2015 in Review -- Games

I'm feeling as though 2015 was the year I practically quit playing board games altogether. My love of them hasn't waned a bit, but it basically came down to this: the people I've played games with in the past simply weren't getting together for games very often.

Consequently, I managed just 63 games played in 2015. That broke out like this:

1    7 Wonders
2    Alchemists
2    Bruges
4    Cards Against Humanity
3    Codenames
2    Concordia
1    German Railways
3    Hanabi
1    Istanbul
3    La Isla
1    Las Vegas
1    Metro
1    Mutant Meeples
2    Orleans
4    Perudo
1    Pictomania
1    Poker
3    The Resistance
6    Say Anything
2    Sorry
4    Splendor
4    Telestrations
1    Telestrations After Dark
1    Ticket to Ride: Asia
2    Time's Up
2    Time's Up Title Recall
1    Vikings
2    Viticulture
2    Voyages of Marco Polo

Yes, Say Anything -- a random party game (and not even my favorite of that genre by a long shot) -- took top honors as "most played" last year. Not that the bar was that high. Note also that my gang's monthly poker game has literally become an annual poker game.

But to focus on the handful of bright spots: I discovered (and loved) Orleans. (Review forthcoming.) Bruges still hits a nice sweet spot for me between reasonable strategy and fast pace. Splendor isn't bad for a "stick around for one more quick one" game. (Hmm... I don't think I've reviewed that yet, either.) Perudo re-emerged after a year away, and I do love that game.

In the last couple of years, I'd also been tracking board games played via iPhone app. I can tell you that outnumbered the in-person games by a wide margin. But as for an official count? I simply lost track. It's too easy to finish a game of something and immediately start another without thinking about it. I can tell you that the games I did play were:

Agricola
Le Havre
Stone Age
Ticket to Ride: Europe
Ticket to Ride: Switzerland

Plus, there was a ton of Disc Drivin' (which is essentially Pitch Car on your phone), and almost as much Evil Apples (which is even more Cards Against Humanity on your phone).

I sure hope the play list doesn't drop even farther in 2016. If so, you may not seeing the version of this post at the start of 2017.