TDG: Cody's Top 100 Games 2026 (#50-41)

0:04 Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the discriminating gamer. You know, my family claims that I'm the cheapest person ever, but I'm not buying it. Ladies and gentlemen, today we're going to go ahead and take a look at my top 100 games of all time. Today, we're looking at numbers 50 through number 41.

0:34 All right, ladies and gentlemen. Today we're going to go ahead and take a look at numbers 50 through 41. My top 100 games of all time where we're done with the first half of the list, and now we're really getting down to brass tax here. These are some truly truly great games. All right, we're going to just jump right into it. My number 50. This is a game from uh Worthington uh publishing. It's a game that was not available. This came out about two or three years ago, so it wasn't available the last time I did my list, but this is Gettysburg, A Time for Heroes. So, Gettysburg, A Time for Heroes. I mentioned um earlier in the list, uh Freeman's Farm 1777 by Mari Suckling. Um, this kind of builds on that system and I think it's a better game in in a lot of ways. This, of course, is the Battle of Gettysburg. You're moving units on a map. They're they're kind of somewhat programmed and where they can move or, you know, they can't move anywhere. They got to move along certain tracks, but you do determine how they move and when they move.

1:34 But again, this has got that same great system of buying cards, of getting momentum cubes, and buying cards. You can build fortifications. Uh, and uh, of course this dice combat system where you're rolling doubles and how you, you know, if you roll doubles, it can hurt you or it can help you. Um, and all sorts of fun and interesting things can happen. I really, really do love this system. And like I say, Gettysburg Time for Heroes is probably my favorite game I've played in the system so far. So that is number 50. Gettysburg Time for Heroes. And that is from Warthingington Publishing. My number 49 is a game that's based on another game that I played, but this game I just played for the first time oh about maybe two months ago. Um, and this is Coalition's Real Politique from Fallank. Um, Coalitions.

2:20 So, this this, like I said, this came out just a couple of months ago. Um, it's based on another game we may see on the list. Uh, but Coalition's real politique takes place like in the 1850s and60s during the Italian and German unification periods. um four-player game up four players. You've got the the Prussians, the Italians, the French, and the Austrians. And essentially, every turn you you've got a limited number of cards, but every turn you play a card and you can take that particular action. You can tax, you can um gain victory points, uh you can recruit units, you know, there's all all sorts of different things you can do. And if ever you play the card to regain all your cards, this diplomacy track moves up. And then every time the diplomacy track moves up, you can decide for yourselves if you're going to create alliances. And it's kind of a blind thing where you each put a card down next to each of your other players. And then you flip the card. And if you both have an alliance card, you have an alliance for the next round. So that's kind of a fun and interesting thing in and of itself. Uh idea in in of itself. But then you got this like movement thing which is so cool because um I can every time I move I have to choose an envoy from somebody who's not in my alliance and I move a unit and they get a morale point which helps them in combat.

3:36 But if I want to move again I have to get the envoys permission. Now this is somebody that's a potential enemy but they may do it because then they would get two morale points and then they can let me go a third time and they'll get three morale points. So potentially they can get up to six morale points, which again helps them in combat. Combat is kind of this this card play where you're trying to get numbers that add up to you're trying to get the superior amount of numbers, but also too as you're playing the cards, there may be some specific uh special rules that apply to certain cards. So it's it's really a fun game all around. And again, you're trying to just gain the most victory points. So you go to these like victory point locations, and every time you play a victory point card, if you control it, you go up on the victory tracks. Great fun. So, uh, Coalition's Real Politique from Fallank. Absolutely love it. That is why is my number 49. All right, ladies and gentlemen. My number 48 is Coalitions from Fallank. So, this is the game that Real Politique is based on.

4:33 Now, this game just came out formally this year, but it was part of a crowdfunding campaign that began in I think 2020 or 2021. And I actually did a preview video for it back then. In fact, they had sent me a a a preview copy of it and I played it and I really liked it and then they said, "Oh, we actually changed some rules and we need you to play this new one." So, all right. So, I went ahead and I played the new one and it really did improve the game. I liked the game the first time I played it, but I I liked it better the second time. Really sped the game up. Here you have a rondelle with the different countries have color. So, you're all taking the same actions, but at different times as a rondelle moves um you're going to again recruit or tax or score your victory points. So, there's a lot of different things going on. They actually trim the number of victory points too from the from the preview one I did, which again makes it a tighter, faster game. Uh, but very fun system. Same combat system, same movement system, but it's the Napoleonic Wars, and it plays uh believe six, I think. I think there may be an extra player you can do with seven, but the base game I think plays six. But it is fantastic. is to me this is like one of the grand epic Napoleon games you can play but in a really short amount of time. Well, not really short. You're at it about two to three hours, but it it clips and it goes by so fast. You're always doing something. Every turn you're doing something. You're never the guy left out in the dark here. Great great game. So, that is uh Coalitions. That's from Fallon. That is my number 48. Now, my number 47. This is a game that actually

6:05 has gone up a little bit. Not a lot. It was my 53. But this is a Game of Thrones the board game. Now, a Game of Thrones the board game. This is a game, you know, when I first played this, this was really high on the list, but it did kind of fall after a while. It's based on Diplomacy, which used to be one of my absolute favorite games of all time. Game of Thrones, based, of course, on the IP, is a game where you're the different houses in the Game of Thrones universe in Westeros, and you are making alliances with other players, and no one player can win by themselves without alliances. But as soon as one player starts to get too far ahead, people start turning on them. So, there's a betrayal in this. This is really a mean game. It's a very, very mean game. Uh, I always loved Game of Thrones, but I have the expansion, the Mother of Dragons expansion, and I bought that a few years ago. I think I was still in Texas when I bought it, and I still haven't played it. This is a game I still have not played, but I really, really want to. I really want to try that expansion because I've heard nothing but good things about it, and it's such a good game. Such an epic game. It's got a great IP, and the artwork here is amazing. So, that is uh number 47. That is a Game of Thrones, the board game. was 53 did move up here or down here rather. Uh that is from Fantasy Fly Games. My number 46 is a game that again just came out a couple well I think it's 2022 when it came out and I absolutely love this game. In fact, I played this game again last night. I played it several times. Played again last night with an expansion which I'll probably be doing a review for

7:36 before too long. But this is one of those games every time I play it, I got a big old grin on my face. It is a hidden movement game and this is Sniper Elite. Uh Sniper Elite is based on the video game. And it was funny because I played the the board game and then I kind of wanted to see what it was based on and I got the video game and I fell in love with the video game. I think the video game is awesome as well. But I was playing the the the board game and I love it. you're the you're the sniper and you're essentially sneaking into these kind of Nazi compounds and what have you and fortifications and bunkers and sometimes in some of the expansions you're in villages. This recent expansion, Kraken, you were on a you're on a aircraft carrier. So, there's there's a lot of different things uh places you're going to, but you're sneaking around as these Germans are coming. And the Germans have special abilities. They have different things they can do at different times. And of course, as the sniper, you can actually take shots and you've got this great bag and and you're pulling these these clay tokens out of the bag in order to take these shots uh because very often it's too crowded to get through these places without taking out some of the Germans.

8:37 So, that is a very very very fun game. I really enjoy Sniper League quite a bit. Again, um great imagining of the video game. Uh and it's a a David Thompson design. Uh David Thompson, Roger Tankersley. Uh David Thompson, great guy. Met him a couple years ago and uh just makes phenomenal games. So uh this is from Rebellion Unplugged. That is number 46, Sniper Elite. But number 45, this is a game. It's fallen a little bit. It was at 31 the last time I made the list. Um but I really enjoy it and they actually came out with an expansion not too long ago that I think improves and makes it even better. But this is from Tabletop Tycoon, A War of Whispers. War of Whispers is this great game where you've got a number of factions like I think five five factions on the board at least initially before the expansion and then you've got the players around the board who are manipulating them. So they don't actually you got all these different armies on the board but but you know a player doesn't play an army. Um, and it's kind of a a worker placement game because you're going around and you're putting workers in the different locations to influence what they can do because you all have these kind of secret bets, these secret bets on who you want to win and who you want to get the most points. And so you're trying to manipulate the board so that your certain factions will do better and some factions won't, but people are working against each other. And what you find over the course of the game is you find

10:09 these kind of secret alliances with some players who are trying to do the same things that you are on some of the factions, but then maybe on others you're you're at odds. It's a very very fun game of of hidden influence that I really enjoyed quite a bit. Uh I enjoyed the first edition and then when they they came out with this new expansion to it is it's even better. So that is my number 45. War of whispers. It was my number 31. That is from Tabletop Tycoon. All right, my number 44. This is a game that again, uh, I I just played for the first time, I think about maybe two or three years ago, so it was since the last list. It wasn't on the last list. I don't I'm not sure exactly when it came out. I think it was not too long before that, but this is Moon Rakers from Four Studios. Now, Moonrakers is a deck building game. It's a science fiction game, but what is so cool about this game is it is also a negotiation game. There are various missions and every time you want to go after a mission to gain the rewards, you it's very hard to achieve these missions by yourself. Sometimes you can do them, but more often than not, you're going to need help. So, you go to the other players and you say, "Look, if we can beat this thing together, you know, I will give you either some of the money or I'll give you some of the victory points. Um, but we have to share the risk because there's risk involved as well." And so, you know, we'll each maybe roll one of the dice that has the risk in it. And through this negotiation, you can actually, you know, you can figure out the dynamics of going into that mission.

11:40 And it is so much fun. The negotiation, I love games of negotiation. In fact, negotiation may be my favorite single um me mechanism in board games. I love negotiation games. And I love the negotiation here. And I love the deck building here. You build kind of these trees. Um, you know, you put down a card that gives you an extra action. So then you play another card and maybe that gives you an extra action. And I love the way you you do that here. It is tremendous, tremendous fun. So that is uh Moon Rakers. That is my number four. That is from four studios. My number 53 is a game that again I haven't played it in years. If I played it again, it might go higher on my list. It was my number 15, but because I haven't played it so long, it is now down to my number 43. I still love it. I do want to play it again. This is a game I've never done a review of, and I want to do a review at some point. I still got it right over there. And this is from Hasbro Wizards of the Coast, Conquest of Nerath.

12:36 Conquest of Nerath is essentially Fantasy, Axis, and Allies. It's Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Access, and Allies. You've got kind of four sections of the board and a big sea and island in the middle. And you are, you know, instead of bombers, you've got dragons. Instead of tanks, you've got mages. And it's just, it's just great fun. And what's also cool is you got heroes that can there's the different kind of dungeons around the board. These heroes can go into dungeons and go on quests to come back with more treasure or more items that [clears throat] can help you in the game. It is just a hoot. I absolutely love Conquest of Narth. Man, I got to play it again. It is so good. So that is number 43 was my number 15. Conquest of Neroth from Avalon Hill Wizards of the Coast Hasbro. All right, my number 42 was my number 61. I had only played it a few times before I did my last list. I played it a lot more since and they've come out with an expansion that really it was a good game to begin with, but the expansion really improves it. This is from Fantasy Flight Games. My number 42, Star Wars Outer Rim. It was my 61, it's come up. Star Wars Outer Rim is a great kind of sandbox game set in the Star Wars universe where you are the scum and villain. You are the smugglers.

13:55 You know, you are Boba Fett. You are Han Solo. You are Lando Calisian. You're all these these guys that are going on jobs in order to make a living. Sometimes they're very dangerous. Sometimes they're illegal. There are Imperial patrols and rebel patrols and hut patrols that you could run into and have some problems with. You got these great kind of displays that kind of um where you can manage everything and you've got the board is actually like a crescent, right? It's a crescent of the outer rim. So, you're actually moving along these pathways, but every time you go, you stop somewhere and you got like a little story or something you got to resolve. The game has some great great Star Wars stories. And what's cool with the expansion is it just kind of blows that up. It gives it makes the game more personal. Gives you more kind of personal objectives. a lot of other great stuff that came with that expansion, but I love love love Star Wars Outer Rim. That is why it is my number 42, was my 61 from Fantasy Flight Games.

14:53 My number 41, the last one on this list, this has fallen a little bit. It was my number 33. Um, this is a game that actually I have played a ton um over the last few years. It's maybe the last year or two, not as much because I I I was getting the expansions and I was playing through all the expansions. I really loved it. And they actually just did a um crowdfunding campaign uh last year for this game to have kind of upgraded components and stuff. Uh I I'm still keeping all the stuff I have, but they've got like a new box for it and great stuff. So, I'm really looking forward to it. This is from Gale Force 9. This is Star Trek Ascendy's. My 41 was my 33. But Star Trek Ascendy is kind of the great Star Trek 4X game. um you start kind of on your own world and you kind of create these warp lanes out to other systems, other star systems and you're drawing these other systems and you're colonizing planets. Um or sometimes you're conquering planets and you can have some great Star Trek exploration moments here. You know, there's a lot of different factions. The the core game comes with the Klingons, the Federation, and the Romulons, but then, you know, they've got the Kardashians, the Andorans, the Vulcans.

16:06 um just a lot of lot of different species. You can play the Breen. There's actually a uh DS9 dominion war version which is like a team game which is really fun. Uh so this is just a great science fiction game. You can you know you got science and tech. Um you know you're building your spaceships and your fleets and I I love it. It's it's really this is a Star Trek 4X game that is awesome. And one of the things I love about it is watching the board evolve because like I say, you all kind of start in your corners and you just kind of start moving out with these warp lanes and building more more fighting more planets and building your empire. Tremendous fun. So that is uh my number 41. Star Trek Ascendy was my 43. That's from Gale Force 9. All right, ladies and gentlemen, let me know. What do you think? Do you like these games?

16:54 Do you not like them? Should they be higher, lower on the list? Are they good where they are? I'm always very eager to hear what you have to say about my list. So, please, please, please leave a comment here on YouTube, on Board Game Geek, on Facebook, on X. Really love to hear back from you. And please, if you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this channel and like this video. Now, if you do like what we do here, check out my other channel that is Cody Carlson, PhD, where we talk about history, military history, books on history, and fun things like that. I put some of my lectures up there. It would mean the world to me if you would subscribe to that channel as well. And if you do really like what you see here on the discriminating gamer, I would humbly ask you to click on the super thanks button and leave a tip. You know, I'm a little depressed. I just found out that the company that makes yard sticks isn't going to make them any longer. Somebody help me again. AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M GOING. And I don't know where I've been.

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