“The game you’re playing is more fun than the one that’s sitting on your shelf.” Christ, have I ever heard a more impactful statement about not having too large a collection?! That is some proper Yoda level wisdom! These lists are such a gift, thank you Jon.

@azzagee3690

27 күн бұрын

My favourite line was, "In order to win at this game you have to say the right thing before anyone else, which is also how you win at being sympathetic." That was a big oof moment, I'm sure there was some line crossed there 😂

@Emperor045

22 күн бұрын

Does playing it means taking it out of the shrinkwrap? Brrrrr....

@tmcd5049

23 сағат бұрын

Sometimes it's less fun than the one on the shelf. Glass half full stuff.

"In a particularly upbeat funeral" is a wonderful way of putting a human sacrifice.

@actualol

11 ай бұрын

😂😂 Don't get blood on your cards!

I laughed way too hard at the Luke Skywalker Buzz Lightyear joke.

I love this list. I have enough of the medium and heavy, crunchy games in my collection. What i need are these small, accessible games! Please make another list like this 😊

timestamps: 0:39 Air, Land, Sea / Spies, Lies, Supplies 📍(2 player) 3:20 Order Overload* 📍(memory co-op) 5:56 Vaalbara 📍(compact libertaria) 9:04 My Favourite Things* 📍(ur chance to rank ur annoying friends) 12:00 Star Wars Deckbuilding Game 📍(self explanatory n i respectfully hate star wars) 14:57 The Number* 📍(seems like a fun gambling exp w fresh mechanism) 18:15 Phantom Ink* 📍(pov: ur amy adams in arrival) [stolen analogy] 21:21 Quickity Pickity 📍(flip it, slip it, set-collect complete it) 22:58 Noggin* 📍(word race challenges, anomia vibes) 25:27 No Mercy! 📍(push ur luck, lets- nvm) (*) games im interested to play ..don't u dare put "who ask" in the replies

@ShadiKabbesh

11 ай бұрын

I asked

@kosterix123

11 ай бұрын

thank you for this.

@poofal1283

11 ай бұрын

who asked

@poofal1283

11 ай бұрын

@@devaldyjonathan who askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho askedwho asked

@revimfadli4666

11 ай бұрын

​@@poofal1283 why ask

Regarding the "Am I winning or am I losing" mechanic of Air Land and Sea, the only other game I can think of that really has such a mechanic is backgammon. If you're playing a series of games, each game is worth points (usually one point, but two if you win without the opponent getting a single stone home). There you have the doubling die, where you can say "I think I'm gonna win this game, it's now worth double points", and your opponent can either accept that, or give up the game immediately, before the doubling takes effect. So when your opponent wants to double the game, you have to decide: Given that your opponent currently thinks they can win this game, would you give up a point now, or play for double value and perhaps pull the game back in your favour?

@blacklotus561

11 ай бұрын

There's also marvel snap which isn't a boardgame but seems to be heavily inspired by air, land and sea in its design.

@Drew_D

11 ай бұрын

Good information all around!

@revimfadli4666

11 ай бұрын

​@@blacklotus561 it started as a game designed around the doubling cube, then implemented with schotten totten and smash up mechanics, so no wonder it converged with another scotten totten descendant

The amount of variability you added to this is insane, im adding every single game to my wishlist as im watching your video. Very much appreciated

Love the desk setup! It’s so relaxed and makes the entire set feel more at ease for a calm conversation about gaming.

Dang, these all look fun! There's something really special about a small, well-designed game where you can see how it's playing different mechanisms against each other to create a big gray area the player's strategy has to fill. All of these seem to do that well. Thanks for sharing, Jon!

We don't just need small games to play at the end of an evening, we need ACTUALOL!! 💥

One of my late mother's favorite table games was Pit. She really got excited. The name refers to a tiny stepped arena at commodities exchanges where members call out proposed trades. Pit is an unusual type of rummy card game, in which multiple players announce proposals to trade hidden cards with each other, until one player assembles all nine of his cards into a single type of commodity, e.g. corn. He then rings the bell and yells out, "Corner on Corn" or whatever.

@sharonlockwood1825

9 ай бұрын

This game is great! My kids (teens, young adults) pulled it out a couple of years ago and played for 3 evenings straight.. they were loud and laughing and just having a blast. We still quote some of the shenanigans that came from those games.

@matthewcrawford4216

5 ай бұрын

Good memories playing that as a kid. Wild and loud game.

My Favorite Things is right up my alley. Thanks for talking about it. Will definitely back it on kickstarter.

Best top 10 list I’ve seen in ages. I now want to play (and buy) every one of these games

Happy to hear My Favourite Things is coming to Kickstarter! Looking forward!

This is exactly the video I've been looking for. I recommend mentioning 'travel-friendly' in title as that was exactly the term I was looking for when I was looking for portable games that don't take up precious space in my luggage/car

Amazing video as always, thanks a lot for the time you put in them, and of course the great recommendations as well!😄

Great list - very interested in Order Overload. I like the long form videos a lot keep it up!

Dice Heist. The most accessible filler game even for non-board gamers: brain tired but got time for quickie, playing with both highly strategic and simple fun players, and just a quick and fast push your luck.

Thanks for this video, Jon! I love how you highlight games that I don't hear about much (or at all) elsewhere. I've added a few more games to my want to play list - Quickity Pickity was already on there, but I added Order Overload: Cafe and Noggin!

@actualol

11 ай бұрын

That's my job! Glad I could introduce you to some new games :)

Great video! Love the small box attention!

I loved the number: it's simple but so much about it: you can even play it with just paper and pen and it's amazing.

“Game you’re playing is always more fun than the one sitting on your shelf” Cries at my friend group who ONLY play Catan 😭

@ParkUna

11 ай бұрын

I loved that line too.

Great video. Bought Spies, Order Overload and Quickity Pickity this morning!

Wow! Great video, as always. Thanks so much for talking about My Favourite Things. This sounds amazing!

13:14 "Luke Skywalker, famously the son of Buzz Lightyear" I can't stop laughing 😂

Thanks for pulling this together

I haven’t seen it yet but I’m calling Love Letter.

@daveb1101

11 ай бұрын

I’ll follow that with cockroach poker!

@daveb1101

11 ай бұрын

Happy to be wrong - all new games!

@joostjonker7308

11 ай бұрын

Star Wars: Jabba's Palace is a nice version of a Love Letter game, IMO

@matiasnl

11 ай бұрын

Me and my homies only play Princess Princess Love letters 😤

Thank you for the fun and informative list! I wrote down a few of these, some didn't resonate, but others like The Number really interest me!

im on the move a lot and often occurrence ry to teach new games to non gamers, so this list was perfect. added vaalbara and noggin to my wishlist, although noggin seems to be unavailable. air land and sea is indeed a fantastic micro and gateway game that still has surprising amount of tactical depth. subscribed!

I Love the edit on your video , sectioned, ordered and well-cooked

This is awesome. Thanks for the recommendations!

I just added half of these to my wishlist. Thanks!

Recently learnt about Vaalbara and have been playing it a lot of BGA, great game. I would definitely add some Oink games to this list as well, I always try to take either Scout or Startups with me.

@udrevnavremena1015

11 ай бұрын

There is an Oink game on this list, on 21:21.

@Tornroot

11 ай бұрын

@@udrevnavremena1015 I'm aware, just emphasising that there are so many other Oink games also applicable on this list (and that I personally rank higher) 🙂

Another great video! Makes me want to try all ten games! Well done!

Thank you John. Adding Quickity Pickity and No Mercy to my wishlist :)

I only just discovered your channel and absolutely love your videos and sense of humour. And thank you for the recommendations good Sir, just picked up Vaalbara!

Some great games on there, and I have only heard of the Star Wars one. Definitely looking some of those up. Great video!

So glad to hear that 'Eye My Favorite Things' is coming to kickstarter. It's true that your recommendation of this game has taunted me for years

really awesome and unique games like always John! great list!

Vaalbara looks awesome, great artwork!

Smallest game I carry with a lot of variety.... A deck of standard cards. From playing a solo game to games with up to 6-8 players. I can play with adults or children. No other game has that variety.

I've been dying to play My favorite things since you teased it the first time! I'm so excited!

Great suggestions… I’ll probably buy half of these games due to your recommendation. Thanks so much. Subbed.

More of these videos please, want all those games!

Just want you to know that your videos bring me so much joy and information! What a combo.

@actualol

9 ай бұрын

Thank you 🙏

This is great! I can rarely get a group together that has the time to play the bigger games I like (such as Betrayal At House on the Hill) I more regularly get to play the little games I toss in my book bag when I go to the bar. These would certainly give me more hours of fun per dollar, just because I'd get to play them more!

I love small games. Not sure why, but there's something super appealing to me about a game in a super compact package.

The fact that Regicide isn't on this list is criminal. If you, or anyone else reading this, haven't played that game: please try it out as soon as possible.

Such a great work to do this video!!!! Damnnn ❤

Awesome tips 😍 Great video ❤️❤️❤️

This month played Penguin Airlines. What a gem. There is a few similar app and pc games, but it is such a fun. It is spanish made and not so popular yet in english boardgaming

Gossip Girl and Rumor Man...solid writing and joke there, Jon! So many good looking small box games on this list! My Favorite Things and Noggin look like two games I may have to pick up for get-togethers! Thanks again!

@actualol

11 ай бұрын

You have great taste in jokes ❤️

Another fantastic push your luck, card flipping game is Port Royal. I love that the cards double as gold that you use to hire people and gain victory points. It's such a clever way to make it so never actually know which cards are in the deck because they could be in someone's gold pile.

@flakmagnetStudios

11 ай бұрын

Love Port Royal, great shout 😁

Color me shocked that you had a ten small games list without an Oink Game! Startups and Maskmen are probably my faves.

@PatrickPawletko

3 ай бұрын

Quickity Pickity and Order Overload are Oink Games 😉

Along the lines of this list- would love to see your thoughts on the buttonshy collection- so many great pocket games!

Very unique list of games. I already love ALS: Critters at War but need to try the 'sequel'. I am most intrigued by Vaalbara and the Star Wars Games. Also, you remain the KING of metaphors keep up the great content.

This is a very solid lineup

I love compact games! There are great to cure boredom on a trip.

Vaalbara is a game I've been looking out for for a while. Hope it gets released in my country someday soon. I recently bought Codex Naturalis as my latest small game. Box not bigger than my hand, but it packs 100 cards and tons of variability.

@MrMaelstrom07

10 ай бұрын

Codex is such a beautiful game, too.

Thank you so much for this!!! We bought Air, Land & Sea: Spies, Lies & Supplies because of this video. We loved it so much!! Thank you for what you do!!

Had a 9-hour layover in Dubai once with a group of co-workers. Luckily, I had forgotten to remove the copy of Love Letter from my backpack before the trip.

@actualol

11 ай бұрын

The perfect scenario for a gamer - captive opponents!

Just wanted to say, my wife and I bought the star wars deckbuilding game a month ago and it's quickly become our favorite game. We play it daily, maybe even multiple times a day. The only problem is that my wife refuses to not play the rebels!

@actualol

6 ай бұрын

That's wonderful to hear! Glad you're getting so much play out of it.

Love the James acaster reference!

The one game I was disappointed to not see here is Coup. Absolutely amazing, small box, you can explain it in 5 minutes and play a round in 10. Best small-box game I've played, but several here are looking pretty enticing.

@actualol

11 ай бұрын

This video is focused on newer small games.

@gokupepper

7 ай бұрын

Love Letter is better

I may be a Star Wars fan. Thanks again Jon for an excellent video😊

also enjoying lost Cities, Azul mini, Jaipur )

Noggin looks hilarious. Particularly the bit about shouting Red when the word is actually Der!

One of your best videos! You have great board game opinions,haha

@actualol

11 ай бұрын

Thank you!

I liked most of those, great video

Age of War is my go to for a small game that is easy to teach to new people, can accommodate a lot of players, and has a good balance between having enough strategic depth to be entertaining and being random enough for people who just want to throw dice around.

Great recommendations!

I want to spout off a bunch of small games here, because I always travel to group meet-ups at cafes, restaurants and bars, so I carry a small bag that I fit about 10 or so small games in, but I don't know what you've covered in your other videos. I'm just going to venture one of those. It is one of the tiniest of small games. It's called iota, and it's a cross between scrabble and set. There are 64 unique, small square cards & two wild cards that come in tin with a hinged lid, like an old bandaid box but smaller. There is no set board so this thing could snake all over, so you want a large table, or play on the floor. It's 2-4 players and it takes as long as a scrabble game. Each card has a color, a shape & a number. Each person keeps 4 cards in their hand (after your turn, replenish your hand). You try to make 4 card lots; a lot is a group of 4 cards where each of the characteristics are either all the same or all different, ie all the cards are 1's on different colored circles, or each card could be a different number, color and shape. Most likely, you'll lay down 2 cards on your turn, because any two cards match, it's building up to 3 cards that's hard & achieving the lot of 4 can be very tricky or even impossible. There can never be more than 4 cards in a row. On each turn, you lay down 1-4 cards all along a horizontal or vertical line adjacent to 1 or more cards already on the table OR trade some (or all) of your cards with the draw pile. Keep score each turn like in scrabble. You score points based on each "word" created on your turn, ie if I play one card in an available corner, I've made two 2-letter "words". The score is just the numbers on the cards added up (wild cards are zero points), so a lot of all 4's gives you a higher score than a lot of all 1's. If you create or complete a lot, you double your score for that turn. If you use all cards in your hand on one turn, double score for that turn. Game is over when one player uses the last cards in their hand and the draw pile is empty; this last turn is double points. I absolutely love this game, but my experience is that other people don't get it (probably because they don't understand set) and tend to dislike it. So it's very hard to find people willing to play it with me.

That memory games joke was great!

Great list!

The Vaalbara game sounds like an evolution of Kingdomino, where you can go for something high value this turn but you could get stuck on the next. I'll have to check it out

Such a great video!

Really, no-one caught the "red shirt" reference in the star wars game, classically hilarious and well done sir!

"Almost as hard as it is to be star wars fan." I felt that.

Air Land an Sea sounds a lot like Marvel Snap Game for Phones!

@SoDamnMajestic

Ай бұрын

Yup. I'm pretty sure Ben Brode referenced it in a video he did way back about the development of it.

"Upbeat funeral" 🤣🤣🤣

Just a PSA that Air, Land and Sea has a variant called Critters At War, which is the same game but with a cartoony animal theme if you want something more colourful.

you got me at 'particularly upbeat funeral' 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Played Vaalbara on Tuesday and liked it instantly. Ended up buying it less than an hour later.

I always end my game nights with a party game, or something like that. Chunky Monkey Business is a recent favorite

Great list of small accessible games, Loved it ❤. Designer: Royal Realms

I'm interested in knowing what are the most fun cooperative small games available in the market. My personal favourite is Hanabi.

Your videos make me happy 😊

Hey Actualol, could you make a video covering top games for big groups like 10 people or so!

Most of these games look very enticing but I don't seem to be able to order any of them in PL. I absolutely recommend both Air,Land,&Sea games. I take them everywhere with me. These two I managed to find abroad.

We end some of our game evenings with Papayoo. Really fun tricking taking game, especially with 8 players.

Cool video, I hadnt heard of a few of these.

the funeral joke. dear god. hahaha

Good video. Well done!

Omg an Actualol video ♥️

Nice video i like your explaination want part 2

Just ordered No Mercy and Push 👍

honestly i enjoy the drinks/snacks decreasing/increasing as we go through the video.

Vaalbara makes me think of the card game Miaui 😊

Cobra Paw! Quickest, funnest small game I've ever played

Upbeat funeral 🤣🤣🤣💀 0:06