Borrowing from the idea of the Pluspora #CheckIn in order to get some tabletop conversation going. If you have any questions that you want to get on the list to be asked, let me know. Also, if you'd like to be added or taken off the list of participants, let me know.
What is your Ralya Index?
On G+, Martin Ralya once made a post about the Ralya index (Coined by Jonas on RPG Geek), referring to a gaming h-index, i.e. X games have been played at least X times (in bibliometric citation, the h-index is x papers by writer y were cited at least x times).
For #RPGs, my index is 14 as I can recall, i.e. 14 games played 14 times or more (Rolemaster, Amber, All D&D editions, Lords of Gossamer and Shadow, Exalted, Aberrant, Fate, GURPS, Silent Legions, Stars without Number, Lords of Olympus, Cyberpunk 2020, Champions, Marvel Super Heroes)
For #BoardGames, the number comes in at 12 if I exclude standard store games, including Shogun, Risk, Axis and Allies, Ticket to Ride, Carcassone, Roads and Boats, In the Shadow of the Emperor, Ur, Samurai, Wallenstein, Indonesia, Talisman.
For RPGs, there's only a handful that have been played compared to the number I have. GURPS and Dragon Age have been played. I'm hoping to change that soon.
For Board Games I'd have to really think about it, but the number is much higher.
Ummmm - probably 5-6, due to not replaying the same game a lot. Definitely played: Fate Core Fate Accelerated Dresden Files Dungeons and Dragons New World of Darkness Exalted Wushu Monster Hearts Shadowrun
Enough to make that list - but I am worried Monster Hearts falls off. The different Gumshoe games probably don't make it except *maybe* Night's Black Agents and Gumshoe One2One, but hard to say.
Thats really tough for me.... there are some games I have played HUNDREDS of Times.
The ones I have played the most of (more times I can count) would be easiest:
RPGs: Tunnels & Trolls, AD&D 1st Ed, Champions 2nd Ed, Champions 3rd Ed, Hero 5th Ed, AD&D 2md Ed, Psi-World, GURPS 3rd Ed, GURPS 4th Ed., Runquest (Avalon Hill Ed.), Call of Cthulhu (Various editions), Marvel Super Heroes, Timemaster, a whole bunch of unpublished Homebrews, Cosmic Synchronicity, World of T'Phon, IronClaw/Jadeclaw.
Board/Card Games: Fluxx, Chrononauts, Settlers Of Catan, Dominion, On The Edge, Cosmic Encounters, Highlander The Card Game, Wizards (Avalon Hill Game), Munchkin, Guillotine, Illuminati, Lost Worlds, Star Fleet Battles.
I have a lot of others I've played, mostly 20 or less times on each, and an even greater number I own and have never played.
Once upon a time, in a previous life, I managed and was house GM for a game store (back in the 80s) and later had friends in a similar position, so I played a lot of games... did a lot of game design experiments and playtested a LOT of stuff. 40+ years of gaming it gets easy to have things accumulate. Back in my store days I was working 6 days a week and either demoing, running or sitting in on games every day. It becomes a blur over the years... but with 24 hours spent gaming on the average week it gets easy to not remember every mechanic or setting I used to deal with back then.
It's impossible to be sure how often I've played specific games, but let me try to count my most often olayed games.
For RPGs: WFRP, GURPS, EarthDawn, Shadowrun, Pathfinder, Traveller, D&D, I all played dozens of times. We're only at 7, so I'm pretty sure I played Het Oog Des Meesters and Call Of Cthulhu more than that. Quite possibly also Just Gug (a highschool homebrew), CORPS, Dream Park and Dogs in the Vineyard, but I doubt I actually played those 14 times, so it's somewhere between 9 and 14.
Board/card games is probably going to be more, because there's so many and they're easier to play: Chess, Go, Catan, Dominion, Kraken, Magic the Gathering, Kwartet (go fish), Pesten, Talisman, Mein Erste Obsgarten, Halma, Mens Erger Je Niet, Backgammon, Carcassonne, Hearts, Agricola, Thurn & Taxis, Bloodbowl, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Rifugio. I'm just reasonably confident I played all of those at least 20 times. I'm probably forgetting a couple. If Terraforming Mars hasn't been played 21 times yet, it soon will.
Boardgame-X is small here, mostly because we don't get to play often and I'm trying to work through my Shelf of Shame. Even when we were meeting more or less weekly, I would generally try to get one game we've played many times (i.e. comfortable), one that's brand new to us, and one that's been played a few times.
This resulted in a small number of games we played a lot, and a many games with a small number (if only because we haven't gotten back around to them).
For RPGs, there's only a handful that have been played compared to the number I have. GURPS and Dragon Age have been played. I'm hoping to change that soon.
For Board Games I'd have to really think about it, but the number is much higher.