The 100 Game Challenge

Happier New Year! This is the phrase I have been using now that 2020 is in the rearview mirror. A terrible pandemic and social injustice were in the spotlight this past year. Many people found themselves quarantined within their homes and working from home or worse – unemployed. The one benefactor from such a challenging year was gaming. Confinement to the home caused more people to turn to gaming than ever before. Some turned to gaming because they had so much more time on their hands. Others used gaming to relieve stress and anxiety; as a solace or safe haven from the pressures of 2020 and to counteract depression.

I found myself in both of these categories and I used it as a springboard to create this website. Now that I am older and have more time on my hands I wanted to go back and take the time to play all of the computer role-playing games and adventure games that I had only WISHED I could play. I challenged myself to attempt to play every CRPG and adventure game in order in which they were created or published. I wanted to create a community of avid CRPG and adventure game fans so that we could share in our passion and appreciation of the genre.

I time travelled back to 1975 and began to methodically play each of these games in order and I am now in the 1980 offerings.

This particular blog entry is a look back upon the year and a challenge or gauntlet that I am laying down for 2021.

• There were 70 blog posts that I created in 2020 which averages more than a post a week but I am going to strive for 100 blog posts in 2021. If you are a reader or a lurker of the site and you are passionate about computer role-playing games or adventure games I encourage you to participate and to post.
• I personally challenged myself to play every single computer role-playing game and/or adventure game in the order in which they were published. I created the blog to archive that journey. I wasn’t satisfied with merely having the blog and so I spent a considerable amount of time and money to build a website around the blog that would act as a database for ALL games. This is not an attempt to challenge as there are other sites that do the same thing but it is a passion project. So Retrogamestrove.com was born which is merely fancy wrapping for the blog itself.
• I played 55 games in 2020 and beat 54 of the 55 games for a 98/1% win rate. I had a damn good time doing it too. It has been a real treat and pleasure to experience first hand and witness the historical progression of these games and their influences on one another.
• I am going to continue to update the site and there will be changes and growing pains but my main focus is of course my blogging challenge and to build community.
• I am officially challenging you to attempt to play 100 games in 2021. You do not necessarily have to finish or beat each game to completion but take it upon yourself to try and introduce yourself to 100 different games. I will be interested in your own personal experience and reading your posts so I invite you to share your experiences with us here on the site.
• I am going to challenge myself as well to do the same but I am not going to “rush” through these games. I want to take my time with each one and savor each experience not rush through it to fill a quota; but I am going to see how far my journey can take me in 2021. I felt I was extremely active in 2020 but still only played 55 different games. I am also going to strive to create 100 blog posts in 2021 and try to do more for the patrons of the site.
• I wanted to wish each of you health and happiness for the upcoming year. Each year in our lives will always present it’s own set of challenges and it is my hope that each of us make our way through these challenges and emerge on the other side stronger for it.

Thank you for taking the time to read me.