Top 25 Games of All Time - 2026 Edition: Games 20-16
- Aaron Baillio
- Jul 17
- 7 min read
Welcome back to the ongoing countdown of my top 25 games of all time. As a quick recap, we've had the honorable mentions:
Rock Hard 1977
Star Wars: Outer Rim
Vantage
Sagrada
Crokinole
Then yesterday we had games 25-21 which were:
Pest
24. Terraforming Mars
Spirit Island
22. Roll Player Adventures
Clank! Catacombs
Today, starting at number 20 on my list is a game designed by Dave Chalker and Brett Myers and published by Restoration Games. It's Thunder Road: Vendetta! If you were to imagine Mad Max with modern era cars and choppers, you'd get Thunder Road: Vendetta. The game play is wild and frenetic as you smash and crash your way to the finish line across a barren wasteland filled with boulders, pits, mountains and oil slicks.
Now, you have to understand that this is not your typical roll and move kind of game. Your player board looks like a dashboard of a vehicle, like a heads up display, one for each of your vehicles. At the start of your turn, you'll roll your set of dice and then assigned that die to each of your cars. The die will determine how that vehicle will move or what it will do. During your movement you may decide to crash into another player. Doing so can trigger a chain of events that might push a car right into a wall or off the road or into another car! You might all laugh as you watch the opponent's car burn in flames...or you might cry as it backfires and your own vehicle crashes into an immovable object. After movement you have the option of shooting another player which might also trigger a series of events.
This game is just pure chaos and it's so fun. Games don't really go much more than 45-60 minutes so even if you find all your cars in a pile of rubble, the game is over so quickly it won't even matter. Every time I've played this, everyone at the table is laughing and having a great time. Notice I say 'we' there...there is no solo mode. Because it's not about winning (although it is kind of). It's more about the chaos of the race and what kind of damage you can do to ensure your own car crosses the finish line. Super fun, I can't say enough good about this game except that the current iteration is kind of pricey, especially if you want to go all in. Fortunately, Restoration Games has just announced a streamlined version that is much more affordable and accessible to newer players. Keep an eye out for this one, you'll want to pick it up when it's released.
Following right behind Thunder Road: Vendetta is number 19, Obsession. This game is published by Kayenta Games and designed by Dan Hallagan. I've always felt that Obsession was basically "Downton Abbey the Board Game." And yes, I watched Downton Abbey. It was one of those shows that I begrudgingly said I'd watch with my wife, and got as into as anyone else. It's SO GOOD!
In Obsession, you play as a major house lord or lady looking to build your estate, your prestige and fame, ultimately to woo the most eligible bachelor or bachelorette. In order to do so, at the start of your turn, you'll purchase an expansion to your estate. It could be a lawn bowling area. You might decide to put in a new library. Better yet, install a butler's pantry that allows you to hire more staff or have them do more actions. Then you host an event and events require, not only patrons, but their staff. So, if you know...there's the whole "upstairs/downstairs" dynamic going on here. Each part of the estate is represented by tiles that you purchase and add to your "estate" or tableau. There's also an element of deck building. In your hand, the cards represent patrons. They can be invited to events as long as you have the staff to accommodate them. Ultimately, whoever has the most victory points at the end of the game attracts the richest and most desirable bachelor or bachelorette. And that's the game! Plays wonderfully solo and the theme really shines through. Because there is limited hired help and limited resources, choosing where and when to spend money becomes crucial. And that decision space is delicious. Plus, I always love deck building and having the estate tableau is icing on the cake.
If Victorian England isn't your thing, let's swing the complete opposite direction into medieval fantasy and check out The Witcher: Path of Destiny. This game is designed by Lukasz Wozniak and published by CD Projekt RED. For the uninitiated, The Witcher is a book series written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and it's been made into video games and a popular Netflix series. The protagonist in the series is a Witcher, someone who has been trained...and mutated...to specifically combat the monsters of the world. Garalt of Rivia wanders the countryside, gaining coin from towns and cities by destroying the monsters that plague them. And not always is that monster a non-human.
In The Witcher: Paths of Destiny, you play as a witcher taking on the part of iconic stories from the witcher lore. As you make decision in the game, building your tableau, the path of your destiny changes. As you play action cards to your tableau, the story arc changes. Whoever can create the best story line, and make it to the end, wins the game!
First, I must admit...I absolutely love the books, the TV show and the games...basically anything Witcher I just adore. I think it's a very well crafted universe with a subtle weaving of politics, intrigue, hierarchy, magic, monsters and complicated people. So I was going to be drawn to this game no matter what. And wasn't I surprised when the game was actually good! I even bought an additional monster pack, painted the minis and have played it numerous times. It plays great solo and again...who doesn't love a good tableau builder! (I think you'll see a theme with me...tableau builders and deck builders). I don't know how readily available this game is, but if you can find it, I don't think there's anything like it out there today.
Advancing through time, but not too far, to the 1800's, and take on the roll of the "Mad" King Ludwig. That's right, this is Castles of Mad King Ludwig: The Collector's Edition. This game is designed by Ted Alspach and produced by Bezier Games. To brush up on your German history, King Ludwig built 3 fairy-tale-esque castles during his rain. These castles still stand today, I've even been through Neuschwanstein. In fact, that's the castle that the Disney castle was modeled after. People called him "the mad king" because of his obsession with fantasy lifestyle, these castles, and his reclusiveness. Hey man...I get it. All of things are acceptable now, or else we're all a little mad.
This game is...another tableau builder. (I told you there was a theme here!) At the beginning of the round, there is an auction for castle components or rooms. It could be a turret, a dungeon, a throne room...there's a lot of choose from! While there is contention in the purchase, the real magic comes when getting the right room for your castle. Each tile has symbols that represent the room's type, what happens there, etc. Pairing the right symbols next to other rooms will score you more points. For example, no one wants the ball room next to their bedroom...that would be an ill pairing. Keep buying and building until the last round and look at your marvelous, fairy tale castle. Count up your points and whoever has the most points wins!
First of all, I love Germany and I love tableau building...so again, an easy win here. Finding the right pieces and then buying them before someone else does is an interesting challenge. In the solo mode, the automa does a pretty good job of making it hard to get the pieces you want, and managing your income can become a challenge. The cool pieces and the interesting puzzle makes this a top game for me. Now, don't feel like you need the blinged out version like me. The Collector's Edition is ridiculously over the top...but it sure is nice! However, the base game is perfectly serviceable and is readily available.
Rounding out today's list is NOT a tableau builder...I know, shocking. Number 16 is an adventure card game called Earthborne Rangers. This game is set in the far future after some apocalyptic event wipes out most of civilization and nature has take over. As humanity crawls back out of obscurity, they decided to become more aligned with nature and the earth. You take on the role of a Ranger, ensuring things stay that way.
Earthborne Rangers plays as an open world sandbox. You can explore cities and towns, mountains and valleys. As you wander, you may encounter people who need help. You may encounter wildlife that are in trouble. And you may encounter villains who are intent on subjugating the world again to their whims. As you navigate the realm, you'll find there is an overarching storyline and your choices do matter and can have ramifications down the road.
Turns are taken by playing cards from your hand or choosing an action card on the table. More often than not, your action will require a challenge of some kind to see how well you complete that action. The fun of this game is not necessarily the mechanisms, it's that the story is really compelling and your actions feel real. While it's all card based, the cards and mechanisms don't distract from the story. They feel organic and natural to the adventure. It's just really smooth and there is SO much content you'll need days to complete it. And if you don't? It's ok, the save mechanism is great you can put it away and come back another time and pick up where you left off. Super fun, super low rules overhead, my number 16 pick...Earthborne Rangers.
All right my friends! That's it for today, my top board games of all time, 20-16. Here's a quick recap:
Thunder Road: Vendetta
Obsession
The Witcher: Paths of Destiny
The Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Earthborne Rangers
Thanks for following me on this list. 3 more days to go, 15 more games. What do you think so far? Are you with me? What do you think of these games? Let me know, I want to hear from you!
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