5 Board Games for $100(ish) Dollars
Once in a while, I will be making a post to highlight what game purchases I would make, at the time of writing, for around $100 (US) dollars. Some titles will stay the same, some will come and go, but ultimately, I hope it will inform new players getting into the realm of the modern board game scene where to invest their hard earned cash.
I will include one party/filler game, a 2-player exclusive game, a light game, a medium or heavy game, and something not of the ordinary like hidden gems or expansions. With these 5 games, I believe, you have a good footing to start a joyful game library—and one which doesn’t require a huge amount of capital.
Onto the games:
The Mind Box
Party/Filler Game: The Mind - $10
The Mind starts off this list because it's affordable, easy to learn or teach and has enough meat to its gameplay to warrant multiple tries to beat it—fair warning, it will be hard to do so. What makes this game a little easier to bring to non-gamers is it insists on cooperative gameplay, eschewing any of the confrontational or competitive aspects of other games. Hey, some folks just don’t like taking it to people.
Playing the game is a hoot, specially with the right players that buy into the premise of The Mind’s core mechanic that all players are trying to achieve: don’t say a word, and place all the numbers in order from lowest to highest. Such a simple rule, yet it makes this game so difficult in the most entertaining way possible. Absolutely great little title that works better with larger groups of 4 or 5 players (even if the box say 2-4 players, I’ve snuck in a fifth player without much drastic change in the game. I argue it might make it better).
Review of: The Mind
Patchwork : Americana Edition
2-Player Only: Patchwork: Americana Edition - $17-$20
Patchwork is a tile-laying game, (basically Tetris in board game form) with an American quilt theme. Collect tiles, place them on your board filling in the 9x9 grid and at the end of the game, the player with the most points wins. This is one of Uwe Rosenberg’s best two-player games, and probably one of his best known polyomino titles from the cadre of tile laying games he’s developed. The rules are simple, but the spatial puzzle and decision making coupled with the “time” aspect of the game crunches your brain trying to make the right choice to get the maximum points you can make.
This special American Edition is a reskin of his original 2014 release but comes in at a much lower price. As of this post, it hasn’t released yet, but FLGS (or their online shops) are taking preorders for this Americana version. At that price point, it’s a steal.
Arboretum
Gateway Game: Arboretum - $15-$17
Arboretum is a favorite of mine. It’s a basic set collection and tableau building card game, with a really cut-throat ending. The quaint, tranquil nature theme might lull you into thinking it’s a pampered nature trail, but make no mistake, this game has thorns. Pick-up two cards into your hand of seven, place one card onto your tableau and discard one back into the discard piles. Your tableau will start to grow, as if you had an abled green thumb, creating paths you’ll score for points at end of game. However, if you can’t keep enough suits in your hand your opponent(s) might have enough to deny you those points you’ve worked so hard to collect. Devastating, but you’ll quickly want to start a new round and return the favor in a satisfying game of attrition—or devilish pruning? The point is, it’s a mean game, but one that you can’t get enough of.
There are two version out there right now, and I would avoid buying the Deluxe version, even though it comes in the much better wooden box. The regular version is much better visually considering the Deluxe version went with a very hard to read card finish that makes it difficult to discern cards from afar. A shame, but the upside, you’ll get to appreciate the wonderful artwork of the regular version!
Review of: Arboretum
Santa Maria Box
Medium/Heavy: Santa Maria - $32-$34
Do you like dice? Do you like drafting? Do you like tile-laying Tetris style? Well you’ve come to the right place! Santa Maria is a dice drafting, resource management and tile-laying game. In other words it’s a Euro with some spatial mechanics. You’ll be going up tracks. You’ll be getting resources. You’ll be denying other’s things they covet. Like I said…it’s a Euro.
What makes this Euro stand out, though, is the dice drafting. Pick a die in order to activate buildings you’ve been gathering from tiles in order to get resources, or move up different tracks on the main board. It’s a game where careful planning and a small amount of luck (that can be mitigated) can yield a bounty of things on your turn. It’s a game that does start out slow, but ramps up in the final stages. The machine you’ve been massaging into existence finally materializes in the later rounds—it’s satisfying setting off three or four buildings from one die—hopefully netting you a boat load of points.
Also, it has some pretty creepy happy smiles for victory tokens.
Porta Nigra Box
Hidden Gem: Porta Nigra - $6 - $50
This one is a wildcard. I can recommend it solely on the premise that you can get this one at a reduced price and not MSRP. The value given up there isn’t a typo—it can really swing drastically depending on vendor and if it’s on sale. I managed to snag this one up at the $6 price point, but make no mistake, after playing it more than a handful of times, I would gladly pay $30-$40 range for this one.
Porta Nigra is an area majority and resource management game. You’ll be going around a rondel, collecting bricks of different values, and constructing structures what will net you points depending on placement and height of said structure. Money is tight, sometimes, actions don’t line up well with your intentions, and there is the nagging feeling that you wont be able to complete your plans as your mind prescribed. In other words, it’s rewarding to those that can plan a few steps ahead.
This game seemed to fall under the radar back in 2015, even though it has the partnering of Kiesling and Kramer—two accomplished designers in their own right. It’s a mid-weight Euro, with satisfying table presence as players build up their towers of bricks, elevating the board state in a three dimensional sprout of grey molded plastic. I like it because of its tight decisions needed to make the most points our of your plan.
If you can snag this up between $20 and under, it’s a no-brainer, get it.
And there you have it; five games that can be had around the $100 mark, and if buying all together from a single online vendor, probably avoids paying shipping charges. I hope to come back in the near future to give another five game recommendations for $100-ish bucks.
