I've Played 100 Different Board Games

I had a mission this year to play 100 different games - not necessarily new-to-me games (because I didn't want to put THAT pressure on myself to buy more games ... although I think I did that anyways), but just 100 unique games so that I could play a variety and potentially try new game mechanics.

... It is mid-August, and I can't believe I completed this goal so early in the year! (I guess August isn't "early", but I fully expected to be scrambling in December.)

How Did I Accomplish This?

I couldn't have done this challenge alone ... I mean I could've, if I wanted to play 100 solo games. (I certainly did play a few, as I had another challenge to try 10 solo games ... which changed to 12 because I fell in love with solo mode gaming! Come to think of it, I don't think I counted my solo plays, specifically because I had my separate solo games goal.) My mom and my husband played a bulk of the games with me, either 1-on-1 or as a 3-player game when we could all get together.

My husband and I have tried getting together with different couples once a month ... we did have a lot going on (wedding, honeymoon, and I started a new job this year), so that may have only happened 4 or 5 times, but there is potential for more in the future. It's nice to have a couples-friend or two, to play some of those games that require 3 or 4 players minimum. (As I mentioned, my mom has played a fair number of games with us, but we have some friends who can handle the higher strategy/longer game-play games.)

We also joined the board game community in our area - there's a Facebook group, and the coordinator tries to run at least one in-person event every month, some of which are "all-day" events (10-12 hours). I do stay the whole time (except this last time when I had to work for the first 3 hours ... I was sad), and I end up getting in 6-8 games played - many of which I try to make new games!

I have a lot of appreciation for everyone in my inner circle and my community who helped me achieve this quest - it really wouldn't have been possible without having at least one other person to play with, and I'm so grateful to the ones who had to take the time to teach me new games. (Also, special mention: a dear friend has been helping me with my alphabet challenge ... I'm still missing X, Z, and #, but he has some games in mind to help with that, and he taught me my Y game which I fell in love with!)

Which Games Did I Play?

Before I give you the list, I will say I technically played 100 games a bit sooner ... but I chose not to count different versions of games separately. For example, we have 17 versions of Fluxx in our house - you've played one, you've played them all. This was just a condition I put on myself, but I'm glad I did because, as I said, I really wanted to challenge myself to play a variety of games, and I really think I achieved that.

Here is the list, in order of games first-played from January to August:

1. Wingspan
2. Tokaido
3. Chai
4. Ark Nova
5. Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest
6. Carcassonne
7. Alhambra
8. Catan: Starfarers
9. Cascadia
10. Lords of Waterdeep
11. Holi: Festival of Colors
12. Dragon Farkle
13. Astra
14. Point Salad
15. Unearth
16. Dixit
17. Azul: Master Chocolatier
18. Rival Restaurants
19. Formula D
20. The Chameleon
21. King of Tokyo
22. Ecos: First Continent
23. Disney Villainous
24. Ticket to Ride: Africa
25. Movies Trivia Game
26. Geek Out: TableTop Edition
27. Tsuro of the Seas
28. Grimm Masquerade
29. Gloom
30. Patchwork: Christmas
31. Welcome To
32. Takenoko
33. Castles of Mad King Ludwig
34. Canvas
35. Concordia
36. Tichu
37. Parks
38. Camel Up: Card Game
39. The Legend of the Cherry Tree That Blossoms Every Ten Years
40. Koi Garden
41. Dog Lover
42. Ishtar: Gardens of Babylon
43. Spell Smashers
44. Kingdom Builder
45. Tiny Towns
46. Cartographers
47. Delicious
48. Honey Buzz
49. Call to Adventure: Stormlight Archive
50. Atelier: The Painter's Studio
51. Tapestry
52. Merchants of the Dark Road
53. Qwirkle
54. Downtown Farmers Market
55. Namiji
56. Truffle Shuffle
57. Genotype
58. Stardew Valley
59. Monarch
60. Rolling Realms
61. Blue Lagoon
62. Grand Austria Hotel
63. Railroad Ink
64. Earth
65. Castle Panic
66. Are You Dumber Than a Box of Rocks?
67. Fluxx: Wonderland
68. Barenpark
69. Citadels
70. Kingdomino
71. Rummikub
72. Quacks of Quedlinburg
73. Arboretum
74. Fort
75. Viticulture
76. Smash Up
77. Unspeakable Words
78. Spirit Island
79. Splendor
80. Century: Spice Road
81. Just One
82. Living Forest
83. Champions of Midgard
84. My Shelfie
85. Overboss
86. The Mind
87. Yokai Septet
88. 25 Words or Less
89. Jaipur
90. Last Will
91. Sweetlandia
92. Lord of the Rings: Adventure Book
93. Trekking the World
94. San Francisco
95. HerStory
96. Sushi Go Party
97. Flamecraft
98. Ra
99. Schadenfreude
100. Parade

I want to thank everyone who supported my journey and commented on my article from the start of the year - I think I gained all of my subscribers from that specific article! I apologize for not continuing to post here in Vocal, but I wanted to come back to thank you, to share, and to let anyone who's interested know that you will be able to find future board game content through my Instagram (@katieheartsgames) as well as my upcoming blog (which I post the link to in my Instagram bio when that time comes, before the end of 2023).