Top 10 Board Games that SURPRISED Us

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[@hollydenman2929]

Fun fun list! Now i need one "Games i can play with my 85 year old grandmother" She loves games.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

What kinds of games does she like?

[@hollydenman2929]

@@TheBrothersMurph Mexican Train, Clue, Ticket to Ride, Arboretum, Abandon All Artichokes, Rumikub and Cribbage(which I refuse to play with her). She loves deduction games, does not like word games at all(retired math teacher)and has a photographic memory that still works so I rarely win(and can't even cheat because she memorizes the rules) but I still love being with her. Thanks guys!

[@sherd7234]

My Gramma isn't big into games, but she's around that age, and just played Caesar's Empire with me, liked it, and caught on! She also really liked Illusion. However, I can't see her playing some of the ones you've already mentioned (easily intimidated, maybe. She'd rather watch me play).

[@BlamBlamTheMonkey]

I pick up any game that has to do with brewing, distilling, wine making... I'm in the industry so I always just get suckered into them and they are rarely good let alone great. Viticulture being the outlier. However, Distilled absolutely shocked me with how much I love it. My favorite game of the year.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

This is one of the first games we're getting at Gen Con, CANNOT wait to play it

[@neversummer5091]

How you like Vinhos?

[@eVanDiesel]

Get Gin Crafters?

[@StuartHetzler]

My GotY as well. It's a near perfect game IMO. And the production value is outstanding.

[@MrScottx]

The whole GIPF Project series that I overlooked for years. I was not interested in Abstract games at the time. Then one gaming night I tried a couple of them and we had so much fun playing them. I am currently purchasing the few I still need. Amazing how these games have so few rules but with so much depth. They truly are perfect abstract games.

[@billyfriedrich9165]

Great lists, guys. Keep the gold coming!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

We will! thank you!

[@ZEITGUEST]

Mike (right) has the perfect frikn vibe.. Like you mix Charlie Day, Kevin Smith & Jack Black all into one person. LOVE IT DUDE

[@TheBrothersMurph]

These are very kind words indeed thank you!

[@boycebulldog]

"We don't normally like big minis + campaign games" made me react like Michael Scott pounding the table yelling "THANK YOU," especially as so many other big channels go gaga for them!

[@bibleboardgames5199]

Thanks Bros! I thought the KeyFlower bidding overshadowed the theme. I like the village and resource building in Keyflow better. I have Pandemic Legacy Season 1; Waiting for my game group to have the time to play it. Paint the Roses surprised me when you mentioned it before.

[@JonoNZBoardGamer]

I rarely get surprised by games that I buy as I research a decent amount before purchasing anything... But 2 games stick out for me. My City - simple, quick polyomino game by the good Dr Knizia that I knew would be decent, but it just hummed so nicely with my wife and I when I picked it up on sale this year! More than I expected it to. The other is Clans of Caledonia, I bought it as a step up in complexity to Agricola with the hope it would be a hit for my wife I but knowing it might be too much, it is now my #1 game of all time and gets played reasonably often as my wife also requests to play it! Both of those games exceeded expectations of "it will probably be good" to "holy heck these are amazing games!"

[@Walkdogger]

A couple of websites have a new Horrified up for pre-order, namely Horrified - Greek Monsters. It's apparently coming out in october. Can't wait! "On the Isle of Atlantis, excavators have uncovered Pandora’s Box... and opened it, unleashing Greece’s most notorious monsters and siphoning power from the heroes of the realm! The Gods have called on you as their avatars to trap these beasts once more. Work together to defend against Medusa, Cerberus, Minotaur, Chimera, Siren, and Basilisk. Save the Isle of Atlantis before terror overwhelms you!"

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Just saw this! So cool!

[@williamfaughnan6298]

Loved the race announcer impressions during the Long Shot segment. Lol

[@2frelledminds]

The biggest positive surprise for me, at least recently was Azul. I didn't really expect to like it. I played it on BGA to basically mark it as played and I really liked it. It is one of the few games that I have acquired after playing on BGA.

[@lisahasegawa2674]

Remember Our Trip is such a sweet and amazingly good game! I really love that one. Those two designers *just* put out a new game together called Come Sail Away and I expect it to be equally delightful. I also really enjoy Nyet and was lucky to find a used copy dirt cheap at one of my FLGSs. :)

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Oooo super lucky with that pick up of Nyet!

[@BobbyReichle]

As the person in my board game group who buys games, this is a hard positive list to fill out. I usually don't buy games unless I think they will go well, so it's tough. Ones that surpassed my expectations though: Godfather Corleone's Empire, Imperial Settlers Empires of the North, Wits and Wagers, Super Mega Lucky Box, Concordia, and Franchise.

[@pixxelwizzard]

I'm the person who buys all the games, too. Since I only buy games I think I'll like, the only surprises I ever get are disappointment. Been quite a few that have let me down recently, like Carnegie, Lost Ruins of Arnak, and City of Kings. They're not bad games, they just weren't for me, and that came as a sad surprise.

[@toddboughn5168]

I absolutely love Concordia. One of the best, smoothest mechanics I've ever played.

[@BobbyReichle]

@@toddboughn5168 Just taught Concordia this past weekend. Everyone loved it. It's still so good.

[@TheBigEB2589]

I bought paint the roses after seeing it get so much love on so many of your videos. I didn't get the deluxe version because I didn't want to spend almost 80 on a game I wasn't sure I'd love and man am I kicking myself. This game is so amazing,it's so intense, I absolutely love it. I've played it at two players and I've played it at five, fully expecting 5 to be super easy to win cuz we have so many whims to guess each round and the in the end we did win but we were only one wrong guess away from getting our heads chopped off. Fantastic game!

[@ashrael37]

Fun video, and I love the "I'm a Masterpiece" shirt :)

[@ddraug6096]

Mikey! Hope your ok my man you sound rough! One game that has really surprised me was tiny epic western! I was really surprised as i wasnt sure id enjoy the poker mechanic! But i loved how you could manipulate that with worker placement!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Yeah he lost his voice :( We went from like 70 degree heat to 106 for a weekend, and then back to 70 and we think it just jacked his voice

[@prophet2173]

Long Shot is such a fun game! One of my favorite roll and write games.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

It's so good!

[@puffbronfman03]

Gotta be Inis for me - never been a big fan of area majority, dudes on a map games, but that game just works for me so well

[@minch25]

One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Railroad Ink, Cryptid, Power Grid, Marvel Dicemasters, Notre Dame

[@olanmills64]

Monumental was apparently at GenCon and it's apparently hitting retailers too after the reprint (the first print only went to KS backers). I backed both the original game in 2018 and the new expansion in 2020. The original campaign deliver was super delayed, and it seems the latest one is too. We have no estimate even of when our games will be shipped (backers who got the new African Empires expansion and/or the base game and previous expansions reprint).

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Ooof yeah delays are a bummer. Hope you get your copy soon!

[@mikaeki5245]

Recently experienced a surpise with Space Station Phoenix. I really hate games where you have to play on other players tableau, because there's always the problem of seeing their stuff (small iconography) and constantly going through every player (I really had a miserable time with Keyflower [one player even intentionally hid his spaces under stuff]), so during the rules brief when I discovered this had that mechanic, I was ready to jump ship. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the mechanic in this one, mainly because there wasn't a central board, the best option often was to use your own ships and the fact that I could clearly see the ships others had and quickly scan them. The actions were very clearly color coded, there wasn't a ton of different kind of actions/special actions (just the main 5 with minor bonuses) and the turns were quick. I recommend, a real surpise (the cover and name are also super generic).

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Totally agree I usually not a fan of having to pay really specific attention to other players areas and things but here yeah iconography is well done and there’s really not that many different types of actions so it’s easy to figure out what you have going on across the table! Not an easy thing to achieve

[@JJ_TheGreat]

0:52 Ah, shocks… I thought there would be both positive and negative surprises on this list! 😂

[@TheBrothersMurph]

nope we like to keep it positive :)

[@youvelookedbetter]

Interesting list! For Werewolves, we started asking everyone to tap on the table or make some kind of easy-to-make sound, so that it was harder to tell what people were doing around the table. Obviously one or two people may make it really obvious what they're doing, especially if you have a larger group with barely any space between each person, lol.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Yeah and that's why we prefer Werewords, it just takes all of that out of it

[@youvelookedbetter]

@@TheBrothersMurph makes sense!

[@jurds216]

I almost wrote this same comment. That’s the only way we could not cheat😂

[@thomascocks9136]

I made a fanmade expansion for Twilight Inscription if that interests you. Makes it a bit more interactive, adds secret objectives, a mechanism to engage with everyone during war, a campaign and a few other goodies

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Very cool! You should post that to bgg if you haven’t already

[@thomascocks9136]

@TheBrothersMurph it's the most popular "variant" 😀

[@jr637-1]

If you liked cooperative deduction, I might also recommend The Shipwreck Arcana. One of my favorite coop deduction games that leans very hard on logic.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

That’s a great one very much agreed!

[@amdhow]

Love that game!

[@Sl1vers]

OMGOMGOMGOMG !!!! SQQUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!! Nick you knew exactly how excited and joyful I was going to be when you put Monster Hunter on this list, didn't know ?!?!?

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Lol I knew you would be happy about that one!

[@PHYLOgg]

Some retail stores have Monumental. A local shop near me has like 6 copies.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Niiiiiice

[@lukepickles5099]

Final Girl was the surprise hit for me. I knew I liked solo games but I didn’t think I’d like a solo only game. I also do not particularly like horror as a theme but oh boy was I wrong! Also Mike, there is a retailer in the Uk that sells Monumental and expansions, just FYI 😉

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Ooooooo really?

[@lukepickles5099]

@@TheBrothersMurph yessir. I’ll send you a link if you like?

[@marccote8544]

Monumental is awesome !!! One of our favorite right now

[@nathanmckeehan8190]

I love Sync or Swim! So fun!

[@Verwunscht]

Solution for not noticing that one or more person are moving: Everybody at the table has to make noises and move their arms in front of them. We always do that in this kind of games. We never know who the "bad" guy is because it is so much noise and movement all around you. :)

[@MikeAlger1964]

Funny, when I saw the box I initially thought the name was Nyeti (a play on words indicating a Russian Yeti). 🤣

[@TheBrothersMurph]

We would definitely play that game!

[@gcanceko]

Mike: Did you see there’s a Horrified Greek Monsters coming out??

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Yaaaaaaasssssss can’t wait!!

[@tc3p]

Nice list! I feel like I'm one of the few that likes Ecos. Do you play with any house rules?

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Not that I can think of. We play pretty much straight up

[@darbyl3872]

😂 I watched this last month, and recently started searching KZbin (for an hour or two) to find the game. I couldn't REMEMBER the name. Now, I just stumbled back into this video, and there it is! REMEMBER Our Trip. 😂

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Wahoo!

[@darbyl3872]

@@TheBrothersMurph Now if I can just remember that "T" game, not by Tascini. Thetinwasiyu?

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Tawantinsuyu yep!

[@JonathonV]

Great list! Here are my top 10 pleasant surprises and why: 10. MERCHANTS COVE. Given that Root was my only experience with heavily asymmetric games, and I didn’t like it, I wasn’t expecting to like Merchants Cove like I did! 9. PRINCES OF FLORENCE. I played the ugly old edition and wasn’t expecting an auction and polyomino game to be so enjoyable. I ended up getting a copy and it was a hit with my group. 8. WAYFARERS OF THE SOUTH TIGRIS. I’ve never disliked a Phillips/MacDonald game, but never has been a contender for a favourite … until Wayfarers came along. It feels very different than Raiders, Architects, or Paladins, but it’s really good! 7. BIVOUAC. Given that this game is a one-time print by first-time designers, and given how light it is, I didn’t expect to be as charmed by this game as I was. It definitely has some elements that could be balanced and/or fixed, but it’s cute and fun. 6. SCYTHE. Who knew that a game with mech minis, area control, and a heavy theme could feel so Euro? 5. AZUL: QUEEN’S GARDEN. I’m fine with all the Azul games, but this one didn’t follow the pattern. It’s much thinkier, it has many components, and even the trademark plate selection mechanic is different! It’s great if you’re not expecting Azul! 4. MOONRAKERS. I saw this at a convention and it didn’t look interesting (though it is pretty). Later a friend bought a copy, and she and others who know my tastes told me I’d hate it. But I actually didn’t! I thought it was a pretty original game! 3. HORRIFIED. Crossover! I don’t watch movies and hate IP-based games. I was tired of co-ops. This one was pleasantly entertaining! 2. ACQUIRE. A Hasbro game from the 1960s isn’t supposed to be fun for a modern gamer! That’s just not how the universe works! 1. GOLEM. The garish cover, the spiritual theme, and the Potion-Explosion-esque marble selector were enough to convince me I’d hate this game. But after some play I found it to be a fantastic combo of worker movement and fun engine building, with a pleasant crunch to it. Way better than I expected!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Great list and thank you for all the extra info on your experiences!

[@stephanielalancette6823]

Azul Queens garden YES. It suprised me si much. Such an awesome game. The best of the whole series

[@sonofsol2869]

Just checked and Monumental is Available on Zatu in the UK with both expansions available. Looks like im going to have to order

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Ooooooooh

[@rikhavok]

I love Ecos!! Best De Clair game ever!

[@JJ_TheGreat]

0:29 Oh, so these are only games that you like more than you thought you would… But not games that surprised you the other way: Games which you enjoy less than you thought you would like them (disappointments). Do you have a video on your Top 10 Disappointing Games? If not, you should do one!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Yeah these are all positive. We honestly don’t like doing negative videos really but we may do a disappointments list some day

[@joshestes6427]

So got to say Frogriders was a surprise. Much better than I expected!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Now we want to play it!

[@joshestes6427]

@@TheBrothersMurph funny thing I totally added it to an order to get free shipping because it was 6 bucks at the time, and thought it was the size of the game Friday because it was a small picture on the website, but turned out to be a ticket to ride size box.

[@lukeanzilotti9090]

I’m still trying to get the 3+ player plus version of twilight inscription to the table have only played it solo and I think people are afraid of it because it is big for a roll and write and in the twilight imperium universe

[@TheBrothersMurph]

This was on the short list for games that surprised us, we love that game

[@BrooksSoljah]

looking at my unplayed box of monumental...hmmmm

[@BoardAllTheTime]

Well I’m looking up King of 12 now. My biggest surprise of recent time is Iwari. I’m so angry that it’s so hard to obtain because that game is insanely good.

[@BoardAllTheTime]

I have since tracked it down and absolutely love it!

[@meaghanobrien]

I love Nyet! I feel like it never gets any love.

[@lucduchien]

The games that came out of nowhere and totally surprised me were Search for Planet X - Blew me away with the system of deduction. Spicy - For some reason, having to guess what the person is lying about totally revolutionizes the BS game. Massive Darkness 2 - I don't like dungeon crawlers or big mini games, but this one connected with me in a powerful way.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

I hear you on Search for Planet X, I was not expecting to like that one, let alone love it

[@wicked8576]

I was super disappointed by Monumental, that's why I sold it after just one play.. it started with the box not having enough space to hold sleeved cards (sleeves were sold along with its kickstarter!), and even though I liked the mechanism, it fell flat for me.. :(

[@TheBrothersMurph]

ah dang!

[@kruskisking2062]

Tumult Royale. It has a spinner. I judged hardcore. But it’s so good.

[@beaw806]

A Question why do you like patchwork doodle more than Other games That are Tetris like. It looks a lot the samen like project L are others wit Tetris tiles

[@TheBrothersMurph]

We don't like it more than those, it's probably not in our Top 5 polyominal tile games. This list is about games that surprised us, i.e. we weren't expecting them to be great and yet they were. I was expecting to like Project L, and the other ones. Hope that clears it up!

[@kyleduncan2648]

That coffee cup looks "Luke warm"

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Boom roasted

[@jerrodwarr9706]

I maybe play about 30-50 new or "new to me" games a year and as you stated, most games fall pretty well within your expectations. But there always seems to be just a couple that come out of nowhere and totally shock you in the most awesome and surprising way. It's one of the best moments in gaming!

[@pixxelwizzard]

We blast white noise during the night phase of ONUW and never have a problem.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Interesting!

[@blakwngbrd]

Did you ever get to try Rise of Tribes though? I think it might surprise you too. It's fantastic, one of my favorites!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

To this day we have not tried rise of tribes. But I still want to!

[@blakwngbrd]

@@TheBrothersMurph I'll teach it!

[@pixxelwizzard]

I have Mavel United on my shelf of shame, and hearing that it plays in just 30 mins makes me kinda sad. At least I still have Marvel Champions. :P

[@OneUniti]

I love love love Long Shot Dice, but it is NOT a game for everybody. My family is hella polarized on it. I think you’ve got to have your teach really down for people who are not familiar with complex games with so many options, lol.

[@jaanccgamer]

Nice video

[@captainspoof101]

Nyet sounds fun!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

It was a blast!

[@MidwestMeeple]

Watching 🎉

[@alexanderpopov3587]

DC United - no way they do that! ;)

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Hahaha

[@daem0nfaust]

I'm not much into party games, so realizing I enjoy Poetry for Neanderthals and Insider is a surprise, mostly about myself. I was also glad I liked Azul since I thought it's gonna be too abstract for me

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Poetry for Neaderthals was very surprising, def could have made this list

[@thewitchef]

This was a great video! Please do the opposite: games that looked great but were a disappointment.

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Ha we may some day but we like to keep stuff positive

[@erril8285]

👍

[@codym6376]

Videos with stories about experiences make better videos!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Totally agree!

[@stevenamamoto585]

Economic games? Nope. Area control? Nope. Smartphone Inc? Yup!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

That game is a banger