Is it possible to come up with a list of The Top 10 Best Modern Board and Card Games?
Of course it is. The trick is getting everyone to agree!
The only ground rule for this exercise is that "modern" means 1980 or later.
Any good list begins with research. And one of the best places to go for a list of great games is Aaron Fuegi's Internet Top 100 Games List. As of 10 September 2001, these games occupied the top 10:
Tigris and Euphrates (1997, Reiner Knizia; compare prices)
The Settlers of Catan (1995, Klaus Teuber; compare prices)
El Grande (1995, Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich; compare prices)
The Princes of Florence (2000, Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich; compare prices)
The Seafarers of Catan (1997, Klaus Teuber; compare prices)
Elfenroads (1992, Alan R. Moon)
El Grande (1995, Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich; compare prices)
Another source for a list of top games is Funagain Games, one of the top online game retailers (especially for designer games). Funagain regularly updates its all-time best-seller list; on 10 September 2001, the top 10 looked like this:
Bohnanza (1997, Uwe Rosenberg)
Rage (2000 [new edition], no design credit)
Lost Cities (1999, Reiner Knizia)
The Settlers of Catan (1995, Klaus Teuber)
Tikal (1999, Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling)
Carcassonne (2000, Klaus-Jurgen Wrede)
Torres (1999, Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling)
Apples to Apples (1999, Matthew Kirby and Mark Alan Osterhaus)
Lord of the Rings (2000, Reiner Knizia)
Caesar and Cleopatra (1999, Wolfgang Ludtke)
Five games appear on more than one of the lists above: Tigris and Euphrates, Paths of Glory, El Grande, The Princes of Florence, and The Seafarers of Catan.
One drawback is readily apparent -- all three lists are top-heavy with games released since 1995. Only three games published before 1995 appear on the lists -- 1992's Modern Art and Elfenroads, along with 1983's Up Front.
Then again, perhaps most of the best games of the past two decades have been published in the past six years.
Another potential problem is that all of these lists overwhelmingly include designer games. Surely some party games deserve to be included -- Catch Phrase (compare prices) and Taboo (compare prices) jump to mind. One visitor to the About Board Games Forum insists that Stage II should be included on this list. And Liar's Dice deserves consideration.
So what games do you think rate among the Top 10 Best Modern Board and Card Games?
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