January 2, 2020: Are These The Most Important 100 Games Of The Decade?

[RoboAdmin]

January 2, 2020: Are These The Most Important 100 Games Of The Decade?

Read this article on the Illuminator.

[Ronbo]

I'm enjoying reading this. But to be honest, I'm down to #60, and a lot of these posts don't sound like they're about the *play* of the game so much as the meta. Maybe he did play all 100 games enough to have an opinion about them, and maybe he didn't. But for instance, the game 504. It seems to be on the list because it was an interesting idea. He doesn't have anything to say about what it's like to play it, just what the reception was and what it might be a jumping-off point for, for future game design.

[lachimba]

No 18xx?

No train games?

No roleplaying games (though I assume they are excluded)

[ParadoxGames]

Originally Posted by Ronbo

I'm enjoying reading this. But to be honest, I'm down to #60, and a lot of these posts don't sound like they're about the *play* of the game so much as the meta. Maybe he did play all 100 games enough to have an opinion about them, and maybe he didn't. But for instance, the game 504. It seems to be on the list because it was an interesting idea. He doesn't have anything to say about what it's like to play it, just what the reception was and what it might be a jumping-off point for, for future game design.

I agree, this list looks like the "meta" as you call it. The information is such that the person may or may not have played the games "blurbed".

It's also overwhelmingly disappointing that Cards Against Humanity is ranked #2 on a list that doesn't even include Twilight Struggle AT ALL.

[Kurt]

Hi folks! Author of the piece here -- thank you to everyone who took the time to read, and to the Daily Illuminator / SJ for featuring the article. I figured I'd reply to a couple comments.

Ronbo: You're bang on, actually. While I've played the majority of the games on this list (71/100), the goal was more to discuss the impact the games had on the industry than their actual feeling of play -- unless that feeling of play was central to their impact.

For any given entry, I tried to make use of designer interviews, reviews (at release and years later), and rulebooks when I wasn't certain of a mechanism's function. When I started writing the article in October, early entries had more of a focus on play, but that made a long piece much longer... so I ultimately pivoted. Thanks for taking the time to read.

lachimba: Right? Skipping roleplaying games was an intentional choice, but it definitely felt a little wrong. I love RPGs, but I felt like comparing them directly to board games felt like less respect than they deserved. I'd love to see a similar write-up for the roleplay world.

As for 18XX (and train games more broadly), I considered a few! Ultimately, I erred on the side of omitting them, since so many critical titles in the movement pre-dated the 2010s. Which titles would make your list, and why? I'm curious what the defining releases of the last ten years have been.

ParadoxGames: Cards Against Humanity being so high definitely felt wrong. But working at a board game café, I saw the impact it had in bringing people into the hobby... even if it's not my cup of tea. As for Twilight Struggle -- that would be a crime indeed! But since the game came out in 2005, I think I get a pass. ;)