Review of boardgaming year 5 (2018-19)

A collated list of games we have played is tabulated below. The list is primarily aimed at providing me with a detailed record of my boardgaming activity, so that I can spot and understand trends and favourites. It also sparks my enthusiasm for games I overlooked and want to play more of. The first figure is the number of times a game made it to the table, whereas the superscript number is the number of actual games played.

No Games played	Boardgame
1216	Targi
1017	Quacks of Quedlinburg
913	Ganz Schon Clever
626	Mind the Gap
510	Western Legends
58	Roll for the Galaxy
58	Ticket to Ride
414	Carcassonne
410	NMBR9
48	Azul
47	Keyflower
46	Doppelt So Clever
44	Dungeon Petz (& Dark Alley)
38	Mah-Jong
37	Paperback
35	Metro
34	Parade
34	Wingspan
28	Schotten Totten
28	Machi Koro
26	Santorini
25	Onitama
24	Blueprints
24	Pandemic
24	Ominoe’s
23	Patchwork
23	Lost Cities
23	Century: Spice Road – Eastern Wonders
22	Transatlantic
22	Now Boarding
22	Merchants & Mauraders
16	Deception; Murder in Hong Kong
14	Timeline
14	Marrakech
14	Parfum
13	7 Wonders – Duel
13	Sushi Go
12	Tiny Towns
12	Unexpected Treasures
12	Cockroach Poker
12	Small World
12	Five Tribes
12	Key to the City; London
12	Bang; The Dice Game
11	X-Wing
11	Port Royal
11	Castles of Mad King Ludwig
11	Lords of Las Vegas
11	Mexica
11	Kingsburg
11	Railroad Ink
11	Apotheca
11	8-Minute Empire
11	Arboretum
11	Welcome To...
11	Hey, That’s my Fish!
11	Castles of Burgundy
11	Pyramids
11	Citadels

 

In sharp contrast to my wargaming activity, this year has seen a bumper crop of boardgames played and a wide range of differing games. Elaine and I have played many more two player games and these feature strongly in the above list i.e. Targi, plus some multiplayer games that translate into good two player versions (e.g. Roll for the Galaxy).

There were a number of ‘stand-out’ games this year. My favourite must be Wingspan; the game is both beautiful and enjoyable. The mechanisms work nicely and the pace of the game accelerates, so that by the final 3^rd round players struggle to achieve all they want. A close second place goes to ‘Quacks of Quedlinburg’; a very simple push-your-luck style game that includes enough variants to ensure it remains fresh and fun. I have bought the ‘Witches’ expansion, which is OK but not really necessary. The next game that deserves mention is ‘Western Legends’; a game I wrongly thought Elaine may have disliked and would sit gathering dust. We have really enjoyed this ‘Sand-box’ game, particularly as a 2-player experience. A higher player count results in much more player confrontation and slows the game down, which I’m fine with but may not be to others taste. Finally, we discovered ‘Targi’; an old game but new to us. This simple 2-player game really tests the players, and combines the right amounts of decision making about your own actions, together with a degree of blocking moves to disrupt your opponent.

Other points to note from my listing are: (1) The high number of plays for ‘Mind the Gap’ resulted from a short city break in Amsterdam where this was the only game available to us. (2) The appearance of Mah-Jong on the list; we used to play this many, many years ago with my mother. We discovered a Mah-Jong group locally and decided to give it a go again. The game is fine but suffers because there does not seem to be a set of universally recognised rules! For example, the local group only accepts “clean” hands whereas I have always played “dirty” (as allowed by the British Mah-Jong Association rule book I have). Also all the “special” hands make the game more complex than it need be. (3) The ‘Clever’ Roll’n’Write games are a current favourite when it comes to a filler game, but it is not easy to flip between the two games (play one or the other, with a gap between the 2 game types). (4) Finally we have joined a newly formed local gaming group, which has expanded and added to the games we play. For example, we took ‘Bang, the Dice Game’ to a meeting and played with 8 players and found it to be highly enjoyable, whereas previously with only 4 players it was a much less fun. Another example of improved game play was a recent game of ‘Citadels’, which again benefits from a high player count.

So, a very busy and good boardgame year, and I’m looking forward to the coming year.