I pulled out Ingenious and tried to teach it to her. I tried to look for something that I could simplify or modify the rules of to make it playable with young children, something without much text. My 5-year-old daughter asked to play a new game. I recently rediscovered the joy of playing Ingenious. I probably should keep repeating to myself this mantra: there are just too many good games, so don't try to play every one of them. There are quite many games in my collection that deserve more plays. I haven't revisited Axis & Allies Guadalcanal which I liked a lot. I never went past beginner level at Euphrates & Tigris.

This is 闭关练功, which is roughly equivalent to a hermit going into the mountains to shut himself from the world until he finds enlightenment. Freeze game purchases for a certain amount of time (say half a year, or one full year), and keep revisiting older games owned, until I feel I know all of them quite well. One idea that I'm toying with is the collection lockdown. If I want to stick to the 20 per year rule. If I decide to buy any of these, I'll have to wait for 2011. I'm listing all these just to spread the agony (or joy) a little. Or Sid Meier's Civilization the boardgame, or Agricola: Gamer's Deck, or London (Martin Wallace), or Great Fire of London 1666, or Merkator (Uwe Rosenberg). Or 7 Wonders, or Inca Empire ( Tahuantinsuyu). No more slot for Innovation if I decide to buy it. Of those 15 already acquired, 10 were purchased, 4 were gifts/rewards, 1 was self-made. I have already acquired 15, and I have already decided on the remaining 5. I'm reaching my 20 games quota for 2010 soon. I'm not sure how to measure how effective it is, but I think it does help. I typed this into the very spreadsheet that I use for keeping track of potential game purchases. Will you play the game more than 5 (or 10) times?.You need to play more of the good games that you own.You don't need to play every good game.You don't need to own every game that you like.I created a list of reminders for myself: The main concern for me is not cost, but spending enough time on each game to truly appreciate it and truly enjoy it. I talk about limiting myself to 20 new games every year, including games bought, received as gifts, self-made, traded for etc. It is one of the few tags at this blog with more than 10 occurrences (see Label side bar). I whine about (me) buying games all the time.

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