Or at least
a game…
When people
find out I have nearly 250 games, I get one of two reactions. If they are under 13, I get, “Really! Cool!”
In the back of their minds they are trying to figure out if they might
be invited over, or how to befriend my son.
If they are older, I get a simple “Oh.”
In their minds, they are trying to figure out if they are dealing with a
mature adult, or someone who’s wife dresses him in the morning. (No, she doesn’t. Einstein’s wife dressed him in the morning, one
could be in worse company.) Nonetheless,
I am not likely to drop the boardgaming hobby, or reduce my number of
games. There are advantage to a large
collection and the variety that goes with it.
First of
all, I have a game to suit any “thinkiness” level. There are people who feel that “thinking = work”,
and I have games for those folks. These games have a fairly uncomplicated set
of rules, but interesting decisions to be made.
I am not talking about kids games, though they generally could play
them. At the other end, I have games for
the hobby gamer who feels that four hours of concentration leaving you drained of
energy is a good afternoon.
I have games
that cover a wide variety of themes. Incan Gold, for instance, is a press
your luck game that casts players as archeologists ala Raiders of the Lost Ark. The
further you go in, the more riches you bring out, but the more likely it is you
will die. I have wargames, party games, economic
games, sports games, sci-fi games, fantasy games, horror games, double-think
games, word games and a game on the 2008 presidential election. If you have an interest, there is a pretty
good chance I have a game that covers it.
I have games
for two players, and games for 20 players.
Again, some of these are light and breezy, and some are
brain-burners. (Though I don’t have a
twenty player brain-burner. Even I
wouldn’t play that!) While most games
are designed around two or four players, I have made a point of getting games
that include solitaire play (it’s hard to find wargame opponents) and can cover
a room full of people.
The end
result is that I have a game for nearly any situation. And while your family doesn’t need 250 games,
some variety might be good. You and your
spouse might only have two kids, but a six player game might be handy when
their dates come over for dinner. That
game for two players may seem unnecessary, but eventually when those two kids
marry those dates, you’ll be back to two player games. The casual gamer might have an even wider
variety, with their own significant other, friends, parties and others. So, when you are looking at buying games, or
even cleaning out that closet in the hallway, think a little beyond your normal
gaming situation and have some variety on hand.
It’s
Your Move!
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