Why Track Games

I have kept a constant track of games I have played since December of 2017. I had started the year before that but the app I was using turned out to be below my expectations. As a result, I am currently using an app called Board Games Stats, which can be found in both the Apple Store, and the Android Market.

I have two main reasons for why I track what games I play, neither of which are to boast how many games I play. That number can be both inspiring and also embarrassing. There will always be people who play more games than I do, so I am not winning any contests there.

Reason number one is I play a lot of games and it is not easy to remember all the games I have played and sometimes even if I have played a game. Without a doubt some games are more exciting and more memorable than other games. Sometimes that could be due to who I am playing that game with, or even where I am playing that game. Either way, it is helpful to look back and see when and with whom an experience was shared. This really pays off when you attend conventions or play in a wide variety of locations. At times when I have run into someone I have gamed with I can look up a name and reconnect a name to a face, or when attending a convention, I can look up and reach out to those who I have met at a past con and arrange to meet and connect again.

Reason number two has more to do with Meeple Nation than anything else. We play on a weekly basis, and sometimes that is two to three and sometimes even four times a week, once again both an impressive and embarrassing fact. One of our new favorite sequences that we talk about each new episode is gaming highlights we have had. Since tracking my game plays, being able to recall those games has paid off big for me.

There are also some other benefits that come from tracking your game plays. If you set any sort of gaming goal, those goals can be set up in the Board Game Stats app. As you play games on your goal lists, the app will log and update those positions within your goals. Also, when a goal section is completed the app pops up and congratulates you for your progress. A virtual high five!

Personally I set several gaming goals over the past several years. I plan a 10x10 list which is a set list of games that I need to play at least ten times during the year. I have a goal of playing at least ten games off my unplayed list, or that “shelf of shame”. Additionally, I set a goal of reaching a play count of at least 500 games during the year. These are just a few of the goals I set each year. The app helps create and track all of my gaming goals.

So, the burden with tracking your game plays is that you do need to take the time and add all of the games you own into your personal collection on the BoardGameGeek site (Or you can also use the BGStats app). This can take a lot of time depending on the number of games that are in your personal collection. Also, each time you play a new game that is not in your app you will need to add that game. However, the time that it takes to add those games is minimal. The real trick, or maybe the real trial to using the app to track your game plays, is actually remembering and creating that habit of logging each and every game you play. After some time it will become second nature and then you will have all of the exciting data to look over and review. You can track where you have played those games, who you played them with, everyone’s score, and see information like the high score of you and everyone at the table. There is also a timer included so you can record a start and a stop time. So you can really see how long you play and relive some of those great memories.