by sean johnson
This is hands down my favorite set of blog post to make every year. This is also my ninth time to compile a list of my favorite games. Starting last year, I expanded the list to my top fifty. At this point I have played over a thousand unique games, so the top 50 represent what I think are the best 5% or so of every game I have ever played. I did not look at my previous list before making this list. This year I used the Game Ranking Engine by pubmeeple.com to make this list. After the engine put out its results I modified a couple of positions to better reflect what I thought.There are ten games on this list that are new. I also feel like there was a lot more shifting this year than previous years. I think that reflects some sort of shift in my overall feelings on games, but I am not sure what that shift is yet.
The number the game lists how the position has changed from the last time I had it on a list. These are games 50 to 26 of my favorite games ever (at least for this year)
50. Codenames(New!)
When I first played this game I thought it was OK, but my opinion on this game has really increased as I have played it more. It is fun to try to create or interpret connections between words. This game is fun to play on either side, but I much prefer to play the spymaster who gives the clues. I am honestly kind of looking forward to the Disney version.
49. Bootleggers(-7)
I really enjoy this card drafting, area controlling, wheeling & dealing, game of whiskey running gangsters. This is the very first game I ever played at a game group of any kind, so it might also have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for that reason. This game needs at least four players to really get interesting, so it is hard to get it played. A couple of years ago I got the Casino expansion for really cheap, but I have yet to play with it.
48. Dominion(-16)
I feel bad for Dominion. I used to have this game rated #2, and I still do like it. The reason why it has dropped so much for me is because we never play it. For me the fun in Dominion came from the sense of discovery and exploration of card combinations. That exploration needs playing the game a lot so I can remember and compare how things work together. For the first several years in gaming, that is what happened. However, my wife is burned out on this game. I would not be surprised when we get around to playing it this year she recommends trading it.
47. Citadels(-2)
Considering that I added nine games to the list above this one, the fact that Citadels only slid two places reflects that this game stands the test of time. Citadels is a game we have had since the beginning and it is still one that I get played with some regularity. It is possible to get hosed by the roles sometimes (last game I played I was assassinated or robbed from over half the rounds in the game), but the basic role selection mechanism in this game is something I enjoy a lot.
46. Fleet(-9)
I am a little surprised that this game dropped, but at the same time after I looked over the results I did not move it so this is the right spot for it. As always, this is Fleet with Arctic Bounty. My biggest issue of this game is a logistics one. Storing the game requires both the base box and the expansion box, so unpacking and packing is a bit of a pain. It is also time consuming to build the deck and then re-separate it all. I suppose that is a necessary evil, but honestly that probably pulls it down just a bit for me.
45. Yomi(-4)
I think the back and forth card play of a card game is a natural fit with a fighting video game theme. I am not the only one to think this as there are several different games that attempt to do this. I really enjoyed Exceed last year, but I think this is still my favorite game of this nature. The appeal of Yomi is the simplicity of the game. The paper-rock-scissors mechanism works well. This game has a good feeling of back and forth momentum, and pulling off the super special move combo does feel really awesome.
44. London(-8)
My wife and I tend to really like tableau building games and this is one of the more complex ones. We both enjoy this game but find it a bit better with three or four players. The issue with a two player game is that each player sees roughly half the cards so it is much easier for us to get (or even fish) for the cards we want. This creates a bit of a static game experience. As new games have come out that has caused this to stagnate a bit in my thoughts and slide back, but it is still a game we enjoy enough that I think it belongs in my top 50.
43. Blood Rage(-3)
This is the only game in my top 50 that I do not own. It is also the only game on the list that my wife has not played. I am not sure if she would like this game. I think she would enjoy the drafting, but it is possible for people to mess with her stuff. However, your guys dying can actually be a good thing, so who knows? I should really borrow this game from someone to have her play it. If she likes it at all, then this is a game that belongs on our shelves.
42. Washington's War(-12)
In 2015 this game popped up on my list at #30 (the highest I went at that time). It stayed at the same spot in 2016, but it slides back this year. I am not sure why because this is still my favorite game of this type. Since I made this list last year I had the chance to play GAME and GAME. They are similar to theme and scope to this one, but I still think Washington’s Wars is the better game and the one that is more fun to play.
41. Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game(NEW!)
This is technically new, but really it is a replacement for Attack Wing. Last year Attack Wing had slid all of the way to #48. I continued to be less enamored by that game series, but I still like the Flight Path system. I have seen the light with X-Wing. I have more or less committed to playing this game casually, and I will only be getting the Resistance/First Order ships from the new movie time period. Because Force Awaken starter sets were available for cheap I have plenty of ship without spending too much. My son is almost to the age where he can really start playing with this game with me, and I am looking forward to that a lot.
40. Islebound(NEW)
This is the game on this list that I have played the least, so I imagine by next year it will rise or fall depending on how my opinion solidifies. Right now I feel fairly positive about the game. I like the game mechanisms that Ryan Laucket creates, and I like how it comes together to make a light 4X(ish) style game with a fun nautical theme.
39. Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game(-6)
This continues to be my favorite zombie game. I have everything but Blood in the Forest, and even though I like the idea of having it all I am not sure if I will track that down. Unfortunately, I have only gotten EXPANSION out a couple of times. We do have an annual zombie day, but this game has not been played on that for a while because my brother is only so/so on this game. I do like that I can use the carnies from GAME in this one though, and I will play with the dancing bear every chance I get.
38. Discworld: Ankh-Morpork [BGCOLOR=#FF0000](-9)[/BGCOLOR]
This is the second Martin Wallace game on my favorite games list (but not my last!) We tend to really like Martin Wallace games in the lite to medium-lite range. This is a fun area control game that has really great card play. This is yet another game that does not get played enough because of player count. The two player game is good, but I think this game is better with three or four because more players mean more objective variety and the occasional meanness in the game gets spread out more.
37. Glory to Rome(-6)
Speaking of designers, a designer I should really like is Carl Chudyk. However, with the exception of this game which I enjoy a lot I dislike all of his other games I have played. I do like this game though. I enjoy building a tableau and I like how each game can be so different based on the card that get built. This game dropped a bit for me though because I think it dropped a bit more for my wife.
36. Hammer of the Scots(-13)
This game first made my favorite game list in 2013, and since then every year it has been in the mid 30’s, but this year it plummets. I mentioned that I feel like my feelings towards games might be shifting, and I think one of the major was that shift is occurring is that I am moving away from war games. I enjoy lite war games, but they just do not get played enough. My wife does not care for them and they are hard to get played at game nights. Despite that I really like the Columbia games block system, and this continues to be my favorite game from that system.
35. King of Tokyo(-9)
I played this game a lot in 2014 and 2015, but I only ended up playing it once in 2016. Since this is a quick filer type of experience, maybe the lack of plays accounts for the drop. I think this is a clever game and I like how it combines push your luck dice rolling with a monster theme. I need to start taking this game with me to game nights, because it is a good way to end out a night of playing games.
34. Baseball Highlights: 2045(New!)
My wife grew up in a baseball loving family, and so we have tried several baseball games. I think this is the best. The defensive actions followed by threatening runs creates a good back and forth, momentum based game play that really captures the feel of baseball. I also enjoy watching my team get better as the game goes on. The only reason why this game is not higher, is that my wife has oddly been very cool on the game.
33. Kingdom of Solomon(+10)
This is a game that I have really been wanting to play for a couple of months. I think when I made my list with the help of the game ranking engine my desire to play really shifted this game up a good deal. This is a euro game that throws in the kitchen sink. It has everything: worker placement, area control, resource management, and tableau building. It all swirls together to create a very intriguing game with a biblical theme that works for the game.
32. Lords of Vegas(+12)
Lords of Vegas is at it’s best with four players. The two player game works but nowhere near as good as the four player game. This game jumped because in the past year I got to play it with four, and that reminded me how good the game is at that player count. I still contend that this is the most thematic straight euro game I have played.
31. Deus(-2)
This game is fairly close to where it was when it debuted last year. I think one of the things that emerges from this list is that my wife and I like tableau building games. We like card games where we get cards in play in front of us and use those to generate an engine of some sort. Deus manages to combine tableau building with a board where placement and positioning matter.
30. Homesteaders(-5)
I am really happy my wife and I are playing through all of our games this year, because it means I am guaranteed to play this game at some point. This might be the game on the list that has been the longest since I played it. This game has a two player variant, but once again it works better with at least three. This also is once again a tableau building game that has some elements of worker placement and a fierce auction mechanism that creates a lot of player interaction. Even with a lack of plays that combination of mechanisms keeps this a strong game for me.
29.Ninjato(+5)
Last year when I made my favorite games list, this ninja based euro game slid back quite a bit so it now stabilizes itself and moves back into the 20’st. Ninjato is a game that has been on my favorite games list since 2012. This is a game with a fairly tight action economy that manages to put “push your luck” in a serious euro game. Amazingly, that mechanism is not out of place and really helps deliver the ninja theme.
28. City of Spies: Estoril 1942(New)
I think this game is underrated and is kind of slipping under the radar. II have really been enjoying this 2016 release. This game has an area control feel, but it is very tactical as players are only competing over spies for a single round. I really like the aspect of building up a team over the course of the game. The balance of building a team for end game scoring as well as for effectiveness is a tricky one and it is one that makes this game worth coming back to.
27.Zeppelin Attack!Zeppelin Attack!(-3)
Speaking of underrated games, this is another one that I think my wife and I champion a good deal. This is an extremely unique deck building game that plays like nothing else. I like how players can attack each other, but it never feels like they are being beat up on. There is not another game like this one and it is worth looking into.
26. Glen More(-6)
This game has been on my favorites game list since 2012, and it seems with each year newer game titles keep causing it to slip back. This is a tile placement game that has the kind of synergy and combos that typically appear in card games. I think this game is getting reprinted this year with a space theme, which is fine but I do enjoy the Scotland theme present here.