| Game | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Wonders | 41.83% | 7.06% | new | new |
| Dominion | 34.97% | 52.24% | 59.47% | 45.96% |
| Race for the Galaxy | 19.93% | 27.53% | 36.39% | 49.69% |
| The Resistance | 11.11% | 2.35% | new | new |
| Ticket To Ride | 9.80% | 7.76% | 7.99% | 10.56% |
| Quarriors! | 8.82% | new | new | new |
| Tichu | 8.50% | 9.65% | 7.10% | 14.91% |
| Carcassonne | 7.84% | 9.41% | 5.33% | 5.59% |
| Innovation | 7.52% | 7.29% | 0.00% | new |
| Agricola | 7.19% | 8.47% | 16.27% | 38.51% |
| Hive | 7.19% | 7.06% | 5.92% | 6.40% |
| Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer | 7.19% | 5.41% | new | new |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game | 7.19% | 0.00% | new | new |
| Roll Through the Ages | 6.86% | 13.18% | 12.43% | new |
| Stone Age | 5.88% | 7.53% | 5.62% | 11.80% |
| Thunderstone | 5.56% | 4.71% | new | new |
| Crokinole | 5.56% | 8.24% | 5.92% | 5.59% |
| Magic: the Gathering CCG | 5.56% | 5.65% | 6.21% | 3.73% |
| Forbidden Island | 4.90% | 4.94% | new | new |
| King of Tokyo | 4.90% | new | new | new |
| No Thanks/Geschenkt | 4.58% | 6.35% | 4.44% | 4.97% |
| Battle Line/Schotten-Totten | 4.58% | 4.94% | ??? | ??? |
| Memoir ’44 | 4.58% | 4.94% | ??? | ??? |
| Pandemic | 4.58% | 13.18% | 23.67% | 30.43% |
| Space Alert | 4.58% | 3.76% | ??? | ??? |
| Zombie Dice | 4.58% | 3.06% | ??? | ??? |
Just out of the running (at 3.92%): For Sale, Can’t Stop, Dixit, The Settlers of Catan*, Coloretto* & Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization [*indicates that it fell off the top 25 from last year]
Dropped off the table from last year:
- Ingenious (now 3.27%)
- Lost Cities (now 2.94%)
- Small World (now 2.94%)
- Puerto Rico (now 2.29%)
First, my apologies for the “???” entries – those are flaws in my record-keeping system shining through. (Translated into English: Mark’s computer with the more detailed copies of the stat sheets crashed.)
No Thanks! managed to hang on for yet another year – it seems my predictions about it have no real effect.
Year after year, I attempt to call the “one year dimes” – games that get a brief flare-up of intense play but don’t hold on consistently. I was correct in noting that the deck-builders would hang on (Thunderstone & Ascension) but I missed that Forbidden Island would actually keep an almost consistent level of 10+ plays per year. That makes me happy (for Matt Leacock & all the people who got to play this excellent game) and sad (for my swing & miss in the prediction department).
It wasn’t much of a prediction, but I called 7 Wonders, Dominion & Race for the Galaxy at the top of the list. I’ll echo that for next year as well, by the way.
The Realms expansion for Small World could bring it back to this list… but I’m not sure. Sadly, though, I think we’ve seen the last of Puerto Rico.
And don’t get me started about The Settlers of Catan.
I’ve made a personal vow to make sure I play Settlers 5+ times this year… I will NOT be responsible for one of my favorite games lapsing into obscurity. :-)
Ironically, while Settlers may have slipped (a little) in the hobby crowd, my perception is that it is only gaining momentum in the mass market (in the US at least) now that it is widely available at places like Target. It seems like I hear non-gamers talking about it all the time lately. I don’t think it’s in any danger of obscurity even if it doesn’t get quite as much love from the gamer crowd.