How it works:

The players play the role of powerful nobles competing for influence in a very loosely-defined fantasy world. They do so by recruiting different characters from an eclectic mix and adding these to their “pyramids of power” – patterns assigning relative importance their hirelings get in the ambitious organization that you are building. Kind of like a fantasy org chart (how exciting is that? Org chart!).

You need to pay for these by gems, the game’s currency, that come in four different colours. The higher on your pyramid you want to place a hireling the more it costs.

Each character card provides a reward based on which level you build it on. The rewards are things like magic, technology or straight victory points. At the end of the game these contribute to the final score in different ways (e.g. magic is hard to get going but can score you a million points, military can subtract points from opponents etc.).

The talent pool is rich – whom are you adding to your team?

This is the game’s foundation (pardon the pun) and also its dullest, most math-heavy part. Two unique systems add to it in unique ways. First – in order to get new characters you need to bid on these from an available pool of recruits. You use the same gems as for purchasing to identify which character you’re going after. The trick is if both players bid on the same character – they have to discard their bids and bid again. Threats and negotiations are common here as nobody wants to let an opponent have a character they really need, but wasting a gem to interrupt someone’s bid is not ideal either.

The square cards that comprise your pyramids also have coloured markers on their top corners and the bottom middle. If, putting together the two cards on the lower level and one on top, you manage to make a full circle – that scores you a gem right away and some additional points at the end of the game.

The game runs for twelve rounds of bidding followed by building phases. Afterwards, in a shocking twist, the player earning the most points at the end of the game is crowned the  winner

A two-player game of Viceroy all set up. The table space need is about to go way up.

How it feels:

Before we answer that question – let’s focus on what it DOES NOT feel like. And that’s building a fantasy empire. The majority of the game comes down to a simple calculation of maximum benefit based on what you can afford. The characters’ titles and images have almost no bearing on their effect and the wildly varying art styles fail to establish a consistent theme, ranging from steampunk to sword and sandals fantasy. The quality of it is also all over the place – some pieces are of fantastic quality – evocative and gritty, while others seem to belong on a cheap romance novel cover. The women characters in particular are mostly of the scantily clad variety.

The gems, extremely simple as they are, look very appealing, almost three-dimensional and the colours are rich and vibrant. It is strange to admit this but such a simple element of the game’s look ends up its defining feature. Completing a circle by placing a matching colour on top of a carefully prepared foundation feels rewarding.

Your pyramid of power is being erected.

The game falls squarely into the “multiplayer solitaire” category where for the majority of its duration you are looking only at your own pyramid, only occasionally glancing at your opponents’ to check if there are any obvious things they are collecting that you should be blocking. The interaction does not truly develop though and the dynamic of playing with others is mostly reserved to the very end when you tally the scores.

The bidding teases exceptional dramatic potential as the reveal of the bids always feels like something special is about to happen, yet it is almost always is anti-climactic as opponents just end up going with their picks. Viceroy plays 2-4 and the interaction does increase in 3-4 player games but the duration grows significantly as well. The math-heavy nature of the bulk of the game makes it vulnerable to analysis paralysis that drags already static-feeling gameplay to a crawl. Two-player games, by contrast are done in a compact 40-50 min time.

Mmmm, chits. Wonderful clean art on thin cardboard.

Conclusion:

Viceroy, therefore, is best to be taken and appreciated for what it is – a static, low-interaction math puzzle with uneven, yet mostly appealing art and interesting mechanics that produce some satisfying spatial thinking (that ends up being more satisfying than the point calculations that comprise the bulk of the decision-making). It will disappoint those looking for a fantasy experience, despite featuring select knockout art pieces, as the theme feels largely pasted on.

However, if you enjoy the math and spatial thinking, have a fair amount of table space and are looking for a low-interaction, low-competition activity with some notably satisfying moments – Viceroy will be a solid game to bring to the table once in a while. I know I like the gems enough to keep it in my collection.

How it works

The Grizzled is a cooperative game for 2-5 players, playing the roles of French soldiers attempting to survive the horrors of World War I. Each round a certain amount of cards is dealt and the players have to take turns getting rid of these cards, meeting increasingly restrictive conditions. The cards represent either external challenges faced by the soldiers (terrible weather, gas attacks) or trauma and injuries they withstand over the course of the war.

The 3-player game of The Grizzled all ready to play.

The game places restrictions on how many challenges of the same kind the players can take and how many traumas a soldier can withstand before succumbing, so you have to constantly weigh what cards you can / should play. The more cards you keep, however, the more cards are added to the supply you need to go through for the win. If you manage to get rid of all the cards in the supply without losing any of your soldiers – you win!

Following every round, the players have a chance to “support” one of the soldiers by offering a cup of coffee and a heartfelt talk. This allows getting rid of some of the negative effects, freeing up some of the restrictions for following rounds.

War is a rough affair as Lazare can attest to.

How does it play?

A defining characteristic of The Grizzled is that no game-specific communication is allowed, so you can’t give out clues like “hey guys, don’t play any more trench assault symbols” or “let’s all support Jenny because she’s got the most traumas”. This does wonders in getting rid of the “alpha player” problem that makes many co-op games playable by one person who always knows what everyone else should be doing.

The rules with their quirky game flow and the understanding of restrictions can be a bit slippery to grasp. This is not because of complexity but rather an inexplicable feeling of this game being different. This may make the first couple of games confusing, but not make these drag out as most will fit comfortably in a 30-min window.

The unforgiving landscapes of war.

The game is relatively hard, getting into the “brutally difficult’ territory with higher number of players. It even comes with a “harder” level of challenge that I had zero interest of exploring because the base game is in no danger of being a cakewalk.

The “no game talk” has an interesting side effect of discussing what happens not from a game mechanics perspective but from a storytelling / role-playing angle, which is welcome. It also results in many terrible French accents being deployed as the players bemoan the fate of awkward-looking mustachioed warriors.

How does it feel?

The note about the terrible French accents might make you think that the game is humorous in a way. It is not. When you look at your soldier, demoralized, wounded and terrified of snow because it reminds him of that terrible first mission – you will not be in the joking mood. The art, disarming in its off-balance sincerity and willingness to depict flaws and shortcomings, only adds to this. It is ridiculous, yes, but poignant in showing that the only way to get through all the horror surrounding these folks is embracing this awkwardness and a cup of coffee passed to you by a friend. It truly nails this poignant depiction of a difficult subject and manages to result in a game that is both uplifting, light-hearted and tragic in the stories it tells.

Your bravery and wits is the only thing that stands between the two potential outcomes

Is it a good game though? Mechanically – I’d say it’s alright. You are managing risks, you are calculating when to give a stirring speech to help your friends get rid of a particularly troublesome card in their hand. You are trying to strategize whom to support and are rushing to the end of the supply deck before you are overcome by the many dangers of war. It is truly nothing special on its own, but infused with the melancholy of its theme and art it really creates a special experience. Knowing that the illustrator who did the art for this game, Tignous, was one of the victim of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting, steeps the game even further into disarming sadness.

Conclusion:

So will you enjoy this game? It is unlikely to satisfy those who are looking for a robust strategic experience or a rich social interaction. It is likely to confuse those new to games and looking for a casual experience. It does occupy a unique niche providing a neat balance of heart, brains and courage that few wizards can offer. It is unlikely to become your favourite game but it offers enough consistent charms to warrant a place in a collection. If not to offer a reliably alpha-player-free quirky co-op experience than to remind you that war is good for absolutely nothing.

Right off the top – I’ve played A LOT more games in 2016 than in 2015. In fact, my total number of plays (783) is a whopping 50% higher than my 2015 total (521). The variety of games did not grow as much as the sheer number of plays, only increasing by 22% from 64 to 78.

That’s 2.1 games per day on average in case you’re wondering (up from 1.4 in 2015)

Now I will be honest with you – it’s not like I am getting Terra Mystica on the table with great regularity here (I don’t even like Terra Mystica!). Majority of these games are still 30 min or less in duration (51%), though that proportion has gone down somewhat since 2015 when it was 55%.

Little Loki’s Helper (No, Yggrasil is not what I mean by “kid games”)

Another important factor to take into account is that this year lots of games I played were of the kid variety as my 4-year old started grasping more and more complex mechanics. In fact 34% of plays I have recorded can be classified as “kids games”.

Another huge factor is that I got REALLY into Lord of the Rings LCG this year and a full 19% of my plays fall on that game alone (with the million expansions now totalling around $500 worth, which is both a cause for concern and a future article on cost-effectiveness of games). That obsession really dragged up both the total number of plays and the general duration of games last year. Not that I’m complaining, mind you

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure”

Looking back at the top 10 most played games we have:

1. The above-mentioned Lord of the Rings LCG got an unmatched 148 plays
2. The ever-popular Codenames (including Pictures) got a stellar 93 plays
3. We then move to the kid stuff – My First Stone Age got 39 plays
4. Friday, thanks in part to being quick and portable held its own with 37 plays
5. My First Carcassonne, another game for the little ones was played a solid 36 times
6. Tsuro, rising up from a sad #15 in 2015 got to the table a robust 32 times
7. Hoot Owl Hoot (I used games as child entertainment a lot) – 30 plays
8. Bullfrogs – the highest-ranking Kickstarter game of 2016 got in 25 times!
9. Space Hulk: Death Angel is a long-time favourite slid from #7, but has staying power with 22 plays
10. A kiddie Ticket to Ride: First Journey wraps up the top 10 with 18 forays into railway building.

Another 11 games got in 10+ plays, including : Yggdrasil, Pandemic Legacy, Dixit, Patchwork, The Grizzled, Carcassonne, The Undercity, Flash Point, Telestrations and Dungeon Roll.

That’s a total of 21 x 10 plays, comparing to 16 in 2015!

The Undercity is one of the two large campaign-style games that I played over 2016.

A new measure we’re introducing this year is the H-factor – highest number that fits the description of “I played H games H times“. In 2016 the magic number was 14, a little higher than the 12 in 2015.

New Games

I played 34 games new to me in 2016 (same number as in 2015), but I played these way more (265 vs. 149 times). This is all explained by large-replay kid games, if you take these out I am left just 127. The top non-kid games that were new to me were:

• Codenames: Pictures (29)
• Pandemic Legacy (16)
• The Grizzled (13)
• The Undercity (11)

I’ve been generally very impressed with these with all but the Undercity ending up on my Top 10 list for 2016.

Kickstarter Games:

Despite scaling back some of my crowdfunding I remain committed to helping fellow designers get their games out. And I love playing these games! Much as with the new games the number of these stayed the same with 8, but the overall number of plays jumped significantly from 38 in 2015 to 53 in 2016.

Harbour has become a reliable favourite that still makes regular appearances

Top Kickstarter games of 2016 were:

• Bullfrogs (25)
• Fidelitas (8)
• Harbour (6)
• Battle of Durak (6)

Plays by month

I played an average of 65 games per month with a high of 88 in December and a low of 46 in August

Interestingly, December of 2015 (with 88 plays) was already matching the high 2016 levels, but all the other months only averaged 39 plays a month – significantly less than the 2016 figures. May 2015 vs 2016 had the biggest increase – from 26 to 67 plays. (That’s what not running a Kickstarter will do to your free time, kids :).

LOTR LCG was the most played game in 8 out of the 12 months, ranking #2 or #3 in all others. Codenames didn’t do too shabby either with 8 top-3 months. Kids games (ever-present in this analysis) took the rest of the spots most of the months.

Really, the theme wears off in the first five minutes but the game has endless replayability.

While there were more days with 6+ total games played (13 in 2016 vs. 9 in 2015), I actually did a little worse in terms of days with lots of different games played. In 2015 I had two separate days where seven different games were played. The best I could do in 2016 was Dec 24 with a rather unambitious 6 games played: BANG!, Bullfrogs, Telestrations, Resistance and Click Clack Lumberjack. So while having kids and a LOTR obsession led to more volume of gaming – I think the richness of variety has suffered somewhat.

Interestingly – I don’t think this crazy pace of gaming is sustainable into 2017 – for example Jan 2017 so far has scored 46 plays, which is much closer to 2015 (34) than to 2016 (71).

The goals for 2017 are as follows:

• Have a 10×10 of non-kid games complete
• Play 71 different games
• Bring up my H factor to at least 15
• And most of all – have fun playing games with cool people!

Thanks for reading – hope you enjoyed this recap! Happy gaming in 2017!

I would love to hear any thoughts you have on the above, any insights you have from your own gaming in 2016 and what are some of the goals you are striving to achieve.

As the board games hobby becomes increasingly popular, the demand for games that are accommodate the youngest audience grows. It is no surprise that a modern classic like Carcassonne would be among the first to receive this treatment. How does this simplified version stack up against its cherished predecessor? Let’s chase after that chicken for a while!

How it works:

My First Carcassonne (previously known as Kids of Carcassonne) is intended for players as young as 4. It uses large, chunky tiles that only have one element on it – roads. Some tiles have termination points on them – a road going into a building or towards a courtyard. When a road “terminates” at both ends it is considered to be finished. Most road segments will have a little kid figure on them, belonging to one of the four players’ colours. When a road is finished – players may put one of their seven large chunky meeples on that tile. Whoever gets rid of all their meeples first is the winner.

The animals are about to be released into the streets!

The components are nice and big and unlikely to be misplaced by mischievous younglings. The tiles are chunky and don’t slide around easily as kids try  shuffle them around trying to find best placement. It is a robustly crafted game that caters to its audience. The art, cartoony in style, is somewhat busy and far from the quaint greens of the base Carcassonne, but the bright colours and the fun scenarios of kids chasing after goats and chickens adds to the game.

How it plays:

The game accommodates 2-4 players with an expected age of 4. My son started playing it when he was three and had a great time with it. Because the only element on the tiles are roads – all tiles are compatible and there is no “wrong” way to put a tile, minimizing frustration. The rules are also simple to grasp, though developing an effective approach might take the smallest kids some time as they grasp it. Great thing is that the process of figuring it out (hopefully with some gentle adult guidance) is not frustrating as it’s a good engaging time regardless of whether the kid is winning (clearly, mileage will vary depending on kids’ temperament).

The streets are quickly filling up with the bright giant meeples.

The decisions are bite-sized and because there are no wrong ways to play a card – the wait time is easy. The game goes 10-20 minutes and adult supervision are required only if players are 3-4, with older kids able to play by themselves.

Will my kid like it? Will I?

We had a great time with My First Carcassonne and it is one of the staples in our collection. It is not a particularly engaging game for adults but the fun of playing together more than compensates for it. The games can drag a bit, especially with more players, resulting in loss of patience for younger kids. If you know that the attention span is a concern – I suggest playing with a few less meeples to start. I can’t say how well the game plays with older kids but I imagine it would be too simple for them to enjoy (though “supervising” a group of younger kids might be a fun responsibility!).

Street-level view of the action.

The game teaches spatial reasoning, with deciding how to place a tile so that it connects to roads where your existing figures are or so that the game is closed. Some minor math is involved as you count number of figures of each colour on a closed road or a number of remaining meeples.

Conclusion:

My First Carcassonne is a really simple game that teaches key core concepts of taking turns, winning and losing. It also provides necessary life lesson of what a meeple is. While it won’t blow your or your kid’s mind – it is an approachable stepping stone to get your kid comfortable with games as an activity, paving the way for the more advanced fare in the future.

Comparing My First Carcassonne with its smaller big sibling.

Whilst I’m all for playing games with my family (which I absolutely love to do), I sometimes like having the opportunity to play some games on my own from time to time. In fact, a lot of my friends are gaming fans too, some are actual gaming fanatics so I can learn a lot from them. If you ever need to know What is the Current world of warcraft player count or what the best team on FIFA is… my friend is the person to go to. I like to play all different types of games, from video games to online games. And you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that most of them take place on my mobile phone or tablet device. Candy Crush, Pokemon Go, and even the odd game of roulette through applications like mega888 2021 have all become appealing to me in recent times. I have yet to win any extra money on the casino site, but I’m holding out hope that it will happen soon, but it’s just a great way to pass the time when I have nothing else to do, which is very rare, as these game suggestions get played regularly in our household. I’ve also been interested in learning more about the gambling side of the gaming world in terms of cryptocurrency gambling. Now that cryptocurrency has become ‘the new thing’, I’m eager to get involved. I know there are so many types of online casino gambling, such as NEO gambling, Bitcoin gambling, DOGE gambling… the list goes on. I find it all very interesting as a game lover.

Alex’s Top 5 Games of 2016

My wife Alex likes a great variety of games with a preference towards lighter gameplay not influenced by luck (good luck pitching a dice game to her). We play together quite a bit both as a couple and as part of larger groups and she is always a formidable opponent to be aware of. Below are her top 5 games of the past year with a bit of her own comments thrown in using her favourite orange.

#5 – My First Stone Age (39 plays)

It probably comes as no surprise that we do lots of our gaming all together, so there is some understandable overlap.

Building prehistoric huts through a mix of memory / worker placement mechanisms really is fun for the whole family and it allowed us to spend some very enjoyable time together.

It becomes especially fun when, while the kid is going for their buildings (and you don’t want to mess with them) – it allows for some good-natured competitive shenanigans between adults.

Never overstaying its welcome and coming with delightfully chunky components – this is the only game that appears on all three of our Top 2016 lists :).

Alex says: “It’s a fun family game that never feels too childish”

#4 – Patchwork (14 plays)

Patchwork occupies a very specific niche in our gaming as a couple (you can check out our Top 10 list for that specifically here). It offers satisfying, smart gameplay that is not overly dependent on chance in a very short time. The adorable presentation and the spatial / tactile enjoyment of placing patches on a quilt make it a great game for us and I’m not surprise to see it on Alex’s list.

While the quilting theme had us doubting it initially – this really became a go-to option for us when we want a short game as a part of a weeknight. I also concede that my ass gets kicked with disturbing regularity here as Alex seems to find the kind of balance in her tactic that eludes me.

Alex says: “A really fun two-player game that plays out differently every time”

#3 – Telestrations (11 plays)

Alex is a very social person and so majority of the games that she likes fall into the party variety.

Telestrations has been a very enjoyable discovery for us late this year and has immediately become a mainstay of our get-togethers.

Due to the poor overall art ability in our friend group – sketching out clues usually produces hilarious results, so this game hits the table often with lots of laughter usually following. It works equally well during dedicated board game nights as a filler between heavier games.

Alex says: “A game that makes your cheeks hurt with all the laughter from the ridiculous sketches people come up with”

#2 – Pandemic: Legacy (16 plays)

Alex might be into light gaming, but both of us were greatly committed to saving the world over 2016.

I personally thought Pandemic: Legacy is a revelation in terms of the bold steps it took and what it did with the relatively simple mechanisms of the original. One of the things that impressed me most is that towards the end of the campaign, the rules of the game became considerably complex, yet these were introduced in such a gradual and logical way that it rarely felt overwhelming. Both of us were really looking forward to our monthly plays of this and going through it together was a really cool experience filled with triumphs and crushing defeats.

Alex says: “A game full of awesome surprises. Feels like a TV series that keeps you on the edge of your seat and you get to write the season finale!”

#1 – Codenames / Codenames: Pictures (93 plays)

I was not surprised to see this on the top of Alex’s list as this is a game that combines social aspects of games with both strategic and creative thinking. Oh, and it’s about as approachable as games get – explaining how the rules work takes under 5 minutes and you’re off matching wits!

Both the word and pictures versions of this offer very different experiences that are distinctly enjoyable in their own right. And the intricate web of logical connections each game presents extends its replayability far beyond that of Dixit, which occupied a similar spot for us last year.

I have to grumble a little bit here because Codenames became such an automatic choice for us in many situations that I feel it’s taking play time away from other games, but this, not being my list, is really not the place for it :).

Alex says: “A challenging but really fun game with infinite replayability”

Alan’s Top 5 Games of 2016

My son Alan is turning 4 soon. He used to “help” me with lots of games earlier, including participating in Dungeon Roll and Friday outings but last year was the first time when he really came into his own as a gamer and developed some preferences that I am happy to share with you.

#5 – My First Carcassonne (36 plays)

We had a curious experience with My First Carcassonne. I find that Alan wanted to play this game very early on and grasped the mechanics of it quite quickly (take a tile, place the tile). It really helps that there is no wrong way to place a tile by the way.

However, the understanding of the tactics on how to do well in it really only came towards the end of the year, when he was closer to turning 4. For some reason the concept of “closing off a road” took a while to sink in as something to strive towards.

However, this was the first success we had with introducing a kid version of a modern classic and even now, with the selection being pretty big, it still gets picked from time to time. Separate props for excellent components – chunky cards and big, easy to grasp meeples. Competitive nature of it allowed for some good conversations about weighing “helping others” vs. benefit to self and sportsmanship in general.

#4 – Hoot Owl Hoot (32 plays)

In this game you are drawing cards to move a bunch of little owls towards their nest, racing against time to get them home before the sun comes up and they lose their way. It’s striking how similar this game is to Candy Land (the principle of “going to the next available spot of colour X” is there and so is the random generation of the colour). However, because the game is co-operative and you are moving several owls as a team instead of just your own – there is an immediate dimension of strategy and as an adult it is way better of an experience than Candy Land.

The colours allowed us a good opportunity to reinforce some of the vocabulary (extra helpful because Alan is learning several languages at once) and the tension of saving the little owls always makes things nice and dramatic.

#3 – Bullfrogs (25 plays)

This is probably the most unexpected entry on this list as Bullfrogs is not really a kids’ game (the official recommendation is 8+). This nice Kickstarter recreates a battle between opposing frog armies to claim as many lily pads as possible by placing your frogs on these and removing the opponent’s.

The rules as presented are too complex for the little ones, but the theme is extremely appealing and with a few simplifications it worked very well. (In case you’re wondering about the simplifications – we play by drawing a random card instead of picking one of three, without sabotage and without any extra scoring rules).

The frog meeples and the appealing art really sell this game and it works great with a shortened duration (we usually cut the intended 10-card deck in half to keep the game at 15-20 min to be mindful of the attention span). While it might have been unexpected, the “frog game” became a welcome mainstay on our gaming table.

#2 – Ticket to Ride: First Journey (18 plays)

Continuing the “kid version of an adult classic” we arrive at the Target-exclusive kiddie remake of Ticket to Ride. Seeing how my son shares a name with the creator of the original and loves trains – this was a no-brainer. Getting this game in Canada was not easy (had to ask a friend from States to bring it for us) but was it ever worth the effort! The changes from the adult version (easier routes of length 1-4, only random draw of cards) are smart and conductive to quicker and easier play – in fact it’s surprising how similar the game plays to the full version.

Despite the 6+ age recommendation, our 3-year old grasped the rules very quickly (we play shortened games until 4 completed tickets, not 6 and ignore the “coast to coast” rule). Both the strategic decision-making and spatial thinking involved are great for the kid’s development. As an added point it offered a great primer into major North American cities.

I can see this one staying one of Alan’s favourites for a while.

#1 – My First Stone Age (39 plays)

I am really running out of good things to say about My First Stone Age after it being on mine and my wife’s lists. It’s worker placement that is extremely easy to grasp for a young kid (the box says 5 but it’s being overly cautious). It’s got giant wooden mammoth tusks and arrowheads. It’s got a memory mechanic that miraculously does not get in the way of fun and actually enhances it. It lasts a tight 15 minutes keeping attention. It is played out on a colourful, well-illustrated board. It teaches about losing and winning (or rather you as an adult do. Alan loves this game and I am always happy when he chooses to play it.

I never played the “real” Stone Age and surprisingly, despite loving this game it did not make me interested in trying the adult one. I am, however, truly grateful for the experiences it allowed me to share with my son and I look forward to lots more forgetting where the dang dog tile is as I am being upstaged by a pre-schooler in prehistoric hut-building.

So all in all – 2016 was a blast to play games with my awesome family and I’m sure 2017 will bring lots new games to our table! I can’t wait to tell you how it goes.

Oh and Alan also plays Lord of the Rings LCG with me. I’ll let you know how in the world that works in his little brain if I ever figure it out.

How it works:

The Undercity is a cooperative tactical adventure game for 2-4 players. It comes with four playable characters and a series of seven scenarios forming a campaign. The board is set differently for each scenario, using cardboard terrain tiles and miniatures to create environments where your adventures will take place. The game comes with a dozen types of monsters and new ones join the fray every turn. It is up to your characters to fight off the hordes while striving to fulfil each scenario’s unique objective.

After each character’s turn, the monsters get their own go, activated according to cheat sheet that lays out their internal logic (e.g. “makes a ranged attack if there’s a hero within 1 space, moves towards heroes otherwise”). Once an objective is fulfilled the heroes are victorious and can move on to the next scenario. If all heroes have been defeated or a loss condition has been reached – the heroes lose and the scenario has to be replayed.

These ambushing thugs don’t know what they are getting into!

How it plays:

Each game features either 3 or 4 characters (if played with 2 players – each controls 2). Each of the playable character is very unique both in their own right and in terms of being different from other options. There is a knife-throwing, grenade-chucking alchemist, a little goblin-like creature and his huge pet steam-powered robot, a deadly sorcerer with an enchanted pistol and their fearless leader – a towering, regenerating troll-like warrior.

Characters gain experience between successfully completed adventures and can buy new abilities, customizing and empowering the character. The map also contains triggers for small side quest cards that contain either other items to discover or small additional stories to explore.

The map is laid out for the initial descent into the Undercity.

All action resolve with rolling a bunch of dice, determined by your character’s abilities, making reliance on luck a big part of the game. In addition to base abilities of each character they receive a deck of Feat cards that are regularly drawn that can activate additional unique effects that help you bash heads.

Each session, lasting about 2 hours, is preceded by a page-long, well-written intro that sets the stage for the adventures to come and flesh out the characters. The story deals with investigating attempts to smuggle and use a harmful substance that creates a new dangerous type of enemy. It is best described as functional and not getting in the way. A more critical assessment would be boring and entirely forgettable.

The game really focuses on tactics and offers a good, very social opportunity to plan and execute together. Dice rolls can provide both moment of despair and joy – whether reliance on randomness is a good thing or not depends entirely on the player. The game does offer several ways to manipulate / mitigate the rolling so it is not all blind reliance on chance.

The duelist stares down her adversaries, magelock pistol at the ready.

Will you like this game?

The games usually start off with a great deal of excitement as you get submerged into the amazing setting (The Undercity is a very interesting place that I want to explore more in better-written stories). You get a new set of abilities, new enemies to face and there is usually a good sense of challenge and eagerness to try your mettle. The game, however, overstays its welcome and not in a good way as many of the battles become tedious due to lots and lots of rolling versus continually respawning enemies.

While there are several action options available – these do end up getting tiresome towards the second hour of playing, especially if things are not going well and you feel the scenario will need to be replayed.

The rules are another weak point of the game. Both the structure of the rules and the way these are described could have been made easier and more approachable. The logic of monster’s activation for example, while not complex, is written in a way that was difficult to remember and constant references to the cheat sheet and rulebooks were necessary even towards the last games of the campaign (nearing 10^th play). Things are further complicated by custom rules that exist for specific scenarios. Keeping it all in mind, while planning your tactics does get a little confusing and in my experience – detracts from the enjoyable action and the immersive setting.

Miniature closeups – you will never look at diving equipment the same.

The component quality is uneven. While minis (unpainted resin, finely detailed) are of very high quality – the cardboard and cards are flimsy and scuff/get deformed easily. I found that to be a disappointment for an expensive game. The exceptional art on the cover and cards creates an expectation of a premium product and the cards and tiles just do not live up to it. The art on the board and tiles is blander, but serviceable and does not get in the way.

The game is of medium difficulty, providing a good challenge that does not feel unfair. However, in pursuing the game’s objectives – the players rarely feel like they have the luxury to explore the side quests available. This made me feel like we missed out on a whole aspect of a game because it did not make sense to risk defeat for it.

Ultimately, the Undercity is not a bad game by any stretch of imagination. Despite its flaws I had an enjoyable time playing through the campaign and was looking forward to new challenges. While I am not compelled to immediately play another campaign (far from it) – it will stay in my collection because I do want to go through it again, focusing more on side quests and trying different character development options.

The original and diverse cast of protagonists.

Conclusion:

The Undercity offers a tactical combat with excellent minis and wonky rules in a fantastic setting. If you don’t mind loads of dice rolling and a banal story but are excited by lots of action, original characters and their customization – this is a game for you. Those looking for tight rules, involved plot, deep strategy or quick games should look elsewhere.

Counterpoint:

(My friend Eric offered to supplement this review with his own impressions so you get two takes on it for the price of one! Imagine the savings!)

Take me down to the Undercity, where there ain’t no grass…

Since Artem and I played this together, we thought it would be interesting to write back-to- back reviews of our experiences with Undercity. I could save everyone the pain of reading through a long post simply by agreeing with everything Artem says. And I do pretty much agree with him.

*Gulp*

But let’s not stop there. I do have few supplemental points to make.

First, Undercity is good but it’s not great. In addition to all of the minuses enumerated by Artem, I didn’t really feel the theme as much as I wanted to. The bad guys felt like a nuisance rather than a creepy threat (didn’t help that Artem and I misread the rules and played on nightmare mode for most scenarios– that is, the bosses activated far more often than they were supposed to) and there were times when spawning felt unfair (because we had just completed a task) or meaningless (because spawning more foul beasts didn’t fit the story).

Second, the story was convoluted at times and I forgot the whole point of the scenario. “Beat bad guys” seems tedious for a story-based game.

The many odd bits that round out the Undercity’s component list.

Third, if the occasional humdrum elements of the story weren’t enough, I concur with Artem that we could never spice things up with a side quest because the chaos of the main quest kept us far too busy.

I realize at this point it sounds like I didn’t enjoy Undercity. Despite what I’ve written, I actually did look forward to getting this to the table, but it all had to do with whom I was playing with. If your teammates don’t take this game too seriously, if you strategize well together, if no one feels the need to be the game alpha this can make for an entertaining evening.

This year was a weird one as my gaming patterns have really changed. As my 3-year old has taken to gaming – about 25% of all the games I played were of the kid variety and a couple I enjoyed these so much a couple snuck in. I should thank all the app marketers (they probably use the best mobile app monetization platform) who helped me discover all these cool new games! The top two on this list stand much higher than the other 8. Just the way things worked out, but the other titles certainly deserve being there. I’m curious to see whether this front-loaded appreciation of games will stay in place or whether it will be more evenly spread in 2017. One of my friends also suggested this particular game called “Borderlands”. Apparently, it has been quite a hit among children. He said that it is by this game development company called Gearbox Software which was co-founded by Randy Pitchford. I should probably check it out as soon as possible!

Finally – for reference – here are the links to the lists from 2015 and 2014. A couple of favourites make quite a comeback this year! So without further ado – let’s dive right in!

10. Bang! (6 plays, no ranking in 2014/2015)

BANG! Just barely edged out the good old Patchwork for the #10 spot on this list as it was a late addition to my gaming library.

It occupies a very neat spot between social interaction and gaming mechanics, capturing a nice dynamic feel in a tidy 30-min playing slot.

At 4-7 player count it is also a great option for larger groups and so I think it will become quite a favourite with my work gaming people.

It makes no attempt at appearing to be a thinky / strategic offering but it did not stop me from enjoying it a great deal – in fact the randomness only adds to the Wild West feel and some of the showdowns that we had were quite epic.

9. Codenames + Codnames: Pictures (93 plays, #8 in 2015)

The popularity of Codenames and its simple genius design are undeniable. The reason why it only made it to the #9 spot is that by now I realize that it’s more of a brain teaser / team competition than a board game.

It does not necessarily make it a bad way to spend time but I often regret that it becomes the default option, preventing other games that I’d like to play from hitting the table.

This entry combines both Codenames and Codenames: Pictures, even though these offer pretty different experiences that are both great in their own right. If you think I’m being overly harsh to this #1 party game – I hope my review will persuade you otherwise.

8. Ticket to Ride: First Journey (18 plays, no ranking in 2014/15)

Remember those kids games I mention? The kiddie version of Ticket to Ride is one of them.

While I find the base game an enjoyable option – it never became a big hit for me mostly because I think it overstays its welcome.

This simplification is great for younger kids, encouraging spatial planning, counting and even learning a bit of geography (it certainly helped my son learn the city names).

I also like that it can be easily shifted in difficulty to adjust it for older/younger kid groups. I think it will also prepare Alan well for eventually trying the adult version (which is fitting given he shares a name with the designer)

7. Epic Spell Wars (6 plays, no ranking in 2014/15)

With an epic long title and a completely unnecessary but badass-looking cardboard Mt. Skullzfyre – the sheer ridiculousness of this spell-slinging game is obvious.

I have to say that appreciation for it has grown over this year – it’s really a game that feels better the more familiar your group becomes with it. Worked great for work lunch gaming.

The wizards’ duel is filled with lots of mayhem and chance but also encourages adopting your tactics to circumstances and creative combination of spell effects for maximum destruction.

A great fit for medium-sized groups who are not averse to conflict and need an activity demanding Iron Maiden as background music.

6. The Grizzled (13 plays, no ranking in 2014/15)

Shifting gears completely, we go from gonzo spell duels to poignantly hard-hitting cooperative game about a group of French soldiers surviving World War 1.

While the rules can be a bit wonky to grasp, the overall feel of this game is a wonderful achievement – sad, vulnerable, often crushing but sometimes triumphant – this is a great experience, made all the more special by the sad fate of its artist.

Emotions aside – the lack of clear sharing of information allows The Grizzled to avoid the alpha-gamer problem and it delivers a real challenge for experienced players all in a tight 30-min timeframe.

5. Space Hulk: Death Angel (22 plays, #9 in 2015, #3 in 2014)

The fact that FFG will no longer be making Warhammer games is a sad one. Games like this one demonstrated that they can ace the nail-biting tension and the feeling of an overwhelming challenge by unstoppable forces that the setting is known for.

Death Angel makes for a great solo or 2-player game and a surprisingly fun 6-player option (even though all strategy flies out of the window unless you want to subject yourself to a snail-like pace caused by over-analysis). I was surprised that I enjoyed this game more this year as I came back to it many times as a dependable (and highly transportable!) source of challenge in a well-realized world. I love that even defeats feel epic and exploring these dark corridors is never dull! The expansions really help you get more out of this one. (read my review)

4. Eldritch Horror (7 plays, #4 in 2015, #1 in 2014)

With the 6 expansions now in existence – this game gained lots of weight. Even though I only own 3 of these – the setup time alone can be enough to dissuade some from trying this. The hearty 2+ hours duration is also far from breezy.

Despite that – every time I do get this game to the table – I am reminded how great it is. Its ability to reliably generate epic horror stories never ceases to amaze. The expansion content adding welcome novelty so the charms don’t wear thin.

It works especially nice if you manage to find like-minded individuals to seal away elder evils with. The game asks for a lot from players but rewards those patient enough handsomely. (my review)

3. My First Stone Age (39 plays, no ranking in 2014/15)

I am not being very original here, picking the 2016 Kinderspiel De Jahres winner as my #3. I am amazed at how well the euro-mechanics were translated into an extremely simple rule set and my son adores this game as you can easily surmise from the almost 40 plays.

The large chunky components deserve a special mention and the unexpected memory component worked out much better than I have anticipated. Appealing, quick and even offering educational opportunities here and there – this one brought lots of joy to our family’s gaming table in 2016.

Alan particularly enjoys teaching this game to others, reminding people that peeking under the unexplored tiles is highly unsportsmanlike

2. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (16 plays, no ranking in 2014/15)

Now we’re getting to the heavy hitters. I consider Pandemic Legacy a triumph of originality and boldness in game design. While the consumable nature of this game is unfortunate – how many games in your collection have been played 12-24 times?

The story that develops throughout your efforts to save the world, the way the existing mechanics evolve and get more complex, the way you get attached to characters – there are so many amazing things about it.

It really gave me and my wife a memorable experience and I look forward to how this smash hit will influence the complexity and customization of stories that board games will be able to tell in 2017 and onward.I am also going to leave this link here :).

1. Lord of the Rings: Living Card Game (149 plays, #2 in 2015)

Even the awesome originality of Pandemic: Legacy couldn’t omit the fact that I played the LOTR LCG almost 150 times in a scope of a year. I am an avid Tolkien fan and the world that this game creates continues to awe.

A vast number of heroes and cards to pick from, creating innumerable combinations to discover. A constantly updated set of adventures to test your mettle against. A thriving community that is fun to share and interact with. A few of my friends who share the excitement for this game. Lots made LOTR LCG the game of the year for me, but the main reason remains that by some miraculous reason it also counts as a kid-friendly game for me. I’m still not sure how my 3-year old managed to grasp majority of the rules, but he did and now I have an enthusiastic partner to share in my adventures.

The fact that most weekend mornings start with an offer to play “The Gandalf Game” make the decision to place it atop this list an easy one.

And that wraps up this list. All of these games (different as they are) brought lots of joy to me over the year and I look forward to another year of fun engaging gaming! The 2016 summary series will continue with dedicated Top-5 lists for my wife and son soon!

How it works:

The game is played with 2 teams of 2-4 people each (though nothing mechanically prevents larger groups). 25 cards with abstract words are laid out on the table. One player within each team is chosen as the “Spymaster” – the two (one from each team) receive a “cheat sheet”, showing which of the cards belong to your team, which are the opponents’. There are also neutral cards and one “assassin” that makes you lose the game if ever selected. The Spymasters’ goal is to make their teammates (huddled on the other side of the cheat sheet) pick all cards belonging to their team before the opponent picks all theirs. The Spymaster gives clues to help their team guess and coming up with the clues is where the meat of the game is.

The components and art are unspectacular but serviceable.

A clue has to be a word that would associate with one or more words on the table. (So for example if you’re trying to make your teammates guess “Alien”, “Moon” and “Telescope” you could say “Space”. Don’t worry. It’s never that easy). You are only allowed one word and the number of cards you want your team to guess. The team then picks cards based on the clue – if you got it wrong – your turn is over. If you accidentally picked the “assassin” – you just lost the game. Whichever team picks all of their cards first is the winner.

Ostensibly there is a spy theme to the game but in most cases it is forgotten as quick as it becomes obvious that it’s completely unnecessary to enjoying the game.

How it plays:

It plays amazingly well. Unlike most board games, Codenames does not impose a complex system of rules to master on players. Such systems, while enjoyable once learned, often stand in the way of the initial enjoyment of the game. Codenames doesn’t have such an obstacle. What you get is a simple framework to flex your wit, intelligence and vocabulary. The game is learned in minutes and engages people throughout its short, 10-20 min duration. In fact – most times I put Codenames on the table it would be played 3-4 times in a row as every member of the team gets a chance to be the Spymaster.

A game of codenames all set up to go. Ready, set, spy!

While children might very well enjoy this game – it did not strike me as a particularly great option for the younger crowd (perhaps those 12+). It might be good as a developmental exercise but its prime purpose is clearly entertaining adults. The experience it provides is a good mix between being fun and offering a challenge for your brain. There are some quiet pensive moments, some loud arguments, some high-fives or groans of disbelief as your team make the inevitable far-reaching conclusion to pick the assassin card.

How it feels:

The strength of codenames is its versatility. It will find a spot in many a collection because it fits so many roles. It is light enough to not scare off inexperienced players (or even those who just do not play games). It is very thinky (though not in the usual way that board games make you think) that it is enjoyable even if you are a seasoned veteran. You can play it once or twice as part of a larger game night between chunkier options or you can focus in on a tournament or a series of matches (with rapidly escalating tensions).

In fact, the worst thing I have to say about Codenames is that it may cannibalize the table time from other games in your collection. It is so approachable and so easy to play that people might default to it a little bit too often. I know I found myself a little frustrated when game suggestions are met with “can we just play Codenames instead”.

A game of Codenames in full swing. The clue is Bang, 4. Which words would you tap?

But that’s not to detract from the game. The game comes with a great variety of cards (that are double-sided for convenience) and the replayability is near-infinite. Compare it with something like Dixit, which forms strong associations between a particular game component and a potential word. In Codenames the association that you have to make is not with a single word but rather with a combination of words some of which might be not on the table, some of which you might need to avoid (because they belong to the other team). The web of logical connections behind this approachable exterior is near-infinite. Which is easy to understand once you look at the designer’s name. Vlaada Chvaatil is known for heavy, complex euros with tons of moving parts. In Codenames (which I consider to be a triumph) he managed to maintain all the enjoyable complexity while taking out all the “work” usually involved in getting to the good stuff.

Conclusion:

This is a rare game that I consider a “must have” in most collections. Unless your interest lies exclusively in strategic non-party games. Codenames will become a mainstay in your collection, offering hours of fun with different groups in different scenarios.

How it works:

LOTR LCG is a cooperative customizable card game (because of the endless possibilities for expansions it is labeled as a “living” card game). Each game is a scenario that is played out in Middle Earth as 1-4 players embark on a selected adventure. The core set comes with three such adventures of varying difficulty.

Each player begins by selecting three heroes that will comprise their team. Heroes belong to one of the four Spheres – different fractions that offer distinct sets of abilities. For example, the Tactics sphere focuses on combat, while Lore is more about healing and obtaining additional information. Heroes represent a mix of well-known characters from the novels (Aragorn, Legolas, Gloin) and original ones that fit very well into existing narrative (you could meet them in other FFG games – like Thalin or Eleanor). Each hero has a set of RPG-like characteristics as well as unique special abilities.

A two-player game of LotR LCG all set up.

The players then have to construct their deck. Initially the pre-made decks from the core set function very well, but eventually you become comfortable enough with the rules that you will want to mix and match cards from different spheres to create a custom powerful deck. The player cars represent allies you can bring with you on adventures, items to outfit your adventurers or events that help you or hinder your enemies. The “feel” of the cards fits very well with their respective spheres – e.g. the sphere of Spirit will have allies that are great explorers and events that allow players to avoid or deal with hazards they encounter while travelling.

The scenario you picked will dictate the make-up of the deck you are playing against as well as victory conditions. The game itself consists of a cycle of players sending their characters to explore, making progress towards the current goal, encountering hazards and enemies along the way and overcoming these through wit and combat. Each obstacle card – be it a perilous location or a nasty Warg, create a certain amount of Threat and you have to overcome that threshold by sending adventurers to explore. Fail and the threat can overwhelm you – each player has a counter that rises with each unsuccessful quest, higher threat making you susceptible to negative effects and eventually causing you to lose.

A Tactics-focused team with everyone’s favourite Orc-counting duo. The heroes suffered some damage but they have some allies to back them up.

You have to be careful not to overcommit characters to exploration though – you have to keep some available if you want them to fight off the baddies. You start with just your heroes but each turn they generate a certain amount of resources that can be used to bring into play cards from your hand, expanding your options and growing your team, allowing you to take on tougher challenges.

As you progress through the stages of the quest by defeating monsters, finding objective cards and exploring locations – you get ever closer to victory. If you manage to achieve the win condition of the scenario you are playing (which can be as simple as defeating a monster or as complex as finding an object and exploring wilderness) – the players win. If your threat reaches a certain level or all your heroes are dead – the game is lost and other brave souls will need to give it a shot another day.

How it plays:

There are two distinct ways to play the LOTR LCG. One is a simple game with pre-constructed decks – just pick a sphere and begin playing. The other invites you to customize your decks and mix heroes from different spheres, thinking about how their respective powers help each other. This is a much more in-depth approach to the game and you can easily spend a good 20 minutes planning and deck building before even starting a game.

Beloved characters from the novels await your command.

The “simple” way to go works quite well for the times when you want a quick game, but the customized decks are more powerful and if you want to tackle the harder scenarios – you will want to give that a shot. At least the introductory scenario in the core set is perfectly playable without the deck building and lots of enjoyment can be found even without going into the deep end.

The core set claims to be fit for 1-2 players but there is no objective reason for it not to be playable with 3 or even 4, if everyone sticks with a single Sphere. The game’s complexity does increase with more players as you have more effects to keep track of, so beginning solo or with two players is advisable.

Solo games go very quickly, often fitting into 30 minutes, especially for the less complex scenarios. More complex games featuring more players can easily stretch into the 90 minutes maximum game time – it all depends on the scenario you are playing. With the three scenarios contained in the core set it is only likely with 3 or 4 players.

The encounter deck is filled with the hazards and enemies that block your way to victory.

The flow of the game depends greatly on the familiarity with the mechanics. There is usually a lot of intricacies to take into account and it takes some time to get a hang of everything and double-check that your reading of the rules is correct. The player interaction comes mostly through discussion of who does what and how well you are going to be able to handle the hazards before you. While not a part of the game – this interaction does engage players in a shared experience and at no point does the game feel like a group solitaire. It does, however, work very well as a solo option, even if it reduces the range of options available to you and forces you to create teams that can do everything as opposed to spreading the responsibilities across several players.

The alpha player problem is also not particularly strong – the cards players have are not visible to others and the number of suggestions that to make is limited. Analysis paralysis is not really a problem because most of the time everyone does their thing simultaneously, so it’s not like you’re waiting for the other player just to take your turn.

Traps and treacherous locations will give you just as much trouble as monsters.

The flow of the game, unfortunately, is sometimes interrupted by an intricate entanglement of the rules that requires clarification before a certain sequence of events unravels. Experience with the rules helps smooth these over, but expect to keep the rulebook handy first dozen or so games.

How it feels:

Exactly like reading Tolkien. You keep wondering if all this reading is worth the effort and then something so awesome happens that it does not leave a doubt in your mind – yes, it is totally worth it!

The basics of the game may appear over-mechanical in their execution but after playing a few games you start “getting” what story elements are transmitted by abstract notions of “progress tokens”, “shadow cards” and “engagement checks”. The game is built on a sequence of tiny little systems that intertwine with each other, creating a rich variety of scenarios they can depict and tactical options to tackle the obstacles.

Goblins, spiders, undead and all manner of foes to test your mettle.

Furthermore, by tweaking each of these tiny sub-systems, a game can change, sometime dramatically, and the system smartly uses these changes to tell a story. For example in one scenario, the heroes sail on a boat along a river, while a growing hoard of monsters chases them along the shore. That means that the orcs will not be able to attack you for this stage but once you clear it and hit the shore at the beginning of the next one – you will have to take on all of the baddies at once!

However, I hesitate to call LOTR LCG and elegant game. There is A LOT to it and I can honestly say that players have to be comfortable with complexity to tackle this one, especially if custom deck-building and further expansions are of interest. This limits the audience for it, but those who do stick with the game will be rewarded with rich engaging stories in a beloved world.

The difficulty of some of the scenarios can also be significant and players should be comfortable with a healthy number of defeats, some due to an uncontrollably crappy card draw. There are ways to mitigate it in game, but sometimes things will go terribly, rocks will fall and everybody will die – be prepared for it. If luck as a factor is a deterrent – steer clear. Finding that approach that finally cracks a scenario that felt impossible does make for some triumphant fist-pumping, that much I can tell you.

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure”

A word on structure:

While I think LOTR LCG is a very good game – it is certainly not for everyone and I hope this review explains why. However, the Core Set of the game offers a great way to dip your feet and get a good feeling of whether you would like it or not. If you don’t – you can stop right there and if you do – there is lots and lots (and lots and lots) of expansion materials available – to date there are 62 additional adventures you can buy, each introducing new heroes and player cards that you can use to help you with the old scenarios and the new. The game keeps growing, justifying the “living” name, and there is a vibrant community around it. For example, I highly suggest visiting the Tales from the Cards blog for tactical advice and guides on both playing and purchasing the expansions. It can certainly get pricy, but you can be sure to get significant mileage out of every purchase.

Fantasy Flight Games, offering excellent fan support, even has an online hub to track your best scores and gaming stats.

A word of thanks:

I have to admit that the complexity and level of abstraction in LOTR LCG initially left me lukewarm. I have to offer my sincere thanks to my friend Eric for inviting me again and again to return to this wonderful world that I am now fully committed to. Thank you, Eric!

In Conclusion:

The LOTR LCG rewards those who are willing to put in the effort. If you enjoy Tolkien’s works and appreciate an in-depth, multi-layered game that is highly customizable – give it a shot. Manage your expectations and at worst you’ll play a game you don’t particularly enjoy and at best – will open a whole new gaming universe that you will spend many hours enjoying.

The list is based on ranked responses of a group of 7 people who were all asked to provide their opinions on which games are best for workplace lunchtime gaming. Some would speak about Fileproto.com games instead before we refined it down to board games. It was suggested that the games in the list should accommodate 5 or more players (because work groups frequently are up there in size) and last 45 min or less (because you don’t want this to start interfering with work). Neither of these limitations was enforced though – if the game got the votes – it’s on this list. Without further ado – let’s get into it!

10. Tokaido

The Tokaido box in its austere beauty.

Antoine Bauza’s trek across feudal Japan has lots of things going for it (you can read me gushing over its many virtues in this review). Simple rules mean almost everyone can play and this is a great benefit in a situation where you want to be open to players of all experience levels. Little hostility means everyone is enjoying themselves. The game works for five and almost always wraps up in a neat 45 min.

It leaves you wishing for a longer lunch to play another one. The striking visual design alone is enough to get people interested. The calming effect of its zen feel plays a very significant role in a situation where gaming can help people de-stress from a hectic day/week in the office.

9. Tsuro

By the end of the game, the intertwining paths are mesmerizing.

The Game of the Path is a good fit for workplace gaming – accommodating up to 8 players and featuring rules that are exceptionally simple and intuitive. Player elimination and generally abstract theme limit its appeal a bit, but the games are usually over in just about 20 min, so being knocked off the board doesn’t sting too much. Light theme also makes it a great conversational game, allowing you to catch up and connect with colleagues.

Most lunches would easily accommodate a couple of these games, so even if you got eliminated early – you get another shot!

8. The Grizzled

The Grizzled

Co-operative games are excellent options but most quality offerings either do not accommodate too many people or last too long to fit neatly into a lunch time slot. Mostly for that reason, The Grizzled is the only co-op on this list.

Taking care of a group of French soldiers during World War I, the players have to keep them safe and sane, making sure they make it to the war’s end. There is limited communication allowed – this opens up opportunities to chat about something else or compete whose fake French accent is worse.

Underneath it all you always feel like you’re playing for a good cause and triumph (as difficult as it can be to achieve) really feels like something special. Grizzled plays nicely with up to 5 people in about 40 min – you may even manage a couple of games if you’re quick!

7. Love Letter

Lots of appeal in a tiny package.

With Love Letter’s hard cap at 4 players – it is likely going to come out only when a part of your team is unavailable, but that’s hardly an issue. With super-simple rules, an innovative theme and lots of thinky interaction between players – this minimalist game is a sure hit for smaller groups.

Each round of this deduction game only takes a few minutes and even though you can get eliminated – you’re back in action in no time! A lovely mix of luck, memory and probability calculation – the game is sure to appeal to many groups.

And of course for those of you not digging the Renaissance intrigue – there is a Batman or Hobbit versions for a re-skin and tiny rule tweaks.

6. Dixit

Sweet, surreal and a ton of fun

Playing up to 6 players and fitting neatly into a 30-minute window, Dixit is a great fit for the workplace. The way different people interpret the surreal imagery might offer some interesting glimpses into your co-workers’ way of thinking. The absurd clue / image matches will result in lots of laughter.

The feeling of connection you have when someone picks up on your obscure reference is awesome and causes many high-fives.

While not everyone loves Dixit (the subjectivity of “being good” at it might irk the more competitive players) – it’s utility was well recognized – it made the Top 10 lists for each of the respondents in our little survey.

5. Carcassonne

The game that gave us meeples

Classics are classics for a reason. Carcassonne plays with up to five people in a very manageable 40-minute time. The tile-laying countryside-building exercise can be explained in exactly two minutes, allowing gamers of all levels to start having fun!

Carcassonne is highly flexible – different playing styles range from very peaceful to highly competitive. Even the complexity can be dialed up or down by using or omitting farmers.

The simplicity and engaging nature of this staple make it hit the table quite a bit – it is a dependable, familiar option that never lets us down.

4. Codenames

Top secret word game

The most recent game on this list (published in 2015), this one was an instant hit. In fact, you have probably seen it appear on enough Top 10 lists (mine included) that this appearance is hardly a surprise.

The social nature of guessing which several words did the spymaster tie together with a one-word clue can go from comfortable to nerve-wrackingly obscure (this tends to start happening when desperate teams try to play catch-up). The team-based nature of this game also brings in an interesting social dynamic that can help people work on their communication skills.

While I personally think Codenames works best with 4, it expands to higher player counts nicely. And with the breezy 15 minutes per game – it’s likely everyone will have a go at being a spymaster.

This game worked especially well at social gatherings and it is highly recommended.

3. The Resistance

It started off well but went downhill fast. The final mission will decide everything.

“You’re a spy!” / “Only a spy would say that!” / “I can’t believe you’d say that about me!”

Sounds familiar? These and many other flimsy arguments trying to mask the lack of solid information start flying around the room often when The Resistance hits the table.

A pinnacle of social deduction with a minimal amount of rules to get in the way of people’s ingenuity and cunning – this game pushes team dynamics to a new level. While probably not great for a new team that is still forming (there is A LOT of baseless accusations) – a group of people already comfortable around each other can have a great time with this one.

We absolutely love this one and need to remember to keep our voices down to not let the arguments disturb our non-gaming co-workers. Being able to accommodate up to 10 and playing in a compact 30 minutes – this one is right at home at our lunchtime game group.

2. King of Tokyo

Let the smashing commence!

Yet another game that made the top 10 for every single respondent in this poll – King of Tokyo is lots and lots of fun. How can a game about chucking dice to see which giant monster causes more mayhem to Tokyo and/or their enemies not be fun?

The random factor is high in this one (did I mention the dice chucking) so the strategy fans should look elsewhere. For those seeking a simpler, more interactive (some would say cutthroat) experience – this one is right at home.

Player elimination means that someone might get crushed early on and miss out on the rest of the game but most of the time it comes down to a tight battle to the finish with lots of high-stakes rolls, upsets and unexpected triumphs.

While the ability cards can add a layer of complexity – at its heart this is a very simple game and one that does a great job letting people relax and have fun after a week of hard work.

Before we unveil our #1 – here are some honourable mentions that just barely didn’t crack the Top 10:

Fishing viking souls out of little baggies is lots of fun!

Who doesn’t like train-based classics? All aboard!

Lots of excitement in this real-time dice-based race.

1. 7 Wonders

Wondrous indeed.

Just barely inching out King of Tokyo for the top spot is another one of Antoine Bauza’s designs. So many things make 7 Wonders ideal for workplace gaming. Plays up to 7 but never drags out. Everyone plays simultaenously. A theme that’s engaging but not overly geeky to make sure it doesn’t exclude anyone by being too restrictive. Lots of competition without direct conflict.

7 Wonders does all of these things in a neat package that effectively combines striking aesthetics with gameplay that is robust and not at all difficult once you grasp a few basics. Sure, the icons will require some getting used to and counting up the Science points is an ever-present reminder of how important math skills are. But in no way does this stop this game being absolutely amazing for this kind of a situation.

Variety of point scoring strategies and civilizations accommodate lots of playing styles and different tactics based on which hand you’re holding maintain lots of replayability. 7 Wonders is an extremely well designed game (as you can tell by a plethora of award markers on its sides) and it richly deserves being on top of this list.

Gaming can be a great tool to bring your team together and make it gel. I hope this list will give you some inspiration for breaking out a game or two at your next lunch!

Did I miss any titles that you think work particularly well? I’d love to hear about these in the comments!

Also – as an experiment in comparing our gaming group’s taste to that of other gamers out there – I’d like to collect our audience’s input on what YOU think are the best games for this kind of situation. Please provide YOUR Top 10 right here prior to Feb 22. A summary will be posted. Thanks for reading!