It’s the end of a year, and that means a lot of lists from all kinds of content creators are incoming. And here at Always Play Blue, we’re running with the herd.
The plan is to work my way up the list and post 10 games each Wednesday as we close in on the end of this year. Because Always Play Blue is less than a year old, and because my phase in this awesome hobby is only a little longer than two years, this first Top 50 will contain a few games that are from the last few decades of my playing time, and you may be surprised to see.
50 – RISK
These days, you suggest RISK and everyone moans. Which is a shame as it’s a great game and doesn’t run as long as people imagine. Now let’s hunker down in Australia and build up our army while everyone else fights each other.
49 – YAMATAI
Great looking game with a busy board once things get going. It’s all about collecting your Specialists and making them work effectively together while heading deeper into the islands. Beautiful components, and beautiful flow of play.
48 – DUNGEON ROLL
One of the simplest games in our collection, this Dungeon diving, push your luck game with really good-looking dice can be played with other players, but works best as a solo.
47 – BANDIDO
This game just goes from one extreme to the other. While most playthroughs will see failure as the escape tunnels extend off the edge of the table, our wins have come quick and easy, the best being seven turns in less than a minute.
46 – OTHELLO
A great 2-player that has been around for so long because it’s so good. I played this a lot growing up and I’ve gone on to teach it to the next generation of my family. It’s all about those corners.
45 – DEEP SEA ADVENTURE
A push your luck game where the risk you take also affects other players. A shared air supply plus the weight of treasure slowing your assent means it’s very much about risk versus reward where sometimes a single point can win the game.
44 – TICKET TO RIDE
The first game I was bought as a gift, and one I still can’t seem to win. Even that one time where I joined all three of my train routes up to cross the entire continental US. But it’s so much fun, I’m gonna keep on trying.
43 – KAHUNA
Two Gods fighting over islands in the Pacific, KAHUNA has a lot in common with OTHELLO, and not just the black and white pieces. You are always a move or two away from having all you pieces removed and replaced by your opponent’s, and it has a scoring mechanism that keeps it close until the final round.
42 – GHOST FIGHTIN’ TREASURE HUNTERS
A game that looks cute, but plays more vicious than a satanistic chihuahua who hasn’t eaten in a week, this game is PANDEMIC meets CLUEDO, and its glow in the dark ghosts pieces should be dispatched post haste. You have been warned.
41 – FOG OF LOVE
If you go into this just playing a game, you might end up missing out (and maybe getting divorced). This is part game, part role play, and it’s one of the few games that the end result means a lot less than the act of playing together.
40 – ZOMBIES!!!
A simple game where cheap production is part of the genre it revels in, ZOMBIES!!! is all about screwing over everyone else as much as you can and then complaining when it’s revisited upon yourself. All you need to do is “get to the chopper!”
39 – MARIPOSAS
We’ve skipped WINGSPAN and went straight for the butterflies in this beautiful looking game. It took us one play to figure out that heading north and racing back wasn’t the best strategy.
38 – ONE DECK DUNGEON
I don’t know why this solo dungeon crawler in on my list. It hates me. And I hate it. But I’ll keep going, defeat after defeat, until my character is slightly better. And maybe one day I’ll win.
37 – BUNNY KINGDOM
We’ve only played this 2-player so far, but it’s a lot of fun. There’s a constant tough decision between what to hold use versus what to prevent my opponent to have. Interesting scoring too with each round escalating.
36 – TARGI
I had heard so much about TARGI while discussing 2-player only games with others, and when we finally made the purchase, it has not disappointed. The replayability that emerges from the tableau you build means that we’ll not get bored soon.
35 – CAIRN
The girlfriend and I started with DRAUGHTS and CHESS. We’ve now moved onto CAIRN. The miniatures are great. The mechanic of making a move and denying your opponent of copying is clever. And the megaliths to mix up the rules.
34 – EPIC SPELL WARS OF THE BATTLE WIZARDS
I feel that the Epic Spell Wars series is very marmite. In my case, I love it, and I embrace its stupidity. Victory is an afterthought as I mostly just enjoy coming up with the best sounding spells and praying that they wreak awesome damage on my opponents.
33 – TINY EPIC GALAXIES
I’ve not played them all, but so far, I think Galaxies is the easiest to bring newcomers into the Tiny Epic fold. Cross your fingers and hope you roll what you need to take a planet before an opponent does. It never gets old.
32 – MEMOIR ’44
Another addition to our 2-player only section. It looks more complicated than it is, and that’s one of the reasons I really like it. Dice rolling throws the chaos of war into every decision and attack you make.
31 – HANAMIKOJI
This would be higher on my list, but more than half the games I’ve won of HANAMIKOJI, I couldn’t begin to tell you how I did it. But it’s a great 2-player, with beautiful art, and a clever mechanic where you only have four turns per round, and only four different one-time-only tactics to choose from.
30 – DUNGEON MAYHEM
This was cheap and looked fun, so I grabbed it. A fun little card battler that sees you mix in attacking and defending cards with a bunch of fun power cards that differ for each character.
29 – PARIS: LA CITE DE LA LUMIERE
One of the most beautiful 2-player only games, this one has two stages that are both critical. First round is all about drafting building tiles. Then it’s onto the second half where you’ll place buidings to score via lamps. Short but very thinky.
28 – SKULK HOLLOW
Another game where I was sold on the art, SKULK HOLLOW is a nice looking 2-player asymmetric battle game. So far, I’ve only played as the bear, stomping and flinging those pesky Foxen Heroes around the map.
27 – PANDEMIC
PANDEMIC has a lot of spin offs and expansions, but the original is still a great game to play. I enjoy co-op games, and this is such a good one to get to the table, as well as being simple enough to bring new players to the hobby.
26 – SUSHI ROLL
Although I own SUSHI GO! And have played SUSHI GO! PARTY, I’ve never been a fan of the drafting mechanic. This dice version is easily my favourite in the series. Plays well at all player counts, has amazing dice, and another game great for non-gamers.
25 – LOVE LETTER
A small card game that is super easy to teach and a lot of fun. Rounds are short so a bad couple of turns can be easily turned around on the next deal.
24 – MUFFIN TIME
Despite almost becoming a regret after I backed it on Kickstarter, it’s quickly became a firm favourite. In the vein of EXPLODING KLITTENS, it will require the right kind of group to get the most out of it, but it’s pure stupidity and great fun.
23 – HIVE (POCKET)
Picked this up in my early days to the hobby. The components are good quality. The game is easy to teach. It’s small enough to fit into your pocket. And you can play on almost any flat surface. Like CAIRN, if you’ve had enough of CHESS and/or DRAUGHTS, try this out.
22 – PARKS
This has a similar feel to TOKAIDO, in that players follow a route through a stunningly beautiful board game. The components are beyond impressive, from the art on the card, to the individual animal tokens.
21 – KINGDOMINO
I will confess that I’ve not played this beyond 2-player, but I wouldn’t have an issue if this weren’t intended for higher player counts. A very simple tile placement game that passes so quickly, we usually play best of three.
20 – LORD OF THE RINGS: WAR OF THE RING
It’s epic, it takes a while to teach, and it will take up all of a Sunday afternoon. But it’s also the best way to play the story, and it can be fun to deviate from the books and create your own outcomes. Worth every minute.
19 – FORMULA D
As soon as I saw this on TableTop I knew my Formula 1 friends would enjoy it. The larger dice as gears is genius and with a bunch of maps it is great for setting up a Championship with the same group. Just be careful in the corners.
18 – PANDEMIC: HOT ZONE – NORTH AMERICA
The original game is great on it’s own, but this budget version works better for us when just playing 2-player. A single continent and a shorter play time means it’s easier to handle at a smaller player count.
17 – FORBIDDEN ISLAND
One of the classic co-op games and still a fun challenge years after release. I really like the increase in tension as the island gets smaller and harder to navigate towars the climactic final few turns.
16 – SPLENDOR
One of the best gateway games in out collection. It’s simple to teach and turns are quick. It has a fantasic escalation as players engines get stronger. And the chips are greast to play with between turns.
15 – TATSU
Regularly compared to BACKGAMMON, TATSU has players moving their pieces (more lovely components from the team behind HIVE) based on dice rolls, in the hope of trapping, displacing, or destroying the opponent’s pieces before the same is done to them.
14 – STAR REALMS
A fantastic 2-player only game and one of the best Deck Builders, you’ll be purchasing more ships for you fleet to be better at attacking while grabbing Outposts to defend and other ships to benifict your turns. It’s quick and fun.
13 – HORRIFIED
Something a little more complex when it comes to co-op games, Horrified’s theme is great and the mix of using different classic monsters eac time means every play will feel different.
12 – ROLL FOR IT!
Such a simple game, one we regularly use as the opener to a games night. It’s all about simply rolling dice and assigning the results to face up cards featuring a mix of dice faces. It’s a great feeling when you steal a card others were working towards.
11 – UNEARTH
Almost a more complex version of ROLL FOR IT!, I originally grabbed this one based solely on it’s art style, but beneath the surface is a really good game. It also includes a mechanic where a failed dice roll still rewards you with something meaning bad luck doesn’t ruin your game.
10 – GLOOMHAVEN: JAWS OF THE LION
GLOOMHAVEN is intimidating to learn. Thankfully this condensed version has come along and is an amazing way to get stuck into the systems. And despite being smaller, the box is still packed with content. It’s the best way into the series.
09 – CENTURY: GOLEM EDITION
CENTURY: GOLEM EDITION is an engine builder, very similar to SPLENDOR. But this one adds a few extra mechanics with your actions being cycled so that you might not always be able to do what you want without good planning.
08 – RAIDERS OF THE NORTH SEA
My first step into Worker Placement, and a game that plays with the mechanic, it remains not too heavy while still offering a nice decision space and giving you a slow build as all players slowly work up the board for greater rewards.
07 – JAIPUR (2nd Edition)
Our current favourite 2-player only game, this is a great head-to-head card game where what you do is less important than when you do it. You want to be first to sell, but holding out for more of the same good gets you more points if you hold off. Each turn is a tough decison.
06 – CARCASSONNE
An absolute classic, and probably the best gateway game, CARCASSONNE has such simple turns and lets players get stuck in with aggresive moves to interfer with other players, or allows everyone to sit back for a more passive and relaxing game.
05 – TAKENOKO
A colourful game where you’re aiming to complete objectives using various parts on a constantly changing board. Anything you do can unintentionaly aid an opponent which makes turns tense and disguises the cute artwork and components.
04 – KING OF TOKYO (2nd Edition)
YAHTZEE on steriods, this is a simple battle game where you’ll roll chonky dice and go toe to toe with giant monsters slugging it out in Tokyo. Player elimination might put people off, but the games don’t drag on and rematches are quick to set back up.
03 – TOKAIDO
The game that pulled me into the hobby, this work of art is the most relaxing board game I’ve ever played. There’s various forms of set collection as you make you way across the board via an interesting turn selection mechanic.
02 – EXPLODING KITTENS (NSFW)
Before I knew about modern board gaming, my group played a lot of EXPLODING KITTENS. It’s sill nonesense that has already given us classic moments of double crossing and last minute wins against the odds. All from a small card game.
01 – DEAD OF WINTER
I can’t stop singing about this game. Every play has been an amazing experience, one that breads stories that my group constantly retells to each other. Sure, it’s probably group dependant, but inside this semi co-op game is a whole bunch of fun plays just waiting to be discovered.
And that’s the list.
As mentioned before, this only reflects my favourite games of all time up to this moment now. Some games might look out of sorts compared to others tastes and thats all good. We all have different top games. I’d be interested in hearing yours. Post in the comments below and let me know your pride and joys.
Lets all now say goodbye to 2020 and all the crap that come with it, but remember that some good came out of the year too. I met an amazing woman who likes games as much as I do. This website was born. And some great new games were released.
And now we can look forward to next year. We can hope that the world will start to mend itself soon, that we can get back together with those that share this hobby, and perhaps there’s an outside chance that towards the later half of 2021, we might just maybe possibly be able to take in one or two of those convention things. I’ve never been before and am still holding tight to my UKGE tickets.
Whatever happens, folks, have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Always Play Blue 
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