This was something that I thought might be really interesting, and perhaps Tom & Sam will be interested too. Every other week when Tom & Sam release a new episode (number 100+) we can create a little discussion forum where we can share our own personal Top Ten list in order to compare us with the Dice Tower hosts.

I had this idea mostly because card games are the most affordable and therefore the most common games in my collection. In particular, you will notice an abundance of trump-style trick-taking games in my list. This is because I played these games the most in the years before I really entered the "gaming" hobby, so they've always had a special place in my heart. So let's get the ball rolling!

Blott's Top 10 Card Games

#10 = Havoc: The Hundred-Years War - Takes poker and adds an excellent twist that makes it much better.

#9 = Clue: The Card Game - The same as the classic game, minus the superfluous roll-and-move mechanic.

#8 = Trump, Tricks, Game! - A trick-taking game where the cards you win in one hand are the cards you use in the next hand.

#7 = Category 5 - The game that truly challenges you to read your opponents mind, and predict their strategy.

#6 = Tin Soldiers - A trick-taking game about battling canned goods, where a bit of randomness actually adds to the fun.

#5 = Citadels - With 2 to 5 players this is a great game of role-selection, where the special abilities really work well together.

#4 = Bohnanza - A fabulous light game of trading and negotiating, all done in the role of a bean farmer.

#3 = Guillotine - A goofy and fun game with a comical look at the life of an executioner.

#2 = Time's Up! - It is the finest party game ever made, and I doubt my opinion on that will ever change.

#1 = Rage - The uber trick-taking game where you have to bid exactly right, made more difficult by cards that change trump in the middle of a trick.

i also played mostly card games before i entered the "gaming" hobby.

#10 canasta- a rummy type game
#9 oh hell- an older trick taking game alot like rage
#8 uno- (do i really need to explain?)
#7 lunch money- this games mechanics leave alot to be desired, its a fun s%!t talking game. mostly played while inebriated
#6 monkeys on the moon- a card based bidding/auction game
#5 euchre- a trick taking game with trump
#4 gloom- a game about depressing and killing off your family
#3 cribbage- a game ive played since i was 6 and still cant come up with a good description
#2 lost cities- a game about my wife pissing me off
#1 catan card game- a game about pissing off my wife

My top ten list of card games:

1. Blue Moon
2. Collosal Arena
3. Bang
4. Illiade
5. Battle Line
6. Citadels
7. Rome
8. Babel
9. Fairy Tale
10. Jungle Speed

1. Coloretto
2. Meuterer
3. Gnostica (played with Tarot cards and icehouse pieces)
4. Lost Cities
5. Citadels
6. Pit (fast, loud game of trading)
7. Schafkopf (trick-taking game played with a 32-card deck)
8. Dvorak (a print/write-and-play game in which players may add cards and/or rules during the game)

Honorable mentions to Magic the Gathering (which I no longer play) and to a couple of very card-driven boardgames (the Rummy-like Ticket to Ride series and the Magic-like Blue Moon City).

My current top 10:

10. Loot
9. Coloretto
8. Balloon Cup
7. Colossal Arena
6. Guillotine
5. Poison
4. Citadels
3. Battle Line
2. Lost Cities
1. Die Sieben Siegel - the evil trick taking game!

10. Cribbage
09. Wyatt Earp
08. Colossal Arena
07. Euchre
06. Lost Cities
05. Bohnanza
04. Pecking Order
03. Coloretto
02. 6 Nimmt!
01. Battle Line

I'd include NHL Ice Breaker - The Card Hockey Game in the top three, but since you can't play it without the board, I don't think of it as a card game.

1. Condottiere
2. Citadels
3. Battleground
4. Cutthroat Caverns
5. Lost Cities
6. Spellfire
7. Battle Line
8. Ruse and Bruise
9. Nottingham
10. Circus Flohcatti

Hey, another Spellfire fan! Now, I have to get my list together.

1) Fairy Tale (just hasn't got dull after many games - quick and fun!)

2) Castle (some don't like it, but hey, I think the power interactions is great fun!)

3) Ruse and Bruise (feels a lot like Castle, I love the power interactions and choices in this one)

4) Odin's Ravens (great fun, quite interesting, quick game play and intelligent)

5) Masquerade (the biggest game I have played that is 'just' cards - great fun)

6) Citadels (great game full stop)

7) Bohnanza (just a lot of interaction and fun)

8) Bang! (A lot of fun and antics - plenty of laughs)

9) Coloretto (a lot of non-gamers really get into this one - a good thought to play time ratio)

10) Lost Cities (My wife loves it and there are plenty of tense choices)

Close calls - Saboteur, MagBlast 3rd ed.

Didn't include because they have more than just cards (these would have made the list otherwise):

Condottiere, Diamant (Incan Gold), San Juan.

Cheers.

Giles.

BTW, I really like when you guys make up your own top ten lists. Top Ten lists are a good way for people to discover excellent games that others like.

San Juan really only has the role cards, and those are card-like enough for it to still qualify as a card game, I think. Citadels, on the other hand, has the little butterscotch gold pieces that are really required in some form, so I think that it should be more likely to be DQ'd. Still, though, it's your list, so I'm not trying to tell you what to think. Defining what constitutes a card game is not as easy as it seems at first glance.

I have to agree, though I'd rank Magic even higher than honorable mention. Unfortunately, M:tG carries a lot of social baggage with it that makes it real difficult to separate the game from the monster it has become. This game spawned a whole new genre of gaming, CCG's. It's impact on the game market is still being felt today. It's kind of a mix of positive and negative, but if there is one positive thing M:tG brought to gaming was to bring quality art and artists to the industry and I think we should at least recognize that.

The original game with its 300 odd cards was great. Kudos to Richard Garfield creating such a unique, great game. I don't have a whole lot of other card games to add to the list, but will at least add:

1. Eagles (Columbia Games)
2. Up Front!
3. Bohnanza
4. Magic: the Gathering (original set)
5. Settlers of Catan
6. Great Dalmuti

Honorable mention - Battleground. The only reason I am not including this in my top 5 is because the mechanic is pure miniatures, not card playing despite the fact that the entire game is card driven. I would put this up at #1 if I could honestly say this was a card game.

I am kind of iffy about Great Dalmuti. It's mechanic is nothing to write home about but we have had so much fun with it as a party game that I have to include it here.

Hmmm, Card games,
when i first got into more social gaming groups, it was in college, so we were all poor, and could only afford the cheap(er) card games, so they've always had a special place in my heart...
But top 10?

10. Get Nifty
9. Munchkin
8. Bohnanza
7. Guillotine
6. Euchre
5. Cribbage
4. Apples to Apples
3. Big Idea
2. Citadels
1. Bang

definitly *nods*

I love a good card game. This one was tough for me, so I had to make an Honorable Mentions list: Caesar and Cleopatra, Gloom (and expansions), Settlers of Catan Card game (including expansions) and My Dwarves Fly.

Here are my Top 10 (for the moment):

10. Cribbage
9. Naval Battles
8. Bang! (and associated expansions)
7. Plunder
6. Odin's Ravens
5. Lost Cities
4. Wings of War (all of the WWI sets)
3. Iliad
2. The Kaiser's Pirates
1. Battle Line

I'm also keeping an eye on The Battle for Hill 218 by Your Move Games (the maker of Battleground Fantasy Warfare). 'Hill 218' is more of a true card game than BFW which is more like miniatures on cards. To play a prototype on your computer visit their site at:
http://www.yourmovegames.com/pages/hill218.html
This will probably make it on my top 10 list when it releases.

Edited to add Hill 218 info.

All of the above but add

Space Beans, my favourite in the Bohnanza series.

and

Brawl


Top of the list by far would be BattleLine unless I am allowed to classify BattleLore as a card game too.
(Hey - it's card driven )

OK here is my list:

10. Pit- One of my favorite games to play at a party with non-gamers.
9. Xena: Warrior Princess CCG- I used the basic ARC system to rework Yu Gi Oh! for my son and his friends when he was younger. I picked it up 75% off, so it was worth what I paid for it.
8. Up Front- I cannot wait for this one to be reprinted. I sold off my original while I was in college for some much needed cash at the time.
7. No Thanks!- Great quick filler game.
6. Fairy Tale- I would like to play this one more often.
5. Red Zone- I really like this game, and was sorry when it only lasted one season.
4. Pokémon Trading Card Game- I play this one with my son a lot.
3. Ruse & Bruise- Good game I played for the first time at Origins 2007.
2. Spellfire- My wife and I played the heck out of this game during its run. I still have a ton of the cards.
1. Guillotine- A great game that I have played with all sorts of people in all sorts of settings.

Here are my Top 10 Card Games. I excluded CCG's due to their being an entire different list.

#10 Nertz, this guilty little pleasure is the game I always pick when it is late at night and I want to play one more game. An instant pick-me-up.

#9 Phase 10 Masters Edition, another guilty pleasure. I love that I am SO lucky at this game and my wife is not and it drives her mad!

#8 Blitz, a game taught to me by my dad and now a staple of family get togethers. Fun mechanics and a great card game to banter over.

#7 The Totally Renamed Spy Game, for a take that card game, which I'm not a huge fan of, this one is pretty dang fun. The push your luck aspect of this game is great!

#6 Bang!, another take that card game, but the theme and attention to detail is fantastic. Must be played with the right group.

#5 Hearts, the game to play with a standard deck of cards. A fair amount of memory and bluffing and this game sings.

#4 For Sale, another game of bluffing, bidding and matching wits with the other players.

#3 Boomtown, there is so much going on here that with five players it is almost out of control. The bidding/payback mechanic mixed with all of the different payoffs make this game very interesting.

#2 Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper, I'm a huge Rummy fan and this game added all the right aspects to make it Rummy extreme. I love the theme and I enjoy play with 2, 3 or 4 players. Great game!

And finally, #1 Citadels, I am new to this game, but it rocks! I haven't played with any of the bonus characters or buildings yet. I am bummed that I didn't pick up this gem sooner. Wow!

>>>Here are my Top 10 Card Games. I excluded CCG's due to their being an entire different list.<<<

I excluded standard playing card games for the same reason. I just don't see Bridge, Euchre, Chase the lady, Crib, Canasta etc in the same group as Citadels, Battle Line, Ruse & Bruise etc. They deserve their own, and separate top ten. IMHO anyway, they just don't sit together. CCG's are far closer to the likes of Citadels and Faery tale etc than Canasta or Bridge are.

In the same way that I wouldn't group Memoir '44 with ASL, Nappy, or Hitlers War.

Sometimes, groupings like Card games or Wargames are just too big to be meaningful.

Phil.

Honorable mentions: Frank's Zoo (enjoying it lately), Start Player (I just can't count it as a "game"), Netrunner (the only CCG I kept after quitting them), Coloretto, Bang, Apples to Apples, and San Juan.

10) No Thanks!- Great little game. Easy to play, very quick, and for some reason I seem to be pretty good at it .

9) Blue Moon- Should be higher, but for some reason i find it hard to get people to play it. I love it though.

8) Boomtown- Probably my favorite Bruno (Faidutti & Cathala) game . One my game group loves. Another one we don't play nearly enough.

7) Time's Up- Our favorite party game. Always good for alot of laughs.

6) High Society- Love the person who spent the most loses rule. Takes a simple filler and adds alot of strategy to it.

5) Battle Line- Great game. Not sure why I like it so much, but everyone who has tried it with me has loved it.

4) Gang of Four- Haven't played Tichu yet, but i really like this one. Haven't played it in awhile, need to get it out soon.

3) For Sale- My favorite filler game. Very easy, but alot of game to it too, for something so quick and simple.

2) Modern Art- Hard to think of this as a card game. One of my first BGG "finds". I won the game, and was going to sell it on Ebay (I mean, how exciting can a game about art be?). Lucky for me, I checked it out on BGG (I never really used the site much), and it's one of my favorite Knizia's, and will always have a spot in my collection. It pretty much started my trip into the hobby.

1) Fairy Tale- Love it, although our games seem to take too long (usually close to 45+ minutes). I love the drafting, the agony of do I keep the card that helps me the most, or do I keep the card the next guy needs more. Or which of these good cards do I keep, hoping I get something to make it a GREAT card. Love it. Lots of tension for a little game.


I didn't realize how much I really like card games .


I decided to count Modern Art. It has a board, but it's just for scoring purposes, and the money isn't too much different than alot of other games that I absolutely consider card games (High Society, even if the money is in card form).

Pretty hard to get these in order since they are all well played, but here are my top 11 in case #1 gets DQed in this forum..

#11 Atlantic Star

#10 Land Unter (turn the tide) surprise to see it fell off Tom's list

#9 Bohnanza

#8 6 Nimmt

#7 Flaschenteufel (the bottle imp) evil 3 player game

#6 Hera & Zeus

#5 Schotten Totten (prefer it to battle line)

#4 Mystery Rummy #1: Jack the Ripper - haven't played WE but otherwise is the best in the series

#3 Verator - great boardgame in a card format.

#2 San Juan

#1 Magic the gathering - maybe the best game evar!

This took quite a lot of thought, so many choices.
My current top ten.

1) Magic The Gathering -The game that just keeps giving, love it.
2) Citadels -You don’t own this? why not.
3) Munchkin -full of laughs killing monsters + collecting treasure as you go.
4) Fairy Tale -Draught 5 cards then play 3 highest point total wins after 4 rounds visually beautiful.
5) Dungeoneer -It's a dungeon adventure in your pocket, perfect!.
6) Colossal Arena -Place your bets now! monster clash elimination game.
7) Castle -Each turn is filled with so many options.
8(The Testimony of Jacob Hollow -Collect investigation points solving mysteries before you lose your mind.
9) Treasures And Traps -This ones new to me and its great!.
10)Mag Blast -Build your space fleet and cripple your enemies defences.

10. Illuminati: Deluxe Edition
9. Galaxy: the Dark Ages
8. Blue vs. Gray
7. The Big Idea
6. Battle Line
5. Bang!
4. Rook
3. Middle-Earth CCG
2. Citadels
1. Colossal Arena

Hi, I love card games. I like holding them and looking at them. I am suprised I haven't got into CCGs.

I enjoyed the episode. Found it interesting to hear that Glory to Rome and Battlelines were in top 10. I have both and have not played them yet - I now have a renewed urge. Thanks

It is hard to limit my faves to 10 but will give it a go. In no particular order:

1. 6 Nimmt
2. San Juan
3. Odin's Ravens
4. Corsari
5. Illuminati
6. Wyatt Earp
7. Magna Carta (Caylus the Card Game)
8. Settlers The Card Game
9. Dolce Vita
10. King of the Elves

Or should I include: Gracias, Bucket King, No Thanks, David & Goliath, Don, Lost Cities and Balloon Cup?

I love them all!

Well...that's very true Mark

San Juan and Citadels are probably on par with card/non-card elements. Iguess I added that because San Juan would be around number 11, but I feel a bit sad for San Juan , so I have to come up with an 'excuse' as to why it missed the cut!

Cheers.

Giles.