92 Games Played So Far This Year
Has this summer flow by for your family as well?
With various summer camps, vacations, and business travel we’re once again feeling that summer as flown by.
In less than 2 weeks, the kids will be back in school and studying away.
As we’re looking back on the fun times we’ve shared as a family this summer, I’ve also taken time to look back on my year in games. For the last few years, I’ve posted a mid-year report on the many board games and card games I’ve played. And while I may be a bit behind on my past trend, it’s better now than never.
So it’s time for a mid-year review of the games I’ve played – with highlights of the board games I’ve enjoyed the most.
92 Different Games Played
According to my record-keeping with the handy, dandy BoardGameGeek.com app and game tracker, I’ve played 92 different board games, card games, dice games, and party games so far this year!
That’s a lot of different games.
And some of those games have seen a lot more table-time than others.
What’s fun to notice is that the year we started doing board game reviews, I played 97 different games that year. Now, just past mid-point of this year, I’m already close to 100 different board games played. It’s a fun past time for sure!
The games I’ve played most this year are:
- Dominion
- Kingdom Builder
- Animal Upon Animal
- Doodle Quest
- Memoir ’44
- Risk Legacy
- Descent: Journeys in the Dark
- Colt Express
- King of New York
- Ubongo
As usual, Dominion continues to hold the top spot in number of plays. For some reason, I have yet to get tired of that deck-building card game with the myriad of card combinations that the expansions make possible. Still love it!
The other games that have held steady for me are Kingdom Builder and Memoir ’44. While the number of plays have dropped a bit, they’re still the ones I love to go back to.
Descent: Journeys in the Dark holds strong on my most-played list because of how much Caleb loves to play it. If it was up to him, he’d play it every day – leveling up his heroes every step of the way.
And the new entrants this year that have also seen a lot of plays are Animal Upon Animal, Doodle Quest, Colt Express, King of New York, and our recently received copy of Ubongo.
Animal Upon Animal and Doodle Quest are light children’s games that are easy to play again and again.
And Colt Express is the game I loved the most from my gaming weekend at SaltCon – which I got a copy of the following month and continue to enjoy playing.
From our recent review of King of New York, you can see why we enjoy playing that game.
And Ubongo is the most recent hit that we’ve not only enjoyed playing as a family, but also made a great impression at Guys Game Night last month. It’s a puzzle game with Tetris pieces where players race to complete their individual puzzles. It’s played over multiple rounds with point rewards going to the swiftest players.
Since it’s gone over so well, you can look for our full review coming soon.
Others Board Games I’ve Loved Playing
When I look back on the year so far, I notice that just because a game doesn’t jump into the most-played category, doesn’t mean I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed playing it. After all, some games take more time to play than others. And 2 hour games just don’t hit the table as often – even though they may be super fun to play.
Here’s the short list of other games I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing this year and hope to play again soon:
- Sheriff of Nottingham
- Castles of Mad King Ludwig
- Black Fleet
- Libertalia
- GIPF
- Seasons
- Pandemic: The Cure
- Star Wars: Imperial Assault
- The Battle of Five Armies
- Bootleggers
- Gravwell
- Telestrations
- New York 1901
- Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King
- Scoville
- Mysterium
A few of the board games on this list are ones we’ve already reviewed. But most of them aren’t ones we haven’t reviewed yet.
So keep an eye out for our full review of these games over the next couple months.
My Goal
At the start of the year, I set a gaming goal for myself: “My gaming goal for this year is to simply enjoy every moment I have playing with my family. Sure that isn’t a goal that’s easily measured by numbers, but it’s my goal nonetheless.”
Have I accomplished that goal? You bet!
I’m enjoying all the time I have to spend time with my kids – whether playing board games or doing something else.
And we hope you do the same.
Enjoy all the time you can with your family!
Pandemic is one of our all-time favorite games! It’s so cool to have a cooperative game that still feels like a competition and really creates some tension over what the outcome will be.
Hope to try Dominion soon!