Gameplay Summary of 2018

by | Dec 30, 2018

With the year winding down, and with there being a good chance I don't play any more games for the year, I wanted to look back over my year of gaming briefly.

First, let's look at the ten games I played the most this year:
  1. Splendor - 31 plays
  2. Magic: The Gathering - 30 plays
  3. Warhammer Underworlds - 23 plays
  4. Settlers of Catan - 16 plays
  5. Warmachine/Hordes - 14 plays
  6. Codenames - 14 plays
  7. Android: Netrunner - 13 plays
  8. Mutant: Year Zero - 13 plays
  9. Ticket to Ride - 10 plays
  10. Lost Cities - 8 plays
I played a lot of different games this year only one time, but these are interesting to look at.  A lot of my gaming lately is with friends who are new gamers, and with my wife becoming more interested in gaming, I am playing a larger amount of "light" games like Splendor, Catan, and Ticket to Ride.

For RPGs, my play this year was limited to those 13 sessions of Mutant: Year Zero, and a single session of Technoir.  Overall, it's kind of a shame.  I don't love Mutant: Year Zero- I dislike the setting, and I strongly dislike the system itself.  Yet, that's what Rob chose to run, so I'm playing through it.  Technoir is interesting, but I don't have enough experience to know how I like it long term.  I wish I had gotten a bit more variety here, maybe with some of the systems I'm actually interested in.

For card games, my gaming exposure this year was pretty limited.  Sure, Magic got a moderate amount of plays, but Netrunner basically died of, and we barely touched Arkham Horror this year.  I did play some Star Wars: Destiny, but after selling that off, I won't likely play it ever again.  I tried Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions for a bit, and I may give it more attention at some point.  Eric expressed interest in the Star Wars LCG, too, which also got on the table.  Overall though, the amount of different games I've played this year in this category is WAY WAY down.

Miniature gaming is finally picking up for me again.  Warhammer Underworlds is helping, as it is so quick to get games in that we can easily put it on the table.  I've rediscovered my love of Warmachine and Hordes as well, exciting me to get it played.  Kill Team, a recent release, also saw the table a few times.  But the others- Malifaux, Armada, and X-Wing- they did not get on the table nearly as much this year as I'd have liked.

For straight tabletop board wargames, not a single game had more than one play.  I did get a few played this year- Battle of Five Armies, Blitz!, Star Fleet Battles, and Strike of the Eagle.  This was hindered by limits to my time and inability to have a cat-safe space available.  Hopefully the near year will see an improvement here as well.

Finally, the board games that don't fit the above categories.  Overall, I think I've been growing here.  My wife's interest in board games really helps.  And what's more fun then sitting down to share something you love with someone you love?  The fact she has friends that are enjoying it just gives me more opportunities to play, and combine that with my friends?  The future for getting games in this category played is bright indeed!