Top 10 Favorite Board Games
I get asked what my favorite board game is a lot, and honestly I don't think that's fair. My favorite anything is prone to change depending on an innumerable number of factors, including my mood, my current obsession, and even how much I've played it lately. That being said, these 10 board games tend to make their way onto the list more often than others so here we go, in no particular order, because I don't care, my top 10 favorite board games.
10: Betrayal At The House on the Hill/Betrayal at Bulder's Gate
I put both versions on here because besides a few details they're pretty much the same game. I love games where you build the board as you go along, even if it doesn't make sense for the kitchen to be right next to the master bedroom, or that there's a door from the potions shop directly to the temple of Llolth. The horror setting is fun to play in, and these games switch it up enough that no two games are alike, from being picked up by a giant bird to being trapped in a bad Saw knockoff.
9: Firefly
This game is interesting because you're not telling stories from Firefly, you're just in the Firefly universe under similar circumstances and seeing if you can do better than the cast of the show, occasionally teaming up with the cast of the show. Some points make no sense, like how when transporting passengers it doesn't matter if the passengers you deliver are the same ones you pick up so long as the numbers are equal, so if you get hit by Reavers and everyone gets eaten you can just pick up some new people from somewhere else and nobody wonders why Uncle Roger never came back from his business trip to Ariel, but the game is fun enough and intriguing enough to overlook slightly messed up flaws.
8: DC Deckbuilding
This is the first of several deck building games to appear on this list. As soon as this genre of games came out I was on it like a fat kid on cake. DC is fun because I get to play with and as all my favorite super heroes including my favorite fictional character of all time Harley Quinn. When you're playing the basic game any semblance of story is thrown out the window as Batman and Wonder Woman recruit Bane and Superboy to pummel each other for unknown reasons, but the game is fun enough to ignore that. Plus the new giant box helps to re balance the game by giving you a better chance of getting cards that can actually combo well together.
7: Custom Heroes
AEG is a game company who takes traditional games and throws them off a ten story building onto a freeway. Custom Heroes is your basic trick-taking game where you play a watered down version of War but with a twist: If you don't have a higher number you can insert a special clear card into the sleeve of one of your other cards and change the number. On top of that it gives whatever hero that's on the card a unique weapon or aura, so you're literally customizing your heroes. It's like Injustice 2 the card game, but Anime.
6: Marvel Legendary
Told you there'd be more deck building on this list. Even though this doesn't have the same variety of heroes as DC, and a lot of the ones they have I have no earthly clue who they are, the game makes up for it in keeping the theme more together than DC did. I may not know who this particular group of spandex-wearers are, but it's fun to have adventures with these people. There's a version with Buffy and another with Firefly people in my collection. All three are great, but Marvel's got to be my favorite of the three.
5: Dice Masters
Not really a board game in the traditional sense since it's more of a collectible game, but if you want to complain you can in the comments. This is like a deck building game, but instead of cards you're adding dice to a bag. More akin to Heroclix but far more cost effective, this game has been my obsession for the last year. If you can find some friends to play it get into it, and hopefully the rumors that it'll turn into an LCG will either be good for it or just aren't true. Denial is a beautiful concept.
4: Dominion
Gotta go with the original deck building game. Dominion is a game where there's always a new strategy, a new exploit, and a new way to win, which again is what I like. Plus the fact that all the cards are hand painted makes it an incredibly beautiful game just to look at. I am definitely wanting the latest expansion that adds more magic to the mix, since what game can't benefit from having more magic?
3: Game of Thrones the Board Game
Okay so it's basically Risk with a few more rules... And with Game of Thrones stuff... Making it somehow infinitely better.... Even though I love Risk. So long story short: It's Risk but better. It is one of those games where if you're going to play it that's the game you're going to play for the rest of the night, so despite my love for it the Lannisters don't get to take on the Starks often, but when they do it's a night to remember.
2: Zombicide
Zombie apocalypse the board game. It's campy, a little cheesy, and you can download a character sheet that resembes Angela Lansbury from Murder She Wrote. The gameplay isn't complicated, but it's still challenging. If you really want to know what it feels like when a massive hoard is barreling down on you and the only thing you can find is a packet of cookies, then try this game out. At the very least you'll get a good laugh.
1: Arkham Horror
This game almost always ranks as my favorite game for millions of reasons. One of the biggest being that it introduced me to the wonders and delights that is the Cthluhu mythos. The game is great for telling the best stories from facing unfathomable creatures from beyond the veil of time and space to being kicked out of the library for not having enough money to pay your overdue fines only to find yourself in the streets facing creatures from beyond the ect ect.
-JOE
I put both versions on here because besides a few details they're pretty much the same game. I love games where you build the board as you go along, even if it doesn't make sense for the kitchen to be right next to the master bedroom, or that there's a door from the potions shop directly to the temple of Llolth. The horror setting is fun to play in, and these games switch it up enough that no two games are alike, from being picked up by a giant bird to being trapped in a bad Saw knockoff.
9: Firefly
This game is interesting because you're not telling stories from Firefly, you're just in the Firefly universe under similar circumstances and seeing if you can do better than the cast of the show, occasionally teaming up with the cast of the show. Some points make no sense, like how when transporting passengers it doesn't matter if the passengers you deliver are the same ones you pick up so long as the numbers are equal, so if you get hit by Reavers and everyone gets eaten you can just pick up some new people from somewhere else and nobody wonders why Uncle Roger never came back from his business trip to Ariel, but the game is fun enough and intriguing enough to overlook slightly messed up flaws.
8: DC Deckbuilding
7: Custom Heroes
AEG is a game company who takes traditional games and throws them off a ten story building onto a freeway. Custom Heroes is your basic trick-taking game where you play a watered down version of War but with a twist: If you don't have a higher number you can insert a special clear card into the sleeve of one of your other cards and change the number. On top of that it gives whatever hero that's on the card a unique weapon or aura, so you're literally customizing your heroes. It's like Injustice 2 the card game, but Anime.
6: Marvel Legendary
Told you there'd be more deck building on this list. Even though this doesn't have the same variety of heroes as DC, and a lot of the ones they have I have no earthly clue who they are, the game makes up for it in keeping the theme more together than DC did. I may not know who this particular group of spandex-wearers are, but it's fun to have adventures with these people. There's a version with Buffy and another with Firefly people in my collection. All three are great, but Marvel's got to be my favorite of the three.
5: Dice Masters
Not really a board game in the traditional sense since it's more of a collectible game, but if you want to complain you can in the comments. This is like a deck building game, but instead of cards you're adding dice to a bag. More akin to Heroclix but far more cost effective, this game has been my obsession for the last year. If you can find some friends to play it get into it, and hopefully the rumors that it'll turn into an LCG will either be good for it or just aren't true. Denial is a beautiful concept.
4: Dominion
3: Game of Thrones the Board Game
Okay so it's basically Risk with a few more rules... And with Game of Thrones stuff... Making it somehow infinitely better.... Even though I love Risk. So long story short: It's Risk but better. It is one of those games where if you're going to play it that's the game you're going to play for the rest of the night, so despite my love for it the Lannisters don't get to take on the Starks often, but when they do it's a night to remember.
2: Zombicide
Zombie apocalypse the board game. It's campy, a little cheesy, and you can download a character sheet that resembes Angela Lansbury from Murder She Wrote. The gameplay isn't complicated, but it's still challenging. If you really want to know what it feels like when a massive hoard is barreling down on you and the only thing you can find is a packet of cookies, then try this game out. At the very least you'll get a good laugh.
1: Arkham Horror
This game almost always ranks as my favorite game for millions of reasons. One of the biggest being that it introduced me to the wonders and delights that is the Cthluhu mythos. The game is great for telling the best stories from facing unfathomable creatures from beyond the veil of time and space to being kicked out of the library for not having enough money to pay your overdue fines only to find yourself in the streets facing creatures from beyond the ect ect.
-JOE
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