The Ones That Got Away: John Palaygi

Keythedral
Clean, elegant, simple and fast.

Keywood
This is an awful high placement for such a small distribution game but it's well worth it. It's a hard, viscious game(at least the way our group plays it) that I really enjoy.

Hamster Rolle
My dexterity/party game entry all rolled into one! Always a blast to play and sure to attract anyone that's not seen it before.

Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective
A deduction gameyou can play solo (actually the only way to play this one in my book). Though if you've got a good memory replay value is nil.

Trivial Pursuit
I don't care what anyone else says. I like Trivial Pursuit (especially the early editions, before the "pop culture" questions took over). I never fail to learn something and am always surprised at what I do know.

The Ones That Got Away: W. Eric Martin

Familienbande

Maybe an odd choice for my favorite game of all time, but I've played 60+ times and still have fun. The theme meshes so well with the gameplay-- kill that bloodline; like mother, like son; and so forth -- that new players really get into the game. Also, my wife really enjoys the game, which is always a plus.

Piratenbilliards

One of the most addictive games ever. I bought an American version of Piratenbilliards from an online toy company, gave two away as gifts, and ordered seven more copies for folks who wanted one of their own after playing mine. Even my parents bought a copy!

Fluxx

A guilty pleasure, and one I can share only with my brother due to general loathing of this game from the game community. We play best 3 out of 5 or 4 out of 7, and because we know the cards so well, we whip through these games in ten minutes or so. Sure, Fluxx is light and chaotic, but it's hardly mindless, as many critics contend.

I'm sure my choices would differ today after another year of gaming experience, but this list was a good picture of that time.

The Ones That Got Away: Michael Weston

Confusion

No, it won't make the Top 100, but I still think it's the coolest game out there. Especially since a friend made me a home-made set and I don't have to rely on Frank B. or Craig B. to bring a copy.

Way too obscure for any chance, on top of being a niche game itself. Most people aren't willing to tax the logic corner of their brain enough for this beauty. Other than being an avowed deduction game freak, I appreciate that this game isn't actually won just by deducing the answers. Deduction is just a tool to get you to a point where you think you can win the actual soccer-like movement on the board.

Meuterer

A very underrated game just because it's hard to learn from the rules.

Not sure why more people don't like this one. It packs a lot of game into a very little box. Sure the mechanisms are about as non-intuitive as it gets, but beyond that is a very entertaining game of second guessing and smart hand management. Definitely my favorite of the "secretly choose a role" games out there.

Sleuth

The finest example of a pure deduction game.

Having since played Larry Levy's "Deduce or Die", Sleuth is no longer my favorite for those rare times when I can get fellow deduction nuts together. Still a great game that deserves more table time. Still, it was great to see one deduction game make it on the list.

Das Motorsportspiel

Yeah, another dark horse. You know the timer is set for the right limit when you can feel the adrenaline rushing as you have to rush to get your move done in time.

Never had a chance, but still the best racing game out there. Unlike Formula De and all the other race games that have been done, this is the only one to really feel like a race. The consolation prize is that at least Formula De DIDN'T make the list either.

Klunker

There's more here than most people give it credit for. For such a simple set collection game, there's a lot of subtlety.

I'm sure Dave Vander Ark listed this one too, but we may be the only ones. Repeated plays just continue to show that smart play can mitigate the luck of the draw, at least to the same extent as any other card-based game we typically play. Not a Top 10 game by any stretch, but I think it's at least as good as anything in the bottom 25.

The Ones That Got Away: Kevin Whitmore

Waldschattenspiel

There is something magical about this game. I am sure most strategy game fans will sneer at this selection. For me,Waldschattenspiel bypasses the brain and hits me directly in the heart. Play it at midnight with a bunch of friends in a camphouse in the middle of the New Mexico forest - and I guarantee you will also come to love this game.

Carcassonne: The City

It has become all too chic to dismiss anything with Carcassonne in the title. I think a great number of people have never given this extremely interesting strategy game a chance. An added bonus is the very cool city you have built once the game is completed.

Entdecker

It never really had a chance, but this game remains a personal favorite of mine. I'll be curious to see what Rev. Jackson has to say about it.

The Ones That Got Away: Brian Leet

Fast Food Franchise

Always a blast with gamers and non-gamers alike. Has the good habit of usually ending right when the outcome becomes obvious to the players.

This game hasn't been in print for nearly a decade, so I'm not surprised that it didn't make the list. I also am sure that the similarities to Monopoly probably turn off some players. For me, the similarities are enough to entice casual gamers (who don't feel like they need to learn a whole new game), while turning out to be entirely superficial from a game play standpoint. While there is a fair amount of luck here there is also strategy and planning as well as calculated risk. I would love to see a reprint of this title so it could get wider availability (and better components).

American Megafauna

I enjoy 'experience' games (games where the experience of playing is more important than your score) and this is my favorite of the bunch. The only downside here is finding players.

I wouldn't be shocked if I am the only player who nominated this game. I would be very shocked if there was more than one other person who also listed it. In many ways the game is a lot of things I don't care for. It is fiddly, complex, long, filled with obscure or odd rules interactions, and careful strategy is often overturned by pure dumb luck. With all that said, the theme and scientific accuracy (dare I say simulation?) are what win me over with this one. I find it fascinating, always enjoy the experience of the play, and can honestly say I've learned more from the game than any other since I was rather young. Still, it remains a personal affectation, and is a game I would recommend to only certain of my friends.

The Ones That Got Away: Frank Hamrick

The Bridges of Shangri-La

Yes, it's a bit dry, and a bit abstract. But I love the turn angst and the many, many quandary's each turn presents. You need to place your markers in a dozen places each turn. I also love the little wooden bridges and the awesome looking board at game's end. The only thing that keeps this one out of my top five - I can get very few people to play it with me. Otherwise, I would put this up with the top 3! (I realize I'm in a tiny minority here).

A Game of Thrones

At the time I voted, this one was hot with my group. At the time we felt it was the best "German style" wargame out there (I know it isn't a "German" game). However, it has slid back several notches since I voted for a number of reasons - the starting positions are a bit unbalanced, and it is too complicated to explain quickly or to appeal to my non-gaming friends and family. But for 6 blood-thirsty gamers, who have the time, this one (and its CoK expansion) is very good if you want a lighter war-game.

Boomtown

What was I thinking!! One of the 15 best games I own!? I put it 15th on my list because I had just gotten it and had played about 3 times - so it was still new, fresh, exciting. It's still fun, good. But it certainly isn't in the all-time "great" category. Anyway, here's what I wrote back then...

For pure fun, this one is great. It may make my top 15 because it is new, but we were all surprised at how interesting this one was. Lots of fun to play (the theme helps), great looking cards (terrific matte finish and feel) and wooden "mayors." Mechanics are simple. It is basically a bidding game with a few nice twists. Some aggression creates a bit of turn angst (players vie for control of various towns - Cactus Junction; Cold Mountain; Coyote City; Dry Gulch; and San Narciso). Lighter game that hits the spot for me. Only negative - some of the art of almost nude girls on a few of the cards. Totally unnecessary.

The Ones That Got Away: Mark Jackson

This post (and a number that follow it) are entries by those who helped vote for The One Hundred, lamenting "the ones that got away" - in other words, those games they voted for that didn't make the cut. Their statements from the period of voting (late 2004) are in italics; more recents thoughts are in regular print.

Entdecker (older version)
Supposedly a part of the original monster prototype that birthed Settlers & Lowenherz, Entdecker has always received less admiration than it's brothers. Which, frankly, is a crying shame, as it's a fast-moving game of exploration with gorgeous production and simple game play. I play using the Manu variants (for slightly more gamer friendliness)... but I've recently found that the published rules work great with my 4 & a half year old son.

And don't get me started about the hack job Teuber did to his own game with the second release of Entdecker... he took a clean, simple yet not simplistic 30-60 minute exploration game and turned it into an unnecessarily messy 75-120 minute game with less exploration (what's with the goal mountains?) and a twinky hut/scout system that actually adds MORE luck to the game. I still can't understand why people think this is the more gamer-y of the two versions, except that it's more complicated!

Fast Food Franchise
Tom Lehmann took the basic mechanisms of Monopoly (roll'n'move, own properties that people land on and pay rent, chance cards that affect the game, and so on) and grafted on others (the "map" of the USA in the middle of the board, advertising, the asymetrical nature of the different companies) to create a minor masterpiece. Loved by gamers & non-gamers alike, Fast Food Franchise is worth tracking down.