Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Year in Review: Games Played

On the gaming front, 2022 demonstrated that the sudden and dramatic increase in games played in 2021 was no fluke.  Well, if 2021 was a quirk of fate then that run continued into 2022.  Games played in 2021 reached 97 games.  While 2022 saw a reduction in number of games played from 2021, 2022 managed to tally 89 games played.  Still, that is a lot of games played.  Some weeks witnessed as many as four games on the schedule.

Of course, this level of activity would not be possible without remote gaming via Zoom or Google Meet.  Neither would these numbers be reached if I was not also hosting almost as many games as I attended as a participant. 

Looking back over the games played in 2022, how did the year unfold?  While some genres and rules led the pack, activity was spread out over a wide swath of both rules, wargaming periods, and figure scales.  
How were the 89 games distributed over rules played?  See Table 1, Counts of Games Played in 2022 for details.
Table 1
The count shows 24 different rulesets hit the table in 2022.  This total is one more than seen in 2021.   These totals do not break out all of the different variants in use for Basic Impetvs (BI) and Fields of Honor (FoH).  If those variants are tossed into the mix, I reckon the count of rules played tops 30.  Basic Impetvs led the way with 23 games played with Fields of Honor coming in at #2 with 13 games.  Commands & Colors rounded out the Top 3.  Most of Commands & Colors games were played using my 6mm collection.  These Top 3 made up nearly 50% of all rules played.  Seeing Basic Impetvs coming out at the top of the list is not much of a surprise.  Throughout the year, Matt and I traded hosting a variety of games playing BI on a grid.  BI also saw much service in many of my other hosted games.  Fields of Honor saw lots of action too.  The main contributors were a number of battles fought with settings in the Franco-Austrian War and War of Austrian succession.      

Graphically, Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of games played by ruleset.  Clearly, Basic Impetvs was my favorite, by far.  Do I see this trend continuing into 2023?  I suspect so.  Only four days into the New Year and BI has seen action in two games.
Figure 1
What stands out in this listing is that almost all of the rules played are either self-published or homegrown rulesets.  Scanning the list, very few rules are commercial with widespread audiences.  I clearly run in the rules' tinkerer band.  Some may wonder how anyone can keep that many different rulesets in mind.  With a good QRS, it is not so hard.    

What about figure size or scale? Was there breadth in that respect too? Yes, breadth was in abundance.  See Figure 2.
Figure 2
While 15/18mm and 25/28mm may have dominated games played, 1/72 and 20mm saw much activity too thanks to Graham, Richard, and Peter's many games in plastics.  Not much change in figure scale distribution from 2021 counts.  2023 ought to see similar results.

What about breaking these game totals down by wargaming period?  Are there any tendencies here or simply a scattershot across a wide variety of periods?
Figure 3
Looking at Figure 3, 24 different wargaming saw action on the various hosts' gaming tables in 2023.  This is a surprising amount of variety when these results are tallied.  Seems like there is no specialization here especially when games are hosted by a number of GMs.  This demonstrates that each GM has his own interests and willing to share those interests with others.  A corollary to this observation is that players are willing to step out of their areas of interest and readily try new periods and rules.  Rarely have I encountered anyone in my small remote gaming world unwilling to try whatever is on offer.  This total number of unique periods played is the same as the number of rulesets played.  Coincidence?

Feudal Japan and Franco-Austrian Wars saw the most playings but my long-running AWI campaigning with Matt and our 2022 entry into fighting battles in the Reconquista are not far behind.  

Were the games concentrated within a few months or evenly distributed throughout the year? While Figure 4 shows spikes of activity in February, October, and November and relative lulls during the summer months.  Most months saw 7-8 games played.  Still just short of an average of two games per week but still these totals represent a lot of gaming.  I am exhausted looking back and pondering all of the games played. 
Figure 4
Looking back at my 2021 review, I did not expect 97 games played as sustainable.  While I did not reach 97 games played in 2022, 89 games played is not much of a drop-off in frequency.  89 games is still a lot of gaming!  I may have to cut back a little in 2023 since I am uncertain that 89 games played is sustainable especially with other work to get done.

The next time I return to the yearly review, I dig into the Painting Log and see what 2022 held.

74 comments:

  1. I'm glad to say that myself and the Rejects played a part in your 89 games this year Jonathan. Keep it up Sir!

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    1. Ray, you and the Rejects played a part, indeed!
      If I ranked gaming experiences for 2022, the series of Franco-Austrian War battles with you would rise to the top.

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  2. Most impressive!

    And completely unrelated but you might find this interesting:

    https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2023/01/breaking-rsa-with-a-quantum-computer.html

    I did not read the paper as I expect the mathematics to be far beyond me!

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    1. Thank for pointing out this article. You always tend to bring me back to the late '70s at University studying encryption and trapdoor functions.

      Does the article suggest that deconstructing the product of two primes is now computationally feasible? So much for relying on more conventional asymmetric encryption routines.

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    2. I think that is what the paper's authors are driving towards, and with much smaller than predicted quantum computers. My knowledge of encryption and mathematics is so limited that I can not be certain.

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  3. I think if you take the number of games played together with the number of different systems used, then the finally tally is indeed very diverse.

    Those instances when you kept a game set up for three or four plays were interesting because players were clearly building their tactics on what had been learned before, whether by them or others - which leads to the question of whether better games came from those situations in which players got a chance to become familiar with the scenario and rules.

    As you know. My own mantra is to cut down on using lots of difference rule sets, yet even within that philosophy, I think in our hobby it is easy to to rub shoulders against 20 - 30 sets a year.

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    1. Yes, much diversity and inclusion in my gaming habits. I am a model, modern citizen.

      Replaying a scenario has many benefits as we have discussed before. One of the many benefits is gaining a better insight into the historical battle. another, is that repeated playings improve play as players adapt and improve to the scenario, rules of engagement, and opponent's play.

      On your last point, I tend to stick to a core set of rules too especially for remote games. A few well-understood rules are much easier to manage in a GM role than flitting from a wider spectrum of rules, often.

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  4. I couldn’t even begin to imagine playing 89 games in a year, let alone 97. One of the lovely benefits of blogging allows those of us restricted on free time to live vicariously through those whose times constraints are completely opposite to that.
    So mate, you provide us a service whilst playing all those many different games, thanks!

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    1. Dai, as a few have mentioned before, perhaps, I humbly provide a public service to the wargaming community? I do know that I have introduced others to remote gaming as others did for me.

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  5. That is a great list of games - well done Sir! I think I have only reached such heady heights once, although it is always an aspiration.

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  6. An impressive number of games. There's likely some time saved by playing remotely, travel time and set up time. From what I've read you have managed to do this with a great group of people.

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    1. Dan, there is a big savings of time and effort when playing remotely. When I host a game, there is still the game prep to do but games are only a few hours rather than all day affairs. When I am participating in a remote game as a player, I simply sit down at my desk and join the meeting. Really no different than enjoying a leisurely lunch with friends.

      Most of the gamers have been fellow bloggers. There is not a nicer and more reasonable bunch of gamers anywhere.

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  7. That is very interesting Jonathan. I am happy to have been part of your experience.
    Whilst I would never come close to your 89 games in a year, I have found that remote gaming has meant that my number of games (as player and umpire) has been the best for decades... if not forever.

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    1. Richard, I was (and still am) happy to have had you participate in some of these games. Your group is a model of civility, patience, and reason. Funny too! Our FAW battles were some of the gaming highlights of the year for me.

      I considered adding in a pictorial of the Best of wargames in 2022. I may still do that. There were many highlights, fun games, and interesting battles.

      Before my discovery of remote gaming, I was lucky to get in a dozen games per year. Now look at me.

      Let's keep this going in 2023.

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  8. Another grea year of gaming, Jon. I can't remember now, but did the onset of remote gaming, paired with your retirement, lead to a spike in gaming but a drop off n painting production vis a vis the years when your blog subtitle indicated lots of preparation but little actual table top activity? I guess we will see the answer in the next post!
    97 is of course a lot of games, but in one way, I am surprised it's not more, given that two games every week would be 104....it certainly felt like you were posting more than two games per week a lot if the time!

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    1. Hi Keith! 2022 was another great of gaming, for sure.

      COVID lockdowns led to retirement in summer 2020 which led to remote gaming in Fall of 2020. Gaming certainly began its spike soon after discovering remote gaming. Some weeks in 2022 saw little to no gaming for a host of reasons. Still, it does seem like I gamed twice a week in most weeks.

      Did the increased gaming lead to a reduction in painting productivity? Surprisingly, only a little. As you guessed you will see painting details in another post on another day.

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    2. I realised Covid led directly to remote gaming but had not realised it also provided you the opportunity to retire.....that "grey cloud" has so many silver linings for you, it barely remains grey at all!

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    3. Yes, with the sudden closing off of the economy, opportunities arose. My company made me an offer I could not refuse and I did not! The storm cloud is not so grey from my vantage point.

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  9. An incredible run. Remote gaming really does seem to have made the difference. I think we managed around twenty-five games last year, and that seemed like a lot.

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    1. For me, the ability to game remotely has made all of the difference. Before the emergence of remote gaming, I am not sure I could call myself a gamer at all!

      Having 25 games in the year, I think, is a good pace with about two games per month. Many more than I accomplished in the Old Days.

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  10. How come you missed so many games of Ivan?

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    1. Well, I got in five. I may have missed one or two online remote games. One may have been aborted with tech issues. I did not count that one. Did you not play this F2F several times in your quarterly group gatherings, with others, and a con or two?

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    2. Yes, but there were about 13, and I can't work out the 8 you missed!

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    3. I recall one of your games was a two-parter. I missed Part 1 so opted out of Part 2. Maybe those two missed games were Ivans?

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  11. That's a lot of games, rules and periods! You've certainly encouraged me to game more, remotely as a participant and lately as a host.
    Brilliant!

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    1. Chris, it sure is a lot of gaming. The best part is encouraging a fellow gamer to dip into the world of remote gaming. Praise to you for taking that next step to host a game. Now that is brilliant!

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  12. Way to put us all to SHAME with your gaming GREATNESS. Though I think if I played that many different rule sets I would get them all confused in my mind; but likely like you I’d have a clear winner. I must try out BI at least once just so we have some common ground as we don’t play the same rules. 😀

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    1. Stew! Great to hear from you after a long absence.
      Keeping ruleset in mind is not so hard especially when playing frequently. Of course, when hosting a game you must know the rules very well. When only playing, the GM can do much of the work on rules and game mechanism details.

      I recommend giving BI a try. If you want an introduction, a remote game is an easy entry point.

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    2. Yes! Maybe this year we can work out a remote game night. 😀

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    3. You know how to reach me when time permits.

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  13. That is a LOT of games! Well done!

    (I do love a good series of graphs! Thank you!)

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    1. Tim, I reckon you play more games than this. Thank you! I love a good series of graphs too!

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    2. Previous years, possibly... but only if you count boardgames. I think when I was crunching numbers a few weeks ago, I was finding I played 200-250 games a year for the previous few years, but only 25-30% were miniature war games...

      THIS YEAR I played less than 100 games... and only about 15 could remotely be classified as "miniature games" - most of those (13) were Warhammer Underworlds... which is more of a deck-building board game (with miniatures).

      Next year, though... I have PLANS!!!

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    3. Also, I just realized after looking at your Year in Review, and a few other, that I do not have ANY pictures (or graphs!) in my own... and I don't think I have ever included any... and I'm not sure why?! I think I'll have to fix that next year! Pictures AND GRAPHS!!!

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    4. I am really looking forward to seeing the return to your long-lost WWI project in 2023.

      Yes, we all enjoy staring at graphs. Next year, include a few in your year-end wrap-up.

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  14. Jonathan, truly appreciate such a thoughtful look back at your experience in gaming last year. You have played in a year more games than we'd have played in the 1980's in total. This coming year I will have to scrounge up the software and hardware to try the remote game. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences in the last year.

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    1. You are welcome, Joe! Glad to see enjoyed this retrospective on the gaming front. If you have an interest in increasing your number of games played, remote gaming is a step toward that goal. Zoom is available on Windows, Mac, and iOS.

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  15. A full year you have had Jonathan, with lots of variety in both rules and periods.

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    1. No doubt, Phil, no doubt. I always enjoy your support and encouragement. Thank you.

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  16. Your statistics are making my head hurt Jon 😀 important thing is enjoyment and my sense is you are still having fun. It is a lot of battles and as we have discussed the setup, design and most importantly clearing up all take time. That said looking forward to our next encounter. I’ll drop you a note Matt

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    1. Sorry for the headache, Matt!

      These totals represent a lot of battles and a lot of work but when we all share the workload, it is manageable.

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  17. I haven't counted my games but should be around 40-50 with most being club games, your total is very impressive as is the diversity.

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    1. George, 40-50 F2F miniatures games is a lot! Any idea on the breakdown between the percentage you host v others?

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    2. I suspect it is a close 50/50 Jonathan.

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  18. Most impressive - do keep it up, and keep reporting the games in your blog! You are quite the inspiration, and here's to another successful year.

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    1. Thank you very much, David!
      Here’s to another successful year!

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  19. Wow, that is a lot of games, a diverse set of periods and rulesets used! However you do have two core sets that obviously tick the boxes for you, whether that be FtF, solo or remote games. Two games a month is probably as much as I can achieve on average, but this could be upped I suppose with a dedicated games room, which might happend in a year or so. Sadly remote games not an option given my current parent carer duties, but again that might change...

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    1. This is a lot of games, Steve. Some weeks, it seems too many.

      While Fields of Honor made the Top 2 in 2021, Basic Impetvs was nowhere to be found. BI came on with a bang. 2023 begins with three BI games in quick succession.

      Having a dedicated game space is a critical piece of the puzzle to seeing lots of games played. Doubly important when the same battle is refought multiple times.

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  20. JF -
    An impressive array of games, an impressive analysis of that data, and, it should really go with saying, an impressive representation of the best of what this hobby has to offer.

    The mind reels at the nearly 100 games played (in both years). This total seems more like what would be on the agenda of a single convention or show, rather than on the table (actual or zoom) of an individual wargamer.

    Interesting stuff & food for thought, that's for certain.

    Wondering if you are hoping to achieve the same numbers or set a new record in 2023?

    Cheers,
    Chris

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    1. Chris, you are too kind and offer great encouragement to continue forging on.

      I have not set goals for reaching a particular number of games. If I tossed out a guess, I might expect fewer games than seen in 2022.

      Thank you for your comment!

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  21. An amazing level of gaming: wowsa! You are the Cal Ripken Jr (aka, Iron Man) of miniatures gaming!. Hats off for playing so many home grown systems on top of that. I concur on the value of a good QRS: the first thing I do when acquiring a set of rules is put one together.

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    1. Thanks, Ed! Compared to Ripken Jr? Great!

      Constructing a useful QRS is one of my first steps too. I find that in addition to a handy reference, it helps the rules gel in my mind.

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  22. Talk about a great year! (or two in a row even) I can't even fathom this number of games. I am a mostly solo gamer, with no one to schedule anything with but myself, and I doubt I even manage half as many.

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    1. John, before 2021, the count of games played was unfathomable to me too. This quantity of games is only possible because others are willing to host games remotely too. No way could I prepare this many scenarios and play them in one year.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  23. Such quantity and variety should help the "little grey cells" active through retirement!

    May you continue to thrive and enjoy life 2023.

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    1. If these gaming activities can help in slowing little grey cell decay then I need to keep at it.

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  24. Gosh that's a lot of diverse gaming and I'm impressed you've kept up the painting, I think my increase in club gaming is about what I can cope with at the moment but I'm glad the remote gaming has worked out for you!
    Best Iain

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    1. A lot of different stuff crossed the gaming tables timing 2022. We will see if the level of gaming affected my painting soon.

      Remote gaming has worked out well for me but I might be pushing my limits in frequency.

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  25. I am envious of the number of games you managed to get in. I'm happy if I reach between 40 and 50 for the year

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    1. 40-50 games per year is impressive, Neil. No need to envy my totals.

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  26. "Impressive... most impressive!"
    Even back in High School I don't think I ever p[ayed that many games. If I average 2/month AI am very happy. Even after I retire in a few more years, I think anything much over once a week gaming might severely strain marital harmony! :-)

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    1. Thanks, Peter! If you place a remote game as no more time consumed than a leisurely lunch with friends, it works.

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  27. What a wonderful variety of periods, scales and rules played. As you note, it is a gift when you have a group fo like minded people playing who are open to trying anything.
    Richard

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    1. Having accepting and eager to try anything players is a gift indeed.

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  28. What a fabulous game count Jonathan! I would love to be able to get my count above 25! You are certainly living the gamer’s life…

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    1. Thanks, Mark! Now, if I could only field armies as quickly as you...

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  29. I never write down how many games I play. Imressive work!

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