Gateway games and the Monopoly problem
Board game rankings hinge on who's at the table. Gateway games (Ticket to Ride, Azul, Codenames) rank S for getting non-gamers to play a second round — a genuine design achievement hobbyists sometimes sneer at. Heavier games (Brass, Spirit Island, Gloomhaven) top enthusiast lists but die on a Tuesday with four casual friends. And then there's Monopoly, which almost every serious list buries in F while it remains one of the best-selling games ever made. Rank for the table you actually have, not the one you wish you had.