Snowman's Year In Review!

Boardgames and RPGs and CCGs, Oh My!

 Total Games played in 2011: 131

Well its been quite the year for me in gaming.  Lots of boardgames and a return to role playing for me, plus my first time behind the screen and I even got my wife to join in on our latest Pathfinder game!  All and all, I'm pretty happy with with it but man there were some serious dry spells in there.  So which games were the big hits this year?  Lets take a look.

Top of the list is Unspeakable Words with ten plays (you can find my review of it here...).  This game is a lot of fun so not surprised to see it on the top of the pile.  It's also a great gateway game so if you're looking to bring some friends into the gaming fold I'd give this one a try.

Next up are the Ganesha Games family of games with nine plays split between Shadow Sea, Fear and Faith, and Mutants and Death Ray Guns.  All of these use variations on the Song of Blades and Heroes mechanics are make for fun and quick games.  I've been playing these games solo but I'm aiming to have SpacerGal give it a try some time soon as well.

The Red Dragon Inn series comes in third with eight plays split between the original RDI and RDI 3 (and here's the review for this one here...).  These are great games and I'm actually surprised we didn't get it to the table more though we didn't get our own copy until August.  Can definitely see us getting more out of this one in 2012.

Fourth place is a three way split between Guillotine, Pokemon, and Sorry Sliders.  Guillotine and Sorry Sliders are both quick filler games but fun to play.  Then there's Pokemon.  I used to laugh at this game but after playing it I can see the draw.  After all, five of those seven plays were between Christmas and New Years so that's gotta say something for it.  Add in the fact that there are a number starter decks available and you have a great entry point for the game without having to spend the usual fortune for a CCG.

Finally in fifth place there is another three way split, this time between Clue, Club Penguin CCG, and Mr. Jack.  Clue was something of a surprise for us as its been in our closet for years but we haven't played it in years until Pat and Seren suggested it.  I'm actually working on putting together a Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated mod for it as well but I have some more work to do on it.  The Club Penguin CCG a real life version of a game you can find on the Club Penguin website.  Fun and quick to play but really expensive considering it basically an advanced version of rock/paper/scissors.  Still might pick up some more cards for it (crazy as it sounds it is really fun...) but we'll have to see.  Mr. Jack is a deduction game where one player takes the role of Jack the Ripper while the other plays everyone trying to catch him before he escapes.  Definitely one of those games that makes you think (especially as Mr. Jack) because if you play it wrong you'll quickly find yourself out of options.

Let Us Look At Zee Vurld... Miniaturized!

Miniatures bought in 2011: 44

Miniatures painted: 32
Terrain pieces built: 4

In sharp contrast to my boardgames is the lack of miniature painting, purchasing, etc. that happened in 2011.  In fact the only reason that I painted so many miniatures was because I painted some 15mm sci-fi figures from Ground Zero Games!

The big change here for me was the fact that I stopped playing Warmachine and Hordes.  I still own the miniatures but between scheduling difficulties (having Tuesday and Wednesday nights off makes it difficult to get to an LGS...) and not being thrilled with the Mark II rules its not something that I see changing any time soon.  In fact I almost painted more minis for RPGs than I did for anything else and I can see that trend continuing in 2012 as I want to broaden my miniature catalog more.  I also want to get more miniatures for the various Ganesha Games systems that I dabble with as well, especially Mutants and Death Ray Guns.

And Now... On To The Future!!!

So what am I looking for in the New Year?  There were some months in 2011 that I did almost no gaming at all.  This is something that I want to change by bringing in more gaming with the family.  Not only is it fun to do its also a great way to spend time together besides just sitting there staring at the TV.  In fact I'm also hoping to introduce my daughter to RPGs as well but that's one that is still up in the air.  I've found a number of kid friendly RPGs that look really interesting but scheduling is the problem as always since you really need a group for role play.  Hopefully with the Christmas season behind us our gaming group is going to get more stable in the coming weeks.  There are also a number of boardgames that we have in our closet that have never even made it to the table and I want to remedy that as well.  I mean really, why hasn't Galaxy Trucker been played yet?  That's just crazy talk!

That's enough of my rambling nostalgic about 2011 but what about you?  If you have any thoughts or comments about your gaming in the year past or present I'd love to hear them so feel free to leave a comment here on the blog.  Until next time...