The number of games played in 2025 nearly reached the 100-game mark. Close but not quite. Gaming in 2025 saw an increase to 97 games played compared to the 76 games played in 2024. Why the increase in games played? Well, Commands & Colors saw a huge increase in the number of games played and that in a F2F setting. With the large number of Commands & Colors games, the mix between remote and F2F saw a significant shift too with F2F enjoying a resurgence in frequency.
I ended up hosting 40 out of the 97 games played. This seems a lower proportion than years past, but that may not be true. My impression is that I hosted fewer games, though. As mentioned in last year's review, games remotely hosted by others dropped off in 2024. Records show that I participated in 17 hosted remote games in 2025. Without going back to confirm, that is likely an increase over 2024 totals. Remote games hosted by me totaled 23. That is a pleasant and reasonable mix in hosting vs playing in remote games. Nice having the workload spread around, isn't it?
Let's get on with the games played review! In a gaming retrospective, these 97 games were distributed over a variety of rules and periods. I take a look at each area individually.
Rules
2024 saw 14 different rulesets in use. The number of rulesets to hit the gaming table jumped to 17 different rulesets. In the graphic below, note that ten of these rules are first time playing for me. That is quite a lot of new rules to encounter. The core rules that I use for remote games continue as in previous years with Basic Impetvs and Fields of Honor seeing repeated action. Although seeing repeated action at the gaming table, these two rulesets witnessed a marked drop off in play throughout 2025. Perhaps these rules will see more action in 2026? As mentioned above, Commands & Colors (including CC Hoth) saw heavy rotation. Sliding into second place is my Work in Progress WotR rules, Blood 'n Roses. Expect to see more activity here in 2026 as more battles are brought to the table for testing. The table below shows Counts of Games Played by Ruleset in 2025 for details.
Wargaming Period
What if these total games played are broken out by wargaming period? What were the popular periods in 2025?
Memorable Moments
2025 continued the trend of my hosted games refighting a particular historical battle multiple times. Below is a listing of some of those memorable games. I expect this trend to continue into 2026. I wonder which battle will be first out of the gates in 2026?
Battle of Agnadello: Great Italian Wars - 2 games.
Battle of Solden Hill: Wars of the Roses - 3 games.
Battle of Mortimer's Cross: Wars of the Roses - 4 games.
Battle of Zallaqah: Spanish Reconquista - 4 games.
Of course, every game has memorable moments but with repeated playings, one gains a deeper understanding of the battle, its likely direction, crucial decision points, and possible outcomes. I always learn a lot from these repeated outings with respect to rules, scenario design, and scenario development. Thanks to all who played in one of these games. I always enjoy your willingness to join into a game.
If you participated in any of these battles or simply read some of the battle reports, which game or games stand out to you?
The next time I return to the yearly review, I dive into the Painting Log and see what 2025 held.
