What Stops You From Getting Rid Of Games? 

A good follow up video for this might be "How to get rid of games you no longer want to keep". The issue for me and most of my friends in similar situation isnt reasons I want to keep games I dont play, but in the percieved difficulty of getting rid of them (without simply trashing them). The thought of selling online (dealing with people and potential conflicts) is anxiety/stress inducing . If you don't have experience selling then the prospect of packaging, delivery, pricing and dealing with potential complaints can be a turn off. A guide for selling games (Websites, game clubs, bring and buys, fair pricing etc) and pitfalls to avoid would be very helpful for many. Often the market isn't there for the games they are looking to get rid of. For example many gamers start off with pretty mainstream games like Catan or Pandemic which are hard to give away as they are so common or their gamer friends have moved on from welcoming games. I feel like these games I hold onto on the offchance I meet someone new to the hobby i can give to for free.

Orange juice drinker with high pulp checking in *My son also likes it to the chagrin of the rest of the family

The work I put in the miniatures...the memories of epic game nights....nostalgia....and a tiny bit inner gollum that calls his games his precious

My main difficulty in getting rid of games (and buying, for that matter) is art + theme. In many cases, my games are like having an enjoyable piece of art or book. Looking at the covers, pulling them off the shelf, and going through the components can take me on mental adventures beyond just playing the game itself - a lot like going to an art museum or thumbing through a book whose story I've already read. Nostalgia can be a factor as well. This can make culling games a very difficult experience. (Of course, the theme and wonderful art, coupled with great immersive gameplay, is the best.)

For most of my expansions I cut the box top and fit them on the inside of the core game box top. This way I still have the art and without the ridiculously amount of space they take up.

I have found out that my ideal collection size is only like 55-60 games (not counting kids games)

I can’t find people that want my stuff. When I do, I usually lose a lot in value when I do cull (often I’d be better off donating to charity and writing it off my taxes)

What stops me from getting rid of games? I fall under 'games I don't like' and 'games I'll likely never play'. I have 84 games, 28 land in these two categories, with 17 in the 'don't like', 6 'never play', 5 are games I haven't played yet and to pitch them before playing isn't a bad thing, but you still want to give it a go at least. Of the 'don't like' games, they aren't as satisfying of an experience, they don't crunch the same geers as it were, and those games have a place in a collection, but do we need to hang onto games that don't ilicit hardly any emotion just for the one time or the one person who will want to play it - I'm now making considerations. Games 'I'll likely never play' they are games I want to play, so there is that, but who knows when that time will ever come.

I participated in a board game exchange and also a board game consignment sale, both at capstone games. It was sooo nice to get rid of stuff and get other stuff that I actually want/will play

My husband and I have cull conversations about every three months. They are really great because it helps us to communicate what we have been enjoying playing and prioritize getting our favorites to the table again. If a game doesn’t excite us, it needs to go.

Because I have 0 idea how to successfully handle a "sell my game situation". Where? How much to charge? Who pays shipping? How do I get paid? It seems like a LOT of hassle. BTW the only 1 of the 5 that isn't me is prototypes..... probably solely because I don't have any I'm sure

I'm just living in a faraway little city where boardgaming isnt really a thing. So when I buy a game I finally dont like, there isnt really a way to sell it so I keep it :( I could give them but... I dont even know if someone would enjoy them and I paid so much money for them !

3:16 #5 is the category which most of my games are in, btw 😢😢😢

I helped playtest a game lately. I built the prototype myself and fully intent to keep it after I receive the full game. It's really because of the memories. Doing this was a really fun experience and keeping the prototype will help remind me of that experience every once in a while.

I taught Feudum last year at Level Up, lol! It's an hour teach and about 3-5hr play, depending on the number of players and their collective experience with the game. I'll be at the next Level Up again and West and I are definitely playing it again and you're more than welcome to join us!!

10:52 What?? I thought you had already done a "Play This Not That" video involving all 3 of those games way back when (like 2020)!

I have been holding onto empty expansions from Root for the artwork. Only one is on display at a time, but I like rotating the one of display every once in a while. I also have an empty box from the Invaders From Afar expansion for Scythe because I incorporated those factions in the base game box, but I haven't played the new factions yet, so I suppose it makes sense to hang onto the empty box until I know that I want to keep the new factions. There are also 2 empty expansion boxes from Dune Imperium, and I definitely don't need those because it all fits in the base game box, and this is one of my favorite games, so I don't see myself ever unloading any of this content - especially since it can be used in the new Uprising sequel too (though, I don't actually plan on getting Uprising for at least a year or two cos there's still plenty in the original that I want to explore). However, I do have 5-10 games that I will probably never play again, so I'm going to start leaving those out on game nights for friends to take home if they want.

My wife holds on to a few games for nostalgic reasons. For example we'll never play Balderdash again, but because she associates it with fond memories from her youth she wants to keep it. We have a few expansion boxes that are a nice size that we keep aside for various storage, but that's far away from the game shelf ;)

I have had periods where I have culled games. At one of these I gave away Black Rose Wars, with all the stretch goals and a huge collection of Mage Wars, to a local boardgame cafe. At another I sold my Cthulu Death May Die collection, after painting and playing Season One. 8 months later I bought someone else's collection, which also had Season One painted because I missed playing it!

i value the object itself, as a testimony of the work of people who put a lot of efforts into it, and put a lot of effort into creating lasting memories for me and my friends. i try to chose carefully what i buy, even when it is a bet ( bought Dragon eclipse and Nemesis retaliation at the maximum pledge, and will paint minis with my wife! )

Another reason to keep a game that I have a struggle with is games that I have spend a lot of time with. And I don’t mean playing. Games with miniatures that you have spend days painting and are really proud of. For example I have Star Wars imperial assault and have painted everything. I never play it anymore but have a really hard time selling it.

I live in an area where people don’t really game, so selling them never happens

Ummmmm....I still have my Grandmother's watch which I have never worn and probably never will. I also still have my other Grandmother's hand mixer even though I have bought a replacement. I have had that hand mixer for over 20 years. I'm CLEARLY with Meg on this! lol Great video, as always!

I went through my flippant board-game buying phase from '09-'15. After i cleaned out my collection in '15 i now only buy games i KNOW ill hold onto.

As a pulp drinker, I'm offended to be lumped into the same group as those who continue to play Legacy games after they're done. :) Also, I have concerns about 2nd Gloomhaven - at this stage I'm not convinced it's better. I'm worried about them removing things like the two and three card stamina potions that are just fun to play with. Nerfing fun because of balance in a cooperative game is bizarre to me. Edit: Also, I haven't played Concordia in almost two years. I keep bringing it to game nights hoping it'll get played, but no such luck! One of my friends hasn't played it, and I think she's worried because we've told her about our first game, which had a lot of us figuring out our turns, realizing they wouldn't work, and taking everything back so we could re-work them lol. =D I got Condordia based on your love for it (the box art would not have enticed me) and I'm really looking forward to being able to play again (someday soon I hope).

If a game gets together for Feudum at the Level Up retreat I would join. I have played before and could possibly teach, just not sure how well.

I condensed most of nemesis into storage by Pirate Labs. I keep telling myself I need to cut the top of the box off the nemesis box for the artwork, so that when I open up my Pirate Lab Bag I see the nemesis artwork. Maybe before the end of 2023 I should toss the boxes that I have condensed. Or maybe use them for miniature storage. Hmmmm…

I figured out I'm actually a data horder. Movies, books, board games. I don't want to be able to not access something in the future because it's gone. Still need to cull a few games though...

Wow, seems like Alex is worse at culling than Meg!!! Although it's my personal mandate to defend Meg to the death anyway, can't believe Alex has been exposed as the biggest non-culling culprit on the planet!

Hard to find games I take to the local board game store which has a demo section. Hopefully someone will enjoy as much as I did. Easier to find go to goodwill to help the community.

"Selling is annoying". That's it. It's not easy to sell games - especially if you're socially somewhat awkward/dislike confrontations. Haggling, argh. If I would find it easy to sell, 3 games would be gone, but well, now they look pretty.

I do keep some expansion boxes for a different reason. I hate lid lift and multiple boxes for one game. I would much rather have everything in one box and not use it then hunt down all the expansion boxes when playing a game. So I keep expansion boxes and finished game boxes up replace original game boxes that are now to small. I will cut up the original box and tape it to the bigger box so I know what is inside the new bigger box. I am not interested in resale. I feel it is like trying to get money from your used clothes. If someone else wants it sure, but if not it has served it’s purpose. I also love painting my miniatures and I have a hard time parting with them, so I often keep the painted miniatures making the game unplayable. I log all my plays. If a game does not get played at least once a year it is out. Given that I have 275 games in my collection, playing them all is not easy, but I would include a BGA play of a game I own as a play of my copy. I current have pulled out 22 games that will be out if they do not get played in the next 30 days. To be clear, I love all these games, but I can not justify keeping things that are not currently being used. Alex has helped me see the value in letting go of perfectly good games, because I only want great games, games that I actually play and can pull of the shelf and start playing with a huge rule relearn. I like many I suppose have to many legacy/campaign games to play. I often cull them before finishing because the players have moved on or I just lost interest. I agree with Alex that I never play a legacy game after I am done, no matter how much I think I might. It just doesn’t happen because there are more new games to play. Thanks for the interesting conversation. Alex is right that small game boxes are excellent for shipping. I have a funny story about that. I was using an old iPad box to put in a gift for my niece. When she took of the paper she thought she was getting a new iPad. We told everyone ahead of the unwrapping that we were reusing box so that nothing they opened would be what the box appeared to be and they you had to open they box. It was king of a game in the end. What was in the random board game box. But my niece’s reaction was hilarious until she remembered that was not the gift. For the record, she ran around the house yelling with joy about the actual gift which was better to her than an old iPad.

You talking about getting rid of games, but from my experience is so hard to sell them on a second hand market. (unless price is almost for free, or ridiculously cheap)

To your 5 categories: 1. Expansion Boxes - I don't even keep full expansion boxes. When I buy expansions they go in the main box. In fact I don't even buy expansions unless I can fit the content in the main box. 2. Prototypes _ I've had a couple from play testing, never kept them. 3. Games I'm Done With - If I'm done, its done. Its outta here. 4. Games I Don't Like - Those are gone IMMEDIATELY, unless my partner or my kids like it. 5. Games I'll Never Play - I don't even buy those. Like I WANT Trickerion deep, deep, deep down in my bones. But I know I'll never play it.

Hmm empty boxes i still have my top 10 empty ones, since I love the art esoeccially a lot of TMB. But maybe it's time to take the scissors and only keep the flat part :)

As someone who has designed & produced a game and who is a bit of sentimental hoarder… I had little to no desire to keep my prototypes after getting a final copy in hand. Having sent out a few prototypes, I don't care what the recipients did with the prototypes after finishing with them-trash, donations, sale, giveaway, etc. (as long as, if it goes to someone new, they're aware it's a prototype). As a video creator who's received a couple prototypes, I still find myself clinging to them, uncertain of where they should ever end up. I'm thinking a local thrift shop would be good (as long as the game is playable), with a note inside that says it's a prototype and when/where/how the final version can be found.

Trying to get more plays from it of possibly making myself believe I have exhausted all the fun and value to be had from owning it

Why am I keeping Human Punishment: The Beginning? Because I can't convince anyone to take it off my hands 😢

Orange juice with pulp drinker here. I also eat chunky peanut butter. 100% want to replay Clank Legacy too!

I like my OJ with extra pulp... 🤣

Nothing anymore. It took me about 10 years to realize if I've got games that are unplayed for years, i have zero reason to keep them. The worst part these days is selling them! I've got a sell pile over 100 games but with shipping the way it is it's very difficult to sell games right now

There was a Feudum game going on last time at LeveUp. I think it took them 5 hours to finish?

I know for a fact this has been mentioned before in past videos, but what is the app you're using to track your collection and plays? This discussion is somewhat hopeless between such distant positions in the emotional spectrum. It probably helps if you have it to an audience. I can definitely understand Meg's emotional attachment to games, she can definitely benefit from the cold point of view Alex provides, specially when it's delivered with an honest "you do what makes *you* happy" undertone (even an explicit one at times). We emotional attachment people could all use an Alex in our lives. And everybody could use a Meg in their lives, just in general :D

Ok so Alex are you actually saying if you had your father’s watch Bruce Willis style but it wasn’t a watch style you liked you would get rid of it?

Why are you attacking me???!!! lol.

Question: Is there merit for only having three games for each main mechanism for example only having three deck building games, and three worker placement games; and when a new engine building game comes out you play it, and only buy it if it replaces one of your three? It's not straightforward because games have multiple mechanisms in them, so to categorize some games into one of those groups when two main mechanisms are the most prevalent allows for some gaps. Why only three, no reason, but where does it stop and then we are back to where we are now. Why does there need to be a limit, there doesn't, but if you want a manageable collection some guidelines need to be considered. Curious to see a video, "Three Games Per Mechanism, What Game Has To Go?!?".

I have several games I want to move out of my collection. Some have literally never or seldom been played. I just don't have any way of selling them - no place to sell them. If anything, we need sources for selling games even if we'll lose money on the game.

If I enjoy a game, I keep it. Sooner or later I'll introduce it to other players and enjoy it again. I research games before buying, and rarely acquire games I don't want to play. Maybe 5% of my shelves are unwanted games, from my early days of gaming, or those I have won in a raffle, or the few that were really disappointing. I will get rid of those eventually, knowing that they won't bring any money.

26:36 That's where the bulk of my games lie! As much as I want to play games, I just don't 😂😢

Orange juice with pulp? Hello!

I hoard games either cuz of desire to play them or laziness to get rid of them. The emotional idea should stop at what brings us direct joy and not extend to indirect or inventing excuses of what joy could be. The toaster idea for example. Its creator also spent a great deal of time to invent that and just cuz they’re mass produced in a greater quantity than a board game doesn’t diminish what they felt. So are we gonna open up a junkyard and keep all things under that umbrella? Great idea to start culling with empty boxes then move onto boxes we can empty so we can throw them away then if we’re lucky we’ll be better situated to realize the games which gameplay give empty joy and cull them. Empty Joy : games played with people which that time spent itself is what is giving us joy vs the game played.

What stops me? FOGU. Fear of Giving Up.

One tip only: if you're on the fence, better sell it than keep it. Being on the fence is a good enough reason not to keep a game.

I had to pause the video to tell you that I'm drinking orange juice with pulp but I'm not playing completed legacy games so joke on you 🤪

Something Meg should probably consider. Most publishers are giving protype copies to elicit feedback and generate excitement for their game before their full game goes live. To them, the game they are providing is close but not equal to the game that they want to deliver. They consider the prototype to be expendable and Meg shouldn't feel guilty about getting rid of it. Some publishers might not even want prototypes to exist in the real world. They don't want an inferior version of their game to be in someone's hands and would request it be destroyed. Tainted Grail highlighted that this year in some of their playtest copies. Coming from me maybe that doesn't mean much. But perhaps if more publishers like Tom or Austin etc were to tell Meg their expectations for prototypes that would make her feel more at ease of getting rid of them.