[22 Dec 2021 – DANG IT! I accidentally published this early. So expect to see updates through the end of the year.]
Here is my annual wargaming, boardgaming, and roleplaying games “By the Numbers” for calendar year 2021 along with some random musings. Have a Happy New Year!
Acquisition Totals (Wargame + Boardgame)
- Total Gaming Items Acquired: 72
- vs. 2020: 82 (DOWN 11%)
- Total Wargame Items Acquired: 45
- vs. 2020: 36 (UP 25%)
- Total Boardgame Items Acquired: 20
- vs. 2020: 39 (DOWN 52%)
- Total Gaming Accessory Items Acquired: 7
- vs. 2020: 7 (EQUAL)
I slowed down buying boardgames this year. In part this may have been because of supply chain issues, but I also think that as more RockyMountainNavy Boys leave the nest that family gaming will change and I’m already getting ready. This year, one of three left for the military and next year another leaves for college. This (sadly) means the end of regular 3- or 4-player family game nights and a shift to more 2-player gaming (with the occasional 3-player if the right game is there for Mrs. RMN).
Publishers
- Publishers Purchased from: 36
- Most Items from a Single Publisher: 14 (GMT Games)
GMT Games continues to be the powerhouse publisher for my gaming needs. After GMT Games, I purchased at least three gaming items from six other different publishers (Academy Games, Admiralty Trilogy Group, Compass Games, Decision Games, Multi-Man Publishing, and RBM Studios).
Wargames
- Total Items: 45
- Standalone/Core Games: 36 (80%)
- Expansions: 9
- Magazine/Folio Games: 12
- By Era: Pre 19th C 2 / 19th C 3 / World War I 1 / Interwar 1 / World War II 24 / Vietnam 1 / Cold War 4 / Modern 5 / Sci Fi 2 / Multiple Eras 2
If my wargaming in 2021 had a theme is probably was, “Retro.” This year I took in six wargames, or almost 10% of all games acquired, that were published before 1990. This includes the granddaddy of wargames, Charles S. Roberts’ TACTICS II from Avalon Hill in 1958 (though mine is admittedly the 1973 edition) as well as Battle of the Bulge from Avalon Hill in 1965.
Boardgames
- Total Items: 20
- Standalone/Core Game: 18 (90%)
- Expansions: 2
- Digital Games: 2
- BGG Subdomain: Abstract 1 / Children’s 2 / Customizable 1 / Family 2 / Strategy 10 / Thematic 1
Accessory
- Total Items: 7
- Boardgame Design: 1
- Dice Sets: 2
- Game Play Aids: 2
- Puzzles: 2
I’m trying to redefine this category to capture item used to support gaming but are not necessarily related to a single game. I need to do a better job of tracking items like new dice sets that I acquire.
Preorder & Kickstarter
- Total Items: 20 (As of 12/31/2021)
- GMT Games P500: 8
- Other Publisher Preorder: 5
- Kickstarter: 7
- Oldest Unfulfilled: October 2019 (China’s War, GMT Games P500)
This category will get a deep dive at at the start of the new year so I’m not going deep here. I don’t know for certain, but at one point this year my Preorder/Kickstarter list was nearly 30 items. A major reason for the backlog was the slow-down in publishing and shipping due to COVID and supply chain issues. I am very happy that Panzer Expansion Nr. 1 from GMT Games that languished on the P500 list for something like four years was finally reprinted and arrived.
Role Playing Games (Major Update 12/24/21)
I didn’t do a good job tracking my role playing game acquisitions through the year but I “think” I can reconstruct some numbers.
- Total RPG Items Acquired: 20
- Core Books: 6 (30%)
- By System: AGE 1 / Cepheus Engine 3 / Mongoose Traveller 1 / Year Zero 1
- Supplements: 14 (70%)
- By Setting: The Clement Sector 6 / HOSTILE 3 / T2000 1 / Traveller 1 / Other 3
Core games acquired this year include:
- ALIEN The Roleplaying Game (Year Zero, Free League, 2021)
- CEPHEUS DELUXE Science Fiction Role-Playing Game (Cepheus Engine, Stellagama Publishing, 2021)
- Clement Sector, Third Edition (Independence Games, 2021)
- The EXPANSE Roleplaying Game (Green Ronin, 2019)
- HOSTILE Rulebook (Zozer Games, 2021)
- Traveller: Explorer’s Edition (Mongoose Publishing, 2021)
Traveller and it’s modern successor, Cepheus Engine, continue to be my favorite rules set to play with.
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