Last weekend was pretty unusual for me. Believe it or not, but I did not play any new games. Yeah, I know. It’s like hashtag woow, hashtag really?!

It was crazy rush to discover all those new releases from Gen Con, and then to discover all those releases from Essen, and then to play games I brought from BGGcon (and in the meantime trying to catch up with different releases on Polish market). It was six months of reading rulebooks, setting up new games over and over. Playing new game once or twice and opening a new one. And another one. And another one.

So last weekend we did with Merry something extraordinary. We closed (literally!) all those new ’to-play’ games in a closet and we decided we won’t open it for a few days. Then we took old games from shelf. Those with dust on them. Those we love and we had no time to play for a long time.

We played Lewis & Clark. We played Dragonheart. We played Theseus. And I tell you, it was a tremendous weekend.

With old game it is so simple. When you play it, you feel like home. You know all rules, you don’t browse through rulebook, you don’t feel confused. You feel comfortable, you feel safe.

You can really explore the mechanisms. You start seeing all those small cogs that fuel the game. You can easily understand what does opponent (this is so important!) and prepare and react for that. You see the whole picture, the whole game play instead of just trying to understand what’s going on on your part.

If I can make a crazy comparison I’d say that playing those new games over and over is like watching one episode of a great show. It’s like watching 5th episode of House of cards. It’s like watching 8th episode of Homeland. It’s like watching 11th episode of Lost.

You watch this episode, you understand there is something here, something you like, but to be honest you don’t exactly understand what’s going on.

Playing old game, is like starting to watch first episode of second season of House of Cards after you just finished season 1. You now everything, you understand the plot, you know characters, you are ready to taste it with all your senses. It’s a treat.

So my message to you today is – give old games some love. I promise you, you won’t regret it. Hashtag treat.

When I was a kid and I was thinking about future I had that dream about computers that will be so awesome someday that it will be possible to get footage of Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones movies and use it to make Indiana Jones V and VI, and VII and VIII…

There will be some sort of character director who will exactly program this computer Harrison Ford character and that way best actors will be immortal.

It was stupid idea.

It was stupid idea, because the problem with sequels in most cases is not aging actor, but screenwriter who is unable to come up with a story that is as good and magical as it was in base movie.

In 2015 we will have sequels for Terminator, Mad Max and of course Star Wars.

Please, screenwriters! Let a little bit too old actor be the only problem…

You saw plenty of Top10’s these days, huh? Many blogers and vlogers published their Top10 of 2014. These lists are super popular and are really fun to watch or read.

(BTW: There is even a geek list dedicated to different Top10 lists and it calculates the ultimate winner from different lists).

Craziness but I like it. We wait the whole year, we play lots of games and now we want to sum up the year and prepare for 2015.

Imperial Settlers appeared on some of these list. The game made it to some of these Top10’s and let me tell you – this is super flattering and super kind. Seeing my own game in one of the tops of the year is something extraordinary and really really cool.

But!

But it wasn’t on all of these list! Really! There are some people out there who doesn’t think Imperial Settlers is that good! Tom Vasel? No! Dan Thurot? No! Dan King? NO!!!

So much disappointment for me! 😉

But being serious – 2014 was great and motivating. I look at many of releases and I know I need to try harder now, because our industry is growing like crazy and our hobby is in an amazing shape now. Imperial Settlers was the best Portal Games could put out in 2014 and we were proud that we did catch up with big releases at Gen Con 2014 but now we are in 2015 and I have to do something better, I have to try harder, because everybody improves, everybody tries harder, everybody pushes our hobby beyond limits.

I tell you this, it’s awesome feeling. This race for putting better and better games, having better and better components, this competition of talent, passion and creativity.

My friends, fellow publishers and designers. It was a great time to compete with you in 2014. I honestly congratulate you Five Tribes and Star Realms, and King of New York and Spyfall and many more…

But it is January 2015 now.

I challenge you. It’s time to raise the bar. Again.

So we are officially done with great year of 2014. I know that dust after the battle has not yet settled, I know that we have not yet played all the games we purchased in December, we are still excited about all great releases of 2014. I know that. All those list of Top10 games of 2014 are poping up just like ads when you visit website with illegal movies. I mean one after another. Like crazy.

You are still excited about Dead of Winter or Imperial Assault or Mysterium or Spyfall and many other great games that were published in 2014 and you did not have chance yet to play them.

Right? So much good stuff to play!

But here is the best – when you are trying to catch up with 2014, all publishers are already working damn hard to give you another set of great games in 2015. While you are catching up with all those great 2014 titles, we are doing final touches on 2015 releases. In February there is Nuremberg fair and publishers will present all those great designs to each other and negotiate local editions, and then in March there is Gama Trade show, and few weeks later Origins…

Time goes like crazy. I see all your tweets about you discovering Imperial Settlers, but let’s face it – I am already preparing for the new battle, I am already preparing for Gen Con 2015, I am already preparing new games. And so does each of publishers.

2014 was amazing year for our hobby. But let me tell you this: 2015 will be better.

It was yesterday when Seth Jaffee asked me on Twitter if I agree to teach him how to play Imperial Settlers at BGGcon. He said: „Will you teach me Imperial Settlers? Or would you prefer not to have to „work” in Dallas?”

Both of us, Seth and me knew that „work” word deserves this inversed commas. Why?

Because every single designer I know loves to teach their game and to see their game be played and enjoyed by players. It’s not work. It’s pure fun. It’s the best payoff for all those hours spent on the game. It’s the best that can happen – real people playing and enjoying his game.

It’s not work. It’s exactly 100% opposite.

After all those years I still enjoy running demo games of Robinson Crusoe. I still have pure joy presenting Imperial Settlers. I want to teach people how to play Pret-a-Porter, Convoy or Zombiaki. Yes, and Stronghold too!

***

I go to BGGcon to have fun. I want to play dexterity games. I want to play Dead of Winter. I want to play games. But remember, the most fun I have is when I see people playing my game. So guys, don’t hesitate.

Come and ask me to teach you one of my games.

That’s how I understand having fun at con…