Day: January 11, 2018

Towards the end of 2017 I started getting the overwhelming feeling that I have too many games. Usually this happens when I run out of space on the shelves I have allocated for games. The shelf limit is completely self-imposed by myself since there is plenty of extra room on the shelves. To combat this stress,  the first thing I do is go through and try to re-organize the games to see if I can consolidate them to get back some space. If that doesn’t work, I start looking at the games I haven’t played for awhile and see which ones I could easily part with. This time though when I looked at the games, I couldn’t identify any games I wanted to give up. All the games I hadn’t played in awhile were great games that I wanted to keep in my collection. Mixed in were some recent acquisitions that I’ve only played once or twice.

This drove me to make the commitment to do the 10×10 Challenge. It’s as easy as choosing 10 games that I will play 10 times during the year.  I wanted to get these great games back to the table. I’m not sure how many of the plays will fall on my weekly game nights out since the group leans toward “cult of the new”. I’m sure I’ll be able to get some of them played there but the longer games might take a little more effort by coordinating outside the normal game night. One thing I have going is that each of these games can be played solo. This will help me get the plays in at night or on the weekends after the family is in bed.

Without further ado here is my 10×10 Challenge for 2018, in no particular order.

1. Burgle Bros. – Ocean’s 11 the board game is the quickest way that I’ve heard this game described. I first played this during the Kickstarter when someone brought a print-and-play copy to game night. The next day I had downloaded all the files and sent it off to the print shop at work so I could have my very own copy of the game. This is one game that consistently comes out during game nights and is great with any player count.
2. Ex Libris – One of my more recent acquisitions. I loved the theme of the game when I heard about and I was able to get a 1 round demo when I was at GenCon. I didn’t get my copy until October and have only played it twice so I’m looking forward to getting more plays and exploring the various character powers.
3. Fallout – This is the FFG adventure game.  This is my most recent addition and blind buy which is very rare. I picked this up at Half Priced Books after seeing it on sale and having heard some positive buzz around it. I’ve never played any of the Fallout games but I’ve always been intrigued by the setting of it. With the positive buzz and the theme that I liked (maybe the Christmas season), I couldn’t pass it up.
4. Flash Point: Fire Rescue – One of my oldest games in my collection. I’ve always enjoyed coops and this one is great. I like the randomness of  dice rolls that advances the fire at the end of each turn. It helps this puzzler feel like you have more decisions to make. I have many of the expansions so I won’t be running out of scenarios to play.
5. Imperial Settlers – This is a great game that also has some sentimental value to me. My non-gaming in-laws purchased this game for me at Christmas a couple years ago. It was a game I wanted to get and they purchased it after researching “best games of the year”. I love the engine building portion of the game. I’m horrible at identifying the combos and getting them to fire which is why I think I like this game so much. There is so much satisfaction when I do get the engine to fire.
6. Legendary: Marvel – I’ve heard that some of the newer Legendary games are better (looking at you Alien), but I’m a sucker for Marvel superheroes. I have a couple large box and small box expansions so variability is almost unlimited. I’ve already found some league play at BGG that may help drive some of these plays.
7. Nemo’s War (second edition) – I tried to organize a local group purchase when this was on Kickstarter but that fell through. Once it was released and the reviews started coming in, I was bummed that I hadn’t picked this up. The Secret Cabal ‘s review back in July put it back on my “to buy” list. This game has so many facets that I haven’t been able to figure out that I’m looking forward to exploring more in 2018.
8. Pandemic: The Cure – I’m a sucker for dice games. This is one of my all-time favorite games. I like the variable player powers along with how the dice are used to determine your actions along with how the diseases spread. I picked up the Experimental Meds expansion recently and liked the additional challenges that this one offers.
9. Scythe – Disclaimer: I may be a Stonemaier fanboy. My favorite game of all time is Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia and I’ve enjoyed almost every one of their games. This is one game that requires specific game nights to play. Due to engaging solo play that is paired with an awesome ScytheKick  app I’m sure I’ll hit my goal on this one.
10. Viticulture: Essential Edition – My second Stonmaier game finishes off my 10×10 challenge. This great worker placement game and has a great solo mode. It uses an automa deck of cards to simulate an AI. This automa system was replicated in Scythe. I’ll be playing this with the Tuscany: Essential since the additional season is a must.

That’s the list. I’ll be posting updates on my progress on the challenge,  along with a few in depth play recaps.