In your quest to have a complete collection of board games, you are on a constant search for the newest tabletop trends, for the obscure, the out of print, and the best from overseas. But why do you have to have them all? Isn’t it good enough to have a handful of favorites to meet your various board gaming needs? Really, who had the time and money to own and play all the games? And you’d need Mister Burns’ mansion to have enough space to hold them all.
Even so, when the next new game comes out, you have no choice but to do what every avid tabletop player does. You scour the internet and FLGS until you find it! What a relief! You haven’t been this excited since, well, last week. When you got the other must-have game. And a week before that you had gone on a bit of a spree and bought 4 games. But now you are good. You can resist another purchase for a while. Or can you?
You started this hobby for the joy of gathering with friends, families, acquaintances, etc. and sharing some laughs. You suffered through Monopoly and Sorry! as a kid because it wasn’t about the game. Sure you loved to kick your cousin’s ass at Monopoly, but it wasn’t just that. It was the hours of jokes, teasing, and fun with another person.
Then you were exposed to your first Eurostyle game and learned that games can be more than just rolling the dice. Maybe it was Ticket to Ride or Catan that started you down the path. THIS! This is what you’ve been missing. Now it isn’t just about the other people. It’s the game that’s fun! If these are fun, let’s check out some other games. Power Grid! Carcassone! Castles of Burgandy!
And there are other types of games! What is this “Dominion”. Where’s the board? Where are the dice? It doesn’t matter! It’s amazing!! Maybe you’ll even try some of the “cooperative” games you keep hearing about. You try Villainous… and, even though you aren’t a big Disney fan, you buy all 37 versions.
The passion accelerates. Friends who roll their eyes at your new hobby have taken a backburner to your new obsession. You’ve joined the Facebook groups, followed the Instagram and Twitter accounts. You can relate to Wesley Crusher, I mean, Wil Wheaton on a new level. You could pretty much join his group of friends. You’re the same type of cool, after all. You just want to absorb ALL THE GAMES! Mage Knight? Come at me bro! There’s nothing we can’t handle! (Or so you thought. But, damn. That one is intense.) You’ve learned to balance supporting your FLGS with supporting your dwindling bank account by bargain shopping Amazon. You do what it takes. Screw Pokémon. Board games! You’ve gotta have them all!!
Here’s Why:
You’re A Completionist
Once you realize there are different categories of games, it somehow unlocks your dormant collector gene. Before you know it, you need to own all the games. As popularity in Tabletop gaming has taken off, this is a task that has become more and more unrealistic. A person can’t own all the books or movies, and we certainly can’t own all the games.
#FOMO
The fear of missing out. That’s only a millennial thing. And you’re not a millennial. (Or maybe you are. Or is it Xinneal?) Surely you don’t suffer from this. Although, it is true. You don’t want to miss out on any of the games. The next box you open could be your new favorite!!
Social Media Influence
Yes, your steadily decreasing vacation fund begs you to lay off the tabletop purchases. (Hush, little fund. Iceland isn’t going anywhere.) Yet, there is something so satisfying about opening your newest acquire, camera in hand, ready to post it online for all your followers to enjoy, maybe even “like”, or make a comment. Sure, you’re spending the money on a game. But every “like” you get from posting about it gives you an extra little dose of happy endorphins. It’s basically like therapy.
Support For The Arts
The games coming out now are just so pretty! Genuine artists pour out their souls to make the most beautiful games they can. It’s not big, faceless corporations reskinning cardboard into something “new”. It’s you and me out there. It’s local Joes out there creating these magnificent new games, coming up with an idea and turning that idea into reality. Reality with amazing artwork. Of course you’re going to buy the game to support those artists!
You’re A Shopaholic
You just love to click “buy”. You’ve almost bought all of Amazon. They make it so easy. Just submit the order and two days later you get that wonderful brown box in the mail. It’s like it’s your birthday every week. And there’s always a bit of a surprise. The game that online looked huge turned out to be almost purse sized. (Jaipur, anyone? I mean, I know it’s most just a deck of cards, but it just looked so much bigger in the pictures.) You love walking into your local game store. Breathe in that wonderful smell of cardboard and plastic. Chat with the employees (who are basically your new friends at this point). They know about all the best games. Shopping is FUN! Games are FUN! It’s just the best!
Impulsive Behavior
Oops. The intention was just to do a little window shopping. On the bright side, you now have three new games to play!
It Could Go Out Of Print
If you miss out on it now, it could be gone forever. GET IT!!
Now That You’ve Accepted That You’re An Addict, What Can You Do About It?
Options are available to tourniquet your bleeding wallet. Talk to your tabletop friends and discuss trading or borrowing games. You probably play most of your games together anyway. And we all know that your new and exciting game is only new and exciting until you get your next one. (Speaking of which, have you checked the mail today?) Visit your local library. Some offer board games you can check out for free. Breweries and restaurants are jumping on the tabletop trend and keeping a few games on hand, even hosting board game nights. A few lucky bastards even manage to find some insanely great buys at thrift shops. (Seriously. Battlestar Galactica for $.54???? Dude. That was a steal!!!) Check your local game store. Some offer rentals or games to play for free in the store.
But that’s not an option for everyone. And you won’t find all the games via those routes. So, here’s what happens: we hear about a cool game, and we buy it. Why? Because we are board game addicts!