The top 100 continues with one of the most well known Stonemaier games and possibly one of the most well known among hobby gamers in general. Scythe is considered by many to be a masterpiece and has many expansions to bring even more fun to the game. Although we haven’t personally tried those yet - we are still enjoying the base game!
While hard to categorize Scythe has tons to offer almost any gamer. It is some area control with giant well produced mech units but there is less combat between those figures than you might think. At the heart of the game is a great action selection system with actions the evolve over time. Each player has a slightly different player board with actions paired with different secondary actions. When you take your turn you do the top and the bottom actions.
As you expand your territory and your populace you can take actions to get not only one time bonuses but when you remove the piece for that action you put it on one of the other spots on the board sometimes adding a constant bonus when you take an action or making other actions cheaper. While someone might be able to win without too much player interaction the game encourages such interaction by having a factory space on the board where players can get a fifth generally more powerful action to customize themselves even further!
Players will struggle to get stars which is how they can claim victory - once someone gets their 6th star the game ends immediately. Based on the popularity track players get different amount of points for the stars, territories, and resources they control. So the person who ended the game night not be the victor in the end.
Admittedly there is a chance this game is this high on the list because of the constant master crafted production value of the game. While other games would use cardboard chits - scythe uses resources that looks like the real things if you purchase them. The game is great with or without them though and has stood the test of time as it is no longer the new hotness. Not the first game I would introduce people to but if you are looking for a meaty game you should give the number 38 a try!