The Tablestop 100 - #30-#21

Getting closer to the top now, heading into the last third of the 100, some really solid gaming experiences are coming up and separating these is so hard.

#30

IT'S A WONDERFUL WORLD - A card drafting gaming about creating a new world, much like a very similar game that has a number in the title, players are building structures in their developing world to score points in a variety of ways. Other than loving the ability to throw down combos of building out cards, this game is helped by it's speed and ease of play while still offering a great thoughtful challenge each turn as you choose what you may potentially be creating or turning into resources.

#29

DOWNFORCE - You know occasionally it is nice to get out a game that doesn't involve a spreadsheet of rule and that evokes a reaction from your inner child, for me that is this game. It is a racing game that doesn't necessarily require you to win the race, you can place bets on your opponents cars making it over the line first while helping them along by playing the right cards to move them. Restoration Games have been doing awesome things by bringing back older IPs and fitting them smoothly into the modern board gaming world.

#28

FIVE TRIBES - What another fabulous production from Days of Wonder! The decision space that is created each turn is fantastic is one, as you have to choose where to pick up workers and how to move them mancala style to another spot on the board, trigger an effect at your final destination. So many ways to score points let's player really choose how they want to play and can blur where the best action choice might be. Now it has two more expansions that really do expand on what you can do, this is certainly a modern classic.

#27

CHRONICLES OF CRIME - Now here is a game for all of you who are hooked on those true crime shows on Netflix, put your binge watching skills to the test in this very interactive investigative experience. Using a brilliant app interface you scan suspects cards to interrogate them and you even get to use VR google to stare at the crime scene for clues. How long you take can effect the game as further events can be triggered, or if you return to a location at a different time a new person might be there for you to question. With downloadable cases and more expansions to the world coming this definitely has hours of game for you. 

#26

THE CREW: THE QUEST FOR PLANET NINE - Although I haven't had much opportunity to play this game I have really enjoyed it's unique co-operative trick taking form. With just a small deck of cards and limited communication players have to work together to win the correct cards for them to complete their chosen tasks. Much like Skull King this can make losing a trick just as important as winning and the choice of which cards to shed at the right time even more impactful. With a variety if quests in the game there is many hours of deepening gameplay to be hard here.

#25

TZOLK'IN: THE MAYAN CALENDAR - This worker placement is all about timing and how you puzzle your choice out. Using one of favorite mechanics in which you have to choose to place or pick up workers, you only get your resources when you pick up and the longer your workers are out on the board the better the return. You place these workers onto interlocked dials that each round will turn moving them further round. Your ability to plan for the future will be put to the test each round, fail and you might have starving workers come the end of the season.

#24

GREAT WESTERN TRAIL - Who doesn't love having a handful of cows?! You are herding cattle via deck building, pick up those heifers and move them along the trail so you can ship them off to cities. Further the expanse of your rail network so you can get more points each round. How long you take to run the trail can impact the length of the game, take your time visiting all the action spots may leaving you behind in the bovine exportation race. Pfister designs always engross me and this is no exception.

#23

TRAJAN - A yummy point salad of a game with a wonderful action selection rondel with mancala bowls, Feld once again puts so many choices in front of the player you fell spoilt for choice on what to do. Every turn seems like a step forward and I love that progression in a game, it doesn't feel wasted as you move toward you goals and build up that big turn when you get to move a lot of your action tokens at once.

#22

RAIDERS OF THE NORTH SEA - Giving you a simple action choice each turn and using it to the max interests me a lot. Raiders has worker placement in which each round you put down one worker and pick up another, with generally quick actions attached. Your goal is build up your raiding party and then headed out over the North Sea to pillage the villages to bring back tributes to your jarl. Another game which all your efforts seem to be moving ever quicker toward the end triggers, no round counter but when two of three end goals are met the game ends. I do really like it when it feels you can have some control over when the game will finish. 

#21

CONCORDIA - Trading and travelling through the Mediterranean is hardly the most exciting theme, and often gets a bad reputation in euros but Concordia holds the banner for making it a great experience. Your actions each round are chosen from your hand of cards, you can improve that hand by purchasing cards which is also one of the timers for the game end. Also these cards are your end game scoring. This games features something I really love in modern gaming, you don't track points at all during the game, so there is no clear leader, which gives every player at the table that feeling they are still in the game with a chance to win. Brilliant!

NEXT STOP: The Tablestop 20!

The Tablestop 100 - #40-#31

Good day to all you! There may be a little delay on these last couple as I'm working on something special and different for The Tablestop 20.

Today we run on upto #31, let's get dug in..

#40

ON MARS - So this isn't my favorite Lacerda. Yet. Also, it isn't my favorite game about terraforming on Mars. Yet. But it certainly has the potential to move up the list once I can get it to the table some more. As with most of Vital's designs it is very complex and has great depth of strategy that encourages working on many different aspects. Really looking forward to getting this beast back on the table.

#39

SHERLOCK HOLMES CONSULTING DETECTIVE - Through clever story telling and use of deduction this game, at times, can really emulate the feel of being the greatest detective. You read through newspaper articles, read between the lines while questioning suspects and often makes those big leaps of logic that you often read of Sherlock doing to solve the crime. When the cases are cohesive this is a marvelous game that causes discussion, arguments and rabid note taking. Wonderful!

#38

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT - This worker placement is a literal arms race of game. Seriously, the game ends when one player has made big enough bombs and won the cold war. The main action mechanic of placing or picking up workers I have always loved, there is a great decision space in the timing of picking up your workers and fully refreshing that workforce, especially when time is of the essence. 

#37

LE HAVRE - I feel I have lost interest in alot of Uwe Rosenberg games, perhaps I need to get to player them more, but through all that it this one that stands out to me to have the best of all his designs. A single worker placement decision each turn and which port you are going to take goods from is all you have to do. But it is how you combo off those things, building buildings or ships, upgrading or sell resources and as always making enough food to feed your people at the end of a round.

#36

ARGENT: THE CONSORTIUM - Dumbledore is dead, and now you need a new headmaster! Hold on a second that's not right, but it could be. This game has players taking on the roles of teachers in a wizarding school, working on getting the votes for the mostly hidden Consortium to make them the head master. As with many Level 99 games, there is an abundance of variety in this game. Player powers can vary, the worker powers can change, the layout school can change dramatically from game to game. Such a great production and balance of variety.

#35

WINGSPAN - Props goes to first time designer Elizabeth Hargrave for this one, and a stellar production from Stonemaier Games. This engine builder themed around bringing birds into your aviary brings join to new gamers and has enough depth to keep the more strategic minded involved, plus thanks to the awesome artwork it is wonderful to look at. This is definitely a game that should be in everyone's collection.

#34

LA GRANJA - Blending influences from Stefan Feld, this great euro has great elements melded into one. Multi-use cards, that can be production for goods, or workers, or carts of items to ship off to market. Players will compete to get the best choices of dice during a round of drafting, then battle for the best market stalls to sell goods to earn them points. I do love it when I am rewarded with points for doing little things and this game succeeds in that.

#33

ROCOCO - What a wonderfully different theme, area control though dress making, as players will be competing to make the biggest splash in several different ballrooms before the end of night fireworks on the roof. A gorgeous reprint from Eagle Gryphon has really heightened an already stellar experience. There is a deck building mechanic to build up a hand of action cards to help you achieve the dress making success that you crave, which as always is satisfying. 

#32

SPACE BASE - Who doesn't love a good dice game??! Taking a resource gaining mechanic from the similar Machi Koro but upping the stakes by having players gain bonuses off other player's rolls. Expand you reach across the stars, upgrade your ships and create colonies as you race to the gaming ending goal. Much like Manhattan Project this is another game that uses a game end trigger I enjoy, a goal score giving the game that race feeling as you build up your space empire.

#31

TRAGEDY LOOPER - A complex one vs all game of cat and mouse deduction. One players is the Mastermind attempting to control the events to create a Tragedy. Their opponents are the Loopers, time traveling heroes trying to fix what is going wrong, think Quantum Leap without Ziggy and also you get to do it over and over. With the information players gain each loop they try to decipher the cause of the events from a possible list of scenarios and characters. It is worth putting in the time to learn this, as long as you have a good Mastermind to make the experience more enjoyable. A totally unique game.

NEXT STOP: Heading into the last third...