As you may know, good old uncle Geekly likes tabletop games, so we couldn’t go too long without making a three list of three for board games.
We’ll get the game rolling with Worker Placement games.
The first list of these lists of three took the most time. I started from the bottom of boardgamegeek (BGG) and searched for a game that I liked. It took about an hour to find my first one, so here it goes.
Underrated Tabletop Games
Doughnut Drive-Thru (6.25 out of 10 on BGG)
I couldn’t believe Doughnut Drive-Thru was as low as 6096 on BGG. Okay, I can believe it. Die rolls to determine whether you can prepare a specialty doughnut or serve one doesn’t sit well with many modern board gamers, but despite the rampant use of luck, there’s plenty of tactical choices with Doughnut Drive-Thru, and it’s a great, simple game to introduce new gamers to the worker placement mechanism. Plus, I like the fun art. Kawaii!
Starfall (6.36 out of 10 on BGG)
Starfall is most likely 5464 on BGG because it’s less about star gazing and more about finding constellations and somehow purchasing them with stardust. Finally, I have some way of unloading my spare stardust.
The game makes little to no sense with its subject matter, but it’s a solid game. I like it a lot and there may be other games in the overrated list that get away with not holding their theme as closely as they should. Starfall is also another pretty game and at $20-$25, it goes for a nice price. Unless that’s 25 stardust. I’m not sure of the stardust to US dollar exchange rate.
Batman: Gotham City Strategy Game (6.08 out of 10 on BGG)
Yep, there’s a trend. Batman: Gotham City Strategy Game is much lower at 4066 on BGG than it should be because it has a misleading title. Players don’t take on the guise of Batman, they’re members of Batman’s rogues gallery like the Joker, Penguin, and Two Face. That’s not a bad thing. I can do the Joker.
If you listen real closely, you can almost hear Harley Quinn outside my window.
The game can also become too much of a brain burner as the “strategy” in the game’s title alludes to, and some elements in the game step a little bit away from the source material. If a player gets too strong, Batman—who is a non-player-controlled element of the game—will target the leader. It gives the game balance, but players may feel a little less super. Still, Batman: Gotham City Strategy Game is solid, and being evil can put a smile on your face.
Overrated Tabletop Games
Gloomhaven (8.97 out of 10 on BGG)
It’s easy to pick the top-rated game on BGG as overrated, but it doesn’t mean that Gloomhaven isn’t at least a bit overrated. It’s certainly not for everyone. It destroys any other dungeon crawl—Descent can hardly be found on many people’s top 10 lists since Gloomhaven’s release—but the hype around Gloomhaven colored the game as having more of a story and being more character-driven than it ended up being. So, I guess I’d blame the hype, even though any game could use a hype man.
Agricola (8.02 out of 10 on BGG)
I liked Agricola when it first came out, but there have been countless games—including Uwe Rosenberg’s follow-up Caverna: The Cave Farmers—that do a better job than Agricola at scratching a worker placement/farming game itch and yet, Agricola is still well in the top 20 of all tabletop games on BGG. My biggest pet peeve is that Agricola insists that everyone play the game the same way and do everything that’s in the game. So what if I want to be the best pig farmer in the game? That’s my prerogative and don’t ask questions about my pig fetish. Squee!
Eclipse (7.97 out of 10 on BGG)
Eclipse is another case of hype and mistaken identity. Many folks claimed it was a short Twilight Imperium, but it’s too much of a Euro game—games that are obsessed with balance and don’t have enough of a “this is awesome” vibe—to be a quick TI. Further still, the game can get needlessly fiddly. There are too many rules for a game that isn’t supposed to take as long as TI. I don’t care what Appendix IX, Paragraph 12, Line 31 says. Help!
Anticipated Upcoming Tabletop Games
Gen7: A Crossroads Game (TBD)
There isn’t a release date for Gen7: A Crossroads Game yet, but the inclusion of the words “A Crossroads Game” got me excited in a special place—of my heart, you sickos. Plaid Hat Games promised years ago of a gaming series featuring the Crossroads story-based system that originated in Dead of Winter (2014). All they’ve done so far has been pumping expansions for the tabletop juggernaut, but it looks as if there will be a true sequel no later than early 2019. Gen7 is a lost in space game, which could be interesting, and a lot different from Dead of Winter’s zombie theme. Another Crossroads Game would be far out.
KeyForge (Holidays 2018)
While Gen7 is part of a series I like, KeyForge is the latest game by a designer I like Richard Garfield (of Magic: the Gathering fame). Recently, I’ve had a chance to pre-game release demo KeyForge, so this write up will change as a result. I’m still interested in this game, so it qualifies for this list. KeyForge hits many of the same notes as Magic, but players are forging keys, hence in the name, instead of defeating their opponents. The game is also sold by the deck, not by boosters, and each deck is unique.
KeyForge does its best to streamline Magic game mechanisms as players draw cards and ready (or untap) at the end of their turns. This does enough to make this game difficult for a Magic veteran to wrap their brain around—I had issues keeping things straight—and it cleans up some of Magic’s timing.
KeyForge won’t be for everyone. Preconstructed decks mean that players won’t have the option of building their own decks, but I’m sure the community will push back on this and there may be a way for players to merge decks. And I love the game’s price point. I tend to buy Magic starter decks and a few boosters per set. KeyForge’s business model mirrors this type of consumption. It’s a more cost-effective Magic.
Guardians Chronicles (October 2018)
Ah, we come to one of my favorite game types: shuffle building (combining small decks or pods to form a large one). Come to think of it, I have a lot of favorite game types. Anyway, Guardians Chronicles is another Plaid Hat Games release and I may be just as excited for it as I am for Gen7. I also like the superhero theme—there aren’t enough games with this theme—but I’m a little considered about the game being competitive. So long as the superheroes attack villains, I’m okay, but if the superheroes attack each other, that may defeat the purpose of superheroes. We’ll have to see how Guardians Chronicles plays out, but I’m definitely playing a game or two.
Are there any tabletop games you think are overrated or underrated? Which tabletop games do you look forward to in the coming months? And which ones of those games would you like to lose to your uncle Geekly? Mwah-ha-ha! Let us know in the comments.
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