Top 100 Games: 60-51
Here’s the next 10 of my Top 100. This list is numbers 60-51. If you missed the last 10 you can see them here, Top 100: 70-61.
60: Blood on the Clocktower
2025 Rank: 32
Designer: Steven Medway
Publisher: The Pandemonium Institute
Player Count: 6-21
This was my number one game for several years and would probably still be if it weren't so hard to get to the table. You need at least 10 people, and all of them have to be up for serious social deduction. But when it comes together, nothing else compares. Blood on the Clocktower lets newer players ease in gradually while rewarding experienced players for their knowledge. It goes beyond pure social reads. It's a logic puzzle with a solution, and with enough information you can piece it together. The more you play, the richer the experience becomes. The game is heavily dependent on the players and the Storyteller, who acts as the GM. One bad apple can spoil things, but a skilled Storyteller has the tools to manage that. Someday I'll start running games of this again, because I think everyone deserves a chance to see what real social deduction can feel like.
59: Hanamikoji
2025 Rank: 72
Designer: Kota Nakayama
Publisher: EmperorS4
Player Count: 2
I love the "I split, you choose" mechanic, and Hanamikoji is the purest two-player version of it I've found. Both players are competing for the favor of the Geishas by playing cards to their side of the board, but you never play a card directly. Every action forces you to present a choice to your opponent, and their decision determines what you get. Likewise, their turns present you with choices that shape what they keep. Each round, both players take exactly 4 actions before scoring. Win over 4 Geishas or reach 11 points and you take the game. If neither condition is met, another round begins. This one is a permanent fixture in our library.
58: Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done
2025 Rank: New to the list
Designer: Seth Jaffee
Publisher: Tasty Minstrel Games
Player Count: 2-4
This one shot onto the list after just a few plays, and I expect it to keep climbing. Crusaders uses a mancala-style action rondel. On your turn, you pick up all the pieces from one section of your wheel and distribute them clockwise, one per slot. The number of pieces you started with determines how powerful that action is. Those actions let you move across the board, construct buildings, and score points. The mancala mechanism gives you freedom to set up powerful turns, but it also constrains you. Sometimes you have to take a weaker action now to line up something bigger later. I'd love to see more games explore this idea.
57: Furnace
2025 Rank: 28
Designer: Ivan Lashin
Publisher: Arcane Wonders
Player Count: 2-4
Furnace is a tight engine builder wrapped around a clever auction. Each player has 4 bidding tokens valued 1 through 4, and you use them to compete for cards each round. The highest bidder wins the card, but everyone else who bid on it gets compensation in the form of the resources printed on the top of the card. After the auction, each player runs their engine, activating cards in sequence to generate resources and money. Everyone starts with a different card, so each engine develops its own personality. It's fast-paced, and the auction gives it a satisfying edge.
56: Ready Set Bet
2025 Rank: 18
Designer: John D. Clair
Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group
Player Count: 2-9
Horse racing in a box, and it's a blast. Over four races, players bet on 10 horses that advance when their corresponding numbers come up on two dice. While the race unfolds in real time, everyone is scrambling to place their betting tokens on a horse to win, place, or show. Each betting spot on the board is first-come, first-served, which adds a frantic energy. After each race, players earn or owe money based on how their bets played out, and small upgrades between races give everyone a personal edge. Most money after four races wins. This is one of the best large-group experiences on the list.
55: Endeavor: Deep Sea
2025 Rank: New to the list
Designer: Carl de Visser, Jarratt Gray
Publisher: Burnt Island Games
Player Count: 1-4
I had my eye on this one for a long time before finally giving it a try, and I regret not playing it sooner. The deep-sea submarine theme is fantastic. You're discovering new areas of the ocean as the game unfolds. You start out very limited, but each round you gain more action tokens to explore the board and activate new spaces. There are multiple paths to victory, which keeps every play feeling fresh, and the game ships with different scenarios that swap out the tile sets. It looked more complex than it actually is. After a round or two, it flows naturally. It's not one I'd hand to someone brand new to the hobby, but most players with a few games under their belt will pick it up quickly. This will definitely move up the list over time.
54: Lost Cities
2025 Rank: 80
Designer: Reiner Knizia
Publisher: KOSMOS
Player Count: 2
One of the classics in the Kosmos two-player line, and one of our most-played games. If someone shows up to our events looking for a two-player recommendation, this is the first thing we suggest. The rules are simple and it plays fast, but the tension it creates each turn is remarkable. Every decision matters. What to play, what to keep, what to discard. You never want to feed your opponent the cards they need. Meanwhile, you're trying to assemble your own scoring runs while knowing the cards you need are probably sitting in their hand. The end of the game can sneak up on you, forcing you to play cards just to avoid negative points. Such a special game that everyone should try.
53: Atlantis Rising
2025 Rank: 26
Designer: Galen Ciscell, Brent Dickman
Publisher: Elf Creek Games
Player Count: 1-7
Atlantis Rising is a cooperative worker placement game where you're racing to build the cosmic gate and save the people of Atlantis before the island sinks. Each turn, the board shrinks as tiles flood, removing valuable action spaces and making it harder to gather the resources you need. Every player has a unique ability that changes how they contribute, and you need to combine those powers effectively to outpace the rising water. As far as cooperative games go, this one deserves way more attention than it gets.
52: Sub Terra
2025 Rank: 142
Designer: Tim Pinder
Publisher: Inside the Box Board Games LLP (ITB)
Player Count: 1-6
In Sub Terra, your group is trying to escape a cave before it kills you. The cave builds itself as you explore, placing new tiles that might be empty, or might bring cave-ins, floods, dead ends, or worse. Each character has their own unique ability, usually enhancing the basic actions available on your turn. But the best part is the endgame. A deck of event cards drives the bad stuff happening around you, and it also acts as a timer. When the deck runs out, your flashlights die. From that point on, just to attempt a turn you have to roll a die and beat a challenge. Fail and your character is left in the cave forever. Oh, and the whole game glows under black light, so you can play it in the dark.
51: Marvel United
2025 Rank: 23
Designer: Andrea Chiarvesio, Eric M. Lang
Publisher: CMON Global Limited
Player Count: 1-4
The base game of Marvel United is about as simple as cooperative games get. Almost deceptively so. On your turn, you play a card and perform its actions. The cooperation comes from the card played right before your turn, which you also get to use, creating satisfying combos between heroes. Meanwhile, the Villain and their henchmen spread across the city causing chaos, and the heroes need to complete missions before taking on the big bad. Where Marvel United really opens up is in its expansions, and there are a lot of them. New heroes, villains, and scenarios that layer on complexity in smart ways. If you're a Marvel fan, this one is worth a look.
