Stack rank of the ones I know…
Games I love:
Grand Austria Hotel
My favorite combo game. The combos are rare, you have to work for them, but they are more meaningful for it. And it seems like it could devolve to multiplayer solitaire, but it never seems to. The emperor is checking on both of you, the dice disappear way too fast… I’m always very dialed into my opponent. This one deservies it’s place in the rankings.
Lorenzo Il Magnifico
This is a probationary slot, as I have played this only a few times. But I was deeply impressed by the elegant interlocking of this game’s pieces. The tension between building or running your engine, between hitting short term goals (fear the stick) and endgame goals (chase the carrot), and the race to do the most important things before your opponents are all real. On top of that tension, there is a deep satisfaction with everything you are able to do. The game is both stingy and generous, punishing and rewarding, stressful and satisfying. I don’t know how it does that.
Tzolk'in
Not much left to say about this one. It’s a delight to play and none of us can play it well, so there’s a reason to come back. I appreciate that the temples, buildings, and skulls are all balanced so there is room to go contrarian or to compete. I also appreciate that, at least once each game, you’ll feel like a towering genius. And at least once you’ll feel like an abject idiot.
First Rat
I’ve recently raved about this in other threads. It’s light, it’s not going to change your life. But it’s also good. Shortest version is that, like Nusfjord, every smallest detail here has been carefully polished and balanced, and the more you play the more you find new corners or perfection. These games can be so perfect they feel a bit sterile, but the perfection itself has a quiet pleasure to it.
The games I like well enough:
Teotihuacan
One play. Intrigued enough to buy it. Everything felt smooth and connected and there was a lot to explore. I’m eager to play this more - BGA, solo, or maybe even with real people?
Barrage
Unfortunately, I’ve only soloed this. Though the solo is pretty lifelike. It’s intriguing. I don’t think I need Brass, Pipeline, and Barrage, and Brass isn’t getting sold - so this one remains a question mark. I don’t yet understand the economy, so the game always feels like it stutters in the middle when all your construction equipment is tied up. I can confirm that experienced players say the “real game” is getting your engine set up to build all your buildings, not fighting over water (just, that’s where the game-winning points are). I’ve also had the frustrating experience where, round 1, I built a conduit and then the bot built a power plant on the spot I needed, and my already tight economy was shattered. All to say, there’s interesting stuff going on here but I haven’t seen enough of this game to truly know what I think about it.
Ones I didn’t like:
Tiletum
Pleasant but derivative. The opposite of First Rat, felt like an LLM AI had been asked to make a new game out of known tropes and the machine obliged. Everything here works, it’s satisfying, it’s pleasant, I’d play again. But it’s also completely skippable.
Voyages of Marco Polo
I tried this several times because I really didn’t like it. When I react that strongly to a popular game, something in me needs to resolve the discrepancy, to figure out either what I missed or where I’ve diverged. In the end, I concluded that the game itself was too sparse and the character powers were too powerful. Because the game gives you nothing, the “game” becomes exploiting your player power… and nothing else. So while each game may be different, individual sessions felt narrow and scripted.
Other games I have sparse thoughts about:
Coimbra: researched several times as the third of the Austria / Lorenzo / Coimbra trilogy. Every time I walk away, re-convinced it’s the skippable one of the series.
Marco Polo II: The completionist in me continues to wonder if it fixes what I didn’t like about Marco Polo and I remain curious to see.
Terramara: Gigli/Brasini have done great things together. They also made Golem. But just knowing who did this I kind of want to know more about it and try it out.
Egizia: Another Gigli/Brasini thing, reasonably well regarded (especially for a 15 year old game). There have been several comments about how these games are high rules, low payout. I do agree with that for the lower (later) end of the list. There’s been rules-creep. But the upper end of the list really isn’t that - Tzolk’in has a paper-thin manual. Grand Austria and Lorenzo are very middle-of-the-road when it comes to rules. I’m curious about this older title back when the group was more disciplined and elegant - and I know nothing about it apart from occasionally hearing it’s name.
Tekhenu: I dont’ think Tascini is the superstar of the group, though he and Luciani are certainly the most famous. But this one gets discussed enough that I’ll look into it someday.
Nucleum: This one has caught my eye and I’ve heard it discussed a lot. I’ll look at it in 2026, based on my new “only buy games that are at least 3 years old” rule to see how opinions have settled in and if its still being discussed.
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I think of all of these, Gigli is my favorite. He’s attached to many of hte higher ups on my list and doesn’t appear at the bottom. Also, First Rat. It’s not a solo effort, but his collaborators are not the big names on the list. Seeing the discipline of that game, and how games like GAH and Lorenzo are a little more focused, streamlined, and counterbalanced than the sprawling entries typical of Luciani and Tascini without him, I suspect he’s the secret sauce.