It’s been a while since I have done an On The Table article, but it’s not because I’m not playing games, it’s BECAUSE I’m busy playing games.
I cover two months this time, and there is plenty to discuss.
Great Western Trail
While dubbed a heavy Euro game, while there is a lot going on and the strategy goes deep, it’s surprisingly easy to get into.
My experience with Great Western Trail has been a rather turbulent one. When I first reviewed the game back in 2017 I’m not sure I painted an entirely flattering picture of the game scoring it at 3.1 in my review, giving it weak scores in the area of Theme and average scores in Gameplay. Looking back at that review, I can say here and now that I think this game deserved a little bit better.
For starters, I think it captures the theme of being a rancher driving cattle quite well though the theme here is really not a critical component of enjoyment of the game. I also criticized the game for lacking interaction and while the game doesn’t have “take that” mechanics, the obstructions of buildings, the race along the rail lines, and the forced actions to player actions is a constant in the game. In the end it is a lot more interactive once you play the game at a higher skill level where those sorts of elements (obstruction in particular) become quite critical to winning the game.
I initially got back into this game because of my daughter, but ultimately I spent a great deal of time playing Great Western Trail on BoardGameArena.com, a site where you can play both the 1st and 2nd editions of the game including the expansions.
Now personally I own the 1st edition and have played enough of 2nd edition to say plainly I think they got it right the first time. The 1st edition of the game is a bit harsher and it was clear that in 2nd edition they softened things up a bit. There are only slight changes but most of the changes make the game in a sense, a bit easier on the players.
The cities where you place your round tokens which represent locations you have delivered to are less penalizing, while the bandit track (formally known as the Indian track in 1st edition) doesn’t have any penalties either when claiming the tokens. The new and adjusted buildings in 2nd edition are also a lot more generous.
Regardless, 1st or 2nd edition, Great Western Trail is a really amazing strategic game that takes planning, resource management and clever maneuvering to come out on top. It’s a challenging game that really delivers a great victory point salad without overburdening you with tons of options with one always being an obvious and really only good one. Every choice you make in Great Western Trail means you have to give something else up, so it’s always a decision between many great choices and your decision ultimately rests on your long-term strategy, while very often being driven by your desire to outpace or obstruct your opponent’s efforts.
I play Great Western Trail games several times a week and have become quite competitive at it and despite repeated plays I’m still discovering new strategies and finding clever ways to improve old ones.
Fantastic game, and comes highly recommended by me.
Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul
Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul has proven to not only be a great strategy game in the CDG influence control genre but has deepened my love for historical war games in general.
I had two separate opportunities to play Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul and my opinion of the game has only improved with additional plays since I originally reviewed the game back last February. The game even made my Top 20 list for 2022, sitting very comfortably in the number 5 spot.
What does that mean? Well simply put, I love this game and for so many reasons.
For starters, it’s infinitely replayable which I honestly didn’t think would be the case given the very static starting setup and the very firm goals of Caesar in particular who has a very clear set of tasks to accomplish each game. This is a card game however and from this are born all of the dynamics and nuances of play that really re-write the circumstances with each game and though the first round might be a bit “standard” as players are likely to have their favorite opening moves, like chess, that does not result in a repetitive game at all.
Caesar is really a game of chicken and pushes your luck in a lot of the strategy that ultimately plays out. Caesar and his powerful army can easily crush any Gaul opposition well into the late game and while mobile, the map is just big enough that obvious gaps in defenses are exposed when he leaves the safety of Provincia.
As such a big part of the strategy for the Roman player is to know exactly when and for how long Caesar’s army can leave his supply lines exposed.
For the Gaul player its an entirely different game. There is less precision and a lot more gambling, as well as the constant need to put influence pressure on the Rome player to keep him concerned about what is happening on the board. Left unchecked, the Gauls explode in the late game and can even become strong enough to oppose Caesar himself in the final rounds.
The game has great tension, and relatively simple rules, it looks amazing on the table despite the use of chits (notably this is a game that deserves some pimping) and above all else it has that “let’s setup again” feeling to it.
Absolutely adore this game though it is not my favorite CDG Influence Control game, that honor falls to Imperial Struggle, but this game doesn’t play second fiddle, it really is its own thing and happily shares a shelf with Imperial Struggle in my humble opinion.
A must-have for CDG Influence Control fans and especially those that have a love for Roman History!
Game of Thrones: Hand of the King
A quick and thinky filler with a fun theme.
This silly little abstract game has virtually nothing to do with Game of Thrones beyond familiar art and names and has been a hit with my family, in particular, my daughter over the course of the last year. It hits our table regularly and is always a must-bring on any outing that might offer an opportunity to steal a few minutes to play a game.
It’s a simple game of collecting cards of the major Game of Thrones houses represented by characters from the Song of Ice and Fire story. Nothing too fancy, it only takes 10-15 minutes to play but it is a bit think, definitely a little puzzle to solve here but there are some take that cards in the game which create some rivalries at the table and it even has some occasional teamwork triggered when one player is getting ahead. Very tight game, rarely does anyone win until the final moments which gives the game a sense of urgency.
All and all for such a simple and fast game it is a lot of fun. Usually, we end up playing 2-3 rounds every time it comes out. If you’re looking for a great group filler that works one on one, this is a great one.
My City
The only legacy game I ever finished and would happily have a second go at.
I’m not big on legacy games, in fact, to date with this one exception they have all been disappointments and not because I didn’t like the game, but because I never get the chance to play out the entire legacy. Legacy games seem to wear out their welcome before they are done and are regulated to the classic “One of these days we need to finish X game” conversations; eternal. I’m looking at you Vampire: The Masquerade – Heritage!
My City is different because not only is a great game, but it’s pretty fast, the legacy adaptation is pretty simple to understand so you don’t have to re-learn the game after each play and you can usually sit down and play 3-4 games in under an hour so you kind of zip through it. In fact, you kind of wish it was a bit shorter, although when the legacy game is done you are left with the core game which in on itself is actually quite fun. Since my daughter and I play it just the two of us and it’s a four-player legacy game, we actually run through it twice with the same set though the game is so cheap that it’s no problem to buy a second copy if you want to do a second run through.
Really enjoyed this one, so far as legacy games go this is the only one that I have actually finished and without feeling like I have to “suffer” to get to the end.
Age of Civilization
A Civilization building filler? Yes please!
Age of Civilization is what I like to call a micro version of Through The Ages even though the two have little more in common than a theme.
This is a simple and fast-moving card game where players are moving through time and taking one of three actions per round available for any given period. There is war, there are civilizations with special powers, and it’s a point grab to a rapidly approaching ending. A Civilization building game in under 15 minutes! I don’t know if anyone asked for that, but they made it and frankly, it’s just short enough not to wear out it’s welcome and it does tickle that Sid Meier Civilization G-spot.
It actually reminded me a little bit of Nations: The Dice Game which I actually think is one of the best Civilization building game fillers on the market today, but this one is actually even faster!
This little gem is a blast from the past, I actually used to play this one daily online for months and its big brother Nations is an awesome game in its own right.
I like it enough to play it for free on BoardGameArena.com and if it was available I would buy it but this Kick-Starter went fast and seems to have disappeared from the marketplace.
A Feast for Odin
The jury is still out on this one, my initial experience I would describe as “confusing”.
I played a “learning” game of A Feast For Odin and oh boy is this a mind-fuck of a beast. I mean I don’t want to say anything negative about it, learning experiences are not a good basis for reviews and frankly 90% of the time playing this game for the first time I had no idea what was going on.
Part puzzler, part worker placement game, part resource management…. and a whole bunch of other stuff. There is a lot going on in this game, just the amount of worker placement options is mind-boggling and man is it unforgiving. You place one thing in the wrong place and you can potentially screw yourself for the entire game.
All I’m going to say at this point is that it certainly piqued my curiosity, I will definitely be getting this one to the table again but I have to say it might be a bit much for a Euro game. I mean I get it, it’s for Mega-Euro fans that want some meat on the bones, the Terra Mystica crowd as I like to call them, but for me, the fun bit of a Euro game is that they are short and thinky. The longer heavier stuff tends not to be my thing in the Euro-Game scene even though big epic board games are definitely my thing. I need theme and player interaction however for long games to stick the landing. This one felt a bit like we were all playing a solo game, the bulk of the interaction was in stealing each other’s worker placement spots.
We’ll see how it goes, but at least unlike Terra Mystica which left a pretty poor impression on me, I recall my conclusion to Terra Mystica review was …and I quote “The entire game just felt like I was waiting for a dentist appointment, I was neither enjoying my wait nor looking forward to my turn, I just wanted the whole mess to be behind me.”
Over-hyped and overrated snooze-fest not worthy of your shelf space or table time. There are far better-cube-pushing Euros out there. Perhaps Feast For Odin will be one of them.
This one fared quite a bit better, but it’s on my “try again and see” list.
Ark Nova
I did not care for this game one bit, long, ugly with stock photography as its primary art asset and a complete absence of any meaningful interaction between players.
I’m going to take a lot of shit for this one given its high status on BoardGameGeek, sitting pretty in the number 4 spot but…. god I hated it.
This was just a pointless game of collecting and trying to house animals which as a theme in on itself was not terrible but you had to look at this really crap stock photography the entire time and the game was just way too long. It says 90 to 150 minutes, you can safely double that. This is a 3-4 hour game that really just doesn’t have the nuts to warrant table time with virtually zero interaction between players.
I don’t usually rush to judgment after one play, but having played this game once I not only never want to play it again, I actively avoid being put in a situation that might result in me having to out of social graces. It’s games like these that cause me to ask “what games are we playing” before accepting an invitation to board game night.
Conclusion
Of course, these weren’t the only games I played in the last couple of months, but they were the ones that stuck out.
2022 was a very busy year for me and unfortunately, I probably played fewer board games this last year than I have since the late 90s. Still, I played quite a few compared to what I think most people actually play and of course, I made quite a few new discoveries that were worthy of consideration for this list.
This year’s list sees some shuffling around and a couple of new editions as a couple of games exit, but there were no shocking revelations. With that out of the way, let’s talk about some board games.
20. Root
Root is a curious little game that gained a massive following after its 2018 release resulting in quite a collection of expansions and a digital version by 2022 when I discovered it. It didn’t make my list last year, namely because it was a very new game to me at the time, but having played it quite a bit over the last year, mainly using the online app, I can safely say it earned its place on this list.
Root is effectively a quirky, asymmetrical war game in which players attempt to complete unique victory conditions depending on their chosen faction, which notably differ wildly from faction to faction.
The tricky element of Root that I think registers with gamers in addition to the very highly asymmetrical play is how it’s a game that you really can’t win alone, even though that is exactly your goal. To win in Root you must help and rely on the help of your opponents to put you in a position to win, yet, not help your opponent so much that they run away with the game and knock you out. In a sense, at times it’s a cooperative competition. A player that tries to strike out on their own and simply win by outplaying everyone is not likely going to be successful in this game, the reliance on your opponents to help you in your pursuit of victory is really a requirement to be in the running. This quandary is in a sense, the central theme of the game.
This combined with the highly asymmetrical gameplay gives Root it’s very unusual yet, addictive replayability, as well as this extreme balance that is provided by the player’s actions rather than the game system itself. Once you have played a few rounds with the same people, you start to realize who the good players are (people you help-less and oppose more) and who the weak players are (those who you help-more and rely on for their help to give you, your victory).
The interesting thing that I noted is that the more you play, the more you adapt your strategies depending on the current atmosphere of the group you are playing with, and this conversation about “who the threats at the table are” is constant, debated, and almost like a sort of Texas Hold’Em table where people accuse each other of bluffing. It’s very much a game of chicken.
I really didn’t love this game right out of the gate because the rules explanation for this game is a real hurdle, it requires that all players understand all factions well and since each faction has an entirely separate set of rules, the entry point is tough. Once you “get it” though, the more you play it, the better it gets. It’s a slow burn well worth the investment.
19. 1830: Railways and Robber Barons
This one is slowly slipping from my list, but not because my feelings about it have changed, but because this is one of those games that is sort of like sex. The first time is amazing, after that it’s a lot of fumbling about until you get really good at it, then it gets fun again. Well, it’s hard to coordinate a gaming group in such an effort and the game really suffers greatly when player skill levels are not synched up.
Simply put, when everyone is playing the game for the first time, everyone is making the same mistakes, it’s a complete cluster fuck and it’s super fun. Then you play the game a second and third time, and suddenly the game clicks for one or two people and they are crushing you mercilessly. After a while, you will have one or two players that are just unbeatable and you either give up or get used to losing.
R&R is an unforgiving meat grinder that has zero tolerance for foolishness. One bad move and you could spend a 6+ hour game being a victim under someone’s boot, worse yet, one weak player can cause another player to win while everyone else watches helplessly which can create some frustration among more veteran players.
That said, in a group where everyone gets it, where the game “clicks” for everyone, this game is just pure magic. So competitive and cutthroat, so intricate, so many ways to move and counter move, its capitalism at its finest.
I adore this game, but I struggle with the idea of trying to properly teach people the intricate, but absolutely necessary understanding of how this game executes. Learning the rules is one thing and that is complexity personified in on itself, but learning to play this game competitively, that takes real dedication and that process is kind of miserable, to be honest.
18. Star Trek Fleet Captains
Slipping a bit to the number 18 spot is my beloved Star Trek Fleet Captains. I rarely get to play this one in large part because there are not too many Star Trek fans in my gaming circle, but this year a buddy of mine indulged me and we dusted this beauty off and put it on the table.
All I can add to the review I did for Star Trek Fleet Captains back in 2015 is that It should have scored higher than a 3.9 and it would have, had it not been for some of the component quality issues I had and continue to have with the game. Let’s just say that things are a bit flimsy.
Where it really counts with this game and where it really nails it is in the theme and the gameplay. This is the entire Star Trek franchise in a box, it’s a game for fans clearly made by fans. All of the nuances of the shows and movies, crossing the barrier of the various generations of the franchise and connecting everything into a unique bundle of scenarios and variability are all here. What you end up with is a Star Trek game with endless replayability that really reaches into the depths of the franchise, all those things that make it tick.
I love this game, It has been on my top 10-20 list for many years and I just don’t see it going anywhere any time soon.
If you love Star Trek.. this is your game.
17. War Of The Ring
In a sense, War of the Ring is to Tolkeins Middle-Earth what Star Trek Fleet Captains is to Star Trek. Its Middle-Earth in the box, chock-full of amazing themes and gameplay, it is designed without question exclusively for Lord of the Rings fans.
To be honest the only reason this game isn’t higher on the list is that it’s just complicated enough that unless you play it with some regularity, you are going to forget the rules. I play this game once every year or so and each time I dust this bad boy off, I pretty much have to learn the rules from scratch which is a colossal pain in the ass.
It’s always worth it mind you and I would love to see this one hit the table way more often than it does, but it’s a two-player game with some very niche elements, not the least of which is the fact that its a solid 4-6 hour game and frankly, it’s not terribly balanced. I have played this game a lot over the years and never have I seen a free-people victory, doesn’t matter which side I play or how experienced the player I play against.
I know there is a 2nd edition of this one and my understanding is that they have addressed the balance issues, but frankly, I don’t have a problem with the balance issues and I don’t play it often enough to warrant buying a second copy. If you do get it, make sure you get the 2nd edition though, no reason not to.
This is a fantastic game, it falls into the realm of “experience”, more than a competitive game, it really tells great stories and I have never once regretted playing it, win or lose.
If you’re a Lord of the Rings, this is your game!
16. Tide of Irons
Historical War Gaming has one core issue and that is that most of the time, at least compared to modern game publishing, the components are weak. Like there is a context of historical war games of what qualifies as great components, but when you pull it out of that context and compare it to the heights of modern game publishing, historical war games look like trash (sorry I know I’m a mean guy!).
Tide of Irons however is a huge exception and while it would be counted as a “low complexity” historical war game to historical war gamers, even though it’s moderate to high complexity to the rest of the mass market world, it is in fact, a genuine and very historically rich, historical war game.
Tide of Irons is a tactical, scenario-based and squad-based war game. It uses some very traditional mechanics, in untraditional ways, has some very clever and extremely flexible components for near-infinite setups and… most importantly, it’s a total blast to play.
While highly complex in comparison to your typical modern board game, so far as games board games go, this is one you can pull out, teach someone and play without a lot of fussing about. It has increasingly complex scenarios that use more advanced rules and features as you progress in the game, but the scenario complexity starts very low and ramps up slowly. All and all, for an old dog like me, it’s a fairly straightforward war game with lots of strategic and tactical elements to make it fun and challenging.
It’s also visually spectacular and I think I love that about Tide of Irons more than anything. This is a game that rocks it on the table, it just looks amazing, giving it that rich thematic presentation that will get you in the mood. Who doesn’t love playing with little green men, it’s not someone I want to know!
15. Western Empires
Western Empires debuts on my list in the number 15 spot and I’m going to fess up here and now that despite this game being one of the toughest games to get to the table, so much so that so far I have only played it online, there is no question in my mind that it deserves to be here.
Based on the classic Advanced Civilization, a stone-cold classic from the Avalon Hill days, Western Empires is best described as “an experience” more than a game. This is an event game that takes you through the history of human civilization and like the foundation of human history, infuses human nature as a core feature of the game. You and your players aren’t just going to be playing the mechanics, this is very much about manipulating each other.
The core gameplay in Western Empires is player interaction, namely trading, negotiating, and deception and like human history, conflicts that arise are resolved on the battlefield in the cruelest of ways where war is won by the most un-sportsmen-like actors. The game has no equity, there are no balancing mechanics or attempts to ensure fairness, instead, there is just the cruelty of history and the ambitions of the players that drive the game forward.
This is a tough game where stuff will just happen to you outside of your control. Volcanos erupt and destroy cities, floods kill millions, rebellions crumble empires and all other manner of disasters natural or otherwise. All you can do as a player is navigate through the turbulence and hope that by the end of the game your civilization rises above the others in what I think is one of the most raw games I have ever played.
Western Empires is a long game, easily exceeding 10 hours and while the mechanics of the game are not complex, the nuance of player interaction is so deep that most players will see this as one of the most challenging games you could ever try to win. If you love huge, epic games for those big all-day events, this is without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, one of the best on the market. Combine Western Empires with Eastern Empires to make Mega Empires, a game that can house up to 18 players!
There is gaming and then there is Western Empires, that is all I’m going to say about that!
14. Dune Imperium
Dune Imperium is a Euro game and in my experience when it comes to how much I like Euro games, depends on when you ask me. They fluctuate and the primary reason is that they always feel hot to me until they are not. Dune Imperium however is a Euro that has really had a lot of staying power, I keep coming back to it over and over again and while it’s dropped on my top 20 list a bit from previous years, it’s still one of my favorite worker placement games.
The reason is that this is a game that comes with a really great theme, the use of worker placement here is not just about collecting resources and scoring points, but rather, its the fuel for the other far more important and decisive elements of the game, the deck building and combat elements. It’s also an incredibly tight game, I have never played a game of Dune Imperium that wasn’t super close and Dune has great versatility thanks to the great asymmetrical setups. It’s just a really well-designed game, easy to learn, yet very competitive.
This year we added the expansion, Rise of Ix to the mix which I thought, contrary to some of the reviews I have seen, added a lot of great elements to the game. It actually made the game a bit faster and allows players to specialize their strategy a bit more. The next expansion, Immortality is also out now and though I have not tried it yet, it does put more fuel in the tank for this one because I’m certainly excited to give that one a go as well.
It is worth mentioning that these expansions are luxuries and not necessities. Dune Imperium really doesn’t need these expansions, they are clearly made for fans who already love the game and just want to add some new playstyles into the mix.
Fantastic game, still my pick for one of the best games to come out in 2020.
13. The U.S. Civil War
I’m working on a detailed review of this new addition to my list, so more details coming soon, but The U.S. Civil War is another foray into the historical hex and counter-war game genre for me and it’s been a really fun ride.
This is a game, as the title suggests, about the entire Civil War. It’s a deeply meaningful and detailed grand strategy gaming experience in which two players play out one of the most defining conflicts in US history. It’s a moving armies on a map style of game, but the game has a way of presenting each side of the conflict with historically accurate problems to solve like the vulnerability of the coast, supply lines, the difficulty of the terrain, the variable availability of generals, the political atmosphere of the nation and of course the unpredictable results from the battlefield.
This is one of those games where you must think many moves ahead, and execute plans as you made them while trying to predict the intentions of your opponent. It’s uniquely balanced in that the South (Confederate Army) has little chance of actually winning the war, the North (Union Army) clearly has an advantage in the battlefield, but the North must execute a really successful war or the political situation at home may force a concession, which is how the South can win the game.
It’s historical, it’s strategic and it’s chaotic. Just a really great game, certainly not for the faint of heart, this is definitely a historical war game made for historical war gamers, specifically for historical war gamers interested in this particular conflict, so its quite niche, but if you’re a fan like me, this is the premier Civil War-war game, it’s a must own!
12. Peloponnesian War
Mark Hermans Peloponnesian War is without question one of my favorite solo games for many reasons, from the subject matter itself, clever mechanics, the unique way the game balances the solo experience and its outrageously challenging gameplay.
I have been trying to win at this game for over a year now and it still kicks my ass and each time it does, I learn, I adapt, I find new strategies to try and it all refreshes the experience. I find the game absolutely addictive, I just can’t put it down. I want to solve it and the crazy thing is that, I’m still just working on the first scenario, there are several others waiting in the wings for me so I don’t think this game is in any danger of slipping from this list anytime soon.
I will say that this game is so unique, such a white elephant even in the historical war gaming space that I find it impossible to recommend it even though every instinct in my body says that if you are a board game fan, of any kind, this is just one of those games you have to try. It’s just way out there in left field, the sort of game that results in either you seeing the absolute brilliance of it, or leaving you wondering, what the hell it actually is. Read my review for more details on this absolute gem of a game.
11. Lord of the Rings The Living Card Game
Lord of the Rings The Living Card Game has enjoyed a very long and very illustrious position on my Best Games list since its initial landing back in 2017, enjoying the number 1 spot in 2018 & 2019. In 2020 it finally slipped from its top position but it has remained and likely will remain on my list for a long time. It slips a few spots now, but only because I played it so goddamn much at this point, that I actually, for the first time since 2017 took a break from it.
I adore this game for so many reasons, but ultimately I just think it’s one of the best deck-building card games I have ever played and I have played a lot of them over the years. I have a complete collection and no matter how many sets have been released for it, each time I pick up a new one, I find myself back at the table completely engrossed in trying to figure out how to beat the latest challenges. This game is just so much fun, I have talked about it endlessly on this site and of course, you can read the review from 2016. I’m the content owner of the fantastic Lord of the Rings Companion and Lord of the Rings Campaign utility just in case there is any doubt about my fandom.
If you’re looking for a great deck builder that you can play solo or with friends, this is the one and if you happen to be a Lord of the Rings fan, I mean, this is a must-own game…period. This is my island game, no doubt about it.
10. Washington’s War
Washington’s War has one benefit that the other CDG’s (Card Driven Games) on this list don’t have which is that it’s very newbie friendly, meaning you can take a non-gamer or casual gamer, teach them how to play and they will be beating you at it pretty quickly. It’s a very easy game to pick up, while remaining exciting with a deep, meaningful strategy that will keep veteran players interested. It’s actually a really great introduction to a historical war games game and definitely one of the best CDG introductory games on the market.
Now that is the meta, but what makes Washington’s War really special is that it captures the revolutionary war in an abstract way, while maintaining the nuances of the historical period. It’s thematically rich and it houses mechanics that are very much standard in a lot of CDG’s and historical war games, so it has this very easy-to-recognize familiarity as you play the game, things work, as you kind of imagine they should.
9. Through The Ages: A New Story of Civilization
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is game about human history from the stone age to the future age, but unlike Western Empires which it shares topics with, Through The Ages is very much a mechanical experience and a Euro one at that.
Through The Ages is a very long strategy game where you must not only go into it with a plan, but at each stage of the game, really with each decision in the game you are binding yourself with the impact of those choices resinating all the way to the final scoring round. It’s without question, one of the deepest strategy games I have ever played, one of those games that you can analyze endlessly.
Despite this fact, there is a certain level of randomness in the game, so even though you can walk into it with a strategy in mind, you are also placed on the defensive quite often and will need to scramble and make do with what becomes available to you rather than what you really want. This gives the game incredible replayability because no two games will ever be alike and no amount of theory crafting is ultimately going to matter as you approach this games incredible dynamics. Not that this knowledge will keep you from theory crafting, but ultimately it’s as much a game about planning as it is reacting.
It’s so robust, so challenging and so well thought out that it’s no wonder that Through The Ages has enjoyed one of the longest stretches in the top 10 on boardgamegeek of any game ever released. Even today, nearly two decades of being on the list it still manages to be in the number 13 spot as of this writing, a testament to its amazing design.
Through The Ages has a great digital version which makes this game a lot more accessible and I highly recommend that if you’re a fan of this one to get that, it’s a worthwhile investment to get to play this gem more frequently. For me personally, I love to see this one one the table, it is one of the best games ever made.
8. Eclipse: Second Dawn For The Galaxy
I’m currently writing an article series about space civilization-building games (HERE is part I) and obviously, Eclipse is one of the contenders. When I was building this list however I knew both Twilight Imperium and Eclipse would make it onto the list, but I ultimately had to decide which one would rank higher and which lower.
Now before I explain why Eclipse has been one-upped by Twilight Imperium, let me just say that Eclipse: Second Dawn For The Galaxy is an absolutely fantastic game, capturing the genre from a very unique angle that deserves all of the accolades this latest edition of Eclipse has gotten.
The way the game gets right into the action, the pacing of the game throughout, fantastic combat, amazing technology and resource management, it really just nails it in so many ways. Frankly, in almost all cases I would actually recommend Eclipse over Twilight Imperium to the overwhelming majority of gamers. You could say from a mechanical and modern design perspective, it’s the better game.
So why does it play second fiddle to Twilight Imperium for me? The answer is simple, player interaction. When it comes to big, epic, event-level games from which both of these games plant their roots, player interaction is a key factor for me. Despite some really amazing mechanics, the level of player interaction in Eclipse is strictly regulated to mechanical execution. You are not going to be negotiating, there is no politics, and there isn’t much in the way of making deals with and then betraying players, at least not if you are paying attention to how the game executes.
Despite being part of the “event” genre of games, Eclipse is actually a quite short game and this is a game about scoring points and there simply isn’t enough nuance or time in the game to fumble around with politics and negotiation. You do what you need to do to score points, you start doing it from round one and by the time player interaction would make any difference, the game is over and you are counting VP’s to see who won.
This is very much a Euro version of a civilization-building game, it’s about managing resources, executing mechanics, calculating odds, predicting actions and so on. All good stuff mind you and it makes for an excellent game, but it just lacks that human interaction factor upon which games like Twilight Imperium are based and for me personally this feels like a missing element in the game.
Eclipse makes up for this in countless ways and it didn’t make it on this list because I felt sorry for it, Eclipse earns its stripes, it’s an amazing game, it’s just no Twilight Imperium.
7. Twilight Imperium
Twilight Imperium has been on my best-of list as long as I have kept one which at this point is nearly a decade. Now in its 4th edition, this space opera remains the premium grand strategy civilization building in space game on the market and while there have been plenty of challengers, I’m yet to find one to dethrone it, though arguably Eclipse: Second Dawn For The Galaxy came pretty bloody close and might just one day surpass it.
I think the crux of it is that Twilight Imperium has a strategic depth that no other game in this genre can touch. It’s a game of subtle moves, of grand plans and of player-driven politics and interaction. TI4 draws on the personalities of the players and infuses it with gameplay in a way that very few games do and to me this is a mark of a true masterpiece.
The game mechanics in 4th edition have been perfected to such a degree that I actually rejected the expansion for the game (The Prophecy of Kings) because I felt that it was messing with that perfection. Some swear by the expansion, but for me, Vanilla 4th edition Twilight Imperium is the mecca, the final and best version of the game, not to be messed with.
This is a 6-10 hour monster, clearly an event game and so it doesn’t see a lot of table time and in a way, this is the one thing Eclipse has over Twilight Imperium and why I believe someday I might get to a point where I admit defeat and allow Eclipse to rise past Twilight Imperium, but it isn’t going to be on the 2023 list, better luck next year Eclipse!
6. Empires: Age of Discovery
Empires: Age of Discovery is to me, from a design perspective, the single best worker placement game ever made. It combines a great theme, very clever use of the worker placement mechanics that go beyond simply plop and score and boasts an incredibly tight competitive atmosphere. This is just really good gaming and really good game design.
It’s very easy to teach and learn, looks absolutely amazing on the table, it’s paced perfectly keeping everyone engaged and doesn’t overstay its welcome, really hitting that sweet spot in terms of playtime.
I did a review of this one way back in 2005 and to be honest while I agree with the score for the most part, one thing haunts me about this review and that is my complaints about the deluxe edition cost vs. component quality. I was being quite harsh and have since really changed my tune about the value of this game. This deluxe version of the game I think is well worth the 100 dollars I spent on it, but I suppose 100 dollars was a lot more money in 2015 than it is today.
To me, if you’re a fan of worker placement games, this is a no-brainer, they don’t get any better than this.
5. Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul
A new edition to the list, the impressive Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul makes its debut in my top 5 and I can’t help but feel this game might deserve to be higher on the list.
This game initially hit me kind of so-so. I didn’t love it right out of the gate and I saw some flaws with it compared to some of the other CDG’s I was playing at the time, but like a fine wine, this thing aged for the better with time. Looking back at my initial review of Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul where I scored it a 3.85 I feel like I probably should have played it more before doing the review. I think it deserved a bit better, not that I disagree with anything I wrote about the game back then as compared to today, but I should have scored it higher.
I think the main difference after dozens of plays for me has been that this game is so much more diverse and dynamic than I first thought. Certainly, the number of different strategies and the way some of the more chrome-rich mechanics affect the game and how they can be used as part of a larger long-term strategy are things that at that point when I wrote the review had not clicked for me the way they have today. Having played it quite a bit over the last year, boy let me tell you, this game is a veritable forest of awesome and dynamic gameplay. It has so much more depth than I initially gave it credit for.
While I still stand by the fact that Imperial Struggle is my favorite CDG, this is a taste thing more than a design thing. I consider Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul one of the most well-designed CDG’s on market today. It hits the historical and thematic elements with precision even within its abstraction, it’s challenging with player skill playing an important role in deciding outcomes while bringing that chaos factor that makes card and dice games so much fun.
It is burdened with a bit of a learning curve but unlike games like Twilight Struggle, which has a tough climb for players to learn to play it well, Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul’s learning curve is in learning the rules of the game. Once you get past that hump which I would argue is moderate, learning to play it well comes naturally and relatively easily. There is a fundamental core to the game that makes it easy to spot potential, viable strategies. I find that is a preferable setup as finding someone to play the game that is ready to get past the mechanical learning curve of Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul is a lot easier than finding someone who is ready to put in the 30+ games it takes to become competent in something like Twilight Struggle.
Amazing game, that keeps getting better the more I play it, one of the biggest surprises for me of the last couple of years.
4. Paths of Glory
Paths of Glory is to me, THE, premiere historical war game, it is to historical war games what Pandemic or Settlers of Catan is to the general board gaming community. It’s just one of those games that, until you have played it, you can’t really claim you know historical war gaming, it is a fundamental must-own and play.
That said, it actually is quite a niche, but that shouldn’t be surprising to historical war gamers, quite literally every game in the historical war game genre is a niche thing in most respects. World War I is a very specialized topic, with unique nuances and context that create very unusual strategic and tactical challenges. That could actually be said about almost all historical war games as well, but I think Paths of Glory’s execution is done with such precision and the game mechanics are so fine-tuned, I can easily put this game into the category of a masterpiece.
In this game you are not just contending with the historical complexities of the period both on and off the battlefield, but it’s done in a “what if” setup which to me is the absolute best way to ensure historical war games don’t lose their luster over multiple plays. What if Italy shows up late to the war, what if the Americans join the war earlier rather than later.. so and so forth. The game allows for the adaptations of history but in believable ways, meaning the things that are a-historically possible, really could have actually happened that way.
That however is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the true greatness of this game. The attrition warfare, the subtle manipulation of resources, the intricate point-to-point map and the absolutely engrossing way unit positions play into the strategy of the game all combine to make this one of the greatest historical war games in existence.
Absolutely adore this game and it’s a great mid-way point for the education of a fellow would-be historical war gamer, it has some complexity but this is a game that with a bit of dedication can be learned and learned to play well by most people.
3. Empire Of The Sun
If you read my blog even in passing, it is no secret that I’m a huge Mark Herman fan, the designer of Empire of the Sun and that I consider Empire of the Sun his Mona Lisa, a true masterpiece.
My biased love for the history of the war in the Pacific surely plays a role here, but really Empire of the Sun is a combination of everything I love about historical war gaming all rolled up into mechanical perfection.
Empire of the Sun is a grand strategy war game in the pacific on an operational level, it’s a card-driven game, played on a large hex map that really focuses on large-scale military movements and reactions. The game is very intricate, without question one of the most challenging games I have ever learned to play, but the strategic depth, variability and dynamics of the game are so well the time investment this game demands.
Empire of the Sun has a really great solo bot as well which means that you can take your time learning the rules, really getting the nuances down before you consider challenging opponents and thanks to a very robust community supporting this game you will find no issues finding an opponent online.
That said the personal, one on one, the experience of playing this one on the table is absolutely unmatched. This is a timeless classic that earns its accolades, everything you have heard about it is true. It’s deep, and complex with a steep learning curve and it’s an absolute joy to suffer through it to get to the heart of this beast. When the lights come on and you get to that point where you know how to play, it’s as good as board gaming can ever be.
2. Imperial Struggle
I place Imperial Struggle in the number two spot of this list without reservation, I didn’t even blink really. This is one of my favorite games to play and it really isn’t for any particular mechanic or thematic reason, this is just one of those games that you play and love and.. well it doesn’t really matter why.
That said I feel like I owe some explanation and so I will be brief and to the point. Imperial Struggle is a culmination of everything that makes CDG Influence games like Twilight Struggle, Caesar. Rome vs. Gaul and Washington’s War great done with exceptional style and mechanical brilliance that simply results in this one being the best of the bunch. It is one of the most competitive and challenging games in this genre I have ever played. It has charisma, it’s absolutely gorgeous on the table and despite reluctance to try it coming from almost everyone I have ever taught it to, I am yet to meet someone who played it and didn’t instantly love it.
In my review in 2021 of Imperial Struggle I did point out that I didn’t think Imperial Struggle would cross over to the mainstream and it really hasn’t. It tragically sleeps on boardgamegeek.com in the 542 spot which makes this without question one of the most underrated games on the geek to date. It’s absolutely criminal that this game does not get more love given the fact that it’s the offspring of Twilight Struggle, in my not-so-humble opinion, a far inferior game.
In my eyes, your board game collection is incomplete with Imperial Struggle in it.
1. War Room
To no so surprise at all, War Room is my number 1 game on the best-of list for the second year in a row and frankly I can’t imagine a future in which this won’t always be true.
Check out my preview and my review of this epic grand strategy world war II game. I don’t know how else I could possibly praise this one short of saying, it is everything I love about this hobby in an oversized and very elaborate box.
I love this game and true love lasts forever!
Exits & Honorable Mentions
A few games exit the list and there are a couple that were up for consideration that I would at the very least call honorable mentions.
Shogun (Dirk Henn version) has been on my last lingering in the backfield for many years and frankly for good reason. I love this game, that crazy dice tower is just so much fun, in particular in the context of a think strategy war game. It was a tough fight between Root and Shogun, to be frank, I chose Root mostly just to have something new on the list, I don’t know that I believe that Root is a better game than Shogun. Its actually quite brilliant.
B-17 Flying Fortress Leader also exits the list, though I was a bit more sure about this one than some of the others. I love this game, but it’s so niche, it’s purely solo and honestly, though I play it every year like clockwork, I think this is just one of those ME games. I love the Leader and Field Commander series of games, they are a sort of almost alternative pastime for me. Field Commander Napoleon leaves the list for the same reason.
Ikusa makes an exit and probably should have quite a long time ago. This one lives on nostalgia for me and though I haven’t played it in a couple of years and really do appreciate it, it’s hard to justify a game for a best-of list you don’t really play.
Three major contenders for the list I discovered during last years annual big board gaming weekend, in no particular order, Hansa Teutonica by Pegasus Spiele 2020, Smartphone Inc by Cosmodrome Games (2018) and The King Is Dead by Osprey Games (2020).
Hansa Teutonica is just such a really clever Euro game that really struck a chord with me and I honestly think the only reason it didn’t make my list is that I have only played it twice and I don’t own it, so little opportunity to get it to the table. I think it will make an appearance at this years big board gaming weekend and if it leaves a similar impression the next time I play it, it might not only make it to the list, but into my collection as well.
Smartphone I have played several times and honestly, even as I write this I struggle to justify not putting it on my list somewhere. It really is one of the smartest (no pun intended) game designs I have seen in years. Super fun, really competitive and just brilliant from a game design perspective.
The King is Dead I think has so much potential, it just needs more table time to make the list. This is a game that I put in the vein of Condottiere, which is also a very difficult to pass on consideration for the list. It has that, my brain hurts, an element to it that is both addictive and inspiring. Really enjoyed this one and I think one of these days I’m going to make a top 10 games that make you think list for which both The King is Dead and Condottiere I think would do really well on.
You must be logged in to post a comment.