Highlights of 2006:
Blue Moon City is a great medium-weight game that plays well from 2-4. My favorite game was a reprint of El Grande that I finally got to play. Fortunately there was a brief period where the guys I game with put the cult of new on hold to play some "classics" so I got a chance to play El Grande, Merchants of Amsterdam, Vinci, and a few more I would never have gotten a chance to play. It makes me wonder how many more classics I'm missing because there's a shiny new mediocre game everyone wants to play instead.
I went to three game conventions, bought way too many games, and started a
Meetup Group to expand my gaming circle and to try to get many of the people I know involved with gaming.
- Favorite game with daughter: My Word! She loves this quick word game and it's educational too.
- Favorite game with son: Looping Louie Protect your chickens
- Favorite game with wife: Blue Moon City because she loves it tied with Beowulf. Seeing Gina play and win a five-player Beowulf game at a game convention was a great moment for the year.
- Favorite Podcasts: The Spiel and Garret's Games and Geekiness were my two favorite gaming podcasts. I like the many regular segments at The Spiel and the couple banter and game choice of Garret's Games and Geekiness.
- Favorite Local Game Store: Great Hall Games in Austin. Great Hall has expanded their gaming space, continued to reach out by highlighting games on local cable commercials, and continued to stock a wide selection of These Games Of Ours.
- Worst Disappointment: Rio Grande games continues to have excellent customer service. I have been disappointed with several games even if resolution was sometimes quick and pleasant. For example, I was missing a card in Gloria Mundi. There are several printing mistakes in El Grande. Fiji had a wrong jewel instead of another. There are some printing issues in the manual for Goa. Even when there is no mistake like in Augsburg 1520, I was disappointed in the materials and finish on the player boards. It's shiny and cheap looking instead of the quality of player boards and components we have seen in the past. Jay is still very responsive in email. I just wish I could have more confidence in the next game I get being issue free to begin with.
- Best Video Game: Wii Sports. I barely played any video games this year. I find the social aspects of board games much more appealing. I also like the quick resolution of a board game as opposed to the hundred or more hours that some video games take. My favorite video game was the few moments I got to play Wii sports. I especially liked bowling and boxing. The Wii will engage a lot of non-gamers of any type into some fun games and that can't be beat. I still can't find a Wii in a store and I'm not sure I need to own one as my kids are still enjoying their Sonic type of games on their Gamecube but it or it's next evolution is definitely in our future.
- Best Meaty Game: Age of Steam is a fun game even if I am badly beaten. I'd like to try some more expansion maps.
- Best purely two-player game: Medici versus Strozzi was really fun the couple of times we played and the games were close as well.
- Best game I don't like: Leonardo Da Vinci is a good game I'll play a couple of more times though I mostly want to avoid it when it hits the table. I think it's too fiddly. It gets a boost that it uses effort weeks to complete works.
- Most maligned game: Gloria Mundi is a fun game I've enjoyed from two to six. I recently played a late night game at a convention that everyone liked. It takes some flack for turn order issues from folks in our game group so I'll have to introduce it to others if I want to continue to play this fun game.
I played a few games this year:
| Tichu | 19 |
| Hacienda | 13 |
| Hey! That's My Fish! | 13 |
| Vegas Showdown | 12 |
| Bunte Runde | 10 |
| Poison | 10 |
| Blue Moon City | 9 |
| Caylus | 9 |
| Crokinole | 9 |
| Antike | 8 |
| Beowulf - The Legend | 8 |
| Manila | 8 |
| No Thanks! | 8 |
| Gloria Mundi | 7 |
| Loco! | 7 |
| Ingenious | 6 |
| Buccaneer | 5 |
| GemBlo | 5 |
| Lexio | 5 |
| Mauer, die | 5 |
| My Word! | 5 |
| Mykerinos | 5 |
| Pylos | 5 |
| Quarto! | 5 |
| Ra | 5 |
| San Juan | 5 |
| Abalone | 4 |
| Amun-Re | 4 |
| Augsburg 1520 | 4 |
| Bongo | 4 |
| El Grande | 4 |
| Great Wall of China | 4 |
| Loopin' Louie | 4 |
| Mü und Mehr | 4 |
| Subulata | 4 |
| Tempus | 4 |
| Thurn and Taxis | 4 |
| TransAmerica | 4 |
| Ys | 4 |
| Aqua Romana | 3 |
| Clocktowers | 3 |
| Easy Come, Easy Go | 3 |
| Exxtra | 3 |
| Il Principe | 3 |
| Kupferkessel Co. | 3 |
| Olympia 2000 | 3 |
| Palazzo | 3 |
| Parlay | 3 |
| Pickomino | 3 |
| Princes of Florence, The | 3 |
| Quits | 3 |
| Samurai | 3 |
| Schicki Micki | 3 |
| Siena | 3 |
| Trendy | 3 |
| Tsuro | 3 |
| Union Pacific | 3 |
| Wits & Wagers | 3 |
| Zenix | 3 |
| Age of Steam | 2 |
| Atlas & Zeus | 2 |
| Attika | 2 |
| Big Kini | 2 |
| Blokus | 2 |
| Blue Moon | 2 |
| Bootleggers | 2 |
| Carolus Magnus | 2 |
| Cartagena | 2 |
| Category 5 | 2 |
| Citadels | 2 |
| Crystal Faire | 2 |
| Diamant | 2 |
| Don Pepe | 2 |
| Dos Rios | 2 |
| Elasund: The First City of Catan | 2 |
| Elchfest | 2 |
| Evergreen | 2 |
| FBI | 2 |
| For Sale | 2 |
| Forum Romanum | 2 |
| Frank's Zoo | 2 |
| Fresh Fish | 2 |
| Himalaya | 2 |
| Hive | 2 |
| Imperial | 2 |
| Lost Cities | 2 |
| Louis XIV | 2 |
| Magna Grecia | 2 |
| Masons | 2 |
| Medici vs Strozzi | 2 |
| Mermaid Rain | 2 |
| Mesopotamia | 2 |
| On the Underground | 2 |
| Paris Paris | 2 |
| Pecking Order | 2 |
| Pente | 2 |
| Pico 2 | 2 |
| Pitchcar Mini | 2 |
| Quicksand | 2 |
| Quoridor | 2 |
| Railroad Tycoon | 2 |
| Raj | 2 |
| Rat Hot | 2 |
| Reef Encounter | 2 |
| Rheinländer | 2 |
| RoboRally | 2 |
| Roma | 2 |
| Saboteur | 2 |
| Scepter of Zavandor, The | 2 |
| Set | 2 |
| Shear Panic | 2 |
| Take Stock | 2 |
| Terra Nova | 2 |
| Through the Desert | 2 |
| Ticket to Ride | 2 |
| Tigris & Euphrates | 2 |
| Ubongo | 2 |
| UR | 2 |
| 10 Days in Africa | 1 |
| 10 Days in Europe | 1 |
| 1870 | 1 |
| Acquire | 1 |
| Africa | 1 |
| Age of Steam Expansion #1 - England & Ireland | 1 |
| Aquädukt | 1 |
| Ark | 1 |
| Ark of the Covenant, The | 1 |
| Balam | 1 |
| BattleLore | 1 |
| Bausack | 1 |
| Big City | 1 |
| Big Top | 1 |
| Bison: Thunder on the Prairie | 1 |
| Blink | 1 |
| Blokus Trigon | 1 |
| Boomtown | 1 |
| Bucket King, The | 1 |
| Ca$h'n Gun$ | 1 |
| Canal Mania | 1 |
| Castle Merchants | 1 |
| Catena | 1 |
| Cathedral | 1 |
| Circus Flohcati | 1 |
| City and Guilds | 1 |
| Cleopatra and the Society of Architects | 1 |
| Cloud 9 | 1 |
| Colossal Arena | 1 |
| Columns | 1 |
| Complica | 1 |
| Corsari | 1 |
| Credit Mobilier | 1 |
| Crossword Pyramids | 1 |
| David & Goliath | 1 |
| Daytona 500 | 1 |
| Diam | 1 |
| Dracula | 1 |
| Dragon Delta | 1 |
| Dragonland | 1 |
| Drunter und Drüber | 1 |
| Dungeon Twister | 1 |
| End of the Triumvirate, The | 1 |
| Entdecker - Exploring New Horizons | 1 |
| Evo | 1 |
| Fairy Tale | 1 |
| Family Business | 1 |
| Feurio! | 1 |
| Fiji | 1 |
| Fish Eat Fish | 1 |
| Fist of Dragonstones | 1 |
| Fjords | 1 |
| Formidable Foes | 1 |
| Formula Dé | 1 |
| Formula Motor Racing | 1 |
| Fossil | 1 |
| Fowl Play! | 1 |
| Get the Goods | 1 |
| Gheos | 1 |
| Go West | 1 |
| Goa | 1 |
| Hameln | 1 |
| Hansa | 1 |
| Hare and Tortoise | 1 |
| Head-To-Head Poker | 1 |
| Hedbanz - Identity Crisis Game | 1 |
| Heimlich & Co. | 1 |
| Hellas | 1 |
| Hera & Zeus | 1 |
| Hollywood Blockbuster | 1 |
| Iliade | 1 |
| Industrial Waste | 1 |
| Jambo | 1 |
| Keythedral | 1 |
| Keytown | 1 |
| Kingdoms | 1 |
| Klunker | 1 |
| Kontor | 1 |
| Kreta | 1 |
| La Strada | 1 |
| Leapfrog | 1 |
| LEGO Racers Super Speedway Game | 1 |
| Leonardo da Vinci | 1 |
| Liar's Dice | 1 |
| Logistico | 1 |
| Loot | 1 |
| M | 1 |
| Maharaja: Palace Building in India | 1 |
| Manhattan | 1 |
| Medici | 1 |
| Merchants of Amsterdam, The | 1 |
| Meridian | 1 |
| Mexica | 1 |
| Midnight Party | 1 |
| Mississippi Queen | 1 |
| Modern Art | 1 |
| Monkeys on the Moon | 1 |
| Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper | 1 |
| Neuland | 1 |
| Nexus Ops | 1 |
| Oltremare - Merchants of Venice | 1 |
| Ostia | 1 |
| Paris Paris: Zusatzkarten Expansion | 1 |
| Penguin Ultimatum, The | 1 |
| Power Grid - Italy/France | 1 |
| Primordial Soup | 1 |
| Princes of the Renaissance | 1 |
| Prisma | 1 |
| PÜNCT | 1 |
| Queen's Necklace | 1 |
| Railroad Dice 2 | 1 |
| Reef Encounters of the Second Kind | 1 |
| Res Publica | 1 |
| Robber Knights | 1 |
| Rome | 1 |
| Rumis | 1 |
| Saga | 1 |
| Santa Fe Rails | 1 |
| Santiago | 1 |
| Sequence for Kids | 1 |
| Settlers of Catan - Event Cards | 1 |
| Settlers of Catan, The | 1 |
| Settlers of Catan, The - 5-6 Player Expansion | 1 |
| Shadows over Camelot | 1 |
| Silk Road | 1 |
| Space Dealer | 1 |
| Space Walk | 1 |
| Spinnentwist | 1 |
| Stephenson's Rocket | 1 |
| Sticheln | 1 |
| Struggle of Empires | 1 |
| Submarine | 1 |
| Sunken City | 1 |
| Sushi Express | 1 |
| Taj Mahal | 1 |
| Take Two | 1 |
| That's Life! | 1 |
| Ticket to Ride - Märklin Edition | 1 |
| Ticket to Ride: USA 1910 | 1 |
| Tilez! | 1 |
| To Court the King | 1 |
| Torres | 1 |
| Traders of Genoa, The | 1 |
| Turbo Taxi | 1 |
| Tutankhamen | 1 |
| Twixt | 1 |
| Typo | 1 |
| Vinci | 1 |
| Vom Kap bis Kairo | 1 |
| Walk The Dogs | 1 |
| Weinhändler, die | 1 |
| Winner's Circle | 1 |
| Wyatt Earp | 1 |
| Yspahan | 1 |
| Zapp Zerapp | 1 |
| Zendo | 1 |
0 comments:
Post a Comment