BGG Top Games – 1501 Through 1600

Sorry for breaking the weekly schedule, those of you who have been following these posts so religiously (hi, Bob!)

Last week had other important posts to do that didn’t take quite as much time, because these posts do take a lot of effort and such.

Not to mention it was Christmas!

But we’re back with another century of Boardgame Geek rated games goodness.

This time we’re looking at games rated on BGG from 1501 – 1600 and I have to admit that the returns on these are getting sketchy.

I’ve played fewer of them as time goes on and some of them just aren’t that interesting.

If the trend continues, that may put an end to these posts!

But for now, let’s carry on.

In this batch, I have played ten of them while owning (or once owning) four.

There may be some that I’m interested in playing, though, and there are at least a couple of gems here.

So let’s get started!

The true standout for me this century, and one that I wouldn’t be surprised if it has moved up between the time I am writing this and the time it posts, is Magical Athlete (#1567).

This game is just so amazing because it’s random chaos with player powers that goes against every “I hate randomness in my game” curmudgeon that annoys all of us at our game days.

This is, of course, the new 2025 edition of the game published by CMYK Games.

Holy shit, this is a roll and move game!

Sacrilege!

But it works because of how you draft each individual racer for the four races, and each racer has its own player power.

How can you go wrong with a racer who, when somebody rolls a 1 for their move, automatically goes next?

This game could use an expansion with more racers and new tracks (which I’ve heard are both coming), but other than that, this is such a great game just on its own.

Random as hell, but who cares?

I’ve had more laughs per minute in this game than I have almost any boardgame I’ve played.

Especially during the two races that have the alternate track, where you can land on a space to move you back, move you forward, or maybe just fall on your ass.

This is such a magical game.

Another game that I’ve played, not quite as fun but still very good, is Starship Captains (#1580).

This is a game that parodies the Star Trek episodes where players are utilizing their crew members to fulfill missions and maybe take out pirates as well.

It’s an action selection as well as engine-building game, as you are building up your ship while going around the galaxy and doing stuff with your various crew members.

The missions are already on the board so you know what you’re going for, and each mission states what its requirements are, so you know what kind of crew you need to have.

You can maintain and improve your crew and only have certain ones available each round. You also know what type of crew you will be having available in the next round as well.

I like how you can improve your ship as well, or maybe take damage to limit what you can do.

It’s funny, this is a game where I always feel like I’m not accomplishing much but then the points come out and I actually didn’t do that badly (though I still don’t win).

It’s an enjoyable game that I’m always willing to play.

Middle Ages (#1516) is a remake of a great card game called Majesty for the Realm, but this time instead of cards, you’re drafting tiles.

It also adds to the draft mechanic by making it similar to the Kingdomino series of games, where the tile you draft will determine your draft order in the next round.

You’re still building a tableau, and stacking buildings to get even better effects (as well as building defensive buildings to ward off your opponents), but it’s not cards anymore.

The tiles all fit into their proper spaces very nicely, and the artwork is really cool.

I love Majesty for the Realm, but this one is even better in my opinion.

Finally, for games played, Transamerica (#1521), which isn’t a go-to game at all for me, but it is a perfect game for a larger number of players that will only take you about 20-30 minutes.

This is a route-building train game, but all you are doing is connecting cities.

No goods are in this game at all!

On your turn, you are placing two tracks connecting tracks you’ve already placed, but you can also link off of others if they’ve linked to yours!

Each player has 5 city connection goals (one from each colour, so all over the United States) and the round ends when somebody has completed all 5.

People get negative points for ones they have left, and the game ends when somebody really flattens out.

This isn’t an amazing game (I only rated it a 6.5 on BGG), but it’s never one I’ll turn down if the circumstances warrant it.

There are other games in this century that I’ve already reviewed, so I’ll let you go check those out.

Sentient (#1518) is a great game of manipulating dice to program the cards in front of you to score points.

There’s a new version coming out soon, so I may take a look at it.

But this game is very satisfying on its own.

I like how you have to manipulate the dice somewhat in order to score the individual cards, and the area control mechanism for additional points is cool too.

I need to get this to the table again. It’s been too long.

Another game I reviewed, but it’s a standalone expansion so I wouldn’t count it as a game since I don’t play it that way, is Smash Up: It’s Your Fault (#1591).

It’s a great Smash Up expansion and who can say no to Sharks??

Not me!

Finally, there is the really interesting push your luck card game called Ten (#1561).

In this one, you’re trying to collect cards in front of you to score points. You’re turning over cards from the deck one by one.

However, if you go higher than a sum of 10 or lower than a sum of -10 (it is possible to draw negative numbers), then you bust and you don’t get to do anything.

I did review it and I did like it, but not enough to keep the game.

I’ll still definitely play it, though.

With that, let’s go to the games I haven’t played but wouldn’t mind playing, or possibly might even *gasp* want to play!

The Hunger (#1523) is a game that has always intrigued me a bit.

It’s been on really good sales a few times recently, but most of those have been US-only and, well, I’m not going to the US any time soon.

Shipping to Canada has made the deal unattractive.

Players are vampires who are out hunting in the village and wanting to return to their lair before dawn.

Let’s blurb this one:

“The Hunger is a race in which each vampiric player must optimize their card deck, hunt humans to gain victory points, fulfill secret missions, and eventually acquire a rose and return to the castle before sunrise. The more you hunt, the slower both you and your deck become, which will make it harder and harder to get back before daybreak. Can you become the most notorious vampire without burning to ashes at sunrise?”

The fun part of the game is that the more cards that you add to your deck (even though they are points), the slower you will move and you might not make it back in time!

It’s always sounded really cool, but it’s also on my “try before you buy” list and nobody I know has it.

So it probably will never happen, except maybe in a math trade.

A Gest of Robin Hood (#1529) is, of course, on this list because I actually own it!

I really want to get this one played. It’s a 2-player game between Robin Hood and his Merry Men and the Sheriff of Nottingham, trying to bring the balance of Justice versus Order into their own respective level.

I’ve played it a few times asynchronously on Rally the Troops and Boardgame Arena, but I think I would be able to make better sense of how to play it well if I played it on the table.

Let’s blurb this too!

“One player takes the role of Robin Hood and the Merry Men, stealing from the rich and encouraging peasant disobedience, while the other player takes the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham and his Henchmen, tasked with maintaining peace and collecting taxes for Prince John. Both players will make use of Plots, Deeds, and Events to recruit and manoeuvre their forces, influence or control the peasant population, raise funds and collect taxes, and rob innocent travellers and greedy merchants alike, all in pursuit of their opposed ideals of Justice and Order.”

It’s kind of a COIN-lite game, in that a card will come out and players will choose to either do actions (orders, or orders & deeds) or to take the event on the card, and whichever you do will help determine turn order next round.

I like the concept a lot, and I do like what I’ve played of it, but I really want to play it on the table one of these days.

This isn’t one I’m actually that interested in playing, but Hostage Negotiator (#1548) forms the basis of the Final Girl franchise, so I should probably mention that here.

Final Girl is so much better, though.

Back to the games I wouldn’t mind trying out, we have Stroganov (#1594), which really gets me just from the cover and the fact that it’s been on a number of Dice Tower members Top 100 lists (or at least I know they like it).

Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m hungry.

I don’t know.

The cover is amazing!

The gameplay?

Well, let’s blurb it because I don’t really know much about it.

“In the game Stroganov, players try to collect the best furs to gain wealth and fame as they move across the vastness that is Siberia. They will journey through Siberia in spring, summer, and autumn before returning home each winter. After four years (rounds), the player who has best utilized their actions and collected the most victory points wins.

Each year, the players must move eastward across the landscape. They can spend horses if they wish to travel further. Once they have advanced, they may take a basic action, such as trading or collecting furs or coins. Lastly, they may take more advanced actions such as visiting a village, setting up a yurt, taking a Tsar’s wish (card), setting up a hunting lodge, or buying a landscape field. All of these actions — combined with exploring and some storytelling along the way — earn players victory points at the end of the game.”

I mean, it sounds like a basic Euro, so maybe I won’t like it?

But I’d love to play it.

Even if it’s just to look at the cover on the box.

Mountain Goats (#1595) is a game that I’ve actually played asynchronously on Boardgame Arena and it’s quite fun!

It’s another quick filler game, though how fast it is I don’t know since I haven’t played it live (and BGA “live” is always faster anyway).

You’re rolling dice to move your goats up six different mountains, and trying to stay at the top (ala King of the Hill).

You can share spaces moving up the mountain, but at the top, if somebody else gets there, they knock you off.

It’s a dice-rolling game, which is always fun, especially if you’re just filling time.

There’s nothing in this century that is screaming “avoid this like the plague!” so I won’t really go into those.

I can say that pretty much everything on the list, I won’t be able to play unless it’s maybe at a convention or something.

Anything I might buy because I want to play, I’ve already mentioned.

What do you think of this century?

What games have you played and do you like? Or hate?

Anything you want to play?

Let me know in the comments.