The reviews were prepared using the hobbygamez.biz website, where it is possible throughout Ukraine. A large selection of educational and simply interesting board games for all ages.

Board games for all ages

Fans of games from young to old will definitely appreciate the games with an affordable price and clear rules. Particular favorites of the public in this category are the games Barabashka and Dobble, which are distinguished by their speed, perkyness and liveliness of the gameplay.

Dobble

The Dobble Card Game has gained popularity not only in our country, but all over the world. Players in many countries around the world are happy to look for paired images on cards. The principle is very simple: the player needs to find a “pair” of any of the eight pictures on his card as quickly as possible. Complicating the game is that two cards cannot have more than two identical images.

The charm of the game is betrayed by a funny round design and a small box that is always easy to take with you. Both adults and children are guaranteed to enjoy the game.

Barabashka

And in the game Lamb, players will have to practice their logic and correct the mistakes of the unlucky cast of Lamb, who photographed objects incorrectly. The red chair suddenly turns blue, and the gray mouse turns red! In addition, Lamb has an addition - Lamb. Here you will encounter the equally absent-minded sister of Lamb. Will you be able to deal with Baramelka's mistakes? And if the games are combined into one, it will become much more complicated and confusing.

wild jungle

Dobble and Lamb games are great for kids, but adults can enjoy these fun and playful games too. And if you like something more complex, then the Wild Jungle game will be a good choice.

Wild Jungle is an active game of attentiveness and speed of reaction. Players take turns revealing cards with different similar figures. And in the end, the struggle takes place over the totem, which is placed in the middle of the table. During the game you will definitely get a lot of emotions. Laughter and fun are guaranteed.

Board games for the whole family: rating and review

Dixit

Dixit is a game that is hard to get tired of, a game of association. With its help, you can plunge into the world of fairy tales and magic in a new way. Fancy pictures on the cards will please even the most fastidious players. In addition, in each new company, this elegant game takes on new shapes and readings. We can safely say that Dixit is one of the best board games. In many European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Dixit is recognized as the game of the year 2010. However, to this day it has not lost its popularity.

Carcassonne

The board game Carcassonne will allow you to plunge into the Middle Ages and feel the customs of that time. Feudal players will be able to build lands and earn income from them. The richest feudal lord will be the winner. The live process of the game and fairly easy rules will definitely appeal to children. And adults will be able to deploy more exciting battles thanks to tactics. Carcassonne is also the winner of one of the most prestigious board game awards, the 2001 Spiel des Jahres Game of the Year in Germany.

Marrakesh

In the colorful game of Marrakesh, players will find themselves in the oriental carpet market, where their customs and rules of trade reign. No one will be indifferent to the bright unique design of the game. Soft bright rugs with patterns made of pleasant fabric and comfortable wooden dinars will definitely please lovers of originality.

The principle of the game is quite simple: each seller in the market needs to place as many of his carpets as possible and get the most income. The richest carpet merchant wins.

Marrakech is a great tactical game that is perfect for a large company or family game. Marrakech game has won the hearts of many players around the world, and also won the title of game of the year 2009 in France, Austria and America!

Niagara

And in the game Niagara, players will find themselves in the epicenter of the river. Will the players be able to save their canoes, keep their treasures intact and return to the camp unscathed? There is a dangerous waterfall ahead! Incredibly beautiful and colorful game Niagara will appeal to anyone. It will be enjoyed by both children and adults. Players will especially appreciate the high-quality design and interactivity of the gameplay. But only those who are lucky will be able to conquer this treacherous Niagara River!

"First Contact" is a game of association and deduction. And in it you will have to negotiate with representatives of another civilization.

The game will meet two teams: aliens and earthlings. The aliens have arrived for peaceful purposes - they need some items, but they are also not averse to taking a couple of warriors, priests and a few animals with them. Earthlings are ready to give what guests from another planet ask for. It’s just that it’s impossible to agree - representatives of different civilizations do not understand each other. And then the alien asks to bring an elephant, and earthlings drag tables. To get everything they want, the aliens will have to teach earthlings their language.

Some information about the features of the game:

• It is a great pleasure to understand that you have "hacked" someone else's code and understood how to communicate with a representative of another civilization. Learning another language in First Contact is really interesting.
• The game is very exciting and does not overload the brain.
• Another plus of this tabletop is its high replay value. It has 24 variants of goal cards and 24 alien languages. Enough for a long time!

Fans of deduction board games should definitely check out First Contact. Also, the game will appeal to everyone who likes to combine a warm-up for the brain with entertainment.

sticky chameleons

• Number of players: 2–6.
• Age: 6+.

Of all the new releases on this list, Sticky Chameleons is by far the wildest. She is perfect. And also for adults who love active fun games.

The goal of each player is to catch an insect of a certain type and color (for example, an orange dragonfly or a green mosquito) without touching the wasps. What insect to catch, decides the case. Before the start of each round, players roll two dice, one indicating the type of insect and the other indicating the color. Sounds easy. But the highlight is in the hunting process itself.

Each player gets a long, sticky tongue. It resembles a slime from, but without "side effects": firstly, it does not leave greasy marks on furniture, secondly, it does not begin to spread and stick to everything in a row, and thirdly, it does not lose its properties over time. It is enough to wash this tongue with cold water after the game, and it will be as good as new. It is they who need to catch dragonflies, mosquitoes, caterpillars and other insects.

Catch the right insect - get a tasty token. Collect 5 tokens - become the winner.
If you like action games and board games that develop speed, accuracy and reaction, you will definitely like Sticky Chameleons. And this is a good choice for parents who want to keep their children entertained and useful for a long time.

Smartphone Corporation

• Number of players: 1–5.
• Age: 12+.
• Game duration: 90 minutes.

Smartphone Corporation is a new Russian game in the genre of economic strategy. Thought out enough to appeal to fans of the genre, but at the same time so logical and understandable that even beginners in the world of board games can play.

In this game, you will become the owner of an international gadget manufacturing corporation. Your goal is to earn more money. This can be done in different ways. For example, quickly capture the market by building their offices everywhere, and then sell in huge quantities. Or focus on technology and sell less, but more expensive. Well, or first capture the market and sell a lot and cheaply, and then switch to the introduction of technology.

There are a lot of options, moreover, you can adjust the strategy every move. But remember about the competition: in the smartphone market, it is very sharp. Demand is limited, and other players can always make buyers a better offer than you. And then you will have to dispose of unsold gadgets - by the beginning of the next turn they will already be out of date.

For those who like to play alone, the developers have added a solo mode to Smartphone Corporation. In it you have to compete with Steve, a real genius in the field of selling smartphones. Defeating such an opponent will not be easy!

boss monster

• Number of players: 2–4.
• Age: 13+.
• Party duration: 30-40 minutes.

The original Boss Monster: The Dungeon Building Card Game came out 5 years ago and was even nominated in the 2014 Origins Awards for Best Traditional Card Game. But the Russian version appeared quite recently.

This new product is worth paying attention to first of all to those who love strategic games, but not brain-blowing, pixel graphics and board games in the Dungeon Crawler genre - that is, those where heroes go through dungeons, rescue princesses, look for treasures and kill monsters. Unless in the “Boss Monster” you will play not as a hero, but as a powerful monster who guards the largest chest and equips his own dungeon.

During the game, you will build rooms full of traps, as well as menacing and funny monsters (there is even a dance floor for monsters and a spa for succubi), as well as lure the heroes with chests and princesses, and then defeat them. But remember that your main opponents in the game are not heroes, but other bosses who will certainly try to confuse your plans with spells and wrest victory from under their noses.

The list of the game's pluses includes beautiful art, simple mechanics, elementary rules, an understandable, familiar setting and very fun gameplay. And of course, a wide selection of creatures and rooms - the variety of combinations is huge, and each has its own advantages. In addition, a large set of cards provides replay value.

Imaginarium Dobro

• Number of players: 3–7.
• Age: 6+.

"Imaginarium" is a popular game on. In short, its essence is to make associations so that at least one player guesses your card, but by no means all. And in the course of another player - try to understand which card belongs to him. It perfectly develops imagination and unconventional thinking, and at the same time helps to better understand other people.

In November 2018, a new game in the series is released - Imaginarium Dobro. Its peculiarity is that all the illustrations were created on the basis of drawings of children with serious illnesses and children from orphanages. Of course, professional illustrators redrawn them, but they did not change the essence. Therefore, "Good" is in its purest form the world of children's fantasy, for which there are no restrictions.

This is a charitable project created with the participation of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. 100 rubles from the sale of each box go to children's funds. In addition, the kit included a brochure where you can see the original children's drawings and learn a little about their authors.

You can play Dobro with children from 6 years old - this is good news for those who have been waiting for the new Imaginarium for preschoolers since the release of Childhood.

For fans of the series, I will also add that New Year's Imaginarium and Cassiopeia are already being prepared for release. The first one is a full-fledged set with a playing field and chips, it consists of the most cheerful and New Year's cards of the former "Imaginariums" and contains 11 new illustrations. The second is an addition with an age limit of 6+. Perfect for expanding the "Childhood" and "Good" sets.

Correct honey

• Number of players: 2–5.
• Age: 7+.
• Party duration: 20–30 minutes.

"Proper Honey" is a cozy and kind board game that will appeal to both children and adults. The heroes of this board are scientist bears who love honey so much that they want to collect more swarms of bees to extract it. The one who manages to attract five swarms to his side will be the winner. The scientist bears will have to work hard and do a lot of research to defeat their rivals!

In order for the bees to be favorable to you and join your team as a swarm, you need to accumulate more honey and experience than other players. Just don't forget that even in this game bears have a sweet tooth. As soon as the bear accumulates 8 barrels of honey, he breaks down and eats them all, gaining experience in return.

Finally, Right Honey is a game with great design. The bears here are so cute and funny that it's nice to just look at the cards!

truth detector

• Number of players: 3–10.
• Age: 18+.
• Party duration: 30 minutes.

Among the autumn novelties there is also an excellent party game with a limit of 18+ - a game for parties and friendly gatherings.

The rules of Truth Detector can be explained in half a minute. One of the players takes a card and reads the question. Everyone present answers “yes” or “no” by throwing a colored die into the bag (everything is anonymous!) Then everyone tries to guess how many players gave a positive answer. Finally, the cubes are poured out of the bag, and everyone sees how many of the audience answered in the affirmative. This is the most exciting moment.

Why is that? Because all the questions in the "Truth Detector" are provocative. About personal life, preferences in sex,. Well, questions on other sensitive topics. In decent society, they are usually not asked out loud, but the beauty of the game lies precisely in this: it reveals other people's secrets and raises sensitive topics.

Those who can’t stand provocative questions and are embarrassed to say the word “sex” in the company of friends will not like the game. Others should at least take a look at it.

The Hunt for the Ring

• Number of players: 2–5.
• Age: 13+.
• Party duration: 1-3 hours.

The Hunt for the Ring is designed for experienced players. If you're looking for a simpler game, or if you're looking for a board game for friendly pizza gatherings and parties, there are better options in the list of new games. If you are not afraid of the thought of spending a couple of hours behind an exciting campaign and reading a thick rule book, The Hunt for the Ring is your choice.

This is a board game with hidden movement. One player takes control of the bright brotherhood led by Frodo, all the rest play for the Nazgûl. Frodo's goal is to bring the Ring of Power to Rivendell. The goal of the Nazgul is to break Frodo's will, forcing him to succumb to the influence of the ring.

The game is divided into two parts, and if Frodo loses the first part, the adventure will not continue. In the first part, the brotherhood must reach Bree in a limited number of moves. Hobbits move quietly and secretly, so that the Nazgûl do not see them - they have to rely on their instincts and look for traces. The player leading the brotherhood marks his movements on a special sheet, hiding behind a screen.

In the second part, the brotherhood is no longer up to trying to sneak past the Nazgûl - headlong Frodo and his friends rush from Bree towards Rivendell. The player who led Frodo in the first part now controls Gandalf. And his new goal is to confuse the tracks and prevent the Nazgûl from finding Frodo.

Another interesting point: the ending of The Hunt for the Ring may (but does not have to) affect the beginning of another board game, War of the Ring. So if the board game gets you hooked, you can continue the adventure using the results of the Hunt for the Ring game as a prologue.

Sunny Valley

• Number of players: 2–5.
• Age: 8+.
• Game duration: 45–60 minutes.

If you are looking for an unusual board game for kids to play with, Sun Valley is a good choice. But, of course, adults will also be interested in playing it.

Unusually in the "Sun Valley" is that this game develops both fantasy, strategic thinking and. The fact is that there are no tiles in it, from which you can form a map - each player will have to draw their own valley in a notebook.

The cubes in the game are also unusual: houses, sections of the railway, sheep and sunflowers are depicted on the faces. These are the ones you have to draw. Moreover, fantasizing is not only not prohibited, but even recommended. You can draw a house with portholes instead of windows, or a sheep with glasses and a suitcase - do what you want, because this is your valley!

And now a few words about the strategy. On each turn, players add something to the valley. What exactly - depends on the symbols that fell on the dice. And here the most interesting begins. First, at the beginning of the turn, the dice are rolled and all players take turns choosing a die with the symbol they want. Think twice so you don't make the wrong choice! Secondly, it is important to consider the location of each object. To get more points for sunflowers, plant them at the foot of the mountain. Remember that the inhabitants of each house should have their own sheep. Build the Valley Express to get bonus points. And strive to ensure that your valley has the most inhabitants.

In a word, you will constantly have to take care of the infrastructure. It is the one who succeeds in this and can create the most convenient valley for the inhabitants, who will be the winner.

Berserk. Heroes. Rise of technology

• Number of players: 2+.
• Age: 12+.
• Party duration: from 20 minutes.

In the fall of 2018, a new release of starter sets for the collectible card game Berserk. Heroes. For those who have not heard anything about it, I will explain. In this game, heroes fight each other using spells, support cards, and throwing creatures into battle. The one who manages to kill the opponent's hero in a duel will win. And since this is a collectible card game, you can build a deck, look for rare cards, buy additional boosters and think for a long time which card will strengthen your hero. But, of course, you can play Berserk without it - just take a standard deck.

Berserk fans will have a lot to look forward to in the Rise of Technology expansion:

• A new class of creatures has appeared - mechanisms. They can be connected to each other, creating powerful combat robots.
• The developers have introduced a new mechanic - a module. If a card has a module icon, then you can use it as a standalone creature or attach it to a mechanism. In the second case, the mechanism will receive all the characteristics of the module in addition to its own.
• The add-on mechanic allows you to create suppression, defense, support, attack and mobility modules. This means that they can not be put into the deck, "heavier" it, but taken from the stock.
• A stun mechanic has appeared in the game - it allows you to “turn off” enemy creatures for one turn.
• Several interesting new heroes have appeared: the dark priestess and technomancer Kat, the fairy Vita, the robber Diana, the Skold warrior, the engineer and explosives engineer Mick.

If you love Berserk, be sure to pay attention to the new set. And if you haven’t played this collectible card game or TCG in general yet, maybe it’s time to try it?

Codex. Basic set

• Number of players: 2–5.
• Age: 13+.
• Game duration: 60 minutes.

Codex is another collectible card game on the new list. Unlike Berserk, here we will not talk about a new cool set, primarily aimed at fans of the series, but about a basic set that suits everyone in general.

The main difference between Codex and Magic The Gathering and some other collectible board games is that in order to achieve high replay value, you do not need to go beyond one box. You can form different decks, each of which will be strong in its own way, without buying additional boosters and without hunting for single rare cards.

There is no imbalance and decks that almost always win here - victory depends on the skill of the player, on his ability to correctly respond to the opponent's actions and think through the moves in detail. A good start to explore the world of collectible card games.

Each player controls one of the six factions that arrived at the Fantasy Strike tournament. The goal is to destroy the enemy base and at the same time not allow to destroy your own. At the start, each player has 10 cards with rather weak properties in his hands, but on each turn you will choose stronger cards from a pre-formed codex (a personal album of 72 cards), gaining new opportunities for defense and attack. And here everything will depend on the actions of the player and his ability to analyze the current situation.

Codex is not only about spells, defense and attack. The game also has an economic component: you need to mine gold, hire workers, build buildings and extensions that give bonuses. And finally, during the games you will be able to find new unusual combinations and interactions of cards. Very interesting process!

Zombicide. green horde

• Number of players: 1–6.
• Age: 13+.
• Party duration: from 60 minutes.

For those who are already familiar with the Zombicide series of games, I will inform you that a new board game, the Green Horde, has been added to it. It is fully compatible with both the classic Zombicide and add-ons. And for those who hear about this series for the first time, I will tell you a little more.

Zombicide is a co-op game where you have to fight against hordes. The task is to fulfill the goals set in the scenario, kill more zombies and at the same time survive on your own. Zombicide has a lot of interesting mechanics, such as line of sight and noise levels to avoid falling into the hands of zombies.

In the "Green Horde" you are waiting for:

• A new mode that allows you to gain experience points and "pump" the hero even after reaching the maximum level.
• 10 new adventures and one training scenario.
• New cards for artifacts, weapons and equipment, as well as creatures and heroes.
• Additional rules for seven or more players. They only work if there is another game in the series!
• New objects: barriers, water zones and fences.

As in previous games in the series, in the "Green Horde" everyone or no one wins. A good choice for those who prefer strategic co-op board games.

We present to your attention the second rating of board games according to CartonLab.ru. It presents games published in Russian.

TOP 30 built based on the preferences of shoppers in the last 6 months from October to April. Add-ons and expansions to the base game were counted as one game. Controversial issues, as before, were resolved through fierce disputes between the compilers of the rating. :)

Compared to the autumn version of the rating, 9 new games entered the TOP at once, there was one change in the top three.

In general, the rating has been significantly updated and has become more objective due to a simple calculation methodology: the more copies of the game with add-ons and expansions were sold in 6 months, the higher the position of the game in the TOP. If the game appeared in the store less than 6 months ago, then a time coefficient was added.

In parentheses, the change in the positions of the game compared to the previous version of the rating is indicated. Plus - an increase; minus - decrease; new - game for the first time in the rating.

TOP 30 looks like this:

1. (-) "Colonialists". More than 15 million people around the world colonize the island of Catan. Join the ranks of the first settlers. :)
2. (-) Ticket to Ride. Europe". The indescribable atmosphere of the beginning of the 20th century is the heyday of the era of railways.
3. (+4 ) "Dixit". Imagination game!
4. (-1 ) "Carcassonne". Explore and capture the province of medieval France.
5. (new ) "Imaginarium". Yes, you are not mistaken. :) Russian response to Dixit!
6. (-1 ) Series "Munchkin". Piss monsters, grab treasures and frame your friends!
7. (-1 ) "Activity". Best party board game: explain words, draw words, show words.
8. (-4 ) "Energy network". A gift for lovers of complex economic strategies.
9. (-) "Elias Party". A find for a fun company.
10. (-) "Citadels". We build cities, weave intrigues, reveal conspiracies. Who are you: king or assassin? Wizard or Bishop? Who will you be next?
11. (new) "Jenga". With bated breath, we take out one bar from the shaky tower and put it upstairs.
12. (new) "Answer in 5 seconds". You have exactly 5 seconds to remember three works by Pushkin, three poets of the Silver Age, three adventure films, three...
13. (+2 ) "Jackal". A game inspired by the spirit of pirate romance and treasure hunting on an almost deserted island.
14. (+4 ) "Flat world. Ankh-Morpork». Become the ruler of Ankh-Morpork by cunning and influence the rest of the contenders.
15. (-7 ) "Monopoly". Long-liver and legend of board games.
16. (-5 ) Agricola. Feel like a real farmer.
17. (-5 ) "The Civilization of Sid Meier". Consider your favorite computer game.
18. (+10 ) "Dwarf Pests". Figure out the saboteurs in the ranks of the honest gnomes.
19. (-) "Mafia". The city falls asleep.
20. (-3 ) "Wild Jungles". Get the totem!
21. (new ) "Pandemic". Only by working in a team can humanity be saved from a deadly threat.
22. (-) "Dominion". Rise of the monarchy.
23. (new ) "Spartacus". Power struggle, intrigue, conspiracies and gladiator fights in one box.
24. (new ) Scrabble + Scrabble. Varieties of crossword puzzle games where you need to compose words and earn points.
25. (-2 ) "Cluedo". Investigate a mysterious murder.
26. (new) "Flat world. Witches». Adventure of beginner witches in one of the towns of the Discworld by Terry Pratchett.
27. (new ) "Svintus 2.0". A fast and fun card game where you have to fold your cards and at the same time put a pig on your friend.
28. (+2 ) "Evolution". Take a dominant position in the ecosystem.
29. (-4 ) "Bang!". An excellent spaghetti western in the spirit of playing Mafia.
30. (new ) "Hyper 6". Tactical-logical game about a journey into the heart of a black hole.

A board game is the best gift. :)

In winter, we spend more time indoors: in our own cozy apartments, escaping from the biting frost, or at a party - talking and destroying industrial tea stocks. How to have fun and connect with friends and family by learning something new about their characters? Play board games with them! We have collected 15 of the best games that you can easily find in stores.

(Total 15 photos)

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Source: factroom.ru

1. "Carcassonne"

• Classic: 5
• Complexity: 2
• Duration: 3
• Number of players: 2–6
• Age: 8+

Carcassonne was invented in 2000 in Germany, and already in 2001 it became the game of the year in this country. The rules of this family-friendly turn-based strategy game are simple: Gradually, players build up the field by placing terrain cards on the table and occupying them with their pawns, which become knights, peasants, or monks, depending on their position. The task is to occupy as much territory as possible, including fields, rivers and castles, thereby gaining the maximum number of points.

2. "Munchkin"

• Classic: 5
• Complexity: 4
• Duration: 4
• Number of players: 3–6
• Age: 10+

"Piss monsters, grab treasures, frame your friends" - this is the motto of one of the most popular games of this year. "Munchkin" is a parody of turn-based and card games at the same time. The rules here are quite complicated, you will have to understand, delving into every detail: there are maps, doors, monsters, races and levels. As well as "clothes" and the possible death of the player. However, having figured out this role-playing game, the whole company turns from normal, mentally healthy people into uncontrollably laughing tantrums with signs of paranoia. The fact is that during the game you can help your neighbor (of course, with selfish goals) or interfere with him (with the same ones). Due to the complex combination of cards and moves, a controversial situation may arise that is not described by the rules. The creators of the game offer to solve it with a loud squabble between the participants. The winner is the one who first reaches level 10, fighting monsters and cunning rivals.

3. "Monopoly"

• Classic: 5
• Complexity: 3
• Duration: 4
• Number of players: 2–8
• Age: 8+

"Monopoly" (also known as "Manager" or "Businessman" in the USSR and Russia) is the most popular economic strategy of all time. Since Charles Farrow sold the first 5,000 homemade copies of the game in his native Philadelphia in 1935, 1.5 billion people have played the game. If someone forgot the rules, then here they are in a summary: having starting capital at the beginning of the game, participants must increase their fortune and ruin their rivals. All this takes place on a square playing field, and "businessmen" use cards, money and chips. The classic Monopoly has received many additions that can be found in any online board game store.

4. "Elias"

• Classic: 4
• Complexity: 2
• Duration: 3
• Number of players: not limited
• Age: 6+

The Finnish board game Alias ​​has become the most popular in the country. This is largely due to the uncomplicated rules and excitement that "Elias" kindles in the participants. The rules, if you don’t go into some nuances, are something like this: in a minute, which is counted by an hourglass, you need to explain as many words from the cards as possible to the players of your team. Use of synonyms or translation into English is prohibited. In augmented versions, sometimes words have to be drawn, portrayed in pantomime or explained with certain emotions: theatrically sobbing or laughing inadequately. The team that first reaches the end of the game board wins, on which all the successes of the players are recorded.

5. "Marrakesh"

• Classic: 1
• Complexity: 2
• Duration: 3
• Number of players: 2–4
• Age: 6+

Marrakech is one of the most popular board games in France and Austria. This is a very beautiful family economic strategy, which is primarily unusual for its "chips" made of fabric. The Marrakech market lives its own fast-paced life, and besides, you will soon have to choose the best carpet seller. It is for this funny title that the participants have to fight.

6. Jenga

• Classic: 5
• Complexity: 2
• Duration: 3
• Number of players: not limited
• Age: 6+

Jenga in Swahili means "Build!" (this is an imperative). But really this game is about breaking as slowly as possible. From the base of the tower, set at the very beginning of the game, the players alternately pull out the bars and put them on top, making the building taller and less stable. The loser is the one during the course of which (or immediately after) the tower still collapsed. The game of "Jenga" is quite tense, so the whisper of a walker: "I will kill the one who breathes" is quite a normal situation.

7. "Scrabble"

• Classic: 5
• Complexity: 3
• Duration: 3
• Number of players: 2–4
• Age: 8+

Scrabble or Scrabble is as classic as Monopoly. Scrabble has long been the go-to game for nerds in pop culture, but that hasn't made it any less popular. Participants receive seven starting letters (104 in total) and lay them out on a field of 15 by 15 squares, making up words. They, of course, should be as long as possible, this guarantees victory in the game. Not everyone, however, knows that in the Russian version of "Scrabble" no words can be used, except for common nouns in the nominative case. You can’t use a dictionary either, more precisely, you can, but only to check whether the word that appeared on the board really exists.

8. Scotland Yard

• Classic: 3
• Complexity: 3
• Duration: 4
• Number of players: 3–6
• Age: 10+

Scotland Yard is named after the headquarters of the London police and pays homage to the legendary British detective stories. The field shows a map of the center of London, at the very beginning, the players choose a criminal by lottery method, who puts a cap on his head to hide his eyes. The rest are police officers who will catch the robber. He, unlike his pursuers, walks "secretly", writing down his moves on a sheet, but not showing it to the rest. Once every 5 turns, he reveals his location. The cops must cooperate to corner the criminal.

• Classic: 5
• Complexity: 3
• Duration: 3
• Number of players: 2–10
• Age: 7+

"Uno" is a sophisticated take on the 1990s summer camp hit "One Hundred and One". The game, whose name translates from Italian and Spanish as "One", was invented in the 1970s, and there are almost no board game lovers who do not know about it. The deck consists of 108 cards, divided by colors and numbers from zero to nine. In addition to them, there are other cards that change the color that is in play, the direction of moves, or allow players to exchange decks with any other participant. The point is to get rid of all the cards by shouting "Uno" when only one is left in the hand. After one player wins, the rest count the points. Each company sets its own threshold (for example, 400 points), after which the participant leaves the party, having been defeated. Experienced players suggest: to give some craziness to the process, you can agree not to slow down and play as quickly as possible. Hesitated - pass the move to the next.

10. "Activity"

• Classic: 2
• Complexity: 3
• Duration: 3
• Number of players: 4–8
• Age: 6+

"Activity" is not much different from "Elias", but it is impossible not to mention this game, because someone likes it much more than its main competitor. Players for speed explain the words to their team: with a picture, pantomime or synonyms - depending on what fell out. The task is to be the first to score a certain number of points. You can choose the difficulty of the task: if the team is ready for the test and successfully wins it, then it moves to victory, respectively, faster.

11. "Colonialists"

• Classic: 5
• Complexity: 5
• Duration: 5
• Number of players: 3–4
• Age: 12+

Of all the classic board games, the German game "Colonialists" has perhaps the most complex rules. It usually takes hours to understand them, but the time spent pays off after: this is a real military-economic strategy, exciting and exciting. The task of the players, as you might guess from the description, is to create a colony on the island of Catan and develop it faster than opponents, gaining twelve victory points. With one of the five resources - wood, bricks, wool, grain or ore - you need to create roads, cities or settlements. And you also need to think about the length of these roads and the ability of cities to defend. Everything is like in the legendary computer games like Cossacks, only on your table.

12. "Twister"

The American bestseller Cards Against Humanity was created by graduates of an ordinary school in Illinois. The essence of the game is to answer rather funny and sometimes indecent questions as funny as possible or to fill in gaps in sentences witty. The driver chooses the funniest answer, and the player who has shown a remarkable sense of humor gets one point. As a rule, the most bloodthirsty wins, because in the USA, where tolerance is the main basis of social relations, this game is the only way to joke about blacks, Jews, Barack Obama and women. The Russian manufacturers of the game have finally made a version that does not contain Americanisms, replacing popular US characters with the same Russians: Philip Kirkorov, Lev Leshchenko, and so on. On the official website of the game, the developers offer approximately the following options: "No one can imagine that Lev Leshchenko's favorite hobby is Baltika 9." Cards Against All is not recommended for persons under the age of eighteen.

15. “Evolution. Random Mutations"

• Classic: 1
• Complexity: 3
• Duration: 4
• Number of players: 2–4
• Age: 12+

The game "Evolution" was invented by Russian biologist Dmitry Knorre in 2010 and has already been republished in English, French and German. The logical strategy is built on the principles of Darwinian theory: during the course, participants choose which features they want to add to an already existing species. It is also worth paying attention to food and external conditions. The game lasts until the cards remain in the common deck, and the winner is the one who scored the most points.

Every year (well, almost every year) in my blog I talk about the best games of the past year. Usually I do this based on my tastes and opinions, but this year I decided to do it easier. I'm not Tom Wesel, no one sends me popular and hot news, so that I am aware of absolutely all the new products, so I don't really want to express opinions about games, judging only by other people's opinions. Let's make it simple - turn to the main desktop site - Board Game Geek (BGG), and based on international opinion, we will draw our conclusions. Today is January 5 (when I start writing a note), and I do this - I go to BGG, I type in 2016 in the search for games, sort the list by rating and look at the top twenty.

Of course, on January 6 or 7, the numbers of the overall rating and places in the top may change, so do not judge strictly if something changes on BGG while I finish the article.

Let's start the review from the 20th place (the place in the overall rating according to the BGG version is indicated in brackets).

20 (466). Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu

Last year and the year before last, the topic was very popular in the desktop world. pandemics . Probably on the wave of success Pandemic Legacy publishing house Z Man began to rivet games from the same series, but in a different setting. The most successful game was the version about the good old Cthulhu.

The game is based on the same Pandemic Matt Leacock - players roam the map and, instead of finding a cure for diseases, close the opened portals to the other world. There are not so many differences from the original in the game - portals; Shoggoths passing through the portals and bringing the awakening of Cthulhu closer; sanity tokens, the loss of which leads to the loss of player actions; moving around the map is much easier.

Judging by the impressions of the players who wrote the reviews, the game turned out to be lighter than the original Pandemics. The theme of Cthulhu seems to be there, but it is not pronounced, it seems to be interesting to play, but more was expected from the game.

To be honest, the 20th place in this game confuses me. In essence, this is a simplified Pandemic for lovers of Lovecraft myths, but a deep dive into the topic did not work out. It's good that at least there are shoggots besides cultists.

The game is nicely designed. This is probably the only reason I could buy this game, but I'm unlikely to ever do it, because it's better pandemics can only be Pandemic . The Cthulhu theme is just plain fun that can brighten up a few evenings. Visually, everything is cool and even very cool, but the gameplay is still simple.

19 (463). Imhotep

Who would have thought that such a simple toy would take 19th place. I wrote about it when I was reviewing the games that are getting ready to be shown on Jen Con. Even then, there were good reviews about the game on BGG, but commentators on my blog said that they did not see anything interesting in Imhotep . In fact, the board game does not claim to be a furious hardcore, it is such a simple and unpretentious eurogame about the construction of Egypt.

The gameplay is very simple. On their turn, the player chooses one action from: take a stone, place a stone on the ship, play a blue market card, or send the ship, if it is full of his own or other stones, to one of the areas with goodies. Sending a ship is the most important part of the game. Those. everything seems simple, but tasteful. I think that's why boarders all over the world love the game. It's not difficult, but there is a twist, and this is the main thing.

Compared to other top games of 2016 Imhotep looks a little pale, but I can believe that the game got the 19th place for a reason. I would not buy a board game, but I would play it for sure.

18 (454). Mare Nostrum: Empires

"Sometimes they come back." Recently, it has become fashionable to recall old games, blow the dust off them, redraw art, modernize the rules and release a new edition. O Mare Nostrum few people remembered, but as soon as it was re-released, a wave of laudatory reviews immediately began, because games of this kind now appear infrequently.

This is a civilization game in which players build their empires. In it, you need to engage in trade, build wonders of the world, develop an army, expand political influence in the nearest territories.

IMHO, an amateur game. Try now to seat teenagers at the computer Age of Empires , for example, from which blows mold. Tsiva is ours, Marenostrum, naked. Cthulhu is not there, the minks are not CMON's, there is no smell of superheroes in the game, but the worst thing is that it was not Vincent Dutré who painted everything. The game is designed purely for civo-geeks who sometimes like to develop their empires. Therefore, some younger players call the game a bit dry, after all, the taste of 2003 is felt, whatever one may say.

I'm interested in the board itself. I would not buy it, but I would play someone else's copy. I honestly admit that I am not very familiar with civilization games, so I would be happy to draw a conclusion based on this game.

Oldfags like the game, newfags in thought.

17 (425). Secret Hitler

For me, this is a puzzle game. I used to hear that a PnP version of a certain party game about Hitler appeared on the net. Someone wrote that they printed out the game, tried to play and it seems like Secret Hitler liked it. It seemed to me that this desktop game would remain in a free-roaming version of the network, but it was still published with the help of crowdfunding. To be honest, the 17th place of this game surprised me a little, because this modest party game managed to bypass many large projects that were supposed to be in the top 20.

Gameplay SH resembles Resistance (or Avalon , according to BGG, but have not played this game). At the beginning of the game, players are secretly divided into 2 teams - fascists and liberals. As in the Mafia, at the beginning of the game, all players close their eyes, and then the Nazis open them, getting to know each other. Then in each round there will be elections of the President and the First Secretary. This stage of elections is very similar to the formation of teams in Resistance . Players vote for and against, after which positions are approved or new elections are held if the majority does not support the candidates. Then an interesting element begins, which I have not seen in other games. The President draws 3 law cards from the deck. Actually, both liberal and fascist laws can be caught there. He sets aside one law, and gives the other two to the Secretary, who must choose one of the laws and lay it out in the open. What happens next is that the Secretary and the President must try to prove that they voted correctly, that they were simply unlucky in the distribution of cards if a fascist law was passed (for example, 3 fascist cards fell out). The task of the fascists is to collect 6 fascist laws, the liberals - 6 liberal laws.

It seems that the gameplay is kind of rustic, but since I like it Resistance , then I would also play in SH. But still, IMHO, for such a partygame, the game has climbed a bit high in terms of rating. It seems to me that later she will give up her positions.

But in general, I liked most of all to read in the reviews about the game what residents of other countries think about Hitler. Many are shocked that the game is dedicated to the bloody dictator. One girl devoted most of the review to describing her life in Russia. She talked about what she saw on the streets of this country on the Fuhrer's birthday. I'm afraid that even if someone in Russia wants to publish this game, they will have difficulties with its name...

I also note that I like the stylish design of the game. If not for the ill-fated Adik, some Gaga could well have localized the game.

16 (417). 51st State: Master Set

Probably, Pan Trzewiczek managed to enter the same water twice. Imperial Settlers should have been a worthy replacement new era , but it turned out something casual. At the same time, the sales of the game were quite high, the boarders praised the board game on their Internet and were glad that they got what they wanted. New 51st State was supposed to be a good replacement for the old one, but the game was heavily criticized in RuNet, so the 16th place in the list of the best games according to BGG seems somehow strange to me. Probably, after all, there is a big difference between English-speaking and Russian-speaking players in the perception of board games.

Trzewiczek simplified old ideas, redrawn the art and presented the old product as a new game. And it works - people like it, they give the game high marks, which means that Ignacy is doing everything right.

A game about building a city with cards, in which the card can be used in three different ways. The game includes both old maps from the original game and maps from expansions.

It is said that those who have played new era , for other card games from this series will no longer sit. But if you want something simpler and prettier, then the Master Set is very good.

15 (399). cry havoc

And again, sir Ignacy, hello! Although Trzewiczek himself did not take part in the development of the game, he released it. Tom Wesel made an excellent advertisement for the game in the summer, saying that this is the main contender for the game of the year.

For me, Kray Havok is an interesting project. I admit, I'm a sucker for board games with dudes on the map. In this game, everything seems to be done just for me - you need to collect resources, buy upgrades for the army, hire new fighters and beat opponents for fat places on the field. What confuses me a little is the asymmetry of the factions. It seems to be good, since the game appears before us in all its diversity, but on the other hand, I often hear that one faction is stronger, then another, or even completely, that it’s not interesting to play together with two or three ... Indeed, it's a bit sad if the game is really skewed in one direction.

I can even agree with the place of this game. Visually, it does not cause any complaints, it looks delicious, although there seems to be nothing very new in the game. I am glad to see that in the age of fillers and party games, someone is trying to make big toys. True, I doubt that CH will stay in the top for a long time ...

14 (378). Millennium Blades

Oh, I'm ashamed, but I don't even know what kind of game this is. Several times I heard requests to Gaga to localize the game Millennium Blades but what kind of game it is, I have no idea. I will study right now...

Well, what I want to tell you - but the project is interesting! MB is a CCG simulator. Those. not the CCG itself, but the game in those who play the CCG. Plus, in the appendage, we have anime art and kish humor. There are many, many cards in the box with the game, from which players form their starting decks, then they play one tournament, receive money as prizes, which they spend on buying boosters and singles, which are collected from the cards in the box. Then a new tournament is played, and again, at the end of it, everyone buys something. Those who have spent many years on collectible card games remember very well the very exciting sensations of opening boosters and forming new decks for the next tournament. Judging by the reviews, MB simulates all this perfectly.

Do not flatter yourself that the tournament part of the game boasts cool gameplay that can be compared with card giants such as Mtg. In tournaments, you simply play the properties of the cards to earn points that lead the player to victory.

Of the minuses, the following is noted - it takes a lot of time to prepare for the game, it is inconvenient to shuffle a mountain of cards, one game lasts from 2 to 3 hours.

Well, this is quite interesting, and now I also want this game to be released GaGa Games . They have been cooperating with the publishing house for a long time. Level 99 Games (from a distance Pixel Tactics , for example), so there is hope that they can also release a card simulator. True, it will cost much more than PT, and this has weight in our difficult economic time.

By the way, I found a good review of the game on Teser.

13 (377). Dead of Winter: The Long Night

I once longed to acquire Dead of Winter , but when it was localized, I suddenly wanted something. I look at the picture from the add-on box, and I don’t want to mess with it even more =) Some too scary zombies there ...

There is nothing surprising in the fact that an independent addition to one of the most successful games of recent years is in the top, no. Of course, faithful boarders will buy an addition to their favorite game. They just say that the independence of the supplement did not go into the hands. I heard the opinion that if you play one extra, then there is a feeling that something is missing. If you play along with the base, then not all of the extras are interesting, but only part of it, so there is a feeling that you overpaid for the game. But there is also an opinion that this edition turned out to be cooler than the first, so it is Long Night that is advised to take if we do not have a base.

Also lately on Teser, I see a lot of questions related to the rules of this add-on, which raises doubts about a well-written rulebook.

It feels like the players got the same thing as in the base - a group of people trying to survive in a massive influx of zombies. Yes, the cards in this game are different, different characters, but the feeling is the same. Surely those who really liked the base were satisfied with the additional one.

Friends who played? How are the impressions?

It seems to me that this add-on will be the last in the zombie series. Previously, the authors of the game promised that they would continue to make similar games with crossroads, but with a different theme. Zombies are no longer as popular as they used to be. It's time to change something.

12 (287). Sushi Go Party!

I didn't know much about this game before writing this article. No I don't mean the game Sushi Go . I know almost everything about her. But what kind of "party" is - I have no idea.

As it turned out, Sushi Go Party is an updated version of an old game. The most important change is that the game has expanded. If in the usual "sushi" there were only 8 dishes, then in the party version there were much more of them, so the players got the opportunity to create their own menu before the start of the game. It turns out that the new version is the old version with a “+” sign. Plus the usual Sushi Go the fact that there the box is smaller and the game unfolds faster. As for me, then Party is preferable to buy if someone still does not have this game.

Sushi Go is a simple game with draft mechanics. Players pass around the cards, collect sets from them and score victory points. This is a really great game for beginners who are just new to board games. For a filler, the game climbed quite high in the rankings.

And I also really want to game expert I localized this desktop… She's cute!

11 (225). Codenames: Pictures

And with this game, too, nothing surprising. "Pictures" is a continuation of last year's sensational spy word game. This is the same Codenames, only not textual, but illustrated. Words have been replaced by abstract pictures, to which you can come up with many interesting associations.

Although it's really impossible to say unequivocally that Pictures are as cool as the original game. It's a matter of taste. Some like to come up with associations to words, others to pictures. Someone after buying the game said that they Pictures I like it more, but someone complained that they bought into the hype in vain.

In any case, Russian-speaking boarders will have the opportunity to check the coolness of the game for themselves, since in 2017 it will be published by GaGa Games . I admit, I would be curious to look at this desktop, because Codenames I liked.

10(223). Quadropolis

Well, here we come to the top 10, it's getting more and more interesting.

Probably, first of all, this game is remembered not by its theme and gameplay, but by the name of its author. Quadropolis is a city building game. Players have to choose tiles of buildings and structures and lay them out on their tablet. Each built tile brings bonuses to the player, and in this regard Qudropolis can be compared with the well-known Suburbia .

As for me, this is another good family from Days of wonder . As you know, this publisher only releases games that they are 100% sure of, so you should not expect a catch from DoW. However, I did not notice the revolutionary gameplay in Q. A good game, yes, but I won’t run to the store for it. In my opinion, 10th place for this game is a bit too high.

9 (218). Captain Sonar

Captain Sonar is an advanced Sea Combat. The players are divided into two teams (ideally, each team should have 4 players) and distribute the roles that they will have to play.

One player moves the submarine around the playing field, the other is looking for the enemy's submarine, the third monitors the performance of the boat, the fourth launches torpedoes at the enemy. They say that the gameplay is very fun, but still it is worth recognizing that finding 8 people for a full-fledged game is not for everyone.

It seems to me that the game first of all captivates with its unusualness, which is why it is in 9th place. Talking about Captain Sonar , it cannot be said that this is another game about building a city, destroying monsters in a dungeon or conquering space. Therefore, boarders are intrigued by what this game offers. It's not every year that you're offered real-time control of a submarine. I myself would play someone else's copy with great pleasure, but I wouldn't take it for myself =) I simply won't have 8 people for a game, so I don't see any point in spending money on it.

An unusual game, an interesting experiment to complicate the rules of the classic Sea Battle.

8 (104). Arkham Horror: The Card Game

To replace the closed LCD Call of Cthulhu came a new game from a series of games made on the myths of Lovecraft. This is also a live card game, only unlike CoC, it is cooperative.

In spirit, the game is similar to another cooperative LCD - Lord of the Rings . Card AH offers players to go through several adventures using personal investigator decks. The base can be played with two people (or three people if you buy another base box). There are cards in the decks of the players that enhance the capabilities of the players, but there are also those that weaken these capabilities. And only a competent approach to interaction will lead players to victory.

It was probably worth expecting the game to reach the top 10 in 2016, because usually all new FFG LCDs are in high demand at first, which then gradually falls. Card AH turned out again, like any other LCD, not without minuses. As usual, there are few components in the box, no organizer, a lot of randomness, little variability, no bag of chaos from which you need to draw tokens, etc. etc. Those. in the core set, we are again offered a demo game, after playing which we will understand whether it is worth spending money on it further.

7 (95). Great Western Trail

What are you doing to us, Pfister... Probably, after all, the regiment of brilliant authors has arrived (although Pasha Medvedev denies this in every possible way :)), because the last years of Alexander Pfister's games occupy top places. Noisy last year Mombasa , and in this sly, his new game about transporting cows in the setting of the Wild West crept up to the top.

I noticed this toy even when it was shown at the largest American exhibition. Then the people who bought the game spoke funny about her - no one expected something special from her, and then suddenly the tabletop turned out to be very suitable and interesting.

GWT is a eurogame about points with all the consequences. Players need to transport cows from point A to point B using deck building mechanics. To do this more efficiently, players hire different assistants and use the properties of the buildings they meet along the way. I haven't seen any really bad reviews about the game. The game is either highly praised or simply called good, which you can easily agree to play if someone offers. The most pleasant thing in this whole story is that, quite unexpectedly, the Russian publishing house Star announced the localization of the game. The desktop game will be released this spring, and without any crowdfunding, which has set the teeth on edge. And this will be my first game in the collection Stars =) I'm looking forward to GWT in Russian.

6 (69). A Feast for Odin

Before you start doing A Feast for Odin , Uwe Rosenberg practiced on a small two-player game called Patchwork . Although, if you think about it, Caverna , Agricola and Field of Arles he also practiced A Feast for Odin is a symbiosis of all these games.

AFFO is a game for gamers. For serious gamers, and not those who only occasionally indulge in desktop games, and then preferably no more than one hour. Rosenberg immediately throws out over 60 options for players to perform on their turn.

At the beginning of the game, all players have a bunch of negative points that need to be covered with useful items that either give positive points, or some kind of bonus to a set of coins, cards, or something else. The player thinks about what is more important for him - to gain bonuses or get rid of minuses.

FROM patchwork I met last fall, and this game managed to win me over. I'm very intrigued by the fact that AFfO is a big hardcore Patchwork . The 6th place of the game does not bother me a bit, because. Rosenberg is an eminent author, beloved by many, and even in this game several of his best games are combined together. I would love to play this game myself. And how great it is that Russian publishing houses do not stand aside and periodically buy the rights to localize world hits. A Feast for Odin we were promised to publish hobby world .

5 (49). Mechs vs. Minions

Friends, I don’t know at all what to tell you about this game ... Out of the corner of my ear I heard something about it while reading Tesera, but I didn’t suspect at all that this game jumped to the 5th place in the rating.

Somehow the game is related to the computer game League of Legends (similar to DOTA). Because Since I am not familiar with LoL, I can’t say for sure what is taken from a computer game (like the heroes are also taken from LoL). In MvM, players use mechs to fight against minions, and they do it cooperatively.

If you read reviews on BGG, you can conclude that 70-80% of these reviews are about how the game looks and how much it costs. I confess that at first I didn’t believe in it myself, but when I watched the video with unpacking, my eyes became more and more rounded and faith began to appear. The box is huge and costs $75. It seems that the price is rather high for a board game, and there is nothing extraordinary about it. But when I saw how the happy owner of the game opens the box and shows the lodgement with minks, I just said - "Well, ok." The lodgment was removed, and there ... A new set of minks. Well, I thought, this is already cool. But at the bottom there was another lodgment! And then I said wow! But he was not the last! And all this costs $75? How??? How can a game that can safely be called deluxe cost only 75 bucks? Is this a joke? Honestly, in our cruel and unfair world, it is considered normal to bend the price for a minimum of components and say that everyone does it, and you overpay for the idea, not the game. In the case of MvM, we can safely say that you are paying for a game that you can touch and be satisfied with. Everything that lies inside the box would cost many times more in another publisher. Therefore, everyone who has bought this board considers it necessary to first of all tell that even if you don’t really like the game itself, you will still be satisfied with it, because the minks in it are simply the coolest. 4 figures of heroes are completely painted for you.

As for the gameplay, this is a game in which events develop according to scenarios. Each scenario generates a level, places for minions to spawn and sets a task for the players. The actions of the players are programmable. First, the players draft the cards (and they are limited in time by the hourglass), and then lay them out on the action order sheet. You can choose an action that is useful for you, but it will be completely useless for another player, so you have to cooperate so that everyone is happy.

Probably, the gameplay will surprise those who want ameritrash mineks, but he is not here. This is generally just a programmable co-op in which you need to constantly kill minions, but they cannot kill you. This is a puzzle game to be solved through joint actions. Some boarders wrote that not all scenarios have a hardcore level of difficulty, that sometimes the tasks are very simple, but ... But minks, gentlemen! Oh, those minks, tokens, fields with a glossy sheen and a chic boss figure. And how much lies ahead of us!

I'm at a crossroads with this game. On the one hand, its gameplay does not attract me much, on the other hand, the cost of the tabletop is chic, and it’s not a pity for money for such a game. Americans, and other inhabitants of the world, enjoy the game and give it 10s. Therefore, 5th place. It's probably fair.

Unfortunately, nothing is heard about the localization of this game.

4 (36). Mansions of Madness: Second Edition

It feels like heavy artillery has gone. Where are those fillers, where are the gateways that were at the top of the list? That's right, they don't. What are the top 5 fillers? Only hardcore! And only Cthulhu.

In 2016, FFG pleased us with the second edition of the game called Mansion of Madness , which I avoided due to the requirement to have an overlord at the table. I didn't like that some of the players played monsters and knew the essence of the scenario, while other players played the roles of detectives. If I bought the game, I suspect that I would never play as detectives, so I didn’t really look at the game.

In the new version of MoM, artificial intelligence plays as monsters, which can easily fit in your device (or even on a computer or laptop). Now all players can safely search for clues in the cursed estate, meet dangers and run away from them, losing their sanity.

To me, it's all cool. Cool, but expensive. On Coolstaff, the game costs 85 bucks, and this is not exactly the price that is certainly not a pity for such a cool game. Moreover, after purchasing the base, you will also have to buy numerous add-ons. But can a high price affect a place in the top? Maybe, of course, but not so much that the game slipped into the first or second hundred. MoM is good, you can't help but love it. The problem with the overlord was solved, and quite well, as it seems to me. I fully and completely agree with the 4th place of the game. The only pity is that nothing is heard about its localization (and it is unlikely that it will ever be).

3 (22). Terraforming Mars

There have been many games about Mars in the past year, but the most interesting of them came from Jacob Frixelius, who developed Terraforming Mars .

Although, to be honest, about the game I hear most often such reviews - this is not a super-duper game, but it is good. And then bam - and third place for "just a good game" ... I really, really want to test the game for myself to say for sure if it deserves third place.

On the other hand, if we compare this game with Mechs vs Minions , in which everything is cheap, but visually very beautiful, then TM cannot boast of anything like that. I would rather believe the gray Cinderella than the golden King. If the game is in third place and at the same time it does not shine with gold, then it clearly takes its gameplay, and this is what we need. TM has won the hearts of boarders with its honesty.

What about our gameplay? We buy maps to make Mars more habitable for humans. We increase the amount of oxygen, we manipulate water and solar energy, we build buildings, we get victory points. The Internet is replete with detailed analyzes of the game, so I will not get hung up on this.

Soon all Russian-speaking boarders will have the opportunity to try TM and draw their own conclusions, since Games Shop localizes this game. This is a great trend that I hope will continue this year.

2(6). Scythe

The second place of honor is occupied by a game about alternative Europe, which has been “hyping” in the desktop environment for more than two years in full.

First, a prototype of the game was shown at JenCon, after which the art for the game floated on the net. What you see now on the box was drawn a long time ago. " Here the peasants work in the field against the backdrop of warring mechanisms! Blimey! This is fantastic!“, - everyone said admiringly.

Art did not touch me in the slightest. And then I was even more disappointed when I found out that instead of a hardcore ameritrash about robots, they prepared a eurogame for us, which actively mows down to ameritrash. However, my skepticism was not supported by a huge number of boarders who voted for the game with rubles and 10s on BGG. I can only shrug my shoulders - second place, so second, but I'm not very interested in it. Although... Maybe after a flood of Russian-language copies of the game pours into the CIS, when people start writing and filming reviews, maybe I will find something interesting in the game, and maybe even run to the store, waving money in the wind, in the hope of the fact that the game has not yet been crushed on the shelves.

Maybe it's really a nugget, but my desktop vision has just fallen to a critical point, which is why I point-blank do not notice its value.

Pleasantly pleased with the fact that the second place of the top will also be Russified. The publisher is responsible for this one crowd games .

fifteen). Star Wars: Rebellion

Tadaaaam - and the winner was the publishing house Fantasy Flight Games with their game in the Star Wars universe. Who would have thought... I couldn't because I'm not a Star Wars fan. But all the fans who have played Rebellion , they said that this is a really cool game, and I believe them.

I really really want to talk with enthusiasm about how cool stormtroopers are in the game, what powerful rebels, what Organs, Vaders and Skywalkers, but I'm a layman in this and therefore I can't convey the entire palette of colors that BGG reviews are full of.

More than 150 miniatures - yes, that's cool. 2 to 4 players is fine. A big, big box is cool. Asymmetrical gameplay is great. 69 reviews on BGG - just super.

I don't know if there were earlier Star Wars games of the same level? So that these are not minks with a ruler, but a real tabletop, with a playing field and tokens. Imperial Assault except perhaps ... But precisely from Rebellion pulls with a full-fledged game that conveys the fragrant smell of the franchise. Probably, if I were a fan of the universe, I would immediately take Rebellion. I think I would still not refuse to play this board game, because it does not require complete knowledge of the universe. Tea is not a quiz...

It may not be unusual for a great Star Wars game to be in first place. The universe has many fans around the globe, and they easily pushed the high-rated game to the top of Mount Olympus. And we can only hope that HW will be able to complete all the documents and publish this best game of 2016 in Russian.

Afterword

While the article was being written, several games managed to swap places (but not at all critical) - Quadropolis changed places with Codenames: Pictures , a Millennium Blades castling with cry havoc . Of course, games will continue to switch places as boarders continue to rate games and move them up and down the scale.

I'd also like to point out a few games that didn't make the top 20, but they have a chance to do so in the near future.

inis (499th place on BGG) - this game will be localized soon Games Shop