Year In Review:
2017 Review
This Year Was… … :
A year that I enjoyed immensely & I am actually wishing that the end of 2017 could be postponed. Mostly because in 2017, I managed to be in this space where I sort of achieved oneness with my universe. The pie of my life as it were, was split into exactly the right amount of proportions. I got to do as much boardgaming as I had set out to do for the year and work (nightmarish as it was at times) never came at the cost of spending time with, and taking care of, my family. Yet having said that, the people of my faith call this "the comfort zone", a dimension associated with parasites of complacency, vileness of lukewarm water and spectres with idle hands (so much for oneness with the universe), so I fully expect my life to be absolutely topsy turvy come 2018.
The Mr Men & Little Miss series always amused me as a child
But that's getting ahead of myself. Before we move on, let's have a quick look at what 2017 wrought for us, shall we?
2017 gave us President Donald Trump, a leader with many "firsts" in his one year tenure so far, we also had Brexit which gave the world an education on what the EU really is, we had cyberattacks, terrorist attacks, missile testings, hurricane after hurricane to test humanity's indomitable will, I and many others mourned the loss of Chester Bennington and the iPhone decided to go the way of Microsoft by skipping the dreaded number 9.
The collision and merging of two separate galaxies 250 million light years away. Taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2017
In the Malaysian section of last year's review, I did mention that Mohd Faiz Subri was shortlisted for best goal of the year and perhaps as an omen, En. Subri did indeed win the prestigious award! The rest of the year's news whilst exciting, has not helped Malaysia's image internationally. We had the assassination of Kim Jong-nam occur at our International Airport, True Fitness (a Singaporean fitness chain) closes down overnight, giving Malaysians a quick education in corporate law 101, so many cases of bullying, abuse and attacks particularly against younger people, the banning of Despacito which made its way on to The Late Late Show with James Corden and then of course Fight of Gods which made the government ban access to Steam, which of course then had all Malaysians clamouring to check it out.
Oh Malaysia… the mess we make of ourselves
As parents, we are proud to announce that both the padawans have entered the education system. This may seem like a no-brainer achievement to others but finding a school for padawan Babygeek was not as natural as sticking padawan Babygeek into the same school as padawan Minigeek. Thankfully we have found a suitable place although now it seems like I too have to get back into the habits of my good ol' school days of making up school bags, replenishing water bottles, reading school messages and checking homework the night before.
And so begins the countdown sequence until the kids graduate
Work is steadily getting more hectic, more because of the changes the organisation is going through. Thankfully we are getting more help next year which is not easy for us as it is for other corporate entities. Hopefully we will be able to find someone to help with some of the responsibilities I'm currently babysitting. I say this because I notice that I've started the habit of going into office during out of office hours.
Some people count it the highest honour to go out this way… The work-no life balance as it were
In 2017, I started using Board Game Stats (RM13.99) to keep track of all the information of my plays as well as games played at SWAGamers sessions. I also got the "Deep Stats" in-app purchase because I was keeping track of highest scores in my excel sheet as well but decided to forgo the "Challenges" expansion since I wasn't interested in achieving any particular H-index value. Personally I'm extremely satisfied with the app so far, plus it is able to sync itself with BGG as a back-up.
I'm particularly glad that we actually managed to have all our twelve monthly meet ups this year and more impromptu sessions on top of that. And with that my number of plays for 2017 has nearly tripled with 42 plays of 29 different board games compared to 14 plays in 2016. SWAGamers as a group saw 62 plays of 36 different games which is a pretty good statistic for a monthly meet-up group.
I have been a good hobbyist this year with only 3 new acquisitions in 2017 (4 if you count the free game which of course doesn't count), similar to last year. In fact, I sold a boardgame this year (making it my second sale in a 8 year hobby) which gives me a net acquisition of 2 games (the justifications hoarders give themselves, seriously). This on top of Essen SPIEL 2017 being a pretty good year for new boardgames, it was so good it has revived my interest in actually participating in the SPIEL in person in the not too far future. So let's run through the list shall we?
Games that have left the wishlist:
Colony, Vast: The Crystal Caverns, Dream Home & The Colonists have all fallen off my wishlist. The reasons I have actually already listed in the 2016 review.
Similarly, The Pursuit of Happiness has left my wishlist, largely due to the game looking a bit too fiddly and I've grown disinterested in owning a souped up version of The Game of Life. Roll for the Galaxy has also left the wishlist, mostly because I have been swayed by my peers that Race for the Galaxy is the better variant of the two to have in my collection.
I am trying to practice the 30 day rule of preventing impulsive buying
Altiplano by Reiner Stockhausen (Photo by: Henk Rolleman)
Altiplano - I was really hyped for this game and wanted this to be Orleans 2.0 but sadly the divided opinions and multiplayer solitaire descriptions made Altiplano leave the ring early for me. I will most likely just get the Orleans: Trade & Intrigue expansion and be absolutely happy with that.
Games that are still in the ring:
Clank! In Space! by Paul Dennen (Photo by: cardboardcanuck)
Clank! In Space! - Imagine playing as Bilbo Baggins & his company of thirteen dwarves invading the lair of Smaug for treasure, only now you're doing it in space on Smaug's intergalactic spaceship. Whilst I do have a fair number of deck builders in my collection, I don't have games with a push your luck mechanic. Clank! In Space! would fill this empty niche spectacularly on top of it being full of pop-culture hilarity. Whilst the game is now available where I live, I've decided to adopt a wait-and-see approach but odds are this will likely be joining the collection in 2018.
Codenames: Marvel by Vlaada Chvatil & Casey Sershon (Photo by: Jeff Clarke)
Codenames: Marvel - I sometimes have this… I hate to call it an "issue" but there are times when newcomers happen to show up whilst the others are in the midst of a heavy euro and I don't have anything that they can pick up, read the rules and play on their own. I'm really hoping Codenames: Marvel will help with situations like these and the theme is just a bonus to me.
Heaven & Ale by Michael Kiesling & Andreas Schmidt (Photo by: Henk Rolleman)
Heaven & Ale- In the overall noise of SPIEL 2017, Heaven & Ale generated a steady buzz of its own. You play as an ancient monastery of monks who's God given task is to brew beer. I don't actually have any attraction towards alcoholic beverages so ironically what drew me to Heaven & Ale was the fact that I can't really figure out how the game is played, like a puzzle I can't crack at the moment. I suspect that this attraction will probably pass though and will be surprised if Heaven & Ale does enter my collection.
Magic Maze by Kasper Lapp
Magic Maze - Games usually appeal to me because I don't have a game with a similar mechanic in my collection. It's like I'm trying to build a library of mechanics as it were. Magic Maze with its real time aspect, simplicity and short playing time sings to me in that way. Similar to Codenames: Marvel above, I need something that can feel in the gap for newcomers who arrive at our meetups in between other longer games.
Majesty: For The Realm by Marc Andre (Photo by: W Eric Martin)
Majesty: For The Realm - Whilst I've never played Marc Andre's breakthrough hit Splendor except on the digital arena, I can see why praise was warranted at SPIEL 2017 from those who sat down to play Majesty: For The Realm. Whilst the actions have been simplified, the implications of the actions on the other hand have been expanded and deepened in terms of tactics and strategy. With Splendor ending up being too simplistic for my tastes, I think Majesty: For The Realm will hit just the right note with my group.
Games Added To THE SHELF:
Clans of Caledonia by Juma Al-JouJou (Photo by: Juma Al-JouJou)
Clans of Caledonia - I want to say that this was not an impulse buy, that reviews were viewed, peer consultations were consulted, the rulebook was overanalysed and don't get me wrong, I did all those things (well, one of each category) but yes... it was an impulse buy. It was sold at SPIEL 2017 in limited quantities, even more limited quantities were being shipped back by an attendee, I have absolutely nothing like it in my shelf... yeah, shut up and take my money. And you know what, it is a really, really good game. The game rewards forward planning, is tight enough that tactical changes need to be consistently considered and looks really good (because of the meeples, meeples always get a +1 from me).
Gloomhaven by Isaac Childres (Photo by: Jinha Yoon)
Gloomhaven 2.0 - You may not know it but a post like this is pre-written and not churned out of the mad machinations of my mind on New Year's Eve (I wish I could but half of it would not be legible). And so this paragraph is actually the last part of the post I am writing. "Why?", you say? Because I am still patiently, agonizingly, excruciatingly, unbearably, gruellingly, torturously and painfully (thesaurus.com only has so many synonyms) waiting for the game. Even as I write this, I am patiently, agonizingly, etc. waiting for the WhatsApp message that beckons me forth to pick up my game from the shop. Kickstarted in 2015, distributed in 2017 and kickstarted again in 2017 to the tune of nearly USD4million, Gloomhaven has skyrocketed to the number #1 spot in boardgame rankings over the course of 2 years. There is still 1 day to go till New Year's Day and I am waiting with trepidation as to whether this paragraph will get a pre-New Year's edit about the game's arrival. (EDIT: It is now 4 hours to 2018, looks like Gloomhaven will belong to the new year after all)
Steal This Game by David Turczi (Photo by Viktor Csete)
Steal This Game - I won this game from Frank Schulte-Kulkmann's G@mebox annual prize draw and he was kind enough to mail it all the way from Essen, Germany via snail mail together with an Above and Below building promo card. I haven't tried it yet seeing as I have just received it but I actually heard about the theft at LudiCreations booth at SPIEL 2016 watching videos of people talking about it as it happened in 2016. An estimate of €3,500 was lost when someone had the gall (may his gallbladder be filled with stones and the stabbing pain rob him of sleep every night and day) to steal the cash box at LudiCreation's booth which prompted the designer to create this game. Many people who heard about their plight bought this game as a contribution towards the loss and I feel doubly blessed because I haven't won any prize draws in a while now and also because of the story behind this game's creation.
Sushi Go Party! by Phil Walker-Harding
Sushi Go Party! - Technically, I'm going to argue that this is not a purchase. Let me present my case: I had Sushi Go! in my collection which was purchased at RM89.00. I sold Sushi Go! for RM50.00 and paid RM130.00 for Sushi Go Party!, making my net outlay to be RM169.00 where the retail price for Sushi Go Party! is RM179.10. So yes it still is a purchase, just that I paid RM89.00 in 2015 and RM80.00 in 2017, the math cannot lie I suppose. But wow, Sushi Go Party! is so much better. One would think that there are only that many sushi already covered in Sushi Go! but noooooo, we forgot the Miso Soup, the Green Tea Ice Creams and the freaking Menus! Genius.
Closing Thoughts On 2017:
On the boardgame front, I'm really enjoying self-learning photo and video editing. It certainly takes much longer to do a session report but I hope the quality outweighs the time required and I'm really having fun doing it. I don't think I will progress to making video reviews, mainly because I don't play any single game enough to do a proper review and also because I don't have the proper equipment for it and don't intend to purchase said equipment for this purpose.
I quite like doing what Board Game Replay does which is to speed up gameplay then go back to normal speed at interesting bits or when the player interaction is hilarious. Unfortunately I am only able to do this in 90 minute slots which is the time limit of my equipment and thus limiting this feature to shorter games.
This is not the next step... Not by a looooong shot
At home, school has taken over Jedi Knight training. I must admit that many of the skills taught in school do build upon the Jedi Knight curriculum, such as addition & subtraction (which you need to count 'em victory points), washing of hands (always keep your dice & meeples clean) and vocabulary (English is not the first language of some rulebook writers). So I generally help out with the school work, as I see it as the credits earned being carried over towards a Jedi Knight degree.
Even Padawans do best when work is combined with play
There are also extracurricular classes such as training the Padawans to recognize the dark side (midichlorians, simi-chlorians, got how many also doesn't matter once they go over to the dark side), training to control temper, watch what they say & no hitting the other Padawans when the Jedi Master isn't looking. Despite what the Jedi Code says, it's great to have two little Padawans and I love them both to bits.
My goofy famiglia
So what's next in 2018? I will carry on organizing monthly meet ups for SWAGamers and post reports here. I don't envision increasing or decreasing the schedule but there will probably be more adhoc sessions compared to 2017. I do plan on having a segment on Gloomhaven, so that Players who cannot consistently make it can keep up with what's happening to the party and perhaps vote for the party's decisions in the comments. So look forward to that in 2018!
And as is customary for me to end each year with an annual geek contribution, here's something I'm really looking forward to catching in cinemas next year:
Images credits to moviesteem
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