Top 10 Science Fiction Games
Vložit
- čas přidán 3. 07. 2024
- Tom Vasel, Sam Healey, and Zee Garcia take a look at their top ten favorite science fiction board and card games.
00:00 - Introduction
03:17 - Sam’s #10
04:36 - Tom’s #10
05:46 - Zee’s #10
07:27 - Tom’s #9
08:28 - Zee’s #9
09:29 - Sam’s #9
11:02 - Zee’s #8
12:40 - Sam’s #8
14:16 - Tom’s #8
15:32 - Zee’s #7
17:42 - Tom’s #7
18:18 - Sam’s #7
19:48 - Tom’s #6
21:05 - Sam’s #6
23:32 - Zee’s #6
24:21 - Sam’s #5
25:28 - Zee’s #5
26:47 - Tom’s #5
27:04 - Sam’s #4
29:00 - Tom’s #4
30:02 - Zee’s #4
31:14 - Tom’s #3
32:28 - Zee’s #3
33:42 - Sam’s #3
35:25 - Zee’s #2
36:54 - Sam’s #2
38:12 - Tom’s #2
40:39 - Zee & Tom’s #1
41:34 - Sam’s #1
Buy great games at www.gamenerdz.com/
Find more reviews and videos at www.dicetower.com - Hry
I think the real question here (and this goes ditto for the Fantasy Games video, which had the same problem) isn't "Can this game be classified as science fiction?", but should have been "How well does this game evoke the feelings and themes of science fiction?"
The Resistance takes place in a future dystopia, so yes, it has a scifi setting. But nothing about the gameplay makes you FEEL or THINK, "oh yeah, science fiction". It's solely about deception and group dynamics. Not really the best example of a scifi game.
Cosmic Encounter or TI3, however, are about strange alien powers affecting your decisions, or choosing the path to take as you conquer entire planets and systems. THOSE are scifi themes. Those games are great examples of science fiction games.
Sam is clearly the only one who knows the breadth of what science fiction is.
Sam's got the right idea when it comes to which themes should be considered science fiction, but I've gotta hand it to Zee. He was killing it during this entire segment. "No, that's Fire Fiction." Come on, I died.
Tom! The definition of Sci-Fi is not "It's set in the future."
Steam punk, for example, would be sci-fi set in the past. Ray Bradbury has written stories which most people consider sci-fi even though Bradbury himself called it "Midwest Surrealism."
I got to play Star Realms recently. It's a nice, easy deck builder with a space theme. You collect ships, build space stations, and you can attack you opponents which is kind of rare with deck builders.
I just ordered Star Realms on Amazon today. They only had a few of them. I can hardly wait to play it. Great art work. Looks like it will be late Feb until it's at stores.
Sam is spot on by saying that H.P. Lovecraft wrote science fiction. Most of his "monsters' were aliens most notably Cthulhu himself. He was not actually a "god" he was an alien entity. Lovecraft referred to his works as "weird fiction" because when he was writing the terms "horror" and "Sci-Fi" had yet to be coined.
I'm with you on that dude.
Sam drops the mike. THAT WAS EPIC!
Awesome episode. By far your best list not necessary because of the picks you made but because of the emotions involved. :D
And Sam's extended list (only available to these who stayed to the end of credits) is a nice cherry on top. Great job guys.
I agree, I love the length and banter of these lists
For the most part, Lovecraft's Old Ones come from space, they "filtered down from the stars". The mi-go are space bugs that disembody people's brains and send them throughout space in canisters. Lovecraft DEFINITELY falls under sci-fi, as much as it does under horror.
One of the most entertaining episodes you guys have done! Loved it!
Great video once again, very entertaining. I have to admit I did glance over at the MYTH box on your shelf quite a bit during my watch... :D
I'd let most of Sam's choices slide. They are scifi, if not always the scifi we think of. Except for Pandemic. Two reasons why I don't think it's scifi: 1) it's way too abstract and nothing feels futuristic about it. 2) the black death happened centuries ago, and you could consider that to be similar to what happens in Pandemic.
Also, if no one noticed, Tom put star trek attack wing instead of fleet captains on the screen after that round of games.
Top 10 games with replayability. Glad you guys are back doing these lists.
OMG! - you used an image from my playthrough of Level 7 [Omega Protocol] - I'm actually quite excited about that - and I love the top tens you guys do.
Always good to see you three getting along . . . ;)
Keep up the good work with these top tens - so what's next? - top ten cheese games? :)
Great top 10 list! I liked the new music you used during the countdown. Keep up the excellent work.
thanks for all your effort
You got it right on Tom! They made Imperial Assault!
Tom got it spot on with FFG showing off Imperial Assault!
"We are experiencing philosophical difficulties. Please stand by." LOL! Amazing. You won me. What do you command?
I'm not sure Tom and Zee know what "science fiction" means.
100% agreement.
Once again, great job!
Love your Top Tens! Kudos guys!
Great work fellas. I love the genre ass well and hope to see more Omega Protocol stuff coming.
31:05 Tom said Fleet Captains, not Attack Wing!
Just a thought. If you reference an old review or video it would be really nice if you had a quick link in the description. I know its a bit more work for you but it would be really helpful for the viewer. Great series! Really enjoying them
Good idea actually.
Going to have to put a "freaky stuff happening" sign up in our Sci Fi section at the library.
Longtime wargamer here and recently new to the Dicetower. First off, I have to say I really enjoy your top 10 lists, and the Dicetower in general. As an old Avalon Hill gamer and fan, I'd have to put Avalon Hill's ORIGINAL Starship Trooper at the top of my sci-fi game list, just my .02 cents. Tom, Sam and Zee, keep up the terrific vids, you guys are great for board gaming and I am definately a big fan. -Cheers!
I like the music for the top tens :)
simple but fun
Fantasy: Impossible
Science Fiction: Possible
Also : Fantasy : wood and rocks, supernatural powers. Scifi : bolts and metal, technological powers.
That's not true, there is hard science fiction and soft science fiction.
Hard science fiction expands on current technology showing future technology like in 2001: A space Odyssey.
Soft Science fiction is where technology exists but there is no reason as to why or how it was made like in Star Wars.
I really thought Tom's #1 would have been Agricola 3000
one of the best 10 ten videos ever. Scifi theme is very strong in this gamer.
So I heard a lot of saying "It's not sci-fi, it's horror." So I would just like to ask... Is Alien sci-fi or is it horror? Can it not be both?
Eldritch is based on arkham which has plenty of sci fi stuff like creating machines to close gates and so on and aliens.
I like a lot of games and I have played almost all of the games on their lists but it is still a mistery to me why oh why they don't like Eclipse. It is a very very solid game with a lot of very nice ideas, it's immersive and captivating, it has everything you need from a space exploration/economics game.
List needs to be updated. So many more sci-fi games have come out since this video.
Tom Vasel - Looking back you totally predicted Imperial Assault! Genius buddy.
King of Tokyo is so Sci-fi. Isn't Godzilla on most Sci-fi channels?
This was one of the funniest episodes yet!
The debate centers around the subtle difference between "sci-fi" which conjurs thoughts of bug-eyed monsters, and "science fiction" which can be any fiction in which sciencve is the dominate factor. The novels of Neal Stephenson would be good examples.
Sam is completely correct. Science Fiction is a very broad term in reality. Perhaps if you guys wanted just space you shoulda just made that list.
Uhhh, I kind of agree with Tom and Zee that Eldritch Horror is....well, horror rather than sci fi. It's all about ancient gods, not science. King of Tokyo on the other hand is definitely sci fi. Cyberbunny? Mechadragon? They are both robots. The King has cybernetic implants....the others not so much but half the monsters being created by mad science firmly puts in in sci-fi.
I agree on Eldritch Horror not being a sci fi game, but what I find the weirdest is their seeming insistence on defining all games with a single genre. Eldritch Horror is a fantasy horror game. King of Tokyo a science fiction fantasy game.
As for Pandemic, it can be seen as a sci fi game, but it's not really. There's no real alternative or super advanced technological or scientific advancements in the game, as far as I know, and there's no explanation behind the sicknesses that could tie them to the genre. It is true that it is about science and it is fiction, but it isn't really "science fiction" unless the science and technological advancements itself is fictional. Pandemic doesn't really have any fictional science or technology.
I agree. Pandemic is totally science fiction. In fact, I'm gonna argue that Star Wars is not. I know I'm going to get shit for this but Star Wars is fantasy that takes place in space. It's about good vs. evil and involves magic. To me science fiction presents scenarios using science. "What if four plagues took over the earth?" Could we save it in time? Who would we need? Ect. I'm with Sam on this one.
Have to agree with this. The easiest way to think of it is as a hierarchy with Fiction at the top and just below that would be sci-fi. That leaves a whooooooooole lotta room underneath it for subgenres.
Sam was on point, as for eldritch horror the books the game is based off of are in the science fiction genre which explains why he chose it. Also don't mind it being on there because everybody else basically chose space, Sam at least spiced it up a bit making the video entertaining
Saying pandemic is sci-fi is like saying: west Nile virus, H1N1, swine flu, polio are events that never happened. If the virus precursor theme lead to the movies Sam mentioned, that is when pandemic would move into the Sci-fi classification.
Several predictions or references are made in this video that came true: Tom referenced no good time travel game (Time Stories), Tom predicted a Star Wars-based tactical miniatures game (Imperial Assault), and Tom said "it's X-Com: the Board Game."
And Sam mentioned reprinting Mission: Red Planet.
22:30 "pandemic can happen today"
I'm with Sam on all accounts. He'll get no hatin' from me.
23:20 "We are experiencing philosophical difficulties." Way too funny.
I was surprised that there was no Space Cadets or Firefly....
Good show as always.
Really enjoy both "Neuroshima Hex" and "Among the Stars", myself. "Level 7: Omega Protocol" looks great, but I've no realistic chance of ever finding anyone with whom to play it.
this set is almost 2 years old.
guys, there have been so many new amazing games, make a new top, please!
Sam, while H. P. Lovecraft did write some sci-fi, I think Eldritch Horror is definitely horror themed. "Within the Walls of Eryx" is a good example of HPL's sci-fi.
I agree with Zee, 51st State and The New Era are great card games, and they become fantastic with the Winter expansion. Play 51st State for a friendlier, more eurogame like feel, and play The New Era if you want more direct confrontation. Winter is always a must, as it adds a new action where you can draft some of the most powerful cards in the game, lessening the impact of lucky draws.
Thanks for yet another interesting video. I'd be interested to hear if any one of you considered Dune when making your list.
Id bet my water they have
Now you have your good time travel game in T.I.M.E Stories :)
+Jonas Åkerblom (Bracca) Yes! Actually came back to this video to say that too :P
MORE TOP 10-lists! PLEEEAAAAASEEEEE I'm particulary interested in a "Top Ten 2-Player Games"!
Love this episode! I actually agree with Sam, and he does have wonderful rants!
HP Lovercraft wrote about the 1920's & later in from 1922 to 1937 and wrote stories about Venus in his future along with many other tales set in HIS future. Ergo a Sci-Fi Writer.
Just for your appreciated advice, I watch the entire advertisement each time. Thanks for helping me with my next purchase. P.S. King of toyko is sci-fi. super powers and technology make it so.
Space cadet dice duel???? Great SciFi party game. I thought it would be on Tom's list!
"Sam's Extended List" lol. I love you guys.
I like the viewpoint that Science Fiction isn't a genre at all, but a classification of literature. So you have non-fiction, fiction and science fiction. And under that you have different genres, so you can have horror scifi, comedy scifi, romance scifi, crime scifi, even fantasy scifi and so on.
Great time traveling game is Tragedy Looper! Deductive reasoning game with protagonists trying to solve evil plots that a mastermind is controlling. You get a specified number of times that you can go back in time when you lose
and use the info you learned from each round to solve mystery.
I agree with you about the lack of good time travel games. Chrononauts has an interesting mechanic but is very chaotic. One you might want to look at is Doctor Who Solitaire Story Game. It has a few hits against it for you, it's solitaire, it's PNP (although you can do it all from the pdfs) but it really captures the feel of a Doctor Who episode. Since you like Tales of the Arabian Knights you might like this. (of course Doctor Who rarely uses time travel as an integral part of a story, more as a location setting, but still...)
The way I see it, all games with science-based things that aren't real are scifi (therefore Pandemic is a scifi as it involves science but the events around it are fictional), as well as anything set in the future (therefore Post-Apoc is automatically scifi). A game doesn't need aliens or robots or space to be scifi, I think. They're just the staples. And in terms of games being horror, scifi/horror is HUGE and always have been since the first Alien film.
bbb
And the prediction of Tom about Star Wars ground miniatures turn to be right!
Tom I think a good idea for a top 10 would be two player games (either ones specfically designed that way and/or ones that are really good with 2 players). I have noticed a lot of my friends all started playing with just their husbands/boyfriends and wives/girfriends then expanded out into bigger groups once the bug got a hold of them. I would be extremely interested to see all of your picks. Keep up the excellent work. Great vids.
I think it was on a Star Trek documentary that Gene Roddenberry was saying they talked to a lot of science fiction writers to come up with material (I don't know if Asimov was around at the time, but guys like him). What the writers said was that you had to have just one thing for which the audience had to suspend their disbelief - meaning mostly reality, with just one thing tweaked a little bit (whether that is time travel, space travel, a virus that makes people zombies, etc.)
Not a definition necessarily, just a thought.
Tannhäuser is one of those games that I'm really interested about but it's impossible to find.
perhaps the issue is more about whether you are picking the best game that has a sci-fi theme, or about the games that best evoke the sci-fi theme as you see it.
Agreed, that's how I've come to see it. I'm not going to argue that King of Tokyo or The Resistance aren't sci-fi themed (they are), but are they really the best examples of the sci-fi genre? Going with Sam's "Contagion" argument- well, sure, it's a movie that I would categorize as sci-fi if I was pressed, but would it make my list of 10 Best SciFi Movies? Not even close. There are countless other films that bring out science fiction better, just as I would say there are games that evoke sci-fi more effectively than Pandemic or King of Tokyo.
This Segment is like board game crack.... MOAR!
Pandemic is definitely Sci-Fi. The definition of Science fiction is: fiction based on imagined future, scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets.
I also found it hilarious that Tom says multiple times which star trek game he likes(fleet captains), but then puts the wrong name in the number recap of all the games at that number (attack wing), hahaha
Tom predicted Imperial Assault!
My girlfriend and I have been loving Race for the Galaxy. We find it significantly more balanced than San Juan, but with similar mechanics. It's definitely a lot better than San Juan because in that game there's one really OP strat, which can easily be achieved, whereas in RFTG you really have to work for a good tableau.
Tom predicts Imperial Assault @ 28 minutes
Sam's right.
Wiki definition-Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginative content such as futuristic settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas".
I would say the literary, film, and television genre of 'Science Fiction' is fairly broad, but generally revolves around future technology, robots/ai/androids, extraterrestrial or extradimensional travel, aliens, etc. It's not just 'fiction' with a 'science element'. I'd say Pandemic falls into the 'techno/thriller' genre. Think Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy, etc. Lots of plague/pandemic/virus novels out there set in modern times, and these wouldn't be put in the 'sci-fi/fantasy' section, rather almost always in the 'general fiction' section.
You can have two definition of sci-fi. I think Sam's is the broadest definition (in which even alternate-history stuff like would be considered Sci-fi), while Tom's is the narrowest (however, in the narrowest definition I wouldn't consider Cyperpunk sci-fi, because it's its own genre - look at something like the Cryptonomicon by Stephonson, which is totally cyperpunk but not very sci-fi at all.)
22:30 - Tom: "Pandemic can happen today". Truer words have not been spoken
10 Best sci fi games I've played: Cosmic Encounter, Sentinels of the Multiverse, Race for the Galaxy, Infiltration, Eldritch Horror, Battlestar Galactica, Rex, Twilight Imperium, Gears of War, Neuroshima Hex. Haven't played Infiltration and Exodus yet, might be good contenders
Very pleased to see Star Trek: Fleet Captains there. It is our favourite game right now!
Sector 7 is a good game, but when Tom says that it's the 'Aliens' boardgame, I think he's forgetting the superb 'Aliens' boardgame...
I will agree with Sam's pick of Eldritch Horror as being sci-fi. Yes, Lovecraft's work is definitely horror, but it is also very much science fiction. It is a wonderful combination of both genres. Look at Ridley Scott's 'Alien'. There is no way you can argue that movie solely belongs in the horror genre or solely belongs in the sci-fi genre. Great lists guys!
"Long story. Prepare for heat!" Tom, if you haven't trademarked that, I'm going to get it on a T-shirt. :-) Thanks for a fun and useful top 10, guys. I had *thought* you had top 10 of Space-Themed Games somewhere, but this was just as good, because it included all the space games I was trying to remember. A friend has tried to get Alien Frontiers started a couple of times, but I had never heard of it until this video -- must see if you have a full review of it. Also, I think Sam has a pretty weird definition of science fiction, BUT I still liked his opinions, because whether they're SF or not, he had some very good games listed.
1) Horror is not separate from Sci-Fi or Fantasy. They are not mutually exclusive genres. Lovecraft is science-fiction horror.
2) I have to stand by Sam with Pandemic. Some of the best Sci-Fi is about something that could happen today. It's frightening, it feels real. Pandemic is certainly Sci-Fi.
"You mean the Internet where no one ever lies?" Oh snap! One point Zee!
Time Travel? Legacy: Gears of Time. Fantastic time travel game.
This was great fun to watch! ^_^
By the way: King Kong and Godzilla just don't feel like SiFi to me either. And Pandemic... nope.
SiFi should have some spaceship, cyborgs, or laserweapons or somethin in it I guess.
Not a good time travel game, now you have time stories and you guys actually love it :D
Had you made this list a year later, I am sure Xia:Legends of a Drift System would have made it high in your lists. The game had been through a great amount of amazing improvements since Tom's preview :) Its also winning in its categories on BGG's most anticipated games pool :)
I agree with Sam...and I really appreciated the work he put into this one! =)
I see Myth on the shelf, can't wait for a review
Just as they said there's no good time travelling games, Tragedy Looper was released later in the year.
+Straddllw And now we have T.I.M.E Stories
Eyal Itsik Yea! Played that 2 weeks ago. Loved it!
At 28:10, Tom predicted a Star Wars miniatures game. This video was made a few years ago. Did "Star Wars: Rebellion" kinda fill his prediction? I'm not very familiar with that game.
Played Battlestar Galactica before i ever saw it and after playing it it made me want to watch it.
Tom's face when Sam dropped the mic: priceless!
I don't think Pandemic is science fiction, but to each his own.
Props for putting Resistance on (cyberpunk is my favorite genre).
www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1105878/sorry-guys-but-science-fiction-cant-be-defined-as
Click the link and scroll down a bit for a more in-depth explanation of why I chose some of my games for this list.
I think you're 100% right on Pandemic. I think Tom's idea of SF having to deal necessarily with future and/or spaceships is restrictive. I guess a distinction should be made on what is 'setting' and what is 'genre'. The movie 'Hot tub time machine' deals with time travel, but is it SF? Definitely not, it's comedy. Pandemic might not have what we consider a SF setting (no spaceships, set in the present), but as you demonstrated it's certainly SF in theme.
Thumbs up to you big man!
I completely agree with you Sam. Pandemic is science-fiction. Fiction based on science. It's as simple as that. There isn't even a doubt about it imo.
I disagree on Pandemic, I think it lacks the commentary on science that a sci fi work should have (virus and bacteria are natural events)... that said, I love the argument!. I WOULD ABSOLUTLY READ A WEEKLY BLOG ABOUT THESE KIND OF DISCUSSION
I think when Tom said "prepare for the heat..." should give you the hint to skip Pandemic. Pandemic is simply a simulation game of maybe exaggeration real life medical situation. Overall you did great, I love your choices of the lists and other lists. You guys are funny. I love watching you guys as hosts.
Guys, great geek discussion about science fiction definition :)
"Pandemic can happen today" -Tom Vasel, 2014.
Damn, I usually never agree with Sam, but he is 100% correct here. He is also my new fav now because of the 24 hour marathon when he was playing the whole time like a mad man. Keep up the good work thought guys!
We need an update on this list! Lots of great scifi games have come out in the last 4 years. Pretty please?
So see Myth on the shelf there! Glad I got two copies :D
Now I want to play "Pandemic - Prepare for Heat" :D