Mini games - first, worst, best?

I barely remember much about it, but I tried - and failed - to collect all the cards in Final Fantasy VIII.

I don't think "Cyberspace" from Sega Shadowrun would count as a "minigame," since it's more of a game element in its own right, but it does play like a minigame.

I know I made the joke about Gwent being the main focus of TW3 in the OP, but it was one that I just couldn't get in to. I know this qualifies as an 'Unpopular Opinion', but I just never saw the appeal. Geralt has no time for this

I thin kwhen I do eventually ge tto pla yWitche r3 I' denjoy Gwent as it looks fun. I jus tfeel I need t obeat the firs t 2 games first. Dependin gon wha treleases late rin the yea rgames wis e I'lltr yt obea tthe Witche rgames again. I jus tkeep messin gmyself up wit hm ystrateg yan dhow I should approac hthem. But I thin kafte rm ylas tattempt I'v efigured it out no wjus tneed time to pla yit.

Yea h i tlooks a good gam e I've played the Witche r1 but I tend to keep screwin gmyself up wit hm ybuild and ersources but I think I kno wwher I' mmakin gthos emistakes now s oit's a case of tryin gagain unti lI ge tit right. I do habv eall 3 games  it's jus ta case of getting m ybuild right on each one and figurin gou twhat I hav eto do. It's a simoilar case to wha tI wen tthroug hi nDAO as it took a fw eattempts fo rm et ofiguer ou twher eI was goin gwron gthere but eventually I did and now I can beat the game. But I d othink I'm gettin gclose ras I definitel yfoun dcombat easier in m ylas trun. I jus tdidn't hav eenough resources to keep it going becaus eI didn' t do enough side quests and because of tha tit ended up comin gbac kt obite m ein the ass. Still something t olearn from as I'll definitely be making sureI'll hav ewha tI need t otry again though.

The first mini game I played the crap out of with a friend of mine was Paddle War in Commander Keen 4. So basically Pong. Well, we didn't know any better and we had lot's of fun.

My favorite mini games tend to be those that feel like they fit into the world, like it's something, your character would actually do. This is why I actually liked the hacking and override minigames in ME2. It felt like Shepard was really analyzing code/shortcircuiting pins on a circuit board. Mind you, this does not include mining planets, which never felt particularly realistic to me and it gave us those stupid plastic looking planet balls in ME2/3 after the beautiful renderings in ME1.

Another positive example on the other hand are the mini games in Splinter Cell: Double Agent. It may not haev been the best SC game but the safe cracking or the mine building mini games really felt like this is what Sam actually does with his high tech tools.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution also had a fantastic hacking minigame but it was almost too intricate already.

And of course, I also kinda like some of the more "just for fun" mini games like Gwent or swoop racing but only if not overdosed. I thought the dice game in AC: Valhalla was nice as well.

What I do not like are chance based mini games, especially when they are mandatory or give you a big advantage (like lot's of money) so you feel obligated to do them. Candidates are Pazaak (however you spell that) from KotOR and all the dice games in Witcher 1/2. I always just end up save scumming them. I'd also include Quasar but fortunately, that thing givves you so little money in a game where you are monopoly man after a while anyway that it doesn't matter.

Also not a big fan of arena tournaments. BioWare puts these into almost all their games and I almost always find them tedious and boring. Taris in KotOR, the one in Jade Empire, ME1's Pinnacle Station DLC, Dragon Ages Proving Grounds, I am kinda always glad when they are over. The one exception here is the Arnax Arsena Arena in ME3 because it had such a fun progression with the modifiers, different tiered rewards and most importantly those ridiculous little fan mail stories. That was kinda fun.

One I am actually a little ashamed to admit that I like (or two, actually, from one game)…the cairn stones and Orlog from AC: Valhalla. Orlog, in particular.

I am making a point of going to each player I come across in my current Valhalla run.

Have at it.

The Gambler Challenges in RDR2 are a black hole of rage and confusion, though.

Is that the one at the Passiflora? I've seen the quest, but never actually played it. Is there more to it than 'win the tournament'?