5 ways to resist the urge to buy new board games
With the spike in new board game releases, and Kickstarters — it’s harder than ever to resist the temptation of ‘just one more game’. But we shouldn’t sleep-walk into buying new board games
Why you might want to curb your board game purchases
Wait a second, I thought we all loved board games, why the heck would we want to stop buying them or encourage anyone else to stop buying them? Well generally I don’t. But some people might want to slow board game purchasing to:
- Save space on their shelves
- Save some money
- Have a chance to play through a stack of unplayed games
As a board game minimalist with a tiny collection of games (roughly 20), this is a real issue I have to deal with. I’ve gotten used to thinking more about why I should *not* buy a game, these are a few techniques I use to help control my board game buying.
1) Do you really need that new game?
When I get the idea in my head to buy a new game, I can spend hours researching, comparing and considering games. I’m certain that I ‘need’ a new game so my brain works to try and solve this problem for me — “what new game should I buy”.
You may not all be as prone to analysis paralysis when buying a new game, but I think it’s important to take a little step back and think about why we are feeling pressure or desire to buy a new game at this very moment. Because, of course, we don’t really have to buy that new game. It’s also worth considering how often you might be able to get a new game to the table. In my case I play most my games at 1 and 2 players, so buying a new 3–5 player game may not make the most sense!
2) Love the games you’re with
I have a pretty big book collection, I used to walk into a book shop and start picturing myself reading these fantastic books, absorbing their wisdom or enjoying their narratives. But my fantasies were making promises I couldn’t really keep. I ended up with stacks of books I haven’t read and although I still really love browsing book shops, I’ve gotten a little more disciplined about buying new books.
When it comes to board games I, and many gamers, have a ‘pile of shame’ — unplayed board games that I was convinced I ‘had to have’ and didn’t even end up playing.
As with my book problem, I think the key is to realistically reflect on the unplayed games you already own. Will it really be so different with this game? Will that feeling of elation when you ‘pull the trigger’ and buy the game really last? Perhaps but probably not. So better to focus on the unplayed games you do have, and hey, if you have played all your games then congratulations — you earned that new game. But even in this scenario I’d suggest questioning the ‘need’ to buy a new game.
3) One in — One (or more!) Out
It’s not always easy, but I feel the principle of ‘one in, one out’ is a really useful discipline when buying board games. Especially for those of us looking to resist the urge to buy more games, and keep our collection under control.
Adding the condition of having to offload a game or two when we buy a new one acts as a sort of mental ‘break’ slowing us down, and perhaps helping us think more clearly about our next game purchase. Is this new game really good enough to dislodge an existing game in my collection? Do I really need it? And after all, it means you can maintain a relatively stable collection size. I tend to sell or donate games I want to get rid of, and I’ve actually managed to claw back quite a few pennies in the process (which I can put towards new games!).
4) Apps — Try before you buy
This isn’t always possible, but for some more popular board games, I’ve actually gone ahead and purchased the app version to test my appetite for the game. This gives you a quick ‘fix’, partially satisfying the urge to buy, and you get to see how the game plays. For me at least, if the app leaves me totally cold, I don’t think the physical board game would necessarily blow me away.
5) Kicking the Kickstarter habit
Although board games have been very popular on Kickstarter for a while, it seems like the pace of board game Kickstarters has dramatically accelerated. While I feel this is a very positive development for board game publishing, it makes backing new board games very tempting.
For me, I have a rather unscrupulous way of dealing with this issue. If I like the look of the game enough I’ll back it. Then I’ll walk away. After I’ve cooled down a little I can more clearly decide if I really want the game or not. If I do great! If not I can cancel my pledge.
Conveniently for would-be Kickstarter backers, you can usually cancel your pledge if the campaign hasn’t completed. This isn’t nice for those who launch Kickstarter projects, but it does offer an ‘undo’ button for overly trigger happy board game buyers. Of course in some cases you can even get a refund after the campaign is completed, but it’s usually a lot more straight forward to do this before the campaign ends.
Poppycock, I won’t stop buying board games!
My intention here isn’t to to be a miserable grump, guilting people out of the pleasure of buying new games. If you love buying new games and have the space, time and money to do so then bully for you!
I certainly have no intention to stop buying games myself. But for those who want to go on a bit of a ‘board game buying detox’, or just slow their rate of new game acquisitions — I hope the tips and tactics above can help!
