Board Game Friday: Smashing my Top 10 Shelf of Shame

Back in November of last year, I posted a list of my Top 10 Games on my Shelf of Shame (i.e. games that I owned but hadn't yet played).  Now that half a year has gone by, I figured it'd be a good time to revisit that list and see if I've played any of the games (and then update the Shelf of Shame with new titles as needed).

For reference, here are the 10 games that I had listed on my Shelf of Shame back in November 2023:

10.  Disney Villainous

9.  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Adventure Game

8.  Food Chain Magnate

7.  Apex Theropod Deck Building Game: Collected Edition 

6.  Clank!: Catacombs

5.  Great Western Trail: Second Edition

4.  Raccoon Tycoon

3.  Endless Winter: Paleoamericans

2.  Paleo

1.  Unmatched: Battle of Legends, Volume Two

Out of that list of 10 games, I'm pleased to report that I have played several of them now!  

#10:  Disney Villainous:

I played this one a couple of times and promptly added it to my "for trade" list.  The game had great artwork and lovely components, but the game play itself wasn't much fun.  It felt like all you were doing was searching through your deck for a specific card and then the first person to get that card won.  Maybe if I were more of a "Disney person" I could overlook the gameplay flaws but as it was this game was clearly not meant for someone like me.  I'm happy to have tried it since the Villainous line is quite popular but I'm even happier to have been able to trade away my copy so it's not cluttering up my shelf space!

#6:  Clank!:  Catacombs:

I got this one to the table over the holidays and found it to be quite fun.  I enjoy deck builders a lot so this one was right up my alley.  That being said, I think I need to play it a few more times before I decide if it's either one of the better dungeon crawlers or one of the better deck builders.  If it isn't either, then I'll probably end up purging it from my collection.  For now though, it's firmly in the "keeper" category!

#5:  Great Western Trail:  Second Edition

Okay, this one is kind of a "cheat" since my copy is still in shrink wrap.  However, I have no played Great Western Trail a bunch over on Board Game Arena and I can safely say that my copy of the game is staying firmly in my collection, even if I don't have anyone around right now that I can play the game with in person!  It's a great game and one that should be in any board game lover's collection if you ask me.  

#2:  Paleo:

Paleo is a cooperative game that I've now played twice since I wrote my Shelf of Shame post.  It's definitely a fun little game, though I do think once you've played through all of the various scenarios it might not have the same replay value as some other games.  That said, I'm a long, long ways away from being able to consider this game "completed" and as such it's another one that will stay firmly in my collection for now!

And that's it.  Out of the 10 games on my Shelf of Shame, I managed to play four of them in the past six months or so.  I'd say that is an absolutely great bit of progress, especially when you consider how limited my in-person board gaming time has been thus far in 2024.  

However, with four games now officially "played" (I'm counting Great Western Trail as played despite me not playing my copy in person), I now need to restock my shelf of shame!  That will take a bit of thought, but hopefully I'll have that particular post ready for next week.  Until then, maybe you can share with me if you have any games on your shelf of shame, leave your thoughts in the comment section below!