Board Gaming in January 2025 Rewind

With an abundance of downtime, freezing weather perfect for gatherings indoors, and plain seasonal depression, the turn of the new year is the best time to play board games. Much has happened this January to kick off the new year, and here is what made the list:

Some Notable Things:

• The first game that I played to ring in the new year was Shikoku 1889! According to my log, the game started around 1 PM and I played it with 5 players for the first time. I primarily played the game operating as the Tosa Kuroshio Railroad company, the company that only gets one station token and starts on the bottom left of the board, and sold no stocks of any company to the open market. I placed 2nd, mainly because I did my math wrong and could not float my own company during the first stock round. I completely forgot that you collect revenue from your private company in the operating round and not during the stock round, so that held me back.
• I played Viticulture! The last time I played this was with a different friend group in a different year.
• I played Castles of Burgundy for the first time in over two years.
• Games that I played for the first time: Canvas, Dune Imperium: Uprising + Bloodlines, Mycelium: A Mushling Game, Wyrmspan, and Splendor.
• Games that I acquired: Sky Team (for my own personal collection), and Wyrmspan (as an errand for a friend). I bought these two games in person at the Barnes and Nobles near work to take advantage of the 30% off all board games sale.

I cannot wait to see what this year brings in terms of my board game hobby.