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Episode 2: Our top 20-11 games of all time!
30 Plays1 month ago
Shane and Steve bring the first of their 2 episodes counting down their favourite games of all time, or since 2017? I don't know, ask Shane to explain that one.
We start the show by discussing some games hitting the table.
Steve discussing the lazer beam deduction game, Orapa Mine. Which you can order through bgg here.
Shane reviews Hansa Teutonica and finds a way to screw people over in a dry euro.
During our crowdfunding coverage, Shane awakens the elder ones discussing Nanty Narking, which is still live now, click here for the campaign.
Steve gets all practical and talks about an expensive solution to store his unnecessary playmats. Check out OrgaNicer here.
As if we still had disposable income, Shane highlights the next Unmatched volume, Battle of Legends volume 3.
Then we both discuss the struggles of farming with the upcoming Awaken Realms special edition of Agricola. and the further struggles of farming while also contending with the undead, in Agricola: Dead Harvest.
Then we start the countdown.
Shane has predicted Steve will have 2-3 more Shem games on his list, and Steve has predicted Shane will have 2. How many appear in this countdown? Give yourself 78 minutes and find out!
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:16
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Mate Let's Play, a board game podcast brought to you by two Australian blokes who like to play board games. That's of course myself, Steve, and Shane. how are you doing, Shane?
00:00:27
Speaker
I'm excellent, mate, and welcome everyone to episode two.
Listener Feedback and Podcast Voice
00:00:30
Speaker
I hope our one listener enjoyed episode one, and it was that it was it was a good a good could sit back and chat. So thank you, mate. I'm looking forward to episode two to tonight.
00:00:41
Speaker
Well, um I've got to ask more questions now because you told me you received good feedback from multiple people. So we must have more than one listening. We must have more than one. But yes, no, we've we've got two.
00:00:52
Speaker
We've had feedback from two people. Plural. And, yeah and but you know, it's a a lot of people didn't know that we've launched this podcast. So how is this the best kept secret?
00:01:04
Speaker
Yeah. And so hopefully there those those have listened since then. And um I've even listened. I don't listen back to podcasts normally and realized I need a bit of a podcast voice.
00:01:16
Speaker
but um And even Lauren's given me some instructions around because Lauren does yoga and she does yoga on YouTube and she does yoga in Zoom meetings.
00:01:28
Speaker
So she's had to create her own yoga voice. ah So for me, it's you know create a podcast voice. I don't know if I can do it, and to be honest with you, but it's just not me. I like to be me all the time. So that's just me being authentic.
00:01:41
Speaker
But no, thank you to the two that have listened and hopefully we've had a few more since then. But um even I listened and I i enjoyed it, mate. it was It's just a good way to sit back and chat and catch up with you and and share the love of board games with you, mate. So um yeah looking forward to tonight.
Episode Format: Top 20 Board Games (20-11)
00:01:58
Speaker
Very much so because – Top 20 of all time, or we're doing 20 to 11 tonight. So it's interesting because if you are just, if you have just come across this podcast, Shane and I are on another podcast prior to this one called the Board Game Chinwag, where we did two or three top 13s of all time. I think we only did two.
00:02:18
Speaker
Two, two. We're coming up for the third. Yeah, and we were just marking before we started recording that our lists have changed a little bit since then. So hopefully it's not just the boring same old 10 games that you said last time you listened.
00:02:31
Speaker
ah Hopefully there's some differences. I know there's a few differences on mine. In fact, my number three game... is technically new to the list except we were also all set up to do our third top 13 of all time which was when we decided to go on a hiatus so shane and i both had a top 100 of all time sitting there that never got used so uh sometimes i might remark that this game was previously, know, number X on my list, but that might, I have to work out whether that's the list I last recorded or whether the last list I last did or whether it even matters. This is just a fresh list. I'm not sure. Just a fresh list. And it's the list. It's the list for mate, let's play. Let's just call it that. And that's it.
00:03:12
Speaker
um I love, I love how, you know, a lot of board game reviewers and board game um influence out there to say it's the top 20 of all time. So I'm just going to preface this. It's a top 20 since 2017 when I got involved with board games. Only that I have a game in my top couple of games in my top 20 that came out before I got in the board games. Yeah, yeah. I reckon I might have one or two as well. So, yes, I reckon would.
00:03:38
Speaker
But I think it's great. I think it's funny. you know Top 20 all time. time. Since 2017 for me. Yeah. know, think...
00:03:47
Speaker
but do you know i think I really like the format of us you know talking about what we did and what we've been playing over the last week. So I might kick in. How about you, Lee, this one off this week, mate? What have you been playing this week?
Game Spotlight: Arapa Mine
00:03:58
Speaker
So I've got a couple of Korean games delivered in the post- And recently i got a version of Pueblo.
00:04:07
Speaker
I got Minnow Dice, which I have been dying to play because I played it at Dice Tower Retreat in 2023 and it's impossible to get. So i was really happy to see that come in. A game called Big Shot, which I haven't played yet, but the one I'm going to talk about has been getting a little bit of a buzz because it ah randomly appeared on Tom Vassel's Top 100 of All Time.
00:04:25
Speaker
And it's called Arapa Mine. A what? A who are who am I? or right Arapa Mine. O-R-A-P-A. Arapa. A Rapa mine, and apparently it's a real mine, uh, and they'd mine for gems there.
00:04:37
Speaker
And this game is, it's a really cool little, uh, just, um, pencil and paper game where each of the two players, it's two-player game. Each of the two players has a board.
00:04:50
Speaker
They put out five shapes on the board. And a little bit like Battleship in that sense, but I can see the obvious comparisons to Battleship, but don't think, oh it's just a different version of Battleship. This is so much better than that.
00:05:02
Speaker
ah So you put out your shapes, you've got a couple of triangles, you've got to cut a diamond, you've got a, like a, parallelogram, I guess. Yeah. And you've got to place it out on your grid and then your opponent will give you an entry point. So it's got A to P. So A to G down one side and H to P on the other side and then one to nine and 10 to 18 or something along the other side.
00:05:25
Speaker
And you give someone on an entry point. So you might say E and E is like it shoots a laser through and until it hits something and let's say it hits a yellow triangle and then goes up and exits at three, you would say yellow three and that tells your opponent that it's come off the the side of ah yellow object and gone straight out.
00:05:47
Speaker
So then they can be like, oh, okay, that's a corner of a yellow shape there and they're trying to find where you put all your shapes on your little grid. and you're doing the same for them. And it's race to see who can figure it all out first.
00:05:58
Speaker
But what makes it really cool is you've got ah red, blue, yellow, and two white shapes on your grid. And if you shoot a laser so it hits yellow and then goes up and then hits blue and then exits, you actually say green B, for example. Okay, so yellow and blue. Because yellow and blue make green because it's a laser. So the laser takes the color in of all the things that it hits along the way.
00:06:26
Speaker
And if you hit, like, ah like yellow and white, it'll make it lemon. And it's got, for me, thankfully, because I'm colourblind. I was going to say, this is a great game for you.
00:06:37
Speaker
It's got the legend on the... on the the piece of cardboard that's covering your board, which, you know, like the player aid, I guess, you we're back in smartphone ink player aids. It's very good because it's, it doesn't have the times tables, but it does have a color mixes, which is very important for someone like me and things like you can even set it up. So it would hit all of your shapes if they go in a particular way.
00:07:00
Speaker
And then you say gray, Or if it hits all of the shapes except white, you say black. So it gives some information, but it also makes it a little bit murky for someone to try and figure out. Oh, okay. And you're basically just trying to figure out how if if it goes out there, then it must sit like this and it's going off here. And what's great about the game is as because you're doing it to each other, you're both pulling back and forth, you can be certain of something happening.
00:07:25
Speaker
and And then you you'll fire a shot and it'll go straight through it'll miss everything. And you're like, no, that should have hit a white. And you're like, are you sure? I'm sure that was supposed to hit a white. You want to double check again and double check.
00:07:37
Speaker
And like both players are having this argument and then you get to the end of the game and you show them, you're like... Oh, yeah, no, I can clearly see how I messed up. ah um So it's it's an interesting game, though, because you win by being correct, but you also lose by being incorrect.
00:07:53
Speaker
So I've been in a situation where I was certain i had ah Helen sorted, and she was miles away from figuring out where my stuff was. And let's just preface this, Helen is an artist, so.
00:08:05
Speaker
Well, yeah. To be fair, you're only drawing lines. so hu But I was certain i had it. So I said, oh, i've I've got it. And she looked at it and she was like, yes. Oh, actually, no, not quite. That shapes just one one cube, like one grid space out.
00:08:24
Speaker
And that meant I lost the game. So even though she was nowhere near solving it, because I thought I had and I was wrong, I lose, she wins. So even when you're not doing well, you're still in with a bit of a shot because it's very hard to get perfect information. And it's sometimes it's very easy to be misled because, know,
00:08:44
Speaker
You expect one thing as an outcome and you get it, but that doesn't mess it up because there's two white triangles. You might fire out, hits white, comes back and go, sweet, that's where the white is.
00:08:54
Speaker
But maybe it's not. Maybe it's on the other side of the map and it's it's just totally missed the first shape. Come hit the other one and come straight back and you're like, that's the one, but it's not. So it's it's it's very tricky, little intricate game. It's quick, 10, 15 minutes.
00:09:08
Speaker
And I played it a couple of times with Helen and a couple of times Raph and it's Raph and it's just, it's just gone straight to the two player shelf. It's going to get played a load. So yeah, a wrap of mine, it's from plate and you can order it.
00:09:21
Speaker
You can, you can find it on eBay, but there was shipping super expensive. So if you're interested in any other titles that they're doing, because they've got a few, you can actually just go and find him on Board Game Geek.
00:09:35
Speaker
flick him a private message and say, hey, these are the games I'm interested in. Can you do us up a price and including shipping? It was pretty quick. Yeah, yeah. So pretty cheap, pretty quick. Any chance? I was going to say, any chance you could put the link in our notes for the show for this, for anyone that might it? absolutely.
00:09:53
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. That'd be good idea. That was a wrap of mine. I have seen it um because as soon as you started talking about triangles and shapes and drawing lasers down,
00:10:04
Speaker
I remember seeing it and going Missile Command. you remember the old Atari game? Yeah, right. Okay. yeah I'm showing age. right The old Atari 2600. It was called Missile Command where you had all these lasers coming down on your on your missile bases and you had to shoot up to block the lasers.
00:10:23
Speaker
Yeah, right. Sounds to me like it's a bit of a Missile Command crossed with Battleship, crossed with Scholars of South Tigris. Putting it in there. Okay.
00:10:34
Speaker
um I'm guessing that's a segue. No, no, it wasn't a segue. We had to put a Garfield game in there somehow. If we're doing a 20 to 11, I'm sure there's going be one or two that pops up. had to put a shame game in there because Scholars has the colour blending.
00:10:47
Speaker
Yeah, right. Mix the dice. Yeah, that's where I'm going with it. Add that dice and that dice gives you that colour. Funny story. Years ago, and I mentioned it on
Game Review: Hansa Teutonica
00:10:56
Speaker
a previous podcast, I read a book by Dave Gorman about how he just went and met people and played games with them.
00:11:02
Speaker
And one of the games that he played that he talked about was a game called Khet, K-H-E-T, Khet. can And this is before I was in the board gaming hobby. And it sounded really cool.
00:11:12
Speaker
And what it was was, it's actually quite a similar game. It's a game where you fire lasers off mirrors and you're trying to hit your opponent. Yes, yeah I've heard of that. Yeah, you move your mirrors and they move your mirrors and then you fire the laser and it's like a little game in like laser chess almost.
00:11:27
Speaker
And that was my first thought when I heard about this game. I'm like, oh, it sounds like a little mini version of Kett. So, yeah, no, it's definitely winner. Yeah, awesome. And I mentioned Helen before because – I would imagine Helen going, so I'm mixing some purple which is just with a slight bit of pink and it's now indigo. Yeah.
00:11:48
Speaker
Just this is rough colour that's, you know, been... That's right. Yeah, burnt umber or something.
00:11:56
Speaker
That's great. um Yeah, no, I have seen that and I am interested in giving that a go. So keen to get a hold of that link, mate. If you can share that, that'd be awesome. Will do.
00:12:07
Speaker
What about you? may Look, haven't been playing much. However, as we do meet every every Thursday and we started the the journey of Hansa Teutonica.
00:12:21
Speaker
um Game two was last Thursday night. And ah so I thought I'd actually do a bit of read. actually done a review, Steve. I've actually spent some time. All right. I'll get my coffee, even though I don't drink coffee. Grab your coffee, grab your tea, whatever you might need. You'll probably need a Panadol afterwards.
00:12:39
Speaker
um but Look, Hans is just a really dry Euro. Have you played it before? No, but I have been really keen yeah i'll say because I've never heard anyone say a bad thing about it.
00:12:52
Speaker
No, and I won't be. um Spoiler alert. Board Game Geek has a two to five. Do not recommend playing two players. It'd be boring as batshit.
00:13:04
Speaker
um It's definitely three to five. I've played it at three. Worked okay. Played it at four. Excellent. Five would be all, know, brilliant. um And that's probably, you know, four to five is how I'd recommend playing it. It's um designed by Andrea Stedding.
00:13:22
Speaker
And play time's anywhere between 45 to 90 minutes. Four players, definitely 90 minutes. um And depending on who you have playing as well, potentially that could drag out a little bit longer if there's a bit of AP.
00:13:37
Speaker
But it's a pretty quick game from a turn point of view. So, um you know, initially in the very start of the game, you're limited to very limited actions. You've only got about two actions that you can do.
00:13:50
Speaker
And, you know, there is one move in the game that everyone knows that everyone tries to fight for. So whoever's first player, they're definitely going to do this one move in the game. um But the ah the idea of the game is to complete routes in between cities.
00:14:04
Speaker
And, you know, you score those routes by either building, like quite claiming them, so you have majority, and or you build you build an office in that city. So if you think of Ticket to Ride, so you're building routes in between these these cities to get there.
00:14:21
Speaker
And when you get there, you can either, depending on which city you go to, you can either claim it by building an office or... you get a secondary action, which means you can upgrade your skill, right, and unlock a skill.
00:14:36
Speaker
So unlocking a skill just gives you improvements and then also too um increases your ability to do other things within the board game itself. So it gives you more actions, et cetera.
00:14:47
Speaker
um So when you upgrade your skills, you free up more of your own player board. so And it gives you more pieces that you can use throughout the game out on the board.
00:14:59
Speaker
um And then when as you upgrade your player board too, the cost gets more expensive as you go upgrade. But then also too, if you do upgrade you know certain sections of your board, they're worth points at the end of the game. i think it's four points per section that you upgrade.
00:15:17
Speaker
um But upgrading is important early on because you know you might want more actions. So you you generally only have two actions to start with. um but then you can upgrade to three and then you'll then upgrade the next time but you're still only getting three and then you'll go again pay the cost to go four.
00:15:38
Speaker
um But the the play is pretty brisk. So for someone, you know, when it comes around to your turn, if you if you have a bit of AP, you may be too worried about what everyone else is doing before it gets to you and you're like, oh, what am I doing again?
00:15:57
Speaker
Whereas me, I'm just like, bang, bang, bang, done. I'm pretty much playing a few moves ahead. um And for those, some players might go, ah so what did you just do there?
00:16:10
Speaker
i I just need to you know to see what you did there. So it can slow the game down when you have that. um But you know for me, it's um quite funny when that happens.
00:16:22
Speaker
Cause you know, it's like, okay, just concentrate on your own game, not mine. But, uh, it's, you know, it's just, it's just, you know, it's, it's, it's quite hilarious actually. And that, that happened quite a bit on Thursday night.
00:16:33
Speaker
I did laugh every time it happened. And, uh, but you know, the demands of the game are really strong on thinking. So you need to be a pretty good strategic thinker about there's so many options that you can do on the board.
00:16:50
Speaker
Um, And so on Thursday night, I just went down this one option. And ah didn't so I decided not to claim any cities at all, ah which is pretty silly.
00:17:02
Speaker
um Because cities that you claim are worth points the end of But instead, I was trying to upgrade a few other pieces on my board. um And look, to be honest with you, it didn't work out too bad. I was only... I think I came... i think I think came fourth...
00:17:19
Speaker
But it still was a tight game. There was not many points between ah first and fourth. um But it's a game where if you take your time to build your engine, you'll be rewarded be rewarded in the game, right? So you can easily look around the table and see, okay, who's who's playing the slow game here to build the engine?
00:17:43
Speaker
And then someone like me just goes in and tries to rush the end game. Yeah, okay. All right. And so that's... Catch people still trying to build their engine. Yeah, then people are trying to build their engine slightly, but then I'll try and rush the end game because um I know that, you know, if they get their engine going, their point score is going to be huge. All right.
00:18:07
Speaker
But, you know, if you can rush it, it's ah it's ah it's a good way of... um You may not still win, but...
00:18:17
Speaker
yeah you may not lose by that much, but it's interesting that when you do start rushing it, those people that are trying to build their engines and take their time, you see they're watching what you're doing as well.
00:18:29
Speaker
Oh, what'd you do, Steve? Yeah, I did this, this, this. Oh, okay, all right, cool. No worries. But look, it's all about building points in the game as well. So you you're trying to ah generate points not only throughout the game.
00:18:41
Speaker
So if you claim a city and you have majority, if anyone uses that ability on that city, you're going you're giving that other person a point. Yeah, right. That has majority. So you kind of want to avoid that as well.
00:18:54
Speaker
um However, if you claim it early on, so for example, the action space that people want to then generate more actions for themselves, whoever's claimed that spot is going to get point, point, point every time someone's trying to upgrade their actions.
00:19:08
Speaker
um So I've just given away the the hint of that the prime spot to go for it, you know, first move. um But for me, it's not for everyone though because it can be a little bit combative because you can block.
00:19:25
Speaker
So if I'm going for a certain route, if someone wanted to, and we all did, they'll just put a cube to block that route. Yeah. So you've got to complete the route to claim the city.
00:19:38
Speaker
And so as soon as someone blocks it, it's going to cost you double to move their cube. Yeah, okay. But then also, too, you're giving them two cubes that place anywhere else along a connecting route to that.
00:19:53
Speaker
So if you're strategic, you're trying to you might try and build on another route that's close by, block someone, gives you two cubes then to complete that route for free. Yeah, okay.
00:20:05
Speaker
if that makes sense. And so there's a lot of strategic... Setting up a decoy kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you are. But also too, you know you are blocking someone in the same in the same respect because they might be thinking, I've got it next round. ah ah Now it's going to cost me two cubes to be able to unblock myself. I haven't got it this round.
00:20:21
Speaker
So kind of wasting rounds by by doing that. um Look, it's ah it's a really fun game. I've enjoyed it. it's my it was my We worked out it was actually my fault fourth play of it.
00:20:35
Speaker
I played it very early on and with someone and it was ended up being someone did that one move that everyone does and someone else was almost ready to flip the table.
00:20:48
Speaker
How dare you do that move? right said That's how it can be. and it was So then I just didn't enjoy that game just from the first move. However, playing it with the guys on a Thursday night, really enjoying the game.
00:21:00
Speaker
Good group of guys to play it with. um So... When you talk about our ratings, you know how we're rating things. Which totally forgot with a ruffer mind, so I'll get back to that later. That's all right. So, you know, i it's my fourth play, second play with the group.
00:21:18
Speaker
um Totally transformed my thought on the game. And so I like it. um It's for everyone who enjoys a totally themeless dry Euro.
00:21:32
Speaker
There's no thing, right? It's meant to be set in Germany and claiming routes and blah, blah, blah. There's there's none of that. You just, all you're doing is connecting and blocking and trying to get your engine going.
00:21:47
Speaker
Uh, if, if you like that type of thing, go for it. It's a really good game. Um, I'm not a big Euro fan, as you know. but this I like, I actually like doing, I like playing this game and, um,
00:22:01
Speaker
but it it does come with a warning that it can be a little bit combative. So, you know, if you are someone that could get a little bit tense, if you get blocked and you get annoyed because there's lots of blocking, it doesn't happen just once.
00:22:15
Speaker
um If you're leading the way throughout the game, there's going to be lots of blocking happening against you just t completely ensure that you do not claim points, that you do not complete routes.
00:22:28
Speaker
So if you're someone that can get a little bit tense with that, then it's probably not the game for you. if you've got the right group and you're going to have a bit of fun with it, perfect. So that's Anza Teutonica. 2009 game, by the way.
00:22:43
Speaker
There go. There you Could be on your all-time list. well before Well before my time I started in gaming.
00:22:51
Speaker
So just as a wrap, a wrap of mine, I'm also saying is not for everyone, but for me, purely because it is a deduction game. Some people just flat out do not like deduction games.
00:23:03
Speaker
And it also is quite small. So it's another game that it can, it there's a lot of crunchy decisions. So it's not like it's not challenging you mentally, but,
00:23:14
Speaker
it It could maybe be looked upon as just a little easy 10-minute game. I'm not interested in that. But, yeah, definitely yeah for most people, I'd say. And even if you don't enjoy your time, it'll be over in 10 minutes. So it's okay.
00:23:29
Speaker
It sounds like something that BGA needs to create pretty fast because that would be really cool on BGA, wouldn't Well, that's actually a really – that would work pretty well because there's not a lot of turns. ah eat Realistically, the longest that game would take would probably be 10 turns each. Mm-hmm.
00:23:44
Speaker
So, yeah, even in a turn-based situation, it's not going to drag on for a long time like a lot of those short-term games do but because you're kind of limited to the small size of the grid. So, yeah, that's a good point. It would work really well.
00:23:56
Speaker
Because you could you could hide it from the other player. Yeah. Yeah, wouldn't be able see your board at all. I to see your board, yeah. There you go, BGA. Get onto it. Well, with that, do we want to jump straight over to Kickstarter's GameFounds and news?
00:24:12
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:31
Speaker
So, update on Nantinaki, The Rise of Cthulhu. I mentioned it last podcast. It is now live on GameFound. And I think it's probably only got about eight days to go.
00:24:43
Speaker
So, for anyone that is a Martin Wallace fan, jump on, recommend it. This is going to be a ah really good game. As I said last week, I do have Ankh-Morpok.
00:24:56
Speaker
It is similar. However, it has better minis, but it's more set set in old-worldy London. um It is jointly designed with Martin as well, because I didn't know if Martin was involved in it at all, but it is.
00:25:09
Speaker
um And also, too, Vladimir Goumini was also too involved in this. um The pledge levels are really reasonably priced.
00:25:20
Speaker
So the great all-in pledge, it's called, is around about $215.
00:25:28
Speaker
And it gets you the original Nancy Narkin plus expansion, the new Rise of Cthulhu plus expansion, and the Neoprene playmat.
00:25:40
Speaker
yeah So it had me at Neoprene. hu And I think that's that's that's good. And when I say $215, that's Aussie dollars.
Game Recommendations and Excitement
00:25:50
Speaker
So for any of our US podcast listeners, which will be absolutely nil, that'll be a lot less for you.
00:25:57
Speaker
ah But I really recommend it. And, Steve, I've got a link here. I can chuck this in our podcast notes for you, mate. So anyone that might be interested, they can click on the link at the end of the show.
00:26:12
Speaker
Sounds good. To jump on this game found.
00:26:15
Speaker
Well, I've backed something, speaking of neoprene, that isn't a game. So I'm interested to see how it shows out, so how it turns out. But it's on GameFound, and it's called the Organizer.
00:26:27
Speaker
Who? Organizer. So not Organizer, Organizer. German? ah ah It is somewhere in Europe. I don't know exactly where. Organizer?
00:26:40
Speaker
ah Potentially, yes. ah But it's what it is. It's a neoprene storage solution.
00:26:48
Speaker
Oh, it's an organizer. Yeah, okay. Yeah. So it hangs – you can hang it on the side of a Kallax, and they have them in multiple different sizes, but I've got a few of those six-by-three game-topper style mini-print mats, like full table mats. Yeah, yeah.
00:27:05
Speaker
And they've got one that is vertical that can store four of them. So I thought, too easy. That's one side of a Kallax. And then they've got another vertical one, which is for your bigger – game mats so you know for example like my scythe mat or my but i've got so many of them it's hard to mention whatever there's plenty of them dune warfare ruckus they're all like you could fit them all in and you can and it's it's double like it's um two stories so you could fit potentially eight of the larger mats and then they've got like a smaller horizontal one that fits on the side as well which has all of your other play mats like your smaller ones so i did exactly that i bought but i backed three of them i backed
00:27:43
Speaker
one of each of those ah because it is something that frustrates me with the neoprene is they, they are an annoying thing to store. And I've tried a few things. We've got them currently in a washing basket and i've got a couple in, know, Aussie post post pack tubes.
00:28:01
Speaker
But what I've noticed over time, which is something I never really thought about, but my Raiders of the North Sea and Scythe mats that I've had for years, they're starting to degrade. They're starting to break apart.
00:28:13
Speaker
And I wonder whether it's because of the fact that they've never really been stored you know in in what would you would consider but to be the the appropriate way because I just don't have the space. all the air So I looked at this and I thought, that it's not it's not a game, but I feel like it it ah that they don't look too bad. They don't look cheap. So I think it would still look good.
00:28:33
Speaker
It wouldn't look messy on the side of a Kallax. So, yes, Organizer, I don't care what you want to call it. I thought it was intentionally... Yeah, I agree. Yeah, I agree. so that's Yeah, your area nicer. But, yeah, that's on GameFound at the moment.
00:28:48
Speaker
I believe it's still going. It's funded. Yeah, it's got 22 days left. So by the time this comes out, probably about 17, 18 days left. So there you go. Nice. Well, um I'll just chuck that link in as well, mate. That'd be good because I'm keen. ah I use – you've seen what I use, Daphne, yeah?
00:29:08
Speaker
Maybe, maybe not. ah So, you know ah Christmas wrapping paper? Yeah. You can buy a whole sleeve on a on a hook, and it's it's a big – I'm doing this. I'm doing visuals on because you and I can see each other.
00:29:24
Speaker
But this this material where they have um plastic rolls, and so what you do is you roll your neoprene mat up and you so then stick that in the plastic.
00:29:35
Speaker
So I've got this whole sheet that holds 15 of my neoprene playmats, and you just hang it up. um Amazon, I think it was about $15. Well, this one's a bit dearer, but, you know, it's purpose-built. But mind you, I've got my big you know my big Hyper Viper game mats that I don't. I roll them up by hand and or hang them up on a rack.
00:30:02
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I'm keen. I'm keen to have look at these. I'll look at them tonight. That's a good one. And no not really a board game. So nice work, mate. No. Thank you. Good work. You went digging.
00:30:14
Speaker
Well, to be honest, I just went, what am I backing currently? And that's I think it's my only active project. So well that's that's easy. And it's something different. But I do tell you what, I do have some upcoming projects. You mentioned you've got some upcoming projects too. i wonder whether we've got some crossover here. wow So what have you what have you found?
00:30:30
Speaker
Well, what I've found... um is And by the way, I am backing Nancy Narkin because um i was going to rebuy the original copy, but $150 is probably the cheapest I can find it.
00:30:43
Speaker
So it's cheaper for me to pay for the yeah get on the Kickstarter or the GameFound. um Are you an Unmatched fan? Yeah, absolutely.
00:30:56
Speaker
Yeah? Yeah? I thought you would be. So Unmatched Legends Volume 3. Yes. Yep. is coming out soon. For us as Aussies, it'll be around June, I think, it's coming out, because it's it's coming out in the American summer.
00:31:15
Speaker
Yeah. um And I'm a big, ah I have got Volume 1 and Volume 2, and so I'm really keen on Volume 3, and Volume 3 is going to be Blackbeard. Yeah.
00:31:28
Speaker
Chupacabra. Yeah. uh, Pandora from Pandora's box and Loki. Yeah. saw that. I thought Loki was an interesting inclusion. i guess it's like, yeah also that I'm guessing it's like folklore Loki, not Marvel Loki. Yeah. Folklore, not Marvel Loki. Yeah.
00:31:47
Speaker
It looks very similar to Marvel locally, Loki, but, um, but, uh, look, it's, yeah, so it's coming out around June and, um, look, I'm really, I'm excited for it to come because it's such a good game unmatched. And, uh,
00:32:01
Speaker
When you talk about two-player games, it doesn't get to the table much because I don't do much in the way of two players. But if I ever can and someone yeah is also keen on playing it, it's one I'll pull out.
00:32:14
Speaker
um So, yeah, so again, mate, I'll chuck the link to you so people can get it. They can order it from – they can actually go into Restoration Games now and follow and they'll be notified when it's coming to release so they can purchase it.
00:32:30
Speaker
prior Yeah, that's that's cool. I've got the TMNT Unmatched Adventures yeah ah on the, well, waiting for it to fulfil. So, yeah, definitely keen for some more Unmatched. sets It is a great system.
00:32:48
Speaker
And I've heard of one that's coming and it's going to blow everyone out of the water. don't know if it's a rumour or not, but what's the rare one to get? in unmatched.
00:33:00
Speaker
um I think I can confirm this rumor. You can confirm it? Yeah, like Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali. Yeah, yeah that's right. yeah That's happening. yeah So for anyone that's got those ah those the rare Bruce Lee one.
00:33:15
Speaker
not going be worth that much anymore. Yeah, sell them now. Sell them now. Yeah. Well, speaking of ah games that have been around for a bit, I can't remember whether you mentioned this on the show last week or whether we were just mentioned it in passing, but you mentioned the Awakened Realms 25 video, yeah which which I went back and watched. We've got a crossover.
00:33:38
Speaker
Yeah, I thought we might. And what what's funny is... The big news is that they're doing a Agricola version of their special editions like they did for ah recently Puerto Rico and they've also done the Castles Burgundy, which is a fantastic implementation of a game that I initially didn't love. And then since playing that, I'm shallow enough to say that it is one of my favorite games because of that special edition. So as a big Uwe fan, I instantly perked up at the idea of Agricola.
00:34:11
Speaker
And I'm deliberately leaving the other half of the news off of I'll leave that one to you. Because to be honest, I'm actually more keen for the Agricola Special Edition than I am for the other one, as much as the other one is far more intriguing.
00:34:26
Speaker
it just i don't know about the other one. I'm um um into Agricola. Okay, well, I'm referring to the Agricola Undead um Zombies edition that's coming as well.
00:34:37
Speaker
Yeah, but you've still to manage your farm. you still yeah I mean, it sounds ridiculous. It sounds great. If there was ever a is ah ever a mash-up, Like, Awakened Realms doing Castles Burgundy, that was the first one they did. And everyone was kind of like, what are Awakened Realms doing Castles of Burgundy? Like, these they're nemesis and ether fields. That's what, you know, tainted grail. What are they doing here?
00:35:01
Speaker
And then Puerto Rico, you're like, oh, okay, so this is something that they're doing now. but Agricola with zombies is just like the perfect mix between we're doing special editions, but we're still awake in realms. yeah So have all this.
00:35:13
Speaker
It looks, i I'm very interested yet cautious. I don't know whether it would be, a game for me or not, but i'll I'll do the resource management, build my farm and feed my people and try not to starve ah in Agricola.
00:35:29
Speaker
But i am I am cautiously optimistic about the yeah whatever whatever it's called. I'm just calling it the undead version. but yeah Yeah, the undead. But, the yeah, the blurb is, you know, it's Agricola.
00:35:41
Speaker
With zombies, you still need to feed your sheep or something like that. Yeah.
00:35:47
Speaker
But, look, Awakened Realms doing well. and When I first saw it, all I saw were the minis of sheep. Agricola Dead Harvest is what it's called officially. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:36:01
Speaker
But all the minis, the minis look great. Yeah. um So, yeah, look, I'm in. I'm doing it. I'm buying it. And I'll get the undead version too because that just be cool.
00:36:17
Speaker
I love the cover cause it's, it looks sort of, they sort of look similar. Yeah. Yeah. And like one is the typical Agricola where there's like the farmer lady and the sheep and there's chickens in it. And then the other one looks somewhat similar in style, but they've just got a, uh, tractor with, uh, I can't remember what they call, but like the, the,
00:36:37
Speaker
Yeah, I know what you mean. Blades cutting up the grass and all these zombies in the field just getting chopped to bits by this tractor. Yeah. It's all about the harvest.
00:36:51
Speaker
So, yeah, that was that was that were the my pieces of news. Have you got anything else? No, nothing else. And I'm glad you mentioned it because it was it was one that I did want to mention and it's ah I'm looking forward to that one.
00:37:03
Speaker
It's going to great. Yeah, and they're coming one year after each other, so that'll be good too because you'll hopefully be able to get the original Agricola before the the Dead Harvest one.
00:37:14
Speaker
did you did you buy Did you back to Puerto Rico? i d I cancelled. I had it and then I ah played Puerto Rico a few times on BGA just to remind myself about, and I thought, i don't know whether I want to spend that much money on this game. So i actually ended up buying a copy of the revised edition At Christmas time, at the Bayern swap day. At the game day. Yeah, yeah. You grabbed that game. Yeah, I saw you grab that one. Yeah, so I think that's probably about my limit for Puerto Rico. Yeah, I think so too. then again, would have said the same thing about Castles of Burgundy until I played the special edition. So I could be proven wrong in the future. But yeah, I'm happy with my version of Puerto Rico for now.
00:37:52
Speaker
I'll definitely try a griffle. I've played an older version of Puerto Rico and very enjoyable. what I don't think it needed to be upgraded, so. Hmm. Well, I didn't back it.
00:38:03
Speaker
However, Agricola, yes, being backed. Without a doubt, when it comes out, I am following it.
00:38:12
Speaker
That's great. That's that's um some awesome games. We'll provide the links in the the show notes for everyone and um back away if you want. If not, that's okay.
00:38:24
Speaker
All right, shall we do it? let's move on. Let's do it. <unk> We're trying to keep these episodes down for now. That's our challenge. That's not going happen today.
00:38:52
Speaker
Yeah, about the same.
Ranking Methods in Board Games
00:38:53
Speaker
About the same. 2018 and 2017. So a couple of caveats here. So obviously we're doing 20 to 11 in this episode. Obviously that means 10 to 1 on the next episode.
00:39:04
Speaker
I did this through PubMeeple and then I just sort of did a bit of rearranging after that. But I put in every game I've ever played on PubMeeple, which was insanity because it took hours.
00:39:17
Speaker
But what I did notice after I did the list is that two legacy games made my top 20. Wow. you And I have removed them both from the list because i feel like legacy games aren't really...
00:39:30
Speaker
Like, I'm never going to play them again, so I don't really think they belong. But i if they were, Clank Legacy would have been number 12 and Ticket to Ride Legacy would have been number 15. So like I've moved them both from the list, but highly regarded special mentions for sure.
00:39:45
Speaker
Yeah, well, um I did not do that. I sat there and just thought of all the games I've played. I did i did look at the games I've played on my list, on a BGG list. And then...
00:39:58
Speaker
looked at my top 13 list that we did back in September. um And then, and like okay, well, what's still in here, what's not, remove, shuffle around. And um then there was a few spaces. So then I come out and sat and looked at my whole collection and went, okay, what could fill those spaces in where and where would I rank them?
00:40:20
Speaker
So and did that. And look I've got to, you know, so we talk about, you know, top ballgames all the time. got to mention a couple of special mentions for me.
00:40:30
Speaker
So I'm going to go right back to when I first started enjoying board games. And that is Crossbows and Catapults. Yeah, nice. Which you can now get Restoration Games. No, Renegade Games, didn't they? Yeah, they redid it.
00:40:47
Speaker
So you can jump on their website and grab that now, a new version. I have the original still um in a box and I used to love playing that as a kid.
Personal Board Game Journeys
00:40:56
Speaker
And As much as people hate everyone saying it, Monopoly, it got me into board games and um and also too into finance and, you know, who would have thought, right? so So little special mentions for a couple of games that got me into what is a wonderful hobby now.
00:41:17
Speaker
Well, I think the big one for me that's worth mentioning is Scythe. It's not in my top 20. what? oh what Spoiler. Spoiler. but Yeah, but it wasn't in my top 20 last time either. Actually, no, that's not true.
00:41:28
Speaker
The last time we did the list, it was 17, which Ben at Wooden got mentioned. But it's sitting at 33 at the moment. and But it is it's it's the game that yeah was synonymous with me for so long. It was. my favourite game for years.
00:41:42
Speaker
And it's it's not that it's a bad game. I just ah played it over 200 times. it's It's it just I don't really feel like playing it much anymore. right and So, it's ah yeah, it it's still there. I still highly regard it. But, you I've played over 600 games now. So being 33 is still, you know, fail fairly high up there. yeah so But, yeah, no, it didn't make the list. And just for fun, Shane, because I know how much you love this game, the the the first game that misses the list is Obsession.
00:42:12
Speaker
So that should make happy. Yeah. might be
00:42:17
Speaker
Did you want to kick it off? Yeah, I'll kick it off. All right, my number 20. You ready for your shock? Oh, yes, number 20 will shock you. That's right. yeah i yeah i I did preface to Steve before the episode started. Number 20 is going to shock Steve.
00:42:32
Speaker
Too many bones. Wow, former number one. Former number one is now to 20. Look, it's honestly only because I just don't get time to play it anymore.
00:42:44
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like that's the sentence that comes after everyone mentions too many bones on one of these lists. Yeah. like it be It'd be high, i just never get to play it. yeah um Even ah because I backed 20 strong and I i was actually even play i was a playtester for all the 20 strong lines and playtested too many bones um in the 20 strong series.
00:43:04
Speaker
um i haven't even got that to the table. Yeah, okay. um So I just thought, you know what, I can't have it even in my top 10 anymore and then I just kept going. I kept going through my list.
00:43:15
Speaker
No, no, no, no. it didn't ah I couldn't put it out in my top 20 because when I do play it, I do love playing it. And I do enjoy playing it with people, um but it's just a bugger to set up up so set it up solo if you want to play it on your own. so So my number 20, former number one, is too many bones, mate.
00:43:40
Speaker
There we go. Well, you a completely different style of game. My number 20 made the list. It was in and around this spot. And then I looked at my list today and we only played this game on the weekend again. And I looked at it and Obsession and I went, you know what? I think I like this more than Obsession. so I swapped them around.
00:43:59
Speaker
thank you and Thank you. My 20 is the game. Oh, yeah. a Good game. ah i love that game. It is just hilarious fun. We played with six people on the weekend and we had three of us that knew poker and the other three that were looking at the hand strengths. And it's it's a challenge when you're playing with such a broad range of people because...
00:44:23
Speaker
You've got some people, the way the cards are done, and it says it says Royal Flush, strong hand. And then it says, you know, to a pair, weak hand. And I'm like, the pair isn't a weak hand. The pair could be this quite easily be the strongest hand out there.
00:44:39
Speaker
So when you're new and you don't know poker, you're looking at that going, oh, I've only got i've only got triple triples. yeah Well, there's all these other ones above it, you know. so there's no way I've got that.
00:44:49
Speaker
No way I'm winning. And they'll take a two chip. And you're like, Then you reveal your cards and you're like, what are you doing? You've got like the strongest hand. yeah One of the people, ah she was she just went, oh, I've got nothing and flipped over two fives.
00:45:03
Speaker
And we're all like, what the hell? What are you doing? You've got a pair. And it was so great because we lost, because the aim the game is to win three before you lose three. And we lost three straight the first time we played it.
00:45:15
Speaker
And the second time we lost the first two. We won the third one. Like we hadn't won the game at this point. We just won. We just got right for one you just play base or did you add the expansions in? Oh, we had the little helpers, but yeah, we never we never saw one of the things that make it harder for a while.
00:45:31
Speaker
But yeah, so yeah, it was our sixty sixth round. So our second game and our and we're down 2-0 and we won it. And it was just, it was like there was elation around the table. It was just, it was magic.
00:45:43
Speaker
And then we won the second one and then we're like, oh gosh, we're going to do it. And then we lost. But it was so much fun. So, yeah, the gang is just – it's instant classic. it's um I'm just going to take it everywhere because it's small, easy to take around, it's and it's great. So, yeah, that's my number 20.
00:45:58
Speaker
But it's amazed me how many people don't know poker. Yeah. it just I'm dumbfounded. I'm like, what? Really? Really? Well, the other thing too is people who do know poker, you also need to explain to them rules as well. Because ah someone gets like 9, 10 suited, they go, ooh, this could be a strong hand.
00:46:17
Speaker
But that's useless information until it is a strong hand. Yeah. So, like, if you've got 9 and 10 and you take a high chip, everyone's going, oh, they must have, like, ace-king or pocket aces or pocket kings or whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They've got a 9, 10. But they're just sitting on a 10 high. Like, it doesn't mean anything until you hit your flush or your straight. Yeah, yeah.
00:46:35
Speaker
So it's, you know, trying to explain to poker players that you don't want to, you know, go on implied odds. You want to go on actual right now odds. It's very different. And it's always it's it's hilarious when you you see them always grabbing they um the highest chip.
00:46:50
Speaker
Hmm. But then then you get to about three way through the game and then they're grabbing the lowest. You've got nothing. You're gone. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:47:01
Speaker
That's good. All right, so that was our number 20s. What about number 19? and Number 19 for me, um it's it's going back to the humble roots for me, this game, when i yeah because i'm a big I used to play chess a lot, massive chess player.
00:47:19
Speaker
And... um If I could ask of a game that's probably more modern chess, what would you think of? so first thought would be Onotama.
00:47:31
Speaker
but Yeah, yeah, yeah. Close, close. Probably a little bit more more strategic, a little bit more upgraded. There's a couple of expansions that go with it now. Poker Chips.
00:47:43
Speaker
Oh, War Chest? War Chest, yeah. War Chest is my 19. um Really enjoy it. um I don't get... to play it much because um you know i actually I don't know who would like to play it with me, right but I really enjoy the strategic thinking of each poker chip has a certain specific thing that it can do on the board, um similar to when you're playing chess. so And it's you're basically you're trying to control the board that's in front of you.
00:48:13
Speaker
um I have all the expansions and it's all sitting in one box. i've got it nicely set away I haven't played it probably now for around about eight or nine months.
00:48:25
Speaker
um But I've been teaching, i started teaching one of my boys how to play because, you know, he he enjoyed playing chess. So thought, well, let's, you know, take you up a notch and let's start playing war chess, which is a little bit different again.
00:48:39
Speaker
And have you played it? No, no, I haven't. Oh, it's great. Such a good game. Totally recommend it. That's my number 19. War Chess is probably, it would be my favourite two-player game.
00:48:53
Speaker
I just need, I need, you know, the players to play it with that are a little bit more strategic thinking and, you know, come come from a chess background. might It's interesting. My son loves chess. He beats me now, so maybe that's something I can look at for him.
00:49:08
Speaker
Absolutely recommend it, mate. He'd really enjoy it because, you know, the poker chips are, They're they' they not you know actual people. They're armoury.
00:49:18
Speaker
They're crossbows. okay there' certain there' they know There's battalions. And um those battalions, they have certain movements they can do on the board.
00:49:30
Speaker
And you're trying to capture people as you go. So really good.
00:49:36
Speaker
Well, my number 19 has already been mentioned on this episode, and that is the Castles of Burgundy special edition. It's just a great game. It's something that is the first time it was the game that that made me change my perception on overproduced games.
00:49:55
Speaker
To that point, I always thought, why would you spend that kind of money on ah game that only goes for an hour? It's like not that big and grandiose. And then it hit me when I played it because it's like, you know what?
00:50:08
Speaker
This is just going to hit the table more often. And there's another one a bit higher up on my list that is the over the over the over produced version of a game, which for the same reason, it's you spend all this money on a game, like too many bones, perfect example.
00:50:22
Speaker
And because it takes three, four hours to play, it just never hits the table. Well, Castles of Burgundy, since I bought it, has hit the table at least 30, 40 times. So there's your money right there. it's It's paid for itself in spades. So it's just a beautifully designed game.
00:50:37
Speaker
It's so smooth. It's just a pleasure. so just feels so nice to play. ye There's a little bit of... ah there's a little bit of It's not just a mo a solo game. It's very much taking chips that other people might want or finishing things quicker than other people. You've got to look at what everyone else is doing.
00:50:56
Speaker
Yeah, so it's got enough of that, but it's not too in your face. it's It's just a lovely game. And another one that Helen loves as well, which makes it much easier to get out. So, yeah, Castles of Burgundy, my number 19, just a classic and will forevermore be a classic.
00:51:11
Speaker
And it's one of those games where, You just need one more move at the end of the game. You're always one move short. yeah and And to be honest with you, it's my most expensive game or game i own.
00:51:27
Speaker
I have the whole lot, everything blinged out, and don't regret it for a second. Nice. Good call, mate. Number 18 for me is Nova Roma.
00:51:41
Speaker
Oh, nice. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, designed by, can't remember his name. Did Endless Winter. and Stan Kodonski, is it? Stan Kodonski, that's, oh, Stan.
00:51:56
Speaker
and It's right behind me. it Stan Kodonski, but there's so many things going on and in the game itself. There's all different types of places where you can um block people, but it's all about, you know you know, that X and Y axis.
00:52:13
Speaker
You place the Emperor there and then you can double up on your action. Then you can go out to the board to get more action throughout the game. um Really enjoy playing it. It's a go-to game when I play with Shane and Ingrid.
00:52:27
Speaker
um We really enjoy it. It's always tight between us all. Lauren's played it once. She said she'll never play it again.
00:52:38
Speaker
ah preface that because Lauren's not into board games. um However, you know, whenever Ingrid and Shane and I get together, it's it's one of the games that are generally on the list that we want to get out and play. so Yeah, like I recently learned it my brother's house and I really enjoyed it too. Yeah, it's different.
00:52:55
Speaker
Yeah, and it it shares a little bit with Targi, which is a great team-player game that I like. So straight away I'm like, oh, this is fun. And I just i just remember that i I ruined it for myself by so by blocking a spot for my brother, which meant that I also couldn't use that spot later, which I needed to do to win the game.
00:53:13
Speaker
So that was not the greatest finish, but a great game. Yeah, that's good. And, but you know, there's a little bit of endless winter in it as well. um but I'd play that over Endless Winter.
00:53:27
Speaker
So, yeah, number 18, Nova Roma.
00:53:32
Speaker
For me, my number 18 is a game that has been in my list pretty much since I started doing lists. It's been as high as four, and this is the first time it's been out of the top 10 for a while, and it is Space
Game Rankings and Reviews (18-16)
00:53:43
Speaker
Base.
00:53:43
Speaker
I love Space Base. It's a classic game. It's like so good. I guess it drops down a little bit only because... i play it so again I play it so often that I'm not itching to play it and as much as I used to be. so it's But every time I play it, I love it. Yep, I agree with you.
00:54:01
Speaker
Space Base is brilliant. They brought out Bad Company, which they said, you know, it was Space Base. No, it's not. Yeah, i played that I played it once. I went, it's good, but I'll never pick it over Space Base.
00:54:13
Speaker
I was the same. I ended up buying it and then I sold it. and But Space Base is still here. And that's one game that i do like to play with Max. Max enjoys playing Space Base with me.
00:54:24
Speaker
Nice. Good call, mate. um Number 17 for me. It's a game that we play once a year, occasionally.
00:54:36
Speaker
And every time is just awesome. It's great fun. um TI4. It was in my top ten. Nice. Yeah, actually, ah I was thinking it was a bit higher last time. Yeah, it was a bit higher last time, but it's only because it just doesn't get to the table.
00:54:53
Speaker
It's hard, isn't it? Yeah. But so many great memories of playing that game, and we touched on it in our last episode, so I'm not say much more. I think if you had a top 10 game experience, it might take out multiple spots on that list. Honestly, it'd probably be number one.
00:55:10
Speaker
Yeah. to be honest with you, it probably would be number one because that was the best experience when I cocked up my game against you.
00:55:21
Speaker
Well, my number 17 is a game I don't know. I think you don't like it. In fact, I think you called it shit. Not bloody.
00:55:33
Speaker
Okay, keep going. Yep. yeah It's a longish game about building a zoo. Oh, Ark Nova. Yeah, that's shit. Yes. That's shit.
00:55:43
Speaker
It's brilliant. Such a good game. yeah Oh, sorry, hang on. We've just sworn. Sorry, this is meant to be a clean episode. Oops. Well, we can make it PG because, I mean, yes word isn't too bad.
00:55:55
Speaker
But no, it is shit. Ark Nova is a great game and it really has replaced all of those games that do similar things like you Terraforming Mars, Underwater Cities, and even Rages of the Ganges.
00:56:12
Speaker
But even like Earth, I quite liked Earth. Earth was on my top 10 last time we did our list and it's dropped right off. And I still like Earth, still a good game, but Ark Nova is just a more complete experience.
00:56:25
Speaker
Being on BGA makes a huge difference because it works so well on BGA. But having it in person is is better again, but it's yeah it's a bit of a longer game, so it's harder to get out. So at least you get your fix on BGA if you like it. Yeah. Yeah. it's it's Since I first played it, it came in at number 12 and it's been in and around the top. It's never been outside the top 20, so it's still there. Ark Nova, great game.
00:56:52
Speaker
Okay. That's good. um glad I'm glad. I can see you're in total agreement. Well, no, I actually am. It's better than shit real confluence that I can't stand that game. So it's at least a little bit better than that. It it is the first time you haven't said, ah it's a good choice. You've done well.
00:57:11
Speaker
hey There's a reason. ah
00:57:17
Speaker
So my number 16, and I reckon this is going to be in your top 10, I'd be surprised if it's not, is Dune Imperium.
00:57:29
Speaker
Classic game. Tune Imperium is excellent. i don't play it that often, and um it's because I'm playing other games when other games are going on, but I always want to dive in to whenever I see it starting to play and it I want to get involved in it.
00:57:43
Speaker
But as far as I'm concerned, great deck builder, great war game, and lots of strategy. you know depends on...
00:57:55
Speaker
which faction you take, there's a strategy that you need to go down and you've got to lean into it big time. You can't divert from it. If you divert from it, you're gone. um and And again, another memorable experience when I first played June Imperium was with you. yeah It came from behind and smashed us all.
00:58:15
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it was brilliant. to Card, card, card, card. Oh, no, I've won. No, you didn't win. And it was and um and I remember. It's actually, was going to say, it's quite interesting that you've got TI4 and Dune Imperium back-to-back because even though they are very different games, to me, in my head, they're kind of similar because of those experiences that they both give out.
00:58:34
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, experience game. um Number 16, Dune Imperium.
00:58:41
Speaker
Well, I mentioned when I talked about Castles of Burgundy that further up on my list is a game that is ridiculously blinged out. And it is also something that's super easy to get to the table because it is just not a very long game.
00:58:54
Speaker
And this is my base game, the most expensive base game that I own.
00:59:02
Speaker
But I am so glad I bought it because I am the Nard for a long time. and it's Foundations of Rome. Oh, and big-ass box, yeah. It's huge, but it's so good. You just hand someone a tray, and not only is that their all their components, it's also their player board.
00:59:19
Speaker
And then you just put out the cards, and you're off. never played it. It's so good. ah It's amazing. It's a great game where you're bidding for spots out on a grid and then you you basically, you're trying to get a certain amount in a row so you can place your buildings out and each building will give you either more income, more population or more victory points for things that are touching that building. So, but we're all building on the same grid. So it just gets really congested really quickly and it's got a bit of,
00:59:48
Speaker
ah Player interaction in the sense that you can see that someone really wants a particular lot and you've got the money and they don't. you can just go and buy it and put your thing there. And that ruins their chance of building their big building because you've just stuck one of your lots in the middle of it.
01:00:03
Speaker
It's so clever. it's And it's, yeah, it's a huge box, but you pull it out, you play it. And you pack it up and you've had in in one hour, you played a 55-minute game and the other two and a half, the other five minutes is two and a half set up and two and a half packed down on either side.
01:00:20
Speaker
Oh, so it's it's an hour game? Yeah. up well I mean, maybe with maybe with five players, it's a little bit longer, but not really because you're limited by the spaces on the board, not by the players. So there's not a set amount of turns. there's a set amount of lots.
01:00:35
Speaker
So, yeah, the game is kind of forced into those parameters. So, yeah, it works really well. Well, mate, next time you're heading down to Brisbane, you know, pay for that extra ticket. Pay for the extra ticket for the seat next to you to put the box on it and bring it down with you.
01:00:49
Speaker
It'll probably be cheaper than it cost me to buy the game, just quietly.
01:00:55
Speaker
Ah, good call. All right, what are you up to, number 15? 15. It's ARX. It's in there. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. It's in there. Love it.
01:01:06
Speaker
Brutal. Um. Love the card play. the trick-taking. Love the banter that comes across the table. Love the table-flipping moments.
01:01:18
Speaker
It is just... I haven't worked out how you're going to score any more than 20 points in the game. does my head in. But I'm thinking that must be the expansion, which I haven't even touched yet.
01:01:30
Speaker
But um for me, total trick-taking fighting game, Arcs is Just fantastic. And so much strategy going on.
01:01:42
Speaker
But again, preface it, you need the right group to play with. Because otherwise you will literally go to war. So it is a brutal game.
01:01:56
Speaker
Well, this is interesting because you spoke about ARX last week and my number 15 is a game I spoke about last week, which is also the newest game newest to me game on my entire top 20. and it's Clink Catacombs.
01:02:10
Speaker
Ah, awesome. It's just, again, it's really easy to table. It's a great deck builder, and it just makes more sense than other Clinks. And pretty much my other deck builders, I mentioned when I played it, when I talked about it last week, that I think it's my favorite out-and-out deck builder, and it is, according to my top 20, it is. So there you go. Okay.
01:02:31
Speaker
Well, that is excellent, mate. i um um I'm going to look out for it. and I do have Clank in Space and I enjoy that game. so Has the card play had a little bit humour in it, similar to Clank in Space? Yeah. Yeah, okay, cool. Yeah. Because I do like that. They've all got that, but yeah it's pretty good.
01:02:52
Speaker
Yeah, cool. Nice one. Number 14 for me is Oh My Goods. Yeah, okay. Which is a little resource management card game.
01:03:04
Speaker
um where you're you're trying to build set. It's a set collection. um It's one of those games where you need to get engine going. um And so so it's it's similar to one of those games where you can also rush the game really quick.
01:03:19
Speaker
And um the last time I played it, we were at ah Retreat with Pastor Nick, and it's it's it's it's his one of his favourite games. And I angered him because I rushed the game.
01:03:35
Speaker
He had his little engine, he was building, building, building. Next night, played the card and said, that's it, we're done. He went, are you sure you want to do that? said, yeah, I do. And I won the game. aye um yeah, all my goods, good fun.
01:03:49
Speaker
Totally recommend it.
01:03:52
Speaker
Well, my number 14 is my favourite two-player game. It's a game that Helen and I have played heap. We're actually just getting to the expansion content now after playing through all of the base content, and that is Sky Team.
01:04:07
Speaker
Ah, yeah. I actually can see and Helen sitting there playing that. Yeah, we we really like it. And we're we're pretty okay. we we we We fail a couple of times here and there, but for the most part, we do well.
01:04:21
Speaker
And we try very hard to not bend the rules and and only talk when we're supposed to talk. But we do do some things like, like gee, it'd be good if we could clean that plane like now. That'd be handy, wouldn't
01:04:36
Speaker
it? So, no, it's a really good game. i've I've recommended it to a lot of people because it's a two-player cooperative game. i which in itself is in a pretty rare category, just being two players and only cooperative.
01:04:51
Speaker
But if anyone who's into, like, I don't think you need to be into air travel i of any kind, but I am. So, like, I love looking at all the city codes and remembering my days as a travel agent going, we're off to Montreal.
01:05:03
Speaker
Why was it? You know, like, ah it's it's really cool. So that's, ah yeah. So our team from Scorpion Mask, hey yeah, you'll find it everywhere these days. think you can even buy it in Big W now.
01:05:14
Speaker
Yeah, you can. So definitely recommend. Nice.
01:05:20
Speaker
13, aren't we? 13 we're up to? Yes. So 13 for me, I've got two games.
01:05:30
Speaker
I'm not going to cheat. That's not lists work. No, no, I know that. so But i'm going to I'm going to round it down to my choice of the two. So the way I did this one was this one game, but then there's another game that has pretty much come out that's almost identical to it.
01:05:47
Speaker
And if I had the choice of which game I wanted to play, it had Age of Steam in there.
01:05:54
Speaker
Oh, okay.
01:05:57
Speaker
But then I went Steam Power. Okay. Which is Martin's new game.
01:06:04
Speaker
And if I had the choice to play either of them, it'll be Steam Power every day of the week. So my number 13 is Steam Power. um It is basically Age of Steam 2.0.
01:06:17
Speaker
um without you know without the share buying and all that stuff that's you know involved in Age of Steam, which you know if you're not new to board, if you're if you're new to board gaming, it will take you quite quite a while to grok, but Age of Steam is still fantastic.
01:06:36
Speaker
But if I had the choice to play either of them, it would be Steam Power. um Awesome game. Can't wait to actually get, I've gotten the full Kickstarter copy And looking forward to receiving that very soon.
01:06:50
Speaker
ah But brilliant game, mate. And played the expansions with Martin. And good fun. Really good fun. Yeah. Looking forward to my copy arriving eventually.
01:07:03
Speaker
Yeah. Not far away, apparently. No. So number 13, Steam Power. Well, my number 13 needs to start with an estimate. How many something of the something, something games do you reckon you're going to have on this on this list?
01:07:19
Speaker
um On your list, more than me.
01:07:25
Speaker
Okay. All right. That's an interesting. That'll be interesting. are you going put a number on it?
01:07:34
Speaker
um I reckon you will have three more than me. No, no, you'll have two more than me. Two more than you. Okay. So that makes me think you've probably, you're expecting me to have, I would imagine four or five, which means you're expecting to have two. So I'm going, you're going to have two.
01:07:53
Speaker
We'll see. Okay. Well, this is one, obviously, because that'd be random if I just went, oh, yeah, and it's Return the Dark Tower. No, it's Wayfarers of the South Tigress, number 13. So it's it's definitely crept up there as one of my favorites from Garfield Games.
01:08:11
Speaker
It's definitely my favorite of the South Tigress games, and that's for sure. And it's it's the, I talked about it last week, it's the one game that has made me back all three expansions because I really like this particular one. So I'm sure the other ones are good. I've just got to give them the same time I've given Wayfarers. So Wayfarers the South Tigress is just a really clever game where you are...
01:08:33
Speaker
building your own actions through the dice of manipulation on the board on your own board. And yeah so you can chain things really well. It's it's excellent. So, yeah, Wayfarers is my lucky 13.
01:08:46
Speaker
Absolutely agree with you. Good game. Number 12. So that's one something of the something somethings. Yes. For me and none to you. None for me. My number 12 is ah ah i was never fan of this person's game, but um played, was taught by Ingrid and Shane one day and hooked.
01:09:14
Speaker
I've played it probably four times since and every time I've played it with them. So Kanban EV by Vitala Serta. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant game. um And, you know, it's it's a game that I can play once, then wait a few months, play it again. I'll have to learn the rules quickly. as you know Generally the first round is me learning the rules again.
01:09:37
Speaker
um But by the end of the game, I pretty much can grok it and know where I'm going and know where I'm heading. So ah good fun, really good game. My favourite for Tales.
01:09:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think it be my second favourite. think I put Escape Plan above it, but it would be Escape Plan, then Kanban. Hopefully, Speakeasy will replace both of them because I've backed that. oh yeah I was so hell-bent on but backing Speakeasy, and I didn't do it because yeah there's no take that.
01:10:09
Speaker
Couldn't do it. It is seems a bit strange to be no take that in a Prohibition-era game. Correct. In a Mafia game, right? How could there not be no take that? But anyway, that's a vital game. He's very subtle. Well, that's it, yeah. So get it.
01:10:26
Speaker
My number 12 is the number one game on BGG, and it's Brass Birmingham. Well done. Speaking of more Martin Wallace, it's yeah, just a great game. I really love the, the, the system of the, everything going off the board, everything from era one, uh, going off the board at the end of the first era, because it really rewards you leveling up your buildings early so you can score them twice. Cause I'll stay out.
01:10:52
Speaker
Uh, and just the routes. It's so interesting how you go about building your routes because you don't really want to be away from everybody else, but you're, you want to be using the same areas of the map.
01:11:06
Speaker
So it's, you can't really just go out on your own and that'll work for you. You've got to be amongst the chaos around that Birmingham reddish area. So it's, it's, there's so many ways to play the game, but I've, I, every time I play it, well, except for one time where I absolutely tanked, but every other time I played it, you I've either won or lost by, you know, 10 or less. It's always super close.
01:11:29
Speaker
Just a, just a really well-balanced game. So yeah. It is a well-balanced game. and And as you know, I'm a big fan of Martin's games. I think I own 24, 25 of them. so um And own the original brass.
01:11:44
Speaker
yeah Yeah, good call, mate. Well done. ah
Azul and Ra: Competitive and Strategic Analysis
01:11:48
Speaker
My number 11. It's rated but it's it's it's rated as a highly rated game there.
01:11:57
Speaker
um and it's highly rated in in such a way that it's more for you know the new gamers in the industry, anyone that wants to come into board gaming.
01:12:07
Speaker
It's like it's a good starter game to learn. and i know what this is. And they've recently come out with a dual version. Yeah.
01:12:19
Speaker
Although, you know, the original game is the best way to play it is two-player as far as I can see. agree, yeah. lot And it is brutal. you You have to play this.
01:12:32
Speaker
mean, don't be nice and say, oh no, you take those tiles I'm leaving those tiles you, no, no you don't, you you take those tiles and you dump them in your trash so you're going to get negative points for it just so you can block someone so Azul, number 11 I love it, I love it it's probably my number one game on BGA that I play a lot um and I'm highly ranked in playing it because I play it mean there's games where I'll score a very low points but I'll end up winning with the like a score of 23. Yeah, right.
01:13:04
Speaker
But, you know, I've absolutely been, you know, next level on the other player. I love that it punishes greed. I love that someone will sit there and they have the ability to force the end of the game, but they're like, no, I want to go one more round because I can score more points. And then because of that, someone else comes from behind and kills Correct. Yeah.
01:13:22
Speaker
yeah No. If I know I'm about 10 points up, guess what? I'm ending the game pretty quickly. I'm not waiting for you to catch up to me. ah um Azul is fantastic.
01:13:34
Speaker
um And for such an easy game that, you know, when I first bought it, I bought it for Lauren and I to play together because it looks nice. You're building this nice little mosaic tile.
01:13:47
Speaker
But no, it is brutal. When you play it competitively, um it's great.
01:13:54
Speaker
Well, my number 11 is a classic game and it's definitely my highest bidding game. I shouldn't say definitely, I'll just double check. Definitely my highest bidding game and it is Ra.
01:14:10
Speaker
ah Never played it. Ra is great. I bought the new edition, the standard 25th century edition game, and it was beautiful and I played it a bit.
01:14:21
Speaker
And then Joe Casabella put up that he had the Pharaoh edition, the upgraded super edition, um and he was selling it fairly cheap. So I bought it and then I gave my copy to G-Money.
01:14:35
Speaker
And nothing against the version I had. I played that plenty of times before, but the new, the, the, the fancy version with the wooden pieces is, ah it's remarkable. So it's, it's just such a, again, i keep saying it clever game.
01:14:49
Speaker
One of the things I love about Ra and why it works as a bidding game for everyone. So a lot of people who don't like bidding games like Ra. And the reason is that I, There are two things you're bidding for in Rai. You're bidding for all the tiles that get drawn out, which score points in various ways, but you're also bidding for the chip that's in the middle that you will be able to use on the next round to bid for more tiles.
01:15:14
Speaker
So if you've got these amazing tiles out there, but the chips are two and the chips go up to 16, you're like, do I really want all of these tiles and then take the two chip, which means next round I'm i'm not going to be able to win a bid with a two. Everyone's going to outbid me.
01:15:29
Speaker
So this constant, do I want this because of the chips or do I want this because of the the value of the bidding for the next round? It's just such a clever way of creating this.
01:15:42
Speaker
It's harsh decision space on how much you should invest into what's come out and how much you should just wait and let someone else take it and then take their high chip on the next round. It also has that ability of triggering.
01:15:54
Speaker
You can trigger ah an auction in three different ways. You can force it yourself. You can draw out a tile that enforces it or you can fill the board. So you get to decide how valuable you think it is because that you get always get that option to say, no, I invoke Ra and then everyone has everyone has a bidding round. So it really does bidding well.
01:16:15
Speaker
I don't particularly love bidding games, but I really like Ra. I've not heard a bad word about this game and one day I'm going to have to get in there and get involved and and learn it and play it. if Again, if I'm bringing foundations of Rome down, I'm not going to be able to fit both of these in a suitcase. don't think I'll fit foundations of Rome in suitcase to begin with.
01:16:35
Speaker
No. That's right. No, good call, mate. Well done. And that's it. That's
Reflections and Closing Remarks
01:16:40
Speaker
our 20 to 11. That's good fun. I love doing lists. Yeah.
01:16:47
Speaker
I don't want a list every now and then. um but um And awesome games on there as well. Yeah. This is the foot first year. i wouldn't say a first year, but definitely this year more than any other year. And obviously this will continue to happen.
01:17:01
Speaker
After I did my list of all of my games, I went straight to number 100 and I looked at my 100 to 110 and I was like, far out there, good games. Like they're really, really good games. They could easily have all, if I played them earlier in my board gaming life, they would have all been top 10 games at some one point or another. Like,
01:17:23
Speaker
You know, I've got Champions of Midgard, Lahav, The Networks, Aquatica. Like, they're all in 100 plus. It's just, there's so many good games.
01:17:35
Speaker
So many good games. There are. There are. And, you know, um there's lot of games too that we've probably played that we've enjoyed that we've sold on and we want them back. yeah There's a few of those for me.
01:17:49
Speaker
ah Good work, mate. Well, that's it. That's our top 20. And um next week, we will do our 10 to 1. Top 20 of board games of 2017 for me and Steve. Well, I'll say of 2025, but yes. Yes. Since 2017. The range of many games we played between 2017 and 2025.
01:18:08
Speaker
There go. That's very specific. Yes.
01:18:15
Speaker
Good work, mate. Well, thank you very much for listening. Thank you again, Shane, for a great episode. Thank you, as always. Catch you in the next one. Take care. See you then. See you, everyone.