Games, games, games

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I'm making a slight course adjustment on my 2017 Mastery Challenge. Since I have all this time on my hands, it makes sense (to me) to learn a bunch of my unplayed games, focusing on games with high replay value. And definitely to knock out all my unplayed non-wargames, of which there aren't that many, around 10.

This change of focus will reduce my average played games down into the 4+ range, but that's ok. Since the games I'm focusing on will have high replay value, I'll get my play average back sooner or later. Once I start working, I won't have the energy to wade through a bunch of new games in rapid succession.

For non-wargame, I'm planning on the following:

  1. Mancala
  2. Connect 4
  3. The Witches
  4. Pandemic Contagion
  5. Leaving Earth
  6. Lord of the Rings LCG
  7. Android Netrunner
  8. High Frontier
  9. Dresden Files
  10. The Agents
  11. Lord of the Rings Co-op
  12. Caverna
  13. Frag
  14. Ancient Terrible Things
  15. Zombicide
  16. Awful Green Things from Outer Space
  17. Blokus

Most of the above have pretty high replay value. A few may only see this one play, but that's ok as I bought these games to play. A couple, like Mancala and Connect 4 are relatively humdrum with respect to the snob appeal of some of the other games, which is fine. I still enjoy these sorts of games, and they're widely played which makes it worthwhile knowing how to play them.

I was just perusing some of the games listed on Tabletopia, and I recalled at least of the games they have listed I have in shrink, and it's not in the above list. Along with that one, I recall having at least a couple more in shrink which aren't listed above. I think I'll just leave them in shrink for now, and worry about playing those later. The above list will keep me plenty busy. (I added the remaining in-shrink games after all!)

For wargames, here's a preliminary list:

  1. The Arduous Beginning
  2. Ottoman Sunset
  3. Ie Shima
  4. Panzer Leader
  5. Platoon
  6. First Team
  7. No Retreat Russian Front
  8. Return of the Stainless Steel Rat
  9. Khe Sanh '68
  10. Talon
  11. Raid on St. Nazare
  12. Labyrinth
  13. Falling Sky
  14. GD '40
  15. Alesia
  16. Seige of Jerusalem
  17. Cityfight
  18. Firepower

(I keep adding to this list, it started at 15 games.)

Some of these don't have much reply value, but are games I have some interest in for one reason or another, and it seems like a good time to knock out a play. Other games, such as Alesia and Siege of Jerusalem, are big enough that getting in a play while I'm on this mini-sabbatical is just a good idea, especially as I have opponents interested in playing them. Really hard to get these set up otherwise.

Getting all these played puts my game count over 100 games, with a minimum of 477 plays. The actual number of plays will likely be over 500 as I do have ongoing games of Hive on BGA, and will be playing other games with other people along the way. As I think of it, I have a game of Tet scheduled for later in March.

Once all these games are played once, I'll continue along my H-index trajectory, and continue to knock out Nickels, Dimes and a few more Vietnam games. Next year I believe I might focus on getting second plays of the above and other games I only have a single play of.

Update

Having just written a check for COBRA coverage, it's clear I need to get back under employer covered health care as soon as possible. It will break me otherwise. Shifting gears into job search mode will reduce time available for tearing into one of the heavier games. This is because preparing for programming interviews is grueling.

Final update

It's April 2, 2017, and I'm calling this one. The idea for the article was to see how many of these game I could get through in March, because I need to start looking for work in April. Games are such a huge distraction. I did well on the unplayed non-wargames, getting everything but Caverna and Zombicide played. I've also determined Frag will be leaving my collection for now. I don't have the right group for playing it, and it doesn't solo in any meaningful way. The box is biggish, so I'm going to reclaim that shelf space. I'm ambivalent about Awful Green Things. It's a fun, silly game, but I have a lot of other games I'd personally rather play, and don't really have anyone who might enjoy it. It doesn't take up a lot of shelf space, so it's staying for the moment.

All in all, pretty fun time. Would have liked to get Caverna and Zombicide knocked out, but after ripping the shrink, I just didn't have the energy to dig into either. Would also have liked to get a few more wargames played, but again, wargames are much more time consuming, and the opportunity to knock out all the non-wargames was just too tempting.

I don't know when I'll have another opportunity to do something like this again. Possibly when I retire. Hopefully sooner.

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What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.