Help, I'm Drowning in Games! - with Tom Vasel
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- Опубликовано: 24 май 2024
- Tom Vasel discusses the over saturation of board game releases, and how gamers can navigate potentially being overwhelmed.
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Deckbuilders taught us that diluting your deck with "good" cards is a losing strategy, but we haven't applied that lesson to our collections.
Our solution is a bracket tournament. Once we have scores to each game it is a bit easier to separate the good from ok to not good enough.
That is a nice analogy.
After 20 years, I'm not buying a new game unless it replaces another game or it's completely unique.
Haha nicely put.
@@SvanMagic I'm applying this strategy from the start. 👍
I think this is just a sign of a maturing entertainment industry. Movies, books, TV shows and music have created more content than can be consumed individually for many years.
Best advice I got told was to decide a realistic amount of space you can spare and then make sure your collection always fits in there. Want a new game? Get rid of a game in your collection! Also helped me stop buying big kickstarter games as they can easily take up the space of several "regular" games.
This is exactly what I decided with my wife. When we moved to our current house, we got a cupboard made just for the games, and decided that if it doesn't fit, something needs to go. I've managed to stick to the rule for 3 years now, and it has definitely helped refine my taste, but it also has decreased the stress of choosing which game to play. I don't feel bad if I haven't played something in a while, cause I know its a game I really want and will get to it eventually
I've spent the last few years trying to re-adjust my attitude to my games inventory (and most everything else I own) from "collection" to "curation". After a decade of allowing my video games collection to grow like wildfire, I can see that it was largely a waste when compared against what I actually play. I'm determined not to go the same way with my board games. I've kept it to around 40 games, and ~10 are small box / card games. I would happily play every one of them at any time, yet I could still sell off probably 25% and not lose too much sleep. Learning to be more brutal with acquisitions, and willing to let go of things more readily.
As board games become more popular, I hope "board game libraries" will start popping up, just as they have at the Dice Tower. Would save us the shelf space!
We have something like that where I live, a game store that rents boardgames
There's alot of boardgames cafes in my area (gta) you just pay to rent a table and you can buy a game or play what they have on hand or you can bring from home
Hope libraries do the libraries.
My local libraries have a great collection of games, including some long, heavy games I was surprised they had. They even get new releases. Not all libraries do, but it is being more popular and I hope more libraries start offering them. Especially since many board games have semi-educational value, if not outright educational value.
@@thegamesninja3119 Check your local library, mine carries them and even takes suggestions for future purchases.
Exactly! Play the games you already own that your group enjoys!
I would add, until your group is ready to move on. We've played a few games "into the ground" or at least until we've used all the score sheets. At that point I'd say its time to look for something fresh.
FOMO is one of the biggest problems with the hobby, but it’s how some publishers are trying to sell their games
FOMO is a problem on the receiving end, not an evil practiced by publishers.
That and high price/unavailable FOMO games. By the time a Kickstart delivers all the hype is gone, reviewers say the new hotness is old trash, and stores sell the game for cheaper than you paid.
FOMO is a issue for many people. Once you learn you don't need something, it makes your life so much better.
Cmon are the kings of Fomo.
So many people over there on the campaigns are just so addicted to plastic minis it’s ridiculous.
@@warpaint9385 I still don't think that's CMON's doing though. The FOMO is in the hearts of the buyer, and CMON is just responding to that need. Now Kickstarter definitely does seem to feed on and nurture FOMO. Even there, though, that's just the human thing where, once you open your wallet, it's so easy to just take that one extra step. Luckily, I live near an excellent game store. I learned that it'll come to the store eventually, and unless I absolutely know I'm going to play it, I can wait. Usually. But here I am with that ginormous Frosthaven box, and my group got tired of Gloomhaven (due to the setup) long before Frosthaven actually shipped. Whenever I want to get on the Kickstarter bandwagon now, I look at Frosthaven sitting there. It's a great therapy for FOMO. Still though, the FOMO was my fault, not somebody else pushing it on me. FOMO is someone saying "one time offer! act now!" And that brings us back to Kickstarter with their exclusives. Cheers.
In regards to buying games, I went on a shopping spree the first couple years I got back into the hobby. I did end up buying a lot of games I didn't like or really need, but I have really figured out more about what I want and need out of a game to make it a worthwhile purchase. So now I've become more picky about the type of games I buy and play. I just don't have the time to waste on playing everything.
Tom Vasel: "Remember the golden days when all we had was Monopoly and we LIKED it!"
:D
Thanks to Tom and the DT for trying to keep us informed about the industry.
I thought it was just me. I am feeling overwhelmed, this is just the video i needed to hear from one of the most I respect. Thank you. ❤ I am too busy collecting, then regretting, instead of playing.
We are definitely living in the Golden Age of Board Games. Great points.
We are living in the age right before the great crash.
@@darinherrick9224 Indeed. There will be no market for this frivolous industry very shortly, as the discretionary income of the masses dries up. Enjoy the Golden Age while it lasts.
Golden age of board games, dark age of consumerism.
I Have sold off 450 games in the past 20months. Will keep on selling. I buried myself, it's killed my interest in physical gaming, and I have to shovel my way out. Getting out has become the entirety of my involvement in the hobby.
In my house we created a board game bracket tourney. The ones that get knocked out in the first round we vote if we keep it. Great way to cull the boring games.
I am feeling the same way. Just too many games flooding the market.
Yikes man. I think anything over 100 games in untenable. I have 65 games in my collection, 18 unplayed, and 30 more i haven't played in a year or have only played once. Starting to think that a solid 20 games is all I need
@@branboom3342 Sounds like a 64 game bracket tournament would be perfect for you
I have over 700. Each one is a potential great time with my family. I like looking at each one and remembering the unique puzzle it presents.
Dice Tower’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. 😉 Very wise wise words. I’m newer to the hobby and I only have 12 games, not including the ones I play with my kids. And I get nearly all of them on the table monthly. That’s do to being able to enjoy the games I own and love to play. Great to encourage us to playing our games.
In summary: it’s now how about how big your collection is, it’s about how you use it.
I'm out of space. Its gotten so bad that I cant expand any of my other hobbies. I'm trying to cull down to the classics. It's expensive trying to discover hidden gems. Kickstarter previews/reviews tricked me one too many times. Moving forward, I'm not interested in purchasing another game unless people are still talking about it 3+ years after its release.
That’s smart. A few years into the hobby, I recently committed to never buying a board game whose publication date is less than 2 yrs old. That gives enough time for some criticisms to surface. There’s too much hype with new games.
Same
I'm doing that now too
Same here. Basically it goes like this : I like a game a lot, it goes into my wishlist on bgg, then I forget about it. A few months later, if it is still here, it might start being interesting and I watch a few review, but mainly middle rating comments on bgg (it has both good/bad commentaries). If the game is less than 2 years old, it stays in the wishlist until that mark. I only buy second hand so it would have to be sold first anyway. If it is on BGA I will try it there a couple of times.
After all this, if I still like the game, I buy it.
It is really liberating : buying and selling takes some time. Organising the shelf somehow too. Learning rules takes mental space.
I heard a guy on a podcast say that he doesn’t read any books that have come out in the past year. He waits to see which ones people are still talking about / stood the test of time and reads those. This rule should apply to board games!!!
we're absolutely hurling from golden era to the point of where the video game market got - oversaturated to a point - where super great stuff is being overlooked constantly
It's an important message Tom. Even if I wanted to , and I don't, I couldn't afford to buy every new game that is touted as being great. It's definitely exciting to buy and play a new game, but I only purchased what appeals to me. There are many, many games I will never play, and that's ok. I'm thrilled with the games I already have! Happy gaming and thanks.
About a year ago, I became interested in owning board games. Not knowing where to start, I searched RUclips for the biggest channels and found Dice tower. The vast amount of reviews and top lists made me realize how many games are released each year and so I made lists of games that looked interesting to me and checked out multiple reviews and let's plays of them.
With my recent stress-related issues, I concluded that light to medium weight games is where I should start. I also had a criteria that the theme and/or aesthetics of the game should be pleasing to me. I also value interactivity and banter during a session so that check box has to be ticked. The game also has to hit the table regularly, so I started asking friends if they were interested in creating a gaming group and what their preferences were - asking them about games I was checking out to see if it would be a potential hit. Not having too many games with the same gameplay or mechanics will relieve redundancy, so some games on my list had a death match-up. Lastly, I limited myself to the shelf space I have available, so my collection will never get more important than maybe 20 games.
If ever there people want to know what I have, I can make a list. I hope my thoughts around the hobby brings inspiration to someone. I would like to thank the Dice Tower for sharing their vast knowledge with us. Keep it up!
This is one of the best videos about board games I've ever watched. Thank you Tom for all that you do!
These style of conversational videos are amazing.
Love the sentiments in this video, Tom. Play your games. You don't need to own everything. Be content and have fun!
I feel much happier since my collection has been reduced in size. I play my games more often and only occasionally buy something that looks special. I fell in love with my boardgames again.
Another thing is to just sell off games that you didn't love or don't love enough to play. Once you get your collection down to something reasonable, it's a lot easier to pick something to play.
I wonder if one unintentional contributing factor for some people might be seeing the walls of games behind people in videos? Like, it sets a strange false goal or standard that people think they "need" or want to reach. Usually when people enter a hobby there's a huge surge of passion that comes with it and seeing those large collections they think "Yes! I want a collection like that too!"
The whole reason I got into board games back in 2015 was because it was a hobby that was talking about games there were several years old, and I wanted to escape the constant concern of the new and upcoming in video games. I thought this was a hobby where we could slow down and enjoy ourselves. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
The funny thing about that is that I'm pretty sure there were people complaining that there are too many board games back in 2015 compared to the "good old days" of 2008 or 2010. Clearly the problem of too many games wasn't a fatal one, or it would have already crashed the industry by now.
Love a lot of the warnings and advice in this video. I love the secondary market and my love for board game media is trying to find out what 6 games a year I want to buy (old and new).
Tom, thanks for posting this. I needed to hear it!
Thanks for these short messages from Tom on Board game topic. I love them!❤
Tom you continue to be the best voice this hobby has. Thank you.
This is such a great message that needs to be shared! I am a part of several board game online communities that seem to be focused on "look at the 20 games I bought this weekend" or "look at my 100+ game shelf of shame!" I think it's easy for us to fall in the trap of buy buy buy! I fell into it myself. Now I'm trying to focus on enjoying the games I have by playing them multiple times. Instead of buying a game, playing it once, and then immediately moving onto the next title.
Problem i see is that every game needs to stand out in a saturated market so we keep getting bigger more deluxified games that are marketed to do all things for all people. Game designed for 3-5, but also stretch goal for mediocre solo mode, also stretch goal for 6 and 7 player expansion, also stretch goal for plastic everything. Era of 40 dollar games is basically gone.
I'm seeing a lot of parallels to the book community and what happened when self-publishing and vanity publishing took off. I ran a book review for a number of years and we went from 100 books a month being submitted to 300 to 500 books. It was absolutely impossible for us to keep up. Personally, I completely burned myself out and have only read 4 books since 2018 because of that. I'm trying to be smarter with gaming, and really dive into reviews and tabletop simulator demos where possible so that I only buy games that I know I'm going to love. So far I've only had one miss. But the compulsion to want everything is absolutely there.
Excellent sermon.
Tom, I really appreciate how insightful your final comments were. Some really good thoughts to take away and apply to other parts of life. Thanks for that.
Great video and well said. That's why we love you and the Dice Tower!
While I still buy new games (but at a much slower rate than I bought games published in previous years), I am actually content in just playing what I already own -- which is already more than I will actually ever get to play.
My problem isn't having a shortage of games to play, it's a problem of finding persons with whom to play those games. Even pre-pandemic, when I was involved in consistent gaming with dozens of different gamers, I got to play something I actually *wanted* to play maybe once out of every twenty plays. (And while I realize that playing online would solve that problem, I do not like playing online.)
Totally agree. The biggest frustration is trying to find someone who wants to play a game that I want to play. I can spend hours learning the rules to my new game, but when I bring it to my game group, it rarely, if ever, gets to the table.
@@Brad4083 Exactly.
As someone who's played in bands for decades, I know you have to do what the others in the group want to do, even if you would rather do something else. That being said, there's a reasonable expectation that in a group of four, one out of four songs would be one of those you suggested. The same with board gaming. Not that I didn't like the games I didn't suggest. Some I did, some I didn't. But the games I most wanted to play, rarely (if ever) got played.
@@jimalexander687 Yes, everyone should have an equal opportunity to bring games to the table. Unfortunately, the groups I attend have no structure like that. Sometimes, I don't mind that much. I want to gain favor with people I meet by playing the games they brought. However, I have run into people who snub their nose at my game. I need to develop a strategy for increasing my personal satisfaction on game nights. I wish you were in my gaming group.🙂
Agree to all of it. Even in a game group your game rarely gets picked. Heck, even my family doesn't want to play half the games I do! Which is why solo mode is a must for any game I pick up now. I like the idea of buying a lot slower. Maybe try to stay a year behind the hobby and see what is good with a reduced price.
Amen Tom. Our game group shares the load. When one person buys a game I own because they love it, great! Now I can sell my copy.
In the spirit of this, I would love to see a dice tower top 10 on the Top 10 years in Board gaming!
Boom! Done around 3 years ago. How's that for speedy service?
ruclips.net/user/livegKbsfxqvGc8?si=VPI15sexOn0Vp9Wi
Great video Tom. I started to notice that I became a collector more than a player. My New Year's Resolution was to play my games and slow down or not buy anymore games. 6months in and I am only 1/4 of the way of playing what's in my collection but I have had a great time doing so, also it has given me the opportunity to really decide what to keep on my shelf.
This is true and your video is covering every detail to help those starting in the hobby to give them a heads up! Thanks for another great upload Tom!
Thank you Tom, great commentary.
This was an excellent topic. Great points made!
Great topic and video!
We should also come to terms that under these circumstances publishers going out of business is a healthy and normal thing in market economy.
Appreciate these sorts of broader picture discussions.
Related to being overwhelmed, one issue I’ve personally noticed is that because there are so many games come out it’s caused me to engage in a sort of self-protective mindset of increasingly ignoring new games and being unwilling to try/buy new ones. It’s hard to explain but it’s partially because the flood of new games means it’s too much time and effort to stay updated on future releases/new games so I just focus on the games I already know, expansions/sequels to them, and maybe games by the same designer. It also lowers the excitement and interest of learning about new games.
The other issue is that I think this contributed to the cult of the new phenomenon for some people and that individual games get played less because there are too many new games people want to try.
Thank you!
Tom, you are a very important voice in the board game hobby. This was a great watch. I own around 175 games and will continue to buy games and occasionally sell or give them away. Great things to keep in mind, however!
Thanks for making this video and opening this discussion Tom! As a new comer to the hobby, I have faced the dreaded FOMO a lot in the short time I have been doing this. The Hype around Castles of Burgundy was intense to say the least. I found myself getting caught up in the "I have to get his now or I will miss out on this great game" feeling, and I've never played the game. It is really nice to hear someone like yourself make a statement about how this hobby should work. We play games to have fun, make new friends or draw closer to the people we care about. If we focus on those things, then we realize that we do not need all these games. Just enough to make us content.
What a fantastic video. Great commentary on the state of the industry. I really enjoyed your recommendations about how gamers should view games as well. Keep it up
Thank you Tom!
Thanks, Tom! I do buy new games, but a lot of times I will watch you “Look Back” show and I will grab some of those good games from years past. We have a store that sells used games where I can pick up some games for 50-60% off retail. There is a lot to be happy about, being into board games right now. 😎
Cultivating a small shelf of 6-12 games is more than what anyone should need. Currently, my family plays the same 2-3 once or twice a week.
and then there are times like the kitchen rush revised edition expansion which seems super unknown in the english speaking space while probably being a huge hit, or other titles that take years to come to germany 😥
Great video Tom!
Loved it. Play more of your favourite games and be content with your collection.
Finding ways to play games is a big one. I finally got to a friends house, and saw she had Gloomhaven, I asked about trying one part/session, and we did, found out that it is one of those games I don’t want a physical copy of. Someday I might get a digital version, but no rush.
Very glad I didn’t rush to get the standalone expansion based solely on all the game’s hype.
Love what you said - contentment!
I almost become a board game collector instead of a board game player. Thankfully My wife warned me about it. I use an app to log my plays. Anything that is not played within a year will be reviewed and culled. It keeps my collection small. I notice I can never have more than 40 games this way. Yes I buy and sell a couple every year. Tried to get it from second hand market if possible. I rarely spend more than $100 every year and are still able to keep up with the current releases. (with the exception of my acquisition of Imperial Assault Complete Collection).
My collection is as follows
Games that we love to play (ones that gets played most often)
Party Games (to play with non gamers)
Games to introduce to new gamers.
Campaign Games (Will be sold once completed)
Filler games
1or2 Solo Games
Every year, there will be 4-5 new games to challenge my collection. Sometimes, gaming group changes, our work changes, our preference to play changes. I try not to have that nostalgic feeling thinking this game that was played 2 years ago was so good. As I'm typing this, with a heavy heart I'm culling my beloved Dune +all expansions + deluxe upgrade. Why? My dune group has kids now. I don't see how it will get played anymore. And there is also the app in case I missed it. And also more room to try new games.
Unless you are a board game reviewer or a massive board game player, owning 100 games is a little too much. Even if you play twice a week, you only get to play each games once or twice.
I have been a game player for 40+ years. This is for sure the best time it has ever been. I am all about the secondary market. Buy games used all the time. I don’t feel the pressure of “cult of the new”, and still have plenty of great games to play.
Exactly my thoughts... thanks for the video and the perspective. It's taken me years to figure out what I really like which is often dependent on my game groups. Now I have slowed my approach to buying and am looking to get rid of games I will never play again.
Hello Tom, really good that you raised this question. It reminded me the scene in play "Peer Gynt" by Henrik Ibsen. There the question was asked: "What is the difference between troll and man?" and the answer given: "Out there, where sky shines, humans say: 'To thyself be true' In here, trolls say: 'To thyself be enough'"... So isn't contentment the life raft for the trolls? Isn't it unavoidable that we never stop going on our quest for our true selves, both the reviewers and the simple gamers?
Great video Tom 🙏
I've joined the hobby just before the pandemic and I am mostly the one owning games in our group. I've always tried to keep my collection in check and stay away from kickstarter (unless its something truly unique). I try to have variety both in mechanics, complexity and playtime. But before something joins the collection, i always compare it to what I already own. Is it too similar, is it going to fight over another game to get to the table, etc. Sometime it's just too intriguing that I jump in anyway, but then it means it might cull out another game in my collection. It's challenging because I need to assess my group enjoyment before buying and culling a game, but If I don't I know I would be drowning in games.
I think part of the issue for newcomers is that when you realize how good board gaming has become compared to the old kids game you remember, you feel like you've missed so much. You want to catch up and experience it all, but that is definitely a trap.
It's not just board games, there's over-production of everything, there's way too much to consume. Tom, you've been saying for years that publishers need to stop printing mediocre (or bad) games, and that's even more true today than it was 5 or 6 years ago, there's just so much mediocrity out there.
Thanks Tom. Excellent video. I feel I am ready to get rid of many games I think may be fun and keep the ones I actually play! I'm already doing pretty good not backing any more stuff (only 1 KS in the year so far - expansions for a game me and my family actually plays - and don't expect to back anything else for the rest of the year).
Great video ❤
if ever i want to be put off a game, i just have to watch no pun intended.
Good words of wisdom here. Thanks Tom
You should see how many new books are published each year
Great episode Tom. As a solo gamer, I am lucky that not everything can be played solo so the choices for me are less, but you hit the main point that I strive to achieve and maintain: Contentment! That is the secret and answer to it all. I wish I could stay in the zone for a while, but I’m a work in progress. 😊
Hi John, I'm mainly a solo gamer myself, but as opposed to you, I feel that the choices for me are MORE every year. I've just had a look at BGG and out of the ~5000 games that were released last year, ~1700 are playable solo (34%). Let's go back 5 years earlier, in 2018, ~4800 were released and ~1000 are playable solo ("only" 21%). I think the great amount of solo games released the recent years are a side effect of the pandemic. Let's see how it evolves in the future. Happy gaming!
@@eric.paquet I agree with you. I also know that more and more games have a solo mode now than ever before and I am very thankful for that. I was just saying that at least I don’t feel any pressure to play those that are not solo compatible.
If you have not already done so, check out Mike DiLisio’s Solo gaming reviews he recently started up again. He lays the analysis out in a nice way….
I’ve actually chilled on buying games. Maybe I’ll buy a super hot game I know I’ll like but my group has cycled through my top games for a year now and it’s so fun! (Spirit Island, Orleans, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Dune Imperium, Marvel Champions, Ark Nova, Dominion, 7 Wonders, Earth, Gloomhaven, Viticulture, Scythe and some others sprinkled in)
I went through a period where I purchased a ton of games to figure out what I liked. Then I had to figure out what my family and friends would actually like. Then I abruptly stopped buying games all together. I have already smashed a collection of 75ish games. I sometimes purchased a two player game because my wife says she will play with me but never does. So I just stopped buying games. I have an amazing collection that I am confident will last me a decade or more.
Most games I can just pass on easily.
Occasionally get sold on fomo but not very often.
Sometimes I wait for the hype to wear off and see how I feel after that. Lot of the time I just move on and never look back.
Far too many games and it never ends. Every month there’s more and more.
How much more can you have? How much room have you left in your house? How many games are collecting dust? Have to draw the line somewhere.
The dice tower video on how to be an adult. The truth we all needed.
I'm very casual so maybe one a month and I'm good. I got the itch to collect when i bought my house a few years back and haven't touched most of my games because I gotta learn them and take them to the meet up every other week in my town. I still like that I have them but will only buy new if something really calls to me now. I enjoy the options that are out there and perfectly good with not playing everything.
I came into the hobby around 2012 and felt then I could have a handle on the in games of the time. I am not sure when that changed, but everything is quickening up just as is life generally..
Thanks Tom! As a consumer it’s hard to keep up and if I pick something up it usually just goes on shelf of shame. Overall, it’s a good problem but cult of the new is pretty strong in board games.
loved the Shelf of Shame stuff!
One aspect to keep in mind is that games are significant works of art. We don’t really want them to disappear. Society needs board game libraries. Of course there is the problem that they wear out through their use and appreciation. It is important that we preserve their legacy. Conventions, clubs, game businesses and people with lots of shelf space have begun the work of keeping this resource and history alive. Eventually we need to display and unlock to all who care the legacy of games in an organized and clear social structure.
My first filter is my personal taste for mechanisms, designers and expected time to play (set collection, area control, abstract, Knizia etc, played in 45-60 mins max). Also, there are certain buzz words that lead me to automatic switch off/game exclusion - e.g. cooperative, party, heavy, dexterity, sand timer, Lacerda etc. Certain media producers' tastes align more with mine - so I tend to go with those influences.
So my first advice to anyone in the hobby is - know your own taste, focus there and cut out all the noise.
I'm new to modern games and loving it. But I'm very careful to be selective with what I buy. I base my choices on a mix of reviews, my intuition and what I think will suit my family.
For example so far I have bought TTR, Cascadia, Love Letters, Jaipur and made our own versions of Funemployed and some other party games. I really appreciate those who take the time to make videos and really enjoy the more free flowing discussions such as on Dice Tower with Tom and Friends as well as other quality channels like Actualol.
With Rodney and others helping with tutorials there is a great community helping guide gamers like me to learn teach and play games enjoyably and effectively and for this I am grateful.
5000 games in one year? Yikes. Guess in about 3-4 years once those all become "old" games and people start to dump them I will be able to cherry pick the best of the bunch for next to nothing (although I did just pick up Earth off of ebay for a good price).
That’s what I do. Kickstarter Editions for $8-$15 a few years after release. Used.
You can't imagine how many good games I have picked up from thrift stores in the last couple of years. Probably more than a hundred. Many versions/expansions of Villainous, Dominion, Sushi Go Party, many Munchkin versions, Patchwork, The Goonies, 7 Wonders, Machi Koro, Dice Throne battle chest, D&D Legends of Drizzt, Ghostbusters the Board Game, Sheriff of Nottingham, Istanbul, Quacks of Quedlingburg, Roll for the Galaxy, Lost Cities and many many others for $3 - $7. That's one of the perks of the industry saturation.
Nice video Tom.
I was BIG into games like two years ago. I'd back two kickstarter a month, browse my lgs for games all the time, etc. I've stopped buying games like that ever since I got into more traditional trading Card games. I'm probably spending less, but its certainly less space in my crowded home.
It's nice to be able to play board games on tabletop simulator. If any game catches my eye, I learn it there. We often buy a game, play it once, and ever play it again. I've found learning games on tts scratches the itch and then I don't buy the game. That's helpful.
I play sports games, and probably have over 100 different ones with all the sports. Sure I have my favorites, but I like playing games that are new to me as well. You never know when you will find a game that you really enjoy.
This video just helped push me to pull 15 games from my wall. Thanks for that last nudge.
Great comments, Tom. I appreciate the stats you provided and then analyzed the negatives and positives, what to do, etc. I liked your point about starting to gravitate to reviewers that have similar tastes. That’s usually the starting point for me. Then I will research and listen to other reviewers if a game or two catch my interest. Fully agree - try to limit the collection and enjoy the games you have! Which means I must discipline myself to only, maybe, purchase a few games per year (maybe give it as a gift if you are really on the fence about it and then play with that person - ha!). Thanks, Tom, for the video. Nice work.
Great points! The game of 'Collecting vs Playing' is a BGG difficulty of 11... talk about easy to learn, hard to master!!!
My biggest rule for myself is if I don't feel drawn to it, just scroll by. I'm open to trying any game which has drawn me into games that I wasn't initially and that's ok too, let it happen I figure (within reason of course).
The posts on social media I really don't understand are "I played the board game __________ 10 times and I still don't get what you all see in it!" ...why would you do that to yourself?!!? If you're not drawn to the game, that's ok, just move on! If you play it once and you aren't drawn to play it again, that's ok, just move on! If others are, that's ok, just move on!
I suppose my biggest failing is seeing the bargains, but my life raft there is I always check it out before I buy it, even if it's a thrift store $5 game. While there's a risk to that, I did find one of my favourite games to play solo that way too.
Thanks again!
Still waiting for Comic Hunter US/International release. It must be a DT Essentials and bring it to NA. That would be awesome!!!🤘🏻
Totally agree with all the points Tom! I laughed so hard when you said “call it for what it is… A SHELF OF SHAME” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I love the restaurant menu analogy. Next time I FOMO I will call that to mind. Once I've chosen my meal i enjoy it, i don't think longingly about the things i didn't choose.
Very important video, Tom 🙏 the consumerism in our society is a huge problem 😞
I really like the idea of comparing your game collection to a restaurant. Let’s make it your own restaurant. You are making a menu of what people can enjoy at your restaurant. It would make sense to make your collection diverse and include your favorite games from your favorite genres. But you don’t need 10 deckbuilders if you rarely play a deckbuilder.
I’ve been refining my collection; just got rid of 30+ games so far this year and it feels good. Still wish more people visited my restaurant though, since I always get to eat with them.
Fan fact, I own a large board game store and I absolutely can’t keep up with new releases. It’s insane these days.
I’ve culled a ton of my collection over the years and now being mostly a solo gamer, I have far less. I rarely buy games on release really at all anymore, and since almost everything is KS release only with exclusives and yakkity yakk, I purchase second hand years later when the hype has gone down. Saves me a pretty penny, and tones my buying habits down to about at most 3 games a year.
Not to mention, actual solid or better games are drowned out by the ones with lavish KS campaigns or hype and they never even have a chance to shine. I really wish the hobby stayed less mainstream and KS/crowd funding never saw the light of day in the hobby. I understand some great game can from it, but now it feels like everything in the space is this way
One of the main reasons (although there are others) I mainly stick w/ abstract strategy games (although I do have some themed games, card games, & games w/ some chance, etc. - if a game's good, it's good).
The mechanisms/dynamics are what I mainly look at, & many games you can just make yourself.
& TT RPG's give me a greater experience than any of the modern, wallet-breaking board games that are basically just commercially produced RPG experiences.
I've still got a ton of games, though, but I think I've finally reached the point where I don't need to buy anymore games at all.
Couldn't agree more!!!
Great advice here. I am thinking of thinning my game collection down. If I dont think I am losing money, rather thinking of it as a rental price of the game.
Some very wise words.
I have specific preferences. I'm pretty good at sussing out if a game is something I would like. Have standards basically, and the number of games in the market doesn't seem that huge anymore. And I still sense a lot of unexplored design space in board games.
Yeh I've mostly tuned out of new board games for a while now. Not only do I already own more than enough games, there's just too many new games coming out to bother with. I simply don't have enough time, even if I could retire and only play board games all day, every day.