With roughly 2000 plays of over 200 different Reiner Knizia board games, Nick, Scott, and Jared are ready to unleash their Ultimate Reiner Knizia Ranked Tier List! This list is split up into a 6-part YouTube series where we rank and discuss each game in depth. Check out each episode below!
If you scroll down far enough, then BEWARE OF SPOILERS. At the bottom of this post you will find the image and written spread of our tier list.
Here is a link to the Tiermaker list itself where you can rank and share all of the Knizia games you’ve played!
If you’re a fan of any of Reiner Knizia’s games, then you should join the Reiner Knizia Enthusiasts Discord Server where we chat all things Knizia Games!
Finally, this list was created in celebration of our upcoming 2025 releases featuring FIVE new Reiner Knizia games, Iliad, Ichor, SILOS, EGO, and ORBIT. Be sure to check out the preorder pages for these games. Thanks for your support!
Watch the Video Series (Click the image to watch the Youtube video):
SPOILERS: Full Tier List Below….
Disclaimer: Bitewing Games is the publisher of some of these titles (marked with an * below). Biases are certainly present (it’s a subjective list, after all). But in many cases, we published a new version of an old Knizia game because we already regarded it so highly (this includes Zoo Vadis, Cat Blues, SILOS, and EGO).
For comparison, here is our older Tier List from the year prior.
The full tier list (in the order pictured):
GOLD-Tier (Greatest of the Only Living Doctor):
- Tigris & Euphrates
- Ra
- The Quest for El Dorado
- Through the Desert
- Zoo Vadis*
- High Society
- Schotten Totten / Battle Line
- Yellow & Yangtze
- EGO*
S-Tier (The Best)
- SILOS*
- Lost Cities
- Babylonia
- Cascadero*
- Samurai
- My City
- Mille Fiori
- Mille Fiori: The Masterpieces (expansion)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation
- Orongo / Nyakuza
- The Quest for El Dorado: Dangers and Muisca (expansion)
- Taj Mahal
- MLEM: Space Agency
- CONIC
- Ichor*
- Einfach Genial 3D
- Huang
- Blue Moon / Blue Moon Legends
A-Tier (Amazing. Absolutely. Always.)
- Iliad*
- Marabunta
- L.A.M.A. Party Edition
- Hot Lead*
- Rebirth
- Blue Lagoon
- Botswana / Wildlife Safari
- Chartae
- For One: Galaktix
- For One: Kniffel
- For One: Number Up
- For One: Schwarze Rosen
- Gang of Dice
- Modern Art
- Royal Visit
- Tatari
- Winner’s Circle
- Cat Blues: The Big Gig*
- Winner’s Circle (Japanese Edition)
- Viking See-Saw
- Zamek / Carcassonne: The Castle
- Zamek: dodatek Sokół / Carcassonne: The Castle – Falcon Expansion
- Municipium
- Penguin Party
- Tajuto
- Qin
- Callisto: The Game
B-Tier (Super Solid, Hidden Gems, Surprisingly Great)
- Freigard (not yet played, this is a prediction)
- Colossal Arena / Equinox
- Whale Riders
- Schotten Totten 2
- Quo Vadis?
- Beowulf: The Legend
- No Mercy / HIT!
- Palazzo
- Cat Blues
- Rapido / Excape
- Heckmeck am Karteneck
- Axio
- Ingenious
- Stephenson’s Rocket
- Karate Tomate
- Art Robbery
- Circus Flohcati
- Genesis
- Keltis
- Keltis: Neue Wege, Neue Ziele
- Priests of Ra
- Pan Tu Nie Stal!
- Silver Screen
- Pumafiosi*
- Fantasticks
- Soda Smugglers*
- Kingdoms
- Beowulf: The Movie Board Game
- ORBIT*
- King’s Road
- Medici: The Card Game
- Medici
- Ninja Master
- Pollen
- Sunrise Lane
- San Francisco
- The Siege of Runedar
- Rheinlander
- Tower of Babel
- Reif fur die Insel
- Amun-Re: 20th Anniversary Edition
- Cascadito*
- My City: Roll & Build
- Nightmare Productions / Hollywood Blockbuster / Dream Factory
- Genial Spezial
- Neighborhood Hide & Seek
- Pixel Party
- SlideAscope
- Trendy
- Alien Attack USA (this was a low B tier prediction at the time of recording, but now Nick has played it and ranks it as “high C tier, but Rebirth scratches a similar itch faster”)
- Havalandi (this was a prediction at the time of recording, but now Nick has played it twice and ranks it as “at least B-tier, possibly higher, need more plays”)
C-Tier (Reliable Reiner. Good games. We’d rather play these than much of the industry hotness. Worth a try, at least for Knizia fans)
- Whale Riders: The Card Game (note: a new version of this is releasing soon that addresses our graphic design complaints, so this should probably be ranked in B-tier next to Trendy)
- My Island
- L.A.M.A. Dice / Don’t LLAMA Dice
- Havalandi
- The Quest for El Dorado: Dragons & Treasures
- Wiener Walzer
- The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes
- The Quest for El Dorado: The Golden Temples
- Kariba
- SWAT! / It’s Mine!
- Africa
- LAMA / Don’t LLAMA Card Game
- Indigo
- Foodie Forest
- Marshmallow Test
- Odd Socks
- Amun-Re: The Card Game
- Cheeky Monkey
- Blue Moon City
- The Lord of the Rings
- Aristocracy
- Classic Art
- Das Letzte Paradies
- Dice Monsters
- Tower of Babel
- Space Worm
- Forbidden City
- Through the Desert: Bazaar Expansion
- Ra: Traders Expansion (not yet played, this is a prediction)
- Sumatra
- Amazonia Park (not yet played, this is a prediction)
- En Garde / Duell
- Treasures of Nakbe
- Great Wall of China
- Ilium
- Longboard
- Keltis: Der Weg der Steine Mitbringspiel
- Lost Cities: The Board Game
- Medici: The Dice Game
- Ra and Write (not yet played, this is a prediction)
- Lost Cities: Roll & Write
- Merchants
- Medici vs Strozzi
- Merchants of Amsterdam
- Minotaur Lords
- Scarab Lords
- High Score
- Money
- Poison
- Battle of Mekaverse
- Ra: The Dice Game
- Rondo
- Spectaculum
- Strozzi
- Knights of Charlemagne / Tabula Rasa
- Tutankhamun
- At the Office
- Into the Blue
- Heckmeck Deluxe / Pickomino Deluxe
- Prosperity
- Des Souvenirs plein le Ciel
- Marco Polo Expedition
- Axio Rota
- Palmyra
- Spy
D(cent)-Tier (Sub-par for Knizia… It’s fine… I mean, I’ll still play it if you insist)
- Planet Rush
- Escalation!
- Capybara Cookie Club
- MEOW
- Sakura
- Super Crazy World
- Der Herr der Ringe: Die Zwei Türme – das Kartenspiel
- Pick a Pen: Tuinen
- Pick a Pen: Riffen
- Pick a Pen: Crypten
- Euphrates & Tigris: Contest of Kings
- Age of War
- Criss Cross
- Reiner Knizia’s Decathlon
- Dragon Land
- Family Inc.
- FITS
- Galaxy Cat Extension
- Ivanhoe
- Loot
- Cezar
- Looting London
- Lost Cities: Rivals
- Modern Art: The Card Game
- Arquimedes
- Pitagoras
- Ohio
- Res Publica
- Wurfel Poker
- Star Trek: Expeditions
- Sushizock im Gockelwok / Sushi Bar
- Turtle Mania
- Clash of the Gladiators
- Yangtze
- Ribbit
- Buddy Hop
- Yoku Gamı
- Witchstone
- Desperados
- Ice Tumble
- Feats of Cheese
- Whoowasit?
- City of the Living
- Kartel
- Knights Poker
- LAMA Kadabra
- Rooby’s ABC
F-Tier (Nah, I’m good)
- Monster Chef
- Pan Tu Nie Stal! Demoludy
- Sudoku Challenge
- Zombie Mania
- Vampire
- Easy Come, Easy Go!
- Cat Ass Trophy / Zero Down
- Cthulhu Rising
- Gold
- Ramses Pyramid
- Hong Kong
What are your favorite Knizia games? How would your tier list be different from ours? Share below!
Aww, Clash of the Gladiators is a B for sure! 🙂