I Picked the 'Best' Sci-Fi Games for 3 Years. Here's What I Got Wrong.
I was the guy who ordered by the list.
It's tempting, right? You're building out a new entertainment zone for a client. They want 'science fiction.' You Google 'best sci fi board games' and 'best sci fi video games.' You cross-reference a few 'top 10' blogs. You place a big order. Done.
That was me in 2017. My first big toB order. I assumed that if a game was on enough 'best' lists, it was a safe bet. A no-brainer. I filled a catalog with titles that had 8.5+ ratings on BoardGameGeek. I loaded up on the most critically acclaimed sci-fi video games.
I was wrong. Spectacularly wrong.
What I thought the problem was: Not enough 'best' games.
When the first complaints came in, I doubled down. I thought I just needed more variety. More options. A bigger 'most popular' list. I googled 'sci-games' and added everything from cooperative space adventures to competitive resource management epics. I added Guess Who Board Game (my client specifically asked for it) and even Jaipur Board Game (great game, not sci-fi, but 'close enough').
I saw myself as a curator. A provider of 'the best.' My value proposition was simple: 'We have all the top-rated stuff.'
Turns out, that value proposition was worthless.
The real problem: I was solving my problem, not theirs.
The deep-seated issue wasn't the game selection. It was my approach. I was operating from a place of assumption failure.
"I assumed 'best' was an objective, universal truth. I assumed a high BGG rating was the same as 'perfect for your specific arcade.' I couldn't have been more wrong."
My clients – B2B operators running bars, arcades, and family entertainment centers – didn't need 'the best games of all time.' They needed games that were:
- Short & Repeatable: A 4-hour epic like Gloomhaven is a masterpiece. It's also commercial suicide for a venue where table turnover is king.
- Visually Engaging: A deep strategy game with brown cardboard tokens won't draw a casual crowd past a bright, flashy light-gun game.
- Targeted: A client asking for 'sci-fi VR experiences' doesn't care about your amazing collection of deck-building card games.
I was buying for enthusiasts. I should have been buying for operators. That's the difference between a generalist and a specialist.
The cost of my assumptions: A $3,200 mistake.
In March 2022, I put together a 'premium' catalog for a new client – a high-tech gaming lounge. I loaded it with the 'best sci fi board games' I could find: Scythe, Terraforming Mars, Twilight Imperium.
I was proud. The client was confused. They looked at the list and asked, 'Where are the light, quick-play social games? My customers are here for 45 minutes, not 6 hours.' The order was scrapped. The $3,200 worth of carefully curated inventory I'd pre-ordered didn't just sit on the shelf; I had to sell it at a 30% loss to a liquidator.
That's $960 lost on a single order. Plus the embarrassment. Plus the damage to the relationship. That's when I learned: context is everything.
What works: Embracing the boundary.
The fix wasn't to get better at picking 'best' games. It was to change my entire approach. I stopped being a generalist and started being a specialist. I stopped trying to answer 'what is the best?' and started answering 'what is the best for this specific operational need?'
This aligns perfectly with our philosophy at sci-games. We don't claim to have everything. We don't try to be a 'one-stop shop' for all gaming. We focus on what we do well: high-quality, science fiction-themed board, card, and VR experiences for business clients.
Now, when a client asks for a 'best' list, I don't deliver a list. I ask three questions:
- What's your average customer dwell time?
- What's your primary revenue model? (per-play, hourly, cover charge?)
- What's your staff's capacity to teach rules?
This worked for us, but our situation is a mid-size B2B company with predictable ordering patterns. If you're a seasonal business with demand spikes, the calculus might be different. I can only speak to domestic operations.
This was accurate as of Q4 2024. The market changes fast, so verify current trends.
The vendor who said 'this isn't our strength—here's who does it better' earned my trust for everything else. I'd rather work with a specialist who knows their limits than a generalist who overpromises.
The lesson? Stop asking 'what's the best.' Start asking 'what works.' The answer is much more profitable.