The 2021 Comedy AAR of the Year is...

[coz1]

Our first category also gave us one of the best back and forth races of the year. 15 different AARs were listed and while the love was spread around between games, the category was perhaps not surprisingly dominated by both CK (2 and 3) and HoI (3 and 4.) Comedy is, of course, subjective but also very, very difficult to do well. That not a one of you voted my Creek AAR for this proves that I'm not always as good at it as I like to think (that, or you have no taste! ) No matter as it could not have competed with these hilarious monsters. So let us get to the reveal.

Your 2021 Comedy AAR of the Year is...

The King's First Minster by @El Pip​

Many congrats to Pip and the Pipettes! A solidly run race and just besting last year's winner of this category...

Ged’s Existential Nightmare by @TheButterflyComposer​

And an early leader in this category still ended as the bronze winner...

A Gentleman's War :The Middle-East Command (HoI3 TFH - UK AAR) by @Eurasia​

All solid choices as are these that follow (in order of the vote) :

Born to Breed: House of the Prophets by @Peter Ebbesen

Imperial Cheese: The Improbably Incredible Rise of the Italian Empire by @TheButterflyComposer

Tokyo, '45, An Australian AAR by @37th Armoured div

Avon Las Observes by @Midnite Duke

The Right Hand of the Karlings by @alscon

Concussion and Confusion: The La Plata Story by @GangsterSynod

"A wehraboo and a hat in charge of Italy" A story AAR by @Farsky

Twin Ninja Girls (Feudal Japan AAR / Short Video) by @FUN

Make Italy Roman Again! by @defensedefumer

The Life of Brian, and Other Stories by @TheButterflyComposer

Tales of a Junktown Trash Mob by @Staehr

Again with the Norman Invasion. Story of de Hautevilles. by @hjarg​

It is an honor to be included for anyone listed here and many congratulations to all of you! Well done and we hope for more of the same. Comedy is not dead here in AARland even in the face of real life worries and troubles. More than anything, we thank you all for that ability to lift us up with your excellent humor!

Now here is your place to offer up any congrats, thanks or discussions of these works. Have at it! Back later with our Gameplay winner.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

I'm surprised Ged did so well, having ended so early in the year (and brought back recently for the new DLC expansion).

The King's First Minister was another surprise, given the author's long and frequent railing on CK2 (and 3, but we all agree on 3). A mixture of contempt for Halifax, medieval tapestry, Pythonesque humor and CK2 being CK2 leads to a rather funny and very silly AAR, and all done very quickly for the venerable Lord of Slower Than Real Time writing.

A Gentlemen's War is again astonishingly swift in updates, often daily updates, quality game play strategy and mockery of a broken game system (a pattern is emerging here...).

Congratulations to all winners, and thank you for the votes, and readers!

 

[roverS3]

Congratulations to all of our funny writAARs. Thanks for making us laugh in these difficult times.

 

[Macavity116]

Many many congratulations to the Comedy writAARs of the site. This year we needed you, and you delivered!

 

[Eurasia]

Congratulations to all the Comdey AARs! Humor is always needed.

 

[DensleyBlair]

Congrats all and to Pip especially. Damn good work by those nifty weavers.

Interesting the CK/HOI dominance. The one is fairly easy to see as you get the zany characters and ludicrous game mechanics, while the other— no, hang on… never mind.

 

[eoncommander]

Congratulations to all of the winners!

 

[El Pip]

This is an honour indeed. The genesis of King's First Minster was a mere throwaway joke in an old HOI2 AAR that I was only marginally sure I could spin out into an entire story, while doing something so graphics heavy was definitely outside my comfort zone, so to see it succeed and be so appreciated has been wonderful.

To win any AARland annual award is special, but to win one as prestigious and hotly contested as the Comedy one is, for me at least, extra special. Thank you to everyone who voted.

 

[Bullfilter]

Congratulations @El Pip - thoroughly deserved for the humour, originality, artwork and highly un-Pip-like alacrity with which you conceived of, executed and completed an AAR with such alarming speed!

congratulations too to all the nominees, especially the next two placegetters. I read quite a few of the works on this list. Thanks also to @coz1 for running these, as always.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Congratulations to all. The funniest thing is that Pip finished within a year. Congrats @El Pip.

 

[RustyHunter]

Congrats to all the winners! They've been a joy to read. Hopefully this doesn't give El Pip a taste for unseemly quickness in his AARs. Butterfly must last for generations.

 

[37th Armoured div]

Congratulations to all, and El Pip!

 

[Nikolai]

Comgratulations, all!

 

[iain_a_wilson]

Congratulations to @El Pip - I really enjoyed the rich tapestry you wove!

Congrats also to all the runners up!

 

[filcat]

***
The Bonus Track
​

<...>

Your cruel, device
Your posts, like ice
One look, could kill
My pain, your thrill

I wanna read you, but I better not touch
I wanna follow your AARs, but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna reply you, but I want it too much
I wanna praise you, but your posts are venomous

Poison

You're poison, runnin thru my browser history
You're poison, I don't wanna break this mystery

Your AARs, so fun
Your narrative, I'm caught
Your humour, so rash
Dark laughter on page

I hear you laughin and it's crackles and grins
I wanna reply you just to heal my pain
Don't wanna commend you, but you're the winner
I wanna praise you, but your posts are venomous

Poison

You're poison, runnin thru my browser history
You're poison, I don't wanna break this mystery

Poisoooooooooon

One look, could kill
My pain, your thrill

I wanna read you, but I better not touch (Don't touch!)
I wanna follow your AARs, but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna reply you, but I want it too much (Too much!)
I wanna praise you, but your posts are venomous

Poison

You're poison, runnin thru my browser history
You're poison, I don't wanna break this mystery

Poison

I wanna read you, but I better not touch (Don't touch!)
I wanna follow your AARs, but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna reply you, but I want it too much (Too much!)
I wanna praise you, but your posts are venomous
(Poison)
Well I don't wanna break this mystery
(Poison)
Runnin deep inside my browser history
Burnin deep inside my browser history
(Poison)
I don't wanna break this mystery [*]

​

[*] Appropriated from Poison of the album Trash by Alice Cooper (1989)
Still-images of a. Keira Knightley, character Elizabeth Bennet, from the film Pride & Prejudice, dir. Joe Wright, 2005; adaptation of the novel by Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice, 1813
Still-image of Gene Wilder and Alice Cooper; from the series Something Wilder, ep.14, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, 1995