My top 9 board games
The user @theboardgeek started this hashtag #mytop9boardgames a few days ago on Instagram, and I decided to jump on it and create my own photo grid. I hadn’t actually thought to write down my list in a while. There are just so many games out there! And of course, as you get deeper into the hobby, your tastes and preferences change. If you check out the list, I totally love heavy, crunchy games.
Obviously, I love, love Battlestar Galactica and would play this at every chance I get. Caverna isn’t a game I own, but would love to someday. That $85 price tag is just way out of my budget. Arkham Horror, though cooperative, is a great game in my opinion. It’s so thematically deep in the world of H.P. Lovecraft, and I enjoy playing it with my monthly Arkham group. It was also one of the first game posts I did on this blog. Twilight Struggle is a great, super tense card-driven Cold War Game that’s No. 1 on multiple boardgamegeek lists. It is awesome.
Terra Mystica is another heavy strategic game that gives a different experience every time because players have many different options for which race to play. Agricola is classic Uwe Rosenberg, my favorite board-game designer. Another Rosenberg game I enjoy playing — and it’s super heavy — is Le Havre. Kanban is my No. 9 because it’s also a heavy strategic game, and who doesn’t love car meeples? Lastly, Nations is a great civilization-building game that at times can be very punishing. I don’t actually own this game, so I haven’t had a chance to do a write-up on it. One of my good buddies owns this game, so we play it often and set it to the hardest level. That same friend also owns Terra Mystica, which I do not have a copy of either.
A friend argued that Caverna and Agricola could be the same game and asked me to pick another game to round up the top 10. I honestly think Caverna and Agricola are separate games as there’s more going on in Caverna, but it’s more forgiving for the player. Agricola is more punishing, plus if you use the player cards, it’s a totally different game from Caverna (which has no player cards).
But I still gave him my answer. My runner-up would be Takenoko. It’s a great medium-heavy game that is a step above gateway games. Plus, it’s got beautiful artwork and figurines. A great game all around. There’s a collector’s edition available that comes with giant bamboo and a panda bear. So adorable!
So what’s your top 9 board games?