How To Keep A Lean Board Game Collection

[@jamierufe]

I really appreciated this video - I've personally adopted several strategies to keep my collection nice and lean: 1. Only own games that I can't access via my gaming groups or local gaming shops 2. Only own games my most favorite games or games that I LOVE to play 3. If I buy a game and don't absolutely love it after 2 or 3 plays, it's OUT. 4. Limit my collection size to under 40 or 50 games 5. Take a hard look at games that I haven't played in over 6-12 months 6. When a new game enters the collection, evaluate if there are any games I should get rid of

[@AlwayzFresh]

Some fantastic heard lessons learned here. Cheers and thank you very much for the insight.

[@Twineandribbon]

"This is a follow up to a video I haven't done yet." HAAHHAAH :D

[@CaseyNordell]

"If we're going to self-optimize in a game, why can't we self-optimize in real life?"... this is a question I've been struggling with lately. A new game I will organize, develop a storage system for, and take care of it. That second bedroom closet of junk, not so much. Perhaps I need to game-ify my life a bit more.

[@BoardGameCo]

The problem is you're playing it solo...you need it to be a competitive game :)

[@WeAreSoPredictable]

I think the mental overheads of trying to maintain a good working knowledge of rules for too many games is a great point, and easy to overlook. I've recently been considering offloading Level 7: Omega Protocol, not because it's a bad game, and not even because I don't think I can get it to the table with my group, but because it's a game with _a lot of rules_ whose balance relies on getting those rules right. Having to start over from scratch each time and go through the whole rulebook to make sure I'm not missing any of those little (but important) bits and pieces of rules is an exhausting, boring prospect, but I can't get it to the table often enough to keep it fresh in my mind. So it's standing on thin ice right now in my collection! :) Personally, the biggest and most helpful rule for creating a better collection (it's pretty small still, but it's growing while staying high-quality) I concluded was to pick 1 best-in-class game for each genre or class of game, whether that's to buy or to keep. There's room for exceptions for certain genres, but as a rule I've stuck to 1 party game, 1 social deduction game, 1 hidden movement game, 1 dungeon crawler, etc, and it's made disciplining myself on buying new games (especially on Kickstarter) soooo much easier. Does the game look better than the best-in-class game I already have? Yes: Back it/buy it. No: Avoid it. Having such a simple buy strict rule keeps me from going too crazy, and guides me to what I should be looking for next.

[@BoardGameCo]

I agree with the concept while giving myself room for more than 1 in each genre. But yes, I do limit in genres, the more competition, the better it has to look. Plus I account for player count.

[@immaculateboy]

Really well spoken and some great points. I recently sold a ton of games that were just taking up shelf space because frankly I was tired of feeling guilty looking at all these unplayed games. It's so hard for me to find people that enjoy the types of games I'm into so I decided to sell those multiplayer games that I just wasn't feeling and have begun to fashion a smaller, beefier collection of fun solo board games. Yes, there are times I regret letting some of those games go because they had such a great theme, but then I reflect on the fact that all the time I had those beautiful, shiny games the amazing theme wasn't enough to get it to the table even once and I don't want to go back to those feelings of guilt because they go unused. Anyway -- great points and I agree: if you're on the fence about a game, just get rid of it. You'll feel better for it.

[@bjj_9925]

What games you regret letting go? I'm curious now

Hi @BoardGameCo, I know that you have like two or three more videos about trimming/pruning your board collection. Could you make a playlist grupping this and those on it? I tried to view them again but I don't remember how they are titled

[@christianbank393]

This is probably the most inspirational culling video I've watched, very good points! still hard to do though. thanks!

[@BoardGameCo]

Come to the dark side. We have fewer games, but we play the best ones more often!

[@quibily]

I'm very passionate about minimalism, so as I've been getting into the board gaming hobby over the past two years, I've been trying lots of games out with apps, on free sites, and with friends/at cafes--and if I still love the game after ten plays, I'll buy the box. I currently have 16 games, and I don't think I want to exceed 30 games (excluding expansions). I know this seems strict--and yes, I miss out on many games that don't have digital or online ports or that aren't available to me locally--but, honestly, if I don't know I'm missing out, it won't bother me! I'm enjoying, mostly, the best of the best. Just, a few years later.

[@BoardGameCo]

"if I don't know I'm missing out, it won't bother me!" - 100%

[@stormtwo-spirits5662]

Good tips, thanks. I'm barely scrapping 50 games, counting expansions, in my fledgling collection. I've already traded four + 1 expansion and have another 8 games on the chopping block, look for another trade proposal soon ; ) None of my games I rated lower than 7 but to me in this golden age of board gaming, a 7 is mediocre imo. Those are the ones I'm prone to trading. I would be hard pressed to trade an 8 rating or above. I try to stay away from impulse buying and watch several game reviews and play throughs before acquiring it. Having said that I did blunder into the hobby at the beginning with gems like Fallen City of Karez, which I still rate a 7, but only after I had to do some surgical tweaking to the rules, like end game scoring and specifically the immigration part of the game. Keep these vids coming. A very refreshing change from the typical gaming videos out there, but I still love watching them all.

[@BoardGameCo]

Agreed, I used to tell people that anything above a 7 on BGG was worth playing...but now if it's below a 7.8 I'm already slightly critical, and below a 7.5 I need a bunch of good reviews from people I trust to counter that.

[@ScoobyNoobyNoob]

Great topic! Never hear this from reviewers and their collection. Culling is great, but no one goes into philosophy or motivation on ‘lean and mean’. Thanks for the video.

[@heroicskeleton1566]

I have around 100 games and my shelves are pretty full. I'd rather cull out the "just okay" games than buy more shelves at this point. I really like the idea of only keeping the ones that I truly love. I don't really mind if I can't realistically get it to the table, if I really like the game I don't mind that. It's looking at the games that I've never played, or don't want to play that bothers me.

[@davidpepin3017]

I started to buy board games again. The last one I had bought before was Dark World (back in 1991, at 11years old), but I have always loved playing them. Some of my best memories are of playing HeroQuest with friends. As of now, I have mage knight Ultimate Edition, gloomhaven+Expension+Jaws of the lion, Aeon's End+All expensions, Friday, Deckbox Dungeon, Descent, Robinson Crusoe, Spirit Island, Goblivion, Dinoblivion, Wasteland Express, Doom, Dark World and HeroQuest. I think I have enough to always have something to play. I may buy more at some point, but I think that if I have too much games, each one would feel less special and I think I would play less, I know that sounds odd. Btw, sorry for my bad english, still learning!

[@BoardGameCo]

You're doing great :)

[@george_castle]

All eager, newb board gamers should watch this video before they forget why they started this hobby to begin with. Great video!

[@raquellee8985]

Really appreciate these tips as I try to keep me shelf trim. Sadly, most of the games I’ve recently culled have been small (Metro X, Pentaquark), then I just got The Magnificent. Fewer games but taking more space 🙄.

[@BoardGameCo]

Lol, I feel that....Oathsworn.

[@garylangford6755]

Here cause you mentioned it in your latest video. Wow you’ve improved heaps!

[@garylangford6755]

Video is still great! All points still valid

[@BoardGameCo]

Lol thanks :)

[@christiankroner2965]

I totally agree with your second advice. I had to sell cash n guns because I never had a group of people who would like to play it. After two years of being in my shelf and never been played I sold it

[@BoardGameCo]

Yup, those games make me the saddest....but we have time, maybe someday....

[@wingabouts]

Was this video made without having your coffee? 💞 I've never heard you speak so slow... I played it at 1.5 speed just so it sounded like the real Alex. ☺ Great tips, I got to 150 games about a year ago and today I'm at 107. This includes ks games still pending. I think my goal is about 75. Right now I'm holding on to about 15 games I have almost zero desire to ever play, but my family enjoys them so they stay (for now). One of my best culling tips would be to make a list of games you own and track what you actually play. Knowing that a game was not tabled in 18 months can make it much easier to remove. I also made significant head way by listing all the various themes and mechanisms and then putting games into those categories. It was fine to put a single game in several categories. Carcassonne is tile laying, euro, and area control. You can use bgg to help with this list. The next step is to see which categories are bloated - for me it was space themes and euros - then work to eliminate the bottom of the barrel from each of those groups. Next look at the lower categories (like party games or abstract for me) and you may realize you pretty much have no desire to keep any of those games; if so, make a mental note to never buy another game in those categories, regardless of the bling and the hype! But by all means, avoiding mediocrity is rule #1. Thanks for all the work you've done here on your channel to help me grow (and shrink into) having a truly great collection of games. 💞

[@goon5544]

I started about a year ago, and already built up a nice collection. I have room for more, but I'm being more selective now that I got a good base. It's not out of control yet so not planning to sell anything, but definitely raising the bar because there's just too many to catch them all.

[@DavidSupina]

I have about 115 board games and I am close to running out of space, and I think I will soon go to a one in, one out system.

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep.... At a certain point we all have to.

[@BlimpMcGee]

I see this being applicable if you have run out of space and if you have a way to play test games before buying them.

[@aonline_abridged]

I am the edge between collector and gamer, I do always have something on sale, and I'm more vigilant with big box kickstarters but in general I own way more than I play and I make it a point to play each game once before selling, the only exception has been Nemesis.

[@professorpipe3270]

Great video, and a great message, but I felt as if the first half of the video (up through tip #3) was more a treatise on Why to keep a lean collection, rather than How.

[@nishant_kumar]

When you said the point about Captain Sonar, I immediately thought of the copy I bought from Boardgameco that's just waiting for 8 players :) Unfortunately, I have a lot of inertia when I think of getting rid of games.

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep...I keep trying to justify getting it for that one time we happen to have 8. But so far I've managed to hold off.

[@danpeck8854]

@@BoardGameCo And I feel exactly the same...

[@jvolt8273]

Don't wait for 8 players! I did; wasn't worth it. Give it a go with 2v2. Much better. :)

[@fagelhd]

@@jvolt8273 really? It waits in my shelf for a while, but if thats the case i may give it a try

[@dragonzord6615]

Captain sonar is such an awesome example of your second point. My close friend has had a copy of it for 3 years and it's still in the wrap simply coz you can't organise 8 people to play it. I'm struggling to get rid of Conan, coz it cost me $200AUD and I've only played it once and it was just so average :(

[@CR3B3L]

I really like worker placement games, but I barely have 1 other friend that likes them. I've just taken Lords of Waterdeep off my game list. Bittersweet feeling.

[@BoardGameCo]

I remember when I got rid of Lords of Waterdeep. Sad day but no regrets. At one point I thought that would stay forever.

[@peterrabinowitz1723]

re point #1: There was certainly a time, maybe 20 years ago, when we didn't have a lot of games and "good" was definitely good enough. But now-a-days I find we have so many games that I can demand "great". Great strategy but boring table presence? Great components but not enough depth? How about both? (I love you, Santorini!) On other note, something else I find helpful in culling: look for overlap. Game A on it's own may be great, but when I look at my collection as a whole it may be I've got 3 game that are great in the same way. For example, coops. How many coops do I really need? Each one I own may be good enough to keep if I only consider it in isolation. The trick is to imagine it's game night and I feel like playing a coop... which one do I choose? Is it always the same one? In that case, maybe I don't really need the other two. Each game in my collection should serve a purpose. I want to play a game. OK. I want something medium weight. I have 3 players. We feel like area control. OK. That's the itch we're looking to scratch. Do I have multiple games serving this need? Do I need all of them? What I do then is take the pile and look at each one and ask myself if there's a reason I'd ever choose B over A. For every game I own I should be able to answer the question "Why would I choose this one over something else I own?" This is especially helpful if two games are really very similar. Are they different enough, so they scratch different itches, enough to justify owning both? re regret: Yeah, this is just your mind messing with you. I agree it very rarely happens. I can't recall a game trade or sale I later regretted. In fact, the only comparable thing I can think of is I had a giant die-cast Voltron toy when I was a kid. I kept it into my 20's and then I gave it to a co-worker who was super excited to receive it. I regret it now only because of the new Voltron reboot. I imagine my family might have gotten some joy out of it. But the honest truth is they likely wouldn't have gotten as much joy as my co-worker did, so it's probably for the best.

[@BoardGameCo]

100%. Overlap is a big part of my choices. And the few times I've changed my mind and gotten a game back...it hasn't ended up staying the second time either.

[@J-Wheeler-G]

I have 2 problems, one a lot of my games have been gifts from my family (the ones I play with) and it makes me feel ungrateful getting rid of a game they gave me, they probably won't mind but it is just my feeling. The other one is I do not know of any place where I can trade/sell games (don't really want to do eBay/Amazon).

[@BoardGameCo]

For the first problem I hear...that one's up to you. For the second....we trade games :) Just head on over to boardgameco.com

[@J-Wheeler-G]

@@BoardGameCo I already realized that mid video. Thanks though never seen this channel before. Was looking more fore a place I can walk in and do trades but I think I might try with you guys.

[@sawderf741]

I have captain sonar never played it once. I wanted to play it so bad too.

[@mejeg]

Tip 4 is pretty hard imo, not many places near me that will trade, and even less that will offer anything close to reasonable prices. I traded Sentinels of the Multiverse to a local store, they gave me £5 only for me to walk past that store 2 days later and see it on their shelf for £25. I get that they need to make money and I am more than happy for that to be the case, but a 400% mark up really stings and makes it more difficult to sell the next time. If they gave me £15 and sold for £25 thats fine.

[@sawderf741]

Thanks I needed to hear this

[@soulraise]

Have you ever made/published that video for collectors? :D

[@BoardGameCo]

Not yet sadly :( It's still on my list.

[@twinkle04evr]

I get rid of few games and bought a few new ones every year, that's how I keep my collection lean.

[@BoardGameCo]

That's how to do it :)

[@emilykosterman1240]

I have to ask, cause I see you have the trilogy from Uwe…. Do you like Spring meadow, Indian summer, and Cottage Garden? And if so, in what order? I’ve been seriously considering these games and would appreciate a little information. I already own five versions of patchwork, so I know I love Uwe games.😅

[@raduprofeanu6891]

Hi Alex great video! One question about the first rule: how fast or how many tries do you give a game in order to decide if it is great or if it is just good? Case in point I played Mezo 2 times before i actually enjoyed it and deciding on keeping it into the collection ( along side Bloodrage :) ).

[@BoardGameCo]

For me, 1 play is enough. If I'm feeling it, I'll keep trying....but if not I'll reset and move on.

[@astrophe-cat]

Logical arguments - but once you have tried to get back a copy of Chaos of the Old World or Battlestar Galactica at a reasonable price, you experience such an emotional shock that you tend to cling to whatever you have left with your dear life :-)

[@BoardGameCo]

I hear :)

[@DanielEbeck]

This is why CitOW will never leave my collection.

[@BlindsideDork]

I live in a 1 bedroom apartment, you can't always get more shelf space.

[@BoardGameCo]

Fair enough, there's definitely a point when you can't get more shelf space...but the real question is...have you started putting games under the bed yet?

[@c.w.2000]

BoardGameCo I live in 450 sq.ft. There isn't even room under the bed. I haven't tried the fridge, but I suppose it's important to Ziploc so they don't get moisture damage. 😀 Just kidding. I've been in the hobby a little over a year, and I have only purchased about a dozen games (plus about as many apps).

[@BoardGameCo]

@@c.w.2000 Nothing wrong with a good fridge. You can be thematic about it...Sushi Go, Food Chain Magnate, Letter Jam....put all the food themed games in there!

[@DanielEbeck]

I live in a canal Narrowboat. That’s about 350 sq ft, including vital stuff like water tanks and the engine. Space is a big concern.

[@sawderf741]

I have great memories playing risk with my dad but I know it is a pretty bad game so I might ditch it. But Stratego is to stay.

[@mefogus]

How I keep a lean collection? You.

[@BoardGameCo]

That's awesome thank you :)

[@glennmartin6492]

Lesson1: Redefine "lean".

[@BoardGameCo]

Ouch. It hurts.

[@sweatt4237]

Meh, I keep the worst games I own because collecting is the ultimate game. I can't imagine getting rid of good games, but whatever. Put them on ebay and I'll take them off your hands.

[@BoardGameCo]

I hear you. This video only applies if you collect to play...if you collect to collect, then keep at it :)

[@the80thdoctor78]

I have just found a system for me. I binge games until I have played them enough and then give them away. It helps that I play mostly solo. Now the games go without me feeling remorse. It works even with big (soloable) games. KDM, Conflict of heroes, currently LOTR JIME.

[@diamondmeeple]

Define 'lean' :-) 250?

[@BoardGameCo]

In my case it's about 250. Everyone's definition will vary, but mine really boils down to "a collection that is small enough that you are playing most of those games on a yearly basis and you can refresh yourself on the rules in minutes". As someone who logged 700 plays last year, 250 works for that :)

[@diamondmeeple]

@@BoardGameCo I got around 260 games now... but I made a plan 3 years ago... to buy all the games I think will match my taste (or my family's) EVER made. I only lack like 10 now. I will play all and then start culling down. Sadly I lack a regular group and got like 130 games unplayed... Would have been cool to chat live on Skype or Messenger one day. Seems we share the passion.

[@BoardGameCo]

@@diamondmeeple There's still time :)

[@veggieh8r]

I just bought a bigger house. Problem solved.

[@BoardGameCo]

Only if you've also managed to get more time in the year too :) physical space isn't my problem, game time is.

[@sawderf741]

Pente is out

[@SteveOw0]

At first, something seemed wrong with this video, and then I realized what it was: you're talking way too slow! :-)