I'm Struggling with this Hobby, Y'all

Man, I'm in such a different place than some of you guys.

29, single. I think I've gotten myself two new games this year, one of which I got on credit for helping at a booth at Origins. I bought my 12-year-old nephew King of Tokyo too. My long time friends aren't as into board games as I am; they prefer computer games these days.

But I still play 1-3 times a week, and often the same games. My Settlers of Catan won't lay flat when you try to join everything together. I bought a set of the Base Cards for Dominion because I wore out my coppers, silvers, and estates so much. I've nearly gone through 2 score pads for 7 Wonders. I've played Dead of Winter close to 20 times. I try to get people to lie to each other in Avalon every chance I get. The only real 'shelf-turds' that I have were well-meaning gifts, or my Heroscape collection which I just can't be bothered to set up and play anymore.

But I waste a lot of time here and on BGG. I rarely post here, but I read quite a bit. Even though I'm pretty connected to 'the hobby' I'm a pretty unfulfilled person right now. A couple years ago we used to host a (decidedly non-gaming) party every 6 weeks and get 20-40 people to show up, but now we struggle to get 15 and everyone's getting engaged, married, or having more kids.

Except me.

Signed copy of Milch und Gherkin with an extra score pad for your Heroscape?

Jexik wrote: ....

Well I met you at Origins this year and you're a swell guy. Stay single. It's the key to happiness.

Michael Barnes wrote: Signed copy of Milch und Gherkin with an extra score pad for your Heroscape?

And there it is. The first crack in the armour.

Michael Barnes wrote: Signed copy of Milch und Gherkin with an extra score pad for your Heroscape?

I actually sold about a grand worth of Heroscape a couple years ago.

This summer one of the two guys I've been living with moved out to live with his girlfriend, and he just let me have all of his 'scape. He makes good money and just doesn't want to deal with what's in that closet. He even told me I could sell it, but I don't think I want to do that. Posts like Jeff's make me re-realize how great a game it is, even if I'm not in a good place to play it right now. It really was a one-time thing. The funny part is that my friend and I collected the game at the same time, and we got different stuff. So now I have all the stuff that I wasn't initially drawn towards. But it's still Heroscape.

I'm pretty close to a deal- master set plus 150 terrain pieces, about 30 additional figures with cards. I'm not even going to tell you what I'm offering on my end. I think it's equitable and fair (I'm also agreeing to pay shipping I excess of $20 since its a 20 lb box), but it is something you can buy at retail and will likely be able to for some time.

Defenders?

Eldritch?

lumberjack game?

O.G.R.E. He's keeping the envelope version.

Jexik, hang tough, brother. I was in a similar situation at one point. Everyone seemed to be getting engaged and what not.

(more heroscape talk moved to the appropriate thread)

stormseeker75 wrote: Front dangle. Don't be silly.

What's toilet paper?

A lot of hobbies have the next big thing, or "GAS" (gear acquisition syndrome), I'm thinking about stuff like A/V enthusiasts, and photography (check forums there, lots of topics, and moans about topics about gear) but none of those things usually require the involvement of other people in the enjoyment. Board games (for the most part) are something you're doing with a group. I'm guessing that when you've got a reliable group, it's easier to find something that works, that you all enjoy.

I'm interested in Fire in the Lake. I don't know if I'll like it, but it looks really good. As things stand, I'll never get to play it- my local scene just doesn't seem to support the kind of players who would go for it. If I throw a bunch of money at buying it, I might convince some people to play it once. #firstworldproblems, I know, but it's still a shame.

JEM wrote: I'm interested in Fire in the Lake. I don't know if I'll like it, but it looks really good. As things stand, I'll never get to play it- my local scene just doesn't seem to support the kind of players who would go for it. If I throw a bunch of money at buying it, I might convince some people to play it once. #firstworldproblems, I know, but it's still a shame.

It's fantastic solo, playing all sides. It also has an intricate bot system but until you internalize the flow charts and decision tree structures it's a bit of a pain.

That both helps, and it doesn't. I'm trying to be more social with games, because I can just play video games on my own. It's back on my potential list now, though.

When Lego says that geekdom/fandom is about consumption he's right. I had family visiting and we did all kinds of fun things, and during about a 5-day stretch I didn't check BGG or F:AT. They're big contributors for my interest in the consumption side of the hobby.

Prior to that I was getting a bit fed up with the number of games we have. I tried to sell one huge lot of games locally (about 50 games) for about $500. It didn't sell before my family started showing up, so I deleted the local for sale post on BGG and it's still sitting there in a pile. During the stretch that my family was here it didn't bother me at all.

While my family was here we didn't play many games. I think there was a game of Bisikle, a little bit of Crokinole, and a couple card games in there. I didn't do the 'gamer' thing and ask anyone what they wanted to play, I just grabbed a game when we were sitting around looking for something to do in conversation lulls. Having a ton of games didn't bother me at all. I recall complaining about the number of games owned making the what-to-play decision tree stressfully large, but this time I just ignored all that crap and grabbed stuff that I knew was dead simple.

Now everybody's gone and I'm back at work. After work I check BGG and F:AT again. I've got a big pile of board games on my floor I still want to sell.

What I'm doing: I've decided to keep selling stuff and whittling down the number of games we own because at this point I'd rather have the space than the games and I'd rather focus on the games I really love than a whole bunch I really like. We haven't been buying any new board games either. Some days I'll probably spend too much time on F:AT, but in general I'm cutting back.

What I recommend: Focus on the parts of the hobby that still interest you and cut out the rest.

When Lego says that geekdom/fandom is about consumption he's right. I had family visiting and we did all kinds of fun things, and during about a 5-day stretch I didn't check BGG or F:AT. They're big contributors for my interest in the consumption side of the hobby. It was refreshing.

someone ring the hospital, I think wadenels displaying early signs of Ahlzeimers