The year is half over, and I'd like to take a moment to reflect back.
Games I've played...According to Boardgame Geek, I played 137 games in the first half of the year. That's an average of 5.2 games every week, which is less than I expected to be playing, considering semi-regular attendance with the Dallas Gamers on Tuesdays, and some sort of gaming nearly every Friday with the Lumbersmiths. Here's a quick breakdown of games I played more than twice in the last six months:
Battle Line and Tichu are two of my favorite games, so it's no surprise they're at the top. I've been doing a lot of 2-player gaming this year, which explains Mystery Rummy, Samurai, Blue Moon, Memoir '44 and SW: ED. I had to force myself to play Blue Moon three times, just to see if there was something I'm missing. I don't care for the game, but it's so highly regarded on BGG. After three more plays, I still don't get it.
Unfortunately, there are only a handful of games with more than 3 plays, and they're tending towards the ligher fare. My game preference tends towards the "next big thing", so I'm constantly playing new games. Hopefully by the end of the year, I'll see more multiples being played.
Games I Want to Play More...I'd really like to see the old favorites in my collection
get played more often. The games I'd like to show up
here by December 31 are Tigris & Euphrates, Princes of Florence,
Puerto Rico, Ra, and Settlers of Catan. Those
are the games my friends and I have thrived on for the last 5 years.
They're still the best games out there, in my opinion, and I think they
deserve the table time.
In addition to old favorites, there are some other games I want to see get played more for various reasons:
Twilight Struggle - I've actually played this 5 times (including last week), and am still excited about the game. More than any other game, I just want to play this one more for the fun factor.
Arkham Horror - This is a game that's trending up for me. Joe and Jay have played it a couple of times with me, and it's great. Sure, it's not exactly balanced or fair, but gaming is all about having fun, and the experience this game brings is just
pure fun. I'd like to play a bit more, and then add the upcoming expansions.
Age of Steam / Railroad Tycoon - For some reason, I've
craved this game in the past month. I love the delivery mechanism in these games, and really want to play them more often. Unfortunately, they're both long and brain-burning, which means it's tough to get them to the table on Fridays. I need to play this with the Dallas Gamers more often.
Die Macher - It's hard to schedule, but always worth the effort. I'm going to push to get this to the table again soon.
Man O' War - Karl gifted me with his base set, and I've managed to acquire enough miniatures for 3 armies. If I can make myself paint, I want to try this out soon.
Full Metal Planete - I bought this last year, and still haven't played. I need three unsuspecting victims, and a sand-clock timer.
Caylus - I haven't had as many opportunities to play this as everyone else has. My group likes it, but it suffers from Age of Steam syndrome - it's tough to sell people on a long brain-burning game on a Friday night.
Capitol - I bought Capitol last year from eBay, thinking it was my kind of game. After one play, I knew I was right. Why hasn't it been played since, then?
Games on my Want List...There are a lot of games on my want list that I should probably purchase before the big Essen releases. I've nearly bought some of these lately, but I've been too frugal to click "submit order". Some I've played, and some I haven't. They are:
HaciendaMykerinosThurn und TaxisRoyal TurfThe Scepter of ZavandorThrough the DesertDie Magier von PangeaTempusDer Untergang von PompejiKeythedralParthenon: Rise of the AegeanStinkers of the Year (so far)...Several games haven't lived up to the expecations I had for them. These aren't necessarily new games, but games I played for the first time this year. Your mileage may vary.
Pizza Box Football - I believe I've already poked fun of this game, so I'll spare any more derogatory comments. (*cough* total unskilled dicefest *cough*) (sorry.)
Blue Moon - I still don't see what the big deal about Blue Moon is. It gets high marks from a lot of BGGers who I respect, but I don't get it. I disagree with the comparisons to a CCG. This game isn't as complex or as deep as most good CCGs.
B-17: Queen of the Skies - I had high hopes for this solitaire game. After playing a couple of missions, I felt like I was there to roll dice and lookup charts. At least with Ambush I'm moving guys around on a tactical map. Hopefully the new Silent War will erase bad memories of B-17.
Battlestations - Of all the rest, I had the highest expectations for Battlestations, and was very disappointed after playing. The game was way too "fiddly".
Game of the Year (so far)...After 137 plays so far this year, my game of the year is (not surprisingly)
Twilight Struggle. Tichu was my other choice, but I'm
always in the mood to play Tichu. To give other games a chance, I'll take it out of contention. Twilight Struggle came out of nowhere this year and gave me a game experience unlike anything else I've played. Not exactly a wargame, not exactly an area-control Eurogame, it sits neatly in the middle and scratches a gaming itch I never knew existed. It's historical subject has also sparked an interest in Cold War history, which I'll expound upon in a later post.