2020 Challenge

My interest in boardgames revived in the ‘90s, while I was in graduate school. What we called German games (later christened eurogames) invaded the U.S., the charge led by Settlers of Catan. I still have my battered first-edition copy, but the last time I cracked it open was almost a decade ago.

Back then, I scoured the nascent internet for scraps of information on the latest games, carefully mulling purchases on my grad student budget. The birth of the BoardGameGeek, today’s gargantuan information clearing house, was born twenty years ago this month. It was small then, and just one of several websites I perused, almost all of which are now defunct. I’ve had a resurgent interest in boardgames this past month, probably fleeting, as my game-playing has seen a steady decline the last decade as I’ve moved on to other interests.

In any case, this week I’ve been reading about various 2020 Challenges. There are several versions, but a common one this decade has been the “10 x 10”: Designate 10 boardgames you plan to play at least 10 times in the upcoming year; then challenge yourself to accomplish this! As a long-time boardgamer, I see the appeal. Over time, one’s collection grows, and fewer games are played multiple times; many languish on the shelf on in storage boxes.

There were other challenges back in the day. I started logging my game plays in 2003 based on a popular gaming challenge to play 365 games per year; these did not have to be unique games – the idea was to average at least one game per day. In the early years I succeeded, but more recently I have not. Then there were the Five & Dime lists where you noted games you played at least five or ten times at the end of the year. I participated in some of those; my record has been thinning over the years as shown in the graph below.

In my gaming heyday, I would easily have met the 10 x 10 challenge – although this is hindsight since I had not designated the challenge games ahead of time. However, the past decade, I’ve only managed an average of five games played at least five or ten times. The stalwart favorites are Race for the Galaxy, 10 Days in Europe/Asia, Lost Cities, Chrononauts, Mystery Rummy #1. All shorter, quicker games. Occasionally a new game would receive lots of play, as when I play-tested Bios Genesis extensively in 2016. But typically longer games might go un-played for years. I started thinning out my collection the past three years based on these statistics. For the past decade, if not for Race for the Galaxy, I would be playing half the number of games. The chart below shows total number of games (orange) and the proportion (yellow) that were Race for the Galaxy (starting 2008).

It seems to me that a 2020 Challenge should be a 20 x 20, but this is doubly difficult. I’m not sure I could even accomplish a 10 x 10. But maybe I can come up with an aspirational list – games that haven’t been played in a while that I remember greatly enjoying. Perhaps that will motivate me to bring them off the shelf, or introduce them to a new generation. Thus, in no particular order, here are ten games I would like to revisit.

War of the Ring

Robo Rally

Valley of the Mammoths

Tikal

Factory Fun

History of the World

Puerto Rico

Vegas Showdown

Through the Desert

Saint Petersburg

Cheers to 2020!