Most complex game on BGA?

[Jellby]

The most complex games are probably war games that are still in Alpha so I dont want to say too much about them

If they show in https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=240 I guess they're public enough to allow discussing them.

[Meeplelowda]

Having played a decent amount of Feast for Odin, I wouldn't call it call a heavy game, maybe on the high end of moderate weight. I'm not the biggest fan of really heavy games myself and I feel like I enjoy FFO too much for it to be that.

That said, I would agree that Madeira and Anachrony mentioned by cigma are definitely on the heavier side. Barrage probably too, though it's been a while since I played. I'm still not sure if I really enjoy Madeira or not - I kind of want to, but not sure I do. I do quite like Anachrony and Barrage though, even though Anachrony ends up quite thinky because of the timeline aspect of it.

I tried Anachrony a few weeks ago. It's part of my project to play all the BGG Top 50 games that are on BGA. FFO and Barrage are still on the to-be-played list.

[Strode]

I have not tried the above-mentioned Unconditional Surrender (3.79 on BGG) or City of the Big Shoulders (4.00 on BGG) though.

Unconditional Surrender is played and rated by wargamers who think a 20-page rulebook is a beginner's game. UncSur is closer to 50 pages.

Probably goes to show just how well Pax Renaissance is designed and implemented, because you can play it (and win) without reading the rules. Look at the player aids.

Hmm, that probably depends on how good or bad your opponent is. The player aide is really good for Pax Ren, but there's a lot of important stuff not mentioned in it. I own the game, played many times, and still have to look things up regarding regime change, etc.

Another factor: BGA's handling of rules automatically means you can play these games without fully understanding the rules yourself.

[GTSchemer]

I would say Pax Renaissance is a fascinating game, but playing in real life FEELS very heavy because there are so many esoteric details, especially back in the earlier edition with living rules and such.