The Best of 2010

It's surprising that it's already that time, but it is now appropriate to reflect on 2010, separating the wheat from the chaff, as it were. I mentioned in my last post that, despite my having read more books than I think I've ever read in a year, this wasn't a fantastic year for reading, which is disappointing to me (especially since, on top of that, I didn't reach my goal). Still, I'll pass on what I thought was best, and there really were a few gems--it's just that choosing my top five was easier than it should have been.

As usual, for all of these lists, the main criterion for inclusion is not that something was released in 2010, but that I acquired it in 2010. From these lists you will be able to see how woefully behind the times I am. Also, I didn't see very many movies this year, so take my movie selections with a grain of salt. Commentary follows where it is merited. (If you're interested, here is my list for 2009.)

"I Shall Rule the Land and I Shall Call It...This Land"

So this isn't quite my next post, but it's next in succession from my post on collectible card games. I thought I should explain what's good and bad about collectible card games before I showcase a recent game that has already become one of my favorites: Dominion. (By the way, my friend Wolfie has an excellent review of this game on his blog--you can read his in lieu of mine or in addition to it. But you might not want to take what he says too seriously, since he is my Dominion nemesis.)

Dominion comes in (probably) a bigger box than is necessary. From the size of the box, you might guess it's a big-box board game. In fact, Dominion is a card game, and the box is a giant sorter (which I'll get to later).

Board Games for Two

Recently I've renewed my interest in board games, specifically strategy (and mostly Euro) board games. There are several reasons for this. One is my colleagues' seemingly inexhaustible enthusiasm for Cosmic Encounter (an enthusiasm I moderately share). Another is that my sister and brother-in-law got me Ticket to Ride Europe for my birthday, which is excellent fun (and which I prefer to the game's American counterpart, in part because of the enhanced rules, but mostly because I get to feel classier traveling around Europe instead of the U.S. It feels more exotic, and since I'm not likely to be able to visit Europe anytime soon, the game lets me pretend). And finally, sometimes I just need to escape. Life is hard sometimes, and a good game with good friends is good medicine.