#1: Puerto Rico

Here's the Big Number Uno... amazingly, by a designer with only one game on the list: Andreas Seyfarth. Puerto Rico is an intricate design that plays cleanly & quickly. With only one random element (the distribution of the plantations), you have huge control over your own fate (unless another player does something crazy.)

Pat Korner: "A triumph of 'German-style' design combined with North American-style asymmetry and role selection. Highly engaging, hugely entertaining - its only flaw is that the learning curve is unforgiving. Play a four- player game with three pros and one novice and watch the player to the left of the novice win. Every time."

Larry Levy: "Wonderful gameplay, great replay value, and a masterful design. Lots to think about, both tactically and strategically, but the limited choices means that this can be played very quickly. The innovations are great, but the best part is trying to get inside the heads of your opponents and predict what they're liable to do. The five-player game is my favorite, but this plays wonderfully with 2 to 5 players (even though it's only listed for 3 to 5!) Lots of analysis can and has been applied to this, but it works just as well with a few folks playing by the seat of their pants. This is the first game that I really found myself thinking about away from the gaming table. An easy choice as my all-time favorite and I fully expect to be playing and enjoying this 20 years from now."

David Fair: "The concept of enhancing your opponents position while enhancing your own, and possibly giving them more than you give yourself, is what makes this game great."