The Abyss power is once again vacant, so the time has come to get your hands on the throne and its privileges. Use all of your cunning to win or buy votes in the Council. Recruit the most influential Lords and abuse their powers to take control of the most strategic territories. Finally, impose yourself as the only one able to rule the Abyssal people!
Abyss is a game of development, combination and collection in which players try to take control of strategic locations in an underwater city. To achieve this, players must develop on three levels: first by collecting allies, then using them to recruit Lords of the Abyss, who will then grant access to different parts of the city. Players acquire cards through a draft of sorts, and the Lords of the Abyss acquired on those cards grant special powers to the cardholder — but once you use the cards to acquire a location, that power is shut off, so players need to time their land grabs well in order to put themselves in the best position for when the game ends.
- Offers a lot of strategy with a simple rule set
- Perfect for families wanting a thinkier but accessible game
- Road tiles with interesting patterns add variety
- Dynamic and unpredictable gameplay that can stay fresh
- Cones add protective decisions without being punishing
- Limited number of cones can create tough decision points
- Opponents may employ blocking tactics to hinder progress
- Some players (especially younger) might struggle with route stability if blocked
- Route planning and road-building with defensive cones
- Urban cityscape with highways and routes
- strategic, family-friendly
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Blocking and interference — Opponents can place tiles to block starts/ends; misdirection and timing affect route accessibility.
- Bypass rule — When a route is surrounded on all orthogonally adjacent sides, a player can bypass by stacking a tile on top up to four levels high.
- Cone placement — A limited number of cones can be placed to protect important segments of a route; cones cannot be removed once placed.
- Scoring/race end — The first player to connect their colors with a single route wins.
- tile placement — Players place tiles to lay or extend their route across a grid-like board.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Bypass offers a lot of strategy with a simple rule set which makes it a perfect game for families who want to dip their toes into slightly more thinky games
- The road tiles come in interesting patterns which won't always offer you the most direct route to Victory
- The Limited number of cones offer you a way to protect the most precious points of your route but because there are so few of them you tend to agonize over placing them
- bypass adds an intriguing layer of strategy to Simply Fun lineup
- it's clever mix of strategy and flexibility wrapped in an approachable rule set that makes it ideal for families looking for a slightly more challenging experience
References (from this video)
- beautiful art
- atmospheric setting
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection / drafting — Rock-solid fantasy-themed drafting and tableau-building with a cinematic vibe
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Life finds a way.
- AI can't do that.
- Talk is cheap because supply always exceeds demand.
References (from this video)
- Elegant, tight three-action loop that packs a lot of game into a compact rhythm
- Beautiful art and color-coding with intuitive iconography
- Multiple viable strategies via guilds/races and alliance-building
- Clean teaching of rules with quick gameplay flow
- Rich decision space around bidding, recruitment, and location control
- Clever risk-reward mechanics around depth exploration and council draws
- Theme can feel thin or non-integrated despite strong artwork
- Moderate player interaction may feel niche or indirect for some players
- Luck of card draws in depths can influence pacing and outcomes
- Endgame planning can be opaque at first playthrough, requiring careful tracking
- Some players may find the color-symbol language dense at first exposure
- Replenishment timing of cards can create friction or confusion during first games
- political influence, alliance-building, and lord recruitment in a submerged society
- Underwater abyssal kingdom with councils, lords, and factions vying for influence
- thematic backdrop delivered through art and color rather than heavy storytelling; largely abstract mechanics
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Affiliated Allies and Council Powers — Certain lords grant ongoing powers (active or passive) that affect future turns, including discarding stacks or modifying recruitment costs.
- Council and Replenishment — Leftover cards from the depths enter the council; requesting support draws a stack of cards from the council into your hand.
- Deck Replenishment and Openness — Lords refill when recruited or via optional plot actions; left-behind cards become council offerings, influencing future rounds.
- Endgame scoring — Score comes from locations controlled, lords you control, affiliated allies, the top affiliated ally per race, monster tokens, and keys.
- Exploration and Allies — During the explore phase you flip ally cards on the depths track; players bid in clockwise order to buy them with pearls, potentially paying higher costs as the row advances.
- Keys and Locations — Accumulating keys from recruited lords lets you take control of locations; taking a location turns off the lords’ abilities on the board but grants endgame scoring potential.
- Plot at Court — Optional early-turn step where pearls can be spent to flip a card and fill empty lord spaces on the lord track.
- Recruiting Lords — To recruit a lord you must meet color-based requirements using allied cards plus pearls to cover shortfalls; recruiting a lord gains you a key and may unlock special abilities.
- Take One Action — On a turn you must take one of three actions: explore the depths, request support from the council, or recruit a lord.
- Threat Track and Monsters — An attack deck provides monsters on the threat track; you can fight a monster for rewards or pass, causing the threat track to rise until someone finally engages a monster.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a really tight game, you know, it's three things that you can do
- three simple actions
- it's elegant
- the lack of integrated theme
- amazing art and awesome colors
- smart iconography
- it's a really tight game you know like it's three things
- it's an elegant game as games go
- three simple actions, the three actions are very straightforward
- the art and iconography is really smart
References (from this video)
- Host expresses clear enjoyment of the game.
- Blood Rage
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Fight me. Don't do it. Aul
- I really like this game.
- Not my favorite. I've grown to like it, but it's going to be five today.
- probably my favorite unmatched set.
- It's going to be my number one today.
- What's number four going to be? It's going to be Clank Acquisition Incorporated.
- I have not played Clank Legacy, which this is.
- So, it's a four for now, but could very much be higher once I play it.
- I think my ranking is supreme on this
References (from this video)
- Favorite games to look at
- Favorite games to play
- Really cool mechanic
- Highly underrated
- Deep sea exploration
- Underwater depths
- Mechanically-driven
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card bidding — Bid for different cards and their powers
- Cascade drafting — Cards offered in sequence with escalating costs
- faction powers — Use faction power to buy guild master influence
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Agricola is one of those games that you just got to have in your collection if you like euro style games
- Porta is one of my favorite underrated games
- Broom service I absolutely love food service one of the coolest mechanics in board games 100 percent recommend this game it is a hoot
- Barron Park is my favorite polyomino Tetris in a board game game
- Orleans is a top 5 game for me period just one of my favorite games to play ever
- Power grid this was the game that got me into board gaming y'all
- Seven wonders this is a modern-day classic
- Betrayal at house on the hill every game is different
- King of Tokyo one of those games that you have to have in your collection
- If you like board games one or percent recommend this game
References (from this video)
- stunning art and thematic depth
- immersive undersea world
- can be chaotic in large groups; rules dense for newcomers
- set collection, negotiation, and role-play of lords
- Undersea kingdom with political intrigue and alliances
- thematic, story-driven with social dynamics
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hand-management — Manage cards to recruit allies, court lords, and control locations.
- push-your-luck — Risk and reward as you recruit and compete for dominance.
- set collection — Collect lords and artifacts to gain power and points.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "This game, it's timeless."
- "Five Tribes is a cutthroat head-to-head game for us."
- "Dominion is the classic."
- "Terraforming Mars is ugly, but yet a fantastic game."
- "I love the little panda."
- "The acrylic meeples and pieces"
References (from this video)
- Leviathan expansion improves monster interactions
- Added new Lords
- Dice rolling for monster fights
- Not available in US due to distribution issues
- Exploration and monster hunting
- Underwater world
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Monster fighting — New Leviathan expansion adds more depth to monster interactions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- takes the worst part of the game and makes it one of the best parts
References (from this video)
- Second favorite game
- Deck-building exploration
- Underwater realm
- Thematic
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deck building
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It wasn't just the hundred sort of best designed games this was the hundred games that I feel that I'm particularly sort of connected to
- The games that have a place in my heart really games that I've got a lot of nostalgia for
- It felt a bit like doing a roll and write game but without all of the sort of convenience
- I wish I still had castles of burgundy and notre dame
- The main thing that got in the way for me was all the iconography
- I do use board games as an escape from screens and technology
- I really like the production of cockroach poker
- I found it was a game where I could see the ending coming and then someone would just go and there we go we've got another 20 minutes now
- It feels like something other than a board game
- The decisions you make in the game are very very slight
- Right up my alley
- I do really like push your luck
- That's my favorite game
- Abyss is my second favorite game
- I love pekka pig
- I just think it's ugly
References (from this video)
- Elegant theme integration
- Engaging for mid-weight groups
- Can overstay its welcome for some players
- Rule interactions can be fiddly
- Deck-building with negotiation and area influence
- Underwater city with factions and deep sea creatures
- Thematic, with shared storytelling implications
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Influence and positioning affect scoring
- negotiation — Diplomacy and alliances influences play
- Negotiation/interaction — Diplomacy and alliances influences play
- set collection — Gather unique cards to build your deck and strategy
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm Tom Bassel.
- We're in new territory here.
- The highest score I've ever seen in this game.
- Don't worry about it, Tom. It's fine. He said asphalt.
- THAT'S RIGHT.
- The safety net which prevents suction related safety issues.
References (from this video)
- Beautiful artwork
- Auction mechanics
- Card drafting gameplay
- Multiple expansions
- Expansions difficult to obtain internationally
- underwater
- ocean
- dark_fantasy
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
References (from this video)
- rich aquatic theme outside of tub context
- game is water-centric but not tub-friendly
- underwater politics and exploration
- underwater civilization
- thematic storytelling with exploration
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- unknown — unknown
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- hot tub gate
- soggy tarp hot tub a fun game that's not what I asked for
- Publishers watching please put in the comments why don't they make every game hot tub proof
- stupid stupid game can't play it in a hot tub
- I hate it all
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card powers with activation timing — cards grant ongoing powers; players leverage timing to maximize interactions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- tableau builders feature a wide and diverse range of markets and currencies
- the beauty of this mechanism is the chain reactions that it creates when you take your turn
- it's a really nice feedback loop
- the world feels bigger than your own little player area
- tableau building is a core, solid mechanic that many designers build around
References (from this video)
- neat theme
- simple and tactile
- easy to teach
- great teaching game
- underwater pearl trading
- underwater
- thematic_abstract
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- drafting — drafting mechanic
- set collection — set collection game
- Trading — exchanging pearls with players
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is my list the video says the top 100 board games of all time but it really is just my top 100 board games of all time
- three minute board games is an independent channel we dont take money from publishers and we do not do any form of paid content
- Mosaic has the ambitious goal of being a civilization game that can be played in two to three hours and it very much succeeds at this goal
- a game that does not need to be played with a traitor because the inherent selfish goals in this game created enough internal conflict
- I love space racing games and space corp is the game that is most racy as far as space racers go
- the term I use instead of gateway game is foundation game
- Sentinels could easily be a forever game the kind of game you just play over and over and over and over again endlessly
- Modern Art is a simple and brilliant and beautiful game and easily the best pure auction game Ive ever played
- Black Orchestra models some very clever things about how conspiracy is run
- when I asked the question hey what game should I play with my non-gamer friend who's interested in gaming but hasn't done much gaming I almost always answer Sentient Golem Edition
- Arkham Horror is the game that really made board gaming my number one hobby
- there are a few things more fun and rewarding in board gaming than organizing a fight in the arena
- Twilight Struggle is one of the best head-to-head games out there
- Santorini is the definition of an elegant design
- Arkham Horror the card game absolutely should be for you it's a hundred percent for me and it is my number one game of 2023
References (from this video)
- Strong positive interaction mechanic
- Players can bid for others' revealed cards
- Building permanent powers throughout game
- underwater
- nobility
- Evolution
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Your cards are ordered, you must never change the order of your cards
- If nobody guesses my card I get zero points and if everybody guesses my card I get zero points
- I've got to come up with a clue that's just obscure enough that some people around the table will get it
- Evolution is my absolute favorite game
- It's like a jigsaw but you build it all together - a game can be this
- Social deduction games can get quite loud and aggressive
- I really don't like games which require you as a player to be funny
- I find it so awkward and cringy, to be honest I won't play these games anymore
- There are billions and billions of possible combinations that we could make
- Hand management is a really satisfying part of many many card games
References (from this video)
- Stunning artwork by Xavier Collette
- Engaging euro-style engine with deep strategy and high interaction
- Rich expansions that add meaningful depth
- Rules can be non-intuitive and end-game scoring is complex
- Theme may deter traditional American-style gamers
- End-game scoring clauses can be confusing for new players
- Political intrigue and negotiation among underwater lords; asymmetric powers
- Underwater kingdom with noble houses
- Euro-style with thematic flavor but limited direct storytelling
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card market / deck building — Reveal and purchase/ sell cards influencing Lords and locations
- Council area / free collection — Collect groups of cards from a council area for free during your turn
- Endgame via Lords control — Game ends when a player controls seven Lords; highest points wins
- Expansion mechanics: Nebulous and Kraken cards — Nebulus as a second currency with high negative end-game points; Kraken cards are wild and add versatility
- Keys and location tiles — Gaining three keys lets you claim location tiles that boost scoring but may weaken Lords
- Lords with special abilities — Acquiring Lords grants powers and Key tokens affecting scoring and strategy
- Pearl currency — Pearls are scarce currency driving decisions to acquire cards
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I love this game I think it's wonderful
- the artwork... they're beautiful to look at
- it's Sublime in Abyss
- this is exactly the sort of expansion that I love
- I wouldn't recommend it to every player
References (from this video)
- dramatic setup improvements; easier to separate components
- romantic, atmospheric theme enhanced by organization
- requires glue for full insert; some fiddly pieces
- mysterious factions and dungeon-like intrigue
- underwater kingdom of Abyss
- fantasy political intrigue
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — control locations and influence others
- deck-building — build a deck of characters and actions
- Modular board — varied setup from expansion tiles and sectors
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is a 10 out of 10 insert
- seal of endorsement
- it's a beauty you have got here the bag that came with it in the scanner so they just sit on there nice and flush
- this insert is a solid insert easy to put together
- I cannot understand why you would want to have baggies or what the base insert was when you've got all the collection together
- this is why I get behind folded space
References (from this video)
- very simple rules
- beautiful creature artwork
- three to four player sweet spot
- excellent expansions (Kraken and Leviathan)
- silky smooth gameplay
- engaging for its depth and time
- super easy to teach
- base game missing without expansions
- monster track mechanic in base game was weak
- underwater
- fish
- creatures
- Lords of Waterdeep
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- when you have your favorite game ever you know or your favorite games in general it's like well they're going to stick around sort of there
- the purest Euro sandbox that I can think of
- Deep Rock Galactic is a perfect example of video game licenses done right
- for 4 hours I am engaged I'm not bored
- I've played this over a hundred times
- if you don't I'll turn you into a forest tree
- Rock and stone Luke
References (from this video)
- Beautiful art and thematic feel
- Engaging push-your-luck moments
- Rules-tighting and teach can be heavy for some players
- Underwater intrigue and alliances
- Underwater city with factions and sea creatures
- Card-driven, set collection with pushing luck elements
- Aquatica
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- push_your_luck — Risk-reward decisions drive tension.
- pushing_luck — Risk/reward decisions in drawing/auctioning.
- set_collection — Gems/treasures cards form the core engine.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Harrow County is a very unique game.
- This is Seven Wonders. ... an excellent card drafting game.
- Ticket to Ride is a classic and a staple at many events.
- Root has fans and they are super fans.
References (from this video)
- beautiful artwork and components
- distinct Euro feel
- underwater, intrigue and negotiation
- euro with strong art
- Warhammer Quest Adventure Card Game
- HeroQuest
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection / auction / deduction — euro-style exploration of factions and alliances with artful components
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I love the thirsty meatballs gaming library is wonderful to be able to go there and play all sorts of different games
- UK Games Expo I always think about the newcomer to the hobby what are they going to find when they go there
- the Kickstarter's up there people are pledging and now he starts to test and starts to design that game
- Evolution has really become my favorite game at this point
- Roll for the Galaxy is a fantastic euro game
- it's a speed game if you think of Jungle Speed
References (from this video)
- Beautiful dark and creepy artwork
- Nicely drawn underwater world
- Excellent components including pearl cups
- Lavishly produced game
- Real push-your-luck mechanic
- Multiple strategic paths with lord selection
- Well-integrated mechanisms that mesh together
- Craken expansion adds great additional currency system
- Leviathan expansion (second) not as strong
- Underwater Civilization
- Underwater/Ocean
- Dark Fantasy
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction / Bidding — Use cards as currency to acquire lords
- auction/bidding — Use cards as currency to acquire lords
- Push Your Luck — Draw cards deciding when to stop and lock them in
- set collection — Collect location sets for victory points
- Variable Powers — Lords have special abilities ranging from passive to aggressive
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- these are the games that connect with me that I have a real emotional reaction to
- I've had really great experiences with although I could highly recommend any of the games on this top 10 for anybody to pick up and purchase
- dominion was one that was really pivotal in me getting into the hobby
- I'm just amazed at how well Alan Moon has managed to create such a simple rule set and yet such a substantial experience
- it's a bunch of mechanisms that mesh together just work for me so well
- I think I'll be playing it for a long time to come
- if you're looking for something that's a little bit more substantial got a bit more going on you can get your teeth stuck into then agricola is a great next step
References (from this video)
- Strong theme and aesthetic,
- Expansions (Leviathan, Kraken) add more variety
- Rules complexity can be daunting for new players
- influence, lieutenants, and intrigue among nobles in an oceanic realm
- Underwater kingdom and court intrigue
- Lords of Waterdeep
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- auctioning / bidding — Players bid to recruit courtiers and influence others; card-based recruitment and action resolution.
- set collection / area influence — Gather influence and items to unlock actions or win points through indirect competition.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a wonderful wonderful game
- it's one of our favorite worker placement games of all time
- Carnival Zombie is a fantastic tower defense game
- the turn order bidding system really does elevate the game
- it's the quintessential cooperative zombie experience
- everybody loves this
- if you like these sort of what people like to call point salads then you all love Trajan
- it's a cycling racing game
- we really really like glam Bruges
- it's our Legends of a Drift System
- it's actually a really really good game
- one of his best games of all time