by Scott Alden

The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame honors games that have made meaningful contributions to the board game hobby in the areas of innovation, artistry, and impact. By curating this distinguished list, BoardGameGeek seeks to preserve the history and evolution of board gaming, while inspiring and informing a global community of players who have a passion for games. Additional games will be inducted annually as the world of board games continues to evolve.

The selection process was guided by a jury composed of dedicated and experienced players who have been deeply involved in the board game community for years and who have brought their knowledge and expertise to the discussions. The process began by evaluating games that were at least ten years old in order to ensure widespread engagement and recognition. Additionally, the jury identified and included games that, while perhaps less widely played, have had a profound and lasting impact on the hobby.

The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame focuses on modern board games that have directly shaped the contemporary hobby and community. Games such as Chess, Backgammon, Go, and traditional 52-card games, while timeless classics and undoubtedly influential, fall outside the scope of these awards.

Through this initiative, BoardGameGeek aims to celebrate the legacy of these exceptional games and their creators, while fostering a deeper appreciation for artistry and innovation within the world of board gaming.

As part of the celebration of BGG's 25th anniversary, we are pleased to announce the first five of 25 inductees into the BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame listed in order by release date. The rest of the inductees will be revealed throughout the week. Stay tuned!

•••
1. Diplomacy
Loosely themed around the "great powers of Europe" prior to World War I, the game of Diplomacy is infamous for two things: destroying friendships, and changing the way players approach other games. Self-published in 1959 by Allan B. Calhammer, Diplomacy uses exceedingly simple and elegant mechanisms to create a highly social game that is won or lost through negotiation and deception. Diplomacy was a pioneer in the play-by-mail space, with players being able to participate in games no matter where they lived.

Youtube Video

2. Acquire
By placing blocks on a grid in Sid Sackson's Acquire, players start and expand businesses. They can then buy shares in those businesses, with the share value increasing as the business grows on the game board. When two businesses merge, the larger one takes over the smaller, giving a bonus to the two players with the most shares in the consumed company. You want to be part of those buyouts, or you'll end up cash poor and unable to participate in the quest for growth. Aside from being a simple model of big business, Acquire is the precursor of modern Eurogames as it features no direct conflict and no player elimination.

Youtube Video

3. Cosmic Encounter
In Cosmic Encounter — designed by the Eon team of Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Bill Norton, and Peter Olotka — you control an alien race with a unique power that allows you to manipulate the game rules while trying to claim five planets. When you attack a planet, the other players can offer support in the attack — or defense! — of that planet, which prompts negotiation and temporary alliances as you try to keep strong aliens in check or join forces to possess a planet together. Shared victories are possible, as well as suprise wins, thanks to alien-specific victory conditions. The original game has only fifteen alien powers, but today hundreds of alien powers exist, thanks to multiple editions of the game, as well as fan-created aliens that let everyone break the game's rules to their tastes.

Youtube Video

4. Civilization
In Francis Tresham's Civilization, each player leads a nation such as Assyria or Babylonia from the invention of agriculture to the emergence of the Roman Empire. Although battles and territorial strategy are important, this is not a war game. Instead, you advance your culture, economy, and political strength, with conflicts arising due to rivalry or a shortage of land rather than a desire to eliminate others. Nomads and farmers, warriors and merchants, artisans and citizens all have an essential part to play in your development. Civilization is considered the first game with a "technology tree" in which you can gain certain items or abilities only after first gaining others, mimicking the development of human culture.

Youtube Video

5. 1830: The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons
1830 is a re-development of Francis Tresham's 1829 game from 1974. In the game, players alternate stock dealing rounds — in which they buy shares of railway companies — and operating rounds, in which the president of each company builds track, runs trains, and generates revenue for shareholders. Importantly, you don't care about the long-term health of companies; only about how much money you can earn along the way, so you will undermine others' plans and even force companies into bankruptcy as long as you benefit. 1830 inspired an entire genre of 18xx games that play similarly, and hundreds of such games set in different eras and locations have been released over the past four decades.

Youtube Video

Source: View source