Friday Night Shots – Top 1000 BGG Games

I know what you’re thinking.

Two Friday Night Shots posts in a row?

That must mean Dave got the jukebox fixed!

It’s amazing what paying your work people can actually do.

Maybe that’s why I can’t keep a bartender?

Anyway, welcome back! Pull up a chair and I’ll get you a drink.

Whatever you like.

Ok, not that…but anything else?

Oh, and don’t mind my cat.

She’s just insane.

With something good finally on the jukebox, let’s talk about boardgames!

Namely, the Top 1000 games on Boardgame Geek.

During the COVID lockdowns, I did a series of posts on the BGG top games, breaking them down on whether I had played them or if I would want to play them.

It got me through some really hard times, especially since I wasn’t really playing many games so I didn’t have a lot to talk about here!

As you know, the rankings of games on BGG can fluctuate wildly, so nothing stays up to date for very long, but I thought it would be cool to do something along those lines tonight, with one difference.

I’m going to talk about the Top 1000 but instead just highlight one game currently in each span of 100 that I have played and really enjoy.

To date, here’s how my plays of the Top 1000 shape up. I’ve played 305 of them!

• BGG Rank 1-100: 53 played
• BGG Rank 101-200: 46 played
• BGG Rank 201-300: 41 played
• BGG Rank 301-400: 34 played
• BGG Rank 401-500: 30 played
• BGG Rank 501-600: 28 played
• BGG Rank 601-700: 26 played
• BGG Rank 701-800: 16 played
• BGG Rank 801-900: 14 played
• BGG Rank 901-1000: 17 played

First, I find it interesting that the numbers go down for each grouping except the last one!

Second, let’s talk some games, starting from the bottom.

Of the 17 games in the bottom ranking, the one I’m going to talk about is obvious.

Combat Commander: Pacific is number 950!

I think I’ve extolled the virtues of this game enough so I don’t really need to go into any more detail.

However, I was pleased to see that a new to me game that will be in my October New to Me Games post showed up at 948.

Spyrium was actually a very cool game, one that I tried on Boardgame Arena a long time ago and after multiple attempts, I just bounced hard off of it.

I won’t say much about it here (you’ll have to wait until early November!) but after playing it on the table, I finally get it.

It is rather unique.

In the next ranking, I only have played 14 of them.

Thankfully, The Networks is number 817!

This used to be one of my favourites and I still really enjoy it but I haven’t played it for a long time.

Until just last week, when I got it to the table again and rekindled my enjoyment of it.

You can read my review of it here, but playing it again reminds me that I should probably review the Executives expansion.

Because that adds a lot to the game.

This is such a great game, though it can be a table hog.

It’s a great game of trying to draft TV shows, get ads, and bring in stars for those shows, in an attempt to get as many viewers as possible over five seasons.

It really is amazing, and it’s too bad Gil Hova has gotten out of the boardgame design business.

This one’s a winner.

In the next block of games, I’ve only played 16 of them.

Thankfully, there’s at least one winner in that group with First Rat coming in, well, first! At 711 (now I want a Slurpee)

This is another great game and it’s fairly new.

Rats are trying to get to space! They must be getting tired of us humans.

I don’t think this was in my Top 50 this last year, but a few more plays may put it there.

This is a fantastic game with so many interesting mechanics.

You can concentrate on so many different things and as long as you don’t spread yourself too thin, you could come out ahead!

Though it is important to get at least one rat on the spaceship.

I highly recommend checking it out if you can.

How about 601-700?

I’ve played 26 of those, so there are more choices.

For this one, I’d have to say my favourite (though it is close) is the wonderful Last Will, which only fell out of my Top 50 because Prodigals Club replaced it.

It comes in at 610. And Prodigals Club is only at 1192! That’s insane.

Last Will has the Brewster’s Millions concept of having to spend a whole bunch of money in order to get an inheritance.

The winner of the game after 7 rounds is whoever has the least money. Or the game could end sooner if somebody actually goes broke (which usually happens).

You’re buying property in order to let it depreciate and then sell it at a loss. You’re going to big parties or throwing them yourself.

It really is fun and while I would rather play Prodigals Club if I have the choice, I would never say no to this game.

How about at the top of the bottom 500?

I’ve played 28 of those games, and a standout for me here would be have to be Fantastic Factories (527), especially because it’s in my Top 50!

And I’ve reviewed it.

This is such an excellent dice rolling and placement game.

Sure, it can be a bit random (like most dice games!) but I still love it.

And the artwork is amazingly cute.

Now entering the Top 500, let’s see which of the 30 I’ve played will make the list.

How about Smartphone Inc (419)?

This one hit my Top 50 after one play because it was that good.

I normally bounce off of economic games, but there was something about this one that just seemed very cool.

You’re producing mobile phones and trying to sell them to various regions of the world, keeping in mind that each region might want different things!

In the next group, I’ve played 34 games, so the choices are getting juicier (and more varied).

I guess since it’s in my Top 10, I can’t really ignore Wayfarers of the South Tigris (376).

But I’ve talked a lot about that already, so why not highlight Arboretum (374) instead?

This is an amazing card game that looks so beautiful and feels so cutthroat.

Look at those trees!

But then you can prevent somebody from scoring those trees just by keeping the right card(s) in hand.

As for the next grouping, I’ve played 41 of those games.

That’s a lot!

The highlight would have to be my Number 2 game (and number 290 on BGG right now), 1960: The Making of a President.

I’ve raved about this game before, and Combat Commander: Europe (247) is also in this group, but there’s just something about Twilight Struggle in politics that just gives me goosebumps.

The card play is just so good and the back and forth is exhilarating.

And I managed to get it played this year after a long hiatus!

The second to last group, I’ve played 46 of them.

This section is hard because so many of my favourite games are in it!

I’d have to go with Viscounts of the West Kingdom (176) since I avoided talking about Garphill earlier.

This one is my favourite Garphill game and it will probably stay there for a while.

The rondel mechanism, the deckbuilding card mechanism, the many avenues to victory, it’s all so great.

This grouping has 11 of my Top 50 in it, though.

So choosing was tough.

Finally, the Top 100, which I’ve managed to play 53 games in!

Of course, my Number 1 game currently (and Number 4 on BGG) has to be the one I mention.

Ark Nova is just brilliant.

The card play, the interesting scoring mechanic, and the tile placement (which I’m not usually a big fan of) just brings it all together in a delicious bunch.

I still say the box (along with “ark” being in the title) makes it look like this is a game about building a space ark to save Earth animals as the planet is dying.

Anyway, that was a long one.

Which of these have you played?

Add if you want to go to BGG and check the rankings, what would your best games played in each group be?

Let me know in the comments.