[D] Euchre | Midwest's favorite where jacks become supreme sometimes. Going alone requires confidence or desperation. Trump changes everything including friendships.
2/40
2. Turn the Tide
[C] Turn the Tide | Weather cards and life preservers determine survival. Sheep drown for points somehow. Highest card wins unless it definitely doesn't.
3/40
3. Middle-earth
[A] Middle-earth | CCG where Gandalf costs too much. One Ring corrupts mathematically. Tournament scene died with the movies ending sadly.
4/40
4. Botswana
[D] Botswana | Animal cards affect plastic animal values. Rhinos worth most until everyone has five. Reiner Knizia making economics fun again somehow.
5/40
5. David & Goliath
[B] David & Goliath | Trick-taking where lowest card wins but curses you. Biblical theme barely present. Goliath loses appropriately often actually.
6/40
6. Gang of Four
[B] Gang of Four | Chinese climbing game Days of Wonder published randomly. Gangs of combinations beat singles obviously. Multi-colored cards complicate everything needlessly.
7/40
7. Taboo
[D] Taboo | Describe words without using related words desperately. Buzzer causes anxiety disorders. Timer runs out during perfect explanations consistently.
8/40
8. Munchkin
[C] Munchkin | D&D parody lasting longer than actual D&D sessions. Level 9 brings out everyone's worst behavior. Winning requires backstabbing inevitably.
9/40
9. You're Bluffing!
[C] You're Bluffing! | Animal auctions where lying is encouraged. Also called Kuhhandel confusingly. Cows worth most because Germany apparently.
10/40
10. Gloria Picktoria
[B] Gloria Picktoria | Gladiator battles through simultaneous card play. Latin names sound educational. Shields block everything except bad decisions.
11/40
11. Family Business
[A] Family Business | Mob warfare where your gang dies individually. Contracts eliminate enemies efficiently. Double contracts cause vendetta spirals predictably.
12/40
12. Circus Flohcati
[C] Circus Flohcati | Flea circus push-your-luck lasting ten minutes. Trilogy cards end rounds prematurely. Gala shows score biggest somehow.
13/40
13. Rage
[C] Rage | Trick-taking with changing trump and hand sizes. Action cards modify everything. Commercial success in Germany exclusively somehow.
14/40
14. Schafkopf
[D] Schafkopf | Bavarian tradition requiring actual Bavarians to explain. Schneider and Schwarz sound insulting but aren't. Solo tout announces inevitable failure.
15/40
15. Battleground
[A] Battleground | Fantasy armies through cards only. No board, miniatures, or comprehension required. Distance measured in card lengths seriously.
16/40
16. Corsari
[D] Corsari | Pirate game nobody owns or remembers. BGG entry exists proving it's real. Mediterranean trading through obscure mechanisms.
17/40
17. Was sticht?
[A] Was sticht? | German trick-taking where trump changes constantly. Title means "what trumps?" answering nothing helpfully. Karl-Heinz Schmiel being experimental.
18/40
18. Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot
[A] Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot | Rabbits dying violently for vegetables. Winning determined randomly after hours. Expansions add complexity nobody requested.
19/40
19. Girl Genius: The Works
[D] Girl Genius: The Works | Steampunk webcomic becomes card game inexplicably. Spinning cards mechanic seems innovative. Clanks accumulate causing cascading disasters.
20/40
20. Groo: The Game
[C] Groo: The Game | Barbarian parody where stupidity helps. Kopecks count as negative points brilliantly. Cheese dip references confuse modern players.
21/40
21. Fluxx
[B] Fluxx | Rules change every turn chaotically. Draw 5 Play All creates infinite loops. Victory conditions shift before achieving them.
22/40
22. Mystery Rummy: Murders in the Rue Morgue
[B] Mystery Rummy: Murders in the Rue Morgue | Poe-themed rummy nobody requested but everyone enjoyed. Orangutan is wild appropriately. Evidence cards complicate basic rummy unnecessarily.
23/40
23. Shadowfist
[D] Shadowfist | Multiplayer CCG about controlling feng shui sites. Combat requires calculator occasionally. Still published despite nobody playing.
24/40
24. Die Fugger
[D] Die Fugger | Medieval merchant families trading cardboard. Knizia before he discovered simplicity. Pepper worth fortune historically accurate.
25/40
25. What the Heck?
[B] What the Heck? | Simultaneous bidding for numbered cards. Published under seventeen names globally. Negative points surprise newcomers consistently.
26/40
26. Space Beans
[C] Space Beans | Bohnanza in space lasting fifteen minutes. Collectible beans become alien beans creatively. Same designer milking bean theme.
27/40
27. Relationship Tightrope
[A] Relationship Tightrope | Couples therapy through competitive card play. Balance love and freedom mechanically. Exists but shouldn't probably.
28/40
28. Spite & Malice
[B] Spite & Malice | Skip-Bo's angry grandparent from 1970s. Stockpiles create frustration appropriately. Name describes gameplay and emotions perfectly.
29/40
29. SET
[A] SET | Pattern recognition where everything matters simultaneously. Twelve cards contain set theoretically. Arguments about what constitutes "different" constant.
30/40
30. Rook
[C] Rook | Christian cards avoiding satanic suits supposedly. Rook bird trumps everything mysteriously. Kentucky's official card game somehow.
31/40
31. Doppelkopf
[D] Doppelkopf | German trick-taking with secret partnerships. Two of everything confuses everyone. Finding partner requires deduction or luck.
32/40
32. Aquarius
[A] Aquarius | Hippie-themed connection game from Fluxx creators. Elements connect for points peacefully. Hidden goals remain hidden too long.
33/40
33. Plague & Pestilence
[A] Plague & Pestilence | Medieval medicine simulator depressingly accurate. Leeches cure everything apparently. Death common, victory pyrrhic typically.
34/40
34. Mus
[B] Mus | Basque game with hand signals legally. Partnership communication through gestures. Spanish national championship exists incredibly.
35/40
35. Victory & Honor
[C] Victory & Honor | Roman battles in fifteen minutes optimistically. Numbers beat each other simply. Historical accuracy sacrificed for playability.
36/40
36. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
[A] Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde | Two-player trick-taking asymmetrically. Jekyll wants ties, Hyde wants gaps. Literary theme forced unnecessarily.
37/40
37. Cheat
[A] Cheat | Lying about cards mandatory. Calling BS risks everything. Known as "I Doubt It" in polite company.
38/40
38. Cosmic Eidex
[B] Cosmic Eidex | French game nobody outside France knows. Space theme because 1990s. BGG rating from twelve people total.
39/40
39. Kupferkessel Co.
[D] Kupferkessel Co. | Copper pot company theme inexplicably. German economic game obviously. Exists in collections gathering dust.
40/40
40. Barbu
[C] Barbu | French trick-taking with seven different games. King declares which variant tortures everyone. Basically Hearts' complicated European cousin.