I used to do a series on YouTube called ‘Board Game Ups & Downs” where I look at the individual parts of a Board Game and give the bits I like an up and the bits I don’t like a down…
At the end of the video, I give each game a score so I thought I’d put them into a Board Game League Table!
Now, I just add the scores to this table as and when I get to them.
All-Time Top 5 Board Games
| Pos. | Game | Ups | Downs | +/- | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Age of Innovation | 14 | 5 | 2.80 | +9 |
| 2 | Marvel Champions | 12 | 4 | 3.00 | +8 |
| 3 | Gaia Project | 14 | 6 | 2.33 | +8 |
| 4 | Arcadia Quest | 11 | 4 | 2.75 | +7 |
| 5 | Terra Nova | 13 | 6 | 2.16 | +7 |
2015-2025 Releases
| Pos. | Game | Ups | Downs | +/- | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Age of Innovation | 14 | 5 | 2.80 | +9 |
| 2 | Marvel Champions | 12 | 4 | 3.00 | +8 |
| 3 | Gaia Project | 14 | 6 | 2.33 | +8 |
| 4 | Terra Nova | 13 | 6 | 2.16 | +7 |
| 5 | Tapestry | 9 | 3 | 3.00 | +6 |
| 6 | Rising Sun | 19 | 13 | 1.46 | +6 |
| 7 | The Oracle of Delphi | 7 | 2 | 3.50 | +5 |
| 8 | Suburbia: Collector’s Edition | 8 | 3 | 2.66 | +5 |
| 9 | Blood Rage | 9 | 5 | 1.80 | +4 |
| 10 | Dead by Daylight | 6 | 3 | 2.00 | +3 |
| 11 | Marvel: Age of Heroes | 6 | 4 | 1.50 | +2 |
| 12 | Monumental | 7 | 5 | 1.40 | +2 |
Pre-2015 Releases
| Pos. | Game | Ups | Downs | +/- | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcadia Quest | 11 | 4 | 2.75 | +7 |
| 2 | Five Tribes | 10 | 6 | 2.50 | +6 |
| 3 | Terra Mystica | 12 | 6 | 2.00 | +6 |
| 4 | Blood Bowl: Team Manager | 19 | 13 | 1.46 | +6 |
| 5 | Samurai Spirit | 7 | 2 | 3.50 | +5 |
| = | The Resistance: Avalon | 7 | 2 | 3.50 | +5 |
| 7 | Carcassonne | 8 | 3 | 2.66 | +5 |
| 8 | Saint Petersburgh (2nd Edition) | 7 | 3 | 2.33 | +4 |
| = | Power Grid Deluxe | 7 | 3 | 2.33 | +4 |
| 10 | 7 Wonders | 9 | 2 | 2.25 | +4 |
| 11 | One Night Ultimate Collection | 8 | 4 | 2.00 | +4 |
| 12 | Love Letter | 11 | 7 | 1.57 | +4 |
Notes:
The Mind (+5) and Codenames (+1) were removed as only games with 10 or more considered ‘Ups & Downs’ were included from May 2020.
+/- Explained
As the number of Ups & Downs a game will get depends on its size, the +/- column is used as the tiebreaker. This is the ratio of Ups to Downs which is a fairer tiebreaker than purely the number of ‘Ups’.
How do I decide what is Up and what is Down?
Quite simply, I open a Google Doc, open a PDF of the rulebook and go from there.
I look at components, setup, gameplay and the game end. As I usually use the rulebook to remind me about specific moments you’ll see my Ups & Downs usually go in that order 🙂
Anything I like I give an Up. Sometimes they’re small things I like but if I like it I like it and it gets an Up 🙂
Same for a Down, if I don’t like it I don’t like it. I don’t go looking for Downs to try and balance anything, I just note them down as I go through the rules.
The Board Game League Table
At the end of an Ups & Downs video is a final score which is different from my rating of the game. Before I start I can feel if a game is going to do well or not. Although I don’t have an idea what the final score will be until I finish.
But, as I only do these videos for games on my shelf, they’re pretty much always going to be positive 🙂
I put the results in a League Table. This is purely so there is a nice tidy way of listing the videos on this site. It’s also fun to see the game from highest to lowest.
I find making these videos fun to do and hope you have fun watching them.
Enjoy!
Jesta ThaRogue
