My Top 10 Non Stonemaier Games That We May Have Published

In today’s video I revisit a topic from 4+ years ago about games from other publishers that for the core tenets of Stonemaier Games so well—and that I really enjoy—that we may have published them if we had the option. Some of these tenets/guidelines are: 2-5+ player count in the core game, smooth game flow, strong sense of progression, intuitive to learn and teach, low conflict, and including a featured component.


Ambassadors (when polled recently) listed the following: Architects of the West Kingdom, Ark Nova, Clank, Tzolk’in, Concordia, Earth, Bad Company, Distilled, Dune Imperium, Everdell, Aquatica, First Rat, The Isle of Cats, Lords of Waterdeep, Orleans, Obsession, Parks, Planet Unknown, Quacks, Spirit Island, Terraforming Mars

My Top 10:

Special mentions: Libertalia, Rumble Nation, Anachrony, Terracotta Army, Mariposas, Dwellings of Eldervale (or Cryo?)

10. Parks
9. Mysterium Park
8. Concordia
7. Raising Robots
6. Fantastic Factories
5. Planet Unknown
4. First Rat
3. Forest Shuffle
2. Space Base
1. Earth


00:00 - Introduction & Honorable Mentions
5:40 - Top 4-10
19:20 - Top 3

[ChavinTek]

It would be cool to see a top 10 for game like you mentioned at the end with Libertalia. Not just publishing a game as we see it today, but publishing a second/new edition of a game that exists that would put it into the Stonemaier framework-- similar to a recent Dice Tower top 10 of "Top 10 Games that need a New Edition", but geared toward the Stonemaier lens

[qarsiseer]

I love this video! Have you ever posted about the why behind what makes a good Stonemaier game? I’d love to hear more about it, I’m especially interested in why 5 players!

[levenzaha]

Cool video. I love what you did with Libertalia (played it this week!).

Also Concordia is in my top 5 and it’s great to see it get some love.

Otherwise, and maybe you have a video on this, would love to know what changes you’d make to your prior games. Maybe to better fit the criteria you’ve laid out. Or, games where you deviated from your criteria and why. Eg red rising has a bit of take that, and scythe you can take away what others have built.

[rikhavok]

Jamey, I think this video is brilliant for a publishers standpoint. You are making a fun video for gamers but you are also telling independent game designers of a few things that you may be looking for in a game, with examples.

[stormburns]

At 4/5 players we play parks with only one hiker per player, which helps a lot!

[darren.mcauliffe]

Concordia has a solo/co-op expansion. Works great.

[StevenStJohn-kjeb]

Concordia is a really brilliant game.

It's interesting that so many of the games on your list have a simultaneous play element. I've realized that's a mechanism I really dislike. That mechanism does speed up play, but it also steals a lot of the fun and tension from a social game night because players aren't able to track what other players are doing; aren't able to really enjoy the progress and decisions and minor victories other players are experiencing. Earth I found particularly underwhelming in that I also kept getting benefits that I didn't feel like I earned or controlled. Anyway, I've found that I much prefer turn based games.

[HeyBob]

I wonder what the reasoning is for a 5 player count for your games. Is that based on demand, or more from a marketing perspective (getting the largest possible audience for buyers)? Thanks for another great video!

[phunkysai]

Really wish you’d get into the 2-4 player business because that’s my favorite player count range.

[thetable]

How do you deal with redundancy? Are there games you would publish but didn't because they felt too close to existing Stonemaier games?

[chillasian]

I think it's better that SM didn't publish Dwellings and Earth because I think those games are similar to games already published by SM (Scythe and Wingspan). What I like about SM is that your games feel unique by themselves, unique under the company i.e. Scythe and Viticulture feel very different, and yet have some ineffable quality that make them specific to Stonemaier.

[tonkabeanicecream]

I wish someone would reprint Concordia and put it in a normal size box and fix the artwork 😂

[rikhavok]

I am surprised about Earth really. It looks like a Stonemaier game. It reminds me of a heavier Wingspan. I honestly was surprised that Earth wasn’t offered to Stonemaier in the first place.