by Matt
I covered some of this in my end of the year plays recap, but that was mostly just a bunch of numbers and statistics, so here's my most played games with some of my thoughts alongside.10. River Dragons9 Plays
The first of four games on my list that were new to me in 2013. We were first introduced to it at the beginning of the year in our weekly game night. It breached our most played list because it is very simple to teach and, perhaps more importantly, there are a lot of mind games going on throughout the game that keep it interesting and entertaining.
9. Ticket to Ride10 Plays
Ticket to Ride falls from it's spot in our top five most played last year, but doesn't fall terribly far. Heart of Africa saw the most plays at 3, while the base game, Europe, India, Legendary Asia, Marklin, Team Asia, and USA 1910 each saw 1 play. 4 of these plays are from Katie's participation (and win) in the TetonCon Ticket to Ride World Tour event.
8. Suburbia11 Plays
The second new to me game on this list. I played it once on a game day and picked it up shortly afterwards. Though it remains high on my list of favorite games, it's actually been fairly difficult to get to the table. It's only sitting this high because of the recent iOS release, for which I'm grateful exists.
5(t). The Resistance12 Plays
Another returning game, The Resistance actually climbed from where it was in last year's most played titles. Funny enough, all 12 of our plays were of the original Resistance, with no plays of Avalon this year. I much prefer playing with Merlin and the Assassin, but we don't own Avalon. Fortunately, we've now got the Merlin and Assassin promo cards from Coup to include with our base version of The Resistance. Most of these plays were from TetonCon.
5(t). Lords of Waterdeep12 Plays
A favorite that we were introduced to late in 2012, added to our own collection, and got several more plays. I'm continually impressed with how well this plays as a two-player game. It also had a recent iOS release, making it even easier for Katie and I to pull out and play a quick game. I imagine this will be back on next year's list. Scoundrels of Skullport made it into three of these plays.
5(t). 7 Wonders12 Plays
I should be getting a commission for all of these that I've sold. We introduced it to our small group in 2012, and one couple bought it and introduced all their family to it. Through our family, friends, and friends' family/friends, we can trace 9 copies of 7 Wonders that have been bought after we introduced the game to someone. All of these plays included Leaders, all but one of them included Cities, and the last four plays included the Wonder pack. Most of our plays for this were with the couple that Katie and I have a weekly Bible study with. Our two-hour study session is typically followed by a half-hour board game. 7 Wonders is one of the rare games that's strategical enough to appeal to all four of us while still being quick enough to pull out and finish in a reasonable time on a weeknight. Other candidates that I think have a shot at this list next year due to Bible study night plays alone: P.I., Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age, and Takenoko.
4. Love Letter13 Plays
Another game that was new to us this year. Very easy to teach and a lot of subtle strategy. This remains one of our favorite fillers, though we've played it substantially less the past few months.
3. King of Tokyo27 Plays
Another returning game from last year's most played that see many plays because it's easy to teach to non-gamer family and friends. It's also a favorite of Katie's family and saw 16 plays over a four-day period when they visited us over the summer.
2. Star Wars: The Card Game62 Plays
The highest new to me game on the list, and here almost solely because of organized play events. 42 of these plays occurred during organized play. It'll make a return on this list next year if I continue playing in tournaments and leagues for it, but I'm not certain I will at this point. I've played 5 of the 6 LCGs and this is my second-least favorite of the bunch. I picked it up and maintained my plays because it was the second-most played LCG in the store, but now that our Star Wars group is dying and our Netrunner group is blossoming, I don't know if it's worth keeping up with it. I certainly won't be picking up new packs for a while.
1. Android: Netrunner630 Plays
Yeah, uh, we like Netrunner. I think the rest of my blog posts have enough commentary on this already. :D