The best games from James Ernest 🇺🇸👨 2026

The holiday-themed card game transforms the famous song "Twelve Days of Christmas" into a fast-paced experience. Over twelve rounds, players try to re-gift unwanted cards while keeping strong cards to win the day and earn bonus points at the end.

Paaranoia is a game where players aim to avoid pairs of cards. Using a deck of 55 cards, players are dealt one card and must decide whether to draw again or risk losing the round. If they draw a matching card, they incur penalty points and the game continues until someone exceeds a predefined threshold of penalty points and loses. Various versions of the game feature different artwork and some include unique rules related to their themes.

Players try to form words using letter cards from their hands, with each letter worth points based on its angles. Test the strength of your word against a 20-sided die roll; succeed to keep your sanity or lose it if you roll lower. The game features unique illustrations of terrifying characters from H.P. Lovecraft's works, enhancing its dark atmosphere.

Lords of Vegas is a dynamic board game where players take on the roles of developers in a growing Nevada city, aiming to build the most profitable casinos along "The Strip." Starting with mere parking lots, players strategize to expand, reorganize, and gamble their way to success, aiming to score the most points by owning the most lucrative casinos and appointing the best bosses.

Stellar Conflict is a fast-paced space combat game featuring real-time elements set in the Among the Stars universe. Players assume the role of an alien race engaging in a space battle, each commanding their own fleet and selecting ships based on the size of the conflict. The game includes a setup phase and a combat phase, where players utilize their ships' unique abilities to destroy enemy vessels and achieve objectives, ensuring high replayability.

Tak is a beautifully simple yet strategically deep two-player game, originally conceived by Pat Rothfuss in his novel The Wise Man's Fear and brought to life by game designer James Ernest. In Tak, players aim to build a continuous path of their pieces across the board, connecting two opposite sides. The game's elegance lies in its minimalistic ruleset which belies the rich tactical decisions it demands.

Designer James Ernest released The Big Idea in 2000 through his Cheapass Games, combining elements of a party game with light strategy. Players create wacky inventions from adjective and noun cards, invest in others’ creations, and roll dice to determine the success of their investments. In the 2011 edition by Funforge, the game was transformed into a more conventional format, where players pitch their inventions, vote secretly on rewards, and compete to gather the most accolades. This version features high-quality, full-color illustrated cards in an attractive box.

In 1999, James Ernest refined his concept of real-time card games by creating Brawl, a two-player card game without a dealer. Players quickly burn through their 35-card decks in about 35 seconds, with each deck offering a unique mix of cards that demands a different playing style to win. They start by placing a "base" card on the table and play cards like Hit, Block, and Clear as fast as possible to dominate each base, aiming to freeze all bases to end the game.

Stuff and Nonsense is an adventure game where players navigate through London, collecting artifacts and stories without ever leaving the city. They return to the Adventurer's Club to share their fabricated tales of adventure. The game features a board made entirely of cards and includes humorous text and quirky illustrations by Harold Fay.

Players select one of 24 characters from the Sailor Moon Crystal series, either randomly or deliberately. Using these characters, they engage in multiple combat rounds against an opponent, rolling dice to capture their opponent's rolls and earn points. The first player to win three rounds is declared the winner. Additional tournament rules accommodate larger groups, allowing for team play and various competitive formats. Everything needed to begin the dice battles is included in the box, making it perfect for conventions or gatherings.

Europe, summer 1997. You and your creative friends have stumbled upon two problems with one common solution: mad cow disease in England and unexploded bombs in France. By herding your cows through France and releasing them behind the Cordon Rouge, you aim to get rich, all while dodging Greenpeace.

The game quickly gained popularity after one of the most important gaming conferences in 1999. It features several characters represented by buttons, each with a unique number of polyhedral dice that impart special combat abilities. Players roll against each other, taking their opponents' dice as trophies, aiming to remove the most faces during battle.

Players choose their orders from the colorful menu at Friedey's and try to fulfill them with cards from their hands. Some orders are simple, while others are more challenging, like the Chickabunga Conga, which requires multiple ingredients. The game features different combinations and quirky dishes, providing a fun culinary experience.

Players take on the role of chefs in a simple Euro-style board game. The game is divided into several "days," consisting of morning and evening parts. In the morning, players buy ingredients at the fish and farmer's market, and in the evening, they cook recipes to earn money, focusing on acquiring ingredients as cheaply and effectively as possible while also adopting good ideas from fellow players.

Players choose a character card and aim to capture the dice of their opponents based on the values shown. The player with the highest score, calculated from the values of the captured dice and some retained dice, wins.

Working in fast food is a nightmare. All the employees are zombies without a single brain among them—except for one actual brain. Players take on the role of zombies in a hellish fast food restaurant, completing a series of tasks before leaving while competing for the sole brain available.

Kill Doctor Lucky puts a unique spin on the classic mystery genre. In this darkly humorous game, players scheme to off the ill-fated Doctor Lucky. He's the guy everyone loves to hate – maybe he snubbed you in his will, or perhaps he's responsible for your pet rock's untimely demise. Whatever the reason, you're out for revenge, but so is everyone else! The catch? You've got to do the deed secretly, without witnesses, or it's back to square one.

Players become the hunters and the hunted in a tropical twist on the classic game. Compete to eliminate the old man on the mysterious Isla Fortuna while navigating danger cards and treacherous regions. Use various weapons or even your bare hands to attempt the kill, gaining strength with each attempt to take down Doctor Lucky.

Welcome to the J. Robert Lucky Villa... again. You and a group of similarly wicked individuals have gathered for what seems like an innocent dinner party, but it will be a night filled with stimulating conversation, soft music, and desperate murder attempts. Get Lucky is the card game adaptation of the classic board game, where players control guests who all have strong motives to eliminate the old man, known for his resilience and annoyance. Gather around the table and see who can get lucky!

It is April 14, 1912. Players accompany the good Dr. Lucky on the Titanic's maiden voyage, where they must desperately try to save him as the ship sinks. While he believes his luck will save him and refuses help, players navigate the doomed vessel, collecting items to aid in his rescue while other players attempt to hinder their efforts with failure cards.

It's time to shoot the latest Western produced at Deadwood Studios, known for its terrible Western films. Players search for acting jobs each day, with options like "Man Falls from Roof" and "Dead Man" available. You can roll dice to try and perform roles or practice to improve your chances. At the end, players tally their money, fame, and status points to determine the best actor!

Welcome to the zombie-infested Old West. Undead chefs at Friedey's Chuck Wagon are tired of merely serving brains, so they plan to hijack a train full of them instead. Players must find the brain with the highest IQ and defend it from other zombies eager to bash it and claim superiority. This imaginative adventure supports 3-7 players and features delightful artwork by Brian Snoddy.

Pirates of the Spanish Main stands as the world's first constructible strategy game, inviting players into the swashbuckling world of piracy, treasure hunting, and naval combat. This innovative game allows players to assemble their own fleets of ships from collectible components and navigate the high seas in search of treasure and glory. With a unique mix of strategy, construction, and collectibility, Pirates of the Spanish Main offers an engaging experience for players looking to embody the adventurous spirit of pirates.

Players embark on an adventure for the souls of brave pirates in a quest for Davy Jones' gold. The game focuses on the thrill of looting treasure, with ghosts and sea monsters threatening ships in dark, cursed waters. It features a customizable ship mechanic similar to other pirate-themed games.

Cowboy Poker / CowPoker is a game for 2 to 4 live players, with four ranches in play and the rest controlled by automatic players called "Deadwood." Players control a ranch in a humorous cow town, and only cards from their ranch have effects. The game involves a series of card games where players aim to score points and form the best poker hands through strategic plays and winning tricks called "Gunfights" and "Roundups."

Players use a deck based on one of five characters from the TV show, including Bart, Homer, Lisa, Mr. Burns, or Krusty. The goal is to reach 7 points by participating in scene cards, with cards played considered either "completion" or "destruction" depending on their compatibility. Starter boxes are available for the first four characters, while Krusty's cards are found only in booster packs, which also feature foil versions.

Players represent a "truth" that diligent, book-copying monks aim to preserve in dark medieval France. They place and copy book tiles in monasteries, collect stacks of books, and distribute them throughout France. As monasteries burn down each round, players can move through the ruins, speeding up travel on the board, while scoring points based on regional dominance. The first player to reach 100 points wins and becomes the dominant truth as the dark ages come to a close.

Race chariots in an exciting competition featuring card auctions before the race. The "pot" for the race is formed by the bids, requiring players to balance card costs against potential gains while outmaneuvering opponents to secure valuable cards at lower prices. However, luck plays a significant role during the race, as poor dice rolls can undermine even the best strategies.

Fiese Verliese / Dungeonville is a dungeon-crawling card game for 2 to 5 players. Players take on the role of quirky wizards who control five dungeons around Dungeonville. They recruit adventurer groups to venture into the dungeons, earning points by defeating other groups in battle and eliminating other players' characters. Adventurers have a lifespan measured in minutes, and gold is used solely to hire more fools to die on your behalf.