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Annual report 2008
games served & played

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Or: where were you when 'Essen 2008' took place? The club list shows an average mix of games, many of them from last 'Essen'. Because the list is for the whole of 2008, games such as 'Le Havre' were not played often enough to appear in the top of the list. But actually, we do not play these games that often, as shorter but older games like 'Puerto Rico' offer the same or better value in less time. Also, when together for a game evening, there simply isn't the time for a 'Through the Ages' or games of the same category and besides, we want to relax after a day of work. Significant on the list is that the first entries mostly were played by just one person; it is only occasionally that a game has a strong player base. Examples are 'Puerto Rico', 'Wikinger'. 'Die Säuelen der Erde'/'Pillars of the Earth' and 'Geschenkt'/'No Thanks'.
Each year sees a sharp decrease from the games played that were new the previous year; it seems that the time to half value in gamers land is very short. Only a few games remain being played through time. These games eventually could qualify for being a classic, when all the hype has got off, and the game has proven itself over and over again. This means a game has to attract each and every time on a game gathering, competing with all the other existing and new games on the shelf. If it gets picked, its chances are higher to become a classic. If not, then it is only gathering dust and occupying shelf space. From time to time we say good-bye to these games, as we are players, not collectors.
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xxthe whole Exelsheet with more entries.
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Edwin has exchanged his love for 'Thurn und Taxis' with last year's 'Oregon'. All variants of 'Ticket to Ride' get a warm welcome. 'Pandemic' for him was the surprise of the year. But if we take a close look, for Edwin all these new games don't really matter; he is just as happy with an oldie from Parker Brothers from1912, 'Boy Scouts'/'Het Padvinderspel'!
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Although Ugur hasn't played as much as last year, he has a tradition of playing the crown jewels from Essen. 'Agricola' and 'Le Havre' are high on his list. Ugur has managed to stay away from a filler like 'Geschenkt'/'No Thanks'; the history shows he is on diet on this one, but on the other hand, 'Filou' and 'Coloretto' are the substitutes!
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Although 'Magic' appears on top of Marijn's list and you should think he has not closed the door of his teenager hobbies, the opposite is true. Marijn is the one who orders off Essen games like 'Wabash Cannonball', '1960 - The Making of a President', 'Confucius', 'Municipium' and others through which we get a chance to play these games. That this is largely due to the fact that he is bored during his night shifts and strolls around on the internet with a heavy finger we keep for ourselves...
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Again, Ron has played his own prototypes the most. Of course we all hope more gamers will enjoy one of his creations some day - this year, maybe?
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A sharp increase of an 'oldie' ('Wyatt Earp') that was played almost twice as much as the year before. 'Puerto Rico' stays steady and already could be called a classic; this game never gets bored to play. 'Taluva' is a nice game to play with two, and to play it twice on an evening. It's a nice, simple game. Talking about oldies: 'Big Boss' is steady on the list and growing and going strong; another classic. 'Jambo' this year was recognised as an enjoyable two player game. Always welcome are: 'Euphrat & Tigris'/'Tigris & Euphrates' and 'Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers'. There were more games that were played 6 times such as 'Reef Encounter' but due to the self made restriction of a list of 25 most played games it was left out.
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