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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Finally got back to playing regularly in August. 35 plays in total. Gold Country is a great new game from @bitewinggames.bsky.social, and the deluxe upgrades are really nice. Probably my favorite game of the month. #bgstats #boardgames

BG Stats 4 x 4.
Gold Country;
Tenby;
Vantage;
The Hobbit: There and Back Again;
Orapa Mine;
SCOUT;
Alhambra;
Radlands;
Trekking Through History;
Got Five!;
The Quacks of Quedlinburg;
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth;
Skulls of Sedlec;
Tag Team;
Fantasy Realms;
dnup.

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

#boardgames for May and June, courtesy of #bgstats. We moved to a new home on May 30, so the last two months have been a never-ending cycle of packing, unpacking, cleaning, and assembling. I'm surprised I had enough time to play anything at all. But our new Game Room is set up, so that's good.

BG Stats May 1, 2026 - Jun 30, 2026

Plays: 21
H-index: 1
Games: 19
New: 7
Players: 13
Locations: 0
Hours: 12
Days: 8

Acquire: 1
Carcassonne: 1
Daybreak: 1
Century: Golem Edition: 1
SCOUT: 1
Flip 7: 1
Rebel Princess: Deluxe Edition: 1
Captain Flip: 1
Flip Pick Towers: 1

57 mechanics:
Hand Management: 36%
Set Collection: 26%
End Game Bonuses: 21%
Open Drafting: 21%.

20 categories:
Card Game: 52%
Economic: 21%
Fantasy: 21%
Party Game: 10%
Territory Building: 10%.

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Another month of #boardgames with friends and family. A lot of larger groups this month, so my stats leaned more towards party games than usual. But any time gaming is time well spent. Second photo is 2026 so far.

BG Stats Apr 2026

Plays: 35
H-index: 2
Games: 20
New: 9
Players: 18
Locations: 0
Hours: 21
Days: 10

Fliptown: New Frontier: 3
Dominion: 3
Codenames: 3
Dune: Imperium: 2
Love Letter: 2
Just One: 2
Secret Hitler: 2
Brilliant: 2
High Society: 2

25 categories:
Card Game: 45%
Deduction: 25%
Party Game: 25%
Print & Play: 20%.

22 designers:
Steven Aramini: 15%
Alan Stone: 5%
Antoine Bauza: 5%
Benjie Talbott: 5%
Bruno Sautter: 5%.

BG Stats 5 x 5.
Play count:
11: Tenby;
7: Love Letter;
7: Ruins;
7: Brilliant;
4: Just One;
4: Tag Team;
3: Dune: Imperium;
3: Fliptown;
3: Dominion;
3: Gazebo;
3: Formaggio;
3: Codenames;
2: Fliptown: New Frontier;
2: Vantage;
2: Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West;
2: Wingspan;
2: Come Sail Away!;
2: Wriggle Roulette;
2: Secret Hitler;
2: High Society;
2: Chicken!;
2: DroPolter;
2: RNSM;
1: Viticulture Essential Edition;
1: Explorers of Navoria.

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Q1 in #boardgames. Lots of variety this year, but Tenby is a new favorite of ours! So charming and simple. Other new favorites include Ruins, Gazebo, and Formaggio. Finally got to pick up a copy of Explorers of Navoria and I liked it. Looking forward to playing that more.

BG Stats 5 x 5.
Play count:
10: Tenby;
7: Ruins;
5: Love Letter;
5: Brilliant;
4: Tag Team;
3: Gazebo;
3: Formaggio;
2: Vantage;
2: Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West;
2: Wingspan;
2: Come Sail Away!;
2: Just One;
2: Wriggle Roulette;
2: RNSM;
1: Dune: Imperium;
1: Explorers of Navoria;
1: Acquire;
1: River of Gold;
1: Cascadia;
1: Trekking the World;
1: Ticket to Ride;
1: Ready Set Bet;
1: Alhambra;
1: Trekking Through History;
1: Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”.

BG Stats Jan 2026

Plays: 34
H-index: 2
Games: 21
New: 5
Players: 11
Locations: 0
Hours: 21
Days: 15

Tenby: 7
Ruins: 4
Come Sail Away!: 2
Formaggio: 2
RNSM: 2
Dune: Imperium: 1
Vantage: 1
Acquire: 1
River of Gold: 1

27 designers:
Adam Španěl: 4%
Alan R. Moon: 4%
Ben Rosset: 4%
Benjie Talbott: 4%
Bruce Glassco: 4%.

BG Stats Feb 2026

Plays: 34
H-index: 2
Games: 20
New: 4
Players: 9
Locations: 0
Hours: 14
Days: 8

Tag Team: 3
Wingspan: 2
Gazebo: 2
Love Letter: 2
Trekking the World: 1
Trekking Through History: 1
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth: 1
Vantage: 1
Love Letter: Star Wars: 1

26 designers:
Charlie Bink: 10%
Seiji Kanai: 10%
Anthony Perone: 5%
Antoine Bauza: 5%
Ben Rosset: 5%.

BG Stats Mar 2026

Plays: 30
H-index: 3
Games: 13
New: 3
Players: 12
Locations: 0
Hours: 15
Days: 10

Brilliant: 5
Love Letter: 3
Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West: 2
Ruins: 2
Tenby: 2
Just One: 2
Explorers of Navoria: 1
Cascadia: 1
Ready Set Bet: 1

16 designers:
John D. Clair: 15%
Alan R. Moon: 7%
Benjie Talbott: 7%
Bruno Faidutti: 7%
Bruno Sautter: 7%.

050

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Starting off the year strong with some excellent #boardgames Only had Tenby for a week, but my wife is obsessed with (and very good at) it.

BG Stats Jan 2026

Plays: 34
H-index: 2
Games: 21
New: 5
Players: 11
Locations: 0
Hours: 21
Days: 15

Tenby: 7
Ruins: 4
Come Sail Away!: 2
Formaggio: 2
Flickdeck: 2
RNSM: 2
Dune: Imperium: 1
Vantage: 1
Acquire: 1

27 designers:
Adam Španěl: 4%
Alan R. Moon: 4%
Ben Rosset: 4%
Benjie Talbott: 4%
Bruce Glassco: 4%.

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Donkey Kong Bananza was the most fun I had playing video games last year. Nintendo EPD really knows how to make a platformer! Favorite game of the year still goes to Blue Prince, though. That game is magical!

Nintendo Year in Review graphics showing 21 total games played and 160 hours in 2025. Favorite game was DK Bananza.

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

2025 in Stats -356 in-person plays of 82 #boardgames -687+ hours of music (36 vinyl) -200 movies For some reason, 2025 felt like a great time to tune out the world and disappear into my hobbies. Anyone else smell smoke?

030

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

For three out of the last four years, I’ve watched 31 horror movies in the month of October. Here are the ones I watched this year. You can read my thought about each one on Letterboxd boxd.it/1LRxB 👻🎥

The Shining
Good Boy
Daughters of Darkness
Longlegs
Porno
Evil Laugh
My House Walk-Through
A Bay of Blood
The Ring

28 Days Later
Frontier(s)
Revenge
Santa Sangre
Handling the Undead
Ghostland
In the Mouth of Madness
Clearcut
The Changeling

Fascination
The Monkey
Smile 2
It Comes at Night
To the Devil a Daughter
Felidae
MaXXXine
Trilogy of Terror
Bring Her Back

Sinners
Pet Sematary
The Descent
The Others
The Velvet Vampire
When Evil Lurks

020

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

I didn't get to play as many #boardgames in September as I would have liked, but any time at the table is time well-spent. Vantage once again dominated this month, followed by a prototype that I'm working on and a couple of lighter games for bigger groups.

BG Stats Sep 2025

Plays: 24
H-index: 3
Games: 14
New: 5
Players: 10
Locations: 0
Hours: 16
Days: 9

Vantage: 7.2h
[Unnamed Collection Prototype]: 1.7h
Things in Rings: 1.2h
Just One: 0.8h
Flickdeck: 0.7h
Love Letter: 0.7h
Tiny Towns: 0.7h
Fliptown: 0.6h
Half Truth: 0.5h

16 designers:
Adam Hill: 7%
Ben Pinchback: 7%
Bruno Sautter: 7%
Jamey Stegmaier: 7%
Jon Perry: 7%.

040

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

NBC's high-concept drama, Kings - a biblical story of David retelling in a modern setting. The cast in this show was insane! Ian McShane, Sebastian Stan, Dylan Baker, Macaulay Culkin, Brian Cox! I loved this show!

020

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

It appears that I'm a little obsessed with a #boardgame I've only had for 8 days. Vantage is unlike anything I've played before, and I just can't get enough of it!

BG Stats Aug 2025

Plays: 38
H-index: 3
Games: 14
New: 2
Players: 7
Locations: 0

Vantage: 14
Flickdeck: 8
Rebel Princess: Deluxe Edition: 3
Project L: 2
SCOUT: 2
Castle Combo: 1
Come Sail Away!: 1
Dog Park: 1
Dominion: 1

22 designers:
Adam Španěl: 7%
Ben Rosset: 7%
Charlie Bink: 7%
Daniel Byrne: 7%
Daniel Piechnick: 7%.

070

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Post a screenshot of your first 5 steam purchases and let bluesky judge you open the steam client, click your name in the top right -> account details -> view purchase history and scroll down No shame in my game.

Awesomenauts, Monaco, Civ V, Democracy 3, and Outlast

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

July in #boardgames! My wife has a new favorite game apparently, and I'm loving Rebel Princess. Finally played Kingdomino IRL and it's such a breezy, fun game.

BG Stats Jul 2025

Plays: 27
H-index: 2
Games: 14
New: 4
Players: 6
Locations: 0

Project L: 9
Come Sail Away!: 4
Flip 7: 2
Rebel Princess: Deluxe Edition: 2
Azul: 1
Flickdeck: 1
Kingdomino: 1
Last Will: 1
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth: 1

22 designers:
Bruno Cathala: 14%
Adam Španěl: 7%
Alex Hague: 7%
Antoine Bauza: 7%
Bruno Faidutti: 7%.

140

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Been in Canada for all of five hours but already accomplished something I've never done in the states: found two Klaatu albums in the wild! Great country 🇨🇦 Big fan!

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

A pretty solid trio of indie rock albums released 18 years ago today! 🎧

Album covers of Stars' " In Our Bedroom After the War" Spoon's " Ga Ga Ga Ga GA" and St. Vincent's "Marry Me"

010

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

June #boardgames. Come Sail Away is a new favorite!

BG Stats Jun 2025

Plays: 39
H-index: 3
Games: 20
New: 8
Players: 18
Locations: 0

Sprawlopolis
Azul
Bohnanza
Come Sail Away!
Crokinole
RNSM
Things in Rings
Take 5
Courtisans

28 designers:
Peter C. Hayward: 10%
(Uncredited): 5%
Adam Španěl: 5%
Anthony Perone: 5%
Danny Devine: 5%.

040

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

Y'all ever cry because you received a tote bag in the mail? #favoritevegatable

Tote bag from Favorite Vegetable with an illustration of Brian Wilson

000

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

A lot variety in both games and players made May a great month in board games.

BG Stats May 2025

Plays: 30
H-index: 2
Games: 18
New: 10
Players: 18
Locations: 0

Flickdeck: 7
The Quacks of Quedlinburg: 3
Forest Sky: 2
Just One: 2
Skulls of Sedlec: 2
Things in Rings: 2
Bohnanza: 1
Fairy: 1
Flip 7: 1

20 designers:
Alex Hague: 11%
Justin Vickers: 11%
(Uncredited): 5%
Antoine Bauza: 5%
Bruno Cathala: 5%.

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Unfortunately, April was a busy month, so #boardgames took a backseat. But I still got a few Crokinole games in, and I'm absolutely smitten with Botanik! And, honestly, what free time I did have went almost entirely to Blue Prince.

090

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Good month in #boardgames A handful of new games played with some classics thrown in.

BG Stats Mar 2025

Plays: 32
H-index: 3
Games: 18
New: 6
Players: 14
Locations: 0

Flickdeck
Bohnanza
Botanik
Fruit Fight
Trekking Through History
Azul
Calico
Carcassonne
Dominion

21 designers:
Antoine Bauza: 5%
Bruno Cathala: 5%
Charlie Bink: 5%
Daniel Piechnick: 5%
Donald X. Vaccarino: 5%.

180

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

I like it when @nytimes.com Connections gives a subtle nod to something.

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

RIP David Lynch One of the most authentic voices in film and art has passed away. A kind soul, a beautiful man - he leaves behind a collection of films that I will cherish forever. I miss his voice and his creative spirit already.

010

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

2024 Was awesome! Maybe the best year of my life. I went to the UK for the first time. I raw dogged a solar eclipse. I saw a ton of live music. I turned 40! 1 went to Alaska! I did not die!

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

You ever discover a band at age 40 and think, "Damn, why I have I never heard this before?" It was that kind of year. #replay24

020

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

Introduce yourself with: One book 📚 One movie 🎥 One album 💿 One TV show 📺

100

Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 21/03/2024

This is the ideal male body. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.

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Cale @ihatecale.bsky.social · 01/01/2024

The last year of my 30s was pretty incredible. I got married to the most wonderful, beautiful, amazing person on the planet. We went to Switzerland and Italy on our Honeymoon. I watched over 130 movies and, for the first time in years,started reading again.

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