247 Days of Gaming: Our Year in Review

We've been on a massive gaming spree this year, logging a whopping 1,071 plays. We've battled zombies, practiced necromancy, built subway stations, climbed Everest, and explored a variety of planets, climates, and timeframes.

For games to count, they must be played in person, and both my wife and I need to be present to log them into our stats. While I love learning new games, I'm not a fan of the punching-out process; thankfully, my wife enjoys that task for me. I prefer reading the rules and then waiting for someone to teach me the game.

After hundreds of game nights, we tackled 362 unique games and 18 expansions! I am not big into expansions, but some really standout. These have added clever twists to games. Take Viticulture: Tuscany Essential Edition expansion, for example. It introduces new options that really amp up the competition. When the group is bigger than four, expansions sometimes add that extra player that lets you enjoy the game at 5 or more counts.

We've played 247 days this year. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be gaming the next two days, so yay for more games! Out of these days, some only consisted of a quick game like Fika during a lunch break. Some days were also spent gaming from waking up till going to bed. Those are my favorite days! Our player count also varies. We enjoyed 40% of our games as a cozy couple, 40% as double dates, and the remaining 20% was a wild mix. From games of 3 to 6 player showdowns to epic 14-player adventures with Blood on the Clocktower.

2023 wasn't just about adding more games to our collection; it was also about saying goodbye to some we no longer loved. Making the tough decision to cull 61 games wasn't easy, but it was necessary to keep our collection from becoming a graveyard of forgotten titles. We believe our games should be played, not preserved as if they were part of a museum. This painful process forced us to confront our gaming habits and prioritize titles that are truly meaningful and likely to hit the table again.

Yes, there are games we didn't touch this year and some that saw only one play, but those are games we still want to explore further. On the other hand, even great games like Small World simply lost their appeal for us. Thankfully, a few friends own it, so we can always play it with them if the itch strikes.

It's important to remember that taste in games is highly subjective. Just because I no longer enjoy a game I once loved, like Smallworld, doesn't mean it's bad. It just means it's not for me at this point in time.

I can’t wait to continue gaming in 2024. This year's journey has inspired us to play even more, explore new mechanics, and delve deeper into the games we love. The goal is to be more diligent about documenting our experiences. I’m really excited to see how I feel about my current KaCo Top 25 next year around this time.