Things are keeping up pretty well in the 10 X 10 Challenge. Playing a lot of the games on the list, giving me the chance to fully dig into them and discover what really makes them tick, It’s interesting how some of my strategies evolve the more I play some of these games, while with others, I’ve yet to fully crack how to play them well.
Discovering new ways to play old games is at the heart of the challenge, and I’m really enjoying myself. Of course, having to explain the rules less helps as well but I’ve also noticed that the times I do need to explain the rules, it goes much faster as I know not only the rules, but those that are important.
I ended up skipping the May update as it was a little crazier than I imagined. At very least I was able to keep up with posting reviews, which is maybe a little more important than these updates, no? So, how did I do in the last two months? Let’s find out.
Well, April started well with 10 games played, but then May rolled around and things got slow, real slow with only 4 games played. I’m hoping that June will be better and it’s already got a good start.
- Hegemonic (3 times, for a total of 3). Finally got around to playing lots of Hegemonic. It helped me with the review that I had been planning on writing for a few months now and the game still surprises me with the twists and turns that can be thrown your way. Still a long game, but I’m fairly sure that if/when I’ll bring it out with the same group, we could get it done in under 3 hours
- Steam ( 3 times, for a total of 5) Yes! I cheated a bit with this one by making it one of the game that was played at the Stack D’Or (a local convention that decided to have a competition for Boardgame Day), thus forcing me to play it a few times and I rediscovered what I loved so much with this game/system. The maps we played couldn’t be more different, with the Underground Railroad being the craziest. Love it and will easily play it 5 more times this year.
- Russian Railroads (3 times, for a total of 9 times) Well, still love it and almost done with it, but that won’t stop it hitting the table many more time. The group at work can now play it in under an hour, and this with 4 players! Great, great fun.
- 18XX (once, for a total of 5 times) Only once in the last two months and a rather strange one. For a recap of what 2038 is and what I think of it, check out my post that accompanies the Time Lapse Replay.
- Android: Netrunner (once, for a total of 9 times) Another one that slowed down, but I’m still only missing one game to reach my 10 plays. Many, many opponents are coming out of the woodwork, so it won’t be a problem playing 10 times.
- The Duke, (once, for a total of 5 times) Need to play more of this game. Love it and so easy to teach. 5 more times? Easy.
- Sail to India (twice, for a total of 2). Yup, kicked Briefcase off the list and added this. Let me just say that this will likely rocket up to 10 plays in no time flat. I sense a review coming up soon…
With the slower month of May, I’m only at 40 plays where normally I’d like to be 1 or 2 up from that, which is not bad all things considered. I’ll hopefully hit 50 in June, with 2 games of Sail to India already under my belt.
How do I stand in totals for all games?
- Android: Netrunner: 9 out of 10
- 18XX: 5 out of 10
- Russian Railroads: 9 out of 10
- The Duke: 5 out of 10
- Euphoria: 1 out of 10
- Steam: 3 out of 10
- Ground Floor: 1 out of 10
- Hegemonic: 3 out of 10
- Sail to India: 2 out of 10
- RAF: The Battle of Britain 1940: 0 out of 10
The one last nut to crack is RAF, which I’m hoping will hit my solo table during the summer months. Just have to read that manual, which is just sitting there, taunting me…
And no real changes in my Achievements, but getting close to at least 3 of them:
- First game (unlocked)
- First 10 games (unlocked)
- 50 games played (locked)
- First game completed (locked)
- 5 games completed (locked)
- At least 1 game of each (locked)
- Completed! (locked)
Happy gaming!