I've played 59 of the top 100. The ones I will always play are On Mars, Anachrony, Tzolk'in, Barrage, Grand Austria Hotel, Underwater cities, Lisboa, Paladins of the west kingdom, Ark Nova and Crokinole. I really enjoyed this list! Appreciated how positive you were about each game, even the ones not for you.
Great summary! I appreciated hearing your take on these games. I'm new to modern board games and am starting to expand my collection, but Castles of Burgundy is the one I've fallen in love with the most so far. I just bought Arc Nova and Arcs, which I have yet had the opportunity to get to the table, but excited to try them out.
That's wonderful that you've strongly connected with a game so soon into your dive into modern board games! I think you'll find some fun similarities between Castles and Ark Nova.
Great concise breakdown Jamey. I agree with you on the rating system, maybe one day BGG will require users to log a play before allowing them to rank a game.
Great video, Jamey. Thanks for sharing. I love the perspective you bring as someone who designs and publishes games. Always plays for the Top 100 include: Inis, Fields of Arle, Quacks, Viticulture, Wingspan, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Scythe, and Spirit Island.
Thanks for the video, got me to spool up a game of Castle of Burgundy on BGA with some buddies. In terms of my top 5 from what I've played in the 100, Dune Imperium is still my favorite, and then Wingspan, Cascadia, Lords of Waterdeep (Got me into modern board games), and probably Lost Ruins of Arnak. I really want to try El Grande someday, but sifting through the top 100 I've actually played a good amount on there that aren't for me.
I really like the way you framed the tiers. When I did my tier ranking recently I didn't think to rename them, but your categories are really helpful! I've played 35 of the top 100, and my 4 top-tier/will always play games are Crokinole, Ark Nova, A Feast for Odin, and Concordia. I have enjoyed talking about this with friends and seeing their rankings as well -- we all have wonderfully varied experiences of our wonderfully varied hobby!
I love this list and have been encouraged to try more specific games on your “Will always play list”. My current “Always will play”: Ark Nova, The Castles of Burgundy, Scythe, 7 Wonders & Duel, Wingspan, Orleans, Everdell, Viticulture, Heat, Cascadia, Agricola, Tzolkin, Quacks of Quedlinburg, Five Tribes, Teotihuacan.
4 of my top 10 are on your "respect" lost that you wouldn't seek out 😂. Thats why i love this hobby, so many different angles you can take and still enjoy it. Theres literally something for everyone. Keep on kepping on fella
Awesome video Jamey! Thank you for sharing some of the games that you love. :) I also agree that it’s annoying when people rank games they haven’t played. I’ve been sorry to see when that’s happened to new Stonemaier games, like Expeditions before it came out.
The BGG top 100 games I will always play are: Brass: Birmingham, Ark Nova, Dune: Imperium, Scythe, Concordia, Great Western Trail, Everdell, Viticulture, Obsession, Maracaibo, The Crew, Azul, Sky Team, and El Grande. Loved this video!
Wow, a whole lot to unpack here, great video! How people choose to rank and review games, and the implications, could be an hour long video in itself. I've played 59 of the top 100 games, and my top 5 games I will always play are The Search for Planet X, Orleans, Azul, The Crew, and Scythe. Crokinole holds a special place adjacent to these as my Dad has made a few custom boards for himself and I and has become a sort of family game!
Very interesting video ! I’ve played 55 of them and the 5 that I will always play and/or keep in my collection are Food Chain Magnate, Gaia Project, Barrage, Ark Nova and Dune Imperium (with extensions !) Now the 5 that i’m really looking forward to play ASAP are Power Grid, Dominant Species, War of the Ring, Anachrony and El Grande.
I love Castles of Burgundy, but play it only on BGA. It takes away all the work of putting out all the tiles at the beginning of each round, and you can always see what each tile does. And you always find a partner to play with! Great list, I need to get my own copy of Orleans. I have Johanna , the roll and write, but would like to play the "normal" game as well.
Thanks for mentioning the LOTR duel! I have seen the teaser before, but I didn’t realize it was based on mechanics for 7 wonders duel which I didn’t like that much. Still very excited for this one!
Agricola got me into the hobby too, around 2009 or 10. It’s a brutal, punishing introduction to euro worker placement but it has a lot of charm. Caverna is great, and A Feast for Odin is probably my favorite of the three. Lots of good memories playing all of them.
As a game designer you should definetely play Dominant Species. This was the game of the year in my regular gaming group. Let's say it's a more complex and more aggressive version of El Grande which on top comes with a Worker Placement system in which the actions are "programmed" before actually being done step by step from top-left to bottom-right. Awesome game.
Oof Vital Lacerda done dirty! Lisboa, Kanban and On Mars are all top 10 GOATs for me, but they're obviously not for everyone. I'll get over it, don't worry! :) I only ever rate what I play. It drives me mad when people rate games 1 with the sole intention of trying to lower averages, rather than assigning an appropriate score for the game itself.
A similar case could be made for those who will rate a game a 10 before they have even played it, or barely played it. I often hear that as a cited reason for the '1 bombing'. If I want to see a review, I'll look at the comments on BGG, usually the 6-7 rated ones as they typically give a honest opinion of what they like, and don't like about the game.
I've played 4 Lacerda games in the last few years and I am 50/50 on liking them. I really like On Mars and Inventions but wasn't a fan of The Gallerist and Weather Machine. Haven't played Lisboa or Kanban but my buddies have a copy of it so im hoping I get to try them out soon!
I've only played On Mars and Kanban but Lisboa is on the to try out list. OM and Kanban are soooooooooooooooo good. On Mars especially. It was so complex and intricate that it almost made Kanban seem less. Now, from a pure fun and engaging experience Kanban shines just as bright AND it's playable in a ton shorter time.
There are 6 games in the top 100 I rate 10/10: Brass, Anachrony, The Crew, Gaia Project, Hegemony and Concordia. Then there are quite a few 9/10 games, which also include the amazing Wingspan, but also Lisboa, Ark Nova, El Grande, Barrage, Pax Pamir, 7 Wonders, Lords of Waterdeep and Age of Innovation. All of these are amazing games I would always want to play. Then there are a single game I rate 4/10, but as you say: let's focus on the positives ;)
Always happy to play and play quite often: root, ark nova, paladins of the west kingdom, Race for the Galaxy, Clank! (Though I prefer catacombs), 7 wonders, cascadia Would love to play more often, but it just doesn’t happen regularly: TI4, Terraforming Mars, Through the Ages Yet none of these are my favorite game- cosmic encounter
Most of the items I have never played. I'll list according to their order as of writing this. #2 Pandemic Legacy: Season 1. I've never played it, but I like Pandemic and I would definitely play this. #3 Gloomhaven - I play this with my big kids every chance we get (which isn't often since one lives out of town). #7 Terraforming Mars - I only have the Ares Expedition iteration and we love playing it.
It's been a while since I have looked at the full top 100. There are quite a few legacy games, which I will never play due to time. I have played 36 of the top 100, and my top 5 games are Twilight Imperium, Dune Imperium, Terraforming Mars, Spirit Island, and Arhkam Horror: LCG. I also only rate games that I have played, either physical or digital.
You should really give Mage Knight a try. The rules are a bear, but once you get a hold of them it's just a non stop ride of maximizing every choice you make.
Gah! No Mage Knight?!? So sad. It’s my number 1 and DEFINITELY my number 1 solo. Though FCM, La Cerda, and Pax Pamir being on your “respect” list might indicate a difference in taste 😅 Great lists and insights! Always play: 96. Age of Innovation 89. Sky Team 78. Race for the Galaxy 60. Tzolk’in 55. Lisboa 51. On Mars 47. Kanban 42. Pax Pamir 39. Food Chain Magnate 34. Mage Knight 33. Too Many Bones 29. Terra Mystica 14. Through the Ages 12. Gaia Project I’m quite sure there are others that would be here (Ark Nova, Obsession, Dune Imperium, others) if I had played them. But for now it’s these.
I'm tempted to try Gaia Project but it looks as complicated as Terra Mystica and I just can't make myself read such complicated rules once again ) As for Mage Knight - I've heard a lot of positive comments about it. What do you like the most about the game? Thank you.
@@javenue Gaia Project is slightly more complicated than Terra Mystica. And if that’s too complicated Mage Knight might not be your favorite thing to learn as it’s even more complicated. But my favorite thing with Mage Knight is the combination of discovery, planning your hand with the multiuse cards, and the sense of adventure and advancement the systems provide.
I really wanted to try Ark Nova before i watched this. Our want/won't lists are nearly opposites. Im counting down the days until my next TI4 game and Dominant Species may be my favorite game ever.
Castles of Burgundy is hands down the most played game in our home. Simple mechanics, but deep strategy. I hope you get a chance to play Dominant Species as it is a personal favorite of mine that unfortunately doesn't get to the table as much as I like.
I’ve played the entire top 100, but for the higher categories… Always play: Anachrony, Ark Nova, Clank (prefer Catacombs), Hegemony, Nemesis, Spirit Island, Terraforming Mars. Play often: Battlestar Galactica, Lords of Waterdeep, Scythe, Sleeping Gods, Star Wars Rebellion, Twilight Imperium, Wingspan.
I've played 22 of the top 100. Ark Nova is probably my favorite, then Dominant Species, Castles of Burgundy, Gaia Project (which i love but am NOT good at) and Scythe. Not on the top 100, but Imperial Struggle is probably my favorite game.
I love Ark Nova and will always play it. My husband won't play it with me, though. He likes the simpler, shorter games. We play Wingspan every other night. That alternates with a couple of other favorites: Ticket to Ride, Alhambra, and Ganz Schön Clever. He will occasionally play Terraforming Mars: the DIce Game, which I think he secretly likes, but especially the Dice version, because it is shorter in time.
Great video!!! Games I will ALWAYS play... SW Rebellion, Spirit Island, Concordia, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Azul, Five Tribes, El Grande (shy out of the 100 Raiders of the North Sea and Tigris & Euphrates) We all know BGG ratings are kind of broken anyway, I use the ratings more to keep track of my own tastes on games than on the actual global concept. I ONLY rate games that I have actually played, I do rate games I play digitally though. My main issue with BGG ratings are the following. *We get multiple editions of the same game in different numbers which I get but at the same time it's kind of frustrating to have one game ocupy multiple slots on the ranking. *We get people that rate a game too low because it's not on their language or not coming to their country ( I live in Uruguay, I get the frustration, but that is NOT reason for a game to have a lower rating). *It is my understanding that games are rated on rate itself not number of ratings, so games that MANY most people have played tend to do more poorly than more "elitist" (i am using this word in the best way possible) games simply because even though they have less ratings all ratings tend to be of very few but massive fans that rate it very high. So yeah... BGG ranking is kind of broken but at the same time it's pretty much the best we got right now 🤣
I can hear that. 3 versions of Pandemic legacy, 3 versions of Gloomhaven (spin off's), now 2 versions of Dune Imperium. I'm sure there are more. Its also expected that a website dedicated to board gaming is likely to skew favourably towards heavier games, since the more dedicated gamers are the ones who will review mainly. Saying that, I think the various sub-leaderboards come in handy here. For example the good lighter games will typically get in the top 100 for the family rating but are lucky to get the top 200 for overall.
Wow, I love all but about 3 of the games you love too (I would add Wingspan and Viticulture too!)! Great to see you highlight fun games you enjoy by other publishers! You are a fantastic ambassador for our hobby!
I’ve played only 12 of the top 100. And I think that’s largely because I favor lighter games, generally. Cascadia, as my favorite all-time game, is my favorite in the top 100. The other games in the top 100 I will always play: Ark Nova 7 Wonders Duel Wingspan Heat Quacks of Quedlinburg Azul
Always play games if you have the company: (they seem to have close to infinite replayability) Ark nova Mage Knight Terraforming Mars Race for the Galaxy Gloomhaven Puerto Rico, power grid and agricola probably belong here too or at least they are close. You definitely need to play mage knight, design is so genius it would blow your mind. Slay the spire will probably soon be in the absolute top if its not already, it seems like everyone will need to play this one. Both these games are very long though so that's a bummer.
@@jameystegmaier That's great. To be honest the StS single player video game is literally the best thing that ever happened to true deckbuilding as an entire genre. Its so design perfect, balanced, challenging and replayable that it will always blow my mind, and I've been deck-building one way or the other since the 90s and the early MtG days. So that should tell you a lot. I never expected they would manage a good adaptation in a board game for it, but it seems they did decently well, and the fact you can have the game finally in co-op mode is pretty amazing as well. I'm only kinda annoyed at the expensive price of it right now.
Great Video! Games I will always play Gloomhaven Ark Nova Spirit Island The Castles of Burgundy 7 Wonders Duel Wingspan Root Orleans Viticulture The Quacks of Quedlinburg Azul Sky Team Inis
I've only played 20 of the top 100. My will always play list is Ark Nova, Tzolkin, Everedell, Wingspan, Clank and Lost Ruins of Arnak. I really need to try Paladins of the West Kingdom, I think I will love that one!
My wife and I just played Paladins of the West Kingdom two days ago and loved it! It's not as complex to learn as most games, but I think the complexity comes in the decision making. Worker placement is not my favorite mechanic but Garphill games converted me with Paladins and their newest game: Ezra and Nehemiah. Both are top 10 games for me!
Games I will always play from 100 up: (I've only played 38 of the top 100) 7 Wonders Lords of Waterdeep Clank! Five Tribes Azul Cascadia Everdell Lost Ruins of Arnak 7 Wonders: Duel Terraforming Mars (My #1 game currently) Dune Imperium
Your comments are always great, and can make it tough to respond with points that are significant. To me Ark Nova changed the randomness of game play from a negative to a positive for the first time for me. If I see dice in a game, I've gotten enough PTSD from dice that I simply refuse to play that game. I find dice to just wreck your planning, in a negative sense. Ark Nova turned that around for me. The cards brought a sense of fun and direction to my play without destroying it, making each game different enough. I've since been able to find other games that give me this same feeling that I'd never have played before. Now I dislike games without some form of indeterminate game play to force a different play style. Dice though, I still hate.
I'm glad that Ark Nova opened you to new types of randomness! Are there any games with dice that you like? Dice drafting games, for example, feature input randomness--you aren't at the whim of the dice at the moment it matters (when you're ready to use them).
Not necessarily listed as overall favorite, but right now I think I'd play anytime Ark Nova, Obsession, Lost Ruins, The Gallerist, Cascadia, Terraforming Mars, Everdell. Not in the top 100 anymore, but my top would play anytime game would probably be Dominion.
My top five games that I will always play are. Mansions of Madness, Wingspan, Viticulture, Grand Austria Hotel, and Blood Rage....ok my sixth game I love too is Scythe......it just needed to be included. 😀
Oh man, not having played Dominant Species is a crime. I'd be happy to teach you sometime at a convention or something if we ever bump into each other. Chad was a genius boardgame designer.
This was a really fun & interesting video. I have played 47 of the top 100 so far. I would play all but 2 of them again, but 10 that I would play in a heartbeat (lowest ranked to highest): Wingspan, Paladins otWK, Obsession, Cascadia, Lost Ruins of Arnak, GWT 2nd Ed, Gaia Project, Terraforming Mars, Dune Imperium & Ark Nova. Forgot to mention - I don't rank games until I have played them a few times at least.
A few that were not on your list for me would be LeHavre, Terraforming Mars, Wingspan (I don't work for Stonemaier) , Cascadia and Paladins of the West Kingdom. Big thumbs up on Tzolkin which is my #1 of all time currently. Fun video!
The games I'll always play are: Ark Nova Brass Birmingham Dune Imperium Castles of Burgundy Scythe 7 Wonders Duel A Feast for Odin Great Western Trail Arkham Horror LCG Root Viticulture Heat Pax Pamir Second Edition Crokinole Kanban EV Quacks Paladins
I like that there is just enough diversity in the top 100 that someone else doesn't care for a game I love (Search for Planet X) and vice versa. I just wish they would clean up the mulitple versions problem.
Jamey explaining bgg has merit in its own right, but I wonder at the ven diagram of people who watch this channel and people who don't know about bgg. I would be pretty shocked to find out the number was above, say, 0.
@@jameystegmaier As a non-native english-speaking person, i would still prioritize board-game websites/communities in my native language, and was not aware of BGG until very recently. It's great to see consider accessibility when making your videos. Thanks to you, i can safely share this video with my english-speaking friends who occasionally play board games and have most definitely never heard of BGG.
I'm the one! Not a regular board game player, I just stumbled upon the video and watched 'cause I like to know how experts think about their areas of expertise, and games are fun :) I wouldn't have cared much if he didn't explain it, but I learned something :)
I've always been curious what the BGG rankings would look like if you removed all of the ratings given before the game had been published for one year.
On bgg though every score means something, like if you give it a 10 it shows you love it and will always want to play, something like that. You'll see it when you're choosing the score you'll give it.
After playing Clans Of Caledonia, Terra Mystica stopped getting to the table with my group of friends as they feel so similar by Clans plays faster without losing anything. Plus Clans has the excellent variable market mechanism. This doesn't mean TM is gone down in my estimation though and I enjoyed Terra Nova recently.
Thanks for sharing Jamey. Appreciate your comments and analysis of the pros of each of your favorites. I am not experienced as many on all those games, so I only rank the ones I have played. The games I will always play? Cascadia is currently my wife’s and my go to favorite. Others include Wingspan, Ticket to Ride (especially the online versions), and possibly Everdell. Again, thanks for taking the time to share. And PS: as another commenter mentioned, looking forward to Vantage, as well!! 😊
Love the list, thanks for sharing! I only just learned and have since fallen in love with Gaia Project, so I’m excited to try Terra Mystica and Age of Innovation. Your list is making me want to try Architects of the West Kingdom again. Question - I see that, across the board, the Lacerda games ranked lower. At first I thought it was a complexity preference, but with games like Ark Nova, Terra Mystica, etc so high on your list I thought I would ask.
I have a lot of respect for Lacerda as a designer, and I've tried to figure out why his games don't get me excited to play more than once. I'm not quite sure, because all the elements are there...I think part of it may be the heavy use of bonus actions, but beyond that I'm not sure.
Most hobby gamers seem to prioritize gameplay over theme. I see them as equally important to an engaging play session. For that reason, my top 5 in order are: Aeon’s End Mage Knight Root Scythe The Quacks of Quedlinburg Honorable mentions to Everdell, Clank!, Dune: Imperium, and Terraforming Mars
I've played 20 of the BGG top 100 games. My 'will always play' on the list are Spirit Island, The Castles of Burgundy, Scythe, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Wingspan, Everdell, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, Heat: Pedal to the Metal, Cascadia, The Quacks of Quedlinburg, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Azul, Lords of Waterdeep, and 7 Wonders. I play many of these solo.
I kinda wonder if there is a way to change the BGG top 100 to take into account the fact that WAY more people play light and medium weight games and so the people who like heavy games are self selecting into those, bumping it up higher, and those who like medium weight games don't ever both with it and never try it. As a result, the medium weight games might not appeal to everyone, but are incredible games -- it's just tricky to figure out how to really make those aggregate ratings be more representative of the population as a whole, maybe even giving people more of a bonus for having a variety of players that rate them.
@@psychoticvenom I actually messaged BGG about the idea of making an annual event where they push for everyone to re-rate their games. It could be a big thing each year where they freeze the top 100 and then livestream the new results of how the 100 has shifted.
@@jameystegmaier Yes - that's the question isn't it? Note that this is for Mage Knight as a solo game (or even two people collaborating with one character): I'd say: Fantastic hand management - every single hand feels powerful and just-not-quite-enough at the same time. With a bit of clever thinking, seemingly mediocre hands can pull of some astonishing trickery and make you feel like a genius; Great mix of random and deterministic mechanics. The game has loads of randomness - in the map tiles, the upgraded cards you get access to, the mana in the mana pool, and of course your hand. But then the combat is completely deterministic. It's just a great mix - the tools you get are a bit random, how how they are used is not. To me it's the perfect balance of Spirit Island, which can sometime seem too deterministic and Gloomhaven, in which a bad card draw can feel bad (of course I love both of those games too). Finally, the game just gives me this amazing feeling of exploration and adventure; it's kind of an ineffable quality - I can't my finger on exactly why and how, but it's really incredibly. Bonus thing-people-say-about-the-game-I'd-like-to-rebut - yes, it's complicated, but the rules are intuitive and after a game or two it just flows!
@@adamstofsky4244 Thanks so much for taking the time to reply! The hand management in particular seems fascinating to me--a great system. While it's very rare that I play games solo, I hope for the chance to play it with someone else in the future.
@@jameystegmaier If you are playing with one or two other people, my recommendation would be to just play single handed and have everyone out their brains together to pilot that one character, at least a first. I'm lucky to have a large gaming table in my home office - occasionally I'll just leave Mage Knight set up and take a turn or two when I need a break. The game can unfold over several days or a week - it fun and adds to the epic feel. (I'm excited to try the same approach with Vantage!)
BGG Top 100 I will always play: Terraforming Mars, GWT (2E), CoB, Arnak, Wingspan, Orleans, Everdell, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, HEAT, Cascadia, Kanban EV, Caverna, Blood Rage, Tzolk’in, Quacks, Teotihuacan, Sky Team, 7 Wonders And the one that SHOULD be there 😂: Russian Railroads/Ultimate Railroads
@@jameystegmaier I love the action options available and the strategy involved. Also, the roller coaster of emotions that come from having your cubes or adaptation chits removed and dominance cards played against you vs. removing them from someone else or playing a card that targets them.
@@Kunibert1 I think a reprint with small molded animals in place of cubes would be awesome! I agree that the game isn't beautiful, but it's too much fun to let that get in the way, for me. What kind of piece would you envision for the dominance tokens?
Hi Jamey, thanks for the list, viticulture is my favorite game and I enjoy other SM games as well. You went over the games, which is great, but didn't really go into how you made the choice to separate the games into the tiers, and I'd guess that was the hardest part. It would be interesting to get another video that goes more into why the games on the second tier didn't quite make it into your "always play" top tier.
It's just personal preference--some games just make me excited to play them all the time, whereas others don't quite scratch that same itch. It's different for each game, but the main answer (beyond personal preference) is that the details I said about the games in my top tier either aren't present or aren't quite as good--for me--in the previous tiers.
Thanks Jamie. I'd say I've owned and or played at least half the games on the BGG 100. I favor strategy adventure games and since many games on this list are heavy, I play them solo as opposed to something like Azul, which I play with my kids. So my fav solo /coop are Mage Knight, Too many Bones Undertow, Arkham and Marvel Champions LCG's. Fav multi player are Ark Nova, Dune Uprising, Scythe, Viticulture with Tuscany, and Star Wars Rebellion. My biggest surprise is you have not played Mage Knight as it's regarded as being a master piece. I'm guessing is because it's a solo game and you don't play those.
That's true, most of what I've heard about Mage Knight is about solo play. I've watched/read a bunch of reviews about it, and I hope to try it someday.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on Vital Lacerda as a designer. You respect his designs but don't want to play more of them. What is it about them that deters you from pursuing them?
I think Vital is an amazing designer and a really kind person. I appreciate how much effort and research he puts into each of his games, and I think it's wonderful that he's brought joy to many people through his mechanisms. I'd prefer to focus on the positive, and I have videos about my favorite aspects of every game of his I've played. :)
Since you like Lords of Waterdeep, I'm curious what your opinion is on or if you've played Meeples and Monsters? I personally like meeples and monsters slightly more than lords of waterdeep because of the bag building mechanic in meeples and monsters.
I have played 70 of the current top 100 games. Here's my "anytime" games: 7 Wonders Duel, Mansions of Madness, A Feast for Odin, Terraforming Mars (w/ Prelude), both Crew games, Ark Nova, Viticulture (w/Tuscany), Obsession, Orleans, Sky Team, and the Search For Planet X (which I was surprised was only in your "respect" list, I'm curious on your thoughts on that one). Architects of the West Kingdom would also make it, but it fell out of the top 100. :(
I used to be a huge huge fan of Root, but as Ive gotten more chances to play it I feel like my opinion more aligns with yours now. The asymmstry makes it so difficult for me to teach. I had to learn the game 4 times over and then some to feel like I had any sort of capability to comfortably teach it. Plus the base game factions feel like they arent really anywhere close in power level.. and if one player doesnt know what they are doing, it so quickly can become unwinnable where 1 player just runs away with the lack of pushback. It feels really bad to play unless everyone knows what theyre doing. I just dont really feel like purchasing expansion factions to make the game fun, so yeah, I agree with I can respect the systems, the art style of course, it just doesnt get me real excited anymore.
I definitely see what you're saying--I can relate, as you can tell from the video. :) I have some friends that know it really well and get together with each other to play it a few times a year, and I'm happy that they still have a blast with it.
Nice to see some love for Lords of Waterdeep! Definitely a favorite for my gaming group. I’m curious as to how often you get your own games to the table. Honestly I’d bet not nearly as much as other publishers games, as I’m sure you’ve extensively played them before their release, and I’m sure you want to keep yourself exposed to current ideas and trends developing in the hobby.
I love to play the games we make here at Stonemaier, but I generally wait for someone else to request them rather than proposing them at game night. As a result, I would say that I teach and play our new games a lot upon the initial release, and then after that I get to play our games around once per year (plus Rolling Realms every few weeks on the liveplays).
I don't think it's fair to assume that the reason I haven't played any game (I've played many games, but there are far more games I haven't played) is that there's something about it that "drives me off". That is not at all the case; rather, I play a lot of games, but it's physically impossible for me to have played every game. I pursue the games I'm excited to play, and I research the rest.
I’m surprised Eclipse was so low down for you. I’ve only played Second Dawn, but everything about that production is brilliant. Scythe is my number one game, but Eclipse is probably my number two, and while very different, they both have some elements of engine building/efficiency puzzles along with threats of conflict and just enough asymmetry. Strongly recommended trying Second Dawn once. Maybe it’ll change your mind?
I really did like the connection between the player mats and your presence/control on the map in Eclipse. The problem we encountered was that a player was virtually (but not completely) eliminated from the game about an hour into a 5-hour game, which made me really hesitant to return to it. Does Second Dawn fix that issue?
Hmm. I’ve not had that happen in our sessions. It sounds like they may have run their economy to its limit too long early on which choked their late game? We haven’t seen player vs player combat really upend someone until very late game (last round or two). I’ll agree that a long game session where you’re clearly doing poorly is never fun, nor is it if someone is eliminated in a long game, but if the situation you’ve described happened that early, I’d guess it was some compounding of poor decisions rather than just bad luck or player against player. Not sure if there was any big rule changes between editions that would otherwise account for that, though. Maybe I’m totally wrong in my assessment.
@@Amadre278 It's been a while, but most of us were playing for the first time and probably not making optimal moves. No one was targeting anyone else, but one player just got a little vulnerable and it compounded from there.
Games I’ll always play from the BGG Top 100 as of 7/28/24 starting from the 100 spot going down (up?) to 1: Sadly Architects has been bumped 2 spots since your recording or that would be the first one. Dominant Species Five Tribes: The Djinns of Naqala Dune: Imperium - Uprising Azul Agricola (15’ is the copy I own) Grand Austria Hotel Power Grid Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar Obsession Everdell Wingspan The Castles of Burgundy Star Wars: Rebellion Terraforming Mars Note: I own all of those games except Power Grid, Obsession, Wingspan, and The Castles of Burgundy. I plan to own a version of Burgundy someday.
So many have commented about the inaccuracy of the BGG top 100. It’s definitely influenced by hype and the “1%”. I mentioned this in someone’s comment, but I actually messaged BGG about the idea of making an annual event where they push for everyone to re-rate their games. It could be a big thing each year where they freeze the top 100 and then livestream the new results of how the 100 has shifted. Wish there was some way to really make something like this happen. It would make the site and community more accessible I think for people outside of the community. And it wont be filled with as many heavy Kickstarter games.
I'm curious why you never played War of the Ring? It's such a classic for me, I remember playing that game so often (1st edition) with my father back when I was a teenager in the 2000s. It was one of our favorite to play against each other (that and Axis and Allies). So many good memories.
I must admit that it's been a while since I had the opportunity to bring that game to the table. It's a bit heavy, takes a long time, and really works best with 2 players.
Id like to know your thoughts on Eclipse: Second Dawn if you ever get around to playing it, as it is in my opinion a vast improvement on the first edition…I feel you might have it in a higher tier if you tried it
I'm certainly open to trying it, as I love the economy in the original game. The issue we encountered with the original is that a player was functionally (but not entirely) knocked out of the game very early on and had very little to do for the last 3-4 hours of the game. Does the new version address that?
@@jameystegmaier There are a few minor things done to make the game friendlier and to improve the ‘rubberbanding’ between the leaders and those far behind. The game is shorter and the new player storage components make getting the game to the table and setting up a million times faster and easier, both of which indirectly address the problem of the game dragging and feeling miserable for lagging players. The rules have also been slightly tweaked; with more diminishing returns for players in control of lots of sectors, they nerfed a few advanced weapons, the explore action is slightly friendlier for unlucky draws, they’ve added passive defense in starting player areas, and the tech tiles have been improved and balanced. It is still extremely tight on resource management however. Thanks for the response!
Here's a video about my favorite 2-player games (the description includes some links to other videos I've made about games that shine at that player count): ua-cam.com/video/Sa5iq3ESjGM/v-deo.htmlsi=X3hraCbUrGNGfHzG
Maybe your video was inspired by the "tier lists of bgg top 100 games" being posted on the Board Game Revolution facebook group this month? I posted mine, and here were my top 2 tiers: S: Terraforming Mars, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Scythe, Concordia, Concordia Venus, The Voyages of Marco Polo A: Lost Ruins of Arnak, Beyond the Sun, Castles of Burgundy, Lords of Waterdeep, Ark Nova, Orleans, Terra Mystica, Anachrony As of the time I made the list, I had played 42 of the top 100. I've since played Quacks (though I did not enjoy it, as I didn't think a person's decisions mattered much). As for how I rate games, basically the same way you do: 1-10, based on how much enjoyment I get from playing plus how much I want to play them. I pay some attention to the bgg qualitative values (e.g., 8 - Very good - enjoy playing and would suggest it) but mostly just have an internal 1 to 10 scale with 1-4 games I really don't like, 5-6 neutral, 7-10 games I like. I only rate games I've played. I used to wait until I played a few times, but now I rate after the first play and just update later. I try always to post a comment with my rating for context. If I rate a game very low or very high I tend to look through other people's ratings both consistent and opposite my own to see if I'm missing something.
When I rate games, I actually use the metric that BGG gives, assigning things like, "Not so good, but could play again," to a 4. HOWEVER, BGG actually has two separate lists of descriptors depending on if you are viewing an individual game or in list form. It is an annoyance of mine.
For me, a 4 is well below a game I'd play again. For me, a 7 is probably the lowest I'd rate a game that I won't actively seek out but would play if someone else is really excited about it. 7.5 is generally I give games if I will happily play them again on occassion, 8.0 is for games I'll pursue playing, and 8.5 and higher are those I'll eagerly pursue and play at any time.
I only rate games that I play. To rate a game without having ever played it is definitely unfair to those games they rate. On the other hand, when you look at how people act on social media, it’s not surprising to hear that is what people do on BGG. The top 100 on BGG is not a reflection of the tastes of most people who play board games. Most of my games are light to medium weight because most of my friends who are willing to play games are more casual gamers. They like challenging games at times, but not all of the time. My personal feelings are that the People’s Choice list that the Dice Tower does every year is a more accurate reflection of the general gaming community’s preferences. I have only played 15 of the top 100, though technically, I would say it is 14 because the list has both Great Western Trail and GWT 2nd Edition in the top 100. For me personally, the difference between the two editions is not enough to warrant both being able to be included in the top 100, but I don’t have a good solution to suggest to get around that issue. Of those I have played, my favorites would be Wingspan, Ark Nova, Viticulture, Everdell and Puerto Rico, in that order. In the next 100, I have played 16, and of them, I would put Dominion 2nd Edition and Earth above Everdell and PR. (3 of the 16 are Dominion, Dominion 2E, and Dominion: Intrigue. So actually I consider it as 14 games in the second 100 rather than 16.) Thanks for the video.
Oooff not even mentioning Arkham Horror LCG is rough. I felt like a Magic player would have more excitement around this game. I am curious if you’ve played it with any of the long campaigns? I wish the base game was Dunwich. I think the base games punishing 3 scenario game really ruins it for people before they even can appreciate it.
As noted in the description, it was just an honest mistake not to mention a few games (I'm sorry to the designer if they perceived this as "rough"). I've played twice, and it isn't at all a game for me, but I appreciate the joy it's brought to many other tabletops.
Nice Video Jamey! Here are my list of games that I own that I rate a 9 or higher on BGG Top 100 (24 total or 25 if you count TTA twice on top 100). 92. The Voyages of Marco Polo 86. Teotihuacan: City of Gods 79. Race for the Galaxy 77. Dune Imperium: Uprising 69. The Gallerist 63. Grand Austria Hotel 62. Power Grid 60. Tzolkin: The Mayan Calendar 48. Caverna: The Cave Farmers 44. Puerto Rico 40. Heat: Pedal to the Metal 38. Viticulture Essential Edition 34. Mage Knight Board Game 19. 7 Wonders Duel 17. Scythe 16. The Castles of Burgundy 15. Great Western Trail 14. Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization 12. Gaia Project 8. War of the Ring: Second Edition 6. Dune Imperium 4. Ark Nova 3. Gloomhaven 1. Brass Birmingham
Honestly, I really dislike the current system about how BGG tries to influence "hype- or anti-hype-ratings" by just giving a fixed number of 5s (I think it's a few hundred). This just means that games with a low production volume will never have a good rating to get high enough in the charts. Of course it would be absolutely weird to have a game with e.g. 5 ratings of 10 (and nothing else) on rank 1. ;-) BUT, the way BGG logically works leads to only the most popular (NOT the best....which is a real difference) being in the Top100/200/300. A game needs 5000 or even 10000 ratings to get that high. When you just check the Top100, then there is only a minor issue with that because most of the games also have a great average user rating in addition to having a LOT of ratings. But when you start checking the following 100 steps, this gets more obvious. This leads to the consequence that I never use the "official" BGG ranking to find out what other great games there are. Instead I sort by the USER(!) rating and in addition set a filter to the "number of ratings". IMHO, a rating is precise enough with about 1000 ratings, maybe going higher to 2000. There are so many games with 1000-2000 ratings and a user rating far higher than 8.0.....and all those games will never be high in the BGG ranking, ALTHOUGH a lot of them are greater than some of the high-ranked game. And all just comes back to the fact that you need a LOT of rating (about 5000+) to at least have the potential to get high. As conclusion I would NOT recommend new players to check the BGG ranking in order to find out what to buy/play next. When I play a game, why should I care if the game is a mass-market game or not? I dont have THE ONE best solution, but instead or in addition to give game just a few hundred dummy ratings, BGG should disregard the top and flop X% of ratings (which will often be just 10s and 1s/2s/3s). With that approach, BGG would actively fight against the "hype/hate-raters). THEN, BGG could reduce the number of dummy votes to a minimum.
I've played 59 of the top 100. The ones I will always play are On Mars, Anachrony, Tzolk'in, Barrage, Grand Austria Hotel, Underwater cities, Lisboa, Paladins of the west kingdom, Ark Nova and Crokinole. I really enjoyed this list! Appreciated how positive you were about each game, even the ones not for you.
Thanks Peter! :)
Great summary! I appreciated hearing your take on these games. I'm new to modern board games and am starting to expand my collection, but Castles of Burgundy is the one I've fallen in love with the most so far. I just bought Arc Nova and Arcs, which I have yet had the opportunity to get to the table, but excited to try them out.
That's wonderful that you've strongly connected with a game so soon into your dive into modern board games! I think you'll find some fun similarities between Castles and Ark Nova.
Great concise breakdown Jamey. I agree with you on the rating system, maybe one day BGG will require users to log a play before allowing them to rank a game.
Great video, Jamey. Thanks for sharing. I love the perspective you bring as someone who designs and publishes games.
Always plays for the Top 100 include:
Inis, Fields of Arle, Quacks, Viticulture, Wingspan, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Scythe, and Spirit Island.
Thanks for the video, got me to spool up a game of Castle of Burgundy on BGA with some buddies. In terms of my top 5 from what I've played in the 100, Dune Imperium is still my favorite, and then Wingspan, Cascadia, Lords of Waterdeep (Got me into modern board games), and probably Lost Ruins of Arnak. I really want to try El Grande someday, but sifting through the top 100 I've actually played a good amount on there that aren't for me.
I really like the way you framed the tiers. When I did my tier ranking recently I didn't think to rename them, but your categories are really helpful! I've played 35 of the top 100, and my 4 top-tier/will always play games are Crokinole, Ark Nova, A Feast for Odin, and Concordia. I have enjoyed talking about this with friends and seeing their rankings as well -- we all have wonderfully varied experiences of our wonderfully varied hobby!
Thanks! Those are some excellent games (and I'm so glad that a game like Crokinole is in the top 100).
I love this list and have been encouraged to try more specific games on your “Will always play list”. My current “Always will play”: Ark Nova, The Castles of Burgundy, Scythe, 7 Wonders & Duel, Wingspan, Orleans, Everdell, Viticulture, Heat, Cascadia, Agricola, Tzolkin, Quacks of Quedlinburg, Five Tribes, Teotihuacan.
We have similar tastes! :)
4 of my top 10 are on your "respect" lost that you wouldn't seek out 😂. Thats why i love this hobby, so many different angles you can take and still enjoy it. Theres literally something for everyone.
Keep on kepping on fella
@@TheKawkawlin8 haha, same. His bottom tier was full of games in my top tier.
Awesome video Jamey! Thank you for sharing some of the games that you love. :)
I also agree that it’s annoying when people rank games they haven’t played. I’ve been sorry to see when that’s happened to new Stonemaier games, like Expeditions before it came out.
Thanks Isaac! It is always weird to see those ratings. :)
The BGG top 100 games I will always play are: Brass: Birmingham, Ark Nova, Dune: Imperium, Scythe, Concordia, Great Western Trail, Everdell, Viticulture, Obsession, Maracaibo, The Crew, Azul, Sky Team, and El Grande. Loved this video!
Thanks for sharing your list, Karel! :)
Wow Sky Team already made it onto the Top 100?
@@HackWeight Apparently in between me filming this and now, yes!
Wow, a whole lot to unpack here, great video! How people choose to rank and review games, and the implications, could be an hour long video in itself.
I've played 59 of the top 100 games, and my top 5 games I will always play are The Search for Planet X, Orleans, Azul, The Crew, and Scythe.
Crokinole holds a special place adjacent to these as my Dad has made a few custom boards for himself and I and has become a sort of family game!
Faves - Dune Imperium, Race for the Galaxy, Wingspan, Root, Cascadia, Twilight Struggle
Very interesting video !
I’ve played 55 of them and the 5 that I will always play and/or keep in my collection are Food Chain Magnate, Gaia Project, Barrage, Ark Nova and Dune Imperium (with extensions !)
Now the 5 that i’m really looking forward to play ASAP are Power Grid, Dominant Species, War of the Ring, Anachrony and El Grande.
I've only played 10 of the top 100! I've only played Twilight Struggle twice but both times were very memorable experiences.
I love Castles of Burgundy, but play it only on BGA. It takes away all the work of putting out all the tiles at the beginning of each round, and you can always see what each tile does. And you always find a partner to play with!
Great list, I need to get my own copy of Orleans. I have Johanna , the roll and write, but would like to play the "normal" game as well.
Thanks for mentioning the LOTR duel! I have seen the teaser before, but I didn’t realize it was based on mechanics for 7 wonders duel which I didn’t like that much. Still very excited for this one!
Agricola got me into the hobby too, around 2009 or 10. It’s a brutal, punishing introduction to euro worker placement but it has a lot of charm. Caverna is great, and A Feast for Odin is probably my favorite of the three. Lots of good memories playing all of them.
As a game designer you should definetely play Dominant Species.
This was the game of the year in my regular gaming group.
Let's say it's a more complex and more aggressive version of El Grande which on top comes with a Worker Placement system in which the actions are "programmed" before actually being done step by step from top-left to bottom-right.
Awesome game.
Oof Vital Lacerda done dirty! Lisboa, Kanban and On Mars are all top 10 GOATs for me, but they're obviously not for everyone. I'll get over it, don't worry! :)
I only ever rate what I play. It drives me mad when people rate games 1 with the sole intention of trying to lower averages, rather than assigning an appropriate score for the game itself.
A similar case could be made for those who will rate a game a 10 before they have even played it, or barely played it. I often hear that as a cited reason for the '1 bombing'.
If I want to see a review, I'll look at the comments on BGG, usually the 6-7 rated ones as they typically give a honest opinion of what they like, and don't like about the game.
I've played 4 Lacerda games in the last few years and I am 50/50 on liking them. I really like On Mars and Inventions but wasn't a fan of The Gallerist and Weather Machine. Haven't played Lisboa or Kanban but my buddies have a copy of it so im hoping I get to try them out soon!
I've only played On Mars and Kanban but Lisboa is on the to try out list. OM and Kanban are soooooooooooooooo good. On Mars especially. It was so complex and intricate that it almost made Kanban seem less. Now, from a pure fun and engaging experience Kanban shines just as bright AND it's playable in a ton shorter time.
100% agree - rate games that you have played, (and do your best to have a standard system for yourself to stay consistent).
There are 6 games in the top 100 I rate 10/10: Brass, Anachrony, The Crew, Gaia Project, Hegemony and Concordia. Then there are quite a few 9/10 games, which also include the amazing Wingspan, but also Lisboa, Ark Nova, El Grande, Barrage, Pax Pamir, 7 Wonders, Lords of Waterdeep and Age of Innovation. All of these are amazing games I would always want to play.
Then there are a single game I rate 4/10, but as you say: let's focus on the positives ;)
I dont care too much for Twilight Struggle, but IMPERIAL struggle may be my favorite game. Very fun to play
Games I will always play:
Ark Nova
Dune Imperium
Wingspan
Heat
Cascadia
Quacks of Quedlinburg
Clank (Catacombs)
Always happy to play and play quite often: root, ark nova, paladins of the west kingdom, Race for the Galaxy, Clank! (Though I prefer catacombs), 7 wonders, cascadia
Would love to play more often, but it just doesn’t happen regularly: TI4, Terraforming Mars, Through the Ages
Yet none of these are my favorite game- cosmic encounter
Most of the items I have never played. I'll list according to their order as of writing this.
#2 Pandemic Legacy: Season 1. I've never played it, but I like Pandemic and I would definitely play this.
#3 Gloomhaven - I play this with my big kids every chance we get (which isn't often since one lives out of town).
#7 Terraforming Mars - I only have the Ares Expedition iteration and we love playing it.
It's been a while since I have looked at the full top 100. There are quite a few legacy games, which I will never play due to time. I have played 36 of the top 100, and my top 5 games are Twilight Imperium, Dune Imperium, Terraforming Mars, Spirit Island, and Arhkam Horror: LCG.
I also only rate games that I have played, either physical or digital.
You should really give Mage Knight a try. The rules are a bear, but once you get a hold of them it's just a non stop ride of maximizing every choice you make.
Awesome! I hope to try it. :)
Gah! No Mage Knight?!? So sad. It’s my number 1 and DEFINITELY my number 1 solo. Though FCM, La Cerda, and Pax Pamir being on your “respect” list might indicate a difference in taste 😅 Great lists and insights!
Always play:
96. Age of Innovation
89. Sky Team
78. Race for the Galaxy
60. Tzolk’in
55. Lisboa
51. On Mars
47. Kanban
42. Pax Pamir
39. Food Chain Magnate
34. Mage Knight
33. Too Many Bones
29. Terra Mystica
14. Through the Ages
12. Gaia Project
I’m quite sure there are others that would be here (Ark Nova, Obsession, Dune Imperium, others) if I had played them. But for now it’s these.
I'm tempted to try Gaia Project but it looks as complicated as Terra Mystica and I just can't make myself read such complicated rules once again ) As for Mage Knight - I've heard a lot of positive comments about it. What do you like the most about the game? Thank you.
@@javenue Gaia Project is slightly more complicated than Terra Mystica. And if that’s too complicated Mage Knight might not be your favorite thing to learn as it’s even more complicated.
But my favorite thing with Mage Knight is the combination of discovery, planning your hand with the multiuse cards, and the sense of adventure and advancement the systems provide.
Games I will always play: Eclipse, Dune: Imperium, Terraforming Mars, Orleans, Kanban EV, Marvel Champions, Arkham Horror LCG, Mansions of Madness.
The Always list: Isle of Skye, Patchwork, Obsession, Love letter, Bohnanza, Terra Mystica, Cosmic Encounter
I really wanted to try Ark Nova before i watched this. Our want/won't lists are nearly opposites. Im counting down the days until my next TI4 game and Dominant Species may be my favorite game ever.
Castles of Burgundy is hands down the most played game in our home. Simple mechanics, but deep strategy. I hope you get a chance to play Dominant Species as it is a personal favorite of mine that unfortunately doesn't get to the table as much as I like.
I’ve played the entire top 100, but for the higher categories…
Always play: Anachrony, Ark Nova, Clank (prefer Catacombs), Hegemony, Nemesis, Spirit Island, Terraforming Mars.
Play often: Battlestar Galactica, Lords of Waterdeep, Scythe, Sleeping Gods, Star Wars Rebellion, Twilight Imperium, Wingspan.
I've played 22 of the top 100. Ark Nova is probably my favorite, then Dominant Species, Castles of Burgundy, Gaia Project (which i love but am NOT good at) and Scythe.
Not on the top 100, but Imperial Struggle is probably my favorite game.
I love Ark Nova and will always play it. My husband won't play it with me, though. He likes the simpler, shorter games. We play Wingspan every other night. That alternates with a couple of other favorites: Ticket to Ride, Alhambra, and Ganz Schön Clever. He will occasionally play Terraforming Mars: the DIce Game, which I think he secretly likes, but especially the Dice version, because it is shorter in time.
I'm glad you're enjoying Wingspan together! :)
Great video!!! Games I will ALWAYS play... SW Rebellion, Spirit Island, Concordia, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Azul, Five Tribes, El Grande (shy out of the 100 Raiders of the North Sea and Tigris & Euphrates)
We all know BGG ratings are kind of broken anyway, I use the ratings more to keep track of my own tastes on games than on the actual global concept. I ONLY rate games that I have actually played, I do rate games I play digitally though.
My main issue with BGG ratings are the following.
*We get multiple editions of the same game in different numbers which I get but at the same time it's kind of frustrating to have one game ocupy multiple slots on the ranking.
*We get people that rate a game too low because it's not on their language or not coming to their country ( I live in Uruguay, I get the frustration, but that is NOT reason for a game to have a lower rating).
*It is my understanding that games are rated on rate itself not number of ratings, so games that MANY most people have played tend to do more poorly than more "elitist" (i am using this word in the best way possible) games simply because even though they have less ratings all ratings tend to be of very few but massive fans that rate it very high.
So yeah... BGG ranking is kind of broken but at the same time it's pretty much the best we got right now 🤣
I can hear that. 3 versions of Pandemic legacy, 3 versions of Gloomhaven (spin off's), now 2 versions of Dune Imperium. I'm sure there are more.
Its also expected that a website dedicated to board gaming is likely to skew favourably towards heavier games, since the more dedicated gamers are the ones who will review mainly. Saying that, I think the various sub-leaderboards come in handy here. For example the good lighter games will typically get in the top 100 for the family rating but are lucky to get the top 200 for overall.
My five cents to what every game should have. In the end of the rules, bullet list of rules that can be missed/misunderstood.
Wow, I love all but about 3 of the games you love too (I would add Wingspan and Viticulture too!)! Great to see you highlight fun games you enjoy by other publishers! You are a fantastic ambassador for our hobby!
I’ve played only 12 of the top 100. And I think that’s largely because I favor lighter games, generally. Cascadia, as my favorite all-time game, is my favorite in the top 100.
The other games in the top 100 I will always play:
Ark Nova
7 Wonders Duel
Wingspan
Heat
Quacks of Quedlinburg
Azul
Hey Jamey! This sounds like a great idea. I think I am going to do this for myself. Good choice of division to different sections.
Thank you! :)
Always play games if you have the company: (they seem to have close to infinite replayability)
Ark nova
Mage Knight
Terraforming Mars
Race for the Galaxy
Gloomhaven
Puerto Rico, power grid and agricola probably belong here too or at least they are close.
You definitely need to play mage knight, design is so genius it would blow your mind.
Slay the spire will probably soon be in the absolute top if its not already, it seems like everyone will need to play this one.
Both these games are very long though so that's a bummer.
I enjoyed my first play of Slay the Spire recently (I found it satisfying even just to play through the first run, not all 3 stages).
@@jameystegmaier That's great. To be honest the StS single player video game is literally the best thing that ever happened to true deckbuilding as an entire genre. Its so design perfect, balanced, challenging and replayable that it will always blow my mind, and I've been deck-building one way or the other since the 90s and the early MtG days. So that should tell you a lot.
I never expected they would manage a good adaptation in a board game for it, but it seems they did decently well, and the fact you can have the game finally in co-op mode is pretty amazing as well. I'm only kinda annoyed at the expensive price of it right now.
Great Video!
Games I will always play
Gloomhaven
Ark Nova
Spirit Island
The Castles of Burgundy
7 Wonders Duel
Wingspan
Root
Orleans
Viticulture
The Quacks of Quedlinburg
Azul
Sky Team
Inis
Always play or at least nearly always duting various moods and energy levels: Wingspan, The Crew, Cascadia, azul.
I've only played 20 of the top 100. My will always play list is Ark Nova, Tzolkin, Everedell, Wingspan, Clank and Lost Ruins of Arnak. I really need to try Paladins of the West Kingdom, I think I will love that one!
My wife and I just played Paladins of the West Kingdom two days ago and loved it! It's not as complex to learn as most games, but I think the complexity comes in the decision making. Worker placement is not my favorite mechanic but Garphill games converted me with Paladins and their newest game: Ezra and Nehemiah. Both are top 10 games for me!
Games I will always play from 100 up: (I've only played 38 of the top 100)
7 Wonders
Lords of Waterdeep
Clank!
Five Tribes
Azul
Cascadia
Everdell
Lost Ruins of Arnak
7 Wonders: Duel
Terraforming Mars (My #1 game currently)
Dune Imperium
Your comments are always great, and can make it tough to respond with points that are significant. To me Ark Nova changed the randomness of game play from a negative to a positive for the first time for me. If I see dice in a game, I've gotten enough PTSD from dice that I simply refuse to play that game. I find dice to just wreck your planning, in a negative sense. Ark Nova turned that around for me. The cards brought a sense of fun and direction to my play without destroying it, making each game different enough. I've since been able to find other games that give me this same feeling that I'd never have played before. Now I dislike games without some form of indeterminate game play to force a different play style. Dice though, I still hate.
I'm glad that Ark Nova opened you to new types of randomness! Are there any games with dice that you like? Dice drafting games, for example, feature input randomness--you aren't at the whim of the dice at the moment it matters (when you're ready to use them).
Not necessarily listed as overall favorite, but right now I think I'd play anytime Ark Nova, Obsession, Lost Ruins, The Gallerist, Cascadia, Terraforming Mars, Everdell. Not in the top 100 anymore, but my top would play anytime game would probably be Dominion.
My top five games that I will always play are. Mansions of Madness, Wingspan, Viticulture, Grand Austria Hotel, and Blood Rage....ok my sixth game I love too is Scythe......it just needed to be included. 😀
Oh man, not having played Dominant Species is a crime. I'd be happy to teach you sometime at a convention or something if we ever bump into each other. Chad was a genius boardgame designer.
I'd love to play it! Do you typically play the original or a newer version of it?
This was a really fun & interesting video. I have played 47 of the top 100 so far. I would play all but 2 of them again, but 10 that I would play in a heartbeat (lowest ranked to highest): Wingspan, Paladins otWK, Obsession, Cascadia, Lost Ruins of Arnak, GWT 2nd Ed, Gaia Project, Terraforming Mars, Dune Imperium & Ark Nova. Forgot to mention - I don't rank games until I have played them a few times at least.
Thanks for sharing your list!
I've played 36 of top 100.
My always play:
Spirit Island
The Crew
Concordia
Heat
Marvel Champions
Cascadia
Obsession
Quacks
Sky Team
A few that were not on your list for me would be LeHavre, Terraforming Mars, Wingspan (I don't work for Stonemaier) , Cascadia and Paladins of the West Kingdom. Big thumbs up on Tzolkin which is my #1 of all time currently. Fun video!
Thanks for sharing your list! I love Tzolk'in (and Wingspan, of course :) ).
The games I'll always play are:
Ark Nova
Brass Birmingham
Dune Imperium
Castles of Burgundy
Scythe
7 Wonders Duel
A Feast for Odin
Great Western Trail
Arkham Horror LCG
Root
Viticulture
Heat
Pax Pamir Second Edition
Crokinole
Kanban EV
Quacks
Paladins
I like that there is just enough diversity in the top 100 that someone else doesn't care for a game I love (Search for Planet X) and vice versa. I just wish they would clean up the mulitple versions problem.
Jamey explaining bgg has merit in its own right, but I wonder at the ven diagram of people who watch this channel and people who don't know about bgg. I would be pretty shocked to find out the number was above, say, 0.
I just try to use inclusive language for this type of thing--it's an opportunity to welcome people into the community. :)
@@jameystegmaier As a non-native english-speaking person, i would still prioritize board-game websites/communities in my native language, and was not aware of BGG until very recently.
It's great to see consider accessibility when making your videos.
Thanks to you, i can safely share this video with my english-speaking friends who occasionally play board games and have most definitely never heard of BGG.
@@aegide_ Thank you for sharing that!
I'm the one! Not a regular board game player, I just stumbled upon the video and watched 'cause I like to know how experts think about their areas of expertise, and games are fun :) I wouldn't have cared much if he didn't explain it, but I learned something :)
@@jestemtomkiem color me shocked!
I've always been curious what the BGG rankings would look like if you removed all of the ratings given before the game had been published for one year.
That would be interesting to see! I think for most games it might have a minimal impact.
On bgg though every score means something, like if you give it a 10 it shows you love it and will always want to play, something like that. You'll see it when you're choosing the score you'll give it.
After playing Clans Of Caledonia, Terra Mystica stopped getting to the table with my group of friends as they feel so similar by Clans plays faster without losing anything. Plus Clans has the excellent variable market mechanism. This doesn't mean TM is gone down in my estimation though and I enjoyed Terra Nova recently.
Also, great to see Orleans and Concordia on your list, two of my absolute favourites!
Thanks for sharing Jamey. Appreciate your comments and analysis of the pros of each of your favorites. I am not experienced as many on all those games, so I only rank the ones I have played. The games I will always play? Cascadia is currently my wife’s and my go to favorite. Others include Wingspan, Ticket to Ride (especially the online versions), and possibly Everdell. Again, thanks for taking the time to share. And PS: as another commenter mentioned, looking forward to Vantage, as well!! 😊
Turns out I've only played around 25 of them, but I will always play Decrypto, Concordia, Powergrid, Dominant Species and Viticulture
Love the list, thanks for sharing!
I only just learned and have since fallen in love with Gaia Project, so I’m excited to try Terra Mystica and Age of Innovation.
Your list is making me want to try Architects of the West Kingdom again.
Question - I see that, across the board, the Lacerda games ranked lower. At first I thought it was a complexity preference, but with games like Ark Nova, Terra Mystica, etc so high on your list I thought I would ask.
I have a lot of respect for Lacerda as a designer, and I've tried to figure out why his games don't get me excited to play more than once. I'm not quite sure, because all the elements are there...I think part of it may be the heavy use of bonus actions, but beyond that I'm not sure.
20:47 the mechanism for Concordia is "hand building" (as opposed to deck building. Same mechanism is Aquatica, Century Spice Road, etc.)
That's correct--there's no shuffling. I'd say it's a cross between hand-crafting, hand-management, and hand-building.
Most hobby gamers seem to prioritize gameplay over theme. I see them as equally important to an engaging play session. For that reason, my top 5 in order are:
Aeon’s End
Mage Knight
Root
Scythe
The Quacks of Quedlinburg
Honorable mentions to Everdell, Clank!, Dune: Imperium, and Terraforming Mars
I've played 20 of the BGG top 100 games. My 'will always play' on the list are Spirit Island, The Castles of Burgundy, Scythe, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Wingspan, Everdell, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, Heat: Pedal to the Metal, Cascadia, The Quacks of Quedlinburg, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Azul, Lords of Waterdeep, and 7 Wonders. I play many of these solo.
I kinda wonder if there is a way to change the BGG top 100 to take into account the fact that WAY more people play light and medium weight games and so the people who like heavy games are self selecting into those, bumping it up higher, and those who like medium weight games don't ever both with it and never try it. As a result, the medium weight games might not appeal to everyone, but are incredible games -- it's just tricky to figure out how to really make those aggregate ratings be more representative of the population as a whole, maybe even giving people more of a bonus for having a variety of players that rate them.
@@psychoticvenom 💯 agreed. BGG top 100 doesn't reflect gaming reality. Too many heavy games represented.
@@psychoticvenom I actually messaged BGG about the idea of making an annual event where they push for everyone to re-rate their games. It could be a big thing each year where they freeze the top 100 and then livestream the new results of how the 100 has shifted.
Great video!
You really should play Mage Knight.
What are your 3 favorite things about it?
@@jameystegmaier Yes - that's the question isn't it? Note that this is for Mage Knight as a solo game (or even two people collaborating with one character):
I'd say:
Fantastic hand management - every single hand feels powerful and just-not-quite-enough at the same time. With a bit of clever thinking, seemingly mediocre hands can pull of some astonishing trickery and make you feel like a genius;
Great mix of random and deterministic mechanics. The game has loads of randomness - in the map tiles, the upgraded cards you get access to, the mana in the mana pool, and of course your hand. But then the combat is completely deterministic. It's just a great mix - the tools you get are a bit random, how how they are used is not. To me it's the perfect balance of Spirit Island, which can sometime seem too deterministic and Gloomhaven, in which a bad card draw can feel bad (of course I love both of those games too).
Finally, the game just gives me this amazing feeling of exploration and adventure; it's kind of an ineffable quality - I can't my finger on exactly why and how, but it's really incredibly.
Bonus thing-people-say-about-the-game-I'd-like-to-rebut - yes, it's complicated, but the rules are intuitive and after a game or two it just flows!
@@adamstofsky4244 Thanks so much for taking the time to reply! The hand management in particular seems fascinating to me--a great system. While it's very rare that I play games solo, I hope for the chance to play it with someone else in the future.
@@jameystegmaier If you are playing with one or two other people, my recommendation would be to just play single handed and have everyone out their brains together to pilot that one character, at least a first. I'm lucky to have a large gaming table in my home office - occasionally I'll just leave Mage Knight set up and take a turn or two when I need a break. The game can unfold over several days or a week - it fun and adds to the epic feel.
(I'm excited to try the same approach with Vantage!)
Designer reviews would be a really interesting world
I am happy to teach you War of the Ring! :D I'm based in Chicago but I'll drive
Maybe at Geekway 2025? It's worth the trip. :)
By the way, can’t wait for Vantage!
BGG Top 100 I will always play:
Terraforming Mars, GWT (2E), CoB, Arnak, Wingspan, Orleans, Everdell, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, HEAT, Cascadia, Kanban EV, Caverna, Blood Rage, Tzolk’in, Quacks, Teotihuacan, Sky Team, 7 Wonders
And the one that SHOULD be there 😂: Russian Railroads/Ultimate Railroads
You've got to play Dominant Species. So much fun
Awesome! What's your favorite thing about it?
@@jameystegmaier
I love the action options available and the strategy involved. Also, the roller coaster of emotions that come from having your cubes or adaptation chits removed and dominance cards played against you vs. removing them from someone else or playing a card that targets them.
They should make a better looking version though. I like it but its ugliness is always a stumbling block.
@@Kunibert1 I think a reprint with small molded animals in place of cubes would be awesome! I agree that the game isn't beautiful, but it's too much fun to let that get in the way, for me. What kind of piece would you envision for the dominance tokens?
@@TheDonovanFisher I think the dominance cones are fine, but they need to redesign the board and terrain tiles. They look like a clerk made them.
Hi Jamey, thanks for the list, viticulture is my favorite game and I enjoy other SM games as well. You went over the games, which is great, but didn't really go into how you made the choice to separate the games into the tiers, and I'd guess that was the hardest part. It would be interesting to get another video that goes more into why the games on the second tier didn't quite make it into your "always play" top tier.
It's just personal preference--some games just make me excited to play them all the time, whereas others don't quite scratch that same itch. It's different for each game, but the main answer (beyond personal preference) is that the details I said about the games in my top tier either aren't present or aren't quite as good--for me--in the previous tiers.
Thanks Jamie. I'd say I've owned and or played at least half the games on the BGG 100. I favor strategy adventure games and since many games on this list are heavy, I play them solo as opposed to something like Azul, which I play with my kids. So my fav solo /coop are Mage Knight, Too many Bones Undertow, Arkham and Marvel Champions LCG's. Fav multi player are Ark Nova, Dune Uprising, Scythe, Viticulture with Tuscany, and Star Wars Rebellion. My biggest surprise is you have not played Mage Knight as it's regarded as being a master piece. I'm guessing is because it's a solo game and you don't play those.
That's true, most of what I've heard about Mage Knight is about solo play. I've watched/read a bunch of reviews about it, and I hope to try it someday.
Revive barely is in the top 100. It is 104. But it's one of my new favorite game! Where would you have placed it? :)
I mean, if you discount all the double or triple versions of the same game, it would be in the top 100. :)
@@alphabet2238 true! :)
I've only played Revive once so far, so it would probably go in my "want to play again" category.
Cool video idea :)
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on Vital Lacerda as a designer. You respect his designs but don't want to play more of them. What is it about them that deters you from pursuing them?
I think Vital is an amazing designer and a really kind person. I appreciate how much effort and research he puts into each of his games, and I think it's wonderful that he's brought joy to many people through his mechanisms. I'd prefer to focus on the positive, and I have videos about my favorite aspects of every game of his I've played. :)
Since you like Lords of Waterdeep, I'm curious what your opinion is on or if you've played Meeples and Monsters? I personally like meeples and monsters slightly more than lords of waterdeep because of the bag building mechanic in meeples and monsters.
I haven't, but I love bag building, so I need to try that one!
Cool! Going to watch on the beach now!
I have played 70 of the current top 100 games. Here's my "anytime" games:
7 Wonders Duel, Mansions of Madness, A Feast for Odin, Terraforming Mars (w/ Prelude), both Crew games, Ark Nova, Viticulture (w/Tuscany), Obsession, Orleans, Sky Team, and the Search For Planet X (which I was surprised was only in your "respect" list, I'm curious on your thoughts on that one).
Architects of the West Kingdom would also make it, but it fell out of the top 100. :(
Thanks for sharing! Here's my video on Search for Planet X: ua-cam.com/video/sK47-nTcbFA/v-deo.htmlsi=F1nNtslwlNPr5WMB
@@jameystegmaier Thanks but the video is 100% positive, and doesn't give any indication what you don't like about it.
@@Ras137 That's correct.
I used to be a huge huge fan of Root, but as Ive gotten more chances to play it I feel like my opinion more aligns with yours now. The asymmstry makes it so difficult for me to teach. I had to learn the game 4 times over and then some to feel like I had any sort of capability to comfortably teach it. Plus the base game factions feel like they arent really anywhere close in power level.. and if one player doesnt know what they are doing, it so quickly can become unwinnable where 1 player just runs away with the lack of pushback. It feels really bad to play unless everyone knows what theyre doing. I just dont really feel like purchasing expansion factions to make the game fun, so yeah, I agree with I can respect the systems, the art style of course, it just doesnt get me real excited anymore.
I definitely see what you're saying--I can relate, as you can tell from the video. :) I have some friends that know it really well and get together with each other to play it a few times a year, and I'm happy that they still have a blast with it.
Nice to see some love for Lords of Waterdeep! Definitely a favorite for my gaming group. I’m curious as to how often you get your own games to the table. Honestly I’d bet not nearly as much as other publishers games, as I’m sure you’ve extensively played them before their release, and I’m sure you want to keep yourself exposed to current ideas and trends developing in the hobby.
I love to play the games we make here at Stonemaier, but I generally wait for someone else to request them rather than proposing them at game night. As a result, I would say that I teach and play our new games a lot upon the initial release, and then after that I get to play our games around once per year (plus Rolling Realms every few weeks on the liveplays).
I'm curious: what drives you so off of Mage Knight to the point that you have NEVER played it?
I don't think it's fair to assume that the reason I haven't played any game (I've played many games, but there are far more games I haven't played) is that there's something about it that "drives me off". That is not at all the case; rather, I play a lot of games, but it's physically impossible for me to have played every game. I pursue the games I'm excited to play, and I research the rest.
I’m surprised Eclipse was so low down for you. I’ve only played Second Dawn, but everything about that production is brilliant. Scythe is my number one game, but Eclipse is probably my number two, and while very different, they both have some elements of engine building/efficiency puzzles along with threats of conflict and just enough asymmetry. Strongly recommended trying Second Dawn once. Maybe it’ll change your mind?
I really did like the connection between the player mats and your presence/control on the map in Eclipse. The problem we encountered was that a player was virtually (but not completely) eliminated from the game about an hour into a 5-hour game, which made me really hesitant to return to it. Does Second Dawn fix that issue?
Hmm. I’ve not had that happen in our sessions. It sounds like they may have run their economy to its limit too long early on which choked their late game? We haven’t seen player vs player combat really upend someone until very late game (last round or two).
I’ll agree that a long game session where you’re clearly doing poorly is never fun, nor is it if someone is eliminated in a long game, but if the situation you’ve described happened that early, I’d guess it was some compounding of poor decisions rather than just bad luck or player against player. Not sure if there was any big rule changes between editions that would otherwise account for that, though. Maybe I’m totally wrong in my assessment.
@@Amadre278 It's been a while, but most of us were playing for the first time and probably not making optimal moves. No one was targeting anyone else, but one player just got a little vulnerable and it compounded from there.
I was surprised you havent played war of the ring. The design is so elegant
I've played Star Wars Rebellion, which I've heard has some similarities, but I need to try War of the Ring!
I❤decypto Ark nova Azul seven wonders play the most
Games I’ll always play from the BGG Top 100 as of 7/28/24 starting from the 100 spot going down (up?) to 1:
Sadly Architects has been bumped 2 spots since your recording or that would be the first one.
Dominant Species
Five Tribes: The Djinns of Naqala
Dune: Imperium - Uprising
Azul
Agricola (15’ is the copy I own)
Grand Austria Hotel
Power Grid
Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar
Obsession
Everdell
Wingspan
The Castles of Burgundy
Star Wars: Rebellion
Terraforming Mars
Note: I own all of those games except Power Grid, Obsession, Wingspan, and The Castles of Burgundy. I plan to own a version of Burgundy someday.
So many have commented about the inaccuracy of the BGG top 100. It’s definitely influenced by hype and the “1%”. I mentioned this in someone’s comment, but I actually messaged BGG about the idea of making an annual event where they push for everyone to re-rate their games. It could be a big thing each year where they freeze the top 100 and then livestream the new results of how the 100 has shifted. Wish there was some way to really make something like this happen. It would make the site and community more accessible I think for people outside of the community. And it wont be filled with as many heavy Kickstarter games.
I really like the idea of an annual event!
@@jameystegmaier make it happen Jamey!!!
I'm curious why you never played War of the Ring? It's such a classic for me, I remember playing that game so often (1st edition) with my father back when I was a teenager in the 2000s. It was one of our favorite to play against each other (that and Axis and Allies). So many good memories.
I must admit that it's been a while since I had the opportunity to bring that game to the table. It's a bit heavy, takes a long time, and really works best with 2 players.
I'd love to play every game that exists, but it just isn't possible! :) I hope to play War of the Ring someday.
Clank is on Steam now. It was really well done. I am very surprised Dwellings of Eldervale is nowhere to be seen. 🤔
Dwellings is ranked 114th on BGG, so it isn't yet eligible for this list.
Id like to know your thoughts on Eclipse: Second Dawn if you ever get around to playing it, as it is in my opinion a vast improvement on the first edition…I feel you might have it in a higher tier if you tried it
I'm certainly open to trying it, as I love the economy in the original game. The issue we encountered with the original is that a player was functionally (but not entirely) knocked out of the game very early on and had very little to do for the last 3-4 hours of the game. Does the new version address that?
@@jameystegmaier There are a few minor things done to make the game friendlier and to improve the ‘rubberbanding’ between the leaders and those far behind. The game is shorter and the new player storage components make getting the game to the table and setting up a million times faster and easier, both of which indirectly address the problem of the game dragging and feeling miserable for lagging players. The rules have also been slightly tweaked; with more diminishing returns for players in control of lots of sectors, they nerfed a few advanced weapons, the explore action is slightly friendlier for unlucky draws, they’ve added passive defense in starting player areas, and the tech tiles have been improved and balanced. It is still extremely tight on resource management however. Thanks for the response!
@@aaronchapa1117 That's great on every level! I definitely need to try it. :)
I only rank the games I own which I’ve played. That means you can see on my BGG profile my shelf of opportunity haha
Which of these would be good for two players? (excluding War of the Ring and Star Wars Rebellion)
Here's a video about my favorite 2-player games (the description includes some links to other videos I've made about games that shine at that player count): ua-cam.com/video/Sa5iq3ESjGM/v-deo.htmlsi=X3hraCbUrGNGfHzG
Good video!
Everdell is one I will always play. I wish it got more attention. I think it remains underrated.
Maybe your video was inspired by the "tier lists of bgg top 100 games" being posted on the Board Game Revolution facebook group this month? I posted mine, and here were my top 2 tiers:
S: Terraforming Mars, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Scythe, Concordia, Concordia Venus, The Voyages of Marco Polo
A: Lost Ruins of Arnak, Beyond the Sun, Castles of Burgundy, Lords of Waterdeep, Ark Nova, Orleans, Terra Mystica, Anachrony
As of the time I made the list, I had played 42 of the top 100. I've since played Quacks (though I did not enjoy it, as I didn't think a person's decisions mattered much).
As for how I rate games, basically the same way you do: 1-10, based on how much enjoyment I get from playing plus how much I want to play them. I pay some attention to the bgg qualitative values (e.g., 8 - Very good - enjoy playing and would suggest it) but mostly just have an internal 1 to 10 scale with 1-4 games I really don't like, 5-6 neutral, 7-10 games I like. I only rate games I've played. I used to wait until I played a few times, but now I rate after the first play and just update later. I try always to post a comment with my rating for context. If I rate a game very low or very high I tend to look through other people's ratings both consistent and opposite my own to see if I'm missing something.
I'm not familiar with those posts, but I'm in that group, so perhaps I saw a few of them and didn't realize it. Thanks for sharing your top tiers!
When I rate games, I actually use the metric that BGG gives, assigning things like, "Not so good, but could play again," to a 4.
HOWEVER, BGG actually has two separate lists of descriptors depending on if you are viewing an individual game or in list form. It is an annoyance of mine.
For me, a 4 is well below a game I'd play again. For me, a 7 is probably the lowest I'd rate a game that I won't actively seek out but would play if someone else is really excited about it. 7.5 is generally I give games if I will happily play them again on occassion, 8.0 is for games I'll pursue playing, and 8.5 and higher are those I'll eagerly pursue and play at any time.
BGG ratings are always heavily weighted towards heavy weight games.
I only rate games that I play. To rate a game without having ever played it is definitely unfair to those games they rate. On the other hand, when you look at how people act on social media, it’s not surprising to hear that is what people do on BGG. The top 100 on BGG is not a reflection of the tastes of most people who play board games. Most of my games are light to medium weight because most of my friends who are willing to play games are more casual gamers. They like challenging games at times, but not all of the time. My personal feelings are that the People’s Choice list that the Dice Tower does every year is a more accurate reflection of the general gaming community’s preferences.
I have only played 15 of the top 100, though technically, I would say it is 14 because the list has both Great Western Trail and GWT 2nd Edition in the top 100. For me personally, the difference between the two editions is not enough to warrant both being able to be included in the top 100, but I don’t have a good solution to suggest to get around that issue. Of those I have played, my favorites would be Wingspan, Ark Nova, Viticulture, Everdell and Puerto Rico, in that order. In the next 100, I have played 16, and of them, I would put Dominion 2nd Edition and Earth above Everdell and PR. (3 of the 16 are Dominion, Dominion 2E, and Dominion: Intrigue. So actually I consider it as 14 games in the second 100 rather than 16.)
Thanks for the video.
Oooff not even mentioning Arkham Horror LCG is rough. I felt like a Magic player would have more excitement around this game. I am curious if you’ve played it with any of the long campaigns? I wish the base game was Dunwich. I think the base games punishing 3 scenario game really ruins it for people before they even can appreciate it.
As noted in the description, it was just an honest mistake not to mention a few games (I'm sorry to the designer if they perceived this as "rough"). I've played twice, and it isn't at all a game for me, but I appreciate the joy it's brought to many other tabletops.
Nice Video Jamey! Here are my list of games that I own that I rate a 9 or higher on BGG Top 100 (24 total or 25 if you count TTA twice on top 100).
92. The Voyages of Marco Polo
86. Teotihuacan: City of Gods
79. Race for the Galaxy
77. Dune Imperium: Uprising
69. The Gallerist
63. Grand Austria Hotel
62. Power Grid
60. Tzolkin: The Mayan Calendar
48. Caverna: The Cave Farmers
44. Puerto Rico
40. Heat: Pedal to the Metal
38. Viticulture Essential Edition
34. Mage Knight Board Game
19. 7 Wonders Duel
17. Scythe
16. The Castles of Burgundy
15. Great Western Trail
14. Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
12. Gaia Project
8. War of the Ring: Second Edition
6. Dune Imperium
4. Ark Nova
3. Gloomhaven
1. Brass Birmingham
Honestly, I really dislike the current system about how BGG tries to influence "hype- or anti-hype-ratings" by just giving a fixed number of 5s (I think it's a few hundred).
This just means that games with a low production volume will never have a good rating to get high enough in the charts.
Of course it would be absolutely weird to have a game with e.g. 5 ratings of 10 (and nothing else) on rank 1. ;-)
BUT, the way BGG logically works leads to only the most popular (NOT the best....which is a real difference) being in the Top100/200/300.
A game needs 5000 or even 10000 ratings to get that high.
When you just check the Top100, then there is only a minor issue with that because most of the games also have a great average user rating in addition to having a LOT of ratings.
But when you start checking the following 100 steps, this gets more obvious.
This leads to the consequence that I never use the "official" BGG ranking to find out what other great games there are.
Instead I sort by the USER(!) rating and in addition set a filter to the "number of ratings".
IMHO, a rating is precise enough with about 1000 ratings, maybe going higher to 2000.
There are so many games with 1000-2000 ratings and a user rating far higher than 8.0.....and all those games will never be high in the BGG ranking, ALTHOUGH a lot of them are greater than some of the high-ranked game.
And all just comes back to the fact that you need a LOT of rating (about 5000+) to at least have the potential to get high.
As conclusion I would NOT recommend new players to check the BGG ranking in order to find out what to buy/play next.
When I play a game, why should I care if the game is a mass-market game or not?
I dont have THE ONE best solution, but instead or in addition to give game just a few hundred dummy ratings, BGG should disregard the top and flop X% of ratings (which will often be just 10s and 1s/2s/3s).
With that approach, BGG would actively fight against the "hype/hate-raters).
THEN, BGG could reduce the number of dummy votes to a minimum.