Why choose just 3 and ignore the rest of your collection?? Why can't I have a few more options? Could that even be remotely possible? I definitely did have a case of analysis paralysis when it came to choosing my 3 favourites. Did anyone else have the same pressure?
Anyhow over the years of exploring various games, the following are my top - 3 go to games usually on the weekends. These 3 games always bring a smile on my face every time I play them, not because I usually win (which I normally don't always but sometimes yes, I win a few...) they were some of the most recent & frequent ones that I started to play.
So, without much further ado.....
Istanbul - The Dice Game The first time I played this game, it did not make much sense to me. There were not a lot of things going on, not much time spent on setting up the board, there was no need to focus much on planning your next moves and so on..... I was shocked. Could such a complex game be this simpler? I did have to keep checking the box to make sure I got all the components out. The craziest part of this game was that the entire game revolves on the rolling of the dice.
I still remember the first ever game of Istanbul I played with my husband and our friends took a solid 2 hours because we were still new to Istanbul and the board gaming world. But the first ever Istanbul dice game that we played got over with 30 minutes (no I did not win...) I guess this became one of my favourites because there is no hassle to setup and doesn't take that long to play, which actually gives us more time to explore other games. So, if you haven't played this game, I definitely recommend trying at least once. It might become your favourite too. Azul - The Summer Pavilion The entire series of Azul games are always fun to play. When I heard that a new game in the Azul series was going to launch, I immediately told my husband that we must definitely get it for our collection, and we did.. The first few games that I played were a bit challenging because it took time in getting used to the wild colour tiles. In addition to that I enjoy playing this game because in a way it gives you an opportunity to plan a few moves ahead at every turn.
Another interesting thing about the game is that it has some additional tiles that are set aside in the beginning of the game and also during the game and you have a possibility to gain some extra tiles from the pillar, statue and the window during the game.. I believe there is no one strategy of winning this game. Compared to the basic Azul and Azul - The stained glass of sintra, summer pavilion wins it hands down in terms of design, concept and game play. This game I feel is a must have for all gamers. Ticket to Ride - Rails & Sails This game became quite the favourite and the most regular board game every weekend. The interesting thing about this game in particular is that you can travel both ways of the board. You are not bound by the fact that you have to acquire the longest road. It does guarantee fun with 5 players because you want to build all the important links the first. After playing the Europe version, I was no longer interested to play ticket to ride anymore because all of them felt the same way (you gain cards, build roads, claim your route).
The first time I played rails & sails I was taken aback by looking at the huge double side game board, so many components and I must admit it did look so colourful. My favourite part of this game in particular is definitely the cards, the cute little ships, the harbours that give you extra points and does not limit your thinking to just trying to build one long link. I feel one does get a sense of travelling around the whole world with this game. On the other side we get to experience the great lakes of USA and Canada. Although having played that only for a few times, I felt it was brilliantly designed. It was a wonderful experience having tried this game. Now I never shy away from giving my honest opinion about this game to anyone who asks me about it, which is do give it a try, you will also fall in love with it like I did. So that was it, these were my top - 3. I would never get tired of playing these games again and again. The memories and that I have with these games always bring a big smile on my face. I guess all these games were an inspiration to me and helped me in designing my own game. I would also like to thank Jim who gave me the opportunity to share here. I hope you enjoyed reading about 'My Top - 3'.I would love to hear your opinions and thoughts about your top - 3