Cutting Your Collection To 26 Games

Came across an interesting geeklist on BGG recently - it basically involved selecting a game from each group of 10 from the BGG rankings i.e. one game from games ranked 1-10, another game from the games ranked 11-20, and so on. This was the directed means for selection of 25 games preferred for one's personal collection while the 26th and final game could be any game beyond the top 250.

My repertoire of games attempted were somewhat limited compared to others at the geek but I gave it a try nonetheless. Below were my choices plus some brief comments:

1. Agricola - While El Grande is my favourite game from the top 10, Agricola's scalability ensures that it is likely to see more plays and thus a more worthy addition.

2. Princes of Florence - Does not scale well but only game I have tried on that 2nd list apart from Pandemic. PoF is one of my favourites nonetheless and I'm glad to see it in a list without any strong competitors.

3. Ra - My limited game experience really shows for it's the only game on the list I've tried. But based on the votes on the geeklist, it seems most agree. Unsurprisingly too since it scales incredibly well and provides an enjoyable experience for its length.

4. Settlers of Catan - A tough choice. Would have gone with Stone Age based on what I prefer playing currently but couldn't leave out the game which started it all for me. Furthermore, it remains one of my wife's favourite games.

5. Galaxy Trucker - I enjoy Taj Mahal tremendously but it comes across rather abstract for some. But Galaxy Trucker gets the vote for its unique mechanics.

6. San Juan - Not sure if this would be my choice if I have tried the rest of the games, but amongst the ones I've, this one takes it for the depth it brings relative to its game length.

7. Battle Line - My favourite pure 2-player game.

8. Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation - Only one I've tried.

9. All untried.

10. Citadels - Interesting mechanics which I enjoy especially with 3.

11. Thurn & Taxis - Another list which I'm quite sure I would pick something else if I had an opportunity to try the rest of the games.

12. CATAN 3D Collector's Edition - Ok I cheated, but there was no way I was going to pick Lost Cities.

13. Pass

14. Bridge? - It was either that or Bohnanza and I really didn't enjoy Bohnanza that much the only time I tried it.

15. Keythedral - Only one I've tried. I also ended up trading the copy I owned which tells you how I felt about the game.

16. Kingsburg - Same, only one I've tried. Not too bad but haven't felt the urge to buy it.

17, 18, 19. Pass.

20. Glory to Rome - Easy choice, probably my favourite game of all at the moment.

21. Mahjong - No Thanks! is a wonderful game to have in the collection to entice non-gamers but there's nothing like a game of Mahjong if you can find 4 enthusiasts.

22. Chess - Only one I've tried but I have a suspicion I'll enjoy Settlers of Catan Card Game if I just managed to get my hands on it.

23, 24. Pass.

25. Blokus Trigon - Only game I've tried. Sold my copy off cause while the premise was interesting, just didn't manage to hold my interest after a few plays.

26. Sorry! Sliders - Never tried it but this gets my vote simply for being the game I can't wait to get my hands on.

Going through the exercise revealed how little I knew of games outside the top 100. Even for games within the top 100, there were quite a few I hadn't tried. Hopefully in time to come, that would change...