Game Ratings

Are you looking for that next great game? At TimeWellSpent we know how that goes, and so we wanted to provide you with some information that we hope is helpful to you about how games rate among various groups of people. You could call these people "insiders", "geeks", or simply people who just love getting together and having a good time around a table playing a game with friends. Here are some lists of games "they" love, and maybe you will too.

HOT Games

But before we tell you what "they" think, we'd like to give you our opinion. This list doesn't necessarily mean these are our all-time favorite games, or that we'll even want to play them a few years from now. This list just says "these are the games we love right now, and if we were to play a game here on our lunch break, or at home tonight with our family, it would probably be one of these".

Here is the list of our HOT games:
Dave: Ubongo 3-D, 11 Nimmt!, Tichu, Egizia, Roll Through the Ages and Finca.

Spiel des Jahres

The "Spiel des Jahres" award is the biggest award in the world when it comes to board gaming. Consider it the Oscar of this hobby. They try and focus on games that would be great for families - fun, relatively light, and not too long. This is probably not the list you want to consider if you're looking for one of those deep, heavy kinds of affairs.

Here is the list of winners from the past fourteen years:

2010: Dixit
2009: Dominion
2008: Keltis (Released in the USA as Lost Cities: The Board Game)
2007: Zooloretto
2006: Thurn and Taxis
2005: Niagara
2004: Ticket to Ride
2003: Alhambra
2002: Villa Paletti
2001: Carcassonne
2000: Torres
1999: Tikal
1998: Elfenland
1997: Mississippi Queen

And some other great winners of the past: Settlers of Catan, Manhattan, Hoity Toity, Barbarossa, Top Secret Spies, Scotland Yard, Enchanted Forest

Deutscher Spiele Preis

Now, if you are looking for a great game that might lean a bit more to the "heavier" or "brainier" end of things, then this award list might be the one for you. This is another big award given out in Germany, if not quite as prestigious as the Spiel des Jahres. They like to recognize "gamers games" with particularly good or inovative gameplay.

Here is the list of winners from the past fourteen years:
2009: Dominion
2008: Agricola
2007: Pillars of the Earth
2006: Caylus
2005: Louis XIV
2004: Saint Petersburg
2003: Amun Re
2002: Puerto Rico
2001: Carcassonne
2000: Taj Mahal
1999: Tikal
1998: Tigris and Euphrates
1997: Lowenherz (now rethemed as Domaine)
1996: El Grande

And some other great winners of the past: Settlers of Catan, Modern Art, Hoity Toity, Master Labyrinth

BoardGameGeek

If you want to learn more about this hobby, more about a game, more about the people who play them, or anything related to board games period - then there is only one place to go. At BoardGameGeek.Com users like you rate their favorite games - and there are thousands upon thousands of users, and over 30,000 games.

Here are the top rated games at the Geek:
1: Twilight Struggle
2: Agricola
3: Puerto Rico
4: Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
5: Power Grid
6: Le Havre
7: Eclipse
8: Brass
9: Dominion: Intrigue
10: Dominion

KidGameRatings

A local Denverite and one of our customers and friends has started a great website called KidGameRatings.com. It lists numerous games for children and even breaks it down for different age ranges. Here are some of the highly rated games listed there and the minimum age to play them.

Here are the top rated games at KidGameRatings:
Age 3: Go Away Monster!, Cranium Cariboo
Age 4: Viva Topo, Looping Louie, Hide and Seek Safari, Animal upon Animal, Chicken Cha-Cha-Cha
Age 5: Gulo Gulo, Dancing Eggs, Mago Magino, Crokinole
Age 6: Once Upon a Time, Magician's Night, PitchCar Mini, Flea Circus
Age 7: Kleine Fische, Cranium Cadoo, Circus Flohcati, Gobblet
Age 8: Ticket to Ride, HeroScape, Saboteur, Diamant
Age 9: Apples to Apples Junior, Kingdoms
Age 10: BattleLore, Take it Easy, Shadows Over Camelot, Citadels