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Well, how did you experience the past year in your family? Was it truly wonderful as people post on Facebook? Packed with A-grades for the children and elaborate costume gatherings for the parents? Or perhaps it was a sea of frustration with only sporadic fun flotsam? Could any part be actually real, or are we all AI-generated virtual entities with celebrity smiles?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we played the most. So here goes:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In real life."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. Fair enough.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has in real life.

Release the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update their range is you have a moment of clarity and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I mention that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and concerning.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names shouted from the garden at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected back in the past.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2026

Grand Theft Auto VI.
And it will come out in 2026, even if we have to wait patiently until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.