(Photo by Anete Lusina from Pexels)
I’m sure I am not the only gamer who doesn’t run out and buy all the latest hotness off the shelf but has a budget to stick to. For those of us in the same boat, I wanted to share my two cents on the matter and some suggestions that I go by regarding my collection.
I have around 100 games. One of the reasons I review older games is because I feel they are great to have and want to give you good reasons why they deserve space on your shelf as well as mine.
Here is the thought process I go through when considering a new game purchase.
1. Do I already own any similar games? This is a big one for me. Take for example the new Descent. That’s a really big box of, what I am sure is awesomeness; but, I have Descent 2nd edition and I have all of Gloomhaven to get through, so is it worth my limited space to get it? I honestly don’t think so, especially for the price and size. Gloomhaven is my dungeon crawler, and Descent 2e is my alternative. I think that those two round out my fantasy games.
2. How much playtime will I get? My other big deciding factor. There are games that I just want because they have a theme I like and great mechanics, but if I can’t get a group to play it, is it worth the money? Modiphius is about to release the Fallout RPG. That is really appealing to me, but do I have the time and the people to play it? I mean, what value does a game have if you can’t play it?
3. Is it a good value? The bottom line in any game purchase is, can I afford it? Games are not cheap, you are going to drop $45 to $70 these days on a new game. I ask myself why do I want it? Is it the theme, the gameplay, strategy, or components? There was no doubt that Nemesis is worth every dollar to me. Batman Gotham City Chronicles, Lords of Hellas, Star Trek Ascendancy, the same. You get a lot of quality components, great replay value and I can justify the cost. Now I am not picking on CMON, but you can have a whole collection of just Zombicide. There are so many add on’s to this one. Extra maps, guest artists, expansions, it is crazy how much stuff there is for one game. This is common with Kickstarters, which make going all in a better value than secondhand. So the question arises, what’s better; to pick and choose the add ons to have a bigger variety of games, or get everything for just one?
4. Is there a market for it? This is the lowest part of my decision because if I buy a game it’s because I want it. I do my research on games, read reviews, watch how to play tutorials as well. So I have played all of mine, I don’t have a “shelf of shame.” But, say, for example, I buy one and then say, I can do without this one, how much of a loss am I going to take to get any of my investment back?. I have quite a few out of print games that I know I could get an incredible return on, but I don’t want to sell them: I buy games to play, not for resale.
5. Will I have to trade/sell/give away to give this one space? This is the ultimate defining factor. We only have so much space so if I buy this, what would I have to give up to make room for this? If I have to give up space it better be worth what I am losing to have it.
So that’s it, hopefully, you might get some ideas for your own game buying decisions. Til next time.
Written by Ed Carter
Hi, I’m Lynn, and I Make.
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