As we enter into the final month of 2020, it is a perfect time to reflect. And we all know, that this year has its full of things to reflect on…even if we want to forget some of them.

One of the blessings of this year, for me personally, has been extra board game time –> maybe not with as many different people…and not at any conventions…but with family, close friends, and plenty of solo gaming!

A year ago, when I presented my Top 100 list (2019 edition), my total games played list was sitting at 314 games. Thus, my top 100 represented 32% of my personal portfolio. From November 2019 to October 2020, that game list has grown to 521….so yes, 207 games played in the past year that were new to the list (and that doesn’t include all the plays I was getting in from the old list). Because of that, the top 100 will now represent 19.2% of my total games list.

And I feel very confident in saying my top 100 is starting to feel really good. These first four games that I will be discussing today are all ones that get me excited and I enjoy getting to the table. And as I look below 100, I’m sad to see the great games that I won’t get to talk about.

This is such a great hobby with SO MANY great games to play.

One more thing before I start rattling off great games. I wanted to share my personal method for creating a top 100 list. One of the things that I didn’t want to have to do is start tossing games around and shuffling back and forth. I may like X game more than T or B game, so it moves up ahead of them on the list. But I like Y game better than X game, even though its ranked lower than T or B. Ugh. So, I turned those “which game is better” decisions into many micro-decisions. Every month, I would take my current ‘played games’ list and each game would randomly go through 20 “match-ups”. Over the course of the year, those monthly rankings would get averaged out to a single score. Each month, top games would get around 30 points and bottom-dwellers would get 11-12 points. On top of that, I added two small factors — a) for every month a game was in my played collection, it received a 0.2 point bump. The idea is to try and temper the excitement that can be given to newly-played games. They may do well on this list, but next year, if still a favorite…they should have the chance to move up higher. b) a game received a 0.1 point bump for every hour of play I had with that game during the past 12 months. The idea being that time spent with a game helps reflect my current level of enjoyment for that game.

And…one last thing…I will be presenting this top 100 list from today (Dec 1, 2020) through Christmas Day — 4 games a day for 25 days = Top 100! During that process, I will be running a contest for one lucky participant to win a Brand New copy of Fantastic Factories…which is hiding somewhere on this top 100 list. To earn “tickets” for the drawing, you will need to Retweet my Top 100-related posts from now through Christmas. So, make sure to follow me on Twitter @boardgamecrock1 to keep up with the daily content.

Alright preambles aside, let’s get to the list!!

#100 – Fast Sloths (Stronghold Games, designed by Friedemann Friese) [new to the list]

The concept of this game alone has me hooked — lazy sloths who want some leaves from the forest, so they just ride along to get to their destinations –> along ant chains, in the mouth of an eagle, getting tossed by an elephant. This game provides a great puzzle of how to draft the right cards for movement, but also maintain an efficient path.

#99 – On Tour (BoardGameTables.com, designed by Chad DeShon) [new to the list]

On Tour is a new title to my gaming collection, but it has already pulled into the #5 slot in the “Roll-and-Write” genre of games (so yes, 4 more are coming!). Early in this game, the route for your band’s tour is wide-open. So many possibilities! But as the rolls progress, the plans get tighter. When do you decide to just right-off a part of the map? When do you push to hopefully keep filling up dates in a certain region vs. folding early to make sure you don’t lose a part of the route you’ve been working hard on.

And then afterwards, you can tell the story of your band’s trip…how they had to skip the West coast after several weeks of forest fires….and by the time you got to the northeast, the highways were closed due to snow storms. Fun gameplay, great components, and wonderful artwork.

#98 – My Little Scythe (Stonemaier Games, designed by Hoby Chou and Vienna Chou) [#40 in 2019]

Next is one of my favorite family games…the little brother to Scythe (which we will see coming up shortly). I like this version just as much, though, thanks to its cuteness, fun play, and quick game time. Get in –> perform some quests, make some friends, maybe throw a few pies –> and get out! Good stuff 🙂

#97 – Chronicles of Crime (Lucky Duck Games, designed by David Cicurel) [#58 in 2019]

Chronicles of Crime is one of my favorite detective/deduction games. I really enjoy the app integration and feeling like you are truly moving around a city to find witnesses, calling up associates for help… I also really enjoy the story-telling in this game. The characters are interesting, the plots compelling, and the red herrings are devilish.

Just recently, the Kickstarter expansions 1400, 1900, and 2400 arrived. I’m looking forward to traveling to the past to solve some medieval crimes in the near future. (See what I did there?)

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That’s numbers 100 through 97. Let me know what your thoughts and/or feedback are for these titles. Furthermore, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @boardgamecrock1 and Retweet the Top 100 posts to earn entries into the Fantastic Factories giveaway.

See you tomorrow for the next 4.