Boardgames are the new Comic Books

JW,
That DB pint glass is awesome. I also recall your excellent session report from that weekend. Very good stuff.
Now I gotta host my own.

Cheers,
AW

I try to restrict purchases to things that will fill a niche not currently represented in my collection. I've also made an effort to sell off a few toads, but the results have been mixed on that front. Selling games is a hassle when you live in a small city, since it renders craigslist useless. The cost of freight makes it even more difficult, since you can get a brand new copy of something from Amazon with no shipping, so why buy a used copy?

I actually got a bunch of games this year after many

Tragedy Looper + Expansion: 6 plays. I'm going to try to force another 4 plays to finish the base game scenarios, but then I'll sell it. I like it and I gave it a very positive review but I don't fancy playing it too much.
Cosmic Encounter + Expansion: 23 plays.I've managed to play this a lot despite not having enough people in my group to play it. Love it, it's now one of my favourite games.
Dune: 2 plays. Loved it, hope to play it more often. I'm trying to organize another game this Sunday.
March of the Ants: 4 plays, easy to get to the table, but the host of my group doesn't like it for some reason. Plan to play it a lot more, I love it.

I'm actually looking to get more games:

Civilization: Plan to make a copy of this by hand.
German Railways: Hoping to replace Chicago Express in my current group, we are a bit bored of it.
18XX: I discovered the moderator and I think I can play some at the club or solo at home and have fun.

Colorcrayons wrote:
I heard that even BGG's end of year fundraiser, for the first time I've known about" has failed to meet their goal. That in itself is telling how the golden age is becoming tarnished.

Without knowing what the goal was, its hard to judge. If the drive stopped growing and merely plateaued, they still got a boatload of free fucking cash. I do think there is a subtle realization that the illusion of them being sort of non profit/goodwill enterprise is a growing realization that its a fucking business - and one that is larger than people realize.

Colorcrayons wrote:
M:tG has illustrated this quite well recently. They just pump shit out... over and over and over... all while the quality in physical components degrades along side the quality of card design. They are losing consumer confidence that they once enjoyed, and now when something new comes out it is discarded out of hand because the wallets are exhausted and people are tired of being jerked around.
Their example may be small, but one could call them a microcosm of the industry.

I wouldn't call MtG small by any means considering they keep many game stores afloat. I heard the last release was too close to the prior one and the common wisdom is that it was a misstep, but they don't anticipate and huge downturn. I do wonder if MtG customers are starting to get sucked into the overall gaming hype and diverted by other games out there that if nothing else, slightly erode their spend on MtG.

Also of two minds about this.

On one hand, it’s kind of an intelligence test. For most people they will probably have roughly the same amount of fun playing tried-and-true classics or the new hotness. Because like Bryce points out, it’s mostly about the people you play with and not much about the games themselves. If you are smart, then you will realize that playing the classics results in the same amount of fun but saves you vast amounts of money. Pass the intelligence test and you can pay off your house or retire several years ahead of schedule.

....

But on the other hand, I have trouble getting worked up about the glut of product. To continue the book analogy, for decades now there have been too many books coming out to keep track of. Same with movies, music, and magazines. You’ll never get a chance to read all the good books before you die, and there’s not much you can do other than make your peace with it. But I don’t hear much complaining about how too many books are being published, or too many albums are being recorded. I thought that was one of the reasons we are in a cultural golden age — even if only 0.01% of new books are worth reading, how is it a bad thing to double the number of books published every year?

The only thing that’s changed is that now games are in that category. Are most new games transient crap? Yes, of course. So is almost everything on Netflix, but I don’t see anyone advocating that we return to the days of rabbit ears with three channels. What’s really needed is not a throttling of product but a better critical apparatus to winnow out the chaff. I hope Barnes continues to review games — it’s needed now more than ever.

One more book analogy — serious readers do not bother with self-published books. Too much noise for the signal. A good start would be to do the same with self-published games. That applies to most Kickstarters.

Funny you mention Netflix as my wife and I were discussing just that this weekend.

As great and convenient as it is...it's perhaps a bit too much.

We discussed how in the past, days of rabbit ears I suppose, we seemed to have one or two shows we _might_ watch regularity. I was never really big into TV, but i do recall trying to catch Married with Children or Deep Space Nine when possible. So, taking that example, a person follows a handful of shows, so maybe 2hours of TV a week, then wait til the next week.

Not any more. With entire seasons released at once, folks are binging their whole show's season over a week or weekend. So, let's say 10hours...conservatively. Then, with nothing new to watch the next week...look for _another_ show to watch...to which really ends up meaning another _season_. So, 10 more hours of television, at least. Every week.

TV shows seem to be higher in quality, but this is a lot of telly.

You know, it's interesting Mr. White, but for me the novelty of having all those shows at my fingertips is gone. I used to binge watch frequently but it has probably been a year or two since I watched more than 2 episodes in a row of anything.

dysjunct wrote: On one hand, it’s kind of an intelligence test. For most people they will probably have roughly the same amount of fun playing tried-and-true classics or the new hotness. Because like Bryce points out, it’s mostly about the people you play with and not much about the games themselves. If you are smart, then you will realize that playing the classics results in the same amount of fun but saves you vast amounts of money. Pass the intelligence test and you can pay off your house or retire several years ahead of schedule.

Yeah . . . you're making a lot of assumptions there that may not be warranted. There's a lot of gamers going to meetup night where they don't know people particularly well and are looking to hook up. Singles Bar gaming, something even harder than an actual singles bar because you need to attract two or three partners and alcohol generally isn't available. As for an intelligence test I'll brutalize a Mencken quote, "no one lost money underestimating the intelligence of Americans." A son of Baltimore.

dysjunct wrote: But on the other hand, I have trouble getting worked up about the glut of product. To continue the book analogy, for decades now there have been too many books coming out to keep track of. Same with movies, music, and magazines. You’ll never get a chance to read all the good books before you die, and there’s not much you can do other than make your peace with it. But I don’t hear much complaining about how too many books are being published, or too many albums are being recorded. I thought that was one of the reasons we are in a cultural golden age — even if only 0.01% of new books are worth reading, how is it a bad thing to double the number of books published every year?

The only thing that’s changed is that now games are in that category. Are most new games transient crap? Yes, of course. So is almost everything on Netflix, but I don’t see anyone advocating that we return to the days of rabbit ears with three channels. What’s really needed is not a throttling of product but a better critical apparatus to winnow out the chaff. I hope Barnes continues to review games — it’s needed now more than ever.

One more book analogy — serious readers do not bother with self-published books. Too much noise for the signal. A good start would be to do the same with self-published games. That applies to most Kickstarters.

The book analogy only works if you're buying books you don't intend to read. Some people do that. Some read first chapters only. You can judge the wisdom of that for yourself. As it stands boardgaming has become a collector hobby, one that takes up a whole lot more space than coins or stamps. Or books for that matter.

But you're right on the self-published thing -- I don't know much of anybody pre-purchasing books based on the title and cover art.

Gary Sax wrote: You know, it's interesting Mr. White, but for me the novelty of having all those shows at my fingertips is gone. I used to binge watch frequently but it has probably been a year or two since I watched more than 2 episodes in a row of anything.

Me too. I haven't watched an entire season of anything since DD season 2. I loved both seasons, but I just can't picture myself slogging through anymore...of anything. The Defenders, Punisher, DD season 3. Hell, I read, and enjoyed Altered Carbon, but can't bring myself to watch the show. Stranger Things..loved it! Haven't touched season 2.

I do watch an episode of Black Mirror every now and then. And put the Detectorists on in the background when painting...but I don't consider that active consumption or 'watching' it.

hotseatgames wrote: I try to restrict purchases to things that will fill a niche not currently represented in my collection. I've also made an effort to sell off a few toads, but the results have been mixed on that front. Selling games is a hassle when you live in a small city, since it renders craigslist useless. The cost of freight makes it even more difficult, since you can get a brand new copy of something from Amazon with no shipping, so why buy a used copy?

In a year I’ve sold perhaps 4,000$ in games and materiel on Facebook and Boardgamegeek’s auctions.

The magic is in the marketing.

Mr. White wrote:

Sagrilarus wrote: I'm telling you all, small cons among friends are the way to go.

This is also something I've started doing. I noticed when I would go to cons...I would spend the time gaming with friends anyway...so why not save the money and run it at the house?

Every year now I host a 'Pit Con'. Kick the wife and kids out for an extended weekend. I've run this on four occasions now. The first three were sort of haphazard, slap some board games we like on the table affairs, but this past year began something different.

We rent a beach house in the off-season, usually with 5-8 bedrooms. Sleeps 20. The entire cost to attendees is $125 including food and lodging, Thursday afternoon through Sunday. Bring the games you want. This year I've vowed to get the short scenario of D-Day at Omaha Beach in and a game of Warriors of God in, either against myself or anyone who wants to try it. I'll never get those in on a game night.

Sagrilarus wrote:

Mr. White wrote:

Sagrilarus wrote: I'm telling you all, small cons among friends are the way to go.

This is also something I've started doing. I noticed when I would go to cons...I would spend the time gaming with friends anyway...so why not save the money and run it at the house?

Every year now I host a 'Pit Con'. Kick the wife and kids out for an extended weekend. I've run this on four occasions now. The first three were sort of haphazard, slap some board games we like on the table affairs, but this past year began something different.

We rent a beach house in the off-season, usually with 5-8 bedrooms. Sleeps 20. The entire cost to attendees is $125 including food and lodging, Thursday afternoon through Sunday. Bring the games you want. This year I've vowed to get the short scenario of D-Day at Omaha Beach in and a game of Warriors of God in, either against myself or anyone who wants to try it. I'll never get those in on a game night.

I thought Warriors of God is considered a player friendly wargame? Easily doable in an evening. No luck getting it to the table? Shame.

SuperflyTNT wrote:

hotseatgames wrote: I try to restrict purchases to things that will fill a niche not currently represented in my collection. I've also made an effort to sell off a few toads, but the results have been mixed on that front. Selling games is a hassle when you live in a small city, since it renders craigslist useless. The cost of freight makes it even more difficult, since you can get a brand new copy of something from Amazon with no shipping, so why buy a used copy?

In a year I’ve sold perhaps 4,000$ in games and materiel on Facebook and Boardgamegeek’s auctions.

The magic is in the marketing.

I'm sure. I have never attempted any kind of commerce on BGG, and I try to be on Facebook as little as possible since I loath that site.

Mr. White wrote:

Sagrilarus wrote:

Mr. White wrote:

Sagrilarus wrote: I'm telling you all, small cons among friends are the way to go.

This is also something I've started doing. I noticed when I would go to cons...I would spend the time gaming with friends anyway...so why not save the money and run it at the house?

Every year now I host a 'Pit Con'. Kick the wife and kids out for an extended weekend. I've run this on four occasions now. The first three were sort of haphazard, slap some board games we like on the table affairs, but this past year began something different.

We rent a beach house in the off-season, usually with 5-8 bedrooms. Sleeps 20. The entire cost to attendees is $125 including food and lodging, Thursday afternoon through Sunday. Bring the games you want. This year I've vowed to get the short scenario of D-Day at Omaha Beach in and a game of Warriors of God in, either against myself or anyone who wants to try it. I'll never get those in on a game night.

I thought Warriors of God is considered a player friendly wargame? Easily doable in an evening. No luck getting it to the table? Shame.

WoG is a very quick game once you get the hang of it. However some players really dislike the chaotic nature of it, not accepting that the sheer number of die rolls tends to mitigate bad luck. Sure , you can get outlier cases where almost all your leaders die, but even then you might watch your opponent suffer the same fate the following turn .
Its a great game.

WARRIORS of JAPAN was letdown. Just different enough to be its own game, but struck me as rather deterministic after a leader emerges in the first few turns of the game.

The nadir for me on game days--and despite nostalgia for better days, because that's how I met a good number of people I still like and got introduced to a lot of games I still like--was when both Union Pacific (a suggestion from a friend) and Chicago Express (from me--maybe we split the vote) were rejected in favor of Ladies and Gentlemen. (L&G isn't anything like the worst game ever, but it just brought to a head for me people's willingness to bypass known quantities for the latest thing and also my unwillingness to arm-wrestle with people over game selection.)

I've mostly scaled back purchases and people with whom I'll play. If I could go back to the beginning and advise myself, it'd be to not burden myself with as much ownership as I have, because buying games won't buy time, won't make you friends, won't convince everyone you're the cool tastemaker and because, at some level, one board game is pretty much like another, and the people with whom you spend time playing games are more important.

I don't regret getting into the hobby by any means, though, and I try not to begrudge "new" people from entering the hobby at a different point in its history.