How long does a game of Brink take?

A typical game of Brink takes approximately 120 minutes.

What are the best video reviews of Brink?

MindForge has curated 40 video reviews of Brink from top board game content creators.

What type of game is Brink?

Brink features mechanics including Area Control, Negotiation, Resource Management, Trading, Voting.

Brink - Board Game

Video 7cEICmrNmFc Rolling Dice & Taking Names Discussion at 56:30 sentiment: positive

video_pk 94843 · mention_pk 259622

Click to watch at 56:30 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

appeals to Tetris and puzzle fans
quick to play
strategic decisions regarding energy cell usage
fun visualization of pieces dropping

Cons

can be frustrating when needed pieces don't appear
initial advantage for the last player picking pieces due to energy cell spot
bombs (used to skip pieces) cost victory points
requires pencil and eraser due to marking on the sheet

Thematic elements

matching Tetris pieces to fill up a board

Comparison games

Doppel
Ganz Schön Clever
Silver
Red Seven
Strike
Potions Explosion
Railroad Ink
Steamrollers
Criss Cross

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Pattern Building — completing lines on the board by placing Tetris pieces
Resource Management — you have these little energy cells that you can expend or use and it can allow you to shift in which column you want
Roll and Write — roll dice one of them gives you a color and that tells you which road to go to and one of the dice gives you a column to go into and when you go down when you match the row and column and you get an intersection it's going to tell you the type of piece
Tile Placement — you mark on your board you draw in that piece

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

at its core it's a worker placement game
it's an engine building game where at the beginning you may have a lot of light buildings but eventually you start flipping them over to the dark side so that they generate you victory points
it's a euro game but there's a little bit of mara trashiness to it with the dice rolls there's some event cards that come out that are kind of random and they can make things bad for you make things good for you so it's definitely not a focus on your old board and play you're interacting with a lot of people and you can do some nasty stuff to people
the rulebook was a tough thing to get through
it's a heavy box - it's uh it's a beast
I'm a big fan of Tetris so and I like puzzles so I liked putting the pieces together
it was a little frustrating at times because what you needed wasn't what was coming up
it's supposedly more of an entry level games it's not one of those takes hours and hours and it's easy to pick up and learn
the counters are large and easy to read that's really us
there is no jungle of numbers to wade through

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 5eC9XuTFhzg Rolling Dice & Taking Names Discussion at 1:04:19 sentiment: positive

video_pk 93498 · mention_pk 253799

Click to watch at 1:04:19 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Innovative take on Tetris.

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Tetris on paper.
Pieces fall down and must be seated into a grid, with energy spent to move them.

Comparison games

Cottage Garden
Indian Summer
Spring Meadow
Tetris

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Polyominoes — Uses Tetris-like pieces.
Resource Management — Players spend energy to move pieces.
roll-and-write — A roll-and-write game utilizing polyomino pieces.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

You will not do your what was that called oh crap his spiel what's that called wow that was a joke that just totally flat on his face right there
We're just lolling people to sleep where the music of the board game board game podcast group you know music is like it's there but you don't notice it and then when you finally hear it you just realize how annoying it is
I'm just not really into euro games meshed with push your luck cuz again I run the odds man in my mind I'm running the odds
Why do you make me go out and buy $18 readers I haven't bought in the Sam's multi pack yet
It's not an alliteration but anyway pod pledge okay so but if you say it too fast podge pledge oh you know so but thank you chairs
The biggest thing in the hobby right now is roll-and-write
It's the one that you can keep making and making money from that's my definition
Good games are not good enough you need great games number one and you need games that are marketed well and stand out in some way
A game from his experience has about a two-week shelf-life that if a game doesn't catch hold within two weeks it's gone and forgotten
The reason why I was asking about that because if you don't know Steven is is really into he's I guess a beer connoisseur beer aficionado
We're the background noise of podcasting or board games Kirk I guess that's beautiful
It's just the fact that it's kind of the worker placement portion is matched with putting these cards in the play that becomes an engine builder much like a game you know you dimension seven wonders or something like a mural settlers but it's not an engine it's a city
it does get a little long Tony because as in typical engine builders there's a lot of AP that can happen there is based on the cars
you know the fifth year anniversary would you ever consider coming out with a deluxe version with the nice player boards and everything that people tend to buy third party
So it's like lightning in a bottle catching lightning in a bottle
you know that the three months of sales where you can then see what's gonna happen with the game
We have a wonderful pre-order program and I believe you still do that at a discount right Steven
There are still plenty about regular badge sales and kids badges oh nice

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video ysgnnBGrJUY Getting Games Discussion at 4:58 sentiment: mixed

video_pk 91737 · mention_pk 246232

Click to watch at 4:58 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

mixed

Pros

Very cheap price
Tetris-like rolling-right / polyomino appeal
More interactive than typical roll-and-write

Cons

Not particularly exciting to revisit
Faces competition from other rolling rights like Railroad Inc

Thematic elements

Comparison games

Railroad Inc

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

there's big explosive turns of combo tastic scoring going on in between two castles of Mad King Ludwig
Tetris II polyomino type things are fun
I quite enjoyed Vindication

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video Ry4qerKM7wo Meeple University Discussion at 4:28 sentiment: positive

video_pk 91580 · mention_pk 245766

Click to watch at 4:28 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

great game by Wolfgang Warsch
not out yet, coming out next week

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Action Points/Energy — There is energy in the game that allows players to move shapes a little bit or pick different shapes.
Dice Rolling — Players roll two dice (four-sided and six-sided) to determine the piece they get.
Scoring based on completion — Points are scored based on clearly filled, mostly filled, or a little bit filled rows, with double points for higher rows.
Tile Laying/Placement — The selected piece slides down into a space on the player's sheet and is marked. Players try to fill rows for points.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

it's like the number one selling game in the industry
it's so familiar yet so different
this guy is called bricks and this one I can call it probably not allowed to say it like in marketing really but it's like Tetris below and right
Uwe Rosenberg one of the great designers in the world
you don't want to draw well in this game you want to draw shuttling
light to Midway euro with absolutely gorgeous artwork by Michael Menzel
everyone I'll turn over this card and I'll take the action in your chore you're first gonna take an action so you're gonna build an engine with these cards
we merge this past here in August of lashes so coming up on the one-year anniversary merged with Indy boards and cards

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video keYeekasjI8 The Dungeon Dive Top List at 43:24 sentiment: positive

video_pk 87523 · mention_pk 228882

Click to watch at 43:24 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Very charming and unique
Captures a modern-day urban adventure feel
Features real-life Brighton celebrities and locations
Fun to explore the city

Cons

None explicitly mentioned, but the game is described as niche.

Thematic elements

Urban adventure, experiencing a day in the city
Modern-day Brighton, UK

Comparison games

Populous Ladder

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Augmented movement — Players can play cards to augment their movement, making it not pure luck.
Card drawing — Landing on a space prompts drawing a card for an encounter.
roll and move — Players roll and move around spaces on the board.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Fallout with the expansions with the California expansion and the atomic bonds um Atomic bonds expansion the small expansion that basically fixes the game uh yeah out of the box wasn't a great game I liked it more than most people did but those expansions greatly Elevate the game it is a great great post-apocalyptic game that does have that unique Fallout feel
The combat is a little fiddly and just never really feels natural I always forget uh how to solve combat in that game but uh everything else I really like the questing is super cool and just it's a neat world to be in and I think they did a really good job of capturing the uniqueness of Fallout
But once you start adding in all of the incredible expansions for Defenders of the realm then the game really does feel like this Grand epic adventure game
It's a cliffhanger game fortune and Glory the Cliffhanger game it has that old Cliffhanger serialized feel to it where you jump for a cliff and you fail that roll and you miss and then on your next turn you have to pick up on that Cliffhanger and you're hanging on by a thread
This is probably the most unique game on this list and that is B in one aard game all about Brighton and that is the 2022 it's the uh 10th anniversary edition I believe it's the newest edition that he just put out and this is a game all about having a adventurous day in the city of Brighton and it's a modernday urban Adventure game and it is so Charming
It really is it's impossible to keep up it's impossible to play all the games it's impossible to play the games I want to play enough to to satisfy me because there's just so many things coming out and so many things competing for for our hobby intention

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video ZpOMDTDW2UU Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews Top List at 13:47 sentiment: positive

video_pk 86347 · mention_pk 223055

Click to watch at 13:47 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Extremely Positive

Pros

Extremely fast gameplay
Can be played in very quick rounds
Highly addictive, encourages multiple plays
Loved by children

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Hand Management — getting rid of your hand over and over again until you R out cards
Speed Matching — throwing cards down as fast as possible you have symbols colors and quantities and you trying to match up to whatever's out there

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Three sisters I don't like a lot of rolling rights it's not my jam but three sisters I think is one of the greatest rolling rights that's ever been made
this is just chaotic
it's just crazy like Cosmic chaos fun as you're moving around
this is probably the C game I've played the most of all time this is the game I play the most I probably have several thousand of this game because you don't just play it once this is the kind of game that you play and then you play again and then you play again
this is personally my favorite in the Forbidden series but this is also just kind of a placeholder for the Forbidden series
this is also a Cooperative game uh but in this game basically you have uh you are playing kind of as the people or the the island itself and you are fighting off people who are trying to come to your islands
I think code names duet it's a it's a two-player game they made code names they made it two-player and it is so difficult just as difficult as code names but even like kind of more so
this is going to be race to the raft
I like this so much more than I love cats and I don't hear getting talked about a lot play race of the ra people it's really fun

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 5IFhRPGYKtc Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews Top List at 2:20 sentiment: positive

video_pk 85708 · mention_pk 220260

Click to watch at 2:20 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Really fast game

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Hand Management — You only get three cards in your hand at a time
Set Collection — you keep going. Whoever wins will wins. Um, well, at least whoever gets the fastest.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Hi, I'm back again. Alvra here.
Well, my 15th favorite game is Mountain.
My 14th favorite game is Go Gelato.
Um, ice cool is my 13th favorite game.
Um, and my to favorite game is Sushiko.
And yeah, my 11th favorite game is Blink.
Goodbye. Thanks for watching. Subscribe and goodbye again. Hope you can watch my next video. Bye you guys. Thanks for watching our shenanigans. As always, we appreciate it.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video OL8VnO3vYOs The Cardboard Herald Interview at 9:45 sentiment: positive

video_pk 85235 · mention_pk 218045

Click to watch at 9:45 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Involved cool moments and player interaction

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Trading — Involved table interaction like trading favors.
Voting — Started with the concept of a cool moment being built towards, involving voting and favors.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

We've been on a pretty wild journey.
We design games for us that we like, that we want to have on our shelves, that we don't have on our shelves, and that gets us to games that we like, and luckily, I think games that at least a few other people like.
It's just like, we start a game, we develop a theme, that theme starts to speak to mechanics, and then they all get and then all of a sudden we're having ideas based on the lore that we're writing, and then we'll have a new mechanic idea, and that'll influence the lore, and it hopefully ends in a very like tight-knit product at the end that like they all speak to each other.
It's just like, you know, what do we think that we can sell? What do you think people will be interested in?
It's just like most of our time 90% of our time is just like making a good game and then it's like all right now how can we stand out in people's minds? How can we stand out in their table? How can we leave them with a lasting like memory about their their tactile experience with our games?
But then there's just like there's there's the logistics side, which is just whole other thing that is like not sexy, but like needs to get done.
But I think the board game industry is not like other industries where it's like, you know, your literal competitors are telling you how to do the thing.
Um, and so I think I think there is just a spirit of camaraderie of like we all want to make cool things and we're all trying to get put out there.
It's hard enough to make a great game like it a game that's worth making.
And so like it it's in one sense it's tough but then the other sense is like there are games that come out that are just like I I wish we made that. Why didn't we think of that?
We want to spawn these small franchises that can h that have legs that feel like they're lived in that that feel like you want to sit down and spend at 90 minutes like we're asking you to like give a movie's amount of time to one of our games.
And so we want it to feel like it's worth stepping into a world that exists and and not only that, but then like is worth being a fan of like is is worth like dreaming about and like imagining yourself win and and I know that's a lot to like put on a board game, right?

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 2LqXj_2M-1U Our Family Plays Games Interview at 17:43 sentiment: neutral

video_pk 85054 · mention_pk 217239

Click to watch at 17:43 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

neutral

Pros

none

Cons

Impacted by tariffs, leading to a need to offset importing costs.

Thematic elements

none

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

The animation studio closed a couple right at the end of the pandemic. the animation studio didn't close and we switched to focus fulltime on board game
My least favorite part is watching other people play deck building games, right? Uh, and so Zach was like, 'Dude, can we come up with a game, a deck building game where you play on other people's turns?'
And Zach was like, I worked so hard on that and now it's just gone. I don't want to make the stuff advertising what someone else is doing. I want to make the stuff that people want.
And that that was like a big change for our company, a big shift for our company.
So, the the going for high level of production is a huge risk because if you go for that high level of production and you say this is what it's going to be and you don't fund very well, you will lose your shirt because it is very expensive.
In essence, to boil down Austin's answer, it's money, Reggie.
The magical part of what unlocked this one was that you don't know what is going to score at the beginning of the game. There's nothing scoring and the players through winning bids get to decide something on the map that is now scoring points.
We have um a a end of the year campaign that is going to be a co-op deck builder.
It's gotten jumbled and we're trying to fix time. Okay.
We have three games launching at Gen Con that I want to give y'all, which are three small box games.
My one question is, why isn't every publisher willing to or able to have IV Studios high level of production? Genuinely curious. Is it a money thing or a skill thing?
Do you have any contact with other companies that run kind of like you to have some exchange of experiences?
We saw you first. You know, I kind of bumped into you at your booth at Pack Show 2021 and we talked and that's when you gave us Moon Rakers and we now have the big Moon Rakers. We love I love Moon Rakers.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video _7fcU6P1DpU Grant Lyon Top 10 List at 12:25 sentiment: positive

video_pk 84921 · mention_pk 216682

Click to watch at 12:25 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

strong player interaction
high replayability via modular board

Cons

negotiation can slow down play for some groups

Thematic elements

negotiation and resource trade with exploration
space/space exploration theme
thematic and interactive

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Modular Board — Explore new tiles to expand the board and access new options.
Negotiation — Players trade resources and negotiate deals throughout the game.
Resource Management — Trade and manage resources to advance capabilities.
resource management and trading — Trade and manage resources to advance capabilities.
space exploration and modular board growth — Explore new tiles to expand the board and access new options.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

this game uh is a game of mine. It debuted at PAX Unplugged last year, but it's making its Gen Con debut this year.
you use your actual phone camera in the game. There are like phone holders and you slide this around.
Spooktacular has an amazing theme that gets me going.
Flip Tunes might be my most played game of 2025 so far.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video jQsF9PM8ha4 Board Game Buzzz Gen Con Preview at 7:08 sentiment: positive

video_pk 84871 · mention_pk 216423

Click to watch at 7:08 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Loved Brink
Lots of negotiation
Love the area control
Fantastic game

Cons

Might not be liked by players who dislike negotiation

Thematic elements

Area control with spaceships

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Area Control — I love the area control. I love where you are placing. So, you're placing your spaceships and wherever you place, you'll be able to activate the areas that are adjacent to it.
Negotiation — There's a lot of negotiation to it.
Resource Management — By doing that, you are slowly gaining resources, kind of building up your ships.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Gen Con is the biggest board game convention in America.
I literally had over 70 that I had saved.
In Spooktacular, you are becoming the monsters, I believe, that are haunting the people who are going to the movie theaters and like watching your movie.
As one of those monsters, you are now free to wreak havoc. Terrify and devour unsuspecting movie goers in a race to become the most terrifying monster of all time.
This is Tea Witches. Okay, for the OP games, I have been so excited for this one. I'm so nervous that I'm going to play it and it's going to be meh or all right because I've like built it up so much in my head.
Everything about this game just screams me and I need it.
I'm so sad that I'm not going to Gen Con.
Like I have FOMO so

References (from this video)

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Video jn4d_avx-es Tim Chuon Event Coverage at 1:27 sentiment: positive

video_pk 84769 · mention_pk 215927

Click to watch at 1:27 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Looks sick
Lots of drama involved
Lots of fun

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Creating a yearbook spread
High school
Narrative emerges from player choices

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Adjacency Bonus — There are adjacency bonuses.
Set Collection — Attribute tokens are used for scoring.
Tile Placement — A tile placement game is present.
Worker Placement — Players can only send three out of four workers per quarter.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Halo Flashpoint. Not going to lie, they kind of sold me.
Pure combat. Pure PvP.
Brink looks sick, dude.
So what you see here is all 100% prototype stuff. No art.
Card Holla this year is next level.
Got Chem which is a huge huge ass box.
Honestly today's haul 10 out of 10.
I love Gen Con.
We got row one game on day two, which was Rebel Princess.
Josh had a brilliant idea though. Cut in half right down the middle.
That is a wrap for Gen Con 2025.
My third one and Josh's first one.
Actually had to buy a whole separate suitcase.
the commercial for Super Boss Monster was released on preview day and I had no idea or I would have been there.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video moT204eN1UA Grant Lyon Top List at 37:52 sentiment: positive

video_pk 84436 · mention_pk 214535

Click to watch at 37:52 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Very Positive

Pros

Medium-heavy weight strategy game with player interaction
Effective negotiation mechanic
Interesting worker placement with variable worker sizes
Part of the Moon Rakers world with good space art

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Exploration and resource negotiation
Space

Comparison games

Moon Rakers

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Area Majority — Each worker grants power in an area, and the player with the most power in a color scores points.
exploration — Players can add new tiles to the board.
Negotiation — Players negotiate with each other to exchange cubes that must be given away.
Resource Management — Players collect cubes, some to keep and some to give away.
Worker Placement — Players use three workers of different sizes (small, medium, large) to take actions.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I try to keep it to about 25 games and sometimes that slides to like 30 games, but I don't want it to be more than 30 games because I don't want this video to be crazy long.
if you want a smaller box pretty game, then check out Parks and Potions.
it's a really good introduction to strategy games.
This is one that is going to be a huge hit with young kids, I imagine.
So, if you want a lot of story in your solo games, that is a reason to play this one.
It adds more player interaction to the worker placement game.
I like that sort of fluctuating market aspect of the game. It makes it feel different than other worker placement games out there.
I think a lot of gamers and just a lot of people in general really respond to this theme, right? I think it's something that's super relatable about having to charge up your social battery in order to go out into the world and do stuff.
there's just a lot of intrigue on like, why are you moving that? What are you doing right now? How do I outsmart you?
Vantage over the last month has been fairly divisive.
if you like worker placement games or if you like visually interesting games, then that's, uh, for sure a reason to play T- Witches.
It is a deck building game, but it has an interesting aspect to the deck building because every round you're going to shuffle your entire deck and then you're going to flip out cards in a 2x3 grid.
I love Flip Tunes
The OP is also releasing fountains.
This plays 1 to five players in 30 to 45 minutes and it is a mediumweight game though at the lower end of medium weight.
This is another sort of visually very interesting game.
It is a deck building game, but it has a interesting aspect to the deck building because every round you're going to shuffle your entire deck and then you're going to flip out cards in a 2x3 grid.
And so there is a real strategy to the deck building of the game, but there's also just these fun exciting moments where you're like, "Ah, yes, I got that where I needed it to go."
I love Flip Tunes a lot. I really recommend it.
I've been doing this Green Team Wins live show at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, and it's been going super well
Next night of that is Sunday, November 2nd.
It's really fun. It's really interactive. It's memorable. It's different every time the show happens.

References (from this video)

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Video 2ZcRsjHDqP8 Discussion at 6:03 sentiment: positive

video_pk 84022 · mention_pk 212881

Click to watch at 6:03 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Lego party game

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

it's a really great time.
I hope I get to see you at Design Day next year cuz I'm definitely going

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video Q71Fy81DZmc Hungry Gamer Analysis at 2:22 sentiment: negative

video_pk 83654 · mention_pk 211285

Click to watch at 2:22 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

negative

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Oo, that looks tasty.
And whoever gets the most points will get first pick of all the amazing prizes that we talked about in the previous video.
Old King's Crown knocked out.
Jerry Hawthorne will be crushed.
Beatric has always been a fan of Ivy Games.
Aberration has had quite the run and not what was expected as Dan it.
Definitely a surprise. I thought she was heading towards Aridia.
Clearly after her midternament nap.
Clearly allowing Beatatric to be multiple cards in your game is the path to victory.
It legitimately makes Beatatric really, really happy.

References (from this video)

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Video boV4_W4ztuc The Dice Tower Analysis at 4:42

video_pk 81649 · mention_pk 203733

Click to watch at 4:42 · YouTube ↗

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

the nomination lists are more important than the awards because you can go out and just buy any of these and play them.
We're nominating them now, and as I always say, the nomination lists are more important than the awards because you can go out and just buy any of these and play them.
These are going to be games that are fantastic to teach to someone who is not necessarily part of our fantastic little world of games. Something to get them in the door, get them excited about board gaming, get them introduced to all these amazing things you can do on the tabletop now.
And so, we got together a group of 50 plus people, that's Dice Tower staff and the other reviewers, different reviewers, and we vote on the nominations, and so we're going to present them to you.
Well, too bad to each of those nominations because you have to go up against the other four. That is a tough slate.
if you enjoy heavy strategy games, you were eating well in 2024.
This is a category for games that play really well with two. It doesn't mean they are exclusively two, although that's usually what is nominated, but it's just a great game for two players.
This is something that for the last several, several years has become an increasingly large segment of the board gaming hobby.
Not only are those like pretty strong solo games, but they're also some of the games that were mentioned in top lists of last year. That shows where the category has come.
So, these are games that do something different. We see a lot of the same stuff, which isn't necessarily a bad thing because same can be good and comforting. But, something that does something unusual or different or feels fresh, here's some games that meet that category.
My goodness, you now have to ask every time you sit at the table, 'Wait, is this cooperative or competitive?' That's something that was unheard of, you know, a decade ago even.
I used to not really appreciate how good party games can be.
So, this is going to be just that implementation of the theme, really immersing you into this world and this setting, uh doing something cool, or maybe just showing you a different kind of light on a thing that you're familiar with.
I always find it odd how the new designer category often also every year seems to dominate best games of the year category, and I like that a lot.
Artwork is something that just walking by a table, you can convince me to play a game just by showing me a good box cover. And I think that it's something that can We talked about the theme, can really sell that, but it's that first entry point in the game, and can grab your attention.
Games are a total production, and what this category is about is saying, 'This is the most impressive full productions of a board game we've seen this year.'
Now, in this category, we have 10 um 10 nominees, and they kind of encompass the whole package here. You know, we're we're looking at the mechanisms, we're looking at the theme, we're looking at the artwork, just all of it. Which one brought its best to the table?
Games that are fantastic
Then our next one is Codenames, a game that really brought party games back into the light, especially word team party games.
This has sold a gazillion copies.
And that is Pandemic Legacy Season 1.
But this is the game. It wasn't the first legacy game, but it was definitely the one that people that kind of exploded and changed
changing the landscape.
Talk about a game that truly shook everything up.

References (from this video)

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Video f-KV94HuXdQ kovray Event Coverage at 22:18 sentiment: positive

video_pk 81129 · mention_pk 200004

Click to watch at 22:18 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Good small card game

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Making shapes with LEGOs

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Pattern Building — Making little LEGOs into shapes.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

It's a gem.
It's a bop.
It's just this combo-tastic game where there's a bunch of different actions happening that you'll have to go through.
It is such a clever game that is still very unnatural because you're trying to create gaps with tiles, and my brain despises that cuz I like when things go together nicely.
It is the silliest game because what you're trying to do is you have stacks of cards in front of you in different stacks, and you're trying to get each of those stacks to have all of one item.
This is such a good small card game from Capstone.
The art on Dixit is just unparalleled.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 8COSIKVjfiM The Dice Tower Other at 5:31

video_pk 80730 · mention_pk 197592

Click to watch at 5:31 · YouTube ↗

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This is not a you know, 4D camera, but if you could feel the heat right now, it is hot.
This looks like the setting of a movie about to go wrong.
I bet you their games aren't so great.
Small little place, but with some pretty Ooh, I see some cool games in there.
Wow, there's a lot of really cool stuff here. This is a pretty neat store here. Pretty small. Some good stuff.
So so all of this we we keep changing except that the match over there.
This is the first mall I've been to that has a church in it.
Found another mass market store, and this one has some actual decent games in it.
Well, it's kind of what I've always dreamed of.
This is lunch!
So, you can see lots of games. You can see they're setting up a lot of different games. Here's a whole pile here. This is going to look fantastic once it is all set up.
I hate werewolves.
This is going to look fantastic once it is all set up.
The library is probably or that is where you go buy games is probably set up.
Isn't all the volunteers, there's a bunch of them.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video N8_wN0SPGLk Hungry Gamer Review at 0:09 sentiment: positive

video_pk 80217 · mention_pk 194886

Click to watch at 0:09 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Really nice production, beautiful components, good trays, fits in the box with no lid lift.
Simple to understand and teach.
Challenging to master, maximizing points is difficult.
Generous with player rewards, always get something.
Favor system encourages interesting trading and player interaction.
High replayability due to variable tile placement and available actions.
Clever design with three different ship types and their placement abilities.
Awesome writers that affect the vote, borderline brilliant.
Voting phase is fast, tense, and fun.
Ambassadors are set collection with powers, integrated with action cards.
Action cards can be used as influence (multi-use).
Appreciates the overall design and how IV Studios is improving.

Cons

Orange and red resource tokens are too close in color, difficult to differentiate.
Game feels like it ends too soon, you want more rounds.
Best with 3+ players, 4 or 5 is ideal.
Text on ambassador cards is too small to read easily.
Can be perceived as a simpler game than its box art suggests.

Thematic elements

Comparison games

Eclipse
Twilight Imperium
Fractal
Voidfall

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Action Point Allowance System — You're going to take nine actions. That is it.
Area Control — you're going to get points for controlling different colored regions, i.e. faction regions, at the end of each round.
Board building — And then right here, this is going to allow you to draw action cards. And as you draw action cards, you're going to draw two and then discard one. And action cards will do a variety of things.
Card Drafting — you draw two and then discard one. And action cards will do a variety of things.
Negotiation — This is a worker placement, voting, and a little of negotiation game.
Set Collection — On the surface, they're set collection, but each one has some kind of power on there.
Voting — This is a worker placement, voting, and a little of negotiation game. And at the end of each round in which each player has placed all of their ships, there's going to be a vote.
Worker Placement — This is a worker placement, voting, and a little of negotiation game.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

As with all IV games, it's a really nice production.
It is a simple game to understand what it is that you are going to do.
But that said, it is really hard to master the game.
It is very generous with you getting things.
The political phase at the end of each round is really fast, but it's really tense.
It is borderline brilliant the way the writers work.
This game kind of understays its welcome.
This is a simpler game than it seems.
This is a great, as I said, filler plus game.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video uzB3w9ktbh4 The Dice Tower Review at 3:16 sentiment: positive

video_pk 79951 · mention_pk 193612

Click to watch at 3:16 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Very fun aspect of worker placement
Looks more complicated than it is
Host likes it a lot

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

Catan

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Resource Management — Players collect resources and use them to perform actions.
Worker Placement — Players place ship-shaped workers on hexes to gather resources, with different ship types occupying one, two, or three hexes.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

So, we're going to jump right into these here. I'm going to take a look at them and tell you what I think about them.
This game is now 20 years old.
It's not nearly as good as made by the people who made War of the Ring.
This is my favorite because all the pieces move like rooks sort of and you're trying to take over other people's pieces and each one has a special power and I like the theming of it.
Layers expansions bring it up to a nine. Layers is amazing.
I think the base game is fine, but when you I mean it's it's very it's enjoyable, but when you add the expansion it's fantastic.
Nothing here I think is amazing.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video dr-aSQBM5LQ Top List at 10:31 sentiment: positive

video_pk 69441 · mention_pk 165939

Click to watch at 10:31 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Extremely fast gameplay
Works well in every setting
Super travel friendly tin version
One of the youngest daughter's favorite games
Gets a lot of plays

Cons

Two-player only game

Thematic elements

Matching symbols, colors, and quantities on cards

Comparison games

Speed (classic card game)

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Hand Management — Players try to get rid of all their cards as quickly as possible.
Speed Matching — Players race to play cards onto a central discard pile by matching symbol, color, or quantity.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

light games are just for a different circumstance they're not better or worse they're just different circumstances
if I'm introducing a game for the first time to someone I'm not going to hit him with one of my very very involved games I want to make sure they have a good time
it's basically a checks and balances so somebody can so a small group of people can't make something happen for a game it has to be Collective hold exactly
gentle rain fits that perfectly
pitch car is just one of those games where if you can play a convention setting with lots and lots of boards lots lots of people it is an absolute blast
it calls itself the fastest board game in the world the fastest card game in the world and it is yeah maybe a minute or two each round
this is probably for both of our girls the first adult game that we taught them because you it's language independent
they fill a great hole in our collection we play them a lot

References (from this video)

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Video VkXRxWweEGs Review at 0:13 sentiment: positive

video_pk 67571 · mention_pk 163710

Click to watch at 0:13 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Highly interactive with exploration and trading.
Secret worker placement mechanic is interesting.
Strategic voting phase adds depth.
Actions are impactful and provide multiple benefits.
Two-player AI works well.
Amazing components and artwork (deluxe edition).
Allows for both honest play and backstabbing without ruining opponents.
Good tension in trading and voting.
Relatively quick for an exploration game.
Functions well as a main event game.

Cons

Trading can be group dependent.
Can be considered long for a voting/resource game.
The two-player variant lacks the full trading interaction of higher player counts.

Thematic elements

Exploring a map and gathering resources

Comparison games

Moon Rakers

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Area Control/Influence (voting) — Players spend resources to vote for which areas/colors score points at the end of a round.
Player Powers/Abilities — Ambassadors provide rule-breaking abilities or extra power.
Resource Management — Players gather and manage various resources.
Set Collection (implied by scoring) — Gathering specific resources or controlling areas seems to lead to scoring.
Technology/Upgrade Tree — Ships can be upgraded by spending resources for more power or better resource gathering.
Tile Placement/Exploration — Players explore a map by revealing new tiles.
Trading — Players can trade resources with each other.
Variable player powers — Ambassadors give unique abilities.
Worker Placement (secret) — Players place ships (workers) to gather resources and take actions, with the placement being 'secret' or behind-the-scenes.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This is just a cool game. It's cool to look at. It's fun to play. It's interactive. It's uh it's both not mean and mean.
So, I like that both of those exist kind of separately going on at the same time.
But, um, for an exploration game, this is a pretty quick one, too, which is nice.
It is going to be your main event style of game, you know, and uh for that purpose, it does a good job of it.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video c5KGeJdjaw4 Review at 0:00 sentiment: positive

video_pk 66997 · mention_pk 162908

Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Trading is more fun than expected.
Story introduction via comic is cool.
Production value is amazing and satisfying.
Element of surprise in tile exploration is fun.
Modular ship upgrades are awesome and retroactive.
Choice between upgrade paths (cargo/weapon) is good.
Set collection element with ambassadors is fun.
Voting phase has twists and turns.
Encourages table talk and player involvement.
Turns are relatively quick.
Solid game for five players.
Minimalist upgrade skill tree provides big benefits.
Keeper in the collection.

Cons

Bluffing mechanic during voting is not very effective due to obvious player choices.
Wish there was a more subtle or neutral mechanic for voting.
Not a good game for those who dislike variable winning conditions or trading.

Thematic elements

Influencing great factions to become their ultimate champion or make them obsolete.
Via a full-on comic.

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Action cards — Cards that can be used during different phases of the game to influence actions, voting, or scoring.
Recruiting ambassadors — Using resources and power to recruit ambassadors provides permanent effects and end-game scoring opportunities.
Resource Management — Players gain resources (cubes) and favors, which are used for various actions like upgrading or recruiting.
Rider Cards — Cards that modify conditions or provide bonuses, particularly during the voting phase.
Ship Placement — Players place ships of different classes (1, 2, or 3) on the map with specific placement rules and restrictions.
ship upgrades — Physical, modular upgrades can be added to ships to enhance their abilities, offering choices between cargo or weapon upgrades.
Tile exploration — Placing ships allows players to explore adjacent tiles, revealing resources or other effects.
Trading — Players can trade resources with each other. It's incentivized because resources are lost if not traded, and resources are plentiful.
Variable scoring conditions — Scoring is influenced by voting outcomes, faction achievements, and ambassador recruitment, making winning conditions less set in stone.
voting phase — Players secretly vote using colored cubes, influencing scoring tracks and potentially triggering multipliers based on collected power.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

trading is actually a lot more fun than you think in Brink.
I love the production value of I V Studio games.
everything is just so so satisfying.
the element of surprise definitely a fun factor and something that keeps you interested throughout the game.
And upgrading is awesome in this game.
So, the key here is to get ambassadors because these will give you a lot of points.
This right here is the fun part, when you see all your investments just pay out like that.
So, my overall thoughts on Brinks. There's one thing that I have an issue with in this game, and that has to do with the bluffing mechanic, because there there isn't really much bluffing you can do despite you having a player screen to hide your information.
I love the council phase. It is so fun.
And I feel like Brink really sets up a beautiful discussion and table talk throughout the entire game because with trading involved and you having to talk to other people, it always feels like you're involved in the game even if it's not your own turn.
And as soon as you reveal and you see what everyone's voting, it just becomes completely chaotic in a good way.
Plus people start playing their action cards.
We forget that we have some riders over here that are going to change the condition and break part of the game.
I definitely like it a lot more at higher player counts, so this is going to be my go-to for five players and three still fun.
Overall, really fun game. I enjoyed a lot and yeah, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
you can't deny that this is freaking cool.

References (from this video)

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Video C5Tt2-24u94 Interview at 1:32:27 sentiment: positive

video_pk 66525 · mention_pk 162110

Click to watch at 1:32:27 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Hidden bidding mechanic is fun
Combines Euro mechanics with social aspects

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Social deduction/interaction with bidding

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Euro-style mechanics — Incorporates elements common in Eurogames, such as resource management or strategic decision-making.
hidden bidding — A key mechanic where players bid secretly, influencing scoring and player interaction.
social interaction — Encourages player interaction and awareness of other players' actions.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I think that the worst thing that we could possibly do is bore you.
We're going to make a game that a lot of people don't like and that is totally fine.
It's all about the tracks. Just like it's all about the cones. It's all about the tracks.
I think that anyone can be a game designer. And so a lot of times they're flexing those muscles that they don't know they have by telling you how to fix your game.
I love fusing two things that aren't aren't usually together. That's where you find new.
The skill ceiling is pretty high, which is kind of interesting given that it is a dice game and you'd think like, wow, the the variability in the dice rolling uh would make it super variable, but no, like Toby's just better at this game and he's going to beat me pretty often.
I want to be like thinking about something the whole time, you know? I want to be doing something.
He never wants somebody to mess to mess with his plans. In your games, people mess with plans, which I love.
We're really proud of where that ended up.
So, it's like, 'Oh, I can't spend I can't spend my coins anymore because that's points. I got to hold on to those.'
It's my favorite of our designs. I love it. I'm so happy that it is delivering.
I don't want to be that guy [the quarterback]. But I can't stop myself.
The fun part is is we don't lose the collaboration because there's literally a phase at the top of everything.
It solved another issue for me too, which is I am recognize this myself. I am a quarterback co-op player and I hate that about myself.
The breakthrough in that project was how do we make it not feel just like we we pasted this over top of Moonrakers.
So, there's there's a resource that literally is you can change the color or you can change the face of any of your dice and and that is a huge strategy and a huge part of winning is manipulating your dice at the right time and saving them for the right moments.
The skill ceiling is pretty high, which is kind of interesting given that it is a dice game...

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video C5Tt2-24u94 Interview at 1:32:51

video_pk 66525 · mention_pk 162113

Click to watch at 1:32:51 · YouTube ↗

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

none

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Blind bidding — Shares a crossover with Realm of Reckoning due to blind bidding for scoring determination.
Euro mechanics — Mentioned as a familiar mechanism sometimes combined with social aspects in Ivy Studios' games.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I think that the worst thing that we could possibly do is bore you.
We're going to make a game that a lot of people don't like and that is totally fine.
It's all about the tracks. Just like it's all about the cones. It's all about the tracks.
I think that anyone can be a game designer. And so a lot of times they're flexing those muscles that they don't know they have by telling you how to fix your game.
I love fusing two things that aren't aren't usually together. That's where you find new.
The skill ceiling is pretty high, which is kind of interesting given that it is a dice game and you'd think like, wow, the the variability in the dice rolling uh would make it super variable, but no, like Toby's just better at this game and he's going to beat me pretty often.
I want to be like thinking about something the whole time, you know? I want to be doing something.
He never wants somebody to mess to mess with his plans. In your games, people mess with plans, which I love.
We're really proud of where that ended up.
So, it's like, 'Oh, I can't spend I can't spend my coins anymore because that's points. I got to hold on to those.'
It's my favorite of our designs. I love it. I'm so happy that it is delivering.
I don't want to be that guy [the quarterback]. But I can't stop myself.
The fun part is is we don't lose the collaboration because there's literally a phase at the top of everything.
It solved another issue for me too, which is I am recognize this myself. I am a quarterback co-op player and I hate that about myself.
The breakthrough in that project was how do we make it not feel just like we we pasted this over top of Moonrakers.
So, there's there's a resource that literally is you can change the color or you can change the face of any of your dice and and that is a huge strategy and a huge part of winning is manipulating your dice at the right time and saving them for the right moments.
The skill ceiling is pretty high, which is kind of interesting given that it is a dice game...

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video JOgl6gemk-s Board Game Buzz Discussion at 7:43 sentiment: positive

video_pk 66427 · mention_pk 161765

Click to watch at 7:43 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

High interaction and thematic flair
Beautiful table presence

Cons

May be overwhelming for players who dislike negotiation-heavy games

Thematic elements

Array
Moonrakers-inspired sci-fi frontier
Table-talk negotiation with exploration and ship-upgrading flavor

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Negotiation — Players negotiate trades and actions through discussion and bidding during exploration and resource collection.
Negotiation / table talk — Players negotiate trades and actions through discussion and bidding during exploration and resource collection.
Resource Management — Explore and collect resources, then barter/trade them with other players to upgrade ships.
Resource management / bartering — Explore and collect resources, then barter/trade them with other players to upgrade ships.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I'm so sad about it, but unfortunately I will not be at PAX unplugged this year.
Aren't we in a great hobby and great? We're in the golden age of gaming, right?
I love just getting excited over new board games. It makes my heart happy.
We're in the golden age of gaming, right? Where we have so many great games that are coming out all the time.
I need this game. I need it to complete my Formage collection.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video H9qN9ra4cOg Shelfside Review at 0:00 sentiment: mixed

video_pk 60628 · mention_pk 153015

Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

mixed

Pros

Excellent cube-management and tactile components
Strong end-of-round voting tension
High replayability with many Ambassador and Rider cards
Beautiful sci-fi aesthetic and consistent component design
Rich player interaction and negotiation moments

Cons

Prototype rulebook clarity issues and small, hard-to-read text
Color-coding and color palette can be confusing (orange/yellow, purple with white outlines)
Exploration can feel swingy and disrupt the tightness of worker placement
Trading can feel forced and time-consuming, increasing playtime
Rider system can feel too swingy or forced to use
Three- to four-player length can be lengthy; 3p is preferable but still long

Thematic elements

Array
Spacefaring science fiction
analytical, enthusiastic, and opinionated review

Comparison games

The Godfather
Moon Rakers
Katon

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

ambassador cards — Ambassador cards grant temporary or ongoing effects; players can buy or activate them, affecting voting or resources.
Area Control — Players place ships on hexes to gain resources and influence outcomes with a round-end voting mechanic.
Cube Management / Trading Economy — Cubes function as hidden-money resources; players trade them to advance upgrades, influence voting, or buy objects like ambassadors.
End-game Score Tension — Voting shenanigans and endgame scoring create climactic tension as players try to maximize color wins and cube values.
End-of-Round Hidden Vote — At the end of each round players secretly spend cubes to influence color-voting outcomes, which determine end-round points.
Exploration / Tile Drawing — Exploration lets you place a ship to draw and place a new hex tile, granting rewards from adjacent hexes.
Faction Objectives — Faction objectives can modify endgame scoring and cube values, tying specific colors or card effects to points.
Progression / Map Growth — The map expands over time, increasing decision density and amplifying strategic options late in the game.
Revolt / Resource Shortage Crisis — When a color’s cube supply runs low, a revolt forces players to discard half of that color, impacting voting and scoring.
Rider Cards — Riders are drawn and played to modify voting outcomes; they influence round dynamics and can swing votes.
Ship Upgrades / Upgrade Tracks — Upgrading ships by spending cubes; some upgrades unlock new actions or increased power.
Tile/Map Shifting — Exploration lets you place a ship to draw and place a new hex tile, granting rewards from adjacent hexes.
Track Advancement — Upgrading ships by spending cubes; some upgrades unlock new actions or increased power.
Worker Placement — Three distinct ships act as workers; they scale in resource yield and end-of-round points, and can be placed in different orders.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

this is Brink a game that kind of looks like a Sci-Fi area control but is also kind of actually a worker placement
it's about 1 and 1 half to 2 hours as listed on the box for two to five players
the cubes are hidden all the time and they're basically types of money in the game
the main way to get points is to do well in the hidden vote at the end of each round
we're all originally in Outlaw faction in a space fairing universe and in brink we're once again figuring out who will emerge Victorious
Brink is a totally enjoyable experience for me

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 3pPPJHbZLmE Neon Gorilla Top List at 3:35 sentiment: mixed

video_pk 59491 · mention_pk 152046

Click to watch at 3:35 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

mixed

Pros

Interesting negotiation angle with potential depth
Ties the Moon Rakers world to a new gameplay experience

Cons

Long playtime in larger groups
Negotiation-heavy design may polarize players

Thematic elements

negotiation, trading, hidden voting
Moon Rakers-related universe; a trading, negotiation-driven environment
negotiation-focused with a world built from Moon Rakers'

Comparison games

Moon Rakers
Root

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

hidden_voting — Outcomes are decided via hidden voting, influencing governance and scoring.
Trading — Resource-for-resource exchanges among players to gain advantages.
Voting — Outcomes are decided via hidden voting, influencing governance and scoring.
Worker Placement — Core workforce action area mechanic driving resource acquisition and setup.
worker_placement — Core workforce action area mechanic driving resource acquisition and setup.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

the five most viral games right this second
it's absolutely beautiful
my hype level is a 7 out of 10
the consensus at eight it's not a topheavy distribution
I backed it so you know I think this will be widely available at retail
hype level it's honestly it's a 10 out of 10

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video d_xg3--sqyA The Dice Tower Top 10 List at 4:01 sentiment: positive

video_pk 39809 · mention_pk 120265

Click to watch at 4:01 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

spaceship components feel space-themed
great graphic design and layout
thematic feel of space war

Cons

none

Thematic elements

space warfare with strategic hex placement
space-themed, but gameplay resembles a strategy-Euro
thematic, tactical

Comparison games

Catan

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

hex placement / area control — ship pieces placed on hex grids; ships contribute assets for resource control

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

these are just productions that made me go, 'Wow.'
it's not really a game as much as it is a puzzle
the production I think is topnotch
I like the production of this one
the cards have a gold sheen across the cards
it almost looks like a toy
the deluxe edition feels like a jewelry box
this is the total package
I think it's one of my favorite games I've ever played

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 8NM2Shp8YHw The Board Game Garden Top 10 List at 23:10 sentiment: positive

video_pk 37068 · mention_pk 111291

Click to watch at 23:10 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Solid Euro/engine balance with strong player interaction
Worker placement flavor on a spaceship/colonial theme

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Space/space-trade and ship placement
Moon-raker world with ship-based economy
Euro-style with strong interaction

Comparison games

Moon Rakers

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Trade/negotiation and engine building — Trade with other players with negotiation mechanics and upgrade options
Voting — End-of-round voting on colors to score points; voting power tied to resources
Voting and color power — End-of-round voting on colors to score points; voting power tied to resources
Worker Placement — Three ship sizes placed on hexes/corners to gain resources and take actions
Worker placement with modular ships — Three ship sizes placed on hexes/corners to gain resources and take actions

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

it's basically like a cottage board game relaxation weekend
I love bumping tracks it's a good time
I love multi-use cards
Evenfall is my number one
I cannot wait to play this one again

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video us62N4Bm8pI Grant Lyon Top 10 List at 7:16 sentiment: positive

video_pk 35253 · mention_pk 105163

Click to watch at 7:16 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

High player interaction and negotiation
Beautiful visuals

Cons

Negotiation is not for everyone

Thematic elements

Space exploration and negotiation
Space exploration with area control
Tense negotiation and space exploration

Comparison games

Other space exploration negotiation games

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Area Control — compete for space tiles and sectors
area_control — compete for space tiles and sectors
Hand Management — various ship types yield different resources
hand_management_engine_sharing — various ship types yield different resources
Negotiation — trade resources with other players to gain interests

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

"I'm a mediumweight gamer"
"these are all mediumweight strategy games"
"If you want a cool interesting amalgamation of a bag building and train game, then Lightning Train is literally the only thing that does that"
"I really like the space exploration and I like the player interaction"
"Everloom is so pretty"
"it's a really cool ending to a game"
"the turns don't take crazy long"

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video mrmyW9PMW5s Heavy Cardboard Discussion at 55:54

video_pk 13160 · mention_pk 38490

Click to watch at 55:54 · YouTube ↗

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I'm vocalizing what's going on in my head.
Gen Con is not a convention that I ever foresee myself going back to.
This is going to be a very long stream if I'm going to take this much time going through each of these.
We are going to do a BG auction cuz I imagine everybody that watches this is on BGG.
The designer is going to send it to you. He's going to pay the shipping and y'all are going to pay us and we get to keep the money.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video fRlKVR5MU44 BoardGameCo Top List at 28:53

video_pk 12033 · mention_pk 35241

Click to watch at 28:53 · YouTube ↗

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

worker placement / tableau building — Space-themed worker placement with resource trading and space fleet management, balanced by negotiation.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This is 10 through 1. This is not easy.
Logic and Lore is a two-player logical game with tons of variants.
Shout out to Puerto Rico. That would have been my number one.
Flamecraft DS is a two-player head-to-head where you are placing out these different dragon tile chips.
Zenith is absolutely delightful.
Amber Leaf is my number one game from 2025.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video sF73ZAGqkTk Before You Play Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive

video_pk 8674 · mention_pk 25547

Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Deep strategic negotiation and trading
Engaging two-player rival mechanic
Rich asymmetrical upgrade paths
Large set of ambassadors and faction objectives
High replayability potential

Cons

Prototype copy with evolving graphics and color distinctions (orange vs yellow)
High complexity and potential learning curve for new players
Asymmetry may require longer setup and familiarization
Two-player mode hinges on rival mechanic, which may feel less dynamic than multiplayer

Thematic elements

political influence and elections among space factions
Moon Rakers Universe galaxy
card-driven, negotiation-heavy, asymmetric upgrade paths

Comparison games

Moon Rakers Universe

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Ambassador recruitment — Ambassadors grant ongoing abilities and affect faction costs.
Card-driven actions and rider cards — Action and rider cards modify voting, scoring, and board effects.
Council vote and scoring — End of round council vote determines round winners and power-based scoring multipliers.
Endgame scoring via sets and objectives — Ambassador sets, faction objectives, and endgame cards contribute to final points.
Resource management with influence cubes and favors — Cubes of different colors represent resources; favors are traded or used for actions.
Rival system for two players — A rival deck simulates opponents; trading with the rival influences votes and bag contents.
Upgrades and asymmetric upgrade tracks — Ships upgrade along asymmetric tracks; cargo and rail guns affect power and scoring.
Worker Placement — Players place ships on hexes to gain influence and activate hexes.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This is a worker placement and Resource Management game with a heavy emphasis on trade and negotiation.
In a two-player game we must use a card driven rival.
This is a prototype copy of the game so things are subject to change in the future.
There are five different factions and in this game they are each vying for power.
The game has played over the course of three rounds and ends with a council vote.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video ovBi-cXr9Zg Tabletop Turtle Top List at 12:31 sentiment: positive

video_pk 8041 · mention_pk 23671

Click to watch at 12:31 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

high interaction and tight coupling of actions
strong player engagement with voting and council mechanics

Cons

trading can slow play at times
board complexity can be intimidating

Thematic elements

interstellar politics and ship technology
Spacefaring faction dynamics with council governance
tightly coupled, highly interactive

Comparison games

Kinfire Council

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

ship parts upgrades — build and upgrade ships with limited actions
Worker placement with trading and hidden voting — trade, negotiate, and influence endgame scoring through votes

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This is the kind of game you play when you want to feel smart.
Everything feels like a good decision.
The card play in this game is absolutely stellar.
A lot of little things come together to feel cohesive and satisfying.
You reap what you sew, you know, you need to be strategic and methodical about it.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video ZcZBLQLLnbk BoardGameCo Top List at 11:21 sentiment: positive

video_pk 5927 · mention_pk 17577

Click to watch at 11:21 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Strong worker-placement feel
Engaging player interaction

Cons

Complex decisions can be heavy for some tables

Thematic elements

medieval/market economy
worker-placement with trading/negotiation

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

trading / bartering — Negotiate with other players for resources and goals
Worker Placement — Smart placement with multiple options per site

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

My number one is God of War.
Circle the Wagons will get tabled, the second edition of it, more content to mix it in.
Onward is the spiritual successor to Sky Tier.
Lands of Evershade was neck and neck with past tread and the more I played it, the more I’m excited.
The Dead Keep was excellent, though boss battles could use polishing.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video Ca0BW6tYNFo The Dice Tower Review at 1:57 sentiment: positive

video_pk 5535 · mention_pk 16457

Click to watch at 1:57 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Nice game from IV Studios
Good negotiation elements
Works well at two-player
Good bot system
Trading mechanics integrated well

Cons

none

Thematic elements

none

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

It's really lightning fast
The expansion is fantastic
Just tremendous card game
I quite enjoyed Brink
Real great production, very solid game
Absolutely fabulous game
Eight great characters
The expansion that we always needed but didn't know we wanted

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 6rga2FEKCjM Chairman of the Board Top List at 10:48 sentiment: positive

video_pk 5319 · mention_pk 122519

Click to watch at 10:48 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

massive player-count suitability (4-6 players common)
high-stakes feel with opportunities for big scores
fun bluffing and misdirection moments

Cons

not as widely known as other party/heuristic games
might rely on player interaction to shine

Thematic elements

betting and bluffing across a round-based rondelle
Las Vegas-style gambling atmosphere
live-action casino feel with risk and reward

Comparison games

Poker-style wagering games

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Catch-Up — lead players influence turn order and information flow for balance
catch-up and misdirection — lead players influence turn order and information flow for balance
differentiated card effects — double cards, traps, and bluff cards change table outcomes
Multi-Use Cards — double cards, traps, and bluff cards change table outcomes
round-based betting and tables — cards assign to tables; tables determine money value and traps

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

an absolute blast to play
this is up there with those classics
clearly elegant and tightly designed
it’s a pure two-player gem that should hit higher on the radar
the box art is a little bit misleading and it makes it look boring, but the gameplay is far from that
the game hits so many checkpoints

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video t9n6NpaYq9k Our Family Plays Games Top List at 25:54 sentiment: positive

video_pk 2457 · mention_pk 7185

Click to watch at 25:54 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

brings a new genre to the Moonrakers ecosystem
hidden voting adds intrigue and negotiation
tight, table-ready box with strong component quality

Cons

may be heavy for casual players
requires buy-in from Moonrakers fans to appreciate setting

Thematic elements

work/resource trading with hidden voting
Moonraker-esque universe
strategy with social deduction elements

Comparison games

Moonrakers

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

hidden voting — vote outcomes are concealed from opponents
Trading — exchange and manage resources to optimize actions
Worker Placement — allocate workers to take actions

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I am so excited about that
I love that world
it's a small box game
Point Galaxy is the next iteration of Point Salad
the world of The Great Gatsby
Layer is two-player with dungeon-building

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video sroUH8dVxws Our Family Plays Games Discussion at 45:00 sentiment: positive

video_pk 2056 · mention_pk 5911

Click to watch at 45:00 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Intriguing combination of bidding, diplomacy, and exploration
High production quality from IV Games

Cons

May require group buy-in for smooth play
Can be complex for new players

Thematic elements

diplomacy, conflict, and corporate scheming
near-future space/faction conflict in a Moon Rakers-like universe
diplomatic intrigue with negotiation

Comparison games

Moon Rakers (thematic link)
Suburbia (city-building overlap)

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

hidden voting — secret voting influences outcomes
trading/negotiation — trade and negotiate with other players for advantage
Worker Placement — assign agents to gather resources and influence

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

"Brass Pittsburgh is a standalone take on Martin Wallace's system set in America's Gilded Age."
"Bruce Lee returns with a new mini and two new Battlefields."
"float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
"Dark Quarter is heavy. It’s a noir-ish detective game with occult overlays."
"Deep Regrets. We love this game."
"The best part of worker placement is the satisfaction of putting out your worker and getting something in return."

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Brink

A Pile of Mid Games: Lairs, Blue Max and More!

Brink - Kickstarter Playthrough

Brink

A Pile of Mid Games: Lairs, Blue Max and More!

Brink - Kickstarter Playthrough

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