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Your Favourite Game Outside Top 500 - Win Geek Gold - Contest Now Closed
Lucian Pleianu
Romania
Cluj Napoca
Cluj
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As a newcomer to boardgaming, it won't take one long to find out about Agricola, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Dominion or Carcassonne. Even if you never ever heard anything about board games, when you login to BGG for the first time, top 100 will most likely be your "way in".
But what about those little gems that we find out about after weeks/months in this hobby? Those games that didn't (yet?) make it to the top 500 but are some brilliant finds in themselves? Games that we would gladly play just as often as the well known titles in our collection?
Which is your favorite game outside top 500? Let everybody know, thumb this list and win geek gold! To enter this contest, you must simply thumb this list or my list entry. The least I can do - I will thumb each entry added to the list. 
PRIZES:
The following prizes are up for grabs:
First prize: 10  One individual selected at random who thumbs this list.
Second prize: 5 One individual selected at random who thumbs this list.
Third prize: 3 One individual selected at random who thumbs this list.
No individual can win twice, so in case random.org returns the same winner for a second time, I will redraw.
Additional Door prizes: 1 per door prize. Later edit #1: Because the tipping might not be an exact round number, I will give out the last door prize as a 0.X , depending on how much I'd have left once all the other prizes will be drawn.
I will give door prizes to as many of you as I can, based on all the tips I get for this list and the GG I collect from other sources while this contest lasts. Door prizes will also be selected at random. No geek gold will be kept for myself. All tips that I receive will given away as prizes.
The contest will end on May 31st, 2010, 20:00 PM, CET (Central European Time).
I am adding as the first entry one of the little great games I found when browsing some items for an auction. It has made it into my collection and it's highly unlikely I will ever part with it.
Later edit #2: I am closing the contest at this point in time. There have been 601 thumbs for the geeklist and 50 thumbs for Dynasties. Most of the users thumbed both, but there have been 6 users only thumbing the geeklist item. This means 607 entries in the draw pool. I will use random.org to select the winners and will post the results as soon as possible.
At the time when the contest ended, I had 36.70 shiny in my reserve.
And the WINNERS are:
FIRST place and 10 as determined by random.org goes to:
Tony Hamen
United States
Austin
Texas
SECOND place and 5 as determined by random.org goes to:
Todd
United States
North Attleboro
Massachusetts
All glory to the Hypnotoad!
THIRD place and 3 as determined by random.org goes to:
mads matzon
Denmark
copenhagen
The other 18 winners, each getting 1 thanks to random.org were:
1. #186 in the list -
Matthew Cordeiro
United States
Cumberland
Rhode Island
2. #166 in the list -
mich
Germany
Schleswig-Holstein
3. #588 in the list -
Shanthi Gonzales
United States
San Francisco
California
4. #199 in the list -
5. #270 in the list -
Marco Fuini
South Africa
Durban
KwaZulu Natal
6. #55 in the list -
Avri Balofsky
Israel
Beit Shemesh
7. #486 in the list -
David Morneau
United States
Maspeth
New York
8. #101 in the list -
bran mcmillin
United States
Batavia
Ohio
9. #521 in the list -
Henrik Lantz
Sweden
Uppsala
10. #100 in the list -
Let's Play Two!
United States
Illinois
11. #436 in the list -
Mike B
Netherlands
Utrecht
12. #420 in the list -
United States
Parsons
Kansas
13. #269 in the list -
14. #297 in the list -
Dan Schaeffer
United States
Unspecified
Illinois
15. #515 in the list -
Colin Gill
United States
Elmore
Alabama
16. #559 in the list -
Din Li Tsan
Taiwan
Unspecified
Unspecified
17. #183 in the list -
18. #292 in the list -
Jason Smith
United States
Kelso
Washington
The remaining 0.70 goes to #147 in the list:
Owein Hennessy
United Kingdom
Unspecified
Unspecified
I will start sending out the right away, though it might take a while to go through it all. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and/or took the time to add items to this geeklist, there have been some really, really good games added. Some have made it to my wishlist and this geeklist served it's purpose for that matter.
Later edit #3: All have now been successfully sent out. Phew, it took a while 
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Lucian Pleianu
Romania
Cluj Napoca
Cluj
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Current Rank when Added to the List: #751.
As I said, I found out about this game when I was browsing an auction (or was it someones collection?  ) with games that work well with two players.
Read a couple of reviews, liked the idea, bought the game and here I am, adding it to the list of excellent games that are not inside top 500 at the moment.
I don't know if this game is for everybody, but I know why I like it. Those games where "I know that he knows that I know" will always appeal to me.
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John Di Ponio
United States
Warren
Michigan
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Yep...here is a gem I love to play! I have had it in the collection for many years and I find every chance I get to bring it out and get some races in. I wish more tracks would come out and I do need to pick up some more cars. This is one fun racing game!
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Marshall Miller
United States
Medford
Massachusetts
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Basically, in this game you have a row of people at the guillotine. Of course, you want to kill all the greats so you want to manipulate the line to your advantage. What a great gateway game. People get it really quickly and the game flows pretty fast. The art is amazing, like stills from a Disney film... and really, who can resist the Piss Boy? (we make people fetch drinks if they kill the Piss Boy)
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John Holder
United States
Centennial
Colorado
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The first game I have rated after the magic 500 cutoff is Gang-of-Four, which is definitely a fun card game which I would love to play more.
Outside the top 500, my highest-ranked game is the traditional card game Schafkopf, which is just a total blast.
Oddly, the game outside the top 500 that I have rated at all with the most plays ever is Fluxx -- my young son used to really love the chaos of this game, so I ended up playing it a lot. But despite the statistic, it isn't my favorite in any sense.
I find it very odd that with such simple criteria ("outside the top 500"), no matter how I slice it, I ended up with a card game.
Anyway, my favorite boardgame outside the top 500 is probably Tom Wham's cult classic, The Awful Green Things From Outer Space -- partly because my son's enjoyment of this game delights me to no end as I relive the fun I had when I was a boy when I see him enoying it.
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Christen
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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I love this game because its so fast and easy to explain. I have taught my gamer friends and we love it as a filler and I've played it with my non-gaming family and it is great for family bonding time.
I took it with me last time we went home for Thanksgiving and it was a major hit. Even when I wasn't there, my mom was teaching others how to play it. She ended up buying several copies to give away to friends for Christmas (and one to keep )
Current Rank: 753 (also the lowest ranked game added so far  )
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tim Tim TIm TIM TIMMY!!
Costa Rica
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1387 I believe - this game is great, the area control on 2 sides of the boards is great, I am a dice guy and yet I love this card driven game.
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Douglas Catchpole
Australia
Dulwich Hill
New South Wales
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Current Rank when Added to the List: #1315.
I expect this game will be get inside the top 500 soon enough, as there are only about 120 copies of it in the wild at the moment.
None the less, this is a great card game, that is simple enough to teach and quite crazy. Build up a tableau of technologies, use their abilities to strengthen your tableau and score points to get achievements. Sounds simple enough, but moving through the ages, onto bigger and better things, weighing up decisions on when to push your luck and when to potentially give your opponents an advantage and when to slow your own development to wreck chaos on your opponents. It's highly confrontational and destructive, but not in a personal way.
A great 2-4 player card game that plays quickly, provided you don't have someone with a terrible case of AP. Definitely consider getting it when the larger release happens later this year.
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Jesse Hickle
United States
Griffith
Indiana
This space for rent.
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CURRENT RANK: 502
It's right outside the top 500, but this is a game I really like, particularly as a two-player game. With three or four, it's a little too random, but it's really good with two. I love the puzzle aspect of arranging your garden, and trying to get the right scoring tiles to complete sets is very engaging to me.
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D a v i d B u r k e y
United States
Fort Smith
Arkansas
Having an average weekend...
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My current favorite game oustide the top 500 is Richelieu (current ranking of #705). Simple rules, tense and exciting gameplay, and a lot more depth than you would initially think. This game just edges out Maori (#1158) and Gipsy King (#991) as my most favorite outside the top 500 game.
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11.
Board Game: Cavum
[Average Rating:6.84 Overall Rank:790]
KAS
United States
Arlington
Virginia
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A very good game once you make it through the rules and get in a play. Combines tile placement, action points allowance system, pick-up and delivery, auction/bidding and variable turn order. Can be a bit chaotic with the dynamite tiles, but I enjoy this quite a bit.
Current Rank: 595
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James Welke
Canada
Edmonton
Alberta
Humbly yours, the RPG Geek of the Week
For Taringai!
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Ranked 3675th
Why Heart of Africa?
I don't know really. It's the first auction game I've ever played; players must bid to take their turn. It's a very unique turn-taking mechanic that works out to be quite balanced (as one's bid is divided amongst each of the other players after a successful bid; also, one needs the bidded goods to take a turn anyway, so there is some check on bidding rashly).
I suppose the attack/retreat model might need some repairing, but I've only played it a couple of times.
I find the theme to be interesting: Colonial Africa, and it's a good European-style fight for the ever-coveted victory points.
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Kent Reuber
United States
San Mateo
California
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This is still one of my favorite Sci-Fi games. In addition to a simple point-to-point strategic movement, there is a separate tactical sequence involving close/long ranges where ships pair off for combat, then have the option of using tactics such as suicide attacks or high-intensity missile fire.
Current Rank: 1092
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Michael Aldridge
United States
Nashville
Tennessee
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Current Rank: 640
We play this at work every Thursday during lunch... usually 5 or 6 of us. We keep track of where everyone ended so we can start in the same positions next week.
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"L'état, c'est moi."
Canada
Vancouver
BC
Roger's Reviews: check out my reviews page, right here on BGG!
Who let this guy become wargame subdomain moderator anyways?
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Current rank: 754
I just love this game. I don't get it to the table very often, but for my time and money, this is as good as it gets for a civ building game that only takes 90 minutes.
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Victor Watrous
United States
Fort Wayne
Indiana
Don't make me do it, Jim. Tell me what Tony Clifton's avatar is or Case Blue gets it!
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Ranked 1102 when added to the list.
This is a great game as players deliver goods to various cities in Germany. Of course, the other players may put road blocks in the way.
It has bidding aspects and push-your-luck factors in it. A lighter game, but still challenging with the right group.
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william riley
United Kingdom
Wigan
Lancashire
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Current rank 1231
For me a hidden gem that plays best with the full 6 players.
There are always surprises in this game as you try to guess where everyone is going to place their vikings.Add the take that battles in the game and you never know who is going to win.
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Eddy Richards
Scotland
Allanton
Berwickshire
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An excellent game, currently ranked 1026, probably because it's quite old and obscure. It's a great mix of humour, tactics, bluffing and knocking over public toilets. If you can find a copy, give it a go!
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Jesse Dean
United States
Orlando
Florida
Pound for pound, the amoeba is the most vicious predator on Earth!
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Current Rank: 1094
An obscure German language board game released several years ago, Kaivai was a game that has danced about the edges of my knowledge for a while. I was intrigued by it, especially considering the positive comments of some of my Geekbuddies, but dismissed the idea that I would ever play it, however, as I was not going to lay $80+ on a game that had less than a 7 average rating and was not widely reviewed no matter who thought it was a great game. The interest, however, remained.
So back in October I ended up meeting verandi at one of Mike’s Mini Meets in Gainesville. He did not have Kaivai on hand, since he left the majority of his collection in Miami, but I expressed an interest in it, and he picked it up the next time he went to Miami. I got a chance to play it for the first time in March, and I was very, very impressed. The fact that I won my first game helped, but the game play was very engaging, the board beautiful, and I could see that this game had high odds of being a potential favorite. I went ahead and bought the sole copy available on the BGG marketplace, happy that I was able to get a copy for less than the $150 that Boards and Bits was charging.
I have played it three times since then, and have greatly enjoyed every play, even though some have been more opaque than others. Last night’s play was especially good, as it opened my eyes regarding certain strategic avenues in the game that I was previously unaware of. I am excited to play it again, and I expect it will soon hit heavy rotation.
What is the game about? Essentially it is about fishing, selling these fish to either your own huts (for potential victory points) or to other people’s huts (for money) and then either throwing parties to scores your (and other people’s huts) or using the money to build more huts of various types. Strategically there is quite a bit going on, with constants struggles as people try to block each other’s ability to gain control of islands and get access to key actions. Being in a lone position where you are able to pursue your goals without obstruction is very powerful, as is the ability to set your huts up to incentivize other players to give you an advantage that is appropriate for that sort of hut. Maneuvering so that you can get in a position to take advantage of these situations is a key part of the game.
So as you can probably tell, I like the game and am fairly enthusiastic about it. I’ve played it three times in the last week, and expect the games to continue to get regular play time. I rate it an 8 but would not be surprised if it went up over time.
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20.
Board Game: Havana
[Average Rating:6.98 Overall Rank:477]
sean johnson
United States
avon
Indiana
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Current Rank: 617
I really like this role selection game. It has a lot going on, as every turn each player has two roles, and the roles used determine turn order. Each turn one role is discarded and replaced while the other remains active. There is a lot of fun in trying to out play and out guess opponents, while trying to set up multi-building combos.
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21.
Board Game: Arbos
[Average Rating:6.27 Overall Rank:2437]
Peaceful Gamin'
Canada
Vancouver
BC
Looking for a playtester/editor/translator for your cool new game? Contact us, we're free (but we ask to be mentioned in the acknowledgements, and a copy of the game would be a nice gesture, but not necessary).
Looking for a playtester/editor/translator for your cool new game? Contact us, we're free (but we ask to be mentioned in the acknowledgements, and a copy of the game would be a nice gesture, but not necessary).
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Not sure if you allow non-ranked game gems here, then I could add dozens.
But let's stick with the rated for now:
BGG Rank 2163
Name: Arbos.
A quick, easy, fun dexterity game. Can be played any length of time, with and without a winner.
Nice.
Great bonus: The apples-addon proposed here on BGG, for the extra color.
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Joe Gola
United States
Redding
Connecticut
Eleven.
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My first choice is already taken (Scarab Lords), so here's my backup pick.
Current rank: #1245
A great little two-player game which is simple and fun enough for non-gamers and yet engaging enough for me to enjoy. Players must play cards to maneuver one of the two famous partygoers into their club, but this is difficult to do directly—you'll need to enlist the aid of one of the two street musicians to lure them in your direction.
Times Square reminds me of games like gin rummy, cribbage and backgammon in that a player can win by luck but a smart player who pays attention will have a significant advantage. However, I think that Times Square is without a doubt the most interesting of the lot; each game has new situations and surprises.
There's a really good review of the game here.
The only hurdle is that it's a very strange game when you're first introduced to it.
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Josh Martin
Canada
Mississauga
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Current rank #525
Another Teuber classic (again back when he put some effort into original games). Has a "rock-paper-scissors" mechanic, but it works here. Needs at least 4, preferably 5 or 6 players to work well, but it's good light fun with bluffing and double-guessing. Odd, but serviceable theme. For reference this won both the SdJ (fluff award) and DSP (gamers award) back in 1990, and is easily obtainable as the newly titled "Hoity Toity" in English.
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Key Locks
United States
Indianapolis
Indiana
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Current rank: 1126
This game is criminally underrated. Not only is it not in the top 500, it's not even in the top 1000! You can find fault with the production values and the fact that you have to supply quite a few of the bits yourself, but this game is so much fun. I wish a publisher would pick this up and give it a nice treatment so it could be enjoyed by a wider audience.
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Alfred Wallace
United States
State College
Pennsylvania
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Ranked 1096 (if I count correctly). I have a serious devotion for this game that borders on being a problem. I do consider it a magnificent portrayal of the Civil War, one that gets right what most other games get wrong (the vicissitudes of recruitment and promotion, basically). Great game, with lots of individually-odd mechanics that work well together to turn into a game on the Civil War.
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Posted Mon May 17, 2010 8:59 pm
for Awful Green Things!!
it's gone now anyways - and good riddance)
Grand Prairie
Texas
Mönchengladbach
Unspecified
Trade thumbs for GG!
Lawrenceville
New Jersey
I love boardgames! And to think that there are so many great ones not even considered one of the best 500 in existence (though all of us would argue that our picks are much better than that
Saint john
Austin
Texas