2010 In Review

With the turn of the year, I was keen to find out what my gaming patterns for 2010 would reveal through the annual nickels and dimes exercise. I was divided as to whether to include online plays because coupled with my iPhone and OCTGN, I clocked a sizable number of games against others over the net. In the end, I decided to be a purist and only record F2F games, as I do on BGG.

My most played game in 2010 was...

A Game of Thrones LCG - 23 plays

No surprise here since I had a regular group with Ivan, Ben and Jo going early in the year where AGoT LCG was a weekly affair for us. While the weekly sessions dried up due to our various commitments over the course of the year, it remains one of my favs. I never had a chance to try a CCG in my youth despite my interest and AGoT LCG most definitely scratches that itch. Most of our F2F sessions were multiplayer in nature where the different titles add a different dimension to the game. In addition, I clocked 100+ 1v1 games over OCTGN with some of the best American and European players in the game. That has not only fueled my interest in the game but the privilege to play against opponents of such stature has also been a valuable learning experience.

Only other dime was...

Glory to Rome - 10 plays

Not a surprise - it is after all one of the few games that I rate a 10. Furthermore, it's a perennial favourite with Van and she still requests it from time to time despite her diminishing interest in games.

While AGoT LCG and GtR were my only dimes, I had a few near misses...

Hansa Teutonica - 9 plays

One of my new favs and my appreciation for it grows with each play. If I had to pick my fav euro for 2010, this would be it. I adore the depth that comes in the reasonably short playtime, the multiple paths to victory and the tense interaction between players. Looking forward to even more plays in 2011.

Dominion:Intrigue - 9 plays

I really wanted to like the game but eventually sold it after lacklustre interest from my gaming group. In all honesty, I too realized that its multi-solitaire nature was getting to be despite opting for the most 'interactive' expansion of the series. Nonetheless, thanks to its relatively short playtime, I did clock quite a number of plays while I owned it.

Monopoly Deal Card Game - 9 plays

A surprise here, but I suppose there were sufficient occasions that we needed a real filler or had non-gamers around to bring it to the table.

The rest of the nickels...

Dixit 2 (8 plays) - Wonderful filler that my non-gamer friends enjoy.

The Resistance (8 plays) - A newly acquired game but I can already see its potential in being my go-to game for larger groups, especially since it's relatively non-gamer friendly.

Yspahan (7 plays) - A fast-playing, medium-light game. It seems to fit the mold of the kind of game that sees play often but I have recently put it on my trade list. The different paths to victory are limited and the Caravan is overpowered when it sees little competition, which is often the case with new players.

Jungle Speed (6 plays) - Party game that saw more plays in the early half of the year.

Macao (6 plays) - I really like the wind-rose mechanic and the potential card combos, but the rest of the game seems 'meh'. I don't know whether it's a keeper yet but definitely one of the better games I was introduced to in 2010.

Ra (6 plays) - Another one of Van's favs so she does request it occasionally.

Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg (5 plays) - A fantastic game once players get a hang of the strategy involved. I much prefer this for large groups than The Resistance but it is a tad less unapproachable unfortunately. A blast with the right group.

Santiago (5 plays) - Another of the discoveries of the year. Unfortunately it plays best with 5 which means it faces tough competition from the Princes of Florence and El Grande when I have a gaming group of that size. What it has going for it is that it does play in half the time.

Summoner Wars (5 plays) - Another newly acquired game and a keeper already. I'm unlikely to find a ready opponent in Van but it is an ideal 2-player filler. The simple rules and use of dice keep it accessible too.

Final stats: 171 plays, 38 games (of which 19 were new)

In comparison, here are the 2009 numbers: 167 plays, 44 games (of which 29 were new)

Bottom Line:

While the number of plays rose, this was likely due to increased number of plays of shorter, filler/party-like games. What's telling is that I played much fewer new games, which suggests my gaming experience was more focused this year. While I always enjoy 'discovering' new games, it meant that I was also able to play the games I like more frequently and get a better handle on the their strategies and subtleties. All in all, a year I'm contented with on the gaming front despite the drop-off in activity.

Finally, while the figures didn't factor in this yearly review, boardgaming on iOS appear to be an increasing staple. I clocked in 70+ online games of Samurai, coupled with multiple Carcassonne and Tichu games. If I do acquire an iPad in 2011 as planned, F2F gaming on the iPad may be an added dimension of my future gaming experiences.

A Quarter, A Dime & Assorted Nickels for 2009

Wow, time flies... I can't believe that I have actually maintained this blog for over a year. I did wonder when I started it in Dec 2008 whether I could sustain the interest of updating it regularly. I must say that while there were a couple of quieter months especially in the middle of the year, I'm rather satisfied to see an average of 8-10 posts per month. Of course, my frequency of posting usually parallels my gaming life. The barren months suggest in all likelihood that I wasn't seeing much joy at the gaming table either.

Reading the Five and Dime lists on BGG reminded me that it would be a good exercise to undergo myself to learn more about my most played games in 2009. So without further ado, here's my Quarter, Dime and Nickels list...

Sole Quarter - Glory to Rome (25 plays)

No surprise here since GtR IS Van's and my fav game. Many of the games have been with 3 players and thus almost filler-like in its play time as we get more and more experienced with the game. Hoping to play it more with 4 or even 5 as I find that those numbers enhance the interaction viable between players. For example, with 4, the Palisade allows the Legionary action to steal from all 3 players instead of just your neighbours.

Sole Dime - Settlers Card Game (15 plays)

This was Van's and my couple game of choice and we went on a tear when I first acquired the game, clocking over 10 plays in a relatively short period of time. We liked it so much that I went ahead to acquire 2 sets of the game, including expansions so that we could fully appreciate the deck-building element of its tournament format. Ironically, we haven't been able to get it to the table much since then. Here's hoping that 2010 will provide opportunities to bring it to the table despite its slightly longish playtime.

Nickels List

7 plays

Stone Age

There was strong interest in this game when it was first acquired but the spark sort of fizzled over time and I sold it eventually. A good gateway game, accessible and not overly random despite the inclusion of dice. However, limited interaction and rather longish for what it is.

6 plays

A Game of Thrones LCG

The Princes of Florence

Le Havre

Monopoly Deal Card Game

Some of my absolute favs here, which I hope to see more plays of in the new year. Le Havre plays a bit long and the huge variety of building powers makes it slightly difficult to intro to new players although the core mechanics are really quite straightforward. PoF is arguably my 2nd favourite game but unfortunately I will only play it with 5, which probably explains why it doesn't see more plays. As for AGoT LCG, it's a rather new game and I do enjoy playing it very much. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a regular group to play it since it's not really Van's kind of game.

5 plays

Battle Line

Tichu

High Society

China

Liar's Dice

Endeavor

Mostly fillers here. I like China's depth-time ratio which makes it unique in the filler category of my collection. Endeavor suffered somewhat the same fate as Stone Age - entered with a blaze but I ultimately decided it wasn't a game I needed to own especially since I prefer the somewhat similar but deeper Hansa Teutonica. Not a bad game by any means and on any day, I would probably prefer playing it to a game like Stone Age.

Pennies

Have a rather huge list of games under 5 plays. The ones that came close were Settlers, Fairy Tale, Chicago Express and Age of Empires III with 4. Hoping to see more of CE at the table in 2010. Should be a high possibility with its very reasonable playtime. Some of the Euro greats at 3 plays such as El Grande and Puerto Rico.

All in all, 167 plays of 44 games (29 new). Not too shabby I think?

Plays for the 2nd half of 2008

I started tracking my plays on boardgamegeek in the latter half of last year in hope of assessing some trends in the preferences of my gaming community. Plays recorded are all face-to-face plays and do not include plays on BSW (which wasn't significant in in 2008 except for an initial fascination with Dominion). Here are they, in order of most plays to least:

26 plays - Battle Line

I counted plays for Battle Line according to the tournament style which means 1 play for a best of 3 game. If I were to count individual games, the plays would easily surpass 60 or 70.

26 plays - Race for the Galaxy

With the lukewarmness shown towards RftG by Van, I was surprised to see so many plays with this. I suppose Van was rather obliging to my whims of trying the game initially so we did clock quite a few plays. The short play time also helped and I'm not surprised to see geek forumers with hundreds of plays in 2008. Nonetheless, I foresee it be harder to bring it to the table in 2009. Ben and Weilong seem like the ones amongst my gaming partners who are most receptive to the game currently.

10 plays - Agricola

A game loaned to me by Lawrence which I'm immensely grateful. While I'm not sure if it's truly deserving of its no. 1 ranking on geek, it has indeed been a game Van and I have enjoyed immensely. I still enjoying playing it best with 2 or 3.

9 plays - Ra, Glory to Rome, Mr. Jack

Ra is a nice middle-weight game to have in the collection - scales well with a short playing time. As mentioned, Glory to Rome has risen quickly to the top of my list of games and 9 plays alone in the month of December is no surprise.

Mr. Jack is a game I have decided to sell/trade off but which I have faced difficulty due to the hole in the corner of the box made by my dog. The mechanics are interesting but it is limited as strictly a 2 player game and I have issues with the downtime since you can't make any meaningful analysis during your opponent's turn and will have to wait till his or her moves are complete before you can decide yours. Despite that, 8 plays are impressive considering I counted one play with each player having a go at both the detective and Jack.

8 plays - Pandemic 

Also a game just acquired in December. We played 4 times the first day we tried it. Scales well and plays in a short time. I'm starting to tire of it slightly but the responses from the rest are good so I suspect it will see more plays in 2009.

7 plays - Settlers of Catan

A perennial favourite but been seeing less plays with the influx of new games.

5 plays - Tichu

A game to 500 points counts as 1 play.

3 plays - Puerto Rico, Taj Mahal, Galaxy Trucker

Galaxy Trucker is the rising star that also came in the December game package while the other 2 are solid Euros that I hope to bring out more often in 2009.

2 plays - El Grande, No Thanks!, Stone Age, Princes of Florence

El Grande and Princes are amongst my favourite games and am somewhat disappointed not to have seen more plays with them, especially El Grande since I personally own the game. Stone Age appears promising after 2 plays with a weight somewhat similar to Settlers so I suspect I will be introducing it to new gamer friends in the new year.

1 play - Power Grid, Citadels, Saint Petersburg, Tigris & Euphrates

Power Grid and Tigris while excellent games can be somewhat heavy going - difficult to bring to the table without the right group. It was my first face-to-face try of Saint Petersburg and it reinforced my views of it on BSW - reasonably enjoyable for its length but nothing I need to own.