Welcome to the second post in this series. Here, I will summarize my board game year of 2025 and share my plans for 2026. If you missed the first article, you can check it out to see the most often played games of the year.
Following the tradition from previous years, I am now looking back at The Boardgames Chronicle in its entirety. By this, I mean the Blog, the YouTube Channel, and the cooperation with Cube4Me. Thinking about this, I am amazed at how much my activities have expanded over the years. This is certainly a good thing!
Looking back at 2025, we all know it was a difficult year. It was turbulent, marked by conflicts around the world and political tensions. Long-held assumptions were increasingly questioned. Issues like tariffs also had a real impact on the industry. It is natural to expect that these factors influenced how people behave, especially in online media. So, how did this translate into actual trends? Let us take a closer look.
My top 3 games…
2025 Top Articles
Solitaire Wargames
Travel-friendly Wargames
Deck-building games
Designs by Mark Herman
Boardgames with rails
Ancient Rome Wargames
Apart from those two series, which accounted for a large share of the site’s total visits, there were also several other notable contributions. I had the opportunity to play many new games, both releases from 2025 and titles from earlier years. I shared either initial impressions after one or two plays or full reviews once a game had been thoroughly explored. Among the wide range of published material, the following pieces are worth highlighting. They attracted the highest number of visits and covered a breadth of topics.
- My top anticipated wargames of 2025 – this is probably one of my best-performing posts. It shows my anticipation for the coming year and what we can expect from it. Some of the predictions fulfilled, but for some, we are still waiting.
- [REVIEW] Burning Banners – one of my favorite games of 2024 got its review. It is very popular among players, which is not surprising as this is a wonderful title.
- [REVIEW] ARCS: Conflict and Collapse in the Reach – interestingly, the second review which got the most views was ARCS – Base Game. I just finished a campaign in that game, and it is getting even better.
- My pre-orders analysis – what is new and coming! – I thought why not look at my pre-orders and discuss them with fellow readers. That was a good idea.
- Exciting session with 18XX games! – I am playing not only wargames. Some heavy Euro games with an interesting economic twist are also welcome.
- Spiel Essen 2025 – Wargames Preview – I started this in 2024, and it proves to be one of the best-performing articles in the year. While SPIEL is mainly a Euro games fair, many look for conflict games there too.
- Kingdom of Heaven – Scenario A – The First Crusade – oh, that was one of the greatest discoveries of 2025. An old game from MMP, which by far is the best strategic level wargame about Crusades.
Traffic Sources
Let us have a look at another interesting statistic: traffic sources. This year, WordPress.com allows for a more gradual view, not only by countries but also by regions and cities.
Again, and not surprisingly, the top group are the English-speaking readers from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. Thank you so much, guys! Of course, quite a large group reads the posts locally, in Poland. On top of this, I have a pretty broad audience in Europe, including Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. It is also encouraging to see so many views from Australia.
Of course, each and every entry to the site brings joy, even from such distant places like the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, or the Marshall Islands. It is great to see your blog read all around the world!
YouTube Channel
This was definitely one of the fastest-growing areas for me last year. I enjoy talking about games, presenting them, playing them, and reporting on them, also in video form. The growth was very encouraging, with increases of around 30 percent in both views and watch time. I also reached the milestone of 3,500
And what was the best content created in terms of views and likes? You would not be surprised – some of my favorite wargames, with Fields of Fire taking first place in all the categories.
This year, I plan to continue experimenting on YouTube with different types of videos and content. It will remain a complementary extension of the blog, but I must admit that it also brings me a great deal of personal satisfaction.
Cooperation with Cube4Me
This is certainly another area I am extremely proud of. A Poland-based blogger and a Poland-based 18XX enthusiast who runs a game components shop joined forces to create a unique series of products: custom-made storage and sorting solutions. It required a great deal of effort and time, but the satisfaction has been immense. I sincerely hope that you also benefit from these excellent sets.
You can find their great products on their website.
Looking back on 2025, I can confidently say it was a good and deeply satisfying year for me as a content creator. Running the blog, maintaining a YouTube channel, developing the Storage Solutions initiative, and traveling to the Essen fair were all highlights. Above all, I am happy that I still find time to do what matters most: play boardgames.
This also feels like the perfect moment to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the readers,
Any suggestions or comments on what I can do differently or additionally are welcome!
