Top 10 Games w/ Light Rules & Heavy Strategy
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Today we take a look at 10 games that don’t have many rules but have a heck of a lot of strategy!
And here’s a link to that Unmatched site we were talking about:
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0:00 Intro
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I'll say no on Castles of Burgundy. I think when we play a game a lot we forget what it's like to learn it. I teach a lot of games and think I do a pretty good job of it, but I taught this to some new folks sometime in the past year and it felt like a medium/medium-heavy game with the things I felt like I needed to explain. I'm sure someone else would do a better job, but I think it's wrong to say Castles is a rules-light game.
But—great video! I haven't tried Santorini or Unmatched or Arboretum even though I've known about them, and this makes me want to now.
Great topic! I love Santorini and will have to take a look at Mythic Mischief. Another great abstract is Warchest.
Right there with you on Unmatched – first thing I thought of was Little Red. She broke my brainium trying to plan out her basket bonuses.
I was surprised at Bloody Inn – just picked that up because you said so, and i really had to sit back and plan out what i wanted to do. Turns and rules are simple – basically pick one thing to so with one card on your turn, try to bank points. But man…. so many agonizing decisions that all knot together – 7 dead cops later and I'm just shoving bodies under my neighbor's barn cause I have too many things to do and not enough turns to do them. That peasant mechanic – brilliant.
Thanks for this list. Low rule complexity, deep strategy is a beautiful balance
So, uh… keep checking my inbox, and so far no "10 more great games" notice that dropped on Patreon. Does my single dollar mean nothing??? This is the internet, and i am ENTITLED, sirs!!!
Tzolkin… Just place workers or remove workers and gain the benefit(s).
Great list ! Mind would be : (no specific order)
1) Mangrovia
2) Arboretum
3) Glass Road
4) Bloody Inn
5) Photograph (wind the film)
6) Five Tribes
7) Ethnos
8) Glory to Rome
9) The Crew
10) Hansa teutonica
Excellent idea for a list and good choices! Totally agree that Arboretum is a brain melter, it just looks so sweet and innocent. Santorini is an absolute gem. Anyone who likes abstract strategy should own Santorini. Can't agree on CoB however, it has a good amount of rules and concepts to learn IMO. Thanks for the list!
How in the heck did Hanamikoji not make this list? I think I bought it because y'all said it was one of the best at this.
The brother smurf ❤️
Hilarious intro! 4 rule Mike! 2 toes and 4 rules. lol Will that be the name of the side channel? lol
I love seeing everyone's list. Games like these are the only ones I can get my family to play with me. If the rules take more than 10 minutes to explain, it's not making it to the table.
A lot of unexpected games on that list, I really like those kinds of games. Another good one I would add is Azul (and its variants).
I think any of the mask series games are best in this category, where my personal favorite is Cuzco (a.k.a. Java)
'Brew the best bread and bake the breast beer'
– Murph Brothers, 2023
Tapestry could be on this list. Century Spice Road maybe?
My favorite is Tokaido.
I have had Concordia sitting here for a year, untouched. You've convinced me it's time to give it a go!
Great list, I like a lot of these games. I'll add Azul, Akropolis, It's a Wonderful World, and Land vs Sea.
Hive is way better abstract than those you mentioned! Such an underrated game 😢
No going lie, I was surprised Foundations of Rome didn’t make this list. You pick 1 of the same 3 options every turn. Big gap.
Commenting before watching … I'm really excited for this list! Not sure which direction it will go on but I'm always on the lookout for these types of games! (I think) guess we will see in .. 3… 2… 1…
Ra is an easy game to learn and has deep bidding strategy.
All good choices, congrats 🎉🎉🎉… except le havre… such a good game but easy to learn? I dont think so…. I think that even where the actions are few, if the implicances are many and must be known from the beginning… the rules are many…
My first thoughts were Hive and Renature.
Homeworlds has about 6 rules, and very simple components, and is a fairly complex and fun 2-player game.
Other games that would fit: Assembly, Five Tribes, Land vs Sea, Bites, Azul.
Love seeing Concordia on here (my #1 overall game!) But…no Onitama? 😱
Love Arboretum! Scoring confuses new players, but it's so good.
I feel like Hansa Teutonica and The Red Cathedral absolutely belong in this list.
Ticket To Ride😅
So I thought Targi would have been there. And I would have put Trajan in there too.
Cool! Now can you do a video on “Top 10 Games with Heavy Rules & Light Strategy”? (Just for a joke, maybe)!
Thanks.
mission red planet or the king is dead. 10 same cards to everybody and a heavy ammount of strategy…
Nick, how do you “bake the breast bread”? 😂
What? No Ginkopolis?
❤❤❤😮
Great topic!!!
Great list, thank you! I love Concordia and Le Have. A more recent favorite like this is Guild of Merchant Explorers.
I love Nick’s thoughts on chess!
My first thought when I saw the topic was Blitzkrieg. It’s so quick and easy to teach, never have to look at the rulebook, but I’m always shocked how much though goes into each decision made in the game. It feels like it would be stale since the board doesn’t change game to game, but somehow it always feels dynamic and interesting.
I'm really surprised Scythe isn't on this list. I just started delving into this game and the rules didn't seem to hard to grasp and the strategy is … a huge part of this game.
my highest compliment (I have seen hundreds of videos). This is one of the top 10 video's I have seen of all times. I play almost exclusively games that take minutes to learn and weeks to years to master. my I suggest a few games with explanation. Dice Throne. I call it Battle Yahtzee / Smash up. Play a Monster and an Action and you are done. Small World of Warcraft (I don't like Small World..but) each person gets a two sided card with what each character does and and each environment explained. I call it Risk except continuously losing armies / Kingsburg. you have 5 years to build up your castle to win the game by (bribing) delegates to help you build up your castle. / Castle Panic…Tower Defense game. Probably my #1 game as easies to learn Fearsome Floors. Get out of the dungeon before the monster get you. movement you can move 7 spaces in 2 turns..ex. turn 1 I move 6 flip the pog to 1 turn 2 move 1 flip the pog to 6. each turn everyone moves then the monster moves. that is about it. get out before the monster kills you.
a completely different comment. on Unmatched (favorite game of all times and yes I have them all) I like 4 player as much as 2 player and I will not play 3 player…1 person always seem to get ganged up on. I think you should try it. I love both 1v1 and 2v2
Interesting list. Everything you mentioned about Chess is much more true for Go. That is in fact my number 1 game of all time. And that despite I am more a Themer. (Terraforming Mars, Wingspan, Scythe, Sleeping Gods etc.) Go has the simplest 3 rules, but only in 2016 was a AI able to win against human. It is THE most complex game out there.
Expected 10 Knizia games, but none?! Oh my
How is Le Havre “light”? Even Concordia is pretty much medium weight. I would never say those two games are light, especially considering that you have games like Hanabi on this list…. Those games don’t even compare in terms of lightness
I know you've been doing this for a bit now, but I just wanted to comment on how much I enjoy and appreciate the b-roll you incorporate into your top 10 lists. Very well done, beautiful cuts that really add to both the quality and quantity of your videos. Thanks for the effort. I know it takes a lot.
This was a great list, btw!
Hansa Teutonica