Top 10 Obscure Games

Tom Vasel, Sam Healey, and Zee Garcia take a look at ten games that most people haven't taken a look at - but should!
00:00 - Introduction
04:02 - Sam’s #10
05:55 - Tom’s #10
06:55 - Zee’s #10
08:24 - Tom’s #9
10:13 - Zee’s #9
11:00 - Sam’s #9
13:20 - Zee’s #8
14:41 - Sam’s #8
16:02 - Tom’s #8
17:48 - Zee’s #7
19:52 - Tom’s #7
21:09 - Sam’s #7
23:46 - Tom’s #6
24:59 - Sam’s #6
26:52 - Zee’s #6
28:00 - Sam’s #5
29:24 - Zee’s #5
30:20 - Tom’s #5
31:43 - Sam’s #4
32:47 - Tom’s #4
34:41 - Zee’s #4
36:15 - Tom’s #3
37:48 - Zee’s #3
39:09 - Sam’s #3
41:23 - Zee’s #2
42:55 - Sam’s #2
44:46 - Tom’s #2
46:44 - Zee’s #1
48:36 - Tom’s #1
50:15 - Sam’s #1
Buy great games at www.gamenerdz....
Find more reviews and videos at www.dicetower.com

[@Straddllw]

So just a normal top 10 for Zee?

[@itthumyir4569]

DAMN

[@feebleking21]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW SO BORING I STOPED AFTER LIKE 53:43

[@Hman27]

I love obscure and/or quirky games, so I really enjoyed this list. I especially enjoyed the dexterity games on Zee's list, and Mare Balticum. Here are a few of my picks for obscure games, and most of these are easy to find if you know where to look: Ab in die Tonne (Toss it in the Trash) Rhino Hero Mord im Arosa Riff Raff Trieste Attribute

[@Chozal]

So when is Zee kickstarting Lice Shower ?

[@vanessastoffer1874]

Just watched today and found out that a new edition of Gem Rush is on Kickstarter!

[@LosthorizonPT]

Caravelas starts in Portugal and its a Portuguese game. You buy Jeronimos with pepper because it was the main spice that made the construction of that incredible building possible.

[@KH-ft4ut]

Damn the list. WHAT WAS IN THE BOX?!

[@GamersGrind]

awwww come on its April 1st. I wanted Sam to say Monopoly was his number 1 obscure game

[@RayMGreenley]

Don't you know? Tom and the Dice Tower are above April Fools jokes.

[@barbarawinn2054]

The April Fool's joke is that the dice tower is coming out on Thursday and we got this today.

[@StefanLopuszanski]

Actually, they threw in a few April Fools stuff into the video... but I'll leave it vague for you to figure it out!

[@ayahoo16]

Ray Greenley False!!!!

[@RayMGreenley]

Steven Loomis April Fools! ;^P

[@scottgun]

Yes! Do a Top 10 Worst Box art e-vah! AND Do Top 10 Games with Great Box Art You Wouldn't Want to Open.(i.e. Box art is good, game stinks.)

[@drakebauer4496]

I am Vlaad lol

[@AHeadC]

Great top 10 as usual guys! Dust: Tactics is the only one I'd actually heard of, but that's probably only because I'm into painting miniatures.

[@Ardnightian]

That's the only one I've heard of too, but because it's a ffg product

[@fredmcmack]

One of my favorite lists so far! Great to learn about new-to-me and more unique games instead of rehashing the same ol' set of popular games over and over.

[@Indubitably14]

22:14 It's Portugal Sam. They invented the caravel, and were the first to sail around Africa towards India (for spices). If you want to pronounce it like a Portuguese person would, it is not "Caravel-ASS", but "Caravel-esh"

[@Indubitably14]

15:21 Zee is flipping the bird.

[@naomibrist3312]

The new set you with the Geek Chic table looks great guys! Thanks for all the great top 10 lists. I always look forward to the new video.

[@keel1701]

I'm working on creating a heist game that sounds more and more like Mutiny on the Little Blue. When you mentioned it in another list (Underrated maybe?) I thought it sounded interesting and took the idea and molded it. Turns out what I turned it into at first is a lot like how you described Mutiny this time!

[@salmonblox]

Great list! Figured this one would be right up Zee's alley. I need to check some of these out...if I can find them! If you're still looking for future topics, try: Top Ten Racing Games (I'd love to see the kind of variety there is) Top Ten Games with the Best Production (might be dominated by Days of Wonder, but whatever) Top Ten 8-Player Games (or 7, or both)

[@brentend5]

Dinosaurs of the Lost World is another really fun obscure Avalon Hill game that came out in the late 80's. I highly recommend playing it if you can find it.

[@edheldude]

Although not a board game, my favorite obscure game is Dallas - The Television Role-Playing Game, published by SPI in 1980. It calls itself a family role-playing game, and players take on the roles of the major characters from the tv series Dallas.

[@BrotherAlpha]

I'm looking for the name of a game I played as a kid in the 1980s. You tried to fly planes to different destinations. However, there was a clear plastic sheet that fit over a quarter of the board and sometimes that sheet would move taking all of the planes on it to another part of the map. I have no idea what it was called and it might have been made in the 1970s.

[@MrSillycheez]

Krakow 1325 AD. This game isn't in print and I had to wait nearly a year to get a copy. one of my top 5 games that I own. Trick taking, secret identities, and area control all in one game to create something really unique. Only 474 ratings on BGG.

[@yoinkn]

Zee shaking the box was absolutely hilarious!

[@richardblkmann3298]

Top 10 Biggest Bang for Your Buck.. I just picked up _Jaws of the Lion_ and oh my goodness! So much stuff for the price.

[@ayahoo16]

Three of my all time favorites made this list; GOOOOLLL! 4:01 , Lice Shower 17:47 , Assault on Ganymede 30:20

[@Sajatzsiraf]

I heard of this years ago just now bumped into this video, still cannot understand how they never ended up publishing this great idea :)

[@forisrex]

my favourite game almost no ones about is called barca. you should be able to find in online on it website. its a game from a southern california designer. its a chess variant of sorts that uses the rook, queen, and bishop (you have 2 each) on a 10x10 grid. the object is to control 3 of the 4 centralish spaces, but uses a forced move rock paper scissors mechanic instead of capturing. its great for people who want to play something like chess, but feel intimidated by it.

[@drakebauer4496]

The box !!!! What's in the box ???!!!!!! *cries*

[@waterwixxxer]

I have some mild reservations about Cat and Fish but do like it and won't sell it. We ordered Founders of the Empire direct from Rubrand. It looks pretty and pleasing. I am only at number 5 as of writing this and I have been happy to see a lot of titles I have not heard of!

[@CalebSmithBAM]

SPINERGY GETS SOME LOVE!!! I found that game years ago, fell in love with it, and could not find anyone who had heard of it! Yes, it's very "schoolish", but is a riot with the right group. Thanks for validating my life choices!!!

[@scottishduck88]

Here's a game I loved playing growing up. It's so obscure it doesn't even have a Board Game Geek page devoted to it. So I'm not sure if these guys will even know of it. It's from 1987 and it's called Angler's Dream. Has anyone ever played that one?

[@MathewUtting]

Own 2 of them (Pala and Founders). Picked up Pala probably on Zee's recommendation before I discovered that my group generally doesn't go in for trick taking games. Founders I picked up in Essen (and got the copy that they were using to demo it as it was the last one)

[@philheaton1619]

Tom, I couldn't find Assault on Ganymede on BGG. Maybe you could put it there and review it.

[@Wolforce]

Today tom said that 3 games are not real. That one might be it for him.

[@tullkass13]

I like a game called "Space Hulk: death Angel" it's hard, every decision counts, every turn is different, I like to imagine every perilous situation the event deck puts you in, I like it more than "D Day Dice" :)

[@slinks90]

I'm a fan of De Vulgari Eloquentia, which is not obscure if we're basing the designation on BGG rank, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone else mention it.

[@Hieronymus-Pseudonymous]

If you liked the sound of "Lice Shower," you can check out the game that probably inspired it - Dr. Shark, by Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala.

[@marknic]

Step by Step is a fairly obscure but great little dice game, kind of Can't Stop-ish, but even more interesting, imo

[@ChronosZero86]

Never heard anyone ever talk about this game but its really fun its called " I drank what?" basically everyone has a wine card and its either wine or poison and you can use cards to swap wine cards with other people or look at wine cards. Super fun game that seems pretty obscure.

[@RobotJeeg]

Do you like that idea of a "Top 5 worst box art ever". It could be very fun to see.

[@N4M374K3N]

Spoilers: Caylus

[@havoksworld]

Ok. I love your top ten lists. This one left me a little cold. but, Im with Sam. I really don't care for obscure games all that much. I like well produced and well themed games. Only game that interests me from these 30 is Eruption which has been in my want list on BBG forever. Lifeboats is definitely is an obscure game that should top this list.

[@brimstonevomit2700]

I own Dragons of Kir and Sam didn't explain it well. The players don't control any of the dragons directly, they manipulate the dragons' movements by placing tiles on the board which have varying effects, in hopes of eventually guiding a dragon into your opponent's tent. But yeah, it's super fun, the chaining of tiles makes it easy to appreciate even if you're a sore loser (and lose :P).

[@davidgroves1184]

Not sure that I would have included DUST tactics on the list but it may not be as big as I am thinking it is.

[@jimrose7167]

I haven't played Pastiche, but Sean is a badass.

[@vanessastoffer1874]

Gem Rush is on Kickstarter right now!

[@AgentKuo]

This is the list! This is the origin of Lice Shower! 😂

[@newworld75]

I looked for videos of War Angel. No gameplay videos. Could someone on the DT crew do one, maybe? The art looks cool.

[@HerbJon]

Yay! Dust Tactics! Good one Sam! I play Dust Warfare a lot now and it's a blast! :)

[@michaelturniansky7959]

Okay, here are some of my favorite obscure games (in no particular order): Halunken & Spelunken, I.D., Image, Cue Me, Monad, I Think You Think I Think, Tabloid Teasers

[@ricksleurink5064]

There is some overlap with the 'Underrated games top 10 list', but yes, these games are quite obcure. I looked at my collection and thought of: Drakon (3rd ed.) // Ostrakon // Ditto // Dschamal // Spank the monkey // Torres // Tyros // Pirates Cove // Gangster, etc. Games that I like to introduce to gamers and non-gamers. Know any of these? (PS: I'm from Holland)

[@marke4834]

Pergamon is another great game no one talks about anymore!

[@johnnylin3084]

Asteriated Grail (星杯傳說) its an awesome card game, it combines teamed play, variable player powers, and hand management, AG is definitely one of my favorite games, it plays real quick (30~40min a game with new players, 10~20min a game with experienced players), has no player elimination, and there is really no downtime (average downtime being about 15 seconds, and you really want to pay attention to what others are doing when its not your turn if you want to play competitively) it is a shame the game is only available in chinese atm, but even in china it is still obscure, partly because boardgames simply isn't a popular hobby, and partly because most ppl that play boardgames are only playing ltk (which is a knock-off of bang, using the three kingdoms period as its background) since it was a big hit when it was first released (the designer team shamelessly claimed that they created the system from scratch, even though it was 95%+ identical to bang, including character powers, deck buildup, and objectives for the different identities)

[@109ethan]

Man, War Angel has one of the coolest box arts ever.

[@StykdStudios]

Speaking of obscure games, there's this game that I played on PC quite a while ago that I just CANNOT remember the name of, and can't find any videos on it. If anyone can help me find out what the name is, thank you. In the game you play as an angel, and it's an FPS. You can possess people and later on you gain cool abilities like causing people's blood to boil. The HUD is red, and the objective is basically to kill the bad guys (can't remember the plot, lol). You can be shot, and when you have possessed an enemy you can use his gun as well as your abilities. It was a little difficult, but I want to return to it and beat it cause I only played the demo. Again, if any of you can help me, thank you a lot!

[@Kajotex]

You, my good sir, are talking about Messiah www.gog.com/game/messiah

[@StykdStudios]

Oh man, thank you SO MUCH!! I have been looking for that game for a LONG LONG time, and you are the first person who actually knew what game I was talking about!!

[@Kajotex]

darkane At your service man ;) You are lucky i was bored at work and rewatched this video today

[@tonycajefe]

Dust Tactics is so famous here in the Philippines, we have lots of players here ^_^

[@HerbJon]

Yeah! Where is that Lice Shower game? Need to try out!! :D

[@Schattenfreund]

"Ebbes" is a german dialect word (and a good game). It means basically "etwas" (something). Sounds like 'App' and the letter 'S' spoken.

[@nickj.2674]

My all time favorite obscure game that I am constantly looking for is King's Blood released in English by Steve Jackson Games in 2003.

[@raccoon0413]

Ohhh, i own that game. it's a so-so game for me tho.

[@ggrant1189]

Thanks, guys--very exhaustive treatment of a more obscure subject! :)

[@alexandershishlev7428]

Founders of the Empire is, actualy, translates as Settlers. And people on cover have the same style as mobs in Settlers 2. Just for you to know it. :-)

[@marke4834]

Thank you Sam! Milestones ROCKS! Love that game!

[@davidgroves1184]

I still have acopy of the Journey of Paul and mine came in the tube. I got it at Gencon the year the box edition came out and it was much cheaper. Its not a bad game but theme specific and exclusive.

[@yank3970]

thanks for sharing The Dice Tower

[@DarthSironos]

Man, they should make a (re)print of Cat&fish in the west, that game looks nice.

[@new8generd43]

Lice Shower? Seriously? I'm busting up over that!

[@Wolforce]

So tom just said that 3 of the games (one of each) is not a real game, is made up...

[@wrxwrx]

I know many that watched this watched to see if they recognize anything here. Aside from the Catan expansion, I'm sure most were like huh? For a time I actually followed Dust Tactics' development and it got too expensive for my taste. I actually own Dust. So I guess I had something in common with this video of otherwise unheard of games... I don't think I played a single full game of Dust...

[@dago6410]

I want someone to really make Assault on Ganymede, except with the similar theme as Mission Red Planet aka suuuuuuper retro sci fi, and with more modern mechanics. The company thst would fit best is of course Restoration Games xdddd

[@MehdiHusain]

Lice Shower ! Best game ever ! Excellent rules explanation Zee !

[@Ziraffo]

As always, Zee's choices are the most left-fielded, even when you guys are talking about obscure games. But I must raise my hat to Sam for his number 1.

[@robaholic100]

Zee ... You said you wanted a copy of Burdigala. I checked amazon.ca and they have copies for $102. Its been a while since this video was posted so its possible you've already found one, or are not reviewing comments anymore, but there you have it.

[@zmann4444]

Well played Dice Tower....well played....

[@EurojuegosBsAs]

Bummer :/ This list was as close as my games could get to be featured in The Dice Tower :P Anyways, nice picks. Those HABA games are really great. Thanks :)

[@Runehorn]

next list, top 10 awkard boxes list! GO!

[@Xoopams]

Props for the guy that did the Lice Shower Microbadge on the Geek boardgamegeek.com/thread/1225067/zee-garcia-lice-shower-microbadge

[@grouper49]

this is right up Zee's alley.

[@nerzenjaeger]

"Die Erben von Hoax" a 1999 German remake of the game "Hoax". It is basically a slightly clunkier Coup with Resource Management - fun little game!

[@flol.1741]

Tell Sam, ebbes is actually pronounced like abyss but with the stress on the first syllable

[@SirChadOfKent]

Lice Shower and GOoooooooooooooOooooooooooal sound awesome. I think I will go purchase these now.

[@davidw3281]

Hoping they come out with a legacy version of "Lice Shower".

[@Rewslaun]

Props to Same for picking Battue Storm of the Horse Lords.

[@studleygamer]

How about a full Burdigala review, Zee?

[@robo3007]

I think you're being a bit too strict on the criteria for this list. For instance I'd say Battlestations is obscure but has 819 ratings. Personally I would just list my favourites that don't any real mainstream recognition.

[@kunundrum100]

The criteria is appropriate, otherwise it would be another top 10 underrated games.

[@MrMREBYRD]

Cgygu

[@shadowtheoblivious]

Ok i cannot find this one game from the early to mid 90's called the vampire hunter its a board game that had a special lantern in the center that was for a get this day an night mechanic now for day blue light for night red an well shit must be really damn obscure cuz noone seems to remember it anyone out there help

[@undertaker022289]

shadowtheoblivious Oh I have that. Bought it on eBay. www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-2002-MB-Vampire-Hunter-The-Game-Brand-New-Twlight-Read-Description-/151719751735?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item235333b037

[@nathangill7324]

+shadowtheoblivious I found it! Bought it for the novelty and love it! Very simple roll and move but the novelty of the game changing before your eyes for the day/night cycle is really cool!

[@jcassidy13]

Zee... you are the absolute best. I would totally play Prrrt.... with you don't. Don't let those haters get you down.

[@BarryDoubletBoardGames]

Don't know any of those game. But they all seem to be......"SQUIRREL!"

[@ayahoo16]

GOOOOAALLL!

[@mrozzdude]

Steven Loomis GOOOOLLL! *

[@rolfvansoelen8916]

Haha....what's a 'trake-ticking' game? I had to laugh so hard when i noticed Sam saying that at 7:52...

[@rolfvansoelen8916]

ehh...Zee, not Sam...

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

For obscure games, just visit thegamecrafter or drivethrucards or the like and search at random :)

[@Dragonite43]

The sad thing about playing Obscure Games is that you can really enjoy them, but you have no one to talk to about them.

[@chrisstockdale3414]

Bwahaha the Myth comments are hilarious in retrospect. Especially considering the fiasco of the dice tower review

[@DruLeeParsec]

InterSpace. I call it "Twilight Imperium Fun". It's a great 4X game with lots of theme.

[@LumberjackZE]

I wonder whats inside that box... Make an unboxing video :-)

[@TiliaCordata]

Actually, "Goooooool" is the Polish title of Crazy Kick ;)

[@EarlofChutney]

best list. I'd heard of 3 games on it

[@AtcRomans116]

+1 for Dust Tactics

[@steveg7000]

Sure hope "Lice Shower" didn't have a German designer....Yeesh.

[@hermespadilla]

damn, I'm very surprise that Sam mentioned Journeys of Paul! I bought a brand new tube version a week ago at a flea market because I thought it looked cool... but it is pretty boring... and it's in a tube...

[@SamHealey6]

Different strokes, maybe?...I don't know. I've studied Paul's life so much with my students that when I see all of the different places he visited on a map, I recall the things that went on there, and the struggles that church faced, and so on. So, I guess it would be a bit more "thematic" maybe, for me...I'll just stick to the 'different strokes for different folks' argument, I guess.

[@hermespadilla]

Sam Healey that make sense, thanks for replying! I found hilarious that all the event cards are catastrophes, that's kind of fun :P

[@timlobiondo5777]

I love Dust Tactics.

[@Blackwarrior2003]

What about Fireball Island?

[@thewhitehindu]

It seems that the makers of Demonslayers of Mt. Kunan did a poor job with marketing because no one seems to know it. A shame for a gorgeous game.

[@CopperLontra]

Ah what's in the box? Come on what's in the box!?

[@Shady_Lane]

it's a deck box for magic the gathering!

[@johnr8095]

It's my d*ck in a box! Its my d*ck in a box girl....

[@frankenmuth1]

Munity on the little blue seems right up my ally. Shame its so obscure

[@persephonescharmvlog5842]

gloom was not on the list? i would not know where to place it so to me it is obscure.

[@raygun6271]

Good job guys!

[@jeremiahganner3715]

Zee - Burdigala on Ebay right now