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The SECOND-BEST board games are probably Gloomhaven. - Lost In The Shuffle

Game Night Picks - Pair Of Dice Paradise Sep 2, 2026
Transcript 19:14

Today, Paula and I are going to put our board game knowledge to the test to reach as close to the sun as we can without going all the way and getting lost. This is what happens when I start talking and I don't know where I'm going. [clears throat]

I never know where I'm going when I start talking. I always end up lost in the shuffle.

Paula

Jazz,

you have played a game or two in your day, have you not?

Just one or two. And I would assume that you have played games in a variety a variance of different gaming categories.

Yes.

So your knowledge of games in various categories is wide and assorted. No.

Oh yeah, definitely. Definitely. I don't play nothing but dungeon crawlers or anything.

Okay, that's disconcerting because I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not. Regardless, we are going to put your varied board gaming related knowledge to the test once again because Matthew has put together five board game categories for us. Okay?

And what we're going to do is we're going to see who is the smarter smarty when it comes to picking the highest ranked games. Well, no, the almost highest ranked games in each of those categories.

As high as we can get without picking the number one ranked game. I see what you're putting down. I get it.

Yes, exactly. because front of the show coowwriter and quizmaster Matthew Jude is going to give us five different board game geek categories of games.

Okay,

we are going to then pick secretly and on our own the game that we think is the highest ranked game in that category without being number one.

Great.

You keep going.

I'm sorry. I'm distracted by the enormous writing on your board.

I wanted to label my board with my name as well. If you choose game number two, you get two points. Game number three in that category, you get three points. Game number four in that category, you get four four points. So on and so forth.

Great.

Because much like golf,

we want the lowest score. Got it. And if the game we pick isn't anywhere in the top 25, we get

26. Yeah. 26 points, right? Okay.

But wait, I hear you think. If we want the lowest score, but we don't want to pick number one, wouldn't picking number one give us one little point, which be would be wonderful. Ho ho ho ho. No, not today. Because if you pick game number one, you get a penalty of 27 points.

Oh my goodness, that's so many points.

It's We had to truck in some extra points from out of town.

It's a lot of points.

Mhm. Get on the point bus.

No, thank you. I don't want the point, so I will take a different form of transportation. That's right. What say we start the game?

I'm ready.

Let's kick things off by trying to select the almost highest ranked game in the category of games about dinosaurs.

Let's do it.

I'm just drawing everything I learned how to draw in like grade school. the weird S. Uh, Ariel, peace signs, hearts, smiley faces, and one really wonky star and one kind of normalish star.

Guess what I drew.

That's not nice.

Okay. Dinosaurs. Round one. Dinosaurs.

What? Okay. The highest we think, but not the highest.

Dinosaurs. What a specific category yet broad enough that I have no idea what how to answer it. How are you going to answer it?

I know a game that I think is probably number one and so I don't want to say that one and so I'm just trying to say something that I don't think is super low and I don't I think this this might be pretty low. I don't know. How are you approaching it?

I'm going to write down the first dinosaur game I thought of and hope for the best.

All right.

Would you like to reveal first or second?

Sure. I'll reveal first. I said drafttosaurus.

Oh, drafttosaurus.

Because I'm worried that dinosaur island is number one.

You were cuz that's

it was the first one I thought of and I thought this might be number one and I thought there's dinosaur island raar in right.

Then I thought I don't know. And then I thought I'll just go with draftaurus. That's a fun game with dinosaurs.

Look at my branded lost in the shuffle drinking mug.

How you doing? I'm about to get Chess 27 points

or two points, which would be great.

Let's find out.

Why didn't I go with Dinosaur Island roar and right? Cuz that's game number two.

Indeed. Which leaves spot number one open for

Dinosaur Island. Be sad.

All right, number three is Raptor. Oh, I totally should have chosen Raptor.

I don't know that game. Oh, it's right over there staring at me, begging to be selected.

Number four is indeed DraftTossaurus. Four points for you. And number five is actually Unmatched Jurassic Park in Genen versus Raptors.

Oh boy, howdy. Well, right off the bat, I got 27 points

and I got four.

Oh, that hurts. Category number two is a selections of games that I know are near and dear to our hearts.

These being legacy games.

All right.

Actually, I don't know if legacy games are as near and dear to your heart as they are to mine.

I like legacy games.

I dig.

It's hard to get a group together consistently to play a campaign.

True. That

But they're very cool.

They are. And I know exactly what I'm saying. That I think is the number two maybe legacy game.

As do I. Okay. In an attempt to claw my way back to the land of the living, I decided I not only had to pick a good game, but I had to get fancy with my selection.

Oh gosh.

So, I picked Risk the Legacy.

I think that's Risque.

Risque the Legacy. That's that's the French edition of it. Um,

Risk Legacy is my selection.

Okay. How where do you think it falls on the list?

I think Risk Legacy falls three. Three or four.

Why didn't you choose what you thought was number two? [cough and clears throat]

I think Pandemic Legacy season zero might be number two because season one 100% is got to be the first one on the list. But I might be wrong. This could be way lower down than that.

Well, digging into the legacy games, we find that Pandemic

What? No, I call shenanigans on this. I'm sorry.

You call shenanigans.

Gloom Haven is listed as number two. Gloom Haven Jaws of the Lion is number three, and Frost Haven is number four. Excuse me. I'm pretty sure those are campaign. I mean,

they qualify as legacy

games. You put stickers on the board. you change things out. I just don't think of them as legacy games. I think as campaign games obviously because they were had that keyword added to them and they are taking all of the

Yeah. All the all the legacy mojo

where

Pandemic Legacy season 1 was the number one game on this list

because it's two overall.

Yeah. And that makes sense. That's no surprise to anyone in in this room. So let's find out then. Oh, and number five was Clank Legacy Acquisitions Incorporated.

I should have thought of that. That's a great game.

That is a fant. That game has some of the best writing I have ever experienced in a board game. Risk Legacy.

There it is.

Okay, now I got to go back and count. 14.

There you go.

14 points.

14.

14 points. And you have six.

You have You can do this.

I think you're right, though. I think I can do this right after a word from the entity that helped make this episode possible.

Wow.

Category number three is board games based on movies, TV or a radio theme.

Now, I feel like this is separate from like an IP.

I also do this.

This is the theme is movies, TV, radio.

Yes, IPs might slip into the mix.

Yeah, it's true. I don't know. I'm going to put down the first game I thought of and this truly could go really badly for me because I it could depending on how this category is being considered. It could be number one or it could be not on the list. And either way, I'm getting 20 plus points if that's true.

Well, the only game I can think of is Smartphone for some reason. And that is not quite in this category.

It's not quite. You can watch movies, TV, and radio on a smartphone. Sure. Why you

That's not what the game is about.

Oh, movies, TV, radio. I'm just drawing a blank. I can think of the game, but I have no idea what it's called.

Describe it to me.

It's an older game where you're making a movie by like collecting cards and sets and stuff to get the actors and the plot and everything like that. And it was out of print forever and IT CAME BACK. OH, IS IT like um

they had like a German name?

Oh, no. What I'm thinking of there's like Roll Camera.

Sure, it's not it. But um

I don't know the German name.

That's why I'm going with that one movie making game with a name that might might be in German. That's my choice.

I'm sure that will be easy to find on the list. Well, I went with the networks.

Oh my. That's a good pick.

Thank you. It's a fun game.

It's a great game. Yeah,

it's a f and it has a wonderful sense of humor. It's fun to play. It's probably highly ranked.

Probably not quite number one, but very, very close. Paula, look over there. What? I didn't see anything. Oh, and that's why I went with that one game about making movies that's might have a title in German.

Wait a minute. That's my name on the back of the your board.

Yeah, I would keep this as my answer except I've been styd because someone wrote their name on the back as large as possible. It paid off.

You mess up Ariel's tail.

Oh, I'm Oops. Sorry. Well, I'll make up for it by giving you very few points this round. How about that action? Are you ready to rock? Number five is Battlestar Galactica the board game. Number four is Star Wars Imperial Assault the board game. Number three is Star Wars Rebellion. Two is Dune Imperium Uprising. And of course, number one then would be just Dune Imperium. This is why we needed Matthew to explain the categories to us in a funny and pathy video.

Mhm. We also needed him to give us examples of like I don't know the top five of the games in that category.

This is what I was worried of. If if this was the way this was going that my game was going to potentially not even be on the list.

Looks like that's 26 points for both of us.

Wow, that hurts. Well,

you're sure you didn't see your game with a German title on there anyway?

As as much of a cheat as this is, it wasn't enough of a cheat to get me any points.

I don't know. I put my hand all over this and everything's getting messed up.

Are you ready for the next category, which I'm certain will be easier and more of a delight than the previous?

I'm ready.

This category is games based on [sighs] fictional islands. What does that mean, Matthew? Oh, quiz master, please. What does that mean? Fictional islands.

Fictional islands. Okay. How about you reveal first this time then?

Mine is of cat.

No, is of cats. Oh, sorry.

Nice.

And I made a little cat out of the A.

That is beautiful.

Thank you. Yeah.

Okay, that's a good idea there. That is I have given up hope. So, I just went with the first game related to islands I could think of, which was My Island.

I almost put My Island.

Oh, so then it's sure to be number one

and then decided to go with Isisle of Cats instead. I don't know. I think Isle of Cats is probably more highly ranked than My Island,

but I love My Island. It's a great game, but I might be wrong.

Well, let's find out. All right.

Well, here we go. Number five in this category is Dinosaur Island making another appearance mocking me again.

You could have actually scored a few points with it this time.

That had not occurred to me. Thank you for pointing that out. I appreciate it so very much. Number four though is

of cats.

Look at that. Followed by number three which is Robertson Crusoe Adventures on Cursed Island.

Boy, that is a cursed island. I tell you what. Number two is Lost Ruins of Arno. Oh,

I guess that's an island. I always think of it as a jungle more than an island.

I think of it more of an atl or a jetty. So, you know. Okay. And number one, of course,

Spirit Island.

Spirit Island.

No. No. Seriously, it's not on there at all. My island is in the like 3,000 ranks. No way. That's a crime. That's an absolute crime. Island's right in the title.

It's such a good game. Are you kidding me? Does it not have island in the category keyword?

It is a citybuilding game at its heart and soul. It is not an island game

where you develop your own unique island. This is You were robbed. No, this is Hold on. This is number I'm going to give you points for this cuz look,

you're going to give me more points.

No, I'm going to give you fewer points. Okay, this is ranked number 1,949 overall. Okay, you fit in there. So if this is 25, 24, 23, 22, 21 instead of 26 points.

No, no, no, no, no. I will take my points with the understanding that it is still possible that I'm going to do so magnificent in this next round that you will say, Chaz, please not only give me my points, but give me points from your point pool so that I may have them and you have even fewer because you sir. Because that was so clever.

That was so clever. So clever. That brings me up to 73. No, it doesn't. Hooray. Because it's 93.

I have 40 points.

How about this? If you not only don't select a game that is in the top 25,

but you somehow accidentally select the title of a book instead of a board game

and I get number two.

You win.

I win. Great. I'll take those odds.

Fantastic.

Our fifth and final category is storytelling games.

Okay.

Storytelling games. Oh. Oh, the whole premise of accidentally naming a book. Actually, that that might happen.

It might happen.

That's that's plausible.

I like these odds.

What do the people who put in the categories on Board Game Geek for their games as they submit the pages? How many of them think their game is storytelling?

Not the makers of My City. Before we reveal, just to recap.

Okay.

If I somehow select game number two and

you had some sort of episode where you accidentally wrote down the title of a book,

right,

I will win.

Great.

Okay. I chose

Great.

Tales of Arabian Knights, the original of the storytelling letters because here's my thought. Mhm.

It's a highly regarded game by many, many people, which is going to bring it to the top of the list. But there's been a couple of new versions of this system that have been introduced, which might actually take its place and push it down to number two.

Yes.

Ah, well, I said Once Upon a Time, a uh true storytelling game where the whole point is to get the cards out of your hand and you play them to contribute to the story that's being told. You know what I'm talking about. It's in that kind of beige kind of colored box with a little fairy tale art on it. It looks kind of like a book, but it's

One moment.

Do you think you have a book called Once Upon a Time?

Is there a book titled Once Upon a Time? There is a book that you can purchase at your friendly local. There are multiple books called Once Upon a Time.

Oh, there is. So, all I got to do now is I've selected this.

You just need to have number two.

Okay. Are you ready to reveal?

Yes.

Game number one is Gloom Haven. Of course, it's Gloom Haven.

Game number one.

What the heck? Come on. This is what I knew. People who put their lists put in their own little categories have decided that Gloom Haven is a storytelling game. Just because your game has a narrative doesn't make it a storytelling game.

Of course, Glue Maven. Number two is Oath Sworn: Into the Deepwood.

Great game.

I was so

Here's the thing.

The game tells you a story, but you as the players are not telling a story as part of the game. Therefore, I would say these games do not count.

The category is not story inference game. It's storytelling game. Right. Right. Right.

Yes.

Case closed. Game number three in this category is Sleeping Gods, followed by Kingdom Death Monster.

Yeah. The classic storytelling game. Kingdom Death Monster

and Tainted Grail. The Fall of Avalon. Where do our selections,

our actual storytelling games? Mine is literally the whole point of the game is to tell a story cooperatively together.

Well, where do our selections land on the list? Does it even matter anymore? Um, we're not even in the top 25.

I'm sorry. Let this be a lesson to all of us that sometimes the categories on Board Game Geek are not interpreted the way you think they would be.

Gloom Haven. Gloom Haven. May I have a 10-point chip? I'm out of them. I've used so many.

Does it even matter at this point? How many do we get for not being on there? 20.

26.

119.

66.

Oh boy.

Hey, wait. Wait. You didn't skunk me, though. You didn't get less than half my score.

That's true.

Which at this point, I'll take it.

Find a silver lining.

Thank you for watching the absolute last time we're going to play this game. [gasps] And until we figure out what to do next, thanks for joining us and we'll talk to you again soon.

Bye, everyone.

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