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| Rivoli situation about 1700 |
On the gaming front, 2021 turned out to be an extraordinary year. I participated in more games than ever before. Games played in 2021 were almost an order or magnitude greater than in past years. Where a dozen games per year seemed the norm in most years, 2021 ripped away those long-held standards.
Having rarely played more games than can be counted on two hands, I never made any effort in tabulating games played. With so many games in the books for 2021, inventorying the results seemed a reasonable activity to tackle. Was I surprised at the tally?
Yes!
The game count is quite astonishing, really, and these totals do not include many of my solo games, my Rivoli PBeM game, Steve's SCW PBeM campaign, and multiple games in each Commands & Colors' session. So, total games played is actually under-counted! The count of games played in 2021 is,
97!
That is correct. 97 games logged. Much of the gaming increase is due directly to a move to remote gaming via Zoom.
Games were not concentrated in a few genres and rules but a wide assortment of periods, scales, and rules. The count shows 23 different rulesets hit the table in 2021 with my long-running AWI campaign with Matt leading the way at 12 games. That is a lot of rules to remember from game to game.
Another look at the rules played, graphically, shows that the top five rulesets of Rebels & Patriots, Fields of Honor, For Whom the Dice Rolls, Knights of the Sky, and Commands & Colors made up almost 50% of games played.
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| Games by rules played |
What about figure size or scale? Was there breadth in that respect too? Yes, breadth was in abundance.
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| Games played by scale/figure size |
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| Games played by month |
Do I expect to see this same level of gaming in 2022? Not fully understanding how I managed 97 games in 2021, duplicating the 2021 effort in the New Year seems unlikely. Besides, I have a Lead Pile of unpainted lead to work through.
The next time I return to the yearly review, I dig into the Painting Log and see what 2021 held.
Wow, that is a lot of games!!! I can't quite imagine how you managed to fit in so many. I think I've done very, very well if I game once a week!
ReplyDeleteSteve, I marvel at how I fit all of these games in too! Being a remote participant, there is little commuting time. Carving out a three or four hour gaming session, I find much easier than planning for a half day or full day game.
DeleteWell done! What a brilliant total. You may well have spent more time wargaming than painting in 2021.
ReplyDeleteGraham, most of this increase rests primarily upon your shoulders and Matt's too. Without your invitation to join your weekly gaming group and your encouragement to 'just dive in and host a remote game' my gaming year would have been much different.
DeleteIf the last year has taught us anything, it is not to put off things to later, and just to give things a go. There will come a time when you will only be able to regret that you did not.
DeleteSo true. As I watch your longtime gaming comrades fall around you, your point carries even more weight.
DeleteQuite a variety of games and periods played.
ReplyDeleteIt sure was!
DeleteHaving followed your remote gaming reports during the year, I am still surprised at the count. Having been a ftf year for us in our very small group locally, you probably are double our count.
ReplyDeleteYou have elevated the quality of aar's in the sense of photographic record, scenario set up and certainly the reporting on remote games.
The replay value of the scenarios became obvious and the different teams efforts with similar issues in command problems was interesting.
Thanks for making the year a little shorter. Oh, and keep the painting units rolling.
Joe, you give me great encouragement in your comments. I thank you very much!
DeleteYou may be surprised at the game count because I did not have time to blog every battle. I had to pick and choose which to report.
An amazing total and great variety. Enjoyed the Rev War game reports very much.
ReplyDeleteThe total is BIG, for me. Glad you enjoyed the AWI battle reports. Expect more of them in 2022 as Matt and I continue fighting our way through the war with Rebels & Patriots.
DeleteA good year that’s for sure and if you were to include such things as the multi session / multi player remote Rivoli, with all the work that went into that, then the figure become doubly impressive …… then add in the painting and blogging and supporting of others’ blogs, well, what can I say, that is a lot of quality wargame activity. Marvellous.
ReplyDeleteNorm, there were games not counted in these tallies and you are correct in highlighting the effort that went into Rivoli. For me, that was a terrific experience. One day, I hope to write more on the details of that hard-fought battle.
DeleteI appreciate your kind words.
That's a huge number of games played. Lucky if I can get half of that
ReplyDeleteIt is a huge number of games. I have never come close to this number nor perhaps ever again.
DeleteNice! Wish you the same or more fantastic battles in 2022 :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michal! Surpassing these numbers in 2022 will be difficult.
DeleteJust gone and checked, and the first on-line game you played with the Monday Night Group was in mid November 2020, so we've been doing the once a week think for over 12 months now. Blimey, as we don't really say round these parts.
ReplyDeleteGraham, I give you credit for many of the games included in the numbers above. You can see that many of your rules and Richard's float toward the top of the list in frequency.
DeleteWhat is truly amazing is that we can keep all of these disparate rules in memory.
Fantastic work. Certainly looking forward to more Fields of Honor in the new year. I don't even think I have your yearly count of games reported in my own 9 years of blogging :)
ReplyDeleteThank, Darren, but in many of these games I am but a participant. I simply show up, roll dice, laugh, and sometimes cry...
DeleteMore Fields of Honor in 2022. Noted!
An off the scale number of games there Jonathan, I haven't a clue how many I played but certainly nowhere within a country mile.
ReplyDeleteOff the scale, for sure, Phil! If anyone would have suggested that I would play in nearly 100 games at the beginning of 2021, I would have thought them mad.
DeleteUnlikely? Oh come, now that you have stats to compare to, surely you can boost 1.8 games per week up to a full 2 a week? ;) or not...
ReplyDeleteMay you and yours have a happy and healthy 2022!
This sounds like a challenge, Ross! We should play again in 2022.
DeleteHappy New Year to you!
Excellent stuff Jon , very glad to have help boost your figures. I think remote gaming is clearly one of the few benefits of the crazy COVID world over the last couple of years. I see no reason to stop anytime soon. More AWI more Norway and of course 2022 is the year of the hex ! And perhaps Napoleonics ?
ReplyDeleteMatt, more importantly, you boosted my spirits and hobby enjoyment! Looking forward to what lays ahead.
DeleteWow indeed! Very impressive. That should encourage some of us to get our own acts together and do some remote gaming this year, I think!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
David.
I recommend giving remote gaming a try.
DeleteDavid: Just do it. Use Skype if you don't have Zoom. Don't think about a game this year. Think about a game this month. Think about a game NEXT WEEK. And then do it. The first game may be a shambles, but you'll learn so much that you'll be back the week after with many improvements. No Excuses. JUST DO IT.
DeleteI certainly do hope to try it this year! Your extremely
Deletepositive experience of it is very encouraging... :-)
Cheers,
David.
Thanks, Trebian. I will definitely try it soon - but I do need to get my troops sorted first though! That's not an excuse, honestly... ;-)
ReplyDeleteDavid, I would be happy to host a game so that you can test the waters. Once you assess whether remote gaming as a participant is enjoyable, the next step is to try hosting if you want to take that next step.
DeleteLet me know!
Given the number of remote games you have reported on Jon, this number is not a huge surprise....as Ross pointed out above, two games per week, on average. The fact it's not surprising doesn't make it any less impressive though, so we'll done on such a fantastic number and look forward to following your adventures in 2022!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Keith! One day, perhaps, we will face each other across the virtual table?
DeleteThat really is an amazing figure Jonathan, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Guinness Book of Records comes calling. The most impressive thing from your AARs is how enjoyable they all seemed to be.
ReplyDeleteLawrence, you are so funny! I have seen others who regularly get in 100+ games a year.
DeleteAs for enjoyable AARs, thank you! It doesn't matter if I win or lose. What matters is who runs the printing press!
Very impressive numbers,don't think I reached double figures! You've definitely got to do something about your masthead quote as it's clearly obsolete!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Yeah, the byline was obsolete for 2021 but is it too soon to make such a drastic reassessment?
DeleteYou might not hit the same number but it does seem like the days of occasional games have gone!
DeleteBest Iain
You may be correct. The days of little gaming may have disappeared forever.
DeleteI too did well in ‘21 Jonathan, but nowhere near 97, well done that man.
ReplyDeleteThanks, George! I have been enjoying your early war games.
DeleteYour gaming output is as impressive as that of your painting desk Jon!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mike!
DeleteAn amazing gaming year, by any standard.. Your tally provides a tangible metric of how virtual gaming has proven to be a game changer.
ReplyDeleteEd, the number of games played was amazing, for sure. I NEVER imagined the possibility of so many games. For me, the introduction of virtual gaming was a game changer. Literally.
DeleteThat is a truly astounding total of games, Jon. I had a record year myself, but came in at a bout 1/4 of your total. of course, you did cheat by retiring! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I cheated…
DeleteBefore 2021, your 26 games would have been a great total for me too. With David’s reporting that he played 77 games of Test of Resolve, I figured your totals would be larger.
Holy cow! That’s an impressive amount of games for sure! I think you were just being kind enough to play games on behalf of those of us who weren’t able to? In that case, I say THANKYOU!
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of games, for sure. When Nancy next comments that I am playing a lot of games, I will say, “I do it for others.”
DeleteQuite right. It's a public service. Almost like charity work, ensuring the well-being of an activity that supports 1,000s of jobs world wide, and contributes to the mental well being (mostly) of its participants.
DeleteWhen Heather remarks on my gaming, I tell her that at least she knows where I am, and I'm not off wandering the streets somewhere getting into trouble.
I think that first paragraph of Trebian’s comment should be the basis of a new tagline for your blog Jon.
DeleteThat's a great idea, Dai! Problem is, Trebian will likely put a hand out for royalties...
DeleteI'll accept a simple acknowledgement. No need for royalties.
DeleteNoted!
Delete