Now, this isn’t a repeat of yesterday’s post about what I want to do for a board game challenge. You can read about that here. But this is going to be a topic not only for myself but one that we can all maybe think about. There are so many different board games coming out now that it’s impossible to keep up. Yet, there is still a strong desire to keep up.

My Board Game Resolution

To not pre-order a board game. Before we get into details let’s talk about keeping up.

Why Keep Up With Board Games?

I think I talked about this not that long ago. Or I talked about in the context of not shaming people for having unplayed games in their collection. Because while board gaming is a hobby, aka something I do, it is also a collection, something that I own.

There are tons of board games that come out every year. ANd a limited amount of time to play them. Some games, too, are just games that you want to own, for the collection. For me, I again talked about grail games. Games that I want to own. Sometimes it’s a game that I just want to own, like Battlestar Gallactica. Will I ever play my copy, I’m not sure I would. But it’s a rarer game that I really like.

And then new games, you don’t know what you like or don’t like. So get any game that sounds interesting to you. Now, for some people that isn’t an option. For me it isn’t an option. I’m starting to see The Return To Dark Tower show up for Kickstarter backers. I wish I’d been able to back it. But when I do have so spare money, it’s fun to get a new game, whatever might be hot.

But, on the flip side, while it is a collection as well as a hobby for me. I don’t want my hobby to just collect dust. I want to play the games which means that sometimes it’s better to wait to get a game when I’m ready to play it.

Let’s talk aout some examples/exceptions.

Space Base

People have called it more of a gamers Machi Koro, a game that I liked but didn’t stick around for me. If there is more game to it or more variability, I’m interested in it. But Space Base really isn’t going in and out of print. So maybe it was on sale when I got it but I didn’t need to buy it when I did.

Solomon Kane

This could be a lot of different bigger campaign style games. I didn’t need to get Solomon Kane, I’d just heard good things about it. So when I found a well priced copy on eBay I snatched it up quickly. Now, it’s not even all of the Kickstarter that there was, but it’s still enough content to keep me going for ages. And that was an opportunity for a game I wanted, and I knew I wanted, where I likely couldn’t do better.

The main difference the opportunity to get them in the future. It’s not a 100% fair comparison, but it also works for harder to find games or used games. Tannhauser, I don’t know when I’ll play it, but when I saw it in the wild, I bought it. So let’s get back to the resolution.

The Board Game Resolution

Now, there might be an exception to this resolution, but I’ll lay it out better here. This doesn’t include Kickstarter. And if there is a game that I own and love, I’m looking at you Detective A Modern Crime Board Game, I might pre-order something. Plus, Detective expansions pre-ordered come with more than just the game.

On the flip side, my resolution is not to pre-order a new game or an easy to find game when it comes out. If it doesn’t come with anything extra, I can wait for it to come out. If I missed it on the first print run, that means it’ll have a second print run, and and I can get it when I’m ready to play it.

Now, why is Kickstarter or Gamefound different?

Well, three reasons. I will sometimes, Call to Adventures Origins, for example, not back a game. Why, because what has been added to the game that is Kickstarter only isn’t enough. I can pick it up at retail, when and if I’m ever that excited to play it. So this one is like just buying a board game ahead of time. It doesn’t offer enough to take my money and then wait. But some games, Marvel United as example, come with so much extra on Kickstarter it’s worth backing.

Some games also won’t come to retail. Solomon Kane is an example of one that I wish that I’d backed and I was glad to find. Why, it won’t come to retail. It is just too big, even in the base two boxes, it is massive. You unboxed them on Malts and Meeples, you can watch that below, but I’d back that game on Kickstarter just to make sure I got it.

And finally, sometimes I just want to support the company. It might be a company that I really like their games. It might not have any of the extra bells and whistles that you expect from crowdfunding, but I’ll still back it. Grove is an example of this, or Hanamikoji: Geisha’s Road. I like both those companies. Will I be able to get those games in retail, most likely. But I want to support them.

Final Thoughts

There was a lot that I put in here. About why you should or shouldn’t buy new games, about why I’m not going to pre-order anything. And really, this is going to be more than that. My goal is to buy fewer games this year in general. I want to wait until I hear a review, or watch a game play of it to decide.

So will I still get a bunch of games, most likely. Will I back games on Kickstarter and Gamefound, for sure. Will some of them be duds even though I was extremely excited about them, for sure. Or at least they’ll be duds for me. And all of that is okay. What I want is to just be more mindful about the retail games that I purchase this year.

Do you have any board game buying or playing resolutions this year? Maybe you want to go to your first GenCon or Origins or PaxU, let me know what they are in the comments below.

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