Mark’s Top 100 Games: The 2026 Edition

Every couple of years (or so) I blog through my top 50 or top 100 games over on my personal blog, akapastorguy. In 2022 and 2024, I shared that list with our faithful readers here at the OG… and I’m back to do it again.

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Dale Yu: Review of  High Society (Allplay)

 

 

High Society (Allplay)

  • Designer: Reiner Knizia 
  • Publisher: Allplay
  • Players: 3-5
  • Age: 10+
  • Time: 15-30 minutes
  • Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4fiAgfr
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

In Reiner Knizia’s High Society, players bid against each other to acquire the various trappings of wealth (positive-number and multiplier cards) while avoiding its pitfalls (negative number and divisor cards). While bidding, though, keep an eye on your remaining cash – at the end of the game, even though all those positive-number cards might add up to a win, the player with the least money isn’t even considered for victory. 

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Dale Yu: Review of Torchlit

 

 

Torchlit

  • Designer: David Spalinski
  • Publisher: Allplay
  • Players: 2-5
  • Age: 10+
  • Time: 40 minutes
  • Amazon link:  https://amzn.to/3RUf8CB 
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Every adventurer dreams of delving into a monster-packed dungeon and returning home to bask in fame and fortune. However, choosing the right dungeon can be tricky. Some have barely any monsters, while others are teeming with adventurers eager to split the spoils. And lurking behind it all is the fickle Dungeon Warden, forever tugging at the strings of fate. It’s no wonder adventurers carry a torch to light the way. In this trick-taking game, you must decide when to win tricks and when to increase the value of the number of tricks you think you might take. However, points are limited, so if any players end up taking the same amount of tricks, they must divide the points among themselves. After 3 rounds of play, the player with the most points wins!



 

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Dale Yu: Review of Hummingbirds

 

 

Hummingbirds

  • Designer: Jason Tremblay
  • Publisher: the op
  • Players: 2-4
  • Age: 8+
  • Time: 15 minutes
  • Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/43bESwB 
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

In Hummingbirds, you’ll guide your birds to claim flowers that hide sand timers, then reveal those timers to check for nectar. If the sand timer has run out, collect a nectar token of the same color. The longer you wait, the sweeter the reward! But be careful: if the sand timer is still ticking when you check, you’ll lose one of your lowest-value nectar tokens. 

 

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Dale Yu: Review of Lunar Skyline

Lunar Skyline

  • Designer: Charlie McCarron
  • Publisher: Dead Alive Games
  • Players: 2-6
  • Age: 10+ 
  • Time: 15-30 minutes
  • Amazon affiliate link:  https://amzn.to/48ZTHWC
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Get ready to blast off into the future with Lunar Skyline—the electrifying trick-taking card game where strategy meets high-stakes bidding and construction! 50 years after the Lunar Rush, where new wondrous materials were discovered on the Moon, the settlers are gearing up to build the first lunar metropolis. As one of a few visionary building and architectural firms, you’re competing to shape the skyline of the metropolis and leave your mark on the Moon for the ages!

In each game, the cards feature two suits/icons, giving you the flexibility to follow the lead card with either suit. You can also win tricks with expert ace pilots (which can be played high or low), or use your underground connections to smuggle in the resources you need. Every trick you take brings in valuable resources for your architectural masterpiece, but the real challenge is outpacing your competitors to complete your contract bids before they do. Nail those bids first, and you’ll get to pick from the lucrative bonuses that can launch you to victory. In Lunar Skyline, the future of this metropolis is in your hands!

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Heroscape: Release the Kraken! (and a whole lot of other stuff)

There’s been a veritable deluge of Heroscape over the past month and a half. The follow-up to the successful appearance of GI Joe (Go, Joe!) and Cobra in the realm of Valhalla is a wealth of new common squads and units as well as the long awaited appearance of the original Valkryie (Thormun) and his “friend”, the Kraken. Add in two brand new terrain sets, a return to a classic terrain set, and two promo figures that are fan service for us old skool Heroscape players… and then top it off with a really gorgeous sourcebook about all of the Age of Annihilation releases and lore. That leads to me writing a very long series of mini-reviews of all of this stuff – buckle in, kids!

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