My Top 50 Games (as of Jan. 1 2014) Part 3 30-21

Welcome back to my top 50 games list as of the start of 2014.  Part 3 has a few surprises as far as placement goes.  3 games make their debut in the 20's.

Without further ado, the games!

#30 Can't Stop  Down 15
Can't Stop is a great push your luck dice game.  It fell on my list because I haven't played it in over a year.  I don't own it, so it's not really under my control.  The design is simple and straight forward, but I love the anticipation that each die roll brings.


#29 Kingsburg  Up 6
Kingsburg moves up due to more experience with the expansion.  The game really offers a lot of choice, even with limited dice rolls.  Yes, you can get messed over by terrible dice rolls all game long, but for the most part, you'll be able to do something on each turn.  The more I play Kingsburg, the more I realize the depth in the game, and the different paths to victory.


#28 Fleet  Down 12
Fleet is still a really really good game, but I need to expansion to keep it fresh.  The game has become a bit samey to me.  I don't think there's necessarily one dominant path to victory, but there are several key things that you need to do in order to succeed, and once you get those things together, you're really hard to stop.  I know that the expansion is going to change a lot of things, or at least add a lot of options, which will prevent some of those main paths.  I enjoy Fleet, especially with new players, but in order for the game to stay up here again, I need the expansion to be excellent.


#27 Takenoko New
I received Takenoko from my BGG Secret Santa, meaning I haven't had it long.  The first time I played the game, I really enjoyed it.  Every time I've played it subsequent to that, I've enjoyed it.  That level of enjoyment demands a place on this list.  I'm not sure where Takenoko will settle, but this seemed like a good place to start.  Takenoko is a very approachable game that starts off simple and gets more complex as you go along.  There are 5 options on any given turn, and you get to do 2, so you're not overwhelmed with choice, but you're also not too limited.  I really enjoy how everyone has to interact on the board, but everyone has their own goals.


#26 Eight-Minute Empire New
If you read my review of Eight-Minute Empire you'd know that I enjoy the game, even though the title is a bit of a misnomer.  This game is more like 15-20 minute empire.  Still, it's a very well designed game, and it works well in a short amount of time.  The game has two ways to score points, but they're directly related.  On your turn, you purchase a card that has a symbol on it, and then you do the action listed on the card.  At the end of the game you get points for sets of symbols, as well as points for areas controlled on the board.  It's a really tight game with several key decisions, but it's also over quickly, so one bad move doesn't leave you losing for hours.


#25 Forbidden Desert  New
Spoiler alert, Forbidden Island is gone, and Forbidden Desert has taken over.  Forbidden Desert isn't the most challenging co-op game, but is by no means easy.  The player powers are easy to understand, but making the best use of the combination in any given game is a true challenge.  Make no mistake, Forbidden Desert is a lot more difficult than Forbidden Island.  Sun beating down on the players will account for a lot of lost games.


#24 Small World Down 6
Small World is still a very enjoyable game for me.  I enjoy the variety of races and powers.  I also enjoy the player politicking that goes on to try to cut down the leader.  The only reason it dropped a bit was due to newer games taking higher spots.  Small World is a great game for Risk players looking for something a little shorter and something with a lot more variety.

#23 Dixit  Down 11
Moving down due to lack of plays and a lack of desire to play.  Don't get me wrong, Dixit is still an excellent party game, and my go to game for a very creative group. The problem is that I don't have the creative mix of people that I had in college.  Dixit truly takes a group of diverse thinkers to make it work as well as it can.  That's one of the things that makes it a great party game.  It serves as a way to get to know someone, but more importantly, learn how they think, and also discover some of the random connections that people have.

#22 Roll Through the Ages  Down 11

Down due to lack of excitement.  I still think that RTtA is a great game with a lot of choices to make.  It's one of those games that I want to play more to really explore different strategies.  The problem is that I don't have other people who want to go down that path, so it tends to sit on the shelf while other games get played.

#21 Pandemic  Down 8
Pandemic is an enjoyable game for me, but it moved down because the newest expansion essentially requires the new version of the game, and I'm really opposed to that.  Now, I still enjoy what I have, and I will happily play Pandemic with what I have.  The game is fine, but it gets a bit samey after awhile.  My plays of it have drastically decreased over the last couple of years.  It can suffer from one player telling others what to do.  Fortunately, in my group, there are two of us who offer opinions and then leave the final choice up to the player.  That system has worked well for us, though it's not perfect by any means.

Top 7 games to play with 3 players

3 is perhaps the most awkward number in gaming and life in general.  Two people can usually agree on something, but once a third is in the mix, things get clouded.  Plus the major problem with most 3 player games is that person A goes after person B. Then person B retaliates to person A, leaving person C in a better position.

This is not a comprehensive list, as other good games work well with 3 aren't here.  Some that I know are Small World, Quarriors, Citadels, and Acquire.  

#7 Tiki Topple

Yes, I am going here. Tiki Topple is best as a 3 in my opinion.  Everyone gets to use their toast cards, and the round can't end until everyone has done so.  Unlike a 4 player game where 1 player could use neither of their toast cards and have the round end.  2 is ok for Tiki, but there are too many leftovers and not enough dynamics.  3 is a good balance of control and making the best of what happens.

#6 Pandemic

2 player Pandemic can be a little too easy sometimes since cards are more concentrated. 4 can be a little hard since everything is spread out. But 3 is a good balance of the two.  Pandemic is a good challenge at any player level, but a 3 player game gives you the right mix of voices to contribute but not too many cooks in the kitchen.

#5 Settlers of Catan

Now, I learned Catan with 5 and 6, played a lot of games at school with 4, and all of those were good, but there's a nice elegance to 3 player Catan.  Trading is straightforward, you have a pretty good idea of what your opponents can and will do, and the biggest advantage, you get your turn frequently.  Now, 3 player Catan does lose some of the dynamics, I'm thinking of resource variety, special building with 5 and 6,,, but the map is fairly open, and everyone will have good places.

#4 Pizza Theory

Here's a new game to me, I just got it in mid March, but the first time I broke it out, I played it 7 times.  The game is specifically designed for 3 players, and it does a great job at giving players strategies to pursue that depend on others, but there are no means of direct retaliation.  For kicks, it's also a game all about pizza, which is an unusual theme.

#3 Ticket to Ride (Ideally Nordic or Switzerland)

Ticket to Ride is a classic game with any player count really.  It works well as a 3, since blocking isn't too horrible, but to eliminate blocking as a huge play, go for a map where 3 is an extended route set, like Nordic or Switzerland, rather than one where 2 and 3 have the same options like US, Europe, Marklin.
3 players keeps the game moving, there's very little down time, and a lot easier to go where you want than in a 5 player game.

#2 Eminent Domain

Em-Do doesn't suffer from the A v B so C wins, which moves it up the list.  The 3 player game feels long enough to be fun without being so long.  The 4 player game feels short, and the 2 feels long, so 3 with either one or two piles works well.  I personally like 2 piles just to get tech moving a little bit, but one less player taking cards does prolong the game.  I suppose it depends on the strategies at play, since running out the victory tokens seems to happen more often than two piles in my extended 3 player games.

#1 Dominion

3 player Dominion has a few advantages over 2 player Dominion.  There are 12 of each victory card instead of 8, yet still 4 per player.  Some attack cards become more useful, Pirate Ship, Thief.  Other cards become more intriguing.  The choices are a little deeper, and the strategies aren't as straight forward as 2 player, specifically in the endgame.  Best of all, Dominion has very little of the A v B so C wins dynamic.

The main point of this list, don't be afraid of games with 3.  Sure, not everything works, but some games can be fun, or even their best at 3 players.  If you have a group of 3, try pulling these games out, and see where they get you.  

Top 42 Part 5 (14-8)

Welcome to the top 14.  Now that the Super Bowl is over, it's time for some game talk.
Any of these 7 games could be anywhere on this list for me, but I tried to order them in terms of what would I like to play the most if I had the right group, right play time, etc.

#14 Catacombs

Catacombs is a dungeon crawl as the name suggests, but has a huge twist.  There are no dice, no combat charts, simply flicking.  That's right, you flick your hero at the monsters, or monsters at the heroes if your the game master.  Every hero has a special ability, which is further enhanced by artifacts available for purchase at your friendly neighborhood gift shop.   This game is highly innovative in the way it takes a dungeon crawl and simplifies it with the flicking mechanic.  Sure, it's hard to remember where pieces flew off the board, or to check if that piece really did hit that other piece, but that's what cameras are for, especially if they have slow motion or frame by frame replay. (You think I'm joking, but I'm not.  We've actually gone that far.)  I enjoy playing either side in Catacombs, and while the GM has a lot more to work with, the heroes generally have a fighting chance.  Sometimes it takes too long for what it is, but I enjoy playing and having a flicking good time.

 #13 Pandemic
My thoughts on Pandemic have been fairly well expressed on this blog.  If you haven't read the review on it, go take a look.  I really enjoy the puzzle aspect of Pandemic.  Now puzzle doesn't mean that there's only one right way to win the game, but rather that each piece gives a clue as to what's next.  It's a hard co-op where the board can beat you fairly easily, yet almost every game is winnable.  It's a great challenge, and a great way to see how people think and work together.  You simply have to make good use of the player abilities, else you are doomed to fail.  At this point, I never play without the expansion for the game because the additional powers make it more interesting, the new special event cards add variety, and the different ways to play the game add new challenges.  Pandemic would be ok without the expansion, probably in the 20s for me, but with the expansion it makes #13, with potential to climb.

 #12 Dixit
When I first heard about Dixit, I was skeptical at best.  I'm not a very creative person when it comes to words, as you may realize from reading my articles, but the artwork intrigued me.  There was so much depth to the pictures, and now so much variety due to ~250 cards.  This is perhaps a better Apples to Apples because it gives players freedom, and it has a better structure for scoring points.  Dixit shot up my list because of the people I played with. It's an experience game, made amazing or meh by the people who play.  At school I had many well read friends who could pull references that I knew nothing about.  Some people may get frustrated by that aspect, but I learned things, and eventually gained a good guessing instinct for the cards.  There's a very subtle line between realization and giving away the answer to other people, because the storyteller is trying to get someone but not everyone to guess their card, but if everyone or no one gets it right, the storyteller gets no points, and everyone else scores.  Dixit is a lot of fun, and if you have a group that likes Apples to Apples or storytelling, this is definitely worth a look.

#11 Forbidden Island
Here's another game that I've talked about a lot, and you'll notice the distinction between Forbidden Island and Pandemic isn't great.  Simply put, I've played Forbidden Island more frequently as of late, and had better success teaching new players the game.  I love the artwork and the near constant tension that everything has to be taken care of, else we could lose at any moment feeling.  Seriously, the best thing I can say about this game is that unless you absolutely hate co-op games, you won't be disappointed with this as compared to the money it costs you.  At worst you'll be able to give it as a gift to someone who will like it.

#10 Incan Gold
This is an intriguing press-your-luck game.  The goal is to get more treasure from the temple in 5 rounds than your opponents.  Now, you might think all you have to do is stay longer than them, but knowing when to stop is the key to this game.  Each round, a card is turned over, revealing either treasure or a trap.  A single trap acts a warning, but a duplicate triggers the trap sending everyone away empty handed.  There are 5 different traps, so it's possible that nothing will spring until the sixth trap.  The revealed treasure is split evenly between remaining players, with leftovers going on the card. The leftovers are given away to players when they run, so knowing when to run is a key aspect.  If you stay too long you may get nothing, but if you run too soon you'll be greatly outscored by your opponents.  I've had many good times with this game.  Everyone seems to understand it, though silly mistakes will be made, it's short enough, ~20 minutes, to play more than once.

#9 Rattus
Not to be confused with Ratatouille, the beloved Pixar film, this game features rats in the black plague timeframe.   Now, if you're skeptical of the theme, don't worry too much, the game doesn't really involve rats, just some rat tokens.  The goal of Rattus is to have the most cubes on the board at the end of the game, but this is easier said than done.  On your turn you can take a power card, each one has a symbol on it which will come into play later.  Then you place cubes in one region equal to the number of rat tokens there.  Then you move the plague piece into an adjacent region, place one or two rat tokens in adjacent regions, and finally you resolve the plague by looking at the total number of cubes in the area, comparing it with the token, then causing player powers, the majority owner or all players to lose a cube.  This goes on until there are either no rat tokens left, or one player gets all 20 of their cubes on the board.  It's a fun back-and-forth amongst powers, with players taking your power sometimes.  You want the powers to do extra things, but the powers also cause you to lose more cubes, so it's a tough balance.  If you can get past the theme, Rattus is an enjoyable strategy game with some luck mixed in.

#8 Shadows Over Camelot
Shadows is one of the earlier co-op games, but it took me awhile to get around to playing it.  I personally love the theme, come on, it's Arthurian Legend.  I think the knights of the round table was the first real fantasy that I enjoyed, plus the Stargate-SG1 use of things helped keep my interest in the mythos.  Each player plays a knight of Camelot, or King Arthur.  Every knight has a special power which helps good defeat evil, but the twist to the game is that one knight may be working against the others.  It took my 45 games to finally act as the traitor, though not all of those were games where a traitor was possible.  There are multiple quests that the knights have to work on together in order to succeed.  Knights can purse the Holy Grail or Excalibur, fight the Black Knight, the Picts or Saxons, the treacherous Lancelot or the fearsome dragon.  There are a lot of things to do, and the key to Shadows is managing what you can and can't do, letting things fail, and trying to win things at the right time.  I've spent many good hours trying to figure out and then defeat the traitors to Camelot, as well as direct the knights.  I've had more fun watching seemingly innocent people (MY SISTER!) play the deepest hidden traitor act, and completely bamboozle the knights.  The one thing I've yet to see is King Arthur turn traitor, but I know it will happen eventually.

Just one more week to get through this list.
I apologize for the lack of other articles, but without a digital camera I'm kinda stuck on reviews.  I've been writing a few, but other life events also slow things down.  I'm trying to keep things going, so a big thank-you to everyone sticking with me and here's to better things ahead!

Two Go In, One Comes Out - Co-op Style

              Forbidden Island                                   

Matt Leacock

Gamewright Games

2-4 Players

Plays in about 30 minutes

Pandemic

Matt Leacock

Z-Man Games

2-4 Players (5 with Expansion)      Plays in about 60 minutes     

Since these two games share a lot of similarities; same designer, both are co-operative games, and both share similar mechanics.  With that in mind I’m going to review both at the same time, pointing out their differences, giving each part a running score, with no ties allowed, and always a point difference, and we’ll see which one I like better when all is said and done.

Overview

Forbidden Island is a family geared co-op game, meaning that everyone works together against the board.  Players find themselves on a sinking island where they must collect 4 treasures and then get off the island before it sinks completely.  There are several ways to lose the game, but only one way to win.

Pandemic is geared a bit more to the medium gamer. It’s also a co-op game, but this time you’re members of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control, which is headquartered in Atlanta, thus the starting point) who are trying to find cures for 4 major diseases while treating the diseases around the world.  Yet once again, many ways to lose, only one way to win.

Components

All the treasures stacked
Photo courtesy of Tahlia M.

Pandemic has a few more components, but Forbidden Island’s are snazzier.  

Pandemic has a fixed board which I think gives it an edge in game to game balance.  It also allows for outbreak trackers as well as how many infection cards to draw each turn.  Forbidden Island counters with a tile for each land area.  These tiles are of great quality, and have a normal side, as well as a sinking side.  Forbidden Island has the advantage of being random each time you play, which is nice to have variety.

As I alluded to at the start of the section, Forbidden Island has snazzy components, which come in the 4 treasures that the adventurers attempt to collect.

As it always does, it comes down to scores.  Both games have excellent components, but snazzy wins out, so Forbidden Island 10, Pandemic 9.

Game Mechanics

Yes, I do have a rubber glove
for handling the disease cubes
It's a joke from a former roommate.

Both games involve players getting a set number of actions each turn, trying to move around the map and fight a losing battle.  Players attempt to collect sets of cards to collect the items that help them win the game.  Each player has a different character ability that helps them do something special to help the team.  In FI you have a pilot who can move anywhere on the map for an action rather than just up, down, left, right.  You have a messenger, in both games, who can give someone else a card without having to be on the same spot.  In Pandemic you have a scientist who can research a cure with one fewer card than normal.  The interaction of these powers, and the players’ ability to maximize their effectiveness is the key to winning or losing.

The different roles in F.I.

One flaw in both games is that sometimes you’re going to lose no matter what you do because of the way the cards come up.  That’s not a huge issue since everyone wins or loses together, but it still may irritate some.  

The deciding difference for me is that Pandemic has a bit more that you can’t account for, which keeps players on their toes, and I also prefer not needing to save one specific card and get everyone to a specific location in order to win.  Therefore, Pandemic gets a 9, Forbidden Island an 8 for mechanics, making our running score 18 to 18.

Player Interaction

One of the pawns and a
sinking tile for F.I.

The player interaction in both of these games is found in the actual players.  The game does require teamwork, but it has a fatal flaw in the puzzle-like nature which can lead to one player telling everyone else what to do in order to win.  This probably isn’t a bad thing at the end of the game, but it is rather annoying if it happens the whole time.

With that being said, I try to encourage each player to make their own decisions, but also take advice from the other players.  Sometimes someone has a great idea that I didn’t see, and sometimes I see something they didn’t which allows us to learn and appreciate the advice of the other players.  

Infection tracker and city infections

The other thing I’ve noticed is that both games can be played by yourself acting as multiple players.  To some this is a good thing, to others, not so much.  Personally I like that aspect, and I have played both games acting as two people to see if I could beat a hard difficulty.  In playing solo games, I noticed that I missed that check of running it by someone and having input.  

Ultimately, I think both of these games were designed for players to work together.  Forbidden Island is slightly easier, which makes the choices less complex.  There’s less to work out, and fewer choices to be made, so for that reason Pandemic takes the edge 4 to 3.  There isn’t a lot of interaction, thus the low scores. That brings the running tally to 22 to 21 Pandemic.

Theme

The roles from Pandemic

Finally something where these two games are miles apart.

As I’ve previously stated, Forbidden Island is a gigantic treasure hunt.  Watching the tiles flip as they take on water, and then sink with too much water feels tense and rather thematic.  

Pandemic is about curing diseases, which to me is a good theme to have, but the game doesn’t envelop the theme until you actually develop a cure.  By the time you have a cure, then it’s fun to  cure a disease completely from a city, but until then it’s a micromanagement game.  

The player cards for F.I.

I feel like the mechanics in Pandemic could be adopted to several different themes without much effort, while Forbidden Island works perfectly.  Therefore Forbidden Island gets a 9, and Pandemic a 7, for a score of 30 to 29 Forbidden Island.

Learning Curve 

Forbidden Island has very simple rules to explain.  It’s very much a game geared towards families, meaning mom and dad, or big brother or sister will be around to help younger kids, and that makes FI a Short learning curve.

Pandemic is still on the short side of the curve, but it ventures into the medium due to enhanced complexity.  Therefore Pandemic is a Short-Medium learning curve.

For ease of learning, Forbidden Island a 9, Pandemic an 8. Making things 39 to 37 Forbidden Island.

What I like about these games

The flood tracker in F.I.

I think I’ve given a lot of reasons why I like both of these games, so I’m going to give you my favorite part of each game.  Pandemic was the first teamwork game I played and we had a lot of fun in college with a good amount of people.  Forbidden Island is a game I can teach to anyone and because of that, it’s a game more people have bought than anything else based on playing with me.

No score for this category, and none for the next one either.

Why I don't like these games

Both games suffer from the general or dictator problem, but I think that would be a cheap way out.  Specifically in Pandemic, I dislike the abrupt end.  It feels like the job is only half done when the cures are researched, and I want to go cure the world rather than leave it in shambles.

For Forbidden Island, I dislike the abandoning tiles rule. It can almost be a greater help than hindrance. I know that’s rare, but it is still a problem.

Replayability

Special Event cards in Pandemic

I decided to add a new category to my reviews and that is replayability.  The point of the category is to talk about the variety between games and how much I find myself wanting to play the game.

Both of these games have moderate replayability.  There are some changes in terms of initial set-up, the player powers and the people playing the game, but at some point it starts to feel more like a puzzle.  It’s been over a year since I last played Pandemic, and sadly I don’t see that changing, but that’s not my choice.  Forbidden Island is still a newish game to me, and it continues to see play time, but I don’t long to play it frequently.

Pandemic gains new legs with the On The Brink expansion which added a lot of new player powers, and 3 new ways of playing the game.

Before the expansion, the scores would have been Pandemic 5, Forbidden Island 6, but the expansion for Pandemic brings the replayability up to an 8, giving us a 45-45 tie.

Overall

As full games, I like both of these games, but I think that owning one is sufficient since they are so similar.  I like both of these games for different reasons, yet they scratch the same itch.  In order to break the tie, I have 2 deciding factors: Bang for Your Buck and if I had to own just one, which one would it be.

Forbidden Island has amazing production value for the pretty low cost of ~$20.  Pandemic + Expansion goes for ~$50 online.  Simply put, Forbidden Island is the far better bang for your buck. 

Now, for which game I’d rather own, it’s really tough for me.  I like having both games, I enjoy playing them both, and they’ve worked with a variety of people.  The biggest thing that sways it right now for me is the ease of play in Forbidden Island.  Both games have their place, and if I was playing games more often, I’d probably take Pandemic, but Pandemic is also a longer game, which keeps it off the table more often than not.

So there you go, my winner is Forbidden Island just by a little bit.

What you get in the F.I. box

Will you like these games?

The only reason you wouldn’t like Forbidden Island is because you dislike co-operative games, or simpler games.  If you like playing family friendly games, give it a shot.  It’s also a nice break for college students.

Pandemic would be great for high-school or college students, as well as an adult game group.  It can be played with the family, but older kids would be better.

Amusing Story about a Gameplay

There isn’t one defining moment in Pandemic for me. There have been a lot of tight games, but I can’t recall a particularly memorable one.  Forbidden Island is another story.  I once played a game where Fool’s Landing came up in the initial set of sinking tiles, and then I drew a first turn Water’s Rise, followed by turning over Fool’s Landing thus losing the game.  For those of you who don’t know the game, Fool’s Landing is the tile that everyone has to get to at the end in order to win the game, so if it sinks completely, the game is over.

Final Thought

It’s hard work comparing two games at once, but I think the extra work was worth it.  Let me know what you think.

Want to buy Forbidden Island or Pandemic and support BoBG?