The Legacy games are a narrative story version of Pandemic that currently (July 2021) are the second most popular game of all time per Board Game Geek! It is relatively important to play through the 12 or more games in one Legacy Season with the same team of people, since the game can draw you in as a team! It seems you play 12 games in sequence, but if you fail in a game you need to play it over again (with two extra bonuses). So in the end your team may play about 18 games (more or less).
This War of Mine is Excellent (see the exciting overview just under the list of links and the calmly passionate look at the game below that). But it is more than just a game. Actually, it is more an EXPERIENCE than a game… kind of a hybrid. It is designed to help you (the player) feel, experience and understand what it might be like to be living (trying to stay alive) in a city that has been devastated by a war. Shops are closed (if the building is even left standing). There are looters. There are homeless. There are hobos. There are snipers! Just trying to find water to drink can be a harrowing experience. The game is hard. Really hard. Online comments have asked how to make it easier. The answer is, please don’t… it is MEANT to be hard, just like life is for those living in the situations in the game (as in real life).
Designing and developing the game was a task of love. They did not sit in a conference room trying to make up things that might happen. They poured over real life diaries, documents, journals, books, photos, videos from people who actually were living in the situation depicted by this game. And that realism shows. The game comes with a logbook with nearly 2,000 log entries that you read throughout the game… and NOT in any specific order! Which log entry you read next is determined by your choices of what you want to do, as well as a roll of the dice and drawing of a card.
Here are some links, followed by an interesting overview of the game. After that is the calmly passionate look at the game and then some tips followed by a complete playthrough of the game if you want to see how it works (and is put together… including how to set up the game)
Another game that I found I would put into the Settlers of Catan category … a little bit of strategy, a little bit of luck. However Terraforming Mars does it one better … it is almost like a cooperative game but with a “winner” at the end! And instead of DICE (as in Settlers of Catan) there are lots of cards. Each card gives you points or item production or such. It should take about the same amount of time to play as Catan. I also have all the expansions and one of them (Prelude) actually shortens the length of the game (without wrecking it in any way).
Board Game Co and christened Terraforming Mars as the #1 best game of all time (video is queued to the right spot):
I put together a summary of the rules (including a couple house rules) and updated it with info on playing with the Prelude, Colonies and Turmoil expansions:
Play Heavenly Games 