I'm Going to need a better game for "X"

My Collection Reduced to One Game for each Letter of the Alphabet 

My game collection at one point grew to over 1000 games.  It was huge and unmanageable--and only the tiniest percentage of the games was ever going to see the table, so i auctioned, sold, and gave away game until I was under 500--and managed to fund a trip to Disney World for the family with the proceeds.  Now, a decade or so later, I'm up to close to 1000 games again (750 or so logged on BGG, the rest kids and family games I haven't bothered adding).  I'm definitely going to have to pare down the collection again soon, so I've been trying to decide what my perfect collectio would look like.  How can I cut down the collection and keep options open for game nights?  Probably, the best thing I could do is outline the basic mechanisms of games I like and cut down to two or three games from each gaming subgenre--worker placement, deck building, route building, party games, dice games, etc.  That is something I really might do, but a recent Facebook post got me thinking about a more radical, if less practical, way of cutting the collection.  A commentor going in the other direction (trying to grow his collection) was trying to find one good game for every letter of the alphabet and was looking for suggestions.  That led me to this--what would my collection look like if I only kept one game for each letter of the alphabet?  I would have to keep some games that weren't my favorite in a certain letter just to cover more gaming bases.  In "D" for instance, I chose to keep Don't Mess with Cthulhu over Daytona 500, Dreamblade, Dominion, and Deception: Murder in Hong Kong because it is quick and newbie friendly and I needed a game like it to have a well-rounded collection for all gaming situations.  The choices just as an abstract thinking exercise were painful, so it is unlkely I could ever follow through with it, but I found the process rewarding and at least a bit helpful as I decide what games to shed this time around.  

A--Age of Steam 

Why I picked it.  Age of Steam is my all-time favorite game.  I love having over 100 maps to play on, with more still being released.  I love that each game is an agressively competitive puzzle to solve as I try to ramp up my income while planning for the late-game six-link routes.  This will likely never fall from my top spot, making it an easy pick here.

Runners Up.  Agricola (sigh), Africa, Ave Caesar

B--Baseball Highlights 2045

Why I picked it.  Baseballl Highlights 2045 is an amazing two-player deck builder.  If features on of my favorite themes and an absolutely unique mechanism to handle the back-and-forth between offence and defence.  Like Age of Steam, the game has an abundant array of expansions to keep it fresh.  I haven't even shuffled in the last three I purchased and probably won't for another dozen games or so. Haven't played the multi-player rules yet, but having that option helps the collection, ahem, cover more bases.

Runners Up.  Basketboss, Basari, Blokus (that I lack abstract games now occurs to me)

C--Chicago Express

Why I Picked it.  Chicago Express is a vicious, tight route-building game that plays quickly but offers meaty decisions, temporary alliances, and the opportunity to take out an opponent with a simple null action.  I love games that are all about managing money better than the opponent.  This game often comes down to a few dollars between 1st and 4th, making every decision seem important.  

Runners Up. Chicago and Northwestern, Can't Stop, Champions of Midgard

D--Don't Mess With Cthulhu 

E--Ethnos

F--Fairy Tale

G--Glory to Rome

H--Hansa Teutonica

I--Isle of Skye

J--Jump Drive

K--Kingdoms

L--Liar's Dice

M--Millenneum Blades

N--Nuclear War

O--Orleans

P--Power Grid

Q--Quandary

R--Race for the Galaxy

S--Space Hulk

T--Terra Mystica

U--Union Pacific

V--Viticulture

W--Web of Power

X--Xena: Warrior Princes TCG

Y--Yspahan

z--Zendo