Culling the Game Collection

 “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

The West End Games Star Wars Roleplaying Game shelf.

I am a pack rat. I hate sorting through my stuff and deciding to get rid of any of it, whether to trade, donate, recycle, or trash. Especially books and games, which hold an almost sacred significance for me. But lately, for various reasons, I’ve found myself more closely examining books and games acquired over the years. Many still have sentimental meaning; many still provide a sense of wonder and joy when revisiting them; many remain relevant to my writing and game design interests as inspiration and reference material. Yet some, probably more than I’m willing to admit, do not. Their luster has faded, my interests have moved along, or I’ve kept them despite their never really having measured up to my expectations or needs. So this year I’ve reluctantly embarked on a campaign to cull my book and game collections...for which I have outlined a general rationale; nothing hard-and-fast, but some flexible conditions under which I’m willing to part with items in my collection.

I’m focusing on tabletop games here — board games, wargames, roleplaying games — because I’ve culled my book library, both fiction and non-fiction, quite a bit over the years. And because I consider different criteria for parting with books and games. In reviewing the factors I consider for getting rid of games, I found myself instead finding a rationale for those I wanted to keep, a list of “keeper considerations.” Any that didn’t fit into these categories are more likely to find their way off my shelves:

Personal Nostalgia: I’m loathe to part with any game from my earliest days in the hobby, from high school and college. These include my earliest roleplaying game materials for Dungeons & Dragons, other TSR boxed games, Traveller, Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon, Das Schwarze Auge, Tunnels & Trolls, and James Bond 007: Role-Playing in Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I’ve kept my Avalon Hill wargames from all those years ago; they were really my first introduction to wargames and the only ones I could find at my local hobby store in those early years. I don’t have many board games from this period; this was well before the Eurogame and board game renaissance of the mid-late 1990s and onward. Though I still have a board game version of the Royal Game of Ur I found at a neighborhood tag sale. Most games from this time saw frequent play back then and occasional revisits in my later adult life, too.

Frequent Play: I’m keeping anything I’ve played and enjoyed several times, including extended campaigns for roleplaying games. This includes a great deal of overlap with the “personal nostalgia” category, but also features some game I discovered in my early adulthood: the Star Wars Roleplaying Game (obviously), Cyberpunk 2020, and Space 1889. Board games and wargames also feature heavily in this category, especially those I’ve played with my son, who rotates through a small but often changing menu.

Classic: I don’t want to get rid of any games considered classics, either in the industry’s estimation and my own. Most core Eurogame titles I own aren’t going anywhere, even if I’ve not played them much. I’ve acquired numerous wargames — beyond my collection of Avalon Hill titles — I’d consider classics, like really early Avalon Hill games and various versions of Axis & Allies (found at a flea market for a steal). Most of my earlieset roleplaying games also fall into this category...though as I mentioned above, they’re not going anywhere.

Key Subject: Games covering a personally engaging genre or media property stick around unless they’re really terrible as games. This includes the numerous historical periods that interest me (and a few in which I dabble) and those based on films, television shows, and literature I liked. People’s tastes change over time and experience; I’ve realized some game subjects that intrigued me years ago no longer really hit the mark. Some of these get pushed over the edge into the “culled” category if they also do not fulfill my “frequent play” parameter above.

Solitaire: I’ve always liked solo games of any kind, even from my earliest days, because they allow me to indulge in my adventure gaming hobby without relying on the caprice of other humans who need convincing (and often scheduling) to join a group game. I’ve often sought out solitaire games catering to my interests and I’m increasingly using the solitaire suitability factor when I consider new games to acquire. This category, however, is also subject to other factors above; but generally a solo game has to be amazingly awful for me to ditch it.

Special Finds: Over the years certain products or game lines captivated my interest and became “holy grails” of sorts. Classic D&D and Traveller books I never acquired in my youth. Really early Avalon Hill titles like Gettysburg, Midway, and Tactics II (pre-bookshelf game format). Anything related to Empire of the Petal Throne and Tékumel. Entertaining novelties like Ace of Aces. These also include games relying on collectible elements that have come and gone, whose expansions require an often grail-like quest; notably the first edition of the X-wing Miniatures Game and Star Trek: Attack Wing. I’d also include some of the foreign-language titles I own, though I expect some of these might come off the shelves depending on other factors.

I have worked hard to inure myself against keeping games just because they were gifts. My extremely few gift-giving friends rarely know what’s in my collection — or what I’ve passed along — nor are they always aware of my gaming tastes at a particular moment. Friends naturally want to share things they love with others, but one must also realize that everyone’s tastes vary. I appreciate their efforts and generosity, but at this time I just can’t hang onto a game because someone gave it to me; it must satisfy one of my reasons for keeping it listed above. And I regret I’ve traded in several games. I also have to condition myself to part with Kickstarter games I backed but which, ultimately, didn’t satisfy enough of the aforementioned criteria to keep.

Most of the games I’ve culled in the past year or so did not fulfill any of the criteria outlined above for games to keep. I know what I like and I know what’s provided me enjoyment in the past (and what still will in the future). I’ve not fully purged my shelves, but now and then, when I look at the game shelves, I spot something that makes me think twice about keeping it. The considerations above represents my personal criteria for keeping or culling games at this particular moment in my life. As always, your mileage may vary, but I hope by outlining my rationale others might take the time to reflect and find some inspiration for their own efforts should the time come.

Once I’ve decided to cull a game from my collection I must decide where to send it. I feel guilty throwing away books, even more so games. I’m naturally inclined to try trading books and games in at regional used book stores in the hopes they’ll garner enough credit for me to find something interesting among their shelves. This has become less viable as an option lately. Such establishments have their own criteria for accepting and paying for various media and subjects...and it’s becoming rare my trades offer any reasonable recompense (from my perspective). Trade credit is only as good as that store’s selection of used materials...and lately the various book categories, games, and DVDs that interest me have dwindled.

With books, DVDs, and similar media the regional used bookstore proves the easiest option; but with games I have learned to use another resource. I’ve found secondary marketplaces like Noble Knight Games provide rewarding trade and shopping experiences, even if they require a bit more time to inventory my list and submit it for consideration before shipping it. Unlike the regional used book store, where I rarely find materials I want, places like Noble Knight Games allow me to maintain wish lists for new and used merchandise...often exactly what I’m looking for.

Of course I’m always adding to my collections, though not at such a steady rate as before, mostly due to economic uncertainties of our current times. I often astound myself that I trade in a box of games and, with that trade credit, walk away with a much smaller pile. And that’s fine when it means I get something that engages and satisfies me in the here and now.

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers”.

— Amelia Earhart