Top Ten Most Played Games of All Time - Fall 2012

Ok, that's a pretty lofty title.  But, more specifically, this is my top ten most played games.  And, to determine this, I am basing it off of total time that I have invested in playing a game - not my current feelings about a game.  After all, there's a decent chance that I've played some of these so often that I'm at least a bit burned out on them.

There are a few caveats on this list, though.  First, I don't actually pay attention to how long I've played a game, so this is all based on guesswork and conjecture.  Second, I'm basing this off of total game time, not number of plays.  So, a game that takes three hours to play may wind up much higher on the list than a game that I play dozens of times but doesn't take as long.  Third, I didn't count anything that you can play with a standard deck of cards.  Finally, I'm not counting time playing the game in an electronic format (otherwise Dominion and Axis and Allies would be much higher).

With all that said, lists are fun - so let's get to

My Top Ten Most Played Games of All Time!!

10. Power Grid

I love Power Grid. That should be obvious by it being on this list! This is one that I love so much, that I wrote a computer version of it in order to learn a new programming language. Though, admittedly, I may be remembering the time spent doing that, and it may be clouding my judgement about how much I've actually played the "real" game.

9. Betrayal at House on the Hill

Want to know how great this game is? I don't even care about horror themed games, and it still made this list! I absolutely love the thematic gameplay, the betrayal half-way through the game, and the book of scenarios!

8. Battlestar Galactica

This became one of my office's lunch games. Unfortunately, lunch breaks are only an hour. Do you realize how hard it is to maintain a lie over several days? However, the game is so amazing, that we put up with that slight nuisance for the opportunity to play it - again and again.

7. The Resistance

I said in my review of The Resistance that, for the money, this is the best game that I've ever bought. I can't even speculate on how many times I've played this game - or how many times I've fallen for someone's deceit!

6. Shadows Over Camelot

Both the first co-operative game I played and the first game with a traitor element. This combination adds up to playing back to back games for hours on end. Unfortunately, for some of my friends, they have been permanently branded as a traitor from all of these sessions. (If you're curious, I am referring to my good friends "Traitor Nic" and "Traitor Heath.")

5. PitchCar

How does a game that takes 5-10 minutes to play get on a list like this? You play it a lot. I have probably averaged playing PitchCar five times or more every week for a year and a half. Yeah. That's how it's on the list.

4. Star Wars: Customizable Card Game

This was my high school game of choice. "Obsessive" probably doesn't quite cover it. If the time I spent building decks was factored in, instead of just the time actually playing the game, this one would be #1. However, depending on my parents for transportation kept my ability to play in check, and keeps it "down" at #4.

3. Monopoly

Everyone was a kid sometime, right? I loved this game as a kid. Loved it. However, just because I loved it didn't mean I could convince people to play it with me. It did have a brief re-emergence in my graduate school days. And, for that matter, I'd still be willing to play it if anyone was interested.  Many people hate Monopoly, but I'm not one of them.

2. Risk 2210

Risk 2210 is probably the first game that started my deep plunge into "strategy" board games. After discovering this gem while working on my bachelor's degree, I started playing this with friends from my dorm every day. We knew when each other's classes ended each day, so that we could immediately start a game afterwards. And I would dare say that I spent half of my waking hours over at least one Spring Break playing this. I'm currently on my third physical copy of the game, having worn out one copy and had another one stolen.  There's a fair chance that I'll wind up with a fourth copy soon, as my current copy is also fairly "well loved." 

1. Heroscape

I own everything that Heroscape has put out. Did you catch that? (In case you're not overly familiar with Heroscape, they put out around 50 small expansions, 6 large expansions, had over 10 promo items, and had 4 master sets.) Yeah - that's how much I love this game. While working on my master's degree, I had a Heroscape board permanently set up in my dorm room. And, fortunately, I had several people that enjoyed playing with me, to the point that we played every night for around a year.

Honorable Mention:

Some of my other all time favorites didn't quite make the cut. They include Puerto Rico, Lord of the Rings: The Card Game (I expect this one to be on a future list), Dominion (I have played the base game over 500 times on my iPhone; I just checked), Pandemic, Settlers of Catan, and Axis and Allies.

Well - there you have it, the 10 games that I have played the most!  This list is a bit hard to argue over, unless you've been secretly following me for all of my life and timing how long I've played various games.  However, I would be curious - what are the games you've invested the most time into?  Feel free to let me know in the comments!