Top 10 Obscure Games

Tom, Zee, and Sam list their Top 10 Obscure Games!!
00:00 - Introduction
02:26 - Sam’s #10
04:55 - Tom’s #10
05:48 - Zee’s #10
08:34 - Tom’s #9
10:51 - Zee’s #9
12:24 - Sam’s #9
14:30 - Zee’s #8
16:10 - Sam’s #8
18:21 - Tom’s #8
20:13 - Zee’s #7
22:42 - Tom’s #7
25:27 - Sam’s #7
27:28 - Tom’s #6
29:00 - Sam’s #6
31:50 - Zee’s #6
34:24 - Sam’s #5
37:24 - Zee’s #5
39:36 - Tom’s #5
40:55 - Sam’s #4
43:24 - Tom’s #4
45:07 - Zee’s #4
47:29 - Tom’s #3
49:12 - Zee’s #3
51:02 - Sam’s #3
52:52 - Zee’s #2
54:45 - Sam’s #2
57:53 - Tom’s #2
59:28 - Sam’s #1
01:01:36 - Tom’s #1
01:02:54 - Zee’s #1
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[@jmanjoshua1982]

Fun list of obscure games. Thanks for another top 10 list. Always love these when it is the three of you. The banter always makes the time fly by. I appreciate the different opinions and perspectives.

[@2teachers2kids38]

I don't really find a list of obscure games FUN.

[@Buffalodude1]

I didn't know about Age of War until Sam actually talked about it a while ago. Got it for Christmas, and its a favorite of ours for a fun and quick dice game

[@Patronux]

The jokes here were so bad. I loved every minute of them. The gangsta caats omg

[@guillermoz4914]

Not my favorite category but I'm always excited to hear you guys talk about your top 10 anything 👌🏽

[@debbiedowns6879]

Thanks for your number two Sam! I haven't laughed that much in a long time, mainly because of Zee and Tom's reactions!

[@thediceodyssey4690]

Hey LICE SHOWER was a real game I played 2 or 3 times when I was a kid. It's a solo game and it will kick your butt!

[@meechibell9602]

Thank you guys! I just found a couple of birthday gifts for my husband with this list... Artifacts, Inc. & Pecunia Non Olet (not sure I can stomach this game but know he'd have fun with his friend), so thank you Sam! It's so much fun watching you guys! :)

[@beardedchinnfishing6074]

I love watching your guys top 10 videos and your reviews!

[@michaelrogerson6939]

I played a game with some neighbors called "Real People" by Milton Bradley from 1991. The concept is that a bunch of real people sent in headshots of themselves and answers to a few questions, and based on those answers, you guess which person it is. It's literally a game about judging people by their appearances, so not something that would fly now, but it's also probably the most obscure game I've played.

[@icurnvss]

It was awesome to get to do a preview of V-Commandos when the Kickstarter was on. Very well done game. Love the stealth mechanics, and a different take on the theme. Definitely a criminally unknown game. The ones that do know of it, got their hands on it absolutely love it! Good job on including it in this list Sam!

[@velorian85]

I like this weekly top 10 this is great, keep it up

[@mitchalibi2794]

Funniest 2018 video, so far!...Thank you, Zee, Tom & Sam!!! You made my weekend...

[@rickthompson3843]

Great list guys. I know you catch a lot of flak for putting the same games on a lot of lists, so its really a pleasure hearing you talk about some different ones. I think Age of War leans more to obscure than well known. Friend I game with picked it up because he heard Sam talking about it on a list and the only other person I met that knew it also learned about it from Sam. If its not obscure, you can thank the Healey Effect!

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

Ragnar Brothers are still active, most recently they ran a kickstarter for a game that takes the core "multiple reality" element from their Niña & Pinta game and applied it to a game where the Scottish attempt to set up a colony in Panama was doomed because of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

[@davidvandrunen3516]

Cool lists!

[@smoothcriminal28]

Heartland comes to mind. One of my favorite tile laying games out there, and super hard to get. It's definitely one of my best purchases ever.

[@PsychicLord]

Great show..... immediately ordered a copy of Pecunia Non Olet, so thank you Sam for highlighting, and not dumping it!

[@icurnvss]

Age of War is a cool little game. I got to play it at a Gamesday. Never heard of it before then, and never heard of it since, lol. Great addition to the list Sam!

[@jameskrolak]

My favorite obscure game is Shattered States. It's obviously self-published in 1990, so the components are horrible quality, but it's a surprisingly good game. It's a fictional 2nd American Civil War. Each player picks a few territories on the board to start with for his faction. Each territory provides a special ability to your faction from rolling 2 dice for each unit on defense to placing riot markers in other players territories to firing off nukes. You wage war against each other to try to gain a certain number of key territories and be declared the successor to the USA. It's got generic army units on the board and you can buy special cards from other nearby nations. Combat is simple dice driven stuff. The replayability comes from trying to mix together the special abilities of different territories. When I brought it to a local game store to play some years ago and played it, the manager tracked down the creator the very next day and ordered 5 copies of it.

[@PurpleMoose23]

Was super psyched to see Throne and the Grail on Zee's list, was one of the first I thought of. The publisher Taikikennai Games is an great company from Japan. I definitely recommend checking out more of their games, my favorite might be Namidano Festival, but I also really enjoy The Bremens and Oklahoma Sixer.

[@olivierprevot8082]

My favorite obscure (or so I think) games are : Off the dead, a small coop card game with a small memory part, really fun. Goblins vs Zombies, another small card game up to 3 players where you defend your goblin village: coop or comp, easy to play. Infark where you play "friends" trying to be the last one to survive cancer, depression, blood pressure by inviting your friends to party where they get drunk, smoke, eat very unhealthy..., Argonauts where you relive Jason's adventures, very original, love it ! Attrape Fantôme , a lovely coop electronic kids game from Ravensburger where you play rabbits and mice trying to capture a Ghost. :)

[@KabukiKid]

I agree with Sam that Age of War doesn't seem to be well-known at all. Definitely fits the category.

[@TheMastermindX11]

"Pecunia non olet" is che latin for "Money don't smell" which is what roman emperor Vespasianus said to his son that complained about his idea to get funding for the Colliseum - which was taxing the usage of public toilets.

[@avisian8063]

When I am having a bad day I rewatch this video to hear Tom day "GANGSTA".

[@w.f.andrews7134]

I have 3 on the lists. Habitats 1st ed, Rescue Polar Bears, and Far East War 1592. A great obscure game I like is Fireworks by Facio. It's a lucky tile laying game. I love the theme, the artwork is cute and its fun to interact with others when you throw down the dice.

[@rolandbruno686]

Interesting topic. Here are my top 5 Obscure Games. 5: Mijnlieff 4: Abracada...what? 3: Pyramid Poker 2: In Flanders Field 1: Super Fantasy Ugly Snouts Assault

[@rolandbruno686]

It is a light dungeon crawler with a unique dice mechanic. Pick it up on the cheap.

[@dragoon8742]

A Discworld Board Game I didn't hear about ?? Going to check that out ! :D

[@andreat.7514]

I have to find this Dice Age game. Zee's review of it was really good.

[@ninohernandez]

Lice Shower was a lie!?!

[@DavidSupina]

Niño Hernandez I choose to believe.

[@DerdromNilrem]

I've been looking for that game for 4 years.

[@nathannemeth4094]

Niño Hernandez lol!

[@GeneralNickles]

There's a game that was fairly common back in the late 90s that I feel like most people haven't heard of these days. It's called vampire Hunter. It's cool because you have to play it in the dark. It's got this lighthouse in the middle of the board that lights up 2 different colors to simulate day and night. And the board changes depending on whether it's currently day or night. It's mostly luck based, so there isn't really a ton of skill involved, but I always thought it was pretty fun. Me and my cousins loved it when we were kids.

[@huan4230]

I immediately had Tom's #1 in my head when I saw the title of this video!!!!:))))

[@MalcIgg]

I own Age of War - love it as a quicker version of Elder Sign Yes, used before/after longer games

[@mnkymn]

Shacru/Azacru/Pacru is a great choice (and that's the correct order btw, from simplest to most complex). If you like colourful abstracts then Continuo and Entropy (aka Hyle or Hyle 7) are both great as well. I'd also throw SuperFut and VEGE tables in on my list.

[@aaronnatera3685]

Letnisko. Building summer resorts in Poland in the 30's. Amazing implementation of multi use cards.

[@smoothcriminal28]

Aaron Natera i own it. Adore It. One of the most obscure games out there for sure.

[@richardxob]

one of this days Zee is going to be punched by Sam

[@Ulaan-ti9nm]

My favorite obscure game by far is a game from Z-man games called Grimoire, a game where each player each turn chooses a spell to cast using a cool bookmark. I love that game!

[@OctavianDumitriu]

"Age of war" it's in my collection and it is very appreciated by my family and my friends, too.

[@douglasdea637]

There's a bunch of older games that are now long out of print which are obscure. Saga, from TSR, was a quick and fun game. Fury of the Norsemen, from Metagaming I think. Barbarian Prince was a solo explore-the-land game which was worth a few play throughs. Ace of Aces was the original flip-book game with dueling pictures. I loved Stellar Conquest back in the day, originally from Metagaming then purchased and published by Avalon Hill. SeeKrieg was a ship miniatures game which was fun but had a rotten rulebook.

[@reasonablecheese]

I love Age of War, one of the most played games I have to start a game day off!

[@xxbriguyxx]

I remember where I was the first time the ‘top 10 most obscure games’ list was released four years ago. I was eating the best burger I’ve ever had. Made from the best cuts of yak meat and topped with grilled onions and sharp cheddar, it was to die for.

[@jemwilli]

I was really hoping to see Heartland as it is amazing and obscure.

[@gronith]

Funny Eruption is available at nearly all the stores here. I love it! Best Tile playing game IMHO.

[@johchadow]

"Americans would eat this up." omg lol

[@tommyakesson8858]

Checking the collection. One realy good game I've never seen outside my own collection is Barony, by Marc André. Maybe not superobscure, but never seen it except for when I bought it. Pretty clean rules, good production value (except for a mistake on the back of the box). Send dudes on map and build towns. There is no real combat, except for if two of your things (villages and/or knights) are on the same spot as a single enemy knight/city it dies. So no randomness. 4/5,wish I could play it more often

[@charlesrowan1978]

Actually played Far East War 1592 at DexCon 2 years ago. Not bad for a light war game.

[@rockxhero]

I love the game Vegas (Las Vegas), & recently got VivaJava: the Dice Game. I may have to give Dice Age a look!

[@lukasklees3081]

Whats with the rubberband? Its right next to the mic. So it sounds like static the entire video

[@pepagacy]

I'll go with two games by Tom Lehmann by TimJim Games/Prism Games. First is 2038: Tycoons of the Asteroid Belt. This is an 18xx adaptation in which players invest in companies, explore the asteroid belt, and then run routes between bases collecting the most valuable ore. Lighter than most 18xx games due to no rails, but there is a depth of strategy due to should you run your company to victory, or should you run it into the ground to star the new outfit. Then there is Fast Food Franchise, which was described as Monopoly done right. Players start different fast food companies on the board, and then attract the other players to their delicious demise. You can also block other players in the middle of the board with strategic placement of different outlets chits, thus giving another layer to your strategy. The only downsides of this game are that the game is roll and move, and that the quality of components is very early 90s.

[@jimsmith7445]

BRAVO for you Sam... I LOVE "Age of War"... I bring it to every game group... that and two other games... "Condo tire" and "Tiny Epic Galaxies"....

[@Vandueren5]

"They hold their Fish like this" LOL!

[@chrissteele6878]

Sam, I LOVE age of war! We play it in my small group all the time!!!

[@IzyPeazy]

Maybe do a top 10 games that influenced you on your way into the hobby? (games that played a major role in pulling you in or games that were eye openers)

[@will0wisp258]

Absolutely agree with Eternity, it is one of my favourite games. So good, too bad it wasn't a success. ^^

[@valerielinares2068]

That Harvest Island game sounds like fun! Where can I find it?!?! Or, what is a game that is very similar to it in the sense of farming, seasons, buying and selling?

[@thetasigma1905]

I was eating a burger while watching this top ten.

[@Vampa219]

Sam's number "2" made this list...laughed so freaking hard

[@charleslatora5750]

I have to go: 1. Find this 'poop' game and 2. I have to....

[@billcook4768]

Eruption has s nice implementation on board game arena if anyone wants to check it out. Fun game marred (IMO) but a ridiculous catchup mechanism

[@erik-janvanoosten1450]

Tom, you forgot to put Mage Craft on your list! That bagbuilder, spellcasting, combobuilding thing with the gems. Thanks to your review I hunted it down and its a great game!

[@Hieronymus-Pseudonymous]

Interesting choice for a redo. Have you discovered that many better obscure games since last time?

[@jamesbrazeal3847]

Grog Island and Comix.. favorite obscure games

[@DarthEd77]

Tom, since you like Magical Athlete, have you played Monster Derby? It's pretty similar, I think.

[@Keithustus]

My vote goes to Château Roquefort (2007), a box-is-the-castle game of mice trying to collect cheese and falling into pits when other players move the ceilings around and trap them in pits. Great kids game!

[@Steve-L]

1. Trias: an older game, that is out of print and is my 2nd favorite game of all time. It is a tile game, where the start of the game you have the super continent Pangaea, and the players have dinosaurs. During the game you break up the continent and move your dinosaurs to new islands. Points are scored for how big the islands are and who has the most dinosaurs on them. I don't care for most thinky games, but this has a different kind of thinkiness to it that I love. 2. Three Dragon Ante: an out of print game, there were 2 versions. I don't see this game get mentioned. It is a card game. The game is a combination of luck and skill, and blends concepts from traditional card games such as poker, hearts, and rummy. It is currently my 10th favorite game of all time. 3. Boomtown: this game has seen some love and mention, but not much and it is out of print. It is my 25th favorite game of all time. Another card game with the old west mining theme. 4. Crude: The Oil Game: a much older game (1974) and is currently my 27th favorite game of all time. I was amazed how this older game seemd modern in mechanics when I played it teh 1st time 2 years ago. 5. Heebie Jeebies: an obvious rip-off of Say Anything, but this party game is pretty fun. I revcently got it, and we like it. My 54th favorite game. 6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: a replacement to the Lord of the Rings co-op but dice driven. My 63rd favorite game. 7. Pony Express: an out of print old west race game, with a small amount of dexterity, as well as a Liar's Dice mecchanic. My 87th favorite game.

[@juanpablozabala4975]

Great pick Sam! I soo want to buy this game but just can't

[@michaelrodriguez3129]

Would have like to see Zee put Longshot on the list. He mentioned it at Pax Unplugged and it's rumored to be in the process of being reprinted.

[@TheEdgeOfThought]

If ever I walk away from the board game hobby, watching your videos will be one of the greater things I'll miss. Not planning such a life change, but it's been considered. It's been nice meeting you all at GenCon a couple times, and got some of your promo/exclusive stuff (onitama cards, woo!).

[@elizabethgiebler9393]

Someone brought clacks to a game night. I really enjoyed it. Although we didn't win and played 3 times. It is definitely not an easy game.

[@fullmetaladam86]

Got Eruption from Amazon a month ago after playing it a lot on boardgamearena. Very good game.

[@Castorshells]

Any of y'all ever play Frozen Cortex? I think it's only on Steam. I wonder and would love to see that translated to a board game. Frozen Cortex is futuristic football type game.

[@DoctorGarro]

Oh, my... I want to play that poop game BADLY! Sounds like something that will keep you in your seat for hours! (Honestly, it sounds awesome).

[@MrGreeneyes77]

What is that "elos" game Z talks about that is similar to Hellas?

[@jackdraper591]

I just picked up a game called "The Swarm" created by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling. The dice tower doesn't have a review for this game which is surprising considering the creators. Would this be an obscure game?

[@ShadowedSaintTV]

My favorite obscure board game is I, Spy published by Lost Boys Productions. I think this is the best international spy game I have played. But I am open to suggestions.

[@johnr8095]

i was going to say add Battle For Hill 218. That's pretty much forgotten game. I had never even heard of Ogre 218. That might be something to pick up.

[@redeyedghost1406]

"I'm not saying I'm the voice on what obscure means." "No, you are." ROFL

[@ricksleurink5064]

Great #top10list again. Lot's of laughs here ;) My picks: The ravens of Thri Sahashri (2 pl a-symm coop with coma theme), Nichtlustig (Maffia Lemmings kind of theme with suicidal characters), Ostrakon (Greek voting/dilemma social game), Gloom (black humor card game about family tragedies). Check them out.

[@mybandishighvoltage]

I can't say whether or not Age of War is obscure, but I will say it's one of my family's favorite games. It is also one of my go to games for introducing non-gamers to modern board games.

[@ericfrancis7816]

I'm sure someone beat me to this, but: Sam, the book is Going Postal, and it's one of the best of the Discworld books.

[@bobnetherton4957]

I was a bit surprised to see Artifacts Inc on the list, but I certainly agree with Sam's point that it is sort of lost sitting on the shelves next to Near and Far and Above and Below. That is infortunate because it is a rather nice worker placement game with very cool artwork.

[@jessicajudge9326]

Very limited replay though- seems like the same game every time. It was advertised on amazon lately on sale. Got it for christmas and I'm already ready to sell it on.

[@bobnetherton4957]

Thanks for the heads up. I haven't played it enough to see that, but I'll keep an eye out. Appreciate the information.

[@blankcanvaseventdecor]

Yay, some love for Artifacts Inc. I love that one.

[@cephalopad]

When Tom was doing the lead-in to his number one game I was really hoping it was going to be Vicious Fishes.

[@KristoVaher]

Tintas seems nice, but I'd place Ekö in its place? :D Has Zee played it?

[@headphonecatty]

Treasure Lair. The first time I saw this game was on clearance at my FLGS early 2017 and I have not seen it anywhere since. Shame cuz it’s a really fun game, though not perfect.

[@jayneeschultz9467]

Do you have a search engine for finding every game which you have reviewed "

[@warmachineuk]

I'm surprised On the Underground is considered obscure. It still gets played at Manircon in the UK.

[@sad0happy]

How 'bout a revisit to other Top 10 like Top 10 Eurogames/worker placement/Area Control etc.

[@Patronux]

sad0happy YES!!!

[@jean-paularends4535]

Yes! A new Workerplacement-list!!! Please make that happen! :)

[@orangestic]

Yeeessss!!

[@BlimpMcGee]

I will never be able to look at Sam with a straight face everytime it's time for his number 2

[@ArnieHorta]

V-Commandos is a Canadian game, not European.

[@brentpollock7638]

Triton Noir is an independent studio creating and publishing board games. Founded in 2014 by Thibaud de la Touanne, we are located in Montréal.

[@JamieMaltmanTube]

I was going to say - I saw you guys at BreakoutCon in Toronto last year, and was pretty sure you were Canadian and the game could be found in Quebec at least. :)

[@benediktcz]

is it based on the computer game commandos?

[@erictighe1683]

V-Commandos is great, have it from the Kickstarter.

[@maltebrigge]

Tom is absolutely right about the difference between gangsta and gangster. They have different meanings. Linguist John McWhorter talks about it in depth on a recent episode of his Lexicon Valley podcast.

[@nelstevens3951]

have 17 of them (6 Zee, 6 Tom, 5 Sam) so guess that means I must be pretty obscure. Some of ones I don't have yet on the list also interest me quite some though, so even more obscurity on the lure...

[@ignacioiglesis5593]

I'm from Chile and Zee is right... Yeah Gangsta!

[@JohnLudlow]

I've mentioned this before, but mine is Drako, which I feel is sort of obscure.

[@hyvll]

Probably been said before, but V-Commandos if from a french canadian studio.

[@mydemon]

I wanted to hear more about that Elk Burger

[@smoothcriminal28]

#7 was a Riot man. That shit was funny as hell lmao

[@Brettballett]

You should made a list of most "rare" and "expansive" games which are hard to find :-)

[@Steve-L]

That would require a lot of home work, which would eat too much of their valuable time.

[@Pelcurus]

My top ten obscure games (I'm not sure how obscure they are, but I see very little on these games) 10 - The Hellgame Only on the list because of the rulebook which reads like a job orientation guide about working for the underworld (with Terry Pratchett style asterisks). Not a bad game but very hard to play with all the tiny cardboard squares involved. But really, the rule book is as entertaining as Space Alert's. 9 - FaceEater This game is stupid, but it's so over the top stupid that it's fun. It's kind of a very chaotic Gin Rummy with cards that are broken and bad 80's metalhead art. It's not uncommon to have one player go out on the first round, have that win stolen from him, and have the whole game just get sunk so nobody scores well. 8- Alcatraz Players are working together to escape Alcatraz. Every turn, somebody has to be a scapegoat, who can't do much, but might end up getting cards to screw everybody else up. The best part is that either everybody loses or everybody but one player wins meaning the end game is one person, essentially, being voted as the traitor trying to ruin the escape of the other players. 7 - Locke and Key The only Cryptozoic game I would consider a good game. A simple trick taking game where players have to bid cards of a certain color and amount to take the point card. The game has a bluffing mechanic, as all cards of the matching color add up to see if the card is taken. What really sells the game, though is that player's may aim for second place each round because the bonus for second is often as good or better than getting the points. 6 - Barbarossa/El Alamein I don't these are not well known, but rather they're not well known for being pretty solid deckbuilding games. The theme of WWII anime babes tend to make people overlook these as being only sold for that theme. I expected little else, but it was surprisingly a fun game. Most people don't know these games were originally printed with WWII stock pictures and not they're more perverse art. Worth the try. 5 - Space Station Zemo A game printed and given for free with Inquest Gamer. Players are trying to activate the last escape pod with their secret code while searching rooms to find equipment to fight each other. It's got the feel of a Munchkin game but with more in-depth gameplay. While still not a very deep game, it's a pretty fun time waster. 4 - Evil Baby Orphanage A game where Time Nannies are trying to pre-habilitate the worst people throughout history by teaching them proper behavior while they're babies. Most of the game is done by the controlling the actions of the babies by either discouraging or encouraging their behavior. Whoever has the set amount of points worth of babies at the beginning of their turn wins. 3- The Opulent Players are working together to run a speakeasy and earn money by trying to keep various mobsters, aristocrats, celebrities, and politicians happy when they visit. One player is the doorman who decides who can and can't get in while trying to keep the line from getting overfilled. One player is the bandleader who tries to get the band to play on tempo in the right key to keep the people on the floor happy. One player is the bartender who is trying to provide the types of drinks each class likes. The last player is the manager that's just trying to make up for wherever the other players are falling short. Each role is played very differently and there are several scenarios to change the game enough from the regular game to keep it feeling fresh. 2 - Discworld: Ankh Morpork I own every Discworld themed game (including Clacks) and this is the only one I enjoy playing. It's an area control game where players are trying to meet their hidden win condition by playing cards to place and remove figures to the board. Gameplay is very simple and intuitive as all of the gameplay is right on the cards you played. 1- Arcana My favorite deckbuilder. This is more than just buy cards and shuffle them into your deck to re-use them later. Players are actually bidding on each card they want, so an extra level of depth and interactivity that is lacking in most deckbuilders. Each player also has a different deck so there are different strengths that each player can build to. The game comes with extra cards to add variants and adding each and/or every one improves the game. (I'd recommend using them all.)

[@lewiszephyr3596]

Sam needs to read the Pratchett books. They are a riot.

[@ericdollarhyde3296]

artifacts inc!! on my shelf!!killer game!! sam healey for the win!!...

[@gejyspa]

Yup. Pretty obscure, alright. The only one on those lists I've heard of (and played) is Artifacts, inc. Other obscure games that would be on my top ten are Dark Cults, Cue Me!, I Think You Think I think, and I.D.: the Identity Game (alas, I own none of these)