End Times 2021: JW's Playlist

Everybody had a hard year

Everybody had a good time

Oh yeah

Oh yeah

Well, I don't know about you of course, but I sure had. 2021 was a very nice year for solo board gaming, despite the troubles inside my head and in the outside world. And the documentary Get Back did indeed get me back, to my childhood and my first love in pop music. The Beatles ❤️ Around the age of 12 I knew everything there was to know about them, even about songs I'd never heard. I've always had obsessions like that. These days it's board games. Though I don't think a documentary on board games will ever have the emotional impact that one on music has. 🤔 Guess we'll find out in another 50 years.

You know my name - Look up the number

I logged 657 solo plays this year, so I'm confident I'll get to 666 in the end. Sweet. Some months I hardly played at all, some months I played like the devil was at my heels.

You can read about the crazy times here:

• The Madness that was May

• Solotober

Somehow I did not post about the quiet times. 🤷🏼

What's the new, Mary Jane?

I played 84 different games solo. 37 of them were new to me, and some of those new ones I liked a lot. Here's some of my favourite new acquisitions:

Underwater Cities was the best of the lot by far. I played it 40 times (plus about the same amount on the Yucata website) and it went straight to my top-3 of board games. In Magnificent Style was my most anticipated game. I've been trying to get hold of it for years. As such, it could only disappoint during my first play. But I'm over that, it's a fun game! I'm happy to finally own it. A Gentle Rain was the biggest surprise. It is very relaxing, and I really like it.

Tomorrow never knows

It's been five years that I've played solo board games as my main hobby. This year I noticed a change. Usually I'd play a game once or twice, then put something else on the table again. I am very restless person. This year however, several games stayed on the table until I had played them 10 times or more. Sometimes I would put one back on the shelf, set up and play something else - then immediately get the previous game back on the table as I wasn't finished with it. Sometimes because I really wanted to get better at them (Ares Expedition), sometimes because it was such a joy to play (Dune: Imperium, Arnak). But even without a "good reason". And I must say I kind of like this new way of playing.

It also made it easier for me to start writing again. Session reports / reviews for Astroforce, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition and Terminator: Dark Fate are nearly done and will be published soon, in the new year. Reports on Dune: Imperium and Lost Ruins of Arnak will follow once their first expansion is available over here in the Netherlands.

And, who knows, other changes may manifest itself in me as well. I'm ready for 2022. Bring it on.

Play the game

Existence to the end

Of the beginning

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All statistics and corresponding images provided by the wonderful BG Stats app. All songs by The Beatles.