Dear game lovers,

The new top 50 of unplugged board and cardgames has been put online

New ratings from the Spellenclub 13 have been added.

Spellenclub 13 (http://www.spellenclub13.be/ ) is a Belgian gaming club in West-Vlaanderen.

The website contains more than 300 interesting game reviews (in Dutch).

• 2 new games in the top 50 compared to the previous update:
  8. Descent: Die Reise ins Dunkel/ Journeys in the dark  (Fantasy Flight Games – 2005)
  45. Tzaar (Don&Co – 2007)
  
  
  Descent (Fantasy ‘dungeon’ game) & Tzaar (Belgian abstract game): new in the top 50.
  
  
• Puerto Rico remains the number 1, before Caylus and Yinsh (best 2-player game).
  
  
• The best new game - in total - compared to the previous update is Stone Age (Hans im Glück),
  new on position 79.
  
  
  

The current top 50 of best games is:

Version: 13/06/2008
(previous version: 13/03/2008)

Expansions, adaptations, role-playing and children's games aren't taken into account in this list!

Position	Last position	Game	Publisher	Year
1	1		Puerto Rico Alea	2002
2	2		Caylus Ystari Games	2005
3	4		Yinsh Don & Co	2003
4	6		Euphrat & Tigris Hans im Glück	1997
5	3		Der Herr der Ringe: Der Ringkrieg/ War of the Ring Phalanx Games, Fantasy Flight Games	2004
6	8		Through The Ages Czech Board Games	2006
7	5		Die Fürsten von Florenz Alea	2000
8			Descent: Die Reise ins Dunkel/ Journeys in the dark Fantasy Flight Games, Heidelberger	2005
		Good expansion: Well of Darkness (Quelle der Finsternis)
9	9		Funkenschlag/ Power Grid 2F- Spiele	2001
10	7		Die Säulen der Erde/ De Kathedraal Kosmos	2006
		Good expansion: Expansion for 5-6 players (with extra features)
11	10		El Grande Hans im Glück	1995
		Good expansion: El Grande: Grossinquisitor & Kolonien
12	11		San Juan/ Puerto Rico Kartenspiel Alea	2004
13	14		Java Ravensburger	2000
14	16		Agricola Lookout Games	2007
15	15		Torres FX Games/ Ravensburger	1999
16	12		Die Siedler von Catan: Card game + expansions Kosmos	1996
17	17		Goa Hans im Glück	2004
18	13		Keythedral R & D-Games, Pro Ludo	2002
19	18		Roads and Boats Splotter Spellen	1999
20	20		Löwenherz Goldsieber/ Kosmos	1997
21	25		Ohne Furcht und Adel/ Machiavelli/ Citadels Hans Im Glück	2000
		Good expansion: Die Dunklen Lande/ The Dark City/ Donkere landen
22	21		Die Siedler von Catan Kosmos	1995
		Good expansions: Die Städte & Ritter (Steden en Ridders) - Seefahrer (Zeevaarders) - Das Buch zum spielen
23	26		Ursuppe Doris & Frank	1997
24	23		Wikinger/ Vikings Hans im Glück	2007
25	28		Age of Steam and expansions Warfrog/Winsome Games	2002
26	22		Louis XIV - Ränkespiele am Hofe des Sonnenkönigs Alea	2004
27	27		Middle Earth: the Wizards Iron Crown Enterprises/ Queen Games	1995
28	31		Imperial Eggert-Spiele	2006
29	38		Mr. Jack Hurrican	2006
30	29		Rush Hour Binary Arts	1996
31	39		Rumis Murmel	2002
		Good expansion: Rumis+
32	24		Blokus Sekkoia	2000
		Good related games: Blokus Duo (for 2 players), Blokus Trigon
33	32		Serenissima /Méditerranée Descartes	1996
34	40		Schatten über Camelot/ Shadows over Camelot Days of Wonder	2005
35	33		Medina Hans im Glück	2001
36	30		Tadsch Mahal Alea	2000
37	35		Die Macher Hans im Glück, Moskito	1997
38	36		Raja: Palastbau in Indien/ Maharadja Phalanx Games	2004
39	45		Railroad Tycoon Eagle Games	2005
40	19		Go 3M, Ishi, ...	1973
41	34		Carcassonne Hans im Glück	2000
		Good expansion: Händler und Baumeister/ Builders and Traders/ Kooplieden en Bouwmeesters
42	37		Die Händler von Genua Alea	2001
43	41		Santiago Amigo	2003
44	44		Galaxy Trucker Czech Games Edition	2007
45			Tzaar Don&Co, Smart Games	2007
46	49		Notre Dame Alea	2006
47	47		Time's Up R&R Games, Asmodée	2000
48	48		Ticket to Ride: Die Märklin Edition Days of Wonder	2006
		Adaptation of the original 'Ticket to Ride' game.
49	46		Octi The Great Amer. Trading Company	1999
50	42		Im Jahr des Drachen Alea	2007

Dropped out of the top 50:

Position	Last position	Game	Publisher	Year
51	50		Dvonn Don & Co/ Rio Grande Games	2001
54	43		Tikal Ravensburger	1999

The best games split per number of players and weight factor (June/2008):

(combination of difficulty and game length)

# players	Very light	Light	Medium	Rather heavy	Heavy
Solo	Rush Hour	Blokus	Middle Earth	Agricola	Roads & Boats
2 only	Blokus Duo	Yinsh	Siedler Card game	Go	Advanced Squad Leader
3 max	Pusher	Cosmic Eidex	Das Ende des Triumvirats	Conquistador (AH)	None ;-)
4	Carabande	San Juan	Puerto Rico	Caylus	Roads & Boats
5	Carabande	Carcassonne	Puerto Rico	Caylus	Die Macher
6+	Carabande	Time's Up	Macchiavelli	Funkenschlag	1830 Railroads and Robber Barons
8+	Carabande	Weerwolven	TurfMaster	Krimi Total	Krimi Total

The best games for 2 players (June/2008):

Best 2-player games (and only playable with two) that are rated the best:


The best game for 2 players is the abstract game Yinsh.
The list with the best 2-player games can be found below:



Best 2-player games
Position	Game	Publisher	Genre
1	Yinsh	Don&Co	Abstract
2	Die Siedler von Catan: Card game + expansions	Kosmos	Card Game
3	Blokus Duo	Sekkoia, Winning Moves	Abstract
4	Mr. Jack	Hurrican	Deduction
5	Go	3M, Ishi, ...	Abstract
6	Tzaar	Don&Co, Smart Games	Abstract
7	Dvonn	Don & Co/ Rio Grande Games	Abstract
8	Memoir'44	Days of Wonder	Wargame
9	ConHex	3-Hirn-Verlag, Clemens Gerhards	Abstract
10	Magic the Gathering/ Magic die Zusammenkunft	Wizard of the Coast, Amigo	Collectible Card Game
11	Battle Cry	Avalon Hill	Wargame
12	Cathedral/ Cathedral World	Diverse	Abstract
13	Advanced Squad Leader	Avalon Hill	Wargame
14	Schotten-Totten	ASS	Card Game
15	Black Elephant	LudoArt	Abstract
16	Sternenschiff Catan/ Starship Catan	Kosmos	Card Game
17	Twilight Struggle	GMT Games	Wargame
18	Hive	John Yianni, Gen Four Two	Abstract
19	Black Box+	Franjos	Abstract
20	Zertz	Don & Co, Schmidt	Abstract

The worst games (June/2008):

Games which receive the worst ratings and aren't fun to play:


The worst game in my ranking is the Belgian game 'Arne'.
The list of 10 worst games can be found below:



Worst Games
Position	Game	Publisher
2370	Arne	Lauwers Games, Piatnik
2369	1000 Places to See Before You Die/ 1000 Plekken die je echt gezien moet hebben	University Games
2368	Die Knastbrüder	Amigo
2367	Tic Tac Toe/ OXO	Diverse
2366	Tango	Schmidt
2365	Das Geheimnis auf dem Nil/ Mystery on the Nile	Descartes
2364	Anti Monopoly	ASS, Piatnik
2363	Rette Sich Wer Kann/ Crocodile Pool Party	Kosmos
2362	Yes	Ravensburger
2361	Online	Hasbro

The most popular games (Last update: June/2008)

Games that are rated the most on the websites which I use for my ranking:


The most popular game on the web is Carcassonne, which won the 'Spiel des Jahres' and the 'Deutscher Spielepreis' in 2001.
The list with the most popular games can be found below:



Most popular Games
Position	Game	Publisher	# ratings
1	Carcassonne	Hans im Glück	29 (maximum)
2	Machiavelli/ Ohne Furcht und Adel/ Citadelles	Hans im Glück	28
3	Alhambra	Queen Games	27
	Puerto Rico	Alea	27
	Sankt Petersburg	Hans im Glück	27
6	Cartagena	Winning Moves, Tilsit	26
	Caylus	Ystari Games	26
	Die Fürsten von Florenz	Alea	26
	Kahuna	Kosmos	26
	La Città	Kosmos	26
	Löwenherz / Domaine	Goldsieber, Kosmos	26
	Medina	Hans im Glück	26
	Piratenbucht/ La crique des pirates, Pirate's Cove	Amigo, Days of Wonder	26
	Samurai	Hans im Glück	26
	San Juan/ Puerto Rico Kartenspiel	Alea	26

• The list of best children games has been updated. Burgritter/ Kasteelridders (5+) is the new number 1!
  
  
  

The best children games (June/2008):

Rank	Picture	Name	Minimum age	Mechanism(s)	Info
1.		Burgritter(GE) Kasteelridders(NL) Castle Knights(UK) Distributed by Haba		Action/Dexterity Co-operative Play	All of the players are Knights working together to build three new towers before King Duncan returns home to his castle. Collect three tower cards before King Duncan gets to the castle and you win.(from BGG)
2.		Akaba Distributed by Haba		Action/Dexterity	2-4 players try to blow their flying carpets about the game board and try to be the first to collect all the presents. (from BGG) Winner of the 2005 Deutscher Kinderspielepreis
3.		Loopin' Louie(GE) Le Fou Volant(FR) Stef Stuntpiloot(NL) Distributed by MB		Action/Dexterity	In Loopin' Louie, a battery-powered motor placed in the center of the table rotates a boom with a little plastic plane. Very silly and very addictive. (from BGG) Winner of the 1994 Kinderspiel des Jahres.
4.		Chicken Cha Cha Cha (UK) Zicke Zacke Hühnerkacke(GE) Jakkiebak Kippekak(NL) Pique-Plume(FR) Distributed by Zoch		Memory	You must steal the feathers of other chickens in order to win. When you find the face down tile showing the same drawing than the one in front of your chicken-pawn, you can move forward. (from BGG) Winner of the 1998 Kinderspiel des Jahres.
5.		Tier auf Tier(GE) Dier op Dier(NL) Distributed by Haba		Animals Action/Dexterity	The animals want to show how good they are at making tall pyramids! They must be skillfully careful: Who will position the penguin on top of the crocodile, the sheep on top of the penguin, the serpent on the sheep? The hedgehog wants to stand on top of the pyramid but the height is making him dizzy. (from BGG)
6.		Giro Galoppo Distributed by Selecta		Animals Racing Memory Bluff	Giro Galoppo is a horse racing game driven by cards for players 6 years and up. (from BGG)
7.		Manimals(GE) Distributed by Adlung		Animals	Manimals is a beautiful animal game that is also well-suited for learning in the classroom or for use in homes. Through the game, players learn the attributes of animals. Rules for ages +4 and +6. (from BGG)
8.		Die kleine Hexe(GE) Distributed by Kosmos		Action/Dexterity Memory Co-operative Play	Die kleine Hexe is a game based on the childs book by Otfried Preußler (published in English as: The little Witch). The players move the little witch and her raven Abraxas around to help them do her good works. If they succeed within a set number of rounds, all players win (the player who helped most wins a little bit more). Otherwise, all players lose. (from BGG)
9.		Nacht der Magier(GE) Nacht van de tovenaars(NL) Distributed by Drei Magier Spiele		Action/Dexterity Adventure	Nacht der Magier is a new game for 2-4 players, and is played in the dark... It's a game like no other, a strange mix of tactics and poetry, that works even better with adults than with children.(from Bruno Faidutti's website)
10.		Affentheater Distributed by Amigo		Animals Dice	The monkeys ate all their bananas and have to find a new banana field. Who is the first to reach it, while hyenas and snakes are on their path? Children's game for 2-5 players.(from BGG)
11.		Burg Appenzell(GE) The Castle of Appenzell(UK) Kaas Kasteel(NL) Distributed by Zoch Verlag		Animals Memory Maze	Each player controls colored mice and tries to collect pieces of cheese in Castle Appenzell. The first player with 4 different pieces of cheese wins the game. (from BGG)
12.		Kayanak Distributed by Haba		Collection Dice	Players punch holes through the ice (A4 paper) and fish for various sized steel balls (fish). Large steel balls (big fish) are worth more than small steel balls (small fish). The person with the most points at the end of the game wins.(from BGG) Winner of the 1999 Kinderspiel des Jahres.
13.		Lauras Sternenspiel Distributed by Amigo		Set Collection Co-operative Puzzle	Action game in which children are helping Laura to clean up her room just before bedtime. Contains german components (cassette + story)!
14.		Obstgärtchen(GE) Boomgaardje(NL) Le petit verger(FR) Distributed by Haba		Memory	Smaller version of Obstgarten: The children have to pick up all the cherries before the crow can steal them from the tree. The game is smaller than the original one, but it has still a cooperative mechanism and it is greatly based on memory. The board is integrated in the box, and the result is a funny and less expensive adaptation of the original game. (from BGG)
15.		Höchst verdächtig(GE) Highly Suspect(UK) Distributed by Haba		Puzzle	In Highly Suspicious 2-4 detectives are chasing the crook who's hiding in the park. The bord is tiltable, and by tilting the board in one direction all detectives and the crook will walk as far to this side as they can, until they hit an obstacle. The goal is to get your detective to land on a square next to the crook, thus catching him. (from BGG)
16.		Leinen Los! Distributed by Haba		Action/Dexterity Racing	Leinen los! is something different. The object of the game is to push a little wooden ship, following the race track and avoiding the buoys. The winner is the first ship at the end of the track. Each player moves on turn, time limited by a funny chronometer/egg timer. (from BGG) Winner of the 1997 Kinderspiel des Jahres.
17.		Viva Topo! Distributed by Selecta		Roll and Move	Players attempt to move their mice (pieces) from the start to any of various goals. The further the goal, the more cheese (points) it is worth. But watch out for the cat, who speeds up as the game progresses. (from BGG) Winner of the 2003 Kinderspiel des Jahres.
18.		Maskenball der Käfer(GE) Gemaskerd bal voor de onzelieveheersbeestjes(NL) Distributed by Selecta		Animals Puzzle Co-operative Play	Co-operative game in which the children should try to make the ladybugs ready for the costume party. But watch out for the ants. If all seven of the ants are on board, the players lose the game. (from BGG) Winner of the 2002 Kinderspiel des Jahres.
19.		Mago Magino Distributed by Selecta		Roll and Move	The evil Witch has taken all crystals from the Wizard Mago Magino. The children have to help him to collect the crystals. But the witch can still transform the children into small frogs. So beware. (from BGG)
20.		Froschkönig Distributed by Zoch		Action/Dexterity	In Froschkönig (Frog King), 2- 4 players have a bag containing 18 wooden beams of different lengths. It's the goal to capture beams as a part of their frog's tongue. The owner of the frog that first touches the princess, who is a couple of board lengths aways, with its tongue is transformed into the Frog King and wins the game. (from BGG)