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A Gaming Life
Top 50 Games Played of All Time – 2026 Edition (#10-1)
Now we’ve gone and done it.
We’ve now reached the Top 10 games of all time, played by me at least.
It’s been an incredible 5 weeks (ok, 6, but last week’s Friday post was important) of new games, oldies dropping in the rankings, a few bumping up as well.
I’ve really enjoyed doing this, mainly because I love sharing a love of boardgames with all of my readers.
In this day and age, we need all of the joy we can get because we are in the middle of dark times.
Unlike last week, the Top 10 is mainly games that have been on my list before (with a couple of exceptions) and one big mover that at least a couple of people on the Pixelated Cardboard Discord should not be surprised about.
Before we get to that, I did want to mention one honourable mention, just because it’s a cool game.
Sanctuary (the streamlined Ark Nova that’s more than that) just barely missed the Top 50, coming in at 52.
This is a cool tile-laying game with some of the symbology and altered mechanics of Ark Nova, but in a lot less time.
However, it is more than that. I think it’s a neat tile-laying game just by itself.
I’ve had another play of it since I wrote that first impressions post (still not enough for a review) and everything I said in it still stands.
This is a fun one!
For the final time, I’ll give the usual caveats at the beginning of this post before we get started (and maybe we won’t hit 5000 words this time?)
I’ve played less than 600 games, so there will be many great games that I haven’t seen yet.
So you Food Chain Magnate fans will just have to go run your restaurants without me.
I had more than enough of them when I was working through college.
Also, many of these ratings (only one in my Top 10, though) were given after just one play.
So things can change!
Though given which game here meets that criteria, I doubt it will.
With all of that, let’s begin!
Read MoreJanuary 2026 Gaming
Hard to believe that we’re already a month into 2026!
My, how time flies.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from January, especially because we had some really small Sundays and long games played.
Which is good!
But also means that not a lot of games are played.
January, however, burst past December in big way.
I ended up playing 20 games a total of 29 times.
Of course, 7 of those plays were Final Girl, as I work my way through all of the feature films I have.
Still, it’s quite impressive!
Here’s what I played last month.
And here it is in grid format.
Four new to me games that I will be talking about later (a bit later than usual, as I haven’t even started writing the post yet!), but also a good mix of older games.
Let’s look at some of the highlights.
Read MoreBye Bye Dice Tower
It’s been a wild week, both in the world and in the boardgaming sphere.
I don’t really comment too much on here about social issues, politics, etc, because this is kind of my safe space for getting away from all of that.
However, I am very outspoken about them in other avenues (mainly on Bluesky), so it’s not like I hide my feelings that much.
Sometimes things just go beyond the pale, like last August’s combination of CGE publishing Harry Potter Codenames and the Ace of Spades vile and racist artwork happening as a 1-2 punch.
Sometimes you just have to say something because you have to make your voice heard, even if it’s to a very low number of people. In fact, part of the reason I don’t speak out more on here is just because it feels pointless when so few people will be reading it anyway.
This is one of those times that I feel I have to say something, though.
Last Saturday, US Border Patrol officers brutally murdered Alex Pretti, a Veterans Administration Intensive Care nurse who was just trying to document what has been going on in Minneapolis.
Sam Healey, a part-time contributor to the Dice Tower boardgame review Youtube network, reposted a statement on Facebook from somebody else, essentially blaming Pretti for his own murder because he brought a gun (lawfully) to the protest.
In the comments to that post, Sam continued to support the sentiment.
Read MoreSeasoned Expansions – Sea Salt & Paper Expansions Review
Sea Salt & Paper is a fun little card game for 2-4 players with beautiful origami artwork and interesting mechanics that make for a great filler game.
Since it’s just a card game, you know that any expansions are going to be just, well, cards, and that’s what Bombyx has released.
Two mini-expansions (almost considered booster packs) have come out for the game, and both add a little bit of variety though one does more of that than the other.
New cards can really change a game, though sometimes just adding new cards rather than cards that have new mechanics don’t really get the job done.
Both packs were designed by the original game’s designers, Bruno Cathala and Théo Rivière and released by Bombyx (and Pandasaurus Games in North America)
Read MoreCombat Commander After Action Report – Scenario #72 – Thunderstorm
Do you know that feeling you get sometimes, when you reach near the end of the game and then you realize that you’ve been forgetting a rule that would have really helped you throughout the last two hours?
Yeah, that was me Friday night.
Let’s go back to the beginning.
Welcome to another tale from the Combat Commander ladder, that monthly tournament of one of the finest games out there (I guess that’s a spoiler for this coming Friday, though you probably already guessed it).
The ladder, administered by the inimitable Patrick Pence (he of Patrick’s Tactics & Tutorials fame), is the chance to play one of my favourite games on a monthly (or even more!) basis with some great people. Really, I haven’t met anybody on there who is annoying (except it’s annoying that Noel is always right, but it’s also helpful!).
January’s scenario is from the Resistance expansion (which I now have!!!!!) and has a band of Croatian partisans facing off against some elite Germans, basically trying to control a small town at a crossroads.
My opponent this month was Bill S, somebody who I hadn’t played before!
This was new.
(You can click on a picture to blow it up)
The Germans (grey – Bill) set up within three hexes of the right side of the board.
The Partisans (yellow – me) set up within three hexes of the left side of the board.
The only special rule is that my Sighting markers set up within six hexes of the left side.
Read MoreTop 50 Games Played of All Time – 2026 Edition (#20-11)
It’s time once again for another decade in my Top 50 games played of all time.
It’s been a thrilling ride for me, because I really enjoy sharing the games I love and seeing if anybody agrees with me, or if I’m out on a desert island all by myself.
Also, I’m proud that so far things are looking quite good for me getting these out on a weekly basis.
Remember how stable last week’s list was, where there was only one new game?
Yeah, this week’s almost the opposite.
A bunch of new games to the list and only three movers.
There will probably not be any surprises in it, though.
Well, maybe one or two, because I haven’t talked about them in a little while.
There were a couple of notable falls out of my Top 50, games that I wish I could table more often because they would probably jump right back up.
Yes, both Commands & Colors games that I’ve played (Ancients and Medieval) fell from 30 and 31 to 112 and 124.
Which is too bad!
They are great games, but they’ve kind of left my consciousness a little bit.
They’re sitting at work waiting for a couple of days with Bryan (since we can’t finish them in a lunch) and it just hasn’t happened.
One day, these will get played a lot and maybe they’ll move up the list again.
Anyway, I should give the usual caveats before we move forward.
I’ve played less than 600 games, so there will still be plenty of great games that I just haven’t seen yet.
I’ve upped my plays of the Top 100 to 56, though!
But you Hegemony fans will just have to have your class struggle without me.
Also, some of these games and rankings are after only a play or two (though that’s only relevant to two games on this list, actually).
With that understood (you do understand that, right?), let’s begin!
Read MoreThey’re Heeere – Final Girl – The Haunting of Creech Manor Review
One of my very first horror movies, when I was just a teenager and not watching these R-rated slasher flicks, was the PG-rated Poltergeist.
I watched it on a sleepover with some friends, and yeah, it was pretty spooky and scary for me.
So it was with that fond memory that I broke open another Final Girl feature film to see what other monster would kill me and add to my losing streak.
The Haunting of Creech Manor has a manor house…and a poltergeist!
Wow, you’d think I knew that was coming when I wrote that introduction or something.
This feature film was designed by A. J. Porfirio with artwork by Tyler Johnson. It was published as part of Series 1 by Van Ryder Games in 2021.
I have to say that while this film is fun, the Poltergeist has to be one of the most luck-based killers I’ve ever seen in Final Girl.
And I’ve played eight of them!
Yes, there’s lot of dice rolling in this game, so there is plenty of luck anyway.
But…but…ok, let me explain.
Read MoreBGG Top Games – 1801 Through 1900
Last week, I mentioned that we were starting to get into the dregs of the Boardgame Geek Top 2000 games.
This week, that is just reinforced!
Though there is enough decent (ok, maybe “interesting” is the better word) stuff to talk about that it warrants another post.
We’ll have to see how the next couple of centuries go before I make a decision about pulling the plug on these.
The thing is, they’re so fun to write!
Even if they’re not that fun to read (be honest, I won’t judge or feel sad…much)
The top 2000 games, when there are thousands of games on the BGG database, are still probably decent games.
Maybe they’re just not hitting with me as much?
Why don’t you be the judge?
In this batch, I’ve played 8 games and own (or previously owned) 5.
I’ll try not to lie this time, but this might be a short post.
(spoiler alert: I lied again)
Here’s the page with this range of games on it, though keep in mind that games can move so they might not be there anymore!
Read MoreTop 50 Games Played of All Time – 2026 Edition (#30-21)
It’s another week and another entry in the Top 50 Games Played of All Time (the 2026 edition!)
Of course, this is “games played,” not “games” because at only 587, my number of games played doesn’t even scratch the surface of what’s out there, so I don’t feel qualified to comment on “every” game.
This week, we have what is called the “stable” decade of games.
Not stable in the sense that there is no movement.
But, for the first time so far this year, it’s the only one with just one new game!
All of the other ones were on my Top 50 list in 2024, at least in some fashion.
Since there is a Garphill trilogy game on this list, I feel this is a good time to say that one of the trilogy games actually fell out of my Top 50 this year.
Yes, it’s true. I know you are stunned, but it is!
Paladins of the West Kingdom fell to #53, just outside and looking in.
I think that’s because it’s just such a long game (maybe that’s on us?) that it doesn’t get played that often and the enthusiasm to play it just isn’t there as often as I would like.
It’s one of only two trilogy games that didn’t get played in 2025, for example.
It’s still pretty high, at 53, so it’s not terrible!
Just not up there in comparison to others.
Here is also a good time to say that I haven’t played that many games, compared to how many there are, so many great games won’t be here because I just have no experience with them (though I have now played 56 of the Top 100, which is the highest ever!)
So you Agricola fans are just going to have to feed your people on your own and forget about me.
I can manage.
Also, many of these ratings are after only one play, so they could change in subsequent years based on more plays (or if I haven’t played them anymore)
Also, just a note that if I’ve reviewed it, the link will be to the review. Otherwise, it will be to Boardgame Geek.
With all of that out of the way, let’s begin!
Read MoreBook Review – Island Infernos by John C. McManus
In my 2025 Notable books post, I noted that one of the great World War II books I read in 2025 was Fire and Fortitude, an examination of the US Army in the Pacific Theater in World War II.
So many of the popular history books take the war in total, and give short shrift to the actual Army in favour of the Marines.
Not that the Marines didn’t do anything in the Pacific. They were quite dominant.
But John C. McManus looks at the Army in the Pacific in this trilogy (of which I haven’t read the third book yet).
Island Infernos is the second book in the trilogy and it covers the 1944 invasions of various Pacific islands as well as General Douglas MacArthur’s push through New Guinea and into the Philippines, fulfilling his promise to return one day.
However, McManus pulls no punches in his story of the Army units.
This book gripped me as much as the first book did, and while it did take a while to read (almost 2 weeks, which actually is pretty good for me with a large history book!), there is just so much good stuff in here that I enjoyed every minute reading it.
Read More
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