I absolutely loved the comments section of Monday’s post (here and the repost on Facebook), as it was filled with such a wide variety of creative projects people completed in 2022.
As I read through the comments, I realized that there was another side of the coin, something just as important as creation: play. I believe in the power of play, particularly in the form of tabletop games.
At its best, tabletop play provides a joyful, memorable, and satisfying experience. The stakes are low–there’s no real-world impact if you win or lose a tabletop game–so it’s an opportunity to be clever, sneaky, and fearless as we explore worlds we’ll probably never otherwise see.
So to pair with my creativity challenge, I’d like to offer a healthy challenge to you (and me) to seek meaningful tabletop play in 2023. You can set your own terms as to what is meaningful to you, but my one recommendation is that you don’t make it a chore or a task. Really think about the tabletop experiences you want to get out of 2023 and get to it.
Here are some examples/categories to consider:
- playing games on your shelf of opportunity
- playing your favorite games
- experimenting with modules/expansions for a few games you enjoy
- mastering a game (i.e., playing in a tournament) or going deep into a game by playing it a certain number of times
- focusing on the people with whom you play (your family, your partner, your gaming group, sharing games with strangers, etc.)
- focusing on where you play (do you have the most fun playing at home, at a game cafe, at a FLGS, playing online, or at conventions/events)
- playing a specific or a range of player counts (maybe giving solo gaming a try, giant mega-games with 12+ players, or playing more games at your favorite player count)
- finding and playing some games you always hear people talking about but you’ve never actually played
- seeking games based on when they were released (maybe the newest games or older classics)
- playing through an epic campaign game over multiple weeks/months
- focusing on a specific theme, genre, publisher, designer, etc.
The purpose of this list is just to get you thinking about how you find the most meaning, satisfaction, and joy in tabletop play.
For me, I have specific games that I want to play with specific people (e.g., the rock-climbing game First Ascent with some rock-climbing friends). I got a lot of joy out of playing Rolling Realms live several dozen times in 2022 and I look forward to more of that in 2023. I’d like to delve deeper into Lands of Galzyr and some campaign games arriving in 2023. I also just want to remain open to being pleasantly surprised. Entering 2022, trick-taking games weren’t really all that exciting to me, but I tried to be more open to them, and I found some of my favorite games among them in the last year. Last, I’d like to host more game days with friends (4 per year, ideally) to complement the weekly game nights I host.
I hope you play something meaningful to you in 2023. I’d love to hear in the comments a little about the tabletop play experiences you’ll seek next year.
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23 Comments on “Play Something Meaningful to You in 2023”
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Jamey,
Well, what I’m about to tell you would not have been on my radar even 10 days ago. But, with the catastrophe that befell our home and that we’ll move to a Philadelphia apartment for 6 months, I want to bring the joy of board gaming to the other residents. I packed about 5% of my collection (around a dozen games) and they’re all over the map from easy of entry to much deeper Euros. I’m excited by the challenges ahead!
Cheers,
Joe
I find it curious why certain games that I like pass under my radar. I wonder why – is it that the “hook” wasn’t apparent to me – or simply, is it hard to grab a player’s attention with so many games on the market? My most recent “game that speaks to me” miss was “Renature”. Upon previously seeing the game box cover in a store, it didn’t appeal to me – but yet more recently having reviewed the game, the simple mechanism of tile placement and area control is right down my alley – go figure!
Brilliant advice. Finding game time lately has been tough. I’ve gone to our local gaming meetups recently wanting to get specific games off my shelf and played, and coordinating it has been tricky, and in the end frustrating.
One of the best gaming experiences I had recently in our local group was when I just showed up with no agenda and dropped in to a game of Ticket to Ride (Italy) followed by Port Royal. They’re not games that are high on my ‘must play’ list, and instead it meant I could just enjoy the moment of hanging out and getting to know some new people (and some old friends a little better). A reminder of what gaming meetups are deep down really all about :)
I’m sorry that experience has been frustrating for you, Ben, but I’m glad you had a better time just showing up and being open to playing what was on the table.
It’s kind of a loose plan, but I am going to do some gaming every week (if time permits) and will be playing games with different groups. My friends and I will be starting weekly sessions of Risk Legacy at my friend’s house. I plan to have friends over to my house once every few weeks to try one new game off my shelf of shame and one game we’ve already played. And, every week or two I will meet up with one of the two local gaming groups I attend.
I’m also going to set aside some time to play through some of my video game backlog- right now, specifically The Last of Us 1 & 2, leading up to the release of its TV series debut on January 15. I probably won’t be able to get through both games before then.
That’s great, Derrick! I hope you enjoy Risk Legacy–I had a lot of fun with it.
Last year was the first year I was seriously into board gaming and setting gaming goals. I set tiered goals for 2p and solo. Like 10×5, 20×4, etc. New to me (10, 20, 30, etc), total plays (100, 200, 300).
In the new year I will continue this for solo and 2p, but I also plan on doing a couple more specific ones. On top of our annual Ticket to Ride Challenge over the holidays I am hoping to add in Azul, Trekking, and TTR City Editions Challenge a couple times a year as they are quicker and there are fewer of them.
I am also hoping to get my wife on board with a 10 x 10 challenge where we each pick 5 games to play 10 times this year.
For solo play I am going to pick my 12 favorite solo games and play them 12 times, but I might make it a monthly goal so I play each one every month.
All in all I really just want to dive into the games we have more. I will also be culling my games of ones that didn’t “hit” for me or we don’t get to the table enough.
A couple bigger goals are to start a kids board game group at my school with versions of games targeted more towards kids (Scythe, Everdell, TTR, Carcassone, Catan) but I need to figure out fundraising for that and see if the PTAC can help.
I would also like to introduce some entry level games to fellow coworkers in a small board gaming group.
Thanks for sharing, Ian! These are impressive goals!
We will see how many I get or actually set but as of now these are my plans.
I’ve enjoyed being able to join you live the past couple of Wednesdays for your podcast and a little humbled how interested you’ve been in my Ticket to Ride Challenge.
Next week I’ll be back in school so I’ll see if I have students in class or not so I can update you.
2 Stonemaier games made my 12x1x12 solo challenge. 12 games once a month for 12 months.
Both Wingspan and Rolling Realms.
A friend of mine’s daughter is having a graduation/farewell party in January (she’s moving away from the southern US to a northern border state). I ordered all the Wingspan puzzles and games because she and my friend are both birders and had heard about the game from somewhere. They were so excited about it that they got it on Steam.
However, I had also wanted to get the Nesting box to box up the entire collection for her going-away party. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it in time before supplies ran out. Still, Wingspan puzzles and games are ready to be opened and perhaps even some games played if she wants to dig into them. (I think they will!)
That’s awesome about the Wingspan puzzles–thank you! We’re opening preorders for the third printing of the Nesting Box in just a few days. Stay tuned for next Wednesday. :)
This one isn’t tabletop-specific, so please forgive it, but this post crystalized something in my mind: I want to play more with my dog. That might sound very… basic? Lowly? Insignificant? But to me it has meaning.
He’s almost 13 years old and he’s been my sidekick through the most challenging moments of my life. Furthermore, I’ve been inspired by the growing popularity of AIC (AAC for animals), watching how animal caretakers are using word buttons to allow their charges to communicate in often mind-blowing ways. While I’m not planning on getting buttons for him, he and I already communicate well and I want to reinforce that and add to the joy and meaning our companionship gives both of us. Play is a great way to do that.
For the tabletop-specific idea: My goal is to play more games in an exploratory way, with less concern for “winning.” When I first started the hobby not long ago, the competition aspect was surprisingly stressful. However, games like the ones you produce have helped me enjoy the process itself, becoming less concerned with the outcome. So thank you for that. :) What makes this meaningful to me is that it goes against a lot of my conditioning, that my “scores” (grades, work output, etc.) are what make me valuable.
I think that’s wonderful about engaging with your dog! I have a treat puzzle for my cat, though it’s a solo game for him, and I have a friend who runs an obstacle course with her dog. I hope you find the right game for your canine buddy and you!
This feels so serendipitous to me. I just finished my degree after having dropped out of college about a decade ago. I had 1 semester left so I went back and finished and now I have some paperwork left but I have a bachelor’s degree now.
And one of the projects I did for a class was develop a hypothetical NGO that uses tabletop RPG’s a behavioral therapy for minors in juvenile detention centers. The professor, who founded the Prison Education Program, wants me to make my hypothetical NGO real. And my gaming groups have all used some version of “do something meaningful with the hobby” to encourage me to do it.
For now, I need to find a job. But hopefully by this time next year I’ll be able to reply to your challenge.
Congrats on finishing your degree! I agree with your groups, and I think it’s awesome that you’re looking to do something meaningful with the hobby.
Out of curiosity, how to you learn and play so many games, if you only have friends over for game nights 4 times per year? I host 2-3 game days a WEEK, and feel like I don’t play as many games as you talk about in your YouTube channels.
Hi John: I host weekly game nights. In the post I talk about wanting to host more game *days* (when we play games all day), which are much rarer. :)
Ah, that makes much more sense haha. Those are rare indeed.
Two years ago my wife and I did a 10 by 10 challenge and this last year we went through and played every game in our collection A to Z. I much preferred the every game in our collection challenge since it helped us cull some games and be more open to culling additional games in the future. But with both challenges, as we approached the end of the year we felt pressure to play just those games which did add a little stress to them.
So I think this year it would be good to focus on who we are playing the games with like you suggested. My favorite part of our 10 by 10 challenge was playing through the Rise of Fenris campaign with my in-laws.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Zach–I’m glad to hear you found the challenge that was the best fit for you two. And I’m glad you had fun with The Rise of Fenris! :)
My goal is to have more gaming weekends centered around a specific theme. For example, this year we had a weekend dedicated to only Lacerda games. I really would love to do more of this… with ideas such as a “West Kingdom” weekend, “T” game series weekend, or Pirate-themed game weekend. This has helped make for some pretty memorable gaming experiences, and I look forward to doing more of it.
That’s great, Jeff! I love the idea of having game days/nights focused on specific themes like that.