Re: 2018 Meeples Choice Awards - It Begins!

You've already got most of my favourites from 2018, but (despite the fact
they've no hope of making the second round) I'd love to nominate _East
Indiaman_ (_東印度公司 _) and _Psychic Pizza Deliverers Go to the Ghost Town_
(_エスパーピザ屋ゴーストタウンへ行く_).  They're decidedly different experiences (one a
crunchy constraining economic game, the other a fluffy but still
competitive deduction game) but both very cool.


On Fri, Jun 7, 2019 at 9:58 AM [email protected] [spielfrieks] <
[email protected]> wrote:

>
>
> June, croon,
>
> Alan Moon.
>
> Did you swoon for Eon’s Dune?
>
> June brings us the summer’s rays,
>
> But also thoughts of SdJ’s.
>
> While some make plans for wedding spins,
>
> I plan for fun at Origins.
>
> Though graduations fill our brains,
>
> June just makes me think of GAMES.
>
> A month in which we all rejoice.
>
> The month, in fact, for Meeples Choice!
>
>
>
> Hey, everybody.  In case the preceding bit of silliness wasn’t enough of a
> clue, let me clear up all doubt:  this is Larry Levy speaking and I bring
> the very glad tidings that it is once again time for the Spielfrieks user
> group to carry out our most enjoyable duty and vote for the Meeples Choice
> Awards.  For those of you new to this process, which stretch back almost a
> quarter of a century, every year we select our three favorite games from
> all the titles that appeared during the previous calendar year.  Our picks
> range from the expected to the quirky, but they’re always quality designs
> worthy of the honor.  Just check out the winners from the last few years:
>
>
>
> 2017:  Azul; Heaven & Ale; Gaia Project
>
> 2016:  Terraforming Mars; Great Western Trail; Yokohama
>
> 2015:  Codenames; Food Chain Magnate; The Voyages of Marco Polo
>
> 2014:  Roll for the Galaxy; Castles of Mad King Ludwig; Splendor
>
> 2013:  Russian Railroads; Bora Bora; Concordia
>
>
>
> If you want to check out all of the winners, here's a link to the Meeples
> Choice page on the BGG Wiki:
> http://www.boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Meeples_Choice#.
>
>
>
> So here’s the scoop.  Everyone on the Spielfrieks user group is eligible
> to vote in this election.  If you know of someone who isn’t a member who’d
> like to participate, that can be easily accommodated.  Just have them send
> an email to spielfrieks-owner AT yahoogroups DOT com and through some
> mystical, magical process, they will be made a voting member lickity split.
>
>
>
> In order to come up with our three winning games, we employ a three-stage
> process.  First, we’ll decide which games will be part of our initial
> election.  The goal is to make sure every member can vote for all their
> favorites, so this list usually winds up with 200 games or so, as people
> suggest games to be included.  Then, we’ll conduct that first election,
> with every voter choosing their 10 favorite games.  This will give us our
> list of nominated games, which will consist of the 25 games (plus ties)
> that received the most votes.  Finally, we’ll vote one more time, with
> everyone picking their three favorites from the nominated games.  The three
> games that get the most votes from that second election will be declared
> the winners of the Meeples Choice Awards!
>
>
>
> So first things first.  We need a list of games to choose our nominees
> from.  Which games are eligible?  Pretty much anything that was first
> released during 2018.  RPGs and video games fall outside of our scope, but
> board games, card games, dexterity games, co-ops, wargames, party
> games...pretty much any game that debuted last year and which is listed on
> Boardgame Geek can be voted for.  Pure expansions aren’t eligible, but
> standalone expansions are.  The games have to be published ones, so Print
> ‘n’ Play or web-published games are excluded.
>
>
>
> Because gaming has truly become an international hobby, we’ve recently
> expanded our eligibility rules.  If a game first appeared earlier than 2018
> in a form that limited its exposure (for example, a print and play game, a
> limited print run, or a non-English language release), but a more
> accessible version was published last year, it can be voted for.  The only
> restriction is that no games nominated for the second round of voting in an
> earlier year can be voted on this year.  Past experience has shown that
> y’all are a lot better at catching these follow-up designs than I am, so if
> you can think of any titles that fit into what I’ve described above, please
> mention them, so that we can get them on the ballot.
>
>
>
> I’m pleased to say that we will once again be using our exclusively
> designed app, created by the uber-talented Wei-Hwa Huang.  Wei-Hwa made the
> app easy to use and it makes the voting process a lot more enjoyable than
> previous versions (don’t ask, many of us still bear the scars).  I’ll
> discuss how to use the application once we’ve settled on the games for our
> first election, but it’s very intuitive, so even the newbies should have no
> problems with it.
>
>
>
> So let’s take the next week to come up with that initial list of games.  I
> went to the Geek and came up with a group of almost 200 leading games from
> last year.  That sounds like a lot, but as I’m sure you’re all aware, a
> crapton of games gets released every year.   I’m sure there are some titles
> that I’ve missed, so I need your help.  The games are listed at the end of
> this note.  Please go through them and post any additional titles from 2018
> that have a good chance of making your top 10 from the year.  You should
> also include any designs that debuted before last year, but which you think
> haven’t been truly accessible until 2018.  List your reasons for why you
> feel that game should be included this year and I’ll make the judgement
> call on each of them.  But I’ll try to be accommodating, since the goal is
> to let everyone vote for their top 10 games of the year during the first
> election.  Either post your suggestions here or, for folks who don’t have
> access to the user group, send them to me at huzonfirst AT gmail DOT com.
> I’d also appreciate it if you could point out any of the games I listed
> that you don’t think should be eligible this year, and why.
>
>
>
> So that is our current task.  A week from today, I’ll add your suggestions
> and provide the list of games for our first round of voting.  I’ll also
> give the procedure for using our voting app.  If you want the current list
> in a form you can manipulate, check out the spreadsheet I’ve uploaded.  For
> each game, I’ve listed its Game Rank on the Geek, together with its Average
> Rating and Number of Ratings (based on what was showing a couple of weeks
> ago, when I gathered the stats from the Geek).  There are two tabs, one
> sorted by Game Rank, and one in alphabetical order of the games.  If you
> don’t want to be bothered with that, I’ll list the games in alphabetical
> order at the end of this note.  In the meantime, I’ll try to spread the
> word, so that as many people as possible are participating.
>
>
>
> I always look forward to doing this and I hope the rest of you do as
> well.  Let’s pick a trio of great games!  Thanks in advance and I look
> forward to your suggestions over the next few days.
>
>
>
> Here’s the current list of 2018 designs under consideration.  Which games
> should be added?
>
>
>
>
>
> 1066, Tears to Many Mothers
>
> 1834
>
> 18Lilliput
>
> 5-Minute Marvel
>
> A Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game
>
> Architects of the West Kingdom
>
> Arkham Horror (Third Edition)
>
> AuZtralia
>
> Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra
>
> Belratti
>
> Betrayal Legacy
>
> Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig
>
> Big Trouble in Little China: The Game
>
> Blackout: Hong Kong
>
> Blitz Bowl
>
> Blue Lagoon
>
> Brass: Birmingham
>
> Brikks
>
> Camel Up (Second Edition)
>
> Captains of the Gulf
>
> Carpe Diem
>
> Carson City: The Card Game
>
> Castell
>
> Cataclysm: A Second World War
>
> Century: Eastern Wonders
>
> Cerebria: The Inside World
>
> Ceylon
>
> Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger
>
> Chronicles of Crime
>
> CO₂: Second Chance
>
> Coimbra
>
> Concordia Venus
>
> Container: 10th Anniversary Jumbo Edition!
>
> Crown of Emara
>
> Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done
>
> Crypt
>
> Cryptid
>
> Cupcake Empire
>
> Darklight: Memento Mori
>
> Decrypto
>
> Deep Madness
>
> Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game
>
> Dice Hospital
>
> Dice Settlers
>
> Dice Throne: Season One
>
> Dice Throne: Season Two – Battle Chest
>
> Drop It
>
> Duelosaur Island
>
> Empires of the Void II
>
> Endeavor: Age of Sail
>
> Escape Tales: The Awakening
>
> Everdell
>
> Exit: The Game – The Mysterious Museum
>
> Exit: The Game – The Sinister Mansion
>
> Fertility
>
> Fine Sand
>
> Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar
>
> Fleet: The Dice Game
>
> Forbidden Sky
>
> Forum Trajanum
>
> Founders of Gloomhaven
>
> Franchise
>
> Fuji
>
> Gingerbread House
>
> Gizmos
>
> GKR: Heavy Hitters
>
> Great War Commander
>
> Gùgōng
>
> Gunkimono
>
> Hannibal & Hamilcar
>
> Hardback
>
> Haven
>
> Heroes of Land, Air & Sea
>
> Heroes of Terrinoth
>
> History of the World
>
> Hokkaido
>
> Illusion
>
> Imaginarium
>
> Imhotep: The Duel
>
> Just One
>
> Key Flow
>
> KeyForge: Call of the Archons
>
> Krass Kariert
>
> Legendary Encounters: The X-Files Deck Building Game
>
> Let's Make a Bus Route
>
> Lift Off
>
> Lincoln
>
> London & Northwestern
>
> Lords of Hellas
>
> Lost Cities: Rivals
>
> Lowlands
>
> Luxor
>
> Maximum Apocalypse
>
> Menara
>
> Monolith Arena
>
> Monster Lands
>
> Monster Slaughter
>
> Nemesis
>
> NEOM
>
> New Frontiers
>
> Newton
>
> Obsession
>
> Orbis
>
> Palm Island
>
> Pandemic: Fall of Rome
>
> Pandoria
>
> Patchwork Express
>
> Pavlov's House
>
> Pax Emancipation
>
> Petrichor
>
> Piepmatz
>
> Pikoko
>
> Planet
>
> Prehistory
>
> Quartermaster General: The Cold War
>
> Raccoon Tycoon
>
> Race to the New Found Land
>
> Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition
>
> Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition
>
> Railroad Rivals
>
> Railways of Nippon
>
> Reef
>
> Renegade
>
> Reykholt
>
> Rise of Tribes
>
> Rise to Nobility
>
> Rising Sun
>
> Robin Hood and the Merry Men
>
> Roll to the Top!
>
> Root
>
> Scarabya
>
> Scorpius Freighter
>
> Shadows of Brimstone: Forbidden Fortress
>
> Shadows: Amsterdam
>
> Shards of Infinity
>
> Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Carlton House & Queen's Park
>
> Sherlock: Last Call
>
> Skies Above the Reich
>
> Smartphone Inc.
>
> Solenia
>
> Southern Pacific
>
> Space Base
>
> SpaceCorp
>
> Spirits of the Forest
>
> Spirits of the Wild
>
> Sprawlopolis
>
> Spring Meadow
>
> Star Realms: Frontiers
>
> Star Wars: Legion
>
> Star Wars: X-Wing (Second Edition)
>
> Street Masters
>
> Stuffed Fables
>
> Tales of the Northlands: The Sagas of Noggin the Nog
>
> Teotihuacan: City of Gods
>
> Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War
>
> That's Pretty Clever
>
> The City of Kings
>
> The Edge: Dawnfall
>
> The Estates
>
> The Grimm Forest
>
> The King's Guild
>
> The Manhattan Project 2: Minutes to Midnight
>
> The Mind
>
> The Quacks of Quedlinburg
>
> The Reckoners
>
> The Rise of Queensdale
>
> The River
>
> The World of SMOG: Rise of Moloch
>
> Thunderstone Quest
>
> Ticket to Ride: New York
>
> Tiny Epic Defenders (Second Edition)
>
> Tiny Epic Zombies
>
> Tokyo Metro
>
> Too Many Bones: Undertow
>
> Trade on the Tigris
>
> Trapwords
>
> Treasure Island
>
> Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Down
>
> Tudor
>
> Underwater Cities
>
> Unlock! A Noside Story
>
> Unlock! The Adventurers of Oz
>
> Unlock! Tombstone Express
>
> Valparaiso
>
> Villainous
>
> Vindication
>
> War Chest
>
> Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team
>
> Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress
>
> Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault
>
> Way of the Panda
>
> Welcome To...
>
> Werewords Deluxe Edition
>
> Western Legends
>
> Who Goes There?
>
> Wildlands
>
> Yellow & Yangtze
>
> Zombicide: Green Horde
>
>
>