My Top 50 Board Games – Part 2: #40-#31

About the list

These are my favourite 50 board games at the present moment.  However, I will readily admit that some games here are fairly new (especially in the 40s and 30s) and may lose polish over time, or rise up to be higher up over time.  There are also many more games I have not had the opportunity to play which could gain spots in the list in the future.  But at this point, these are the 50 I have come up with.

Please comment below on any of the games in this list if you have played them as well.

Note:  Some of these are card games.  As long as they are widely accepted as being within the board game milieu, they count for this list.  However, games with a standard 52  card deck were not considered.

40. Zooloretto

Looking at the box it seems like a kids game. But its actually a clever little strategy game involving efficiency in building the best zoo you can. And it has tiles with cute little animals on it.

 

39. Tobago

A great deduction game with amazing components. It has slipped under the radar lately, but check it out!

 

38. Mascarade

This is a newer game, but its pretty cool. It plays with up to 13 players, so its one thats great when you’ve got a big group. Its a hidden role game with a lot of bluffing and calling bluffs. It fills an interesting niche.

 

37. Apples to Apples

A party game that works with pretty much anyone (except some board game snobs, but thats their problem). It allows for some clever combos and insinuations, which is always a plus in my books.

 

36. X-Wing

Pretty new to me, but being a big Star Wars fan, I am liking this a lot. I was hesitant to try out this quasi-minatures game and miniature gaming is usually not something that interests me, but because of the universe I love so much, I couldn’t resist.

I am really going to have to watch my spending habits on this one, but one thing I know for sure is I will stop buying ships once they are ones that were not in the movies.

 

35. Steam

A more complex game that can be frustrating for some, since it really feels like you’re not accomplishing much throughout the game. But I think its rather neat.

 

34. Kemet

I love Cyclades, but I was worried that Kemet, a game made by the same people but about Egyptian myth instead of Greek, would be too similar. However, Kemet, while having similar aspects, is a very different game. And very fun. There’s a lot to be said for ownership making a great gaming experience, and being able to be the only one to own certain tiles and various creatures is really cool.

 

33. Cyclades

I am a big Greek myth fan, so to have a game equal to that is great. Cyclades involves gods and goddesses, mythological creatures, Spartan-like armies, and Greek islands, all in a conglomeration of various kick-ass mechanics. It does seem like a big of a gameplay mash-up, but it works. What I really like about Cyclades are how many different clever ways you can find to win the game, leading to many surprise victories. Really cool stuff.

 

32. Flash Point

Flash Point is a very thematic game (except for the fact that victims will suddenly just show up in rooms you already visited). And I like that. This game makes my friends and I feel like we are actually fighting a fire, and that’s a good thing. Capturing a theme is all about capturing that sort of feeling, and Flash Point succeeds.

 

31. Agricola

Agricola took the gaming world by storm, but I was late to the party. However, now that I own it, I definitely see the appeal. Its fun to build your own farm from nothing. Its stressful though, since you are always running out of turns and your family is starving. But its still relaly fun. I usually prefer the family game mind you, as I find the occupations and improvements muddle things.