After 25,708 words this week about our collective recent favorite games, all-time most underappreciated games, popular games that are “not for me,” and published games that we most want to try, it’s time to conclude this wonderful week of lists.

Recent Favorites

• The Crew (Runner Up: Pax Pamir)

Underappreciated

• Reef Encounter (Runner Up: Spyrium)

Popular “Not For Me”

• Cards Against Humanity (Runner Up: Dominant Species)

Want to Try

• Barrage (Runner Up: Gloomhaven)

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Opinionated Gamer Closing Reflections

Tery Noseworthy: It has been really interesting to see what others consider to be underappreciated, not for them, as well as what they want to try. One great thing about boardgaming is that there is a game out there for every taste, and if you don’t like a game or style of game there are plenty of others to take its place.  I especially enjoyed reading why certain games that I really enjoy are not for others, as I feel like I have both learned more about my fellow OGers and I’ll know what games to suggest once we can all get together again.  I also have some additions to my games to try lists thanks to their descriptions of underappreciated games.

Matt Carlson: Looking at the above list, I seem to fit in just fine.  I knew I wanted to try Barrage, and I suppose I should be looking into Pax Pamir.

Talia Rosen: With so many different OG contributors participating in the polls for this week’s lists, we ended up with some interesting and unexpected results. And I’m sure there are plenty of us that don’t agree with the outcome, but I always find it fascinating to see what emerges when you put all of our perspectives in a fairly unstructured blender. Ultimately, we end up pulling in dramatically different directions, with games like Gloomhaven, Wingspan, and Twilight Imperium appearing on several completely opposite lists in the same week.

While most of my selections did not make the collective lists when all the votes were totaled, I learned a lot about my fellow writers from this exercise, and I discovered a few interesting games that I’m eager to try out at some point. I also learned who to try to inflict some of my favorites upon whenever the opportunity arises… because the world always needs more War of the Ring players!

My recent favorites are definitely Pax Pamir, Q.E., Railroad Ink, and Mandala. All phenomenal games that I think are a complete joy to play. My underappreciated games are absolutely Before the Wind, In the Shadow of the Emperor, Rapa Nui, and Kreta. All games that I urge folks to try out if you haven’t had the chance because they’re each so special and so often overlooked. My overrated games are easily Modern Art, Castles of Burgundy, and Caverna. These are just a few of the highly regarded games that I will go out of my way to avoid if at all possible. Lastly, my want to try games are many and varied, including Blood Rage, Fog of Love, Romolo o Remo, and Keywood, among many others. I’m often adding games to this list much faster than I can take them off because I have a weirdly insatiable appetite for trying games by designers I like, or by publishers I respect, or with cover art that looks interesting, or with strange themes, or for no good reason at all, except that board games are wonderful. Thanks to everyone for a great week of listing and ranking games!