In December of 2020, I ranked all of the games I’ve rated on BGG (and therefore played) in to a top 99 list. I then posted on Instagram 9 games a day for 11 days with a little blurb on each game. I’ll try to do this annually every December going forward, just for giggles.
So here it is. Geef’s top 99 games as of December 2020:
99 – The Voyages of Marco Polo :: This game has so many options, it can be overwhelming! However, it’s really well put together, and you have many interesting decisions to make.
98 – Skull :: A bluffing game for any and all gamers. You don’t really need to lie well to play this either. A Poker face helps though…
97 – Second Chance :: A nice and quick “flip and write” where you try to fit all your Tetris pieces in to your page.
96 – Libertalia :: Yarrrr pirates. We don’t get this one out as often as we should.
95 – Forbidden Island :: This is the game I most recommend to families looking to start getting in to board games. Good fun!
94 – Hey, That’s My Fish! :: Essentially a kids game, but it’s more thinky than you’d think. I really like playing this one. A pain to set up though.
93 – Le Havre: The Inland Port :: Nice and quick. Quite different than the original Le Havre.
92 – Endeavor: Age of Sail :: Big area of control game, set in colonial times. We haven’t played this much, but it’s has many interesting decisions, and ways to mess up other players.
91 – Hansa Teutonica :: Loved this game, a real brain burner! Right up our alley. Ranked lower since we’ve only played it twice or so, and on tabletopia.com
90 – Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar :: I’ve only played this one on boardgamearena.com (BGA) so I haven’t experienced the wonder that is the board itself. I could see this moving up if we play it more.
89 – Sushi Go! :: This is a great introduction to card drafting. Cute too!
88 – The Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game :: We love the original game, so to have a quick roll and write based on it is super duper.
87 – Colt Express :: Ever wanted to rob a train? And shoot your accomplices? For fun?
86 – Detective Club :: Great party game. Very approachable. Use your artistic flair to lie to your friends.
85 – Broom Service :: Kiki’s Delivery Service, the board game. A fun kid-friendly game with lots of options to add complexity if you’re looking for something more meaty.
84 – Love Letter :: There are so many versions of this game. We’ve only played the OG.
83 – Patchwork :: A 2-player only game where Tetris meets quilt making.
82 – Seasons :: Big chunky dice! Card drafting! Tableau building! Plays well on boardgamearena.com
81 – Potion Explosion :: We’ve only ever played this online on boardgamearena.com, and that’s a shame, since there is a pretty cool toy factor to this game. Super fun, super thinky. Good opportunity to mess with other players.
80 – Raiders of the North Sea :: We’ve mostly played this on the phone app, it’s generally considered to be the best of the “North Sea” series, this has a cool worker placement scheme that is pretty original.
79 – Terraforming Mars :: It’s a very good game, and most people would have this much higher, but I’m not wild about the lack of control of what you can build. It’s all based on the cards you draw. Keep in mind, I’ve only ever played the digital game on Steam. (No expansions)
78 – Wingspan :: What a beauty this game is. 10/10 production value. The game play is pretty sharp as well. The only thing keeping this down the list is that pesky card luck. Funny that this ended up beside Terraforming Mars as I have the same problem with both of these games.
77 – Gugong :: A great take on worker placement, this game should be higher in the list, but I find that every game feels a little to similar for me. Perhaps the expansion would help with that? Not sure. Wonderful game though.
76 – 7 Wonders Duel :: I don’t like this nearly as much as the original (as you can see later in this list) but this game is kind of a gold standard of 2-player only games. Multiple ways to win + lots of decisions to make = fun? At least I think so.
75 – Codenames / Pictures / Duet :: A great intro or party game that anyone can play with a 5 minute teach. The online version works very well in Covidland.
74 – Caverna: Cave vs Cave :: We’ve never played Caverna. This 2-player version is quite nice though. Really sharp rules, plays quickly, and goes down smooth.
73 – Steampunk Rally :: Harness your inner mad scientist to create a racing machine that is completely crazy. This game also does a great job to learn people up on famous inventors in history. Pretty cool.
72 – Small World :: A classic game that we’ve been playing for years. We’ve only ever played the base game, but it never feels the same as the combo possibilities are uh, really high. I don’t like this with 3 players, only because generally one player will feel picked on. Every other player count for me, works really well.
71 – Puerto Rico :: Often imitated, never duplicated, Puerto Rico is a classic for a reason. It’s very beige, and very euro, but it still delivers tasty decisions, and ways to screw over your friends.
70 – Eminent Domain :: This galactic empire builder uses the same “I pick an action, you can do it too” as Puerto Rico, but puts a deck builder spin on it. The expansions add some nice things as well. We used to play this quite a bit. Not so much lately.
69 – Ticket to Ride (All manifestations) :: I think Europe is the one I like best of the series that I’ve played. A good gateway game that you can generally get anyone to play.
68 – The Quacks of Quedlinburg :: A family friendly push your luck game, where you’re trying to build the best potions in all of Quedlinburg. It’s fun to play with the kids, and I feel it’s not for “serious gamers”, but that’s not a bad thing.
67 – Pit :: Not a game for quiet spaces. I’ve had some games of this that I still remember 20 years later. Great loud fun. We play with a family variant that adds pennies on the table (1 less than players), where everyone grabs one after someone goes out. If you are the odd person out, you lose points. So you have to pay attention!
66 – Star Realms :: We play this on the very robust phone app. A deck builder that lets you build combos based on the factions of the cards you buy. Very similar to the Legendary series of deck builders.
65 – Pandemic :: I love this game, but I’m the guy who wants to quarterback the whole thing. We don’t play a lot of Co-Op, but this classic is great fun.
64 – Extraordinary Adventures: Pirates :: Deck building pirate race game. You have a delicate balance of what you want to do. My only complaint is that it takes longer than it should.
63 – Air, Land & Sea :: Very sharp 2-person game. Plays quickly, and has a really neat mechanic where you can withdraw early when you think you’re going to lose, so that your opponent gets less points.
62 – Teotihuacan: City of Gods :: We’ve only played this on boardgamearena.com, so we haven’t seen this in all it’s glory. That being said, it’s a really sharp game where you have to maximize your dice-men-dudes.
61 – Downforce :: Very accessible car-racing game. Easy to learn, but still has some tough choices along the way. Expansion maps can be a bit crazy, which is fun.
60 – Tiny Towns :: Plays like a phone app. Place cubes to fulfill a recipe that will construct a building. Don’t run out of space though!
59 – Dice Forge :: Cool game where you make your own dice. It’s a nice experience in-person, though the boardgamearena.com version is pretty reasonable.
58 – Rococo :: Louis XV called, he wants some dresses for a ball. Dressmaking is cool ok? Sharp game. Lots of fun.
57 – The Fox in the Forest :: I love trick-taking games, and this game comes up with some clever mechanics to have a 2-player version. You get 0 points if you’re too greedy and take all (or almost all) of the tricks, and all of the odd-numbers cards have special powers that mix things up.
56 – Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small :: Mini Agricola, no fields, and you don’t have to feed your people. It makes it for a quick and sharp experience. I would think having a “more buildings” expansion is pretty much mandatory to keep it from each game being too similar.
55 – Above and Below :: This is just about as close to role playing that we get. Half adventure game, half tableau building, this game is a lot of fun.
54 – Azul :: Abstract puzzle solving with the possibility to screw over your opponents. What’s not to like?
53 – Targi :: More games should look at the mechanics of this very good worker placement game. The expansion is good, but not required.
52 – Takenoko :: These pandas don’t feed themselves… Another good intro to board game option. Cute aesthetic too!
51 – Kingdom Builder :: I never gave this game a look until it showed up on boardgamearena.com. I always thought it looked too simplistic, and/or boring. Boy was I wrong! Way more crunchy that it looks. Lots to chew on, lots of variability. Good game!
50 – Kingdomino :: Dominos, but instead of numbers, it’s terrain types. Super fun, super quick. I like this one a lot.
49 – Carcassonne :: Our personal gateway game. We got it free on xbox 360 and the voyage begun.
48 – Jaipur :: Great 2-player game. Very tactical. There’s lots of digital options as well
47 – Alhambra :: We’ve played this one a lot. Easy enough to teach. We haven’t really ever played with any of the many expansions.
46 – Fantastic Factories :: Easy to approach engine-building game. Use dice rolls to create new factories, and then run them for points or resources.
45 – Charterstone :: 12 chapter legacy game, that gives you good decisions all the way through. The first game or two are a little basic if you’re a worker placement expert. We played the whole thing, and have the recharge pack to do it again someday.
44 – Yokohama :: So much you can do, so many ways to do it. I really like the way this game puts a spin on worker placement.
43 – PARKS :: Why is the title for this in all caps? Am I being yelled at? Love the art, the gameplay is sharp, and it has more depth than you’d think by looking at it.
42 – Winter Kingdom :: Kingdom builder 2.0 that takes the original game up to 11. What I like most about this new take on a classic, is the amount of control you have gaining abilities, and the crazy modifiers that make every game a new experience.
41 – Eclipse :: I love Master of Orion 2. It’s probably the video game I’ve played the most in my life. Eclipse hits me right in the MOO. So many clever mechanics in this game. All of the 4X, without having to spend 10 hours playing the game.
40 – Concordia :: The mechanics on this game are so good. The theme is pretty reasonable for the euro game that this is. I enjoy this one a lot.
39 – Stone Age :: My go-to game for teaching people worker placement. We’ve been playing this for years but we still go back to it from time to time. A classic!
38 – Lords of Waterdeep :: I always have 3 games going with the phone app with various people. The expansion is pretty much a must, as it adds much needed complexity. A very good entry-level worker placement game. Games in-person can drag on a little longer that you’d like though.
37 – Secret Hitler :: It’s hard to get the required 5-10 players, but it’s worth it. I have very fond memories of previous games of this. It’s best when most people can lie well.
36 – Russian Railroads :: This fella used to by in my top 10 games. Why the drop? Although every game is different based on the engineers that are on the board, each game is still fairly similar. Still love it though. Great game. I need to explore the expansions that we own a little more.
35 – Oh My Goods! :: I don’t win this game much. It’s my lowest win percentage game, and we pretty much only play it 2-player! That being said, it’s a sharp little game, and I like what the expansions add to the game. Deeper than you’d think.
34 – Solar Draft :: What a cute quick game this is. This is a surprisingly thinky game for what it is.
33 – Eight-Minute Empire :: This game takes longer than 8 minutes, but not by much. A game distilled in to its essential parts, it’s much better than it has any right to be.
32 – Stick ‘Em :: A very unusual trick-taking game, where you don’t have to follow suit, and every suit (except the suite that was led) is trump. Your first couple of plays are so weird. But once you get the hang of it, it’s a good time. Lots of screwage of other players.
31 – Lost Cities :: This is the game that I’ve played the most times without actually owning a physical copy. My buddy Alex and I have had 2 games going on the phone app for years. We’re up to 1112 games as I write this. That seems a lot.
30 – Crokinole :: THE classic dexterity game. Are you even Canadian if you’ve never played this?
29 – Wizard :: I’ve been playing this for close to 30 years. A great introduction to trick-taking / trump games. Mixing in Wizards and Jesters help novices to escape the perils of playing with experienced players.
28 – Viscounts of the West Kingdom :: The newest of the West Kingdom game, and therefore the one we’ve played the least. I can see this easily higher on the list given more time and plays. A nice mix of various mechanics to make a game with many crunchy decisions.
27 – Can’t Stop :: Classic push your luck game. You’d think it would be easy to stop, but it turns out, you can’t.
26 – Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure :: I’ve never played the original Clank!, so I can’t make comparisons, but this
25 – Star Wars: Rebellion :: This game is for Star Wars fans only. The theme is so beautiful. You really feel like you’re in the movies. The stories this game creates is so different than what I expect from what is essentially a war game.
24 – Orleans :: We’ve only played this on tabletopia.com but I loves it. High on my wishlist. Multiple ways to be successful. Lots of strategies to explore.
23 – Agricola :: One of the earliest games of our collection. A classic! We love how unforgiving it is, and the crunch is supreme. Don’t play when you’re tired!
22 – Anachrony :: Our first play of this blew me away. SO in my wheelhouse of what I’m looking for in a game. As I play this more, I fully expect this to be in my top 10 next year.
21 – Roll Player :: Is creating your character the best part of roll playing games for you? If so, this game is for you! Use dice for your attributes, manage your alignment, and buy yourself some sweet loot!
20 – La Granja :: Are you looking to play a farm management game and Agricola is too simple for you? Try La Granja! We’ve only played it on boardgamearena.com, and it took me close to 6 games to truly figure out what is was I should be doing. You can have huge turns where you just keep figuring out how to do just one more thing. Very crunchy for the brain.
19 – Terra Mystica :: One of the greatest designs I’ve come across, and with every faction playing very differently, this game is triumph.
18 – Undaunted: Normandy :: Deck building squad-level war game. So clever and tightly made. I really enjoy playing this one, and it’s very approachable. You can even play this with kids fairly successfully. Though my youngest is only interested in shooting me to pieces.
17 – Twilight Struggle :: This was the #1 game on boardgamegeek.com for a long time, and I can see why. If you’re a kid from the 90’s or a history buff when it comes to the Cold War, this is a good game for you. The teach is a pain in the butt, but once you know how to play, you don’t have to look at the rulebook much.
16 – Viticulture Essential Edition :: The theme is so perfectly realized with the gameplay. Good level of crunchiness, fairly easy to learn and play. Plays reasonably on tabletopia.com
15 – A Feast for Odin :: A thick box that is packed full, this game is a 7 course meal. Uwe Rosenberg added Tetris to worker placement games, added a Viking theme, and created a great game. So many options, every game you can try something new.
14 – Brass: Birmingham :: Everything is great. Long game, not the easiest to teach, but wow it’s good. If you like it on the heavier side, and you like building stuff, this is the game.
13 – 6 nimmt! :: Brings out strong feelings 6 nimmt! does. I know a couple of people who hate it, and others who just can’t grock it too well. I love it, and it’s easy as pie to teach.
12 – Underwater Cities :: It takes a while to play but it doesn’t feel like it. Turns are quick, you really feel like you’re building something, and you have lots of options. This is the game I want Terraforming Mars to be. Totally fixes card luck with the way it does things. I may have this ranked too low…
11 – Everdell :: The total package. Great art, and great production and components. Gameplay is easy to teach, but there is a lot of depth. We have the Bellfaire expansion which feels like Base game 2.0. The other expansions are much more of a thing. A family favorite. This might be in Q’s top 5. If she did this sort of thing.
10 – Great Western Trail :: A modern classic. Take this cattle from this place to another place. Do some stuff on the way. Repeat. There are so many options, and different ways to win, this game is a full Ponderosa buffet of choices and decisions. The expansion is excellent, and is a must once you’re a fan of the game.
9 – Architects of the West Kingdom :: A unique take on worker placement. I can see a lot of future games taking a page out of Architect’s book. The 2-player rules that adds a dummy player are really good, and I recommend using them at all times. The expansion is good too, but you can get by without it just fine. Super good.
8 – Roll for the Galaxy :: The dice version of my #1 game, is different enough to be it’s own thing. It’s much better with the Ambition expansion. There was a time that this was in my top 5 overall, but I’ve cooled slightly since.
7 – Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization :: I grew up playing Civilization games on my computer, and TTA captures the feeling of that more than any other game I’ve played. Build your civilization over three ages, improving your infrastructure, developing technologies, and building your armies to crush your fellow players. Super great!
6 – The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine :: Wow! This game came in to my life like a freight train. Once I tried it out on boardgamearena.com, I wanted to play it all the time. What a wonderful trick-taking game experience. 50 missions of puzzle goodness. Everyone should be at a similar experience with trick-taking games to play this, as noobs would make the experienced people crazy.
5 – The Castles of Burgundy :: No game is better at using dice than this one. Such lovely choices, with the right amount of constraints. A classic for a reason. Not a starter game, but should be owned by every board game enthusiast at some point.
4 – Paladins of the West Kingdom :: We love all of the West Kingdom games, and this is my favorite one. In this game you’re working hard to extend your turn as much as possible, so that you can squeeze every last value out of your dudemen. Lot’s of crunchy decisions, lots of planning. Right in the wheelhouse of what I like in games.
3 – 7 Wonders :: My lunchtime game group’s go-to game, this is a wonderful game for newbies and pros alike. The base game is a little flat, but with the “Leaders” and “Cities” expansion, this is a great game, that we’ve played many many times.
2 – Dominion :: Quite possibly my favorite game of all time. Why #2 then? The base game without expansions is not great. When you add all of the expansions, this is a wonderful thing, that has infinite replayability. This is the game we’ve played the most of, and it’s not even close. Close to 300 times in 2020 alone. dominion.games website is a great option to play this.
1 – Race for the Galaxy :: The only BGG 10/10 in my collection, as I’d play this in any form at any time. The expansions add things I love, but the base game is still delicious. I recommend this game to everyone that asks me what game they should get. No game does more with a deck of cards than this one. boardgamearena.com has a great implementation as well.
Whew! That’s the list. Which raking do you disagree with most? Leave comments on your thoughts!
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