100 — Folklore: The Affliction (2017)
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2022 #41
Heck of a fall. I suspected it was going to happen. The Dark Tales expansion is really important for improving the game but has been well out of print (so I don’t have it). And it’s quite the beast to bring out and play between the millions of components, length, rules issues, and generally poor functionality of the components (Vita/Power tracking, modifiers out the wazoo). It doesn’t help that this game has possibly been replaced with something else we’ll see much later…
99 — Xia: Legends of a Drift System (2014)
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New in 2023
This has been on my brother’s radar for years, but it was a bit expensive, and even more so when everyone said you needed to get the expansion with it (and you do). But he finally pulled the trigger on it. It is insanely random, pretty much at every turn it’s a die roll, card draw, or tile draw. While it’s not too difficult managing that randomness, we’ll probably use some house rules to at least keep the game more consistently fun.
98 — Mansions of Madness: Second Edition (2016)
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2022 #46
Another sharp drop (oddly enough almost to and from the same position as Folklore had). I do enjoy the game, but a few aspects are holding it back for me. For one, I’m just not often in the mood for an app game. Second, the length can be a problem; there aren’t many short scenarios (only one in the base game). Lastly, while I don’t mind some dice-chucking, there’s not really much else under the hood in this one. The puzzles feel like brief distractions from the dice rather than the meat on the bones. Maybe expansions can help lift this one back up.
97 — Trickerion: Legends of Illusion (2015)
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New in 2023
My friend has owned this for years, it was one of the first games he bought when getting into the hobby (how’d he even hear about it?!), but we only just got to it this year. For a long time, I didn’t think I would like it all that much, but here it is, #97. It’s a super-crunch of a game, and it clocked in at 4 hours for us, but none of us felt like it overstayed its welcome. The worker placement in Trickerion is just a really fun puzzle to work out, and getting everything lined up for big performances is really satisfying, but a lot of work!
96 — Gùgōng (2018)
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2022 #89
I’m actually surprised it held on as much as it did since this is one we just never found time for this year, though we came very close to bringing it back out. Like Trickerion, this is one I didn’t think I would like but is my go-to example of a game that I enjoyed a lot more than I expected. Like pretty much all of Game Brewer’s Euro games, it’s a really smooth system that’s easy to get into but offers plenty of tough decisions. There are going to be several of Gùgōng’s siblings on this list.
95 — Oltréé (2021)
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New in 2023
I had passed on this when it first came out because it didn’t quite seem like enough game for $70, but I managed to get it on a big sale earlier this year. The main system of the game is pretty easy to get into, it’s basically Ghost Stories but as a narrative adventure game. The scenarios offer various challenges on top of the core puzzle. There’s a pretty good variety in the core box and an expansion that already needs a reprint! This would be higher, though, if it had a little more meat to it.
94 — Kingdom Builder (2011)
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New in 2023
This actually just missed the top 100 last year at #109, and I’m not really sure how it ended up at 94. I enjoy the game; it’s a really simple puzzle trying to spread across the map while reaching special areas for powers and trying to meet scoring conditions. It’s just a smooth, satisfying game that I guess I really want to play more of!
93 — Pandemic: Iberia (2016)
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2022 #91
This is quite a steady hold! Iberia is my choice of Pandemic if I’m going to play a more “standard” Pandemic. Other versions, especially these days, deviate a lot more from the original game, but I like how Iberia is more of an advanced mode of the original that stays pretty close to its roots. It also looks way nicer than regular Pandemic.
92 — Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization (2015)
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2022 #74
It’s been a while since I last played, but I still enjoy the crunchiness of TtA. It’s definitely one that can be brutal if things aren’t going well, but it can also be really satisfying when things line up just right. Managing your resources and population is a fun puzzle to unpack, and the action point system is surprisingly clean and easy to get the hang of for such a heavy game.
91 — Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles – Episodes 1 & 2 (2022)
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2022 #43
This was a big drop, but I haven’t gotten it played since last year. It’s an enjoyable, crunchy puzzle (so crunchy, many people have been too intimidated to even try it), but like all Mind Clash games, it’s a bit on the long side and can be tough to get the hang of. Hopefully, episodes 3 & 4 will be easier to get to the table.
Thomas P. King, author and game designer 
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