Che Webster

Why Buy Another Game?

The other day, in conversation with some friends online, I asked, “Given that we only really need one set of game rules, why do we continue to buy new games?” The answers were interesting and revealing, causing me to reflect deeply on my own reasons for accumulating the huge collection I own.

I began buying RPGs back at the beginning, having played some Traveller and stolen my Dad’s copy of RuneQuest. I asked for D&D for either Christmas or a birthday (and got bought 1983 Red Box), and I think I was bought Star Frontiers too (1984). I remember I bought Palladium Fantasy and Rolemaster for myself with saved up pocket money.

Buy why? Originally, I was curious about what different games offered in terms of new worlds and new rules. I wanted more realism (this was a subject of repeated discussion) and I saw less abstraction and more concrete rules as the way to achieve that. Of course, I was a kid and didn’t know anything (I still don’t).

When I went to Uni, I didn’t have much money so I didn’t buy much. I largely lost track of the market place over those 3 or 4 years. Once I got a job and had more money then the collecting started in earnest. I think I was mostly wanting to spend my earnings on something I enjoyed. I loved reading the books, so I bought lots of books.

And the habit was formed in those years: if I saw a curious-looking RPG product, I would buy it and read it. If I liked it, I would collect everything for that game system. Once I had established the collection, I would momentarily pause to marvel at the achievement before picking up the next cool-looking game.

For about four years, I collected and read RPG books. I didn’t play much, if at all. I would create characters and run solo combat scenes from time to time but it was not like modern solo play. I was picking around the edges of the hobby, soaking up the culture from the pages but never immersing in the actual play.

That changed in 1998 when I joined a gaming club and then formed my own gaming group. We played Alternity and then we played D&D 3e. In between, we played loads of other games for one-shots or short-run abortive campaigns. By this time, the collecting was feverish and the habit became buy the book, collect the whole system, play it once, abandon it, repeat.

I became increasingly aware that I had no clue how to run a campaign. I’d try something but I’d make a mistake, feel self-conscious, stop prepping, and kill the game. I’d move on with renewed hope but mess up, feel bad, lose hope, and stop. I’ve been doing that cycle far too often for more than 20 years.

As I slowed and almost stopped the buying / reading cycle over the course of the past few months, I have been feeling more and more disconnected. Uncertain as to why I have all these books, I have given many away. But I still have no clue what to do with the remainder.

It all started with a deeply immersive gaming experience. I’ve been trying to recapture it and improve on it ever since. Maybe one day I’ll figure out how to play.

Game on!

8 comments

  1. I’d like to say that I don’t buy too many rpg books, but then I look around at my shelves. 😉 To be fair I’ve been in the hobby almost since the beginning, but still. There are tons of games I’m not interested in, tons of settings and tons of adventures that can go pound sand. But OTOH there are games that just capture my fancy, and since I’ve watched products become scarce and grow into unobtainium, I am sometimes guilty of picking up most if not all of a line that I think I might run. The bottom line is that there aren’t enough hours in the day, or years left in my allotted span, so I’ve definitely tossed a lot of money down the ol’ garbage chute. Nowadays when I’m tempted I just stall and procrastinate before making the purchase. Often I can eventually shrug and let it go without spending anything. But obviously, not often enough…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Perception is reality, and so beauty (and campaign quality) mainly lie in the perceptions of others. I find this to be both settling and unsettling. Taken democratically, however, if those others want to keep playing the campaign must seem worth it to them~

    As for building a library… Hope is a powerful motivation, and so is curiosity!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  6. I’ve never been a collector really. I do end up buying games I’ll never run though, to mine for ideas, details, and procedures that I can steal for my games. Having a library is a resource. Something you take, even unconsciously, from one game can enhance your games in another system.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. I think you answered your own question: it becomes a habit. We like to collect things, the new shiny. See if the grass is really greener. And I’d also add that sometimes we have more money than sense. Which is great if you’re an RPG publisher.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. I went a bit mad during COVID and bought a whole heap of RPGS that I’ll never play; starfinder, traveller, talisman

    but over the last twenty years or so I’ve also bought loads of games that I wanted to, or thought I wanted to play, but nowt came of it.

    3rd edition, 4th edition, 4th edition gamma world as well as some older games, corgi books T&T, red box D&D etc

    All passed on to better homes for want of use

    I’d give away my Pathfinder rule book but no-one wants it 😳

    Two exceptions,

    firstly since I got into Castles and Crusades a few years back the rulebooks I bought get opened nearly everyday in the creation of content for my players and

    secondly, my old games from the 80s: dragon warriors, dragonroar and games workshops judge Dredd RPG. I might not play them anymore but those three games I will insist be buried with me when I’m gone 😆

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Liam Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.