For the most part expansions are not necessary, but every so often an expansion comes around and either makes a great game better or a good game great. Some expansions just add more of the basic stuff in the game giving it more replayablility, while other expansions change the game play and add new mechanisms. I tend to like the latter, but more of a good thing is not always that bad. I love when expansions fit so smoothly into the game and there is no fiddly set up rules that come with it. You usually see this with card games, I’m looking at you Evolution!! It drives me crazy when a game comes out with an expansion and they say…..this cannot be played with previous expansions or if you want to play with these 40 cards, remove these other 40 cards. I love when the expansion just simply slides into the base game. That being said, here are the Best 3 Games with…Expansions!
3. Kingsburg: To Forge a Realm by Fantasy Flight Games
2. 7 Wonders: ALL of them!!! by Asmodee
1. Orleans: Invasion by Tasty Minstrel Games
Orleans is a fantastic game by itself. It is my number 2 game on my Top 10 Games……BEFORE the expansion. What Inka Brand, Markus Brand and Reiner Stockhausen were able to do with a standard competitive Euro style game is remarkable. They added a story mode with certain scenarios AND a Co-operative mode. I mean, seriously??? AND not only did they turn it into a co-op, it is just as good if not better than the competitive version. They add new stuff for the competitive game as well, but the co-op is SOOOO good. Everyone is working together to prepare for an invasion of Orleans. In the mean time, you also have individual goals that you need to complete as well. The game is fantastic as is….but Invasion kicks it up a couple notches because it turns it on its side. If you have played Orleans as nothing more than a competitive game, and then try to play it as a co-op it feels very weird at first, but then you are like…..okay, I actually have to talk to the other players now…….that doesn’t feel right. I can’t recommend this expansion enough!
-Tim