Welcome to – Marti’s AFTERMATH of her top ten list. So, I rated a lot of games – somewhere in the 350+ range. And because of that, there was a lot of shaking up in there. I wanted to explore this a bit, because I feel like my tastes have gotten a lot more refined since I started reviewing games (in 2017), and there is likely some explanation for all of it. So, here’s a look at some interesting info.

4 of my top 10 games fell off of the list. Here’s a quick look at them.

7 Wonders Duel was my number 9 in 2019; now it’s number 11. Honestly, it’s more because Wingspan and Tiny Towns exist than because I stopped liking 7 Wonders Duel.

Codenames Duet was my number 4 game of all time. Now, it’s dropped to number 24. This is likely because Sarah is working on her teaching license and we don’t have as much time to play 2 player games anymore. So, I’m not even sure I played Codenames Duet much in 2019.

Space Base was my number 8 game – now it’s number 44. This is likely a combination of “it was new to me” and “I didn’t play it as much.” I think it’s still a very solid game, and Shy Pluto was a fun way to add some new content to it. I still haven’t gotten the newest expansion/storage solution for the game, but hopefully will soon!

Lastly, Ex Libris was my number 10, and it dropped all of the way down to number 81. This game is still really solid, but it hasn’t gotten to the table much, so it’s likely that it just lost my attention a little bit. It’s still in my top 100 games (which is still pretty solid), and I do want to try and get it to the table more often in the future. But, with so many good games, it can be hard!

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Now, since I have reviewed and played so many more games, I did want to share my 11 through 20. I think seeing my top 20 games gives you a pretty solid idea as to what my tastes are and what I enjoy playing. So, here’s my 11 thru 20:

11. 7 Wonders Duel
12. Carcassonne: The Castle
13. Stone Age: Anniversary
14. The Castles of Burgundy
15. Animal Kingdoms
16. Trekking the National Parks: Second Edition
17. Viticulture Essential Edition
18. Tiny Epic Galaxies: Deluxe Edition
19. Tapestry
20. Carcassonne: The City

What can I learn from this? First, I love Euro games. Gosh, there is nothing like a Euro game to me, as long as it catches my attention with mechanisms. I do, however, like a handful of themes – nature, animals, landscape building – these seem to be some common threads in all of the games that I enjoy in my top 10.

Also, I’m a light to medium weight kinda gal. The lightest game in my top 20 games is Trekking the National Parks, which is a 1.73 according to BGG. The heaviest game is The Castles of Burgundy, which is exactly a 3 according to BGG. Everything else falls in between there, with the majority sitting around 2.25 to 2.5 in terms of weight. Plus, there are some weights on BGG I disagree with (for example, since I always play Carc with Inns and Cathedrals & Traders and Builders, I consider it more in the 2.25-2.5 range).

I like games. I like all sorts of games and want to try all of them. Okay, maybe not all of them, but I’m a pretty solid omnigamer who will pretty much try anything once. So, what did you think? What surprised you in my top 10, and what were you not surprised by? Leave some comments or hit me up on Twitter!

Game On!
Marti