[C] Lost Cities | Knizia's math disguised as archaeology. Starting an expedition you can't finish is basically the card game equivalent of emotional damage.
2/30
2. San Juan
[D] San Juan | Puerto Rico without the colonialism discourse. Cards are buildings, goods, and money simultaneously because efficiency beats thematic sense every time.
3/30
3. Bohnanza
[A] Bohnanza | Bean trading where you can't rearrange your hand. Forced generosity makes economists cry. Wax beans remain universally unwanted somehow.
4/30
4. Citadels
[C] Citadels | Medieval role selection where the assassin always knows exactly who picked architect. Merchant gets rich while everyone else gets stabbed.
5/30
5. Magic: The Gathering
[C] Magic: The Gathering | Cardboard crack since 1993. Your deck costs more than your car but still loses to a twelve-year-old with borrowed cards.
6/30
6. Modern Art
[B] Modern Art | Auction game proving art value is completely made up. Kiki sells for millions while Ramon can't give paintings away apparently.
7/30
7. Battle Line
[B] Battle Line | Ancient warfare via poker hands. Claiming three adjacent flags sounds easier than it is. Tactics cards exist to ruin perfect strategies.
8/30
8. Cribbage
[C] Cribbage | Pegging board and weird counting to 31. Nobs, nibs, and muggins sound made-up but aren't. Fifteen-two, fifteen-four, and nobody knows what's happening.
9/30
9. Hearts
[B] Hearts | Avoid points unless you're shooting the moon. Queen of Spades ruins lives. That person who counts cards makes everyone else miserable.
10/30
10. Poker
[C] Poker | Bluffing game where sunglasses indoors seems reasonable. Bad beats stories last longer than actual games. Everyone's uncle claims they almost went pro.
11/30
11. Coloretto
[A] Coloretto | Chameleons teaching set collection and push-your-luck. Taking that fourth color hurts. Plus two cards exist purely to cause suffering.
12/30
12. For Sale
[C] For Sale | Property flipping in thirty minutes. Bidding half-increments annoys everyone equally. Cardboard coins feel better than the properties you're buying.
13/30
13. Spades
[D] Spades | Partnership game where nil bids cause divorces. Sandbagging penalties teach honesty the hard way. Books and bags, neither involving literature or luggage.
14/30
14. BANG!
[A] BANG! | Spaghetti Western where the sheriff's identity isn't secret. Beer heals bullet wounds logically. Jail means skipping turns until you roll dynamite.
15/30
15. Saint Petersburg
[D] Saint Petersburg | Russian aristocrats buying aristocrats to buy more aristocrats. Money becomes points eventually. Observatory seems worthless until someone demonstrates otherwise painfully.
16/30
16. Tichu
[A] Tichu | Chinese climbing game where calling Grand Tichu before seeing cards requires titanium confidence. Phoenix confuses everyone. Bombs destroy friendships and point spreads equally.
17/30
17. Colossal Arena
[A] Colossal Arena | Betting on monsters that fight via secret manipulation. Backing the Titan seems smart until everyone else ensures its immediate death.
18/30
18. No Thanks!
[D] No Thanks! | Taking cards you don't want with chips you need. Runs reduce pain mathematically. That 24 with eleven chips suddenly looks attractive.
19/30
19. Catan Card Game
[D] Catan Card Game | Two-player Catan taking twice as long somehow. Tournament rules add complications nobody requested. Dice determine everything important as usual.
20/30
20. Jambo
[C] Jambo | African trading where utility cards break the game occasionally. First to sixty gold wins. Elephants, drums, and math combine confusingly.
21/30
21. Take 5
[D] Take 5 | Also called 6 Nimmt! because German names sell games apparently. Sixth bull takes rows. Playing 104 feels safe until everyone else does too.
22/30
22. The Spoils
[A] The Spoils | CCG that died competing with Magic. Threshold mechanic was innovative. Nobody remembers this exists except collectors with full sets.
[B] Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper | Rummy meets Victorian murder. Victims score points disturbingly. Ripper escaping changes scoring because thematic accuracy matters apparently.
25/30
25. Mü & More
[B] Mü & More | German trick-taking collection nobody can pronounce. Triangle cards exist because regular cards weren't confusing enough. Chief determines everything important.
26/30
26. Blue Moon
[D] Blue Moon | Knizia's attempt at Magic without mana. Dragons fight using basic math. Deck construction limited to prevent wallet destruction thankfully.
27/30
27. Pit
[B] Pit | Commodity trading through screaming since 1904. Bell ringing adds chaos unnecessarily. Corner the wheat market while losing your voice.
28/30
28. Fairy Tale
[B] Fairy Tale | Drafting game completed in ten minutes. Unflipped cards waste points efficiently. Dragon attacks because fairy tales need danger apparently.
29/30
29. Schotten Totten
[A] Schotten Totten | Scottish border dispute via three-card poker. Nine stones, simple rules, endless analysis paralysis. Tactics variant adds chaos for masochists.
30/30
30. Werewolf
[B] Werewolf | Social deduction where logic loses to volume. Moderator watches friends destroy each other. Everyone claims villager unconvincingly. First death feels personal.