My Top 10 Favorite Games (as of March 2019)

Every 6 months I update my top 10 favorite tabletop games list. Creating today’s list was the toughest task yet, both because of the sheer number of different games I’ve played at this point (574 and counting) and because I find my eagerness to play certain games dependent on how easily I can actually get them to the table. Teachability, learnability, and setup all now play a roll in my gaming preferences.

So there are many great games from other publishers that won’t make the list. Stonemaier Games products aren’t eligible, and because the list focuses on games that I’m always excited to play, I don’t consider one-time campaign games either.

The previous list is here. As for the new list, I revealed my selections and honorable mentions in a video earlier today (see embed at the bottom of this post), so I’ll keep the written descriptions succinct.

10. Clank: 2-4 players, run-in-run-out deckbuilder, 90 minutes

9. Isle of Skye: 2-5 players, I-price-you-choose tile-laying game, 45 minutes

8. On Tour: 2-4 players (but it scales infinitely), roll-and-write route-building game, 30 minutes

7. The Quacks of Quedlinburg: 1-4 players, push-your-luck bag builder, 60 minutes

6. Downforce: 2-6 players, racing game with positive player interaction, 45 minutes

5. Fantasy Realms: 2-6 players, hand-management combo-building game, 20 minutes

4. Tzolk’in: 2-4 players (5 with expansion), heavy Euro engine-builder worker-placement game, 120 minutes

3. Hanamikoji: 2 players, I-cut-you-choose bluffing game, 20 minutes

2. TIME Stories: 1-4 players, cooperative adventure game, 180+ minutes

1. Magic: The Gathering: 2 players (6-8 in draft), drafting, deck construction, combo-building game, 180 minutes for a round-robin draft

The video with my detailed thoughts is below. Are any of these games on your current top 10 list? What are a few of your favorites? And based on my list, do you have any recommendations?

12 thoughts on “My Top 10 Favorite Games (as of March 2019)”

  1. I’ve really got to play Tzolk’in. I know it’s been around for a long time. I’ve heard so many good things about it! It may just have to be my next “new” game….after Wingspan of course!

    Reply
    • If you enjoy the engine-building of Wingspan, I think there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Tzolk’in. 🙂

      Reply
      • I cannot wait to try it. I’ve seen so much on Instagram about it. I was late signing up for Champion so my mother and sister are in charge of trying to score one first thing Friday morning for my birthday the end of this month! If not, I can be patient and wait until April!

        Reply
  2. I always like reading your top games list. I love Clank and Clank in Space even more and I’ve also been meaning to try Downforce.

    Have you played Betrayal Legacy or Keyforge? Those are our most played games right now, but when we aren’t doing that we often bust out Scythe. Still my fav.

    Reply
    • Keyforge came very close to making my list. I haven’t played Betrayal Legacy yet, but I’m very curious about it.

      Reply
  3. My girlfriend and I just taught another couple Tzolk’in and they absolutely loved it. If you haven’t played Bruges (and I realize that it’s difficult because it’s been out of print for a few years), do yourself a favor and find a copy…it’s magnificent and it’s my #1 Feld…and that’s coming from someone who has played Castles of Burgundy more than 200 times.

    Reply
  4. I find it super interesting that the games on your top 10 are (for the most part) quite different from your own designs, at least in complexity (aside from maybe T’zolkin).

    Though I did finally play my copy of Scythe yesterday because I was able to convince my girlfriend to let me teach her, and to my surprise it was not as difficult to learn as I thought it’d be. Rodney’s Watch it Played was a huge help, but the rules are very straightforward. She’s not a heavy gamer by any means but by the 6th turn I’d say we had a good handle on the game and were ramping up for our inevitable looming battles. We absolutely loved it and it was very close at the end. I know you can’t put your own games in your top 10 but that’s not stopping me from doing it. Well done, sir!

    Reply

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