I don’t typically make a lot of New Years Resolutions. And certainly not the usual lose weight/eat better/ kind of stuff. You know, boring stuff that you’ll never get around to doing. Why not start the year off right with some resolutions you want to keep. This year, we promise to keep the dice rolling, the cards shuffled, and make sure we can turn in a victory every week. Here are some great ideas for your own personal board game resolutions.
1. Play 100 Different Titles
The exact number isn’t important. 100 might be terribly small or way too large. But the idea here is to increase the breadth of play. Sometimes you have a bunch of games on your shelf that somehow never see the table. They sit there, longingly hoping that they will one day get to be played. Make this the year to play through your gaming library. Or at least expand into older, prior favorites.
2. Try 30 New Games
Again, the number isn’t important, but the idea is to branch out and make new tabletop discoveries. If you find yourself playing the same few games every get-together, then it may be time to broaden those horizons. We’ve covered many types of games for all situations. Find a few that interest you and breath some life into your next game night.
3. Go Deep with 20 Plays on the Same Title
I think many gamers (and certainly myself) get caught up in the “Cult of the New.” It’s easy to abandon an older title in favor of something just hitting the shelf. Well, this is the year to change that. Pick a game with some significant depth to it and commit to playing it repeatedly over the year. I did this with Brass and you’ll be amazed how much your appreciation for the game grows.
4. Customize a Favorite Game
If your group has a favorite game that gets played frequently, this may be the year to customize it. Grab a fancy-pants insert for better organization and set-up. Grab card sleeves to protect the cards and custom meeples. The DnDeeples are more fun for Lord of Waterdeep and AniMeeples are great additions to Agricola. It’ll make the game that much more enjoyable every time.
5. Experience the Variety
Some games offer untold variety. The pity is that we don’t often play them enough to see best of what it has to offer. Pick a favorite game and try to get the most out of it. Maybe you decide to play every faction in Smash Up at least once this year. Or perhaps you try to get every Dominion kingdom card in the game at least one time. Get the full use of your titles.
6. Get a High “H” Score
An “H” score is a combination of breadth and depth. If you’ve played at least four games four times each, then your H score is 4. Five different games five times each? Five. And so on. One popular way is to establish 10×10 lists. You pick 10 favorite games and try to get each of them played 10 times each. Succeed, and your H score will be in the double digits.
7. Expand Your Game Group
Board games are becoming more mainstream, it’s true. But there are still many people who view gaming as adolescent. Find a coworker, friend, or other fellow traveler; and introduce them to the best that gaming has to offer.
8. Spending Habits
Some gamers need to acquire every new title and their library of games quickly blossoms beyond the storage space. Others are more selective and only venture out for the most interesting titles. This is a good year to change that. If you’ve routinely bought too much, then set a limit for yourself. Or if you’ve let one too many great games pass, maybe this is the year that you decide to acquire more titles than usual.
9. Paint Your Miniatures
I used to be apprehensive about painting. Would my minis be ugly and awful? Do I really want to invest the time? The answer is that painted minis will look better and the time investment is totally worth it. If you have unpainted hunks of plastic on your shelf, make this the year to change them into gorgeous, evocative playing pieces.
10. Get in a Big Game
The big, long games are hard to get to the table. Amazing titles like Twilight Imperium, War of the Ring, or Earth Reborn are sublime experiences but are logistically difficult to play. But this is the year to get them played. Make a plan, set aside a long afternoon, and get some snacks. Have an epic day of gaming and make a 3+ hour game a part of it.
Do you have any gaming resolutions this year? Tell us about it in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Geek and Sundry