Top 10 Games - Poll #3

[Decar]

If you've been following Carcassonne Central lately, you'll know I've been collecting nominations for the Carcassonne Fan's top 10 games (which are not Carcassonne).  Who better than to ask than you, members of the largest Carcassonne Community!

Nominations are now closed, with a whopping ~166 gaming franchises chosen by you all.  But that does leave us with a difficult question....Which are the top 10 games!

To be clear, I'm not going to attempt to rank all the games, just find those top 10 games we all enjoy.

I'll cut to the chase:  I've grouped the games up randomly into batches of ~20 games.  Every voter has 3 votes they may cast against any games.

You have 7 days to vote, voting will close and The top 2-3 games will be moved into the next knock-out round.  The other games, will be left forgotten.  Hopefully this will help us determine which games are our most favourite.

Here is today's poll - which will close on the 10th May. 

Don't vote hastily though, now is the time to persuade others to cast their votes wisely and back your game!

We're running the 2nd Poll in parallel, with some days over-lap; both are in progress at the same time!

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=3302.0

[Paul]

Went with Catan only which by the way is the official name now. The "Settlers of" has been removed.

[jungleboy]

I voted for only two games in this poll - Colt Express and Limes. Personally, I don't think voting for games like Cluedo or Risk is the point of this exercise (which, if I understand it correctly, is to suggest new games that appeal to Carcassonne fans to people who are just getting into the hobby and like Carcassonne), even if you like them.

I've only played Colt Express once but I think it does a good job of being accessible to non-gamers and being fun, but not being a party game. Others who enjoy it and who have played it more can talk more about it.

So what I'm really here for is to talk about Limes. I've already written quite a few words here and on BGG about Limes and I have logged over 500 plays by this point as a solo game (it plays 1-2 players). I've been thinking about Limes (and continuing to play it) this week while talking about it with dirk2112 in private messages.

As a two-player game:

I describe Limes as a combination of Carcassonne, Karuba, and the Little Prince. Carcassonne because you place meeples to claim one of four features; Karuba because in the two-player game, one player is the 'caller' who draws a card and calls out the number in the centre of it, after which both players play the same card; and the Little Prince because you will finish with a 4x4 square of 16 cards (with 8 cards left unplayed for each player).

As a solo game, it's a 'try to beat your high score' game rather than a 'win or lose' game such as the Oniverse games (e.g. Onirim). Solo is where it really shines in my view, because I think the calling mechanic in the two-player game is a bit weak, and playing solo you can just play game after game (each play only takes about five minutes) and the temptation to play one more is always there. Rule variants, the pro scoring variant and a few mini-expansions add to replayability.

Similarities between Limes and Carcassonne:

- They're both card/tile-laying games with historic themes.
- In both games, you claim four different landscape features with meeples and all four features score in different ways.
- Learning the layout of tiles/cards is important in both games and some people like this (I didn't really understand this aspect of Limes when I made my first comments about the game).
- The luck of the draw. Luck can turn some people off but probably not if you're a Carcassonne fan already. Plus, there's hardly anything more exciting in gaming than drawing a card/tile and getting exactly the one you want.
- You end the game with a pleasing visual landscape that you created.

Further thoughts on Limes:

My review
10 tips for scoring 60+ in Limes
Review: the lighthouse expansion
Review: the signal fire expansion

[dirk2112]

Stone Age definitely belongs in the Top 10 list of worker placement games.  My wife would put it in her top 3 games of all time.   I really need to play Russian Railroads before I can definitely say Stone Age is the best game of that genre, but for now it has my vote.

Colt Express is the only game where we all play to win, but don't care when we lose.  Even losing at this game is fun.  My son and wife have at times filled my character with so many bullet holes that I could barely move on a given turn and it was just funny.  We have all of the boxed expansions, but you don't really need them.  I do recommend the DeLorean because well do you even need a reason Marty?

[Decar]

Colt Express is in the app store (iOS/Android); it's really worth having a look at if you've not tried it.  I thought the AI was a worthy opponent, my first introduction to a programming game.

[franks]

This was also an easier one to decide:

Stone Age One of my first and some might say the best, worker placement games that still gets steady play in our house.

Agricola: All Creatures Great and Small Probably my favourite iteration of 'Gric. Sets up fast and still a fairly meaty game!

The Settlers of Catan Got to give a nod to the 'other' master Euro! I'm sure its converted just as many if not more folks into the hobby as Carc.

[Hounk]

I do like Colt Express quite a lot, too, but Kolejka and Andor even more. And Settlers of Catan was the game, which brought me to the hobby, even before Carcassone. Had to go with this one, too, sorry Colt Express.

[Decar]

The only game I nominated this time was Spectre Ops (or Specter if you're american....always hard to find on BGG)!


Image courtesy of BGG

I first saw this game when Rahdo did a run through for it.  He and his wife liked the game, even though it is a violent theme, but I think that's due to the strategy and chances to avoid such situations.
I used to play a hidden movement game when I was a kid, and this looked like a more advanced version.

The game is set in the same Universe as Dead of Winter (possibly in the future or the past, it's unclear).
But there's an evil corporation that you need to steal some plans from (Think Blade Runner).
One player plays a Spy/Agents, who tries to remain hidden; while the other player(s) play the night-staff (Hunters) who are in-fact mutant super-humanoids who's job it is to find the assailant.

There are a number of spies that could be in use, each with a different set of special abilities and equipment.
The guards also have special abilities; so the mixture of different skills makes the game entertaining, because at the start of the game the guards do not know who the spy is; this is only revealed when the spy is found.


Images courtesy of BGG

There is a large player board, that the Hunters must traverse, searching for the Agent:

Image courtesy of BGG

Once the Agent  is seen, the Hunters have a little more information and can take shots to kill the Agent. However the tool set at their disposal can be a big help to evade detection a little further.

The game ends, once the Agent has checked 3-4 data access points in search of the intelligence and made it back out of one of the exits.
It's interesting because the Hunters need to balance, spreading wide but being less effective; or staying close together but moving less efficiently.

The mechanics are simple. The dystopian setting is not for everyone - but I like it.  The game play is a little long (near an hour); however the board has been cleverly crafted to allow the agent to slip back into the shadows.

It's unlike other games in my collection.  A lot of hidden movement games don't then require the Agent to go back into hiding, nor allow the Hunters to lay traps to take pot-shots at the Agent.

It's worth taking a look at and voting for if you've got unspent ones 


Images courtesy of BGG

[Decar]

The votes are very close for 2nd/3rd place, there are still a few days left to vote.

I've also just opened Poll #4

[danisthirty]

Looks like Cataaaaan (+/- several as) is going to win this one. I'm not a big fan of this as I find it infuriating how little you can do other than to sit back and watch everyone else beating you if your numbers don't come up, or if you make a few early mistakes that starve you on vital resources later in the game. I know plenty of people who like it, but I wouldn't vote for it as the ratio of fun games to painful/ dull games is still around 50: 50 for me.

Colt Express is a wonderful game! I love the theme (although it must be embarrassing to turn up to rob a train and find that 5 other people have had the same idea) and the card programming element works really well. As fun as it is when things are working out, it's possibly even more fun when something happens that throws everyone off and all their actions then don't make any sense as they were expecting to be in a different position at the start of their turn.

My other vote (I just voted twice) was for Stone Age as it's a classic worker placement game that does a great job of representing this genre.

[Dragonlord]

I was looking for game piece for a homemade war game, so I've found more pratical to upgrade my 1975 ed of RISK to a 2010 ed. and use the soldiers. Just receive today.   

[Decar]

The Results are in, thanks to everyone who took the time to vote and write about their chosen games:

1)The Settlers of Catan - 16 votes
2) Stone Age + Colt Express - 11 votes
4)Cluedo, Agricola: All Creatures Great and Small - 4 votes
6)Risk, Coup - 3 votes
Concept, Limes, Celestia - 2 votes
11) Legendary, Kolejka, Weerwolven, Legends of Andor, Railway Rivals, Pay Day, Specter Ops, Ticket to Ride: The Card Game - 1 vote
19)Pixel Tactics, Maillot Arc-en-ciel, The King is Dead


So Catan, Stone Age and Colt Express will go through to the next round!

Keep and eye on the parent thread for news about the next poll!

[jungleboy]

Poor Limes

[Decar]

Poor Limes

This really surprised me too - Thought it would do better!