Top 10 Games We've Cooled On

[@illannoyed9431]

This was great. I’d love to see this list revisited in 3 to 5 years.

[@waynesolo]

This could be an annual list. 😊👍

[@metallsnubben]

"Top 10 Games We Cooled On Then Warmed On Again"

[@corbenalley8382]

​@@metallsnubben Top Ten Cold Pizzas Revisited

[@jeremiahhammer2282]

You know, so many of us have developed such a fondness for the three of you. I wish I had even one friend as fun and cool as you guys are that was also into games. I guess what I’m trying to say is that you are all loved. Thank you for being a daily source of inspiration! 🙏🏼

[@blackboardgaming5348]

Agreed!

[@namelessfire]

I agree with basically all three lists (especially Escape Room games and TIME Stories), but Seasons is still an all-time banger. What a smooth, rewarding engine builder.

[@Kentchangar]

We need a: Top 10 games we most agree on. It will only be 1 joint top 10 with both positive and negative games the guys agree on.

[@JonReid01]

This is a great idea!

[@markusbiewer2756]

Hey Tom, congratulations on becoming a grandfather! Best wishes to you and your entire family! This is a very cool Top 10 list.

[@anemptyeye]

Dominant Species was such a good pick. That game seemed magical to us when we first started playing boardgames more regularly - but it just kept ending in frustrating ways and took so long to play... It'll always have a place in my heart but I can't imagine jumping to get it to the table anymore.

[@mbrochh82]

I had it on my shelf of shame for three years and I'm afraid this video finally convinced me to sell it unopened 🙈

[@darrenkisgen3148]

Could rename this list “Top 10 games the Dice Tower convinced me to buy and are now trash.”

[@Acenchious]

Sell them to people and make them realise after years of having fun that the games are soon "trash"

[@The_Wampy]

I appreciate their honesty

[@hooshyarkarimi9524]

I feel you but everything becomes old eventually.

[@mgk2020]

😂

[@lauriy-v2567]

Thats like saying they told me to use windows 7 but its old now

[@cramen84]

Just want to say - you guys are killing it. The channel keeps going from strength to strength. You're obviously having so much fun and it's contagious.

[@KabukiKid]

Yeah, the content has been quite strong lately... haveta agree. :-) Great job, guys!

[@tomharding4095]

It's enjoyable to watch your engagement with one another. You really bring out the joy and passion for gaming and your shared experience really comes through. Thanks for making these videos. I make it all the way through these videos because of your interactions. Thanks, very much.

[@mikaeki5245]

Thanks for another great list and video! You guys, and this channel, are great! It was nice to see you guys come around on some games I hated the first time I played them :) Lighthearted negativity and honest criticism are definitely needed in this hobby. Keep up the good work!

[@Sajatzsiraf]

massive congrats to the Vasel family, best of health to you all! :) and maybe, just maybe, one day do go and play Duel of Ages with the little fellow!

[@fearanarchy]

Oh Dominant Species.. I still love you enough to keep you #1. *We always get the game done in under 2 hours. I dunno what we do differently other than keeping it moving. Not for everyone, but this was the pinnacle of clashing worker placement/Action Selection. I try to get it played 1-2 times a year.

[@moocowp4970]

Surprised by people's choice; Terraforming Mars and Scythe were in the people's top 5 in the top 100, so for them to also be in the top 5 cooled games is a bit odd since they're seemingly still blazing hot for the people. But I guess it just shows how many people play those particular games compared to other games I guess?

[@IndianaGeologist]

Great video as always. You three are my favorite folks to listen to on all of KZbin board games

[@jdotco23]

That was a fantastic list, fantastic video. You guys are so much fun to watch, and honestly, I agree with a vast majority of your picks. I will say I was appalled by the Between Two Cities pick, and I don't really agree with the reasoning, but to each his own. Congrats on the grandbaby, Tom!

[@jcontino8889]

Interesting. As someone that is just really getting into the hobby (I would consider myself a serial hobbyist, and mid-level in the board game space... I know and have played more than most folks who just casually play board games, but certainly nowhere near the knowledge of the real serious board gamers), I almost use this video as a jumping off point to check out some games I've not heard of or played. Doesn't matter if I will cool on them, as long as I get some runway out of them in the beginning (Takenoko is a great example... I've already checked out some other videos and really think it's a cool concept, with a great design, so will check it out). Thanks for the amazing content, y'all!

[@duncancole1742]

I think 7th Continent has some problems but the fact that not every single encounter is 'super exciting' is not one of them. This might seem weird but I like a little mundanity in my exploration as it makes the special stuff feel more special. I greatly dislike many open world videogames for the very reason that they feel less like a world and more like a themed amusement park with activities every 5 feet.

[@frwololo]

Agreed and that's also why I disliked Sleeping Gods: every single encounter is "big" and also completely disconnected from everything else. Basically everything Zee, Tom and Mike said as reasons to like Sleeping Gods better than seventh continent are reasons I keep coming back to 7th continent and stopped Sleeping Gods after a handful of sessions

[@MaximumImpactGames]

It's a lot of mundane stuff in a really long game.

[@saykhia]

Spot-on regarding Dead of Winter. And that’s why I think New Angeles is such a genius design that brings about the same conflict organically. It’s a shame that it is such a long game which really limits its play.

[@GossamerSolid]

I think 10 is too small of a list for this category. I'd love to see you guys re-visit it again (maybe with the A-Team?)

[@chauveet]

Watched the first two minutes, had Mike mention Castor Oil, and thought, "Man, I love Mike being in the Dice Tower!"

[@robertpower8374]

Playing Dead of Winter as a pure co-op is what put the nail in the coffin for me. My group was starting to cool on it already and decided to try and mix it up, but the game is completely dead when you remove the forced tension from the personal objectives/traitor. The decision making process becomes 'where do I get x' then 'go to x and search until you find it'. The highlight of the game is the Crossroad cards but that doesn't hold the rest of the game together.

[@polishprince47]

Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast. - Ron Burgundy

[@simland]

I've cooled big time on Feast For Odin. I still want to play with the expansion, but as is, I'm good.

[@JoeHindermann]

Wingspan on the ppls isn’t to surprising as I was getting stale on it but Oceania expansion changed everything for me with the new boards. It has many paths to victory now

[@PinothyJ]

I honestly have not idea why Bang even exists. Bang the Dice Game is better in every way, and yet Bang is still in print…

[@SalterThe]

I think Pandemic isnt there because other games do it better now. But because once you "get good at it" you almost cannot lose. We had this with the Legacy one. We lost once. And partially because we were trying at that point, because we were trying to make that game at least bit difficult, as it was breeze...

[@footsoldier1468]

I really liked this vid especially the what does it better aspect. As a relatively new gamer this is helpful

[@TheOldMan-75]

I think the length is what makes BSG so special. It's really the only social deduction came where you can sabotage the good side and then lie low for a while and the ultimate betrayal is so much sweeter when you managed to fool everybody for 3 hours.

[@jrhawk0032]

The playing time is a feature not a bug. My favorite game still.

[@dilatedbeholder3865]

Same. It's the epicness that makes it so special. I disagree with Tom saying that there are other shorter games that give you the same feel.

[@guybrushftw]

Came here to say exactly this. We'd purposely play it at the end of the night so we were tired and irritable and having a 3 hour trek ahead of us just made it all the better..mine and my friends favourite game.

[@johnpanagos5835]

Ahh Mike Seasons is a great game. The more i play it, the more i like it.

[@ScytheNoire]

Tom is turning into an Amish farmer more and more all the time.

[@chrispaternostro2205]

Lewis & Clark is a great game played with 4 players in turn-based mode on BGA. Zee is correct that AP can make this a long (boring) game with >2 people. However, turn-based, everyone makes a move once a day with all the AP they wish. Four players allows for a great race with the jumping over meeples mechanic in play as a catch up mechanism.

[@hilariorodarte601]

I would say Legacy Games, as a whole. For a similar reason that they said about Twilight Imperium. I think I rather mix up my games a lot more, than replaying the same game 10+ times, in a row. I think it could be a better choice, if you have a really small collection, between you and your friends. But, as a host for boardgaming events, I just can't put that much time into one game, when many people want me to play others, with them. I still get invited to join Legacy games, but I respectfully decline.

[@rectorsquid]

TIME Stories is not a game in not my opinion. There was nothing revealed during the game that helped us make better decisions later in the game. It was simply a slog where we did stuff until we visited every location and therefore stumbled upon the ending.

[@benjaminweemes3653]

I own so many of the games on your guys lists, and I would really have to agree with all of them. They just don’t hit the table very much anymore…

[@DragonTank1400]

I strongly disagree about 7th continent. It being a sandbox game where you can pick up clues for other curses and learn the map makes the game all the enjoyable to me. Also I like the risk of dying and starting over because you learn stuff about the map as you go. The fact you can go anywhere is what makes the game amazing.

[@zacharymartin1477]

The hand/resource management in Lewis and Clark is WAAAY different than Everdell. Lewis and Clark is not for everyone, but Everdell is no way near as punishing.

[@davidlewis5312]

Lost is one of those shows that KILLED my interest in serialized television. If you get invested in a movie and it has a shit ending, that's one night and a few hours. If you get invested in tv series that last years and it has a shit ending... that's 100s of hours plus anticipation stores.

[@ralelunar]

For me, it was Game of Thrones that killed my interest in serialized television. I still watch comedy series (straight comedies, not dramedies) but I don't have the energy to get into a drama anymore.

[@jackskellingtonsora]

39:03 I beg to differ. The two later Battlestar Galactica expansions, Exodus and Daybreak, added quite a lot to the point where it feels naked without them. Treachery cards, the CAG, the Cylon Fleet board, the Mutiny cards, the Earth goal, the Cylon Leader which is a super fun different way to play. Pegasus I could take or leave though.

[@mikeshomegardening8150]

Nothing cools me on Splendor. Still one of my top favorites.

[@filiplazov5895]

I cooled off on entire types of games like deck building, coops, party games, dudes on a map etc.

[@chiehlilee9224]

Funny when I first saw this title, Time Story immediately popped in my head.

[@monoludico6166]

I still love Seasons, Imperial Settlers and Lewis and Clark. Great topic for this video.

[@mathewgiles1450]

I came a fan of board games 2 years ago and I cant go a day without watching a video of the dice tower

[@StevenStJohn-kj9eb]

Frail Feeble Farmer is my favorite Friedemann Freise game.

[@Spudkitty513]

I had to brace myself every time Mike's choices were announced ... I have almost all of them. Haha!

[@Iolanthe95]

Takenoko is one of the few boardgames I am actually really good at, so I doubt I will cool on that. I play on BGA, which eliminates a lot of the set up fatigue. I love your channel even though I am not very good at boardgames!

[@simland]

Recently learned seasons on BGA. It was neat, but completely unnecessary now that Res Arcana exists. The random power card draw mid game in seasons was so frustrating.

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

The talk of tokens with Rum and Bones made me think of Cloudspire...

[@clanechelon]

I first got into board gaming thanks to Catan but got over it quickly ... I felt it was too easy to get screwed over by someone. 2nd game was terraforming mars and our playgroup was happy to play that for a good while, but now I am so sick to get screwed over by the deck rng. I might try the drafting variant to mitigate this but it has been sleeping on a shelve for the better part of the last 2 years. I guess expanding my collection is another contributing factor

[@melski9205]

Agree with you on Catan, had the same experience. I found it interesting that my own tastes have gone the other around. I've spent many years playing games with no rng, and got sick of the overly competitive prescriptive turns. We found Ark Nova (which has the same if not worse issues as Terraforming Mars) and have come to enjoy having that huge variation in the game play. I am sure there is a balance to be found.

[@MyFunnyBeard]

Congrats on being a grandfather! Also, way to go Zee on losing so much weight. You look great man!

[@davidcurtiswatts2378]

Been away for a while, where is Sam healey??

[@olivierjodoin2283]

Moved to a different state 2-3 years ago.

[@ramonosuke]

Moves to Washington state I believe and works for Mythic Games now(last I checked)

[@cbazler]

Is it just me or is the music in the 1-minute intro really good?

[@pnutbutrncrackers]

I personally love the music & vibe in the intro but Siri doesn't recognize it. Shucks.

[@yabbaguy]

27:00 I instantly thought those circles looked like Everdell.

[@EuropeanQoheleth]

29:25 He was doing Eisenhower's campaign song from 1952? Heh, nice.

[@TheRealRobeh]

Thank goodness, only two games here are on my list. Lol.

[@jeroenvandermaas3723]

With Zee talking about his top 5 game experiences with Timestories which he cooled down on so much later. What are your best gaming experiences?

[@17thknight]

I guarantee the Gloomhaven pick is the same reason I've chilled on it even though I consider it one of the greatest games ever made: it's a *monster* to set up and tear down over and over and over. It can take years to play through it all of you play once a week, but literally an entire year of that would just be set up. And God help you if you lose a scenario and have to redo it, holy hell is it too long

[@Koborover]

If I want the best Aliens experience, I play Legendary Encounters. If I want the best thematic semi-coop experience, I play Dead of Winter. Nothing else comes close and I've played Nemesis, BSG etc.

[@AccioPadfoot12]

Hey is there a top ten for games they haven't cooled on?

[@Sjamesbrito]

29:05 don’t worry Z, I got your joke

[@draqza]

Agree with One Deck Dungeon - I was really hyped about it when it came out, but after lots of plays and even after "cheating" to skip ahead to a full campaign sheet of bonuses, I was never able to beat even the easiest dungeon. I tried Forest of Shadows too but didn't have any better luck there. Like one of them said in the video, it feels like there's not enough way to mitigate the randomness of a bad roll or a couple bad rooms.

[@SanderPastoor]

I've only played Forest of Shadows and I had a similar experience with the first boss. I eventually decided to try to next boss and managed to beat it first try. The difficulty printed on the boss cards didn't seem right. Also, I agree with the randomness, but mostly for the first floor. If you get through that, you'll likely have collected enough ways to mitigate the randomness on the other floors.

[@Chuckyarou333]

Idea: TOP 10 Games that you went back to watch your own video to learn again!

[@darinherrick9224]

They are cooling on games I'm still working on acquiring and playing. Does that mean prices will come down so I can afford them???

[@pilotvc]

Between Two Cities is great to play solo

[@DutchCatfish69]

For ex libris, you can easily print off a sheet on BGG that works as a player aid.

[@GossamerSolid]

In a world where there's literally thousands of great games that don't have huge QoL issues, why bother? Should've been caught in play testing or at the very least fixed after the initial printing.

[@natew.7951]

TI3 would definitely top my list. used to be in my top 5 now it's not in my top 100. 15 years ago I was playing 20-30 board games a month. Now I'm playing maybe 5 games a month on a good month. My life schedule just does not make me interested in a game as long as TI3.

[@TheHallbjorn]

SPOILERS: I was scared going into this video since I have so many games on my shelf of shame I still haven't played and was worried I would learn that some of mine weren't as good as I thought when I bought them but the only ones that overlapped in that regard were DoW and TI3. I'm also very surprised people haven't completely moved away from Dominion since there isn't much game there--it's just one mechanism in a vacuum with all players just impatiently waiting for the other to finish their own isolated combos so their solitaire turn can start. Glad I didn't invest in 7th Continent when it was hot but now I'm worried that maybe folks will feel like this about Sleeping Gods soon, so a little trepidatious to buy it. Citidels and Photosynthesis were a couple that I had coincidentally recently purged.

[@draphsor]

Great list!

[@johnpanagos5835]

For "Rum and Bones" the minions could be chips (like chip theory games)

[@sherlockhomeless7138]

This is totally random, but I think Zee has a great voice for animation movies

[@BoardInTheHouseBGAplayer]

There was a time I would have rated Takenoko a 9 and Tokaido a 7. Now Takenoko is a 6 and Tokaido remains a 7. Staying power is a real thing. This is a great list.

[@arekkrolak6320]

you mention all the games that I really like :) but then I wouldn't be in the hobby if I didn't like many games...

[@peteface24]

Disagree about Among the Stars. Yes you have an organised system to have a quick set up, but that's not so hard, and I personally love the graphic design, it's much better than many space games like Race for the Stars. Also really recommend New Dawn, a streamlined 4X game in the same universe.

[@maxv658]

I still have yet to play Twilight Imperium and I really hope one day I get the chance.

[@tifpo33]

I came here to hear that Duel of Ages in Tom's top three but I don't think there has been a top ten that I have agreed so much with Tom. Other than the ones I have never played, such as Duel of Ages, his whole list would overlap with my own.

[@deltaarena2447]

Exit failed for me cause it didn't manage to surprise me in the first place, unlock I have player 3 boxes (9 scenarios) and each has had a gimmick that has hooked me. Idk if it will continue to be the case, but that has been my experience. I do agree it becomes less exciting the more of them you play, and less surprising.

[@montyfarris]

Four Gardens, Codenames and depending on the group Telestrations/Party games

[@richk6181]

Dice "You Know What I Mean?" Tower

[@calebkent4756]

Woah, I haven't watched lately, when did Tom go grey?

[@Fissi0nChips]

Why is Dominion not on any of these lists?

[@BoardGamesBricksHobbies]

I think because most people still like it about as much as they did when they first played it, people who rated it a 9 may have dropped it to an 8, but people who thought it was a 4 probably still think it's a 4.

[@KabukiKid]

I honestly expected to see it too. I guess it holds a lot of luster still.

[@Tenebyss]

Zee never liked it afaik and Tom still loves it

[@PatrickBrophy]

Dead of Winter is definitely the epitome of this list for me.

[@BoardGamesBricksHobbies]

The idea of semi-cooperative nature always made me wary of it, so I ended up getting City of Horror instead. I still enjoy it!

[@fuloran1]

Huh, DoW is still one of my favs, but I haven't played it a ton. Maybe that's why. Well, I will milk it for all I can!

[@dago6410]

How csn thry be so harsh on Bruno.... He is literally the coolest designer ever.... citadels kicks ass on 2 and 8 players and everything in between with right set of characters, mission red planet is perfect for 3, Raptor is on top of my wanted list, dragons Gold is fun, incan Gold is just Gold, mystery of the abbey is awesome.... yey! I just want him to mąkę more games xd.

[@perwesterlund1725]

"Syrup of ipicac" (or how it's spelled) is Forever associated with Monkey Island for me.

[@TheWickedEnd2012]

A completely different medium and genre, but I always associate it with The Binding of Isaac video game.

[@ScytheNoire]

Zee nailed it on Imperial Settlers. 51st State is a better version of that design, and Empires of the North is a better version of the theme.

[@bricelory9534]

Gloomhaven, definitely....I binge played it too much and it leaves a bit of a taste in my mouth to think of bringing it out again. I don't think I'll open it to play again.

[@szajko4360]

Congrats to Melody (and Tom)! :)

[@johchadow]

100% agree with Mike about Ex Libris.

[@johchadow]

But he's so wrong about Quadropolis, at least in comparison to Meadow. Meadow is hot garbage.

[@wimnaessens6610]

Curious Tom didn't mention Codex. It was in his top 100 pretty high I think, but has completely disappeared. Still like it?

[@thedicetower]

There are a lot of games that fell out of the top 100, but are still in the top 200. That's not really cooling, that's just natural, especially with me playing new games all the time.

[@lastburning]

Dominant Species Marine is shorter and the dominance is easier to keep track of. You don't have to constantly update the dominance cones either. There are no cones anymore.

[@garettsuperloser804]

From the movie Encino Man... "Shush!"

[@eternity_complex]

Whilst I still watch The Dice Tower a lot, I've not purchased nor sat down and played a board game since 2019, pre-coronavirus. A lot of my "new to me" games are actually on this list and I'm really excited to get them played again one day... I just hope any future gaming groups I join haven't cooled on these the way you guys have!

[@freeheeler00]

I feel like ODD is just two or three tweaks away from being very good. It's ok, but I just loosely follow the rules and ignore some stupid things. It's more fun that way 😂

[@byuhhancocks]

The people's choice is just a bunch of hipsters that want to show how much they don't like the games they are supposed to like nearly as much any more.

[@PoolsJones]

So... I thought Scythe was the best game ever when I started playing it and... I've cooled just a tad on Scythe. I would still play it for sure, but my main issue is that factions play a certain way and don't deviate too much from that formula. Considering the board is static and the factions lend themselves better to a limited number of strategies, it gets a little predictable after a while. I already know what to sort of expect when factions come out you know?

[@Morcarag]

There is a module board now for Scythe which helps break up the ‘memorized openings’ issue.

[@SimulationKris]

One would be Scythe mostly because of the dumb water-crossing rules. They just annoy me for some reason every time I play.

[@jacobleonhardt4421]

Congrats Tom!

[@marcodavi777]

Might be that I am not there yet, but the reasoning "I could play 4 other games in this span of time instead" is very weird to me. I'd rather play one long game I love than 4 short games that are ok

[@NewTrollVideos]

Finally a list Tom could have put Nothing Personal on. Such a missed opportunity.

[@saluk7419]

BSG is so so good. But it's way too fiddly and long to get played, and the theme doesn't have the pull it used to. Good choice!