BGG Top Games – 1601 Through 1700

Another break in the weekly schedule, but that’s because of New Years, a new month, some end of the year stuff, and all of that.

I hope your new 2026 year has been treating you well so far!

We’re back with another century of boardgaming goodness, checking the latest Boardgame Geek rankings from 1601 through 1700!

This list returns to form a little bit, because while I still haven’t played that many of them, there are definitely some notable ones on the list.

I can actually talk about some of these!

In this batch of games, I’ve played 12 of them, with 10 either owned or previously owned.

While I have played (and owned) a few of these, there aren’t that many that I haven’t played and really wanted to, so this might be a shorter post than normal!

Yeah, like that happens.

Let’s get this list started so I can move on to my Top 50!

Here’s the BGG page this is taken from, though the rankings can obviously change over time.

Probably the mainstay of this list, because I have played it so many times at conventions (my friends really like it), is the original Avalon Hill version of Merchant of Venus (#1614).

I haven’t actually played it at a convention since I won in 2024, but I’m always game for it (unless something else has presented itself that makes me want it more).

It doesn’t look like much (heck, it’s from the 1970s, so shut up!), but it is a fun pickup and deliver game where you are basically discovering planets in star systems and then ferrying goods from one system to another, trying to make as much money as you can.

It’s kind of a roll and move game, though you can get engines that ignore red, yellow, or both red and yellow spaces that will let you move faster.

The goal is just to hit the money goal. You can set the goal to whatever amount you want, so if you want a shorter game, just set the goal smaller.

The game can take 3-4 hours if it starts going slow, so you really have to commit to it.

That’s why it’s a convention-only game for me.

Maybe I’ll sit down and try it again at Bottoscon Winter in February.

It will depend on who is coming, since only a couple of my friends own it.

Trains: Rising Sun (#1620) is a standalone expansion to the excellent Trains game, though I haven’t played either in years.

I really should bring it out one day.

It’s been described as Dominion with a board, and I can’t argue with that.

You are building your deck just like in Dominion, and playing cards from your hand to get money and route-building power.

You’re not only trying to get point-scoring cards into your deck (like Dominion), but you are also trying to build routes and then train stations in various areas on the map, of which the stations will score you points.

I actually really enjoyed this game back in the day, but it’s been since 2018 since I’ve played it.

Time to bring it out again!

Warsaw: City of Ruins (#1652) is another game that I’d love to get out to the table again.

In it, you are building districts in Warsaw during a great period of time, including two war times where parts of your city are going to be destroyed due to World War I and World War II.

You get points based on how your city district is formulated, with connected green areas, or separate yellow areas, etc.

I really enjoyed this game the one time I played it (I bought it after watching a Heavy Cardboard playthrough, of course), but it hasn’t hit the table since 2020 so I think it’s time!

Titan (#1659) is an important game from my past, though I’m not sure how much I would want to play it now.

In this one, you are a Titan who is moving around the main board recruiting monsters to your various legions, and then battling other Titans’ legions if you happen to land on them on that board.

You then get out a battle board for that space’s terrain and fight to the last survivor!

I played this in college (1990-91, though that box cover is from a new edition published after that) with a couple of guys in my dorm and it was a total blast, though we didn’t really play it that aggressively so the games could drag on a really long time.

But I will always remember those college days, and treasure them.

It’s not a game that I would necessarily want to play much now, as it does tend to drag and, when two players face off in battle, the other players have nothing to do other than cheer on one of the two antagonists.

But it is an important part of my gaming history and I love it for that.

NEOM (#1681) is a tile-placement game in the vein of 7 Wonders, in that you have a hand of tiles and you are going to take one to place in your city, passing the others on to the next player.

I like this more than the card game because I love building my city and trying to make it as efficient as possible.

I’ve played this enough that I could actually review it, so maybe I won’t say too much about it here.

I need content ideas!

Anyway, I love how you have to try and form your city to score efficiently, the roads have to connect to another road but you could box yourself in by having only one road into a space!

You’re also producing resources based on the tiles you place, which can get you money if you have a resource others need.

It’s certainly not my go-to game, but if it comes out and we have about an hour or so, it’s not a game I will turn down.

Finally, I have to put a word in for The Old King’s Crown, currently at #1685 but it might even be out of this century by the time this posts (I wrote this last week).

(On Tuesday night, it was #1621)

This game is the new hotness that everybody seems to love.

I have to admit that it was very intriguing, but for some reason it didn’t really land with me on my first play back in November.

I’m not sure why that is, but some highly-respected people (like Dan Thurot) love this game, so I definitely want to give it a second chance.

The artwork is amazing and it has an interesting mix of mechanics in that you are kind of deckbuilding (or at least you have a few cards that you can purchase to add to your deck), you are bidding on cards and abilities, each player has their own player power, and it has some area control as well.

The multi-use cards are really cool too, and I do kind of like the blind playing of cards for the area control.

Hell, I don’t know. Maybe I was just cranky that day.

I am excited to try it out again if I can, though.

Let’s go to stuff that I’ve already reviewed so you can just go there to see my thoughts.

Inventors of the South Tigris (#1601) is yet another Garphill trilogy game, but this one hasn’t landed as well as the others, at least in my opinion.

I don’t know if it’s too long, the scoring too convoluted, or what, but it isn’t as high as the other South Tigris games in my estimation (spoilers, I guess, for my Top 50!)

Sanctuary (#1637 and already risen to #1541 as of last night) is a game that I did a first impressions post about, rather than a review.

It is, in a way, “streamlined Ark Nova” though I think it’s a fun game in its own right.

I like the tile-laying and tile-drafting, as well as the decisions on the Conservation Projects during the game.

Which one are you going to go heavy in? Which one are you going to just do a couple and then score it?

I need more plays to form a firm opinion on it, but I’d definitely like to play it again.

Naga Raja (#1651) is a 2-player game that is really cool and I don’t get it played enough.

Players are exploring tombs, building paths to the artifacts on their player board, but they’re also playing cards for their own benefit or, maybe, hurt the other player.

You could throw a trap onto their board, like in the above picture!

You’re not rolling dice in this game, instead you are rolling Fate sticks.

These will give you pips for bidding on the upcoming tile as well as Naga symbols to allow you to play those cards.

You’re “bidding” cards with the symbols of these sticks to declare how many and what types of sticks you are going to roll.

However, the loser of the bid is the only one who is drawing cards, so if you keep winning bids, eventually you are going to run out of cards and have to replenish.

It’s a really fun game, but sadly I don’t think it’s going to come out much anymore since we have so many players at our work lunches that two-player games don’t get played anymore.

Finally, there’s Villages of Valeria (#1695), a tableau-building card game set in the Valeria universe.

This is a fairly quick card game, perfect for lunches or beginning/endings of game days.

I own this game but haven’t unwrapped it yet because it was a game given out to a bunch of people at one of the SHUX conventions so most of my friends have (or had) it.

We play my friend’s copy, and I wouldn’t mind getting it to the table again soon.

We have fresh blood at our work lunches to introduce it to!

It also plays 5 players, which is nice.

Now let’s get to the games I wouldn’t mind giving a try one day.

Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game – Clone Wars Edition (#1604 and bumped up to #1588 by last night) looks like a variation of the Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game (maybe taking place in the Clone Wars? I is smart!).

I enjoyed the original well enough. It’s a nice 2-player deckbuilder with Star Wars trappings, with interesting attack and defend strategies.

We’re in that 2-player trap, though, so I don’t think this is something I can really buy right now.

I played the original with a friend at a gaming marathon day when we were both unexpectedly without other friends to play larger games with, so we found it in the game library and tried it out.

Maybe that can happen with this one too?

Walking in Burano (#1619) has always kind of intrigued me. I keep seeing it in math trades (maybe that’s a sign? I don’t know) and I keep thinking about picking it up, but never do (or maybe I have requested it and just haven’t been successful).

It has the same pedigree as Hanamikoji (published by EmperorS4 Games, though a different designer).

Let’s blurb this and see what you think!

“Burano is a beautiful island of Venice in Italy, known for its colorful houses. Walking through the island, you will see these vibrant houses on both sides of the canal, as well as the personal décor placed by the inhabitants of these houses and shops. Tourists always linger on the street to appreciate and enjoy the view.
The colorful houses of Burano need a fresh coat of paint in order to stay beautiful and vivid. Use your creativity to refurbish and decorate the houses and amaze the tourists and local people with your masterpiece!

Walking in Burano is a family game. Players place the Floor Cards in order to receive a visit from different characters. They will score points based on the various symbols on the houses. To be the player with the most points at the end of the game.”

It just sounds peaceful.

Maybe one day.

Finally, there’s Terracotta Army (#1676), a game from Board & Dice that has intrigued me since it came out, but I just haven’t been able to pull the trigger on it.

Something’s just kept me from doing so.

The whole concept of this army created for a Chinese emperor’s tomb, hiding away and lost to time until somebody has uncovered the tomb, has always fascinated me.

In this game, you are helping to build that army!

“In Terracotta Army, you represent talented craftsmen and artists laboring to build the wondrous assembly of statues. During the game, you collect resources, upgrade your workers, and seek favor with the Emperor’s advisors. Your goal is to play a crucial role in the process of creating the terracotta army, and your success is measured in victory points (VPs). During the game, you and your fellow players build the army together, but after the fifth round of the game is over, only one of you — the one with the most points — will stand as the winner.”

Unfortunately, nobody in my circle invested in it and I just couldn’t justify the cost at the time.

I may pick it up in a math trade?

I’m not sure, but I’ll keep an eye out for it.

There are plenty of other games in this century, of course, but those are the highlights for me.

What about you?

What do you own, have played, or have a desire to play?

Which ones will you flatly refuse to play?

Let me know in the comments.