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B K
United States Cincinnati Ohio
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Well, actually there were 11 games that round out the Top 10... seeing that 5 games tied with 14x plays. Half of the games were new (*) to me and our gaming friends this year. Let's take a look...
33x - Hive* 31x - Race for the Galaxy (incl. The Gathering Storm* expansion plays) 23x - Ticket to Ride 20x - Bananagrams* 19x - Bohnanza
Apparently I like abstract games. I didn't realize that. Actually I don't have an issue with abstract games, I was more taken by surprise to see that Hive (one of my favorites) actually was the most played game this year. I bought it right before our family Alaskan cruise so we'd have something to play on the ship. That is likely the timeframe of most of these plays. Bananagrams was a game we picked up in one of the ports, and likewise the bulk of its plays were on the ship as well.
By the way, I won't turn down a quick game of Hive if any of my friends want to learn, I'd be glad to teach you. 
Race for the Galaxy surged late in the year after I introduced my wife to the game and she liked it! Now that I finally get it (!) we can usually play 3 games in an hour as opposed to the first few when sadly it took the guys and I 1-2 hrs to get through a game. 
Ticket to Ride and Bohnanza were family favorites and the typically the game of choice this past year for introducing people to games beyond Monopoly. TtR was also our first game to exceed 50+ plays. We got the first map collection expansion, Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 1 - Team Asia & Legendary Asia, for Christmas which will keep the game fresh.
16x - Rivals of Catan (missed picture day ) 14x - Citadels* 14x - Forbidden Island 14x - Memoir '44 (incl. Eastern Front expansion) 14x - Railways of the World* (7x Eastern US, 4x Mex, 3x England/Wales) 14x - Space Alert*
Rivals of Catan is a great value buy. It allows a Settlers of Catan experience with only 2p. We played all of the various "era decks" included in the game and now almost exclusively play the "Dual of the Princes" scenario where all eras are included. Nice game, at a great price for what you get. I am still impressed how they translated the board game into a card game with this one.
Along similar lines, Citadels and Forbidden Island are also in that "great value" category where I feel you get a lot of great game for a very reasonable price.
Memoir '44, a WWII miniature game for 2p, plays in a very reasonable timeframe and usually allows each player to play both the Axis and the Allies side of a scenario in an hour (excluding setup). It was my main birthday present in 2010 and is one of my top 5 favorite games. Like Hive, I'll play anytime. 
This year for my birthday I hosted a 40th birthday bash with some close friends playing a few new games I got. Railways of the World (which includes maps for Eastern US as well as Mexico) and Space Alert were two of those games. Both went on to see enough plays to round out the year's Top 10 list.
I liked RotW so much I bought the England & Wales map expansions and got the Western U.S. expansion for Christmas. I foresee some coast-to-coast games in 2012!
Honorable Mention: 11x - Power Grid
It would only be fair to mention Power Grid as one of the Top 10 games of the year as it was a big hit with me and nearly everyone introduced to the game at our monthly Game Nights this year. RotW and Power Grid are always two top picks for the guys come Game Night.
Keep playing...
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