I started my 10×10 on 10/10/2018. For anyone who doesn’t know what a 10×10 is, you have to play 10 games, 10 times in a year. It’s essentially a goal setter. You’re trying to play games you already have and play them multiple times to see what they can truly offer. The board gaming hobby is amazing, but it’s very easy to get sucked in to new games. You want to see new components, and mechanics, and twists on rules. I love new games. I love buying new games and playing new games. I’m not as bad as some others I’ve heard about. I have never had a shelf of shame. I usually only buy one new game a month, sometimes two, but relatively, that’s still a lot of new games to learn, teach and play. Before I was a hobbyist and played Risk and Monopoly, we played those games to death. We didn’t get bored of them and we started to learn each other’s play style. Now, part of that is because it’s what we knew and what we had in high school and college. I’m now frequently on BGG and Reddit, so I just have a lot more exposure. But I did miss the meta-gaming of it all. I missed not having to teach new rules every week. I missed not having to look in the rule book to check out a special case scenarios. We knew the game that we did what you’re supposed to do…play. That’s why I wanted to do a 10×10. I wanted revisit the feeling of all players knowing the game and just playing.

I play games with a lot of different people. I’ve played with 26 different players in 2019 alone. But my usual gaming group consists of two other guys. We each “drafted” three games that we wanted to play 10 times and unanimously agreed to the 10thgame. The games selected were Alhambra, Castles of Burgundy, Catan, Dead of Winter Terraforming Mars, Five Tribes, Legendary: Marvel, Robinson Crusoe, Roll for the Galaxy, Scythe, and Yellow & Yangtze. A pretty decent spread of games by the look of it. We have cooperative and competitive. We have short games and long games. We have old games and newer games. I tried to pick games that all three of us liked and that rarely got picked to be played. My three were Roll for the Galaxy, Five Tribes and Yellow & Yangtze. One friend picked one game he liked a lot (Burgundy), one game we never really played as a group but had all played (Dead of Winter), and one game he hated in hopes that more plays would sell him (Scythe). And finally, my other buddy picked games he just hadn’t played before with Catan, Alhambra, and Robinson Crusoe.

We started off pretty strong. We still played new games and different games other than these 10, but we did make it a point to at least play a couple of them a week. We would always turn to the 10×10 games when we had trouble deciding what to play. But then we’d slow down on it. Then we’d get back on pace. Then we’d slow down. Then try to catch up before it ultimately fizzling out. The 10×10 was unsuccessful. We didn’t not complete the 100 plays by last Thursday, despite playing roughly 200 games together. Six of the games were played six times and four of the games were played seven times. A lot of factors went into this.

Reason 1: At least one of us ended up not liking the game at all.

I think the only games that ended up being universally enjoyed were Legendary: Marvel, Castles of Burgundy, and Terraforming Mars. And Terraforming Mars wasn’t added until later because we all three loved it and our plays of Dead of Winter were lackluster. What’s funny is the games we ended up hating, were ones that we selected. Friend B hated Catanbecause it was all dice luck and thought me and friend A were only trading with each other (we weren’t). Friend A hated Scythe and literally just went through the motions during games, essentially making it 2-player. Scythe is my favorite game and I dreaded playing it with this group. He thought he was doing us a favor, but I told him time and time again I’d rather not play Scythe than play it with someone who didn’t like it. Friend A gets pretty sour on a lot of games actually and end up hating Roll for the Galaxy, Yellow & Yangtze and Five Tribes. And finally, me, I loathe Five Tribes now. That’s partly because Friends A and B get severe AP, but also the game is just dull. Bidding for position rarely mattered for us. All three ultimately just wanting to go last because something would be there for us without having to spend. It just ended up being set collecting the items. It’s very hard to play games when at least one person doesn’t like it, especially 10 times.

Reason 2: Schedules happen.

While we were still a regular game group, sometimes one of them couldn’t make it for some reason or another or someone else had joined. We only counted games that all three of us played in. If we didn’t, then I easily have higher counts on some of the games. So when someone didn’t show up, we just didn’t play it. Additionally, when we had someone else join us 3, we didn’t want to force these 10 games on them, so rarely pushed for these games when we had four or five people.

Reason 3: I still bought new games.

The 10×10 didn’t stop me from buying new games like I thought it would. Actually, it kind of encouraged me that I could buy new games. I was playing my older games multiple times, so it’s not like I was only playing games once and moving on. I continued to get the new games that truly interested me, so when we met, I of course wanted to play those games instead.

Reason 4: It felt like work.

I was never excited to play these games for some reason or another. I’m all for playing my older games and not just whatever I had new, but I still want variety. I liked learning the nuances of the games, but playing these just felt forced. This coincides with reason one, but even the games I like, I didn’t want to play because I had just played it last week. Even the games I love that were on this list, I still was fine letting them marinate on the shelf a little bit before returning to it. Robinson Crusoe was probably the one that felt the most like work. We all like RC, but that game is damn grind. We’ve played it 7 times and still have rules questions. Its 2-3 hours and you’re 95% sure you’re going to lose before you even start. Getting amped for that game was hard to do.

But the title says my 10×10 was a success and I just listed reasons why it wasn’t. It was a success. I’ve learned, that I really like learning, teaching and playing new games as well as my old ones. I’ve learned that I don’t like everything, as I used to be a fan of every game I owned. It didn’t take 10 plays for me to realize I didn’t like Five Tribes. After my first play, I loved the game because it was unique and different than everything else I had. After five more plays, I realized it’s not for me. Even though I didn’t succeed at playing it 10 times, I succeeded in knowing the game’s intricacies and that I didn’t want to play it anymore. It helped me realize even if I think a game is good, it might not be for my group. Yellow & Yangtze is that game. Me and Friend B liked it, but Friend A didn’t. It’s a well-designed game. Definitely different than anything I’ve played. It was plenty strategic. But the battle rules were a little fiddly. I never really care if I play it again. I ended up trading it through BGG. My failed 10×10 opened my eyes that I could trade away games! I thought any game I’ve bought would be in my collection forever. I’ve made three trades since and already have a deal in place to trade Five Tribes to a different friend. I failed at my 10×10, but my plays accomplished something. I found out I didn’t actually like some of those games. I found out I really like trying new stuff and variety in what I play. I found out I don’t want to play my favorite games if someone at the table doesn’t like it. I failed the 10×10 and I’m doing another one starting in January.

Modern board games are not popular. They’re more popular than they have ever been, but they’re not popular. When someone asks me what my hobbies are, I’m not ashamed to tell them I play board games, but it’s not the easiest thing to explain. You’re going to be met with the inevitable “Like Monopoly?” or worse, “I really like Cards Against Humanity.” No, modern board games are not like Monopoly. Monopoly helped get us here, but Monopoly is also one of the reasons folks could be so hesitant when someone says they play board games. This has been beaten to death by hobbyist, and the only thing worse than beating dead horse, is betting on one. That’s a Relient K reference. If you like pop punk or indie soft rock music and you’ve never listened to Relient K, give them a go.

I’m not here to bash Monopoly or bash the people that make the same Monopoly or naked Twister jokes. I’m here to discuss whether it’s our job as board game enthusiast to spread the gospel of modern board games to our friends, family and co-workers.

I’ve seen quite a few people imply that evangelizing board games as a negative. I hear their points. Evangelizing ultimately starts out as selfish. It’s natural for people to want their loved ones to share the same interests that they have. I literally suggested a band I liked in intro paragraph. I like liking things and I want others to like the same things I do. Board games hinge on playing with other people, so getting friends interested means you’re playing more. It’s fun to talk about your hobbies. Talking about work, bills, insurance is not fun. I want to talk about board games, movies, TV shows or sports. On the flip side, if I had a friend who was interested in cars, I have zero interest in that. Please don’t talk to me about cars. So, why should I expect my friends to listen to me about board games?

Here’s my case for why we should be shouting about board games from the top of mountain.

Because It Is So Unknown

Let’s go back to my gear head friend. I’m not interested about cars, but I’ve known about cars my entire life. I’ve seen how they’ve improved over the years. I have to have some working knowledge since I have to drive one every day. I have enough information to know if I want to continue down a path of making cars a hobby. Board games don’t have that. Everyone has played a board game in their life, sure, but these games are impossible to be interesting as adults. Monopoly, Trouble, and Life are all so deterministic, that they kept us entertained as kids, but you play them as an adult and you know there is better ways to spend your time. You didn’t see the progression of board games, like you may have with cars, as you grow up. If people who know about games that are interesting aren’t sharing them with others, then the hobby isn’t growing. There’s a saying at my place of work, “You’re either growing or you’re dying.” If you want your hobby to continue at it’s pace, you have to let people know it exists. Now, board games definitely aren’t for everyone. You don’t have to convert everyone. It’s not even about converting anyone. It’s about letting people know that these games exist so they can make the choice for themselves.

You’re Away From A Screen

I’m a 31 year old parent of a toddler and I have a second kid due in three weeks. Let’s just start this off with I have no issues with screen time. I grew up in the heyday of video games. I had a TV in my bedroom growing up. I think the harm of screens are exaggerated. On the other hand, I have two nephews who are 14 and 10, and oh my god, they do not get off their tablets, phone or switch. It’s a little annoying. I see my nephews for a weekly dinner and a lot of the time I won’t even hear them speak apart from the greeting and goodbye. Except for when I bring over a board game. I have introduced them to some gateway games such as King of Tokyo, Carcassonne, Ice Cool and Tokaido. They actually put down the devices and hung out with me for 30 minutes. I think telling people about a hobby that’s not just a new show to watch on Netflix is a good thing. I love TV, we are in the golden age, but I’m so glad I have something once or twice a week that’s not just sitting on the couch.

It’s Cheap

Someone just laughed and closed out of this window. That’s ok, got the click anyway. You may not think so when you see the new hotness sitting at $100 MSRP, but board games are cheap hobby. You could set yourself up with a $50 a month budget and be heavily active in the hobby. Whether you’re buying a game every month or expansions or upgrades, $50 can go far. Now let’s compare that to one of my other hobbies, golf. Starting golf as a hobby you’ll need clubs ($1,300), bag ($150), Shoes ($60-$100), and a glove ($15). Takeaway shoes and glove, which aren’t complete necessity and you’re still staring at roughly $1,500. Ok, so you got clubs and a bag, you’re ready to go play a round of golf. You’re new to the game, so you’re starting at a public course, you’re looking at $45 to play, but you also need balls. That’s an extra $12-$30. And take this from someone who has played golf for 17 years now and still shoots in the 90’s, if you want to be good and not completely frustrated, you better be playing a lot. I just painted a very realistic scenario in which you could spend $2,000 in a month on golf as a hobby. Maybe, I’m making more of a case to not play golf…hmmm. But my point is golf is super popular, and for a fraction of the cost you could get a couple of board games and play for 4-5 hours, and the next weekend you could do the same thing and not pay anything because you already have the games.

They Workout Your Brain

Modern board games can be so intricate or incredibly simple. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Concordia, which has simple rules, but a ton of decision making or if you’re playing Robinson Crusoe, which I’m still not sure I’m playing 100% correctly. Board games make you think. Getting people into the hobby is offering them a way to work their brain out in a non-stressful way. The decisions are immense, but whatever you decide isn’t going to cost you your job or anything worse. Board games allow you to problem solve and compete, which is fun for a lot of people. I really hope my kids are into board gamings from a young age, because it just provides a great way for them to problem solve. I will always evangelize board games to families with kids.

You’re Hanging Out With People You Love. Or At Least Like.

Really, the whole point of this is you want to spend time with people. I really enjoy board games and everything they’re about, but I really love playing them with my friends and family, because it means I’m hanging out with my friends and family. One of my best friends introduced me to modern board games in college and if he didn’t evangelize the hobby to me, I think I would be worse off. Based on my BG Stats app, I believe I have introduced board games to roughly 15-20 of my friends and family. In total, I have played with 39 different people, and only two of those 39 started off as strangers, but have since become friends that I see regularly. My friends aren’t as into gaming as me, but I know they have fun when they come over to play. That’s what I want. I would love to talk about favorite mechanics or why a theme works, but that’s not why I evangelize games. I have evangelized games so my friends and I can get together. Without board games, I wouldn’t text my friends to come over on a Tuesday. They’d stay home and watch Netflix. I’d stay home and watch Netflix. But instead, we’re getting together and competing and thinking and laughing, it’s so rewarding. They had never heard of Clans of Caledonia and they wouldn’t have if not for me. But we sit down, I pull it out, and we all have a great time.

Where Are We?

Is it our responsibility to evangelize the hobby? I guess it depends on what you have and what you want. When I started board gaming, my only friends who played lived 90 minutes away. I had to evangelize or I would never be able to play. It was selfish. If you have a big group of gamers or a meetup, you probably don’t feel like you need to spread the word. I’m sure some have a hipster mentality and they don’t want board games to get popular because it’s “their thing” and they found it first. But it isn’t it more fun to share what you love? I hate keeping things I love to myself. I will always suggest music, movies, shows, a clothing brand, coffee or beer that I’m enjoying, so why shouldn’t I share board games? I also believe if you’re passionate about something you should let it out. Even if your friends really don’t like board games, just hearing someone speak passionately about something can be interesting. I listened to a podcast (Rob and Akiva Need A Podcast) about an episode of Three’s Company. I’ve never seen the show, but the guest on the podcast was so good and so knowledgeable about the topic, that I still found it a fun listen. By the way, listen to Rob and Akiva Need A Podcast.

So, yes, grow the hobby. Let people know about modern board games. Don’t gate keep newcomers. Explain why board games are so much fun. Let’s build the hobby up. More board gamers equals more board games.

Here’s a little tip if someone asks you how modern board games are different than the games they grew up with. Explain it like craft beer. For a long time beer was just the basic domestic beer, but now there are tons of craft beers and microbreweries. And it’s not just different brands, but it’s different types. You can get IPA, stouts, porters, sours, pilsners, wheat ales, etc. Modern board games are like craft beer. Yea, they’re technically the same genre as Monopoly, but you haven’t seen anything yet.

My friends and I love sports. Most of us watch the four major American sports and we probably talk about sports more than board games. Football is probably the most universally loved by my friends and with the college season kicking off in about a week, our fantasy football drafts are upon us. I have been in the same fantasy football league since 2005, way before I got into board games, but there are similarities between the two. Fantasy football is a drafting, press your luck, economic game with trading and hand (or in this case, roster) management. You have to plan for the long and short term. You have to mitigate risk. You have to have the right strategy at different phases of the season. I know board game fans and sports fans have a pretty small intersect in a Venn diagram, but really, they’re not so different. Also, there’s definitely a case to be made about fantasy football being a nerdier activity than playing board games.

My friend Chance came up with the idea to do a board game draft. Four of us will draft ten games as if we were starting a collection from scratch. Just like a fantasy football team, there are certain categories that have to be drafted. This guaranteed a variable collection for each person, so that they could have games for almost any situation. You had to draft a card game, a 2-player game (this rule was broken once), a party game, a deduction game, and a cooperative game. Some games can fall into multiple categories. I considered any game that can be played with more than 5 as a party game. The five categories had to be filled, but the other five roster spots could be filled with any game of your choosing.

Chance and I have the most exposure to board games, so we had a bit of a leg up, but even Alex, who has played the least amount of games, has played over 50. I will share some text messages that were sent during the draft, as well as some commentary after the fact from each person. I present you with the 2019 board game collection draft.

Round 1

Kyle – Arboretum (card game)

Alex – Lords of Waterdeep (flex)

Chance – Castles of Burgundy (flex)

Chris – Gloomhaven (flex)

Kyle says: Alex and Chance took their favorite games, fine. I passed on my favorite game to get a game I loved from a weak category. It’s like drafting a running back. Is Christian McCaffery better than Patrick Mahomes? No. But he’s more valuable because the depth of the position. Chris took Gloomhaven, which he has never played before…so that’s bold. 

Alex says: Not only is it my favorite game, but I knew it wasn’t getting back to me in round 2. Easy pick.

Chance says: This is a top 5 game all-time for me so I had to make sure I got it before somebody else. Love the mechanics, love how it scales, love making the combo moves to score big on a turn. A no brainer pick; my new collection is off to a solid start.

Chris says: I’ve never played this.  I hear it takes 100 hours to play through the campaign.  My core gaming group typically doesn’t like games this heavy.  My wife hates games that are too dark in artwork/theme.  I’m too cheap to buy this for myself to play a solo campaign.  I’ll probably never play this.  But for some reason, I thought it would be good to spend my first round pick on this game.  I have no doubt I would enjoy this.

Round 2

Chris – Scythe (flex)

Chance – Carcassonne (flex)

Alex – Terraforming Mars (flex)

Kyle – Legendary: Marvel A Deck Building Game (cooperative)

Kyle says: DANGIT!!! I missed out on Scythe and Terraforming Mars. I can’t panic. My strategy was to worry about the mandatory categories first, plenty of games to fill the flex spot. I was able to fill cooperative with a game these other three love and would definitely take. I like my cooperative games, like I like my other games…competitive.

Alex says: Relatively new game for me, but I’ve loved it each time I’ve played it. Again, didn’t think it would get back to me in 3. I’d rather pick two games I love for flex spots than try to cater to the categories.

Chance says: Another favorite of mine that is a must have for the new collection. I own The River and Inns & Cathedrals expansions but will still sometimes play just the OG base game. Easy to teach (farms aren’t complicated, Kyle) and always fun to play. Just stay away from my farm.

Chris says: This was probably my only actual strategic pick.  I had a bit of a rough experience with Scythe.  It took me way too long to get the dynamics of the game and develop a coherent strategy.  That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the Rise of Fenris campaign I played with this group.  I knew there was no way this game would get back to me in round 3; I was surprised it wasn’t the #1 overall pick honestly.  It was a strong pick and a game I enjoyed that I knew everyone loved, therefore it was my pick at the turn.

Round 3

Kyle – Azul (flex)

Alex – Pandemic (cooperative)

Chance – Fox in the Forest (2-Player)

Chris – Splendor (flex)

Kyle says: I was able to snag another game that everyone in the draft loves. I knew I couldn’t wait on it. Azul is perfect for any collection because it’s a light rule set, with meaningful decisions. Drafting is my favorite mechanic. Chris started with Gloomhaven and Scythe and followed it up with Splendor. That’s like taking Saquon Barkley in the first, but then taking Eli Manning in the second. Chris is building the Giants of board game collections

Alex says: I decided to start focusing on categories, and figured this would be a popular co-op pick. I’ve played this multiple times and enjoyed it, but it might honestly be the least likely to be on my shelf if I got to start a collection from scratch.

Chance says: I was hoping to pick Azul here but some degen from upcountry nabbed it before I could. Instead I landed one of my favorite two-player games in Fox in the Forest. I play a lot of two-player games and having been raised on trick-taking games like Euchre, 7-Up & Down, etc., this was an immediate hit.

Chris says: After my first two picks being heavier games (in terms of what my group plays (I get that it’s not “Campaign for North Africa”), I needed something lighter to balance out the collection.  I’ve always had a good time playing splendor and I love the artwork.

Round 4

Chris – Brewcrafters (flex)

Chance – Telestrations (party)

Alex – Citadels (card)

Kyle – Clans of Caledonia (flex)

Kyle says: Chance selected by far the best party game. I would’ve thought about Telestrations here. I may have reached a bit on Caledonia, but it’s a game I know I wanted to have, especially missing out on some of my other favorites that are medium-heavy weight.

Alex says: I have no idea if I had to worry about getting this game or not, I just love it. It’s the Chris Godwin of games.

Chance says: While trying to think of a party game to draft I realized party games have a lot of buts. So many buts. As in, “yeah Secret Hitler is fun, BUT, there can be games when you don’t get to participate” or “I like playing Dixit, BUT, clues and cards tend to be similar. So many ‘Harry Potter’ clues”.  I’ve never not enjoyed a game of Telestrations. I drafted the game that gets the most laughs; I see this as an absolute win.

Chris says:  I’ve played this once and I was reprimanded for this pick.  This game is going to rank higher for me than others.  Worker placement is one of my favorite mechanics, it feels like the perfect length, and I absolutely love cool/immersive theme.  This theme is great, the game is well made, the moves don’t feel stale (says the guy after 1 play), and did I mention the theme is great?  You brew beer.  And it’s not crappy Miller Lite.  You brew the good stuff. 

Round 5

Kyle – Cryptid (deduction)

Alex – Secret Hitler (deduction)

Chance – Libertalia (flex)

Chris – Power Grid (flex)

Kyle says: I don’t really like social deduction games as much as others, so I know I wanted to get Cryptid as my deduction game. I think it would’ve been pretty close to Chance’s pick in the category. Alex taking Secret Hitler would’ve been my other selection for deduction, so looks like I made the right call.

Alex says: Easily my favorite deduction game, and I figured it would be a popular pick. I’m honestly surprised I got it this late.

Chance says: I’m not sure if anybody else would have drafted this game but this was one of my first favorite games. I think it’s the first microbadge I ever had on BGG. I really like how the players start the game with the same deck but it will be different by round 3. Saving that Brute from round 1 to play in round 3 when nobody expects it? Just make sure you don’t ‘Brute’ yourself out of the booty. Fun story: I was somewhat new to the hobby and my brothers, not being board gamers, wanted to get me a game for Christmas. They got me Libertalia and told me they found it by googling “adult board games”. That could have ended poorly.

Chris says: Look, this was a bad pick and honestly I don’t have a justification for it, so let’s just move on.

Round 6

Chris – Charterstone (flex)

Chance – Codenames (deduction)

Alex – Camel Up (party)

Kyle – Deception: Murder in Hong Kong (party)

Kyle says: Deception was an obvious choice for my party game after Telestrations and now Codenames. Since I determined that party games are anything that can be played with a large player count, Deception fills it, although not a conventional party game.

Alex says: I could have probably gotten this game in round 10 (or off waivers), but I just love it. I have no claim to being a big game player, but I am certainly a degenerate gambler. Camel Up scratches that itch.

Chance says: Solid game that fills my deduction spot. Not my favorite but seems to be a big hit with others so I’m always willing to play. This game can be frustrating when things just aren’t clicking between partners but when they’re on the same wavelength this game can make you feel invincible.

Chris says: Currently working through the campaign and it’s been possibly my favorite gaming experience.  It’s a game where you are nearly in full control of your actions, but there is still player interaction, but not enough to ever feel “picked on.”  The first time this game was opened up, I knew my wife would like it due to the art and coloring.  It’s a big deal to me when my wife likes the same games as me because our interests in games don’t always overlap (she likes Stone Age and Carcassonne- gross.)  Only downside of this game is that it’s done after the campaign, though I guess you can buy the recharge pack and replay it once through again.  I’d love to do this with all 6 charters being active (currently playing as 4)

Round 7

Kyle – Concordia Venus (flex)

Alex – Alhambra (flex)

Chance – Dominion (card)

Chris – Jaipur (2-player)

Kyle says: Concordia is another game I knew I wanted to have somewhere. It’s the quintessential euro. Deliciously dry theme, but with an easy rule set, unique mechanics and depth beyond belief. The other picks are fine in this round. But Concordia takes a giant dump on them. This was a steal because only Alex has played it besides me. I did the best job recruiting.

Alex says: This is a pretty boring pick, and I’m not sure anyone else would have taken it, but it’s a game I enjoy every time I play it. This game is Philip Rivers.

Chance says: Another classic that finds a home in my new collection. One of the first games I bought and I still play it all the time. Not much to say about Dominion that hasn’t already been said. I recently traded my copy of Ex Libris to Chris for his copies of Dominion: Seaside and Dominion: Prosperity. Fleeced ‘em.

Chris says: I generally don’t enjoy playing games as two player only.  I also complain that I don’t get to play games enough because my friends aren’t always available, so if I just bucked up, I could play more 2 player games with my wife.  Jaipur is pretty fun considering it’s a 2 player game and of course, I gotta rep my country of birth.

Round 8

Chris – The Resistance (party)

Chance – Watergate (flex)

Alex – Welcome To (2-Player*)

Kyle – Root (flex)

Kyle says: I really enjoy direct conflict game. Games with some battles in it. This really came down to Root, Inis or Blood Rage and I just like Root more. It’s a harder barrier to entry than the other two, but that’s ok for me. I can have one game like that.

Alex says: This is where not being an avid gamer paid off for me. I’ve literally never played a two player game, so because my wife and I plan to play this a lot together I got to slide it into my 2P category. Ironically, the max number of players is 100. That makes me happier than drafting the game itself, and I love the game.

Chance says: This is absolutely recency bias but I don’t care. I’ve never had as much anticipation for a game as I did for Watergate. I love the theme and the tug-of-war mechanic and the intimacy of the unique player decks. I’ve only played twice so far and lost both times as the Editor. It’s been a struggle but I know that first win will feel so damn good. 

Chris says: I don’t actually own any of the games I’ve listed so far.  I felt like I had to own a game I own already, and I still needed a party game.  There were a lot of good party games, so I thought I could wait, but just like how he stole Lords from me, Alex also stole Secret Hitler from me.  This was #2 on my list, so I was fine getting it.  Its portable, quick, has a lot of engagement and bluffing and usually devolves into a crap show. Which is the goal of party games, right?

Round 9

Kyle – Quacks of Quedlinburg (flex)

Alex – Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra (flex)

Chance – Love Letter (flex)

Chris – Clank! In! Space! (card)

Kyle says: Quacks is my most recent obsession, so some recency bias here. It has press your luck and bag building, which fits in nicely since I don’t have either of those in the rest of my collection. This game is like Camel Up. It has its flaws, but it’s just fun. You don’t care if you get screwed or unlucky, because that’s what makes it great.

Alex says: A very new game for me, as I’ve only played it twice, and the first time I was abysmal. However, I love base Azul and think this version is even better. For my last two picks I firmly stuck to the mindset of “if I were starting a collection which games would I buy”, and this one was an easy choice.

Chance says: Fun filler game that I play all the time. I prefer the Archer version because of the different card effects. I’ll probably buy the 2019 version soon to replace the original. Every collection should have a game like this.

Chris says: Honestly not much to say here.  Fun game, I like the theme and artwork.  I’m not huge on card games even though at one point in time I owned about six different Dominions and their expansions.  Once Legendary went, this was my second favorite card game left, so it is what it is.

Round 10

Chris – Scotland Yard (deduction)

Chance – Pandemic Legacy Season 1 (cooperative)

Alex – Sagrada (flex)

Kyle – 7 Wonders Duel (2-Player)

Kyle says: 7 Wonders Duel is hardly Mr. Irrelevant. 2-player specific was the only category that I didn’t worry about getting early because I knew I was getting this or Codenames Duet or Santorini. I think this is a perfect 2-player game. I am thrilled to round out my collection with it. Chance selected my favorite game of all time, but after just a little bit, his collection goes from ten to nine, which is why I ultimately ignored it.

Alex says: Another new game, but it fits the bill that I just mentioned. Also, I’m typically not great at games and I’m 2-0 in Sagrada. I like the drafting, I like the strategy, and I like feeling competent. It was the perfect way to end the draft.

Chance says: After Pandemic and Legendary: Marvel were drafted early I knew co-op was going to be a struggle. I considered Hanabi and Forbidden Island but ultimately the experience of PL:S1 was too great to pass up. Although my collection is essentially nine games after this campaign ends the rush and excitement of the PL:S1 plays make it worth it.

Chris says: Here’s the thing about Scotland Yard.  It’s incredibly fun if you are Mr. X, and just meh if you aren’t.  I happen to usually be Mr. X (it’s basically between Chance and I every time), so I almost always have a fun time with it.  I also love the one vs. all aspect (this is a theme of my life, I honestly think most of my friends might actually hate me) *editor’s note: we do*  That’s really all I got for this game.  I like London too, I guess, but this isn’t really applicable.  

Where Are We?

Chris: Obviously, we all think our draft is the best, but I grouped them in the categories and I had Alex and I winning every category

Alex: Chris and I are two peas when it comes to drafts

Kyle: Chris, your draft is literal garbage

Chance: Yeah, Chris, yours isn’t great haha. It’s like putting Brady on the Dolphins. You have the best game, but the rest is ugly

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Kyle’s final thoughts: After the draft I realized that I didn’t have to take Arboretum one overall, so that’s really my only regret, because it lead me to missing out on Scythe. However, I’m ecstatic with how my collection turned out. I have deck building, abstract, war, drafting, press your luck, economic, area control, and hand management. The only thing I’m missing that I would’ve really liked to have is worker placement, but with only ten spots, something will get left out. I have close to 80 games right now, but if I lost them all except these ten, well I wouldn’t be happy. If I were starting a collection from scratch, this is a great start to a collection.

Alex’s final thoughts: Full disclosure, I don’t know much about games. I enjoy playing them and have a decent number of unique games played, but I’m certainly not as into the hobby as others. My approach in the draft was just to draft games I know I enjoy. My collection of games just grew exponentially within the past month, and the majority of games in my draft were games I now own. My mindset was similar to any fantasy football draft: I know who/what I want, and I’m going to take it when I feel like I won’t be able to get it next time. I would say that in almost every round, I “got my guy”, so here’s to hoping football can go this way as well.

Chance’s final thoughts: Other than missing out on Azul and being late to the party on a co-op game I think I won this draft. Lots of classic games that still see a lot of table time for me. This is a collection that’s great for introducing new people to the hobby but also has enough depth to keep things interesting. Games like CoB and Carcassonne and Dominion are older by comparison to a lot of top games but they’re still ranked well for a reason. This is a championship winning collection. Give me the trophy now.

Chris’ final thoughts: In retrospect, I wish I wasn’t held to the categories in this draft.  It was the reason I drafted 3-4 of the games to begin with.  Obviously you can’t get everyone you want, but I would have loved to have gotten Lords, Azul, Secret Hitler, and Legendary (replacing Power Grid, The Resistence, Scotland Yard, and Jaipur, respectively).  But I guess you don’t get to have Saquon, McCaffrey, Kamara, OBJ, Hopkins and Kelce in a normal draft anyway.  

	Kyle	Alex	Chance	Chris
Card Game	Arboretum	Citadels	Dominion	Clank! In! Space!
2 Player	7 Wonders Duel	Welcome To	Fox in the Forest	Jaipur
Co-Op	Legendary: Marvel	Pandemic	Pandemic Legacy S1	Gloomhaven
Party	Deception: Murder in Hong Kong	Camel Up	Telestrations	The Resistance
Deduction	Cryptid	Secret Hitler	Codenames	Scotland Yard
FLEX	Azul	Lords of Waterdeep	Castles of Burgundy	Scythe
FLEX	Clans of Caledonia	Terraforming Mars	Carcasonne	Brewcrafters
FLEX	Concordia Venus	Alhambra	Libertalia	Charterstone
FLEX	Root	Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra	Watergate	Power Grid
FLEX	The Quacks of Quedlinburg	Sagrada	Love Letter	Splendor

Let me paint you a word picture. Game night is upon you. You’ve gathered anywhere from 2-4 friends, because let’s face it, having more than five players is a nightmare in itself. The expectations have been set, everyone knows you’re playing games, that battle has been won. As the host, you speak up, “Alright, everyone, what are we going to play?” RADIO SILENCE. No one says anything. “Alan, what would you like to play?” “I don’t care.” “Ok, Brandon, what about you?” “I’ll play anything.” “Okay? How about Blood Rage?” Audible groans. Its the same conversation I have with my wife when we’re deciding where to eat or what to watch on Netflix. These trivial decisions waste 10 minutes, if not more, so let’s try to remedy this. Here are a few ways I’ve ended the madness and how effective they’ve been.

Loser Picks

Hey Loser, you just had a horrible game, you loser. Do not cry. I have gifted you the choice of what we play next. You decide your fate for the next game. As the loser, you now have the choice: Do I pick a game that I truly love or do I pick a game I’m good at? It doesn’t matter what you pick, because the rule has been established that you get to pick and no one can complain. I enjoy this rule because it allows someone who may have had a bad time, to immediately reverse course and turn that frizzown, upside-dizzity. A few issues come from this method though. Some people are just better at games. When the same people are consistently winning, the same people are probably consistently losing, meaning the same person is consistently picking. The next issue, which isn’t common, but it’s fun to think that it’s possible: The NBA tank. If you’re a bad NBA team, it behooves you to lose more and more games during the season, because you’re rewarded a better draft pick. Better draft picks means better players, which means you’ll eventually get good. Unless you’re the Knicks. Losing on purpose for a benefit. If someone did this in a board game it would be a disaster.

Method rating: 5/10

The King Stays King

AKA “Winner Picks” This is easy. This is the exact opposite of “Loser Picks”. I hope you’re all still with me here. The winner riding his high of a glorious win, whether it be close or a blowout, gets to let it ride. I like rewarding good plays. You won the game, you get to reap the benefits. The problems are obvious here though. I mentioned that some players can just be better at games. It’ll become a snowball effect of wins on wins on wins. Everyone hates that. No one likes the Patriots or Warriors except the Patriots and Warriors. I’ve also had a few instances of the winner “passing” on his choice of the next game, where do we go from there? Second place? If you let second place decide anything you should be locked in an institution.

Method rating: 3/10

I Cut, You Choose

This method is ripped right from mechanics from New York Slice, Castles of Mad King Ludwig and others. Now, if you’ve read my top 100, you’ll know I do not care for Castles of Mad King Ludwig. I’ve never played New York Slice, but it seems…bad? Despite this, I actually love this method for picking games. I do this a lot of 2-player nights, but I’ve done it at all player counts. I haven’t explained this method yet….maybe I should. Ok, so the “I cut, you choose” method is simple. Everyone sits down and you announce, “I would like to play Scythe, Pipeline, Suburbia, or Roll Player. Pick from those four.” Now this can be a vote, or someone else can just grab one of those, I don’t care. I’ve set it up that we’re playing one of those four. I really like this for friends that don’t play games often or don’t study them like I do. I have 70-80 games and that can be daunting for friends who aren’t on BGG constantly. Narrowing down the selection to a few games makes it a little easier to digest and easier to explain how each game works. This is also great for seasoned players. Seasoned players know what they like and they know how to compare games. They know Scythe and Pipeline can be a bit longer, and they want something shorter, so they pick Roll Player. There are still flaws though. Just narrowing down the games doesn’t mean someone will speak up, leaving the same conversation when it was at 70 games.

Method rating: 7/10

Chance Time!

This is where I text my friend Chance and ask him what we should play. I’m just kidding. About that not being the method, I definitely have a friend named Chance and I’ve probably texted him in the last hour. Chance time is letting fate decide. There are two ways I’ve instituted “Chance Time!”

The dice roll: Assign each cube in the Kallax (a shelf that could exclusively market to board gamers and make a killing) a number and roll a die. I have 4×4 shelves, so 16 shelves, but I roll a d12. My bottom 4 shelves are legacy games that have already been played or filler card games or trash games, so I just don’t count those. After the cube is decided, roll a d6, and take that number game starting from the left and play it.

Everyone cuts, God chooses: I love this version of Chance Time! All players pick 1-3 games that they’d be fine playing. Put the selected games into a randomizer app, there are tons of them, but I use Daily Decisions. Hit the button. Boom. Your game has just been selected for you, no arguments.

Method rating: 8/10

Set The Table

This is a strong flex as the host, but one I’ve definitely taken advantage of. I own 98% of the games and I host a majority of the nights. Now, I’m usually just happy to have people over to play games. I’m more than happy to play almost anything. But sometimes, you know best. Set the Table is getting a game setup and ready for play before people come over. You’ve just killed two birds. Not only did you get a game selected without a Greendale-City College sized debate, but you have the game preset and ready for playing. It’s a bold move, but you know what’s a bolder move? Being a guest and asking the host to pack up the game he just spent 20 minutes setting up. If you have a game you want to play for sure, I highly recommend this method. It’s not for the faint of heart.

Method rating: 10/10 if you’re gutsy, 3/10 if you’re nice

The Planner

This isn’t my preferred method, but it’s effective. I have one set of friends that definitely uses this as the go-to for our monthly game nights. In a group message, you discuss what games you’ll play for the planned game night. So, it’s the same conversation that can be exhausting, but at least it’s weeks, or at least days, in advance. The below picture proves the effectiveness. A few messages and I already know what I’m going to be playing on Wednesday.

Method rating: 8/10

Where Are We?

Alright, I just broke down plenty of methods to use for picking games during game nights. But you know, none of them are perfect. I have used all of these methods and I will continue to use all these methods. I’m sure it’s dependent on play groups. There are a lot of things I didn’t mention that should be considered in picking games: player count, time, game weight, among other things. All of those things can help narrow down your search. Maybe I’ll touch on those in a future post. If I have to pick one method to use, I really like Chance Time, sub category: Everyone cuts, God chooses. This is just a really fun and exciting way to pick what you’re going to play. Everyone has the same shot and knows what to expect. How do you pick what to play?

I was sitting in a sales meeting the other dayyyyyy

and the speaker was talking about Apple. Apple convinced people they needed the iPad. You have your MacBook and you have your iPhone, but you don’t have those two things combined. You need it. The iPad is even more portable than a laptop (which is already a portable computer) and the iPad has a bigger screen than your phone, making it easier to perform tasks, or let’s be real, watch Netflix. Apple sold us three products that all roughly can do the same thing. I love it. I have all three of these items.

This isn’t about technology though. I don’t understand technology. If I had already established a reader following, I’d assuredly get comments about the difference between all Apple products. I want to discuss board game upgrades. The luxury items to our luxury items. The things that we’re convinced we need, but really don’t. Before we really dive in, I’ll make it clear, I love upgrading my board games. I have inserts, painted minis, metal coins, realistic resources and just added GeekUp Bits.

GeekUp Bits

The GeekUp Bits is really why I wanted to write this post. One week ago I found Quacks of Quedlinburg at my FLGS (shout out Beyond the Board in Dublin, Ohio) for cheaper than I’ve even seen it online. I bought it; I played it the next night; I instantly got on Board Game Geek to get the GeekUp Bits. The game was a hit (review coming after a few more plays), but I kept thinking about how much more satisfying it would be to pull thick, clanking, plastic pieces out of that bag.

Realistic Resources & Metal Coins

I pretty much only have these for Scythe. Scythe is second favorite game, or my favorite game, depending on how you feel about Pandemic Legacy Season 1 being my favorite, but never being able to play it again. I decided I was going to make Scythe the best experience I could for myself. I ponied up for the resources, coins, insert, expansions. I didn’t even question these purchases. At some point I just decided “Screw it. They’re getting all the money.” Charterstone and Raiders of the North Sea came with metal coins, so I didn’t really upgrade, but Charterstone’s coins are now in my Roll Player.

Inserts

Easily the most valuable of all board game upgrades. An upgrade that serves an actual game purpose. You get to set up faster, and you don’t have to leave 100 bags all over the floor. You get to clean up faster, and you don’t have to go through all those bags thinking, “This bag is way too small to fit 200 cards in it. Start over.” I have inserts for Scythe, Clans of Caledonia, Legendary Marvel, Lords of Waterdeep and the Hobby Lobby artist box and insert for Arkham Horror LCG. Gloomhaven has it’s unofficial insert with Plano boxes. All of these games are more enjoyable for me because of the insert. If I lost my games in a fire, I would buy them again along with these wooden inserts. You know the companies that make these wooden inserts, but I’m trying to squeeze some advertising money out of them before mentioning them by name. Some of these inserts for sale are bizarre to me though. King of Tokyo? Someone feels like King of Tokyo is such a bear, they need to get that crap organized or it’ll never hit the table. A King of Tokyo insert…alright.

Where Are We?

Here’s the issue with these upgrades, and this is going to shock everyone, I mean everyone…they’re so damn expensive. The GeekUp Bits were $42. I doubled the price of the game to make it a little more pleasing. If my friends ask me how much it cost to upgrade those pieces, I would be embarrassed to say. I would be embarrassed if they were $25. I felt guilty purchasing this upgrade, because it really is ridiculous.

Now, it’s not like my family is going without food this week. I have a monthly board game budget, so I decided that upgrading a game was more important than another game. Every few months, I would much rather buy something board game adjacent to make a favorite game a little more favorable. I don’t really ever have a shelf of shame, I don’t buy games that pile up. It’s more of the fact that I don’t need to be teaching a new game every few weeks. It can exhaust my friends. My purchases ebbs and flows. I’ll buy a few games in a row, then I’ll pause and reflect about how I’d really like to keep playing these games I’ve just bought and don’t want something new competing with them. That’s when I really start looking at inserts or upgrades or painting minis (saving the mini painting topic for a future post).

These upgrades are insane. Can you imagine telling someone not in the hobby that you bought a game that cost $50, and then spent another $50 for different pieces or for a wooden box to go in the box? It’s not something you should do for every game. There’s an argument (the reasonable person argument) to be made you shouldn’t do it for any game. But, If you have a board game budget, it’s a nice change of pace from just always buying games. And I would suggest creating a monthly budget if you don’t already.

No one asked for this.

Ok, a few people asked for this. But really, no one asked for this. People have forgotten about my top 100 by now. My epilogue was posted 14 days ago! A whole fortnight.

Here I am though. I enjoy writing and I enjoy board games and I enjoy being praised. If you all want to shower me with adoration, please do so. I’m not going to think about how r/boardgames has two million subscribers and my best post received 1,700 upvotes, <1% of r/boardgames. No, no, no…that’s not me. I’m going to think about how I got 1,700 upvotes! I’m an internet star. These board gamers need to hear my thoughts. Mr. Vasel, feel free to contact me with a contract offer.

This blog will be reviews, opinions and discussion primarily about board games. I don’t expect for this to be anything more than entertainment for myself. I hope any one who reads will get some entertainment out of it too.

I leave you with some Paramore lyrics:

God knows the world doesn’t need another band board game reviewer, (whoa, whoa!)
But what a waste it would’ve been! (whoa, whoa!)
I can’t believe I almost hung it up (whoa, whoa!)
We’re I’m just getting started (whoa, whoa!)