My Favorite Games of All Time (10-1)

Welcome to this week’s gaming post! This is the grand finale to my four-part series where I cover my top 40 games as of this moment. If you missed the previous lists, then I recommend you check that out here. We’re onto the final batch – my all-time favorites! There isn’t usually a ton of movement at the top of my list, and most of the games have been in my collection for some time. However, there is one relatively new game that has surpassed even my high expectations and managed to crack the top five. So without further ado, let’s jump into the games!

I grew up playing trick-taking games like Hearts and Spades, so when I heard about The Crew, I was sold. Pairing trick-taking elements with a cooperative game feels like an obvious combination, and I was surprised a game like The Crew hadn’t come around earlier. If I had to choose one version of the game, I’d recommend Mission Deep Sea as the objective cards add a lot of variability to the missions, but both versions are excellent. I also did a write-up on the game here where I talked about how The Crew, in addition to being in my top-10 games of all time, is also easily my most played game of all-time. 

I still have never tried Brass: Lancashire; however, it’s sequel of sorts to Brass: Birmingham which is among my all-time favorites. I love a heavy, economic euro-game, and the idea of building up industries and connecting cities to ultimately deliver goods feels incredibly satisfying. There are even some interesting player interaction with leveraging other player’s resources which isn’t something often found in other heavy euros. The artwork also does an excellent job capturing that gritty, industry revolution theme. Brass: Birmingham is the number one rated game on BGG, and while it’s not my favorite game of all-time, it still easily remains inside my top 10.

I’ll admit, the next game on my list is a bit of a sentimental pick. On my blog, I’ve talked about how when I was young, my grandfather and I built our own copy of Railways of the World and the Europe expansion. Similarly to the last game, I find games where I can look back at what I’ve built at the end of the game very fulfilling. This may be the only true pick-up-and-deliver game in the collection, but putting together this list reminds me that it’s been far too long since I’ve brought this one out.  

The more I play Space Base, the more it seems to keep climbing up my rankings. It’s perfect as a fairly light game, but it still has loads of different of strategies, and the “I roll, everyone gets stuff” mechanism keeps everyone engaged, even on other player’s turns. I still have yet to win with the “You Win” card, but that hasn’t stopped me from trying whenever I see the card come out. This game always seems to go down well with both new and experienced gamers, and I keep finding myself itching to play this one out often because the game really is that much fun.

It feels like Ark Nova has replaced other similar games like Terraforming Mars for me. The action row mechanic is enticing because you have to balance when you use each of the five actions, and the excellent Marine Worlds expansion adds some exciting variability. It also probably helps that I really enjoy the zoo-building theme. While I generally prefer playing the game at lower player counts because the game does tend to run a bit long, I’ll still happily find any excuse to play Ark Nova.

I recently picked up the New Zealand edition of Great Western Trail, which is also excellent compared to the other two editions (original and Argentina). Great Western Trail combines a lot of elements I like, such as deck-building, constructing buildings for your engine, and even a little bit of push-your-luck. I’ve done a write-up for the Argentina version here, but I’ll happily play any of the versions, and while entirely unnecessary unless you’re a huge fan like I am, I’m glad that there is a place for all three in the collection.

I played through the amazing, six-part Missing Expedition expansion earlier this year for Lost Ruins of Arnak. I had never played the game solo before the expansion, but the solo mode in the expansion is very well done, and each of the scenarios mix the gameplay up in interesting and challenging ways. Each expansion for Arnak seems to continue to elevate the game (is it bad that I’m looking forward to the announced storage box just because it comes with more content for the game?). I also did a write-up on the game here where I talked about more of the reasons why it’s one of my favorite games of all-time.

The newest game on this list to crack the top 10 – at first glance, a heavy, political-economic game with asymmetric players that can easily take upwards of four hours when you include setup and teach shouldn’t be this much fun. However, Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory is one of the most thematic and engaging games I’ve played thus far. It’s a game where you’re hyper focused on your individual faction’s objectives, but yet you have to work with the other players to achieve your goals. I’ll admit, this is a game that is challenging to get to the table often because of reasons I initially listed above, but once the game is underway, there’s no other game in the collection that gives me the same experience.   

The next game on this list is really two games because it’s so hard to pick one over the other. Agricola was the game that got me into modern board gaming and is still one of my most played games. That feeling of getting your initial hand of occupation and improvement cards and figuring out which ones and in what order to play them is so much fun. In comparison, Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a lot less punishing and more sandbox feeling that I find myself leaning towards more these days. I did a write-up on Caverna here where I talked about some of the similarities and differences between the two games. However, both games still provide that satisfying feeling of looking back at the farm you’ve built at the end of the game and both serve as my second favorite game of all-time.

While I tend to play Gloomhaven digitally these days, as it helps manage the overhead and I don’t have to leave the game set up on my table for weeks, it’s still my favorite board game of all-time. There’s just something so fun about leveling up your character and completing dungeons, and the concept of eventually retiring your character is brilliant. The dungeons themselves are interesting and card mechanic is relatively simple but it also leads to some very tense situations. Who knows when I’ll get the chance to try Frosthaven? While I may have to wait for the digital version so that it doesn’t occupy the table for months, there’s still plenty of content in Gloomhaven I still have yet to explore. 

With that, I’ll wrap my top 40 games as of 2024! It’s always fun to talk about my favorites, but now I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of the games I’ve mentioned, future content, or format in the comments section below, and let me know what your favorite games are. Happy gaming!

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