24 Comments

1. 

   @Big_Dai

   February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

   For as much as I respect mr Reiner, not even his games are "perfect"

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2. 

   @justinrrizzo

   February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

   This guy is a champ. My favorite designer.

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3. 

   @muffbuffer87

   February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

   Did anyone else notice the guy in the chair behind him just holding a huge stack of games?

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4. 

   @JWentu

   February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

   Simply put: he is my favourite author. I have 400+ board games and some 120 are by Knizia, I even hold a Knizia-Index of 30. It means that I played at least 30 of his games 30 times each (for a total of more than 900 games just here…)
   His games just are perfect for my mindset: simple rules, and a lot of depth.
   He was considered one of the best authors at the beginning of the Century. Now, tastes have shifted. He once had several games in the top 100 on BoardGameGeek and now I think he has 1 or even none. He's not as popular anymore as he used to be, because people now are more interested in the number of minis and pieces in a box than they are interested in the real rules of the game. Currently, people just aim for "more", whatever "more" is: pieces, rules, complexity. I am still on the side of cleanliness and simplicity.
   I still appreciate his games so much! Among his 700 games, let's be honest, there are a lot of repetitions (a game Like Botswana has other 4 or 5 names…), and there are a lot of games that are really sub-par… on the other hand, his best games are absolutely fantastic and anyone who wants to approach modern board games, should try his best works.
   I once had him sign one card of my copy of one of his games (Colossal Arena), hoping that some good influx would help me in the board gaming world… so far it didn't help much but… I think it's better to follow the suggestions he is mentioning here.

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5. 

   @VoiceofFox

   February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

   Possibly the closest to genius in modern board gaming I can think off. Name another designer that creates so much game with so few rules. I’ll wait…

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6. 

   @pillarnexustheancientgladiator

   February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

   We are all equal around the table.
   This, right here, this is what I hold to, it's a good part of why I love tabletop gaming.
   Everyone coming together to play, share in the experience and have fun, it's wonderful.

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7. 

   @kbegemotHD

   February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

   Living legend. Some of my favorite games he made: Battle Line, Lost Cities, Quest for El Dorado for 2 players (although the last one can be played with 3 and 4 as well), Modern Art and Dream Factory are great auction games, Tigris and Euphrates is one of his heavier games and Blue Moon City is a hidden gem. Most of his games have very clear, simple rules but offer a lot of possibilities.

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8. 

   @JacobWrestledGod

   February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

   I wonder if non gamers really know the extent of influence Kinzia has on board game design and the industry as a whole. I can put it bluntly that as important as Ali is to boxing, Kinzia is to board games.

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9. 

   @enderjed2523

   February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

   He even had a pretty good DS game back in the 2000s

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10. 

    @SamSam-ds9ny

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Oh mais c’est le Shruberry le bar !!!!

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11. 

    @tomaszstefaniuk9449

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Thank you, Doctor! 🙂

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12. 

    @kraziel

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Numbers ≠ Quality

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13. 

    @katkluczy

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Thank you for all your games! What a wonderful creator!

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14. 

    @Taluna16

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Ima rotting here thinking seven board games I have made is impressive and then I see this 😢
    Loll very impressive haha this Notivated me!

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15. 

    @HrabiaKaczula

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    "Brains in bottles" – that is a very good inspiration for the next game. Can't wait to play it. Legend.

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16. 

    @GertjanEkkel

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Curious what games are in his top 10.

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17. 

    @johnriperti3127

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Lovely man!

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18. 

    @vaxrvaxr

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    > Even the very very deep 3 to 4 hour games …
    Grognards: 🤨

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19. 

    @vinit.khandelwal

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Aren't you board?

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20. 

    @rosiefay7283

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    3:40 I disagree with Knizia here. We are not equals if you've brought to the table a game you're good at, and others at the table have never played it before. And this is quite likely. Even an experienced gamer has played only a small fraction of the games that are out there. There are far too many board games. What would be better is quality, not quantity. Better games, not more games.

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21. 

    @SuperPussyFinger

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    I suppose that if you’ve designed over 700 board games, you deserve the right to wear a bow tie like that.

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22. 

    @Capeau

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Anybody can design 700 boardgames… making a fun boardgame is something totally different though…

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23. 

    @mageknightwizard9889

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    Play test = data to experiment

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24. 

    @dontknowdocare

    February 10, 2024 at 5:22 pm

    I've played many of his games. They're usually not my top favourites but always good for a change of scenery. The main critique if his games is that the game mechanics are detached from the theme which I agree with but don't mind personally. My favourite game of his is the original version of Lost Cities (two player game). The theme is "expeditions" but if you think about it it's just a row of numbers and betting cards that you have to play in order. You can actually play this game with two sets of regular playing cards if you mark some of the cards from one set. I think Knizia is a master of inventing game mechanics (like in Ingenious). Very few people can make a living solely on being a board game designer and he is one of the chosen few. Props to him and his career! I remember listening to an interview with him once and his original professional was in the sciences if I remember! Was it physicist or statistician or engineer? A very smart man.

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