Last modified September 15, 2025 by Krushpin

Here's a list of 5 games that have stood the test of time very well despite their age (10 years and over). Obviously, this only reflects my own tastes, but I believe that in the era of gaming abundance we've been swimming in for the past few years, it's good to bring out modern classics.

My goal is not to explain the mechanics of these games or to critique them. I simply want to elaborate on the reason(s) why they still have a place in my game library after more than 10 years.

Troyes with extension (2010)

Troyes is, in my opinion, one of the best examples of the harmonious integration of different mechanics into a single game. It's a hymn to combos with its multiple cards and one of the first dice drafting games in the broadest sense. As a bonus, there's a little semi-co-op side, area control, and hidden personal objectives. All these elements combine in a fireworks display of surprising combos that are renewed each game. As a consequence of the variety of cards available on the board, each game is very different and brings its own challenges (tight money, lack of influence, recurring events that delay us, etc.).

The expansion is a must-have because of the new cards it brings and the additional options it offers for using our dice. It also offers a module to reduce the theft of our best dice by our opponents, for those who were put off by it in the base game.

That said, I didn't particularly enjoy its spin-offs: Troyes Dice or Tournay. The original remains the best. I'm not a fan of the artwork either, but I can overlook it.

For a game that sold for $30 in 2010, that's quite an acquisition!

Nations with extension (2013)

Nations is the first game for which I surpassed the psychological barrier of $100 when purchasing (taxes included). These days, it's commonplace, but back then, it was a real financial risk! I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's to emphasize how much times have changed in 12 years. Still, this game remains a safe bet in my circle of friends.

I know there are many diehard Through the Ages fans who view Nations as a fraud or even an identity theft. I can understand their point of view, as it's true that these two games have several similarities. However, I consider Nations superior for its map variety, asymmetrical nations, and overall refinement compared to its big brother.

Added to this is the Dynasties expansion, which is a must-have for the additional cards and nations it brings, in addition to the dynasties that give flexibility to a game that can be terribly tight and cruel when you get off to a bad start. It's probably the most unforgivable Eurogame I own, and that's part of its charm and longevity here.

Bruges with extensions (2013)

Stefan Feld was my first favorite designer. He was hitting home runs at the pace of Aaron Judge (or Chris Davis, back in the day). With the Year of the Dragon, Notre Dame, Macao, Luna, Châteaux of Burgundy, and Trajan before him, Bruges had big playful shoes to fill to outshine his elders. Well, it was a grand slam!

The multi-use aspect of the cards is so well done and engaging! We want to play all our cards and optimize them to the maximum. Not only do we have to build our machine, but the racing aspect between players to win various majorities gives us no respite. It's a game that plays super smoothly for regulars and that renews itself very well with the large quantity of cards available. As with the two games presented above, the expansions are automatic additions. They bring variety through new cards but they also standardize the potential of the main strategies.

That said, it's a torturous game, turn after turn. Boasting unparalleled sadism, Bruges has me in a tizzy every time I play! I'm always missing a dollar, a color, a house, or a worker to make a great move, a firework that would ensure my victory. I let out a curse or two, it's unmissable! Yet, I want more. It's Stockholm syndrome that recurres every time this game comes out.

Roll for the Galaxy with expansions (2014)

Like Nations vs Through the Ages, some would call me a heretic for preferring Roll for the Galaxy to its big brother Race for the Galaxy. I had my Race pass for a long time, but I played it so much that when Roll came out 7 years later, it gave a little gaming boost to this Lehmann universe.

I have a well-founded reputation for being a poor dice thrower. However, Roll's cleverly integrated dice mitigation allows you to be creative and rarely get stuck with a bad roll. The wide variety of tiles and powers results in some beautiful machines that slowly take shape on our respective boards.

Important point: it retains the racing aspect of its sibling as well as the main mechanic: action selection. This is the very DNA of the multiple spin-offs from this sci-fi world from which several games are related (not all good, in my opinion). When you combine this with the objectives to achieve that the expansions bring and the exciting discovery of the result of our throws, you get a rich game with multiple paths to victory.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the sound of shaking our dice in the glass before throwing them on the table. It gives me shivers of happiness, just like the theme song for hockey night.

Isle of Skye and extension (in the singular)

Earlier, I mentioned Stefan Feld as my first favorite game designer. After a few titles that were less successful with our group (I exclude Civolution: we'll talk about it again in another column), it was Alexander Pfister's intrusion into the gaming world that acted as my main fuel for the years 2015-2020.

Behind its humble appearance, Isle of Skye contains a very calculating reverse auction mechanic where you have to estimate and maximize the value of the tiles you draw. You have to make them attractive to opponents who might buy them (if the price seems fair to them) but also make the ones you want to keep too expensive. The problem is that you set the price of the tiles with your own money and you obviously have to keep some to make your own purchases from your opponents. It's an exercise of incredible elegance (and mental torture) that gives the game a surprising fluidity despite the difficulty of evaluating the value of your tiles and those of other players.

Once the critical stage of selling and buying tiles is over, we place them strategically in our kingdom according to the objectives randomly drawn during setup, which give unique twists and different scores to each game.

In conclusion, the first expansion left me cold because it distorted and weighed down a very fluid and elegant game. On the other hand, the second expansion allows a little flexibility with our often limited budget to get us out of trouble. It's a must-have addition for our group.

Last word

With the influx of new games that number in the thousands each year, especially since the end of the pandemic and the rise of crowdfunding, we are drowning in abundance. The longevity of games is no longer what it used to be, victim of constant renewal and turnover in our collections. So, digging out our "old stuff" from time to time is like a therapy session to temporarily escape the current whirlwind in the gaming world. We must cherish our classics, these pillars that have built our game library over the years. Some are faded, it's true, but others endure over time, a sign of their solidity and the robustness of their mechanics. There's no shame in shirking the cult of novelty from time to time...