The Top Ten Games of All Time!

[Abe Sargent]

About 40 mintues ago, one of my Magic articles went live, where I countdown my Top Favorite (Non-Video) Games of All Time. I thought it would be a really fun convo to start here too!

Check out the article here:

Top 10 Games of All Time by Abe Sargent | GatheringMagic.com - Magic: The Gathering Website



For simplicity sake, here is my Top Ten list, in order:



10. Ticket to Ride
9. Heroscape
8. Capture the Flag
7. Blood Bowl
6. Rolemaster
5. Middle earth: CCG (circa 1995, from ICE)
4. Heroclix
3. Magic: The Gathering
2. Dungeons and Dragons
1. BattleTech


So what are your thoughts? Where are some of those (if you've played them?) What''s your personal Top Ten? Let's discuss!

[Matthean]

Not sure where to rank D&D. It has to be up there even though the odds of me getting into it or any other RPG feels like nil.

1. Mage Knight
2. Summoner Wars
3. Suburbia
4. Glory to Rome
5. Agricola
6. Cosmic Encounter
7. Puerto Rico
8. Trains
9. Hanabi
10. The Resistance

Note: This is old, but not really old enough to need to be that changed. It feels incomplete until I play Netrunner and El Grande though. There's some other contenders in there, but they might be less likely. I'm like the only person my in group that seems to prefer Trains over Dominion though. 5-7 need more plays as well. SW might be first if I redid the list. The short play time is a huge advantage over MK.

[BYU 14]

1-Blood Bowl
2-Car Wars (Wish they would make a CCG for this!!!)
3-Magic: The Gathering
4-Title Bout (Best sports board game of all-time IMO)
5-Risk (Many beers downed during Marathon sessions of this with my roomies back in the day, we would play 5-6 hours straight at times)
6-Dungeons and Dragons
7-Legend of the Five Rings
8-Paydirt (Another game we would play for hours)
9-Hot Corner Baseball (One man operation, peaked late 80's or 90's, but you could order any team in the history of the game as part of your 26, plus individual player cards, really underrated game)
10-History Maker Baseball (Newer game from Plaay.com, really unique and fun)

Half of mine are sports games (if you count Blood Bowl), but got plenty of hours from the others as well, plus just started playing Magic again and enjoy it as much as ever, so it will likely be pushing Car Wars pretty soon for that second spot.

[Groundhog]

I haven't played a ton of non-video game games, but Blood Bowl would far and away be #1. It's been a long time, but I really liked the concept behind Necromunda and Gorka Morka too, but the amount of $$$ needed to play them properly - customize figures, etc. - along with the difficulty of finding people to play with hurt both of them...

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

1. BattleTech

Loved me some Battletech/Mechwarrior back in the day.

The Battletech game play was great. The rules were complicated enough to be very challenging yet easy enough to be somewhat accessible. Everyone who played always had a story to tell about that one time they got a critical head shot, or managed to take down two mechs while their engine was running hot or the time they missed the death-from-above. Ever seen a Battlemaster punch a Locust? Fun times!

Then once you added in the overall Mechwarrior universe, the game really took on shape. There were many layers of diplomacy & intrigue, many different worlds, political concerns and so forth. The world was incredibly rich and the background of a civilization of declining technology was wonderful - you simply couldn't replace something if it was blown apart, so you had to be cautious.

Overall, it added up to huge fun.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

1-Blood Bowl
2-Car Wars (Wish they would make a CCG for this!!!)
3-Magic: The Gathering
4-Title Bout (Best sports board game of all-time IMO)
5-Risk (Many beers downed during Marathon sessions of this with my roomies back in the day, we would play 5-6 hours straight at times)
6-Dungeons and Dragons
7-Legend of the Five Rings
8-Paydirt (Another game we would play for hours)
9-Hot Corner Baseball (One man operation, peaked late 80's or 90's, but you could order any team in the history of the game as part of your 26, plus individual player cards, really underrated game)
10-History Maker Baseball (Newer game from Plaay.com, really unique and fun)

Half of mine are sports games (if you count Blood Bowl), but got plenty of hours from the others as well, plus just started playing Magic again and enjoy it as much as ever, so it will likely be pushing Car Wars pretty soon for that second spot.

I love seeing L5R on someone's list. That game was criminally unappreciated by the masses, and is far better than Magic imo. I need to give more thought to a list, but L5R will definitely be near the top of mine.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I love seeing L5R on someone's list. That game was criminally unappreciated by the masses, and is far better than Magic imo. I need to give more thought to a list, but L5R will definitely be near the top of mine.

Love that game and really wish it would have gotten wider acceptance, is a very well done game, but Magic is just a juggernaut now. Only 5 stores in the Phoenix area still carry it AFAIK.

[Abe Sargent]

L5R would be in my Next 10, in the 11-20 section. I'd also have HeroQuest in there too. Prolly Carcassonne. Ummm....maybe HEX? I'd have to think about that though.

[JAG]

Can't give you 10 currently, but Settlers of Catan would be #1. Don't have time to play much nowadays, but this has been my go-to game with friends and family since a friend introduced it to me in '97.

[ColtCrazy]

What a cool idea and some great lists.

I may have games ranked differently on BGG, but in terms of all-time I'll try to add in how the game was when I first played it and the memories associated with it. Although my list is constantly evolving as I get new games or get to play games more than a few times to get a better feel for the mechanics.

1. Statis Pro Basketball - While I prefer the options and depth of the football version, I've logged more mileage with this game than any other. Great solo, great statistically, and fun to play.
2. Axis & Allies - This got me into war gaming during high school. Haven't played it in years, but spent many nights up with my dad and friends playing this.
3. Clash of Monarchs - I have definitely fallen for the CDGs and this one is my favorite. It's got so much going on and playing Prussian is a tense and frantic experience.
4. Statis Pro Football - Best football game I've played. Shame someone hasn't picked up the reigns like Phil Graham did for the basketball game to keep making new years.
5. Crown of Roses - Another great CDG on the War of Roses. Very cutthroat.
6. Conquest of the Empire - One of those entry level war games I like to play with my 5th graders. I really get to know the kids over the course of several lunch times playing this.
7. Legendary: Marvel Deck Building Game. Dominion was probably in the top 10 till I played this. Similar mechanics with a great theme.
8. RAF: The Battle of Britain - Just a great solitaire war game.
9. Julius Caesar - I like Columbia block games and many would end up in my 11-20 slots. This barely edges out Richard III.
10. Ticket to Ride - Another entry level game I play with my 5th graders, but this one makes it to the table at home as well.

[Matthean]

I would need to replay L5R again so I could give it an accurate rating. It might fall into the 11-20 range, but I don't even try to count how many games we played of it and never got sick of it. The new Netrunner will be the game too officially fire it though. Better format to acquire cards and equal amounts of depth.

I put the new BattleTect Intro box on my wishlist, but the same publisher is working on a tactical miniatures Shadowrun game. I still might get both, but Shadowrun is a given since I can't imagine it being a terrible game.

[Abe Sargent]

One of the only issues I have with L5R is sometimes how looooooong the games can take.

[tarcone]

Tough.

1. Statis Pro Baseball-- I love baseball. I bought this game after a friend introduced it to me and Steve Carlton struck out 20 of my batters. Bought it with the '81 season. Still have it today.
2. Axis and Allies-- The step up from Risk. Great game. Recently purchased Europe 1940 and Pacific 1940 and now have a truly global game.
3. Backgammon-- Dad taught me to play. I taught my daughter. We really enjoy it.
4. Cribbage-- Just a great game to enjoy with someone else.
5. Twilight Imperium (3rd ed)-- This is Ameritrash at its best. Long game. But full of goodness.
6. Thunder Alley-- Just got this one and I can see it as a go to game. Great mechanics. A racing game at its best.
7. 1775: Rebellion-- Light wargame. Based on American Revolution. Card driven. Dice. Area control. Multiple fronts. Cant ask for much more.
8. DC Comics Deck building game-- I dont like deck builders. But I love this one. Great theme. Great game play.
9. A Game of Thrones (2nd ed)-- This is an outstanding game. Back stabbing. Bidding. Battles. Random events. I will play this always.
10. Betrayal at the House on the Hill-- Its 2 games in one. Go around and collect stuff, then someone betrays you and you have to take care of the bad guys. Really a fun game.

Thats my list. It is fluid and if I came back tomorrow, I might change something. Also, it isnt necessarily in order. But these are my top 10 at this point.

[Warhammer]

1). Die Macher
2). Advanced Squad Leader
3). Empires in Arms
4). Space Empires: 4x
5). Mage Wars
6). MECCG
7). El Grande
8). Blood Bowl
9). Battletech
10). Summoner Wars

[dzilla77]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

1). Die Macher
2). Advanced Squad Leader
3). Empires in Arms
4). Space Empires: 4x
5). Mage Wars
6). MECCG
7). El Grande
8). Blood Bowl
9). Battletech
10). Summoner Wars

I'll post my top 10 in a bit, but I have a question for Warhammer - do you play Space Empires 4x solo or with others? If solo, how does it play.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

One of the only issues I have with L5R is sometimes how looooooong the games can take.

We always played it multplayer so you can imagine how long those things were. At some point I'm going to work on getting some games of 2-player in.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by dzilla77

I'll post my top 10 in a bit, but I have a question for Warhammer - do you play Space Empires 4x solo or with others? If solo, how does it play.

I play with others. Never tried it solo. Works well with 2-4 though.

[PadresFan104]

1) History Maker Baseball
2) Second Season Football
3) Dawn of the Zeds
4) Ticket To Ride
5) Runebound
6) Memoir '44
7) Carcassonne
8) Star Realms
9) Statis Pro Baseball
10) Strat-O-Matic Baseball

[TroyF]

I play so little board games, but here would be my list"

1) Pursue the Pennant Baseball - I actually played a full season keeping score with individual box scores with this game. Man I loved this game

2) APBA baseball

3) Strat O Matic baseball

Ummmm. . . there are other games besides baseball games?

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I play so little board games, but here would be my list"

1) Pursue the Pennant Baseball - I actually played a full season keeping score with individual box scores with this game. Man I loved this game

2) APBA baseball

3) Strat O Matic baseball

Ummmm. . . there are other games besides baseball games?

Yes, there are non-board games....

[CleBrownsfan]

I've been back to playing board games only for the past couple years - I have not played a lot of the top 100 on BGG but here is my quick top 10.




(10) KingMaker
(9) The Resistance
(8) Kemet
(7) Nations
(6) Robinson Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island
(5) Pandemic
(4) 7 Wonders
(3) Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition)
(2)Arkham Horror
(1) Lords of Waterdeep

[Umbrella]

FOFC always surprises me. I didn't realize so many Blood Bowl fans are out there. I can never get anyone to play.

[Warhammer]

Have to go for a league. Best way to play, but big time commitment.

[twothree]

Originally Posted by Umbrella

FOFC always surprises me. I didn't realize so many Blood Bowl fans are out there. I can never get anyone to play.

I play Blood Bowl as a computer game now. Along with several other board games that are now available as video games. It is easier to find opponents that way.

My current Top 10 board games in alphabetical order.

Arkham Horror
At the Gates of Loyang
Dominant Species
Elder Sign
Ghost Stories
Kingdom Builder
Power Grid
Riichi Mahjong
Terra Mystica
Troyes

[booradley]

Paydirt
Statis Pro Baseball
Title Bout
Blood Bowl
Axis & Allies
Star Fleet Battles
Warhammer (naval battles)
King of the Tabletop
Squad Leader
House rules battles with HO-scale soldiers

These aren't necessarily ranked in order