10 Games you can play forever

So yes, if you are feeling burned out by constantly playing new games ever week..... how about no? And if that's working out for you, cool, you'll probably be back at this video in a few years time telling me you wished you had listened. Because the churn and burn that currently defines the influencer meta within board gaming is unsustainable, unhealthy and ultimately hollow. Play your games! And let me know what your forever games would be.

Santorini - 5:40 Dominion - 7:43 Netrunner - 12:53 Arkham Horror - 14:08 Sentinels of the Multiverse - 16:42 Spirit Island - 19:13 Dueling Games - 22:08 Filler Games - 23:58 Diplomacy-like Games - 25:38 Engine Building Games - 28:45

I heard about a guy that played a game of jumanji for 26 years

‘“Board games are not pizza.” With that statement and 34 minutes to explain that distinction, you created one of the most important and entertaining game lists of all time. We don’t give enough credit to the cumulative shared experiences of playing the same game together over and over. A game does not need to be a legacy or campaign game to create its own narrative arc and rich storylines. Games are not meant to be played once and discarded, if they are games worth playing.

When YouTube randomly suggested this video I did not expect such a comprehensive, professional and intelligent presentation. Fantastic.

My wife and I have been playing Terraforming Mars for about a year and a half now. This week we ended up playing a 2.5 hour game, totally different than before. We finished and said to each other, “Okay, NOW I’m starting to get this game.” So deep. Great video

One of the fun things about playing "kitchen table" Magic the Gathering, that is, just with your friends in a casual setting, is you don't really need to buy the cards. You can just print out slips of paper and slide them into card sleeves in front of real cards and, ta-da, you have new cards to play with! Fans call it proxying, whole Wizards of the Coast calls them playtest cards, and has no problem at all with their use. They even encourage pro players to do this to get a feel for how the new cards play before they're released. Proxying is fully fine and 100% legal as long as: 1. You're not trying to use them in an official tournament where real cards are required. 2. Pretending they're real cards in order to counterfeit them. 3. Sell them, even if it's obvious they're not real cards. I do it all the time with friends and even strangers who play Commander. I also have my own self imposed limits, but I share what I have made with everyone before play begins to make sure they're ok. I have some decks of 100% real cards just in case someone feels uneasy about it.

Concordia gives me the best of both worlds. New maps to try out with unique mechanisms along with a core game I could (and plan to) play forever.

My forever list - Castles of Burgundy (over 3000 plays and I'm not tired of it), Grand Austria Hotel (infinite combos), Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers (my favourite in the series), Mottainai (my favourite card game), Targi (best 2 player game), Balloon Cup (another great 2 player game), Rose King (chess like 2 player game), Saint Petersburg (replaces splendor for me), Kashgar (my favourite deck builder with a twist), Oregon (another great but rare tile laying game), The Voyages of Marco Polo (classic euro - around 200 plays for me), Port Royal (press your luck at it's best), Through the Ages (app version, also like the tabletop on occasion), dice games (because they are quick and fun) - Way of the Dragon, Can't Stop, Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age, Skyline, Spexxx, Zooloretto the Dice Game.

You highlighted some points that really hit home in our game group. One of my friends is constantly collecting and learning new games. While I enjoy new experiences, starting from scratch every time is not only draining, but also leaves a lot to be desired. It’s unfulfilling not being able to experiment in a game through diving deeper and seeing what it really offers.

Love this message! Im still super new to the hobby and went from literally finding Dominion on the side of the road in a free pile as my first board game, to haveing maybe 20 board games of different sizes and feeling like my “forever” collection will be around 40 even though I havent savoured what I have now. Im doing a full year of no spending on new games to play what I have on repeat and that feels so expansive! Your voice in the gaming content scene has really rung in my ears. Im excited to grow old with a dear collection. I also notice when Im not on BGG or youtube I tend to have less cravings, so growing old with a collection will also mean growing AWAY FROM the only hype sphere. Cheers from BC

Met a guy at a meetup that claimed he never plays the same game twice. Blew my mind. I asked if he never listens to the same song twice or go to same restaurant twice.... Most games can't be fully explored in just 1 play.

One of my wife and I’s forever games is Carcassonne. At first it seemed pleasant enough. Build some roads, some cities, lay down a farmer here or there. All is well. After repeated plays though, we discovered it’s “knife fight in a phone booth” competitive nature. Cutting in on each others cities. Strategically blocking each other. And the vicious fight for farmland. Now we love it. We’ve tried expansions and spin offs, but always just return to the regular base game. We never grow tired of it.

In my friend group, Ra is easily our forever game. We also enjoy poker and there are some overlapping strategies. We have a goofy “trophy” that goes home with the person who pulled the most Ra tiles which they have to display on their desk at work until the next session. Love it!

Ethan Allen’s All-Star Baseball, Photo-Electric Football, Stratego, Risk, Monopoly, Rich Uncle, Sorry, Concentration, Yatzee.

Or, you could just play 'The Campaign for North Africa' once.

My list games that got many plays and still don’t feel boring and fresh: 1- spirit island 2- Cthulhu wars 3- Too many bones 4- Gaia project 5- KDM 6- black rose war (now renaissance) 7- Voidfall 8- Eclipse 9- insert your favorite lcg (lotr for me) 10- castle of burgundy / mage knight

Your commentary about going deep vs. wide with games made me realize that we treat each other like that, too, sometimes. Your video made me realize I should cherish the core people around me more, and go for more depth in those few relationships. Thanks. 🥂

For me, Root hits so many of the points you mentioned and is my most loved forever game. Variable set up, expansions that make it feel like a living game, storytelling, evolving metas. You may never play the same combinations of faction, map and deck twice. And even then different players may play the same faction in different and surprising ways. You could play 50 games and still be discovering new interactions.

glad to see Twilight Struggle getting some love here. I've played over 300 game of TS in the last three years because I've discovered there is a sizable community of players worldwide who share the same passion for the game I do. There is an online community which organizes tournaments and leagues which allow me to face some of the very best players in the world. Even after 300 games, I still feel like there is so much more to learn about the game because of all of the subtle nuances in game play which can mean the difference between victory and defeat. It is truly my forever game