Midyear Check In: What 493 Plays Taught Me About Our Board Game Habits

I love board games, but I also love data

A few years ago, I started tracking every play in BG Stats to make sure our collection wasn't just gathering dust. Sure, part of me wanted to be able to objectively say, "I'm not playing this game with you because the numbers guarantee I'll lose." (Just kidding... I think 🙈)

But the real magic of tracking our plays is seeing the stories behind the numbers. It shows me what our friends keep asking to play, what games quietly become staples, and even helps me figure out what to recommend before game night. So with 2026 somehow already halfway over, it's time for my favorite kind of check in. Let's see how those board game intentions are holding up and what's actually making it to the table

Spoiler: the hype fades, but some games are forever 🥰

If there's one thing these first six months have reminded me, it's that our favorite games aren't always the biggest or newest. They're the ones we can pull off the shelf, teach in a few minutes, and happily play over and over again

📊 Progress Report

All these games were played in person, I love BGA, but those numbers don't count towards our shelf audit:

• 🗺️ 487 games played across 3 countries

• 👥 36 amazing players shared our table

• 🎯 H-Index: 9 (all-time: 42)

• 🃏 164 unique games played (67 of them new to me!)

• ⏳ ~255 hours over 114 days spent gaming

• 🏠 Collection at 456 games, well under our 500-game ceiling

  
  

🎮 Our Comfort Zone

Our comfort zone will always be those punchy 30 minute games that fit into just about any evening. Looking at my most played grid tells the whole story: Jump Drive, Castle Combo, The Game, Forest Shuffle, Dominion, The Gang . . . the games that get played the most are the ones we can throw in a bag, bring anywhere, and get to the table without much planning

I love playing games, and I honestly wish time was infinite because I'd absolutely play longer, crunchier games more often. But between life and pretending to be an adult, I'm incredibly content with our fast favorites. (Though let's be real... I always want to play more)

Looking a little closer, 16 of our 25 most played games this year are returning favorites from previous years. We love trying new games, but somehow it's the old favorites that always find their way back to the table

🎲 The Magic of Dice (and more)

Apparently we've become a bit of a dice gaming household. When asked, I usually answer that roll and writes are my favorite type of game, but I also love testing fate. Tally Up! has become our go to party game. Roll to the Top and Number Drop scratch that slightly crunchy abstract itch. Piña Coladice comes out whenever we have three or four players, and 7 Wonders Dice somehow packs a huge game feel into about 30 minutes

We’ve also discovered a fantastic new to us co-op called The Gang. It has quickly become our default pick for non gamers when we want to team up against a puzzle instead of tearing each other apart. Bonus points: it finally taught me the actual rules of poker

🔓 Shredding the Shrink Wrap

One of our biggest goals this year was finally opening games that had been sitting on our shelves for years. Darwin's Journey, Azul: Queen's Garden, and Everdell: Farshore all finally lost their shrink wrap. I honestly don't know why it took us so long because every one of them was worth the wait

We've also mindfully gifted and rehomed 102 games while only adopting 32 new games, whoops 😬

For once, the collection is actually getting a little smaller. Granted, 76 of our 456 games are still technically unplayed. I promise they get dusted monthly though. That's basically the same thing, right? A few of them are definitely on borrowed time if they don't make it to the table soon

⭐ Still Reigning Champion

Out of our 493 plays this year, Jump Drive from Rio Grande Games is still sitting comfortably in the number one spot for the third year in a row. We own two copies. One permanently lives in the car. Both are sleeved. We even swapped in score dials so we can play it anywhere. Some games come and go, but this one has officially earned permanent resident status

🌟 New Favorites Climbing the Ranks

Two newer additions have been climbing the rankings incredibly fast

🏰 Castle Combo: brilliant little nine card tableau builder where you're balancing gold, drafting characters, and squeezing every possible point out of a tiny 3×3 grid

🌲 Forest Shuffle: gorgeous card game where every decision feels impossible. Do you play another tree? Tuck an animal underneath for a huge combo? Draw cards instead? Wait, no... maybe we should just draw this turn

Looking back at six months of plays, I'm reminded that buying games and playing games are two very different hobbies. The shiny new releases are fun, but the games that earn dozens of plays are the ones that fit our lives. They're easy to teach, easy to bring anywhere, and somehow never get old. I'm excited to see what the second half of 2026 brings. If history tells me anything, there will be a few surprise hits, and Jump Drive will probably still be sitting comfortably at the top 🥳