This is the fourth year I've used a Geeklist to record my favorite games of the year; for the previous incarnations see 2005, 2006, and 2007. I hate to run it early, but I currently have no owned-but-unplayed games that might sneak on, and so I'm fairly certain that there won't be any late changes. The only question remaining with an answer coming soon was whether or not my #1 game for the year would change; now that it has, I don't anticipate any further movement for some time.

At this point, 2008 looks to have been an historically bad year. As Le Havre has grown on me, it's gotten a little less dreadful, but still - for the years I've recorded (1990-present), 2008 had the lowest average rating, is tied for the fewest games I rate 9 or 10, is tied for the fewest games owned, and solely owns the lowest percentage of games played owned. In a normal year - say, 2005 or 2007 - my 10th best release for the year is one I own and enjoy, but am not sure about the long term prospects for. In a good year - say, 2006 - it's a game I really enjoy; in a great year - 2004 - it's a game I love, and I have to keep other top notch games off the list. In 2008, my #10 game is a game I don't own, and don't necessarily expect to play ever again.

UPDATEUnexpectedly, I got to play one of the games I was curious about before the year ended - and enjoyed it enough to add, provisionally. The items which moved have been noted.

To give an idea of what I was choosing from, the full list of 2008 releases I've played to date (full games only; I don't track expansions played):

…aber bitte mit Sahne, Age of Scheme: Routes to Riches, Amerigo, Arktia, Battleship Express, Beim Jupiter, Big Points, Blox, Borneo, Boss Kito, Burgen Land, Byzanz, Cavum, Cities, Clue Express, Code Omega, Comuni, Confucius, Deukalion, Dominion, Dry Gulch Junction, Fluch der Mumie, Ghost Stories, Giants, Hab & Gut, Hanging Gardens, Heads of State, Ice Flow, Le Havre, Manoeuvre, Metropolys. Middle Kingdom, Monastery, Nefertiti, Pandemic, Planet Steam, Powerboats, Rapscallion, Senji, Shanghaien, Sodbusters, Sorry Express, Sorry Sliders, Steel Driver, Stone Age, Surf's Up, Dude!, Sushizock in Gockelwok, Ticket To Ride Card Game, Tinners' Trail, Toledo, Ubongo Das Duell, Wie Verhext!

And the older releases I played for the first time in 2008:

1841, 1825 Unit 1, 1829 Mainline, 18GL, 18West, Adams Ahn, Airships, Alhambra Dice Game, Allerley Spielerey, Anno 1701, Asterix & Obelix, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Blindes Huhn, Burn Rate, Caveman, Central Pacific, Chang Cheng, Command & Colors: Ancients, Container, Convention!, Cowboys: The Way of the Gun, Das Erbe des Maloney, Dawson City Barbers, Double or Nothing, Dschunke, Dungeon Twister, Energie Poker, Fibonacci, Fraud Squad, Game of High Spirits, Goldraub in London, Gondoliere, Guatemala Café, Helunken Spelunken, Hexad, HysteriCoach, Kojit-8, Liebe & Intrigue, Magdar, Marrakech, McMulti, Minen Räumer, Montage, Mother Sheep, Mr. Who?, Newtown, Novo Dice, Octi, Oraklos, Orient Express, Panda, Gorilla & Co., Das Spiel, Perikles, Phoenix, Pick & Pack, Pròxima Obertura, Rail Baron, Rapa Nui, Räuber, Revolte, Risk Express, Shadow Hunters, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, Shogun, Sid Meier's Civilization: The Card Game, Sioux, Star System, Starfarers of Catan, Station Master, Stymie, Sweep!, Terrace, The Battle for Hill 218, The Generals, The Mother Lode of Sticky Gulch, The Penguin Ultimatum, Titicaca, Tribun, Trini, Volle Wolle, Wicked Witches Way, Wits & Wagers, Zanzibar, Zauberzeit

I've played all the 2008 releases of greatest interest, though there are three (Diamonds Club, Tintenherz - Das Spiel zum Film, and Uruk - Weige der Zivilisation) of enough interest that I've got them on order. Given the weakness of what I've seen so far, I'll be thrilled to find another keeper from the 2008 crop.