Board Game Friday: July 2024 Board Game Arena Plays (and I'm #1)!

We've reached the middle of August but here I am finally ready to look back on my online board game plays for the month of July!  July was a super busy month for me in terms of playing games over on Board Game Arena.  For most of the month, I had 10+ games happening simultaneously (I almost exclusively play turn-based games, not real-time games)!  Anyhow, I managed to complete a grand total of 124 games with me coming out as the winner on 50 of those (40.3% winning percentage).  That's a good winning percentage when you realize that much of my gaming was multiplayer (and thus you wouldn't "expect" a 50% win percentage like you might if every game were a 2-player game).  

Before I get into a couple of specific games from the month, here's the list of what I got played on the virtual table:

Once again, Lost Ruins of Arnak came out on top in terms of most played.  That game, coupled with 7 Wonders Duel and Railroad Ink are all favorites of mine in both the land of virtual board gaming as well as table top board gaming (I happen to own 3 games in physical form as well).  

For Sale is another game that I own in physical form but I must say that it does not translate nearly as well to the virtual gaming space.  It's a fun, two-phase bidding game but I find it difficult to keep track of what has been played over a long period of time.  Definitely a good game, but not for a turn-based style of play!

The other game that I think is worth mentioning this month is Isle of Trains:  All Aboard.

This is a game that I actually backed on Kickstarter and still own in physical form.  However, I've been playing quite a bit of it online as well - and I'm quite pleased to report that I'm currently ranked #1 in the world on that game.  Now, that accomplishment isn't as cool as it sounds since the game isn't all that popular online, but still, no one has to know that!

As of Wednesday of this week, here are the current rankings for the Isle of Trains: All Aboard online play:

Yep, there's yours truly sitting in the #1 spot.  I'm currently in a close game of Isle of Trains: All Aboard so there's a chance that I could lose my lofty perch atop the standings but at least I have the above screenshot for all of eternity.  

That does it for the month of July.  I fully expect my board gaming time to be reduced now that work is kicking back up.  That said, the great thing about playing games online is I can take a turn during my free time - most turns only take a moment to complete which is perfect for me keep scratching that board gaming itch that I have!