January 7, 2024: A History Of Victories?

One of our favorite games when visiting out-of-town family is 7 Wonders, published by Repos Production. I could extoll its virtues from a number of angles, but suffice it to say it sees a lot of table time. One of the aspects that isn't quite as fun about the game is the need for accurate post-game scorekeeping; fortunately, this is made easier by the existence of an app on the iPad that tallies up all the points and score calculations for everyone. I always imagine an actuary or bookkeeper smiling at that part: "Ahh, at last, the best part of the game!"

One underrated aspect of this app is that it records each player's name and what civilization they were playing, along with how they did in the game. It occurs to me that – if there's a competitive game you enjoy a lot with your friends and/or family – consider keeping track of who won what when and how. This doesn't need to be particularly elaborate; even a tiny notepad fits into many game boxes, and can easily list the date, players, who won (or an order of victory or final scores, if appropriate). If you're curious about more details, you might jot down (say) which class they won with in a Munchkin game, or any other notes to help refresh your memory in the future if there was anything particularly exciting about the game. However, this might be a case where "less is more," in that only needing to record the bare-bones facts is more likely to actually get done each time.

An attractive journal might also make a nice gift choice for a data-driven friend you don't know how to shop for. We used to sell Munchkin Journal Packs; they've been out of print for a while, though some friendly local game shops might still have them if you look. But, honestly, there are loads of cool "blank book" options to fit just about any size and price range.

Who knows? You all might start realizing that maybe letting Aunt Mary get to Level 9 as a Cleric is a risky proposition for the rest of the table . . .

-- Steven Marsh