What is tile placement? + My top 10 tile placement games! | BOARD GAME 101

[@dxi5593]

Can’t forget the classic Carcassonne! It’s simple to learn but surprisingly very strategic and hard to master. Planet Unknown is also great and it’s easy to learn.

[@marcelineleiman4330]

Tile Placement is one of my favorite mechanisms as well! I like it most combined with route-building. My favorite is Curious Cargo at the moment. It leans medium-heavy, but it’s so fun!

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

Ohhh that’s an interesting combo I have never tried! I have heard great things about Curios Cargo! 😊👍🏻

[@starshocker]

I love a good tile placement game. For now I've got Honey buzz, Carcassonne and Cascadia. But I've got some new ones on my radar right now. Such as Miyagi and Tenpenny parks.

[@natelinhart114]

Thanks so much for the shoutout for Tenpenny Parks!! It's an honor to be this high on your list!

[@jrpanama]

Just discovered your channel some days ago. I like, I suscribe!! Keep the good work!

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

AWH!!! Thank you so so much! Welcome to the garden. We are happy to have you! 😊🪴

[@Tablenauts]

I've never even heard of Whatnot Cabinet, but it looks neat! Tile placement is always a hit at my house (Doolin), and some of our favorites are Calico, Honey Buzz, and Azul.

[@bukharagunboat8466]

My first experience of tile placement was Drive (Pepys, 1960). Up to 4 players attempt to travel between two houses, building the road as they go. Great fun for younger players, but the road signs are British. My 16 year old still loves it. In my teens I played Sorcerer's Cave (build the dungeon as you explore it and add characters to your party). I still have Mystic Wood, an Arthurian knight adventure exploring a wood built from tiles to complete quests while dealing with the wood's denizens.

[@yishnir]

Karuba is a fun light tile placement puzzle game that works well for my family, particularly as a gateway game and for mixed-age groups. Similarly Alhambra is a good, all-ages game. We also enjoy Cosmic Colonies, which combines simultaneous-selection and polyomino placement. Lastly, we're 'very' excited about Trailblazers, though it's currently on pre-order.

[@Kirk-Dennison-Thunderworks]

Great list of games! I really enjoy Castles of Burgundy and Cascadia. My City is great too! Thanks for posting about Tenpenny Parks! So glad to hear you are enjoying it.

[@fredcpii]

The “Forbidden” series is great! The Desert is probably the best one.

[@ericcorson1436]

Isle of Cats is fun. Cascadia is one of our favorites. Easy to teach and hit the table. Obsession is amazing. Didn’t really think I would like the theme. Never watched Downton Abbey but we started after playing this game. Really love it. So gets you in the mode…tea…Downton Abbey music in the background. So good. Great list.

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

I’m so excited to get Isle Of Cats to the table and for Obsession to finally arrive! Ugh it’s taking so long. Francis ordered Ark Nova and Obsession back in May! Crazy.

[@aaronmcdonald9133]

Thank you, I really enjoyed the list. I was waiting to see when Carcassonne would be mentioned, so a little surprised it didn't get mentioned. It's so good with the Traders and Builders expansion. Much older than most of the games on your list, but I never really tire of it.

[@palacsintaz]

Nice list. Whistle Mountain is another great and unique take on worker placement and tile laying.

[@shannonvyvey966]

A couple to try are Overboss, Explorers of the North Sea and Mine Craft: Builders and Biomes.

[@stafio]

I love the use of chonky to describe the box size of Caverna. A few others have mentioned it, but Small Islands is a good one you should check out. Building out a map style game with an interesting control and limit on ending rounds. It also has a solo mode

[@lauranapier6974]

Great video as always! I was so curious to see where/if 'Cascadia' would land on the list! So glad you're liking it. I'm definitely going to add 'Sub Terra' to the wish list! And I'll definitely need to try 'Castles of Burgundy' and 'Caverna' - Those are two that I've not thought much about because the artwork doesn't draw me in but I hear great things!

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

Girl I am so happy I finally purchased Cascadia! 😊👏🏻 and you should definitely at least look into both Castles Of Burgundy and Caverna! Not going to lie, if Francis didn’t purchase both of them I don’t know if I would have ever purchased them myself. I’m the same way with the art. They both don’t pull me in but I am so glad I was able to give them a try because of Francis. They are both great games and have taught me to never judge a game by its cover. Those and Concordia. 🤣👏🏻

[@ameritrashtalk36]

I love tile placement! Overboss is a favorite solo of mine. It has two solo versions a score case and a campaign. I also really like Takenoko, Suburbia, God's Love Dinosaurs (100% does not get enough love), Hall of the Mountain King, and The Night Cage (for spooky season)

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

Oohhhh I need to add Overboss to my list! I see Foster The Meeple always talk so highly of it as well. And if it has great solo variants, count me in! 😊👏🏻 I love Takenoko! Why didn’t I include that in my list!? I don’t think I though of it as a tile placement but it totally is! Ugh! I’m such a ding dong! 🤦🏻‍♀️ Takenoko would have probably been #8 or #9 honestly! I’ll have to check out the others you mentioned! Thanks!

[@andrewwagner3462]

Agreed on Overboss! I wasn't sure if it would feel redundant considering I already have and love Cascadia. But really the only common thing they share is the paired drafting of tile and token.i would highly recommend it if you love the mechanisms in Cascadia!

[@JJ_TheGreat]

I will have to try Overboss at some point. The theme really intrigues me! :-)

[@jimphilidor9031]

My favorite tile placement game is Tigris & Euphrates - an old classic by Reiner Knizia. And Takenoko is fun with kids. I've wanted Honey Buzz for quite a while. It looks so sun and cute.

[@santeeblack3580]

Considering how much you love tile placement and layering ... You should look into Paris city of lights , spelt in French.. it's a great two player..

[@CandiceLikes]

Love Caverna! Good list.

[@gurnblanston2848]

I was excited to see the title of this video, because I LOVE tile placement games! Cascadia is a favorite of mine, but I have not tried it solo yet. I'll have to soon! Very excited for Planet Unknown and Clank! Catacombs, too!

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

You need to try Cascadia out solo! It’s great! 😊👏🏻 can’t wait for both of those games! I already know I’m going to enjoy them!

[@seanh5671]

Great list! My City was an absolute blast! One of my favorite board game experiences so far. Really looking forward to My Island! Paris and Botanik are both excellent two player games, and if you like Barenpark and Miyabi, you may enjoy Llamaland as well. :)

[@tempestfury8324]

New subscriber! I really enjoy your content and friendly approach to your channel! Thank you! Tile placement isn't my favorite game mechanism but I do enjoy it and I'm always on the lookout for something interesting and fun. I also appreciate the timestamps, it's a nice touch!

[@footsoldier1468]

I think you would really like Rajas of the Ganges and Keyflower. Both have worker placement and tile laying 👍🏻

[@nihlify]

Haven't played a ton of these but here's some I like. 1. A Feast for Odin. (My favorite Uwe game) 2. Land vs Sea (carcassonne vibes but much better 1v1) 3. Carcassonne (with expansions) (Great variability with the big box versions) 4. Small Islands 5. Overboss: A Boss Monster Adventure I have tried to get a hold of Sub Terra to no avail. Also hoping to play Cascadia soon. I'm waiting for the new version of Castles of Burgundy before playing.

[@gamenightasmr]

Ive been really enjoying Between Two Cities! A nice lil twist on tile placement!

[@grantfraser5430]

Ark Nova is definitely a top game. It has tile placement but I would consider action selection its driving mechanism.

[@KBrandes]

Great list!

[@wsiegel9539]

Planet Unknown has quickly become my number one Tile/Polyomino game of the year. I think you will love it. It plays well at 6 as actions are simultaneous. To play at 2 players, use a variant that rolls a dice between every player to turn the SUSAN.

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

Ohhh no way! That’s amazing. We are actually in need of more large player count games! It looks great! Now to just find where I can buy a copy! 👀😊

[@andrewkeane9077]

Highly recommend Feast for Odin and Glen More II Chronicles.

[@blakwngbrd]

Planet Unknown is terrific! I would love to hear what you think about Small Islands as well.

[@IllBuythePopcorn]

Cascadia is so good. I just solo it and loved it. super chill game. I really want to try castles of burgundy and tenpenny parks.

[@xxhawkdancerxx]

LOL I was wondering where Isle of Cats was! 😂 I ADORE honey buzz, and actually just finished a game of Land Vs Sea today. I’ve been wanting to try Cascadia & Paris!

[@MarinaS341]

LOVE cascadia! I play it solo more than any other games in my shelf right now

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

It’s so much fun solo! And do easy to just set up and start playing! 👏🏻

[@dmillar71]

If you love Caverna, you definitely need to give A Feast For Odin a play...and I highly recommend My City. I think you two will love it.

[@LaChazzz]

If you enjoy Cascadia and Calico, I would suggest Overboss if you haven't tried it yet 😊

[@BobbiLaMont]

I love tile placement and DorfRomantik is probably my favorite one.

[@joannahiles6227]

Love the look of Tenpenny Parks! Have you played Funfair? Have Funfair in our collection and was wondering if it played different enough to have both?

[@KristieMJM]

TenPenny Park reminds me of The Grand Carnival! Have you checked that one out yet? I have Project L, and its a lot of fun! I played it with my stepsister, and then asked for it for her birthday.

[@rolling.reggie]

Lovely list! I love Tile Placement. So many unique ways to do it. I would say my top 5 are: Kingdomino, Botanik, Living Forest (kind of a cheat xd), Cascadia & Calico.

[@draheim90]

Great list and love seeing the Caverna love again! It’s still my favorite game but for some reason I don’t really think of it as tile placement game so it wouldn’t have made my personal top 10 list (same with Agricola). I think you’ll really like A Feast for Odin (highly recommend it with the Norwegian’s expansion) and Ark Nova based on games you seem to enjoy. Botanik and My City are both great! Project L and Castles of Burgundy didn’t land for me but some people in my playgroup like them a lot. You might look into Queendomino, recently played that one and liked it a lot more than Kingdomino. I bought Paris: City of Light a while ago but am going to cull it without playing it because my gaming buddy has no interest in it, and there are so many other games we need to try that I’m more excited about. I’m happy to ship it to you (no cost) if you’re comfortable sending me an address to send it to.

[@JJ_TheGreat]

16:59 Really? I prefer Calico, BECAUSE it is a tighter, more restricting, constraining game. I like the challenge of trying to find that one tile which is a green, striped tile to put down in this one particular space on my quilt - because that would pay off by giving me 15 points… but will it come out? And even if it does, will you take it before I am able to?

[@GregHu77]

Theres is an outsider 6 Castles which is a very interesting game . Also akropolis seems to be a game in the cascadia family have you played any of them;

[@randalladkins7452]

Amropolis was one that was a hit at this year’s Gen Con you may want to look into. :)

[@RafaelMartins-wq4bt]

Hello Jenna. Planet Unknown is also a good One. Nice video

[@ludwigmises]

Jenna, good list you did there. My game group enjoys tile placement. Though I tend to get my butt kicked each time we play Sub Terra. We play Whatnot Cabinet about every 2 weeks.

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

Thank you so much! Sub Terra can be so frustrating but it’s definitely another game that you can’t take too seriously! Just a fun time trying to escape the cave with some friends! Love it. 😊👍🏻 and nice! I need to play The Whatnot Cabinet again!

[@rich926]

Have u compared Agricola to Caverna? Curious to see which u would like better

[@pizzafreaket]

One thing that strikes me is that the game play reminds me a lot of Viticulture but set in a bee world. Haha! :) Maybe that is a game night setup. First Honey Buzz, then Viticulture.

[@jamesmorgan1967]

We love The Whatnot Cabinet and Cascadia. I play both solo as well. Have you tried The Night Cage yet?

[@syarousimiwa]

I’m enjoying your video from Japan,thank you! If you want a simple and fun tile placement game,I'll definitely recommend Alice's Garden!

[@JJ_TheGreat]

1:20 Jenna, I would like to see one of these videos on Engine-Building and/or Tableau-Building!

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

Ohhh yes! Those are definitely coming in the future! LOVE both of those mechanisms! 😊👍🏻

[@hecate_oh777]

Sub Terra was one of my 1st games, (after buying Palm Island 1st, and Patchwork-like games, Cottage Garden, Indian summer, all Rosenberg games). Sub Terra hard to win but so pleasant to play! I have the Annihilation expansion, in which you can poison the creatures' nests! That''s a satisfying sensation!^^ I must get it out soon! I have to check The Whatnot Cabinet, I already put it on my wish list after what you said. And I have to "study" the Honey Buzz case! ^^I've been intrigued by it for some time. Cascadia is brilliant, as well as Calico I love them the same way. I 'd like to quote : - Ark Nova (you'll love it!) - Betrayal at House on Hill (you build a spooky house with tiles. I hope the 2nd edition is prettier than the 1st. Those miniatures mein Gott!!!!! They were ugly!) - Coma Ward - Akropolis, - Factory Funner (it makes my brain boil !!!!🤯), - Azul of course, - Savannah Park They are all fantastic and so good to play! Funnily enough for a cat lover like me (10 rescued stray cats 😳, among them 5 two-weeks babies 🫠 at the moment at home!!!! I'm trying to find cat rescue associations but they are all overwhelmed unfortunately....) well : I didn't try the Isle of Cats yet !!!! I don't know Caverna either. But I like Rosenberg's game too! Thanks for the video and the good advice! Have a nice gaming week!

[@ZebraCatfish73]

Tile placement is always cool. Yeah Galaxy Trucker is always good fun. I have (from you list) 10, 9, 3, 2 and 1. You should put the titles next to the order in the comments. Good games! Very cr-unchy. Did I say that right? 😂 You had your hair cut. Nice hair do Jenna. Looks good. 😊👍

[@WretchinWilson]

Could you do a boardgame 101 about the difference between "light," "medium," and, I presume, "heavy" games? I hear the terms a lot and I'm not sure I understand. Does it have to do with rules complexity? Length of play? Number of minis or size of the board? Any information would be greatly appreciated!

[@UltimateDrDoom]

Light games are simple and easy to explain with not a lot of depth. Super fun and easy to get to the table though. Medium games add complexity to the model and require more set up. But they are still easy to teach. They can have tons of components but aren’t insanely rules heavy. Heavy games are crunchy and full of rules. Lots of objectives and movement. Most are lots of components but not always. But all heavy games are marked by their complexity.

[@JJ_TheGreat]

27:11 Citrus looks like a good game. It is not a polyomino game (I would much rather just play Tetris), and it is quite competitive.

[@Toady1018]

Would you suggest caverna as an introductory to Uwe games. The games always sound interesting and then I get intimidated by the all the pieces and shy away from getting one. Thanks and keep up the good work

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

Ohhh this is a great question! I would say it is! Obviously this is just based off me only playing Caverna. 🤣 I find the rules pretty straight forward. I think with Uwe’s games they always offer so many choices and that is what makes it intimidating. I have heard that Agricola is like the younger brother to Caverna so that could be a better option? Not sure. Hope this helps! 😊

[@mabinin427]

Definitely have to try Feast for Odin. Great for solo too.

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

I want it so bad! The price is the one thing holding us back for sure! Is it worth it? Might have to save up or ask for it for a birthday or something. 🤣

[@mabinin427]

@@TheBoardGameGarden Caverna was my first Uwe and loved it but I have definitely been living Feast a ton since getting it.

[@MoRaKoM]

take a look into Tang Garden, is great.

[@Tamali01]

I love Honey Buzz! I was thought you had another Uwe Rosenberg game which is New York Zoo. I am sure I have seen that one on another one of your videos? Can’t wait to see your solo plays for August. I am really keen to see more solo videos. It is really hard to find solo game reviewers that are female. Not to diss the male reviews but they seem to often be the same dungeon, adventure games and I like the diversity in your game reviews. I also have Ark Nova and Tenpenny Park on my Wishlist.

[@murph-4]

Thank you, enjoyed!

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

So glad you enjoyed! Thank you for watching and commenting! 😊

[@Jy3pr6]

Have you ever played Tang Garden?

[@jamona1121]

2 of my favourites that aren't on your list are Akropolis and Heaven & Ale

[@-Tristan-]

Caverna rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Great game.... but it's very heavy to carry and introduce to new people.

[@itsGabrielaCristina]

I played Cascadia for the first time yesterday and really enjoyed it (added it to my never-ending wishlist). I have played Kingdomino on BGA, but my physical copy should be arriving tomorrow. I have a feeling it will be a go-to filler or relaxing game. I also like Castles of Burgundy, but never enough to buy it. It's just so...ugly xD. And not even the new deluxe version appeals to me. But great gameplay mechanics.

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

NICE!! Yeah I am so glad we finally picked up Cascadia! I’m actually very tempted to buy Kingdomino as well. I play it on BGA all the time but I kind of want it physically! Or I might try Origins then see if I still want the OG as well. It’s just such a chill easy to get to the table and teach game. 😊👍🏻

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

Oh also! I totally agree about Castles Of Burgundy. 🤣 it’s so ugly but the gameplay definitely makes up for it for me.

[@darensmith1167]

My City is very good legacy game.

[@J-Wheeler-G]

Cascadia is a brilliant game.

[@TheBoardGameGarden]

It really is! It was always so hyped and for some reason I didn’t want to give into the hype. 🤣 but it is hyped for a good reason. So much fun!

[@J-Wheeler-G]

@@TheBoardGameGarden I played way before all the hype so that wasn't an issue for me. But I feel you, happens to me all the time.

[@johnsparegrave5996]

Spiel des Jahres is pronounced Shpeeldèsyareuss