Josh Look's Top 5 Horror Games

Rliyen wrote: PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT IN VAMPYRE IF YOU HAVE A SILVER BULLET, YOU DO NOT NEED A GUN TO KILL A WEREWOLF.

How do I kill them with it? Insert it rectally??

Reminds me of this scene in Justified.

Rliyen wrote: PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT IN VAMPYRE IF YOU HAVE A SILVER BULLET, YOU DO NOT NEED A GUN TO KILL A WEREWOLF.

How do I kill them with it? Insert it rectally??

That is the exact joke that our group always made back in the day. We called it the silver suppository.

Boy do I have news for you about Michael Barnes's game preferences!

Gary Sax wrote: Boy do I have news for you about Michael Barnes's game preferences!

"I'm now buying ALL of Stefan Feld's games!" -Michael Barnes 2021

ChristopherMD wrote:

Gary Sax wrote: Boy do I have news for you about Michael Barnes's game preferences!

"I'm now buying ALL of Stefan Feld's games!" -Michael Barnes 2021

“What you guys aren’t understanding is that there’s actually two kinds: executive elegance and procedural elegance.”

I kid. I've said this before on this website, but watching his occasional radical-ish changes have actually meant a lot to me in being sensitive to the idea that I just may not like some game anymore and that's perfectly fine because I've changed.

Gary Sax wrote: I kid. I've said this before on this website, but watching his occasional radical-ish changes have actually meant a lot to me in being sensitive to the idea that I just may not like some game anymore and that's perfectly fine because I've changed.

This concept deserves a thread of its own. I've been playing board games my whole life, and I can't think of many games that I liked but no longer like.

ubarose wrote: @drewcula

You do release that this is an old list. We just pushed it out to the front page for Halloween.


People's ideas evolve with with time and experience. I think lists like these should be revisited and new one's created by the writers not only because writers change, mature and become more knowledgeable, but also because there are new games being published every year, so there is always a reshuffling over time, and old favorites sometimes get bumped off.

Holding writers to opinions they held years ago is stifling and limiting.

Yeah... I've been here for a loooong time. It's a treasure trove of changing tastes. But in this very specific case regarding Fury of Dracula and Josh's list, your remark doesn't hold water.

Josh posted on FRIDAY about a review he wrote ONE year ago; "If given the chance to do this list right now, I would swap out Bloody Inn for Sub Terra. Everything else stays the same."

You do realize that, right?

Now pardon me while I ask my Ouija board about election results.

Shellhead wrote:

Rliyen wrote: PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT IN VAMPYRE IF YOU HAVE A SILVER BULLET, YOU DO NOT NEED A GUN TO KILL A WEREWOLF.

How do I kill them with it? Insert it rectally??

That is the exact joke that our group always made back in the day. We called it the silver suppository.

I have my office door open and now I'm getting strange looks because I'm laughing so hard.

Shellhead wrote:

Gary Sax wrote: I kid. I've said this before on this website, but watching his occasional radical-ish changes have actually meant a lot to me in being sensitive to the idea that I just may not like some game anymore and that's perfectly fine because I've changed.

This concept deserves a thread of its own. I've been playing board games my whole life, and I can't think of many games that I liked but no longer like.

Interesting idea. I think I might take my lunch break and look at the list of games I've rated.... I'm with you, I can't think of many games that I used to like, but not anymore.

Part of me wants to say fuck it, it's my list, it's my work that I put in and I will change it as my tastes evolve because it's my right to do so, but that doesn't leave anyone smarter, which is all I've ever wanted to do with any of my work for this site or on my podcast over the years.

I'm going to make this a clear as I can. I do not regret making any of these choices a year ago. The biggest thing that separates us as writers/contributers here on this site vs the average user reviewer on BGG is that we prioritize the experience of play over how the rules and mechanisms of a game read or play out. There are people who want that and think we are wrong. So with that in mind, know that I HAVE experienced games of Bloody Inn and Fury of Dracula that fit my criteria, which is nebulous and I might add, wasn't fully realized on my part when I wrote the list. Under the idea of "same feeling I get from watching a horror movie with the same subject matter," they both fit the bill based on MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. In these cases, the pitch black table talk of Bloody Inn and just drinking in the atmosphere of a Hammer horror flick in Fury of Dracula. If you're looking this list or any piece of work here by any of our authors and are looking for how we read mechanisms on their own without any experience of play, please leave the site now, you're going to have a bad time here.

But yes, my opinions have changed and I am 100% allowed to change not only the list but alter the criteria as I see fit because it is my work. Anyone who doesn't believe that that is my right, please get off of this site or at the very least pass on by my work because it is clearly not for you. You fo your own work, you make your own rules, but since we're all doing this for free here I say we get to make our own rules. I will be changing the article, dropping the ranking and clarifying the criteria when I get a chance. Not only is it my work, but I need to be happy with it long before any of you goons are entertained or enlightens by it.

And since someone brought it up, I've already beaten Michael to what I'm dubbing FELDQUEST 2021. Someone once told me that his games sucked so I never played them And at a time, I probably would have agreed. But now in a time in which the distraction I need is a dense puzzle and little to no people being able to fuck with me because that's where we're as a civilization, it turns out that that person not only was a colossal asshole for reasons outside of gaming, but Stephen Feld games are pretty fucking good. If anyone has a problem with that, hey! Join my Discord channel!

Rliyen wrote:

Shellhead wrote:

Gary Sax wrote: I kid. I've said this before on this website, but watching his occasional radical-ish changes have actually meant a lot to me in being sensitive to the idea that I just may not like some game anymore and that's perfectly fine because I've changed.

This concept deserves a thread of its own. I've been playing board games my whole life, and I can't think of many games that I liked but no longer like.

Interesting idea. I think I might take my lunch break and look at the list of games I've rated.... I'm with you, I can't think of many games that I used to like, but not anymore.

And I did it. I was surprised the list wasn't longer.

First off, these games more than likely will not be everyone's tastes, but for some strange reason, I did. So, here's my list of 12 games I initially liked, but decided not to play anymore.

Assassin Yes, the mangled euro-ish game from AH. I got the game in '95 and I played it with my group off and on until about 2003. Then, it sat in my collection. I really liked it, but with the span of time, I felt that I didn't want to play it any more. So, I gave it to my friend who really loves it. Hey, my motto is if I don't like, I will send it to home where it can be appreciated.

Axis & Allies Jesus, I played waaaay too much of this game when I was in high school/college. I think I noticed the shine wearing off on it around 2003, which was the last time I played it. It felt to me you were just going through the motions, all strategies ended up being the same. Got rid of my copy ages ago.

Bloodsuckers I got this from one of Barnes' Sale-o-ramas a couple of years ago. Initially, I played a lot of this with my group. But the mechanics in fighting were botched to an extent that you had to conserve actions if you went first. If that was the only way to mitigate a glaring defect in order to enjoy said game, I decided to stop playing. Currently, up for trade... Or may end up in some stupid sunofabitches' Secret Satan this year.

Conspiracy Got this for Christmas in 1982 and played with the neighborhood kids initially. It was a shelf toad for so long, I ended up trading it. Last time I played it was Averyfest 2012, with Matt Loter and co. My opinion still didn't change on it and had no regrets getting rid of it.

Earth Reborn Watched it being played at Averyfest one year and thought it was great. Then, in 2013, I got a copy. I tried playing this first so I could get a grasp on how to teach the group, but the interest in it fell off exponentially. That, and it felt like it took about as long as setting up the board as it did setting up Magic Realm. For trade.

Fluxx Played a lot in college, drinking beer along with it. Last time I played was 8 years ago and you will never get me to play it again. I'll just sit on the sidelines, enjoying your pain.

Heroscape A game I was really enamored with back in 2005, but now I can't be arsed to even bother to pull it out for my group. I still have it, but won't play it. I mainly use the figures for RPGs now.

Nexus Ops -1st Edition Got this over a decade ago from Toys R Us, and played it a good number of times. I tried pulling it out once more to see if my group would like it, but every time I reacquaint myself with the rules, I decide to put it back on the shelf. Trade pile.

Rogue Trooper One of my nostalgia trips. Back when GW actually did other things besides WH/40k. Hadn't played it since high school, and then I got a copy some years ago and played it. PLODDING is the best way to describe it. As much as I am a RT fan, I'll just stick to the comics and video game.

Shadowfist My major crack habit, aside from MTG, back in the day. Was an uberfan and was part of Z-Man's Silver Band. Ran tournaments constantly years ago. Then, Katrina hit and the store I used to hold the tournaments was wiped out. Post Katrina was a major scattering of my friends and acquaintances and I could never really find a store that wasn't a trek to get to. My interest died right then and there. Now, the cards are sitting in boxes unused. And since I'm beyond burned out on playing the roleplaying game, Feng Shui, it's all but certain that they'll never be touched.

Warhammer 40k Most of the issue of me never playing the game is outlined above. Katrina changing way too many things in my life, friends moving away, no game store. Add to the fact that I haven't really played since 4th edition (didn't like the ruleset at all) lead me to 2nd and Charles the majority of my 3e army books. I traded my entire 2000+ point Eldar army to a guy for a copy of Level 7: The Omega Protocol. I still have the Pimp Guard, COBRA themed, but the models are mainly relegated to my Mutant Chronicle/Sci Fi RPG use.

And that's it... my list.

Games that I no longer like:

Arkham Horror 1st edition: I actually still like this version of the game, I just can't think of a situation where I would ever play it again instead of 2nd edition. I suppose the smaller table space requirements and the shorter play time would make it plausible.

Chill: Black Morn Manor: Sold my copy more than a decade ago. It was fun back in the day, but the endgame was always problematic. Picture a football game going into overtime and the game just won't end until one team scores. Should have been about a 2 hour game, but can easily run 3 hours, wearing out the welcome mat.

Illuminati: I like the idea and much of the game, but the protracted endgame eventually became a dealbreaker. It's a multi-player game where the leader is clearly identified and leader-bashing tends to double the length of the game.