2022 Rankings, Collection, and Games Waiting in the Wings

[Raynor]

Hey Zombies and Zombie Slayers! Figured since we all share overlapping gaming interests, with Flying Frog games at the center of a convenient Venn diagram for us all, it might be fun to compare what our favorite games are and what we're looking forward to. I don't know about you, but I've always enjoyed a good ranking.

Top 20 favorite Thematic game
I own everything except AH2E, which I just play at a friend's house because he has the entire collection and it's out of print and hard to find.

1. A Touch of Evil - Still number 1.
2. Robinson Crusoe - Closest a game has ever come to replicating the points that made aToE my #1.
3. Cthulu Death May Die - Probably the best designed game on this list.
4. Project Elite - Video game on the table
5. Arkham Horror 3E - Codex provides best story moments balanced with gameplay I've encountered.
6. Marvel United - Perfect 30 minute game. Bought it for my kids, but it's great.
7. Deep Madness - DM & Nemesis were both games I didn't think I'd like, but the horror themes got me! They got me good!
8. Nemesis - Fun even when you lose.
9. Zombicide Black Plague - Better systems exist, but this is very simple and accessible in an attractive package.
10. Arkham Horror 2E - Still excellent and fun despite my love of 3E.
11. Arena: The Contest - Easier to table than D&D
12. Middara - Very similar to why I enjoy SoB, but with quality of life improvements like numbered tiles...
13. Shadows of Brimstone - Such a good game, but bloody difficult to organize.
14. Zombicide Invader - Great actually.
15. Fireteam Zero (Underrated Out of Print gem, set in Weird WWII)
16. Eldritch Horror - Seriously Flawed Masterpiece
17. Last Night on Earth - Ah. Game design has moved forward so much, yet I am still fond of my first board game.
18. Zombicide 2E - Modern city streets is a classic zombie setting you can't experience in LNoE.
19. Twisted Fables - For being a Deck builder it kept me engaged for a while, but even Dark Gothic didn't hold my attention, so I think Deck Building as a primary mechanic just isn't my thing. Not sure I'm keeping this one, but it's really cool.
20. Fortune and Glory - My least favorite of the Flying Frog games I still own. Fun, but I'd almost always rather play A Touch of Evil.
    

Top 7 non-adventure/genre related games
If you were interested in what other type of games I get up to playing... These are generally less present in my collection. I don't even have a full 10 to share

1. Carcassonne - Something about tile laying is very satisfying.
2. Wingspan - Good Art gets me everytime
3. Caverna - hoarding rubies is fun
4. Merchants of the Dark Road - Kind of adjacent to my normal type of theme games, but a lot of Euro mechanics here. I hated my first game but then we played again, and everything clicked, and it stuck around.
5. Calico - Good art again... also just really satisfying puzzle
6. Sagrada - Am I sucker for pretty dice and pretty themes? Maaaaybe...
7. Smash Up - A Hold over from earlier gaming days, but integrating fun themes with fun card play.
   

Top 3 Waiting to be played

• Vagrantsong - Demoed recently. Very interested in trying again. May buy. It was just that good.
• Lost Ruins of Arnak - Taking yet another shot at that Indiana Jones theme we love in Fortune and Glory.
• Scythe - Gotta be honest; The art suckered me into buying this, but I still haven't played it and it's been almost 2 years now...
  

Unreleased Kickstarters I'm looking forward to

• Anastyr - A game set in Pre-flood, Atlantean/Bronze age Sword and Sorcery world designed by one of my favorite board game artists, Paolo Parente?! And it has quick, combo focused combat and side scrolling inspired mechanics?! A friend backed this one but I probably would have myself if he hadn't been the one to point it out to me.
• ISS Vanguard - Not sure how many of you are also Mass Effect or Star Trek fans, but this has me intrigued.
• Brimstone Adventures - Begrudgingly still excited to play Vikings and Cursed Eternals in Shadows of Brimstone. <3
• Resident Evil - Another Zombie game They got me
• Primal - This looks epic. I really like the monster design.
  

[Old Dwarf]

Favorite Thematic Games (in no order-I find it hard to judge)

Lovecraft Mythos:

Cthulhu: Death May Die
Arkham Horror #3
Mansion of Madness#1

Midnight (a RP Game I converted the Setting for several COMON Games)*

z.Black Plague
zGreen Horde
Massive Darkness#1

Nightside (Simon Green's Books converted Setting for other COMON Games)*

SMOG:Rise of the Morlach
On Her Majesties Service

Gears of War(Setting I converted COMON Alien Game )*

Gears of War(FFG)
zDarkside
zBlack Ops (Expansion)

*COMON makes some Great Games but Themewise they are rather thin
so I've placed them in various Game Worlds to provide some depth/background.

Other Adventure Type Games

Middle Earth Quest #1(FFG)
World of Warcraft Adventure Game(FFG)
World of Warcraft:Wrath of the Lich King(Blizzard)

FFP Games

A Touch of Evil
Fortune & Glory
Shadow of Brimstone

GW Games

Bladeborn
Crypt Hunter
Stormvault

Special Mention

Court of the Dead Mourners Call
Runebound:Midnight Expansion
Pandemic: Cthulhu

OD

[Raynor]

I love how you overlay cool themes on these games. Makes me want to reread the nightside books and also look out for a copy of Gears of War for the minis. Despite having tinkered with making custom content for LNoE, I never got into game mods in subsequent games. I should probably consider doing that again. It sounds like a lot of fun.

I really liked the World of Warcraft ffg game, but it’s super out of print and difficult to acquire these days. Someone in my game group used to have a copy but we hadn’t played it in years and they sold it when the price went up.

I skipped Massive Darkness as I couldn’t afford it at the time, and having heard what a great game it is since it came out I’m a little sad I passed.