The Ten Greatest Board Games in the History of the Universe

 

Nice title, huh? I want to slip in a caveat before I start. The only criteria for consideration for the list is first-hand knowledge. I must have played the game to consider it.  I'll also admit that the list is skewed in favor of newer games. Two reasons there. Reason one, recent games are more vivid in my memory, and reason two--games are better now. Finally, most of these games are war games. I don't take war or killing lightly, but let's face it, no one gets hurt pushing cardboard counters on a paper map. Here's the list, without order.

Damn, where did I put my fire ponies?

• Panzer Leader (1974). I played Panzer Leader so much that I literally wore out my copy. I still have the game to prove it, come see me at WBC and I'll show you.
• Squad Leader. My world, like so many others, was well and truly rocked when Avalon Hill released Squad Leader.
• World at War: The Untold Stories. What? You think I would leave out my own games? You know me not. This is my favorite of the World at War series. I thought it would be the story of our NATO allies, instead an East German, General Hans Wolf, emerged and stole the show.
• Combat Commander: Europe. No tanks? I love that Chad had the courage to release Combat Commander without tanks. The first day I learned this game I played it until 3AM.
• Power Grid. Of all the Euro-style games this is my favorite. I love the bidding system, I love building the power grid, I just love the game.
• Lock 'n Load: Forgotten Heroes 2. My favorite of the Lock 'n Load series. There's something about Vietnam that suites the scale, suits the story telling.
• A Few Acres of Snow. This gem from Martin Wallace brought the deck-building genre to war gaming. It's enough of a battle to capture my interest, and enough of a game to hold my wife's.
• Battle Hymn. The Pacific theatre version of Ambush, this game plays as well today as it did twenty-five years ago. A solitaire game, Battle Hymn wholly immerses the player in the story that is each scenario, attaching your feelings to the silly cardboard counters with a strength it's difficult to fathom.
• Warhammer 40K. A solid, fun game. What makes it great is the brilliant universe that Games Workshop has built around it.
• Storm over Arnhem. The original area movement game, and still the best. Long before it became the overworked and underdeveloped system that exists today, I delighted in the taut competition and mechanics that were the mainstay of the game.