Gaming Guilt – Maximum Joy Levels
Episode 29, and a discussion with some friends last night brought up this little rant:
Everyone owns more games than they play. I don’t know a single gamer (RPGs, board games, or video games) who has played and fully enjoyed EVERYTHING that they have ever purchased.
And that is okay. We have a weird fixation on “getting value from our games”, and this idea that when we purchase something, we are making a commitment to extract all of the joy from that thing.
In my house we’ve had to institute a new rule: “If you aren’t having fun, stop playing.”
– When a long RPG starts to get kinda boring, don’t push through for 30 hours so you can finish it. Just find something fun.
– When a game never really gels with your group, stop trying to force it on everyone to justify your purchase.
– Don’t feel weighed down by a huge folder of unplayed games. Just enjoy what you enjoy.
– It’s okay to be excited about new things, even if you haven’t played EVERY SINGLE ONE of your old things.
Let’s all take a deep breath, and just try to have fun today, right now, with our friends. Those other games will still be around if we decide to play them 10 years from now.
This is where the world of online gaming shines. You have access to a world wide pool of gamers to find like minded individuals. You should never shoehorn you local group into playing something to justify your purchase.
My motto is buy what you like or want to try and then find players. If it sucks, quit playing it.
This is where the world of online gaming shines. You have access to a world wide pool of gamers to find like minded individuals. You should never shoehorn you local group into playing something to justify your purchase.
My motto is buy what you like or want to try and then find players. If it sucks, quit playing it.
I like this. I think I would add that “quitting” on a campaign doesn’t = failure, necessarily. Take some time to say what WAS fun about the game and put that in your good memory hopper, then move on. Don’t regret all the stuff that wasn’t cool or the stories you didn’t tell. Hemingway used to stop writing mid-sentence, that way when he sat down the following day to write he would complete the sentence and be off! No blank page syndrome. I think having unfulfilled desires is just a form of preparation for the next game.
I like this. I think I would add that “quitting” on a campaign doesn’t = failure, necessarily. Take some time to say what WAS fun about the game and put that in your good memory hopper, then move on. Don’t regret all the stuff that wasn’t cool or the stories you didn’t tell. Hemingway used to stop writing mid-sentence, that way when he sat down the following day to write he would complete the sentence and be off! No blank page syndrome. I think having unfulfilled desires is just a form of preparation for the next game.
I love this! I am a big believer in the Sunk Cost Fallacy. If you spent $100 on a board game that turns out to be horrible (I”m looking at you, Twilight Imperium), it is better to sell it on for $25 than to force yourself to slog through it a few more times just because you feel the need to get your money’s worth. That money is already spent. But your time is not yet spent, and your time has value.
As far as completing games, I am happy to report I have a 45% play rate on my roleplaying games I have paid money for (yes, I know, it’s weird I keep track of that). Pretty much the only ones that don’t get played for me are the ones that are just logistically difficult to get to the table (like Primetime Adventures, which has a player participation requirement from session-to-session that is hard for The Gauntlet to pull off).
That said, I purchase all sorts of supplements and scenarios, particularly OSR stuff, that, while I may never use them at the table, I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from just reading them (and the inspiration you get from such things has some value).
I love this! I am a big believer in the Sunk Cost Fallacy. If you spent $100 on a board game that turns out to be horrible (I”m looking at you, Twilight Imperium), it is better to sell it on for $25 than to force yourself to slog through it a few more times just because you feel the need to get your money’s worth. That money is already spent. But your time is not yet spent, and your time has value.
As far as completing games, I am happy to report I have a 45% play rate on my roleplaying games I have paid money for (yes, I know, it’s weird I keep track of that). Pretty much the only ones that don’t get played for me are the ones that are just logistically difficult to get to the table (like Primetime Adventures, which has a player participation requirement from session-to-session that is hard for The Gauntlet to pull off).
That said, I purchase all sorts of supplements and scenarios, particularly OSR stuff, that, while I may never use them at the table, I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from just reading them (and the inspiration you get from such things has some value).
Keith Mageau Agreed on the value of online play. I have really come around to it. When the Gauntlet first started, we were an exclusively FtF club based out of Houston, and for a long time, I was deeply skeptical that Hangouts games could compare to the fun we were having. I still think there is a certain kind of magic in FtF play (or table energy, maybe?) that is difficult to replicate online, but it is balanced by the fact we have a much larger pool of players for the games we want to play, and it’s just more convenient. I also like that I have made many new friends I might not have otherwise.
Keith Mageau Agreed on the value of online play. I have really come around to it. When the Gauntlet first started, we were an exclusively FtF club based out of Houston, and for a long time, I was deeply skeptical that Hangouts games could compare to the fun we were having. I still think there is a certain kind of magic in FtF play (or table energy, maybe?) that is difficult to replicate online, but it is balanced by the fact we have a much larger pool of players for the games we want to play, and it’s just more convenient. I also like that I have made many new friends I might not have otherwise.
I also think it depends on your age group. I played that red boxed D&D for a year straight before I got the blue one. I was 13 and then 14 at the time. I had no money of my own and my parents didn’t understand the value of rpgs at that time.As an adult, you get to spend money on useless stuff if you want to. You also have other commitments on your time. So, I got more than my money’s worth out of those red and blue boxes when I was a young teen. Now, I have more of my time allotted to family and work as an adult and can afford to buy the games I like, so I don’t really spend as much time on them as I did when I was super nerdy boy. Does that stop me from buying more stuff? Hell no!
I also think it depends on your age group. I played that red boxed D&D for a year straight before I got the blue one. I was 13 and then 14 at the time. I had no money of my own and my parents didn’t understand the value of rpgs at that time.As an adult, you get to spend money on useless stuff if you want to. You also have other commitments on your time. So, I got more than my money’s worth out of those red and blue boxes when I was a young teen. Now, I have more of my time allotted to family and work as an adult and can afford to buy the games I like, so I don’t really spend as much time on them as I did when I was super nerdy boy. Does that stop me from buying more stuff? Hell no!
It’s interesting. I remember as a kid being constantly bored and wishing that I had more money. Anything that I did own I would squeeze as much time out of as possible (grinding in Chrono Trigger? Anyone?)
But now, I value my time WAY more than my money. I’ll pay extra for something that takes up less time while still delivering fun.
It’s interesting. I remember as a kid being constantly bored and wishing that I had more money. Anything that I did own I would squeeze as much time out of as possible (grinding in Chrono Trigger? Anyone?)
But now, I value my time WAY more than my money. I’ll pay extra for something that takes up less time while still delivering fun.