos4849]

My top 5 is: 5 - Pax Pamir 2 4 - Crystal Palace 3 - Maracaibo 2 - Cooper Island 1 - Barrage Awesome games yours also.

[@windycfanintegra]

Diego García Campos Barrage needs to be on more top lists for ‘19.

[@ormhaxan]

1. Mythic Battles Pantheon 1.5 2. Black Angel 3. Maracaibo 4. Claustrophobia 1643 5. Wingspan

[@wedgeex]

Agreed completely on Marvel Champions. Great lists, all! My top 3 is likely: 3. Court of the Dead 2. Tainted Grail 1. Marvel Champions

[@greytoeimp]

tell me how to play court of the dead well, lol?

[@sebled1976]

My 3 best games of 2019 are : 3 - Wingspan 2 - it's a wonderful world 1 - paladins of the west kingdom Thanks for this video...

[@christofferthormannjensen3371]

My top list of 2019 games that I've tried (Order could easily change with more plays) 1. Wingspan 2. Paladins of the West Kingdom 3. Cartographers 4. Tiny Towns 5. Empires of the North 6. Parks 7. The Taverns of Tiefenthal

[@tonybowers9490]

Thanks for sharing - Great lists! I don't own, or play, as many games as you all, so I don't have a top 10, but I do have a top 3: 3 - LOTR: Middle Earth (need to paint the minis) 2 - Wingspan (enjoy the solo mode) 1 - MC:LCG (enjoy solo and group play, by far my most played game, most excited about what it will become, I hope they have expansions like LOTR:LCG and hopefully one is Guardian of the Galaxy with a storyline)

[@Andural69]

5 court of the dead 4 in the hall of the mountain king 3 Noctiluca 2 It's a wonderful world 1 Rurik dawn of kiev If I play #4 and 5 more, I think they will go up

[@Kirk-Dennison]

Thanks Sean!

[@Moodman002]

Great List guys, I am overjoyed to see Marvel Champions getting so much love. That is one of the few games that I have purchased this year and I have really enjoyed it.

[@charleslatora5750]

I found Wingspan in a thrift store. $8.00!!!!!! Gonna open box today n see how complete. Darn big heavy box. I haven't had anything this big or heavy since the old SPI Campaign for North Africa (long gone).

[@Sean-or1bv]

Another homerun video guys. My wife and I's top 3 this year: 3. Paladins of the West Kingdom 2. Aeon's End The New Age (maybe an expansion is cheating, but we play this game A LOT with the new campaign system!) 1. Marvel Champions

[@christaggart5687]

Really? No compiled list at the end of the video?

[@gertdelen5993]

Top 5 of 2019 games for me: 1. Pipeline 2. On Mars 3. Barrage 4. Escape Plan 5. Crystal Palace

[@pawnstorminreno]

Pipeline is horrific.

[@joegengler316]

So! A lot of the best games that I played in 2019 for the first time are from previous years, since I don't always chase a lot of the new stuff down (or, say, I pre-order Watergate before going to Gen Con because I don't see a 2 player game making it to the table AT Gen Con, and games cost more at the con so I tend to try to limit my purchases to stuff we'll actually play in the evenings while there.... and then my July pre-order, along with the other things grouped in that order sit in limbo until 2022). THAT BEING SAID, I played around 15 - 20 games this year that I really liked, which feels like enough for a top 10. THEY ARE: 10. Run, Fight, or Die: Reloaded -- Playing this game reminded me how fun a super simple yahtzee style King of Tokyo game can be. I've played it with a couple different groups and it's been a lot of simple lighthearted fun, with a bit more to do than KoT and still a very fun theme. The 2019 version of the game looks great and has an enjoyable solo mode that I've played a bunch of times and will play a couple more times before just sticking to the main game. 9. Sierra West -- This game is super unique, and feels different from a lot of other things, which is very appealing. It's like a deck-builder that doesn't care about what other deck-builders think of it. Nice theme. I haven't played it with the same people more than once so I keep replaying the apple module, but I'm really looking forward to trying the other ones and the solo mode. 8. Point Salad -- This clicks for me in the same way that Fantasy Realms did. Ultimately, I like Fantasy Realms more than this, but this is just easier to introduce to non-gamers and get played. 7. PARKS -- I have to be honest. I've only played this once, at Gen Con, and we missed a rule. That being said, it worked for me REALLY well. It's very relaxed and casual while still having some very nice mechanical resource conversation stuff, and as everyone always says, it LOOKS great. Looking forward to getting it played more often (and correctly, although the rule we missed didn't ruin it), and trying out the solo mode. 6. On The Underground -- So, maybe not technically a 2019 game, but whatever. It was new to me. I love public transit and subway/train lines. I have a (completely unused) college degree in geography, where I specifically focused on transit planning stuff just because I find it so fascinating and useful. So the theme just hits me right. On top of that, I love games where the board state dramatically shifts from the beginning to the end. Lines you set up go from epic to useless and back to epic again as the game progresses and it's super fun to me. 5. Hadara -- I like drafting. I like 7 Wonders a lot. This felt like adding some freshness into the things I like about drafting and 7 Wonders. And I LOVE the way it looks. Still haven't figured out what the best strategy is... but I will. 4. Lockup: A Roll-Player Tale -- This is a cool worker placement game that feels different than a lot of worker placement games and I really like it. But the reason this is number 4, is that 2019 is the year I started playing a lot of solo variants of games and this is by far my favorite solo mode. It changes the game up enough so that the worker placement works, but still has the general feeling of the main game. 3. Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North -- I really liked Imperial Settlers. And this came along and completely replaced it for me. I LOVE that the deck-building is dead. I like what the boat stuff adds (and what it doesn't add, which is a ton of complex rules). I love the worker placement actions. And again, year of the solo modes. This has one and I liked it a lot. It almost feels like one of those training modes in a fighting video game where you have to pull off a bunch of really hard special moves and combos to complete challenges that teach you all of the depths of your character. 2. Twice as Clever -- I loved Ganz Schon Clever. I was skeptical of learning to score it and play it differently. But after I really dove into TaC (playing about 25 games of it while watching the MvM Origins stream), I can't imagine going back to the original. Even though you do roughly the same thing every game, there are so many approaches to take to score really well in this one, and different ways you can adapt to your dice rolls. So very combo-y goodness. 1. Tapestry -- I feel like I hear more about people being disappointed with this game than anyone really continuing to sing its praises, but I... I don't know. I just don't share the viewpoints of a lot of people. I love the way the different track strategies (which are based on what other people are doing, what Tapestry cards you get, and what faction you use) vastly change up how you progress through the game. I've played this game a decent amount with other people but have played the solo mode a TON (second only to Lockup). I haven't found a faction I don't enjoy yet. There are a few I will ALWAYS pick if I get them in my initial draw, but I'm looking forward to trying them all. I've had rounds where I've focused strictly on tech, strictly on the map, strictly on the income board, and all combinations in between. I love how easy this is to teach, and obviously I love the way it looks. To me, this kind of feels like a really big high budget version of Ganz Schon Clever and I love it for that. This is a top 10 of all time game for me and I can't wait for expansions!

[@jerrodwarr9706]

2019 was a really strong year; so many great games.

[@J-Wheeler-G]

I might be in the minority but I think that M.Champions is overrated. It was good (not great) for me. My top 4 of the year are : 4)It's a Wonderful World 3) Taverns of Tiefenthal 2)Wingspan 1)Trismegistus

[@andymcguire237]

Hype killed Wingspan for me. When I got around to playing it, I was expecting to be wowed beyond belief. It's an okay game.

[@ExitParade]

Yeah, it's pretty average. I find that to be the case for almost all Stonemaier games, consistent overhype for only decent games

[@blueskiesrivers]

I think that's probably what makes Wingspan so good... it does average better than just about any game I've played. And, it has a lot of cards and expansion potential.

[@andymcguire237]

@@ExitParade Gonna have to disagree with you due to Scythe, my all-time favorite game.

[@kjpugh]

Skulk Hollow was up there for me in 2019.

[@xarmanhsh2981]

My 3 best: tainted grail , tainted grail, tainted grail

[@danpalmer7676]

3....Black Angel 2...Terramara 1...Cooper Island.... 2019...great year for Euro game enthusiasts

[@CB-yh3db]

YEEEES!!!! No more top 5 lists for each person. We want to know everyone's top 10. Well, at least I do.

[@alexandrelimoges3507]

Bah... Marvel Champions. I am overwhelmed by all this Marvel stuff.

[@ChromaTick360]

Marvel Champions was also my number one game of 2019.

[@pirecrompir]

Wow, no Tapestry or Black Angel on any of the lists!

[@KarimTheilgaard]

1. Nemesis 2. Brook City 3. The Awful Orphanage (with Rules 2.0)

[@anab0lic]

Surprised not to see Barrage on any of your lists.

[@Atlas-FM8]

3. Run fight or die reloaded 2. Paladins of the West Kingdom 1. Marvel Champions Marvel Champions is good. I can’t stop playing it. FFG will be making a lot of money off me.

[@kentcarlisle5660]

Yep, just pre-order every expansion directly from FFG to ensure you get it in a timely fashion... Free shipping with all pre-orders...

[@charleslatora5750]

Horrified!!! YES!!!!!!!!!! Best played while watching/listening to old horror movies.

[@ModernPlague]

Hey, that's a good idea!

[@MuttnchopPiper]

My favorite games of 2019 3 - Star Wars Outer Rim 2 - Wingspan 1 - Marvel Champions

[@glowingturtle9673]

I hope they make expansions for Horrified, so much potential.

[@GirlyGamer-BoardGameGran]

I wasn't overly interested in Watergate (much like Kira with Wingspan lol), but after hearing her talk about it I'm going to try and check it out. I'm in for Dragon Wingspan too, that's a great idea! Horrified is my number one most wanted game (can't get it here yet). Great video guys.

[@deanmuramoto4796]

Still figuring out my top 10 but these games are probably in it: Marvel Champions, Lord of the Rings Journeys into Middle Earth, Res Arcana, Horrified, Taverns of Tiefental, Corinth, Imperial Settlers Roll and Write, and Arkham Horror Final Hour.

[@raymanunleshed]

It's crazy how little crossover people in the hobby can have. 1. Pax Pamir 2e 2. Dune 3. Lotr: JiME 4. Marvel Champions 5. Tiny towns 6. Three-Dragon Ante: Legendary Edition 7. Skulk Hollow 8. Unmatched 9. Ticket to Ride: London 10. Vast

[@prosperohall9551]

We're thrilled you enjoyed our Horrified game enough that it made your #1, David! WE WARNED YOU

[@steveleamont]

When black angel was released everyoneeee seemed to be going on about it but here, like other lists I have seen, don’t mention it. My top this year 1. Wingspan 2. Parks 3. Horrified 4. Tapestry

[@stefansibbes2548]

I have the game myself, but someone else might be confused why you praise Glen More 2 for its amazing visuals and then show us the old version (which does not hold up to 2019 production standards at all). Nonetheless another great video.

[@RicoCordova]

Tastes in games on this channel are shifting. Wingspan that highly rated? I thought it was average, and it was my wife's biggest disappointment for 2019. YMMV There were only 3 2019 games that stood out as remarkable, for me: 3. Chocolate Factory 2. Tapestry 1. Barrage I didn't play *that* many 2019 games; but this year has been mediocre from my experience. Horrified was both my wife and my worst game of 2019. What is going on? haha

[@todd7753]

Jeremy where did Black Angel fall for you? Just surprised it didn't make your list.

[@BogartFace]

Happy New Year, MvM! Something I think would be interesting to talk about is compare your Top 10 games of 2019 with the ones you were anticipating the most. Did they hold up to your expectations? If not, why?

[@christopherwilson5617]

I didn't play a ton of 2019 releases, but of the ones I played my top 5 were: 1. Paladins of the West Kingdom 2. Horrified 3. Wingspan 4. Tiny Towns 5. Lanterns Dice I also enjoyed Cartographers, Nagaraja, Rurik: Dawn of Kiev once each. I enjoyed them all a lot, but, with only one play, don't feel that I could rank them as my tops.

[@willbeplayin]

Pax Pamir 2nd ed., Maracaibo, Paladins of the West Kingdom.

[@stephenferzetti9672]

I like horrified a lot.... but i wish they would re-theme it to Jurassic Park. It would be an instant buy.

[@caroljohnson3686]

Wingspan definitely gets better the more you play, and the expansion is great. The only game I've played more is Dice Throne in 2019. 😁

[@lucasmohallem8136]

I was expecting to see ryan name barrage, it seems right up his alley. Man, what a game...

[@saschaklein7423]

Oh man, i Love This List Event so much, wish you all a Great Healthy satisfying 2020 ! My Game of 2019 is Machina Arcana 2 Edition, really unforgiving but beautiful Game.

[@cgulde1]

So surprised my lists lined up with David so much. I thought it would be Jeremy. Great video

[@Madchap66]

Great list and happy to see top 10 for each of you. Very interesting to see the different rankings.

[@Jthomas22a]

Didn’t get to see the insert for Marvel Champions.

[@jeffmackey2740]

Great list and descriptions as always. I'm left wondering a few things: 1. Are your 'honourable mentions' published somewhere? 2. Wondering if any of this year's top 10 have changed your all-time top 10 or 20 lists? 3. Surprised to see a few games missing from all the lists (specifically Pipeline) So I'm curious if there are some highly rated games from 2019 that you didn't get a chance to play? Hope you guys have a great 2020. Thanks so much for all your work - it makes us enjoy the hobby that much more.

[@mkitten13]

Now I desperately want a dragon wingspan!

[@Mentat1231]

Black Angel is my favorite from this year, and I'm a little surprised it didn't make at least Jeremy's list, with him being such a Troyes fan. But, I also loved Empires of the North and Awkward Guests. I need to try Maracaibo and I'm waiting for my Marco Polo 2 pre-order!

[@NorthStarGames1]

I love seeing Oceans in the background! :-)

[@olloplays]

Ahhhhhh, I really need to get Clank! Legacy. I just need to convince my boyfriend to stop asking to play Wingspan so much.

[@lokihve6591]

All aboard the Marvel Champions game :D But in all honesty for Jeremy I thought Tainted Grail will be his first, because he was praising it so much last year

[@icarusmustburn]

Nice top 10 collection! You almost have me sold on trying Marvel Champions! 😂

[@Sheriff_K]

I just got into Arkham Horror, so I’m avoiding Marvel Champions.. 😅 but maybe I shouldn’t.

[@mija3016]

Thanks for the great list! I really need to check Crystal Palace now. :)

[@charleslatora5750]

I went down the card buying hole with Yu-Gi-Oh, thanks to my kids(all adults now). Expansions scare me - financially. Just don't want to buy things to fix a game that maybe needs help. Guess I made up for not having a baseball card collection as a kid. lol. Was buying 2-3 boxes every time new cards came out. Still got 3 bins in garage with tons of card folders n lots of decks in various stages of completion. Maybe my granddaughter(5) will want to play, someday..... great list. Subscribed. Maybe "fix" wasn't the right word.

[@readilium3432]

Expansions aren't to fix broken games, they are to breathe new life into a game that you've already played a lot.

[@charleslatora5750]

@@readilium3432 on several occasions I have heard THE trio of game reviewers on dice tower say how much better a game is with an/the expansions, i.e. the game was meh/ under performing before expansion(s).

[@readilium3432]

@@charleslatora5750 That happens too, undoubtedly. But its not the idea. Look at mansions of madness...just one example. Anyway, its your money and your choice but I have a lot of expansions I really enjoy

[@rontalkstabletop]

Marvel Champions is your number one? I knew there was a reason I liked you folks 😄.

[@Xhawk33]

Thanx so much for sharing your thoughts guys, was a great video to watch. Heres to more great gaming in 2020.

[@TheWalkingBad]

I don’t know why FFG hasn’t made an expansions for LOTR either!

[@alicia1465]

I think I need to give Taverns of Tiefenthal a chance now! Looks interesting! Can’t wait to try LotR JiME. I didn’t play many 2019 releases. I think the game of the year for us was Everdell.

[@CaptainGamer347]

Great list guys!!

[@leehutchings9069]

I always seem to be a year or two behind in playing new games. I haven't played a single game from any of your top 10 lists...

[@Vascariz]

1 has to be Tainted Grail

[@justinmarsh6903]

2019 was a really good year. Have enjoyed The Magnificent and Lorenzo the Card game. Looking forward to trying Watergate.

[@kruskisking2062]

David and I have such similar tastes.

[@hydra2019]

When they say Euro games, what does that mean?

[@creepyshadow]

Wonder if the gameplay style of Watergate can be converted into the Cuban Missile Crisis, still two-player...one being Russia and the other JFK

[@frantz2000]

Can't tell if this is a joke or not, but have you seen 13 Days?

[@Sheriff_K]

What’s a “shadow box”? (Other than in boxing.)

[@phunkysai]

Great lists...thanks peeps!

[@danielmcmillan7655]

Fantastic lists! My fav has gotta be Res Arcana.

[@christianorozco8590]

What happened to Gary Chumbley?

[@coyotemoon722]

I haven't played Wingspan :(

[@Br0kenM0nkey]

I don't think it's fair to have games on the list that have yet to release in retail, such as Marco Polo II. That's going to be a "2020" game for most.

[@meeple]

Hopefully someone like Z-Man picks it up and prints it for the US!

[@waltercuje]

Black Angel?

[@cklester]

I'm wondering if I should try Marvel Champions... hmmmmm...

[@Plague1479]

They need a duplicate of Mavel Champions but DC, then I would buy it 😁.

[@raodvanlaontotaoke4993]

Guess it's something American. Marvel isn't that popular here. Only batman is really popular here, but that's DC.

[@tcp1623]

I am so disappointed in Ryan. He has been part of MvM for so long - and still, he is not a North Face advocate ;)

[@HonestYeti]

Wingspan has definitely been the most played game in my collection this year, it's just an easy teach and easy to get the table. On the flip side of that, with more plays of On Mars it may become my favorite of 2019....but, it's a tad bit more of a challenge to get to the table often.

[@chadstilson8804]

I find it very interesting that IPs populate a large amount of the games you guys picked. Do you think IPs will be a new trend going into 2020?

[@alejandromendoza4236]

Beautiful Kira.🔥🔥🔥 LOTR Journeys...best of 2019 IMO.

[@Sheriff_K]

I haven’t played Wingspan.. 😔😢 i feel attacked. 😝 jk

[@logiclust]

guess I'm not a gamer, I don't own a vest

[@c.w.2000]

Or you have heat in your basement (that was Jeremy's explanation). Wouldn't it be cool, though, if members of a gaming group had team shirts like in bowling?

[@fernandomagana2167]

Andrew Yang loves D&D!! Any YangGang in LA?

[@wrany72]

too many games........ amazing to see an entirely different set of games from different game reviewers

[@Poriand]

I need to try marvel champions!

[@kentcarlisle5660]

Yes, yes you do... My second favorite game ever...

[@richardsaunders9214]

I like marvel champions too, but I still think Sentinels of the Multiverse captures the feeling of being a superhero better.

[@ChRiStRiDa7]

I'm still playing Marvel Legendary. Am I missing out?

[@lpsoldier78]

ChRiStRiDa7 You are. Absolutely! Marvel Champions destroys Legendary.

[@icymallard3]

I have Sentinels and based on how much I've been hearing about Marvel Champions, I assumed it would be pretty much a better experience by a pretty big margin. I was 100% ready to buy Marvel Champions to cannibalize Sentinels. Interested in more of your thoughts on this.

[@lpsoldier78]

Edwin Pun I have both Sentinels and Champions and Champions is definitely the better experience. Iron Man FEELS like Iron Man. You have to start as Tony Stark and build your suit, all the while the villain gets to advance their scheme. Then once built enough you can go to Iron Man and wreck face. Spiderman just feels like you’re playing Spiderman with the Spider Sense, Web Shooters, and Spider Tracer. The other heroes are all similar in feeling. Plus, no tracking all kinds of plusses and minuses with little tokens or whatnot.

[@RMarchiori]

MC is a little bit cool stuff because some simple mechanics but SM regards much more of comics spirit. Mc is very overrated.

[@jendndre]

Finally🤣😂🤣 not impatient at all🙋‍♀️

[@hermesayala8632]

Mmmm I get you have to play a lot of games but ranking games into your top ten with less than 2/3 plays seems sus....

[@bootman199]

I’m unsure why MVM keeps comparing LotR JIME to Imperial Assault!!!! It’s nothing like it. JIME is a copy of Mansions of madness 2nd edition. Compare it to that. Imperial assault was based of the Decent system and it’s nothing like JIME. The only thing that is similar with Imperial assault and JIME is that they both have an app. I thought these guys knew what they were talking about!

[@meeple]

I wouldn’t say JIME is much like Mansions of Madness either. All 3 games share a lot of the same DNA but are very different.

[@ajtame]

I just can't do wingspan, the game might play amazing but the theme just 100% turns me off.

[@Coffeemaker1978]

Bummer. I don’t understand why on earth you love Marvel Champions so much. It good granted, but not the best of 2019. I think your love for Marvel has slowed your senses 🙂

[@paulmayer8782]

I am first!

[@wbeytel]

First reply to the first comment!

[@aaronschulz8712]

@@wbeytel first reply to first reply.

[@wbeytel]

@@aaronschulz8712 you are a kindred spirit. I've always found these "First" comments to be ridiculous if you are older than 12.

[@aaronschulz8712]

@@wbeytel same lol

[@captainron7120]

First comments are the best. You rock, Paul!

[@stuartshannon8561]

this is a perfect example of how game groups are incestuous. "Oh that's your fav game that's mine too." So much crossover shows not a lot of originality. Yet another reason why I don't watch this channel.

[@meeple]

stuart shannon surprisingly we don’t play games with each other a lot, and to be 100% honest despite the great year in gaming, there are very few games that I legitimately “want” to go back to even if they are good games. What I will support of our lists in contrary to your comments is that we don’t have to be different from one another to be original. We can like the same games, or not, and still have our own opinions. We could have come up with a single list like so many others do, but we wanted our own voices on the games we enjoy, it’s disappointing that you feel it necessary to quell personal opinions.