I talk all the the time about board games and what is coming into my collection and what is leaving. And I think for a lot of gamers, it can be a big question, how to get rid of games. BoardGameCo, Tablenauts, and other YouTube channels talk about it often. Tablenauts has their ABC’s, Always Be Culling, that they talk about. And even I talk about this topic from time to time because, most of us don’t have infinite room for games.

Today, though, I want to take a different tact. There is a lot about why you should get rid of games. But not all games fall into the category of play it, then get rid of it. Or why did you buy it in the first place, you already have 20 campaign games, you don’t need all of Kingdom Death Monster. I believe games can fall into three different categories in your collection. The games that you need to keep, the games you want to keep, and the games you should probably get rid of.

The Board Games You Need To Keep

Now, I use the word need here. There are no board games that you truly need. Board games are a hobby, and no hobby is a need. That said, there are some games that you will want to keep no matter what. These games fall into a few different categories or reasons why you keep them.

Firstly, you play the game often. So board games that you play a lot, you can most definitely keep those. You need them because you play them. That one is simple enough to grasp.

Next, you might keep a game because it’s a grail game. But even this is not a great reason to keep a game. If you aren’t playing a grail game, why do you need it on your shelf? Sometimes, though, a game is just so hard to come by that it won’t be worth the hassle of getting it back. Especially if it’s a game that you found before it was hard to get or just stumbled across. Also, if the grail game still brings you joy.

For example, I’ll remember stumbling across Tannhauser at a used book store, or getting the minis for Dice Throne Adventures off of Facebook Marketplace, as how I got the game. So there is joy of the hunt for those games. And having that on your shelf and reminding you might be enough.

That brings us to the final reason you might need a game, it brings you joy. This is a game that you look at, possibly a grain game, and you see it and it just makes you happy. You don’t feel regret that you aren’t playing it, you are just happy you own the game.

The Board Games You Want To Keep

Now, the final reason of need is also the main reason that you might want to keep a board game. The game brings you joy. But these are the games that bring you less joy than other games. An example for myself, owning Xenoshyft: Onslaught, and Dreadmire brings me joy. I don’t really need two things that are basically the same game. I should play both and pick my favorite.

So it is more of a want to keep both? They bring me joy. Another way to put it is that while you might have a lot of the type of game you love. I own a lot of deck builders and a lot of stuff for a lot of deck builders. Do I need Xenoshyft, Aeon’s End, Ascension, Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle and more in my collection? No, I don’t play all of them all the time. But deck building brings me joy.

This can also be the games that you maybe don’t love, but you play. Another example from my collection would be Splendor. I think it’s an okay game that I’d play but never seek out to play. I feel like I’ve played it and I don’t need to again. But, my wife likes the game, and she can pull that one off the shelf and teach and play it. That is a game I want to keep because other people like it and want to play it. This really works for games that people ask to play.

One important thing though is that games you want to keep shouldn’t be games that weigh you down. Some games when they are on the shelf, you look at them and you feel bad that you aren’t playing them. Those games fall into the third category.

The Board Games You Should Get Rid Of

This is the hardest category, there are reasons to think you shouldn’t get rid of any game. What if someone wants to play that one game that has been collecting dust for years. You got a good deal on a game, so it’d likely cost more to get it back. Or it’s out of print, so it’ll be more difficult to track down later.

Before we pick apart some reasons to keep, let’s talk about some reasons to get rid of a game. The most obvious one is that you don’t play it. If you don’t play it, why do you keep it? Does it bring you joy? Okay, but does it bring you enough joy to eat up a spot on your shelf? Is it in a genre that you just adore, well, maybe keep it. But sometimes it’s better to know your putting a game into the hands of someone who will play it.

Honestly, that is the reason that you get rid of a game, you don’t play it. But to add another twist on that, it weighs you down. That’s the idea that you look at the game and you feel bad that you aren’t playing it. And it feels like it’s too much work to learn the rules and play it, but you feel bad you aren’t. Get rid of games like that. They are a mini black hole on your shelf and soon they’ll start sucking the joy out of other games around them, because you always see that one game.

But now let’s tackle some of the excuses that you might be using to keep games around.

What If Someone Wants To Play The Game?

This one is simple, they can buy it. Or we can make it slightly less simple, they can let you know they want to play it and you can buy it. This is something I want to work on this year, the idea of getting a game just in time. Some games I want to keep on my shelf because they get played, but if a new game comes out, let’s say So Clover as a party game example, I can buy that right before a game night. I don’t need to buy it two months or two years before I’ll play it.

It Was Such A Good Deal Though

So, what does that matter if you don’t play the game. Buying a game because it “was a good deal” still uses money that you could be spending on other things. Even non-board game related things. And if you sell the game now, or trade it, you’ll get money to buy a board game or part of a board game that you’ll actually play. Or something else that you actually need. If or when you want to play the game again, you can buy it again, probably on sale again.

It’s Out Of Print, It’ll Be Hard To Find Later

It might be hard, but it won’t be impossible. And if you are savvy with selling it, you will break even when you want to get it back. And this is still a game that you’re not playing. It might even be a game that you don’t like that well. So why would you want it to eat up some space on your shelf. Like the game that was such a good deal, this is money that is just sitting there. But in this case, it is more money that could be going into a game that you will play.

This is one that i really do see so often, it’s the idea that people don’t love a game, but it’s hard to find. That is a bad reason for it to be in your collection. Just because it is rare isn’t going to make you like it more. Let someone else who is having trouble finding a game that they like and want to play, get the game. Sell your copy, and then get a game you will play.

It’s My Favorite Type Of Game

But does it bring you joy? Or does it weigh you down? If it isn’t bringing you joy, that doesn’t matter that it’s your favorite mechanic. I don’t own Dominion even though I love deck building games. Now, in all fairness, I don’t like Dominion as a deck building game, it is a game that kind of plays itself for me. I do not need it in my collection because I won’t play it. The other ones I do pull off the shelf from time to time all of them.

Let’s Run Through Some Examples In My Collection

So, like that whole long title says, I want to use some games in my collection as an examples of different things.

Gloomhaven

When was the last time I actually played Gloomhaven? Well not this year, and not in months. I have beat the campaign and I don’t intend to go back and play it again anytime soon.

But it isn’t going to be leaving my collection. This is a game that I absolutely love. Even if I never come back to it again. I like having it on my shelf to think about all the great fun I had playing it. This is a game that brings me so much joy. Plus it’s marked up and has stickers, so while I’m sure someone would like a cheaper used copy, the return isn’t worth losing that spot of joy on my shelf.

Xenoshyft: Onslaught

This is a simple one, I play the game often. Now, what determines often might be different for different people. I think I played it 3-4 times last year, and when I played 70+ different games and 100+ were Orchard, that is pretty often.

The Blood Inn

Now this one is trickier. I haven’t played the game yet. Technically it is part of my goal to get down to under 100 games in my collection that I haven’t played. And I do want to play it, the theme is fun and I think I’d enjoy the game. I just need to play it and see if it is a game that I like.

Marrying Mr Darcy

This is kind of my stand-in for Splendor. This is a game that my wife backed on Kickstarter and I do like playing it. It isn’t that far off of my top 100. But it is a game she can easily pull off the shelf and teach and play with people. And that happens fairly often. So that one won’t leave the collection for that reason.

Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate

Finally we have Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate, and this one I think is actually going to leave my collection. You know I love Betrayal at House on the Hill. And Betrayal at Baldur’s Date is the same thing, just the fantasy version of that, the D&D version. And I love D&D. But if I were to pick one of the two games, Betrayal at House on the Hill will get played every time before Baldur’s Gate. And I have Betrayal Legacy that I need to play as well. So there are two games ahead of Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate.

But does it give me joy? Meh, I don’t feel like it’s a weight, but it also doesn’t make me smile every time I see it. It is just more of a game and game system I know I love in a package I like slightly less than the original version. And it’s a game that if I want to get it back, I can.

Final Thoughts

So we actually found a game during this that can leave my collection. Some people say that as you start culling it can be addicting. It feels like a weight leaving your shoulders because you don’t need to worry about playing that game. I can see that to some extent, but that’s not why I cull. And I think, to start, it doesn’t feel like that. It feels bad that you are selling a game that you didn’t play as much as you wanted to.

I cull games and sell games for a few reasons. When I sell a game it means that someone else can enjoy that game. If I’m not playing it, now someone who really wants it can play it. I’m passing on the joy of board gaming to someone else. Plus I get money or store credit, and now I can get a game I want to play even more.

And I really mainly do it for that last reason. I want to find a game that works better for me. If a game doesn’t get played or is just fine for me, why keep it in the collection. Instead, let someone else play it and quest for that next game that is great for me.

Do you find it hard to get rid of games? And do you have games that you love but you know you won’t play, but they still stay anyways? Let me know what those games are in the comments below.

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