The Wishlist of Games

These are the games, after considerable review, I would like to add to my collection. They might not all land on the "Top Shelf"... but I certainly think they have the potential. ...There were a lot of other games on this list a day ago, but I decided that, for many of them, I would never find players, they would take too long, or there would be something better to play instead, even if they looked interesting. Others look like they might have the staying-power to displace other games on the Top Shelf.  So, these are officially on my wishlist:

Abalone - Pushing marbles around on a board.  A simple pick-up game, elegant, and pretty.

Beyond Balderdash - I love the idea behind the game (fake definitions of obscure and obsolete words), and I think it would be a great alternative to Apples to Apples in an intelligent crowd.

Carcassonne: The City - Similar game-play to Carcassone, but it looks like it might be superior. That it comes in a nice box is a bonus.  ; )

Carcassonne: The Discovery - Ditto.  This one looks like it's actually simpler than Carcassonne-proper, yet with more interesting mechanics.

Galaxy Trucker - In short, this looks awesome. Build ships in a hurry, race them around the galaxy, and watch them fall to pieces.

Go - I've wanted to get into Go for a long, time.  It's one of those extremely elegant and deep games, even moreso than chess. I also like the association that Go has with (Computer/Math) Geekdom.  ; ) If I could only get two games on this list, this would be my second choice (read on).

Hex - ...This would really just be getting a fancy board to use with Go pieces.  It's kind of like an introduction to Go, easier for pickup-play with novices.

Hive - honestly, if I could only get one game on this list, it would be Hive.  It just looks perfect!  A few (really nice) pieces, no board, intricate game-play over simple rules. Good as a pickup game, with some additional depth for the long-haul.

Pylos - stacking marbles.  Simple, quick, and very pretty with its wooden pieces. You'll notice that "pretty" often trumps my other rules about not overlapping game types.  : )

Quarto! - Elegant wooden connect-four game with a few twists.  Seems to carry over some of the elements of Set, which I like, and it's pretty.  ; )

Quaridor - Another pretty wooden game, with the same idea as Hex, but on a square grid and using limited walls to block a single piece.

Race for the Galaxy - Just a card game, but it's a "closed system" (unlike collectible card games), with some neat options and quick game-play and deep imagaination.

Zertz - Another game in the "it's pretty" category, with a really cool mechanic to the game: the board shrinks as you play.

I doubt all of these will end up being personal favourites, but I'd really like to give them all a try.