I was just wondering how you all play big games like Star Wars Rebellion or War of the Ring? The games are basically designed to be played on opposite sides of the board. However, I hate reading everything upside down so when I play with my partner we usually sit next to each other and try not to peak in each other's cards. This of course means I have to stretch quite a bit to reach for example the fellowship box or other materials. So tell me, how do you play and does it bother you at all?

You have money for just one. Which one would you buy

Can anyone identify what this piece is from?

[Viticulture] Uncertified Architect … is the building built ‘FREE’ or at its normal gold cost? (Rules)

Me and my wife went into our local game store today and they had this little guy sitting up by all of the Ticket To Ride games and this is something I had never seen before. We recently got the Legends of the West edition for Christmas and so I decided to go ahead and get them because I thought they were a neat little addition. We got to the counter and they asked where I got them at so I told them, and they asked how many were up there and I told them that that was the only one out. They weren’t ringing up, so they looked them up and they seem to be a promo that was sent out for pre-ordering the game before it was released. Does anyone know anything additional about this little guy, is it worth anything, etc?

Thanks in advance!

Bruno Cathala is my favorite board game designer with the quantity of games he puts out all the while having a philosophy of not going for the most complexity while maintaining depth, and I get the feeling he is not nearly covered by board game youtuber as much as I'd expect considering the amount of highly-ranked games he has and the fact that he still puts out at least 3-5 new games or expansion per year. I went out of my way to try as many of his games as I could through BGA, my local gaming pub, my library and the games I could put my hands on, here are my short-form thoughts because there are a lot of them!

__D tier (Not a dreadful time, but not worth going out of your way to try outside of curiosity of completionist mentality)__

42. Sobek

A drafting game with either obvious moves to do every turn or very unexciting mixup with power cards and a very convoluted penalty system.

41. Mow

A super light hand management game where the choices are against a bit too obvious

40. Noah

Another hand management game, has some more interesting abilities but the interaction with other players feels too random and uninformed unless you get one card that allows you to look at their hand, which then creates the opposite problem.

39. Dragomino

A tile-drafting game that is meant to be a kid's version of Kingdomino, I respect the execution but there is no real reason to go for this once you have someone older than 6 to play with...

__C tier (It is fun whilst you play it but if you are the type of gamer to have tried 100s of games they don't really stick in your mind a few days later)__

38. Nicodemus

An engine building game with a decent back and forth, though not as much as you'd expect coming from the man known for making ''duel'' versions of other games, and with head-scratching artwork that doesn't really convey card abilities.

37. Micropolis

A tile-drafting game that does have interesting ways of scoring, but feels very limiting in the way you use the tiles to construct your own anthill, does not have nearly the replay value as a lot of Bruno's other games.

36. Mr Jack pocket

An asymetric deduction/action drafting game that I is decent as a filler, though one of the actions you can select of swapping tiles is quite blatantly the best and will have both players rushing to take it. Feels exciting as jack and more frustrating as the detectives.

35. Run Run Run (2nd edition)

A coop ameritrash tile laying game, I don't think that's is a concept that works well in theory, you would rather your coop games have consistent challenge from the game, it is probably the best execution of this idea and does somehow always ramp up into an exciting finish, but it feels very dull early on.

__B tier (Games I wouldn't suggest but would not mind at all playing)__

34. Kingdomino Duel

A roll and write. Easily one of the worst looking roll-and-writes, the dominos are translated into coloring different patterns on shields which is not visually striking at all, but I can somewhat look past it for the streamlined but decent gameplay that allows for some player expression with different powers to trigger.

33. Queendomino

Tile selection and then tableau building, not my favorite amongst the kingdominos, I do not like the market for not being fully accessible and making money being somewhat cumbersome. It is fine, but I appreciate normal kingdomino more for being streamlined and very fast against someone who knows what they are doing as well as other versions for giving more interesting gimmicks/alternate scoring. Also the queen exists.

32. Ishtar

Tile selection and placement game, elements of contract fulfillment and area control. I appreciate how the gems you get are worth different amounts to complete the trees (the contracts) but all the same to unlock powers. It is missing a little bit of a spark as none of the powers change how you play from game to game enough to my liking.

31. Velonimo

Trick-taking game where you make combos of cards through numbers or color, it very much falls into the ''light game streamlined to perfection'' I look for from a Cathala game.

30. Naga Raja

A 2 player auction slash tile placement game with an alternate win condition. This has the quirkiest mechanics you'd swear it was the duel version of a previously existing game, but in this case it is not. It has some very cool back and forth as one tile is placed for auction, they will not all be as useful and the losing player gets a good but not auto-win comeback advantage of getting more cards and a tiebreaker. In practice I do wish the alternate win condition of making the opponent get all three cursed relics was more achievable, there are too many safety nets a player has to avoid it.

29. Trek 12 Himalaya

A roll and write where you do math with the die results. It is somewhat of a push your luck as you may only choose certain operations (i.e. multiplying both dice) a few times. Good map variety that changes how you play and a solo mode, but I think it is missing just a tiny bit for this to go into my favorite roll and write games.

__A Tier (Games that stand out amongst their contemporaries, that are a great time whenever pulled out)__

28. Gold river

An auction game that has you both getting catan-like producing mines and cool actions, and also doubles as a set collection game for poker. Has a very interesting game flow as the player who gets the worst card from the open selection gets a ton of gold back. Also sadly seaching gold river is more likely to be confused for river of gold in 2025...

27. Kamon

Abstract game that comes down to seeing enough moves ahead and adapting to the direction your opponent goes in, because your moves give several options for your opponent's next moves to connect across the board. If you are into a 5-min abstract as a filler, this does the job very well.

26. Conspiracy: Abyss Universe

Small-box open drafting game. Abyss is a special game, but this takes some concept to make a decent filler where you looking for more choices can backfire.

25. Mandragora

Open drafting rondell set-collecting game. Somewhat fascinating in how you wait to redeem a set for more reliable effects, but weak sets can also have very impactful outcomes. Has the potential to be surprisingly competitive when all players know what they are doing and try to claim the strongest spell first.

24. Shadows over camelot

Probably the original mainstream coop game with a traitor. Game about completing quests using cards and some combos. Honestly, making it this high mostly comes down to nostalgia, the game with a traitor is just ok gameplay-wise as the bad guy has very few options early game. It also has a flawed game arc where if you rush quests like the excalibur and grail you end up short on swords. I do think it nails the despair-inducing endgame. All the knights have simple and significantly different powers.

23. Jurassic Snack

A charming abstract dueling game with some flavor. A pleasant 5 minutes that is more than it appears as you learn the rules. Think that if the T-rex comes out early games can end up playing a bit too samey, which I think the reimplementations changed, hopefully I can get to those eventually.

22. Donuts

Abstract game. The ultimate 2-minute filler or reason to not go to sleep after a game session.

21. Mission Red planet

A neat area control hand management game where you get to be deliciously evil and fill up rocketships to leave before anyone else. Has a very nice table talk at high player counts where you make agreements.

20. Sobek 2 players

Abstract game but juiced up with set collection. A huge jump from vanilla sobek, this is mixed with Donuts (though it released earlier? Possibly donuts was in the works for longer...) that gives a lot more interesting decisions. The corruption is much easier to get rid of or convert, making decisions much more interesting and the powers and rewards all feel more impactful.

19. Kanagawa

A drafting tableau building/engine building game. Does not work quite as well at 2, but at 3 has good back and forth and allows competing for different objectives. I like having multi-use cards that are very straightforward, it really smooths things out for my playstyle of playing lots of games and returning every now and again.

18. Lumen

Unofficially Trek 12: The duel, it is a roll-and-write that translates to area control. A truly bizarre idea that actually makes for a fascinating game. It is somewhat unique as if you are playing a secondary game of Trek 12 to add and control the tokens on the main board, which makes planning ahead even more important. This was frustrating to try early on and has a much less forgiving learning curve, but gives a ton of interesting decisions.

__S tier (Some of the best games in their genres, have a touch of magic that shows they're polished products from someone who knows what they're doing)__

17. Dice Town (with wild west)

A poker game where cards are dice, asking you to get majority. An absolute blast at 4-6 (with expansion) that is also a negociation game and leads to a ton of unusual interaction between players. Also does not feel too random with the fact that you roll multiple times and can use game currency to keep certain cards. A total blast.

16. Kingdomino (With age of giants)

Vanilla kingdomino is a tile drafting and tile-laying game. Probably Bruno Cathala's most profitable game (Enough to spawn a franchise of games, won a spiel des jahres, also one of his few solo designs so he gets all the designer profit). I admire that this game is 2 well thought-out mechanics and nothing else, and can be a super beginner friendly game from this. I am glad this is the game I can teach and play with kids and still have a great time myself.

15.Abyss

A set collection... auction... bidding... push your luck... Weird game, with a unique theming. This game mixes clever mechanics with a somehow convoluted and intuitive package to make for a memorable experience. And nothing beats dropping pearls into the cup.

14. Orichalcum

A tile drafting ameritrash game. Possibly the kindest dice-chucking-to-beat monsters game ever, your dice all have a ''I win'' face and rolling badly only delays the combat outcome instead of wasting ressources, which actually encourages risk-taking. It's efficient, has lots of unique buildings to make each game feel unique, just wish there were a bit more cards, you have to shuffle the deck every 3 turns...

13. The little prince

So if you play 3 or 4 player, this plumets down to mid b tier for me, but at 2 players it is a tile placement game with a remix of ''I cut, you choose'' into ''I bluff, you choose'', and clever enough point scoring tiles to make it worthy of one of the best licences you could adapt into a board game.

12. Jamaica

A racing game, where movement is decided by dice but also hand management and very smart back and forth interaction and fights. Very exciting game, moves at a decent pace, there are plenty of interesting enough decisions, and fighting is fast, exciting and impactful. Also a superb 5-6 player game, which I feel are experiences we really miss out on if we stick to atmost 4.

11. Kingdomino Origins

Kingdomino, but you get to place the crowns and it comes with three modes to taylor the difficulty to what you want. The best of both worlds of what I seek in his tile-drafting games of being short and to-the-point and also having great replay value.

10. Cyclades (with all expansions)

Auction area control conflict game. Somehow will have you hoarding money and still spending if for certain bonuses lategame. Combats are almost deterministic but you can still make hail merry or retreat if things go badly. You can get severely punished in a large player game for grouping everyone to get 1 strong army. It just works super well.

9. Raptor

A dueling simultaneous action selection game with alternate win conditions. Original, asymmetric, and although it can be swingy both players are able to pull off really sly responses to punish obvious plays. And both players can win in 2 ways which both are decently achievable (Maybe defeating all scientists is hardest, but I've seen it happen by playing the 1 card at the moment the scientist tries to have reinforcements).

8. Lord of the rings: Duel for middle earth

7 wonders duel with streamlined economy and the agora from the third expansion reworked into a map. One of the best games of all time that gets a new coat of paint and maybe 15% reworking, I put this below because I think 7 wonders duel is superior with expansions. Also somewhat thematically nonsense.

7. Mr Jack

Asymmetric deduction versus counter-deduction and action drafting game. One of the finest examples of making a deep game out of simple mechanics, having each character be a stand-in for one of the game's effects and making them all feel distinct. Only flaw is similar setup, but this game allows for so much player expression in how they'll manipulate characters. This game goes beyond just a great game in how thrilling it can conclude as The detective can widdle down to one choice but Jack can still win if pulling off a way to remain out of sight.

6. Sea salt and paper

Set-collection push-your-luck. Super simple to learn, but with a very unusual twist of choosing when you wish to end the round. Ultimate BGA game, great travelling game, great filler, its super versatile, though best at 3, and really will have you counting cards to improve.

5. Splendor Duel

A tile drafting engine builder contract fulfillment dueling game. Outstanding improvement on Base splendor (We don't talk about the unbalanced cards) with alternate win conditions, which really change the game flow. Will have you reserving cards super early and hate-reserving on occasion, making for a great dynamic, and also the point requirements are low enough to discourage you from taking a ton of easy cards. ~~Also has bruno from encanto~~.

4. Solstis

A tile-drafting tableau builder. Super quick, and full of decently head-scratching decisions. The best implementation of having to match stuff by color/number in how not matching can give better choices down the line. So much more than it appears at first glance in how you'll have long-reaching effects early on. The way that you get jokers at the steep cost of giving the opponent more choices and unreliable is a great dilemma for the scale this game reaches for.

3. Moonriver

Kingdomino again but you take half-tiles. On the surface that sounds decent but it pushes the concept further with characters that have nasty interaction and the fact that the dominos don't have as wide of a range of numbers on the back, allowing for more diversity in games. Also the fact that you can move the cows (standing in for crowns) allows for more risk-taking of making a wide area and migrating near the endgame.

2. Five Tribes

Mankala game. me and my game group are still bad enough where we wager 0 on at least 70% of the turns, but we still have have a blast. Mankala is weird but having it be a trigger for 5 different mini-puzzles is manages to lead you in a direction. It is a pain to undo turns, but no two games of this will ever be the same and once you start setting up moves you will feel like an absolute game guru.

1. Seven wonders duel (with pantheon and Agora)

And finally, a reinvented drafting game takes my top spot. A huge evolution of 7 Wonders in how its alternate win conditions will keep you taking multiple things in mind for many of your turns, but also have incremental rewards so that the armies and science aren't all or nothing. The wonders are super impactful and make for turning points, and the expansions add another area both players can capitalize on. It feels like the best player will win most games, but having hidden cards makes for unexpected outcomes. If you know this game and have not tried it with expansions, they definitely enhance the experience.

Welcome to /r/boardgames's Daily Game Recommendations

This is a place where you can ask any and all questions relating to the board gaming world including but not limited to:

• general or specific game recommendations
• help identifying a game or game piece
• advice regarding situation limited to you (e.g, questions about a specific FLGS)
• rule clarifications
• and other quick questions that might not warrant their own post

Asking for Recommendations

You're much more likely to get good and personalized recommendations if you take the time to format a well-written ask. We highly recommend using this template as a guide. Here is a version with additional explanations in case the template isn't enough.

Bold Your Games

Help people identify your game suggestions easily by making the names bold.

Additional Resources

• See our series of Recommendation Roundups on a wide variety of topics people have already made game suggestions for.
• If you are new here, be sure to check out our Community Guidelines
• For recommendations that take accessibility concerns into account, check out MeepleLikeUs and their recommender.

Expeditions arrived, I really didn't expect the box to be so big! Plus side is everything fits nicely :) But it won't fit in my book case... I guess I could put it on top but dust... ahhhh

curious if people do or let people learn themselves

Mine is when the instructions capitalize every single mechanic in the game.

Example.

On your Turn, Roll the Dice, and Move your Pawn. Pick Up any Tokens you pass. At the end of your Turn, you must Play or Discard a Card.

So I bought Turing Machine for solo play. But having difficulty determining the results. Getting an X is understandable. But when there are 4 answers to a check, how do i know which one is true?

Playing the 01 scenario, I know the answer and can back track to the correct one but how do I get a clear answer?

How many times has Alex Lim sold his assets from one company he owns to another he secretly runs?

I’m supposed to trust this new company I’ve never heard of?

Curious as to what may come of these new tariffs, regardless of how anyone may feel about them, regarding our industry. Buying games in Canada already comes with higher shipping costs on Kickstarters than many other places in the world, will this economic change make it even harder for Canadians to get new board games? Are there any distributors in Canada that supply games to local stores that won’t be affected by US import rates going up?

I love watching tournaments and vods of competitive games and learning strategies and metas and whatnot. Which games would you say have very dedicated competitive scenes?

Not exactly board games as it would be on discord.

For any not in the know you basically have a group of people but one person is the mole/traitor.

Looking for tasks that could be completed on over discord or questions that could be asked.

I’m new to this game and playing solo. Can anyone help me understand how the column score is supposed to be for this one? Now sure what they mean by marked columns.

Had a huge argument during the game of Taboo.

The word was “child”

The hint given was “another word for kid” and ofc, they guessed “child”.

I argued this was absolutely not a point. The masses argued it was

Am I wrong ? 🤨😐

So I am planing on playing a game of john company over tabletop simulator tomorrow and I do not own a copy of the game. Think I know all the rules well enough to run it but I had some questions about the rules that are only on the components. When I loaded the game from someone who has put a copy on TTS and selected the 1710 it gave me a deck of 12 player setup cards. We are either playing 4 or 5 players so I just wanted to know if it ends up being 5 what do the extra setup cards look like? Edit, I went back and found the extra cards for more players with 1710, they where hidden. I still cant tell what ones I am suppose to use in the 5 player game vs the 6 player game so what ones do i use and what do I remove for 5 players? is it random?

I know the title and my request itself beckon jokes, and I say go crazy!

Anyway, me and my girlfriend have gotten a little bit into boardgames in the last year. We've tried Splendor Duel, Sea Salt and Paper, Wingspan, etc... basic stuff.

Lately we've been extremely busy, and pretty much every day we get back home we're exhausted. We have dinner and we just lay on the bed reading or whatever, 'cause we're beat.

We play Splendor and Sea Salt and Paper on the bed once in a while, but I'd like to try something new. I'm looking for something accessible, relatively fast, and without too many "things" that could easily fall down or just get lost. Suggestions? Thanks in advance guys

Hi everyone

I want to buy Dorfromantik. But the Sakura version is $20 cheaper than the original atm. Just wondering if the Sakura version is as fun as the original?

I hate Gametrayz. There's no single game I own of which I can say their trays are well designed, space-efficient and setup-friendly. From Suburbia CE to Everdell CC to Tang Garden BB, all equally disgusting.

I would love to dispose of the horrible organizers in the Tang Garden Big Box and I was looking for custom storage solution, possibly 3d-printable. All I can find are storage solutions for base game + golden age + ghost stories at best. Nothing that includes Seasons and the extra stuff. Are there really no "fan-made" Big Box inserts? I'd be quite surprised.

I'm looking at either getting Forbidden Island or Forbidden Desert for my nephew's 10th birthday. He's always played simple roll and move games, nothing with any real complexity.

It'll also be his first coop game. He always had trouble losing against other players so I thought this could be a good chance to introduce him to a "next-step-up" game but remove the competitiveness by getting him a coop game.

I know both of these aren't particularly complex games. But I do know that Desert is considered a bit more complex. From what I've seen though, Desert looks more interesting, but on the other hand I don't want to overwhelm him.

What are your thoughts?

I would like to play Western Empires on TTS. There’s a phase in that game which is a live, simultaneous, free for all trading game (similar to Pit but calmer and asking for specific cards). If everyone is in a discord call, there will be too much talking over each other and it won’t be easy to understand what others are saying, if we use separate calls that could be cumbersome to switch between and you can’t hear the other trades happening. Any ideas on how to handle this?

We have played the game with friends, but can’t find the game to buy. Anyone know of a reseller avenue to check?

So, page 11 of the manual says that you don't refill the cave and dragon cards until the end of each player's turns, however on page 14, when talking about what to do on turn and round end, round end does specify refilling the market while turn end does not.

Edit: Apparently the spanish rulebook is based on a pre-errata rulebook and does not have the bullet point on page 14 that specifies that you refill the market at the end of each turn.

Hey there! Short question: I tried to print a Boardgame via boardgamesmaker.com. My jpegs have a really high resolution but when I upload them it always tells me that the quality is too low and blurred etc.

Any idea how I can fix that?

The DPI of the images are over 1000, more than required. But it still won't take it!