Review - 2014

31st of December 2014 (Wednesday)

Year In Review:
2014 Review

Review – 2014
This Year Was… …:
… … Good grief, it is two days to Christmas, I’ve slept a total of 7 hours in the last 48 hours & I’m trying to write down my thoughts on how the year went… I think I’ll come back again after Christmas.

So I’m back & boy was it a good idea to postpone my year in review to post-Christmas. So starting again... This Year Was… … one of those years in everyone’s life where you are suddenly in December, wondering if you had mistakenly stepped into THE blue British police box in January & lost eleven months of your life, yup I think I just had a year very much like that.

Those who don’t get the reference can google "TARDIS"

This year, I am rearranging the format of my year in review to provide a bit more coherence for readers. I'll be covering the boardgames section first & moving the non-boardgames stuff to the end. If you're reading this blog just to take my thoughts on my boardgaming experience for 2014, feel free to stop after my annual geek contribution pic.

So without further ado, I present to you the summary of gaming goodness for 2014:

God bless the man who thought up Lotus 1-2-3

I’ve managed to keep up the number of plays per year at 23 plays for 2014 (2011: 43, 2012: 40, 2013: 21) although it is still nowhere near the numbers in 2011-2012. This is by & large thanks to KFCgamers which managed to have six sessions in 2014, raising my average number of games played per month to 1.9 games. Another good thing stemming from KFCgamers is the wider variety of games played compared with the previous years since Gideon, Jimmy & myself have differing tastes in our collections. Whilst the outlook for 2015 doesn’t look too bright for my hobby, I’m choosing a "take it as it comes" attitude & see how it goes after Padawan Babygeek arrives. Moving on, let’s have a look at the "All Time High Score Hall of Fame" if you will:

I couldn’t put in the high scores for all games as it would be too small to capture so I just put in the changes for 2014

Just as a follow up from previous year, I now have 78 wins over Mo’s 36 but this figure is now somewhat meaningless since Mo is not my regular gaming partner anymore. I suspect I might discontinue counting the wins as it has become a redundant now that my playing group is far more unplanned. So let’s talk about High Scores. Gideon has cemented himself as the new 7 Wonders champion at 66 points! Mo on the other hand crowns himself the new economist of Airlines Europe at 89 points. Some new high scores for new games to the list include Mo’s ridiculous score of 146 in Famiglia & Gideon being crowned the unofficial king of the draft format for MTG. I suspect Sean will have choice words to say the next time he joins our MTG draft day since he missed the first one.

New Games I Bought This Year:
So Essen has come & gone again this year, I managed to withstand temptation & only gave in to one game (although it has yet to arrive so it won’t be part of the 2014 acquisitions. I must say that this is a real breakthrough for me even though I did follow Essen through various YouTube uploads to see what’s new. Perhaps it is a realization that I may not have the time & opportunity to play some of these titles & that has constrained me to only picking the ones I think I would really love. Here’s what I got this year:

Games from Essen 2013:

Glass Road - One of the sleeper hits of Essen 2013, there have been requests for this to hit the table more often & could have been my first five if we had more sessions this year. An unusual marriage of Uwe Rosenberg’s usual production wheel mechanic with a role guessing mechanic, that turns out to be made for each other. The role guessing mechanic ensures a certain Player tension that remains throughout the game instead of being at the end game (which is typical of Uwe Rosenberg's titles).

Nations - It very nearly reached my five & its relatively short length will see it hit the table far more often than its predecessor. Who would’ve thought that a simply tweaking of the combat system would change a game so much? With the change to warfare, the overall game is more balanced in my opinion & there are many options available to keep up with the "leader". I just wish I could find just one more Player to take this game to 3 Players.

Photo by kilroy_locke (bgg handle)

Concordia - Still waiting for the right group to try this game which was #1 of the Essen Fairplay List until the last day when it dropped to #2.

Photo by The Innocent (bgg handle)

Patchistory - I just received this & probably need to wait until Mo gets back to try the game that sold out on its first day at Essen 2013.

Games from Kickstarter:

The Agents - I have only played with two so far & am quite interested to try it with more Players. Definitely a card game with its own niche mechanics that matches the theme of espionage very well. It is possible for the game to bog down towards the end because of the number of agent abilities available to the Player but you can increase / decrease the win condition (based on points) to suit your preferences.

Dungeon Lords: Happy Anniversary - I’m a huge Dungeon Keeper fan, this was Christmases coming early. It does come with some redundant pieces which make things somewhat confusing for someone who doesn't own the expansion already. No complaints though about the production quality & the extra coolstuff I got through the kickstarter.

Games I received as a gift:

The Resistance: Avalon - I received this as a birthday gift which I hear is better than The Resistance.

Games I bought:

Mage Knight - Finally. The way I’ve been obsessing about this game was probably ridiculous so I finally got it. Padawan Minigeek absolutely loves the miniatures & who can blame her? For me, Mage Knight is basically everything you need for epic adventures in a box. The game length & learning curve is one of the biggest hindrances to breaking this out to play but as I've said previously, I'm picking this up "purely to nurse the fantasy AD&D geek in me".

One of the rare years I’ve stayed within budget

Incredibly, this brings my collection to one shy of the big five-o (not including expansions). Whilst I was going on & on about not parting with any one piece of my collection in 2013, I have actually put up Dungeon Lords for sale since I now have the Happy Anniversary edition. There have been no takers thus far & shelf space is now of legitimately paramount concern, as my wife keeps reminding me. Again, as with each & every year, I am a bit at a loss as to what to do about it (apart from buying another cupboard for boardgames). I’d like to try and avoid having a room full of boardgames, I’m not against people who do have such a collection, I’d just like to keep mine manageable, which probably means going down the road of more selling / giving away.

And to add more troubles to my conundrum, I do have some games on my radar. There are only 4 games I’ve purposed to pick up & 1 is intended to be a gift so I really am trying to strike a balance to my collection (wishful thinking):

Castles of Mad King Ludwig - I’ve watched reviews for this which were mostly positive & I don’t currently have anything that resembles this in my collection. I am really hoping that the goal tiles are not as restrictive in Castles of Mad King Ludwig & I feel that it is the case with Suburbia which I want to love but for that niggling factor. If this takes the place of Suburbia then I'll probably look to letting Suburbia go.

Harbour - This is probably my last Kickstarter project due to the risks of kickstarting & early access backing which have become too high for me. All the scary stories about how shipments don't arrive, arrive damaged or even worse don't even reach production have gotten to me & I honestly would rather pick games up at retail & the cost is not usually very different because of the extravagant shipping costs through Kickstarter.

Photo by W Eric Martin (bgg handle)

King of New York - I sat on the fence for King of Tokyo for ages and ages, which turned out to be okay now that King of New York is coming. I really wanted something fun for the kids to play but with King of New York being meaty at the same time, its like your favourite pizza came with free extra cheese.

Photo upped by Toxziq (bgg handle)

Sheriff of Nottingham - I thought this would make a really good holiday gift & am picking it up solely for that purpose.

There are some games that I really am on the fence about. Here is the list and the reasons why I’m not too sure if these should end up in my collection:

Photo upped by Filippos (bgg handle)

CV - I admit that I really dig the artwork on this game & it does not seem too complicated that young children will be able to play it. I am always drawn to boardgames that leave each Player with a story to tell & I think CV accomplishes that in no Player having the same "strategy" each game. I feel a little torn because of the dice mechanics which I think may turn off younger Players if they have a particularly bad run of luck. As the game has yet to reach my shores, I can continue sitting on the fence for a while longer.

Photo upped by yakos (bgg handle)

Orléans - I first heard of this from Kareem & read up about it at Essen but got turned away by the bag building mechanic, which I’m not hugely a fan of due to its randomness. However, I recently heard Rahdo’s glowing praise for the game & am squarely back on the fence again. I don't really think I need more games in my collection that give Players "many options to choose from" though & will probably check it out before I pick it up.

Photo by Fubeca (bgg handle)

Paperback - I'm not a huge Scrabble fan but played quite a few games with my mother-in-law during a family holiday. Paperback reminded me of that holiday & the only reason I'd pick it up is to do some boardgame evangelism. Having said that, I don't think there would be many opportunities to play the game as only a select few of the people I know actually enjoy Scrabble, so I would only pick it up if the price was right.

Photo by Kaelistus (bgg handle)

Red7 - I’m a Carl Chudyk fan & honestly feel that he is one of the better card game designers out there. I like that Red7 is quick to play & can even be scaled for length & complexity. I just don’t really think I need any more filler card games to go into my collection.

Closing Thoughts On 2014:
On the boardgame front, it does appear that KFCgamers will go on hiatus for a little while. Both Jimmy & Gideon do have their own busy groups outside of KFCgamers so I usually do the organizing for KFCgamers sessions. I am rather hopeful that I will be able to organize a Titan event with Alan & Mo when he comes back. We'd most likely play to points / first Player eliminated & I am rather excited about it to be honest since each Titan experience is usually very memorable & doing battle with mystical creatures ticks all the right boxes in my brain. Apart from that, I think I might go back to arranging more sessions with my siblings next year as the timing & location would be more flexible. So look forward to more cutthroat, backstabbing, insults hurling, pouting & gloating from us in 2015.

And as always, the following is my contribution for 2014 to all the Master Geeks out there:

For Master Geeks' future planning

And that brings us to the next section of 2014 in review. For those who've gotten their quota of geekiness, so long & thanks for all the fish & I will see you in 2015. For the rest of us, 2014 was a really rough year. Here's what happened:

On the world front, we had & still have Ebola, the capsizing of the Korean ferry on its way to Jeju Island, we say goodbye to Mr. Moyes at last, Thailand reverts to a military state, Gangnam Style breaks YouTube counter at 2billion views, ISIS began & continues to capture & conquer cities in Syria & Iraq, the cannibal (a.k.a. Luis Suarez) strikes again at the World Cup, Germany won their fourth World Cup of the beautiful game, the ceasefires in the Gaza strip that don't seem to stick, "the brightest star in our comedy galaxy" – Robin Williams, took his own life, the Ice Bucket Challenge infectiously spreads to celebrities through social media, Apple launches iPhone 6 which started the #bendgate saga & more or less commits them till iPhone X, Scotland votes to stay with the United Kingdom, the Blade Runner goes to jail, grand jury’s decision in Ferguson & other cases triggers protests across US, Facebook acquires whatsapp at USD 22billion, Hong Kong pro-democracy activists’ "The Umbrella Movement" builds momentum, the Sydney hostage crisis tragically ends with two lives lost, Taliban gunman cruelly take the lives of 141 school children & we managed to land a spacecraft on a comet (which, for those who have played Lander on Windows 3.1 will know, is an amazing feat).

Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan & everything in between. But he was one of a kind… He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely & generously to those who needed it most… The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin’s family, his friends & everyone who found their voice & their verse thanks to Robin Williams.
– President Barack Obama

As some of you might recall, I live in a tropical Southeast Asian country called Malaysia, where the weather ranges from blazing hot to pouring cats & dogs. 2014 is Visit Malaysia year & I took part in that by going to Southeast Asia’s first ever chocolate museum only to realize it only takes a two minute walk to finish the tour & the guides don’t speak English. #Malaysia"Boleh" & #onlyinMalaysia (hey I’m getting the hang of this hashtag thingies). Apart from that, we had the Selangor MB fiasco, the water crisis coupled with the haze which drove people nuts, the opening of the second Penang bridge, the neverending story surrounding the word "Allah", the mysterious disappearance of MH370, the tragic loss of the Tiger of Jelutong in a road accident, KLIA 2 opens amidst claims of cracks on the runway & flooding, Malaysia has its first MasterChef in Catherine Chin winning with Nasi Lemak & Wanton Soup, the RM25 million pandas from China arrive, the Cadbury "tak halal" scare, MH17 is shot down & crashes into Eastern Ukraine with no survivors, the advent of mobile phones being used to catch road ragers, lives lost in the construction of the new MRT line, the UPSR exam leak & subsequent resit, the yo-yo movement of petrol prices, grenade exploding in Kuala Lumpur’s golden triangle area, a series of unusual weather phenomenon which included water spouts & a freaking mini tornado & the latest disappearance of flight QZ8501. As you can probably glean from this reading, Malaysia had a really tough year in 2014.

No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for our children, for Mo, for Evie, for Otis
No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for Grandad Nick
No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for each other
This is a revelation that gives us some comfort
- Anthony Maslin & Marite Norris (parents who lost their three children & father in the MH17 crash)

The world, my country & I have lost many people this year, many of them young & full of dreams that will never be fulfilled, many of them leaving family & friends behind who are wondering at the senselessness of it all. As the year ends, I want to remember those who are grieving, mourning & praying and tell them that others grieve, mourn & pray with you and remind them to hope again & try to remember the good times, for "when you are sorrowful, look again in your heart and you shall see that in truth, you are weeping for that which has been your delight" – Kahlil Gibran.

In the midst of the loss which has affected all of us, there is hope in a growing life as well as a new life. 2014 is well & truly the first year of us being a family of three. Where once only the opinion of two people mattered, we now have to cater to three. Padawan Minigeek now has demands that go beyond simple food, sleep & cleaning. She has a voice that demands to be heard, questions that need answering, fascinations that require rapt attention, tantrums that require diplomatic negotiations, behaviour that requires firm disciplining & kawaii moments that need to be captured. And guess what, we’ve received news that Padawan Babygeek is coming in January! More fun for the family.

Personally, 2014 was a year of discovery for me. Discovering who I am as a parent, who Padawan Minigeek is as a person, discovering how I deal with loss, both personal & that of others, rediscovering my motivations, discovering the basis of my faith, discovering how short life really is in light of what the world is going through & why the struggles I wrestle with are worth it. On this journey of discovery, I'm glad to have my best friend by my side to take that journey with me. That in and of itself is a discovery of thankfulness that my journey in life is not a lonesome one.

I'm so blessed to have these people in my life

In light of the sad events that have occurred the world over, my quote for this year is from Maya Angelou, "We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends, and living our lives." Do cherish the people around you, you never know when they will be gone for good. Take time to enjoy the people God has blessed you with in 2015.