I can't say enough good things about this Channel. These guys are so well versed, reasoned, and interesting. Easily among the best voices on the net when it comes to Board Game commentary. PLEASE keep it up.
So refreshing to see a 'panel' that actually agrees with some of my own choices - Godfather and Clans of Caledonia have both been solid for me this year, and Wasteland Express Delivery Service. More recently, am really enjoying Civilization: A New Dawn, Pandemic Cthulhu and Tyrants of the Underdark. Really looking forward to trying Pulsar 2849 and Transatlantic when I get the opportunity... Thanks for this, guys.
I would add LISBOA, ANACHRONY, CLANS OF CALEDONIA, CHIMERA STATION, and for a surprisingly fun little filler of fluff, CAT LADY. Thanks for all the great reviews ❣️
I just pulled my copy of Chimera Station out last night to teach the wife - we technically played it heavily in 2016 during the KS campaign. I forgot how incredibly satisfying the combos were in that game and how wonderful it ramps up round after round.
Great lists. Shows again, why I love watching you as we got similar tastes. Here is my (New to me) Top 10 2017: 10 Mechs vs Minions 9 Pulsar 2849 8 Spirit Island 7 Clank! 6 Altiplano 5 Energy Empire 4 Santorini 3 Quest for El Dorado 2 Near and Far 1 7th Continent Still have to play Riverboat, Heaven and Ale, Gaia Project and Noria. What a great game for gaming it was, looking forward to 2018!
I was sooooooo torn between Gaia and 7th Continent as my #1 and #2. Technically, I give all the credit in the world to the designers of 7th Continent - just beyond amazing. However in the end Gaia Project is just so "Jeremy". It's 100% why I game.
My top 10 (in no particular order) games for 2017 is a combination of games that were "new to me" this year, and games I've already played that still hold a spot on this list. They're also all games that I personally own. They are: 1) Scythe 2) Concordia 3) Sentient 4) Azul 5) Codenames: Duet 6) Anachrony 7) Parade 8) Atlas: Enchanted Lands 9) Clans of Caledonia 10) Sagrada
Jeremy I’m surprised you didn’t have Whitehall Mystery. Beyond what was said in the video (a lot of great ones) I also liked Too Many Bones, Alien Artifacts, Edge of Humanity, Tiny Epic Quest, Delve, Sentient, This War of Mine, and maybe my favorite - Mythic Battles: Pantheon. Just such a fantastic year!
Agreed - but I think Hunt for the Ring would be over Whitehall Mystery if I'd had the chance to play it before recording. TMB was CLOSE - I love TEQ as well! I have yet to play Mythic Battles: Pantheon but I have the KS in front of me so I will take a look at is sometime very soon.
I haven't played enough of the new games this year that I could do a top 10 for this year but of all the games I played that were new this year if I had to pick a number 1 it would be Unfair. Hands down. I've thoroughly enjoyed the base game and I've been keeping up with the juicy details of the expansion theme packs that will be coming out next year that I cannot wait to get my hands on!
Love your channel. Backed you last year and plan to do so again this year. Liked the top 10 list a lot (have every single game mentioned except Heaven and Ale and Gaia Project, but I was SHOCKED that Gloomhaven was not in Jeremy’s top 10. Heck, it was Your #9 of All Time earlier this year. Did it lose its appeal as the year went on or did you consider it a “2016 game” since you played so much with Isaac last year?
Nice discussion! My takeaways are Heaven and Ale and Azul since they have the most crossover. I totally agree with Ethnos since I have it as well as Viral. Pandemic Legacy 2 is just there waiting to be played. I personally also like Santorini, Photosynthesis, Century Spice road and Dice Forge as great new 2017 games.
My top 10 of newly published games would be headed by Gaia Project and would also include Gloom of Kilforth, Clans of Caledonia, Lisboa, Charterstone, Bunny Kingdom, Heaven & Ale, Njusford, Caverna: Cave vs Cave and Democracy Under Siege (technically an older game, but previously only available via Gamecrafter). I suspect that Gloomhaven and 7th Continent would be on that list if I have played them.
Interesting lists and enjoyable discussion. Thanks for sharing your reflections on games for 2017. I'd have to put Too Many Bones in the top 3 - It's awesome in soooo many ways.
Of your 40 games I've played one (Barenpark which we found a very average experience), am interested in four (Azul, Bunny Kingdom, Santa Maria and Whistle Stop), and added one to my wishlist (Legacy of Dragonholt). Thanks for the discussion and your reviews this year! They were well appreciated. Merry Christmas! :)
I think I'm one of the weird ones that is entirely "meh" on Ethnos. Played it and just didn't see anything amazing in the box. I mean, I'll play it again if someone wants, but I'm not head over heels in love with it.
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Nice production set looks great. I like the close-ups of the boards. I was surprised you didn’t like Pulsar’s look & graphic design. It’s looks as good as any of the games in the video. I’d see where you think it lacks a bit of personality or is minimalist though but it’s awfully cold in outerspace lol I’m a graphic designer with certain esthetic sensibilities. I have a 1970’s Milton Bradley Star Trek the Board Game video on my channel. Take a quick look at the board how similar Pulsar looks lol I’m sure there’s other games that use that connect the dots or stars look but it made me laugh. I should do a top 10 great looking games and bottom 10 awful looking games that everybody likes like Pandemic Last night on Earth and Catan lol or to be fair one’s that should look better. Clans of Caledonia looks like Montana or vice versa. Which both look good as does the other hex tile game Whistle Stop. Gloomhaven’s booklet layout is easy to read. Naar and Far’s booklet mechanism is nice for that matter. The problem with most of these erou-style builder games they start to look the same. Pictograms are a new language you have to figure out. I would rather see them supplemented with words if anything. I know they want to make them mutli lingual in that sense but throw me a bone so I don’t have to look it up. High Tide’s Baywatch expansion and the cards for Halloween are like that. It slows the game down.
David, on playing Pandemic Season 2 with your GF. Did you play with just 2 characters, or did you each play 2 characters. My wife and I are about to tackle it and are trying to decide which way to go.
Absolutely. I personally like the theme better of Terra Mystica but Gaia Project is just perfect in comparison. It fixes many of the issues with Terra and is just a better overall product. Will I get rid of Terra....I don't know. Maybe but it also holds sentimental value and you know how that goes with us board gamers!
I think visually yes, it wouldn't hurt at all. The game is great despite me (Jeremy) not having it on my list. Better plastic markers that didn't fall over and a larger board would be fantastic. Those two small things do not diminish the gameplay at all....still a fantastic game!
I feel the same way....as mentioned below though, it's just a hard game to teach - it's super dense and heavy which is fine, but not something a lot of people are going to appreciate as much as us enthusiast gamers do.
I kickstarted Anachrony and enjoyed my first few plays, but then it began to lose its appeal for me. I did not have a problem introducing people to the base game, but I never managed to persuade them to try the expansions, except for a single occasion. Possibly the expansions would have elevated the game enough for me to keep playing, but I sold it for a significant profit to a guy in Japan.
Nice lists. I'm not a big fan of the titles being on the wall behind you. Takes away some of the mystery in my opinion. Maybe putting last year's top games on the wall and then replacing them at the end of the video.
They just put the biggest games of the year on the wall. That makes a lot of sense to me. I don't think they all made it on a list... So you are left thinking will they make it on someone's list? Whose list? Which games will make it on the list that aren't the blockbusters?
Anachrony was very very close. It's just a very dense game and requires a lot of teaching for most people to take in and learn. Otherwise it is definitely worth the play, but not nearly as accessible as the other games I listed. As for Path, I like it a lot - it has some very strong card play and faction building in the game that you don't see until you have some repeated play throughs of the game.
Speaking for myself here...Lisboa is was just average for me but one another reason is bc it would never hit my table. It’s a beast to teach and difficult for many to grasp, if they aren’t enthusiasts. As for Charterstone, I haven’t played it and also hearing mixed reviews primarily bc it’s a pretty light game. Will be interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks for watching!!
Lisboa is good, it's not up there with Vinhos, The Gallerist or Kanban in my opinion but still very good. It is ultra heavy though so it probably won't be played more than a handful of times for me - especially since I enjoy those other mentioned games better. As for Charterstone, definitely not my cup of tea - hopefully we will do a review soon.
Interesting. I prefer Lisboa to Vinhos and possibly even to The Gallerist. I don't think the rules are any more complex than those games, but the gameplay is perhaps more involved.
It is interesting that the games on the wall in the background are all on peoples lists ..... except Charterstone. I haven't played it yet but as the lists were read I kinda picked up on that. Maybe there was another that isn't mentioned.
Сначала было интересно, но после второй по счету позиции пошли пересечения. И четыре ТОПа разных людей превратились в один единственный ТОП с перемешанными местами. Нафига тогда было собирать 4-х человек? Чтобы посмотреть на одни и те же 10-15 игр на разных местах? Выключил на 20-й минуте...
Put the title of the game on the screen while you’re showing the game! Not everyone is so familiar with a game that they know it by sight and scrubbing through you can’t tell what you’re talking about without searching!
Why are you not continuing to make OFF THE SHELF episodes!? You can tell just by the amount of views the level of interest the audience has compared to other videos or series. Just an observation
I don't think so....27 different games out of a possible 40. Sure we are going to have cross over but we certainly don't all like the same types of games nor play solely together.
If you have nothing to say about a game (or any topic), just use the word 'overrated', and you get a completely valid, strong, meaningful criticism. Just one elegant word instead of a lot of useless thoughts, and the mistery of Azul's success got solved! Thanks!
List:
Ryan
10. Godfather: Corleone’s Empire
9. Coldwater Crown
8. Path of Light and Shadow
7. Spirit Island
6. Heaven & Ale
5. Barenpark
4. Pulsar 2849
3. Fantasy Realms
2. Azul
1. Ethnos
Gary
10. Pixie Queen
9. Godfather: Corleone’s Empire
8. Whistle Stop
7. Coldwater Crown
6. Transatlantic
5. Near and Far
4. Ethnos
3. Pandemic Legacy: Season 2
2. Heaven & Ale
1. Gloomhaven
David
10. Werewords
9. Clans of Caledonia
8. Yamatai
7. Viral
6. Altiplano
5. Heaven & Ale
4. Pandemic Legacy: Season 2
3. Ethnos
2. Bunny Kingdom
1. Azul
Jeremy
10. Legacy of Dragonholt
9. Near and Far
8. Pulsar 2849
7. Pixie Queen
6. Heaven & Ale
5. Nusfjord
4. Santa Maria
3. Pandemic Legacy: Season 2
2. 7th Continent
1. Gaia Project
thanks!
One of the best produced board game channels I have seen on CZcams. Not just the look but the hosts and content are very refreshing
A big list at the end of the video (like u did last year) showing all the 4 top 10 games side by side would be easy for us to compare and comment on
Again great idea!
Is there a list somewhere ?
Agreed! I watched this on and off over the span of several days, would have loved to reflect on a list afterwards.
I can't say enough good things about this Channel. These guys are so well versed, reasoned, and interesting. Easily among the best voices on the net when it comes to Board Game commentary. PLEASE keep it up.
Much appreciated Brian! Very kind comments for sure!
Such good and intelligent comment. A few more games have been added to my list as a result
Great year for Man vs Meeple! Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you! Much appreciated!
So refreshing to see a 'panel' that actually agrees with some of my own choices - Godfather and Clans of Caledonia have both been solid for me this year, and Wasteland Express Delivery Service. More recently, am really enjoying Civilization: A New Dawn, Pandemic Cthulhu and Tyrants of the Underdark. Really looking forward to trying Pulsar 2849 and Transatlantic when I get the opportunity... Thanks for this, guys.
LOVE Spirit Island. So challenging and the conversation between Spirits is awesome
It's funny - I may be the only person who hasn't even tried the game yet - I guess this is a sign (Jeremy).
I would add LISBOA, ANACHRONY, CLANS OF CALEDONIA, CHIMERA STATION, and for a surprisingly fun little filler of fluff, CAT LADY. Thanks for all the great reviews ❣️
I just pulled my copy of Chimera Station out last night to teach the wife - we technically played it heavily in 2016 during the KS campaign. I forgot how incredibly satisfying the combos were in that game and how wonderful it ramps up round after round.
Great lists. Shows again, why I love watching you as we got similar tastes.
Here is my (New to me) Top 10 2017:
10 Mechs vs Minions
9 Pulsar 2849
8 Spirit Island
7 Clank!
6 Altiplano
5 Energy Empire
4 Santorini
3 Quest for El Dorado
2 Near and Far
1 7th Continent
Still have to play Riverboat, Heaven and Ale, Gaia Project and Noria.
What a great game for gaming it was, looking forward to 2018!
I was sooooooo torn between Gaia and 7th Continent as my #1 and #2. Technically, I give all the credit in the world to the designers of 7th Continent - just beyond amazing. However in the end Gaia Project is just so "Jeremy". It's 100% why I game.
My top 10 (in no particular order) games for 2017 is a combination of games that were "new to me" this year, and games I've already played that still hold a spot on this list. They're also all games that I personally own. They are:
1) Scythe
2) Concordia
3) Sentient
4) Azul
5) Codenames: Duet
6) Anachrony
7) Parade
8) Atlas: Enchanted Lands
9) Clans of Caledonia
10) Sagrada
Nice to see a diverse selection of top 10 games from everyone.
We definitely had some cross over this year but I think the breadth of titles this year is far more diverse than last.
Thanks guys. Need to take another look at Coldwater Crown now!
Jeremy I’m surprised you didn’t have Whitehall Mystery. Beyond what was said in the video (a lot of great ones) I also liked Too Many Bones, Alien Artifacts, Edge of Humanity, Tiny Epic Quest, Delve, Sentient, This War of Mine, and maybe my favorite - Mythic Battles: Pantheon. Just such a fantastic year!
Agreed - but I think Hunt for the Ring would be over Whitehall Mystery if I'd had the chance to play it before recording. TMB was CLOSE - I love TEQ as well! I have yet to play Mythic Battles: Pantheon but I have the KS in front of me so I will take a look at is sometime very soon.
I haven't played enough of the new games this year that I could do a top 10 for this year but of all the games I played that were new this year if I had to pick a number 1 it would be Unfair. Hands down. I've thoroughly enjoyed the base game and I've been keeping up with the juicy details of the expansion theme packs that will be coming out next year that I cannot wait to get my hands on!
Love your channel. Backed you last year and plan to do so again this year. Liked the top 10 list a lot (have every single game mentioned except Heaven and Ale and Gaia Project, but I was SHOCKED that Gloomhaven was not in Jeremy’s top 10. Heck, it was Your #9 of All Time earlier this year. Did it lose its appeal as the year went on or did you consider it a “2016 game” since you played so much with Isaac last year?
Couldn't make a top 10 so here's a top 3: Clans of Caledonia, Sidereal Confluence and Gloomhaven. :)
Nice discussion! My takeaways are Heaven and Ale and Azul since they have the most crossover. I totally agree with Ethnos since I have it as well as Viral. Pandemic Legacy 2 is just there waiting to be played. I personally also like Santorini, Photosynthesis, Century Spice road and Dice Forge as great new 2017 games.
Going to take my winnings from Fantasy football and get Heaven and Ale I think. Everyone loves it!
It's good!
My top 10 of newly published games would be headed by Gaia Project and would also include Gloom of Kilforth, Clans of Caledonia, Lisboa, Charterstone, Bunny Kingdom, Heaven & Ale, Njusford, Caverna: Cave vs Cave and Democracy Under Siege (technically an older game, but previously only available via Gamecrafter). I suspect that Gloomhaven and 7th Continent would be on that list if I have played them.
Fantastic lists... Ethnos and Fantastic Realms are two games I only realized about recently, big winners. ty !
Interesting lists and enjoyable discussion. Thanks for sharing your reflections on games for 2017. I'd have to put Too Many Bones in the top 3 - It's awesome in soooo many ways.
I agree with TMB - very close to making my list (Jeremy).
Great video!! Thanks for putting Heaven & Ale back on my radar, and making me even more interested in grabbing Azul!
Thank you for watching Alicia!
I really need to get Ethnos to the table! Thanks for the video, guys. Happy holidays!
Same to you and your family Stasia!
Santa Maria, what a great game. One of my favorites. Try it!
Thanks for the list! I'll definitely be checking out some of these games
Would love to hear a TOP 10 list of all time to present date from your four!
Love the lists guys. Merry Christmas!!!!
Thank you Joseph and same to you!
Of your 40 games I've played one (Barenpark which we found a very average experience), am interested in four (Azul, Bunny Kingdom, Santa Maria and Whistle Stop), and added one to my wishlist (Legacy of Dragonholt). Thanks for the discussion and your reviews this year! They were well appreciated. Merry Christmas! :)
Merry Christmas to you as well!
Great list gents, really enjoyed it. Gotta get around to playing fantasy realms and ethnos.
I think I'm one of the weird ones that is entirely "meh" on Ethnos. Played it and just didn't see anything amazing in the box. I mean, I'll play it again if someone wants, but I'm not head over heels in love with it.
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Really good video. It would be nice to see a side by side list. Great stuff guys!
Nice production set looks great. I like the close-ups of the boards.
I was surprised you didn’t like Pulsar’s look & graphic design. It’s looks as good as any of the games in the video. I’d see where you think it lacks a bit of personality or is minimalist though but it’s awfully cold in outerspace lol
I’m a graphic designer with certain esthetic sensibilities. I have a 1970’s Milton Bradley Star Trek the Board Game video on my channel. Take a quick look at the board how similar Pulsar looks lol I’m sure there’s other games that use that connect the dots or stars look but it made me laugh.
I should do a top 10 great looking games and bottom 10 awful looking games that everybody likes like Pandemic Last night on Earth and Catan lol or to be fair one’s that should look better.
Clans of Caledonia looks like Montana or vice versa. Which both look good as does the other hex tile game Whistle Stop. Gloomhaven’s booklet layout is easy to read. Naar and Far’s booklet mechanism is nice for that matter.
The problem with most of these erou-style builder games they start to look the same. Pictograms are a new language you have to figure out. I would rather see them supplemented with words if anything. I know they want to make them mutli lingual in that sense but throw me a bone so I don’t have to look it up. High Tide’s Baywatch expansion and the cards for Halloween are like that. It slows the game down.
David, on playing Pandemic Season 2 with your GF. Did you play with just 2 characters, or did you each play 2 characters. My wife and I are about to tackle it and are trying to decide which way to go.
Good list!! Loved your reviews this year. Too Many Bones would be on my list for the year as well.
Too Many Bones was in my Top 20. It's a great game!
Great lists, guys. Thanks and Happy Holidays! Jeremy, did Gaia Project make you think about getting rid of Terra Mystica?
Absolutely. I personally like the theme better of Terra Mystica but Gaia Project is just perfect in comparison. It fixes many of the issues with Terra and is just a better overall product. Will I get rid of Terra....I don't know. Maybe but it also holds sentimental value and you know how that goes with us board gamers!
I hope Ethos get a second edition with decent artwork.
I am so sad that Project Gai got such an horrible graphics design. Shame on Z-man...
I 2nd you on Ethnos...it's not horrible, but it could be better. Love the game though!
Do you think they will make a second edition of Ethnos to make it nicer and more appealing?
I think visually yes, it wouldn't hurt at all. The game is great despite me (Jeremy) not having it on my list. Better plastic markers that didn't fall over and a larger board would be fantastic. Those two small things do not diminish the gameplay at all....still a fantastic game!
Great video, a lot of different games, now I have to check new games to buy!
Thank you Martin!
Sad not to see Anachrony at any of your list
I feel the same way....as mentioned below though, it's just a hard game to teach - it's super dense and heavy which is fine, but not something a lot of people are going to appreciate as much as us enthusiast gamers do.
I kickstarted Anachrony and enjoyed my first few plays, but then it began to lose its appeal for me. I did not have a problem introducing people to the base game, but I never managed to persuade them to try the expansions, except for a single occasion. Possibly the expansions would have elevated the game enough for me to keep playing, but I sold it for a significant profit to a guy in Japan.
Nice lists. I'm not a big fan of the titles being on the wall behind you. Takes away some of the mystery in my opinion. Maybe putting last year's top games on the wall and then replacing them at the end of the video.
That's a good idea Cody! Duly noted for sure!
They just put the biggest games of the year on the wall. That makes a lot of sense to me. I don't think they all made it on a list... So you are left thinking will they make it on someone's list? Whose list? Which games will make it on the list that aren't the blockbusters?
I nearby ban the word 'wheelhouse'.
Jeremy, where would Anachrony and Path of Light and Shadow fall for you? Also, great year for Man Vs meeple!
Anachrony was very very close. It's just a very dense game and requires a lot of teaching for most people to take in and learn. Otherwise it is definitely worth the play, but not nearly as accessible as the other games I listed. As for Path, I like it a lot - it has some very strong card play and faction building in the game that you don't see until you have some repeated play throughs of the game.
Terra Mystica is easy to play two player if you simply control two factions each.
An excellent discussion!
I‘m missing Lisboa and Charterstone on your lists.Both are really great
Speaking for myself here...Lisboa is was just average for me but one another reason is bc it would never hit my table. It’s a beast to teach and difficult for many to grasp, if they aren’t enthusiasts. As for Charterstone, I haven’t played it and also hearing mixed reviews primarily bc it’s a pretty light game. Will be interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks for watching!!
Lisboa is a definite top 10. Yes it’s a tough teach but the pay off is well worth it. Best with 2P in my opinion.
Lisboa is good, it's not up there with Vinhos, The Gallerist or Kanban in my opinion but still very good. It is ultra heavy though so it probably won't be played more than a handful of times for me - especially since I enjoy those other mentioned games better. As for Charterstone, definitely not my cup of tea - hopefully we will do a review soon.
Interesting. I prefer Lisboa to Vinhos and possibly even to The Gallerist. I don't think the rules are any more complex than those games, but the gameplay is perhaps more involved.
It is interesting that the games on the wall in the background are all on peoples lists ..... except Charterstone. I haven't played it yet but as the lists were read I kinda picked up on that. Maybe there was another that isn't mentioned.
Сначала было интересно, но после второй по счету позиции пошли пересечения. И четыре ТОПа разных людей превратились в один единственный ТОП с перемешанными местами.
Нафига тогда было собирать 4-х человек? Чтобы посмотреть на одни и те же 10-15 игр на разных местах?
Выключил на 20-й минуте...
Put the title of the game on the screen while you’re showing the game! Not everyone is so familiar with a game that they know it by sight and scrubbing through you can’t tell what you’re talking about without searching!
Why are you not continuing to make OFF THE SHELF episodes!? You can tell just by the amount of views the level of interest the audience has compared to other videos or series. Just an observation
There are more coming!
No Anachrony? what is this?!!!!
Is there just a list of this?
www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/7m08zn/top_10_board_games_of_2017_by_man_vs_meeple/
Great lists!!
Thank you! Glad that you liked them!
Missing Anachrony :)
You guys must play games together a lot because this sure is quite the eco-chamber of opinions lol
I don't think so....27 different games out of a possible 40. Sure we are going to have cross over but we certainly don't all like the same types of games nor play solely together.
Why do you all have your legs crossed the same way? 20:30
Hahaha! No idea.
top 40 you mean?
Hahaha....maybe.
**SPOILERS** for pandemic legacy :(
Nope - nothing you can't see either the moment you open the box.
ManVsMeeple Yes there are - you're epidemic card is modified. I wondered why I was putting things in Box 6...
Azul, most overrated game of 2017
If you have nothing to say about a game (or any topic), just use the word 'overrated', and you get a completely valid, strong, meaningful criticism. Just one elegant word instead of a lot of useless thoughts, and the mistery of Azul's success got solved! Thanks!
"Overrated ", the most overrated word of 2017
Criticizing a criticism using a homium attacks. You've won all the internets.
Yes, because describing something as overrated is the same as saying nothing. Okay.
I feel the same way. I tried it with my regular board game group and they were unimpressed with anything beyond how pretty the tiles were.