Realization: Gaming vs Buying

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I’ve come to a realization. When I am actively playing and/or running games, I am buying less. When I am not playing/running games, I buy more games. I’ve debated on whether this is because I am focused on what I have/am running, or if I am buying more to get the “fix” I get from gaming.
I noticed that when I working in a game store in the '90s. At that time, a lot of the kids from the '80s RPG boom were moving into a period of their life where they weren't gaming due to college, jobs, relationships and partying. They still were buying books to read though. I think that was a big reason the metaplot model worked so well at that time. It created the illusion of being part of some epic campaign.

Once that demographic bump settled into adulthood and started actually gaming again, metaplots fell out of fashion and people wanted books with more useful content.
 
Plus your kids won’t like your RPG collection as much as they will that trip to Disney World that you’ve been promising for years.
Sheezus my kids are onto this all the time, and I've had to set some nominal dates for USA 2024 - I wouldn't put it past them to have contacted you to keep me on track, heh heh :grin:
 
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Sheezus my kids are onto this all the time, and I've had to set some nominal dates for USA 2024 - I wouldn't put it past them to have contacted you to keep me on track, heh heh :grin:
I actually like Universal Studios better but everybody should go see Disney World at least once in their lives. I’m fortunate to have been there about five times.
 
We need pics
So I can get you some but some of it is really hard to photograph. My office is large. It's the area over a double car garage with a single central dormer. I've lined most of the walls with shelves and have a large gaming table I built in the middle. I sectioned off 1/4-1/3 of it with a couch/daybed for when my wife tires of me snoring and a TV to watch. In the former I built a hidden desk setup so I can work a bit without everyone looking over my shoulder. It's not actually hidden but the entrance to it is 14.5" wide so it's hard to accidentally notice. I had a guy who games in the room once a week for two years look at me in shock when I said there was a full desktop setup in there. He never saw the entrance. Anyway it's crammed with stuff.
 
Buying to read is fine - inspiration is always welcome. Maps and illustrations too - gamebooks now are gorgeous. I've sold off big collections in the past several times, and don't miss them. So my RPG collection is about 2 ft of shelving, my wargames similar.

It's a bit of a capsule RPG collection now: These days it's Traveller (Classic, Mongoose and Hostile), RQ/Mythras, CoC, Blue Planet, Ryuutama, Forbidden Lands. Stuff I know will get played.

If anything I've picked up older stuff as much as newer recently - 40k 2nd and 3rd edition books, Warhammer 6th, the Chaosium RQ2 reprints, Pendragon 3rd edition. All nice to have, and a huge source of inspiration.

Although 20GB of digital content may have taken up that slack...
 
So I can get you some but some of it is really hard to photograph. My office is large. It's the area over a double car garage with a single central dormer. I've lined most of the walls with shelves and have a large gaming table I built in the middle. I sectioned off 1/4-1/3 of it with a couch/daybed for when my wife tires of me snoring and a TV to watch. In the former I built a hidden desk setup so I can work a bit without everyone looking over my shoulder. It's not actually hidden but the entrance to it is 14.5" wide so it's hard to accidentally notice. I had a guy who games in the room once a week for two years look at me in shock when I said there was a full desktop setup in there. He never saw the entrance. Anyway it's crammed with stuff.


No, NO, we need pics of the alleged friends that you mentioned. Trust, but verify....
 
No, NO, we need pics of the alleged friends that you mentioned. Trust, but verify....
I know you're joking and I got a chuckle out of it but Covid has made that statement seem sad and almost true. Two of them I just see in passing these days and one actually passed away so he's not going to be making it back to the table.
 
I got into a bad buying habit in the late 90s of buying EVERYTHING for something that looked interesting. This was caused by my having missed a bunch of RQ stuff in the 80s and wishing I had it when my 90s RQ campaign was going strong. Then in 2003 I started buying tons of D20 stuff thinking it would fuel my Arcana Unearthed/Evolved campaigns (it didn't, most of it sat unread). Then I got engaged in 2006 and my gaming stopped and my purchasing stopped, and I dumped half or more of my game collection. I do have some regrets (Traveller stuff, Riddle of Steel, a few other things, also a few regrets from earlier dumps). From 2002 to 2006 I also was re-purchasing stuff I had dumped in the 80s and 90s or never got (great used gaming market in Portland in that era). I all but completed my RQ collection with an eBay purchase. Completed a Talislanta collection (with duplicates of more than half the books - I had picked up a couple Talislanta titles in the 90s in Raleigh NC). Then most of my Traveller problem has been cured with the CD-ROMs and the RQ Classic Kickstarter solved MOST of the RQ problem (no RQ3, so still no Land of Ninja boxed set).

I still purchase way too much, but it's like $10-20/month instead of $100s/month and almost all PDF. Most of the over purchase was in support of trying to set up a West Marches inspired campaign. Others were various OSR titles for various reasons, at least partly in support of my play by post games. Also lots of samurai/ninja RPGs originally to support my Bushido interest and now to support Cold Iron Samurai Adventures.

But the reality of my gaming these days is I am going to stick to a very limited set of games for playing: Early D&D (OD&D, Holmes, BX, BECM, AD&D 1e), RuneQuest, Traveller, Burning Wheel, and Cold Iron. If I get into another L5R campaign, I might purchase some L5R content. Stuff I'm also keeping is Chivalry and Sorcery (oh, I do SORT of regret selling the supplements for 1e), Talislanta, EPT, Champions (original), GURPS (3e and a few supplements), Thieves Guild, Mechanoid Invasion, my other Chaosium games (other than Call of Cthulhu which I sold by 1990), and a few other things that are dwarfed by my big collection sections. I'm also keeping Dungeon Magazine (complete run), Different Worlds (complete run), White Dwarf (90% complete through issue 60 or so with several past that), and my module collection.
 
I've certainly got more than I 'need'... but I don't think I'm too bad about excess buying nowadays. Mostly the occasional PDF of something that I think I can pull ideas out of... and a few kickstarters for DCC/OSE.
Miniatures are much more my weak spot... but it's not like I'm building huge Napoleonic armies, mostly just small skirmish stuff.
I'm no worse than some of the scrapbooking/polymer clay crafting folks I know... or even the knitting people with rooms full of yarn.

I recognize that excessive buying is an attempt to fill in some hole... social/emotional/spiritual... I dunno. But I've learned to distrust moments where I feel the urge to buy things just for the sake of buying something.
 
I always laughed when guys would say they are saving their book/toy/card collection “for their kids”. The kids are probably going to throw that shit in the dumpster. Enjoy it for yourself and not some grand plan that’s probably never going to happen.
Right. My kids have their own interests and there is very little overlap. I'd rather they had the money than my nostalgic collection of gaming materials.

That being said, I would like to watch as Ghost Dad when they go through my boxes of shit in the attic.

"Is this porn on VHS tapes???" and "How many muskets did he have?" and "Is this really 6 pounds of gunpowder?????"
 
I actually like Universal Studios better but everybody should go see Disney World at least once in their lives. I’m fortunate to have been there about five times.
If we are talking about Orlando FL, then I've supported both Disney and Universal. We saw Universal and Universal Islands of Adventure theme parks, and in regards to Walt Disney World we got to two parks, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

Although we have been in LA, we never had time to do Disneyland and Universal Studios. I really want to see both - Disneyland because of historic nostalgia, and Universal Studios because its one of the iconic must-sees of the Hollywood experience, and very different to Universal at Orlando. Perhaps one day. But its less likely now that we no longer have family to stay with in the LA region.

Orlando is amazing for these theme parks. It was 2016 when we were there, and we aimed to go back in 2020, but the pandemic kicked off. I figure things are normalising to an extent, so by 2024 hopefully its all peachy.

But yeah, the costs of doing this from Australia is quite onerous. I really may need to slow down on my rpg collection!
 
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I always laughed when guys would say they are saving their book/toy/card collection “for their kids”. The kids are probably going to throw that shit in the dumpster. Enjoy it for yourself and not some grand plan that’s probably never going to happen.
I sell houses in an area with lots of retirees, so I'm often dealing with their kids after their parents have died or gone into assisted living. There is always a lot of stuff to get rid of. It's usually a pain, but I picked up these unwanted books from a house today as a bonus to my commission.
t3kF3wsyeIfMjvuHzGDLUo49CxYT_zbc8MfMmZWa7fW7XG0vKt65IyopUm6u7KWrrMxbjPm23bOw2p7DLUKVDShftkU9I-uQpTbvqKtaN4BzS65RyPhIO4E_m9LGZo2W7OlJr-AV-4gijYyAuHWI5u6PPNBquCiEgm0K1QI__6tEhPfaLAJsE3fMqZprVfKFpYo9l_6B1sjjgC47Bngs_bFiQ2f1-H4xWDCnb-jHENJvhhI2wEAHdr44NScXILcty-s6knswOoe1ttIa_ltUsYuBUQEJoUhQX_J8je6CAAUeUtNXlg38p7ng4XG9Tq0ZQNbGosxvG7qZ6NilGeMdkoUHWF34tjxusugY8qz8SJTcEHQatG9_i6wE_tXZTl7_ZelHI2xgMOPlcsgejtpVrCh_7BT1gWKBDa1p9SkfKgDE9yHUcts-tPYJJ06s_i-fKnr5kUvGuJV190-t7AUSSdhmildLlQ6BSsMIy-tuXL6cAUn60TjosdvL0ZiAmEf0jjCY-Vvalc4XmIKjhPfHFFrMdkX7pPff7wUd7m7czcQY4n8VDvW7bc0XfPjQZJ5S9CDrdlH-HdYTzvBunyYFSBcL8xPXkb2Ts9jt2frt_Qp7kIlHeLHdIj_TmqJQfjFrlI-f8OMyXBbYP3-caAHgxtDWAiVwNYR_vClC_BMM_TFQ1B1z3PqoV_TYv485f1rmI26u7niXvBCLzvuAo6VX67OJPFxylUb6lnCNecl0cKW-badAy1RARwjOoXLXgsYBKmDTT-Ret0Pb5UsjDP1hXBfScaslzQ7GClXfEPkS7gXktAQKHNricXHM9rR_b4YV9ReZ6g=w768-h576-no
 
My method

1. Realize that the vast number of games you own distracts you from focusing on any single one, thus killing creativity
2. Resolve to sell some
3. Make a list of the order you want to play them in.
4. Resolve to sell the ones at the bottom of the list.
5. Ooh, shiny, check out that game!
6. Go back to #1
 
Two comments: First, I suffered the same problems of "buying games I want to play" stacking up on my shelves. I have started to make a dent in that by seeking out pay-for-play GMs (on sites like startplaying.games). I've had a great RPG moments and met a lot of fun, like-minded players. So that's an option. Second, I now interpret that impulse to Read All Games as a desire to actually build something. So I'm doing that too.
 
Two comments: First, I suffered the same problems of "buying games I want to play" stacking up on my shelves. I have started to make a dent in that by seeking out pay-for-play GMs (on sites like startplaying.games). I've had a great RPG moments and met a lot of fun, like-minded players. So that's an option. Second, I now interpret that impulse to Read All Games as a desire to actually build something. So I'm doing that too.
I didn't know such a site exists:shock:!

...and I guess I should thank you:shade:.
 
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I have a miniatures problem. Like I buy them or games with lots of them that look cool and want to play them but don't have a collection of friends who prefer those games. Then they sit unpainted. It makes me a bit sad. I want to see them out on the table. I'm kind of tempted to just setup personal dioramas to amuse myself.
Think about the possibilities for weird holiday "village" dioramas. Even for weird, fake "holidays" like National Dill Pickle Day and such.

Why are Space Maries fighting Zombie hordes and how does it relate to National Dill Pickle Day? :grin:

For myself, I've been working off-and-on creating one-shot, event type game scenarios for the weird minis and mini combos.

Oh, I don't get to put them on very often, but at least it makes me feel like I'm creating something for this overly large, eclectic bunch of stuff I've accumulated.
 
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This is somewhat morbid, but I realised the other day that I am highly unlikely to finish off my "things I should run" list before I die.
Yep, I thought about this not too long ago, too. More general at first ("more days behind than ahead...unless, of course, I live to 100 or more") but then I focused on gaming. I know there are probably games that I'll never get to the table. I could do more on Roll20, or Discord - Discords of RPGs are a fantastic way to find games, and don't cost money (99% of the time). But I haven't yet. No real excuse, though. At my table, I tend to settle on games I'm familiar with, ones I and my group have the most fun playing (3.x D&D mostly, some Mythras, GURPS, FFG SW, and Savage Worlds).

But playing game X, or knowing that I'll never get a certain game to the table doesn't prevent me from buying new/more games. If it looks interesting, I usually pick it up. It could be an interesting read, it could give me a few bits to add to my games, or it might be something I truly - at that time - want to try to sell my group on.

Theme parks - both Disney and Universal (Florida versions - never went to a different one) are pretty great. I live in Central Florida, and my parents both worked at Disney from the 80s to the 00s (when my dad retired), so getting in was never a problem for me. Kind of like that wide-eyed luster of just starting in the RPG hobby, the wonder of Disney kind of waned when you could go when you wanted to. But the other parks are great too - Busch Gardens, Sea World, and Universal still are pretty great and worth it. If you only have limited time (like from an out-of-state vacation), I'd certainly recommend Disney and Universal at the very least. My problem these days are that it seems the parks are pricing out a lot of people, making it a rich person's diversion. I'm considering, when my kids are all through college (9 years and counting when the last one's done), quitting my decent paying job and going to Disney for the pass. :smile:
 
I sell houses in an area with lots of retirees, so I'm often dealing with their kids after their parents have died or gone into assisted living. There is always a lot of stuff to get rid of. It's usually a pain, but I picked up these unwanted books from a house today as a bonus to my commission.
t3kF3wsyeIfMjvuHzGDLUo49CxYT_zbc8MfMmZWa7fW7XG0vKt65IyopUm6u7KWrrMxbjPm23bOw2p7DLUKVDShftkU9I-uQpTbvqKtaN4BzS65RyPhIO4E_m9LGZo2W7OlJr-AV-4gijYyAuHWI5u6PPNBquCiEgm0K1QI__6tEhPfaLAJsE3fMqZprVfKFpYo9l_6B1sjjgC47Bngs_bFiQ2f1-H4xWDCnb-jHENJvhhI2wEAHdr44NScXILcty-s6knswOoe1ttIa_ltUsYuBUQEJoUhQX_J8je6CAAUeUtNXlg38p7ng4XG9Tq0ZQNbGosxvG7qZ6NilGeMdkoUHWF34tjxusugY8qz8SJTcEHQatG9_i6wE_tXZTl7_ZelHI2xgMOPlcsgejtpVrCh_7BT1gWKBDa1p9SkfKgDE9yHUcts-tPYJJ06s_i-fKnr5kUvGuJV190-t7AUSSdhmildLlQ6BSsMIy-tuXL6cAUn60TjosdvL0ZiAmEf0jjCY-Vvalc4XmIKjhPfHFFrMdkX7pPff7wUd7m7czcQY4n8VDvW7bc0XfPjQZJ5S9CDrdlH-HdYTzvBunyYFSBcL8xPXkb2Ts9jt2frt_Qp7kIlHeLHdIj_TmqJQfjFrlI-f8OMyXBbYP3-caAHgxtDWAiVwNYR_vClC_BMM_TFQ1B1z3PqoV_TYv485f1rmI26u7niXvBCLzvuAo6VX67OJPFxylUb6lnCNecl0cKW-badAy1RARwjOoXLXgsYBKmDTT-Ret0Pb5UsjDP1hXBfScaslzQ7GClXfEPkS7gXktAQKHNricXHM9rR_b4YV9ReZ6g=w768-h576-no
Continuing my thoughts from this post, it's not like the son who was handling the house sale doesn't care about history. While not a gamer, he is one of us in a lot of ways. Around 50 years old, he is a history buff and an architectural model maker who has found a niche designing elaborate model train setups for wealthy hobbyists, and has been tinkering with 3D printing since the early '90s. It's just that he has read all this stuff and has his own library.

People talk about leaving their game to their "kids", but barring tragedy those kids will be middle-aged when we pass on. If they are gamers, they probably haven't been waiting around for us to die to start their own collections.
 
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I sell houses in an area with lots of retirees, so I'm often dealing with their kids after their parents have died or gone into assisted living. There is always a lot of stuff to get rid of. It's usually a pain, but I picked up these unwanted books from a house today as a bonus to my commission.
t3kF3wsyeIfMjvuHzGDLUo49CxYT_zbc8MfMmZWa7fW7XG0vKt65IyopUm6u7KWrrMxbjPm23bOw2p7DLUKVDShftkU9I-uQpTbvqKtaN4BzS65RyPhIO4E_m9LGZo2W7OlJr-AV-4gijYyAuHWI5u6PPNBquCiEgm0K1QI__6tEhPfaLAJsE3fMqZprVfKFpYo9l_6B1sjjgC47Bngs_bFiQ2f1-H4xWDCnb-jHENJvhhI2wEAHdr44NScXILcty-s6knswOoe1ttIa_ltUsYuBUQEJoUhQX_J8je6CAAUeUtNXlg38p7ng4XG9Tq0ZQNbGosxvG7qZ6NilGeMdkoUHWF34tjxusugY8qz8SJTcEHQatG9_i6wE_tXZTl7_ZelHI2xgMOPlcsgejtpVrCh_7BT1gWKBDa1p9SkfKgDE9yHUcts-tPYJJ06s_i-fKnr5kUvGuJV190-t7AUSSdhmildLlQ6BSsMIy-tuXL6cAUn60TjosdvL0ZiAmEf0jjCY-Vvalc4XmIKjhPfHFFrMdkX7pPff7wUd7m7czcQY4n8VDvW7bc0XfPjQZJ5S9CDrdlH-HdYTzvBunyYFSBcL8xPXkb2Ts9jt2frt_Qp7kIlHeLHdIj_TmqJQfjFrlI-f8OMyXBbYP3-caAHgxtDWAiVwNYR_vClC_BMM_TFQ1B1z3PqoV_TYv485f1rmI26u7niXvBCLzvuAo6VX67OJPFxylUb6lnCNecl0cKW-badAy1RARwjOoXLXgsYBKmDTT-Ret0Pb5UsjDP1hXBfScaslzQ7GClXfEPkS7gXktAQKHNricXHM9rR_b4YV9ReZ6g=w768-h576-no
Vulture + Baulderstone = Vaulderstone.





Okay, yeah I'd do the same. :smile:
 
I know the following won't resonate with the forever GMS out there, but another tip that has helped me reduce my purchases is asking myself "would I want to play this game as a player or a gm?"

There are lots of games I'd love to experience, but at this point in my life I simply don't have the bandwidth to do the settings justice.

I'd love to experience RQ:Glorantha, WFRP, Delta Green, or some of the larger Call of Cthulhu campaigns. ... but I don't have the energy asxa GM to make these settings come alive and pop. Certainly not to the extent that canon would have me do so (or at least not to the extent that I would want to convey the intricacies of the setting). So that's a bunch of products I have cleared off my wish list.

I'm more of a beer and pretzels gm.
 
I can confirm that old people often have tons of nice things that their kids are just going to trash or donate once they die. Up to and including cars. When I was young and broke, I used to pick up amazing items for next to nothing at thrift stores in nicer parts of Orange County. Sadly, most of that stuff ends up on Ebay nowadays.
 
I know the following won't resonate with the forever GMS out there, but another tip that has helped me reduce my purchases is asking myself "would I want to play this game as a player or a gm?"

There are lots of games I'd love to experience, but at this point in my life I simply don't have the bandwidth to do the settings justice.

I'd love to experience RQ:Glorantha, WFRP, Delta Green, or some of the larger Call of Cthulhu campaigns. ... but I don't have the energy asxa GM to make these settings come alive and pop. Certainly not to the extent that canon would have me do so (or at least not to the extent that I would want to convey the intricacies of the setting). So that's a bunch of products I have cleared off my wish list.

I'm more of a beer and pretzels gm.
While I definitely relate to this I still buy the stuff and read it, truth be told I read a heck of a lot more RPGs than I play.
 
I know the following won't resonate with the forever GMS out there, but another tip that has helped me reduce my purchases is asking myself "would I want to play this game as a player or a gm?"

There are lots of games I'd love to experience, but at this point in my life I simply don't have the bandwidth to do the settings justice.

I'd love to experience RQ:Glorantha, WFRP, Delta Green, or some of the larger Call of Cthulhu campaigns. ... but I don't have the energy asxa GM to make these settings come alive and pop. Certainly not to the extent that canon would have me do so (or at least not to the extent that I would want to convey the intricacies of the setting). So that's a bunch of products I have cleared off my wish list.

I'm more of a beer and pretzels gm.
Although I haven't distilled my purchasing quite the same way, I think I do come to similar conclusions though on specifics, I've been doing RQ and Glorantha since 1978 so I'm invested, on the other hand, I'm never going to run Glorantha as a cultural anthropology experiment to the extent that seems popular these days - so I DON'T make RQ:G purchases left and right... Also I still run the 1978 1st edition... But there are plenty of properties that I have passed in as "Nope, not going to get into this."

So other than deciding AFTER playing in an L5R campaign that maybe I COULD do samurai/ninja, THEN I invested in it, then stumbled trying to run Bushido, though as much because the module I was following (Valley of the Mists) was too disorganized for me to make sense of and I slowed down and handed my PbP to one of the players and then I became a player. Between that and a 2nd Bushido game, I gained confidence and then started thinking that Cold Iron could totally do the combat, and I could make magic work. And thus Cold Iron Samurai Adventures was born.

So I make purchases mostly in support of things I'm running or am in plans to run. So lots of sandbox stuff when I was trying to set up a West Marches inspired campaign. Lots of samurai/ninja stuff in support originally of Bushido and now in support of Cold Iron Samurai Adventures. A few things in support of my Glorantha campaign and noting things I would grab if the PCs set off in particular directions - but NOT just buying because I'm curious and the PCs MIGHT go that way...

I'm still buying things I end up not getting much out of, but it's a much lower volume than when I was buying D20 like mad AND buying any and all Gloranthan or Tekumel material I could lay my hands on.
 
The systems I play, I have had the rules since 1980 and 1986. There are some newer rules I use from newer editions (some for TFT from 2018), but most of the GURPS rules I use are from the 1994 printing of the 3rd edition.

I almost always run and play in homebrew settings and adventures, not published purchased adventures.

Point being, I have had almost everything I really need or want for rules and content, and have for 20-40 years now.

I almost always only buy RPG stuff for interest and to have maybe a bit more stuff or inspiration or ideas.
 
Continuing my thoughts from this post, it's not like the son who was handling the house sale doesn't care about history. While not a gamer, he is one of us in a lot of ways. Around 50 years old, he is a history buff and an architectural model maker who has found a niche designing elaborate model train setups for wealthy hobbyists, and has been tinkering with 3D printing since the early '90s. It's just that he has read all this stuff and has his own library.

People talk about leaving their game to their "kids", but barring tragedy those kids will be middle-aged when we pass on. If they are gamers, they probably haven't been waiting around for us to die to start their own collections.
That's sounds about right. My kids are young 4-10 so I keep some of it around for them to explore. It's funny what games and RPGs they decide they like and when. When they go away in 10-15 years I can see purging more. I'll be 65. I think we'll downsize houses. Color e-ink will be a thing I hope so maybe sell a bunch of stuff and get a large eink color reader to read pdfs. Already looking at games to remove.
 
That's kind of my plan Bunch Bunch - downsizing once the kids are gone and the wife and I move into a smaller place. But heck, I think about going to all pdfs now. Buying a really nice tablet, one with a large display (and an SD card port), and move as much to it as I can and use it a fancy reader. That Galaxy S8+ 12.4" tablet looks really nice. Keeping maybe one book case of games (I have 5 cases full now, plus probably 2 cases worth in magazine boxes in storage) but selling off everything else. I know my boys, who both game (the younger is more a gamer than my older) would like a crack at my shelf when I'm gone. But I could certainly make a pretty penny selling off 80% of my games. I'd easily recoup the the cost of the tablet and the cost it would take to move to all pdfs.

But I hate pdfs.
 
I generally just dont buy. I just play. The two games I regularly play came out in the 80's. The new stuff sometimes look sexy, and I may just get new stuff by happenstance, but acquiring more is not a motive.

It's not like I am short on gaming.
 
That's kind of my plan Bunch Bunch - downsizing once the kids are gone and the wife and I move into a smaller place. But heck, I think about going to all pdfs now. Buying a really nice tablet, one with a large display (and an SD card port), and move as much to it as I can and use it a fancy reader. That Galaxy S8+ 12.4" tablet looks really nice. Keeping maybe one book case of games (I have 5 cases full now, plus probably 2 cases worth in magazine boxes in storage) but selling off everything else. I know my boys, who both game (the younger is more a gamer than my older) would like a crack at my shelf when I'm gone. But I could certainly make a pretty penny selling off 80% of my games. I'd easily recoup the the cost of the tablet and the cost it would take to move to all pdfs.

But I hate pdfs.
Yeah I have a love hate with PDFs. I do most of my gaming online. Pdfs are great for copy and paste purposes. I tried reading on my ipad 12"? Display last night and it wasn't kind in my old tired evening eyes. I'd like eink because it's much closer to good old paper. Plus I might be able to upside it just a bit and make life even easier. Books are pretty good unless the typing is small or old dot matrix like fonts.
 
That's kind of my plan Bunch Bunch - downsizing once the kids are gone and the wife and I move into a smaller place. But heck, I think about going to all pdfs now. Buying a really nice tablet, one with a large display (and an SD card port), and move as much to it as I can and use it a fancy reader. That Galaxy S8+ 12.4" tablet looks really nice. Keeping maybe one book case of games (I have 5 cases full now, plus probably 2 cases worth in magazine boxes in storage) but selling off everything else. I know my boys, who both game (the younger is more a gamer than my older) would like a crack at my shelf when I'm gone. But I could certainly make a pretty penny selling off 80% of my games. I'd easily recoup the the cost of the tablet and the cost it would take to move to all pdfs.

But I hate pdfs.
I will need to plan on downsizing sometime... My wife won't want to deal with it all... On the other hand, I plan to be gaming until it just isn't practical, so at least some of my collection I will want to keep even into a nursing home should it come to that. Ideally at some point almost everything I care about will be available in PDF (of course I do have PDFs of some that aren't properly available) and maybe that will be the solution.

Almost all of my new purchases are PDF. In truth I have almost no reading time outside time I spend in my office, so I read on my laptop. And since my gaming is currently all virtual, I'm sitting in front of my laptop while gaming, so pulling up digital references wouldn't be a problem.

If push came to shove, I could pare down to two shelves on a book case, so I could easily fit into a small bookcase.
 
I have not DM'ed for several years. I think I am good. But I decided to step back and just play. So my engagement with a lot of hobby stuff has really waned. New systems, new stuff, edition wars, publishing treadmills, white room discussions, the lot. Ennui.

If and when I started GM'ing again, I would likely do a180 and get in deep. Playing and DMing are very different hobbies I think.
 
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