Underrated games on BGA

[ChiefPointThief]

I would consider Iwari to be tragically underplayed, despite being an exceptionally good implementation.

Iwari was one of the 1st games I learned and didn't actually play because I couldn't find tables.

Wish we could get the table stats back to see which game are underplayed.
Meridians is a top-tier abstract game which i can't recommend enough.

Are you referring to the master list? As a user it was nice to have access to that data but I think it may have had negative impacts on the site. People were using the list to decide what games to play based off popularity. Which causes games like the ones being mentioned in this thread to go further unnoticed.

There is still access to the total # of games played for each game though and the members of each game. The current tables are on each games page as well but yeah you cant match them up and compare on one list anymore. Or know the statistics for real/tb unless the games have so few tables that it is easy to count.

[Strode]

I read the title to this and was going to say Uptown, but the OP has it covered. It's not that hard to find a turn-based game, but real-time is tough, and the game works well real-time because it is fairly quick.

I also like Paris Connection and ForEx, but I can't say I expect many people to want to play For Ex.

Tigris and Euphrates seems underplayed here given its status within board gaming.

[Meeplelowda]

Gold West is a territory building game that is perfect for turn-based games, since it has long turns but isn't a super long game. The mechanism reminds me a little of Terra Mystica (without factions though), but it's shorter, easier to learn and works just as well for 2 players as for 3 or 4. There's no tutorial on BGA, but there's a good tutorial/playthrough on YouTube that explains the game well.

Definitely agree with Gold West - it has some clever mechanisms going on, but it's been so long since I've thought to play it.
I would consider Iwari to be tragically underplayed, despite being an exceptionally good implementation.

Based on these recommendations I tried Gold West in hotseat mode controlling two-players just to get a feel for it. I haven't played Terra Mystica, so that comparison is lost on me, but there is an obvious Mancala influence.

One thing that was clear: I had no idea what my overall strategy should be. Neither of the players I controlled tried to get an investment. I also don't know how it's possible to acquire the resources for an investment without spending some turns not building a camp/settlement, and thus accumulating negative points in the Wanted area. I may still give it a try for real at some point.

[Woodruff]

KQJ: a belote-like card game that can only be played on BGA with 6 players.

The physical version is designed to be playable for 2 to 6 players but the dev did not include other configuration than 6… Either by purpose or lack of time.
The result is that this game is clinically dead on BGA, with only 1 (!) game last month which was turn based.

Truth is it’s hard to involve 6 players at the same time. And this game has suffered direct concurrence from belote and tarot, which need fewer players.