2010 was a great year for gaming for me.   The biggest thing for me was I joined The Hypermind Boardgamers.  This is a fantastic gaming group located in Burlington, NC at Hypermind, my FLGS. Hypermind is made up of some awesome gamers who love games of all types. This group has opened up some many excellent games to me.  I discovered Macao, The Princes of Florence, Ra, Goa, Saboteur, and many others.  But most of all I’ve made some really good friends.  And strengthened others.  Tuesday nights became a highlight of the week and are much looked forward to.  I’ll be glad when I’m able to make the trip on a regular basis again.

Purchase wise I picked up some good games.  Forbidden Island, Notre Dame, Settlers and Seafarers of Catan, Small World, Zooloretto, a couple of the 10 Days games, Saboteur, Terra Prime, Homesteaders are the stand outs.

My kids and I played a lot of games too.  Homesteaders was a big hit with O.  Small World and Saga were Z’s favorite.  And Memoir ’44 continued to be at the top.

Here’s what I played this year.

Aunt Millie’s Millions,  Ablaze!, Hurry Cup!, Ticket To Ride Europe, Saga, Carcassonne,  Ka-Ching, Clue: Secrets & Spies,  Sleeping Queens,  10 Days In Asia,  No Thanks!,  Alhambra,  Zeus On The Loose,  In A Pickle,  Indiana Jones Life,  Three of A Crime,  10 Days In The USA,  Castle Keep,  Ticket To Ride – Nordic Countries,  Settlers of Catan,  Ascension,  Cyclades, Loot, Telestrations, Kingdoms, Seafarers of Catan, Terra Prime, Cutthroat Caverns, Apples To Apples,            Dominion,  Roll Through The Ages, Saboteur, Coloretto, Bohnanza, Endeavor, Macao, Small World, Space Hulk: Death Angel, Masons, Eminent Domain, Memoir ’44, Taluva, Sultan, Metropolys, Mission: Red Planet, Escalation!, Forbidden Island, Nexus Ops, Monopoly Deal, Through The Desert, Notre Dame, Thunderstone, Thurn & Taxis, Cash n’ Guns, Goa, Hive, Traders of Carthage, Tiki Topple, Hey! That’s My Fish!, Ra, Parade, Pandemic + On The Brink, Homesteaders, Cloud 9, Peloponnes, Vegas Showdown, Witch’s Brew, Catacombs, Tigris & Euphrates, Cthulhu Dice, In The Year of The Dragon, China, The Princes of Florence, Tribune, Bang!, Archaeology: The Card Game, Dream Factory, Shogun

That’s it I think.  Total of 78.    Not too bad.

So which ones rose to the top.  These are the top 14.

14.  Coloretto

13.  Tigris & Euphrates

12. Ra

11.  Traders of Carthage

10.  Eminent Domain

9.  Shogun

8.  Homesteaders

7.  Hey! That’s My Fish!

6.  Alhambra

5.  Forbidden Island

4.  Goa

3. Princes of Florence

2.  Pandemic

1.  Macao

Macao really stood out for me.  It was the only game that haunted me.  I could not get it out of my mind.  I thought up strategies, drew out the rondel, worked on dice/turn combos.  And I’m still not that good at it.  I really enjoy the game a whole lot and want to play it all the time.  That’s why it is number one.   Pandemic is #2 because it is such a great gaming experience.  The tension it builds and the high-five moments are awesome.  The rest are all very good and fun games and are on the Buy List for this year.

What do you think?  How about your thoughts on these games or your favorites from last year?  Comment below.

There are a bunch of games that didn’t get played and ones that are coming out this year.  But that’s another post.

So that’s 2010 in brief.  It was a good year for gaming.  The best parts were definitely finding Hypermind and my kids getting deeper into gaming.