Year In Review:
2025 Review
This Year Was… :
… Akin to the delightful and yet somewhat melancholic realization that I can now fit into a shirt that was once one size too big. And unfortunately, I mean that both figuratively as well as literally (time to cut sugar again). From a young age, I always envisioned eventually achieving the glorious title of CFO and aligned my education and career in that direction. The day I derailed that vision to serve a higher calling, I could not have imagined coming into the shoes of CEO a short decade later. Whilst this opportunity comes with an immense feeling of both gratitude and pride, I doubt that I will be changing the way I approach my everyday life very much. I rather enjoy my personal misnomer of my title as "Coolie Executive Officer". I am first an indentured servant of the school and the student population it serves before anything else.
Dedicate your heartIn local news, I wish some nicer things had happened this year but we have to start with a gas line explosion that happened only 10km away. People were woken up by a roaring sound caused by the explosion and a column of flame 30m tall continued to burn for seven hours. Although there were no deaths, there were more than 100 burn victims, trauma from debris and smoke inhalation as well as extensive property damage to more than 100 properties. A few of our students’ homes were impacted and continue to be displaced to this day. The cause of the explosion remains unknown and has raised concerns about the sufficiency of the current "safety distance" from gas pipelines. I personally know people who lived within sight of a gas pipeline just up and move out of their homes after this incident.
This is the sort of devastation we see 'elsewhere' and is so surrealThe probability of traffic accidents where I reside is unfortunately as sure as the sun rises in the east each day. We averaged over 1,700 accidents and 14 road accident deaths DAILY last year. And yet this year was such a bad year for us that the Transportation Minister went into beast mode like GTO and handed out penalties up and down Malaysia’s logistics chain like he was Oprah giving out free cars. 15 dead and 33 injured students on a bus going back to campus, 9 killed and another 9 Federal Reserve Unit personnel injured when another lorry veered onto the FRU truck’s lane, 1 year old killed and 8 others injured when a lorry crashed into the queuing vehicles at a toll booth. When the Malaysian Truck Operators Association and Drivers Association starts holding rallies to protest the enforcement of existing laws on overloading, unlicensed drivers and drivers with outstanding summonses, you have to wonder if we should deserve being labelled a third world country.
Either that or we have become so first world that we have started to breed our own KarensGrowing up in the 90s and 2000s, I experienced going to school with teen gangs in school, bullying, teen pregnancy, truancy and discrimination. So, it has taken a while for the government to finally enact anti-bullying laws to criminalize various forms of bullying but at last they have enacted these laws in July this year and are introducing in 2026 the Online Safety Act 2025 to ban social media for children below 16. 2025 became the final straw when we witnessed a tragic series of incidents, including a gang rape in Malacca, increasing cases of school bullying and one that allegedly resulted in a student’s death and the murder of a 16-year-old student by a 14-year-old schoolmate. Whilst this is a move in the right direction, I personally think that there continues to be a lack in accountability demanded from parents.
Never would I have imagined that our schools would one day be using metal detectorsIn the aftermath of 24 August 2025, every Malaysian who went to public school realized that our textbooks had lied to us all this time. It turns out that our country is not located in an earthquake free zone or outside the Pacific Ring of Fire. And then of course, everyone globally got a crash course on Trump economics which infuriated Economics PHDs across the globe that everyone had to get on a news channel, YouTube channel, podcast and radio station to school him on how tariffs actually work.
Nice to know that policy u-turns are not only found in MalaysiaPadawan Minigeek has become a full-fledged teenager. You learn to roll with the moodiness, one minute they tell you to leave them alone, the next minute they need you to run to the store because they forgot something and they will owe you forever and ever (which actually means until the favour is complete). I don’t know if this originated from him, but I love Jeff Allen’s joke that teenagers are God’s revenge on mankind. God said, "Let’s see how they like it when they create something in their own image that denies their existence." So, she didn’t do too well in her exams this year and hid her results from me which resulted in her phone privileges being rescinded. That resulted in a topsy turvy few weeks which eventually has led to a better version of Padawan Minigeek, I think a four-day family getaway to Phuket also helped because I managed to spend some father daughter time with her in the ocean (everyone else in the family is apparently allergic to sand). With Padawan Minigeek, I try to remind her that I love her as a father, will be her coach in her teenage years and savour the good days while sailing together through the bad ones. With both of us being the oldest in our families, I think we share a kinship in our sense of duty, responsibility and kindness which is tempered with a hint of negativity on why the world expects so much out of us.
Padawan Minigeek is very self-conscious about having her picture taken, could she be a vampire?Padawan Babygeek is starting to express his opinion confidently, but still accepts that there is much of the universe that he does not understand. He now gives as good as he gets and is not afraid to challenge you for supremacy in an argument. He is still a sweet little thing but starting to show some vanity if you comment on his physical looks. Oh, and he hates sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Waitaminute… … Padawan Babygeek went to his first Pokemon Con this year. It was a relatively small one with maybe 50 or so vendors but he had a fun time looking for cards for his decks. He complained that he flipped so many binders that day his arm became sore, typical Gen Alphas. He still deals in hugs as currency, leaves debris in his wake, can’t spell to save his life and still has no concept of the importance of money. Oh yes, he lacks the survival instincts of a Jedi Knight who doesn’t recognize the advantage of high ground.
Padawan Babygeek and this enormous Psyduck at his first PokeConPadawan Minigeek managed to evade playing any boardgames during the entirety of 2025. Thus Padawan Babygeek continues to be my steady boardgaming partner in the family. His favourite boardgame of choice this year was Exploding Kittens: Party Pack which is his first owned boardgame. I am not sure what the appeal is exactly but I am very sure social media strongly influenced his choice. I unfortunately see the boardgame as "Keep drawing cards until you are certain where the bomb is located in the deck then use all cards at your disposal to get your opponent to draw the bomb". Altogether, Padawan Babygeek played 53 boardgames with me in 2025, more than double the 22 times in the previous year. Despite his love for simplistic boardgames like Exploding Kittens, he has also grown to be able to take on boardgames with more complicated rulesets such as Gloomhaven, The Vale of Eternity and Andromeda’s Edge this year.
I can’t agree with the artwork but I can agree with the time spent with Padawan BabygeekWith all that out of the way let's talk about some boardgame statistics for 2025 using the very handy Board Game Stats app, with a side-by-side comparison to 2024:
2025 vs 2024 in numbersSo, I almost broke even with 2024’s total plays which is somewhat surprising. If you remember, I went on a insane streak of playing one boardgame a day (mostly on BGA) and most of those plays were on Race for the Galaxy. I didn’t continue the practice in 2025 but I did make it a point to play more medium length boardgames such as Space Base, Gizmos and Faraway on non-BRUTE Boardgame nights. Comparing game nights with the boys showed a remarkable increase from 319 plays to 383 plays in 2025, particularly in the latter half of 2025 when there were weeks where we were playing almost every night throughout the week due to either the holidays or simple FOMO. Having said that, most nights it has now become just the three of us as PHD Doctor Tan has cut down his playing time by almost half from the previous year due to family commitments. And although our 5th man of the year is now back from the holy land, the burdens of a newborn padawan will continue to disrupt his nights and extracurricular activities for some time to come. It is with great pride and joy that despite losing the quarter title to Ikhwan Hardi, I once again announce myself as the back-to-back Grand Champion of BRUTE Boardgames 2025!
Boardgames Added / Dropped / Staying on This Year's Wishlist:
Finally… after eight long, long years… A Feast for Odin and its expansion have moved from the wishlist to the collection. On the other hand, ISS Vanguard which left the wishlist in 2022 has made a comeback this year. I have a funny feeling that I am moving towards more solo gaming in my future so I am looking towards adding more boardgames with good storylines. I am hoping to pick it up second hand after someone has finished with it.
And I need a boardgame that takes me on a journey to the starsI have also added Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization to the wishlist this year. I do have the original in my collection but it is nice to have something to consider as a birthday gift to myself, particularly since there hasn’t been any kickstarters or previews of boardgames in 2026 that have caught my eye. Plus, it is nice to know that I don’t have to worry about any more expansions that would screw up my storage system. Mr Vlaada Chvatil has yet to disappoint me so far.
Another boardgame that delivers an epic experienceDuring the latest Essen Spiel 2025, I actually asked AI to compare my collection with the latest hotness at Essen and suggest boardgames I should add to my collection. In summary, the response is that I already have a boardgame in my collection that equivalent for each of the new hotness that came out this year. This is a bit like that feeling when my housemate and I went to the anime club in university, took a look at their catalogue and realized our personal collection was bigger than the club’s. Or realizing now that there comes a point when there are too many Avatar movies. And here is the updated wishlist as at the end of 2025:
Wishlist 2025Boardgames Added To THE SHELF:
This is actually one of the longer lists in a few years. Thus, a conclusion could be drawn that my wishlist did not really serve its purpose as a cooling period for a 'want' to turn into an 'urgent want'. Let’s look through the list of boardgames (excuses) then, shall we?
Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines
As I mentioned previously, I’m a crazy fan of the movie and even tried the books (only got so far because of all the hallucinations in the book) before watching the movies. An opportunity to include the Sardaukar in the boardgame sold me immediately. We managed to get one play of Uprising + Rise of Ix + Bloodlines and I want to plan another with just Uprising + Bloodlines to see if Rise of Ix is just too much expansion baggage. I am now happily categorized as 'That group of people who love both Lost Ruins of Arnak and Dune: Imperium'.
Lost Ruins of Arnak - Adventure Chest
Do I love limited edition things? Yes. Do I love good storage solutions? Amen. Do I love new maps for Lost Ruins of Arnak? Hallelujah. Which also means, time to round up the series.
Lost Ruins of Arnak - Missing Expedition
I was originally going to skip out on Missing Expedition because it was the expansion that catered towards solo play. I do have a change of heart towards solo play provided that it either creates an epic experience or has a good storyline that of course has to play well solo. That and I didn’t want missing spaces in my new Adventure Chest storage box. CGE sure knows how easy it is to take my money.
Magic: The Gathering - Final Fantasy
I had previously missed the Tales of Middle-earth release and regretted the experience of not being able to give away money in exchange for pieces of paper of dubious commercial value AND the wonderful experience of opening packs, drafting then pitting the hobbits from the Shire against the orcs and uruks of Mordor. Having learnt my lesson, I preordered a booster box from my FLGS and added on another very expensive 6 booster packs so I could do 3 draft parties with 4 players. I did one with my siblings and another with my old Gloomhaven party and I am saving one more for the 2026 SWAGamers MTG Championships (Subang Jaya version) to which I probably need at least one more player since one of us has moved back out of state. The first two draft parties were incredibly awesome as we are all fans of Final Fantasy and had all the right dramatic responses when our favourite characters / chocobos / unnamed heroes perished in the battle between two magic slinging wizards.
A Feast for Odin + The Norwegians + storage solution
Two different people indicated that they were holding a moving away sale through the local Facebook boardgaming group that had A Feast for Odin in their list of items for sale. I went to the first one with Padawan Babygeek having very high hopes of snagging my grail boardgame. Alas I was not the first one there and someone else had already reserved it together with a whole pile of other boardgames. So I was wiser with my second try, arriving almost an hour early to end up being fourth in the queue behind someone who was choosing between Scythe and A Feast for Odin. I think my heart stopped beating throughout her deliberations before my breathing resumed when she decided on Scythe in the end. Now the proud owner of my own copy of A Feast for Odin, I must complete the set! An agonizing 6 weeks later, I am now the proud owner of the complete boardgame with The Norwegians expansion and the insert coming all the way from the United States.
Tokaido
I first played Tokaido back in 2013 with Jimmy’s copy. It was a straightforward boardgame that was surprisingly better at higher player counts because the tension between going slower to enjoy the journey more (gain more points) versus going faster to get to a specific stop first because they were limited, was more palpable at higher player counts. I have always enjoyed the boardgame even though it seemed rather simple and it continues to be one of the staple boardgames on our BGA menu when we have four or five players that night. I was properly tempted by the International Tabletop Day sale by another FLGS and managed to pick up a brand-new copy of the latest edition by Stonemaier Games for 15% off, which I bought together with the next game.
Wondrous Creatures + Crew Set
This was the hotness at the time and anything with the word "creatures" in it automatically has my interest radar setting my sights on it through the periscope. Combos from cards and resources from a board had similar hallmarks to Lost Ruins of Arnak plus it was also 15% off so I said "Yes, please take my money". The production quality on this one, makes me feel like I’m playing on a planet from Palworld.
Andromeda’s Edge: Genesis
I rarely say no to expansions of boardgames I love. So it was almost without hesitation that I pre-ordered Andromeda’s Edge: Genesis just because I really enjoy both Dwellings of Eldervale and Andromeda’s Edge by Luke Laurie. The new factions and regions were enough to convince me to part with my money like a lovelorn halfwit.
The Vale of Eternity
We have been playing The Vale of Eternity on BGA for a bit and although it is a little long at four players, it is still a really cool boardgame with all sorts of card interactions and a very tight resource economy. When I was looking to purchase Christmas gifts this year, this 'somehow' landed in my cart and in a moment of carelessness I checked it out together with my Christmas shopping. Now I am actually seriously contemplating rounding it out with its two sibling expansions sometime in the future.
Boardgames NEW to me in 2025:
Nearly all the boardgames new to me this year were learned through BGA as usual. There is some overlap with sections above so I will try to be brief with some of them.
Exploding Kittens: Party Pack:
I wasn’t going to add an image but this one sums the boardgame up perfectly. It is pretty short that we can knock three plays out in 15-20 minutes to determine an overall winner. And it keeps Padawan Babygeek happy for some reason to explode kittens. I sense a strong disturbance in the force.
Ptit Pois:
I discovered Ptit Pois on BGA by accident where it is listed as Easy Peasy. It is basically a hand management boardgame where the goal is to discard all your cards from one of two hands and hope your remaining hand has the smallest cumulative value among Players. There is some RNG luck depending on your card draw but it is a relatively quick and fun boardgame with enough 'take that' to match the frenemies in our group.
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion + Frosthaven:
This is not technically new boardgames since they use the same system as the original Gloomhaven. I’ve started a few scenarios of both Jaws of the Lion and Frosthaven and stalled out after that. I actually find both these iterations to be slicker than the original but I don’t think waiting around for the recreation of the perfect group which I was blessed with in Gloomhaven is becoming very productive. I suspect I will finish up my solo campaign in Gloomhaven then transition to solo campaigns of these two and hope that Padawan Babygeek joins me every so often.
Captain Tsubasa: The Card Game:
I loved the Captain Tsubasa manga back in the day and honestly if I didn’t have any sentimental vibes with the story, I would not have bothered with this two-player head-to-head boardgame about soccer which not only has luck of the card draw but luck of the dice as well.
A Feast For Odin + Norwegians:
I have had only one proper play of this so far and it was not under ideal circumstances. The rules were too complicated for Padawan Babygeek to absorb and even I forgot the adjacency rules of green and blue items. I’m also certain we forgot the rule about feeding our Vikings the same item during the Thing. I would certainly like to give this another go under more ideal circumstances.
SCOUT:
There is some resemblance to a Chinese card game called 'Chor Tai Ti' and so this was easy to introduce to my family (and lose to them as well). Perhaps the hardest rule to remember was the rule about not rearranging the cards in your hand. Otherwise, this is a brilliant pocket boardgame about managing and building a winning hand.
FlipToons:
A simple deck building boardgame about using fame as both points and currency to draft a cast of characters with eventually 30 fame to end the game. Naturally some card will have stronger affinity or combos with other cards that you’re looking for. I tried this once when it was first released but was not enamoured enough to try it again or introduce to my play group since we were already playing The Vale Of Eternity.
Pina Coladice + Tiny Towns + Qwinto:
Similar to FlipToons, I gave these a try on BGA and was not particularly attracted enough to give them a second go. Perhaps Tiny Towns was the biggest surprise for me since I thought the physical boardgame was quite well received and I even considered getting a copy for the collection once. It is not that I abhor luck as a mechanic in boardgames but it has to deliver fun as a fortunate side effect.
Closing Thoughts On 2025:
I am looking back on 2025 and I realize that the year turned out quite differently from how I envisioned it. Quite a number of things that I had planned to do did not work out:
1. Solo Gloomhaven - The unlocked classes really bother me and so I think this will be top priority
2. Nice Holiday + Boardgame Retreat - We did go on a nice holiday to Phuket where I got to spend time with the kids, sadly the boardgame retreat was immediately after the trip which would have been too exhausting for me so still no progress on that front
3. Join a local boardgame group – Nope, didn’t happen. Maybe I need to break through the introvert in me
2025 was not without its challenges. I tried as best as I could to not be emotional about each situation, to be as honest as possible, and to be as fair as possible even if it does not always work out. Giving my best has always been easy but this year I was encouraged by having a group of people who committed to pray for the school, people who I could send out a quick WhatsApp message to pray for the situation and they would. The best part is always coming back with a praise report knowing that God answers prayers.
I take comfort that my children are in school. One is addicted to cats and the other is addicted to Pokemon. Both don’t have a criminal record and are healthy as children can be. My last medical was a mix of good and bad news and according to my doctor’s recommendation, I need to (a) change my diet (b) "Increase intake of fire and omega oil in your diet" and (c) more cardio. Apparently, my other report that says I have no evidence of coronary artery disease means my heart can take more fire, praise be.
To be honest, I am a bit more impressed with my steam account than my BoardGameStats this year. I finished Disgaea 4, FF VIII, FF IX, FF X and Persona 3 Reload across 12 months which to me is a little insane. I can say that I’m actually quite proud of myself this year.
Final Fantasy – Gotta catch ‘em allSo what’s next in 2026?:
For the sake of clarity and conciseness, I will list out five things / boardgames I would like to accomplish / try / complete in 2026.
1. Finish my Gloomhaven solo campaign As I said earlier, I have been procrastinating on this but the other reason is because I have Jaws of the Lion and Frosthaven both perpetually set up on my table (I believe in wishful thinking so sue me). The other reason is that I need to find a house rule that makes it easier to unlock all the different classes in one playthrough. I’m sure something inventive will show up.
2. Organize the MTG Championships 2026 This is definitely happening. I’m still looking to open Vivi and Cloud. The only question mark is Who gets to sit at the table?. To find out, make sure you subscribe and like… wait, wrong social media tool.
3. Dune: Imperium – Uprising + Bloodlines I might even consider inviting strangers into my house to get this played. Okay, maybe not strangers. Maybe it is time to resurrect the old SWAGamers Facebook group.
4. Cut sugar I originally put a number here and decided let’s just take steps at a time. But hey, so far I’ve been relatively good. Managed to go 38 days without any form of bubble tea so far. Let’s see if I breakdown when the semester restarts.
5. Watch more movies in the cinema I love watching movies and loved going to the cinema. I understand that streaming services has cut into the revenues of cinemas but strangely enough, I don’t have any streaming services at home but I still have not been going to the cinemas as much. It might be worth exploring this as a form of me time away from the home.
Unusually, I am looking forward to the start of 2026. I am feeling positive about the changes we have begun to institute at the workplace as well as the changes I want to bring in my own life. There is so much I want to achieve and I want to do that with other people in the organization and my personal circle. Part of my growth is to learn how to use a little bit of AI in my daily life as well as work. So let’s see how AI can encapsulate my 5 things to do in 2026 in an image as my sign off for this year:
I must say that I am actually quite impressedWishing all my readers a blessed 2026 and if you play boardgames, may you continue to play better.
No comments:
Post a Comment