Every year I like to take a look back at what games I really enjoyed. 2021 has been a great year for gaming. With online gaming platforms like Board Game Arena and Tabletopia being added as ways to play the games I love I have had more opportunities this year to play games than any year previously. This is a year that has seen me get back to the table with role-playing games, come back to in-person gaming, and have seen me paint well over 200 figures as well!
Just a few statistics to start things off. This is by far my best year ever for playing as many, and as many unique games!
- I played over 662 games.
- My top venue was Board Game Arena.
- I played over 148 unique games.
- March was my best gaming month, with 80 games played.
- My collection grew by approximately 100 games toping now at 605 titles including expansions.
Let’s dive in and take a look at some of the top games that Conesy played in 2021!
Most Played Game – 7 Wonders Duel
7 Wonders Duel from Repos Production is one of my favorite games for two-player play. My wife and I both really enjoy playing this game. Both expansions for the game, Pantheon, and Agora, add to the game in interesting ways. At its core, it’s a card drafting game. Yet, the mechanics of how they pull off card drafting while keeping it two players is brilliant.
Early into 2021, I found myself playing for hours on Board Game Arena “Arena Leagues” competing to advance up the various levels. I was doing pretty well and winning something like 60% of my games, even against the stronger opponents. I just ran out of interest to keep playing. After 65 games played it just wasn’t as much fun as it once was. It’s about that point I realized that “Arena League” games were probably not for me.
I will say, I am looking forward to getting this game back to the table in 2022!
Most Played Miniatures Game – Batman Miniature Game 3rd Edition
It’s no surprise in this game. Batman Miniature Game from Knight Models continues to be my favorite game. Getting it back to the table for only 11 plays was a surprise though! Most of those plays have been this fall. There are a couple of factors, but mostly it was due to a lack of in-store gaming. I just haven’t been interested in figuring out how to play games via Tabletop Simulator or other remote play options when it comes to miniature games. That tactile feel and the art of the miniature hobby really needed that in-person play.
In Batman Miniature Game you play a street-level crew made up of henchmen, free agents, sidekicks, and usually a pretty cool leader. You build an objective deck that is unique to your crew and then you take on your opponent. Crews are between 4-10 models typically. We are seeing full games right now take around 3 hours of playtime. The actions, the objective decks, and the characters all feel so very true to their comic forms. The game really feels pretty well balanced, though brutal, and the miniatures themselves are amazing.
Most Played Legacy Game – My City
Suzanne and I tackled several Legacy games in 2021. My City from Kosmos tops our list though with the most plays. We both love the narrative that comes out of a Legacy game. My City has the lightest game mechanics of the Legacy games that we have played. That’s likely why it has hit the table as many times as it has.
In My City you will draw a card from a deck that represents a tile. Tiles are various shapes that represent different buildings – commercial, industrial, and residential. Your player board represents the city you are building each game with a grid overlayed onto the terrain. You will place the tiles in a bit of a Tetris-like fashion trying to fill your board and create districts of the building types.
During the legacy game, you will have new challenges to encounter and overcome, unlock new building types, your map will change, and rewards will be earned. It plays fairly quickly, even at a full four players, so that you can easily play 2-4 times in an evening. Likely a reason we have as many plays as we have had.
This game starts out simple and at first, I was a little bored with it. As we advanced through the campaign though it has gotten intriguing and far more challenging. It’s a fun campaign and we look forward to unlocking the next chapters. Once complete, it is still a stand-alone board game that you can continue to play with friends which is a nice compliment to the game.
What’s Coming in 2022?
If I was a fortune teller I would have the answers. I can only hope that we will play even more games in the coming year. With a regular Dungeons and Dragons group, in-store play for Batman Miniature Game continuing, and our in-person board game nights we are certain that 2022 will be a good year for gaming.
With a number of Crowdfunding projects that I have supported I will likely take delivery of several new games in 2022. Of course, I already know of at least two games that I want to purchase when they come available. The collection is likely to continue to grow.
Of course, we always start the year looking at the collection and finding a handful of games that we will sell. After all, there is only so much storage space and we need room to store the new games!
Let us know about your hopes for 2022 on our Social Media channels.
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