Top 10 Board Games That Made Our Relationship "Stronger"
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
- We've been together for almost 10 years, and played A LOT of board games in that time. Some of our best memories have been made enjoying this hobby together... but let's not forget about those games that have "tested" us and those unforgettable moments of sheer frustration & despair... here are the top 10 board games in our collection that helped make our relationship "stronger." :)
00:00 Introduction
01:39 Number 10
04:03 Number 9
05:59 Number 8
07:32 Number 7
10:03 Number 6
12:00 Number 5
15:07 Number 4
19:53 Number 3
22:17 Number 2
26:03 Number 1
28:45 Wrap Up & Reflections
Thanks for stopping by! We're Amy & Maggie aka ThinkerThemer. We're an Australian couple with two very different perspectives of what makes a great board game - Amy (Thinker) is all about the mechanics and enjoys tight, competitive games, and Maggie (Themer) is all about the storytelling and the theme of the game, and the 'world' that the designer is trying to create. Subscribe to our channel to hear us talk about these two elements of a game, and how well integrated we feel these are in delivering a cohesive and wonderful game experience.
Are you #teamthinker or #teamthemer? ❤🏳️🌈🇦🇺
Which games have made your relationship/s "stronger"? 😅
One that probably made ours stronger (no quotes) was CO2: Second Chance. As a family we were discussing tactics between games to try and work out strategies for the next game. Probably the most discussion outside of an actual playthrough that we've ever had. Note: We still haven't won/saved the planet
I would say Castle of Burgundy; Carcassonne, Brass Birmingham and Kanban
Any game my wife wins.
Pandemic Legacy and 7th Continent made our relationship stronger, I think because we could funnel all that competitive energy into winning together. Plus, they are just fun games.
Another way to think about the question, we are each attracted to different games so together we get to experience a wide variety: Nemesis and Too Many Bones on one hand and Shakespeare and Pret-a-Porter on the other. We both now adore all of them but would have missed out on half without our partner.
Aristeia! An arena fighting game, which, for some reason, just hit every competitiveness button in the both of us. I wouldn't even say that it made our relationship stronger, but rather that our relationship wouldn't have survived any more games. Permanently banned in our two person Covid games bubble.
The thumbnail KILLED me for this! There's been a few we had disagreements on and it certainly helped our communication skills.
Long games with no catch-up mechanics = Clockwork orange torture
Absolutely! 😬
Lol haven't started watching yet but that thumbnail picture is amazing. Love it 😂
😁 Maggie says she sees this face often. Oops
I love your stories in this video. So hilarious. From a couple imploding to Maggie running away and Amy just hoping she finds her way back lol 😂
This is why I love you guys! Not only unique perspectives on board games but also interesting subjects. This was a awesome top 10!
Aww thank you so much Dwayne, that is so nice of you to say. I suspect that since it's been your mission to get Alicia into board games you might have avoided 'take-that' games... but have you run into any that created any tense moments or hurt feelings??
@@ThinkerThemer not yet. Been avoiding them with her.
OMG best video yet. When the wife has those "Clockwork Orange" moments(such a great comparison), she will refuse to count the points at game end with "we both know you won" with the implicit warning-"you can push your luck in a game but don't try it with me, pal". Amazing though, she's always happy to tally when I get slaughtered...And yet, we're still together. What we love about games, navigating the rules, navigating the relationships. This was an awesome vid.
We laughed so much at not tallying the points if you win but gleefully tallying them when you don't. That is hilarious!! I think win or lose those scores need to be logged!!! (btw, Maggie could not care less about keeping track of scores :) and even less so about my giving her tidbits on her win percentage etc...). Thanks for sharing these experiences which really made us laugh and I am so glad that you enjoyed this video!
This is a great idea for a top 10 and surprisingly wholesome. I noticed you guys sat a lot closer together than usual, likely as a soothing gesture as you described several occasions of being extremely cross with eachother lol. Super sweet!
I was laughing so hard watching this. This was an awesome video 😂
Yay!! So glad to hear you enjoyed it Scilla. Thank you for taking the time to let us know
What a cute idea for a top 10! Makes me think of times I feel like fodder for 2 relatives who enjoy heavier games then I do.
Really nice and funny video! Arboretum was one that drive me crazy at the beginning and my GF was having the best time of her life.
You may have posted this a year ago, but it's as fresh now as it was when you put it up. I haven't chuckled this much in a long time. I really appreciate you both and your thoughts on games and gaming.
Unfair is such a good choice. My gf and I love this game and how mean we can be to each other. We call it the "A-Ha!" moments where one player is just jetting ahead and someone pulls out the card that shuts down attractions or steals workers that just makes the whole park crumble in the last round. I really hope for another expansion for it, it's one of our favorites.
One that wasn't mentioned that we've loved is Clank Legacy. There were moments where we just wanted to explore the board but if one person looked at the other wrong it's a free for all to the end so that the dragon attacks more. Now that it's compete we have our own little in jokes that are on the cards that just make us laugh about the dumb stuff we did in the campaign.
So glad to hear you're a fan of Unfair Michael! I do think there is another expansion in the works. The variability of the different decks is so fun!
Ahhh yes Clank Legacy! We had organised a game group to play through this and then we got hit with a year of lockdowns so it hasn't happened yet unfortunately. Now I'm even more keen to make it happen! ☺
My wife doesn’t LOVE board games like I do, but we had a really good time playing Chronicles of Crime! She loves crime shows so this was a good one to play together.
I've been dipping my toes across many of your videos and this is the one that made me subscribe. I'll check if you've made others like it, but a sequel with more stories like this would be fun to watch.
Ginkgopolis did this when I played with my partner. She was building a private district towards end game and then I dropped a tile or two and broke it into several shared, much smaller districts which totally wrecked her plans. She still won, haha, but she looked me square in the eye and said "I don't like this game!" She hasn't played it since. :P
Thankfully my daughter loves it, and is a cut-throat little monster, so I still get it to the table. It's a great game.
Yes! I love Web of Spies so much. It is so over-the-top mean that you can't help but laugh when you are getting ganged up on and knocked out and there's nothing you can do. Definitely can't take anything too personal in that one.
Hahaha well, the couple in our story are no longer together so maybe Web of Spies is the true test 🙃😬 glad you enjoy this one too Craig! ☺
I can relate so much to the feelings on this list. We have so many moments in games like: Pipeline, Lisboa, Pamir 2e, Calico or Homeworlds. We are both the type of 'shutting down' so usually requires to stop playing games and some time to recover afterwards. We've talked about it many times and we both feel that, as you, we have a safe space. We are both aware of these situations and now without even saying anything we know when to give someone some space.
It was a really fun list to watch, hope you have a nice rest of the week 🌈❤
Space is always good when emotions are running high Sergio! That's great that you've worked out how to work through these situations. Lisboa is an interesting one! What happened there??
@@ThinkerThemer Well, when you play at 2 players the game gets really intense. During majority scoring in each of the streets you only score for first and third and during most officials (on plans used for public buildings) the same, it gets really cutthroat because of the huge swings in points (for plans for example we are talking 10 points difference). There is also only one copy of each type of ship, which also results in less ways to increase influence. All this tightness plus hate drafting decrees and never letting your only opponent follow end up in a really competitive game for 2 players. It took us a couple of plays to feel more at ease with it but now we really enjoy how competitive it gets.
Love this topic. When my partner and I started dating we played card games, mostly Rummy. We would each win in long streaks, so for a month or two he would win every game, then finally I'd get a break and win for two weeks in a row. So each of us started to get so frustrated we wouldn't play it all for months, even years. I threw some tantrums. We've outgrown that over competitiveness for the most part, but there is still something about this game in particular that gets under our skin- maybe it's just the sticky history we have with it. Because I lose Akrotiri all the time to him, but I still love it.
We did play rummy last year and I won three out of three. He said, "Well, I guess we're good on that for another year."
Do either of you do things that annoy the other while you play? Like second guessing a move or pointing out a better strategy or playing little teasing mind games? My partner has the annoying habit of saying I'm cheating after every move I make. Or complain I'm taking too long even though he has far more a.p. than me. Neither of these things are done in complete seriousness.
I do prefer games that are thinky, let you do your own thing and pursue a strategy. But, now that I'm better about approaching games with the proper mindset, I do occasionally love social games with a ton of luck, take that and/or betting and bluffing; it's such a different sort of strategic satisfaction.
I think Amelie melts from regrettable fear of approaching the guy she’s fallen for. But still, a great great movie.
Also… Thanks for committing to the most inclusive channel in the board game hobby. It’s sad to see someone internalize an innocuous phrase like ‘what doesn’t kill…’ as if you had any intention of offending anyone. Keep up the excellent work and stay safe.
- Linus
Thank you so much for the meaningful words Linus, it's really nice to know that this feels like an inclusive space and to feel like we have your support. Certainly there was no negative intention there but we will always do our best to listen and educate ourselves about others' experiences & take on board these perspectives. Really appreciate your kind comments about the channel and glad you enjoy our content
Y'all are a breath of fresh air in board game reviewers, thanks for sharing your experiences :)
I so get it with these Splotter games. I am a person who needs to play a few times to get an understanding and play well, and with those games, I just get screwed and screwed over, and they are often long, so I sit there being punished for hours for my early mistakes! I realize they are good games and perfect for some people.
I love this list! And I love your honesty. Also, this was a great fast-spoken line from Amy: "And Maggie does have tantrums, but anyway . . ." I can relate, Maggie! ;)
Just found your feed and love the videos. Me and my wife used Dominion to get through the pandemic and the stress involved and Targi is our marriage counsellor. Board games are a great device for making relationships stronger, they worked for me. Thanks for the videos.
100% agree with Carcassonne! Sooo many tense games of that for us! Great video as always.
I think this is easily my favorite video in quite a while! Your joy is contagious. All of you content creators know everyone loves top 10s but this one is so unique and original it's extremely refreshing in a sea of cookie cutter top tens. The genuine ability for you to look back and laugh at yourselves is one of the reasons I love watching this channel!
Oh my gosh I love this video hahah! So full of laughs, and it’s so strangely nice to hear that you guys can get into tiffs over games too (my partner and I definitely have had our bickers over games)! This feels like a hidden gem too, finding it randomly 1 year after it was uploaded! :)
Here are a few more to try!
Fog of Love
Kahuna
Babel
These games nearly ended our marriage in the most hilarious ways.
Love your channel, thanks!
Another video from my favorite board game channel 🤩
Aw thank you so much!
Funny, we played Carcassonne "nice" probably the first two years. And now even when competitive, we use the Abbey in exp. 5 so that there's never that dead area surrounded by 8 other tiles. I think for us, Azul.
I found y’all through a friend on Twitter and I already love this channel. It was so informative and yalls energy is just so sweet and fun to watch
I know how you feel about Paris, Maggie. I played 3 games of Akrotiri with my wife, got crushed each time and had no idea what she was doing better than me. I didn't have the first clue what else to try, and I don't play it anymore.
There is a similar experience in my household with Akrotiri ^^
**adds Akrotiri to the shopping list** I'm not sure why I'm not heeding these warnings but now I'm just intrigued....
@@ThinkerThemer I did the same with Paris... I guess we'll be all working hard to keep strengthening these relationships over the next weeks XD
I can totally identify with Amy's tendency to be targeted for elimination! As I am generally the person teaching or running the game, I will often remind new(er) players that "when in doubt, go after me." It's much more pleasant for those just learning, and really adds to the camaraderie to have a clearly defined target...
Unfortunately, that mindset sometimes continues over into future games, sometimes to the point where I am no longer the most dangerous player at the table for that particular game, but evidently "don't let Aaron win" is a hard habit to break! ;)
This is one of my favourite Top 10 videos from you. It’s so great to see that competitive side come out and to learn a bit more about what makes you both tick!!
I, for one, have also been on the receiving end of some Brutal Blokus Bullying!
Also, I feel like in years to come, people will ask “Where were you during the great Bean Emargo?”
The thumbnail and your stories were great! Thanks for bringing a smile to my face at work 🙂
Great idea for a top ten. I enjoyed the list and the stories. Wonderful video!
You two are amazing! Being able to talk about this so openly and playfully is wonderful! I think I've mentioned in the past that my husband doesn't play boardgames, so we've never had to deal with this, but with friendships there've been a few moments that certainly stand out in my mind. I've already told you about my latest Rising Sun 'pick on Xander because he's in last place' game. I think the most common thing that comes up with my older gaming group, that I sadly rarely see anymore, is that because I have all the games, I must be good at them all, so pick on Xander!! Even when I would bring games over that I'd never played before they would gang up on me - always playfully, but occasionally it would get under my skin. Especially with Isle of Skye because I lost that game so many times and then the one time I really killed it, my friend counted his final score right after me and beat me by 2 points!! That one stung for a long time and I think it was almost a year before I played the game again. But I still love it and have since won once, but against someone else! HA HA!
And Amy, when you're visiting me here, I will gladly play Paris: City of Lights with you when Maggie needs a break from gaming - perhaps to go for a run?
Fantastic video! I loved this topic. It was a joy to watch!
Love this! Excellent channel! One of my new favorite gaming channels! This was a fun top 10. I related to many of these haha
+1 for making noises while playing games for thematic purposes! yet another piece of evidence that getting to play a game with Maggie will either be the best experience ever, or the most annoying (for everyone else!).
I love this video! For my husband and me the worst game for our relationship is Air, Land, and Sea: Spies, Lies and Supplies. I though I would like this game, and gave it to my husband for Father’s Day. He loves the game, but after playing it a few times, I really don’t like it at all, because I keep losing… he’s just always a step ahead of me and plays mean cards. I don’t think I”ll ever want to play it again, but we do joke about it.
You’re editing is great! Subtle and classy!
Roads and Boats has been on my bucket list for ages, and Food Chain Magnet is up there, too. Great video, very entertaining, glad to have caught up to it. Given its brutal 2-player nature, I'm almost surprised Agricola didn't make the cut. Ah, well, so many games, so little time, right? Hmm, now to go see if you've played Dominant Species (either version) yet...
Great video....as soon as you got to number three: I was noticing an absence of that kind of game where you are just placing things and after midpoint of the game: those are brutal. And sure enough: your number 3 didn't disappoint! LOL!!!! Your number 10 surprised me because this is my wife and I's 'relaxing' game...where we are just winging things and don't even play with the farmers...just see what we can get. But we play nice with the cities....you two....meanies! :D :D
Great idea for a list! I would definitely have to think it over, but I am usually the more emotional and sensitive one with games. So I'm sure the list would become "top 10 games that irked Ania." I definitely think my issues come from taking myself seriously, but I tend to generally play with very understanding people. So having a good positive atmosphere does make a huge difference. I'll have to ask my brother and girlfriend later and see what we can come up with. Thanks for an interesting topic and a lovely video!
Hahaha honestly our list could've almost been that but with Maggie. I am more likely to get annoyed at myself than at the game or my opponent. Interested to hear what your brother and girlfriend have to say! Thanks for watching as always
This has been my favorite review of all your wonderful reviews! It’s not easy to relive those “strengthening” moments, especially while others watch. For my husband and I, Unfair was our most “strengthening” game. I believe I might have sabotaged the air conditioning in his park, and we haven’t played it since. We also have a couple of other games we refuse to play with one another. He refuses to play Raj, because he says I always win. I refuse to play Shrimp Cocktail, because he is a Rain Man that can see patterns at a glance and so it pretty much becomes a solo gaming experience. Thanks for a delightful review that made me laugh and empathize.
One of my gaming groups is me and a couple. And in this group we only play cooperative stuff. The couple "fights" even in these games so we don't dare trying competitive 🤣
Hahahah oh boy. At least they attack each other and not you!! Good idea to keep things cooperative
Such a great idea for a video! I definitely agree about Carcassonne, there have been times where a cathedral placed with no hope of finishing, or a city that I've been working for ages has been scooped from me right at the end, has caused me some serious sulking! There are definitely others that would make this list, either that sense of helpless when the other one gets it and you're totally lost or that one move ruins all plans. I've buried those memories but will have to think about which games caused it 😂
Ha! What a spot on video! My husband will rarely play games with me, and, in a way keeps our relationship stronger. I truly like competitive games, but don't gloat about winning, or ever be a spoilsport. I'm more of the silent plotter, that may enjoy a devilish giggle 🤭 here and there when I pull off a very successful play. He now refers to me as "the Cardsharp" every time I play with someone else, as a "friendly warning". But, what it really boils down to is, I beat him at every attempt we played Jaipur (one of his favorite games that he too is pretty good at).
Thanks again for the fun content!
My favourite of your lists yet I think :)
You are great 👍 thank you for doing next 10 looking forward for more of your list and opinions
That is a very unique topic for a ranking. I love it.
That video was so much fun to watch! The three games that came to mind when you described the topic were two that you had on your list (Carcassonne and Blokus) and the third was Diplomacy. In Carcassonne, my girlfriend wanted to build her cities, roads, etc. on her own and was not appreciative when I “stole” them from her. She, on the other hand, won 100% of the time in Blokus because she could visualize the moves so much better than I. Diplomacy I only played once forty years ago and without going into detail, have refused to play it ever again (think Maggie tantrum times 10). I am still best friends with one of the players from that game and we played games every three weeks in a five person gaming group until Covid shut us done. We started up again just yesterday.
I hope the couple worked it out after that game. This video was super cute. Very clever topic!
Hello girls! Really enjoy to see this top. Many humour and sincerity wich is very pleasant!
I notice your big effort to pronounce "cité des lumières" in french and so surprise that you like Amelie Poulain moovie!
Half of games I never play or unknown ones, my curiosity is burning but maybe no french traduction. I will verify this point.
Again thanks you girls! Love from France 😘
Hi girls, fantastic video. So much fun and great that you can share with us.
More top 10 please :)
This might just be my fave out of all your videos because of the funnies but also the feels. It's easy to say "it's just a game" but we are human and no game is ever just a game, we can't shut off our emotions like that. It's OK if sometimes we say "I didn't like that, I didn't have fun there." and it's also fun to look back and laugh at ourselves. I can relate to both of you. I have had some painful moments where I turned into a puddle on the inside and also times where Mark has been like "Everyone! We have to attack Sarah she's good at this game" but I have also done that to Mark as well. Lol. We did sell Netrunner because it caused more of the yucky feelings than the nice ones, although we loved the game mechanics. Also we just played through the My City campaign and there was some percieved "balance issues" from Mark's perspective that he was very angsty about. ;-) But hey, we got through it. haha. Love your work as always.
Crokinole and KLASK family tournaments during lockdown here in NZ last year!
Great channel and such a vivid chemistry. I really enjoy the stories you shared and many of them remind me on personal experiences. The game that is challenging our relationship at the moment is Hansa Teutonica. I LOVE the game and doing better and better while my wife feels she is getting crushed every time - being it by me or by our sons. Will see how it will evolve.
Insta subscription! Best regards from 🇩🇪
Love this episode! Totally can relate. Must show my husband this. There’s a reason we have only played Maracaibo once. Tak was another one that didn’t get to table for a while. Uh oohhh - I recently ordered Blokus Duo - maybe not such a good idea..... 🙄😂
Great video, I laughed so much. You girls are so much fun, would love to play with you! Cheers from Portugal.
I haven't thought about this topic before, at least not consciously. However, after watching your video, I can easily say that Carcassonne will be at the top of my list.
I play Carcassone a lot with my sister and it's our fav competitive game after Splendor. We don't play with all the rules, for instance, we skip the farmer because my sister doesn't get it (she's just lazy - don't tell her!). And another rule that we didn't use in our early game was this one where you could take over other's people castles, etc.
I think that I know my sister fairly well, so, taking advantage of things that she has created could easily drop a nuclear bomb into the house. So, I try to avoid messing up with her too often and when it happens not to ruin her massively 😇. Nonetheless, things have slightly changed in our last games 🙊.
The understanding and implementation of stealing or scoring points for the same buildings and paths wasn't a straightforward thing to her. Instead of doing it all the time I went for the slower path of applying it myself from time to time. Therefore, stealing points has become a normal thing to happen during our games after a year.
As I said before, I try not to be too aggressive when taking advantage of this rule until I couldn't win her for about three months. Things were getting very edgy for me, mainly because I wasn't just being defeated, I used to lose by over 100 points of difference most of the time. So, I decided to play according to the rules and not being indulgent with her - oh, girls, what a mistake! 😢
Long story short, she ended up our game with a grumpy phase and curses; she even accused me of cheating on her. I was very aware that things could go wrong when I dropped that tile to steal her a path of 15 points. But, it was her or my well-being.
The next day, things chilled a bit and when we were recalling all that had happened the day before, she recognised her faults and I think this will help her to improve her tolerance to failure.
Anyways, great video, looking forward to watching more like this!
Saludos.
That was a real nice video. Thank you.
I loved this video. Thank you for sharing these stories! While I often wish my wife enjoyed board games, I know she would be much like Amy while I am very much like Maggie.
What an amazing couple you are! 🤗
Such a great top 10! Loved this! I wish I could be just a fly on the wall to watch these games you two play! 😂so Maggie has to find someone else to play Barrage with and Amy has to find someone else to play Paris and probably Food Chain Magnate! I love how you get to each other….Bzzzzzzt….Bzzzzzt….and sorry Babes I have to play to this…there was a hugging moment…. And Maggie left the house! Yet look at you two, stronger than ever! such great stories. True love for each other and board games! I really think we need some live play throughs now 😁! Love this top 10! Was so excited to see it come out!
Such a good video!
Hey you two, would you ever consider a live stream playthrough doubleheader? Say, Barrage and Blokus? Seriously though, this has been my favorite video of yours to date. It's hilarious because I think the topic is so universal...we can all relate.
I'm with Team Maggie all the way here! Thanks for showing me some games to avoid - Blokus may look "Azul-sweet" but sounds way too bitter for me! Loving your channel, so well done and a breath of fresh air!
Awesome video! Thanks Maggie and Amy! :-)
Dear Maggie and Amy, please don't repeat Hate Speech against Disabled People. I had a stroke several years ago and and obviously it didn't kill me. Nor am I stronger than before my stroke. I'm paralyzed on my left side and suffer recurring seizures.
Hi Barton. Thank you for openly sharing your experience and I want to apologize if my choice of words caused any distress, pain or disrespect. That’s definitely never my intention.
Though the saying was meant in a metaphorical sense and specifically in relation to our relationship, I completely acknowledge and agree that many challenges in life that don’t ‘kill’ us in either a literal or figuratively sense of the word, can most certainly be debilitating and limiting in many ways and long term.
Thank you again for speaking up. I will make sure to be more mindful about my choice of words going forward. Maggie
@@ThinkerThemer Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it. I feel pretty awful about my disability. And that cliche makes me feel awful. I realize that you didn't mean to wish me dead. But that cliche is hateful to the disabled if one thinks about its literal meaning. The implication is that I'm still capable of working just as well or better than before. It's a major problem with me. As public assistence in the US is always trying to cut me off. It's practically a job and exhausting just trying to keep getting assistance here. I don't blame people for saying anything once or innocently. And I don't think it's fair to not forgive. Now I have to buy your mug! Thank You again
Cutest couple ever! You have such a charming rapport. Very enjoyable video.
Hi again, so much fun this video. Lots of lol's... After contemplating for a while I came up with the following "advise" for you (who "hate" cooperative games and love to crush each other to get a stronger relationship, ok the crushing part is more Amy than Maggie): Get to know my no.1 game of all times! (And sorry to pitch Go again). 1. If the game is hopeless for one player, you resign immediately (think Mr. Shaibel!) and don't waste each others time and joy 2. If one player is toooo greeeedy in the beginning and tries to run away, you are bound to loose (in 99.9% cases)! It's a game of keeping the balance and try to reach 1/2 of a point more than the other player (out of 361 points/places/intersections on the empty board at the start of the game). 3. Contrary to what I just said big crashes are possible that can end the game right away -- so go to point 1.! [[P.S. not sure you got the link you asked me for before and I sent at one of the "back chat"-discussions: Hi, Thanks for your reply. Sure Rye is a couple of hours drive south. But yeah - if you are in the CBD after work that'll be great. Here is the link: australiango.asn.au/clubs/victoria/ (Victorian clubs - Australian Go Association Inc.). The second entry is us where they call us "Gore Street Irregulars". Irregular probably refers to us as a club with no real Club-room (we like a pub with food and drinks) but otherwise we are there very, very Regular every Wednesday. Hope to see you soon]] Sorry for the length.
Carcassonne Is one of the meanest games that i have ever played. And I can't play any other way! I have to be mean! I'm pretty bad at area control games, but the drafting and the possibility of getting points by losing battles make me love Blood Rage. I love Bohnanza too! Always succeeds with any group of people.
Ahahah, what a fantastic topic for a top 10 list 😂 So much to relate to here.
I love this topic! Great! 😂
Terraforming Mars tends to do this in my relationship with my husband. I can remember multiple moments where one or the other rage quit midway through a game. Mostly it was just because someone has thrown an asteroid on someone just before the other one was going to build a greenery and could have gotten multiple bonuses or because one (mostly me) has gotten better cards out and generating a better engine. (I'm usually the thinker in our relationship)
Our solution. We made agreements that whenever we could be able to give the other person a negative effect but we don't have to, we don't use it, or we take the punishment ourself instead of targeting the other. And to avoid getting left behind by getting stupid/useless cards we now always play with the draft variant.
No game is worth risking your relationship, no matter how strong it is, imo.
Barrage is a game I struggle with too but my partner does well and loves it
Hi Amy and Maggie, love the show as always. Carcassonne (with ALL the expansions) actually would make my my to 5 games of all time.
I like the wizard and witch mechanic ….kind if a take that move or a steal move for more points….I also like the robber!
@@seth7447 sure and how about Dragon, Towers or the Farmers-war (in addition to the cities mentioned by Amy and Maggie
@@ralfn9629 I gave our big box edition to my sister. I have not watched the whole video yet so I am not familiar with those. I wonder if Carcassonne has the most expansions ever?
@@seth7447 sure it is right up there, I used them all at once at one solo-play-through (which is not advisable), but its easy to mix it up all the time. (Btw. The Big Box started my coalitionist collection - including the map's)
completionism I ment
Great top 10... Would be a frantic evening playing Bohnanza an Food Chain Maganate on a trot. But wouldn't mind watching ;-)
Hahaha I think we would need something calming paired with those games in this household!!! 😅 so glad you enjoyed this video Sebastian thanks for watching ☺
Wow! How much fun is this channel?
Perfect prononciation the first time for Cité de la lumière. Always been curious about Food Chain Magnet, not sure after your thoughts about the game.
Maggie will be happy about that 😊 I think FCM is a really interesting game, it probably doesn't hit the table as much as some others in our collection but it is certainly very different and worth trying if you get a chance! We do like it but it's not a game we often reach for to teach our friends.
I enjoyed this video so much! So entertaining.
Andrea! I'm so glad you commented here so I can message you to say thank you so much for becoming a channel member and supporting us, it truly means so much!! 😊 Would love to have you on the member's discord if you are interested! But either way wanted to say thanks and so glad you enjoyed this list 😄
@@ThinkerThemer Hi ladies! Love your channel. You always make me laugh and I feel a sense of warmth and relaxation when I watch your videos. It’s like you’re sitting in my living room chatting with me. I’m pretty clueless when it comes to discord. I did manage to find Foster the Meeple/Tablenauts, but I’m beginning to think that was just luck.🤔
Hi Andrea that is such lovely feedback thank you... that makes us so happy to hear! It's a bit trickier to find ours because it is members only but all you have to do is go to your user settings --> connections --> link your discord to your youtube. It will automatically recognise that you're a member and the joeyfam discord will appear!!! It's a small but really lovely group of people! Hope you can make it.
Like the background for this video. More visual interest. Love your lists.
Oh thank you our postcard wall? We love it! So many wonderful locations and people represented. Glad you enjoyed this list Charles!
Hilarious stories-thanks for sharing!
RE: "Maggie's Tantrums"--just last night I interrupted the game we were playing to say, "This game effing sucks." Everyone else had drawn decent cards and abilities and I had jack--it was all down to random draws, and the draws did nothing for me. I could see how the cheeky style can be fun, but any game that has the possibility to totally screw a player like that is bad. (The game was Munchkin--part of the game can be screwing your opponents, but that didn't even happen because I was no threat at all.)
One game of Evolution climate was the worst experience, it was late, friends were tired and not sober and when some beloved species were being annihilated by sassy carnivores, it was too much 😅
My wife really struggles with really harsh combat games like MTG or Summoner Wars and harsh tactical games like Chess. She won't play Chess with my son and I and I had to get rid of Summoner Wars. Lol.
My wife likes Onitama!
Funny you should say that, I am very close to buying Summoner Wars this week!!! I think what I'm hearing is that Maggie might not like it
@@ThinkerThemer I wasn't sad to see it go. In an ocean of choice, it's ok.
Some of this sounds very familiar 😂 - I’m the emotional one too!
I found it interesting that the majority of experiences was rather difficult for Maggie rather than enjoying for a thinker.
"Ultimately, its a game". I see you haven't played Twilight Imperium yet.
We haven't!!!!! 🤔
😂😂😂 my mother-in-law not playing Carcassonne with me anymore because of what you just explained 😂😂😂
We don't have any, just random games at times that just go wrong and you score low. But nothing like what you described. BUT that's because back in the 90s I made the mistake of playing Risk with a friend who was ruthless and just mean. That's the only game I ever walked away from. Soooo when I built my collection with that in mind and I avoided any mean, back-stabbing, take-that-you-bast*rd games. I am the lady gamer in our couple, my hubby will play with me at times. Like last night, I could have won mega points a few times but that would have been mean and completely deflated him. So as the game goes along, I scale back to fit his level. I help him out, point out which things he wants to keep me away from if he doesn't realize, etc. He's learning without wanting to give up forever. We are carebears but I make sure he takes the strongest action possible against me without feeling bad. I'm so proud when he pulls a big move without me having noticed it was possible :D
Sounds like top 10 most punishing games, you like to suffer!!! Any game I can find to bring my wife to the table and play one game (she'll never play 2 in a row) is a win, so I would say for us it was Azul, Lost Cities, Truffle Shuffle, Kingdomino, The Builders, Cat Lady and 6 Nimmt.
Super entertaining video! :D
When I was a kid/teen, I was way too competitive with games. I was a jerk when I played Risk/Axis&Allies/Diplomacy with my friends. I would make threats that amounted to making sure they would never win another game if they attacked my units. Terrible!
These days, I prefer co-op, team, or multiplayer solitaire'ish games :D
I also am not a fan of games that tend to be decided by queen/king-making or negotiation. :)
26:01 So what do you think about its cousin game "Funfair"?
Try Monopoly. This game can make people closer. "Crashing the board on opponents head" closer ;-). On a more serious note, I'm hearing great things left, right and centre about "Barrage". Sooner or later I'll have to give it a try.
This was so cute and... _really_ one-sided.
Oh my god, Blokus! I cannot beat my partner at this, I asked her what her strategy is and all she says is playing the biggest pieces first...ok sure.
Wow, out of your entire list, the only one I've heard of is Barrage! I'll have to check out the others.. Carcassonne , Web of Spies, Blood Rage, Bohnanza, Roads and Boats, Paris La Cite de Lumiere, Blokus... and especially Unfair, Food Chain Magnate!
Usually these 2 player games everyone seems to love.. have you played any?
Santorini
Stellar,
Feast of Odin,
Battle Line,
Lost Cities,
Azul,
Pandemic Legacy Season
Jaipur
Codenames: Duet:
7 Wonders Duel **
Wingspan
Viticulture
Or do any of the following stand out as particularly enjoyable?
Photosynthesis
Clank!
Cascadia
The Crew - Dive
Great Western Trail
Holi Festival of Colors
Merchants of Dunhuang
Calico
Cubitos
Scythe
Memoir'44
Quacks of quedlinburg
Castles of Burgandy
Ticket to Ride ,
Sheriff of Nottingham ,
Catan family of games,
Android NetRunner
Kemet
Cosmic Encounter
Terra Mystica
Acquire
Sherlock Holmes - Consulting Agency Detective / Jack-the-Ripper
Terraforming Mars
Trans-Siberian Railroad
Root
Robinson Crusoe
Viticulture,
Mansions of Madness
Tiny Towns
Brass,
Rurik Sawn of Kiev,
Lost Cities
Patchwork
Onitama
Imhotep
Creator's Corner:
Hogwarts Battle
Arkham Horror:
Spirit Island
Splendor:
Tiny Epic Galaxies:
Hive Pocket:
Disney Villainous:
Everdell:
Gloomhaven + Jaws of the Lion:
Haha, such a fun video but it's more like a list of games for my husband and me to avoid. 🤪 We don't mind a *little* mean if it's the best move for us but out and out 'take that'? No, not for us. (Although we do love Watergate, but that's not purposefully destroying what your opponent has built. Or is it?) We also like a lot of co-op games, so there's that. 🙂
Hahaha well in that case consider your relationship saved by ThinkerThemer It's funny that we all react to different types of games in different ways. And also how high emotions can run when we all start the game knowing the rules!! It's so interesting to reflect on. You'd think Maggie and I would've retreated to co-ops too! Glad you enjoyed this video Virginia