Stop me if this sounds familiar.
Without actually adding it all up, I probably have spend many hundreds of dollars on games. I can’t even say “invested” because that’s a lie. And I’m probably lowballing, because I don’t want to think about it too much. But I’ve got stacks, shelves and boxes of table top games, core books, source books, miniatures, maps, pdfs, and gaming accessories galore.
Of this huge pile of gaming ’stuff’ I would have to say that I’ve probably actually used 10% as it was intended. That means I’ve either played it, run it, or used it when running a game. The rest of the stuff I bought knowing I’d probably never get a chance to play it. All the same, I wanted it. Sometimes I never stopped to think why. And I certainly don’t know why some games have not yet made it into my library.
Looking back over my stuff, and thinking about my purchases and playing habits, I’ve compiled a list of the reasons I bring a game home.
- I have every intention of playing it or running it. I might not get to them, but when I buy them I have a specific scenario in mind (run this at the next convention, set up a monthly session, etc.)
- I love the concept. I’ve bought a large number of games simply because I liked the thinking behind the game. In some cases, I bought the game on concept alone, in spite of poor execution.
- I Have To Own Everything Related TO XYZ. This is a weird one, but it first hit me in High School, when I was buying Top Secret source books from the mall’s Waldenbooks store. I probably had every Top Secret source book ever published. I never played it once, but I did use the weapons from one book in a Recon game.
- It’s Good For The Price. Sometimes this is a game I only sorta want to check out, and find in the dollar bin. Sometimes this is a decent looking game that’s just too cheap to pass up.
- Supporting Someone Cool. I’ve bought a small handful of games specifically because I wanted the person on the other end to get another sale.
Understanding why I bring a game home will help me understand how to sell a game to myself. But I’m curious to know A – if everyone else does the same thing, and B – if some of you have other, more interesting reasons that you bring a game home from the store. Please, share comments below.
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i’m totally with you on all of these. And, being a person who has spent THOUSANDS of dollars on games (at the very least), let me add a few more:
6. Sequels. i’ll buy a sequel to a game i own, and i’ll leave it in the shrink wrap because i haven’t finished the original. Of course, i *never* finish the original. i did this with Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, and the Oddworld games.
7. Strong reviews. i’ve picked up games because they have a high boardgamegeek rating. But no one, and i mean NO ONE, will play critically acclaimed games with me. Tigris and Euphrat consistently takes exactly thirty minutes to explain to a new player. No one has the patience, and the theme is far too dry for casual players to dig.
8. Everyone else likes it. This is the dumbest reason to buy a game. i don’t do this any more. i don’t have the cash or the heart to waste on games i know i won’t enjoy. Try as i may, i can’t get into first person shooters. Ain’t gonna happen.
9. Research. As i run my own studio, i’m spending more and more money on successful games to find out why they’re successful, rather than to enjoy them.
10. Satan. Sometimes, the voices in my head tell me to buy a game, or to murder a stray animal. Achievement unlocked.
- Ryan
Comment by Ryan Henson Creighton
— August 10, 2009 @ 5:14 pm
I try not to think that it may be ‘thousands.’ But it probably is.
Research is a good one. I’ve used that to justify LOTS of purchases. “I need this. Yes, need. Research purposes.”
Comment by Duane
— August 10, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
I’ve been away from RPGs for a while, and recently after moving homes for the 3rd time in less than 18 months, I finally managed to get my entire RPG collection out of the boxes and browse through them.
My small collection resembles your description in every aspect, and I always felt like an oddball because of the way I chose my RPG books. In my mind, RPG books are, first of all, books. No matter how good the game might be, if the book is ugly I won’t feel like buying it. On the other hand, I’m very likely to buy a nice book for a good price. For instance, I have a copy of White Wolf’s “Street Fighter” I never got to play, but I liked the artwork so much I ended up buying it anyway.
I guess people who play too much of the same game, like, say, AD&D, end up on the “buying everything of X collection” category, which luckily is not my case. By the other end, I didn’t really buy the Call of Chtulhu RPG because I thought it would be a great system
In a nutshell: we all love good books, regardless of their gaming content.
Comment by Daniel Poeira
— August 10, 2009 @ 5:41 pm
I’m in the thousands of dollars in gaming books category and my reasons for buying most of them are pretty much the same as yours.
Since D&D(3.x) is the primary system I use I buy a lot of those books, most of which have never been used more than once. I can’t pass up a cheap D&D book. A few years ago @ Gen Con I bought a dozen or more at various booths just because they were so cheap. Currently I am trolling ebay, half.com and amazon for cheap 3.x books to add to my massive collection.
I have only played Rifts/Palladium System a handful of times, but I keep buying them. I have issues with the rules and hope for a revised/streamlined version, but I just love reading them and want to run more Palladium games.
Mutants & Masterminds: I’ve played this once and still continue to buy books, though not too many. This is probably #3 on my list of “I want to play, but no one else does” games.\
Hollow Earth Expedition: Played once, love it, but no one else does… #1 on my “wanna play…” list.
The list of games that never get played just keeps growing(there are many more than those listed) but I still enjoy reading the books, even though most of them have never been used, which sucks.
I think a large part of my reasoning is I like the concept, I plan to run it, but it just doesn’t happen. Then since I like the game so much, I keep buying supplements in the hopes that when I finally do run it I will have enough material to create a great game/adventure. Of course this can usually be done with the core book(s), but it never hurts to have more sources.
Sometimes it is word of mouth, or the actual quality/look of the book that draws my attention, then I thumb through it, get inspired and buy it. I read it, enjoy it, and it gets stored on my shelf, never to be played. Which is why pdfs are a both a blessing and a curse. They tend to be cheap so I can buy more of them, but I hate trying to use the play a game, so then I need to buy a hardcopy.
Although I have 7 of the 4e D&D books, I don’t plan to buy any more, except maybe Eberron(CS & PG) & PHB 3, unless they come out with a setting that seems really great. Now that I’ve gotten a bit older, and don’t play as much I’ve narrowed down my spending to 3.5/Pathfinder, Palladium books, & Hollow Earth Expedition… for the most part. I fiture if I can stick to these three games I may get my RPG buying addition under control… until I hear about an all new great game that I must have.
Comment by Geek Gazette
— August 10, 2009 @ 9:33 pm
I buy game books for all the reasons you mentioned, but also because they belong to a system someone else is running for me. I don’t do a lot of GMing, but I play in a lot of games and it’s always convenient to have your own copy of a book, especially a core book.
I bought every single Dark Sun supplement available (even the crappy revision) because I fell in love with the setting when it first emerged in 1991. I finally completed my collection using Ebay a few years ago: it resulted in a couple of duplicates, but allowed me to get a whole slew of books for something like $2 each. I gave the duplicates to a friend.
Comment by ZorkFox
— August 10, 2009 @ 11:13 pm