2010: My Year of Gaming

My New Year's resolution for 2010 was to keep a gaming journal. I wanted to keep track of the games I played, the games I wanted to buy and my thoughts about it all. In January, I made a few entries in a composition book, and then it occurred to me that the 21st century (and Blogspot.com) was offering a better way. A blog would be an easier way of "writing" it down, plus it would allow me to merge in photos and share it with my friends (and anyone else who cared). Thus, on January 29th, I made my first entry here. And 88 entries later, here I am. I suffered a long lull during the late summer and most of the fall, but I'm glad to be back at it.

This will be a longer posting than most, as I want to present my year in review. I want to list the 10 things that I'll remember most about gaming in 2010. Some are specific memories -- others are ongoing themes for the year. Aside from the dent that gaming put in my budget, it was a great year!

10. When On-the-Line offered (for free) their 2009 Pizza Box Football season cards for the 12 playoff teams, I printed them off thinking that Andrew and I could test them out. Andrew wasn't too interested, but Patrick wanted to try. (Patrick wasn't much of a football fan two years ago, but he started paying more attention during the 2009 season.) Patrick and I played several games pitting the Colts against the Saints in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. He enjoyed it enough that we played several more games in February 2010 and again at the beginning of the 2010 season in September. I'll remember 2010 as the year that Patrick started enjoying a table-top sports game.

9. Gillian and I got iPhones in February, and many very good board games are available in the app store. During the year I downloaded and played Roll Through the Ages, Farkle, Hive and Battle Line (among others). I'll remember 2010 as the year that I started playing board games on my phone.

8. I've been trying to find an enjoyable squad-level World War II game as long as I can remember. After much thought and reading, I decided to order the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit #1. I was enthused enough that I also ordered Starter Kit #2, downloaded all of the free scenarios and bought a bunch of old modules from a woman on Craiglist. Yep, I went in whole-hog, and the game was ... a complete and total flop. I could live with the mediocre components, the amatuerish customer service from Multiman Publishing and the irregular availability of the core module itself. The death blow was watching Al (who is no ASL rookie) and Andrew play a game in April and have the three of us unable to figure out a basic rule about defensive fire -- in the freakin' Starter Kit. (A forum scan at BoardGameGeek confirmed that many other folks have noticed the same ambiguity in the rulebook.) The game is complicated enough, but the rulebook is awful. It's "use it in a technical writing class to illustrate what not to do" level awful. I ordered Tide of Iron last month. I'll remember 2010 as the year I gave up on learning ASL.

7. I pre-ordered Here I Stand off of GMT's P500 list the day it was announced in 2004. They had me when they described a table that the English player would roll on to see if Henry VIII's wife of the year produced an heir. I desperately wanted to play the game, but it sat on my shelf for several years. I finally corralled five other people to try it out in December 2009. It didn't disappoint, and we gave it another try on January 18 (MLK Day) 2010. I made it my official favorite game (at BoardGameGeek) that day. A Java version is available at Wargameroom, which allowed me to play it solitaire several times this year. I haven't been able to get an entire group together (in person or online) since then (although Al, Andrew and I did play an online game in Novemeber). I'll remember 2010 as the year that I discovered my new favorite game.

6. When I first joined BoardGameGeek, I listed History of the World as my favorite game. It's a beautiful mix of nice components, easy game play, an epic feel and dice rolling. But, it only makes it to the table about once a year. That changed this year when I discovered GamesByEmail.com. I started a game of History of the World with Andrew, Steve, Tom, Mike and Jeff last year, and we had so much fun that we just keep starting a new game every time we finish. Al joined me and four folks I found on BoardGameGeek for a few games as well. Al, Steve, Tom, Jeff and I also played a game of Axis and Allies. I'll remember 2010 as the year that I found GamesByEmail.

5. For over a month this summer, the boys and I were glued to the TV (and sometimes a computer monitor) watching the World Cup. Even though I'll always like NFL football more than "soccer," the World Cup is the greatest sports spectical. I'd rather watch World Cup soccer than any Olympic event. Part of the action this year involved many games of The World Cup Card Game. It's not a statistical simulation, but it is a lot of fun. The boys and I played game after game this summer. Part of enjoying World Cup 2014 will have to involve buying an updated version of the card game for the boys. I'll remember 2010 for the World Cup and the card game.

4. I first heard about Looney Labs while listening to an episode of Game On! with Cody and John. A number of the games sounded intriguing, so I ordered Chrononauts. Patrick and I liked it enough that I ordered another the Early American version as well. A month or so later, I bought EcoFluxx and then Monty Python Fluxx. The Fluxx games ended up being my most-played for 2010. I remember playing with the boys one night over the summer and saying "just one more" about five times. I'll remember 2010 as the year I found Looney Labs.

3. I can remember three times in the last ten years that I laughed so hard during a game that I started crying. All three involved visits by Steve. For most of my adult life, gaming with Al and Steven has been the meat and potatoes of my gaming -- hearty, filling and sometimes necessary just to keep alive. Jeff, Andrew, Mike, Drew and Patrick add some great side dishes. But Steve's visits make for the binge desserts. (OK, I'll stop the methaphor.) Steve's visit last month was one of the biggest gaming groups I can remember us ever having, as he brought his son, Tom, and his brother, Jeff S. We had a great time playing Formula De, but the psychological mess that Saboteur made of us all was priceless. (The other two times I cried were Al's great acting in unintentinally convincing us all that he was the traitor the first time we played Shadows Over Camelot, and the "Sassanoids" epoch of a History of the World game in 2009.) I'll remember 2010 for another great night of laughs.

2. Shortly after getting my iPod Touch in 2006, I started trying out these things called "podcasts." I found podcasts devoted to history, politics and sports, but I wanted a gaming podcast. I eventually "discovered" Point2Point -- a great (but now erratically scheduled) wargame podcast. Looking to fill the gap between their releases, in 2007 I stumbled upon what is probably the most-listened-to gaming podcast The Dice Tower. I listed religiously for about a year, but I found myself enjoying The Dice Tower less and less as it moved from "two guys talking about games" to what seemed to be an endless parade of "segments." I found a couple more good wargaming podcasts -- Contact with the Enemy and The Noise Before Defeat" in 2009, but their schedules were erratic as well. In early 2010 (at iTunes) I stumbled upon Game On! with Cody and John. It was fairly early on in their run, but the production values were great, and it was exactly what I was looking for -- two guys who sounded like they could fit into my gaming group talking about games. What I appreciate the most is that they enjoy many types of games -- Euros, Ameritrash, miniatures wargames, card games and role-playing. They (appropriately) reject the strange notion that you can't enjoy different kinds of games. I never miss an episode; the only downside is that they probably have cost me $300 this year in game purchases. I'll remember 2010as the year I found Game On!

1. As part of my divorce agreement, I've had my two boys (or should I say awesome young men) almost every Friday night since 1998. Aside from the rare out-of-town trip or illness, we've had family dinner at my Mom and Dad's house each week for the last 12 years. Since Patrick was a few years old, he has always wanted to play a game after dessert, and Grandma or Grandpa usually obliged him with a game of checkers, dominoes or Spongebob Uno. Friday night dinner, however, has taken on an extra special meaning for us since my Dad passed away in 2009. For the last several years, we've been joined more often than not by my (equally awesome) girlfriend, Gillian, my cousin "Non," and my brother's girlfriend Teresa. (Unfortunately, my brother Dennis's work schedule only allows him to join us once in awhile.) Last year it really seems that playing a game become a permanant part of what the entire family did together on Friday night. We had a few misses this year (I'd like a refund on Incan Gold) and there were a few that need a few more tries (such as The Adventurers). We had mixed reviews of Killer Bunnies (well, I liked it), but we got a lot of plays in of Farkle (especially in the winter) and Long Shot. I'll remember 2010 as the year Friday night became family game night.

I hope your year of gaming was as great as mine.