Games 100
# Games 100

The Games 100 is an annual feature of Games magazine, a United States magazine devoted to games and puzzles. The Games 100 first appeared in the November/December 1980 issue as an alphabetic list of the 100 games preferred by the editors of the magazine. In 1981, Games introduced The Games 100 Contest, which involved identifying pieces from games listed in the Games 100, with the grand prize being more than half of the games on that list. Games continues to publish this list as "The Buyers Guide to Games", broken out into "The Traditional Games 100" and "The Electronic Games 100".

Lists are published in either the November or December issue. Through 1994, the lists for a year were published at the end of that year. Starting in 1995, lists are released at the end of the year prior to the year of the list. (This means that there was no list for 1995. There was also no list for 1990, because Games was temporarily out of publication during the period when the list would have been published.) There are several categories for which "best" games are determined.

The winner of the historical category for approximately the last ten years has been determined by one individual, Walt O'Hara, who runs the Historicon miniatures convention.

## Winning titles

| Year | Game of the Year | Abstract strategy | Advanced strategy | Family | Family card | Family strategy | Party | Puzzle | Word | Historical simulation | Other |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1991 | Trumpet | Master Labyrinth | - | Stack | Arcade: Wing Commander | Real-Life Strategy: Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective | Tabloid Teasers/Guesstures | 3 In Three | 'Swoggle | War/Adventure: HeroQuest | Trivia: Play It By Ear |
| 1992 | Pipeline | Terrace | - | Showdown Yahtzee | Arcade: Super Tetris | Real-Life Strategy: D-Day | Humm…ble | Heaven & Earth | Wordsters | Adventure: The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes | Trivia: Times To Remember |
| 1993 | Inklings | Char | - | Perpetual Notion | Arcade: Ecco the Dolphin | Real-Life: Civilization | Oodles | The Incredible Machine | Pick Two! | Adventure: Return to Zork | Trivia: Celebrity Challenge |
| 1994 | Myst | The Game of Y | Wargames: V for Victory | Peg Poker | Arcade: Lode Runner: The Legend Returns | Real-Life Strategy: X-Com: UFO Defense | The Doonesbury Game | Breakthru! | Boggle Master | Adventure: The Elder Scrolls: Arena | Trivia: Quote Unquote |
| 1995 | Sharp Shooters | Strategy: Quixo | Conflict: Colonial Diplomacy | Touché | Phantoms of the Ice | Sports: Dynasty League Baseball | Catch Phrase | Lights Out | Pre.fix | Adventure & Role Playing: Dragon Dice: Battle Box | Trivia: Chronicles CCG: On the Edge CCG: Standard Starter Deck |
| 1997 | 25 Words or Less | Transpose | Strategy & Conflict: Field Command | Mole in the Hole | 6 nimmt! | Priceless | Last Chance | Deluxe Lights Out | Bethump'd With Words | Adventure & Role-Playing: Dragonlance: Fifth Age | Trivia: Origins |
| 1998 | Quoridor | Balanx | Strategy & Conflict: Princess Ryan's Star Marines | Take It Easy | Get the Goods | Quandary | Wise and Otherwise | Lost in a Jigsaw | A to Z | - | Trivia: Director's Cut CCG: Magic: The Gathering - Portal |
| 1999 | Fossil | GIPF | Conflict: Atlantic Storm | Montgolfiere | Bohnanza | El Grande | Say When!! | Stormy Seas | Alpha Blitz | - | Trivia: Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? CCG: C 23 |
| 2000 | Torres | Octi | Memory: Mamma Mia | Moonshot | Buried Treasure | Tikal | Apples to Apples | Ricochet Robot | Double Quick! | - | Trivia: Bioviva CCG: Pokémon Dexterity: Spintrek |
| 2001 | Aladdin's Dragons | ZÈRTZ | The Princes of Florence | Café International | Hellrail | Web of Power | Democrazy | Lunar Lockout | - | Paths of Glory | Two-Player Card: Caesar & Cleopatra Dexterity: Carabande |
| 2002 | Evo | Morisi | Java | Africa | Babel | Lord of the Rings | Hilarium | Flip-It! | My Word! | Drive on Paris | Manual Dexterity: Space Game |
| 2003 | DVONN | Pueblo | Puerto Rico | Emerald | Vom Kap Bis Kairo (From Cape to Cairo) | Mexica | Moods | Nemesis Factor | - | Wilderness War | Manual Dexterity: Villa Paletti |
| 2004 | New England | Clans | Wildlife | I'm the Boss! | Queen's Necklace | Zoosim | Party/Trivia: Dibs | River Crossing | Crossword Pyramids | Hammer of the Scots | Two-Player Card: Balloon Cup |
| 2005 | BuyWord | YINSH | Tahuantinsuyu: The Rise of the Inca Empire | Vanished Planet | Victory & Honor | Alexandros | Party/Trivia: Cranium Hoopla | - | - | Memoir '44 | - |
| 2006 | Australia | Project Kells | Louis XIV | Der Untergang von Pompeji (Escape from Pompeii) | Die Weinhändler (The Wine Merchants) | Primordial Soup (a.k.a. Ursuppe) | Party/Trivia: Snorta! | Tipover | - | Friedrich | Two-Player: Jambo |
| 2007 | Vegas Showdown | PÜNCT | Reef Encounter | Tricky Town | Trump, Tricks, Game! | Hacienda | Wits and Wagers | Gordian's Knot | Parlay | Silent War | - |
| 2008 | Pillars of the Earth | Easter Island | Khronos | If Wishes Were Fishes | Bull in a China Shop | Shear Panic | Gift Trap | Sacred Myths and Legends Series | Unspeakable Words | Ran | - |
| 2009 | Tzaar | Ponte del Diavolo | Key Harvest | Pandemic | Palast Geflüster (Palace Whisperings) | Stone Age | Go Nuts! | Doris | Jumbulaya | Pacific Typhoon | - |
| 2010 | Small World | Blox | Le Havre | Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age | Amerigo | Dominion/Dominion Intrigue (Expansion) | Dixit | La Ora Stelo | - | Fields of Fire | - |
| 2011 | Jump Gate | Arimaa | Egizia | Burger Joint | Jaipur | Valdora | Telestrations | Anti-Virus | - | Battles of Napoleon: The Eagle and the Lion | - |
| 2012 | Tikal II: The Lost Temple | Confusion: Espionage and Deception in the Cold War | Die Burgen von Burgund (The Castles of Burgundy) | Lemming Mafia | Hey Waiter! | Glen More | Funfair | IQ Twist | Pathwords | Command and Colors: Napoleonics | - |
| 2013 | Trajan | Matter | Village | Takenoko | Decktet/Decktet Book | Zong Shi | Pluckin' Pairs | Cool Circuits | Kerflip! | - | - |
| 2014 | Garden Dice/The Card Expansion | Kulami | Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar | Via Appia | Morels | Triassic Terror | Homestretch: Race to the Finish | Laser Maze | - | - | - |

## Hall of Fame

Part of the Buyer's Guide includes a hall of fame for "games that have met or exceeded the highest standards of quality and play value and have been continuously in production for at least 10 years; i.e., classics."

This Hall of Fame includes:

* Acquire
* Apples to Apples
* Axis & Allies
* Blockhead!
* Bridgette
* Civilization
* Cluedo (Clue)
* Diplomacy
* Dungeons & Dragons
* Magic: The Gathering (inducted in the 2004 Buyer's Guide)
* Mille Bornes (inducted in the 1991 Games 100)
* Monopoly
* Othello
* Pente (inducted in the 1991 Games 100)
* Risk
* Scrabble Crossword Game
* The Settlers of Catan (inducted in the 2006 Buyer's Guide)
* Sorry!
* Stratego
* Taboo (inducted in the 2001 Buyer's Guide)
* TriBond (inducted in the 2001 Buyer's Guide)
* Trivial Pursuit
* Twister (inducted in the 1991 Games 100)
* TwixT (not included in the 1999 and 2000 Buyer's Guides due to temporary discontinuance of production)
* Yahtzee
