Rethinking the Hobby

Boardgaming used to be an inexpensive hobby. Even as starving grad students, the Man and I could scrape together enough money to buy a new board game now and again. Once we graduated, and were both working, the cost of a board game became almost trivial. When friends or family commented on the money I spent on games, I could easily point out that it was far less then they spent on ice skating, or quilting, or even going to the movies twice a month.

Over the the last few years, however, the cost of everything has gone up. Unfortunately, my family's income has not kept pace with inflation. Additionally, our expenses have increased as the Spawn insists on growing, and requiring clothes that fit, and more food than a swarm of locust. Our disposable income has decreased at the same time the price of board games has increased dramatically. What used to be a small indulgence, is now costly luxury.

I'm having to rethink my hobby. I can no longer afford to participate in this hobby in the same manner to which I have become accustomed. It's not an easy adjustment to make. Sometimes I feel the need to discuss it with other board gamers who are also feeling the pinch, whether it's for the same reasons that I am, or due to there own personal situation, such as a new baby, or the loss of a job, the purchase their first house, or a return to school.

As much as I would like to deny it, collecting was a part of my hobby. It's a compulsion that's hard to avoid in almost any hobby that involves buying and owning things. My personal weakness was horror themed games. I held on to them even though many of them were crap. Then there was the compulsion for completeness, that has resulted owning expansions that still remain unopened months, even years after purchase. Reading what many people have written here on F:AT really helped free me of these notions. When I traded away "Touch of Evil," it was liberating. Deleting all the "Runebound" expansions from my wish list was a bit more difficult, and I confess I still have a couple on there despite the fact that that we haven't played the game in months. It's just so tempting to buy the because they are so inexpensive. But another thing I have come to realize from discussions here on F:AT, is that it is all too easy to piss away a limited budget on several inexpensive games or clearance bargains that new get played, and then find you can't afford big game that you really want. This is especially true if you have grown accustomed to being able to afford it all.