Yashima's Collection
455 games owned
· 350 expansions
· 3841 plays
· 288 day streak
· 823 ratings
· 635 comments
Each game has a single, global Elo rating built from every head-to-head comparison made while ranking any list on this site — not a separate rating per list. After each comparison, both games' ratings shift based on how surprising the result was. "Games played" counts these head-to-head comparisons, not games logged in the play history.
| # | Title | Rating | Games Played | My Rating | List Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Spirit Island
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(2020)
82 plays · last played 3/15/26 |
1946 | 45 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
Despite getting to my table not very often it remains a perennial favorite. Work has been stressful so this is not the kind of game I can play a lot. But I dream of being back in the right state of mind.
Solo Plays 2025: 4
Ranking Last year: 1
Rank 1/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
My favorite game both multiplayer and solo. I got sick of it a little bit while being annoyed at having to wait extra months for the latest expansion to arrive in Europe and I really hope Greater Than Games have learned something about importing games themselves… but now that Nature Incarnate is here, my annoyance is all but gone and of course small things like not having even more spirits and cards to play with, cannot truly impinge on how much I love the game. Have loved it since first being taught. (In my experience people who are taught the game enjoy it more than people who have to learn it themselves)
Why I love it?
* Big stacks of cards
* Combos
* Each spirit has such thematic abilities and is so different from the others (well mostly, there are some similarities to be found of course)
* Growing your board and abilities
* Slowly growing your deck
* Kicking invader butts.
There is endless variety and scaling difficulty levels. I usually play 1 or 2 spirits against a Level 1 or Level 2 opponent, despite having played this a lot, I don‘t feel the need to challenge myself more than that.
Solo Plays 2024: 12
Ranking last year: 1
Rank 20/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
I don't even need to put this in pubmeeple for the rankings (I have done it but to what end? It just adds to the comparisons)
My favorite game of all time. So many spirits now, so many cards. No two games are alike. It has a lot of my favorite game mechanisms (not all of them, so far I see no route building spirit).
Ranking last year: 1
Rank 20/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#1
When I rank games on pubmeeple, I don‘t even need to include this one. It has been my favorite game by miles since I learned it. There are so many cards, so many spirits and so much variety in this, I cannot see myself getting tired of it. I normally play 2 spirits. My favorite is Thunderspeaker who is so very protective of the Dahan. I played Thunderspeaker more than any other spirit. After the first few games I highly recommend adding the content from Branch & Claw (the first expansion, it adds the tokens & events and two more great spirits). Jagged Earth is definitely „more of the same“ for people who are fans of the game already.
It is the best game solo or with two people. I have rarely played with 3 and a few times with 4. Two spirits is the best way to play this and get the satisfying feel of synergy from working together.
I could gush about this game for a good while. But it is already my #1 and would have been #1 for all the years that I‘ve had it on my shelves where it will stay indefinitely.
PS: but I do hope that after Nature Incarnate there won‘t be more big expansions. Please do not become the next Catan or Carcassonne. The same concept can only be milked for money for so long. This is the only way that I will eventually tire of the game when the content and spinoffs become to numerous to keep up.
Rank 20/20
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| 2 |
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Naturopolis
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(2023)
91 plays · last played 10/3/26 |
1822 | 38 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
This is a standin for the whole series Sprawlopolis / Agropolis / Naturopolis. This one was new this year and so I played it the most. I didn't enjoy Agropolis as much and Sprawlopolis has been a solo favorite since I first got it.
Ranking last year: 3
Rank 18/20
Travel: Griechenland:
Favorite polis game right now. And so small. It is always there on every trip
Rank 1/17
Games to take on a trip:
Currently apparently my favorite of the *-polis set. Almost always playing with the Elevation expansion these days.
Wallet-sized "boxes" are best for traveling. The German editions have actual cardboard which is a shame. I have the wallets from the crowdfunding campaigns.
Rank 1/32
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| 3 |
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Terraforming Mars
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(2017)
138 plays · last played 9/24/26 |
1815 | 37 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
I did not play as much of the solo challenge on the app as the year before and still when ranking it went up.
Solo Plays 2025: 4
Ranking Last Year: 5
Rank 3/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
I love SciFi as a genre and it saddens me a little that this list reflects that so little. But this is definitely one of my very favorite solo games of all times and if it had come in anywhere below the Top5 I would be disappointed in myself for ranking badly. It‘s obviously the big stack of cards that fascinates me but also the great variety of strategies you can go for. I mostly play on the app because I am lazy. I always include Prelude and often Venus and I always play the solo mode. I win as much as I lose. When I play a few games in a row my winning quota improves quickly. But even losing this game is fun until the last minute. You never know when a late game Lake Marineris will save your game… playing against TR63 seems harder than fully terraforming except on those occasions I reach the TR and miss terraforming while playing for the latter.
Also really enjoyable multiplayer.
It may have gone down a little due to playing less because of some new entries to the list that have taken up a lot of plays.
Solo Plays 2024: 38
Ranking last year: 2 (🔻3)
Rank 16/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
What can I say. I love SF games, I love the premise of terraforming the red planet (ever since reading the Mars trilogy). The game never gets boring. I am mostly playing on the app because it is just a bit much to set up on the table for how much I get late-night-hungry for a quick snack of terraforming experience...
Ranking last year: 2
Rank 19/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#2
So. Another game with a caveat: I play this almost exclusively on my tablet. Every once in a while I go and put it on the table. But the setup is a huge hassle. But of course that allows me to add in other expansions besides prelude which gives some variety.
I play the solo mode with Prelude. You have 12 turns (14 without Prelude) to push all 3 terraform gauges (temperature, oxygen and oceans) to the max or you lose. At first, I lost every game. But over more and more attempts (50+ recently), I got better and now I win most games. There is a bit of luck of the draw at the start. My current highscore came with Ecoline and a really good matching draw of prelude cards and initial cards.
I loved this engine building game for the theme and for the gameplay from the first time I played it at a friends house and next thing I knew I had made an all-in pledge for the Turmoil Kickstarter
Even on the table I rarely play with more than prelude and one other expansion. The game has simply got too much content to use it all at once. And some people really dislike that this huge deck sometimes puts you in a bad position and there aren‘t enough mechanisms in it to help you cycle through the deck to get your combos done.
After playing a lot of games, I know all of the base game cards by heart and I agree sometimes you have it easier when you get certain cards at the right time. But playing smart, I can still win more often than not. And the card play is compelling and getting those gauges filled is satisfying. Getting a good combo of abilities played is great fun. And when I lose I can often see how I focused too much on a certain card that ended up being „unworthy“.
There is a reason this ranks so high on BGG as well: it is just such a good game.
Rank 19/20
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| 4 |
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Harmonies
↗
(2024)
116 plays · last played 10/4/26 |
1808 | 36 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
It is so cozy and has a nice table presence, I can play this even when tired and enjoy myself building a beautiful landscape
Solo Plays 2025: 28
Ranking Last year: 6
Rank 2/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
For the most part I have given up on discovering games through the Hotness… and then came along Harmonies. I saw it on the Hotness first and that cover made me look up the game. And then I saw the pictures of those neat little landscapes made of chunky wooden pieces and the beautiful animal cards and I had to order the game. I fell in love with it during my first game. I am sure it will stick around for quite some time. It reminds me of Azul and Cascadia in only the best ways. Lovely and oh so quick solo experience that is also pretty decent as a multiplayer filler game. And the chunky wooden pieces are so nice to touch.
Solo Plays 2024: 28
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 15/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I bought this game because of the beautiful cover.
And then I instantly fell in love with the game. It's beautiful on the table and very tactile: the wooden pieces are so satisfying to put on your board. The puzzle is really good, too. The variability is just a bit less than Cascadia (but Cascadia got an expansion and this does not). I play this a lot on the table but also on BGA because the solo on BGA takes less than 15 minutes which is perfect for a short coffee break.
My biggest complaint is probably the card quality. I would pay good money for cards that do not look "bent". Maybe sleeving would help?
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 72 (lots of BGA during work break)
* Rules Retention: Very good. Easy to teach, too. Thankfully, there are player aid cards with the points overview.
* Keeper: Definitely. Though I wish there was an expansion.
* Recommended: For fans of landscape building or Cascadia who need another game in the same niche.
* Competition: Cascadia (animal patterns), A Gentle Rain (feels)
Rank 16/60
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
Another build-a-landscape… this time no bears for most players. Take some chunky wooden tiles put them in patterns. Draft beautiful animal cards and create harmonies.
Why it‘s cozy?
* What the cover isn‘t enough already?
* Interaction is only through drafting the blocks and the cards
* The wooden tiles are so nice to touch
* You always get to do something on your turn
* The resulting landscape is pretty even if you never matched a single animal pattern
* Slow pattern matching just makes me happy (don‘t get me started about Set, that one is decidedly uncozy)
* It is a quick satisfying game that‘s just the right amount of thinky to keep it from being boring
Rank 2/20
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| 5 |
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Daybreak
↗
(2023)
241 plays · last played 5/30/26 |
1794 | 42 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
This went down a little, I may have played this a little too much and this ranking reflects my 2026 taste more than my 2025 taste possibly. Still the combos are delicious and the solo is quick and satisfying
Solo Plays 2025: 17
Ranking Last Year: 2
Rank 4/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
My GOTY 2024. I got this in January and have since made it to almost 90 games. About 60 solos I think. A lot of those were on BGA but the game is almost as fast to play on the table which is quite the achievement considering that there is quite a bit of upkeep. But those phases are designed to be easy to handle and that makes the game such a joy. Because the upkeep just flies by and then I get another hand of cards to combo with until I break the game … uh achieve drawdown to save the world from climate change. Besides thinking that it is good to have games with this theme and have a hopeful tone, it is just such a good game. It would be number one if my number one wasn‘t … the greatest game of all time (in my opinion which I have previously changed).
Solo Plays 2024: 53
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 19/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
This game broke into my personal favorites instantly back when I got it. These days I mostly play with two players on BGA. I enjoy this at all playercounts. After over 200 games I know all the cards by heart. And still we lose quite a few games. We always play with both player and group challenges and it keeps the game varied enough. Without those we would surely win every game by now.
* Player Count: 2 (BGA)
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 216
* Rules Retention: very good. I can easily teach this and it was not difficult to learn from the rulebook
* Keeper: Yes. Would also totally buy any and all expansions.
* Recommended: as a combotastic, cooperative and highly thematic game
* Competition: Ares Expedition (tags), Sanctuary (tags)
Rank 5/60
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
I have played this as solo or with 2 (online) over 100 times since I got it earlier this year. It's a great cooperative game that I would love to play more with 4 players. Works as async on BGA.
Rank 3/20
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| 6 |
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Sprawlopolis
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(2018)
127 plays · last played 10/1/26 |
1773 | 43 |
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
Apparently--at the moment--not even my favorite tile laying game. But my favorite travel game. This entry also includes Naturopolis which I like almost as much as Sprawlopolis. Agropolis never really worked out for me for some reason (of course I have that one, too). I rarely play with expansions though this year I finally got the Beaches and enjoyed a few games with that one. I have quite a few plays of this and it is still never boring. This was one of those „let‘s just back this kickstarter, it is not expensive“ things that really worked out well. It is probably to blame for me backing a whole bunch of small city building games none of which I really enjoyed because none of them could live up to the brilliance of this one.
This just switched places with Cascadia. And I admit I have a hard time deciding which one I like better at any given moment.
Solo Plays 2024: 26
Ranking last year: 3 (🔻1)
Rank 17/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#3
If I had made this list since 2018, this game would have been in my Top 5 solo games every single year. Variable setup, a bit of route building, tile laying, city building… some of my favorite things. What‘s not to love? And for some reason it never gets old to me. I can play this over and over and over…
This is the game that made me seek out a huge variety of other small games to be played solo but I found none that came even close (I have Agropolis and I have preordered Naturopolis but the original is still best).
The game is so small, setup so quick, gameplay so easy and my scores vary wildly. Some goals of course are much harder than others but every single game I ever played has been satisfying—even the ones I lost.
I am still looking for small games that can compete with this.
Rank 18/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
This was one of my early Crowdfunding experiments and since this one turned out so well, I backed a lot of other experimental small games most of which disappointed me. This game is great. The 3 goals pulling you in different directions, trying to get few roads and building bigger blocks and... every game is different. Getting such replay value with this tiny a game: an incredible feat. In the whole franchise this spawned, this remains my favorite not least because I know all the goals and how they play out and still don't always win. Some goal combinations are definitely easier than others. I also tend to just play and start optimizing only on the final cards. Still a game can last surprisingly long given how there are only 14 turns (18 - 3 goals - 1st card)
It is also so satisfying to build this little city, I have so many photos of finished cities. It's just a special little game I often take with me on trips as well. The cards are starting to show some wear and I am surprised the plastic wallet is still in one piece.
I have quite a few expansions but I usually play with out them. Of the ones I tried, Beaches seems the best.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 106
* Rules Retention: Easy. Very few rules. Could teach it if I were willing to play this other than solo.
* Keeper: Definitely. It's so addictive.
* Recommended: For fans of traveling with games and tile laying.
* Competition: Other Polis games (franchise), Grove (overlapping tiles, goals), Trailblazers (overlapping tiles, goals), Cascadia (building your terrain is much like building your city, it produces something I often like to photograph)
Rank 22/60
Travel: Griechenland:
I probably don’t need a 2nd polis game on a given trip. ut this one has the beach expansion
Rank 2/17
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| 7 |
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Revive
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(2022)
17 plays · last played 3/5/26 |
1768 | 43 |
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
I enjoy this quite a lot. You play the same game as multiplayer. You just run up a timer through your actions.
I also like how everything comes in threes in this game: 3 colors of cards, 3 main resources, 3 tech trees, 3 main actions. It‘s easy to remember this and 3 is a good number. I recently saw this repeated somehwat in SETI.
Solo Plays 2024: 0
Ranking last year: 6 ( 🔻5)
Rank 10/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
How do I even describe this game? Techtrees, tracks, multi-use cards, bonus chaining and exploration ... I can't. Also one of the few solo favorites that I enjoy as a multiplayer as well.
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 15/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
Revive was #1 on my SPIEL watchlist 2022 and my personal GOTY 2023 (it took some time to get my copy after SPIEL). And I am still enjoying my 2 player games with a friend on BGA quite a lot. There is a nice trinity of colors, associated with main actions, associated with cards, associated with resources, associated with tracks... everything comes in 3s in this game and it helps very much teaching this game. There is a lot going on here.
It is like Beyond the Sun very well suited to async play as a player turn can get quite intricate with very interesting decisions but it is completely contained even more so than Beyond the Sun.
* Player Count: 2 (BGA)
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 9 (BGA plays are slow for this one)
* Rules Retention: Easy. I can probably teach this from memory by now. But the rules complexity is on the higher end and initial learning curve is steep.
* Keeper: Yes.
* Recommended: Fans of tracks and tech-tree-ish games and multi-use cards. There is a shared map that is adding some competition but not too much. It's still very much "just blocking" and not direct competition.
* Competition: Beyond the Sun (async-ability)
Rank 38/60
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
Great as a solo or at two. I have yet to play with higher player counts. Quite curious.
A shared map, a small tech tree, some tracks, nice sychronicity over the various elements. Multi-use cards... what's not to like?
Rank 2/20
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| 8 |
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Sanctuary
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(2025)
16 plays · last played 5/16/26 |
1748 | 50 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
This is a new entry to the list. Yay. I got this late in 2025 so if I had made the list in November as usual, it would probably not have been on it. But it is a beautiful hexagonal combo-tasm that I have really come to enjoy merging some Cascadia like positioning with a simplified but still recognizable action selection from Ark Nova.
Solo Plays 2025: 6
Ranking Last Year: new entry
Rank 5/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I very much prefer the German title "Artengarten". This is my most recent acquistion and it has already been played a bunch. For me it combines a few of the best mechanics from Ark Nova with some hexagonal tile laying which is one of my favorite things since hexagons were invented.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 9
* Rules Retention: good. Very few rulebook consultations during play. Knowing Ark Nova helped learning the game immensely of course. But I feel confident I can easily teach this.
* Keeper: Definitely.
* Recommended for: Hexagon fans. If you like both Ark Nova and Cascadia, give this a try. It is much quicker and lighter than its parent.
* Competition: Cascadia (animals + hex tile laying), Ark Nova (a clear descendant of this one), Daybreak (tags)
Rank 2/60
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| 9 |
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Fjords
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(2025)
119 plays · last played 10/8/26 |
1737 | 40 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I had not expected to like this so much. But I saw it was illustrated by Beth Sobel and that combined with the hex tiles convinced me to give this a try. I had avoided the bigger Fjords KS a while back. But this has a solo mode and ... it turns out there was a hole in my collection that is now filed: a hex shaped hole for a solo even simpler and faster than Cascadia. It takes just the right amount of time for a short break from work. Setup is done in under half a minute which is equivalent of "no setup" at all.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 14
* Rules Retention: Easy. There are so few rules to the solo mode.
* Keeper: Absolutely. I only just got this game and have already played it a lot.
* Recommended: Anyone who enjoys simple small box solo games and tile laying
* Competition: Cascadia (Hex landscapes), Naturopolis (Small box tile laying)
Rank 54/60
20 Best Cozy Games:
Currently my very favorite tiny hex tile layer that I will play almost every day because it is so satisfying to build a beautiful landscape
Rank 1/21
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| 10 |
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Cascadia
↗
(2021)
92 plays · last played 6/14/26 |
1719 | 43 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
I played this a lot less than the year before. But it remains incredibly satisfying to build up a landscape. I think over the years this has come to be a reliable classic but it is less exciting sometimes than newer games in my collection.
Solo Plays 2025: 15
Rank Last year: 3
Rank 6/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
The first time I tried Cascadia on the „demo“ app they had put on github I decided it was too simple compared to Calico. And it would get boring so fast. So I didn‘t back the KS. But then friends got it and told me it was good. So I got myself a copy and haven‘t stopped playing since.
I am currently trying to play through all the Landmarks Solo Scenarios, I think I won about two thirds so far. Lovely puzzle, beautiful results on the table and quick to play. Which is one important aspect of many of my solo plays because I often play them in those small slivers of time before work or dinner that might otherwise be occupied by a good book.
This moved up a little with the Landmarks expansion and its challenges
Solo Plays 2024: 25
Ranking last year: 4 (🔺1)
Rank 18/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
Almost my favorite tile layer. With the huge variation and the challenge modes, I can play this over and over. This was somewhat unexpected I admit.
Also from here on out all the games retained last years spots on the list.
Ranking last year: 4
Rank 17/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#4
This only arrived here in the cardboard recently, though I had played it online before. Because it is very new to me „on the table“ I am quite excited to play right now. The gameplay is so very satisfying, each turn you get to place both a hex tile (I love hex tiles—see Calico) and an animal token. Both contribute to your score. Each turn two good things happen. The solo is as easy as Calico, just Slide Over something to the discard and refill the market. The different setups using different scorings for each animal make each game unique. Love it. It may slide down when it is not as new. But maybe it won‘t. See my #3
Rank 17/20
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| 11 |
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Obsession
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(2020)
13 plays · last played 6/10/26 |
1683 | 61 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
I still like the theming of this a lot and also the building up of the estate with the various rooms. This one suffered a hit when I attempted my first multiplayer and that didn't go great as my friend exploited an imbalance that has since been called out (I don't remember the details) and it really wasn't fun. So solo it stays.
Ranking last year: 8 (🔻4)
Rank 9/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#8
It is such a unique theme and such a great mix of worker placement and tile laying that I cannot recommend this enough. There is very little handling of the „bot“ each turn, it gets a die roll and a table says which tile it buys from the market. Each different bot just has fixed scores to beat but the variety is so great that it just works. Lovely, lovely game best played with some tea and biscuits.
Rank 13/20
Games that play well at two:
Who gets to marry one of the heirs of Alderly Hall? Jane Austen inspired tile laying worker placement with a heart.
Rank 15/18
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
You have children that need to be married? Don‘t worry there are two most eligible Fairchild heirs in the neighborhood. Just impress them enough and they are sure to marry your offspring. You better make sure your estate is the most impressive one and your reputation the most shiny.
Why it is cozy?
* How can a game about regency England not be great for having a nice tea time?
* Building up your estate with new rooms and new gardens feels good
* Each room tells a bit of a story. Each hand of cards you play does the same. (Not all of them are nice stories. Some of the cards are anything but)
* Interaction is mostly through the tile drafting. Though there are a few interactive tiles (also see below, just remove it)
* There are tea parties held during the game
* There are libraries and salons… so cozy just ignore the servants. They are only there to bring you tea.
* There is definitely a wedding at the end
Non-cozy caveat: there is one mean tile that nearly ruined the game for me because it allowed my friend to leech my whole reputation or something—I am trying to suppress the memory… I think if that one comes up again, I‘ll ban it.
Rank 6/20
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| 12 |
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Dorfromantik: Sakura
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(2024)
41 plays · last played 7/20/26 |
1681 | 48 |
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
This is the type of campaign game I can get behind. The game evolves a little but plays feel similar enough that I don‘t feel the need to be playing continuously. Paradoxically this then makes it more likely for the game to be on the table. I was initially put off by the whole game being just placing one tile after another cooperatively. How is that going to work? But we played a campaign on the OG copy of our friends and I decided I had to have the „pink“ version. I am enjoying this one even more. 2nd iterations are good. I think this one raises the complexity just a little bit.
I like how the game manages to be relaxed and puzzly at the same time. It‘s just cozy to play. And this is the mood I am in these days. I like cozy games right now.
Solo Plays 2024: 7
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 2/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I was missing something from my soloing. And I looked through my games and noted I had not played this since late 2024. The campaign was almost finished. But I didn't remember all the rules for the unlocked details. So I reset the game and started over. It's so addicitve I played 11 games in 3 days. I have played the computer game which I don't really enjoy this much and I have played the OG Dorfromantik boardgame and I prefer this one. It has taken some lessons from the first and improved both gameplay and table presence and yes: I like pink. Highly recommended. This is the only implementation of a computer game where I very much prefer the boardgame. (Not that I have tried many such games, I usually avoid them because computergames are all about automation... I have more than a few apps I prefer over the original boardgames)
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 23
* Rules Retention: Well, I had to reset the campaign. But the basics are trivial: play a tile, try to complete a task.
* Keeper: Yes, so cozy.
* Recommended: Anyone into cozy cooperative tile laying, hexagons and/or the color pink
* Competition: Harmonies (cozy landscapes), Cascadia (hex tiles)
Rank 53/60
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
I never enjoyed the computer game all that much. It gets pretty stressful when your stack of tiles is running out when all you want to do is build a pretty landscape and those pesky quests just get in the way of building the most beautiful grove of blooming cherry trees and a river through rice fields… (see I called them rice fields and not forests. But they are green like the forests in the OG game. So forests!)
Why it is cozy?
* Well it is cooperative.
* You cannot lose this game, you can just score badly. Surprisingly, a bad score is a bit like losing. You just know you did badly. But you are doing that to yourself, it is not the game. The game always gives you something at least one star no matter how terrible you played. It is not the game‘s fault that you think you did badly. The game says you did great. You competed and that is what matters!
* I am kidding: it is kind of nice that you can’t lose and that the stakes are low… or as low as you want them. In theory you could just lay down tile after tile and do whatever you want. The game doesn‘t tell you what to do…
* But of course there are incentives… but you do whatever you like
* It is a neat puzzle that can get just as thinky as you want it in that moment. And it really also works as multiplayer and to me it kind of proves how quarterbacking is less of an issue than we make it out to be. Because my two player scores are generally higher than my solo score: 4 eyes see more than 2.
* Also this iteration is really pretty
* You get a satisfying thing you build together on the table and this one has some really really nice perks that make the finished thing look even better.
Rank 7/20
My Solo Games:
The best hex landscapes, love the completed campaign game. Prefer those over OG.
Rank 7/137
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| 13 |
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The Gang
↗
(2024)
7 plays · last played 4/4/26 |
1679 | 37 | ||
| 14 |
|
Hardback
↗
(2019)
137 plays · last played 7/2/26 |
1678 | 45 |
All my Deck (and other) Building Games:
It has all the proper tropes of deckbuilding and the wordfinding is just sublime. Prefer coop these days. Long words rules competitive play.
Rank 8/40
|
|
| 15 |
|
Beyond the Sun
↗
(2021)
21 plays · last played 6/16/24 |
1652 | 28 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
This one shines with 2, 3 and 4 players. I love the tech-tree.
Also one that works really well as async game on BGA.
Rank 1/20
My Favorite Covers:
The inside art on this is not great but I love the cover. It instantly makes me want to play the game.
Rank 5/50
2026: Top 20 of My Euro:
The purest of tech trees and it has such a beautiful rhythm to it.
Rank 4/55
|
|
| 16 |
|
Trailblazers
↗
(2023)
69 plays · last played 5/7/26 |
1636 | 45 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
I cannot quite believe I only played this twice in 2025. I still enjoy the route building pathing and hybris catching/falling a lot.
Solo Plays 2025: 2
Ranking last year: 8
Rank 12/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
Have I mentioned I like route building? Maybe this game is the reason Railroad Ink is not my favorite route building game anymore. Trailblazers is just so good and compact and I‘ve been trying to get all the different goal cards and then the other achievements. The more I play the more this game is so stuck in my head that I find myself sitting there trying to read and in my head I am turning cards this way and that still trying to build a route… there are also all the additional modules with animals and hikers and such … it never gets boring. Just like another favorite tile layer that is yet to come….
Pushed down a little because I got a few really awesome new solo-games.
Solo Plays 2024: 43
Ranking last year: 6 (🔻1)
Rank 13/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
I backed this because I wanted Pipeline without the economics. And it delivers. Good solid route building and more of that and then more. This is Fairy Trails on steroids. I love it. And I am not surprised it entered the list this high. This is so quick to play and it seeps so deeply into my brain... in that aspect it's a bit like playing too much Galaxy Trucker on the app. Turning tiles this way and that, considering and then making a mess with my hybris.
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 14/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
First play of the year. Trailblazers is a favorite of mine.
A good way to start the year with the "Wildlife Whisperer" solo challenge.
This is one of my favorite tile laying/route building games with an ever changing fun puzzle. The multiplayer draft works well, too (I have only played it once as a multiplayer though)
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 66
* Rules Retention: very good.
* Keeper: I expect to keep playing this.
* Recommended for: If you like routebuilding and / or tile laying, highly recommended.
* Competition: Naturopolis (theme + overlapping tiles), Fairy Trails (convoluted routes)
Rank 1/60
|
|
| 17 |
|
Just One
↗
(2019)
14 plays · last played 9/12/26 |
1635 | 28 | ||
| 18 |
|
Frosthaven
↗
(2022)
8 plays · last played 4/16/23 |
1634 | 41 |
2026: Top 20 Heavy Games:
The basic Gloomhaven play is awesome and the new characters are so very interesting. If it was quicker to set up.
Rank 2/34
|
|
| 19 |
|
Planet Unknown
↗
(2022)
36 plays · last played 2/23/26 |
1629 | 36 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
My tetris biggie. I really don't know why I need other tetris games. This one does it all. The actual tiles fit together nicely in a very classic polyominoes game and the combo-y tracks carry it into "again again again" territory. Even though in a year where I played a lot fewer games than in other years I only played 2 games.
Solo Plays 2025: 2
Rank last year: 9
Rank 8/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
My favorite polyominoes game. It is just so good. The combination with tracks as the second mechanism works so well. I lose the solo a lot. But that doesn‘t matter because even losing it is fun to try my best and cover the planet with tetris. And the variability of planets and corporations means there is always something new to try. It‘s also been a hit with multiplayer especially because it plays up to 6 in a decent amount of time.
Solo Plays 2024: 14
Ranking last year: 9
Rank 12/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
My favorite Polyominoes game since I playtested it at SPIEL years ago. The solo is fun and the variability an additional bonus
when the basic puzzle could keep me occupied for ages.
Ranking Last year: 6 (🔻3 )
Rank 12/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#6
I mentioned I love polyominoes games. This is the polyominoes game to rule them all. By far my favorite of all of these. It has huge variability and very satisfying combos with the different tracks you move up on depending on which territory you placed this round. This is also the game that proves that tracks can be fun.
This is a solo puzzle, no bot needed. But in the solo you have to play with events to keep things interesting and get your target score.
It is a bit expensive for „just a polyominoes“ game but then, you won‘t need another one. I have played it multiplayer and the Lazy Susan that gives each player just 2 tiles to chose from each turn really works wonders to bring that together, too. But mostly I play this solo and still haven‘t managed to try all planets and corporations.
Very satisfying, highly recommend if you like fitting tetris tiles on a map.
Rank 15/20
|
|
| 20 |
|
Fields of Arle
↗
(2014)
9 plays · last played 1/25/25 |
1627 | 64 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
Despite everything I managed to play this a few times with the newly acquired expansion. It is a big box and at first the action selection seems as overwhelming as AffO. But it turns out this is far simpler than some of other Uwe fare. Once you have finished the first year, you have a strategy to follow and choices become clearer. Great game. Will only play solo. I need time to think. But it is cozy tea-time thinking!
Solo Plays 2025: 2
Ranking last year: 14
Rank 9/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
I had not played this game in ages… probably since the year it was published. I mostly remembered it being big and daunting. And then came the expansion which I ignored at first. But then it went out of print for the first time and FOMO hit me so I ordered it on the next printing and when it arrived I packed the components in the—now completely overflowing—base game box and the game seemed even more daunting. I preferred Nusfjord at the time because it seemed more compact and easier to grasp.
But this year somewhere in my gaming circles people played this and it motivated me to relearn the rules and integrate the expansion. And then I played a whole bunch of games and here it is in the Top 10. It‘s just so much fun to try the various strategies the game offers. And I left it on the game table for a few days… if you can just skip setup and teardown it is a really fast game.
Solo Plays 2024: 4
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 7/20
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
You have this little village and you build it up. You shore up the meadows further out and out so you can place more sheep. And breed them and have more sheep. And sheep until you have ALL the sheep… maybe consider getting a horse to put in front of the cart so you can go and see the world outside of your village to trade a little? Or have a ship (expansion only) to trade for… wait for it: tea?
Why it is cozy?
* There is tea in it (sorry only with the expansion)
* You can watch the sheep breed (and cows and horses and of course you score only the type of animal you have the least of, it is not that cozy)
* There is always an action spot that does something nice for you.
* The switch between the seasons is just nice.
* The board may look daunting at first but once you‘ve settled in … you can drink your tea hot.
* It plays surprisingly quick if you ignore the setup/teardown phases but you prepare the table before your friend comes over, right?
Rank 3/20
|
|
| 21 |
|
Gloomhaven
↗
(2019)
46 plays · last played 11/10/23 |
1624 | 46 |
2026: Top 20 Heavy Games:
Still the best strategic dungeon crawler and really the only of these scenario campaign games I enjoy. The card play is just that good. If only setup and tear down did not exist.
Rank 5/34
|
|
| 22 |
|
Oranienburger Kanal
↗
(2023)
5 plays · last played 10/31/24 |
1616 | 40 |
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
If not for my recent dance with a much older Uwe Rosenberg game, this would be my new favorite. In theory it would play 2 people. But why would I. This has all the good stuff: different decks/expansions with various buildings that give you points or powers just like Nusfjord. A resource wheel like Glassroad and a beautiful spatial component like all the best Rosenberg games have but this one has route building (kind of) and that makes it unusual. The only thing missing is having to feed your routes and there is also no magical multiplication of anything… highly recommend.
Solo Plays 2024: 0
Ranking last year: 10 (🔻2)
Rank 9/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
Another one fresh off the boat. Besides the cover that I don't like this is a great game. It says 1-2 player on the box but I have NO intention ever playing this other than solo. I want to optimize and not clash with someone over the tight worker spots. This has a resource wheel (à la Glassroad), several Uwe-decks (à la Nusfjord), a spatial puzzle that is fresh and fun and very tight worker placement. The Industrialization theme does not speak to me at all but that just means this game is even better because I do usually care about theme (it is quite present, just not my thing). I haven't played this as much as I aspire to, despite playing fast, it is a "big game" to wrap my head around.
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 11/20
2026: Top 20 of My Euro:
The resource wheel and tight actions combined with a brilliant spatial puzzle. Uwe‘s Masterpiece
Rank 5/55
All my Rosenbergs, ranked:
Apparently my favorite. It has a very elegant solo, terrible art and combines a spatial puzzle with a tight action selection and resource management
Rank 1/11
|
|
| 23 |
|
The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
↗
(2021)
57 plays · last played 3/1/26 |
1613 | 54 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
Still my favorite trick taker. The only one I actually want to play. I own a whole bunch from the wave of recent years but this cooperative version is "it" for me at least. I prefer this with the dynamic puzzle goals over the original also this one introduced the two player mode. We started a new campaign during vacation and got till Mission 11 or so. I hope we keep it going. We downloaded a campaign sheet here from the BGG Files section that should make it easier to track where we are at. Good fun.
I prefer the 2 player mode over every other 2 player trick taker I tried (Awimbawe and Sail come to mind).
* Player Count: 2
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 51
* Rules Retention: We had to relearn the 2 player mode. Otherwise: it's a trick taker. One doesn't forget how to take tricks, right?
* Keeper: Definitely. I prefer this over the original, we keep both in the same box.
* Recommended: Anyone who enjoys trick-taking and puzzling out things cooperatively. It is usually a bit more obvious to figure out if a hand is winnable than with Take Time and you have a few more options. This plays well at two with the specific 2 player mode that has the captain simulate the 3rd player.
* Competition: Other Crew (franchise), Take Time (low communication puzzle), The Gang (low communication), various trick takers
Rank 41/60
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
Just play your cards right to get all the tricks to the people who need to take them.
Of course there are situations that are unsolvable. But those show themselves quickly usually and then you can try again. Solving one of those is quite satisfying.
Why it is cozy?
* Because it is THE cooperative trick taking game
* Trick taking is great but usually has high tension this one mitigates that through cooperation
* Trick taking is a comfortable childhood mechanism that reminds me of playing Skat with my grandma
* Endless variety and most people I know like the game so I don‘t need to work hard to convince them to play that makes it quite cozy.
Rank 19/20
Games to take on a trip:
Plays surprisingly well at two and can be packed pretty small, if you leave the box at home and use the digital scoring/campaign sheet.
Rank 4/32
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|
| 24 |
|
Let's Go! To Japan
↗
(2025)
13 plays · last played 8/24/26 |
1612 | 45 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
Simulating a week-long trip to Japan or rather to Tokyo and Kyoto has never been so cozy (depending on your definition of a cozy game, this has some complexity). I have only played it as a solo so far. It's a nice thematic set collection game with a good solo mode. A bit of a table hog. Set collection is not my most favorite mechanic but this may be my favorite game that is centered around it. It adds a good dose of combos that feel quite satisfying to pull off.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 8
* Rules Retention: Okay. The ones I forget are quickly relearned. I taught this game once from the rulebook and it took surprisingly long. There are quite a few details.
* Keeper: Yes. For now.
* Recommended: Anyone who wants to travel or has traveled to Japan and likes collecting sets of symbols.
* Competition: Floriferous (Set Collection)
---
This one should get to the table more because it's a very nice enjoyable set collection romp through Japan. The only but is that it has some setup details and such a huge table footprint that even playing solo I always feel like I am actually playing in Japan where table space is limited.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 7
* Rules Retention: Good. The round tracker is immensely helpful. I keep having to look up which number of additional cards I can take with a research token because despite being pictured on the token: 3 seems like a lot
* Keeper: Yes. It is a very good iteration on set collection that has a strong theme.
* Recommended: For anyone who has traveled or wants to travel to Japan and enjoys theming their days around one set of similar activities.
* Competition: Floriferous (Sets), Shinjuku (Sets + Theme), 7 Wonders (Sets, Simultaneous Play)
Rank 13/60
2026: Top 20 of My Euro:
Set collection finally made interesting. Cozy and relaxed. An immersive trip to Japan on your table.
Rank 12/55
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|
| 25 |
|
Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition
↗
(2021)
16 plays · last played 6/26/24 |
1611 | 29 | ||
| 26 |
|
The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth
↗
(2026)
7 plays · last played 9/27/26 |
1611 | 11 | ||
| 27 |
|
Nusfjord
↗
(2017)
13 plays · last played 1/28/26 |
1611 | 41 |
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#18
This was my first encounter with Uwe Rosenberg‘s worker placement solo modes since losing solo-Agricola more than a decade ago. This was also one of my first „big“ solo games that I wasn‘t two handing. Same as with many other entries to the list, I enjoy the variability that comes from using different decks that each shift the focus slightly and the different setups for the card markets do the rest. It is a very classic worker placement game though and I like having that on my table. Blocking yourself from worker spots by switching colors every turn and the fast snappy gameplay, makes this one a treat to play.
I have never played this multiplayer because after setup there are so many boards and it all looks so busy that people shy away from it that play far more complex games all the time.
And this isn‘t even my favorite big Uwe game
Rank 3/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
One of my very favorite Uwe Rosenberg games. Sadly, I wasn't fast enough to snatch the additional decks that were sold separately from the Big Box at some point. I only have the Salmon deck of those which I was able to acquire when it had just been published. The solo is over 7 rounds with 3 actions each. In this very limited amount of time you can build up your village and try for a variety of scoring strategies that really depend on which buildings are on display for this game.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 13
* Rules Retention: Good. Not sure if I would find it easy to teach. I once tried to get a table together and my friends flatout refused to play this?
* Keeper: Definitely. It's a very quick cozy solo with good replay value.
* Recommended: Anyone wanting to play a cozy farming / fishing game with moderately tight economy.
* Competition: Fields of Arle (Uwe farming), Oranienburger Kanal (Uwe action selection/workers)
Rank 37/60
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
So there‘s a fjord in Norway with those cute red houses and there are a bunch of old people that you need to feed fish to. So you go out fishing no matter the weather… and then you want a bigger ship just cut down those woods, who needs trees anyway? Why the bigger ship? Because the elders get hungry and if you are out in the fjord you can’t hear their complaints.
I admit I have only played this one solo, so maybe it shouldn‘t be on the list.
But of the Rosenberg worker placement / farming games I have, this one is definitely the most relaxed.
Also it is the only one without animal breeding.
Why it is cozy?
* Because you only play at going out in a fishing boat into the fjord
* Every building in every deck is unique and there is always an interesting combo to be had.
* Interaction is reduced to worker spot competition and who gets which buildings
* The economy is pretty relaxed, you can always do something.
* It is nice to see your village grow on your player board.
Rank 4/20
2026: Top 20 of My Euro:
Old people want fish in their plates. Make it happen. Among Uwe‘s finest
Rank 8/55
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|
| 28 |
|
Ark Nova
↗
(2022)
37 plays · last played 8/22/25 |
1604 | 45 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
I like the big stack of cards game style. This one also has the excellent action selection. It dropped because in direct comparison with Sanctuary the latter reflects my current play preferences more. I just don't have the bandwidth for the big games these days. I long for a return to them but 2025 was very low on plays compared to other years and especially my big heavy games suffered.
Solo Plays 2025: 9
Ranking last year: 7
Rank 15/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
I like games with big stacks of cards that I can combo into something beautiful. In this case a Zoo. This is only my second favorite game of this type (or third depending on what counts as a „big stack of cards“ game). And the solo is quick and elegantly managed. Due to the great variety of possible strategies this never gets boring.
Solo Plays 2024: 2
Ranking last year: 5 (🔻2)
Rank 14/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
I got late to Ark Nova because our friends managed to buy it before me and so it took me a year to finally get my own copy for solo-play. I just like big stacks of cards and continuously having to get rid of cards I can't play and pivoting to whatever strategy is available to me in the moment. I like the various strategies you can pursue while building up your zoo. I like the action selection (inherited) and surprisingly I like building a zoo. Nature games have really taken off in recent years especially in my collection... this one is here to stay both for solo and multiplayer.
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 16/20
Games that play well at two:
Zoo building game with a huge deck and an interesting action selection mechanism. As this game leads to thinking downtimes playing with more than two can sometimes be a lengthy process. In truth I think I prefer this solo. But if you want to melt your brain about birds, reptiles, and elephants, this is your game.
Rank 16/18
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|
| 29 |
|
A Gentle Rain
↗
(2024)
87 plays · last played 10/7/26 |
1604 | 39 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
When I first played this game, I didn't even recognize it as a game. Just an activity. But it has grown on me. Even more in 2026. It is one of the boxes I pull out when I need to return home after a long day in the home office part of home.
Solo Plays 2025: 12
Ranking last year: new entry
Rank 10/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I first saw this recommended on various solo gamers' lists. But it was OOP at the time and so when it reappeared I eagerly snatched a copy. Only to be very disappointed by the gameplay. Because there is almost no gameplay. Just put tiles together. It is more of a meditative exercise with a cup of tea than a game. But it has grown on me somehow. I now consider it an essential solo in my collection. It is a comforting game I play when I need to just get my thoughts together or away from something that carries over from my day at work. I do not rate it as high as some other games I have because it really is not much of a game-game. But it is so very satisfying to plop in the last flower.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 30
* Rules Retention: trivial. You can almost guess the rules from the tiles.
* Keeper: surprisingly yes.
* Recommended: as a meditative experience
* Competition: Tranquility the Ascent (feels), Harmonies (feels)
Rank 4/60
My Solo Games:
Is this a game? Love playing this so much. When nothing else works this is an exercise in concentration and meditation.
Rank 9/137
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|
| 30 |
|
Star Wars: Outer Rim
↗
(2019)
3 plays · last played 3/9/23 |
1603 | 13 |
Games that play well at two:
But only with the Unfinished Business expansion. This is a lovely adventure game that evokes all the best moments from the OG trilogy and possibly some of Clone Wars and Rebels. You get to fly the Millenium Falcon and do a Kessel Run if you play your cards right. Or force someone to gamble away their fortune to you ... assemble your crew and become the Pirate King of the Outer Rim. The basic playing mechanism is pick up and deliver and fights can be dicey with luck. We play this for its thematic charm...
Rank 13/18
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|
| 31 |
|
Endeavor: Deep Sea
↗
(2024)
4 plays · last played 2/13/26 |
1601 | 33 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I bought this on a recommendation after avoiding it despite the SdJ Kennerspiel win. In recent years Kennerspiel and me weren't always a good fit. Having seen pictures of the game also didn't entice me. But when I heard it had a solo and a cooperative mode and was about exploration more than anything, I decided it might be a good fit to play with my partner and it is. After 3 solos and one 2 player cooperative game, I think the competitive mode is probably where it is at. Solo could get boring. I think the goal and the problem cards don't have enough variety to make a real difference. And I think more sea tiles would also be good although how much variety can you have...
* Player Count: 1-2
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 4
* Rules Retention: Easy. After playing one game I was able to teach it without looking into the rulebook
* Keeper: For a while. I think it is better with 2 players than solo. Solo could get a boring optimization puzzle.
* Recommended: Anyone who wants to do some cozy exploring of the sea. Beyond 2 players it is probably not cozy especially in competitive mode. Just saying.
* Competition: SETI (exploration, action accumulation), Arnak (exploration), Underwater Cities (theme)
Rank 44/60
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|
| 32 |
|
Dune: Imperium
↗
(2021)
10 plays · last played 3/20/24 |
1600 | 44 |
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
I am surprised this came in so low. But that may be a function of how few plays I had with this compared to other games on this list. Still I really like the way this meshes worker placement with deck-building and the skirmishing. It‘s quite unique. Possibly, my still-on-going wait for Uprising might also have cost this one a few spots. I expected to have Uprising in my hands months ago but the translation took longer to arrive and then I had other acquisitions and Kickstarter Arrivals.
Solo Plays 2024: 3
Ranking last year: 8 (🔻10)
Rank 3/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
I just enjoy this one more than Arnak because of the theme. Also because the way the worker spots are so wildly different. It makes for far more exciting play with the skirmishes at the end. Where Arnak--and in my brain those 2 will always be compared--is mostly resource management and action chaining into longer rounds, this one is a bit more swingy and I kind of like that even in the solo, even when losing against the bot and even when the bot is harder to manage than in Arnak.
Ranking last year: 9 ( 🔺1)
Rank 13/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#9
I am a huge fan of all things Science Fiction. Not that big of a Dune nerd but along with the latest movie these are exciting additions to a great franchise.
As stated before I love deck builders and this one allows for a good variety of different combos and some good engine building. The Rise of Ix expansion fixes some of the boring worker spots and bolsters the deck, so I highly recommend that.
The solo plays against one of the other characters via a bot deck. There is an app for that but I find using the actual deck more intuitive.
I enjoy this very much and can‘t wait for the next expansion.
Rank 12/20
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
I have a hard time deciding between Dune:Imp and Arnak. However I vastly prefer Arnak at 2 players. I'd love to see Dune at 3 or 4 players.
It is a deck builder with a skirmish game and worker placement.
Rank 7/20
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|
| 33 |
|
Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated
↗
(2019)
14 plays · last played 12/24/24 |
1600 | 14 | ||
| 34 |
|
Casinopolis
↗
(2025)
37 plays · last played 10/5/26 |
1600 | 46 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
I also got this one late in the year. It is a stand-in for all my favorite *polis games (in order of enjoyment: Naturopolis, Sprawlopolis, Casinopolis ... Agropolis). I played quite a few games late in the year. It has very good changes from the formula that help keep it fresh.
Solo Plays 2025: 14
Rank Last year: new entry
Rank 7/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
This is the 4th entry into the Sprawlopolis franchise and the first one to do something really different with scoring and as such I adore it. 1. the three goals are ordered and weighted, 3rd one scores 3 times as much as 1st. 2. Jackpots -> consecutive symbols on streets give super-extra points. There are also only 3 terrains as opposed to the usual 4. Overall this makes the game much higher scoring than the 3 predecessors. But the fun puzzle remains and is changed sufficiently from the others to make it into its own game.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 21
* Rules Retention: Very good.
* Keeper: Definitely. I expect this to stay in rotation with the other Sprawl- and Naturo-
* Recommended: For fans of the *polis series or tiny solo tile-laying in general.
* Competition: Other polis games (franchise)
Rank 35/60
|
|
| 35 |
|
Bomb Busters
↗
(2024)
9 plays · last played 9/13/25 |
1596 | 44 | ||
| 36 |
|
Star Realms
↗
(2017)
11 plays · last played 12/26/21 |
1595 | 45 | ||
| 37 |
|
Blood on the Clocktower
↗
(2022)
4 plays · last played 9/12/26 |
1589 | 5 | ||
| 38 |
|
Imperium: Classics
↗
(2021)
10 plays · last played 10/19/24 |
1584 | 40 |
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#19
or Legends. I don‘t differentiate between the two.
It took me a game or two, to understand how the bots for the solo work. Bots—because each tribe/nation has their very own bot. Initially, I had a lot of trouble grokking this because the rulebook is not the best at explaining despite solo being the best way to play this. Would definitely not recommend playing with more than 2.
Once more love it for the variability of trying out different decks against each other. I very much enjoy how unique they all are. Setup is a bit of a hassle with all the different decks that need to be sorted and shuffled.
Rank 2/20
|
|
| 39 |
|
Recall
↗
(2025)
2 plays · last played 5/10/26 |
1583 | 20 | ||
| 40 |
|
Red Rising
↗
(2021)
23 plays · last played 4/19/26 |
1583 | 33 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
This is probably on the list because I am basing this list much more on actual plays than on "desire to play solos". I keep returning to this one as a solo--I would never play this multiplayer. It is a pretty big box but it is very nicely done and I have the little metal cubes and I enjoyed the books of the series I have read (first 3 or 4?) and the combos are just kind of fun to make.
Solo Plays 2025: 3
Ranking last year: new entry
Rank 13/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I really enjoyed the books, at least the first 3 or 4 until the stakes got too high for me to continue reading (also this happens when I read series that are still on-going, I forget to come back for the next book). In any case thought this looked like a nice game based on an IP I enjoyed. When I got it I mostly played solo and enjoyed myself a lot. I couldn't quite understand why a lot of people didn't really enjoy this game. Then I played the game multiplayer. And the changing game state between turns with just 2 players enraged my Mitspieler so badly that I decided to never play it multiplayer again. But for reasons I quite like this somewhat bloated iteration on the simple formula of Fantasy Realms. With the bot the changing game state also happens but minus the human competition it doesn't bother me at all and it turns into a fun and endlessly variable puzzle that has a bit more game to it than Fantasy Realms if only a bit.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 13
* Rules Retention: Decent. It is not hard to remember between games and wouldn't be difficult to teach. I have to look up the automa set up every time though. Just doesn't stick.
* Keeper: Definitely. Such beautiful cards and combos and known characters.
* Recommended: Fans of Red Rising who like a solo comboing experience. (I recommend the CE with the metal cubes, it just feels so nice)
* Competition: Fantasy Realms (hand curation), One Piece Nakama (IP based games with lots of characters)
Rank 45/60
My Favorite Covers:
This looks better on the actual box than flat on the web. I like how it represents the IP and the game.
Rank 19/50
My Solo Games:
Would not play this multiplayer. As a solo it is such a fun handbuilding game and so nice to handle the chunky metal cubes and beautiful cards
Rank 10/137
|
|
| 41 |
|
Underwater Cities
↗
(2021)
3 plays · last played 8/24/25 |
1583 | 21 | ||
| 42 |
|
Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon
↗
(2025)
1 play · last played 8/22/25 |
1582 | 25 | ||
| 43 |
|
7 Wonders Duel
↗
(2015)
13 plays · last played 4/29/24 |
1580 | 32 | ||
| 44 |
|
Pax Pamir: Second Edition
↗
(2020)
5 plays · last played 11/10/23 |
1579 | 35 |
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#16
I prefer playing this one multiplayer. But the card play is so compelling that despite having a dislike for the Wakhan bot, every once in a while I bring this to the table just to enjoy playing with the cards. In my opinion, Wakhan has too many edge cases. It gets a bit easier with practice but having to spend a lot of time figuring out the bot turn takes away from the solo fun, so I recommend playing multiple games to figure out if this is a solo for you. Despite Wakhan‘s shortcomings, this is such a good game, it made my Top 20.
Rank 5/20
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
Can't play this often but this one really needs 3+ players to shine.
Great card game with a map.
Rank 6/20
|
|
| 45 |
|
Codenames
↗
(2015)
25 plays · last played 12/15/22 |
1579 | 14 | ||
| 46 |
|
Grove: 9 card solitaire game
↗
(2021)
20 plays · last played 2/11/26 |
1576 | 40 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
I haven't even played the small games as much as I would like to. This is a tiny thinky dice puzzle that I enjoy occasionally. That it made the list is a sign, that I didn't get much gaming done.
Solo Plays 2025: 2
Ranking last year: new entry
Rank 18/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I never really played the predecessor (Orchard, I believe). I like this one fine. It is not as good a tile laying puzzle as Sprawlopolis but sufficiently different to keep it on my small games shelf. It also shares a bit of the "Oh I didn't spot the pattern" issue I have with A Gentle Rain when I am tired or cannot concentrate for other reasons. So it is a good gauge of my current stress level. It forces more concentration than a game like Sprawlopolis which I play by feeling my way through.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 19
* Rules Retention: Okay. Easy to learn. But I always miss a couple of details when I have not played in a while.
* Keeper: Unique in my collection and very small. But it does not have the same replay value as Sprawlopolis et al.
* Recommended: For fans of travelable solo puzzles with dice
* Competition: Sprawlopolis (overlapping tiles + goals), Limes (quick solo with cards)
Rank 24/60
|
|
| 47 |
|
Food Chain Island
↗
(2020)
43 plays · last played 10/2/26 |
1576 | 33 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
As a wallet game this one has very different considerations than the bigger games on this list. How often do I want to play this? How repetitive does it get? I played this one quite a few times in 2023. And continue to play it. It's fine and I am surprised it came in this hight, it wasn't like my list was short. But I tend to favor "fast to the table" over "big huge sprawling solo" at the moment.
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 4/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
At some point I thought this might become rote. But as I keep losing this year, I don't think it ever did. It's one of those "I have a short break and need to get my mind somewhere else" games like A Gentle Rain.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 38
* Rules Retention: Easy. Lay out the cards and follow the instructions on each card.
* Keeper: Yes. It's a good solo puzzle.
* Recommended: For solo puzzling.
* Competition: Fertig! (number sorting), Limes (square layout)
Rank 40/60
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|
| 48 |
|
Oath
↗
(2021)
11 plays · last played 8/8/24 |
1574 | 48 |
My Favorite Covers:
Kyle Ferrin at his best. The cover is a bit too much for my taste but the art inside this reflects well on that cover and makes me like it more. In this game art and game go so well together both are improved by it.
Rank 12/50
|
|
| 49 |
|
Tranquility: The Ascent
↗
(2024)
5 plays · last played 1/28/26 |
1573 | 18 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
As the name says this is a tranquil meditative number sorting into a neat mountain of squares with numbers on them. The variants make it a little less meditative. Especially the one with the bleating goats is not quite so tranquil. In any case, in the same vein as A Gentle Rain, I sometimes need games like this to help me focus and breathe.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 5 (feels like there should be a few more)
* Rules Retention: Not great. Easy ruleset. I just wish the rulebook was formatted a little different.
* Keeper: Sure. It's unique but I don't need the whole franchise. This one looks prettiest.
* Recommended: For fans of meditative number tiling.
* Competition: A Gentle Rain (feels), One Piece Nakama (numbers)
Rank 36/60
|
|
| 50 |
|
Dixit
↗
(2014)
6 plays · last played 5/12/22 |
1571 | 28 |
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
Look at that pair of ballet shoes and associate them with… work? Why did the others play the marionette, a bird in a cage and the sad clown? True story. I should post the picture if I can still find it somewhere. Also we‘ll never forget which card represents the Demon of the Fall (Opeth)
Why it is cozy?
* We play more as an activity rather than a game where we score
* Telling each other stories about the cards just feels nice
* The associations can get pretty weird
* It is really fun to play this with good friends figuring out how well you really know how the others think
* It never gets boring there are sooo many cards now
* It is so pretty
* It‘s been far too long since I played.
* Gotta collect them all, them expansions.
Rank 9/20
|
|
| 51 |
|
Take Time
↗
(2025)
7 plays · last played 9/12/26 |
1571 | 27 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
We played through the first chapter just fine. The strategy is pretty straightforward. But in chapter 2 there are new conditions that obviously make for more complex puzzles and after not seeing an obvious strategy my partner got too frustrated to continue. The randomness of the card distribution makes for an uneven difficulty for the same puzzle (like can happen with The Crew). At two players additional entropy is added as each player has to play 6 of the 12 cards but starts off knowing only 4 of them and picking up the remaining two only after having played 2!
Still, I think it is such a smart design, I can't wait to try it at the higher playercounts or with other players.
After seeing the SUSD video, I am even more excited to play this some more.
* Player Count: 2
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 8
* Rules Retention: Easy. There are not a lot of rules and they are easy to teach. Chapter specific rules are well explained
* Keeper: I wish.
* Recommended: For fans of The Mind, The Game and The Gang
* Competition: The Crew (limited communication, puzzles), The Gang (limited communication), Hana-Bi (developing an action based language)
Rank 12/60
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|
| 52 |
|
Robo Rally: 30th Anniversary
↗
(2024)
1 play · last played 3/23/25 |
1571 | 9 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
After our recent plays, I really want to see this back on the table.
Rank 8/20
|
|
| 53 |
|
One Piece Nakama: Friends & Enemies
↗
(2025)
15 plays · last played 5/16/26 |
1569 | 85 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
We spent most of 2025 catching up One Piece episodes... This is a lovely game both thematically as well as the puzzle it provides. I really like it solo, it is not overly long or complex just the right amount of stuff to do when I want to play a bit more than A Gentle Rain but not a big game.
Solo Plays 2025: 4
Ranking last year: new entry
Rank 11/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I got late to watching One Piece (still catching up as of writing this, we're around ep 960) and when I saw this game I couldn't resist. Most games that use the One Piece franchise have quite bad ratings, so this one is a pleasant surprise. It reminds me a lot of Tippi Toppi / Cahoots. There are 4 types of cards: player characters are the Straw Hat crew with a different powerup for each character. The friends are Allies of the strawhats in different "suits" losely associated with the biggest arcs of the show. Each friend has a number from 1 to 9 indicating their power level. Enemies have conditions you need to fulfill to finish them off and mixed in with the enemies a number of bosses that have some negative effect in addition to their condition. Just like with Cahoots you try to play the friend cards in such and such patterns to fulfill the conditions and play through the stack of enemies. It's nothing revolutionary but it feels thematic (and spoilery!) enough to bring this back to the table now and then. It's not a game I play 3 times in a row but one I look forward to playing again after finishing it.
I like this both as solo and with 2 players. We once tried it with a full set of 4 players and it became completely bogged down in AP.
* Player Count: 2
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 9
* Rules Retention: Good. Can also be taught easily.
* Keeper: Definitely.
* Recommended: fans of the anime who want a cozy 2 player or solo.
* Competition: Red Rising (lots of characters from IP), Tranquility: the Ascent (numbers), Cahoots (contract fulfillment, cooperative)
Rank 11/60
Maximum of Two Players:
The complexity rises with every player, it's really best at 2 or solo
Rank 1/32
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|
| 54 |
|
Voll verplant
↗
(2021)
15 plays · last played 1/24/26 |
1567 | 23 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
This is one of the few Roll & Writes I kept. I even have the Japan expansion block. The maps are all kind of interesting and the puzzle doesn't get old. Instead every time I play, I play at least 2 rounds of it. It's fine and I think I need a few 'fine' games that I can pull out for certain occasions.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 15
* Rules Retention: Good. Had to relearn the "special" cards. Teaching should be easy.
* Keeper: Yes. One of the better R&W games I have and with a total of 8 different maps there is enough variability.
* Recommended: If you like R&W games, this is a rather "classic" take.
* Competition: Next Station London (route flipping and writing), Welcome To (the Moon) (flip and write)
Rank 32/60
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|
| 55 |
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Winter Kingdom
↗
(2020)
1 play · last played 11/27/21 |
1566 | 8 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
A classic but in winter mode 🙂 I prefer this one over the original.
Rank 13/20
2026: Top 20 of My Euro:
The gamer version of one of the best classic Euros ever. Also Winter is just nice. Snow is so calming.
Rank 14/55
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|
| 56 |
|
Seasons
↗
(2012)
2 plays · last played 6/12/21 |
1562 | 7 | ||
| 57 |
|
Stationfall
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 5/1/23 |
1561 | 7 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
I've only had a single game of this that was more or less a demo game from the rulebook. It plays 1-9 players anything with 4+ players would be great.
Rank 4/25
|
|
| 58 |
|
Terra Mystica
↗
(2012)
3 plays · last played 10/16/14 |
1561 | 8 | ||
| 59 |
|
Beacon Patrol
↗
(2023)
31 plays · last played 3/8/26 |
1561 | 51 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
This dropped with the number of plays but I still like the tile laying and pace of the solo a lot.
Solo Plays 2025: 3
Ranking last year: 10
Rank 14/20
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
A recent recommendation I ordered as an afterthought and here it almost made the Top 10. Incredible little tile placement game with a very elegant mechanism. The day I got it I played it 4 times in a row and I couldn‘t quite believe it. This is really a whole lot of fun in very few components and a very compact box. Can‘t wait for the expansion.
Solo Plays 2024: 13
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 11/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
This is a fun quick tile laying game that produces satisfying North Sea landscapes and interesting decisions consistently. This works fine at all player counts and even at playercounts higher than the game actually allows. It gets a bit chaotic then but who cares. It is a game though not an activity. I wouldn't want to play without the expansion boats anymore. Their unique abilities changes up the game play to make each game a little bit different. But the game is already very good without the expansion and it is definitely not a "needed" one.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 24
* Rules Retention: Very good. Small ruleset. I have to look up each particular boat from the expansion
* Keeper: Unique take on solo tile laying makes this a keeper.
* Recommended: If you like Carcassonne but either wanted a solomode or something cooperative instead
* Competition: Cascadia (tiles), Carcassonne (square tiles, area building)
Rank 6/60
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
This is like Dorfromantik only on the sea. No wait, this is like reverse cooperative Carcasonne. No wait, this is like a … super nice cooperative tile laying puzzle with enough flexibility in the puzzle to make it challenging and give you fun decisions but not overwhelming you with an endless decision space.
Why it is cozy?
* Tile laying is cozy by definition. Whose? Mine.
* Cooperative games with low stakes are cozy
* It plays quickly and has almost no tear down or setup
* You build a nice landscape together
* The art is kind of cute in its own way.
Rank 10/20
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|
| 60 |
|
Evergreen
↗
(2022)
9 plays · last played 5/16/26 |
1559 | 34 |
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
While this was not new to me this year, I got in a few plays and it is so quick and so satisfying to grow your forest. I am a little surprised how high this came in on the list still. Maybe I just like trees. I also have the expansion and it makes a for a bit of variety but is not necessary to enjoy the game.
Solo Plays 2024: 2
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 8/20
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
Grow a forest, watch the sun, draft the right biomes to get the best trees.
Nobody likes the shadows.
Why it is cozy?
* Everyone has their own forest to grow
* Interaction is only in the drafting of the biome cards
* Watching trees grow is nice
* It is quite pretty
* The puzzliness is there but it is never overwhelming
* Definitely not boring
* Plays quickly and is easy to teach.
Rank 8/20
|
|
| 61 |
|
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – Trick-Taking Game ↗ (2026) | 1556 | 41 | ||
| 62 |
|
Roll for the Galaxy
↗
(2021)
13 plays · last played 3/5/24 |
1556 | 29 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
As opposed to RftG I would want to play this at a higher player count. Also dice.
Rank 18/20
|
|
| 63 |
|
Pandemic
↗
(2012)
9 plays · last played 11/10/14 |
1555 | 20 |
Games that play well at two:
Pandemic and most of its myriad iterations including and recommending to graduate to the Legacy edition if you enjoy the game. When we play this with two everyone gets to have 2 characters. The game that made cooperative games popular. And it is still good.
Rank 1/18
|
|
| 64 |
|
Calico
↗
(2020)
25 plays · last played 8/24/26 |
1554 | 22 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
I enjoyed this immensely when I first got it. But I have since figured out that the good fun brain burniness aside it feels more repetitive than some of my other favorite tile layers and so down it goes.
Ranking last year: 12 (🔻7 )
Rank 2/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#12
By far my favorite game involving cats and blankets. This is such a smooth brain burner puzzle. Reasonably fast setup, no need for a bot. This is a game I can play before breakfast or after lunch. I had not played in a while (I sold my German copy to replace it with the KS version from the Verdant KS) and I noticed how bad I got at this. But I have always played this fast rather than puzzling long for each tile. I‘d rather try again. And the more I play, the better I get. Lovely, if you like patterns, hex-tiles and puzzles.
Rank 9/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
This is the game that was published before Cascadia and was the cause that I initially dismissed Cascadia and now I end up always comparing the two. This is the more thinky game of the two but also with less variance play by play because I end up playing the same setup everytime because even with the most basic setup I barely ever manage to fulfill all 3 conditions and so I keep playing at that setup without changing it because I feel I am not ready to move to a more complex scenario. Not fulfilling the 3 conditions also feels unsatisfying. It seems like this puzzle might be just a bit too complex for me or my metric is bad.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 23
* Rules Retention: Very good. Can be taught easily.
* Keeper: I think yes? But it lost some of its appeal to Cascadia.
* Recommended: Fans of hex-tiles and/or cats.
* Competition: Cascadia (hex tiles)
Rank 9/60
|
|
| 65 |
|
Formosa Tea
↗
(2020)
1 play · last played 10/6/21 |
1553 | 8 |
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
A worker placement game about producing tea. Who would have thought to include that in a list of games for a rainy afternoon with tea? We actually did that a few years back on vacation when it rained so much we didn‘t want to leave the hotel, so we sat, watched the stormy sea and played the game.
Why it is cozy?
* It has tea. Lots of tea. (just imagine Keanu Reeves saying that as racks and racks of tea slide into view)
* It is really very pretty and the art feels cozy.
* Worker placement is slightly interactive.
* The production chain and contract fulfillment are not too complex to get going
(It‘s been a while since I played)
Rank 15/20
|
|
| 66 |
|
Puerto Banana ↗ (2024) | 1552 | 7 | ||
| 67 |
|
Agent Avenue ↗ (2024) | 1552 | 9 | ||
| 68 |
|
JinxO ↗ (2026) | 1552 | 7 | ||
| 69 |
|
YINSH
↗
(2003)
1 play · last played 1/19/07 |
1552 | 6 | ||
| 70 |
|
Sub Terra
↗
(2018)
7 plays · last played 7/28/25 |
1551 | 23 | ||
| 71 |
|
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth
↗
(2024)
1 play · last played 1/19/25 |
1548 | 5 | ||
| 72 |
|
Tetrarchia
↗
(2020)
10 plays · last played 9/29/24 |
1548 | 50 |
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
A somewhat recent acquisition. This was recommended to me as something of a „pocket pandemic“ and it is that in a lot of ways. It took me a couple of games to grok how to keep the barbarians from invading… my die seems prejudiced for invasions from the North though. I don‘t plan on ever playing this other than solo. I am still impressed how small one can get the formula.
Solo Plays 2024: 10
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 4/20
|
|
| 73 |
|
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
↗
(2015)
9 plays · last played 3/30/20 |
1547 | 6 | ||
| 74 |
|
Clank! Legacy 2: Acquisitions Incorporated – Darkest Magic
↗
(2024)
5 plays · last played 2/22/26 |
1547 | 15 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
We very much enjoyed the first Clank! Legacy and so getting this was a no-brainer. Then after 4 games at the start of 2025, our campaign stalled. The reasons:
* We had begun with 1 character each and it became obvious we should have been playing 2 handed each to experience the full story
* The game barely fits our table and setup takes a lot of time
* The games run long because the story aspects just take their time
* The competitive nature of the game and our shared desire to experience the best story clashed
So we decided to just pull the other 2 characters "up" and start playing 2-handed. I am well practiced playing multi-handed and despite my partner sometimes stating that this is my hobby more than his... "more" is the keyword here. He can do it just as well.
We were unable to do anything about the other aspects. Adding up the setup, character changes, game prep, playing and epilogue of the game we probably spent something like 6+ hours on the game on Sunday.
A typical Gloom-/Frosthaven scenario has nothing on this. It plays a lot faster. And that is saying something.
Nevertheless we enjoyed it including the rules-twist introduced in the 5th game that players of the campaign will surely remember.
Our inter-player conflict was also much reduced in this game and we both feel somewhat optimistic that we can now start playing this again regularly. Playing 2 handed helps with this aspect as well.
* Player Count: 2x2 (2-handed)
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 5 (we also played the first campaign)
* Rules Retention: It had been too long. The legacy rules needed a refresher. Base Clank! is easy to remember.
* Keeper: Yes.
* Recommended: Fans of the 1st Clank! Legacy, fans of legacy games in general, Clank! Fans. This is very good at combining the story telling aspect with the actual game and should leave you with a playable game like the first one did. But you need time and patience.
* Competition: Clank! Catacombs (franchise), Ticket 2 Ride Legacy (legacy, our other unfinished campaign), Gloomhaven (complex game with big setup)
Rank 50/60
|
|
| 75 |
|
Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends
↗
(2013)
18 plays · last played 3/10/23 |
1544 | 30 | ||
| 76 |
|
SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
↗
(2024)
4 plays · last played 8/9/26 |
1544 | 38 |
2026: Top 20 of My Euro:
Solo. Don’t play with 4! Use the expansion quick start. Beautiful space exploration puzzle
Rank 13/55
2026: Top 20 Heavy Games:
Gets easier with the shortened game and starting resources with the expansion
Rank 4/34
|
|
| 77 |
|
Wine Cellar
↗
(2025)
1 play · last played 5/24/25 |
1544 | 6 | ||
| 78 |
|
Wyrmspan
↗
(2024)
3 plays · last played 5/24/24 |
1542 | 25 | ||
| 79 |
|
Hanabi
↗
(2010)
6 plays · last played 9/13/25 |
1542 | 16 | ||
| 80 |
|
Lost Ruins of Arnak
↗
(2020)
14 plays · last played 7/26/24 |
1541 | 45 |
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
I know the reason this came in so high because I recently played all 6 scenarios in the campaign mode and so the immediate familiarity ranked this higher than a lot of other games. Also the scenarios are all excellent and one could easily play each single one outside of the campaign. As a bonus they kind of train you to become better at the gameplay in a way that is sure to spill over into multiplayer as well. And they force you to familiarize yourself with the different temples and maps. Really a great addition to an already great game. In theory I want to like Dune Imperium more but it seems the ranking engine threw out that theory…
Solo Plays 2024: 6
Ranking last year: 16 (🔺1)
Rank 6/20
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
It's a very neat and easily managed solo despite being an automa. And it is a very good game.
But still some of the novelty has worn off, so down it went.
Ranking last year: 10 (🔻6)
Rank 5/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#10
Yay, Top 10
I very much enjoy deck builders and the recent number of combinations with worker placement are such an interesting variant that I cannot seem to get enough of. It‘s really whichever one I played last that is better in my mind. This one has that mechanism we know from Terra Mystica (have not touched the new solo Automa or it might have made this list) where you try to drag out your turn for as long as possible. And so each of the 5 rounds gets longer and longer. The bot is easy to handle—I have yet to scale up the difficulty.
And I will very much only play with the expansion content because it makes the game more interesting to have a unique player power. But the expansion is not required, the game is great without it.
Rank 11/20
2026: Top 20 of My Euro:
Absolutley up there with the combination of deck building and worker placement and action chaining. Min & Elwen make it work.
Rank 9/55
|
|
| 81 |
|
Burgle Bros 2: The Casino Capers
↗
(2021)
2 plays · last played 12/20/21 |
1540 | 5 | ||
| 82 |
|
Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game
↗
(2024)
12 plays · last played 2/19/26 |
1540 | 54 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
Star Realms was a big favorite of ours for quite some time and this one comes with both a solo and a cooperative mode that provides a very good challenge while keeping the gameplay intact. And it comes with the lovely Mistborn theme which is really well done.
Solo Plays 2025: 7
Ranking last year: new entry
Rank 17/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
We played and lost 2 cooperative games of this against the "Lord Ruler". This is hard. It is harder with two it seems. The Lord Ruler forces a tough tempo on the deck building and it gets frustrating when you don't ever win. We decided we'll give ourselves a handicap of a couple of turns where the Lord Ruler will not draw a card initially and see if we learn to build our decks better. I have won the solo a couple of times but I have lost more. Still this is such a good iteration of random market deck building (a la Star Realms) and with such a good game arc that even losing is fun.
* Player Count: 2
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 10
* Rules Retention: Good. It's a deck builder.
* Keeper: Definitely. Good retention. There are a few details I had to reacquaint myself with after not having played in a while.
* Recommended: Fans of Star Realms and other random market deck builders. Probably fans of the Mistborn series. But it is not required to have read it to play this game--the theme stands well enough on its own. It may be easier to remember the rules, if you have read the series.
* Competition: Star Realms (deckbuilding), Clank! (deckbuilding)
Rank 42/60
All my Deck (and other) Building Games:
Great cooperative option in a Star Realms variant plus good thematic immersion
Rank 11/40
|
|
| 83 |
|
Maglev Metro
↗
(2021)
1 play · last played 3/8/23 |
1539 | 21 |
My Favorite Covers:
Something about this cover speaks to me. The contrast, the curving lines? The fonts? I cannot quite put words to it.
Rank 16/50
|
|
| 84 |
|
Iberia
↗
(2022)
2 plays · last played 8/3/25 |
1539 | 23 | ||
| 85 |
|
Scape Goat
↗
(2020)
9 plays · last played 10/16/21 |
1535 | 5 | ||
| 86 |
|
Trickarus ↗ (2026) | 1533 | 4 | ||
| 87 |
|
Hispania
↗
(2024)
4 plays · last played 1/16/26 |
1531 | 19 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
When I saw that Tetrarchia was getting a sequel of sorts, I had to back it. I enjoy both games quite a bit. I have not played either as anything but a solo. I feel they are too small and quick to play with more players. There are some significant changes from Tetrarchia and I think I will need to play both back to back to really appreciate the differences. Hispania may currently be the one I favor. I really like the roads setup as that varies gameplay even more than the random setup.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 4
* Rules Retention: Middling. I keep confusing it with Tetrarchia. Teaching it would be fine I guess. I have no intention to, really.
* Keeper: Yes, small box size is helping
* Recommended: If you want a pandemic-like in your smallbox collection and don't already have Tetrarchia. Or if you need a historical companion for Pandemic:Iberia
* Competition: Tetrarchia (franchise), Pandemic Iberia (thematic location, cooperative)
Rank 15/60
|
|
| 88 |
|
Radlands
↗
(2021)
3 plays · last played 10/26/21 |
1530 | 6 |
My Favorite Covers:
Another case of the outside representing the inside really well and I love the style... the white backdrop is what makes this for me.
Rank 38/50
|
|
| 89 |
|
Forest Shuffle
↗
(2023)
8 plays · last played 2/8/26 |
1530 | 15 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I only figured out recently that I had acquired the solomode for this with the latest expansion.
After a few initial 2 player sessions of this that I enjoyed, we had a couple at 6 players and that gets ugly fast. Especially when 4 of those players have played the game to death and know all the strategies and which cards to combo much better than you do.
As a solo--great solomode btw--this turns into a very cozy tree raising experience. I only played 1 solo so far but it gave me all the combos I wanted without the hassle of being angry at other players taking away my cards (I can't very well be angry at the automa taking them...)
Because I refuse to keep sorting the cards I am obviously playing with cards from all the expansions.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 6 (really? So few. Shows how little multiplayer I got to in recent years)
* Rules Retention: Good. It's all on the cards.
* Keeper: Definitely.
* Recommended: If you like building huge fiddly plateaus and don't mind the scoring-from-hell. No really, I recommend this. It's a good combotastic game that plays very well at 2 or 3 and now as a solo. But the scoring takes forever and I am sure I make mistakes every time.
* Competition: Arboretum (trees), Flourish (theme + tableau building), Artengarten ( ~theme + tags)
Rank 30/60
|
|
| 90 |
|
Nucleum
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 3/8/24 |
1529 | 20 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
I have only played this one solo. It has similarities to Brass B but seems easier to figure out a strategy and execute it.
This actually notes it would be best at 3 players.
Rank 14/25
|
|
| 91 |
|
Flourish
↗
(2021)
7 plays · last played 2/23/26 |
1529 | 21 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I had not played this in the last 5 years despite knowing that this is a very well done cozy solo drafting game or an alternative medium length game for a higher player count that provides an alternative to the ever present 7 Wonders for these plays. I prefer this over Floriferous not least because setup is so fast. Deal 12 cards to the bot. Deal 6 cards to yourself. Use any other scoring device than the provided (I really hate scoring wheelies) and play. Decisions are interesting because you just know that the cards you pass to the bot will come back to bite you. The game is quick, their is a pull between points now and points later. In just 3 rounds of 3 cards each and a final 3 card scoring round, the garden is finished and because it is fun, you can play a second game.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 7
* Rules Retention: 5 years later... relearning was quick. Scoring helper cards are nice. Should be an easy teach for the base game without variants.
* Keeper: As a solo yes. As a high player count easy drafting alternative: yes
* Recommended: As a cozy garden building solo or as a high player count (it plays up to 7!) drafting game that doesn't overwhelm
* Competition: Floriferous (plants + sets), 7 Wonders (drafting), Sushi Go (drafting)
Rank 51/60
|
|
| 92 |
|
Wine & Cheese
↗
(2026)
1 play · last played 6/11/26 |
1529 | 6 | ||
| 93 |
|
Flip 7
↗
(2025)
2 plays · last played 9/13/25 |
1528 | 14 | ||
| 94 |
|
Brass: Birmingham
↗
(2020)
1 play · last played 10/31/20 |
1527 | 17 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
This is not quite unplayed, but a single play at 2 players easily puts this on the list.
Train game meets tech tree during the industrial revolution. Needs 3+ players to shine I think. Best would be 4.
Rank 9/25
My Favorite Covers:
This is one of the lightest covers in this list and yet it is dark in the image and this contrasts so much with the dark colors of the game inside, it fascinates me. I think I do prefer the other Brass‘ cover with the top hat but I do not have that one
Rank 45/50
|
|
| 95 |
|
Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure
↗
(2017)
2 plays · last played 2/13/22 |
1527 | 11 | ||
| 96 |
|
Space Base
↗
(2019)
13 plays · last played 1/25/23 |
1526 | 29 |
Games that play well at two:
Surprisingly, this plays well at two. We have a house rule that we throw the dice one time between our turns to simulate additional players. This speeds up the game immensely.
Rank 7/18
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
Just roll the dice and see what you get. And you always get something. This is one of those games that will not let you go empty-handed.
Why it is cozy?
* Despite the dice rolling you always have cards in every one of the slots—unlike Machi Koro—you start with a full set.
* There is some satisfying engine building going on.
* You always get to do something on your turn
* You often get to do something on other players turns, now isn‘t that nice?
* It is kind of cute.
* Low tension, just roll some dice and drink some tea and laugh (don‘t cackle, not cozy) when your particularly built up spot is rolled by an opponent
* Interaction exists but in a rather passive way through the spots you build up to gain something during opponents turns.
* It plays fast. The end usually comes suddenly when one player crashes through the tipping point of points…
Rank 18/20
|
|
| 97 |
|
Cuba Libre
↗
(2022)
1 play · last played 11/27/23 |
1525 | 7 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
My one and only GMT / COIN game. I've tried solo-ing it 4 handed.
Play Cuba's history... really needs all 4 factions in play, so 4 players it is.
Should be quicker than Weimar at least
Rank 17/25
|
|
| 98 |
|
Leaving Earth
↗
(2016)
3 plays · last played 4/11/21 |
1524 | 29 |
My Favorite Covers:
Love the retro look of this cover. Convinced me to buy the game on a hunch. Glad we also love the game.
Rank 3/50
2026: Top 20 Heavy Games:
The most immersive version of excel ever made, if only my brain was capable of playing this more often.
Rank 7/34
|
|
| 99 |
|
ito
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 4/4/26 |
1524 | 8 | ||
| 100 |
|
On Mars
↗
(2020)
2 plays · last played 6/6/22 |
1523 | 29 |
My Favorite Covers:
The small image here does not do this cover justice. It is one of pieces of game art one might want to frame and put on a wall
Rank 17/50
|
|
| 101 |
|
Cubitos
↗
(2021)
5 plays · last played 11/16/25 |
1521 | 18 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
I would like to get the expansion at some point, it would make sense to play this dice-bag-builder race before that.
Rank 15/20
|
|
| 102 |
|
The Shipwreck Arcana
↗
(2019)
4 plays · last played 8/13/24 |
1521 | 12 | ||
| 103 |
|
Kanagawa
↗
(2016)
1 play · last played 2/23/20 |
1521 | 8 |
My Favorite Covers:
A beautiful game about beautiful paintings with this serene cover. I love when the cover tells me what playing the game feels like.
Rank 13/50
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
Collect your colors and your brushes and paint the most beautiful paintings.
Admittedly it has been a while but I remember playing this on exactly such ocassions with a cup of tea and talking to friends.
Why it is cozy?
* It is beautiful
* It is about beautiful art
* Bruno Cathala makes cozy games
* Pretty low interaction
(need to play again but it definitely fits here)
Rank 11/20
|
|
| 104 |
|
Dune ↗ (2019) | 1520 | 6 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
Classic war game about Dune.
Needs probably a whole afternoon or evening.
Plays best with 5 or 6 factions in play.
Rank 21/25
|
|
| 105 |
|
Ginkgopolis
↗
(2021)
2 plays · last played 5/18/21 |
1520 | 9 | ||
| 106 |
|
Caper: Europe
↗
(2022)
1 play · last played 4/7/22 |
1519 | 7 | ||
| 107 |
|
Hot Streak
↗
(2025)
6 plays · last played 9/12/26 |
1518 | 24 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
It's not a race game and no it's not for 4 players. It's a fun betting game that surprises with how engaging it is.
I got this as soon as it was available in Germany. I had people tell me how much fun it was for half a year... At my table however these "fun" games have a tendency to fall flat. My local Mitspieler are not usually the ones to jump up and down around the table and be super-engaged. I would never try Read-Set-Bet with them. Camel-Up was not as much fun as this one. Someone said: "This is the much better version of Camel-up" and people were laughing and shouting. We had sufficient entropy in our first games to ensure this. I have heard someone say that it might be best to pre-create a chaotic deck if people are playing for the first time to make sure a mascot walks backwards, a mascot swerves off the map.
* Player Count: 2-5
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 2
* Rules Retention: Easy. I just need to remember that the deck is always 18 cards.
* Keeper: Definitely. This game makes people shout and laugh.
* Recommended: Fans of having fun and people who sometimes need a dumb game to relax.
* Competition: Camel Up (betting), Kalimambo (silly racing)
Rank 46/60
Travel: Deppenausflug 2026:
Wetten auf Maskottchen, die hinfallen, rückwärts laufen oder sonst nicht wissen wo das Ziel ist
Rank 2/25
|
|
| 108 |
|
Architects of the West Kingdom
↗
(2018)
6 plays · last played 4/12/22 |
1518 | 31 | ||
| 109 |
|
Saltfjord
↗
(2024)
2 plays · last played 1/3/25 |
1517 | 17 | ||
| 110 |
|
Typewriter ↗ (2024) | 1516 | 9 | ||
| 111 |
|
Hitster: Wacken Open Air ↗ (2026) | 1516 | 8 | ||
| 112 |
|
7 Wonders
↗
(2010)
10 plays · last played 5/25/24 |
1516 | 22 | ||
| 113 |
|
Limes
↗
(2014)
8 plays · last played 2/25/26 |
1515 | 23 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I saw this one on a few solo geeklists and when it was available despite being an older game (2014 is older these days), I decided to give it a try. I haven't tried it at 2 only as a solo. You build up a square tableau of 16 cards which each have four distinct (much like Sprawlopolis but you can turn them in every direction) areas that can be water, tower, woods or fields. You get a bunch of workers you can place on the cards or move them around to get better scoring positions. Each worker scores the type of terrain they end up with. Plays fast, the scoring is unique among my tile laying solos, so far now it stays. It is not quite as addictive as some other small solos I have but this one can add a bit of variety every now and then and unless I start purging my small games, it is too inoffensive to get lost.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 7
* Rules Retention: Fine. Just need to revisit the scoring every time.
* Keeper: Probably. It's a small box and has some unique elements.
* Recommended: If you like Romans, squares and square romans as a solo puzzle. (It's fine)
* Competition: Fairy Trails (tile laying), A Gentle Rain (quick solo), Sprawlopolis (solo tile laying)
Rank 27/60
|
|
| 114 |
|
Cyclades: Legendary Edition ↗ (2025) | 1514 | 10 | ||
| 115 |
|
Concordia Venus
↗
(2018)
6 plays · last played 2/25/22 |
1514 | 45 | ||
| 116 |
|
Royal Visit
↗
(2021)
2 plays · last played 9/27/21 |
1513 | 7 | ||
| 117 |
|
Awimbawé
↗
(2023)
2 plays · last played 10/25/23 |
1511 | 5 | ||
| 118 |
|
Schadenfreude ↗ (2022) | 1510 | 5 |
Travel: Deppenausflug 2026:
Der Name sagt alles. Stichspiel mit einer Portion extra Gemeinheit
Rank 16/25
|
|
| 119 |
|
Landmarks
↗
(2024)
1 play · last played 10/4/24 |
1508 | 9 | ||
| 120 |
|
Zombicide: 2nd Edition ↗ (2021) | 1508 | 20 | ||
| 121 |
|
Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition
↗
(2019)
2 plays · last played 11/4/22 |
1507 | 31 |
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#5
So… this game… I have only played it once on a PBF and not even solo. It is sitting next to me on the table—the package arrived today. But I made the ranking with the expectation how much I want to play this and how good I expect the solo to be from others who have stated that it is. The card play is extremely compelling and I cannot wait to try this right after I have finished this list (I may not publish the list until after I have finished the game… or maybe I will). I am 100% sure the solo is great so #5 it is. (Not using pubmeeple it would have been in honorable mentions I guess, but pubmeeple is fun to find out things about how much you like or not like some games)
Rank 16/20
|
|
| 122 |
|
Top Ten
↗
(2021)
5 plays · last played 11/3/23 |
1507 | 22 | ||
| 123 |
|
Fishing ↗ (2024) | 1506 | 7 | ||
| 124 |
|
Inis
↗
(2019)
3 plays · last played 1/15/20 |
1505 | 9 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
I've only played a few 2 player games a while back and I would love to see how this turns out at higher player counts.
Rank 11/20
My Favorite Covers:
I didn't like the old cover at all. I am so glad I got this box because I was late to the party. And now I am storing the game in the expansion box which is also quite pretty
Rank 2/50
|
|
| 125 |
|
Railroad Ink Challenge: Lush Green Edition
↗
(2021)
60 plays · last played 9/8/24 |
1504 | 34 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
This used to be my favorite R&W game and still is. Had I actually done this list at the end of 2023 it might have ranked a little higher.
Ranking last year: 15 (🔻5 )
Rank 1/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#15
With the „Challenge“ mode this route building roll & write became that much better. I dislike a little how messy my drawings tend to become and so I play more on the app than on the table. But this is great fun either way. I love route building in general and this does all that in such a great format. Since playing this and to this day this is my favorite roll & write and the only one that has a secure place in my collection. There are others I enjoy occasionally. But this one is the most satisfying of all of them by far.
Rank 6/20
|
|
| 126 |
|
The Mind
↗
(2022)
2 plays · last played 3/24/26 |
1504 | 9 | ||
| 127 |
|
Firefly: The Game – 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition
↗
(2024)
2 plays · last played 3/21/26 |
1503 | 15 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
Gigant space exploration that would really require rewatching the show before playing.
Probably best for a whole Saturday or Sunday.
Preferably with 3+ players. Apparently plays up to 10 ? Probably takes a week to play then.
Rank 7/25
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
As a fan of both the original show and space exploration games, when this went to crowdfunding I had to get it after initially dismissing it as "yet another badly implemented media franchise game". But it came with recommendations from other fans of the space exploration genre and so I bought the Firefly-coffin-box. This was actually the first full play after receiving it a good while ago. I had always planned to play this with a specific group of fellow Firefly fans but this play never materialized and so I made do with a 2 player session instead. We played without any of the expansions. The similarities to Star Wars: Outer Rim (especially with the expansion) are unmissable and that game and Xia are definitely the biggest competition for Firefly. We enjoyed our session and it renewed my hopes of getting it to the table at 4 players sometime soon.
As much as I like these space exploration games, they are all similarish concerning the gameplay and have pretty big rulesets for what amounts to very light games. There is more story-telling in these games than fascinating gameplay mechanics and that needs to be taken into account when deciding if this is a game you need to play/own. I usually avoid story-driven games but Firefly somehow manages. But it lacks the puzzly bits I enjoy most about boardgames. Definitely an outlier in my collection.
The thing I like least about this game is that once again the box is bigger than it strictly had to be. Yes, the playmat is nice and the box dimensions certainly have to do with this. But this thing eats table and shelf space as if it didn't matter (space is big!). And the big plastic could certainly have been made with less air remaining inside. This definitely costs the rating a
* Player Count: 2
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 1
* Rules Retention: Okay-ish. I am using Roger's consolidated rulebook. But because there is quite a lot, relearning takes time. Teaching is not difficult after a rules-refresh.
* Keeper: Definitely. I like the Franchise too much. I just wish they had somehow made it all fit into a box half the size.
* Recommended: For fans of the show or space exploration with a lot of table and shelf space and a tolerance for plastic inserts.
* Competition: Outer Rim (IP based space exploration), Xia (space exploration)
Rank 8/60
|
|
| 128 |
|
Dune: Imperium – Uprising
↗
(2023)
2 plays · last played 5/28/25 |
1502 | 4 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
Another one that I enjoy a lot on principle but is too heavy for me these days to get to the table. I just cannot find the time to put these games on the table. I am hoping that with the end of 2026 looming (when I am actually writing this) I can find time for Dune again.
Solo Plays 2025: 2
Ranking last year: (17, it replaces Dune Imperium)
Rank 16/20
|
|
| 129 |
|
For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game
↗
(2025)
2 plays · last played 1/8/25 |
1502 | 18 | ||
| 130 |
|
Weimar: The Fight for Democracy ↗ (2023) | 1500 | 13 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
4 asymmetric factions try to do better than history.
Needs 4 players and probably half an afternoon to learn the game and then the rest of the day to play.
Rank 16/25
|
|
| 131 |
|
Patchwork
↗
(2024)
2 plays · last played 10/12/24 |
1500 | 22 | ||
| 132 |
|
Pandemic Legacy: Season 2
↗
(2017)
17 plays · last played 1/16/22 |
1499 | 5 | ||
| 133 |
|
Wingspan
↗
(2019)
17 plays · last played 8/15/25 |
1499 | 36 |
Games that play well at two:
A bird habitat builder. I recommend staying away from the expansions for a good long while. The base game has more than enough birds to keep the game interesting for a while and the combo-ing gets far more difficult with more cards.
Rank 8/18
|
|
| 134 |
|
Azul: Queen's Garden
↗
(2021)
3 plays · last played 3/23/24 |
1497 | 8 |
Maximum of Two Players:
This is AP prone and with more than 2 players it will take forever
Rank 13/32
|
|
| 135 |
|
Yamataï ↗ (2017) | 1495 | 8 | ||
| 136 |
|
Frosted Blooms
↗
(2026)
4 plays · last played 6/13/26 |
1494 | 15 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I bought this blind because of the cover (I like tulips and never bought any of the other tulip games like Windmill Valley, Gift of Tulips or Tulpenfieber) and only later noticed that it was a polyominoes games (a very favorite mechanism) by one of my favorite designers (Bruno Cathala).
The game is very beautiful with very pretty glittering tiles and very nice chunky wooden pieces for the improvements.
The solomode is elegant to handle, one of the more unique ones I have seen with the cards themselves creating an analog to the landscape the player is building. If I was only to rate how well the solomode was done this would easily be a 10/10 game.
But... it is too short. 10 turns is probably great for a quick multiplayer à la Kingdomino. With games like this I am looking for just a bit longer experience. Cascadia's solo has 20 turns. Harmonies has a variable length but probably takes ~15 turns. Even Sprawlopolis which has just 19 cards has 15 turns to play.
The landscape you build is not very satisfying, the game mainly asks you to try and build improvements and it is not very satisfying to me to build a landscape full of holes which is where the improvements are placed. This may be personal preference and YMMV. Anyhow games like Cascadia, Harmonies or Planet Unknown provide a more satisfying final result on the table. If this were any less pretty I would quickly let it go. As such I am shallow and it will get more chances and possibly improve my opinion through multiplayer.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 3
* Rules Retention: Easy. Very simple ruleset built on good iconography and well-known mechanisms.
* Keeper: Probably.
* Recommended: Fans of really quick tile-laying games. The polyominoes are less "dominant" and satisfying than in other games.
* Competition: Tipperary (polyominoes), Kingdomino (quick tile laying), Patchwork (polyominoes), Planet Unknown (polyominoes), Cascadia (landscapes)
Rank 60/60
|
|
| 137 |
|
Die Macher
↗
(2019)
1 play · last played 3/14/98 |
1494 | 6 | ||
| 138 |
|
A Feast for Odin
↗
(2016)
9 plays · last played 10/22/22 |
1493 | 60 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
Which Uwe games I play, changes every year and so the best ranking comparison would be with last year's Nusfjord. I tend to rank the most recently played games higher (obviously?).
(Big-Rosenberg-Game) Ranking last year: 18 (🔺4)
Rank 7/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#13
Now that I have tried it I will only play solo with the expansion. I would generally only play with the expansion but I have recently played on BGA with a friend and BGA does not have the expansion. So…
This has the same solo style as Nusfjord where you switch between 2 player colors blocking some spaces for yourself each turn. I have come to enjoy Feast more than Nusfjord because the variety of strategies is greater (some people say this game is a bit of a sandbox and maybe they are right) and because I really like all games with „tetris“ tiles (other people call them polyominoes). And this is not the last one on the list.
Rank 8/20
Games that play well at two:
The hugest worker placement game with polyominoes that exists. Once you get over the realization that the number of worker spots is smaller than it seems (because in each row the spots are mostly the same) and when you add the expansion this is a really great game.
Rank 17/18
|
|
| 139 |
|
Wonderland's War
↗
(2024)
1 play · last played 7/26/22 |
1491 | 19 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
I haven't played this since getting the new super deluxe edition 🙂
It's a bag building push your luck game that is a bit like Quacksalber except Alice in Wonderland themed with battles for castles instead of cooking up potions.
Rank 8/25
My Favorite Covers:
This is a case of just perfectly matching my color palette and the great art inside the box makes me like the cover even more--because the inside art matches this just so well.
Rank 4/50
|
|
| 140 |
|
The Quest for El Dorado
↗
(2021)
3 plays · last played 9/24/20 |
1491 | 10 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
The combo of race and deck building is just good. And now that I got the pretty new edition...
Rank 12/20
All my Deck (and other) Building Games:
My favorite (and only?) fixed market deckbuilder and all the expansions
Rank 10/40
|
|
| 141 |
|
Factory Funner
↗
(2022)
18 plays · last played 6/7/26 |
1490 | 35 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
I like route building a lot and this one is definitely one of the better ones. But this year a new entry to the list caused this one to drop quite a few spots.
Ranking last year: 7 ( 🔻6)
Rank 8/20
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#7
Another puzzle game and more route building. The multiplayer has a real time aspect that is not part of the solo. In the solo you have a fixed stack of machines you draw from each turn and that you either play or don’t.
Every time I play, I play multiple rounds because it is so compelling to connect these machines in the best possible way.
The solo is really quick to play and I have yet to move on from the easy A side boards because I only win every other game of this.
Rank 14/20
|
|
| 142 |
|
Sagani
↗
(2020)
21 plays · last played 1/22/26 |
1490 | 28 |
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#14
Apparently, this game has a multiplayer mode. I have never played that. This is a quick little game of tile laying but with very little setup and no need to have a bot. Just a fun puzzle that stays tense until the final tile is placed. I have only played the „short“ game so far. Because that‘s what it is for. A quick diversion. I don‘t think this would be fun in multiplayer as it lends itself to optimizing tile placement and I think I would get impatient for the AP-prone players to get anywhere.
Rank 7/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I preferably play the short solo game. It's a spatial puzzle that is very abstract but for such puzzles I don't mind abstract. Sometimes theme can interfere. Here it does not. It can be very random which tiles come up but in a solo that is not a problem for me. There are interesting decisions in this tile laying and the short game is fairly quick to set up and play. The box as so often could be half the size ...
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 21
* Rules Retention: Very good.
* Keeper: Yes. Just my kind of spatial solo puzzle
* Recommended: if you enjoy abstract spatial puzzles and patterns. I would not recommend this for multiplayer just as a solo.
* Competition: A Gentle Rain (pattern spotting)
Rank 28/60
|
|
| 143 |
|
Tussie Mussie
↗
(2019)
1 play · last played 6/1/21 |
1490 | 16 | ||
| 144 |
|
Sea Salt & Paper
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 10/21/23 |
1490 | 16 |
Travel: Griechenland:
Fitting theme for the trip and haven’t played with the expansions yet
Rank 9/17
|
|
| 145 |
|
Newsboys
↗
(2023)
5 plays · last played 7/23/26 |
1488 | 19 | ||
| 146 |
|
Res Arcana
↗
(2021)
3 plays · last played 12/31/21 |
1488 | 9 | ||
| 147 |
|
SCOUT
↗
(2021)
1 play · last played 11/19/22 |
1487 | 7 | ||
| 148 |
|
Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road
↗
(2020)
2 plays · last played 12/5/20 |
1487 | 20 |
My Favorite Covers:
Another game that I may possibly be keeping because of the great cover--which is even nicer iRL. (Though the action selection is great, too) I like the unusual color scheme here.
Rank 23/50
|
|
| 149 |
|
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza ↗ (2025) | 1485 | 13 | ||
| 150 |
|
51st State: Ultimate Edition
↗
(2023)
9 plays · last played 1/17/25 |
1485 | 25 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
After hearing Zee Garcia go on about this for a good while on so many different Top10/0s... I went for the Ultimate Edition crowdfunding campaign. I played this immediately when I received it... 5 times and enjoyed it but for some weird reason haven't touched it since. It might be that against my expectations the dark theming loses out against nature themed and more shiny SF settings? Possibly, the ruleset feels like it might have bad retention and so I hesitate to go back to it with so many games available to me where I just know all the rules.
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 10/20
|
|
| 151 |
|
Red7
↗
(2015)
1 play · last played 10/24/15 |
1484 | 3 | ||
| 152 |
|
Yokai Septet ↗ (2024) | 1483 | 5 | ||
| 153 |
|
Escape: The Curse of the Temple – Big Box 2nd Edition
↗
(2017)
2 plays · last played 11/9/23 |
1482 | 7 | ||
| 154 |
|
Faiyum
↗
(2020)
1 play · last played 12/2/20 |
1482 | 28 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
Deck-building in an orderly fashion while building up settlements in the nile delta. Beware the crocodiles!
Rank 22/25
|
|
| 155 |
|
Bandida
↗
(2020)
9 plays · last played 5/20/26 |
1482 | 36 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I have yet to figure out how to win this. I thought I won once but I had made a mistake. In this game you try to close off all the escape routes of the Bandida with deadends or circular routes. I have tried it a bunch and I think this is not meant to be played solo. In multiplayer there are definitely more cards in play and the rules do not forbid you from discussion as much as some other games, so my thoughts are that with maybe 3 players there are 9 cards in the hands of those players and one might say: let me handle this corner... and so make it more likely that routes can be closed through circles because there just aren't enough deadend cards and too many cards just opening new crossings. As a solo this seems incredibly difficult. In other games like One Piece Nakama the solo player gets more cards in hand to counteract this effect. I might houserule that. Or actually try multiplayer. The game is super-simple and the concept of closing of the routes is unique in my collection and rather fun--just very frustrating up to now.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 6
* Rules Retention: Easy. I need to learn the symbols on the cards with the items better.
* Keeper: At least until I figure out how to win the solo, possibly longer.
* Recommended: Fans of route building via tile laying
* Competition: Trailblazers (routes, tiles), Fairy Trails (routes, tiles)
Rank 59/60
|
|
| 156 |
|
Everdell Farshore
↗
(2023)
2 plays · last played 10/13/24 |
1481 | 30 |
Yashima‘s 2024 Top 20 Solo Games:
Inching in on last place, as I have only just acquired this iteration. I sold my Big Box of Everything Everdell and acquired this much smaller less overwhelming box. I have found the changes to my liking and have a feeling this will see more solo play now.
Solo Plays 2024: 2
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 1/20
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
This is the current iteration of Everdell that I own. But this goes for both versions.
Build a village filled with cute buildings for cute critters who live there.
Why it is cozy?
* You build up your own tableau.
* There is a little bit of satisfying combo-ing going on but since Farshore reduced the luck factor this makes it more cozy than the OG in this aspect.
* Interaction is mostly reduced to worker spot competition and card drafting and actually in Farshore there is even less competition as there are more spots that allow for more workers and the ones in your tableau are no longer open to other players. And the market can now hold stacks of multiple copies of cards…
* It is just sooo cute and pretty.
* The little resources are also cute. I like the pink berries from the base game the best. I miss those in Farshore
* You will almost always fill up your tableau. It is rather the question if you fill it up too early and have nothing to do (Farshore also mitigates that)
* You end up with something you built and that is really quite satisfying and also tells a little story about the type of village you built.
Rank 5/20
2026: Top 20 of My Euro:
Prefer this over OG, has some excellent improvements without added complexity of expansions.
Rank 17/55
|
|
| 157 |
|
Cryptid
↗
(2018)
6 plays · last played 5/22/24 |
1481 | 17 |
My Favorite Covers:
I don‘t think this is pretty but the cover is just so well designed I cannot help but admire it.
Rank 34/50
|
|
| 158 |
|
IKI ↗ (2022) | 1480 | 5 | ||
| 159 |
|
Tesseract
↗
(2024)
2 plays · last played 1/22/26 |
1480 | 10 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
Someone in this house likes dice and games with dice. So I keep buying games in order to entice them to the table. This one is special because you build a big meta-die from the smaller dice and then you deconstruct it. But beyond the gimmick it's basically a cooperative set collection game in the pandemic tradition. Do 3 actions from a limited set, have the game create problems, if the problems add up march the explosion marker along it's track. Collect all the sets before the explosion marker hits the limit. I prefer actual pandemic on the map. Have yet to get the dice fan to play this with me--possibly because I find this less than interesting. But I had forgotten that when I returned it to the table after not a year.
This is probably better with actual 2 players or more. As a solo you simply play two handed.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 2
* Rules Retention: Probably okay. The rules can be relearned easily enough. I could also easily teach this but there are some fiddly parts I would probably forget to explain.
* Keeper: Not really. Unless multiplayer happens and turns out good.
* Recommended: If you really really like dice or pandemic-likes a lot. But beware the gimmick. It does nothing to make the decisions of the game more interesting.
* Competition: Cubitos (dice), Grove (dice), Mythical Dice (dice), Pandemic et al (classic cooperative)
Rank 29/60
|
|
| 160 |
|
So Clover!
↗
(2021)
8 plays · last played 4/19/25 |
1479 | 30 | ||
| 161 |
|
Babylonia
↗
(2019)
1 play · last played 3/16/21 |
1479 | 8 | ||
| 162 |
|
Atlantis Rising (Second Edition)
↗
(2021)
1 play · last played 8/15/21 |
1479 | 9 | ||
| 163 |
|
Nekojima
↗
(2024)
3 plays · last played 9/22/24 |
1478 | 25 | ||
| 164 |
|
Food Chain Magnate ↗ (2019) | 1477 | 5 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
Splotter Spellen.
Difficult to get into as far as I know. Not because of the rules but because initial strategy is hard to figure out.
Be prepared to lose because of a dumb decision from turn 1 or 2.
Rank 15/25
|
|
| 165 |
|
Sail
↗
(2023)
2 plays · last played 1/15/24 |
1476 | 5 | ||
| 166 |
|
The LOOP
↗
(2021)
2 plays · last played 11/6/21 |
1476 | 40 | ||
| 167 |
|
Rebel Princess: 2nd Edition
↗
(2024)
1 play · last played 8/28/24 |
1475 | 7 | ||
| 168 |
|
Paperback: 10th Anniversary Edition ↗ (2024) | 1474 | 15 | ||
| 169 |
|
Miyabi
↗
(2019)
1 play · last played 3/27/20 |
1473 | 4 |
Games that play well at two:
A surprising tile laying-and-stacking game with polyominoes in which you build your garden but you can only place in each column once per round so be careful with the tile drafting or you'll be left with a bad tile.
Rank 9/18
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
I want this game on the list. This is a pretty little game about building your garden with stacking tiles and placing them just so.
I wish I had played this more. But building up a garden by stacking tiles is just a nice setup for a cozy game.
Why it is cozy?
* First the theme of course. Building up your garden feels good.
* Everyone plays their own playerboard, interaction is reduced to the drafting and some majorities
* Building something is alway satisfying
* I seem to remember the action selection was interesting but not overwhelming
* I just like tile placement games. Tile placement is cozy.
Rank 14/20
|
|
| 170 |
|
Conspiracy: Abyss Universe ↗ (2019) | 1472 | 10 | ||
| 171 |
|
Ghost Stories
↗
(2008)
1 play · last played 9/13/20 |
1472 | 19 | ||
| 172 |
|
Confusing Lands
↗
(2026)
6 plays · last played 10/7/26 |
1471 | 41 | ||
| 173 |
|
Race for the Galaxy
↗
(2018)
19 plays · last played 7/1/26 |
1471 | 40 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
It's a classic now, isn't it? Other games have copied the action selection and the paying everything with cards thing. (I am looking at you Ares Expedition).
I am not very good at this these days but at some point I played the app back to back to back all the time. It can get quite addictive. The actual cardboard version wasn't available in Germany for quite a long time and now that I have the German version, I wish I didn't because not all expansions are available ... in any case: a good game but not one I am in the mood for all the time.
* Player Count: 1 (app)
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 16 (I play mostly on the app and at one point I played this addictively, it's probably more like 80-100 plays)
* Rules Retention: The app does it for me. Once one understands the action selection and that planets and projects are paid for with cards it is easy to understand.
* Keeper: Definitely, I still hope to play this more on the table eventually. But the app opponent is a decent enough stand-in.
* Recommended: Space Empire builders who like paying for stuff with cards (not credit cards though)
* Competition: Ares Expedition (RftG is a clear inspiration for this one)
Rank 39/60
|
|
| 174 |
|
Moonrakers
↗
(2020)
2 plays · last played 1/11/21 |
1471 | 11 | ||
| 175 |
|
Bohnanza: 25th Anniversary Edition
↗
(2022)
3 plays · last played 1/1/23 |
1470 | 19 | ||
| 176 |
|
A Fake Artist Goes to New York
↗
(2017)
2 plays · last played 5/12/22 |
1470 | 8 | ||
| 177 |
|
Pulitzer ↗ (2025) | 1470 | 5 | ||
| 178 |
|
Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector's Edition
↗
(2022)
1 play · last played 9/14/23 |
1469 | 25 | ||
| 179 |
|
Welcome to the Moon
↗
(2021)
8 plays · last played 5/20/25 |
1469 | 34 | ||
| 180 |
|
Jekyll vs. Hyde ↗ (2021) | 1469 | 10 | ||
| 181 |
|
Cabo ↗ (2016) | 1467 | 2 | ||
| 182 |
|
The Guild of Merchant Explorers
↗
(2023)
Previously owned
27 plays · last played 1/8/26 |
1466 | 2 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
I only play this on BGA now. Because the box had so much air in it I did not want it on my shelves. It is not a bad game. I just wish it game in a box fitting with both the size of the materials as well as the type of game.
Solo Plays 2025: 15
Ranking last year: new entry
Rank 20/20
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
A big square box filled with lots of air. This is basically a very fancy Roll & Write. If it had been in a way smaller box I might have kept it. The game itself is not half bad and since giving away my copy I have played more games of it on BGA than I ever played on my physical copy. For a Roll & Write it would be one of the better ones I have played. But instead you put down fiddly tokens... even if it was not available on BGA anymore, I wouldn't miss it. There are enough Roll & Write games around as it is. But since I know the rules and the BGA implementation is pretty good at automating the game, I keep returning to it every once in a while.
* Player Count: 1 (BGA)
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 27
* Rules Retention: Easy enough. The map specific ones need looking up though.
* Keeper: No. I gave it away.
* Recommended: Play on BGA if you are interested. If you like puzzly R&W games, this might be for you.
* Competition: Voll verplant (route building), Kingdom Builder (variable actions, route building)
Rank 7/60
|
|
| 183 |
|
Jaipur
↗
(2019)
1 play · last played 10/20/12 |
1465 | 11 | ||
| 184 |
|
Tamashii: Chronicle of Ascend
↗
(2023)
5 plays · last played 6/24/24 |
1463 | 10 | ||
| 185 |
|
Regicide
↗
(2023)
12 plays · last played 9/30/22 |
1462 | 47 | ||
| 186 |
|
Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 1/14/24 |
1462 | 17 | ||
| 187 |
|
Alchemists
↗
(2014)
4 plays · last played 3/23/19 |
1460 | 4 | ||
| 188 |
|
Mysterium Park
↗
(2020)
1 play · last played 7/15/21 |
1460 | 11 | ||
| 189 |
|
Codenames: Duet
↗
(2017)
3 plays · last played 3/6/22 |
1460 | 17 | ||
| 190 |
|
Nidavellir
↗
(2020)
5 plays · last played 5/7/21 |
1460 | 6 | ||
| 191 |
|
Roll Camera!: The Filmmaking Board Game
↗
(2021)
2 plays · last played 10/15/22 |
1458 | 24 | ||
| 192 |
|
Compile: Main 1 ↗ (2025) | 1458 | 13 | ||
| 193 |
|
That's Not a Hat: Pop Culture
↗
(2024)
2 plays · last played 1/1/24 |
1457 | 7 | ||
| 194 |
|
DroPolter
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 4/19/25 |
1456 | 3 | ||
| 195 |
|
Lacuna
↗
(2023)
2 plays · last played 7/21/24 |
1456 | 17 |
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
A two player experience. Spill the pretty flower tokens on the black cloth and begin setting up your pairs.
If you tend to AP this is not a game for you to feel cozy. But just let go. Follow the flow… because this game is all about that flow. Just try it for once. Don‘t think, just play… well until the last move anyway.
Why it is cozy?
* Shaking the flowers onto the cloth is cute
* The little metall playing figures make a satisfying plunk as you place them just so.
* The game plays so quickly, you just want to have another go.
* Cute, pretty little game with low stakes. Just get the majority of the majority of the flowers, it‘s not that hard, just place your tokens here here here here and here. 5 moves. Done.
Rank 12/20
|
|
| 196 |
|
Black Angel
↗
(2019)
4 plays · last played 1/11/20 |
1455 | 14 | ||
| 197 |
|
Hansa Teutonica: Big Box
↗
(2020)
1 play · last played 3/14/21 |
1455 | 7 | ||
| 198 |
|
Paperback Adventures
↗
(2022)
2 plays · last played 12/26/22 |
1454 | 3 | ||
| 199 |
|
Point City
↗
(2023)
3 plays · last played 7/1/26 |
1453 | 12 | ||
| 200 |
|
Legacy of Yu
↗
(2023)
4 plays · last played 7/5/23 |
1453 | 19 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
Solo campaign game by Shem Philips that probably pushed Viscounts from the list and Paladins even from consideration. I like this one though it seems in theory more than in actual plays because a year later I still have not finished the first campaign (which I will fix sometime soon, as I now have a table where I can leave campaign games set up for a while)
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 3/20
|
|
| 201 |
|
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game
↗
(2025)
4 plays · last played 3/7/26 |
1450 | 63 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
After an initial attempt at playing this solo that didn't take (I did not even log those games), I convinced my partner to give this a go and we played the first few chapters. It's very much like the crew. Take tricks until everyone has done their quest or task. Only that tasks here are repeated, f.e. Frodo is in all of the first chapters and he will always need to have 2 rings in his pocket at the end of the game. Also: there is only a single trump in this game. The 1 Ring. Big surprise 😉 And having to play a ring into a trick before being able to lead with a ring is kind of nice, since Frodo will always have to deal with that. I do hope that more twists are coming because having to do the same tasks all the time could get samey.
* Player Count: 2
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 4
* Rules Retention: Not hard to learn or teach if everyone already knows basic trick taking.
* Keeper: Until the campaign is done at least.
* Recommended: Anyone who cannot get enough of The Crew
* Competition: The Crew (cooperative trick taking)
Rank 58/60
|
|
| 202 |
|
Décorum
↗
(2022)
4 plays · last played 10/22/22 |
1450 | 13 |
Games that play well at two:
A cooperative game about passive aggressive house decoration. Possibly impossible at higher player counts, we haven't tried those.
Rank 14/18
|
|
| 203 |
|
Troyes Dice
↗
(2020)
4 plays · last played 5/1/21 |
1449 | 12 | ||
| 204 |
|
Ra ↗ (2023) | 1449 | 5 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
I have the pretty new edition. It's a classic Knizia auction game with bids limited to the coins you currently have. There is some similarity to the bidding of Nidavellir.
Rank 12/25
My Favorite Covers:
I love the new art for this and the cover especially. I like the muted colors. Seems classy.
Rank 37/50
|
|
| 205 |
|
Five Tribes: The Djinns of Naqala
↗
(2014)
2 plays · last played 12/4/21 |
1447 | 14 | ||
| 206 |
|
Assault on Doomrock: Ultimate Edition
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 2/28/24 |
1447 | 9 |
My Favorite Covers:
Why do I like a skull with glowing purple eyes? I don't know? Purple? The cover just screams for some "fun" adventures to be had--though the tilted camera angle suggests bad things might happen to adventurers...
Rank 36/50
|
|
| 207 |
|
Honey Buzz
↗
(2020)
1 play · last played 7/6/21 |
1446 | 13 | ||
| 208 |
|
Petrichor
↗
(2018)
6 plays · last played 3/14/25 |
1446 | 29 |
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#20
I think the bot massively cheats but it is easy enough to handle (not too many edge cases—last game was a few months ago so… I may misremember). I like the variability of setups because of the huge amount of content in the CE with all the expansions and promo tiles.
Rank 1/20
|
|
| 209 |
|
Fernweh
↗
(2026)
1 play · last played 7/16/26 |
1445 | 14 | ||
| 210 |
|
Distilled
↗
(2023)
5 plays · last played 4/30/23 |
1445 | 19 | ||
| 211 |
|
Forks: 2nd Edition ↗ (2024) | 1444 | 6 | ||
| 212 |
|
Level 10
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 10/11/24 |
1444 | 20 | ||
| 213 |
|
Black Forest
↗
(2024)
3 plays · last played 11/8/24 |
1443 | 29 | ||
| 214 |
|
Hallertau
↗
(2020)
4 plays · last played 9/22/25 |
1442 | 33 | ||
| 215 |
|
Kabuto Sumo
↗
(2021)
2 plays · last played 10/29/23 |
1442 | 11 | ||
| 216 |
|
Clank!: Catacombs
↗
(2022)
2 plays · last played 3/8/24 |
1441 | 27 | ||
| 217 |
|
AI Space Puzzle
↗
(2024)
8 plays · last played 9/29/24 |
1440 | 34 | ||
| 218 |
|
Parks
↗
(2020)
3 plays · last played 1/24/21 |
1437 | 24 |
My Favorite Covers:
Parks has great art all around and the cover is a beautiful representation of that. Love the graphic aspect. I love the art enough to keep the game that I find slightly boring.
Rank 10/50
|
|
| 219 |
|
Viscounts of the West Kingdom
↗
(2020)
3 plays · last played 8/8/22 |
1434 | 36 |
Yashima’s 2022 Top 20 Solo Games:
#17
I have the complete West Kingdom trilogy with all the expansions and while Architects is my favorite at multiplayer, I think for solo purposes Viscounts is the best. In Paladins I feel like I mess up the bot players turns all the time. Viscounts is a bit easier on the bot handling while the gameplay lends itself more to soloing than Architects which I feel is the most interactive of the three.
I do not think the expansion are required in this one. But I have only played 1 game with those. So this may not be my final answer.
I enjoy the rondel nature of the game and the unique mashup of deck-building and engine-building this provides.
Rank 4/20
|
|
| 220 |
|
John Company: Second Edition
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 7/14/23 |
1434 | 8 | ||
| 221 |
|
Marvel Champions: The Card Game
↗
(2021)
2 plays · last played 3/14/23 |
1433 | 11 |
Do I really sell these:
Deck construction is not my thing either but boss fights is what I really dislike apparently.
Rank 7/50
|
|
| 222 |
|
6 nimmt! 25 Jahre
↗
(2019)
3 plays · last played 6/4/21 |
1432 | 10 | ||
| 223 |
|
Voidfall
↗
(2023)
2 plays · last played 11/1/23 |
1430 | 37 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
Ressource management in space. Yes, it says 4x-Euro in some descriptions. But it is way more Euro than resource management.
2+ players should do the trick. It's not a quick teach though. And not a quick setup either. But I have all the plastic spaceships you want. This is only on here I admit so I could get 25 games. I don't want to teach this. I dislike setting it up because the fancy insert has terrible logistics. It has bad rules retention. Mostly I love the cover art.
Rank 25/25
My Favorite Covers:
This is one of the better Ian O'Toole covers and I really like his style. This has clearer lines and colors though than Black Angel.
Rank 9/50
|
|
| 224 |
|
Pax Transhumanity
↗
(2019)
3 plays · last played 11/16/19 |
1430 | 18 | ||
| 225 |
|
Leviathan Wilds
↗
(2025)
5 plays · last played 3/7/26 |
1427 | 22 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
So many rave reviews can't be wrong? And they probably aren't. Or it is all nostalgia for Shadow of the Colossus, a computer game I have never played. I think I am just sick of a certain type of cooperative game that is very ??? I can't quite put my finger on it but it feels very rote. There is a certain relationship here with the pandemic formula but it has iterated even more than Tesseract. The different map scenarios should be exciting. And I think I enjoyed this game right after I got it more than I do now that my crowdfunding excitement has died down. The thing that I am not enjoying is the mechanics not feeling like a game somehow. Just execution of commands. This is nothing at all like taking a turn in a game like Gloomhaven and it suffers from the same lack of excitement I feel on combat in Sleeping Gods.
Definitely needs more plays to help me understand if this is a game for me. But I really don't want to right now. I can't quite say why except that this last play bored me out of my mind and consequently I lost.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 5
* Rules Retention: Middling. Mostly I didn't remember setup.
* Keeper: Undecided.
* Recommended: Fans of the Pandemic formula but without the flow of the original
* Competition: Pandemic Iberia, Hispania
Rank 57/60
|
|
| 226 |
|
Paladins of the West Kingdom
↗
(2019)
2 plays · last played 10/29/21 |
1427 | 26 | ||
| 227 |
|
Unsettled
↗
(2023)
7 plays · last played 7/5/26 |
1427 | 33 | ||
| 228 |
|
Kinfire Delve: Vainglory's Grotto ↗ (2025) | 1427 | 23 | ||
| 229 |
|
Palm Laboratory
↗
(2025)
1 play · last played 5/17/25 |
1425 | 23 | ||
| 230 |
|
Fall of Rome
↗
(2018)
2 plays · last played 3/25/20 |
1424 | 23 | ||
| 231 |
|
Great Western Trail: New Zealand ↗ (2023) | 1424 | 52 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
Build a deck, herd some sheep and run in circles.
I've played the OG GWT a couple of times. I'd like to see this one on the table. Should be okay with 2+ players.
Rank 18/25
|
|
| 232 |
|
Sol: Last Days of a Star ↗ (2024) | 1423 | 27 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
Very abstract space chess game. I don't even know how to describe this. Best played with 4 players.
Rank 5/25
|
|
| 233 |
|
Link City
↗
(2024)
8 plays · last played 4/20/25 |
1423 | 41 |
BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition):
Build a city together. Just decide what goes where and hope that the team thinks the same as the mayor. Because if you don‘t chaos ensues. It is like free-style suburbia without all the math. Just imagine what fits together. Should the graffiti tunnel be next to the school or next to the prison? Should the fitness studio go next to the expensive restaurant or near the art gallery?
Why it is cozy?
* It is just a fun game of building up a city together
* It can be taught quickly
* It plays fast and has almost no setup or teardown.
* And then you want to go again to see what buildings come up together this time
* It does feel like there is combo-ing but like Dixit it is all in the associations you have with the buildings
* Can probably play this with anyone.
Rank 13/20
|
|
| 234 |
|
Viticulture Essential Edition
↗
(2016)
3 plays · last played 2/21/26 |
1422 | 25 | ||
| 235 |
|
Wave
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 10/19/23 |
1422 | 9 | ||
| 236 |
|
Wir sind das Volk!
↗
(2016)
2 plays · last played 9/5/21 |
1420 | 16 | ||
| 237 |
|
Flatiron
↗
(2024)
2 plays · last played 1/24/26 |
1418 | 24 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I bought this rather spontaneously at SPIEL because I liked how the building slowly rises up. But it turns out to be a small engine builder for 1 or 2 players with a rather fiddly set of iconography that interrupts the flow of playing. The engine building is not that spectacular. Sure you get 4 different actions on your tableau that you slowly build up by up to 3 additional bonusses and nothing immediately comes to mind that does this in quite the same way but it does not feel so exceptional. The iconography is what does this in. In a bid to have as little text in the game itself as possible too many similar-ish icons were introduced on too many different game elements and I just can't deduce the meanings of them easily. In each set of icons there are a couple that just aren't intuitive and when they come up I either ignore those options or I have to go look for the right table in the rulebook.
It might be that with repeated plays this would flow much more smoothly. But I have too many games in my collection that appeal more to me as a solo and for small 2 player engine building I am more likely to be going for Splendor Duel and similar games. And for big engine building I have Terraforming Mars.
(For some reason this game keeps reminding me of Furnace and I cannot explain why. I like Furnace better anyway. It's smarter.)
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 2
* Rules Retention: Bad. Rulebook has too many different icon tables that need looking up. Teaching should be fine but player aids would be better.
* Keeper: Hmf.
* Recommended: Fans of New York architecture or engine building.
* Competition: Furnace (engine building + theme)
Rank 31/60
|
|
| 238 |
|
Defenders of the Wild ↗ (2024) | 1417 | 7 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
Cooperative game about the wild taking back nature from the factory and it's machines.
Supposedly quite difficult to win.
2+ players. 4 would be best though.
Caveat: it's a cooperative game with player elimination.
Rank 10/25
|
|
| 239 |
|
Iwari: Deluxe Edition
↗
(2020)
4 plays · last played 7/20/21 |
1416 | 13 | ||
| 240 |
|
Caesar!: Seize Rome in 20 Minutes!
↗
(2022)
2 plays · last played 5/8/26 |
1416 | 25 | ||
| 241 |
|
Isle of Trains: All Aboard
↗
(2023)
3 plays · last played 2/14/24 |
1414 | 18 | ||
| 242 |
|
Earthborne Rangers
↗
(2023)
7 plays · last played 6/30/24 |
1414 | 28 | ||
| 243 |
|
Root
↗
(2020)
9 plays · last played 11/20/21 |
1414 | 21 | ||
| 244 |
|
ROVE: Results-Oriented Versatile Explorer
↗
(2021)
4 plays · last played 2/4/26 |
1414 | 19 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I like puzzles and I really like patterns. But the way I tend to play such games from the gut with a lot of "let's try this" instead of optimizing each move, does not work for a game aiming to induce AP. This one feels like it is doomed to fail, if I don't spend a lot of time analyzing every single move. Unlike for example Sprawlopolis where no matter how badly I played the previous move the next one still feels satisfying. This one faces tough competition from solo puzzles I like a lot better.
In addition this game is too abstract for me and in the end I have not really built anything worthwhile. Every other game of *polis I take a picture because I like my results. I can stare at my Harmonies or Cascadia tableau after a badly scoring game and still like the landscape I built... but here: I might have won, but I have nothing to show for it.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 4
* Rules Retention: It had been too long. It is quick to learn though
* Keeper: Not sure. (see above)
* Recommended: Anyone who really likes to optimize and strategize their moves in a solo puzzle that rewards thorough planning and pattern recognition.
* Competition: Hive (pattern movement), Tash Kalar (pattern building)
Rank 43/60
|
|
| 245 |
|
Obscurio
↗
(2019)
2 plays · last played 12/16/19 |
1412 | 15 | ||
| 246 |
|
Sleeping Gods
↗
(2021)
2 plays · last played 3/20/22 |
1410 | 10 |
Do I really sell these:
Storytelling games are not my thing. The gameplay is so mediocre it detracts from the story.
Rank 2/50
My Favorite Covers:
I don't like the game much. But the cover is definitely great (the new one is even better but didn't qualify for my list). It a case of cover and title being so evocative that one really has to play the game. And I probably should give it another go.
Rank 25/50
|
|
| 247 |
|
Paint the Roses
↗
(2022)
3 plays · last played 4/10/23 |
1409 | 9 | ||
| 248 |
|
Chu Han
↗
(2024)
1 play · last played 1/8/25 |
1408 | 8 | ||
| 249 |
|
Pandemic Legacy: Season 0 ↗ (2020) | 1407 | 14 | ||
| 250 |
|
Vampire: The Masquerade – Vendetta ↗ (2020) | 1404 | 10 |
My Favorite Covers:
Something about this image just grabs me. It could also have been a cover for a cyberpunk themed game...
Rank 15/50
|
|
| 251 |
|
The Red Cathedral
↗
(2021)
1 play · last played 3/19/22 |
1402 | 21 | ||
| 252 |
|
Mind the Lines
↗
(2025)
5 plays · last played 9/13/25 |
1398 | 19 | ||
| 253 |
|
Heat: Pedal to the Metal
↗
(2023)
4 plays · last played 3/9/26 |
1395 | 40 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
Another racing game, this time with a deck and cars instead of cartoons. I have the expansion now.
Rank 17/20
|
|
| 254 |
|
Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest
↗
(2022)
3 plays · last played 5/22/24 |
1392 | 13 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
This is one that scales nicely with higher playercounts because we choose our cards at teh same time. Also: pirates!
Rank 14/20
|
|
| 255 |
|
Deckers
↗
(2025)
1 play · last played 12/26/25 |
1391 | 21 | ||
| 256 |
|
Spectacular
↗
(2024)
4 plays · last played 10/12/24 |
1391 | 22 | ||
| 257 |
|
Raid ↗ (2021) | 1387 | 9 | ||
| 258 |
|
Septima
↗
(2023)
1 play · last played 10/10/23 |
1387 | 13 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
It's so pretty. Something about witches and covens and spells... It's been too long since I tried learning this.
Best at 3. Not a quick game and probably not a quick teach. It's one of my big Kickstarter games.
Rank 24/25
My Favorite Covers:
Love the style, the subdued colors and the composition. Hope the game is going to be as good as the cover makes me wish.
Rank 6/50
|
|
| 259 |
|
Kokeshi
↗
(2026)
2 plays · last played 3/3/26 |
1385 | 23 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
This is a game of building up custom tracks and combo-ing between them when activating them on your turn. The tiles may look like dominoes from afar but they are not. Neither are they Mahjongg tiles. I bought this for the solo but so far I am not sure if I am playing things right. I definitely made mistakes in my first game. The solo bot seems to put up a high tempo in gaining recognition tiles for the tracks. And once it has gained a tile for a track, the player cannot gain one. Once 5 recognitions are gained by a player, the game is over. There are 5 track recognitions to gain and 4 animal figure recognitions. The bot is super fast: the second or third time a player activates a track and gains a tile during that turn, the bot will gain the recognition for that track. And once the bot has it, the player who needs to have at least 4 tiles to gain a recognition on a track, can no longer get one.
What I am unsure about is wether the actual tracks and combos are going to be satisfying to build up in a solo. The only actual combo-ing I see is going up the animal tracks. I have a lot of doubts about multiplayer. The variety of tiles and actions on them seems low to me. But I have no intention of putting multiplayer to the test anyway.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating: a very provisionary one
* Total Lifetime Plays: 2
* Rules Retention: Probably good enough. The solo could be explained better. The rules make it needlessly opaque.
* Keeper: Probably. Building up custom tracks is a bit unique and the solo might still grow on me.
* Recommended: Fans of tracks or fans of painted Japanese dolls (the theme is paper-thin however)
* Competition: Let's Go to Japan (theme), Mahjongg (clickety clackety tiles), Planet Unknown (combo-y tracks?)
(I will need to revise this entry when I have played more)
Rank 55/60
|
|
| 260 |
|
Splendor Duel
↗
(2023)
2 plays · last played 1/18/25 |
1384 | 41 | ||
| 261 |
|
The Mandalorian: Adventures
↗
(2024)
8 plays · last played 8/7/25 |
1384 | 67 |
Yashima's 2025 Top 20 Solo Games:
This is a bit of a replacement for Zombicide which I have not played in ages. The setup here is much faster and it has some neat card strategy and less random dice rolling. Enjoyable but I have not really replayed any of the scenarios.
Solo Plays 2025: 2
Ranking last year: new entry
Rank 19/20
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
I'd like to see this with more characters in play and try some of the extra missions.
Rank 16/20
|
|
| 262 |
|
Earth
↗
(2023)
Previously owned
10 plays · last played 1/19/25 |
1382 | 28 |
Yashima's 2023 Top 20 Solo Games:
I don't even own a copy of this, I have exclusively played this on BGA where the server manages the upkeep and the phases and the solo-bot. But it is a fun spatial puzzle and bonusses and action chaining game that goes by fast enough. I did not enjoy my few attempts at multiplayer.
Ranking last year: - (new entry)
Rank 6/20
|
|
| 263 |
|
Unconscious Mind ↗ (2024) | 1381 | 39 |
My Favorite Covers:
I think I backed the game on the strength of the art (also the art inside) but this cover is just gorgeous.
Rank 1/50
|
|
| 264 |
|
Fugitive (Second Edition)
↗
(2023)
2 plays · last played 7/15/23 |
1381 | 26 | ||
| 265 |
|
Ramen! Ramen!
↗
(2021)
1 play · last played 1/5/22 |
1380 | 9 | ||
| 266 |
|
Orléans
↗
(2019)
1 play · last played 2/10/21 |
1378 | 20 | ||
| 267 |
|
Long Shot: The Dice Game
↗
(2022)
2 plays · last played 2/24/23 |
1372 | 18 |
Do I really sell these:
Essentially a pretty complicated roll and write with too many rules
Rank 4/50
|
|
| 268 |
|
Bloc by Bloc: Uprising
↗
(2022)
1 play · last played 3/22/24 |
1368 | 9 |
My Favorite Covers:
I like the contrasting colors and the font somehow matches this all so well… there is light and dark and so much going on here. I keep finding new details.
Rank 29/50
|
|
| 269 |
|
Fairy Trails
↗
(2020)
13 plays · last played 1/20/26 |
1366 | 39 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
A small box that could be even smaller, this tiny tile laying game has a satisfying thinkiness to it. I once played it with my partner (it is actually also for 2 players) and he complained about the brain-burn. As a solo it's more of a cozy puzzle but with a bit of a heft to it because one really wants to not use up all the cards to place all the fairy stones. There is a certain similarity in how it feels to play this with A Gentle Rain even down to how you want to solve the puzzle with as few tiles/cards as possible. But this one is far easier to solve than A Gentle Rain and less dependent on lucky draws or knowledge of the tiles. I like knowing this is part of my collection. But it has to compete against a huge number of other solo games of equal weight and play-time.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 13
* Rules Retention: Easy. It's not like there are a lot of rules here.
* Keeper: Yes.
* Recommended: For fans of fairys, trails and cozy little solo games.
* Competition: Limes (square cards), Trailblazers (convoluted routes), A Gentle Rain (simple solo)
Rank 14/60
|
|
| 270 |
|
Hoplomachus: Victorum
↗
(2022)
4 plays · last played 6/20/24 |
1364 | 17 | ||
| 271 |
|
Sushi Go!
↗
(2014)
5 plays · last played 2/3/22 |
1364 | 28 | ||
| 272 |
|
Rallyman: GT
↗
(2020)
15 plays · last played 9/24/21 |
1362 | 30 |
20 Favorite Multiplayer Games in my collection:
Another race game. More fun with more people!
Rank 19/20
|
|
| 273 |
|
Agropolis
↗
(2021)
13 plays · last played 8/9/26 |
1357 | 28 | ||
| 274 |
|
Three Sisters
↗
(2022)
2 plays · last played 2/18/23 |
1355 | 21 | ||
| 275 |
|
Crash Octopus
↗
(2021)
2 plays · last played 1/1/23 |
1351 | 11 | ||
| 276 |
|
Dwellings of Eldervale
↗
(2020)
2 plays · last played 10/19/20 |
1348 | 12 | ||
| 277 |
|
Darwin's Journey
↗
(2023)
5 plays · last played 1/15/26 |
1342 | 15 |
Do I really sell these:
Nope. The idea with the workers is good, the rest is overwrought Euro trash
Rank 9/50
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
I backed this late at night during the pandemic. And I shouldn't have. Me and the modern Euro are not the best of friends. This is a complex worker placement game that thematically tracks Darwin's Journey through the Galapagos Isles.
The key idea here seems to be that you "grow" your workers by giving them more color seals to allow them to go to spots that require more of those seals or make them more versatile. This is the thing that made me back the game. But this is embedded in such a variety of systems that for me it never becomes a cohesive whole but rather disjointed tracks and mechanisms that accidentally sometimes lead to super-turns with lots of bonus actions. I consistently lose against the bot as well and I cannot imagine having to teach this, the people, I play with when I actually play other than solo, wouldn't enjoy this amount of rules getting thrown at them.
This game is just not for me. This last game was on BGA where I had hoped the automation might help me enjoy this more but it was the opposite. I was unable to track what the automa was doing and lost even worse than usual. I have fallen out of love with this type of rules-complex modern euro. I have several others I also don't get along with.
* Player Count: 1 (BGA)
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 5
* Rules Retention: Not great. I have to relearn the rules every play and wouldn't want to teach this.
* Keeper: Nope. It is on the sell-pile. This was a last-chance play.
* Recommended: Fans of complex euros.
* Competition: Unconscious Mind (complex modern worker placement), Spirit Island, at that level of (rules) complexity, I would much rather play SI
Rank 17/60
|
|
| 278 |
|
18DO: Dortmund ↗ (2020) | 1337 | 17 |
25 Games I want to finally get to the table:
Big train game. My only 18xx.
I don't think it makes sense to play this with less than 4 players.
Rank 23/25
|
|
| 279 |
|
Witchcraft!
↗
(2023)
2 plays · last played 11/17/23 |
1329 | 16 | ||
| 280 |
|
Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game
↗
(2023)
7 plays · last played 1/18/24 |
1327 | 28 | ||
| 281 |
|
Floriferous
↗
(2021)
5 plays · last played 1/26/26 |
1319 | 30 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
This is a very simple set collection game with very beautiful cards. I don't think I'll ever play this other than solo because I have too many other multiplayer games and probably better set collection like Let's Go To Japan or even Sushi Go. Why play this one? It's quick to set up and play. But it is also not super interesting and the bot makes for a lot of entropy in the decisions that would probably also happen in multiplayer. I have never had a really high scoring game with a good combo of sets. The arc just falls a little flat.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 5
* Rules Retention: Okay. Small ruleset. Easy to teach.
* Keeper: Maybe? It's a smallish box and very pretty.
* Recommended: Anyone who likes to collect beautiful flower arrangements. The art is very pretty and it might be okay enough as multiplayer.
* Competition: Let’s Go To Japan (sets), Flourish (theme + sets), Canvas (sets)
Rank 34/60
|
|
| 282 |
|
Menara
↗
(2018)
2 plays · last played 10/16/21 |
1313 | 36 |
Games that play well at two:
A cooperative stacking game that plays well with any player count and has some interesting choices to make. Excellent!
Rank 10/18
|
|
| 283 |
|
Air, Land, & Sea
↗
(2021)
1 play · last played 10/19/23 |
1313 | 14 | ||
| 284 |
|
Caverna: Cave vs Cave – The Big Box
↗
(2021)
6 plays · last played 2/16/26 |
1294 | 36 |
2026: Yashima's Game Diary:
Every time I play this I have to relearn the number of rounds. This year I messed up and played a game of just 4 rounds and insert "surprised pikachu" looked at my score, compared it to previous ones and said "that's a really bad score". The second game over the full 8 rounds was better. The thing that irks me most about this game is that I bought the stupid big box that is Carcassonne sized and has a lot of air inside.
It is a very quick playing solo if one plays the short 8 round game. I kind of like it and it is somewhat unique among my solos except of course that I have a ton of Rosenberg games that are similarish. Except of all the farming ones this one is the fastest to table and play. Does it get a guaranteed place on my shelf? I have not played the big Caverna and have a big Agricola edition incoming. And while among my "quick" small solos there is nothing like it, if I go up to medium sized solos there is Nusfjord and while those two are very different the mood I have to be in to play them is similar and I think in many cases Nusfjord would win.
I really need to play the long game with the Iron Age at some point to see if the challenge suits me better.
* Player Count: 1
* My current rating:
* Total Lifetime Plays: 6
* Rules Retention: Okay, except for the roundtrack. The rest is typical Rosenberg fare.
* Keeper: Maybe?
* Recommended: Fans of a simplified solo farming Rosenberg that can be played in ~20 minutes (if you don't have to relearn the rules first)
* Competition: Nusfjord (action selection, Rosenberg 'farming'), Flatiron (action 'configuration' -> player boards gain personalized actions over time)
Rank 47/60
|