500 Games Rated!

I've reached 500 games rated at boardgamegeek.com! I registered there just under 3 years ago, so it's been a massive sustained and expensive effort since then. I own 348 games, so I guess the bulk of what I've played and rated has been paid for by my own wallet. Goodness. I could have invested in shares or something... if only I liked stock market games.

My extended stats say that I played 139 new games in 2005, 187 in 2006, and 112 so far this year. I guess those numbers don't include expansions. I've recorded 1809 plays in total, so about 1 in 4 times I play a game it's a new one.

My 10s are Trias, Scrabble, Mystery of the Abbey, Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation and a book (Connection Games by Cameron Browne). If I was to add another it might be a mathematically beautiful game like Hex or Twixt, but I don't get to play those often enough to be sure I really like them.

There are a lot of games that I rate a 1 or a 2, but they're mostly kids' games, party games, or just stupid things that shouldn't have been published in the first place. I save the real vitriol for the 3s - games that are obviously real games that I just detest. Here are some of my lowest rated "real games".

Maginor (2) - it's just Rock Paper Scissors. But without all the excitement.

Andromeda (3) - took way too long and wasn't very exciting for the second half.

Australia (3) - might go up a couple of rating points if it was rethemed. The theming is just so unlike the real Australia it annoys me.

Dante's Inferno (3) - when we played this the kid started cooperating with me just so we could finish the game. Interfering with another player costs too many resources to be worth it.

Niagara (3) - why does this game have gems? It's all about not falling off the waterfall. It's too annoying.

Railway Rivals (3) - one of the sorts of train games that I hate. Takes way too long.

Timbuktu (3) - it looks like a brain-burner, but it's completely random. A shame really, because it comes close to being a good game - nice bits, nice mechanics. But in the end, it's just not worth the time invested.

Dungeoneer (3) - lovely art work, but the rules were awful. I've decided that building a map out of playing cards just isn't pretty - tiles always work better. Some good ideas held together badly.