Top 10 Games of 2018

Tom, Sam, and Zee give their top ten board games of 2018 - LIVE!
Check out the friendliest conventions on Earth!
Dice Tower Con! - www.dicetowercon.com (July 3-7, 2019)
Dice Tower West! - www.dicetowerwest.com (March 6-10, 2019)
Dice Tower Cruise! - www.dicetowercruise.com
Buy great games at www.gamenerdz.com/
Find more reviews and videos at www.dicetower.com

[@SunnyNeuroshima]

We need a Top 10 Tom Vasel Outfits video.

[@Nain1982]

that would be funny

[@KajornvutOunjai]

Sunny Neuroshima really essential video

[@szlachcic87]

I hope until then he will learn that you should cut off the label from the outside of the sleeve.

[@NowUndefined]

Someone let watchmojo know

[@classicsubmarineguy5477]

in the hip hop gaming community we like to keep the labels on the outside of the sleeves so it looks like we just stole it from the shop

[@ariksternberg5567]

Happy holidays boys - thanks again for the great conversations - see you next year :)

[@ambroselutwyche3987]

Hi Zee. It was great to meet you at PAX last weekend. You signed my box of random games and made it lucky, so thank you!

[@tamarad9659]

Thank you for bringing old music back in the end!!!!

[@chunkycornbread4773]

Hahaha that look Tom has during Sams long winded tutorial of patriots and red coats was hilarious. @ 32:40

[@akira2512]

Tom Vasel is the Lady Gaga of boardgaming.

[@silverfang6668]

...or Elton John.

[@andrewfurey2999]

Nore Elton than gaga he's less controversial

[@hansrenders80]

Keep up the good work and thx for getting my game room filled

[@eddieb8054]

Wow. Zee you prep for these top ten really well. Thanks. And thanks for all the work you put into creating your sense of comedic timing. I find myself agreeing closely with Mr. Healey, but Zee you are hilarious. Thank for all the laughs.

[@scyldscefing3913]

"Paying back loans is for Elves." That's the funniest thing you've said all day.

[@linusottosson5425]

Putting the TV to good use. I like it! 😃

[@serenacgarcia7177]

LOVE when you guys do a top 10 together

[@donnab6391]

Pre-ordered Solenia based on Zee's review. Can't wait for it to come out.

[@wroot_lt]

I like how Zee's dice guy on TV is constantly pranking Sam :D

[@rickhaasnoot8909]

Thanks for yet an amazing video guys :) Curious how you think The Edge Darkness and LOH relate to each other and which one is the better game. I missed the first one on the lists this year.

[@wilpuriarts5895]

Great lists. Root seems very good, but I don’t know if I can get people to learn it. Nightvault is a must, because I want to finally set up some 4 player games!

[@brianburke8823]

I wish Zee had discussed how Cryptid ranks with his other favorite deduction games. Love your Top 10s, guys!

[@BossTweed4455]

How come you guys stopped showing the game set up or some of the components while talking about them? Is it difficult live? I noticed some of your other lists also stopped doing that. Its very helpful to keep watching the video instead of looking at the full game elsewhere while the list keeps moving! Love you guys though. Brilliant content in every single way. Thanks!!!

[@markstang9901]

They can edit that in later when it's not live. Live makes that type of stuff much more difficult.

[@lucainvernizzi9715]

With the amount of content they out out... I am honestly surprised they manage to do any editing at all... For real... Half my subscription feed is dice tower stuff xD

[@markwensnahan2128]

@@markstang9901 Much more difficult? With modern editing tools? I don't think so.

[@markstang9901]

@@markwensnahan2128 There is a difference between editing videos after they are shot, and inserting media / overlays during live recording. This was a live recording, and putting in cut-scenes, media overlays, and other stuff is much more difficult than editing the video after the fact.

[@ddolgov]

Second that. Also feels like the video was rushed in editing, with awkward pauses and such. Even if the video was recorded live, it was obviously edited afterwards.

[@wroot_lt]

Zee's dance at the end. He is on fire :D

[@CaribouOnPluto]

I love Solenia !!! I'm glad you mentioned it !

[@eddieb8054]

We didn’t know how good we had it. I got to go to dice tower retreat. Such a great year.

[@jkledis]

I recently found your channel and have enjoyed watching - is there a place where I can find a list of the different types of games and what they mean - such as area control - dungeon channels - not sure that was the term - can you tell I am a Newbie - but I love board games!

[@Seedy_Sea]

Patriots and Redcoats sounds nearly identical in mechanics to Secret Hitler

[@hondito]

It really does. I feel like at least two out of three of these guys would really love Secret Hitler but I don't know if they've played it yet.

[@gijoe250]

Anyway we can see the short list as well? Good reference for board game research

[@theblart4196]

My votes are going for Teotihuacan, Coimbra, Architects, Brass, and Rise to Nobility

[@robertaustin6302]

Architects and Coimbra for sure. Still need another play or two of Rise to Nobility.

[@kirakosmos]

Rise seriously suck. I mean all we can do takes same action regardless of the location apart three or four locations.

[@brantshepherd9387]

Got Architects a couple of months ago and I love it. Picking up Raids this weekend for $5 and Monolith Arena for $10. What what!!

[@drxsmetalhippie]

Tom I recognize all your Iceland photos between the numbers. I was just there too!

[@javiertalay]

your makeover guy actually made a magnetic version of azul in his segment in one of your shows some time ago

[@alecj3454]

"Thats BO- LOG- NA" -- Tom Vasal Not sure why i thought that was so funny.....but i did.

[@sebastiendujardin3921]

Yeah ! Thank you so much Zee for #2 !! Number 1 next year with Black Angel 😁😁😁

[@franciscodelreal3207]

So from the sounds of it there should be a live stream of ROOT gameplay with Tom, Zee, and Sam.

[@saraluikert3403]

Hey, what happened to the pictures of the board games themselves as each is introduced? I really miss that aspect of the Top Ten!

[@SocratesRR90]

Tom looks like the board game Willy Wonka 😂

[@CapriciousIntent]

New goal in life: be the Willy Wonka of board games.

[@beartoes2002]

Does that make Sam and Zee his Oompa Loompas?

[@SocratesRR90]

Ansley Freeman obviously

[@pcuimac]

SocratesRR The other two guys look .. ordinary.

[@deathtone1614]

Great video

[@Kindlesmith70]

Some of these I've not heard of. Time for me to start looking into these Most recently added to my collection has been: Ghost Stories (I've had it for the longest time on my ipad and wanted a physical version of it) Cerebria: The Inside World Bios:Genesis 2nd edition 44 boardgames (still awaiting more from post and kickstarter) 30 card games (still awaiting more from kickstarter) I don't bother keeping stuff I don't like, nor ever play.

[@Jukejointjeze0n]

Street Masters: Rise of the Kingdom is such a great game and a travesty that it didnt make at least one of your lists. Hands down its my most played game this year, with all player counts. You guys should really give it a second look.

[@dannykdri]

Hmm, given Hail Hydra was Tom's #47 of all time, seems it should have slotted in around the middle of this list. Was this an accidental omission?

[@AccioPadfoot12]

Can't find Underwater Cities on Amazon or eBay - any suggestions?

[@johnthomas4567]

Going to review Underwater Cities soon?

[@therightside7462]

John Thomas is it even out? I looked on 4 different sites

[@markusschmidt9260]

A hybrid between Worker placement and Action selection sounds like a hybrid between Ameritrash and Thematic game to me.

[@BernieTime1]

Glad Rise of Tribes made your list, it's really a great game.

[@tobein123]

Top 10 video request: Top 10 engine building games!

[@rogerx1258]

Rise of Tribes is so underrated. Glad Sam gave it some love.

[@GuitarLite]

Hi all, so I love video games. Played a lot of board games as a kid and would like to get back into it. Bought arkham horror a few years back because the lore sounded awesome, but was hard to learn and dont have many friends that were willing to try and learn with me. Watched a few videos and excited to give it another try. Anyone have any suggestions of two player board games that might be good for someone in my situation? Dont know which niche if any particular style of game that I enjoy unfortunately. A few for me and my girlfriend (who has zero patience). We have enjoyed Catan and train to ride. And a few for me and a friend who has much more patience to take time if slightly more difficult, but also was the one who failed miserably with me trying to figure out Arkham. Thanks in advance!

[@GuitarLite]

Cooperative or head to head is not preferred although will probably pick up one or two of each.

[@jessicajudge9326]

Azul, patchwork, century golem, beep beep, happy salmon, Carcassonne, small world. For more complex games, but still good for beginners: castles of burgundy, arcane academy,

[@GuitarLite]

Thank you for the thoughtful response. I'll check into those. Hoping to get 4 or 5 ordered after holidays.

[@rappscallion3238]

Why don't you show screenshots from the games anymore? Like pictures of the board, box, figures, cards and other components. Now I gotta look that stuff up on BGG every time.

[@tbspaceship]

That's a lot harder to do when it's live

[@thedicetower]

Because it's live.

[@JhoffDJ.]

What a chore! Lololol.

[@zoiks6631]

The Dice Tower Then I’d suggest not doing it live. I’m new to the hobby, and pictures or video of the components would be very helpful to me.

[@RossoCarne]

@@thedicetower then...don't do it live...

[@TheAlexanderraguirre]

Can you please link the games in the video... Using my phone here and hard to go to the review.

[@jawsvvvvv]

I can't believe that Camel up Reprint or Fireball island are not in top 10 for someone. Crazy town

[@Bodyknock]

My top game from 2018 is definitely Western Legends, what a fantastic sandbox game. I love the combination of encounter driven quests, unique characters and all the thematic options for things to do on your turn. Last time I played we had a relatively close game where all three of us took entirely different actions (I played a bunch of poker, drove cattle and spent the money at the saloon, one player went bandit trying to rob us and the other went marshall trying to arrest him.) I'd put it up there with Xia among great sandbox games. (With the expansion Xia has a really fun solo and cooperative campaign mode, if Western Legends ever added something like that it would easily be in my top 10 of all time.) Architects of the West Kingdom is probably number 2. One thing I like about it that wasn't mentioned in the video is it has a fairly fun solo mode built into the game with its own character board and AI character action deck. (I really appreciate games that work well solo, it gives me extra chances to play them even if my game groups are playing other stuff.) I'm not as much into competitive, dry Euros but Architects has some really interesting mechanics and has tons of replayability. I definitely like this game better than Raiders of the North Sea! Not too much else from this year really wowed me a ton. - I have Root but haven't had a chance to play it yet and generally speaking I like dungeon crawl games like Vast better than territory control games like Root so I'm skeptical I'll like it as much as Vast. - Village Attacks is a fun cooperative game where you are monsters protecting a castle from hordes of angry villagers. Unfortunately I've only been able to play the introductory scenario so far so it's hard to say how much I'll like the fuller scenarios. - I'll also give honorable mention to Spell Smashers for being a fun mix of word game, deck builder and monster fighter. It plays almost like a fantasy themed crunchier version of Paperback which is one of my favorite games on the iPad. Spell Smashers is a bit of a weird niche for a game (people who don't like fantasy won't like the theme, and people who are heavy gamers don't usually like word games) but I enjoyed it. - Finally there was Arkham Horror 3rd edition which I thought was one of the fun games this year but (without getting into details) I like my top two games of the year and Eldritch Horror a bit better.

[@calwilson3155]

Tom lookin like Don Cherry meets Superfly

[@Draffut2003]

Despite going to multiple cons this year, including Dice Tower Con, I haven't been following the hobby very much recently. I've only even heard of 3 of these games before today,

[@saeryfaery]

Please insert snapshots of gameplays and I will then watch all of this video! And click you a ‘like’ :D. Look forward to your game reviews each year!

[@ArtistMcLean]

production before watching: half of Zee's best games of 2018 are going to be little card games that are somehow already out of print.

[@Lugo428]

Prior to watching this, my list of games to get were Reckoners, Arctic Scavengers and Escape from Aliens in Outer Space. Dicetower, I love you. My wallet however...

[@larsk7]

Love the jacket!

[@gamera2351]

When Sam's #1 was a stand alone expansion Zee came out looking squeeky clean.

[@Juegosmontt]

I missed supporting images

[@terrysucrana1318]

What happened with the pictures of the components and gameplay?

[@CosmeBenito]

This was recorded live

[@Erlaad]

Chipping in with my own list: 1) Keyforge: Call of the Archons 2) Arkham Horror 3rd Edition 3) The Mind 4) Root 5) DC Spyfall 6) Gizmos 7) Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault 8) Pandemic: Fall of Rome 9) The Estates 10) Reef

[@doggosplosion]

Games that were extremely popular at cons and shows that I am surprised were not on any list: Brass:Birmingham , Reef, and Keyforge. And I get it they did not play all the games. But I figured one of those games would be on one of the Triumvirate of top 10s. Oddly surprised.

[@gatorchomp9607]

Cog and Hammer way to work your word of the day in there.

[@heroicnerd2463]

Next list, Tom vasel's top ten outfits of 2018 -- :)

[@ramonosuke]

Zee's Future Top 10: 1. Pandemic 2. Pandemic Legacy Season 2 3. Pandemic Iberia 4. Pandemic Legacy Season 1 5. Pandemic Fall of Rome 6. Pandemic Reign of Cthulhu 7. Pandemic The Cure 8. Pandemic Rising Tide 9. (Inevitable) Pandemic Legacy Season 3 10. Onirim Sam's: Anything with Vikings,Dice, or Eric Lang Tom: The newer it is, the more likely it will be in his Top 10 Kidding aside, This was fun to watch, But I disagree slightly with 2018 being a "great" year for board games. A lot of mediocrity in my opinion, but to each his/her own

[@gijoe250]

Thumbs up for zees top ten xo

[@scottanderson8167]

Why not okay Scribblers 8? It’s fun!

[@CyberXShinobi]

Why didn’t you show images of each game?

[@TheProteanGeek]

I absolutely adore Rising Sun and the Combat mechanism is my favourite part of how it works and the tricks and things you can do when you click with how it works especially in the scope of the entire game. Probably my top game for a few years and almost certainly for 2018.

[@carlburns7507]

What I find funny is Tom always says that the order doesn't matter and there are a bunch off his list that could of easily been top yet yet he notes surprise remarks when Sam and Zee has games lower than he thinks.

[@gatorchomp9607]

Carl Burns Tom doesn’t say order doesn’t matter.

[@Polovene]

Oh such a shame that Heroes of land air & sea didnt make it to any list; I thought you guys liked it more than Rising sun and lords of hellas!

[@JevanHorn]

It would be great to see a live play of Root.

[@skyblazeeterno]

Game The Game did it...well live as possible

[@mildabatutiene3649]

The person who is clicking on screen box tops, could click through some set up pictures of the games. That would solve every one complaining about game info overlays

[@bshean72]

Tom's suit reminds me of Don Cherry's wardrobe!

[@danielwode4271]

There should be a Don Cherry board game

[@Hieronymus-Pseudonymous]

"Now you're just showing off." :)

[@matthelion]

Tom’s number one is Cosmic Encounter

[@vanyaserra1]

First my hubby asked if you lost a bet, Tom. My top ten 10. Everdell 9. Forum trajanum 8. vindication 7. raccon tycoon 6. gugong 5. fireball island 4. newton 3. let's make a bus route 2. Quacks of Quedlinburg 1. Endeavor Age of Sail.

[@zur13l13]

13's so-so, but 14's great again! LMAO

[@Kindlesmith70]

Such a snazzy suit, Tom.

[@williamwright8358]

It's making me so nervous to see that laptop hanging off the edge so close to Tom's elbow.

[@brumcg]

We barely won our first play of The Reckoners on easy mode. Then found out we played it very, very incorrectly... :)

[@vanzetti7]

Couldn't hear anything - I think the sound dude needs to turn down Tom's suit :-P

[@mouselim72]

I'll have Gloomhaven in my top ten.

[@EpicKing]

EPIC @Big Trouble in Little China the Game! :)

[@chunkycornbread4773]

Like the intro

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

I can't even see what games they are

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

No starship Samurai? :(

[@vipergecko03]

I LOVE that game. Weirdly enough I'm the only person who has bought it at our local game store...I dont understand

[@TheLookingGlassAU]

Chronicles of Crime and Detective:Modern Crime Two different games that are heavily themed yet one takes a 'playable for families' approach the other takes a gritty realism approach. I own both and like both.

[@kevinkingmaker7395]

Sam forgot about Blitz Bowl....own it....

[@anthonykuhn3792]

Kevin Kingmaker I was thinking the same thing. Then he seemed to try to cover it up at the end.

[@thedicetower]

Sam here...no, I did not forget it. As I said near the end of the video, I like Nightvault better than Blitz Bowl, and I didn't want two games from the same publisher on this list in particular. So, I made the conscious decision to not include Blitz Bowl on this list. It was just in my Top 10 of All Time, so you all know I like it and how much. I've always tried to showcase as many publishers as I can on these end of the year lists.

[@kevinkingmaker7395]

@@thedicetower Suggested alternative video title: Publishers' Showcase 2018: The best games from 10 different publishers that we really enjoyed this year! (not necessarily the 10 best games of the year)

[@anthonykuhn3792]

@@thedicetower Well if you insist. The timing just seemed odd. Not that there would have been anything wrong if you had forgotten it.

[@Hieronymus-Pseudonymous]

Don't forget The Ten Games That I Think I Played The Most That I Still Like

[@Jason.Detrick]

You all know what is coming with each others top 3, 2, and #1 game... You all should just for once switch it up and start with number 1 and work to 10 :P

[@jollyroger1009]

Most outlandish Tom outfit of all time!

[@wroot_lt]

I am WROOT! :P

[@laciew5652]

Started at 4:30

[@xavierpaquin]

Tom is all style

[@HALOX30]

Damn i missed it

[@philipmoser3784]

Cathala should do a Cthulhu game. Cthulha.

[@dddmmm21]

I guess it would make more sense to do top 10 of the year in December as it is now, but top 100 of all time at the beginning of the each year... Otherwise the Top100 kinda of spoils the top 10 of the year...

[@Straddllw]

"It's not Archytects, it's Architects" - Sam to Tom XDXD

[@eugenereed0123]

Nice Thumbnail

[@wroot_lt]

Pandemic on the list, unreleased game, an expansion. Yeah, this is usual DT top 10 list. I like it ;D

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

All of a sudden I feel a lot better about my list coming soon! 😂

[@seneca291]

Why?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Lol a pandemic clone and a stand-alone expansion as No 1 I can get away with anything now! 😂

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

"It's nothing like pandemic but it's my number 1 because of the name pandemic however it's also not because of that" lol just teasing Zee

[@irene1307]

Patriots & Redcoats sounds nearly identical to Secret Hitler.

[@Shadoglare]

I'd like to see "Tom's top 10 games that dont have miniatures."

[@mienzillaz]

Hey, good list but please put some pictures of games you are talking about. Each time i have to pause and google it Edit: it was livestream so nevermind

[@lordoftheflings]

I need "Big Trouble in Little China The Board Game" its out of print noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!