Will the event that we have experienced in the past few days really come to an end today? In that case, let’s start by reviewing the sequence of events based on the current situation…

In 2018, Roxley’s ‘Brass: Birmingham’ won more than 7 international awards and was nominated for many more. It is a sequel and a reimagining of renowned designer Martin Wallace’s outstanding 2007 work ‘Brass,’ and tells the story of entrepreneurial competition in Birmingham during the Industrial Revolution between 1770-1870.

With each congratulatory message, it is believed that the attention of many players once again focused on the rankings, where these two great games were separated by a Geek Rating difference of less than 0.001%. At the same time, in the comment section below this news post, there was a heated discussion, with some congratulating the winners, some questioning the results, and even some delving into conspiracy theories.

On the second day of the developing situation, February 19th, the designer of ‘Gloomhaven,’ Isaac Childres, also tweeted his congratulations. According to him, ‘Gloomhaven’ is indeed the best game on BoardGameGeek, holding the world number one position for “approximately five years and two months,” making it the “longest-reigning” game among all titles. He also extended his congratulations to the team behind ‘Brass: Birmingham.’

When asked by players if he had similar hopes for the currently popular game ‘Frosthaven’ to reach the top spot, Childres added, “Regarding ‘Frosthaven,’ I think it may receive the same ‘acclaim’ in the future. It’s a work that surpasses its predecessor, ‘Gloomhaven,’ and so far, players who have played it seem to agree with this view. However, there are various other factors that can affect how much rating a game receives and when it receives it. It seems that only time will tell!“

As of the 19th, the debate over the BGG rankings seemed to have ended for the time being with the subtle difference in ratings. We can also see that in Childres’ evaluation of the new product, there were many keywords that stood out.

Time: A missed opportunity in 24 hours?

On this Monday, the rankings were once again refreshed, and everything seemed to remain unchanged as if nothing had happened. The changeover of ‘Gloomhaven’ feels like a hallucination or a farce, as if it never happened at all.

Let’s take a look at the duration of each person’s reign on the BGG rankings.

According to these data, ‘Gloomhaven’ has cemented its position as the reigning champion for five years and two months. However, some people have speculated that this may be due to ‘Twilight Struggle’ fans who couldn’t bear the ‘dynasty’ and have been artificially inflating the game’s ratings. But in the case of ‘Puerto Rico,’ it has also been near the top for nearly five years, so this theory remains to be established.

However, in the past two days, the voting data shows that both ‘Gloomhaven’ and ‘Brass: Birmingham’ have received a lot of negative reviews and their scores have fluctuated quite abnormally.

Judging from the real-time data, the number of views is unusually high. In just over 20 days this month, ‘Brass: Birmingham’ has received nearly 2,400 scores of 10 out of 10. Let’s take a look – on a single page of 100 ratings, it has 1,000 more than ‘Gloomhaven’ at the same time.

As for gameplay and browsing statistics, ‘Gloomhaven’ appears to have more. However, there have been rumors on forums about potential “vote manipulation” for ‘Brass: Birmingham.’ On the other hand, the ratings for ‘Gloomhaven’ have been steadily decreasing.

In summary, the title of the world’s number one board game is not stable, and time will provide the best answer. Different people have different preferences, and your love is the most valuable asset for board game designers. It is recommended not to rely too much on rankings, as the people behind such scores may not be you. It is important to personally experience games and find your own favorites.