15 Best "Pure" Card Games (NONE are in the BGG Top 100!) | No Tokens Allowed - Only Cards
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
- Don't let some of the smaller boxes or lack of other components fool you; these games pack a big punch. I'm looking at 15 of my favourite pure card games, ones that don't use other components and deliver an awesome and memorable experience using only cards! and believe it or not, NONE of these games are in the BGG Top 100!
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0:00 Intro / Criteria
2:24 6 nimmt! (1994)
4:06 High Society (1995)
5:58 Bohnanza (1997)
7:38 Lost Cities (1999)
9:18 Battle Line (2000)
11:20 Coloretto (2003)
13:07 Dominion (2008)
15:14 Innovation (2010)
17:08 Arboretum (2015)
19:17 Hero Realms (2016)
21:42 Sprawlopolis (2018)
23:39 Point Salad (2019)
25:49 Stellar (2020)
28:28 Abandon All Artichokes (2020)
30:29 Enchanted Plumes (2021) - Hry
Which of these card games is your favourite?
And what "pure" card game do you enjoy that wasn't featured in this video?
Cabo/Silver
My favorite from your list is Hero Realms. I have a high affinity for deck builders. Another great one that plays with just cards is Valley of the Kings. The only other games from your list that I have are Dominion, Point Salad, and Lost Cities (which I just recently got and haven't had a chance to play yet). I'm probably going to be picking up Abandon All Artichokes and Enchanted Plumes as well thanks to this channel. My favorite "pure" card game that you left off would be Fantasy Realms. You could probably play The Crew: Mission Deep Sea with just cards as well if you wanted to.
As cardgames, I love games like Exploding kittens. I've also got three that I enjoy playing: Sushi go, Ohanami, Village green.
Arboretum ❤ @2P 😉
Mandala and Ohanami are also great!
Arboretum and Battle Line!! Great choices
Thank you! I bought 5 of these based solely on your recommendations and my family has loved them ALL. I'm back today to re-watch your video and see what gems I foolishly ignored last time!
My buys: Coloretto and Point Salad - super fun AND there is no hand of cards to manage! This is super important for very young (or very old) gamers. It also works fabulously with my 10 year old granddaughter who has use of only one hand. Also got Abandon All Artichokes which only plays to 4, but it was so popular, I bought a second deck because our regular play group is 5. I also got Enchanted Plumes and 6 Nimmt!
All of these are so easy to learn/teach but they have great strategy as well. They are all thinky little puzzles that will never leave our collection. I love how little shelf space they require and we can play several different games in one evening. They were each under $20 and readily available. Thank you guys so much!!! 💖
Thanks, Barbara! This is awesome to read. Excellent points about Coloretto and Point Salad - card games where you don't actually have a hand of cards is something that gets overlooked a lot, but that definitely makes it easier to introduce to new players, or players for whom accessibility is a barrier.
And yeah, the limited shelf space is such a plus for owning most of these. Small box card games deserve a lot more love. It's not easy to design something so simple that has that "classic" feel to it.
Excellent list. Thank you and Happy New Year!
Thanks for adding pics! I love seeing what the games look like.
I love Point Salad so much that when I saw it in the video image, I had to watch this. I first played it at AEG’s Big Game night at my first GenCon (2019) and was so surprised by it. So simple yet so strategic, like you said. It’s now a family favorite! You’re spot on, too, that the BGG top 100 skews towards heavy + expensive games (many of which I love!) but a good simple card game can be so delightful and so deep. Can’t wait to check out more of these!
Thanks, Paul! Yeah, Point Salad really surprised me too but it's been a hit with everyone I show it to. I hope you find some more family favourites from the rest of the bunch that you're able to play!
It’s a brilliant little game! Easy to teach, strategic and quick playing.
High society is such a classic!
Definitely. I was late to the party on that one but it's soooo good, I need to play it more.
I love your videos. We just bought Enchanted Plumes after hearing you rave about it, and it is delightful. Some other fun ones we enjoy often are Fedelitas (a game of medieval meddling), Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Kings Afterlife (especially the original version with the small cards), Ausonia, Wizard, Five Crowns, and Circus Flohcati.
Thank you for the kind words, Nancy! So glad to hear you're enjoying Enchanted Plumes, it really surprised me (and Dylann). A couple other people actually mentioned Valley of the Kings in the comments, I've always wanted to try it especially because of the "entomb" aspect. Thanks for all the recommendations! I considered backing Ausonia and a couple people in our Discord channel keep saying it's great.
Great video! I have most of these games and enjoy especially Enchanted Plumes and it goes with me in my car. Take 5 is also a great game and another that I always have with me.
I just made a reddit post asking for "pure" card games to build a collection I can take around in a big TCG box. Appreciate this.
Outstanding list. So many I’ve had on my wish list that I really need to bring home. Guillotine is a game that makes it to our table a lot and is popular with our guests.
Thanks! I have Guillotine as well and have always enjoyed it but these days it feels just a BIT dated compared to a lot of these so it didn't quite make this list. It's a fun game though for sure.
Great selection!! I would like to add Parade to the list - it’s our gaming group’s favorite ice-breaker game!
So considerate of you to include people who haven't that big a budget! And to value also the smaller games.
Several games came initially to my mind as also pure card games, but after checking weren't really, because of those meeples, or those cubes, etc.
Got 8 out of your 15, and why haven't I got Arboretum yet?!
In the nature-themed games, I'ld like to add Ecosystem, Fungi (overseas known as Morels, I believe), Herbaceous, Village Green and Tussie Mussie.
Others that I like are Squire for Hire, Lanterns, Onirim, Claim, and - of course - Sushi Go!
Thank you, Hilde! To be fair, my distinction between "pure" card games and other card games is only relevant for the purpose of highlighting what can be done with JUST cards. I still consider games like Love Letter and Race for the Galaxy to be card games because they're primarily about the cards, and the extra components are just there to compliment the game but there isn't a board and a whole bunch of resources.
You mentioned a bunch of games I haven't yet played but would really like to - Ecosystem, Morels, Herbaceous, and Tussie Mussie.
I want to believe Fantasy Realms just straight up slipped your mind, cuz that one definitely belongs on this list! :)
Great shout, I hadn't played it when I shot this video but I have since played it and it would've definitely made this list.
I thought Point Salad looked silly, but finally bought it last month and we’ve played it over a dozen times. Love it.
Arboretum is genius as well.
Awesome, glad you like them both! Arboretum I always knew I wanted even before I played it, and yet it still exceeded my expectations. I totally agree about Point Salad though - I didn't think much of it and was pleasantly surprised.
one of my better purchases as far as cost to plays ratio lol.
Spicy!! Spicy is one of our favorite card games. So much fun and the card quality and art are just fantastic!
Oh wow, I just looked this up on BGG and the art is amazing!
Thank you for this video, love your content, it helps me a lot to find new games I like.
Thanks, Martin! We appreciate the kind words and we're happy to hear you enjoy our content so much. :)
Really good list - I very much enjoy card games - I’m enjoying Silver bullet at the moment
Silver bullet, dale of merchants and hanamikoji are our go to card games
I have Silver Bullet but I actually haven't played any of those 3 games you mentioned yet. They're all games I've wanted to play but just haven't had the opportunity yet.
Great video, thanks for this! I only own 2 of them 6 Nimnt (Take 5) and Lost Cities, and all but 2 of the games you listed really interest me. A favourite card game in my family has been Play Nine for many years. Kharma, Phase 10, and good ole Skip Bo are all older games that although they don’t come down off the shelf anymore, used to be great family card games and easy to learn. Looks like I have some more shopping to do! 😁
Thanks, Jackie! Glad to hear you were interested in so many of these games here, they're all fairly inexpensive and will keep you entertained for a looooong time. I haven't heard of Play Nine until now but I'm looking at it on BGG and it looks cool! The artwork is pretty funny.
Thanks for the Artichoke love!
Arboretum is one of my favourite card games. You've completely sold me on Coloretto, Stellar, and Enchanted Plumes. Added those to my list of games to try ☺
Arboretum is soooo good. I hope you like some of those other ones too!
These are some solid games- nice list, Carlo! I just picked up Enchanted Plumes on a whim at my FLGS and it greatly surprised me.
My suggestion for you to play (cheap, easy, and pure fun), is Cabo (second edition). This game is so much better than it has any right to be.. highly recommended.
Thanks, Ashley! A couple other people have mentioned Cabo too, I've seen it in stores before but I've never really looked into it much. I'll have to check it out, thanks for the recommendation!
Great idea for a list! I was thinking about this recently because I'm making a card game quiver. Some ones that you didn't mention that I like are: Port Royal, Cockroach Poker, Fantasy Realms, Republic of Virtue, The Crew, Scout, and Cabo
You sir have a great taste 🙏
Thanks for the suggestions! Since this video focuses on games that ONLY use cards (no tokens allowed), The Crew wasn't eligible for this list, even though it's one of my favourite card-based games. I haven't played any of the others you mentioned actually, but I've been REALLY wanting to try a bunch of them for a while now, especially Port Royal, Cockroach Poker, Fantasy Realms and Scout, but I'll keep an eye out for all of them. Thanks!
It's my belief that Port Royal is the most elegant game in it's simplicity to teach while playing.
I love Scout, but due to the restrictions on this list, I don’t think it would be eligible.
Great list Carlo. Some I haven’t tried yet and I’m curious to try. One of my favourite set collection game, that is 100% card game, is Cubirds. All the best.
Thanks, Nuno! CuBirds is great, I've been playing it a bit on BGA. It's not one of my favourites but maybe it could be after I play it more.
It's the AYCB trifecta..
Kniza, Rosenberg and a niche topic. 😁
Good video Carlo. I love almost all the games on this list. And many of them really are under rated. 👍
Haha yup, you know us well. I wonder if anyone will ever join Knizia and Rosenberg up there for us... I just love their designs so much. Maybe Friedemann Friese once I play more of this games, we'll see.
Great list! It's hard to pick a favorite, but I've played Point Salad and Lost Cities a ton and recently discovered Enchanted Plumes. Some other card-only games I love: Fuji Flush, Fantasy Realms, Ohanami, Ecosystem, Subastral, The Game (as well as Quick & Easy and Face to Face versions), Piepmatz, Go Nuts for Donuts (with the number tiles), and Herbaceous (without the garden markers).
Thanks, Alli! Of all the games you mentioned that weren't in this video, I've only played Subastral. I really want to try a bunch of the ones you mentioned, specifically Fuji Flush, Fantasy Realms, Ohanami, Piepmatz, and Herbaceous.
@@AllYouCanBoard an interesting thing i've read recently is that if you buy 6 Nimmt, you basically also have The Mind and The Game. You just need to use something to represent the shurikens/ lives in the mind or the start cards for the game. That's incredible value as a travel game, save the rules on your phone and you have 3 games in one box!
Great list Carlos. I would add subastral, skull king, and many more of the button shy games to the list. My somewhat game averse brother really liked stellar. I’m looking forward to trying enchanted plumes. I found it at my FLGS after you talked about it on your channel.
Thanks, Karen! Glad to hear your brother liked Stellar. And great suggestions - I enjoyed Subastral but not quite enough for it to make this list of the top 15. I haven't tried Skull King yet, and Sprawlopolis is the only Button Shy game I've tried so far, so that's why more of those didn't make the list, but I'm a big fan of the Button Shy model in general and I hope to try many more of their games.
The two card games that we play almost every night are Silver Bullet and Canopy. I’m surprised that they weren’t in the list. Dale of Merchants is another good one! 😊
I have Silver Bullet but I haven't played it yet. Either way though, there's an actual bullet token and a small board so I'm not sure if I'd consider it a "pure" card game. For this video I was trying as much as possible to focus on games that ONLY use cards. I think there are tokens in Canopy as well if I remember correctly from my one play. I really need to try Dale of Merchants! I've considered buying the deluxe edition a few times.
I love a great card game! Perfect topic for a video. Other than your mentioned games, I would also recommend Hanamikoji, Fantasy Realms and Ohanami.😀
Those are all great suggestions, I haven't played either of them yet but they're all near the top of my list! If they were all in stock from my FLGS I'd probably buy them all at once.
Excellent reviews!
Great selection” i have most of these and i agree with you, so underrated and funny that they are not in the top 100
Thanks! When I picked the 15 games, I hadn't even checked the BGG rankings of any of the games yet, so I was surprised when I looked them all up and saw only Dominion was anywhere close.
Excellent choices!
oh oh forgot Claim, really like the concept of the first round determines your cards in the 2nd round.
Oh that does sound interesting, I've seen this game before and remember the box art but didn't really know anything about it until now.
incredibly helpful . thank you
That's great to hear, thanks for watching!
Piepmatz and Game of Trains are great little card only games. We love 6 Nimmt! and Enchanted Plumes. Ohanami is another great card game.
I've almost bought Piepmatz a few times actually, same designers as Stellar! I also really want to try Ohanami, almost bought that one a while ago too.
Thanks for this list, this is exactly my type of gaming, big love for card games and normally 2 player, and wish it was highlighted more, I don't have time for 5 hour games where half of that is setting it up haha. Battle Line is probably our favourite, it's game play is just so pure, and Arboretum is finally in the post this week, not sure why i've waited so long! I'm addicted to Sea Salt and Paper currently, sure you've played it but it probably came out after this video, also I'd recommend trying Village Green, it's not mind-blowing but a solid card game.
Thanks for the kind words! I've tried Sea Salt and Paper on Board Game Arena and it's great, I imagine it's even better in person. And I actually own Village Green and plan to talk about it in one of our upcoming videos later this month or in November.
Glad to hear you like Battle Line and Arboretum too, those are 2 of the all-time greats, not just in terms of card games but all games in general. So good.
Great list. I would add Oh My Goods and Tybor the Builder by Alexander Pfister.
Really enjoy Enchanted Plumes a lot and always gets pulled out to play at our game group. Really pretty too!
I'm so glad more and more people are playing Enchanted Plumes! I love it. -Dylann
Thanks for this excellent selection. I love this kind of games and I would like to suggest you also these other games: skull king, oh my goods, port royal, cockroach poker, time bomb, skyjo, exploding cats/minions, sushi go, castles of burgundy the card game, love letter, hanabi, r-öko, tussie mussie 😉 I'm curious about your thoughts. All the best
Of all the games you mentioned, I've only played Sushi Go!, Love Letter, and Hanabi. Sushi Go! almost made the list but it doesn't do anything all that special/unique with cards so it didn't quite make the list. And Love Letter and Hanabi aren't eligible because they have tokens as well, they're not just cards. I tried as much as possible to have this video focus on games that JUST use cards. I want to try a bunch of the ones you mentioned though, especially Port Royal, Cockroach Poker, Oh My Goods, Skull King, and Tussie Mussie. Thanks for all the recommendations!
awesome video i can't wait to try high society. Lost cities is my favorite game
Knizia is a genius, you really can't go wrong with either of those games. And it's great that they're both very inexpensive, easy to teach, and quick to play.
I wish traditional card games got a bit more love on bgg. Ninety-nine is such a fantastic game that gets overlooked because it doesn’t need a custom deck.
What is Ninety-Nine?
@@RandyJC250 it’s a bidding trick-taking game where players secretly bid using some of the cards from their hands. It’s my favourite 3 player card game.
Interesting! Never heard of Ninety-nine but I appreciate the heads up!
Very nice video - great to see Battleline getting some love. One of my favorites! Innovation is also nice, but after playing quite a bit of it and Mottani, I still think Chudyk's original 'pure card' design in Glory to Rome is the best of the three. It feels a bit more elegant and less swingy based on card draw, at least for us. Sad that it's trapped in rights/publishing limbo so it's pretty much impossible to get a legitimate english copy for anything approaching a reasonable price nowadays. Though there are some very good fan-made P&P versions on the BGG forums that seem to be ok, since they never got taken down.
Thank you for the kind words! Glory to Rome is one of my grail games, one day I might resort to the P&P, but until then I'm going to hope I can somehow find a copy for myself or at least play someone else's copy.
I'm glad these games are making the list even though they don't make the top 100
Looking forward to playing some of these soon! Some I own and love! You should play Organ Attack if you haven’t I think it deserves a spot in this list! Always a huge hit with the groups I play with!
I've never even heard of it before but I'm checking it out on BGG right now and it sounds like it could be fun, thanks for the suggestion!
Great list there. I also like -
Parade
Circus Flohcati
Hierarchy
Mate! (1915 invention)
Corsari
Thanks! I've heard of Parade and Circus Flohcati and I really want to try those, but I haven't heard of the other 3.
@@AllYouCanBoard Hierarchy is one of those great mini 18-card games from the Button Shy line - Circle the Wagons is also a good one.
Dominion, Innovation and Sprawlopolis are all great picks ;). I would definitely add Circle the Wagons here. And Lords of Scotland (but only for 2-3 players).
I really want to try Circle the Wagons. I've never heard of Lords of Scotland until now so thanks for letting me know about that one, I'll keep an eye out for it!
Great video. I actually think Cover Your Assets doesn't get enough love.
Thanks, Danny! First time hearing about Cover Your Assets but I'll look into it, thanks!
I love "not in the bgg top 100" lists. "Cult of the new" and "flavor of the month" is a huge factor in ratings on that site.
Also I'm SHOCKED that Dominion isn't higher ranked.
The main thing is people don't update their old ratings, so an average game like Mansions of Madness has a rating that makes sense for 2016 but doesn't make sense for today.
I prefer the People's Choice from every year's Dice Tower Top 100 for better gauge of what people are actually playing today.
There's a lot of games I used to love and don't enjoy anymore...but Dominion & King of Tokyo are still the survivors from my early days of gaming.
First time watching your videos, and I have to say that I have a great time doing so. A curious thing, a week ago, one of the guys attending my favourite board game store had recommended Enchanted Plumes, and it definitely sounds a lot of fun. Maybe I should take your recommendation as a sign to buy my copy, which btw has a very affordable price.
Thank you for the kind words, Angel! Glad you're enjoying our videos and I hope you like Enchanted Plumes! We were both really surprised by how much we like it, and it's such a tiny box.
Illimat is super underrated. No one seems to talk about it.
Never even heard of that one! Thanks Jonathan, I'll check it out.
Great video, thanks for sharing your opinion.
Thanks for watching!
Very nice idea for a list and excellent game selection. I would add parade, archaeology, modern art, liberation, exceed and glory to Rome
Thanks for the kind words and for watching!
Oh trust me, I LOVE Modern Art (my #3 game of all-time), but I didn't include it here because it's not a PURE card game (money tokens, the board that holds the tokens for the values of the art, the player screens, etc.). This list was only for games that are PURELY cards (with some minor exceptions for games like Bohnanza where the other components, the bean fields, aren't really necessary in order to play the game).
Famiglia, Quatorze, Haggis, The Blood of an Englishman, Friese's Landlord, Archaeology The New Expedition, RRR (Italian/Japanese edition), Fleet Wharfside, The Castles of Burgundy The Card Game, Seasons (Team Saien), and Elements.
Thanks for the suggestions! Many of those I haven't heard of before, although Seasons I've played before and it's definitely not a "pure" card game, there are many other components that aren't cards.
Loveletter! Brilliant game!
I enjoy it but I played it so much over the years that I recently decided to get rid of my copy. Either way, it technically wasn't even considered for this list because of the cubes that come in the box. It's not quite a "pure" card game, which is usually an irrelevant distinction to make, but for a video where I really wanted to highlight what can be done with JUST cards, it just felt right, even though I ended up leaving my #2 game of all-time off the list (Race for the Galaxy) because of the VP tokens.
My favorites in this niche: Cockroach Poker, Fluxx, Dutch Blitz, Loonacy, Love Letter (the wooden cubes are totally optional), There's a Moose in the House, Just Desserts (so-so), Dead Man's Draw. And Coup, although, yes, it does have money, but any generic counter could be used in their place (pennies, dollar bills, buttons). I haven't played these, but they look interesting: Parade, Fantasy Realms, Cafe.
Two card games that I absolutely love that weren’t on your list are parade and zany penguins! Both pure card only games with lots of strategy that I think you’d really enjoy if you’ve never checked them out!
Thanks Cole! I definitely want to try both of those.
We love loot as a pure card game. It’s the most played game at our house
I like Skulls of Sedlec, Circle the Wagons, and Death Valley (from Button Shy). Have been on the verge of getting Enchanted Plumes for a while and think I will now! Also, have been eyeing Stellar since it came out. I may get that one simply because I love the art.
I really want to try all those Button Shy games, I love what they're doing as a company. And if you like those tight, 2-player games where every decision is crucial and agonizing, I think you'll like Stellar. It's a bit mathy (big focus on numbers), so as long as you don't mind that, I think you'll like it.
Skulls is awesome, love their meta game Pretense.
Spicy - really nice and fun version of ‘Cheat’
I just saw someone else mention this in another comment so I checked it out on BGG and the artwork is amazing!
Appreciate you doing this video as I agree about BGG and they are always lg heavy weight games. Appreciate you giving them notice.
Prefect video concept! Surprised SdJ winner Fantasy Realm wasn't on your list? With Knizia being basically out of the BGG Top 100, I think s whole series of "the best (insert type here) games NOT in the top 100". Sort of like what Zee Garcia is just finishing in his Hidden Gems segments on the Dice Tower. I appreciate those, esp since they're mostly smaller, less expensive games.
One Pip Wonder mentioned Dutch Blitz on a video last year, I bought it for Christmas, now it's my 15yo daughter's favorite game. 😀
Fantasy Realms didn't win the SdJ, it was nominated for the Kennerspiel but lost. Either way though, I just haven't played Fantasy Realms yet but I really want to play it and I think I'll like it, unfortunately I just couldn't put it on this list without actually playing it. And thanks for the suggestion, maybe we'll do more of these "Best X Games Outside The BGG Top 100" videos at some point down the line.
Dutch Blitz is a great one too! It was a childhood favourite for my wife and her family, they introduced me to it a few years ago and I had a lot of fun with it.
We love Cubirds that I discovered on BGA and then got a physical copy. Stellar and Abandon All Artichokes are also played very often. You should check out Parade if you have not played it yet.
Thanks! I really want to try Parade, I just don't know anyone who has it, but maybe I'll check the rules online and just get myself a copy if it sounds good. I've been playing some Cubirds on BGA too and it's pretty good, not one of my top card games but it's definitely a good one.
From what I saw 6 nimmt and Bohnanza are pretty fun games to possess indeed. For now, I've only got Dominion but the mobile version, and Point salad. But I'm looking into adding some of this list here.
Awesome, I hope you find some games you enjoy from here!
Great video! I've also heard great things about Valley of the Kings (the newer premium edition)... have you played it? Any thoughts?
Thanks! I heard a lot about Valley of the Kings in the first couple years after it was released, but I haven't heard much about it in recent years. The "entomb" mechanism sounds cool and I hope to try it one day.
Additional ones that come to mind are Team Play, Port Royal, Linko, and Wizard. I don’t particularly love Saboteur, but my family does and it plays a bunch of people.
Of the ones you mentioned, I've only tried Wizard and Saboteur, and they're both good but I didn't enjoy them quite enough to make this top 15 list. I really want to try Port Royal!
Port Royal is fun...played it last week!
Some great games there. I’d add Sticheln, Kakerlaken Poker, Saboteur and Steam Donkey (this in particular is awesome for crunchy decisions in a tiny package).
I've played Saboteur, and I've heard of Kakerlaken Poker, but I haven't even heard of the other 2 games. Thanks, Steve! I'll look into those.
Fantasy Realms is a card only I believe, and I really want to get it. Other Button Shy Games are great too, Circle the Wagons is my current favorite. Herbaceous is one I would also add, it has tokens for players but they aren't used in game.
Good call on Fantasy Realms, that's right near the top of my "need to play" list. It was out of stock for so long everywhere here, and I think it recently restocked but I have so many unplayed games I need to get through before buying more. I'll definitely try Fantasy Realms one day though.
And so far I'm a big fan of Button Shy after only trying Sprawlopolis and Agropolis but I keep hearing great things about Circle the Wagons and Skulls of Sedlec so I think those 2 are the next ones I'm going to try. Thanks for the recommendations!
Any of the Friedman frisée fabled games would be my choice, I like some of the games you mentioned but some I have never heard of. Will do some research and see if they are good for camping,,not a lot of table space.
Good call! I'm not sure if Friday is part of the Fabled games but either way I couldn't consider it for this list because of the food tokens, it's not quite a pure card game. Great game though!
I also like Cockroach Poker, Morels, Love Letter and Oriflamme (but it has tokens so may not be pure as such)
Yup, no tokens, I had to leave Race for the Galaxy out of here because of that and it kills me. Love Letter you also need those cubes to track who has won how many rounds. Oriflamme is a good one but I've only tried it a couple times on BGA so I didn't feel right including it here.
Dominion is easily my favourite of this list as it was my gateway game. Also love 6 Nimmt!, Coloretto (except at 2 players), Arboretum, and Point Salad.
Not a huge fan of Bohnanza, High Society, or Sprawlopolis, but maybe I just haven’t played them enough or in the right circumstances.
I haven’t played the others. I have played Star Realms but not Hero Realms (I like it except for how you win by eliminating your opponents.) Haven’t played Stellar but I own its sister game, Subastral. I am a big fan of Riddle and Pinchback … they make plenty of super thinky small-box games.
Speaking of Riddle and Pinchback, Piepmatz is a great game of theirs. As for others, Stick ‘Em is a fantastically underrated but vicious trick-taking game. “The Game” is fun if you toe the line with the communication rules. SET is the only game I can think of in which kids generally do better than adults.
Thanks for the video, Carlo!
The enjoyment of Bohnanza depends VERY much on who you play it with and how much people can get into the negotiating. Not saying you played with people who couldn't get into it, but in case you think it might go better with a different group, then playing it again with the same people probably won't change your mind on it. Sprawlopolis, just to be clear, I would never want to play with even 2 players or more. For me, it's a solo-only game.
Riddle and Pinchback definitely deserve more recognition than they get. They make a lot of great games, Piepmatz is one I've considered buying many times, I should probably just do it. I like every game of theirs I've tried.
I like your list for pure card games, but I must admit I would probably have put in a couple of card games that try to reimpliment board games and are therefore slightly heavier and longer but do really well to recreate that board game feel. The 2 I have in mind are Castles of Burgundy - The Card Game and San Juan (effectively Puerto Rico - The Card Game).
I also really like the Alexander Pfister card games; Oh My Goods! and Port Royal.
Other games I would have considered for this list are Red7 and The Builders: The Middle Ages.
Those are all great suggestions and I actually haven't played a single one of them! I've been meaning to play Red7 on BGA, and I've heard great things about those 2 Pfister games.
I’m so pleased that Hanamikoji didn’t make this list. Top man 👍🏻
I actually haven't even played it yet but I'd like to try it. I seem to remember seeing cardboard tokens though - are they needed to play the game or could you play with just the cards? If they're needed then Hanamikoji wouldn't even be eligible for this list as it might not fit the criteria of a "pure" card game. Same reason I left Race for the Galaxy off here - it's my #2 game of all-time but the VP tokens are necessary.
@@AllYouCanBoard I have it away after two plays but I think you are right. I wanted to put Bloody Inn forward but that wouldn’t fit the criteria either. My advice would be to play someone else’s copy of Hanamikoji 😉
@@footsoldier1468 I don't know anyone who has it but maybe I'll hold out until someone else gets it first, haha. No rush to play it really. Thanks!
Some very good designs here, the first 7 or so would mirror my own choices as well. I would add Circus Flohcati by Reiner Knizia, and Crazy Chicken by Michael Schacht, which has had many different versions/names, probably best known as Drive. Regicide by Paul Abrahams, Luke Badger, and Andy Richdale would be my more recently designed choice.
I've heard of Circus Flohcati but unfortunately haven't played it yet. This is my first time hearing about Crazy Chicken but I really like the Michael Schacht games I've played so I need to check that one out, thanks for the recommendation! Regicide is one I've been wanting to play and definitely will soon.
Fantasy realms 100% should be checked out. Also PUSH is a great family push your luck card game
Thanks Beau! I definitely need to play Fantasy Realms. And how have I not heard of PUSH before?!
Some that I love are
Maskmen
Gorus Maximus
Onirim
Hanamikoji
Marvel, a love letter
From those I've only played Onirim and it was a long time ago so I don't remember much about it. And Hanamikoji has tokens doesn't it? If so it wouldn't be eligible for this list as I was only picking from "pure" card games.
There's a really interesting article (obviously not linking here for moderation's sake) about 'the tail of spite' where Dinesh Vatvani did a statistical analysis of the complexity bias on BGG. It's really interesting because it shows a common trend you can use to unbias, and turns out when you do that, the list looks really different while still leaving a lot of the top things more or less where they are.
Very interesting! Thanks for letting me know about these, I was totally unaware of his articles until now but there's some great stuff in there.
Strongly agree with you that the BGG rankings and ratings are skewed towards bigger, heavier, more expensive games. Not a problem for those who like that sort of thing - but it does mean that a lot of interesting, small games get overlooked. Although who knows how this plays out in the real world in terms of games sold, profits etc. I’m currently really enjoying Ohanami - sort of a cross between Lost Cities and Point Salad. Other current favourite card games are Similo, The Mind, Village Green, Cockroach Poker, High Society, Cross Clues. So many great games that only cost a few bucks and don’t eat up shelf space.
Thanks for the comment, Bruce! I really want to try Ohanami, I've considered buying it a few times. I'm actually trying Similo right now on Board Game Arena! Village Green almost made this list here but I've only played it a couple times so far.
Port Royal, Jaipur, Star Realms, Quests of Valeria, Codenames, original Thunderstone and Sushi Go are the mains ones i would add to a list, only because i have them and play them :)
I need to try Port Royal!
Some of my favorites are Fantasy Realms, Fuji Flush. The Game, Air, Land &Sea, and any version of Fluxx.
Nice picks! I really need to try Fantasy Realms and Fuji Flush.
Fantasy Realms is a hit at my table right now!
I believe it! This one's near the top of my list of games I want to try. I'm pretty sure I'm going to love this game once I play it.
Haggis! It's amazing
I've heard of this one before but I haven't played it yet!
Great List. Have most of them. Only Game is missing for me ist Fantasy Realms.
Haha, I actually recently got Fantasy Realms and tried it for the first time, and I definitely agree with you that it belongs here. Great game and does a lot with just cards. Thanks for watching!
Arboretum and Sprawlopolis are great card games.
I could add Valley of the Kings to the list. Cubirds also.
I've been playing Cubirds on Board Game Arena lately and it's pretty good but I don't like it quite as much as the 15 on this list. I'd like to try Valley of the Kings one day, someone else mentioned it in the comments and I'm curious to see how that "entomb" mechanism feels.
I have to get Arboretum , I continue to hear great things!
Absolutely. If you can find a few friends (it's best with 4 players or at least 3) who are okay with a mean game like that you'll have a blast.
Bohnanza and Coloretto are two games I cannot believe are so obscure for how fun they are.
Totally. Bohnanza is really dependent on having the right group for the hilarious negotiations, so I can see that one being overlooked a bit. And I guess Coloretto, on the surface, just looks like some cards with colours. I thought it looked boring for so long, but I quickly learned I was wrong to dismiss it. Both games are fairly high in my top 50 (I think I had them both in the 20s when we did our list back in December).
Omerta is another nice one!
Haven't heard of it, thanks for the recommendation!
I was certain The Mind and Air Land and Sea would end up here!
Also, Linko (or Abluxxen) is an obscure but excellent game. It is one of the least luck-dependent card games I have played.
Seeing a lot of deckbuilders here but Valley of the Kings is one of the best. Tiny box game that is slightly more complex than the deckbuilders you mentioned.
Lots of good games here. Dominion is definitely my favorite of the bunch, although it's best when you add some of the expansions such as Prosperity and Empires that start introducing different tokens and such....taking it out of the pure card game realm. Still, it's the OG deck builder and for pure deck building there is no better IMO. That said, I also really like Valley of the Kings as well, which is just cards.
I would also recommend checking out Parade: a great and underrated filler. Also, for something on the heavier side with pure cards check out Oh My Goods.
I definitely agree about Dominion being best with expansions and I hadn't even considered that one of my favourites (Prosperity) uses tokens. And I haven't tried Empires yet, this is the first time I've seen someone mention it alongside Prosperity so that's high praise! A few other commenters have mentioned Valley of the Kings actually. I heard a lot about it years ago when it first came out but maybe there were limited copies out there or something, it seems like I don't hear much about it these days. I'd love to see how that "entomb" mechanism plays out though.
Parade and Oh My Goods are both on my "want to try" list for sure.
I love a good deckbuilder such as star and hero realms for sure. The first of the genre that I try was Harry Potter Hogwarts battle the duel version.
I haven't tried Hogwarts Battle yet (either version) but my sister-in-law really likes it. Can't go wrong with Star/Hero Realms.
These games all sound like games I should play before designing a card game. Focusing purely on the cards is excellent. It also (generally) means they're easier to bring along!
Exactly! And that can be a big selling feature for some games.
Karmika comes to mind. I would recommend Koryo (my favorite) but it does have a few token coins
I haven't tried either one, thanks for letting me know about these.
Fantasy Realms? I like this type of listing.
Fantasy Realms is one I've really wanted to try for a while now, and I'm guessing it would make this list once I try it. It hasn't been easy to find here in Canada for the past year though.
There is an Iranian Version of Bohnanza, named ''Jaliz' which has increased the joy of this game by the roof. so amazing I love it!
Cool, I've never even heard of this but I'll look into it!
A card game I never see talked about is Red7. It is a great game, however it takes some time for people to understand how the rules card interacts with their own player area.
Yes! I don't know anyone who has it, and you're right, it rarely gets discussed, but I like the designer and I've been meaning to try it on Board Game Arena!
@@AllYouCanBoard I got it because it was one of the first international licensed games by my local publisher.
I'm curious, what's the game in the white box directly above patchwork. You can see it at the end of the video.
That's Via Magica! It's on BGA if you wanted to try it out.
I prefer the bigger games as they are less abstract & have more "texture". By texture I mean (& I am searching for a word) a lot of these games have basically one thing you do, which is classic Knizia, card game or not, while a bigger game might have multiple paths you can follow or several elements to it.
I have played all the old games & none of the new ones :) Dominion is the only one I really liked - I've played so much I can take it or leave it now & I prefer deck building as a part of a game like in Great Western Trail for example.
I don't think you have a pure trick taker in there so maybe Bridge ;) The Crew is hugely popular but I guess that excludes it. Tichu is old & well liked.
There are lots of great old games - don't sound so surprised! There are just many more new games and the average quality is greater.
You're right, I definitely didn't have a pure trick taking game in there, I haven't played too many trick taking games. The Crew would've made the list but since this is focusing on games that JUST use cards, The Crew wasn't eligible since it uses the communication tokens and the mission/objective tokens as well. Same reason Race for the Galaxy was excluded from contention due to the VP tokens.
I'm really overdue to try Tichu.
Have you played Village Green? It's almost halfway between Point Salad and Arboretum. Really underrated game
Yes I have! But only once or twice so far. I really like it and it ALMOST made this list but not quite. I might regret that down the line after I play it more though, it's a great game.
Love Arboretum and Stellar! Really like Dominion as well, but don't get it out much. Haven't played Hero Realms, really like Star Realms, but Star Wars the Deckbuilding Game replaces it for me though I think it's additional components would disqualify it from this category. I think other games would be Truffle Shuffle, Fluxx (pick a theme), Best Treehouse Ever, and finally Forest Shuffle is a new big favourite of ours (there is a board, but it's just to put cards on and has some iconography on it to guide emptying of the card row).
I've been enjoying Forest Shuffle on BGA lately too, great game and one that would definitely be up for consideration if I re-did this video today. I'd have it ahead of at least 2 or 3 of these 15.
You have put the card games in order? From low to high on your own list? Port Royal belongs in a top 10 list for card games. I recommend watching the "Gamenight!" video with the playthrough. Try it at yucata for free. My top card favourite is Spades with 4 players, rules at Pagat (with 70 points nil, no double nil, nil bidders tricks are not counted as bags, and are not counted regarding the couples contract). Spades is a 2 vs 2 game (fixed couples). Biblios is counted as a card game? It is then also on my top 10 card game list.
I have not gotten the chance to play these card games in my collection yet: Money!, Ivanhoe, Skull King...
Not in order, for this video the order was just from oldest to newest. I haven't tried Port Royal yet, I need to play it! I don't consider Biblios a "pure" card game because there are big dice in there too. For this video I only considered games that ONLY use cards (unless the other components are unnecessary, like the flag tokens in Battle Line, or the discard board in Lost Cities).
My favorite card game is Dutch Blitz.
Alot of people don't even know this game exists.
Dutch Blitz is fantastic! My wife introduced it to me years ago, and honestly it probably should've made it onto this list, I either forgot about it or didn't give it enough credit at the time when I made the video. But yeah, great game.