A thought hit me while I was compiling my latest top 100 list. I could take each quarter in my game records and look for the hottest game of that quarter. That would show the fads and the flashes in the pan and be a nice snapshot of my gaming history.
For each quarter, I’ve picked the game with the highest hotness, i.e. the number of times played times the rating times the length of the game.
The list is a nice mixture of one-quarter fads and repeated games and games I like a lot and have played for a long time that, for some reason, spiked up one quarter.
- 2022/2: Ark Nova
- 2022/1: Lost Ruins of Arnak
- 2021/4: Lost Ruins of Arnak
- 2021/3: Beyond the Sun
- 2021/2: Innovation
- 2021/1: Hallertau
- 2020/4: Orléans
- 2020/3: Undaunted: North Africa
- 2020/2: Conflict of Heroes
- 2020/1: The Crew
- 2019/4: Tapestry
- 2019/3: Conflict of Heroes
- 2019/2: Magic: The Gathering
- 2019/1: Magic: The Gathering
- 2018/4: KeyForge
- 2018/3: Magic: The Gathering
- 2018/2: Shards of Infinity
- 2018/1: Dragon Castle
- 2017/4: Coconuts
- 2017/3: Hero Realms
- 2017/2: Hero Realms
- 2017/1: Mechs vs Minions
- 2016/4: Love Letter
- 2016/3: Quartermaster General: Victory or Death
- 2016/2: T.I.M.E Stories
- 2016/1: Love Letter
- 2015/4: Love Letter
- 2015/3: Love Letter
- 2015/2: Zèrtz
- 2015/1: Le Havre: The Inland Port
- 2014/4: Coconuts
- 2014/3: Subdivision
- 2014/2: Europa Tour
- 2014/1: Russian Railroads
- 2013/4: A Study in Emerald
- 2013/3: Continental Divide
- 2013/2: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Deck-Building Game
- 2013/1: Das Kleine Gespenst
- 2012/4: Great Zimbabwe
- 2012/3: Oregon
- 2012/2: Oregon
- 2012/1: Oregon
- 2011/4: Cartel
- 2011/3: Stone Age
- 2011/2: Carcassonne Junior
- 2011/1: 7 Wonders
- 2010/4: 7 Wonders
- 2010/3: Arvuutin
- 2010/2: Samarkand: Routes to Riches
- 2010/1: Gulo Gulo
- 2009/4: 1825
- 2009/3: Dominion
- 2009/2: Steam
- 2009/1: Dominion
- 2008/4: Dominion
- 2008/3: Mahjong
- 2008/2: Bondtolva
- 2008/1: Black Vienna
- 2007/4: Tarock
- 2007/3: Fairy Tale
- 2007/2: Phoenicia
- 2007/1: Combat Commander: Europe
- 2006/4: 18VA
- 2006/3: Memoir ’44
- 2006/2: Thurn und Taxis
- 2006/1: San Juan
- 2005/4: Industrial Waste
- 2005/3: Mahjong
- 2005/2: Mahjong
- 2005/1: Die Sieben Siegel
- 2004/4: Geschenkt
- 2004/3: St. Petersburg
- 2004/2: San Juan
- 2004/1: Go
- 2003/4: Go
- 2003/3: Go
- 2003/2: Sunda to Sahul
- 2003/1: Lost Cities
- 2002/4: Puerto Rico
- 2002/3: Zèrtz
- 2002/2: Puerto Rico
- 2002/1: Mahjong
- 2001/4: Carcassonne
- 2001/3: Dragon’s Gold
- 2001/2: Dragon’s Gold
2 responses to “A history of fads”
Nostalgic list. A few of the spikes were driven by your kids.
Yeah. It would be nice to make a version of the list with some explanations; there are stories to some of those games.