One more year to look at in the rearview mirror, with a reminder that I've decided to split the main stats in two different categories—to better reflect the time I spent pushing cubes around and slapping cards on the table with humans in the flesh, as well as the hours I spent staring at pixels on a screen while those I assumed to be my friends did their best to beat the crap out of me.
(Which worked more often than I cared for.)
STRATEGIC OBSERVATIONS
I played 149 different titles (ever so slightly up from 145 in 2023) for a total of 715 plays (better than the previous 602, although over half of those 715 plays were sadly online). I spent 672 hours playing boardgames in 2024, versus 588 hours in 2023, which is a nice step up, virtual or otherwise: that's 28 full days (exactly!) devoted to boardgaming bliss.
Out of those 149 titles, 67 were new to me (basically the same as my 68 in 2023), and I ended up playing 16% of my collection (against 15% the year before)—moving up, but not enough.
The number of different places where I played boardgames in 2024 was 17, which the exact same number I had the year before. I guess I don't change much.
40% of my gaming was done at home (compared to 43% in 2023, so things are pretty stable on that front) while 44% happened on BoardGameArena.
TACTICAL OBSERVATIONS — PHYSICAL GAMES
Here are the 10 physical games I played the most in 2024:
A bomb-defusing co-op game that's like a "complex" party game? Sign me up! The only reason I didn't play even more of this addictive little title is because the game came out so late in the year.
2. Oxono -NEW- (19 plays)
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for abstract games (which is probably why that's what I designed first), and it doesn't hurt that those are the GF's favorite games. Still, Oxono is brilliant no matter what.
3. 🠅GIPF (15 plays)
The starting point of the famous GIPF Project and a game I'll never get tired of. "Get four in a row" sounds boring until you've played GIPF for about a minute and a half; and then you don't go back.
4. Mandala -NEW- (15 plays)
A simple—and beautiful—card game that feels like it must have always existed in the back of our collective mind. Truly astounding.
5. Norman Conquests -NEW- (13 plays)
This medieval tactical wargame is my first foray into the Men of Iron series, and it won't be the last. (Hell, there are two new volumes coming out from GMT in the next couple of years, in addition to the four original ones...)
6. Altered -NEW- (12 plays)
I bent my "no more collectable games" rule for this colorful and refreshing card battler, and I'm glad I did. Always a fun time.
7. 🠅TZAAR (11 plays)
One more abstract game on the list, and one of my favorites in the whole of the GIPF Project. I need to play all of them more.
8. Scout -NEW- (11 plays)
A twisted ladder game from Japan where you can flip your hand of cards over but not reorganize it. Great, great stuff.
Bidding (buildings) for the right to build (buildings) and thus gain a majority (of buildings) has never been this fun. Super simple and yet deep like a treatise from Descartes.
10. 🠇Combat Commander: Europe (8 plays)
A real shame I got in so few plays of this outstanding WWII tactical wargame. Especially considering it's my favorite game!
The fact that I played a handful of (quite) longer games in 2024 kind of distorts the resulting top 10: for instance, I played Downfall a few times, and each of those occasions took about 10 hours. So of course Downfall doesn't show as a contender amongst games I played *the most times* but I did spend quite a few hours on it.
So I thought I'd start including a list of the 10 games I spent the most time on.
Here's what that looks like for 2024.
1. Downfall (54 hours)
2. Bomb Busters (44 hours)
3. Norman Conquests (19 hours)
4. Men of Iron (19 hours)
5. Combat Commander: Europe (16 hours)
6. RAF: The Battle of Britain (15 hours)
7. GIPF (11 hours)
8. Tank Duel (10 hours)
9. TZAAR (8 hours)
10. Arcs (8 hours)
Seeing some games on both of those lists is impressive, and I guess that makes Bomb Busters the clear winner.
When it comes to people, these are the 10 wonderful persons with whom I played the most face-to-face last year:
1. 🠅Suzie D. (177 plays)
2. 🠇Jean-Luc S. (108 plays)
3. 🠅Michaël P. (27 plays)
4. Héloïse K.L. (16 plays)
5. Gustavo R.A. (15 plays)
6. 🠇François P. (13 plays)
7. 🠅Béatrice V.K. (10 plays)
8. 🠇Ophélie K.L. (9 plays)
9. 🠇Robert L. (6 plays)
10. 🠅Jonathan P. (6 plays)
The GF reclaims the crown! All those short-ish abstract games helped, no doubt.
My three daughters are on the list again, as is my dad. Loving this.
(Also, a warm welcome to newcomer Michaël, who will no doubt become a fixture on those lists!)
TACTICAL OBSERVATIONS — DIGITAL GAMES
Here are the 10 boardgames I played the most online in 2024.
(Usually not because they're the best games—although they are undoubtedly great—but because they are wonderful implementations of beloved titles that play great on a turn-by-turn basis.)
1. Memoir '44 (117 plays)
2. 🠅7 Wonders Duel (31 plays)
3. 🠅Sky Team (30 plays)
4. 🠅Heat (29 plays)
5. Altered (10 plays)
6. 🠅Framework (8 plays)
7. Oxono (8 plays)
8. 🠇Applejack (7 plays)
9. 🠅DVONN (7 plays)
10. 🠇Patchwork (7 plays)
And these are the 10 great peeps with whom I played the most online last year:
1. Fil M. (129 plays)
2. Jean-Luc S. (93 plays)
3. François P. (65 plays)
4. Héloïse K.L. (9 plays)
5. 🠅Michaël P. (9 plays)
6. 🠅Hugues L. (8 plays)
7. Angelo W. (5 plays)
8. 🠅Boris A. (5 plays)
9. 🠇Gustavo R.A. (4 plays)
10. 🠇Béatrice V.K. (3 plays)
OTHER MUSINGS & RAMBLINGS
My H-index last year inched up by 1 (12 over 11) compared to 2023.
(In this context, my H-index is the number (h) of games which I've played a number (h) of times. So 12 means there are 12 games that I played 12 times each in 2024.)
My challenges were a mess, except for the 20x5 (play 20 different games at least 5 times each) and the "50 plays of abstract games"—both of which were aced early in the year.
That makes me want to ditch those types of challenges and concentrate on "named" challenges (as in "play these 10 specific games at least once"), partly as a way of replaying games I haven't touched in over 10 years.
Yes, there are a lot.
Shockingly, my "100 plays of wargames" fell short by a wide margin. Again, I blame Downfall, with a typical game lasting up to 12 hours. (All worth it, mind you.)
My very first game of 2024 was Teotihuacan with the GF on January 1st (talk about a great start!) and I closed out the year with a play of Robo Rally (30th anniversary edition) with my daughter Héloïse and my dad, a handful of hours before midnight.
I am blessed.
Out of the games I was looking forward to in 2024, Downfall was at the top of the list, and if you're still reading at this point, you already know that it did not disappoint in the least. I wasn't a fan of The Plum Island Horror, however—not a game for me. I got a chance to try Evacuation and didn't even finish my one and only play before I got fed up with that horror show of a rulebook and threw in the towel.
As for 2025?
MATRX GIPF didn't show up in time for 2024, but I have it in my hands now and I'm excited to explore that conclusion to the GIPF Project time and time again. I'm very interested in SETI, the cooperative Vantage and the deluxe edition of Fields of Fire. Then Luthier should show up at some point, as well as Speakeasy, and I'm hoping both will turn out to be nice medium-heavy titles to while away the long summer evenings—waiting for the return of ski season, of course.
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