| Gigamic Strategy Series | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Pylos | 1105 | 1994 | David G. Royffe | Gigamic & Great American Trading Company | |||||
| 2 | Quarto! | 402 | 1991 | Blaise Muller | Pressman Toy Corp. & Gigamic & Family Games, Inc. | |||||
| 3 | Gobblet | 773 | 2001 | Thierry Denoual | Gigamic & Huch & Friends & Blue Orange Games | |||||
| 4 | Quixo | 2338 | 1995 | Thierry Chapeau | Gigamic & Family Games, Inc. | |||||
| 5 | Quoridor | 421 | 1997 | Mirko Marchesi | Gigamic & Great American Trading Company & Family Games, Inc. | |||||
| 6 | Batik | 1924 | 1997 | Kris Burm | Gigamic | |||||
| 7 | Quads | 1893 | 1996 | Kris Burm | Gigamic & Family Games, Inc. | |||||
| 8 | Skybridge | 2820 | 2006 | Adam Ritchey | Gigamic |
| Tilsit Collection | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Maka Bana | 1069 | 2003 | Francois Haffner | Tilsit | |||||
| 2 | Kanaloa | 1441 | 2002 | Günter Cornett | Bambus Spieleverlag & Tilsit | |||||
| 3 | Skåål | 3843 | 2004 | Docteur Mops | Zvezda & Tilsit | |||||
| 4 | Himalaya | 237 | 2002 | Régis Bonnessée | Marektoy & (Web published) & Tilsit | |||||
| 5 | Key Largo | 7.0 | 2 | 1683 | 2005 | Paul Randles & Bruno Faidutti & Mike Selinker | Titanic Games & Tilsit | i think this is everything pirate's cove should have been in less time to boot. minus the pirate theme, of course, but i think diving works great. there's not a terrible amount of control in the game, but i think the mechanics are sound and the pacing is excellent. | ||
| 6 | Baron | 3988 | 2006 | Franz Gaudois | Tilsit |
| Dungeon Twister | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Dungeon Twister | 4.0 | 185 | 2004 | Christophe Boelinger | Asmodée Editions & Pro Ludo & Edge Entertainment & Nexus | i bought this one sight unseen after hearing about how great it was, a super dungeon romp, etc. it played like a calculational AP knightmare with a dungeon theme thrown on top of it. i think games like this are best-suited for play by web, where thought can be legitimately devoted to each move. with how open the whole board is, the fact that it's 2p, and not exactly light kinda forces the analysis onto you. i wish it was more like finstere flure where you can ignore it if you want and go with the flow. here it just feels like you're throwing the game if you do. | |||
| 2 | Dungeon Twister - Paladins & Dragons | -1 | 2004 | Christophe Boelinger | Asmodée Editions | |||||
| 3 | Dungeon Twister 3-4 players expansion | -1 | 2005 | Christophe Boelinger | Asmodée Editions | |||||
| 4 | Dungeon Twister - Fire and Water | -1 | 2005 | Christophe Boelinger | Asmodée Editions | |||||
| 5 | Dungeon Twister - Forces of Darkness | -1 | 2005 | Christophe Boelinger | Asmodée Editions & Pro Ludo | |||||
| 6 | Dungeon Twister - Minotaur | -1 | 2006 | Christophe Boelinger | Spielbox | |||||
| 7 | Dungeon Twister - Mercenaries | -1 | 2006 | Christophe Boelinger | Asmodée Editions | |||||
| 8 | Dungeon Twister - À feu et à sang | -1 | 2006 | Christophe Boelinger | Asmodée Editions |
| Gamemaster | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Axis & Allies | 634 | 1981 | Lawrence H. Harris | Jedko Games & Nova Game Designs & Milton Bradley | |||||
| 2 | Conquest of the Empire | 1266 | 1984 | Lawrence H. Harris | Milton Bradley | |||||
| 3 | Broadsides and Boarding Parties | 2556 | 1982 | Lawrence H. Harris | Citadel Game Systems & Milton Bradley | |||||
| 4 | Fortress America | 561 | 1986 | Michael Gray | Milton Bradley | |||||
| 5 | Samurai Swords | 239 | 1986 | Michael Gray | Milton Bradley |
| Alea Big Box | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Ra | 6.0 | 2 | 21 | 1999 | Reiner Knizia | alea & Ãœberplay & 999 Games & Rio Grande Games | i like the game, but i really prefer razzia. the biggest reason is that i find razzia's art much more intuitive, although i think it's easier to shuffle/grab cards than it is to pass around a bag too. i know there are player aids, and there's experience which makes the whole situation straightforwrad. it's still frustrating to have difficult art design for no apparent reason, and it makes it much harder to teach. i'm beginning to see the value in the disaster tiles, to the point that i'm considering buying a second copy of razzia and completely cloning ra with it. | ||
| 2 | Chinatown | 5.0 | 163 | 1999 | Karsten Hartwig | Filosofia Editions & alea & Quined White Goblin Games (QWG) & Z-Man Games & Heidelberger Spieleverlag | i suspect i'll like this better with the westbank variant. the first play left me liking traders of genoa better than i had thought i did. standard rules are way to mathy with everything exposed and common goals. very pure base though. i'll look into it if/when the reprint actually appears. | |||
| 3 | Taj Mahal | 5.0 | 41 | 2000 | Reiner Knizia | alea & White Goblin Games & Quined White Goblin Games (QWG) & Ystari Games & Rio Grande Games | decide what you want to do, talk about it, note who is ahead of what, pick a temple spot, pick cards, trade out special cards, count your chains, etc. when i look back after a game, i find that most of the play time was spent on everyone doing simple accounting. the sheer volume of it presents an illusion of depth, but the only decisions i feel like i ultimately make are what to go after, and how far i'm willing to go if i meet resistance. everything can be distilled down to that level of simplicity, but i care about how much time i spend between decisions - or at least how entertained i am between them. i like the tension of what's underneath if you strip away the distractions, but then what do you have over something like beowulf or condottiere? i can dig those, especially the former. | |||
| 4 | Princes of Florence, The | 8.0 | 2 | 9 | 2000 | Richard Ulrich & Wolfgang Kramer | alea & White Goblin Games & Excalibur & Pro Ludo & Lacerta & Quined White Goblin Games (QWG) & Ystari Games & Rio Grande Games & Nexus | the auction style where one is forced to increment only by 100 is thought-provoking, still not sure if it's worse for the game than player-sized bids but i do like that it seems to force people down different paths. no complaints about the solitaire-style stuff really, as the auction interaction is enough and i think it's ok to have some games out there where direct leader bashing isn't an option. i do wish that the development did more than add work value, though, and contributed something in the way of effects. turn order issues seem present, especially with the rules as written in 5P games where player two will get an extra profession card. i agree with the variants that address that by pulling the leftover card and allowing it to be used for recruiting only, but there are still issues with how many times a person goes first and last in a round as well as earlier players getting better picks out of the profession deck. i've still become a bit fascinated with the system, though, and look forward to eve | ||
| 5 | Hoity Toity | 3.0 | 433 | 1990 | Klaus Teuber | Vini-Spil & alea & Gibsons Games & Jumbo & FX Schmid & Avalon Hill & Ãœberplay & G&RRR | this seems like it was impressive for its time. i played with 6 players my first time out, and found the experience largely underwhelming. i don't like it as a gateway game compared to what's out there now either. lots of basically unavoidable turn skipping for all parties. i'd rather save some time by playing paper/rock/scissors and having the losers get kicked in the nuts. still not a terrible game, but i don't see a reason to play it. and i'm a fan of edel, stein, & reich. | |||
| 6 | Traders of Genoa, The | 9.0 | 1 | 78 | 2001 | Rüdiger Dorn | Filosofia Editions & alea & Lacerta & Rio Grande Games | after playing chinatown i realized how much i liked this game. there are so many context and player-specific hidden valuations that negotiating becomes more than just open math. the rules aren't that hairy overall, but the playtime has an understandable tendency to keep this one off the table. i don't consider it to be an epic, but i think i've come around to the idea that this game is three hours well spent if it ends up taking that long. my most recent 3P game worked extremely well, and i'd be a little shy about playing with 4 and would probably decline participation with 5. very curious about playing it with 2, which i'll try to do soon. best of breed for negotiation games in my book so far. i wish that the rules stayed a bit fresher in my mind. | ||
| 7 | Puerto Rico | 7.0 | 1 | 2 | 2002 | Andreas Seyfarth | Devir & alea & Lautapelit.fi & Tilsit & Albi & Lacerta & MINDOK & Stratelibri & Rio Grande Games & Ravensburger | fun development. little downtime because of the shared action mechanic, but it also brings about the oft-discussed factor of a newbie screwing up the game. not that i've minded, so far. i think people whine too much about the setup. mine has baggies for 3, 4, and 5 player games. i'd like to incorporate some expansion stuff to avoid optimal play syndrome. | ||
| 8 | Mammoth Hunters | 1193 | 2003 | Alan R. Moon & Aaron Weissblum | alea & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 9 | Fifth Avenue | 1067 | 2004 | Wilko Manz | alea & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 10 | Rum & Pirates | 719 | 2006 | Stefan Feld | alea & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 11 | Notre Dame | 48 | 2007 | Stefan Feld | Filosofia Editions & alea & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 12 | In the Year of the Dragon | 62 | 2007 | Stefan Feld | Filosofia Editions & alea & Rio Grande Games |
| 3M Gamette Series | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Evade | 3585 | 1971 | Alex Randolph | 3M | |||||
| 2 | Foil | 4053 | 1968 | Frederick A. Herschler | 3M | |||||
| 3 | High Bid | 3449 | 1962 | P. Winters & L. Winters | Avalon Hill & 3M | |||||
| 4 | Monad | 2123 | 1969 | Sid Sackson | 3M | |||||
| 5 | Octrix | -1 | 1970 | (Uncredited) | 3M | |||||
| 6 | Sleuth | 7.0 | 6 | 365 | 1967 | Sid Sackson | Face 2 Face Games & Avalon Hill & Schmidt Spiele & 3M | it does seem like developing some sort of perfect note-taking system would be huge for this game, but that would take a ton of plays and the development of technique is fun in itself. even if you get to that level, you can start considering stuff like what a given opponent might be holding based on their questions or asking better questions to avoid overtipping savvy opponents. a surprisingly good game. | ||
| 7 | Sum-Up | -1 | 1971 | Frederick A. Herschler | 3M | |||||
| 8 | Tryce | -1 | 1969 | (Uncredited) | 3M | |||||
| 9 | Venture | 1081 | 1968 | Sid Sackson | Avalon Hill & Schmidt Spiele & 3M |
| Kosmos 2 Player | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Lost Cities | 8.0 | 3 | 108 | 1999 | Reiner Knizia | Filosofia Editions & Devir & Galakta & Piatnik & Marektoy & Midgaard Games & Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & KoreaBoardGames & Rio Grande Games | awesome couples game. large replay potential and healthy amounts of angst. the decisions all seem to matter, but it's probably not the case. design-wise i appreciate the possible illusion of control in a light game, especially when it creates tension. i still enjoy it every time i play. | ||
| 2 | Jambo | 5.0 | 133 | 2004 | Rüdiger Dorn | Filosofia Editions & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & Quined White Goblin Games (QWG) & Rio Grande Games | i think it's an okay game, but i really don't see why it's so highly-regarded. i'm not a fan of how wordy the cards are, and for my 2p card-playing time i'd usually rather other things. | |||
| 3 | Blue Moon | 5.0 | 178 | 2004 | Reiner Knizia | Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & Fantasy Flight Games | the endgame dealings are perpetually kludgy to me because of the running out of cards conditions. i wish i could really like it, but i don't think i can and i've tried many times. | |||
| 4 | Odin's Ravens | 6.0 | 345 | 2002 | Thorsten Gimmler | Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & Rio Grande Games | i liked this game a lot up until the point that i didn't. what happened? the track extension while behind can get a little over the top. skill doesn't seem to be a real factor. still fairly fun, though. if somebody else offered i'd gladly play. i ended up trading it away and trading back for it, i'd like to play again with limited track extension rules. | |||
| 5 | Balloon Cup | 6.0 | 333 | 2003 | Stephen Glenn | Paper Iyagi & Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & KoreaBoardGames & Rio Grande Games | i think if this game was made with better art and high quality cards i would rate it a 7 and want to own it. the cards are like a black hole that sucks in everything dirty, and hold back play for me, but the game itself is rather decent. | |||
| 6 | Kahuna | 6.0 | 369 | 1998 | Günter Cornett | Filosofia Editions & Paper Iyagi & Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & KoreaBoardGames & Rio Grande Games | decent abstract. i'm not sure how you come back when you're down, but even if you could i don't see how the scoring lets it happen. i'd need several more plays to have a line on its luck factor. my 2p games tend to have more or less meat than this though, so sitting in the middle i'm not sure it's worth owning. | |||
| 7 | Babel | 4.0 | 375 | 2000 | Uwe Rosenberg & Hagen Dorgathen | Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & Rio Grande Games | this game just feels like kicking each other in the nuts until somebody falls down. i'm a fan of take-that, but there has to be something i can do to advance myself too. feels devoid of strategy because of disruption. | |||
| 8 | Hera and Zeus | 6.0 | 492 | 2000 | Richard Borg | Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & Rio Grande Games | good, possibly great game marred by bad production. better cardstock, side differentiation, and text on cards might raise it to a 7 or even higher. i'll never know because it probably won't see much replay as a result of those factors. | |||
| 9 | Caesar & Cleopatra | 531 | 1997 | Wolfgang Lüdtke | Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 10 | Rosenkönig | 484 | 1997 | Dirk Henn | Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & db-Spiele & 999 Games | |||||
| 11 | Flowerpower | 4.0 | 740 | 2001 | Angelika Fassauer & Peter Haluszka | Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) | pretty blah game of dominoes. i think a tug of war scoring track, scoring as you go, would be both easier and better for the game. the single tile draw out of the bag per turn is a bit too random, but perhaps the game could be improved with a hand. ultimately i don't think it can be saved without making the whole board open and having real competition, but it wouldn't be the same game at all. not a fan. | |||
| 12 | Hellas | 5.0 | 833 | 2002 | Franz-Benno Delonge | Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & Rio Grande Games | i'm not sure if it's a game thing or a play style thing, but i always play this game with the same opponent and our games seem to drag with quite a bit of back and forth. lots of nice things going on, but it doesn't seem quite right. i might still enjoy playing it some more with an interested opponent. | |||
| 13 | Dracula | 1.0 | 922 | 2003 | Michael Rieneck | Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & Rio Grande Games | so much worse than your classic crap games because it was actually trying to be something. the sticks are virtually useless. a true joke of a game that has you rechecking the rules to see if you're screwing it up somehow. play mamma mia instead. | |||
| 14 | Heave Ho! | 1170 | 2002 | Richard Borg | Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 15 | Pyramiden des Jaguar, die | 1206 | 2002 | Günter Burkhardt | Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games | |||||
| 16 | Druidenwalzer | 1579 | 1999 | Michael Rieneck | Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) | |||||
| 17 | Tally Ho! | 5.0 | 1292 | 1973 | Rudi Hoffmann | Spears & Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & KoreaBoardGames & Rio Grande Games | ||||
| 18 | Elk Fest | 3.0 | 1161 | 1999 | Hermann Huber | Mayfair Games & Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) | i love crokinole, and this game didn't do it for me. perhaps i'm too into banking/striking in flicking games? | |||
| 19 | Times Square | 1317 | 2006 | Reiner Knizia | Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 20 | Starship Catan | 5.0 | 228 | 2001 | Klaus Teuber | Mayfair Games & Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games | it's a little visually busy. kind of heavy feel/game length for a little kosmos box. although it has memory elements, they could be eliminated with a house rule that allows paper journalling of what's in the decks. i think it's technically a solid game. the tutorial rules are absolutely fantastic for learning the game. i just never wanted to play it. | |||
| 21 | Settlers of Catan Card Game, The | 5.0 | 211 | 1996 | Klaus Teuber | Filosofia Editions & Devir & Marektoy & Mayfair Games & Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games | i love the game in theory, but the thing that stops me from wanting to own and play it is the fact that none of the turns feel fluid. when you're not fiddling, you're bogging on decisions you absolutely have to make like picking a die result that doesn't help your opponent as much or more than you. normally i don't stress over details but it would just be dumb to not consider that kind of stuff, and this game makes you do that fairly often. lots of wasted turns, just doesn't feel slick. | |||
| 22 | Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation | 7.0 | 76 | 2002 | Reiner Knizia | Galakta & Alga (Brio) & Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & Nexus & Fantasy Flight Games | a surprisingly american-feeling offering from knizia. packs a lot into a small box. the dark forces do seem to be favored, and there are a lot of 50/50 type card situations. high density though, and occasionally capable of producing some great gaming moments. good thematic integration. | |||
| 23 | Reef, The | 2285 | 2000 | Christine Lehmann & Wolfgang A. Lehmann | Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 24 | Lord of the Rings: The Search | 4711 | 2001 | Peter Neugebauer | Devir & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 25 | Lord of the Rings - The Duel | 1780 | 2002 | Peter Neugebauer | Tilsit & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & 999 Games & Rio Grande Games & Nexus | |||||
| 26 | Crocodile Pool Party | 4786 | 1968 | Rudi Hoffmann | Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & Schmidt Spiele & Rio Grande Games | |||||
| 27 | Asterix & Obelix | 4148 | 2006 | Michael Rieneck | Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) | |||||
| 28 | Avalon | 4445 | 2003 | Leo Colovini | Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) |
| Alea Small Box | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Wyatt Earp | 7.0 | 264 | 2001 | Richard Borg & Mike Fitzgerald | alea & Asmodée Editions & Rio Grande Games | i played the hell out of this game after i first traded for it. for whatever reason, i suddenly stopped playing it and never really wanted to again. i think i just stopped playing games like this with 2 or 3 players. anyway, it's a good game, but i traded it away due to a lack of play. | |||
| 2 | Winner's Circle | 3.0 | 201 | 2001 | Reiner Knizia | alea & Face 2 Face Games | i can't see how this game is playable without the 0/1/1/2 hidden bets variant. for what it gave me in a 3-player game, i would have much rather played clans. | |||
| 3 | Sieben Weisen, die | 1892 | 2002 | Reiner Stockhausen | alea | |||||
| 4 | Edel, Stein & Reich | 5.0 | 234 | 2003 | Reinhard Staupe | alea & Ravensburger | the german isn't that scary. very fun with the right players. i like this way better than basari. best rock paper scissors game i've played and the cards, bribing, etc is very well designed. nothing feels strapped on. i still don't want to play it very often though, although a reproduced english version might turn that tide. | |||
| 5 | San Juan | 6.0 | 50 | yes | 2004 | Andreas Seyfarth | Filosofia Editions & Möbius Games & alea & Rio Grande Games | when i first tried this game i hated it, and it felt like you had infinite resources. it's grown on me a lot, and i enjoy how it makes you want to play puerto rico. also vice-versa. turn 1 prefectures kill me. people have played the holy hell out of this one though, i don't know how balanced they consider the game but i'll trust it. i personally didn't play the game enough to earn a keep. |
| Mystery Rummy | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper | 5.0 | 248 | 1998 | Mike Fitzgerald | U.S. Games Systems, Inc. & Pegasus Spiele | i would REALLY rather play wyatt earp. currently on loan and planning to revisit, since the rules weren't clear on the first play. | |||
| 2 | Mystery Rummy: Murders in the Rue Morgue | 601 | 1999 | Mike Fitzgerald | U.S. Games Systems, Inc. | |||||
| 3 | Mystery Rummy: Jekyll & Hyde | 591 | 2001 | Mike Fitzgerald | U.S. Games Systems, Inc. | |||||
| 4 | Mystery Rummy: Al Capone and the Chicago Underworld | 501 | 2003 | Mike Fitzgerald & Nick Sauer | U.S. Games Systems, Inc. | |||||
| 5 | Mystery Rummy: Bonnie and Clyde | -1 | 2008 | Mike Fitzgerald | Rio Grande Games |
| 3M Bookshelf Series | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Acquire | 5.0 | 54 | 1962 | Sid Sackson | Avalon Hill & Avalon Hill (Hasbro) & Schmidt Spiele & Grow Jogos e Brinquedos & Smart Games Colombia & 3M | i really don't understand the hype on this one. i'm not anti-sackson to say the least - i'm a big fan of both can't stop and sleuth. here it just seems like you get in on the early mergers or you end up doing nothing while the game passes you by. i wish there were some way to mitigate the effects without completely changing the game, but it's so hard on new players, or in the case of equally-skilled ones it seems like it's hard on the unlucky. | |||
| 2 | Backgammon | 5.0 | 611 | 200 | (Uncredited) | Origem & Mitra & Jumbo & L. P. SeptÃmio & (Public Domain) & Friendly Games, Inc & 3M & Gamut of Games & Ravensburger | another one where i don't get it, didn't strike me as particularly fun or replayable. maybe you need to be introduced to it earlier. after liking verflixxt i'm inclined to give it a more fair shot, but i still see it as the kind of thing i'd only bother to get into if i were on a desert island. edit: i made that final comment before lost the tv show mentioned the game! | |||
| 3 | Bazaar | 836 | 1967 | Sid Sackson | Parker Brothers & Estrela & Schmidt Spiele & 3M & Discovery Toys | |||||
| 4 | Breakthru | 3470 | 1965 | Alex Randolph | 3M | |||||
| 5 | Challenge Bridge | -1 | 1972 | (Uncredited) | Avalon Hill & 3M | |||||
| 6 | Challenge Football | -1 | 1972 | Frederick A. Herschler | Avalon Hill & 3M | |||||
| 7 | Challenge Golf at Pebble Beach | -1 | 1972 | Fred A. Herschler | Avalon Hill & 3M | |||||
| 8 | Chess | 9.0 | 31 | 208 | 1475 | (Uncredited) | (Public Domain) & 3M | starting player advantage and unforgiving of mixed skill levels. other than that, what's to really fault? good fundamentals seem to reduce the need to memorize openings. timeless game which promotes all kinds of good thought processes. it can be handmade or bought cheaply and played just about anywhere with just about anyone, over and over and over. i like www.instantchess.com for quick web-based games and the latest copy of chessmaster for study. | ||
| 9 | Contigo | 3889 | 1974 | Frank Thibault | 3M | |||||
| 10 | Events | -1 | 1974 | (Uncredited) | 3M | |||||
| 11 | Facts in Five | 1791 | 1967 | Richard Onanien | University Games & Avalon Hill & Schmidt Spiele & 3M | |||||
| 12 | Feudal | 2492 | 1967 | Fred Buestchler | Avalon Hill & Schmidt Spiele & 3M | |||||
| 13 | Foil | 4053 | 1968 | Frederick A. Herschler | 3M | |||||
| 14 | High Bid | 3449 | 1962 | P. Winters & L. Winters | Avalon Hill & 3M | |||||
| 15 | Go | 6.0 | 29 | -2000 | (Uncredited) | Borras Plana S.A. & Hobby & Cayro Juegos & (Public Domain) & Ha Ha Sisters LLC & John N. Hansen Co. Inc. & Skor-Mor & Reiss Games & Crisloid & 3M & Ravensburger | technically a good game, but i'd rather play so many other classic or modern abstracts. i need to give this one a serious shot sometime. | |||
| 16 | Image | 4615 | 1973 | Henry Szwarce | Avalon Hill & 3M | |||||
| 17 | Jati | -1 | 1965 | Keith Havens | Spielbox & 3M | |||||
| 18 | Jumpin | 4113 | 1964 | (Uncredited) | 3M | |||||
| 19 | Neo Chess | -1 | 1972 | Alex Randolph | Abacus & 3M | |||||
| 20 | Mr. President | 1788 | 1967 | Jack Carmichael | 3M | |||||
| 21 | Oh-Wah-Ree | 3149 | 1962 | Alex Randolph | Avalon Hill & 3M | |||||
| 22 | Phlounder | -1 | 1962 | H. Bernett | 3M | |||||
| 23 | Ploy | 2245 | 1970 | Frank Thibault | Dujardin & Schmidt Spiele & 3M | |||||
| 24 | Point Of Law | 4695 | 1972 | Michel Lipman | Avalon Hill & 3M | |||||
| 25 | Quinto | 3424 | 1964 | (Uncredited) | 3M | |||||
| 26 | Stocks & Bonds | 4101 | 1964 | (Uncredited) | Avalon Hill & 3M | |||||
| 27 | Twixt | 555 | 1957 | Alex Randolph | Alga (Brio) & Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos) & Felsberger & Avalon Hill & Schmidt Spiele & 3M & Selecta Spel en Hobby |
| Alea Medium Box | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Louis XIV | 5.0 | 1 | 103 | 2005 | Rüdiger Dorn | alea & Rio Grande Games | given what little this adds to the majority space, i'm kinda surprised at the high ratings. there are some interesting mechanics in play, but the action is on the high end of the fiddly scale for a euro. it did blow by in a pleasant amount of time, much less than the cited 75-100m although i wasn't timing it. at 4 rounds, perhaps too short due to effectively random screwage. but since player powers are developed throughout the game, i think it's unlikely that people will mount a big comeback if they're behind on 2 cards. i was also surprised at how little the dreaded and discussed random shield thing ended up affecting the game. i could see it in very close games, but are they usually? also, for a game that is thematically void i think that something more fun or exciting than this could have been chosen. | ||
| 2 | Palazzo | 6.0 | 2 | 475 | 2005 | Reiner Knizia | alea & Rio Grande Games | alhambra elements are definitely there. i've heard clocktowers is signifigantly present, etc. i don't particularly care about that sort of thing as long as there isn't so much overlap or lack of fusion that it isn't worth owning alongside its influences. fairly simple rules although somewhat tough to explain, and surprisingly quick-playing. it might be highly replayable, but i'll have to see. so far i've been digging it more each time i play it. love the short length. i think this one shines brighter with experienced groups. i'm more reminded of the puerto rico newbie kingmaking type thing with this game than i am with puerto rico itself. despite its flaws, i suspect that alhamba might be more fun though. weird. | ||
| 3 | Augsburg 1520 | 579 | 2006 | Karsten Hartwig | alea & Rio Grande Games |
| Command and Colors | Rating | Plays | BGG Rank | Wish List | Want | Year | Designer | Publisher | Comment | |
| 1 | Battle Cry | 122 | 2000 | Richard Borg | Avalon Hill (Hasbro) | |||||
| 2 | Memoir '44 | 5.0 | 1 | 38 | 2004 | Richard Borg | Days of Wonder & Edge Entertainment | card-driven controls were frustrating, no special unit powers, non-immersive theme, and an apparent lack of scenario balance. i like the idea and the production though, and i'm looking forward to giving it a shot online when their implementation finally arrives. i definitely prefer a&a minis. if somebody else set it up i'd play, though. | ||
| 3 | Memoir '44 - Terrain Pack | -1 | 2005 | Richard Borg | Days of Wonder | |||||
| 4 |