Iâm circling back as this was a topic I missed out on but am interested in.
My history with SdJ is that I found out about it from the crest on my Catan box. I loved Catan, and I thought oh great, an award. So I looked into other SdJ winners in the old, baby internet and came up with Elfenland, Carcassonne⊠games I didnât like. I donât know quite when I came to view SdJ as a kiss of death.
Similarly with Kennerspiel, at first I thought oh good, something for me. Agricola, Istanbul, Isle of Skye - all games I appreciate very much. But then, as the years went on, I found this list to be bland and derivative.
I have heard that the process is very political, kind of like Oscars. The reason the first two LOTR movies didnât win much is because the team was too busy making the rest of the films. It wasnât until after ROTK that they could come, press the flesh, make the relationships, tell the anecdotes that the trilogy got all its awards. I think that political process has a lot to do with why certain games, and designers, tend to win while others are serially snubbed.
My tastes have also broadened and Iâve come to appreciate games I initially didnât like (e.g., Carcassonne, Dominion), so SdJ or KdJ arenât necessarily kisses of death but more curiosities and one data point that may nudge me to look into a game if other data points accumulate.
SdJ - everything I've played and all my thoughts
Actual winners marked with a * for reference.
*Rummikub (Own) - I have this for other people who like it. I enjoy it sufficiently.
*Scotland Yard (Played) - I think itâs pretty good? I wouldnât buy it but wouldnât mind playing it once every few years.
*Sherlock Holmes (Own, not played)
*Catan (Own) - No longer in my top five but I maintain this game in high esteem and canât wait until we can play as a family
*El Grande (Own) - Top top shelf. One of my all time favorites.
*Elfenland (Sold) - Eh. It works at higher player counts. It can even work at lower player counts if everyone understands the math and meta of the game. Too easy to break, too much work for the few high points that come along. Iâd keep this if I had infinite time and space.
*Tikal (Deleted) - I hate this game. Maybe Iâd like it more now? I found the action point menu untenable and the strategy predictable.
Citadels (Own, on sell pile) - I like this game, but it always takes too long. Thereâs just no way to maintain what is good about the game while reducing the serial role selection time. I think it would be good with a group of 4-5 people who already knew the game, but you have to play it the long, bad way to make people who know the game well.
*Carcassonne (Own) - After 20 years I grokked this and like it a lot now.
Puerto Rico (Own) - After 20 years I grokked this and like it a lot now.
*Alhambra (Deleted) - Hate this. It felt like bad Ticket to Ride (I wonât detail the parallels) and Iâm meh on Ticket to Ride.
*Ticket to Ride (Own) - Super meh but others like it and I like to play even if it is TtR.
Ingenious (Sold) - Good game. Not Great. I donât dislike it but donât regret parting.
No Thanks (Own) - Only one play. Some people couldnât comprehend the âleast negativeâ thing and felt like they were all losing. Havenât gotten another group to try it.
*Thurn & Taxis (Own) - Love this one. Really do.
Blue Moon City (Sold) - Bad Istanbul and Bad Ethnos got together and had a bad baby.
*Dominion (Own) - Iâve told elsewhere the long story of meh that turned into fondness. Good game.
Pandemic (OwnâŠ) - I donât like it. But Iâm not selling it. Not sure why.
*Dixit (Played) - Meh. Thank you Mysterium for turning this orphaned mechanic into a game.
Forbidden Island (Deleted) - Meh.
*Kingdom Builder (Played) - Meh.
*Hanabi (Own) - One play. Want more.
*Camel Up (Owned, not played)
Concept (Played) - I credit my college major for making me amazing at this. Should probably pick it up.
Splendor (Played) - Iâd rather play Monoply than Splendor. There. I said it.
*Colt Express (Deleted) - Really didnât like this. Bad robo rally.
*Codenames (Owned) - What a great game!
Imhotep (Played) - Smart game here. Iâd love to play more.
*Kingdomino (Own) - Always better than I think it is going to be. Not great, but good. Gives more than it takes.
El Dorado (Own) - Earns its reputation.
*Azul (Own) - Am I getting tired of this one? Maybe?
*Just One (Own) - Too easy to get into a meta. But itâs breezy and still a bit fun.
My City (Own) - Weâre 25% through the campaign. Donât dislike it, but itâs stalled. Thatâs telling.
Nova Luna (Played) - I understand why this exists alongside Habitats. I agree that a third edition by a different designer does not deserve an award. Iâd still like a fourth edition that combines the best of Habitats and Nova Luna into the best iteration of this game. I like the model in both its extant iterations but no way should a derivative win.
*Cascadia (Own) - I really enjoy this when it fits the mood.
Scout (Own) - Good times with this, too. Mostly 2p which works quite well. I prefer true climbers like Tichu.
Next Station London (Played) - Iâm really not a roll & write guy and this was no exception.
KdJ - everything I've played and all my thoughts
Actual winners marked with a * for reference.
*Lord of the Rings (Knizia) (Own) - Terrible game but wonderful and evocative as an experience. I couldnât ever sell this for the way it makes you feel you are living the story. Too bad Iâve learned a bit how to cheese it (tank Moria, collecting lots of resources, then use them to get through the harder stages)
*Caylus (Deleted) - I just didnât get on with this. The primary emotion while playing is stress, even while winning, and the recipe fulfillment payoff just isnât there.
*Agricola (Own) - Iâve said enough about my love for this game. Gric forever.
*7 Wonders (Sold) - I never, ever got on with this. Iâm glad the rest of the world is coming around. I think it feels like a roll & write in the ways I donât like.
Lancaster (Own) - I suspect this is always the wrong choice compared to Keyflower and Carson City, but Iâd like to get several more plays in. I can tell it really shines with repeat plays, repeat group, and I want to get it into that place someday. Good game (once everyone âknows the deckâ on the 18 or so laws that come out).
*Village (Own) - Havenât played. Want to. I want to not like it, so I can cull it for the space, but also I may really like it. Originally got it as an alternative to Burgundy due to the way you race to grab resources off the board.
K2 (Played) - Didnât like it, despite the SU&SD love. Too simple.
Palaces of Carrara (Own) - I really like this. It may not stay forever but I still enjoy it. My mind is not made up on 1e vs 2e.
Terra Mystica (Gaia Project) - As I understand how and why this differs from its offspring Iâve wondered if I need it, too (I have the app). Iâm going to try Age of Innovation some day. Caledonia + Gaia seems like enough for this system but I kind of want the full thing with the map focus rather than the race focus. Anyway, great system.
TâZolkin (Own) - Superb. I like how hard it is to master, but itâs really not hard to play. You donât feel punished as you bounce off the hardest mechanisms, just enticed to do better. Really smart design.
*Istanbul (Own) - I like this. Itâs a great light game. The neutral assistant variant, and M&B expansion, give it enough depth and legs to sustain itself long term. I still canât reliably beat the hard AI on the app, either, so the skill ceiling is beyond me. I like it.
Concordia (Own) - Istanbul is good. Concordia is great. Shame, here. Still, Concordia can be pretty solitary, even at higher play levels, while Istanbul gets more and more cutthroat as the table understands which upgrades are most valuable for a given board and start manipulating prices for those who are too slow.
Rococo (Own) - What a year! Istanbul, Concordia, and Rococo. Letâs go back to 2014 and pretend kickstarter doesnât exist.
Orleans (Own) - This took some time to grow on me. Not sure if it is permanent collection but weâve reached the âthis is pretty goodâ mezzanine.
Marco Polo (Own) - Did not get on with this. The game is too scant and the powers too powerful, such that you have to just play your power exclusively. I was completely done in three.
Fields of Arle (Own) - What a masterpiece! Yes! Oh, didnât win.
Deus (Played) - I like this. I could play it more if someone was asking me to. I think later games do similar things better.
*Isle of Skye (Own) - One of my all time favorites, up there with El Grande.
Raiders of the North Sea (Played) - Recently noted, it does some interesting things but fails as a game. Iâve heard expansions give it the space it needs to be interesting across multiple sessions.
Terraforming Mars (Played) - Eh, itâs ok. I have fun playing it, but need to cool down for several months before playing it again. Itâs the rondo effect, you may do one interesting new thing each round, and then cycle through all the old things over and over and over again, like turning a crank.
Great Western Trail (Own) - Of course, if it werenât up against EXIT it would have won. EXIT is just such a towering presence in the industry⊠hindsight again. This game gets better and better as you get better and better at it. And I think the original is the best, having played the later titles not nearly enough to make that declaration.
*Quacks of Quedlinburg (Own) - This game is lightning in a bottle. We love it! I love it! Yes.
Ganz Schon Clever (Deleted) - Hmmmm. Do I hate this or Splendor more? Thatâs a hard call. Donât ever, ever ask me to play this. Just the thought of it puts me in a funk for several hours.
*Wingspan (Itâs in my house but itâs not mine) - OK. Letâs take a tableau builder. Letâs reduce the cards in the tableau to just a few basic actions, but put different birds on each one. Now take away all the iconography so that players have to move around the table to read the market and read their opponentâs cards. Oh, and read and re-read their own cards each turn throughout the game. Itâs all the fun of Race for the Galaxy (OwlaxyâŠget it?) but poured into a 90 minute container so thereâs more time between each bit of fun. WEâLL MAKE MILLIONS! I only play this because I live with and near birders.
*The Crew (Own) - I really like this. But Iâve never played more than one hand. Thereâs always someone at the table who doesnât get on with it, and you kind of need a group to work through. I look forward to, one day, playing enough hands that I get to the point Iâm tired of it like everyone else did?
Cartographers (Played) - This is a roll & write I can play. Enough said.
*Paleo (Own) - Got this on deep discount as a COVID activity but we never got to it.
Arnak (Own) - I like this? Not sure how much yet. Thereâs a frustrating amount of down time and brain burn as the game demands minmax calculations, so itâs always a bit more work than I want. But itâs also fun. Iâm in the middle.
Barrage (Own) - Hmm. I need to play this more. Against Brass and Pipeline I donât know if I need all of them, but I donât understand the Barrage economy well enough to make a call yet.
Cryptid (Own) - Great little game that is rarely talked about. Search for Planet X eclipsed it when it was released. I donât have a favorite between those two.
Dune: Imperium (Own) - Oh I want to play this more. There are so many expansions and iterations now, maybe just wait for the dust to settle and play in 5 years when a single flavor remains?
Iki (Own) - Not yet played. Canât wait!
Planet Unknown (Sold) - I still canât understand what others like about this game. I found nothing, just nothing, in the box. And I donât know if I was missing the point or if it is just a matter of taste.
As with others, itâs rarely my favorite that wins. But as with others, as well, I donât think Iâm the target audience.
The multiplayer solitaire really took off sometime after Kingdom Builder. But this is a general trend in boardgames and It feels like SdJ is just following that rather than setting itâŠ
