Shame

I have a small collection. I curate for my group...

Read more...

You do see an incredible number of unopened Kickstarters for sale. I don't get it.

marcnelsonjr wrote: You do see an incredible number of unopened Kickstarters for sale. I don't get it.

Flippers.

I think also maybe buyer’s regret, loss of interest after it took years to arrive, lack of space after buying loads of them...

I got a fantastic deal on new Mythic Battles from someone that just didn’t have the space anymore for all of these big Kickstarter games.

Yeah, I see people selling unopened games all the time and it does baffle me a bit. Part of it is the wait for KS, but I think part of that is fuelled by FOMO.

marcnelsonjr wrote: You do see an incredible number of unopened Kickstarters for sale. I don't get it.

My favorite are the good folks who go "All-In" on some KS that they proceed to receive & never play (or pop the shrink and never play) and then they decide to unload it on eBay for like half of what they paid for it all. I thank Allah for those good people, because it has helped me obtain great games without having to pay full KS price and without having to wait for KS. I love you people!

It's really two different hobbies, and I think to some extent the timbre of your article brings shame in spite of your protestations. It's hard to speak to the issue without inserting your own opinion of it.

I'll agree that I don't understand the idea of collecting games, but I don't understand the appeal of collecting anything. So I've come to the conclusion that railing against Kickstarter purchases isn't useful or particularly enlightening to anyone. KS games present a challenge to me personally because I need to weed through more titles to find the stuff I'm interested in playing. But for the people purchasing, the adventure of the buy is an entertainment factor on its own.

Straight up -- I know people with dozens of 40 year old games that they've never played. They just didn't pay in advance . . . assuming you don't call sitting on the game for 40 years after purchase not paying in advance. Which it is.

I have less than a handful of unplayed games in my collection, so my only real source of shame is my unpainted miniatures. I quickly realized that I was never going to be either quick or talented at painting minis, so I usually now avoid buying games with minis.

I have opinions of course, I was just hoping to start a discussion about how we perceive these things in the community. The comment that got me thinking most about it was from the person I mention in the article who said they had all of a particular designers game but hadn't played any of them. That just sort of blew my mind. How do you know you even like that designer? If you are just collecting, then sure. If you are playing, then surely you need to try at least one of them out.

I was wanting to provoke people to actually think about their unplayed games as potential rather than constantly looking to the horizon. I hope that the article does that for some people.

I'm completely baffled by that person. Part of the appeal of collecting most things is that you get to look at/touch/experience them and, hopefully, use them. Someone who collects stamps not only gets the pride of knowing they have a complete set of X or a very rare Y, but they also get to look at those things. Someone who collects shoes not only owns them but gets to occasionally wear them at particular events.

Someone who collects games and never opens them...? They don't get to see and feel the components. They don't get to read or look at the artwork on the cards. They definitely don't get the experience of actually enjoying the game. I have to assume that the person in question has played other copies of said games that friends own? Either that or they're the most stereotypical BGG nerd ever ("All these people said this game was great. Therefore, it is.")

Yeah, but they're Stefan Feld games. If you don't buy them you're not a real gamer.

Sagrilarus wrote: Yeah, but they're Stefan Feld games. If you don't buy them you're not a real gamer.

I was thinking Vital Lacerda.

Sagrilarus wrote: Yeah, but they're Stefan Feld games. If you don't buy them you're not a real gamer.

Damn, better hand in my gamer card. At one point I did buy games to try out new mechanics and designers, I curated my collection towards that idea. I realised eventually that that was not what I wanted and moved it towards games that would actually see the table.

An interesting twist to the hobby and a contributing factor to the unplayed games conundrum (and one that is rarely mentioned) is that one does not simply play a game. Unlike a stamp collection, a game collection requires other participants to enjoy. In order to play most games* one has to pull together a group, teach them a game and then set off on that journey together. And since people are notoriously prone to leading their own lives, this can prove to be difficult.

The reason a lot of games go unplayed is because it's difficult to actually get them played. I have a lot of compassion for the game enthusiast who has trouble herding or finding a group of people willing to sit down and engage in all the esoteric shit it takes to get a game played.

And honestly, like a stamp collection, there is an aesthetic pleasure to a game that goes beyond, or is adjacent to, play. They are beautiful to look at, to hold, to smell and to enjoy as an object.

Shame is a choice.


*Except for the onanistic practice of solo gaming.