How convenient for you that NEW CONTENT came along :)

Here's how I woulda ranked the list (today, anyway):

St. Pete
San Juan - though these top two could easily flip positions, depending on when you ask me
Attika - ranked high mostly as a two-player, otherwise it's lower
Ticket to Ride - I still think it's more flawed than others feel... but, dang, it's fun to
play anyway
Goa
Einfach Genial
Maharaja - only played once, not completely sure of opinion
Bridges of Shangri-La - only played once, not completely sure of opinion
Hansa - after many plays not interested anymore
Finstere Flure - only one play, like the system in theory, but (currently) not in
practice.

San Juan is the only one of these I own, and mostly because I picked it off the Gathering
prize table... and I'm kinda collecting the Alea games. Interestingly enough, Ticket to
Ride would probably be the next one of these I'd own if, say, the rest of these were on a prize
table somewhere. I doubt I'll buy it.

But...

It will probably be one of the few games from this list that I think my group will be playing down
the line, i.e. next year, and the years after. That, and maybe 2-player St. Pete and San
Juan with my friend, Winton. Truth be told, none of these are "classics" for me, however as
decent-but-nothing-special games go, this was a really great year.

If that makes sense.

Sure, this sounds like fun. My rankings of the DSP Top Ten games:

1. Goa - This and Power Grid are easily my games of the year
2. San Juan - Lots to think about for a game that plays this quickly
3. Hansa - First play was so-so, but now I'm starting to see its depth
4. Ticket to Ride - You need to be lucky with your tickets, but this is still a superbly designed game that's a lot of fun
5. St. Petersburg - A good game, but the design needs one more layer to make it great
6. Finstere Flure - Kinda chaotic, but scores on theme and atmosphere
7. Attika - Too abstract for my tastes; in addition, I haven't played it with two
8. Einfach Genial - Pleasant abstract, but nothing special
9. Bridges of Shangri-La - Dry as the desert; I have no desire to play this again

Sadly, I have yet to play Maharaja.

The big omission is Power Grid, which I understand had distribution problems in Germany (as did Ticket, explaining its low finish in the election). Interestingly, this is the first time since I've been following the German gaming scene that I've preferred the SdJ winner to the DSP choice.

Larry

Sure, this sounds like fun. My rankings of the DSP Top Ten games:

1. Goa - This and Power Grid are easily my games of the year
2. San Juan - Lots to think about for a game that plays this quickly
3. Hansa - First play was so-so, but now I'm starting to see its depth
4. Ticket to Ride - You need to be lucky with your tickets, but this is still a superbly designed game that's a lot of fun
5. St. Petersburg - A good game, but the design needs one more layer to make it great
6. Finstere Flure - Kinda chaotic, but scores on theme and atmosphere
7. Attika - Too abstract for my tastes; in addition, I haven't played it with two
8. Einfach Genial - Pleasant abstract, but nothing special
9. Bridges of Shangri-La - Dry as the desert; I have no desire to play this again

Sadly, I have yet to play Maharaja.

The big omission is Power Grid, which I understand had distribution problems in Germany (as did Ticket, explaining its low finish in the election). Interestingly, this is the first time since I've been following the German gaming scene that I've preferred the SdJ winner to the DSP choice.

Larry

OK, why not...

1. Saint Petersburg - my favorite game released in the past five years.
2. Ticket To Ride - my third favorite game released in the past five years.
3. Hansa - a big step down, but still a fine game, and a keeper.
4. San Juan - has grown on me some; still not what I wanted it to be.

---end of owned games---

5. Goa - eh - too one-dimensional IMHO; there's the illusion of strategy, but not enough real strategy.
6. Attika - The theme doesn't work for me; like Samurai, I find it to be better as a two player game, but not enough so as to buy it or anything.
7. Einfach Genial - too abstract to appeal much to me.

---end of games I would willingly play---

8. Maharaja - too linear.
9. Finstere Flure - I really like the idea of the game, but it lost more favor with me on each successive play.
10. Bridges of Shangri-La - unplayed, but given that it's Colovini I'm certain it would be here just as easily if I had played it.

Joe

I really don't understand the hype about St. Petersburg.
After having played it 150+ times, I still say it's lame.
There are 3 factors to it:
(1) The luck factor is way too large. Show me a way to lose the game if you're sitting in 3rd position, having first pick with the aristocrats in the first round and getting the 18 guy.
There are too many situations where luck with the new cards can kill you or hevily favor you. The game is inbalanced here.
(2) The seating order also is too important. If the guy to your right is playing the no-aristocrats strategy you'll capitalize heavily. You just need to take care the game won't end too soon.
(3) Finally, it all comes down to calculators. If all palyers have the same playing strength, you need to count the money everyone has to be able to estimate what will be bought and when you need the money. This slows the game down.

Sure - the first 3 or 5 games I played were fun. Then it got boring. Really boring. I tried to find out if there's more behind it, but to no avail. St. Pete gets in my rating just 2 stars out of 5 - this game isn't worth shelf space even if you have unlimited shelf space.

Hanno: How boring can it possibly be if you were willing to play it over 150 times? There are very few games I've played that much.

Well, there is a very nice PC version. (check the westparkgamers.de web site) The KI works nice, you can vary the tactics your 1-3 computer opponents throw on you, and a game just takes 5-8 minutes. So it's easy to accumulate a large number of games very fast. I also played a fair number of games online on Brettspielwelt... and still don't like it. *g*