It’s that time of year again where we look back to the past to see what we played, what we didn’t play, what we wish we’d played and what we will be playing in the year to come.
Games Played in 2017
This year was a bumper year for me, with a total of 692 games played beating the previous high score of 453 by 239 and bringing my total games played since records began up to a crazy 3322. We can attribute some of this uptick to the Game Night plays and some to weekend gaming. However it will also be down to playing some shorter games too, which we will see in a moment.
My most Played Games of All Time
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game (2012) Plays: 445
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game (2011) Plays: 315
Zooloretto (2007) Plays: 95
Toc Toc Woodman (2008) Plays: 93
Timeline: Music & Cinema (2013) Plays: 87
Carcassonne (2000) Plays: 79
Pandemic (2008) Plays: 76
Elder Sign (2011) Plays: 71
Star Wars: Imperial Assault (2014) Plays: 70
Thunderstone: Dragonspire (2011) Plays: 68
Honourable Mention - Flash Point: Fire Rescue (2011) Plays: 61
So, what can we learn from this data? Firstly, the top 10 most played games is a hard list for a new game to crack. Zooloretto, Toc Toc, Carcassonne, Pandemic and Thunderstone have been played a handful of times between them this year. Legendary and Lord of the Rings have both been in heavy rotation and Elder Sign sees sporadic plays throughout the year. Timeline and Imperial Assault are both newcomers to the list since I last wrote one of these. Timeline is a fast and easy game to get the table when I have no time for anything else and when it does hit we tend to play 3 games or more. Imperial Assault on the other hand has been steadily building up its plays since its release in 2014 with campaign after campaign.
Most Played Games of 2017
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game - Plays 125
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - Plays 96
Timeline: Music & Cinema - Plays 44
Celestia - Plays 36
Mysterium - Plays 28
Stak Bots - Plays 18
Cardline: Marvel - Plays 17
Codenames - Plays 15
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 - Plays 15
Elder Sign - Plays 13
Total Different Games Played - 104
Stak Bots is a surprise in the list here, although when it does hit the table we will play 3 or 4 hands in a row. Most of the other games are in regular weekend rotation with the family and Pandemic Legacy is being played on a monthly basis at Games Night.
Games Owned
As I haven’t tracked this stat before so I can’t tell you how many games and expansions I’ve bought this year, but that is probably a good thing!
239 Games Owned 253 Expansions Owned 492 Total
Yes, it’s probably too many. However, let’s consider some more factors. Of my 239 games I have played 212 of them. Of that 212 I have played 116 of them more than 5 times and of those, I have played 27 of them 25 times or more.
However, I, like many of you, have a secret shelf of shame. Those 27 games that I have never played.
Caverna, Crazy Karts, Crossfire, Dragon's Gold, Evo, Fictionaire, Fzzzt! GOSU, HMS Dolores, Illuminati: Deluxe Edition, Incan Gold, Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot, Mafia de Cuba, Mafia: Vendetta, Magic Maze, Mascarade, Panic Station, Run, Fight, or Die! Samurai Spirit, Sea of Clouds, Tempus, Time's Up! Deluxe, Tiny Epic Galaxies, Titan Race, Untold Adventures Await, Vault Wars and Who Would Win.
Of these games I estimate I’ll play half in the next year. I’ll call some shots. Caverna, Incan Gold, Magic Maze, Mascarade, Samurai Spirit and Tiny Epic Galaxies will not be on the list next year.
However, it’s not all bad news, I managed to take quite a lot of games off the Shelf of Shame this year. Android, Bang The Dice Game, Battlestar Galactica, Cash & Guns, Chinatown, Cutthroat Caverns, Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, Firefly: The Game, Galaxy Trucker, King of New York, Mission Red Planet, New York 1901, Not Alone, TMNT Shadows of the Past, Sheriff of Nottingham, Spyfall, The Awful Green Things From Outta Space and Zooloretto Mini.
Upcoming Games
Of course, I’m never satisfied with my collection and so I have more new games incoming, mostly through Kickstarter.
Hardback
Super Dungeon Explore
7th Continent
The Networks: Executives
Mint Delivery
Scandinavia and the World: A Heap of Trouble
Deception: Undercover Allies
I’m most excited about SDE and 7th Continent for different reasons. On top of these I know I’ll be adding some more expansions to my collection, Heart of the Empire and Omens of the Pharaoh, Legendary Champions and I’m sure others I’m forgetting about. However a game now has to do something really different to find a place on my shelf.
What Games Am I Looking Forward to in 2018?
There are a handful of titles that I don’t own and would really like to play. Mountains of Madness from Iello springs to mind. I’d like to try Pandemic Season 2 but at the same time I’m not sure the Game Night guys will be up for it. Definitely want to play some more T.I.M.E Stories and I’m really looking forward to 7th Continent.
However what I’m really looking forward to is playing some more complex games with the Game Night Guys. Games on that list? Dead of Winter, X-Wing, Battlestar Galactica, Cosmic Encounter and many more.
So there we go. How many games will I play next year? Will I beat this years total? Will I clear some games off the shelf of shame? Will I buy too many new games? Tune in next year to find out the answers.