Ranking My Original Board Game Hobby Games
I’ve been playing board games for a long time now, but I can still remember the first games I played when I first got into the hobby. In this article I’ll rank those games and talk about what I like about them still, or reasons I don’t play them anymore! Let’s get started!
Catan – Catan is a game I just don’t play anymore, and almost nothing is going to get me to play them unless there is a group that really wants to table it. To me, Catan requires too many house rules to make it as fun and strategic as possible, and honestly I’m not into playing games where I need house rules to just make it fun. I understand the power and influence Catan has had on the board game space, and recognize that it got a lot of people into the hobby. It’s just not for me!
Civilization – This game from the 1980s was a main-stay at my wife’s house when she was growing up. The game takes a good 10-15 hours to complete with four players, so we would often play it at holidays. It ranks a bit lower on my list because I’m pretty terrible at it, but it was like Risk on steroids, with trading and more. This isn’t a game I would recommend now in 2025 simply because the look and feel of the game is pretty dated, but if you know how to play and the strategy behind it, it’s one that should continue to be tabled every few years!
Carcassonne – It has been quite a while since I last played Carcassonne, but that isn’t because I don’t love the game – I’ve just had other competing priorities in the board game space. That said, we will be reviewing a number of the relaunched expansions this year, so I got a brand new copy of the base game and I’m ready to go. Carcassonee, like Catan, drew a lot of people into the hobby. It’s just a better game, in my opinion!
Ticket to Ride – Ticket to Ride is a fantastic experience, and I recently remembered how much I loved the franchise when my wife and I did a 2 player playthrough of the legacy version of the game. Ticket to Ride is an easy game to teach, so it gets tabled a lot more than other games. While the mechanics are pretty basic at this point, it’s still a game we really enjoy. Just make sure you play it with the right people, otherwise your experience may be pretty crappy! No one likes someone who blocks people’s routes for fun!
Dominion – Deck buildings games are a lot of fun, and while I don’t think they are my favourite board game mechanic anymore, Dominion was the game I played the most when getting into the hobby. With so many expansions, you can get some great card combinations on the table and create some really interesting games. While the core concept of Dominion remains the same, the cards on the table that you can purchase tell a different story game after game. Just don’t play with curses – I hate those dang curses!
Article By Adam
