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Giving up video gaming in favour of board gaming and more "analog" experiences?

andrespi

Member
So, I'm in my mid-thirties and I'm starting to realize that the more time passes, the more I'm abandoning video games. Recently (for 5-6 months) I have been exploring board gaming and starting my collection, and I'm enjoying collecting them and playing them more than any video game I bought in the last 2-3 years. For example in the last 5-6 months I played vampyr (and I was a huge fan of western rpgs) and RDR2, couldn't get to finish them. RDR2 especially, bored the hell out of me. Instead played the hell out of legacy of dragonholt (a heavy-narrative board game; more of a choose-your-own adventure game book) in the last 3-4 weeks.

But it's not just those two video games above; many others I just buy them, play for 1 hour or two and then can't play them anymore because getting bored and end up in the backlog. Even this whole digital only trend is taking its toll (whcih is the only way on pc but slowly creeping in also on consoles), having the boxes was a huge part of the hobby. I still have whole shelves of the old pc games, gameboy, nes and ps1-ps2-ps3 games. Now that I'm slowly getting sucked into board gaming, I like having these huge board game boxes on my shelves (I bought one shelf just for them and probably will buy more in the next few months); even just looking at them they are pretty nice.

The only video games I'm playing (and not even that much) is mini retro consoles (like nes, snes and even ps classic), and old retro wrpg (morrowind/bg2 mostly for a memory trip because I have some specific dear memories attached to them) and that's it.

Instead I spent my last 5-6 months playing the hell out of board games (legacy of dragonholt, fallout, eldritch horror). It must be because now I work 5 days out of 7 in front of a pc, and thus maybe I need more analog experiences when I'm relaxing.

It's probably also some kind of rose-tinted nostalgia for older-style gaming as I get older with age. And right now the "game" I'm most excited is the board game tainted grail, which I kickstarted. Even just having these large board game boxes gives me more satisfaction than playing video games. I just don't like most of the new games and video gaming trends that are being released.

So has anyone else slowly giving up gaming in favour of board gaming or other more "analog"/off-line experiences as they get older (over 30+)? I'm seriously starting to think of abandoning modern videogames and just play retro consoles and especially board games. Has anyone else gone through a gaming "crisis" and slowly giving up on this hobby in favour of others? In my case it's board gaming with physical components and to get more analog/off-line experiences, but for others it could be something else.

I never thought I would become like my parents, when they complained for the closure of blockbuster and simiar video-renting saying online doesn't have the same experience, but here I am yelling as an old man towards "progress" and going for more off-line experiences. What about you? Anyone else in a similar situation? So giving up video gaming as a hobby for other more off-line experiences?
 
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Yes. On my iPad, so can’t give a proper response right now, but yes, god yes. I’ve spent my gaming time this week building Monsterpocalypse models and Games Workshop has basically become my favorite game company these past few years. They are my new Nintendo.

Also, you’ll want to move past FFG games. They are increasingly app-dependent. Also, I’m super bitter that they keep killing my favorite game lines in favor of more Star Wars crap.
 
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andrespi

Member
Yes. On my iPad, so can’t give a proper response right now, but yes, god yes. I’ve spent my gaming time this week building Minsterpocalypse models and Games Workshop has basically become my favorite game company these past few years. They are my new Nintendo.

Also, you’ll want to move past FFG games. They are increasingly app-dependent. Also, I’m super bitter that they keep killing my favorite game lines in favor of more Star Wars crap.

Yea, I read something about that. For example with thje new journeys in middle earth having a mandatory app to play, which made me quite sad. Will need to look into other companies as well for my next buy.

Right now I'm backing a lot of board games on kickstarter (6 I think if I'm not wrong; tainted grail, suburbia, second edition of waste knights just to name the biggest 3 I have backed recently), and now I'm saving money for retail gloomhaven since they announced an Italian version.
 
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I really dislike what kickstarter has done to board gaming (particularly CMON). I feel like it causes hype 2-3 years in advance so that nobody is buying the games out right now because they are a few hundred dollars into a kickstarter for a game that won’t realistically ship for years. And the kickstarter exclusives are basically forcing people to commit serious money up front for a game that doesn’t even have completed rules yet. Then you have CMON and Monolith which basically don’t bother with retail anymore and just do Kickstarters. CMON has a new $500+ kickstarter literally every month. I think they are doing some Munchkin game now and have already announced that Bloodbourne is coming next. I am waiting on the Joan of Arc kickstarter, but I’ve skipped everything else.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
I have over 200 "hobby" boardgames, the sort you'd see on Kickstarter or bgg top lists or spiel de jahres winners or whatever. For the past year, I've had the same experience but toward boardgames: I don't feel like pulling any games off the shelf, I have several unplayed/unlearned boardgames that will take at least two hours of reading + setup before I can dive in, and I have so many excellent boardgames already that I don't feel like buying any more. My collection is too large and I could probably sell off half of it without truly missing them.

So your current predicament is not boardgames vs videogames. It's novelty vs familiarity.

I heartily recommend going retro + boardgame. That's mostly what I'm doing (with a few new games per year in select franchises).

However, don't expect boardgames to dodge the same problem you've encountered with videogames. You should avoid buying up all the big games that you see. Not only are they more expensive, but you'll probably never play them. Unlike videogames, they often require at least one other player (yes, I'm aware of solo rule variants).

My wife and I have cycled through the same 20-30 favorite boardgames over the years while occasionally dipping into lesser-played titles. You already have a huge videogame collection. Don't make the same mistake with boardgames: buy a handful and play them to death.
 
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andrespi

Member
Unlike videogames, they often require at least one other player (yes, I'm aware of solo rule variants).

Well, for me it's exclusively solo board gaming. I only buy board games that have a full solo mode/campaign and not just variants. I'm not really interested in groups right now.

The only few people I knwo where I live are too far and it would be impossible to organize anything (in my country it's not that large the passion for board gaming so it would be hard to find), and to be honest I don't even think I would want to play with them to be honest.
 
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pr0cs

Member
46 here, I'm not really giving up video games but I'm a LOT more picky about what I play now.
That being said in the last 5 years I have been board gaming a lot more.
Started with Catan at a family party which I enjoy and have a copy of now but I find that if you make bad initial choices or have shit rolls the game is dull because you are locked out of much chance of winning.
Bought Dead of Winter which is fun, my first more complex cooperative game. Set up time is a bit of a drag and with lots of players a pretty big time investment (>2 hours) but when it's rolling it's a lot of fun, makes for some really interesting stories and easy to get attached to your characters. Also good for those of your competitive friends that are kinda annoying when playing single competition games but are good at micro managing details which can occur in Dead of Winter.
Got Scythe this winter for cheap on Craigslist, I enjoy it but haven't played enough to give a final verdict, the art and play cards are really great though and looks pretty neat set up. For some reason my girlfriend has beat me every time we've played it so clearly I need to rethink how I'm playing it.
Our favourite game is Castles of Burgundy. It's an ugly game, possibly the least interesting looking of all the games we own but in terms of depth, ways to play, ways to win, strategies, time to play it wins hands down. When describing to new players how to play most start out concerned that they won't remember but after 15 mins most get the hang of it and by the end most can see how deep the game really is and how they made some bad assumptions not only on gameplay but on strategy early on. It's pretty rare that you're "out of running" early on which is why it's such a favorite here with friends and family.
Anyway, nothing wrong with augmenting your free time with both analog and digital games. Analog for me is more social, my liver usually gets abused more since we are drinking and socializing with friends so it's easy to enjoy yourself and get carried away. Time flies a lot faster analog gaming too.
Boardgamegeek is a good resource as well as craigslist and Kijiji since I picked up a bunch of fun games on the cheap that didn't click with their original owners.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Well, for me it's just solo board gaming. I only buy games that have a full solo mode/campaign and not just variants. I'm not really interested in groups right now.

The only few people I knwo where I live are too far and it would be impossible to organize anything (in my country it's not that large the passion for board gaming).
Right on. If you already have a plan in mind (in your case, playing solo), then it'll help prevent a wildfire of collecting. My wife and I follow a rule of "must be good with 2 players" 99% of the time because we know that we don't often get the chance to play w 3+ people.

You have to become a boardgame evangelist to your friends and neighbors ;) Then they will play with you.
 

andrespi

Member
Right on. If you already have a plan in mind (in your case, playing solo), then it'll help prevent a wildfire of collecting. My wife and I follow a rule of "must be good with 2 players" 99% of the time because we know that we don't often get the chance to play w 3+ people.

You have to become a boardgame evangelist to your friends and neighbors ;) Then they will play with you.
Yeah, I'm not going to start buying hundreds, especially since they are so expensive. I will certainly try to keep in check my shopping spree. I don't certainly want to end up with an infinite backlog like it happened with videogaming.
Will certainly try to become an evangelist for board gaming. :messenger_grinning_smiling: not easy, because many see it with suspicions but I'm near to convince one or two to give it a try.
 
Okay, now I'm on a computer - but I'm determined not to spend all day arguing on NeoGAF today, so I'll make this quick.

Video games have a permanence problem that is getting increasingly worse. It used to be that you only needed to worry about the occasional MMO going out of style, but now most big new games are services (that will undoubtedly shut down one). Even the consoles are services now, so the majority of my PS4 collection will stop working once they shut down the PS4 servers. Meanwhile, over in board game land, people still have copies of 40 year old games that are perfectly playable. With card sleeves and proper storage, you can play these games a hundred times with relatively little wear and tear, keeping these games available and playable for lifetimes. I've got miniatures from my childhood that are 35-40 years old that are still in perfect shape.

I've personally moved past board games into miniature games. I like board games a lot, but they do take up a lot of space. It is more difficult to have a bunch of different board games than video games, since you can fit 30 Switch games in a single board game's space, so I tend to only keep the board games that I really like - though I tend to end up with more card games like Netrunner or Arkham Horror: The Card Game.

Miniature games are somewhat impractical as well. They take a lot of time to build and play, so I've got a stack as tall as me - the pile of shame. Just stuff I haven't even taken out of the box yet. Probably about 400 miniatures across a dozen different game systems. Just the Infinity stuff I own but haven't opened yet is obscene.

There's this hybrid game style that is board/miniature that really hits the sweet spot for me though. Monsterpocalypse, Aristeia, Warhammer Underworlds, The Walking Dead: All Out War, Wildlands, Blood Bowl, BattleLore, Arcadia Quest, etc. CMON does a lot of games like this, but their kickstarter policy pisses me off. I've got some Dark Souls stuff coming today from the recent CoolStuffInc sale that I'm excited for.

I get most of my enjoyment out of building miniatures and reading rules rather than actually playing these games. Most people don't get that and think that board games can't be enjoyed unless they are played, but that's not me. I mean, I'll play any game with anyone that will offer, but I don't get out to the game clubs much anymore and my family is a bit selective in what they'll play. My wife hates learning new games, and there's nothing I enjoy more, so we're really not compatible board gamers. If it was up to her, she'd have one board game and just play it forever. If it was up to me, I'd buy board games, play them once, and move on (which is what happens anyway).

Ironically, I can't play board games solo. I've got a bunch of games that I've played solo (Gears of War, Walking Dead, Runebound, Mansions of Madness, Arkham Horror TCG), but for whatever reason, it just doesn't work for me. I feel like I'm missing something. Only game I've ever actually enjoyed solo was Dark Souls. I still felt like I was missing something, but the AI enemies in the game made the experience feel more mechanically interesting. Most people don't like that game though.

There's one game genre that I've never been able to successful pull off, but very much would like to - the campaign game. Stuff like Necromunda, Descent, Imperial Assault, Frostgrave. It's just been really difficult to build a weekly game night that we can commit to 10-20 games in a row of a single game system. Every time we've tried to do something like Imperial Assault, we'll make it three or four games and it will peter out.
 

Barsinister

Banned
This is a topic I have been considering creating for a few weeks now. Board gaming for me is like old school couch-coop. I played a game of Lords of Hellas over the weekend and had a blast. As far as collecting goes, I try to have a game in every genre, worker placement, area control, drafting, ect. I am slowly giving away copies of games that no longer appeal.

Right now, I am waiting to get A Feast for Odin to the table. Maybe this weekend.
 
As far as collecting goes, I try to have a game in every genre, worker placement, area control, drafting, ect.
You've piqued my curiosity. Which games do you have for these different genres?

For me, personally, it wouldn't be enough to have just one game from my favorite mechanics (you can't make me choose between Star Wars CCG and Netrunner), and having one of each of my least favorite mechanics would be too much (deck building can suck it).

I also tend to follow specific designers (Eric Lang, Richard Borg, Richard Garfield, etc) or specific companies (FFG, GW, CMON), and they generally all basically make the same types of games.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Yeah, I'm not going to start buying hundreds, especially since they are so expensive. I will certainly try to keep in check my shopping spree. I don't certainly want to end up with an infinite backlog like it happened with videogaming.
Will certainly try to become an evangelist for board gaming. :messenger_grinning_smiling: not easy, because many see it with suspicions but I'm near to convince one or two to give it a try.
I find that it's much easier to evangelize for hobby boardgames than it is for videogames.

It's nice to see other fans like Sqorin Hammerfarf Sqorin Hammerfarf and Barsinister Barsinister who also play boardgames.

As far as collecting goes, I try to have a game in every genre, worker placement, area control, drafting, ect.
Agreed, with a heavier emphasis on the smaller, quicker games because that's what ends up getting played.


I am slowly giving away copies of games that no longer appeal.
.
My wife and I need to begin doing this. She is more resistant to it than I am.
 

nkarafo

Member
The issue with board games is that they are all strictly multiplayer.

I love my single player video games.
 

andrespi

Member
Okay, now I'm on a computer - but I'm determined not to spend all day arguing on NeoGAF today, so I'll make this quick.

Video games have a permanence problem that is getting increasingly worse. It used to be that you only needed to worry about the occasional MMO going out of style, but now most big new games are services (that will undoubtedly shut down one). Even the consoles are services now, so the majority of my PS4 collection will stop working once they shut down the PS4 servers. Meanwhile, over in board game land, people still have copies of 40 year old games that are perfectly playable. With card sleeves and proper storage, you can play these games a hundred times with relatively little wear and tear, keeping these games available and playable for lifetimes. I've got miniatures from my childhood that are 35-40 years old that are still in perfect shape.

Yeah, i didn't want to say it, because many fellow gamers in real life call me an "old geezer" and not understanding the future, but I don't like either these games as a service thing (so to play, you to connect to server) and also the whole digital-only. Let's not start with the subscription. What will happen when servers shut down? Will I lose everything? Even the subscription trend that is taking momentum, when I stop subscription i lose everything. Same for: what if they remove the game from the the list of available games (netflix style), even imagining that I will still be subscribed in 10 years (which is not going to happen)?

Instead on my shelf I have monopoli boxes and trivial pursuit from my childhood that are still perfectly playable. Not only they scratch that collector itch (which a digital list of bought games doesn't scratch) of actually seeing and touching them, but they also just have dear memories (with friends from school or even my parents) attached to them when I just see them or pick them up, something that is not happening with games on steam or digital ps store. Plus I know they will be playable in 10 years.
 
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andrespi

Member
The issue with board games is that they are all strictly multiplayer.

I love my single player video games.
No, not necessarily.
I have been playing only solo for 6 months now while board gaming (only games that officially supports solo campaigns, so not unofficial variants) and already got a lot of them and they are all extremely enjoyable. look for retail legacy of dragonholt, arkham horror card game, eldritch horror, fallout board game, pulp detective or maybe late pledging tainted grail (which looks amazing with its adventure book) on kickstarter (if it's ok to wait). there are a few large communities on facebook for strictly solo board game players in my country, but I'm sure there are also for english speakers. Recently there were tons of board games with solo mode or specifically made for solo players.

If you like rpg games and narrative-heavy games and want it solo gaming like me, give a look at legacy of dragonholt. I loved it and it's amazing, never been more immersed. There is a LOT of reading (I would say it's 80% a choose-your-own-adventure book and 20% board game), and it is basically made to play alone. fantasy setting, you have a lot of choices, skills, character creation, experience, fame, skills to track, quests and events that you can miss if you spend too much time doing other stuff (there is time progress mechanic so you can lose events or witness different things if you are in different places at different times), and branches in the story.
 
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Barsinister

Banned
You've piqued my curiosity. Which games do you have for these different genres?

For me, personally, it wouldn't be enough to have just one game from my favorite mechanics (you can't make me choose between Star Wars CCG and Netrunner), and having one of each of my least favorite mechanics would be too much (deck building can suck it).

I also tend to follow specific designers (Eric Lang, Richard Borg, Richard Garfield, etc) or specific companies (FFG, GW, CMON), and they generally all basically make the same types of games.

Great Western Trail is an example of a game that does a little bit of everything (hand management, area control, worker placement, tile laying) and it comes together in an exciting way for me. I didn't mean to imply that I only have one of each type of game. I am always a little hesitant to try new games, but I played Stone Age back in October and loved it. So, worker placement is a category that was a little thin in my collection. I fixed that with a few purchases and that's how I found Great Western Trail.
 
Yeah, i didn't want to say it, because many fellow gamers in real life call me an "old geezer" and not understanding the future, but I don't like either these games as a service thing (so to play, you to connect to server) and also the whole digital-only. Let's not start with the subscription. What will happen when servers shut down? Will I lose everything? Even the subscription trend that is taking momentum, when I stop subscription i lose everything. Same for: what if they remove the game from the the list of available games (netflix style), even imagining that I will still be subscribed in 10 years (which is not going to happen)?
I feel like MMOs were the vaccine for GaaS's chronic illness. They're like "we're going to be updating Assassin's Creed Odyssey with new content all year" and all I can think is "Do you not remember Star Wars Galaxies? Forget not being able to play it anymore, the game was ruined by patches - almost every GaaS eventually breaks or ruins their game by chasing an unnecessary update cycle"
 
Don't give up the ship. I'm more into video games now than I was in high school and college. I feel like there's this entitlement to being young. You almost get bored with things because you're in society's tunnel vision for being a geek. You're also listening to parents and people around you. They're all trying to help you get ready for the future, so gaming is this thing you do in this journey. Then when you're older you start seeing the issues with the "big picture" and how its just a business for some people. Does any of that make any sense to you? Its too convoluted and it causes its own type of paranoia.

You can play offline. You don't have to load up Fortnite and then have your second screen be someone on Twitch playing GTAV Online or something. Even if that's what people want to do, it doesn't have to define gaming. I seriously think that people don't get a healthy dose of gaming talk. Say you had your best friend or spouse raise your gaming spirits. If something good happened to you (video game related or not). Wouldn't your eyes open a little bit wider?

If you're always looking at this outspoken medium that is full of ageism, that is technologically broken, and is this society's escape goat; then it will always weigh you down like a burden. Instead of acting like a surfer in the same polluted sea , look for your own ocean or clean it up yourself.

As far as board games go. I met my wife playing board games. I bought her Forbidden Dessert on our first date. We don't play board games a lot. We have played a lot of side scrollers and ESO. She likes Assassin's Creed and Horizon Zero Dawn. She doesn't like to play board games.

I do not want to put down board games because some of them look cool. I've seen photos where Randy Pitchford has board games on his Twitter feed. So obviously there are plenty of video game people playing board games too. All I can say is, don't look at it like there isn't someone out there trying to make things different. I can't imagine everyone who works at a major video game developer loving what's popular in today's market. Hell, I just recently bought Diablo 2 again from Blizzard. I'm also expecting a newborn soon. You have to look at things from another perspective sometimes (a positive one).
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Mastering games is the panacea for a bloated collection.

Spend a week playing one game at least 10 minutes a day. Excellent palette cleanser and it grants proper perspective.
 

andrespi

Member
Don't give up the ship. I'm more into video games now than I was in high school and college. I feel like there's this entitlement to being young. You almost get bored with things because you're in society's tunnel vision for being a geek. You're also listening to parents and people around you. They're all trying to help you get ready for the future, so gaming is this thing you do in this journey. Then when you're older you start seeing the issues with the "big picture" and how its just a business for some people. Does any of that make any sense to you? Its too convoluted and it causes its own type of paranoia.

You can play offline. You don't have to load up Fortnite and then have your second screen be someone on Twitch playing GTAV Online or something. Even if that's what people want to do, it doesn't have to define gaming. I seriously think that people don't get a healthy dose of gaming talk. Say you had your best friend or spouse raise your gaming spirits. If something good happened to you (video game related or not). Wouldn't your eyes open a little bit wider?

If you're always looking at this outspoken medium that is full of ageism, that is technologically broken, and is this society's escape goat; then it will always weigh you down like a burden. Instead of acting like a surfer in the same polluted sea , look for your own ocean or clean it up yourself.

As far as board games go. I met my wife playing board games. I bought her Forbidden Dessert on our first date. We don't play board games a lot. We have played a lot of side scrollers and ESO. She likes Assassin's Creed and Horizon Zero Dawn. She doesn't like to play board games.

I do not want to put down board games because some of them look cool. I've seen photos where Randy Pitchford has board games on his Twitter feed. So obviously there are plenty of video game people playing board games too. All I can say is, don't look at it like there isn't someone out there trying to make things different. I can't imagine everyone who works at a major video game developer loving what's popular in today's market. Hell, I just recently bought Diablo 2 again from Blizzard. I'm also expecting a newborn soon. You have to look at things from another perspective sometimes (a positive one).

It's not really society that discriminates with video games that gives me trouble, couldn't really care about what others think about my hobby. it's just that I get bored with all the new ones. I literally can't think of any new video games (apart from 1 or 2 indies) that hasn't bored me or that I managed to finish in the last 2 years. The only real enjoyment in video gaming I got recently was with the retro consoles.

It doesn't really have anything to do with the tunnel vision of society of being a geek, at least for me. Actually it's quite the opposite. Video gaming is a lot more accepted and mainstream now than when I was younger. It's just that modern games just bore me to death; maybe I have grown out of them. It's not even the problem of having too much of a backlog; it's just that I start them and already after 2-3 hours I can't even/or I don't want to play them anymore. I just don't get the same enjoyment I go in the past from nes, snes or even ps1 or gameboy games (even replaying them now on mini console I like them more than any recent game I bought).

trophies everywhere (I hate trophies so much), games as service, games that can be bought only digital (so the whole sense of collecting got lost, it was a big part for me having on shelves; in fact I have never sold a single game I owned; I have all of them on glass shelves for exposition), plus the whole open world with bloated maps trend (they literally bore me to death those games).
 
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No, it's worth giving up on video games now. You don't buy video games anymore, just rent them, and with Google's new console, there's an ill wind blowing on that front. The game industry will never again be what it used to be. It's too corporate now, and they care more about their shareholders than their audience.

I'm really amazed at the complete lack of creativity in the game industry anymore. It's really embarrassing. I could come up with more and better game ideas without breaking a sweat. Hell, I could come up with three hundred of them.

There's still creativity in the physical game market though. It is a little too reliant on kickstarter and the difficulty of maintaining a large collection will eventually gimp the market demand, but right now at least, we're still seeing new genres being created and interesting new and unique ideas take hold. It's really exciting to be a board/miniature gamer right now. I can't say the same for video games.
 

andrespi

Member
No, it's worth giving up on video games now. You don't buy video games anymore, just rent them, and with Google's new console, there's an ill wind blowing on that front. The game industry will never again be what it used to be. It's too corporate now, and they care more about their shareholders than their audience.

I'm really amazed at the complete lack of creativity in the game industry anymore. It's really embarrassing. I could come up with more and better game ideas without breaking a sweat. Hell, I could come up with three hundred of them.

There's still creativity in the physical game market though. It is a little too reliant on kickstarter and the difficulty of maintaining a large collection will eventually gimp the market demand, but right now at least, we're still seeing new genres being created and interesting new and unique ideas take hold. It's really exciting to be a board/miniature gamer right now. I can't say the same for video games.
Yeah, I'm following the board game scene on bgg too, and there is some crazy original themes. Something I haven't seen on videogames for many years. I don't know just to name a few: board games where you have to pursuit happiness during a life span, or being a chocolatier (not joking), or acquiring paintings and fund artists as a patron to decorate a room during the renaissance and so many others. Unfortunately I'm limited by the fact that I play alone mostly for now, but there are some crazy original themes/settings for board games that are being released.
 
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trophies everywhere (I hate trophies so much), games as service, games that can be bought only digital (so the whole sense of collecting got lost, it was a big part for me having on shelves; in fact I have never sold a single game I owned; I have all of them on glass shelves for exposition), plus the whole open world with bloated maps trend (they literally bore me to death those games).

I disabled Trophy pop up notification on PS3 and now on PS4. You don't have to see them pop up after every chapter. When I worked at GameStop back in 2007, there was a guy who came in with his Xbox 360 and games. He sold everything. He told me he was getting out of gaming for good. This guy came back maybe a month or two later and ended up buying another Xbox 360. I'd see him every now and then coming back to buy games. It stuck with me and maybe he did it for some other reason. You don't have to have some ''coming to Jesus" moment with Red Dead Redemption 2 or a brand new game either. There are still plenty of games to play. I play Guilty Gear XX Accent Core on my PSTV when I could play Rev 2 on PS4. Accent Core is coming out on Switch at some point too. The game is super old.

You still live in a collector's world. There are still going to be people getting rid of retro consoles. There are often items, relics of game industry being discovered. I see games at GameStop that I never knew got a physical release or a release at all. There are many more games being made now than there were with the SNES and PlayStation. We reached those numbers in the first couple years of the PS4. Plus a lot of board games are now video games. I can only imagine the experience of playing a board game is made even better with people who only use tablets and smartphones. I'm not here to really debate. I am also aware of the crossroads the two share. I've seen plenty of board game workshops across town. When I go to eat I'll see people playing Magic or a board game inside another shop.
 
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andrespi

Member
I disabled Trophy pop up notification on PS3 and now on PS4. You don't have to see them pop up after every chapter. When I worked at GameStop back in 2007, there was a guy who came in with his Xbox 360 and games. He sold everything. He told me he was getting out of gaming for good. This guy came back maybe a month or two later and ended up buying another Xbox 360. I'd see him every now and then coming back to buy games. It stuck with me and maybe he did it for some other reason. You don't have to have some ''coming to Jesus" moment with Red Dead Redemption 2 or a brand new game either. There are still plenty of games to play. I play Guilty Gear XX Accent Core on my PSTV when I could play Rev 2 on PS4. Accent Core is coming out on Switch at some point too. The game is super old.

You still live in a collector's world. There are still going to be people getting rid of retro consoles. There are often items relics of game industry being discovered. I see games at GameStop that I never knew got a physical release or a release at all. There are many more games being made now than there were with the SNES and PlayStation. We reached those numbers in the first couple years of the PS4. Plus a lot of board games are now video games now too. I can only imagine the experience of playing a board game is made even better with people who only use tablets and smartphones. I'm not here to really debate. I am also aware of the crossroads the two share. I've seen plenty of board game workshops across town. When I go to see I'll see people playing Magic or a board game inside another shop.
Disabling trophies changes nothing. Nowadays many games are built with trophies in mind, influencing heavily the gameplay loop.

Also about the collecting thing, that's not really true. Pc games are not physical anymore, and even many decent indie on consoles are getting mostly digital only releases.
Also aobut the shops? What shops? I haven't seen a real gaming shop in years. The retail video games I buy are from amazon. The only active chain for videogame in my country is gamestop, and half of the closest gamestop (which is only in major towns, so it means driving) is devoted to board gaming, selling gift cards and accessories and miniatures (not joking, videogames occupy less than half of the store).

Plus the point I was making was for new releases. I totally know I can play old games, I even said on the first post that retro consoles are the only enjoyment I got recently from video gaming. That's the point I was making, that the only enjoyment I got was from retro gaming, but there is a limit on how much I can enjoy replaying the same games forever.
 
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Disabling trophies changes nothing. Nowadays many games are built with trophies in mind. Look at collect 200 of those feathers. or complete 90 side quests that popup on map, and so on.

Also about the collecting thing, that's not really true. Pc games are not physical anymore, and even many decent indie on consoles are getting mostly digital only releases. Even the shops? What shops? I haven't seen a gaming shop in years. The games I buy are from amazon.


Plus the point I was making was for new releases. I totally know I can play old games, I even said on the first post that retro consoles are the only enjoyment I got recently. That's the point I was making, that the only enjoyment I got was from retro gaming, but there is a limit on how much I can enjoy replaying the same games forever.

I see shops pop up here and there. It might mean you have to travel. If one place closes, there may be another one a couple miles away. I see your point, but I also see games I've never heard of. Something unearthed from a vault. There are some arcade games from Japan that I've never seen before.
 

iconmaster

Banned
Only game I've ever actually enjoyed solo was Dark Souls. I still felt like I was missing something, but the AI enemies in the game made the experience feel more mechanically interesting. Most people don't like that game though.

Are you sure about that?

Anyway, board gaming is great. You aren't required to enjoy any particular hobby. I can recommend a bunch of great board games but I think I'll just leave you with this advice: don't buy so many games that most of them never get played. I know there's no way to rent a board game,* but do what you can to try out friend's games or those available at a game cafe if one is in your area.

*This is not strictly true, you can pay to borrow board games through the mail. It's not attractive to me, but I suppose somebody's doing it.
 

andrespi

Member
I see shops pop up here and there. It might mean you have to travel. If one place closes, there may be another one a couple miles away. I see your point, but I also see games I've never heard of. Something unearthed from a vault. There are some arcade games from Japan that I've never seen before.
What country? I'm from south europe. In mine there are no real video game shops anymore. They all closed down here. Mostly because of online shopping.

There is only game stop (the one closest to me will probably close down in a few years as well or change completely focus) and board game- specialized stores which have flourished and there are a lot of them even close by my home (one or two board game stores have actually opened recently in my town). But even game stop is hard to call a proper video game store. They even started selling broadband offers, and pre owned shelves have been reduced from 3-4 shelves to two for all consoles (including the retro consoles). A third of it is devoted to current console hardware (so not games but showcasing the console hardware, a third of the store to baord games, accessories and miniatures and barely a third for both new and pre-owned games. Then they have a whole seciton devoted to gift cards (so you can buy online from psn or other stores without using credit cards) .Games for previous generations are probably less than 5% of the whole store.

Now that I think about it, in my town there is only 1 video game stores (game stop), while for board games we have at least 3-4 private stores (at least the ones I know), of which 1 opened recently and it's going pretty well (always full of new games and lots of people). Even with online competition, they managed to stay relevant/open.
But all this about shops is really off-topic and doesn't have much to do with the topic of this post, which is switching to "analog" hobbies instead of digital ones.
 
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What country? I'm from south europe. In mine there are no real video game shops anymore. They all closed down here. There is only game stop ( the one closest to me will probably close down in a few years as well or change completely focus) and board game- specialized stores which have flourished and there are a lot of them even close by my home (one or two board game stores have actually opened recently in my town). But even game stop is hard to call a proper video game store. They even started selling broadband offers, and pre owned shelves have been reduced from 3-4 shelves to two for all consoles (including the retro consoles).

I'm in North America. That's how my town was. We had multiple arcades, a handful of mom and pop game stores, and then your commercial giants. There was even a large arcade that you'd see driving down one of the busiest intersections in town. They closed for good last month (30 years in business). The largest mom and pop game store (Gamers) closed after 25+ years in service. They reopened with a new owner, but this is beside the point. They closed all their stores in the states next to us. Now fast foward to today. We have a handful of mom and pop game stores. These stores have so many random items. I could walk in there and find at least one thing I'd like to buy. I can also go out to multiple thrift shops (donation centers). People are always throwing away good stuff. I also understand the point about shelves. Gamers sold shelves and weird obscure items before they closed down too. Maybe that's a thing? If you were to travel to another city, wouldn't there be more than just 1 or 2 electronic stores? I could possibly go to the state of Iowa and find a retro video game selection. They might not have anything, but I've done it before. I bought a 3DS game in Iowa. I had to get in my car and drive there, but I did it. Sure it takes some work, but I'm under the impression that what you want is out there. It may not be how you want it, but it is.
 

ROMhack

Member
It must be because now I work 5 days out of 7 in front of a pc, and thus maybe I need more analog experiences when I'm relaxing.
It's probably also some kind of rose-tinted nostalgia for older-style gaming as I get older with age.

I'm seriously starting to think of abandoning modern videogames and just play retro consoles and especially board games.

I never thought I would become like my parents, when they complained for the closure of blockbuster and similar video-renting saying online doesn't have the same experience.
Yep, I hear you on this but for me it’s not even because of nostalgia. A few years ago I used to baulk at the idea of playing board games as for me it was digital or nothing. My girlfriend at the time loved them and I had an opportunity to play all the time but never did. I’m really interested in them now, although admittedly don’t play much because I’m in between locales and it’s not easy.

Like you, I find sitting at a PC all day takes its toll. I don’t dislike the idea of playing new games but mentally it seems more stressful than playing retro titles. As you imply, older games are purer, not just in terms of gameplay but also often presentation. It’s harder to get distracted by non-game things in them and I think board games appeal for similar reasons – also because they’re social!

I think they’re also a really interesting case study. Two separate board game cafes have cropped up in my town in the past six months. It’s clear something is happening more widely in terms of culture – a type of quiet backlash.

I also agree about movies and that’s part of the success story of the re-emergence of smaller, independent cinemas (UK). I used to work in one and it was always packed. I subscribe to at least one movie streaming service but going to the cinema is more fun because it’s not sitting at a PC.
 
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andrespi

Member
I'm in North America. That's how my town was. We had multiple arcades, a handful of mom and pop game stores, and then your commercial giants. There was even a large arcade that you'd see driving down one of the busiest intersections in town. They closed for good last month (30 years in business). The largest mom and pop game store (Gamers) closed after 25+ years in service. They reopened with a new owner, but this is beside the point. They closed all their stores in the states next to us. Now fast foward to today. We have a handful of mom and pop game stores. These stores have so many random items. I could walk in there and find at least one thing I'd like to buy. I can also go out to multiple thrift shops (donation centers). People are always throwing away good stuff. I also understand the point about shelves. Gamers sold shelves and weird obscure items before they closed down too. Maybe that's a thing? If you were to travel to another city, wouldn't there be more than just 1 or 2 electronic stores? I could possibly go to the state of Iowa and find a retro video game selection. They might not have anything, but I've done it before. I bought a 3DS game in Iowa. I had to get in my car and drive there, but I did it. Sure it takes some work, but I'm under the impression that what you want is out there. It may not be how you want it, but it is.
I still don't see how this is relevant to the topic. Even if I drive to another city (which wouldn't change a thing; electronics stores hardly carry more than 10 or 15 "new" releases of last year at once), the fact remains that most modern games bore me to death after 1 or 2 hours (unlike retro consoles), while board games are giving me a lot more enjoyment for now. And that pc games are only digital, an consoles are slowly switching to a digital only, or subscription model.
Even the games that are still retail, are still a shadow of their former self: no manual or leaflet and many not even getting physical release.
 
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andrespi

Member
Like you, I find sitting at a PC all day takes its toll. I don’t dislike the idea of playing new games but mentally it seems more stressful than playing retro titles. As you imply, older games are purer, not just in terms of gameplay but also often presentation.

Yeah, it all started ever since I work full time in front of my pc. When I relax at weekend, I just want something different not looking at a screen, and the new videogames all seem chores after playing 1 or 2 hours . The only ones I still enjoy playing are the retro-consoles. Just purer as you said, I can still enjoy them even after a week in front of a pc.
 
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I still don't see how this is relevant to the topic. Even if I drive to another city (which wouldn't change a thing; electronics stores hardly carry more than 10 or 15 "new" releases of last year at once), the fact remains that most modern games bore me to death after 1 or 2 hours (unlike retro consoles), while board games are giving me a lot more enjoyment for now.
I was just answering some initial comments.

I've wanted to get Arkham Horrors. There are also those D&D board games that look interesting. I've seen a few at the comic book store up here.
 

andrespi

Member
I think they’re also a really interesting case study. Two separate board game cafes have cropped up in my town in the past six months. It’s clear something is happening more widely in terms of culture – a type of quiet backlash.

Yeah same in mine. in my town we have at least 4 different board game shops (maybe more, I'm not sure), 1 or 2 of them opened pretty recently; they aren't cafès like in your case but it's pretty close.

And in half of them they organize multiple weekly slots where random people can go and play. It's really strange, because of online competition/stores most of other similar sectors have closed down, while instead board game stores and miniature stores have opened up and are having quite a bit of success.

I think the social aspect (weekly sessions to play inside the store), plus the possibility of actually seeing the boxes or miniatures and getting to see them physically contributed to make them survive.
 
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ROMhack

Member
Yeah same in mine. in my town we have at least 4 different board game shops (maybe more, I'm not sure), 1 or 2 of them opened pretty recently; they aren't cafès like in your case but it's pretty close.

And in half of them they organize multiple weekly slots where random people can go and play. It's really strange, because of online competition/stores most of other similar sectors have closed down, while instead board game stores and miniature stores have opened up and are having quite a bit of success.

I think the social aspect (weekly sessions to play inside the store), plus the possibility of actually seeing the boxes or miniatures and getting to see them physically contributed to make them survive.

I read something about this a few months ago. Retailers think it's do with people wanting different kinds of shopping experiences. You can get everything cheaper online but when so in real life, you want to sample things before buying, talk to the shop clerk, etc. Makes sense to me.

A mini-golf thing opened up in my city recently. I won't hold my breath for the reemergence of arcades but retro gaming nights in pubs seems to be getting more popular.
 
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888

Member
I tried this. I collected some games. Some were fun, some were tedious. I don't keep a massive circle of people with interests that line up with mine. My Wife doesn't get into the more complex games. Videogames are just easier for me.
 

andrespi

Member
I read something about this a few months ago. Retailers think it's do with people wanting different kinds of shopping experiences. You can get everything cheaper online but when so in real life, you want to sample things before buying, talk to the shop clerk, etc. Makes sense.

A mini-golf thing opened up in my city recently. I won't hold my breath of arcades but throwback retro gaming nights in pubs seems to be getting more popular.
Yeah, it makes sense thinking about it.

My parents for example are nostalgic for video renting stores, and I don't blame them now (after all I'm doing the same with games).

When we went there (seems like a different age), you could see actual boxes, read the cover boxes, talk with the clerk (often a friend or at least someone you get to know with time), he would advise you on movies, and you would spend maybe 10-15 minutes browsing the shelves and buy some snacks while you were there for the evening/movie night. Sometimes I would even rent videogames for me when we went together.

They still buy cheap on amazon dvd and blu ray, but they say it's not the same. Something has been lost along the way.
 
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ROMhack

Member
Yeah, it makes sense thinking about it.

My parents for example are nostalgic for video renting stores, and I don't blame them now (after all I'm doing the same with games).

When we went there (seems like a different age), you could see actual boxes, read the cover boxes, talk with the clerk (often a friend or at least someone you get to know with time), he would advise you on movies, and you would spend maybe 10-15 minutes browsing the shelves and buy some snacks while you were there for the evening/movie night. Sometimes I would even rent videogames for me when we went together.

They still buy cheap on amazon dvd and blu ray, but they say it's not the same. Something has been lost along the way.

I had a few patrons like that when I worked in a cinema. They would ask for my recommendations on upcoming movies, it was a bit surprising at first but nice.

Bit difficult as I had to judge their taste and often pretend I knew what the upcoming movies were about.
 
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thequestion

Member
Great Western Trail is an example of a game that does a little bit of everything (hand management, area control, worker placement, tile laying) and it comes together in an exciting way for me. I didn't mean to imply that I only have one of each type of game. I am always a little hesitant to try new games, but I played Stone Age back in October and loved it. So, worker placement is a category that was a little thin in my collection. I fixed that with a few purchases and that's how I found Great Western Trail.


Awesome game. Great Western Trail is in my top 5, favourite board games.

Some other great games with 2-4 players:

Concordia
Le havre
Mombasa
Viticulture
Isle of sky
Yokohama

For those interested in solo gaming, I’ve been enjoying:

Dragonfire
Mage Knight
Gloomhaven
Arkham horror LCG (living card game)

When I started the hobby, 5 years ago, I found my time with video games dropped significantly. There’s something about board games that scratches that itch in a part of my brain, that I had no idea I was neglecting. It’s super addicting, and if your not careful, you will become an expert in shelf building, to accommodate your new obsession.
 
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I can’t stand eurogames. Even when they are games I like, I don’t like them. I think the only eurogames I have in my collection are Imperial Settlers (which isn’t really euro), Roll For the Galaxy, and a couple Tiny Epic games. I’ve got about a hundred Ameritrash games though.
 
The wife and I used to play video games all the time, but more and more we've been switching to analogue games. We're big fans of sword and sorcery, Conan/Red Sonja/etc. You can't find that in video games anymore unless it's parody. We started getting into miniatures and found the hobby to be a great way to zen after a long day at work. We now play everything from Warhammer, Shadows of Brimstone, Shadows of Normandie to Necromunda and Frostgrave. Even if we don't like the miniatures the game provides, we can easily find an artist elsewhere and use those.
Overall we find the experience more enjoyable. We talk more, even when friends come over, everyone has a good time.

Recently we picked up OOP Fantasy Flight card games like Warhammer Invasion and Conquest because we could get the whole collection for cheap. Thats been a lot of fun. It's also interesting seeing how much art standards have changed in 10 years. Things are immensely prudish nowadays, displaying an ankle or shoulder feels risque.
 
Recently we picked up OOP Fantasy Flight card games like Warhammer Invasion and Conquest because we could get the whole collection for cheap.
How did you get Conquest cheap? I’ve been looking for Jungles of Nectavus for a reasonable price for years! I do have complete collections of Invasion and Netrunner, which I’m quite proud of, and working on Arkham Horror and L5R (but they keep making more!) The LCGs are the only FFG games I still buy. There is nothing greater in gaming than a full card collection, organized into binders.

You're a huge Uwe Rosengerg fan, then? :messenger_smirking:
Who?
 
How did you get Conquest cheap? I’ve been looking for Jungles of Nectavus for a reasonable price for years! I do have complete collections of Invasion and Netrunner, which I’m quite proud of, and working on Arkham Horror and L5R (but they keep making more!) The LCGs are the only FFG games I still buy. There is nothing greater in gaming than a full card collection, organized into binders.

For Jungles of Nectavus, Unforgiven and Searching for Truth I had to buy the cards individually. Came out to about $13-15 per set, way cheaper than what Ebay sellers want.
 

#Phonepunk#

Banned
why not both? i play tactile games as well as video. last week was playing black jack and rummy. when i visit family we play pool, we play Sequence, we play Tumblin' Monkeys, etc.

if you like games, why not play em all
 
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