FDQ: What Game Gets a '10'?

There was quite the Twitter conversation a few days ago based on what games (if any) deserve a 10 on the Board Game Geek 10-point scale. So that's the question today: what games do you rate a 10? Answer in the comments! (Special thanks to @benny275 for the question.)

@FarmerLenny answers:
I had a professor in college who never gave a perfect score on papers because he wanted to let his students know there was always room for improvement. That's why I counted it among my best moments at college when he gave one of my papers a 96—the highest he would possibly go.

But listen, folks: this isn't college, and we're not trying to keep entitled college students humble. We are part of a hobby that is supposed to be fun. Saying "There is no perfect game" with our noses in the air isn't exactly inviting to newcomers. And while I agree that there is likely not an absolutely "perfect" game that fits every situation and group, that's no reason to avoid giving a game a 10. This is also why the discussion of late about "serious" board game criticism is not attractive to me. Have we forgotten the joy of the hobby? There is such a thing as overthinking it or too much self-reflection, and we're in serious danger of it when we travel these waters.

I don't exactly hand them out liberally, but when I look at my list on Board Game Geek, the games I've given a 10 are El Grande, Dominion: Intrigue, and Dominion: Prosperity. There are a few games at the 9.5 level (Dominion and Dominion: Hinterlands), and many at the 9 level. Actually, my ratings appear to follow a fairly standard distribution: five 10s, twenty-one 9s, thirty-four 8s, twenty-four 7s, five 6s (and then a few fall in the 3-5 category). Do my ratings skew high? Probably a bit, but there are a few explanations for that. First, I do a lot of research before I add any games to my collection. With a limited budget, I can only add to my collection periodically, so every purchase counts. I usually only buy a game that there's a good chance I'll like. Second, I try to evaluate games based not on my favorite game but based on how well it fits a situation. I rate The Resistance a 9; that doesn't mean I always want to play The Resistance. And third, I try to keep gaming as a hobby, not an all-consuming passion. This can be difficult at times, but when I approach board games looking for fun, I can usually find it—even in Cosmic Encounter.

@Futurewolfie answers:
It all depends on the target "audience" per say when handing out ratings.  When I rate games as far as how I feel about them, there are definitely a few 10's - Cosmic Encounter, Twilight Imperium for certain, and a few others that will probably make the cut once i've played them more (such as Battlestar Galactica or Rex... holy crap those are all FFG games.  Not on purpose.  Dominion (w/expansions), Smallworld, phew, there's a few non FFG ones.)  Plenty of 9's (I find it rather funny that no matter what scale of rating system we use, we will almost certainly want to add a ".5" in there somewhere).  These are games that I greatly enjoy and love playing and have no reservations at all about playing them.

But rating publicly, I feel I need to be more objective.  Do I think any of these games is truly flawless?  Twilight Imperium certainly lasts too long and has a few finicky issues, especially without expansions.  Cosmic Encounter has a few unbalanced powers, and some games end too quickly, go to long, or just fall flat.  Dominion has a few weird uber-strategies that might come into the mix, and is not extremely interactive between players (although more than some would claim).  Smallworld might just last a little too long.  These are things that should objectively knock off points from a public review.  Or should they?  What do you think?

Another thing about the number rating system is that it's wildly arbitrary.  A number can be based off a whole slew of conditions, including the person's emotional state at the time of rating, based on a play with annoying players (or even a bad day having nothing to do with the game itself).  Which is why you should find a trustworthy review site and read what they have to say about the game, and not just go on the numbers.

In the Distant Lands... (a review of Dominion: Hinterlands)

If you haven't heard of Dominion by now, clearly you haven't been reading this blog enough, because we talk about it all the time. But just as a quick refresher, Dominion is a card game that exploded onto the scene back in 2008 and quickly became popular and highly regarded (including a Spiel des Jahres win), for good reason. It's easy to learn, accessible, and fun for almost anyone—and yet it holds within it strategic depth and almost infinite variability. Oh, and it invented the deck-building genre of games, which is cool too.

Dominion was followed up with a number of expansions that only increased the quality and fun of the game, and now we're here with yet another expansion—the sixth of eight, Dominion: Hinterlands—which brings us cards thematically featuring elements of distant travel, exploration, discovery,  far-off lands, and valuable foreign goods.

Is this expansion worth adding to your collection? Find out below!

And the winner is...

Well, first of all we'd like to thank everyone who participated in the contest.  We love the comments we've been seeing and we appreciate you guys spreading the word of our dragon-slaying existence around.

For those of you who didn't win... don't worry, there will be more awesome giveaways in the future.  And don't forget those free print-and-play games we're working on.  In short, you may not have won Hinterlands this time around, but you have discovered our site with reviews, discussions, and general board-game delight.

So now, the moment you've all been waiting for.  Who was it that struck gold? Who overcame all the odds to rise up and stand against the evil, terrifying dragon we like to call Luck? 

*drumroll*

and the winner is....

@ChrisJazz

Congratulations, Chris! You lucky dog.  We hope you enjoy your prize... and make sure to share it with all your friends.  That is, after all, what board gaming is all about.



Seeya next time, folks

-@Futurewolfie

[Ended] FDQ: Do You Want to Win a Copy of Dominion: Hinterlands?

EDIT 3/14/2012: This contest has ended, but our review of Dominion: Hinterlands is posted here.

The answer to that question is probably yes, you would like to win a copy of Dominion: Hinterlands. At least, if you are alive and an appreciater of fine games, that is probably your answer.

To celebrate our one-year anniversary of bringing you gaming views and reviews, iSlaytheDragon.com is giving away one copy of Dominion: Hinterlands. There are several methods you can use to enter:

• Comment on this post and any FDQ post dated between now and November 11. (Only one comment per FDQ post counts as an entry.)
• Follow our new Twitter account: @iSlaytheDragon (It doesn't count for entries, but you are also welcome to follow us individually, @Futurewolfie and @FarmerLenny.)
• Retweet our contest tweet (only counts once, but feel free to retweet as often as you like).
• Like our new Facebook page.
• Pay attention for more chances at entries in the days to follow...

Now for the fine print:
This contest is in no way sponsored by Rio Grande Games (we are supplying the prize ourselves) or anyone associated with Dominion (we chose this prize because we love Dominion), so you will receive the prize whenever the game is released to the public. We will do our best to ship your prize in a timely manner, but please understand that in the world of board games, release dates are guidelines rather than rules, and we have no control over that. The contest will end on November 11 at midnight (central time) to ensure prompt delivery of your prize right around when Hinterlands releases. We will contact winners the following day using their method of entry (DM for Twitter, Facebook message for Facebook, e-mail for comments on FDQ—therefore, use a real name and e-mail address; it will only be used for this contest, promise). If the winner does not respond within three days, we will choose a new eligible winner, and so on, until someone claims the prize. This contest is open to anyone with an address in the continental United States, except for our family members (sorry, Mom!). (International folks: if you can find a continental US address willing to accept your prize, we'll ship it there, and they can handle the next leg of the journey to you.) The winner will be chosen using random.org. We reserve the right to cancel the contest, modify the rules, or disqualify any entrants if there appears to be any tomfoolery or loopholing—please, follow the spirit of a good-natured giveaway contest.

Good luck, and happy slaying!