2021 was a big year for our family. We moved across the country, Adam started a new job, we had a baby, and built and then moved into our new home. Even with all these changes happening this year, we still managed to get many fun games to the table!

We’re reviewing how our life changes impacted our family’s gaming habits, how we did on our set 2021 goals, and what we’re looking forward to in 2022.

To read last year’s 2020 review, click here.

This year in review would not be possible without the app BG Stats. Adam loves to track all our games played and for the past 7 years we’ve recorded nearly every play. Currently totaling for over 3500+ logged plays of 622 games.

If you are at all interested in logging your games played, this is the app we recommend. It does nearly everything and more that you could ever want from a stats app for tracking board games. (Not an ad, we just love it and want you to know about it!).

The app itself is 4.99, but there are some in-app purchase for a few dollars that unlock all of the trackable elements for you like deep stats and challenges. New for 2021, the app added a better way to track expansions. You can now log your play under both the expansion and base game.

For us, the app and all in-app purchases have been completely worth it. 

Why Track Board Game Stats?

You certainly don’t need to track your board game stats! This is an exceptionally unnecessary thing we do that we just really enjoy. Playing a board game doesn’t have to involve keeping a record of your stats. I promise you, if this wasn’t something that Adam did on his own and was instead left up to me, we would not have a record of our games. However, I’m so glad he does! 

So why track these stats anyway?

We personally choose to record our plays for three main reasons:

The first and main reason we do is because we find it a fun way to record the various plays of games and fun times that we have had with our family and friends over the years. Call it a diary of sorts. You can see which games you have played the most, which friends have joined you for game nights over the years, and quickly look up a game that you might have forgotten the title of but remember playing “that one game night for your birthday.”

The second reason we do is because, quite simply, we are very competitive in this house. Tracking our stats is an easy way to enjoy the friendly competition between each other about who has the best record in a particular game, overall, and against various competitors. It’s mainly silly, but also serious business. 😉

The third reason, and one that has evolved over the years of tracking our game stats, is that it is nice to see just what types of games you are playing. Which ones are making it to the table consistently over the years? Which ones have fallen to the wayside? Have our preferences changed? 

Let’s Look at our Gaming Stats for 2021

So let’s get to it! Here are our stats for 2020!

Total games played in 2021: 550 | -215 games compared to 2020 (765)
Total unique games played in 2021: 182 | -41 games compared to 2020 (223)
Number of games played only once: 59 – 32% of total games played | -31 compared to 2020 (90)
Busiest month: October – 89 Plays |  2020 – March – 93 Plays
Least busy month: April – 19 Plays | 2020 – November – 38 plays
Games Played: 25+ times – 1 game 10+ times – 4 games 5+ times– 31 games

Individual Stats

Adam: 411 Plays | 163 Games | Most Played Game: Pitchcar (17)
Kelsey: 301 Plays | 131 Games | Most Played Game: Machi Koro Legacy (10)
Alice: 145 Plays | 73 Games | Most Played Game: Similo (14)
Sebastian: 126 Plays | 66 Games | Most Played Game: Similo (12)
Oliver: 196 Plays | 82 Games | Most Played Game: Pitchcar (24)
Harry: 60 Plays | 32 Games | Most Played Game: Similo (11)

Top 10 most played games of 2021:

1. Pitchcar – 25 plays (11 different people played Pitchcar this year)
2. Similo – 16 plays* (*this would be our most played game if I recorded every app play by the kids)
3. Trek 12: Himalaya – 12 plays
4. MicroMacro: Crime City – 10 plays
5. Gentle Rain – 10 plays
6. Machi Koro Legacy – 10 plays
7. Coconuts Duo – 8 plays (Harry’s Favorite Game)
8. Lucky Numbers – 8 plays
9. Silver & Gold – 8 plays
10. TIE 4 Games with 7 plays (Gnoming-A-Round, Enchanted Plumes, Cat Lady, Mass Transit)

The Year of LIGHTER Games 

With all the family changes we had this year, it’s not surprising that our gaming choices were impacted by it. Moving, changing jobs, and growing your family are all exceptionally stressful. Honestly, with the sheer lack of sleep we got in 2021 I’m surprised we played anything at all!

The majority of our top 10 most played games share these three things in common:

Easy to set up & teach
Quick to Play
Engaging for both young and adult gamers.

These were games we could play easily together as a family, often while holding a baby, and without over taxing our very sleep deprived brains.

In the past two years we’ve played Pitchcar over 60 times. It continues to be Oliver’s favorite game. In 2021 we added some expansion tracks. These added tons of variety since we are building tracks with jumps and crossing paths. I won’t be surprised to see this one on our top ten again next year. Coconuts Duo is a silly monkey flinging coconut game that is a great mix of a fun toy and a game. Our littlest kids got this out just to play with about double the number of times we played the actual game.

2020, was the year we finally completed some legacy games and dived deep into our campaign games. The Crew, Zombie Teenz Evolution, My City, Fabled Fruit, and Charterstone all got a lot of time at the table thanks to our goal to finish a legacy game in 2020. In 2021 only one legacy game made it to the table: Machi Koro Legacy.

I am hopeful 2022 will be the year that is the end of the Pandemic…Legacy game we started in 2016.

Out of these 10 games, our favorite was Enchanted Plumes, biggest surprise was A Gentle Rain, and the game we expect to play the most in 2022 (besides Pitchcar) is Trek 12: Himalaya. 

Top 10 Games of 2020 compared to their plays in 2021

This is always a stat that we like to look at. It’s interesting to see which games were our most played the previous year that perhaps didn’t carry over into the following year as game interests change. 

Here’s 2020’s top ten compared to how many times we played them in 2021.

1. The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine – 2020: 38 plays | 2021: 5 plays (-33 less plays)
2. Crokinole – 2020: 36 plays | 2021: 2 plays (-34 less plays)
3. Pitchcar – 34 plays | 2021: 25 plays (-9 less plays)
4. Strike – 29 plays | 2021: 0 plays (-30 less plays)
5. Zombie Teenz Evolution – 25 plays | 2021: 3 plays (-22 less plays)
6. My City – 24 plays | 2021: 3 plays (-21 less plays)
7. Similo – 17 plays | 2021: 16 plays (-1 less plays)
8. 5-minute Marvel – 17 plays | 2021: 5 plays (-12 less plays)
9. Barrier Battles – 14 plays | 2021: 0 plays (-14 less plays)
10. Fabled Fruit – 13 plays | 2021: 0 plays (-13 less plays)

I am not really surprised to see that our top games of 2020 were all played significantly less in 2021. The two biggest factors were 1) we moved at the end of 2020, so for a half of 2021 our game collection was packed away in boxes and 2) 2020 was the year of the four of top games were legacy/campaign game. While all the legacy/campaign games we played could be played again at the end of the campaign, we didn’t feel the need to play them as much once we finished the story.   

While I don’t expect to see a lot of cross over from our most played games in 2021 list to our 2022 list, I do think two games have a strong chance of reappearing in our top 10. 

Noticing Consistent Favorites

Two games that still saw a lot of play time this year were Pitchcar and Similio. Both of these games continue to delight us since with their quick and simple fun. We love the track building aspect of Pitchcar as much as the flicking/racing. With the recent announcement of Harry Potter Similo releasing in 2022, I could easily see Similo becoming our most played game of this upcoming year. Our oldest three kids are currently reading their way through the Harry Potter series so they are all in on all things Harry Potter right now. (They’re on book 4 and on track to finish before 2023 if they don’t get too spooked.)

Other games I am predicting have a chance to appear on our top played games of 2022 would be.

Marvel United / MU X-Men

The whole family is eagerly awaiting our Kickstarter delivery of Marvel United X-Men to arrive. (seriously, every single package brings the kids bolting to the house asking if Marvel United has finally arrived.) This will bring a huge assortment of heroes and villains to try out. Since it’s one the whole family can play together, it’s bound to live on the table for a few months after arrival.

This game could also see a lot of table time if 2022 becomes the year we try our hand at painting minis.

Marvel Legendary/ Marvel Champions

Marvel Legendary is our favorite game and after a slow year of new expansion in 2021, 2022 looks like it is going to be an amazing year for new Marvel Legendary releases. However we have been asked a lot if we’ve played and like Marvel Champions. While we own the game, we have only played it a few times, so 2022 is the year we plan to play it more consistently and give our definitive answer about which Marvel Card game is better.

Marvel Splendor (just kidding) A Classic Gateway Game

Yes, this one is cheating, but I predict a game like Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Splendor, etc. will be one of our most played games this year. Our three oldest are all really excited about games and have each progressed greatly in their abilities to pick up new rules and play on their own. Gateway games are already the type they are reaching these past few weeks because they are so accessibly they can enjoy playing confidently on their own without needing to wait for mom or dad.

Adam’s already trained them well to write down their scores so he can log it in the app.

Game Goals for 2022

While we love to keep track of our high scores and our win/loss records, one of the things we love so much about the BG Stats app are the Challenges!

This is an in-app purchase for .99 that we highly recommend for anyone looking for a fun way to challenge themselves to play and complete various gaming goals by creating simple challenges and an easy way to track and update your progress.

Before we look at 2022 goals let’s review our 2021 Goals:

1. Play Marvel Legendary 25 times – Fail – We were only able to get it to the table 5 times
2. Play our 35 unplayed games 1 times – Fail – We added a lot of games via trades before moving and were able to play 22 of those games, but did not finish the whole list
3. Play 20 old favorites 1 time – Fail – To be honest this was always a pipe dream. We were able to play 7 of the games on the list, but this year just didn’t leave much time to replay older games.

So after going 0 out of 3 in 2021, what are odds Adam sets obtainable goals for 2022?

*Shakes Magic 8 Ball* Seems Unlikely

Adam’s Gaming Goals for 2022

PLAY 34 X 1 – Adam’s Favorite  

Recently I picked out my 34 favorite games to celebrate my 34^th birthday. I think I would like to play each of these games at least once in the next year. I think this is possible since a lot of these games I am excited to introduce to the kids for the first time and are generally shorter games to play.

Adam’s 34 Favorite Games in alphabetical order:
5-Minute Marvel, Adventure Land, Animal Upon Animal, Between the Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Blue Lagoon, Cartographers, Castles of Burgundy, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Cover Your Assets, Crokinole, Crusaders: Thy Wil l Be Done, Deception Murder in Hong Kong, Dinosaur World, Dragonwood, Escape the Cursed Temple, Fabled Fruit, Fantasy Realms, Game of 49, Ghost Fighting Treasure Hunters, Kruba, Libertalia, Lords of Waterdeep, Marvel Legendary, No Thanks, Orleans, Pitchcar, Quacks of Quedlinberg, Quest of El Dorado, Survive Escape from Atlantic, Tapestry, Ticket To Ride, Via Magicia, Wingspan, Zombie Teenz Evolution

20×1 – Finish the 2021/2022 Unplayed Games Challenge

Last year we put a good dent into our unplayed games stack and this is the year we finish it off. Here are the games we own that are still unplayed

Games Added in 2018: Terraforming Mars (wow that’s embarrassing)
Games Added in 2019: Marvel Legendary Villains
Game Added in Early 2020: First Class, Galaxy Trucker, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, Quest for El Dorado; Heroes & Hexes Expansion, Search for Planet X  & Shards of Infinity
Game Added in Nov/Dec 2020: Catacombs, Century: A New World, Exit the Game: Dead Man Draw, Quacks of Quedlinburg: Herb Witches, Taverns of Tiefenthal, Tournament at Camelot, & Tybor the Builder 
Games Added in 2021: Alhambra & Architects of the West Kingdom
Games Added in 2022: Archaeology: The New Expedition, Lost Ruins of Arnak, & Marvel United X-Men

A-Z Challenge

Each of our older three kids have selected one game for each letter of the alphabet they’d like to learn or play again. There’s no expectation that we’ll complete all three of these challenges — if they change their minds we aren’t going to hold them to this. Limiting their game options to those that begin with a specific letter of the alphabet was a fun way to challenge them to select something that maybe they’ve never though of or may be outside of their comfort zone.

They’re also motivated by the tracker at the top of their challenge.

What Are Your Goals for 2022?

Again, I would just like to reiterate, that if you are not interested in keeping track of your stats for games, you shouldn’t feel pressure to! Ultimately we play these games because it is fun and we love taking the time to track our plays because it too is fun for us. 

For us, these goals aren’t just about working through our collection, but it’s about creating intentional time for us to enjoy something that we love with the people we love in our lives. It’s too easy to make a yearly list of goals that feel like restrictions or punishments. For us, whether our yearly goals are for board games or personal health and development (because we’ve got a lot of those too,) we try to keep them positively focused.

If you made it this far into this nerdy post, you are a true friend! Take 10 Board Game Buddy points!

Now that you know how our 2021 gaming went and our goals for 2022, we’d love to hear your gaming goals! We’re excited to see what you play this year and hope you’ll share with us! 

If you’re looking for an easy jumping off point to create your own gaming goals and challenges, check out our post for free printable 10 x10, 20 x 3, and 5 x 5 challenge downloads to get you started! And if you aren’t already, come follow us on instagram and TikTok and join our community to share your 2022 gaming goals. We love getting to connect with you there!