This is my current list (with reviews) of top 10 modern board games. I'd probably put chess, bridge, cribbage and backgammon on my list of classic games.

  1. Azul: Finely crafted strategy and satisfying interactions
  2. Nusfjord: Fishing for a new economy
  3. Star Realms: Luck is the residue of its design
  4. Lost Cities: The espresso of card games
  5. Bohnanza: The game about (trading) beans
  6. Carcassonne: Why Carcassonne has a permanent place on my game shelf
  7. Sushi Go!: Lowering the barrier for drafting games
  8. Codenames: No secret to this success
  9. Torres: A game of vertical area control
  10. Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition: A game about applied research