my 2010

I have done this before for 2008 and 2009. This will be an even longer post than previous years, so you may want want to just skim or even skip the long boring lists. As usual, let's start with the fancy stats.

The detailed statistics. Total plays shot up to more than 1000, because of 260+ plays of Dominion against AI's and 280+ plays of Race for the Galaxy against AI's. I still had 50+ plays of Race for the Galaxy against Michelle (my human wife). Number of distinct games played continued to increase. Similarly for new-to-me games. And I continued to have even more games played just once ("singles"). I guess I really am a game taster.

I have played more than 140 different games in 2010. My game collection comprises more than 200 games, including expansions. I think I have played less than half of my collection in 2010, because many plays are of games belonging to friends - Han's, Allen's, Jeff's, Chong Sean's, etc.

Percentage view.

Comparing the fives, singles and others, the plays are slightly higher than last year. Only the dimes had a huge jump, because of the computer versions of Dominion (with all expansions - Intrigue, Seaside, Alchemy and Prosperity) and Race for the Galaxy (with all 3 expansions too). In 2004, the big contributors were Carcassonne and Lost Cities; in 2005, Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper and Ticket to Ride; in 2008 and 2009, Race for the Galaxy.

Percentage view. The numbers are pretty crazy. But the dominance of the dimes in 2010 didn't beat that in 2005. Now this is the first time you hear Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper beating the double-team of Dominion and Race for the Galaxy.

I exceeded my quota of 20 new games per year. Again. But but but some are gifts, and some are rewards for translation work. And some are for my children. Strictly speaking I only acquired 17 games. I've been a good boy.

Raw statistics of plays (including fives and dimes):

	Game	Plays	Remarks
	Dimes
1.	Race for the Galaxy	338	Still loving it, although Michelle has been my only human opponent in 2010. She recently beat me 87 to 37. Humiliating. I eagerly look forward to the new story arc expansion.
Race for the Galaxy
2.	Dominion	273	I have been enjoying the quick vs-AI games because saving so much time in shuffling and handling cards let me appreciate and explore the strategies more. It surprised me a little that although I liked Prosperity, I still liked Seaside more.
Computer version of Dominion downloaded from the internet.
3.	Halli Galli	27	Mostly with elder daughter.
4.	Ubongo	23	Mostly with younger daughter.
5.	Innovation	19	One of my favourites of 2010. I don't mind the big swings because I feel there are things than I can do to try to improve my position. Your decisions do matter. Just like history, unpredictable things happen, both good and bad, and you just try to make the most of it while going with the flow.
Innovation
6.	Roll Through The Ages	19	Game play records not accurate. I played many solo games on the iPhone. Very good implementation.
7.	Times Square	14	I like it, but wife is lukewarm unfortunately.
8.	At the Gates of Loyang	12	Numbers slightly boosted by the simplified games that I have played with my 5-year-old elder daughter.
9.	Pandemic	11	Many games played with my Hong Kong friends. I still haven't played the bio-terrorist variant in the expansion.
10.	Blokus 3D	10	With children.
11.	Keltis	10
	Fives
12.	Twister	9	With children / wife. Not with fellow male hardcore gamers. Not at Old Town Kopitiam Cheras or any public venue.
13.	Space Alert	8	Want to play this more.
14.	Hive	7	With children, sometimes with simplified rules.
15.	Agricola	6
16.	Through the Ages	6	My wife and my classic.
17.	Uruk	6	A little disappointed. I did play with wrong rules in quite a number of early games. I should give it more plays so that I can reassess it, but the enthusiasm is not there.
18.	Viva Topo!	6	With children.
19.	Connect Four	5	With children.
20.	FITS	5
21.	Ingenious	5	With children.
22.	Le Havre	5
23.	Snakes and Ladders	5	With children.
	Others
24.	Blokus Duo	4
25.	Cash-a-Catch	4
26.	Chicken Cha Cha Cha	4
27.	Galaxy Trucker	4
28.	Hansa Teutonica	4	Want to play more.
29.	Lost Cities	4
30.	Pick Picknic	4
31.	Twilight Struggle	4
32.	Wasabi	4
33.	Aton	3
34.	Battle Line	3
35.	Blokus	3
36.	Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers	3
37.	China	3
38.	Go Away Monster	3
39.	Kakerlaken-Poker	3
40.	After the Flood	2
41.	Alien Frontiers	2
42.	Automobile	2
43.	Battlefields of Olympus	2
44.	Blue Moon	2
45.	Bonnie and Clyde	2
46.	Campaign Manager 2008	2
47.	Carcassonne	2
48.	Catacombs	2
49.	Endeavor	2
50.	Factory Manager	2
51.	Fluch der Mumie	2
52.	Gulo Gulo	2
53.	Horus Heresy	2
54.	Jambo	2
55.	Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation	2
56.	Memory	2
57.	Othello	2
58.	Power Grid	2
59.	The Princes of Florence	2
60.	Space Hulk	2
61.	Saint Petersburg	2
62.	Stone Age	2
63.	Thebes	2
64.	Through the Desert	2
65.	Ticket to Ride: Switzerland	2
	Singles
66.	10 days in Asia	1
67.	A la carte	1
68.	Age of Steam	1
69.	Airships	1
70.	Axis & Allies Global 1940	1
71.	Axis & Allies Pacific 1940	1
72.	Carson City	1
73.	Castle	1
74.	Chicago Express	1
75.	Cluzzle	1
76.	ColorMonsters	1
77.	Cyclades	1
78.	Didi Dotter	1
79.	Die Dolmengotter	1
80.	Die Handler	1
81.	Die Macher	1
82.	Dixit	1
83.	Fight the Landlord (斗地主)	1
84.	Dune	1
85.	Dungeon Lords	1
86.	El Grande	1
87.	En Garde	1
88.	Funny Friends	1
89.	Get That Toy	1
90.	Gin Rummy	1
91.	Goa	1
92.	God Dice	1
93.	Greed Incorporated	1
94.	Grimoire	1
95.	Hammer of the Scots	1
96.	Homesteaders	1
97.	Ice Flow	1
98.	In the Shadow of the Emperor	1
99.	Indonesia	1
100.	Kahuna	1
101.	King of Siam	1
102.	Klunker	1
103.	Lifeboat	1
104.	London	1
105.	Ludo	1
106.	Macao	1
107.	Magical Athlete	1
108.	Mare Nostrum	1
109.	Medici	1
110.	Minnie's Garden Game	1
111.	Mystery Rummy #4: Al Capone & The Chicago Underworld	1
112.	Mykerinos	1
113.	Nuns on the Run	1
114.	Old Maid	1
115.	Planet Steam	1
116.	Power Struggle	1
117.	Ra: the dice game	1
118.	R-Eco	1
119.	Saboteur	1
120.	Samurai	1
121.	San Juan	1
122.	San Marco	1
123.	Shipyard	1
124.	Strozzi	1
125.	Summoner Wars	1
126.	Surprise!	1
127.	Tales of the Arabian Nights	1
128.	Taluva	1
129.	The BoardGameGeek Game	1
130.	Ticket to Ride	1
131.	Ticket to Ride: Europe	1
132.	Ticket to Ride: Marklin	1
133.	Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries	1
134.	Tikal	1
135.	Tongiaki	1
136.	Vasco da Gama	1
137.	Wan's Star Wars prototype	1
138.	Warriors of God	1
139.	Way Out West	1
140.	Wizard	1
141.	Zombie State	1

New-to-me games in 2010:

1. A la carte - Rather disappointed. Rules seem to be those for a simple strategy game, but I feel it's actually very random, more random than worth the effort to learn the rules.
2. After the Flood - Tense and tight.
3. Alien Frontiers - Excellent new designer and publisher. Gave me the Catan feel.
4. At the Gates of Loyang - Pretty solitaire and probably would be too long with 3 or 4 players. I've only played with 2, and it's alright I guess. Gives me a puzzle-solving feeling. Overall I feel so-so.
5. Aton
6. Axis & Allies Global 1940 (combining A&A Europe 1940 and A&A Pacific 1940) - Enjoyable but I feel execution is too long and tedious. But I guess once in a while it's good to spend that much time and effort to do such a monster game.
7. Axis & Allies Pacific 1940
8. Battlefields of Olympus
9. Campaign Manager 2008
10. Carson City
11. Cash-a-Catch - Exciting ring-the-bell-quick fun.
12. Catacombs
13. Cluzzle - An even more non-gamer-friendly version of Barbarossa
14. ColorMonsters
15. Cyclades
16. Didi Dotter
17. Die Dolmengotter - Good abstract area majority game, but I think needs more players to be fun.
18. Die Handler
19. Dixit
20. Dune - Amazing how such simple base rules can facilitate so much story. The special cards do help to support the story. It's important to read the cards before your first game.
21. El Grande
22. Endeavor - Succinct. Beautiful. I'm proud for being able to resist buying it.
    Endeavor

23. Factory Manager
24. FITS
25. Fluch der Mumie - Lots of fun and suspense.
26. Funny Friends
27. Get That Toy
28. Go Away Monster
29. God Dice
30. Greed Incorporated - I'm in the minority for not liking this. I'm biased by my poor performance in that first game. This game is brutal and unforgiving, and if you fall behind, you may never be able to catch up or even get anywhere near the leading pack. But I must admit being unforgiving is a feature and not a flaw. If all players know the game well and play well, I think this can be a tight and thrilling game.
31. Grimoire
32. Hansa Teutonica
33. Homesteaders
34. Horus Heresy - Strong narrative, but I felt a little restricted / railroaded.
35. Ice Flow
36. In the Shadow of the Emperor
37. Innovation
38. King of Siam - Excellent quick and thinky game.
39. Klunker
40. Lifeboat - Not to be confused with Lifeboats, this is a card game.
41. London
42. Macao - I can't point to anything particularly wrong, but it feels JASE (just another soulless Euro) to me.
43. Magical Athlete
44. Mare Nostrum
45. Nuns on the Run
46. Planet Steam
47. Power Struggle
48. San Marco
49. Shipyard - Pleasant surprise. I look past the rondel mechanisms. They are just tools. I do feel like I am building ships in this game.
    Shipyard

50. Stone Age
51. Strozzi - Feels a little old-school Knizia, like it was designed around the same time as Medici. It left me a little cold, because I've played many Knizia games of similar style and weight.
52. Summoner Wars
53. Surprise!
54. Tales of the Arabian Nights
55. The BoardGameGeek Game
56. Times Square - There's a spark of genious in here. Excellent two-player game but needs a few plays to grasp the strategies.
57. Tongiaki
58. Ubongo
59. Uruk
60. Vasco da Gama
61. Viva Topo!
62. Wan's Star Wars prototype
63. Way Out West
64. Wizard
65. Zombie State

Games acquired (including bought, received as gifts and self-made) in 2010:

1. At the Gates of Loyang
2. Axis & Allies Europe 1940
3. Axis & Allies Pacific 1940
4. Factory Manager
5. Hansa Teutonica
6. In the shadow of the emperor
7. Innovation
8. Tales of the Arabian Nights
9. Twilight Struggle - Bought the deluxe edition but have not played this copy yet.
10. Uruk: Wiege der Zivilisation
11. Agricola: Farmers of the Moor expansion
12. Dominion: Seaside expansion
13. Keltis expansion
14. Race for the Galaxy: the Brink of War expansion
15. Times Square (self made) - my good friend in Hong Kong, Ben, was recently in touch with Reiner Knizia's assistant Karen (work related), and he passed on an article I wrote about him and his designs back in 2007. Reiner liked the article and had it posted at his website. I felt a little embarassed, because (a) in the article I really sounded like a fanboy, and (b) I mentioned so many of his games that I had self-made. So now Ben has to buy 100 of Reiner's games so that Reiner won't sue me.
16. Funny Friends - This and the next one are rewards for game rules translation work. I probably would not have bought these myself.
17. Planet Steam
18. 10 Days in Asia - This and the next three are mainly for my children. Or maybe to be more accurate - for me to play with my children.
19. FITS
20. Ubongo
21. Viva Topo!
22. ColorMonsters - review copy.
23. Wizard - complimentary copy for translation work of this specific game.

Other thoughts on games:

• Favourite new-to-me games in 2010: Hansa Teutonica, Innovation, Shipyard, Endeavor.
  Hansa Teutonica

• I also quite like: Axis & Allies Pacific 1940, Axis & Allies Europe 1940 (admittedly I've only played the Global version), Dune, King of Siam, Die Dolmengotter, Times Square, After the Flood.
• Pleasant surprises: Shipyard, Zombie State, Cyclades
• Deserves more attention: Times Square, Cash-a-Catch
• Classics that I'm happy to have revisited in 2010: Die Macher, Age of Steam
• Wish I had played more: Taluva, Twilight Struggle, Warriors of God (should do this again before I completely forget the rules)
• Favourites that I hadn't played in 2010: Lord of the Rings, Brass, Traumfabrik (Dream Factory), Attika, Axis & Allies Guadalcanal

Looking back at 2010:

• I'm playing more and more games with my children, who are 4 and 5 now. I've started using full rules (I call them "adults' rules") with my elder daughter, as opposed to using simplified variants, and she likes it.
• In 2010, my wife Michelle had 178 plays, 49 distinct games. Most played games are Race for the Galaxy (55), Innovation (12), At the Gates of Loyang (9). Older daughter Shee Yun (5 years old) had 124 plays, 30 distinct games, most played games are Halli Galli (22), Twister (13), Ubongo (11). Younger daughter Chen Rui (4 years old) had 68 plays, 19 distinct games, most played games are Ubongo (18), Halli Galli (9), Blokus 3D (8).
• Han is back in town after a long out-station work posting, so we can play more regularly now.
• I now sometimes play at Old Town Kopitiam Cheras too, joining the Friday night open gaming sessions organised by Jeff.
• Allen the new father was house-bound starting September, so Han and I added another gaming venue - Allen's home, so that Allen had some gaming company and baby Ethan had some uncles to smile at (or cry at, depending on his mood).
• Memorable game sessions: Dune, Die Macher, Axis & Allies Global 1940, marathon session in Hong Kong. Wait a minute... none of these involve my longest running kaki (fellow gamer) Han?! That's not right! Got to fix this in 2011. Actually we did have a number of exciting sessions - Horus Heresy, Space Hulk.
• I was quite happy that my article about being game tasters received many responses from fellow gamers. Eric Martin of BoardGameNews.com (temporarily down but will be online again soon as part of BoardGameGeek.com) posted it to BGN.
• I did an interview with Jeff (a.k.a. CK) who runs www.boardgamecafe.net (Facebook / blog / webstore), an online retailer in Malaysia which actively develops the local boardgame community. I've always been interested in the behind-the-scenes aspect of the local boardgame industry (if you can call it that), so this little project was very interesting for me.
  After a game of Axis & Allies Global 1940 (combined game of A&A Pacific 1940 and A&A Europe 1940).

• I started a Chinese blog.
• I received a review copy for the first time ever.
• I saw my name printed in games for the first time because I had helped with some translation work.
• A reader's suggestion gave me an idea of ranking games by year. I did it for 2009 games that I have played.
• I gave a home to the concise reference sheets that I have been making over the past 7 years.