2017 A Year of Gaming – and on to 2018

QUICK MATHS

Not all sessions are logged, for example I found no way to record Red Devils game play from the SPI quad for instance, Nor did Horse and Musket show up that I see. Yet its close enough to the total, Somewhere between 61 and 64 wargame plays.

Some games such as OCS – Case Blue & BTR are still on going on VASSAL, as is The African Campaign and No Trumpets No Drums.

Well that is another year in the bag. 61 games played. Some large ones, some fast ones, some good ones and some dogs. Interestingly 55 different games, that is equal third highest ever for a given year for me. The majority of may game play was new games this year, and very few titles made it to the table more than once [just 5 titles].

Note stats are accurate as of 2010, which was the year I returned to gaming. Earlier data was a false start attempt to capture pre 2010 plays.

There were also a lot of games that I feel required either more time or further play in an opposed mode, while I don’t have stats on that aspect the large number of games that I felt were going to be a richer experience opposed was the highest its ever been that I recall. I’ll start tracking that solo suitability aspect in 2018.

This year I played the most new games ever [44], which probably is indicative of why the play ‘volume is down’, I’ve had some folks asking why the lower volume of content. This ‘newness’ factor does take a mental and play toll. Especially when engaged alone. Reading new rules books, examining components, testing the mechancis….plus – false starts cost you time, fixing errors, then the subsequent re recording of stuff all adds hours to a titles first full proper play thru.

This chart shows cumulative [dark blue line] rate of new plays, and black dots, the annual total and month played.
FAVORITES

I often bring a list with me to this annual post of Top Ten games or sessions or what ever the case maybe. I would be hard pressed this year to nominate ten titles. Sad as that maybe.

But lets focus on the positive!  In opposed game play both face to face and on Vassal the stand out best times were [in no particular order]:

  1. Liberty Roads
  2. Arctic Storm
  3. Third World War [combined campaign]
  4. Carthage
  5. Austerlitz, Rising Eagles
  6. Canadian Crucible

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Solitaire experiences:

  1. Ukrainian Crisis
  2. Argicola Master of Britain
  3. Solo play of the EFS Army Group South campaign [despite some issues rail & supply]
  4. Red Army from GDW

 

A number of games will travel with me in 2018 if I happen to have as busy a year as this year [according to American Airlines I went around the world 2.5 times] those travel games will be:

Table Battles

Optimates et Populares

and for Vassal play on the road:

The African Campaign, EFS and OCS.

What did you do with your gaming year in 2017?

Poll inspired by this general gaming thread: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1908197/poll-your-year-gaming-2017 :

Here we go for wargamers {including COIN & TWILIGHT STRUGGLE this year!..;) }only

[To answer these questions, click this link: Plays By Year but replace yourusername in the URL with you actual  BGG username.:

 

 

 

2018

Hopefully this year will afford me more great gaming experiences! The dual nature of my goals – playing things I thought I had missed out on while away from gaming for 20 years and attempting to play the new innovative titles is a real challenge. Going forward there will be less focus on ‘classics’ and more on current titles, mainly due to the weak showing of all of these ‘classics’.

That said we still have the major themes to explore:

  • A chronological Walk thru World War II. [currently sitting in 1944 with some back fill required here and there]
  • Modern/Hypothetical Tactical & Operational [play all my titles]
  • Napoleonic Exploration – Find the best tactical system, explore Operational level game play.
  • Operational Level American Civil War
  • Ancients game play centered around opposing leaders or major war themes

In the early new year you will see posts regarding:

Autumn for Barbarossa

EFS – Uman Pocket replay

Arctic Storm

Next War Poland

6 Days of Glory

A wrap up of limited play of Enemy Action Ardennes.

As ALWAYS, I take submissions and share AAR’s with or without images, and video play thrus of wargames. Please feel free to pop me a note @ Bigboardgaming@ GMAIL.com

 

Happy New Year everyone.

2 thoughts on “2017 A Year of Gaming – and on to 2018”

  1. We need to get our plays of Next War Poland and Ligny in no later than March, I say!

    1. duh..please yes.. It took a while for me to set up Poland..grr. But only really good scenarios are campaign ones.

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