The WAGS group enjoyed a great gaming year in 2005. We managed to keep it up just about every week, and finally amassed quite a good total of games played.
126 games played.
58 different games.
Our role playing sessions tied with "High Society" for first place in games played (6 ea.) We were playing the RPG once a month for a while, so it's not surprising that it ranks high on the list. High Society, being a quick filler often played multiple times in a row, is also not a surprise (though I expect to see "For Sale!" in this spot next year).
Carcassonne (in various combinations of base game and expansions), comes next with 5.
(So far, pretty predictable)
The next games are a little surprising... Pueblo, Blokus, Colossal Arena and Puerto Rico are tied with 4 plays.
A good number of WAGS favorites make up the next list: For Sale!, Intrige, Pirate's Cove, Power Grid, Ra, Robo-Rally, Shadows over Camelot, Tower of Babel, Traders of Genoa, Unexploded Cow, Way Out West and Zero! have each been played 3 times.
39 other games have only been played once or twice.
Special Honours (According to me):
Standout game of the Year: Railroad Tycoon
Standout "new to me" game of the Year: Tikal, Intrige
Standout reprint of the Year: Ra, Robo-Rally
Game I really wish would see more table time: El Grande
Game which grew in my esteem in 2005: Domaine
Biggest Dissapointments: Arkham Horror, Shadows over Camelot (neither are BAD, but they both could have been GREAT)
I'm very curious to see what this list will look like a year from now... I'd say that myself and Kozure went on a game buying binge in 2005 that is unlikely to get repeated in 2006. My personal collection has nearly hit it's upper limit (hey you back there, stop laughing).
What games will continue to have the WAGS seal of approval?
Which will be relegated to "games we pull out once in a while for variety"?
What titles will dwindle in obscurity?
Let's see next year!
Thursday, January 26, 2006
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Whose cuisine will reign supreme?!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great year, and indeed, it will probably mark the year in which I bought the most games... ever.
As I think I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog, for reasons of pocketbook, shelf space and sanity, I will be imposing a 100 game limit on my collection. I'm currently at 97, I believe.
Any games bought after that mark will result in an equal number of games sold off on eBay or to friends.
I don't think any of the games I bought this year (including Arkham Horror) have been disappointments per se, but a few have not lived up to the hype. Fortunately, I bought AH because of a enjoyment of the genre, not because I was looking for a really definitive game.
That said, I think that Shadows over Camelot definitely wins the Meh? What's the Big Deal? Award from me.
I think the game which I have enjoyed playing most this year has been Railroad Tycoon, with Power Grid coming a very close second.
The games which I least enjoyed this year... hmmm... probably US Patent Number One (which is ironic, considering how often it was unintentionally given a skip before it got to the table) - but I didn't really hate it either... which brings up another point.
I think both Agent Easy and I have been pretty choosy about which games we've brought to WAGS - usually carefully researched at BGG and elsewhere before a purchase was made.
I'm not a big believer in collecting for collecting's sake - there are simply so many games out there that are good - actually good, not just decent or average - and only so much time to play them in, why not be selective?
I think that's the reason for the lopsided bell-curve of ratings in my collection - my average rating at BGG is 6.95. I only buy games that I think I will enjoy.
I think for me my Hidden Gem award goes to Theophrastus, which is a relatively obscure game which also happens to be one of my favourites.
A special Most Backstabby Game award has to be given to Intrige (sic) for its completely non-random game-play of shifting alliances and dagger-in-the-back betrayals.
Most Attractive Game is probably a toss-up between Blokus and Tikal... maybe with Tikal edging it out Blokus by a hair.
The game that I'd most like to see given a "Days of Wonder" make-over treatment is probably
Ideology. With nicer components and less flimsy pieces, I think we'd see this game on the table more often than it has been.
I think the I'd Buy it, But I Can't Justify Buying it When Agent Easy Owns a Copy Award goes to Ra. Lovely game.
All in all, a great year for gaming and a great year for WAGS - two births, a new car, and two new jobs (I think - maybe just one). Anyhow... to WAGS!
Yeah, my game collection is hovering around 50. Tiny by BGG standards, but quite large in my opinion. The ratio of hit vs dud has been surprisingly good...
ReplyDeleteThe "misses" in my collection:
-Paranoia was bought on a whim, and has proved to be a questionable purchase.
-Shadows over Camelot was bought based on hype. It's OK, but it would be at the top of games I'd trade if something came up. However, I should note that a couple of groups of friends have really loved it, so it's seen a fair amount of play.
-Betrayal at House on the Hill. This was last year. This game is worth having around for Holloween, and I find reasonably fun from time to time. However, it's far from stellar and I would probably trade it if something good came up.
-Carcassonne Princess and Dragon. It's not as good as the other expansions. It's fiddly and kinda weird.
That's a pretty short list, so I can't really complain.
A game which has seen a surprising fall from grace this year is Duel of Ages. It started strong at the beginning of WAGS, but Shemp and Luch have not been terribly enthusiastic about it recently. I continue to quite like it, though,
Regarding Arkham Horror, I know that you guys all like it, so it clearly wasn't a WAGS dissapointment. I was just saying that I wasn't crazy about it. I called it a dissapointment because I also like the theme and thought many of the mechanics seemed really cool, I was underwhelmed at how it all came together.
Fun stuff.