My Top 99 Games: 2021 Edition

99 – Broom Service [-14] :: A fun kid-friendly game with lots of options to add complexity if you’re looking for something more meaty. There’s a push your luck element that is clever and enjoyable. Rating: 7/10

98 – For Sale [NEW] :: A simple auction game that makes you hate your decisions pretty immediately. Easy to teach, and quick to play. Available on BGA. Rating: 7/10

97 – The Quacks of Quedlinburg [-29] :: The modern standard for push your luck games. The basic concept is easy enough to teach, though some of the different ingredients can be a bit of a challenge for kids and newcomers. Could be 1 round shorter for my tastes. Rating: 7/10

96 – Air, Land, & Sea [-33] :: A sharp quick head to head game, that ultimately tests your confidence in your ability to win the round. Should you push on? Or chicken out? Rating: 7/10

95 – Mechanica [NEW] :: A delightful game where you build a factory to construct very helpful killer household robots. The art and comedic tone is wonderful, and any game where you build an engine is good by me. Rating: 7/10

94 – 6 nimmt! [-81] :: Very easy to teach, and good for large groups. It can feel a bit random, but there are tactics involved to help you avoid taking massive pain. Rating: 7/10

93 – Libertalia [+3] :: An incredibly interactive game that has you competing for pirate booty. You are very aware of what everyone else is doing, and trying to keep track of everything is the challenge. Rating: 7/10

92 – Le Havre: The Inland Port [+1] :: Lovely litte 2 player game that makes you try to both wait for powerful turns, and do a thing too early all at the same. Good introduction to the rondel mechanic in board games. Rating: 7/10

91 – Juicy Fruits [NEW] :: A mix of economic game and a slide puzzle, Juicy Fruits is a family weight game that has some thinking to it. We were expecting to love this more than we did, though it’s still quite solid. Rating: 7/10

90 – Steampunk Rally [-17] :: Great steampunk theme, with a lovely nod to famous inventors from history. The gameplay is fun, though the game both overstays it’s welcome a little bit. You get to throw a lot of dice which is also great. Rating: 7/10

89 – Hansa Teutonica [+2] :: Classic euro that will melt your brain a bit. Very good player interaction for a dry euro game. Haven’t played this too much, but I’ve enjoyed it very much. Rating: 7/10

88 – Colt Express [-1] :: It’s a classic western train heist, but you’re not all working together. You get to shoot at your opponents, which is always a good move. It’s a fun game to be sure, but it’s not great on BGA, so we only play it in the physical realm. Rating: 7/10

87 – Potion Explosion [-6] :: I very much want to play this in person, since the marbles seem like they’d be fun to play with. Even so, we play this on BGA and it’s still a fun game that has pretty unique gameplay. Rating: 7/10

86 – Terraforming Mars [-7] :: I do like this game, though I’ve only played it digitally, I feel that it would be a pain to play on the table with the massive sprawl of cards required. Similarly, one of the problems I have with the game is that for a big crunchy game that takes a couple of hours to play, it really boils down to how you deal with the cards you are dealt. Don’t get me wrong, I love games where you have to figure out how to deal with the cards you have. My #1 game in 2020 was Race for the Galaxy which is a classic example of that gameplay. However for a big game like this, I have trouble with that aspect of it. Perhaps the new Ares Expedition game that trims this down would be a better fit for me. Rating: 7/10

85 – Raiders of the North Sea [-5] :: Another digital-only game for me, this time with the phone app, which is 95% excellent. 5% bad for the way it handles timeouts and notifications. A lot of fun playing Vikings pillaging and recruiting more crew. You get points for the loot you capture, towns you destroy, and crew that get sent to Valhalla. Rating: 7/10

84 – Seasons [-2] :: The dice are mega-chonk, which is a lot of fun, and the art is excellent. It might be a little too much for beginners as there’s a lot of card powers to read and understand. Plays well on BGA, which is where we mostly play it nowadays. Rating: 7/10

83 – Love Letter [+1] :: I love this as an intro game for people new to the hobby. The overall mechanics are easy to teach, but there’s some extra rules for the cards. Luckily there’s reference sheets. Knocking people out is a lot of fun. Rating: 7/10

82 – Spicy [NEW] :: If you have sneaky children, this game is a great outlet for them. A game that centers around lying but the nice thing is that people can know you’re lying, but you can still escape if they choose what you were lying about incorrectly. A good bit of silly fun that is easy to teach and quick to play. Rating: 7/10

81 – Pit [-14] :: I’ve been playing Pit for close to 30 years, and I still think it’s a cracking good time. Not for quiet spaces! Rating: 7/10

80 – Codenames [-5] :: My favorite party game, and I’ll trot this out at any opportunity for groups that are typically too large for normal games. I personally like the pictures version as it gets around any vocabulary problems you might have playing with kids and adults at the same time.  Rating: 7/10

79 – Gugong [-2] :: I like the way Gugong changes the way worker placement is handled, it’s very different than any other game I’ve played. The Panjun expansion adds much needed energy to the game, breaking me out of the strategic rut that I was in when playing the base game. Rating: 7/10

78 – Glen More II: Chronicles [NEW] :: We never played the original, but this most excellent tile placement game is quite fun. The chronicles aspect is nice where you can choose what particular extra thing you want to play with. I’ve only played it with 2 and I’d like to try it with more in the near future. Rating: 7/10

77 – Tiny Towns [-17] :: I’d like to see what the expansions bring to the table, but this simple looking game really puts the screws to you as you go along. It gets really tight late. Rating: 7/10

76 – Rococo [-18] :: Some folk may not like the dress-making theme, but it’s a good game that mixes deck building and action-selection. We actually prefer the look of the original, and don’t care much for how the new super-deluxe version looks. Rating: 7/10

75 – Caverna: Cave vs Cave [-1] :: A nice and tight 2-player game. We’ve never played Caverna itself, but we like this as a quick challenging game. Rating: 7/10

74 – Alhambra [-27] :: A board game classic that I use as an introduction to the hobby. Pretty simple to teach, and the game doesn’t overstay its welcome. It won’t crunch your brain too much. Available on BGA. Rating: 7/10

73 – Teotihuacan: City of Gods [-11] :: I’d love to try this in person, since it looks so big and chonky. We’ve played this quite a bit on BGA and enjoy it quite a bit. Even though I’ve played it a bunch, there’s still a lot for me to learn how to play it effectively. Lots of different paths to victory. Rating: 7/10

72 – Beyond the Sun [NEW] :: A non-traditional space game that centres around researching technologies. Picking what to focus on is fun, and there’s a lot to discover as you play. We’ve only played this on BGA, and it’s an excellent implementation. (as far as I can tell) Rating: 7/10

71 – Puerto Rico [+0] :: Old-time goodness, Puerto Rico still holds up after all these years. Many games have taken the P.R. formula for their games including the very excellent Race for the Galaxy. I love to Captain as much as possible. Rating: 7/10

70 – Star Realms [-4] :: I haven’t played this one physically in many a year, but I almost always have a game going on the phone app. A straight-up deck-builder without any of the new bells a whistles that today’s games come with, but we still love it. Rating: 7/10

69 – Ticket to Ride (All manifestations) [+0] :: Gold standard for gateway games, this is one of the best selling modern board games of all time for a reason. Simple rules mixed with fairly good player interaction makes this series a winner. I like Europe the best that I’ve tried, but I’d recommend starting with the OG for anyone new to the hobby. Rating: 7/10

68 – Eight-Minute Empire [-35] :: Don’t let it’s size fool you, this is a nice mix of set collection and area control. Quick to play obviously, and easy to teach and help newbies along as there’s no hidden information anywhere. Rating: 7/10

67 – Pandemic [-2] :: I’m sure this was a gateway game for many people to get in to the hobby. I still love it, though I have to try to fight the quarterbacking urge when playing it. I have the Steam app for it, but it crashes all the time. So I can’t even. It’s on BGA now, so I should try to get that going. Rating: 7/10

66 – Takenoko [-14] :: Great looking game and easy to teach. We play a bunch on BGA. The 2nd edition rules suck. Rating: 7/10

65 – Expedition to Newdale [NEW] :: Continuing the story on from the excellent ‘Oh My Goods!’ this game feels familiar but adds a bunch of mechanics to broaden out the original formula. We’ve only played a couple of the scenarios so far, but it’s a fun game that feels comfortable if you know Oh My Goods! Rating: 7/10

64 – Nidavellir [NEW] :: Fairly abstract set collecting game with a blind auction mechanic. Really quick to play, and easy to teach. I’ve never played it in-person, but the BGA implementation is very good. I’ve had good success teaching this to all skill levels. Rating: 7/10

63 – Azul [-9] :: I’ve been playing this a tonne since it came out on BGA. It’s a great puzzle, and it can be more interactive than you’d think when you first look at it. Sticking people with a bunch of bad tiles is very satisfying. Plays very well at 2 players. Rating: 7/10

62 – Carcassonne [-13] :: We’ve always played board games, but Carcassonne was the game that opened our eyes to the hobby. Still love playing it today, though I do prefer it at 2 or 3 players. Once you get over that it gets a little random for my tastes. Rating: 7/10

61 – 7 Wonders Duel [+15] :: One of the big gainers from last year on this list. I played a lot of it with my friend Jen whose constant beat down of me taught me how to play the game. Greater understanding has brought greater appreciation. We pretty much only play this on BGA. Rating: 7/10

60 – Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small [-4] :: Take the classic Agricola game and distill it down to a smaller more puzzle-like experience and you get a nice tight game for two players. It takes out a lot of game-play elements from the original, including having to feed your people, but still leaves enough for it to be entertaining. Rating: 7/10

59 – Downforce [+2] :: Good racing game for all levels of board game ability. Easy to teach and play, and you have lots of opportunity to screw over other players. Plays very well on BGA, which is where I’ve been playing it lately. BGA has all the expansion maps too, which is super-bonus. Rating: 7/10

58 – Res Arcana [NEW] :: The more I played this, the more I liked it. The first few games I didn’t get what all the fuss was about. Once I learned how things worked better, and how the game flows, it is a nice bit of gaming. Lots to explore and to try out. I can see a million expansions coming out for this one. The learning curve is rough, and not the easiest to teach. We’ve been playing on BGA. Rating: 7/10

57 – Cascadia [NEW] :: This game is right up my alley. When drafting you have a lot to work on and consider, but you never feel cut-off or constrained in a way that makes you feel bad about life. A nifty puzzle. Player interaction is a little light though. Rating: 7/10

56 – The Fox in the Forest [+1] :: I love trick taking games, I’ve been playing Wizard, Hearts, and Bridge for many years. One drawback of trick taking games is that you really need 3 or 4 players for the game to work. That’s where Fox in the Forest is special; it is a 2-player trick taking game. It adds special power cards and penalties for taking too many tricks to create a really engaging trick-taking experience. Rating: 7/10

55 – Targi [-2] :: 2-player only games don’t get much better than this. The unique worker-placement system in the game is very fun. We have the expansion which is cool, but not really needed. Plays well on BGA. Rating: 7/10

54 – PARKS [-11] :: I LOVE THE ART FOR THIS GAME. IT MAKES ME FEEL HAPPY JUST TO LOOK AT IT. THE GAMEPLAY ISN’T THE DEEPEST, BUT IT STILL GIVES YOU INTERESTING DECISIONS. WE JUST GOT THE NIGHTFALL EXPANSION WHICH SHOULD JAZZ IT UP FOR US. RATING: 7/10

53 – Charterstone [-8] :: The only legacy game I’ve ever completed, Charterstone unrolls at a good pace. It doesn’t bombard you with new things faster than you want, but also doesn’t drag so that you’re tapping your foot waiting for the next thing. We have a recharge pack waiting and ready to go for a while now. Rating: 7.5/10

52 – Yokohama [-8] :: Another game that we’ve only ever played on BGA. Quite a complex game, and the learning curve on how to play well is a little steep. Lots of paths to victory, and I barely know how to play it very well, but I enjoy playing it very much. Rating: 7.5/10

51 – Above and Below [+4] :: Story-telling meets worker-placement is not a typical genre for board games, but that’s what this is. My partner in gaming (and in life , and in crime) does not go for roll playing whatsoever, but she’ll happily play this. That speaks highly of the excellent design. Rating: 7.5/10

50 – Dice Forge [+9] :: Have you ever wanted to make your own dice? This game lets you do that. It’s pretty cool when you think about it. We’ve added the Rebellion expansion this year, and it is a nice way to spice up the game if you’ve played it a bunch. Both the game and it’s expansion are on BGA and play very nicely. Rating: 7.5/10

49 – Papayoo [NEW] :: Papa me? No. Papayoo. I love trick-taking games, and this one has a great ability for wrecking people. Totally savage. We play this on BGA quite a bit. Rating: 7.5/10

48 – Russian Railroads [-12] :: When we first played this on BGA years ago, we had to track it down even though it was out of print. This was one of our favorite games for a while, but as we’ve come across more games it has faded from our love list. It’s still an excellent worker placement game, though it’s really hard to teach correctly and play well in your first game. Rating: 7.5/10

47 – Kingdom Builder [+4] :: Upon first inspection you may think this game is lame, all you’re doing on your turn is adding three cubes to a map. Do not be deceived. This is delightful game full of interesting choices, and there is more player interaction than you’d expect. Very easy to teach, and plays wonderfully on BGA. Rating: 7.5/10

46 – Circle the Wagons [NEW] :: A tiny tiny game that fits in your back pocket. The game consists of 18 cards, but it contains a lovely puzzle for 2-players to wreck their brains over. Great replayability as your goals are always different every game you play. Rating: 7.5/10

45 – Fantastic Factories [+1] :: Fantastic Factories is a very good introduction to engine building games. Quick and light, but still with good decisions. We’re looking forward to the expansions that should be showing up any day now.  Rating: 7.5/10

44 – Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure [-18] :: A great example of how deck building games can do more. We’ve been playing with the Apocalypse! expansion which is groovy, but not really needed to make the game great. I love how savage this game can be, but it does suck when you get eliminated from the game earlier than everyone else. Rating: 7.5/10

43 – Solar Draft [-9] :: The art is the really winner for this game, but the game-play itself is stellar as well. Plays well at two players as well, and can be played with kids very easily. Rating: 7.5/10

42 – Secret Hitler [-5] :: My personal favorite game of the werewolf/mafia/resistance genre. I’ve had some excellent games with large groups. You do need to be able to lie when you play this, which isn’t for everyone. Rating: 7.5/10

41 – Lords of Waterdeep [-3] :: An oldie but a goodie for our group. Even though I have a physical copy of this, we exclusively play this on the phone app. I always have 2 games going at all times. Another good option for people starting in the hobby. Rating: 7.5/10

40 – Stone Age [-1] :: Classic worker placement game that’s a great option for people starting out in the hobby. The rolling keeps it from being too deterministic, not to mention the added spice it adds. Simple to teach, plays well on BGA. Rating: 7.5/10

39 – Concordia [+1] :: Trading goods in the Mediterranean has been done quite a bit in boardgameland, but that doesn’t take away this is a great game. You have crunchy decisions all the way through, there’s no lull in the tension of the game. We play with the Salsa expansion which is quite nice and adds some extra things to consider each turn. Rating: 7.5/10

38 – Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North [NEW] :: We love the art, and engine building games are our jam. We need to explore this one more, as each faction takes a couple of plays to get an idea on how to play them effectively.  Rating: 7.5/10

37 – Undaunted: Normandy [-19] :: When I was a teenager, we played a game called Sniper, which was a small scale WW2 tactical war game. We loved the action and the drama that would unfold as you moved your dudes around the map. The Undaunted series takes that sort of game and distills it in to a deck builder that’s easy to teach and play. It’s truly an amazing feat of board game design. Rating: 7.5/10

36 – Jaipur [+12] :: One of the best purpose built 2-player games that’s out there. Quick, easy to teach, and you really feel like you’re playing against the other player. We own this physically and play it a bunch on BGA.  Rating: 7.5/10

35 – Kingdomino [+15] :: I’ve been playing this a lot as a 2-player game on BGA and I love how quick and challenging it is. There’s a push your luck element here as well as you potentially hold out for that combo you need. Rating: 7.5/10

34 – Winter Kingdom [+8] :: We love this update on Kingdom Builder. It adds a lot of agency on how things go down for you. The colour palette is a little drab, but the game-play is super good. Rating: 7.5/10

33 – Orleans [-9] :: The grandpa of bag building games still holds up. You get a lot of great decisions and the tension of drawing what you need out of the bag is juicy. Rating: 7.5/10

32 – Brass: Birmingham [-18] :: The history of the era really comes through for me in this game. It’s a pretty heavy economic game, but what I like is that the player interaction is pretty good. Not cutthroat, but it’s not multi-player solitaire either. Rating: 7.5/10

31 – Crokinole [-1] :: We’ve been playing this for over 30 years. Owned a board before it was cool. Just about the best dexterity game ever made. Also Canadian. Rating: 8/10

30 – Star Wars: Rebellion [-5] :: This game is really great for Star Wars fans, 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. The minis that come with are excellent and really up the theme. Rating: 8/10

29 – Agricola [-6] :: An absolute classic farm game. One of the first games we bought when we got in to the hobby, and we still enjoy it today. It’s a mean son-of-a-gun though. Can be a real challenge for new players. Rating: 8/10

28 – Viscounts of the West Kingdom [+0] :: We need to play this one more. I’ve loved the couple of times we’ve played it, but I need to explore it more. The finale of the West Kingdom series, all of which show up on this list. Rating: 8/10

27 – Can’t Stop [+0] :: I enjoy this light push-your-luck game where the key is to know when to stop. Often you are incorrect in your assessment as to when to stop. We don’t own this one, so all we do is play it on BGA. Very easy to teach, a good one to play with non-gamer types. Rating: 8/10

26 – Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy [+15] :: I love Eclipse, and the second edition smooths out all of the rough edges. The production is top notch, though the box is massive. I would love to get this to the table more, but in covidland it’s hard to get a game going. I’m also not in a place in my life where I can spend a whole day playing Twlight Imperium. This gives me my Master of Orion fix in a 4 hour or less game. Rating: 8/10

25 – Wizard [+4] :: 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. We play this a lot at work, and have come up with some house rules that add a little spice. Rating: 8/10

24 – Anachrony [-2] :: One of the heaviest game that I own, this game has a wonderful theme, interesting concept, and engaging gameplay. I really want to play this more, and I have to finish painting the most excellent minis that we have for it. This is another game that I would love to have people over for a 3 hour game.  Rating: 8/10

23 – Oh My Goods! [+12] :: My worst win % is with this game at 27%. What makes this worse is that we mostly play this as a 2-player game. That being said, it’s a great game that I really enjoy playing. It’s another example of how much game you can get out of just a couple of decks of cards. It’s a little tricky to teach, but it’s quick to play. Rating: 8/10

22 – Terra Mystica [-3] :: An area-control game that has no combat, is kind of weird, but it works great. A very good design, with lots of different factions to learn. This has been in the collection a long time, and I still don’t play it as much as I should. Rating: 8/10

21 – A Feast for Odin [-6] :: The box is thick, and it’s packed up to the rafters with so much stuff. We’ve added the Norwegians expansion and it’s basically version 2 of the game and it makes a great game even better. Smooths out any rough edges. You have so many options and paths on how to progress, this barely feels like a typical worker-placement game. The amount of action spaces is bonkers. Rating: 8/10

20 – Lost Cities [+11] :: A great 2-player card game that gives tough choices. I’ve never played a physical copy of this, but I have played over 1000 times on the phone app. Even though I’ve played it so much, I still love it and will always play a game. Also available on BGA. Rating: 8/10

19 – Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization [-12] :: 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. This newer version smooths out some of the rough edges of the first game, which helps with the upkeep. The phone app is excellent, and it’s also available on BGA. Rating: 8/10

18 – Roll Player [+3] :: Who knew that creating a character would be so much fun? This game gives you a nice puzzle on how to maximize your scoring. We’ve never played with the expansions yet, though the minions one looks interesting. Rating: 8/10

17 – Twilight Struggle [+0] :: My buddy JP taught me this with his copy, but then all I’ve ever done is play it digitally on Steam. I love this game so much, as a kid of the 80s the cold war stuff really hits me in the memories. This was the #1 game on BGG when I started the hobby and I can see why. Rating: 8/10

16 – La Granja [+4] :: I’ve never played this in person, only ever on BGA, but I still feel this is the best “farm” game out there. Incredibly deep gameplay where you have so many different ways to succeed. Tremendous variation in every game you play. Oh and did I mention you can build combos? Combos! Rating: 8.5/10

15 – Viticulture Essential Edition [+1] :: I love that this is now available on BGA! Wonderful worker-placement game that feels very thematic. Lots of paths to glory, and fairly easy to teach. Experienced players do kill newbies though, so it might be tough to get new players in to the group. Also a big bonus that it plays up to 6. Rating: 8.5/10

14 – Underwater Cities [-2] :: If you like building stuff in board games, this is the game for you. You end up building a large network of underwater infrastructure, and having a great time doing it. Your turns can end up being so satisfying when you can pull off some great synergies between the card you play and the action space you select. Haven’t played with the expansion yet, since it’s so crazy expensive. Rating: 8.5/10

13 – Architects of the West Kingdom [-4] :: A great twist on worker-placement, where the more dudes you have on the spot the greater the action. There’s totally a push your luck element to the game which is lovely. The first of the games in the West Kingdom trilogy, the expansion is nice and adds some lovely options. Rating: 9/10

12 – Great Western Trail [-2] :: Great theme, huge amounts of options, and a lot of crunch line up to make this a great game. I have a hard time getting this to the table, as it’s not popular in the house, but I love it. Rating: 9/10

11 – Paladins of the West Kingdom [-7] :: Our favorite of the West Kingdom games. It’s a real crunch-master. We really enjoy the puzzle this game presents you, and trying to extend your turns feels really good. Rating: 9/10

10 – Roll for the Galaxy [-2] :: I’ve been playing this one a lot this year on BGA and on the phone app. I do prefer it with the Ambition expansion, but that’s not an option for me in either digital form. If you’re familiar with Race for the Galaxy this game will be easy to learn, as it uses many of the same icons and concepts.  Rating: 9/10

9 – Lost Ruins of Arnak [NEW] :: One of the hottest new games to come out since my last list, Arnak is a great mix of worker placement and deck building. You are always trying to find ways to extend your turn so by the end your turns are taking much longer than your first, even though you still have the same 2 workers, and a hand of 5 cards. The fact that’s available on BGA now as well has really made it a game we’re playing all the time. I’m very excited to get the expansion to see what that’s all about. Rating: 9/10

8 – Red Rising [NEW] :: I had never read the books before getting this game. I picked this up based on what the gameplay looked like, and the theme looked neat. I liked the game so much I tried the books. I liked the books so much I got my friends to read them. My friends like the books so much they’ve been recommending the books to others as well. We’ve been talking Red Rising so much ’round here that it’s getting pretty obnoxious. I would love an expansion that would use content from the later books. Rating: 9/10

7 – Everdell [+4] :: Everdell is a wonderfully produced game that has really good gameplay. There’s good variability in each game, and there’s multiple ways to win. We play with the Bellfaire expansion, which feels like a 2.0 release with some of the additions. We’re excited for the new expansions coming in the future. This game would be my #1 in the art category. I’m a sucker for cute woodland creatures. Rating: 9/10

6 – 7 Wonders [-3] :: Based on how my group plays it, which is with the Leaders and Cities expansions, this game is most delicious. Base game is good, but less crunchy, and would likely be lower on the list. With those 2 expansions it’s one of the greats. Once your group knows how to play, you can bang a game out with 7 people in less than 30 minutes. It’s a little tricky to teach, as there’s a lot of icons to learn, but the gameplay itself is easy. Rating: 9/10

5 – Dominion [-3] :: I’m rating this on the total Dominion universe including all the expansions. The base game alone wouldn’t crack my top 99, however once you add all the expansions you have a tremendous gaming platform of infinite replayability. Never the same game twice is 600% true for this game. Coming up with a plan based on the cards available each game is my favorite part. Creating that perfect deck of victory point creation is such a delicious venture. Rating: 9.5/10

4 – The Castles of Burgundy [+1] :: I can’t get enough of this game. With it now being on BGA, I’ve been playing it a lot. I have at least 1 game going at all times, sometimes more. We play the classic version as we don’t really dig the new aesthetic of the 10th anniversary edition. If you only own 10 boardgames, this needs to be one of them. Dominion, 7 Wonders, and even Race for the Galaxy are all classics as well, but need expansions to truly flourish. Castles of Burgundy needs no expansions to be an amazing game. Rating: 9.5/10

3 – The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine [+3] :: Trick taking perfection. I’ll put this game in front of anyone that has any kind of clue on how to play trick-taking games. I’ve played missions 1-50 at least 7 times, and I’d love to play it all again at any moment. Plays wonderfully on BGA, which is where I’ve played my majority of games. The collective satisfaction when you pull off a difficult mission is just wonderful. Rating: 10/10

2 – The Crew: Mission Deep Sea [NEW] :: The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine’ was gaming perfection, so I guess this is more perfecter? The missions for this sequel are nuts, my brain explodes playing this game. Instead of fixed cards as goals, this version changes things up and has specific things to achieve that create such a puzzle that is a challenge to unravel. I find it much harder than the first crew, so I still suggest starting with the first crew game, don’t jump straight to this one. The fact that it is on BGA already is amazing. Rating: 10/10

1 – Race for the Galaxy [+0] :: 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. BGA has a great implementation as well. Rating: 10/10