Monthly Archives: January 2021

Gaming Articles, PC Game Reviews

MTG: Arena Reviewed

Magic The Gathering is the granddaddy of the collectable card game hobby, not only was it and continues to be one of the worlds largest competitive CCG’s with a player base of 35 million, but it was also the pioneer for the digital CCG scene launching Magic The Gathering Online back in 2002 notably even before games like World of Warcraft were launched that would decades later produce modern digital adaptations of CCG’s like Heartstone.

In short, it is the original, it is the one and what we are here to answer is whether or not this old dog is still worth your time, specifically in the digital age via the current adaptations of digital Magic the gathering known as MTG: Arena.

I think I have to be honest here before I begin that I played Magic: The Gathering religiously and competitively (The table top version) from 1993 with the release of the Arabian Nights until about 2006 just after the release of Coldsnap. After that I quit the game largely because I moved away from California to Sweden where I really didn’t find a MTG scene. Suffices to say I’m an old dog, I know this game like I know my own face.

Arabian Nights was the first set I collected and played way back in the early 90’s. Magic: The Gathering has come a long way since then when it comes to art and game balance, but the actual rules of the game have not changed in nearly 30 years.

This also means that my return to magic is done so very casually and to a degree cautiously. I have no intention of collecting physical cards and I’m not interested in spending large quantities of cash or even really competing online or otherwise. MTG: Arena is free to play and so my commitment level to this project was about as non-existent as it could be, MTG: Arena would have to sell itself to me because the game itself, Magic: The Gathering, I already know everything there is to know about it. I was expecting no surprises and really, to a larger degree for this to be a very short lived foray into the nostalgic memories of the game, nothing more.

I also questioned here whether or not MTG: Arena was a cash grab, or if they found a fun way to play and enjoy Magic: The Gathering in digital form. Given that Wizards of the Coast are the kings of cash grabs, I had very little confidence that it was going to surprise me in this regard. The short answer, really to my amazement, was that they broke expectation in a pretty significant way. Yes… not only is it super fun, it’s actually wildly better then the real thing. Structured and organized in an exceptional way that makes Magic: The Gathering fun again.

Before MTG: Arena, there was Magic: The Gathering Online. While MTG: Online is still available today, I can’t think of a single reason why you would play it over MTG: Arena, Arena is just better in every sense of the word and notably it’s free while MTG: Online will require you to shell out some cash to play.

I think it’s important to say that I believe what makes Magic: The Gathering a great game, as opposed to a terrible game is the format you play. Magic as a casual game to collect and play at home with friends with constructed decks in a non-format standard way is actually a really shit game, mechanically speaking. Essentially its a pay to win game and only in a very tempered group that sticks to formats and limiting budget does the game become reasonably fun. I believe this remains true of Magic: The Gathering today, whether you play the table top version or the online version.

To me the best Magic: The Gathering experience you will ever have is in draft play. Draft play is a format in which players open fresh booster packs, draft cards in a group and compete with the decks they construct from that draft. Their are various versions of draft play, including sealed draft for example but In these drafting formats, Magic: The Gathering’s playing field equalizes. The game goes from being about trying to collect all the strongest power cards (rares) and building highly optimized super decks and becomes a game of skill in drafting, constructing and using the cards.

The Quick Draft format is great because it simultaneously provides you a chance to collect cards want and levels the playing field when facing opponents that have access to a massive collection. Make no mistake, in a standard 60 card pre-constructed deck format players with lesser collections are at a massive disadvantage. Draft tournaments fix this problem.

It’s also at its best in a competitive environment because unique opponents bring unique experiences. When you play the same people, with the same collections, using the same style and decks, the game wares out its welcome very quickly.

In short, to keep Magic: The Gathering fresh you have to play it competitively, in draft formats and playing within a single set or at least within the current standard (the last 3 sets + the core set for the year)

In comes MTG: Arena. MTG: Arena does a really great job of not only making itself accessible by having a really great tutorial sequence and giving you a great starting collection for free, but it has an amazing setup for earning rewards and giving you reason to explore every inch of the games different formats and styles of play including most notably competitive play.

Now you have your standard mode, build a 60 card deck from your collection and play a casual game against an opponent. In so doing, you earn various rewards ranging from new cards, decks and cosmetic trinkets. In addition you earn the in game currency (gold) which can be used in various methods to get more booster packs to expand your collection. You could effectively play this way indefinitely, earning rewards, expanding your collection and playing “standard Magic: The Gathering”. Like your home games however there are going to be a lot of flaws in this format and I do believe it would get boring very quickly.

Fortunately this is not however what MTG: Arena wants you to do and likely for that very reason and so it puts carrots out there for you to get involved in the higher echelons of the games competitive scene and it does this in a number of really clever ways.

First their is ranked play, which is essentially exactly as the standard non-ranked play except that it tracks your progress in a ranking system made up of various tiers ranging from Bronze all the way to Mythic, with many levels in-between. A casual gamer might see this as intimidating but here is the thing. It’s worth it! You get more rewards from playing in ranked play then you do in non-ranked play and there is no drawback to it.

Essentially the only difference is that as you advance in the ranks, you, in addition to the standard rewards also unlock ranking rewards. Even just playing 1 ranked game win or lose will earn you a booster pack and you can earn both gold, booster packs and cosmetic stuff by participating through success. There is quite literarily no logical reason whatsoever not to always be playing ranked and strictly speaking you are far more likely to meet opponents of your skill level in ranked play, then playing in non-ranked play where you are just matched up with whoever is available as opposed to someone in your current rank.

As you rise in the ranks of ranked play you earn rewards. While reaching high ranks like Diamond and Mythic is going to be a real challenge, reaching gold rank is a reasonable goal for every MTG: Arena.

More importantly is that it’s a ladder and gets you into the competitive spirit where you try to improve your decks, find ones that work well and compete for your status in the MTG community. This becomes a vary natural addictive element and really helps to solidify your first steps into a larger world.

Over time you will earn gold in addition to other rewards and this is where MTG: Arena helps you to take the next baby step to induct even the most casual of players into competitive play. They do this by making the rewards for playing in events better then simply using the gold to buy stuff in the shop and it is not based on winning anything in these events.

Essentially if you take 5,000 gold you will be able to buy 5 booster packs in the shop. However if you instead take that 5,000 gold and join a Quick Draft Tournament, you will earn 4 packs and 50 gems even if you lose every single one of your three games. But by simply playing in the tournament you automatically gain the Bronze tier in limited play, which earns you another pack. Its just economically a better way to spend your gold even if you just do it once.

Here is the kicker though, you get to do a draft tournament and if you actually win a couple of games, a very likely scenario even for the most novice of players, you will earn even more rewards. Winning just 3 matches will earn you 300 gems. Gems are the other currency in the game, for which people pay actual money. 300 gems is roughly worth 2 bucks. You can use the gems to buy more packs or other rewards from the shop, or you can just go right back around and put it towards your next tournament entry.

Furthermore you get to draft pick the cards from the boosters and after the tournament add them to your collection. So even if you suck at the game and lose every match, rather then opening a random booster and getting what you get, you can hand pick the cards you want. This may not seem immediately apparent but is actually a far more efficient way to collect cards.

Its really a win win situation and the end result I can only assume is that everyone is using their gold to enter into tournaments, in a way this economic system turns everyone on MTG: Arena into a competitive player.

Just these two key carrots, ranked play and tournament play, because they made them attractive through rewards makes MTG: Arena an amazing implementation of Magic The Gathering as a system. It’s really a kind of economic eco system that will have you exploring everything the digital version of Magic: The Gathering has to offer, eventually you will find formats and a routine that works for you and as your game improves you will find yourself not only competing regularly but doing far better then you thought was possible.

A typical Quick Draft even has you earning an extra pack and some gems even with an 0-3 record, which means that using your gold which you will earn through play is guaranteed. There is absolutely no good reason not to play in these tournaments since you are very likely to put at least a couple of wins on the board. The rewards grow quickly, if you can hit that 3-5 wins in a draft you make out like a bandit.

As I spent more and more time chasing victories, building decks and massaging my collection I came to the stark realization. The game is actually a lot of fun too.

The digital implementation of Magic The Gathering in MTG: Arena is smooth, responsive, the interface clear, easy to manage and the general balance at least of the current standard is extraordinarily well done. Wizards of the Coast has clearly learned a great deal over the years of running the game, it has developed into a far better game then I remember it being.

MTG: Arena is not without its faults however but I honestly can’t complain too much. Like many modern digital ladder games, their is an XP/Leveling system with rewards, from which you get a lot more if you shell out the money for a premium account. You get rewards for leveling up on a free account as well, but obviously the premium account showers you with them enticing you to buy into the 20 dollar cover charge for the privilege. The thing is that you actually spend 3400 gems to do this, which means that if your successful in tournaments using your in game earned gold, you could very easily pay for a premium accounts from your winnings. In fact this is not that hard to do, every couple of days you will earn enough gold to participate in a tournament. You will likely play at least a dozen tournaments if you invest your gold. If you consistently get 2-5 victories in each of these tournaments you will earn far more gems then you need to pay for a premium account. In fact, a single 7 out of 7 victory will do that.

One thing worth noting as well is that there is no tutorial for drafting, so the first few times you do this its likely going to feel very alien to you and drafting is a skill that takes time to develop. Doing it poorly results in you having a really tough time winning even a single match and drafting is not a skill you will be able to practice often because its only available when you actually participate in a drafting event, which of course costs gold or gems to enter. Drafting is not hard to learn to do moderately well, but it will cost you precious gold or gems to practice.

Secondly there is no way to trade cards The lack of card trading in a collectable trading card game is a really strange decision to an old school MTG player like me. The replacement for this function is a wild card system. Essentially periodically you will get wild cards for different rarities when opening packs. These you can use to craft any card of the same rarity. Its worth noting as well that you can’t have more then 4 copies of any card, so anytime you would get a 5th card you get credits towards your “vault” which earns you wild cards. Its an ok replacement for card trading, but this leads MTG: Arena into a separate issue of online community isolation (more on that later).

This is functional enough, but when your trying to put together a specific deck and you don’t have enough wild cards your kind of left hanging. Since collecting cards, trading them and building decks is a really big part of a CCG experience, its absence in MTG Arena is sorely missed.

Finally and I have to admit that this is a mixed blessing, their is virtually no interaction between you and your opponent above and beyond playing a match. In fact there is no interaction with any part of the community in game. There are no chat channels of any kind in the game, no trading, really no reason or way for people to communicate through the platform (aka community isolation). Now from my personal experience with the previous digital rendition of Magic The Gathering (MTG Online) I can say that the MTG community leaves a lot to be desired, like most online communities. So having them be effectively silenced allowing you to focus on the game rather then watching profanities scroll by may have in fact been the right call by Wizards of the Coast who notably doesn’t have a public forum either for any of their games. Likely hard lessons learned about the generally poor behavior of online communities.

You do have emotes where you can congratulate an opponent on a win and other such one liners, but generally even though the game is called MTG: Arena and it is an online game with real life opponents, as you play you barely even make that connection. They may as well be bot AI’s.

On the positive note when it comes to tournaments in particular you can just focus on the game and because the various event based tournaments are not precisely linked by specific players, you can participate in these events at whatever pace you like. You can join a draft, spend as long as you like building your deck and then play as many or as few matches as you like, whenever you have time. There is no pressure to “hurry up and finish” the tournament or waiting around. The pacing of the arena is very steady and at your leisure. The only obligation you really have to the online universe here is to finish the current match you’re in.

Conclusion

I have to admit I really didn’t think I would enjoy or continue to play, let alone get back into the competitive scene of Magic The Gathering when I started with MTG Arena. I was really surprised how easy and rewarding the experience has been and though I suppose I do miss some of the human interaction, overall I would say the experience has been very positive.

At its core MTG: Arena is the full Magic: The Gathering experience in digital form with all of the competitive and casual formats you would expect to see. There are always new releases coming, new challenges and interesting special events that makes logging in every day and running some games fun and worth doing and has just become the new norm for me.

Another major benefit of playing MTG: Arena is that the game handles all of the rules for you and resolves all the various effects that transpire in a logical, very clear way. This means a game that might typically take 45 minutes will take you 10 minutes instead. It cannot be overstated how much easier digital magic is versus the table top version.

I absolutely love the fact that you are always rewarded in some way for your matches, that your encouraged to compete in events and that you can do all of it at your own pace, in your own time. It’s really quite perfect especially since you can go from launching the game to being in a competitive match and back out to deal with laundry inside of 10-15 minutes. Its so convenient, smooth and easy, for anyone who has a love for the game, this platform is in just about every way I can think of quite perfect for your typical MTG fan.

Now of course it is still Magic: The Gathering and the rules for the game have not changed in 30 years. Many of the mechanical warts of the game are still there and compared to modern CCG’s, MTG certainly shows its age. You can and will get mana fucked with reasonable regularity, there are insane combos that once executed you can’t do shit about, there are trick decks that will annoy you and if you are in a rush to get your collection up, you can as always spend your rent money in short order. The game can sometimes be a bit frustrating.

MTG: Arena is certainly not enough to get me back into the physical game, in fact, it had quite the opposite effect. If I want to play Magic: The Gathering with friends, in particular in these Covid-19 days, playing the game on MTG: Arena is far superior to the real thing. I would much rather play this then spend time fucking about with Magic: The Gathering Cards.

If you have never played Magic: The Gathering and have always wanted to try it, this platform is perfect. If you already love Magic: The Gathering and want to play more, this is the perfect platform. If you already don’t like the physical form of the game, playing it online is not going to change your mind. This is the same old Magic: The Gathering it has always been. It’s a bit leaner, a bit smoother and much more accessible in MTG: Arena, but still Magic: The Gathering the classic collectable game for better or worse.

Best of List

Top 10 Board Games 2020 Edition

It has been almost a full year and a half since I have updated this list and while board gaming as a hobby has been tragically hindered by the ongoing covid crisis pretty much the entire year, I think an update is in order.

This time around there are some pretty heavy handed changes and I have to admit that even I was surprised when I was finished writing this article and making my determination, but on the bright side there is plenty of new stuff to talk about so without further delay, lets get into it.

10. B-17 Flying Fortress Leader

I know that solo games are not everyone’s cup of tea but this game has so much great depth and such an amazing feel factor, not to mention it looks absolutely stunning on the table that it just has to be on my list.


I will be the first to admit that when it comes to my top 10 list, putting this one on here I have almost a sense of embarrassment. It’s sort of like admitting that you like the Star Wars Holiday special, or are a fan of white socks with sandals.

While it’s not my first solo game on the list, this is a rather obscure DVG game that I think most people who look at my list will scratch their head and wonder where the connection is, how in the world you go from any of these game to this one. It’s just something out of left field.

The truth is however that B-17 Flying Fortress Leader is one of those “piece of engineering” games that has this very tight, story driven premise that I personally find completely engrossing. You are a commander of a fleet of American bombers during World War II, making all of the decisions about bombing targets, flight paths, plane configurations, resource management and general command decisions. You setup all of your orders and put everything into place and then the games AI takes over where your plan is executed and you watch helplessly as your decisions are put into action. Its just enthralling and though I can’t say I’m a huge history buff, there is something about this particular piece of history I just can’t help but obsess over. There is just something sexy about world war II American bomber planes.

More than that though this is a game that just looks amazing on your hobby table, it’s an intimate solo game that you can play in one sitting or spread it out over days. It has a really fine-tuned sequence and there is a tremendous amount of strategy and planning that when done well you are rewarded for, yet there are surprising twists that keep you coming back to try again and again.

It’s a hard one to recommend to a general player base but It would be dishonest if I didn’t put it on my personal top ten list given how often I play it. If you have an interest in the subject matter and are looking for a cool solo game however, if my opinion counts, I think this is one of the coolest games I have found in years. (read the full review here ).

9. Twilight Struggle

Twilight Struggle really blew me away the first time I played it despite having a lot of reservations about even trying it. It’s one of those games you always hear about but don’t actually think you will like, well I’m here to tell you, you are wrong. You will like this game, any reasonable gamer will.

Twilight Struggle is an award winning game that has maintained a strong presence in the euro gaming community on board game geek for years, keeping the number one spot for nearly a decade. It has a digital app, yearly competitions and is considered widely as one of the best designs in board gaming by some of the most prestigious designers around.

That is not however why I like it, quite to the contrary, I was fairly uninterested in the game despite all of these accolades and have only recently tried it on a whim with very few expectations. Truth is that the subject matter didn’t interest me and I feel very strongly that theme is key to any game that would ordinarily make this list.

Twilight Struggle’s surprise for me was two fold. First I was shocked to discover how amazing the game actually was and how well deserved its praises really were. This is a deep, thinky and very dynamic game that pulls on a lot of mechanical levers that beg to be explored. More importantly however it actually inspired an interest in the subject matter for me (The Cold War) which is actually a fascinating period in history full of intrigue, actions and counter actions that give A Song of Ice and Fire a run for its money.

Just a fantastic game, one of my favorite discoveries in the last few years and as you have already been told by pretty much everyone, this is a game that belongs on your shelf no matter what type of board gamer you are.

8. War of The Ring

The Asymmetrical 2 player epic is effectively Lord of the Rings in a box, if you love the books and movie, this is an amazing way the battle for Middle-Earth.

This year I have tried to be honest with myself and include “times played” as a consideration for judgement for games on this list. Truth be told, I have not played War of the Ring for nearly 3 years at this point and this is the reason it drops to the number 8 spot. I couldn’t bring myself to remove it from the list entirely because I still consider it to be one of the best 2 player epics out there, but fall it has and unless something changes, fall off the list it will.

I have spoken so much about this game over the years I could put up half a dozen links from this sight alone, it feels strange to repeat any of it. I think the game can be summed up by saying that this is the entire Lord of the Rings story in a box, if you love the middle earth saga you must play this game. This game is Lord of the Rings.

So why haven’t I played it, this I think is a fair question that should be answered. After all its on my top 10 list and I haven’t played it in 3 years, that needs an explanation. The answer however is actually quite simple. When the opportunity to play 2 player games comes up, this is usually time reserved for playing miniature games. Miniature games in my gaming group carry a lot of weight and so there is this default assumption that if there is 2, then we play a miniature game. It’s just really hard for me to get 2 player board games to the table in general no matter how good I think they are.

7. Game of Thrones The Board Game 2nd Edition

This is a game that is played in the minds of the players, the board and pieces are mostly distraction.

Game of Thrones the board game has had a consistent presence on this list for years but this year it takes a significant drop from the number 3 spot. I don’t think this is a reflection on the game itself but popularity and current plays of any game are going to fluctuate and frankly this year Game of Thrones was a bit meh all together in our group and especially for me.

I think its something that happens eventually when you have played a game often enough where you start to see some of the chinks in the armor. Don’t get me wrong, this game would not be on this list if I didn’t love it and was willing to drop what I’m doing to play it, but I certainly can think of several epics I would pick right now over this one to play in a larger 5-6 player group. It is a great game, it has been a great game for over a decade in my group, but I’m at a point with it where I have played it enough times that it may be time to retire it from this list.

For those that have never played this one however, know that its staying power in my gaming group and for me personally exceeds a decade of entertainment, if you can get that much out of any game its what I would call an auto-buy. Like that is a great record to have for a game and GoT the board games earns those stripes undisputed.

6. War Room

War Room is not a game, it’s an experience. It takes the idea of playing war games to the absolute limit, yet somehow makes it very accessible and to some degree practical. You’re going to need a huge table and a lot of time, but that is the price of entry into this theatre of the mind.

I was very hesitant about putting this game on this list because I have to be honest here, I am yet to play a full game with a full group. Its on this list largely because I know my games, I know what I like and I know that a game is “going to be amazing” from reading of rules and play testing it myself. I have done this extensively with War Room and I’m almost 100% certain that after playing it with my local gaming group this one will surge on this list to one of the top spots. For now I leave it at number 7 for the sake of propriety.

War Room is Larry Harris’s new world war II epic, the guy that brought us the ultimate classic Axis and Allies. War Room is massive both in size and scope, a game designed with about the most elegant and well thought out mechanics I have seen in years. Its very clear that Larry took his time with this one using all of the experience, feedback and knowledge he has mustard up over the last few decades with Axis and Allies.

It is absolutely astonishingly beautiful on the table, its designed with various player counts in mind and though like Axis and Allies and most “super games” as I like to call them this one is long as fuck and will not be easy to get to the table, likely taking in excess of 12 hours. Hence this is an event in a box and it makes no apologies for that.

This game will make you feel like a military commander running world war II and this is exactly what the game tries to accomplish. The rules are relatively simple but the strategies go deep and its going to cease up your brain as you try to unravel the possibilities. For fans of war games, in particular Axis and Allies, this is a must own. Unfortunately its a very exclusive and hard to get game not to mention without a doubt one of the most expensive I have ever bought so be warned before you get too excited that this one may be as hard to get on your shelf as it is to get to the table.

5. Twilight Imperium 4th edition

Without a doubt one of my favorite games of all time, Twilight Imperium is just part of the family at this point.

Twilight Imperium is a game I have talked about since I started this blog and the blog before that. In fact, I have spent the last 10+ years talking about it and frankly I’m yet to fully tire of it. This is a versatile game that offers science-fiction fans the ultimate epic in gaming today. There is no game on the market that comes even close to creating such a dynamic, one of a kind experiences as Twilight Imperium and though it has fluctuated on this list over the years and editions, this latest version of the game is in my humble opinion the best yet and by a wide margin.

I think of all the things I could say about Twilight Imperium the one that should get your attention is that despite its weight, scope and play time, it is a relatively simple game to learn to play and learn to play well. A couple of games of this and anyone can become an expert and that is what I love about it. The mechanics just work and just like all great board games, much of the games strategy and game play is very much player driven. Which simply means that every group is going to play this game differently and each time you add or exchange a player the dynamics of the game will change.

Love it, always have, always will.

4. Vampire: The Masquerade Heritage

Vampire Heritage is the new kid on the block, fresh and young and though legacy games have a tendency to rise and fall, I think this one may stick around a lot longer than what might be expected. Very strong opening.

Anyone who follows my blog may know that I’m a huge Vampire: The Masquerade RPG fan, in fact I have been running a Vampire Chronicle with my local group going on 3 years now and we absolutely love everything about this setting. When a board game set in the world of darkness was announced it was an easy decision for us, but frankly we were quite reserved in our excitement initially. Vampire as a game and as a setting is a very delicate matter to fans like us and its easy to fuck up, our confidence that someone would come along and make a great board game out of it was lets just say limited.

Boy where we wrong, holy shit balls this game is amazing. Now I have put it on my number 6 spot only because we have just started to play this legacy game, having only finished our first era of the game, but I personally fell instantly in love with this one for three key, indisputable reason.

First is that the game captures the world of vampires with perfection. This is exactly the feeling I was hoping the game would offer. The politics, the betrayals, the maneuvering, the manipulation.. its all there. It gives you that creepy sense of place and time, illustrated beautifully to also enhance the imagery. Really just a perfect execution of the theme in board game form.

The second thing is that the game is extremely simple from a mechanical “how do you play this thing” point of you, while the gameplay, the strategy itself is immensely complicated. I love it when any game does this, where I can sit down with friends and spend 10 minutes explaining “how” the rules work, but we will spend the next six months trying to figure out how to win. Again I can’t say enough how pleased I was to see this approach taken, its really amazing.

Finally its a legacy game and I know a lot of people have reservations about legacy games because they are sort of “one shot” play throughs but there are 21 games in the chronicle and even after 3 games (the first era) the game has fundamentally changed in unique ways that will not repeat if you in the future would replay this one. Those permanent alterations to the game give this amazing sense of personalization and when you really think about it one of the biggest problems with most board games is that you will eventually tire of playing them anyway. The legacy keeps the game fresh play after play which means that each time we get together though we are playing the same game, things will be very different. I love this concept, I think it works particularly well in this game.

For fans of the world of darkness, don’t hesitate, this is a game tailor made for you.

3. Lord of the Rings The Living Card Game

I love this game and true love lasts forever!

Yes, my favorite, top game of all time has dropped down from the list. What can I tell you, it happens to the best of them. I have to say however even though this card game represents the highest investment I have ever made in a game (I have an almost complete collection), I have gotten more joy out of this game then everything else in my collection combined and I know I will play it forever.

Its just an amazing game and you can read the various reviews and comments on this one all over this blog site, I speak of it often. The truth is however that I have played this game so much that its time for me to sort of move on to other things.. for a while. I will certainly be back at some point as this one has a tendency to resurge like crazy. I have periods when I play this one non-stop and periods when I don’t play at all, but it goes back and forth.

What is it, why do I love it, just read the review and you will understand. REVIEW.

2. Through The Age: A New Story of Civilizations

Through The Ages is to Civilization building games what Twilight Imperium is to science-fiction games. Its a game fit for a king.

Through The Ages drops to the number 2 spot on my list, but holds strong as one of my all time favorites. This has always been one of those games that’s tough to recommend much like Twilight Imperium and maybe even War Room simply because of the length of play. Through The Ages however has two things going for it that keeps it on my radar far more frequently then the other “heavy” board game experiences.

For one, it plays really well with a small group, even as a two player game. Far more importantly however is that its supported by a really great app allowing me to play it whenever I have time without the fuss of trying to get a table game going and nothing is lost in this resource management game when doing so. I certainly think the pandemic crisis in the world leaving me locked in my house has helped this game to claim more of my free gaming time then it might have otherwise, but I have played this game quite consistantly for over 3 years now and I still love it every bit as much as I always have.

Recently it got an expansion as well which is the first for the Through The Age franchise as the original version never got that service which has also helped to refresh the game for me.

Love this one, but it’s heavy, thinky and long so be ready for that if you plan to commit.

1. A Song of Ice and Fire: The Miniature Game

Song of Ice and Fire is one of those games that you just know 20 years from now you will look back and consider it a classic, a game that becomes representative of an age of gaming in your life. It’s just that good.

Without question or doubt, Song of Ice and Fire the miniature game is the big blow out in 2020 for me. A game I have played and obsessed over at every opportunity I could get and thanks to the ability to play the game online through the use of Table Top Simulator, I played it a lot this year.

It’s not the first miniature game to find its way to the top spot on my list, you may recall (if you read my blog) that Star Wars: X-Wing held that spot tightly for a couple of years.

Song of Ice and Fire is just one of those gems that fires on all cylinders both as a miniature game and just as a gaming experience for me. It’s deeply tactical, yet simple to learn, it adds the hobby component but makes it as painless for you as possible, it has a really strong community and tremendous support by the publisher.

More than that though its just a fun game to play, it’s one of those “sink your teeth into it” kind of games that you can analyze and experiment with, the more you play the more you discover the little nook and crannies of possibilities. List building, adapting new ways to use the same units, trying to find those great positional and circumstantial moments that tip the scales. I love that it’s so dynamic as well, rather then your standard “lets just kill each other” it’s a mission based game and each mission is as unique as the next, all of them presenting interesting and diverse challenges.

The fact that its based on an amazing franchise with a robust theme, one it incorporates amazingly well certainly adds to the games flavor but certainly at least for me personally the fact that all my friends dove in head first into it means that I have a plethora of opponents always available representing all of the factions in the game.

It’s just a really solid miniature game that dropped into my group at the right time, one that I’m totally head over heels for, it earns its stripes as the top game for this list.

The Drop Offs

I always feel compelled to mention some of the games that drop off the list, in particular given that I still consider them amazing games worth your time.

Shogun by Queen Games falls off the top 10 list for the first time since I started the list and I can’t stress enough how painful that was as I absolutely adore this game. The dice tower of terrible faith, the deeply analytical planning phase and those explosive “I can’t believe that just happened” moments as battles are resolves are just a small taste of why I love this game. It’s wonderful but it gets pushed off the list, it happens to the best of them.

Great Western Trail is another one I consider “the best in genre”. This is probably my favorite pure euro, pure victory point smorgasbord game. It’s just clever as hell and deserves all of the praise it gets from the general gaming community. It was only ever at the tale end of my top 10 list, but certainly deserving to be on the list as is any other game that made it over the years.

New Angeles was one I didn’t really lose too much sleep over, don’t get me wrong I think it’s a great game but I felt it had sort of played itself out for me personally. It’s still a staple of my gaming groups yearly super board gaming weekend for good reason as its a fantastic group game and I’m sure that will remain unchanged, but for me it was time for it to go.

Blood Rage is one I struggle with always because I do believe it to be an absolutely perfectly designed game, but I just don’t play it often enough nor find myself drawn to it frequently enough to justify its presence on my list. That does not change its status as the only game on this blog that ever got a perfect 5 out of 5 star review rating, it deserved it and I stand by it.

Star Wars Armada falls of the list and I think its largely because I just don’t feel there is room on my top 10 list for two miniature games and A Song of Ice and Fire blew it out of the sky with ease. There will always be a special place in my heart for Armada as I do believe it to be a fantastic game, but its so heavy and weighs you down so much that I just can’t bring myself up to restarting the engines. I don’t have any intentions to get rid of my collection and I do genuinely hope it comes back around in my group some day, but right now I’m battling it over the seven kingdoms of Westeros and loving it.