Internet Top 100 Games List

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The Internet Top 100 Games List is a ranked list of non-computer games, mostly board and card games. The list is maintained by Aaron D. Fuegi at Boston University, who publishes, periodically, both a list of all rated games and a list containing the top 100.

The rankings are generated by ratings sent in by Internet users, who give each game they wish to rate a score between 1 and 10. Rankings are not determined according to average rating—as this would allow a single '10' vote to place a game at the top of the list—but according to a score measuring both the average rating and the number of ratings given (since a game receiving more ratings, if not necessarily a better game, is at least better known and has therefore somehow achieved better market penetration). Specifically, each game is given, in addition to ratings sent in by contributors, 5 ratings of 3.25. This prevents games with very few ratings from achieving high scores that could corrupt the rankings: as a game accumulates more ratings, its score asymptotically approaches the average of the ratings given to it.

As of December 2005, 727 contributors have submitted 79,537 ratings. Most of the games in the top 20 are German-style board games, and none is more than twenty years old.

Contents

[edit] Controversy

One of the greatest problems with such a list is verifiability. Though it is not known to have happened in this particular case, it is possible for contributors to "cheat" by voting multiply by establishing multiple anonymous email accounts. Fuegi retains the right to reject suspicious contributions for this reason, in order to prevent such behavior.

Even supposing that the submissions are honest and the compilation is correct, one should not overinterpret the data. For example chess is listed in the top 5% of games, but its rank of #249 can hardly be supposed to adequately reflect its longevity and cultural influence. Its average rating of 6.20 suggests that some voters gave it a comparatively low score, but it's difficult to tell how many of these had not had enough experience playing the game to discover its depth and range of strategies, or — more importantly — whether chess suffers significantly more from this effect than other games do.

[edit] Some games featured on the list

As of November 2006 (note that this information is expected to change over time):

[edit] The top ten

  1. Puerto Rico, with 234 ratings averaging 8.63
  2. Tigris and Euphrates, with 408 ratings averaging 7.96
  3. Princes of Florence, with 235 ratings averaging 7.90
  4. Settlers of Catan, with 583 ratings averaging 7.79
  5. Power Grid, with 43 ratings averaging 8.24
  6. Caylus, with 15 ratings averaging 9.00
  7. El Grande, with 412 ratings averaging 7.58
  8. Modern Art, with 287 ratings averaging 7.59
  9. Goa, with 47 ratings averaging 7.86
  10. Citadels, with 272 ratings averaging 7.49

[edit] Ranks of well-known games

  • Bridge is #31, with 193 ratings averaging 7.15
  • Go is #68, with 215 ratings averaging 6.78
  • Chess is #249, with 350 ratings averaging 6.20
  • Scrabble is #366, with 324 ratings averaging 5.93
  • Backgammon is #669, with 258 ratings averaging 5.48
  • Reversi is #1012, with 190 ratings averaging 5.14
  • Risk is #1349, with 375 ratings averaging 4.81
  • Cluedo is #1512, with 242 ratings averaging 4.70
  • Mastermind is #1561, with 200 ratings averaging 4.68
  • Monopoly is #2820, with 379 ratings averaging 3.97
  • Draughts is #3276, with 196 ratings averaging 3.79

[edit] At the bottom

  • Chutes and Ladders is #5185, with 109 ratings averaging 2.25
  • Candy Land is #5188, with 98 ratings averaging 2.10
  • Bingo is #5190, with 57 ratings averaging 1.94
  • War is #5191, with 93 ratings averaging 1.77
  • Tic tac toe is last, at #5192, with 137 ratings averaging 1.53

[edit] Other facts

  • The highest-rated public domain game is Bridge, at #31. The oldest game rated above it is Sid Sackson's Acquire (1962).
  • The highest-rated game published after January 1, 2005 is Caylus with 15 ratings averaging 9.00.
  • The highest-rated 2-players game is Lost Cities, at #37. The next highest is Hive at #63, which is also the highest-rated game of pure abstract strategy (i.e. like chess, checkers or Go).
  • The most-rated game is Settlers of Catan, with 583 ratings.
  • To rank in the top 100 games, a game must acquire a score of 6.560.
  • Designer Reiner Knizia is heavily represented on the top 100, with five games in the top 20 and fifteen in the top 100.

[edit] External links

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