Collecting is an addiction for me. No, strike that…a disease. As contagious as the bubonic plague. I remember that speech given by the team’s psychiatrist in the movie The Natural with Robert Redford as the New York Knights had hit a losing streak and nothing was going right! But, I just replace that word disease with collecting! I have collected many different things throughout my life including baseball cards, comic books, action figures, books and games. My brain likes to organize and categorize and most importantly complete something. Collecting is a good thing, as long as it is done in moderation, but there are also many bad things about it. In this edition of The Love/Hate Relationship, I want you to share what I like about collecting and what I don’t like so much, or maybe more appropriately stated, that doesn’t like me!
Love
I really enjoy the hunt. Looking for a hard to find copy of a game on the interwebs in chat rooms and on message boards on sites like Board Game Geek. Or more likely looking through the website at Noble Knight Games where they have hundreds of thousands of older games that have lovingly been traded in or sold to be placed in a new home. I really do enjoy looking for, finding and then thinking about whether I should part with my hard earned money for another game that I will most likely tell myself that I will play only to find it sitting on my shelf gathering dust. But the hunt is exciting and fun and that is partly why we do hobbies sin the first place is for enjoyment.
I also like to think about the games out there that I do not have and why they are needed in my collection. Not every game is needed on a subject or with a certain mechanic or by a certain designer. Well that isn’t necessarily true as I do have a few designers that I am trying to get all of their games including Mark Herman, Brian Train, Volko Ruhnke and David Thompson. But it is interesting to think about the games that I would like to have in those categories and then go through the exercise of deciding what specific game satisfies that itch for that topic.
Finally, I really do enjoy exploring different subjects, eras and periods. There are so many games out there and there is at least one game for each and every historical subject that you can think of. There are some publishers that are better at the smaller, lesser gamed subjects. For example, High Flying Dice Games really specializes in going out of their way to find unique subjects and then design games around those events. Paul Rohrbaugh has dozens of games on battles that I frankly had never really heard much about until I began looking into his games. A few of my favorite series from them are Battles of the Old Northwest Series and his Vietnam War Series. These are both fantastic wargame series that feature unique battles with highly playable mechanics and good solid components that don’t break the bank.
My favorites in these series have been games such as Kekionga!: A Dark and Bloody Battleground, 1790 that tells the story of one of the first engagements of the newly formed United States Armey in October 1790 after the War for Independence. The campaign had been ordered by President Washington against the Miami settlement of Kekionga located near modern day Fort Wayne, Indiana, the center of Native American resistance to US migration across the Ohio River. This game uses a very simple card war off system where players use a deck of face cards and randomly draw one at the start of each turn to decide who gets to activate and how many units can be activated. Just a great little fast playing and interesting wargame on a lesser gamed subject with fantastic art and counters illustrated by the very talented Nils Johansson. In fact, my experience with this game and with the art has lead me to collect each of the volumes in this series and I don’t feel bad about that fact at all.
Next, I fell in love with another great series and game from Paul in Long Cruel Woman: The Attack on Fire Base Mary Ann, March 28, 1971. This game takes us through the attack on an American Fire Base in Vietnam in 1971, when everyone was starting to look toward the end of the war. One of the most remote American positions was Fire Base Mary Ann, not far from Chu Lai, occupied by elements of the 46th Regiment of the Americal Division. By the last week of March, an ARVN artillery battery had already moved in and the base was to be completely turned-over in early April. However, the local Viet Cong (Communist South Vietnamese) commander saw a growing opportunity during the transition to strike a final blow against the Imperialist forces of the US. Deploying the elite 409th Sapper Battalion for the attack, the Communist’s “parting shot” was to remind both the US and ARVN that the war was far from over.
This game is smartly named for the fantastic song Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress sung by The Hollies. I loved this game and still have it in my collection along with several others in the series. These are games that I thought about, looked into, read several reviews and ultimately took the plunge and purchased. I am really grateful for the desire to explore new publishers and topics and how this can deepen and broaden my experience with history and wargaming.
Collecting wargames can be a really great thing and there is a lot to like in the hobby. But, as with all things in life there are things that I don’t like.
Hate
One of the things that I hate about collecting, and in myself as an avid collector, I hate feeling the need to get the next volume. I have the desire to be a completionist and collect each and every bit of the series that I like. I just cannot help myself! Whether those volumes are good or not, well thought of or not, even available or not. There are times that I sit on my couch, just looking at that blank space on my shelf in between volumes of a series that I really enjoy and just salivate over the chance to find and acquire that one last game to complete my collection! This was the case with the COIN Series. I had every volume with the exception of Volume II Cuba Libre. Each time I would pass by this section of my collection, I felt the tractor beam of that missing volume. I would ignore those feelings and tell myself that it was good enough that Alexander had a copy and that I could play it anytime I wanted with him. But, that only lasted for so long until one day Alexander presented me with my very own copy. As I placed it on the shelf in its rightful and proper place, I can tell you that I had an immense feeling of satisfaction and frankly felt complete. The desire to collect is real and I am currently in therapy to address this concern….but it isn’t helping!
One other thing I hate about collecting is the cost. Let’s face it, wargames have gotten a bit pricey! With printing and shipping costs increasing, as well as the quality of components and art improving, it is not uncommon to spend nearly $100 on a big wargame. And there is an opportunity cost to that expenditure as well as that is money that I cannot spend on other things. Other things like bills, including the mortgage, outstanding student loans, car payments, weekly groceries and other necessities of life. Collecting is not for the faint of heart nor the financially challenged as the addiction can put your life in real jeopardy in more ways than one. How many of us have not impulsively pushed that buy button to acquire the next needed game without thinking about the consequences? Is there enough funding in my account left to pay the bills? Do I really need that game? Will my wife kill me after she finds out? Do I even have enough space on my shelves to store it? Do I already own that game and just cannot recall? All great questions that should be asked by each of us as we consider buying the next high. I would also suggest that the most important question is regarding your spouse and their reaction to your purchase so keep your priorities straight will ya! I do not want to be the cause of any marital difficulties here.
In the end, we each have our own crosses to bear and have to make up our minds about what type of collector we are. We have to have priorities and truly think about whether we need the game we are about to purchase or not. But that is part of the fun about collecting and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
A few months ago, I wrote a summary of my collection including a categorization of the games by historical periods, player count, publishers, etc. and you can read that at the following link:
Please let me know your thoughts on collecting and what you love and hate about it. I am dying to hear your opinions on the matter as I need a good laugh today.
-Grant
The Players' Aid 
I have always held the view that board war games are like interactive books. The designers and developers are just like book authors. They do the research and tell the story. My dad had a large collection of books, and if he liked a book and he had it in soft back he would buy it in hardback. It’s kind of similar to board war games if you have a game with a paper map versus a game with a hard mounted map, lol. Anyway, after a while, if you continue to make purchases in books or board war games, you’ll start to get a large collection. About 5 years ago, I started to get audio books as opposed to regular physical copies of books. Currently I am finishing up my 99th audiobook, and all of it is stored on my phone. Audible is my audiobook choice for content. As far as war games go, I count a series of games as just one game. For example old school tactical, I have all the base games and all the expansions, but as far as my collection goes, that is one game. My game collection just crossed the 200 game mark. I think I’m at 202. It’s a lot of games and a lot of space. As you said in your comments, it represents a big financial chunk of money! At least to me it does, because I’m not sitting on a pile of money in my life! Lol. I have bills to pay and financial responsibilities that pertain to a family and life in general. I also live in a relatively small modest home. For me the biggest consideration with my collection of war games, is space. Money is always a financial consideration, just like anything else you spend money on, and one must spend wisely. Anyone who’s a wargamer probably knows who Marco omni-gamer is. His game collection grew to such a large extent, that he basically built a barn behind his home, to store his games in. I can neither afford to build a barn behind my home, nor do I wish to have my collection grow so large that I would need to do that! Lol! There’s that phrase that you can’t see the forest for the trees, but to my way of thinking, if my game collection gets too big I’ll have the opposite problem. My forest will be so big, that I’ll start to not be able to see or find the individual trees (games). I used to watch a lot of the Dice Tower with Tom Vassal. I liked his approach to his game collection. He used to put a cap on his collection at 100 games. If he had 100 games and he wanted to add one, then he had to subtract one to do it. I thought that was a pretty good idea. I’m at the point that I’m probably going to start to do something similar to that. I think everybody has to make decisions based on their own personal situation. In my case money is a consideration, but space is a problem. Everyone has their own set of circumstances, but we all face some of the same questions! The pros and cons of having a hobby/collection! Lol! Good article!
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Thanks Robert. I like your thoughts in comparing books with games. In fact, in other language I have seen the word author used consistently in place of designer for wargames. Space for me is always the number one problem as I only have so much and the wife gets upset when it begins creeping out from that space.
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Well, I think I sometimes feel just like you Grant. Especially, when I start to collect specific games – like author or series – I need to have to complete. Still, recently I started to sell part of my collection because I simply did not have space to keep all those volumes! That was painful but necessary – but than I got myself excused for obtaining some more great, fresh stuff!
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Nice. Parting with any game is a real challenge for me but last year I paired my collection down by trading in nearly 180 games to Noble Knight Games. This gave me tons of store credit to purchase additional games so it is a bit of a vicious cycle.
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I believe this is right thing to do. Because there is a prize at the end – new games!
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Borrowing from last commentator the book analogy is a good one. For example if I wanted to learn more about the Normandy campaign in WWII I could play an ASL scenario to get an idea about the tactical level of the battle. For a bigger view there is Mark Simonitch’s Normandy ’44 or even bigger I have the AH monster “The Longest Day” hanging on a wall. The strategic view can be captured by something like “World at War” or AH “3R. There are books from individual soldiers that focus on their personal experiences all the way up to books from historians that deal with the entire war.
One of my favorite authors is Alistair Horne. His book “The price of Glory Verdun 1916” really piqued my interest in that battle. I discovered the game “Verdun 1916 Steel Inferno” (thanks to your unboxing video) and found that it really captures the essence of the battle. Robin Hood was a story I enjoyed growing up. I just recently received my copy of “Gest of Robin Hood” and am looking forward to playing it.
There are practical reasons for having a good sized collection. Sometimes a game finishes sooner than expected and you have an hour or two before the wife kicks everyone out. We can break out Undaunted or an old favorite ” Up Front” to finish the session. If someone brings a friend or we have a late cancellation there are plenty of options regardless of the number of gamers.
Now for the downside of collecting. The three main concerns are space, money and time. I have two large bookcases that hold my collection. This is not enough space and I have been slowly spreading games and game related material around the house. This will be an issue once the wife discovers the hidden treasures. Although when that happens space will no longer be an issue as I will be sleeping in the tool shed.
I am old enough to remember buying wargames for twelve dollars. Although my brain understands that is it no longer 1977 and everything costs more there is still a part of me that cannot fathom paying fifty dollars for a game. Don’t get me started on movie ticket prices!
I recently retired so I thought at last I will have time for all my games. That did not happen mostly because now there more responsibilities around the house which I happily accept. Getting the yard in shape after years of neglect has taken up a lot of my time. Also I have other hobbies such hitting golf balls not in a straight line and have started painting miniatures.
Thank you for a great article and your videos(even though they end up costing me a pretty penny)!
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Thanks for sharing. Great comments.
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Won’t rehash things I posted prior. I have known much of how you feel about hobby collecting–both good and bad. I think the wisdom of getting a little older and the necessity of prioritizing life’s demands allowed me to get over the hump of always feeling the gravitational pull of buying every next thing. Will I ever be totally “cured”? Probably not…but I don’t feel controlled by it anymore.
“If it brings you joy, keep it. If it doesn’t, thank it then let it go. Letting go is even more important than adding. “
–Marie Kondo
popular organizational/tidying guru
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Its funny, we call it collecting because we have a “game collection” but sticking with the book comparison it really is a game library (and in that vein, its not unlike a DVD (or streaming movie) library or “book collection” (ie library).
Regardless of how you look at it, most hobbyists (regardless of hobby) tend to “collect” things. Quilters probably own pounds of fabric that they don’t know what they are going to use it for, car enthusiasts probably have all kinds of weird spare parts in their garage or special tools, wood workers have tons of scrap and lots of hardware sitting around without a specific project. The point is – it’s your hobby do it whatever way makes you happy (within reasonable constraints of budget and/or space). My goodreads.com book list of want to read books is a couple hundred books. I keep adding to it when I see recommendations from people I know. Not really all that different with games – my want to [acquire/trade for/play] list on BGG is pretty similar. The only real difference is I can get books from the library (digitally) – for most of the games I’ve gravitated to, I won’t ever get that chance, so I’ll have to actually get them physically (or just dream about them). And I do want to play them, but having an opponent and the actual time needed to learn and then try them out still often alludes me.
Additionally, I think a lot of us love the idea that our collection is more than just our favorite games, but a unique “library” and if we hosted a random game day that any ten gamers could find great games to play. I’d like to say that this goes away over time, but for me the games have just changed from family games and all euros to games I’d either solo or play with specific folks rather than worrying about people who might “one day” come play games.
And hey! Yeah we have OCD when it comes to completing some series and not others (I know you do – you own COUNTER CLIPPERS that cost as much or more than a lot of games). Again, nothing wrong with it – it’s your library. My COIN library is missing games, but I’ve decided I’m ok with it since the likelihood of my playing ALL of my current copies with real humans is like nil.
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I got the collectors bug many many years ago but quickly decided that it was completly pointless and gave up. Although I still have more games than I need and many will never see the gaming table again I try and follow “a one in one out” method. Therefore either before I buy a game, or soon afterwards, I have to try and get rid of one, not always successful though. In some cases I have very quickly sold a game when I realised it wasn’t for me (GMT’s Downfall being the most recent example).
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Great article Grant!
I fell into the collection trap a few years ago. I was buying and picking up games that I thought that I wanted. Then I realized that I was not playing any of my games, as I was too busy spending time trying to acquire more.
I am a pretty minimal type guy for the most part and my wife pointed out one day, that she was seeing new games arrive, but I was not playing any of them. (she could care less, she was just making an observation) I realized that I did not even have a game set up at the time.
She had brought up a good point and I decided to to focus more on playing that collecting. It has raised my happiness levels with gaming to an all time high! I now get to play and enjoy the games that I do have. I have purged many titles that were only collecting dust to make room for the games that I like to PLAY! It has been a game changer.
I am not throwing shade on those that collect. As the saying goes “you do you!” however for me, I have never enjoyed the hobby more than I have recently. I have two games set up on the table and playing a few more in Vassal! There are some great games out there, I just wish more folks got to experience them, instead of staring at them on a book shelf.
Keep up the great work!
Jerry
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Thanks Jerry. Playing is definitely better than collecting. When I pick up a new game, or an old game that is new to me, my goal is to get it played. While we are very busy with new games we are finding more time to bring out an oldie but a goodie more often and getting through titles that we have had on the shelf for a few years.
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Sorry Grant, I don’t think anyone is a complete Brian Train completist, even Brian Train. It’s futile to try! But enjoy what brings you pleasure, without guilt.
Brian
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Hahaha. I’ll keep trying.
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Please do!
More and more of my stuff is available for free or cheap PnP; I’m a cheaper date then David Thompson!
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I’ve had my share of collections. And I need to downsize in the next 2 years before I move. At this point I would love to sell almost all of my
comics and 50% of my graphic novels. Also many books (to be fair, many that I want to rid myself of are my wife’s and she is institutionalized and I never know. I’m not sure about the slot car sets. And the many war games. Fortunately the only completist instinct for me now is to have the entire Vento Nuovo collection and even there only 1 edition per title and no neoprene maps for the Block in series because I don’t have a table large enough for them.
I now see my collecting games from my high school and college days having been a detriment to my mental health, or perhaps a sign of problems. Too much money, not enough room. I greatly hurt my mobility after college, especially because my father sold his house, so no place to put them. So the games traveled with me across the North American continent twice and eventually most sold a few years later at a low price.
My father was a collector, he had to suddenly move due to health problems and I had to do a quick garage sale of almost all of his books (many out of date technical books), 4 of his 5 PCs (l990s), and hundreds if not thousands of model airplane kits, most in unopened boxes. My son has a large collection of boardgames (not war-games), graphic novels, legos, and figurines. He and his roommate are running out of wallspace. But he is much better than me in that he sells parts of his collections. And while I doubt he has made a profit he did sell a single Pokemon card for $1,500, so he keeps his eyes on the market and sells what he no longer wants. Unfortunately my graphic novel collection has grown from A. what he has returned to me and B. what he has given me.
So I admit that part of my problem might be genetic and definitely ODC. I am trying to evaluate “what gives me joy” and parts of my collection doesn’t. But I still feel like Golem and “my precious.”
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Rohrbaugh produced some pretty good games on Vietnam which I’m always interested in as a veteran of that conflict.
This particular one was extremely interesting as it was a good simulation of an attack on an American fire base.
The one issue I had with it was it reinforced the stereotype (in some circles) of inept, druggie American soldiers ( unfortunately corrrect in this specific case).
Cheers.
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You guys have wives??? ; ) Just kidding.
I used to be a collector myself but gave up once I recognized the stupidity and pointlessness of it. Since then I feel so much better, relieved, matured, healed and freed. My life just got a 100% better! I only realized afterwards that I was a broken kid, now I’m a happy man.
It’s like giving up alcohol or drugs, after all collecting IS an addiction, a serious mental condition.
When people say “There’s nothing wrong about it” or other self-assuring delusions, most of them don’t realize that this very statement is formed by your “infected” mind and nothing but a symptom of being sick with being a collector. Not to see it for the illness it is.
I know you will find my words very irritating (to put it mildly) UNTIL you get rid of your condition that is collecting. After that you will agree with me 100%.
I urge you to do the huge leap and finally break on trough to the other side, to a life without burden. You will find that it’s only for your own benefit and far beyond the realm of your collecting world. Almost every other aspect of your life will improve as well! I know it’s hard to believe NOW, but I kid you not, it’s soooooo worth it.
✌️
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Not irritated at all. Thanks for sharing. Also I’ve been happily married for nearly 29 years and she is great.
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