I have had an interesting time on my 20×5 for this year. I actually set two goals – a 20×5 and a 12×1. The 20×5 is something I have done and enjoyed the past two years. The 12×1 is designed to get one unplayed game to my table each month and see how that goes. So far, so good!
I will start with my 12×1. I should note that I have been assigning the games as each month starts rather than planning out the entire year up front. That allows me to have some flexibility to include some newer games that I have picked up. The selected game for January was Tiletum as it was also on my 20×5. As of this post I have played that game six times which means I have completed my 20×5 obligation and my 12×1. February was Underwater Cities which I have thoroughly enjoyed! I was late to the table with this one as it came out several years ago, but I played the heck out of it during February, chalking up four plays during that month alone. To date I have played it nine times altogether, and you might think that’s my highest play count for a 12×1 game…but it’s not!
In late February (I cheated, as this was supposed to be March) I invited a friend over to my house to teach me Ark Nova. I had watched a few videos so I had some basics down, but it’s still nice to have a human sitting across the table to help get over rules questions. I really enjoyed the game! Since that initial play I have added 16 more games to my play log, giving me a total of 17 zoos that I have built so far this year. That’s higher than any other game on my play log for 2023.
For April I selected Woodcraft, a game my wife encouraged me to buy after seeing the cover in a game store. I really wanted to like it, but it didn’t click. So far I’ve only played it that one time. The game for May is another one-play game, but in this case I don’t think that’s unexpected. I played Kanvban EV for the first time, and it was my first Lacerda designed game as well! I really enjoyed it and want to play it again, but it’s definitely an investment in time. In June I finally tabled my deluxe edition of Planet Unknown. This game has been nominated for awards, and has become highly sought-after since it finally delivered (over two years late). I have enjoyed this and played it 5 times for the year, which completed both a 12×1 and a 20×5 slot.
July brought Abducktion to the table…such a cute, fun and relatively thought-provoking game that turned out to be. It’s quick to teach, easy to play, and has cute ducks. I have played this five times since bringing it out.
All of that means my 12×1 is going well, with 7 brand new games hitting my table and in some cases staying there for a while. As mentioned I have some cross-over with my 20×5. Without going into too much more detail, here’s my progress for that grid.
| Game | Plays |
|---|---|
| Scythe | 6 |
| Revive | 8 |
| Meadow | 5 |
| Takenoko | 6 |
| Ark Nova | 17 |
| Gentes | 3 |
| Black Angel | 2 |
| Tiletum | 6 |
| Underwater Cities | 9 |
| Verdant | 2 |
| Petrichor | 0 |
| Mariposas | 5 |
| Earth | 6 |
| Planet Unknown | 5 |
| Quacks of Quedlinbert | 5 |
| Passtally | 3 |
| Arch Ravels | 6 |
| Flamecraft | 3 |
| Eclipse Second Dawn | 2 |
| Patchwork | 4 |
All total I have played 250 games so far this year (yay retirement!). Of those, 42 were new-to-me games. Some of the new games have already been mentioned (all of my 12×1 games are obviously new) but others include Cat in the Box, Earth, Distilled, Canvas, Living Forest, Vindication and Wonderland’s War just to name a few.
How about you? How as your gaming year for 2023 been going?