Be honest, how many board games have you played only once or twice? How many times have you played a game, chosen by someone else, for the first time at a game gathering? My answers are too many and too often. Kind of takes some of the fun out of playing board games. Don’t take it the wrong way. I really like learning new games. But, I want to know my games better and, at least, get a heads up before going to a game gathering about a new game someone wants to play. I like to get to know the games I play. Playing them once or twice isn’t going to cut it for me. So, for 2020, I’ve chosen five games from my library that I really want to ‘know’. I’m calling this a Focus on Five Challenge.
Are there any rules about the Focus on Five 2020 Challenge? Not really; more like guidlines I guess. For instance, when I go to game gatherings I’ll bring games from my Focus on Five unless someone in the group has a special request. My wife Valerie is doing the Focus on Five Challenge too. Between the two of us we have 10 games to choose from when we are the only two playing. We’ll see how this works. If we feel a chosen game was a bad choice we’ll replace it. The focus, however, is to play fewer games and really get to know them. Another way to put it is that we’re trying to stay away from board game ADHD (if that makes sense).
Valerie’s five games for the Focus on Five 2020 Challenge are:
- 7 Wonders
- Thebes
- Favor of the Pharaoh
- Valley of the Kings
- Pastiche
Mine are:
- Scoville
- Citadels
- Medina
- Space Explorers
- Fantastic Factories
During the year I’ll write updates on how our challenge is working. During Winter break we were able to play 3 games each off our lists. So far so good. We were able to play 7 during Winter break.
