My Favorite Brain Burners

[Titus]

This is easily my favorite class of games. Brain burners to me are the pinnacle of the gaming experience. They provide highly intense intellectual challenges and usually don’t overstay their welcome. If this is your sort of thing, you’ll enjoy just playing. But winning is more satisfying than anything else.

A definition of brain burners
As the label implies, a brain burner is a game that requires a lot of thought. Sometimes it’s because of the complexity but most of the time it’s because of the many possibilities or the number of factors you have to keep in mind or the toughness of the decisions. The best brain burners combine rich tactical play with deep strategic planning.

On the weight scale, brain burners are heavyweights. They tend to be longer than usual; 90 minutes to 3 hours is the usual range. They are definitely gamer’s games so are not recommended for nongamers.

In my mind, there are two kinds of brain burners. There are those that are a joy to play. Even though there is lots to think about, the game is just enjoyable and fun. And then there are those that are intimidating. You know you’re in for a mental workout from the get-go. In the latter, the players are usually quiet and in deep thought while in the former there’s usually some banter and table talk. I like both kinds; my mood dictates which kind I prefer at the moment.

My Favorites:



Age of Steam
Martin Wallace’s magnum opus, this is a business game for 3-6 players with a train theme. Players are competing railway companies building their transport networks in Midwestern US. You generate income by picking up and delivering goods from city to city. Money management is critical as you’re on the razor’s edge between solvency and bankruptcy for the first half of the game. If you like economic games, Age of Steam’s deliciously competitive gameplay will appeal to you. I’m eagerly anticipating the new version of this to be called simply Steam.



Amun-Re
The first of three Reiner Knizia designs on this list, Amun-Re is a pyramid building game for 3-5 players set in ancient Egypt. Players compete to control provinces in order to place farms and build pyramids in them, but halfway through the game everything except pyramids is cleared from the board. This is a fun unusual euro game. My detailed review is here: http://www.tabletopwars.com/bb/index.php/topic,4047.0.html



Die Macher
This German election game for 3-5 players is the heaviest of the games on this list. In fact, it takes so long (4-5 hours) it’s almost in the class of ‘epic games.’ Players play political parties competing to grow their memberships, influence the media, and win parliamentary seats. This has got it all: random elements, auctions, short term tactics, long term planning, majority control, direct screwage, and an analysis paralysis-inducing array of choices. When I think intimidating, I think of Die Macher. My detailed review is here: http://www.tabletopwars.com/bb/index.php/topic,3959.0.html



Puerto Rico
This 3-5 player economic game is perhaps the gold standard by which all other euro games are judged, despite its recent dethronement from the #1 spot on BGG. It made the role selection variable turn phase mechanic popular. Players develop their colonies by building up their city and producing goods and shipping them back to the homeland. A true classic, even though I’ve played this more than any other game on this list, it’s something I like to go back to every now and then.



Taj Mahal
This I think is Knizia’s most unique design and his magnum opus rather than T&E. In this game 3-5 players vie for control and influence in 12 Indian provinces. A unique card playing mechanic is the tactical centerpiece of the struggle, where you play cards to try to control six different forces in each province and timing your withdrawal from the struggle is the key. The scoring system gives it great strategic depth as you have multiple ways to earn points, mostly through collecting resources and connecting cities in chains. Taj Mahal is unlike anything else I’ve played and it’s both sublime and frustrating.



Tigris & Euphrates
The third Knizia on this list, many consider it his masterpiece. It’s a 2-4 player tile placement game. It’s pretty abstract but it’s unusual for a euro as it has direct conflict. Players build up kingdoms and earn points in four aspects of their civilization. When leaders or kingdoms clash, revolts or wars result. You need a strong balance however as the aspect you’re weakest in is your final score. The rules are simple but the wide open board offers vast possibilities.



Traders of Genoa
This I consider to be Rudiger Dorn’s masterpiece. It’s the most fun of the games on this list and one of my favorite economic games. It’s a trading game for 2-5 players who strive to earn the most money by fulfilling small and large orders and delivering messages in the various buildings in the city of Genoa. The ‘trader tower’ is the central mechanic which regulates both movement and what actions are possible. On a given turn, the active player only gets to take one action of the five possible; the rest can be traded away to other players in return for cash or goods. There is no downtime and player interaction is very high, making this a very dynamic and energetic, but still strategic game.


Special mention

There are a few titles I’ve played that may eventually make this list, such as Agricola and Container. I’m still waiting to see if Agricola holds up after a few more plays. As for Container, I love it but I’m not sure it’s a brain burner. I need to play it more.

And then there are a host of titles that I have not played yet that may fit on this list, such as Power Grid, Caylus, Brass, Imperial, and Cuba (which is next on my want list).

Conclusion

I foresee this list changing over the years because this class of games is the most favored by the BGG crowd and the one I monitor the most. I’m always looking out for great strategy games as I believe they give the best value. They’re usually expensive but they’re enjoyable for years to come.

So, what are your favorite brain burners?

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Other articles in this series:

My Favorite…
- Gateway Games (http://www.tabletopwars.com/bb/index.php/topic,4012.0.html)
- Meaty Middleweights
- Fun Fillers
- Thematic Thrillers

[maskmanjoe]

I thought it was about time I contributed to this good list.

Here are my fave Brain Burners:

In the Shadow of the Emperor
I've already said this before but it remains true: this game introduced me to two-hour boardgaming My first owned title, this was the first gaming experience we had wherein 7 rounds took 2 hours to finish, and we all usually left with headaches and a tinge of guilt. In the Shadow is a game of acquiring political influence, and more often than not such games required sneaky, backstabbing after you've just promised your loyalty to the new emperor. There are several limited actions and deciding the most efficient one (short term or long term) is what makes the decisions difficult. We've dubbed it as "really serious". I still like this game though, its player interactions are subtle and performing a good play can feel rewarding. The one fun we found was sniping some old aristocrat from his seat of power so the young upstart (who you control of course) can take over Ah to be young and ruthless.

War of the Ring
My first minis game and wargame. The theme here literally called me from the display window of NG. Thankfully Mark H already introduced me to standard wargaming with ASL so I felt ready to handle something like this. I have yet to clock a game under 3 hours. Unfortunately I've been having difficulty finding a regular opponent (lucky Adrian he has a brother to burn the night with). Being a strategic wargame, long hours are expected and constant re-strategizing is the bread and butter of the game. Battles are fought at multiple fronts, both actual and psychological, and having such a big board forces you to think on each of those fronts. The cards have dual purposes, having both strategic and tactical (combat) uses, so deciding on which to use them in is also a regular source of analysis-paralysis. I have only one complete game under my belt, but the long hours hasn't stopped me from loving it and marking it as one of my top games of my collection.

Agricola
In Agricola, the multitude of "strategies" brought about by the combinations of actions and the cards forces you to always think how you will win in every session. Till its your turn, your next action can change, especially when someone before you steals your action first. This leads to alot of "now why did you do that? now i've got to think again on what to do" reactions from my friends. Complexity is low as you only really need to think of how to diversify your farm enough (although some of my friends also play action-denial) but the amount of choices (or the lack thereof) requires a considerable amount of thought. Its high-replayability (even with solo games) keeps this title at my top list.

[paenggoy]

Chess