Ranking the 2015 B1G Football Games: 59-45 (Tabletop Gaming Edition)

This is the fourth installment of our rankings of #AllTheB1G games. At this point, we've reached the games that are probably borderline watchable, which is to say, if your team isn't playing, and there's no other good game on, you could do a lot worse than to watch any of these. This middle tier ended up being a much larger portion of games than either of the tiers ahead of it, so as with tier 4, we'll be breaking this one into two parts. And since each of these needs a theme, I'll be rolling with selected games from the Top 50 Most Played Board Games of 2014 as determined by BoardGameGeek.com.

The first three parts of this series:

Games 116112-96 (Bright Eyes)

Games 95-78 (Pokemon)

Games 77-60 (Excel)

Times listed in EST when known

#59: Purdue @ Marshall, September 6th, 3pm; Smash Up

This is one of those games where you take a team from two different factions and just smash them together. Conveniently, so is Smash Up. Also, how in the heck did we put this game this high? Does everyone else know something about Marshall that I don't?

#58: Pittsburgh @ Iowa, September 19th, 8pm; Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island

I'll be honest, I've never actually played this game, but with a name like this, how could it not apply to Pitt vs. Iowa? Amirite, AIRBHG?

#57: Nebraska @ Illinois, October 3rd; Sushi Go!

Even though this is a conference matchup, it'll likely be over quick and leave you wanting more of something else. Sushi Go! is also a fairly quick game, and is the perfect way to whet your appetite for other games.

#56: Virginia Tech @ Purdue, September 19th, 3:30pm; Ticket to Ride

Yeah, like I was gonna go an entire article and not somehow associate Purdue with trains. Come on, where do you think you are?

#55: San Diego State @ Penn State, September 26th; Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar

You could take this one of two ways: this can either be a time joke, or one about how Mayans and Aztecs are in some way similar.

#54: Ohio @ Minnesota, September 26th, 3:30pm; Seasons

#DillyBarDanNeverForget

#53: Air Force @ Michigan State, September 19th, Noon; Stone Age

As in, where Michigan State is likely to beat the Falcons back into.

#52: Maryland @ Iowa, October 31st; Agricola

The obligatory agriculture game, paying homage to the roots of the conference, and lamenting the fact that I didn't have Iowa-Nebraska (or Iowa-Purdue) to give this one to instead.

#51: Wisconsin @ Maryland, November 7th, 3:30pm; King of Tokyo

In King of Tokyo, you play as monsters trying to wreak havoc and claim ownership of Tokyo. In this matchup, Maryland will be playing the role of Tokyo.

#50: Michigan State @ Rutgers, October 10th, 8pm; 7 Wonders

So both Sparty and the Rutgers Knight (does he have a name? I've never actually checked to see if he does.) can find some common ground on the field of battle.

#49: Rutgers @ Michigan, November 7th; Dominion

Build a Dominion, stomp your opposition, and don't worry about what other people think of you. Sums this one up pretty well, I think.

#48: Maryland @ Michigan State, November 14th; Star Wars: X-Wing Minatures Game

We'll see if the Galaxy Class defense is still present in this galaxy, or if it now belongs to one a long time ago and far, far away.

#47: Maryland @ Ohio State, October 10th, Noon; Catan (formerly Settlers of Catan)

An excellent beginning game for someone who has never seen such things before. It likely won't go well early, but by the end, they'll probably be picking up some things that they weren't able to at the start. Now, have I just described a new player learning Catan, or a new football fan watching this game? You decide.

#46: Northwestern @ Nebraska, October 24th; Pandemic

Only you (and your team) can stop the spread of the red menace.

#45: Maryland @ Rutgers, November 28th; Small World

So, you're telling me there's a rivalry game that being played because these two schools just happened to join the conference at the same time? Small World, isn't it?