The classic card drafting game. It scales very well from 3-7 players. Some boxes say 2-7 players, but most players would recommend 7 Wonders Duel if you're looking for a 2 player experience. The 2 player variant in this box is just that you both take turns playing as that third player, which is much less satisfying than playing your own turns, though I could see some people enjoying the strategy involved. (Rahdo thinks this plays BEST at 2 players!)

A great 2-player implementation of the 3-7 player game, 7 Wonders. Ant Lab Games' Playthrough convinced me to buy it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDja8YwI_fM

Maybe a game that loses some appeal after 50 games, but most games wouldn't last that long!

Dice matching game. Teach in a minute. Works pretty well as a restaurant game while waiting on the food to arrive.

Print and Play game. Very very enjoyable! (They came out with a retail version, Blight Chronicles, but I didn't see it as enough of a huge improvement over this free version to pay $29/$45 + $10 shipping for it)

Great reimplementation of Sprawlopolis. I think I like the color scheme and the looks of the original better, but this one might be a better game. Either way, they're both great!

Fantastic gateway game, but an epic game for experienced players as well. Have played with several completely non-gamers and it has been very well-received. (Recorded plays only represent playing with other humans or playing solo on the table, but I also enjoy playing against the AI in the digital implementation on Steam or Android.)

I prefer to play with the Inns & Cathedrals expansion and that's it. Adding lots of expansions would take away its amazing teachability and drop my rating from a 10 down to an 8.

Great expansion that adds a lot of enjoyment without adding a lot of complexity. The "big" meeples aren't a lot bigger than the regular ones, though, so I picked up big meeples from The Game Crafter that work a lot better. Highly recommended to anyone who likes the base game of Carcassonne.

I designed this game, so I didn't want to rate it, but I still enjoy playing it when I have a deck of cards and some free time. A solo deckbuilder, using a single deck of standard playing cards.

After just hearing it explained, I knew it was going to be a good one. Playing it confirmed it. Such a good game! Felt like an instant Classic. Probably a Top 20 game, not sure about Top 10.

Pretty fun game. If you like the dice mechanisms of this and have any interest in Science Fiction themes, I'd highly recommend Space Base as a replacement for Catan. If you like Catan for the trading and area control, though, Space Base has none of that.

Overall, this is a fun game if you got a good set of starting locations. If you don't, it's a slog with little chance of catching up. I'd totally still play it, but I'm not going to suggest it.

Pretty fun game. The last third of the game can sometimes be a bit predictable -- if one player upgrades their resource production much faster than the other, it can get to the point that the winner is pretty obvious long before the end of the game.

Fun theme and interesting team-making possibilities, but the character rules can get a bit complex for as light of a game as this is.

Fun, quick, and light weight. If you like this and like cooperative or solo games, check out Sprawlopolis.

Tiny bluffing game. It says 2-6 players on the box, but the more players, the more enjoyable the game is.

Coop Trick taking game. Each person has goals, such as "this person has to get all green 7s" and you need to make sure everyone fulfills them without communications.

Can play Solo, One vs. All, or Coop. (I've only played it One vs. All) Great game with lots of options. It takes some setup time, so you have to set a couple hours aside to play, but it's worth it.

Definitely has the potential to be a 9.5 or higher game, but lowered to 8.8 because I just can't get it to the table.

Highly Recommend getting the "Empires" expansion. This one expansion alone gives new life to the game and makes me excited to play again. (All plays against humans, with any expansion, are recorded in this entry, since they're all mix and match.)

The best dominion expansion I've ever played. Primarily due to the extra cards that give new goals and new purchasable events into the mix. The concept of debt is really interesting as well.

I've only played this once, so take that rating with a grain of salt. Like playing a smaller game of Chess, but the pieces flip over after each move, and have different movement patterns depending on which side is flipped up.

Wow! This game has some of the best component quality of any game on my shelf. the gameplay itself has a lot of starts and stops, but I really enjoyed it and would like too play it again.

A great theme and a great gateway-plus cooperative game. Much higher likelihood of winning than Pandemic among people I've played with.

Like Pandemic-Lite. Pretty good gateway cooperative game.

I really enjoy playing it, but it is a solo only game, so it's got some limited usage. But still, never disappointed whenever I get it to the table!

An I-pick-you-choose type of game, where you're trying to win the favor of the most geishas by collecting sets of their favorite... equipment? Playable free online at https://www.happymeeple.com, but playing it on the table is also very satisfying.

Pretty fun worker placement game. Sometimes there's a runaway leader, but the game is over so quick, it's not frustrating.

Good as a gateway deckbuilder for people who enjoy fantasy.

Memories of it being a fantastic game to play, but it takes so long that typically by the time I get it set up, the other people don't want to play any more. The robots are the best!

Like playing chess without a board (and using bugs). Really enjoyable game. (Logged plays also include standard Hive, since they play exactly the same)

Phenomenal expansion to Isle of Skye. This makes a 2 player game SO much more interesting and fun that just the base game. (I haven't played this expansion with 3+, but at least with 2., it's great!)

Other people have described as the +1 version of Carcassonne, but I think both games are different enough that both have a long term place on my shelf. Includes tile laying and an auction system, where you set a price for the next available tiles, but if nobody else buys them, you have to buy them at that price.

Great BGA Implementation

Old Review: Great game! Very much not what I was expecting. Very thinky and pretty difficult, but I love it!

New Review: I think it's still a solid game, and I REALLY enjoy the gameplay itself, but I'm just not a big fan of the building-a-new-deck-for-each-scenario thing that a lot of fans of this game really seem to enjoy.

New New Review: I had gotten rid of this game, but then got thinking about how much I had previously enjoyed it, and re-purchased it. I'm still really bad at this game, but now don't plan on getting rid of it again any time soon.

Core Box
Core Box
- The Hunt for Gollum
- The Hills of Emyn Muil
- The Dead Marshes
- Return to Mirkwood
Khazad-Dum
- The Watcher in the Water
- The Long Dark
- Foundations of Stone
Heirs of Numenor
- The Steward’s Fear
- The Blood of Gondor
- Assault on Osgiliath
- The Druadon Forest
- Encounter at Amon Din
- The Morgul Vale
The Voice of Isengard
The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill
The Hobbit: On the Doorstep
The Black Riders
The Road Darkens
Two Towers Saga Box
Elves of Lórien starter deck

Want to buy (in priority order):
- Return of the King Saga Box (whenever that comes out, maybe late 2024?)

Print and Play game for up to 5 players. Interesting social deduction puzzle as you watch which tools the other person uses over the course of the game.

Fun game, both for solo play and multiple players. The game could go long if all players just build up their forces instead of defeating the monsters.

Great light-weight worker placement game that fits in a little metal tin.

My wife loves this one. She's always Sherlock and Co. and I lose at least 75% of the time.

Good game to play with people who don't play a lot of games.

Playable as a single player or multi-player campaign.

I actually like to play the game, but the crazy amount of set up and tear down time really makes it a slog to get to the table.

Really fun game, but takes a long time for setup. That being said, my wife enjoys it, and that makes all the difference :-)

A 2-player trick-taking game where winning a trick allows you to choose which person scores what kinds of cards and which card goes into the set of cards to be scored. Like the slightly more strategic sibling of Why I Otter.

A fun gateway-complexity deckbuilder that has completely replaces Scrabble for me.

Out of Rise of the Runelords, Skull & Shackles, and this one, Mummy's Mask is the best! It feels so much more thematic, much more diverse in the obstacles you face. It's fantastic.

Like the other sets, I would highly recommend -- if you think you'll like the game -- to hold out until you get get the whole campaign at once (Base, Expansion Boxes 1-6, and Character Pack). Because if you buy the base pack alone, then try to pick up the rest individually, you'll probably pay almost double.

Love it, since I bought it from a guy complete with all expansions, but I wouldn't recommend buying it without at least one or two expansions. Intro box can take a character through about 10 games (quests). Each further expansion gives another 5 or so games per character. With several expansions, you can keep a character for MONTHs worth of game nights.

This is available to play on Android for free, so if you're unsure about it, download it and try it out before you buy the box version.

Like Rise of the Runelords, I wouldn't recommend buying this game without buying some expansions, but with the expansions, it's a blast to play. It's virtually the same game as Rise of the Runelords, but with a Pirate theme, but there are enough differences that I really enjoy this one too. I actually enjoy S&S more than ROTRL because of more varied skills required to accomplish tasks.

Pocket Game. Pretty complex and thinky. Great tutorial video at: https://boardgamegeek.com/video/155376/pentaquark/pentaquark...

Includes the Gathering Storm, Rebel vs. Imperium, and The Brink of War expansions.

Comment for The Gathering Storm:
One of the most clever solo modes I've seen. Like many of my favorite games, it beats me most of the time, but I really enjoy it!

One of the most clever solo modes I've seen. Like many of my favorite games, it beats me most of the time, but I really enjoy it!

I've preordered the Expansion and Brinkmanship Expansion pack, which includes this one, so once I get that, I'll delete this one.

Great for solo play. Tons of replayability and variations. I presume it's just as great multiplayer, but I haven't done that yet.

Great game! I've heard it described as an 18-card game that feels like Carcassonne. I could see that. Well, to be more accurate, I'd say it's more of an 18 card version of Isle of Skye, with card drafting instead of an auction. Both have map building, and enclosing features on the map, and both are super fun games! (My more detailed review can be found at: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2336538/no-i-didnt-have-eno...)

I designed this game, so I didn't want to rank it, but I really enjoy playing. It's a game I will often keep stashed in my pocket, if I know I'm going to have some down time and a table.

Good for ESL class and playing with kids.

Mostly the same game as the base Star Realms, but enough cards for up to 4 players and there are several solo and coop scenarios included in the box. (Plays marked here are basically any plays other than just the base game, with any combination of expansions)

Played the first game with my wife. She said, "I like it! It's a lot to remember, but I like it!" I'm glad we didn't try this one 2 years ago, because I'm sure it wouldn't have received as high of praise, but I'm loving it now!

Awesome game! Probably plays best at 3-4 players, but even an enjoyable solo experience out of the box. Prelude expansion is a must.

Game Night has a great playthrough of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0LGa9qbHN4

It packs most of the fun of Terraforming Mars into a shorter playtime with less downtime, so that's great, but it doesn't replace the original for me.

If I was just rating multiplayer, I'd rate Terraforming Mars and Ares Expedition the same, but factoring in the solo modes, I'm rating the original just a fraction higher.

Purchased Collector's Edition for Cyber Monday sale 2021.

Gives the game a boost at the start of the game, so you can "hit the ground running" instead of the slow build that the base game typically has. This is the only expansion that I'm aware of that reduces the length of the game when you add it to the base.

This is our Thanksgiving tradition. It's very approachable to new players, and still fun for experienced gamers to play with them.

A small-box game of space empire expansion, colonization, and resource-efficiency-and-management. This is great at all player counts, including solo. It's fallen on my list over time, since after a few dozen plays, I feel like I've seen most of what it has to offer, but it might go up if I ever pick up an expansion.

Quick game, very accessible to most anyone. Like an even lighter I-pick-you-choose game than Hanamikoji, with a flowery theme. That's not a pun -- the game is about flowers.

Need to check it out more. Played a couple times. Using different characters really makes it feel differently. Need to re-score after playing several more times. Definitely want to try this again. (Logged plays can be either TSI or TSII, since they're mix and match)

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/under-cover
Was my first design. Released PNP. I'd like to come back to it and give it a revision, but don't know if that'll ever happen in reality.

I've heard people say that if you like Terraforming Mars, you'll probably like this one, but I think they're very significantly different. I do like both, though I would put Terraforming Mars higher, since I'm not as bad at it as I am with Underwater Cities.

Haven't played multiplayer yet, but with the Solo Rules expansion, it's a blast!

Added a solo mode, which was the only reason I ended up buying the base game! Enjoyed it so much, now I want to play it with other people!

In a way, I even like this more than the Premium Edition that includes this game, plus the two other base sets. The reason I say that is that I really prefer the layout of the cards (poker-sized, with the names at the base of the card) over the Premium Edition (tarrot-sized, with the names almost in the middle of the card). If I could have gotten the Premium Edition, but with all the cards in the old size and layout, it would have been perfect. Either way, though, I like them both :-)

Super quick light two-player trick-taking game, that packs into a pocket. Great for waiting for a meal, or taking a break. Enough strategy to make meaningful decisions, but light enough to still be playable when tired. (This one and Wonder Tales would make a great stash to keep in your car at all times for dates)

Super light engine builder, with a bird-watcher theme. I probably like it for the theme most of all, but it's got solid mechanics and would be a great introduction to hobby board gaming, but still fun for more experienced gamers.

Fantastic light card-laying game. Each card has a character, for example one of the three pigs, with rules for scoring (worth -5 points if next to the big bag wolf, but +5 points if all three pigs are touching). It's quick and super fun! Would be a great waiting-for-your-food-at-a-restaurant game.