Back in January of this year, I created a list of 15 different board game challenges that I would try to complete before January of next year. Now that we are basically down to our final two months of 2024, I figured it was a good time to check in and see what I still need to try and accomplish!
Challenge 1: 500 Plays Challenge
I'm currently at 370 plays which means I need another 130 plays in the final 67 days of the year. I highly doubt I can average two games played per day, every day from now until the end of the year but maybe I can at least approach 450 plays (which would still be an amazing number that I would have said was impossible even as recently as two years ago)!
Challenge 2: Alphabet Challenge
This is a fun, classic board game challenge where the goal is to play a game that starts with each letter of the alphabet (plus a game that starts with a number). Here's my list (with the first game I played starting with each letter):
- #: 7 Wonders Duel
- A. Arboretum
- B. Burgle Bros.
- C. Catapult Feud
- D. Doctor Esker's Notebook
- E. Ecosystem
- F. Frutticola
- G. Gods Love Dinosaurs
- H. Half Truth
- I. Isle of Trains: All Aboard
- J. Just One
- K. Kingdomino
- L. Lost Ruins of Arnak
- M. Martian Dice
- N. Numbsters
- O. Oceans: Legendary Edition
- P. Paleo
- Q. The Quest Kids
- R. Rhino Hero: Super Battle
- S. Sprawlopolis
- T. Ticket to Ride: London
- U. Unearth
- V.
- W. Wandering Towers
- X.
- Y.
- Z. Zombie Dice
As you can see, I'm only missing three letters (V, X, and Y). Of those three, I only own one game that starts with Y (Yahtzee) and no games that start with either V or X. I'm definitely calling this particular challenge a success already, even if I don't get those final three letters!
Challenge 3: 10x10 Challenge
My first challenge is fully completed already. Here, the goal was to play ten different games ten times each. This particular challenge favors quicker, lighter games as they are easier to play multiple times (my list includes Bandido, King of Tokyo, and Railroad Ink) but I also snuck 10+ plays of Lost Ruins of Arnak in there!
Challenge 4: Complete 150 Plays with my Son
Challenge 4B. Complete 100 Additional Plays with my Son this Fall/Winter
My son and I blew through our original goal of 150 plays. He was excited about that, so he wanted to set a second challenge which is another 100 plays. To date, we've played 51 games since we set the goal on August 28. That leaves us 49 plays short with 67 days remaining in the year - doable, but definitely a challenge! The above image shows the games from our current 100-play challenge that we've done thus far. I'd say it's an impressive array for a six-year-old!
Challenge 5: Play 5 games from the year 2018
Challenge 6: Play 5 games from the year 2019
Challenge 7: Play 5 games from the year 2020
Challenge 8: Play 5 games from the year 2021
Challenge 9: Play 5 games from the year 2022
Challenge 10: Play 5 games from the year 2023
Out of this batch, I've completed them all! I will say that having these challenges did help me pick and choose games to play on days when I didn't otherwise have much inspiration.
Challenge 11: Play Every Game in my Collection
This one was never going to happen in full, but it is a noble goal to at least work toward completing it. Currently, I've played 72 out of the 236 games in my collection this year (31%). That's a solid number considering the size of my collection!
Challenge 12: Play my Unplayed Owned Games
This goal is similar to the previous goal except here I am only focusing on games I own but have never played before. *more truthfully, it's a list of games I've never recorded a play of before. To date, I've managed to get 20 previously unplayed games to the table (out of a total of 102 games). I probably could do better than that, but honestly, I'm quite satisfied with my progress!
Challenge 13: A Solo Game 10x10 (changed to play 100 solo games)
If there's one remaining challenge that I still hope to fully complete, it is this one. I quickly realized that I wouldn't have the interest in doing a 10x10 solo play, so instead I switched the challenge to play a total of 100 solo games. As it stands now, I've managed 27 solo plays - more than any other year that I've kept track of but a far cry from the goal of 100 plays. Realistically, I'm aiming to get as close as I can to 50 solo plays, but who knows, maybe I can surprise myself?
Challenge 14: 5x5 Challenge with my Son
Another success story, my son and I had this goal completed by July! The five games were hand-picked by my son at the start of the challenge:
- Catapult Feud
- Keep the Heroes Out!
- Kingdomino
- Ticket to Ride: Europe
- Zombie Dice
This goal also gave me a nice head start of my personal 10x10 challenge from above!
Challenge 15: H-Index Challenge
A board game H-index of say 10 means that you have 10 different games that you've played at least 10 times each. As you increase your H-Index by 1, you are exponentially increasing the number of board game plays that need to happen (i.e. an H-Index of 11 means you've played 11 different games at least 11 times each). Heading into 2024, my H-Index was 14 but since then I've managed to reach an H-Index of 15, then 16, and currently 17. Amazingly enough, I'm one play of Lost Ruins of Arnak away from reaching an H-Index of 18. It's worth noting here that the H-Index counts all plays that I've logged, not just plays from 2024.
Overall, it's been a resounding success of a year in board gaming, even if I don't get to play a single game in November or December!
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