After the stress of last year’s Game Every Day challenge challenge I decided to take things a bit easier. Running a website, opening a board game cafe, and being father to 4 kids takes a lot of time. So what does the 2017 Zeitgeist show me this year? Let’s take a look at the trends that popped up this year for me.
Overall Stats
| Total Plays | 406 |
| Unique Players | 204 |
| Unique Games | 188 |
| Unique Locations | 30 |
| H-index * | 7 |
* Read more about Board Gaming and the H-Index.
Charts and graphs
As mentioned, the number of games I played this year dropped off significantly, but I still recorded a lot of plays, 406, down from 730. As Meeple Mountain grows in recognition, more publishers are willing to include us in their review copy roster. That means the number of new and unique games I played this year is still a fairly high number; 188 down from 222.
No surprise that my three oldest kids are still my primary gaming partners, but my youngest son is on the move. At 5 he’s still too young for some games, but he really wants to be involved, and it’s great fun to sit with him and be on his team. This year my mother and father in law moved to Nashville and the exciting news is that my father in law enjoys games. So he’s quickly moving up the list as well.
Nashville Game Night still accounts for a large number of my plays, and distinct players.
I played 138 two player games this year, with my daughter Noelle as my primary gaming partner. We’ve even started a Pandemic Legacy: Season Two campaign. My oldest son Evan accounts for almost as many two player games as my daughter which is awesome. I’m also starting to play more 2p games with my middle son Mason.
Because the monthly game night I run rotates venues, I play in more locations than perhaps some other people do.
As always, the Board Game Stats app makes writing articles like this much simpler. Check out our review of the Board Game Stats App.
New Additions
Board games are getting better overall, and 2017 was no exception. Some of the best new games added to my collection were Santorini, Kingdomino, Sagrada, NMBR 9, The Climbers, Tintas, Circle the Wagons, and Topiary.
Fun
Some of my favorite games this year were the brand new card game Team Play, The Climbers, Star Cartel, Hansa Teutonica, and Century: Spice Road.
Flops
Just like last year a few games that I played fell flat, and that’s okay. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad games, it just means they’re not for me. Among that list is Clank!, Steampunk Rally, Castellars, and Arboretum.
I know that having Clank! in that list may cause some head scratches, but I just didn’t enjoy it in my single play. That said we did get some rules wrong, and pretty much every other person who has played it loves it. So I’m willing to give it another shot and who knows, it might end up being like last year’s flop New York 1901 that went on to be an enjoyable game for me. Your tastes change, and sometimes a great game can just fall flat. Always be willing to try things twice.
The Full List
Finally, here’s the full list of games I played in 2017.
| # | Game | Plays | Places | Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santorini | 30 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 | Kingdomino | 11 | 7 | 16 |
| 3 | Sparkle*Kitty | 9 | 3 | 9 |
| 4 | PitchCar | 8 | 2 | 13 |
| 5 | Circle the Wagons | 8 | 4 | 7 |
| 6 | NMBR9 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| 7 | The Climbers | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| 8 | Tintas | 7 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 | Onitama | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| 10 | River Dragons | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 11 | Fight for Olympus | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| 12 | Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | Escape: The Curse of the Temple | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 14 | Excape | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 15 | Fast Food Fear! | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| 16 | Cobra Paw | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 17 | Rattus | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 18 | Zoo Ball | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| 19 | Balloon Pop! | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| 20 | Las Vegas | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 21 | Battle Sheep | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| 22 | Mancala | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 23 | Codenames | 4 | 3 | 14 |
| 24 | No Thanks | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 25 | Turbo Drift | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 26 | Mint Works | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 27 | New York Slice | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| 28 | Dome Crushers | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 29 | King of Tokyo | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 30 | Bärenpark | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| 31 | Dokmus | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 32 | Sunset Over Water | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 33 | Mini Park | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 34 | Stockpile | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 35 | Century: Golem Edition | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 36 | Five Crowns | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 37 | The Chameleon | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 38 | Dino Dude Ranch | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 39 | Mini Rails | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 40 | Pile-Up Rush | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 41 | King’s Road | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 42 | Truck Off: The Food Truck Frenzy | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 43 | Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 44 | Topiary | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 45 | Sushi Go Party | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 46 | Uno | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 47 | Automania | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 48 | Lotus | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 49 | The Godfather: A New Don | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 50 | Livingstone | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 51 | Scharfe Schoten | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 52 | Hamsterrolle | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 53 | Burger Up | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 54 | Archaeology: The New Expedition | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 55 | Dozen’s Donuts | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 56 | Medici: The Card Game | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 57 | Mombasa | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 58 | Tokaido | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 59 | Get Rich Quick | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 60 | Century: Spice Road | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 61 | Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 62 | Unlock! The Formula | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 63 | OK Play | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 64 | Diamant | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 65 | Camel Up | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 66 | Automobiles | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 67 | Orléans | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 68 | That’s a Question! | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 69 | Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 70 | Bob Ross: Art of Chill Game | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 71 | Capital Lux | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 72 | The Quest for El Dorado | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 73 | Sorry Sliders | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 74 | Queendomino | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 75 | Ethnos | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 76 | Sagrada | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 77 | Slide Blast | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 78 | Unlock: Squeek & Sausage | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 79 | 6 Nimmt | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 80 | Russian Railroads | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 81 | Bubble Talk | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 82 | Through the Desert | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 83 | Istanbul | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 84 | Star Realms | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 85 | Ticket To Ride | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 86 | Sorry! | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 87 | Square Shooters | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 88 | Ice Cool | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 89 | Herbaceous | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 90 | Grand Austria Hotel | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 91 | Formula D | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 92 | Star Wars: Destiny | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 93 | Yspahan | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 94 | World Monuments | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 95 | Coup | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 96 | Morels | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 97 | Paris Connection | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 98 | Champions Of Midgard | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 99 | Spin Monkeys | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 100 | Ginkgopolis | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 101 | Imperial Settlers | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 102 | Trambahn | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 103 | Copycat | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 104 | DC Deck Builder | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 105 | Eminent Domain | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 106 | First Class: All Aboard the Orient Express | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 107 | Barcelona: The Rose of Fire | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 108 | Dragoon | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 109 | El Grande | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 110 | Pod-X | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 111 | Farkle | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 112 | El Gaucho | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 113 | Discoveries | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 114 | Concordia | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 115 | Tammany Hall | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 116 | Five Tribes | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 117 | Waggle Dance | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 118 | Dungeon Roll | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 119 | maskmen | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 120 | Blood Rage | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 121 | Can’t Stop | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 122 | Qwirkle | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 123 | Terraforming Mars | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 124 | Terra Mystica | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 125 | Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 126 | Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 127 | Lift it! | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 128 | Flip City | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 129 | Jump Drive | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 130 | Watson & Holmes | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 131 | Port Royal | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 132 | Gravwell: Escape from the 9th Dimension | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 133 | The Blood of an Englishman | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 134 | Animals on Board | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 135 | Medieval Academy | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 136 | Quests of Valeria | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 137 | Dingo’s Dreams | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 138 | Minecraft Card Game | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 139 | Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 140 | Kingdom Builder | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 141 | The Great Zimbabwe | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 142 | Medina | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 143 | Hansa Teutonica | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 144 | Arboretum | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 145 | Royals | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 146 | Dice City | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 147 | Best Treehouse Ever | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 148 | Roll For It! | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 149 | Biblios | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 150 | Sanssouci | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 151 | World’s Fair 1893 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 152 | Forbidden Island | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 153 | Flatline: A FUSE Aftershock Game | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 154 | 10 Minute Heist: The Wizard’s Tower | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 155 | Castellers! | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 156 | Lancaster | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 157 | Ra | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 158 | Hellas | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 159 | Cacao | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 160 | Agricola: All Creatures… | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 161 | The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 162 | Skyward | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 163 | Stop Thief! | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 164 | Banana Bandits | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 165 | Debtzilla | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 166 | For Sale | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 167 | Downforce | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 168 | Lords Of Waterdeep | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 169 | Tsuro | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 170 | Sushi Go! | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 171 | Steampunk Rally | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 172 | Hornochsen | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 173 | Cockroach Poker | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 174 | Lanterns: The Harvest Festival | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 175 | Stop Thief | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 176 | Bananagrams | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 177 | Stone Age | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 178 | Cottage Garden | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 179 | Patchwork | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 180 | Sundae Split | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 181 | Whats Up | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 182 | Dr. Eureka | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 183 | Dr. Microbe | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 184 | Dream Catchers | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 185 | Odin’s Ravens (second edition) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 186 | Star Cartel | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 187 | Team Play | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 188 | Rollers Deluxe | 1 | 1 | 3 |
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