When people hear about or see our game collection, one of the first questions I’m asked is, “What’s your favorite game?”  My initial answer, “It depends,” rarely satisfies.  It does in fact depend on who is going to play — ages, gaming experience, time available, common backgrounds, context of session, and so on.

Yet any long-time hobbyist has that personal list of games they always come back to.  I’ll share mine here.  Perhaps it will lend focus to my intended reviews of games.  And perhaps it will give you insight into my own biases.

1. The Princes of Florence (3-5 players); designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich, published 2000
2. Agricola (1-5); Uwe Rosenberg, 2000
3. SCRABBLE® Brand Crossword Game (2-4); Alfred M. Butts, 1948
4. Power Grid (2-6); Friedemann Friese, 2004
5. Puerto Rico (3-5); Andreas Seyfarth, 2002
6. Chrononauts (1-6); Andrew Looney, 2000
7. Pandemic (2-4); Matt Leacock, 2008
8. Acquire (2-6); Sid Sackson, 1962
9. Race for the Galaxy (2-4); Tom Lehmann, 2007
10. Ingenious (1-4); Reiner Knizia, 2004
11. Dominion (2-4); Donald X. Vaccarino, 2008
12. El Grande (2-5); Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich, 1995
13. Up Front (2); Courtney Allen, 1983
14. On the Underground (2-5); Sebastian Bleasdale, 2006
15. San Juan (2-4); Andreas Seyfarth, 2004
16. Tigris and Euphrates (2-4); Reiner Knizia, 1997
17. Magic: the Gathering (2); Richard Garfield, 1993
18. Samurai (2-4); Reiner Knizia, 1998
19. The Pillars of the Earth (2-4); Michael Rieneck and Stefan Stadler, 2006
20. Dune (2-6); Eberle/Kittredge/Olotka, 1979
21. Carcassonne: the Castle (2); Reiner Knizia, 2003
22. Lost Cities (2); Reiner Knizia, 1998
23. Tales of the Arabian Nights (1-6); Eric Goldberg, 1985
24. Apples to Apples (4-10); Mark Alan Osterhaus and Matthew Kirby, 1999
25. History of the World (3-6); Gary Dicken and Steve Kendall, 1991
26. Merchant of Venus (1-6); Richard Hamblen, 1988
27. Ticket to Ride (2-5); Alan Moon, 2004
28. Hansa (2-4); Michael Schacht, 2004
29. Hare and Tortoise (2-6); David Parlett, 1973
30. Alhambra (2-6); Dirk Henn, 2003
31. Thebes (2-4); Peter Prinz, 2007
32. The Settlers of Catan (3-4); Klaus Teuber, 1995
33. Carcassonne (2-5); Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, 2000
34. DVONN (2); Kris Burm, 2001
35. Girl Genius: the Works (2+); Phil Foglio and James Ernest, 2001
36. Cosmic Encounter (2-4); Eberle/Norton/Kittredge/Olotka, 1977
37. Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age (2-4); Matt Leacock, 2009
38. Memoir ’44 (2); Richard Borg, 2004
39. Hive (2); John Yianni, 2001
40. Australia (2-5); Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling, 2005