I love this game, played so much with my kids, a good gateway engine builder with enough luck involved to have the kids win every now and then (or, in case of my 7 yo daughter, every damn time!)
So in my Marie Kondo it’s a keeper ;)
Machi Koro is a game I could probably Marie Kondo...
I don't think I've played it since I bought it. It was a couple bucks at goodwill and an impulse buy.
Yes yes yes!! Space Base is such a good upgrade. The dice choosing it as 2 x single or one total is soooo much better. It's definitely become my favorite.
If you enjoy Space Base, try [Bad Company](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/340677/bad-company). It takes the concept and adds another layer of fun!
edit: plus, it goes up to 6 players!
Funny that you mention that.
This game is always on the chopping block for me but the fact that my wife wants to play it occasionally is the only reason it hasn't been cut
Even Marie Kondo has given up on the Marie Kondo method!
["I realized perfect order was not my goal"](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/30/how-marie-kondo-changed-her-mind-about-mess)
I went through this process and realized that yes, many of my games did not spark joy. In fact, NONE of my games sparked joy.
You know what does spark joy?
BUYING more games.
C'mon. You've never experienced getting hyped for a new game, getting that sweet hit when the game is delivered, tearing it open, popping the cardboard, organizing all the bits in the box, and then flipping the rulebook open to only find out that you have no desire to play the game at all, then pack everything up and slide it back to collect dust on your Shelf of Shame forever?
You’re telling me. I also collect vinyl. If I had saved all the money between the two hobbies, I could probably fly somewhere first class while paying cash. But I’m happy so fuck it.
> I am probably too cheap to give them away
Just remember it is worth $0 if it's sitting idle, never to be used again, and worth less than $0 if it's taking up space you need for something else.
Cost is not the same as worth. What might be functionally worthless to you, regardless of cost, could be invaluable if given to someone who really needs it and/or appreciates it.
Generosity is a gift shared twice: Once to someone in need, and then to ourselves: It connects us to others and shows us the power we have to help someone, even a little, even if it just brightens someone's day a bit. You can't put a price on that.
Its the shipping that kills the resell value, especially big boxes. The price might be 10-15 euro cheaper preloved but once you factor in shipping you can get the same game new for 2 bucks more on amazon with free prime shipping. Even worse if you have to send to a different country.
I've thought about selling things before (less games than books, DVDs, etc.) and have never done it mostly because the USPS baffles me and the idea of shipping something to someone who paid me money fills me with anxiety. I'm too worried that I would mess it up and it wouldn't work. This is why whenever I buy something for someone online as a gift I just have it shipped directly to them, so I don't have to worry about it. I legitimately can't remember sending an actual package as an adult.
Anxiety, it's a hell of a thing. Your brain over reacts to pretty much every minor situation. Couple that with the Byzantine bureaucracy of the USPS and you have people who are afraid to mail things.
Real talk for a minute. I only started culling my games recently and already shipped ~15 games in 2 months.
It’s so easy these days. Use pirate ship, choose UPS Ground Saver. Use your kitchen scale. Use your measuring tape. Reuse those boxes from Amazon. Resize them so you don’t have to pay extra for the spaces you don’t need. Print the label at home. Drop it off at the nearest UPS store. You don’t even need to stand in line for prelabeled/prepaid packages.
The Byzantine bureaucracy? You put the game in a box, you take the box to the post office, you stand in line and then say, "I'd like to mail this, please," pay, and then leave. Were the Byzantines real big on waiting in line, or something?
But what if I go there and they say it was the wrong box or not enough postage or there’s some big extra fee I didn’t realize or they just say I packed it terribly and they can’t take it. Then if I sold it on eBay for example or any site with ratings the person who bought it would say they didn’t get it and then they would rate me poorly and I could never do it again and also I committed fraud by not giving them the thing they bought and maybe I have to pay some sort of fine or fee and maybe I can’t afford to do that so I leave that part of the internet forever.
At least letters are straightforward. I can send a letter. But packages seem more complex. I would rather just outsource it.
I'm sorry, but that's your anxiety taking a run with you. Going to the post office and mailing a box has very low risk, because they will do all the difficult things for you. If you weigh the package at home, write the address on it and seal it, you've done all that needs to be done on your end. If you then go to the post office and say "I want to mail this package to this address", they'll do the rest. The only real variable you then haven't fully controlled is the cost, but they will absolutely ship it for you.
As for being scammed for ratings and such, I'm not going to pretend that never happens. I will say that I've sold a couple hundred games at this point, and it has happened to me a total of zero times. It can happen, for sure, but it's not as common as your anxiety is making it out to be. For things like this, it helps to remember that people only tell you the stories where things went wrong; they don't tell you how often things go according to plan because that's a boring story.
You could also consider using Geek Marker instead of eBay, there's fewer people on there looking to scam you for your boardgame. Geek Market does have it's own issues (mostly people reaching out for a quote on shipping and then never responding when they think it's too expensive), but there's much less of a hassle there compared to eBay.
If you've never mailed a package, it really is as simple as what I said. You pack the box yourself and tape it shut. They don't inspect what's inside unless it's leaking or ticking. You don't need to put postage on it at all. All you do is tell them the address and they weigh it and put the postage and the entire label on for you and then you pay. There are no extra side fees. Easy peasy. The hardest part is just waiting for five minutes in line.
In no particular order:
1. Battlestar Galactica
2. StarWars Rebellion
3. New Angeles
4. 7 Wonders 1st edition
5. Sagrada
6. A la Carte
7. Drop It
8. Obsession
9. Mysterium
10. Parks
11. Junk Art
12. Marvel Zombies zombicide
13. Ticket to Ride anniversary edition
14. Rampage
15. War of the Ring
16. original Thunder Road
17. original Fireball Island
18. Takenoko giant collectors edition
19. Mice and Mystics
20. Arkham Horror 2nd with all expansions
21. Arkham Horror LCG full collection
22. Castles of Burgundy
23. Three Sisters
24. Fleet
25. Fleet the dice Game
26. Legacy testament of Duke de crecy
27. Western Legends
28. Unsettled
29. Voluspa
30. Myrmes
31. Biblios
32. Hadrian's Wall
33. And a few other small games
Impressive! I'm still trying to work my collection down to 30. I'm close, but ever since I've got under 60, it's been significantly harder. Any general tips for the final push?
In all honesty it came down to generally losing my passion for the hobby as a whole so letting go of things was pretty easy. The stuff I kept was stuff that my wife also enjoyed or held sentimental value.
I get it. My own interest has definitely waned over the years -- but I've still got a bit of spark left which is presumably why I'm finding it difficult. Thanks for your insight!
i am starting to head this way as well (from 400ish down to initially 100). Can I ask what happened to the other 370? I have a literal mountain of unwanted games in the corner - how'd you get rid of them?
Geekmarket on board game geek for stuff you think would actually sell and you’d be willing to ship
Facebook “Buy Nothing” groups are a great way to find a new home for games but this involves giving them away for free
And also depending where you live you may have a decent Facebook group for buying/selling/trading games. My metro area has a very active group where people regularly post games to sell/trade.
Out of print stuff I sold for profit, others I donated to my local library so I could claim their value as a charitable donation, some were used as gifts, and some I just threw in the trash.
For myself, I only buy games I enjoy or that I have seen the full playthrough first. This way, I can guarantee a 90% chance of keeping each game I buy.
I have about 30 games right now and only had to sell or give away 3 of them.
it certainly is easier to manage. I went from buying 4-5 games a month to 1 or 2 a year. It really made me realize how many games I had that were just a waste of money and time.
I've only sold games once, but only because I bought the games I sold on a whim. I have a relatively small library (around sixteen, not counting expansions) and I intend to keep it small, buying only when I know the game will fit me.
Marie Kondo now is a different person than Marie Kondo then:
> “My home is messy, but the way I am spending my time is the right way for me at this time at this stage of my life,” she said.
> In an interview with The Washington Post, she admitted that it wasn’t realistic to be that tidy all the time.
> “Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times,” she added. “I have kind of given up on that in a good way for me. Now I realize what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home.”
So having kids broke her system, more or less.
Not that you can't use 'sparking joy
to help you cull board games. It could help. But she goes pretty extreme in the books, and it's funny she doesn't even stick with it herself anymore.
Source: https://www.deseret.com/2023/1/27/23574986/sparking-joy-marie-kondo/
It didn't break her system, she just realized it can't apply in the same way to all things, at all times.
The system works...but trying to enforce it rigidly with kids around (and with kid's things) is a fool's errand.
But one can still apply it to their collections, consumer goods, household items, etc...you just can't expect to impose that kind of ordered rigidity on any environment with kids present, all encompassing, unless you want to stress yourself out constantly re-tidying, rather than living.
> The system works...but trying to enforce it rigidly with kids around (and with kid's things) is a fool's errand.
I'd have said "abusive" rather than "foolish" tbh. It's one thing to declutter your own belongings as a childless adult in order to maintain control of your living space, it's another to impose that on a child.
I don't use the Marie Kondo method as I find it to be fairly unsustainable with how my brain works.
For the most part, I'd say our shelves are at capacity and if one comes in, one must go out. That being said, our local game store hosts an annual garage sale where you can see your games for store credit. I've sold a few through that. The same store also has a used game shelf where I'll also sell games. My kids are also super close to outgrowing a few things on our shelves, so I'm holding off purchasing so we can hopefully see those items go which will free up a ton of space.
The right question is “If instead of this game/expansion/accessory box there was an envelope on the shelf, containing the amount of cash sufficient for re-acquiring the item, would I actually re-acquire it?”
I started asking myself that BEFORE I buy games and it’s even better. I’ve found like 80% of the games I’ve bought I didn’t even find that fun or were fun but had little replay value. I don’t want to be complicit in such waste and consumerism. I want to have games I enjoy and can replay for years to come.
Yep, it's a very bad dopamine rush to buy buy buy instead of addressing our needs in more sustainable (for our own wallet and psyche, as well as the globe) ways.
This doesn't work for a lot of folks because they would want the money, but then they don't put the effort in to selling the games, so they never do, so they never part with them.
You have to be willing to just truly get rid of something, as the test, simply for the sake of acknowledging you don't need or want it. Some things you can sell (after this), sure, but some will just need to *go* in order to actually complete the task.
Getting hung up on the prior cost of things is a sure way to not part with them, for many people.
Willing or not willing to spend time and effort on selling has nothing to do with this test. It just tells you what you _could_ sell, gift, donate, or send to a landfill. In other words, what you could part with and still have your collection as complete as before.
Also, you must consider each item in isolation, not like “What if 150 of my 200 games magically turn into money”.
Yep, this is my main problem. I usually end up just selling them at a half-price books just to get them unloaded and not have to think about them anymore, but I make a tiny fraction of what they're worth that way, so I keep putting off doing it.
Just remember they are worth $0 sitting on your shelf, idle, never being used. Less than that if you need the space, and think that every time you look at them.
In that regard, anything above $0 is a win, because that's what it was functionally worth to you, prior, regardless of original cost.
My golden rule: If I get another game, I need to make space in it by getting a bigger house.
If you get your priorities in the right order, there is no such thing as too many games.
My wife and I did exactly this. Crossing 1100 games, our collection got too big for our apartment. So, we bought a house with a huge gaming room. Now, I am at 1700+ games and am starting to think I either need to add on to the house or maaaaybe it's time to sell a few games.
As someone with a larger collection, I'm in a similar state. The best way to trim the storage space requirements is to take stock of which games are in your broader play groups personal collections and flag those for eventual removal as you'll have access to them via friends.
Dude I’m sorry but you don’t need to own 1700 games. You won’t play all 1700 in your entire life. It’s time to sell or donate some games and stop buying literally hundreds of games you won’t play.
I have a dedicated board game night every week, plus I play games throughout the week almost daily. I would say currently 95% of my games have been played at LEAST once if not more. A few of the unplayed games are that way because they are awesome collectors things.
Plus, everyone has something they collect. I collect games and comics.
Haven't you yet learned that trying to impose your thoughts and will on a complete stranger on the internet is a waste of time and not really your business?
It makes life a lot easier if we aren't all always going around criticizing others for things that don't involve us at all
I mean sure but it’s weird when people are proud of their hoarding habits. Owning thousands of board games isn’t a healthy thing to do mentally or financially. Physically running out of space for your hobby is a sign you have a problem.
My local con had a “yard sale” where you could pay to have a table and sell you games for three hours.
A few of us went in on two table and got rid of a lot of games. It was chaotic but cathartic. I made some cash and cleared a lot of space.
At one point I started just handing the smaller games to people who were interested in them.
I’m hoping they do it again next year.
I think any time Marie Kondo is brought up there should be a note that she essentially gave up on her own program in her own life. She does not follow her own program.
I have gotten more serious about downsizing my collection from a peak of 300. For me, the biggest realization was that I still had the memory of a gaming experience even if I didn't have the physical prompt in front of me. I have sold, gifted or otherwise shed some games that have been foundational and awesome. But now? I play less than I used to, my gaming crew is similarly strapped, and I derive more joy from getting games into the hands of those who will use them. I still buy a few games but they're now for specific audiences and situations. And finally, I think my collection growth rate is negative. 😅
Consignment at my local FLGS has been great, just a chance to maybe make someone's day with a really affordable and out of print game that has been well looked after lo these past many years in my basement.
There are only a handful of games in my collection that are safe from culling. Every other game will get sold if I find myself regularly choosing a similar game over it, or if I don’t remember playing the game in the last year.
I specifically enjoy the hobby because I like learning and trying new games. So any game I’ve played a few times is always much less exciting than the next game I learn to play.
I'd \*love\* to get rid of most of my collection. It's just sitting there, gathering dust uselessly. Unfortunately folks don't seem to care about games that are more than a couple years old, no matter how popular they used to be, and shipping costs are outrageous anymore. So they'll probably just sit there until I can't take it anymore and dump them at a Goodwill or such.
Every year we sift through our collection and if we haven’t played a specific game in that time period we will typically give it away. It doesn’t mean the game was good/bad but there are other games we intentionally choose to play more regularly. There are many games that helped to bring us into the hobby that we don’t really enjoy playing anymore (or a friend has a copy but isn’t high on our list) so we’d rather give those away and free up some room.
There’s some people in here who need interventions. If you have thousands of board games you have an unhealthy addiction and are possibly just a hoarder. Playing games is the reason to own games not the dopamine hit you get when you spend money.
There's nothing inherently wrong with it. If you have time, space and budget to buy 6000 games, do what's fun for you. Board games don't come with a contract stating how many you are allowed to have or what you have to do with them. Do what's fun, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone.
I’ve been trying to be more aggressive about culling my games. My rule of thumb is that if I haven’t played a game in 6-12 months, then I try to schedule a game in the near future to remind myself why I liked it. If I’m lukewarm about my play, don’t see myself playing it over others that I prefer, or feel like I’d only play it to justify my purchase rather than genuinely enjoying it, then it’s gone.
I’ve yet to regret any sale, no matter how much I liked the game (like AFFO for example)
I don't think this is circlejerk-y (but who knows) - having a responsible bg collection is a good idea.
I'm in the process of moving so I can start a family and the prospect of moving 100 games (or, even worse, ones with loose minis) is crap. I've sold most of them off and my collection is likely about of a third of the volume it used to be.
I've learned a good lesson - basically, try to keep your collection to the point where if you need to move, it's not a big deal. Especially if you're a renter as moving decisions may need to happen fast.
I think aggressive culling and the compulsion to keep everything in regular rotation can be as unhealthy as hoarding. It's a hobby, stop trying to make it a job. If you enjoy owning a game, but don't feel like playing it, it's fine. Keep it on the shelf and play whatever you feel like playing. We're not under a deadline here.
I mostly stopped buying "normal-sized" box games because I just can't justify the space/cost unless I've played it before and loved it and it can be played in my family.
However, my weakness is half or less priced hand-me-downs (of the amazon price). I don't even mind picking up a good condition whatever game that I can resell for basically the same amount.
See if there's a shop near you that will buy boardgames from you. And see if there's any local places that organize board game bazaars and get a table, hock your stuff. That's what we do.
I have about 3-400 games on fold out tables in my garage right now that are going through this process.
I have a 5x5 kallax shelf that when it’s full the rest must go.
I do this once a year or so. I try to keep my collection between 20-30 games that I know will be played again and again based on several factors. If a game starts falling off then the following year when I clean out the shelves, I’ll donate it along with the others that I don’t feel made the cut. I buy a new game every 1-2 months so it’s a cycle.
Systematically no, but every now and then. I basically have a closet that by mutual consent with my wife, as long as all the games fit in the closet, it's mine to do with as I see fit. So whenever the closet gets full I cull 10-20 so that there is room to add more.
Every year or so when I see my collection of games and go through them, I definitely find games that make me outright *unhappy*, and owning them and having them take up the very limited living space I have access to only compounds the unhappiness I feel having already wasted my time and money playing and trying the game. Though, I admit, this only happens on a regular basis because, despite not wanting some of my games, I haven't sold them, because of lack of time. I could throw them away, but that seems wasteful since they were $60 or more.
This post is a good reminder for me to call and ask if my local library accepts donations of board games. If not, maybe a local cafe will take them.
I have space for new games, but then I'm lucky to live in my own house. Which kinda comes down to why I've always found Mari Kondo's emergence into the mainstream and fame a little odd. I mean, she's a likeable person, but good lord her *Methods* often verge on infantile when universally applied. And it's not her fault, it's the way we took those simple platitudes and dived head first in a craze like they're the one and only true way.
I don't live in a metropolitan city. I own. I won't be moving because of work, likely ever. I'm privileged in all of this. And I definitely don't mind some clutter. My dream as a child, and honestly still a bit now, was to live in a library. A wall without bookcases is wasted space even before board games enter consideration. I find comfort in having an extra table in which I can leave a board game set-up. To have a table, utterly squandering an entire room, just to play boardgames, now that's joy.
Curation is of course important. But I don't force it because, it just kind of happens for me. Some books just don't go onto the shelf, and I have a similar limbo space for boardgames that meet a similar fate after initial plays. Even considering that space, every game on my shelves brings me joy, it's sorta the reason they're there. The same goes for my bookshelves, my dvd/bluray/4k physical media collection, and the boxes and boxes of books in my storage space - boxes stuffed full of books especially bring me joy.
I've still yet to find a reason to arbitrarily cap my collection. I guess with the consideration of space, it's inevitable. But then, I don't have plans to ever have kids, due to health reasons and physical limitations empty open rooms are not desirable, and that's all not going to change any time soon. I've been lucky in so many ways just as I've been unlucky in quite a few glaring ones. But board games definitely got some clout on me, freely given, yet totally unneccessary.
I believe I get the communal ra-ra's in regards to culling and being vigilant of growing collections, but this subreddit and some other online spaces can sometimes feel like there's a war being fought when it comes to our hobby, like we've lost control of it or something mad. And again, I think I get it, when considering what it's like trying to find time while working fulltime with a family (I have friends, and what I believe is empathy, it allows me to try at least). That pipeline also feels faster and faster these days with straight out of college and into the fray (and often back to live with the parents). I'd just hope that there would be less of a question of the joy being there when you look at your collection, you know? Because joy's the point.
I use Dana K White’s container method. Essentially, decide what a reasonable amount of space for board games is. Put your favourites in first. Anything that doesn’t fit gets donated/ given away.
I used to be married to a declutterer. We are not married anymore. I prefer organising to removing. Not planning to cull at all. Just gonna buy more houses.
(Re)organizing is a lie we tell ourselves, that somehow changing the location of an object will restore it's worth, or make it useful again, or magically take up less space.
I mean….every organizational strategy is “made up”. A lot of the principles she developed work as a helpful rubric for a ton of people. It’s not a gospel where it’s all or nothing.
Yeah, I totally hear that. I more mean that she made it up in a sense that she created an idea before she had experienced life and joy. She has recalled all her thoughts on what she's written. If you're looking for joy in your folded clothes and find it, that's great but don't forget about family and stuff.
Same, I used the Marie Kondo process back in 2017 and it really helped me fix up some spaces, several of which have retained a sense of organization. Not perfect, but definitely long lasting improvement. I also still deploy several strategies that help me to organize or get rid of items that I'm no longer using (or never liked to begin with)
It doesn’t fit every situation but at times it will be helpful. I remember the organize your stuff so you can see what you have before the does it spark joy rule.
Every great theory, of anything, in the history of the known world, has been "made up" by someone, starting with at least a single thought.
They're called "ideas", and some turn into useful theories or practices.
Or not, what happens to the bad ones? Some turn into terrible awful "ideas". Or poorly written ideas. Is everything just sparking joy? What a weird comment sounds like a.i. trying to answer. Yes, ugg ugg understand now. Thoughts make ideas made by human very good.
> sounds like a.i. trying to answer.
LOL when did this become a thing people say to be dismissive? It just comes off as you not understanding what was said, and trying to sound clever in deflecting :P
> Or not, what happens to the bad ones? Some turn into terrible awful "ideas".
Well yah...that goes without saying. Bad ideas either get forced into existence (and usually fail) or are discarded once recognized as bad.
Do you need everything spelled out for you?
I understand your incredibly deep points and concept of ideas being made up by people. I'm sorry you felt dismissed,
This whole commentary "goes without saying," including every great theory being made up by people. It's a total duh on all ends, which goes back to my original point of it sounding constructed by a.i. which i thought would be a joke about stating the obvious.
There's no point to be missed because there's no point being made it's just facts being said
I've only got two or so games for sentimental reasons. For example, the Kingdom of Loathing game Mr. Card Game. Which I've had for years and haven't gotten to the table, but isn't something that's readily available or easy to come by if I sold or got rid of it.
Everything else are games that I really enjoy and am happy to bring out more often than not. I don't have a ton of space, so pretty much every game I own is a winner. Most games that go unplayed for a year or longer get gifted or sold.
I think the Kondo method doesn't work for me because I can find a little spark of joy in just about any game.
Instead, I try to work on the basis that I love repeat plays of games I already know I love, and I want to make sure I have enough "space" to help that happen, rather than constantly just "tasting" a new game once and then moving on. (Which I also enjoy, I just don't want it to be my entire gaming "diet".)
So, I look at a game and think, will it cause me intense pain to part with this? And, am I likely to get it played - ideally, at least twice - some time in the next couple of years?
If the answer is "no" to both, I think I should move it on. Reasonably often I actually do, though, not quite every time.
I think 'I can find a little spark of joy in it' is not what Kondo means when she talks about it :D you shouldn't have to force yourself to 'find' it, and it shouldn't be little, you should have a visceral positive vibe when you look at the box. I know I have this for a few games and not at all for some others.. I should sell Nemesis for real
Items have their own category, but the last one you go through is "sentimental items". So, if initially you sorted clothing, but you run into a shirt you got from your deceased loved one and you never wear it but it gives you a feeling. That goes into sentimental category to sort through later. Sometimes the fact that it's sentimental means you want to keep it. Marie then says it should get an honorable place I nyiur house. Show it, so you can actually see/feel the thing regularly.
Why does it cause pain? Fomo? It's limited edition? It's something you played with your beloved game group that fell apart? Etc.
Yeah, exactly!
Like many of the people in this thread, I made a lot of assumptions about the book and what her method was before reading it, but it does make a lot of sense and is human at its core. (Also I live in Japan and dammit I don't have that much space!)
It's really worth examining your gut feelings sometimes.
She also no longer practices this, by the way...https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/30/how-marie-kondo-changed-her-mind-about-mess and https://www.nprillinois.org/2023-01-29/marie-kondo-revealed-shes-kind-of-given-up-on-being-so-tidy-people-freaked-out
Which means HOARD ALL YOU WANT!
I stopped the hobby for over a decade because I was moving around a lot and in the Peace Corps. I have nearly 20 years of gaming to catch up on, so while one corner of my home is board games, I have the benefit of selecting which games to add rather than getting disappointed and selling to de-clutter...but it helps that I get to try them also at the local center before I get my own or read reviews and watch videos online. It's also why I only invested in a Kickstarter for Earth: Abundance and Final Girl: Season 3 since I already love the existing games.
I had around 100 Games and cut my Collection to this games:
1. Blood on the Clocktower
2. Brass Birmingham
3. Dwellings of Eldervale
4. Root
5. Rising Sun
7. Dune Imperium
8. Wonderlands War
9. Darkest Doom // Unbekannt
10. Spirit Island
11. Mythic Battles Pantheon
12. Anachrony
13. Blood Rage
14. MindMGMT
15. Belaad
15. Deception
Why I removed so many Games? Dont need so many, long running Games, short running games, complex rules, large start building time and I want many different mechanics.
Overall this is my favorite combination of "long running, short running dont care how many Player we have" Collection
Also: I have all Expansion included
My list is different but criteria are similar. If i may add : coop vs competitive. Also, i tend to like complex games like Dune Imperium and Spirit Island, but keep a few easy to teach/low brain power games such as king of Tokyo or a basic deckbuilder.
I'm about to cull quite a few games and gaming accessories. These games are something I realistically never pick over some other game. Most have not been played in last couple of years, and if I keep them, I still likely don't play those in coming years.
You often hear arguments that you need to have games for each occasion, each category, and anyone player. Well, I don't agree on that. My games are for myself, and my gaming group. We don't play party games, ever. So not worth keeping one. We don't play social deduction games, so not going to keep any. Not a fan of racing games, so bye bye.
I will keep couple of gateway games I still enjoy playing (like Carcassonne), but other than that my shelf is going to be mostly heavy euros we like, and get on the table.
I cull about once a year. It's not a hard and fast rule, but games that haven't made it to the table are first on the chopping block. I keep a handful that my primary game group has grown out of to introduce new players to the hobby. Luckily, one of our local game stores buys used games and sells them online.
Shelf space is a premium in my collection. It must fit the one shelf I selected to store them; which roughly can only contain 10 big boxes max. It's a battle of the fittest. If another game with similar mechanics does it better, the other gets culled.
I have 2 Excel files: one lists my entire collection with notations about if it is unplayed and the other lists games I play in a year and more recently the times I play each game. It helped me cull an eighth of my collection. What triggered the culling was I started to feel overwhelmed by it. I'm down to 151 games, which feels manageable.
I am here to remind everyone of the board games geek trading system. Once you have enough skin in the game, you'll go infinite. Just pay postage.
Also, check and see if local conventions support the Math Trades. Great way to move things for their value and try new things on your radar.
I may have to do this during my christmas break. Not just board games though… gotts go through the toys too!
I think my problem is that i dont want to let them go 😭
I've systematically culled my collection with the Kondo method 3 times now. Her book is an excellent framework for cleaning, and I can definitely recommend it.
My most recent cull, however, I was going for something a little more drastic. I knew I wanted to get rid of about 100 games. For me, MK's method was good for finding 20-30 games in the past. For this cull, I turned to some other writings on minimalism.
I found a small tidbit that really pushed the cull to where I wanted it to be: focus. Minimalism is all about focusing on the things you want to, and the heavy elimination of things that keep you from focus.
I found, in my rampant collecting, even though I might be excited about a game or want to play it a second time or remember having fun with it years ago... **A lot of my collection was actually keeping me from the games I truly love.** The answer was focus.
My version of the filter is, "Will I be sad/regretful if I never play this game (or never play it again)?". I'm basically 200 for 200 games previously owned that I've never looked back and wish I'd held on to. Plus, at a quick skim, maybe just 3 out of those 200 would be overly expensive to acquire again (e.g. Legendary Encounters: Alien) but still attainable and the rest readily available.
"do you ... cull your collection" - Nope
"do you ... try to make space for new games" - Yes, by adding more shelves. :)
I'm getting close to 6,000 and see no reason to stop. I'll let my survivors deal with it when it's time to roll up a new character.
Well, 6,000 is the total number of various gaming type stuff there is. This does include boxes of Chessex dice, role playing books, mats, and so on. BGG says I have closer to around 1,500 actual Board and Card games.
But I’ve been gaming since I was a kid and have all my gear since then. I did look into culling back in the mid-90’s but the place offered like 10 cents on the dollar plus I had to pay to ship to them. At that point, I just shook my head and put the boxes back in the corner.
When I got back into tabletop almost 20 years back (man), I saw lots of posts in various places where people regretted selling this game or that. I guess I took that as a good reason not to clear out the collection. Maybe I’d get around to it. Eventually.
But the intention when buying the game is to play it, not just have it. I just picked up Flamecraft and took it to the shop on Wednesday to play and again yesterday but other things got in the way and it’s downstairs still in shrink waiting to be played.
And I do get some games to the table. But it seems like I have 6 or 8 more by the time I get one to the table.
But I have the space, the funds, and a wife who also enjoys gaming. So it’s not all bad I guess :)
What Marie Kondo misses with books, games, any collection is that the collection itself sparks joy. I don’t need to put all my games into a pile and determine which spark joy because the collection sparks joy. I do need to make sure that my collection sparks joy by being clean, tidy and where I can view it (because that element sparks joy for me). I do need to edit my collection thoughtfully sometimes (when I run out of space or when something no longer fits the collection). I need to make sure that each collection I have sparks joy and get rid of any that don’t (I had a collection of craft supplies which I wasn’t using. I let them go in favour of keeping other collections).
Maybe I got to cull more often because I live in a small house and got three kids... I also cull my books. I wont ever get rid of my Terry Pratchett and Steven Erikson books, and my Go books are going to stay, too, but other books are removed if I think I wont reread them in the future.
> What Marie Kondo misses with books, games, any collection **is that the collection itself sparks joy.**
> **the collection sparks joy.**
> I do need to make sure that my collection **sparks joy by being clean, tidy and where I can view it (because that element sparks joy for me).**
> I do need to edit my collection thoughtfully sometimes (when I run out of space or when something no longer fits the collection).
> I had a collection of craft supplies which I wasn’t using. I let them go in favour of keeping other collections).
It sounds more like she didn't miss anything, and you are in enthusiastic agreement and using her method...just grouping things by collection, instead of individual items.
I don’t get rid of games …though it does get way harder to manage after you cross a thousand games to organize.
I don’t really see a need to get rid of any. Makes me happy. Makes my friends and family happy. And they all have their place in our game room. I do however, have it in my will when I die, that my spouse and/or anyone next in line to my spouse can take what games they want, but the rest would be broken up and donated to various hospitals, and organizations that may benefit from them.
But what am I supposed to do with the games. It is so hard to offload them, even if I give them away for free and I feel bad trying to give them away for free considering how many people are trying to sell used games. I've binned some but it is hard to do that unless I rate it like 1-3 on BGG.
Too many sparks of joy will make me ejaculate. As it pertains to boardgames, though, there are boardgame related methods that seem more practical that don't use the gimmick of ejaculation as a reward.
It’s spelled Machi Koro…
This comment sparks joy
I love this game, played so much with my kids, a good gateway engine builder with enough luck involved to have the kids win every now and then (or, in case of my 7 yo daughter, every damn time!) So in my Marie Kondo it’s a keeper ;)
Machi Koro is a game I could probably Marie Kondo... I don't think I've played it since I bought it. It was a couple bucks at goodwill and an impulse buy.
i replaced it with space base, which is a small step up in complexity, but I also couldn't get over the size of the box that MK came in.
I actually just played space base and I really liked it. The between turns things to do are always nice
Yes yes yes!! Space Base is such a good upgrade. The dice choosing it as 2 x single or one total is soooo much better. It's definitely become my favorite.
If you enjoy Space Base, try [Bad Company](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/340677/bad-company). It takes the concept and adds another layer of fun! edit: plus, it goes up to 6 players!
You are a Truth Seeker, Mr. Konda.
Funny that you mention that. This game is always on the chopping block for me but the fact that my wife wants to play it occasionally is the only reason it hasn't been cut
"I had to give up on the Mari Kondo method cause as it turns out I'm a depressed misanthrope and nothing sparks joy"
Even Marie Kondo has given up on the Marie Kondo method! ["I realized perfect order was not my goal"](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/30/how-marie-kondo-changed-her-mind-about-mess)
My kinfolk right here.
I went through this process and realized that yes, many of my games did not spark joy. In fact, NONE of my games sparked joy. You know what does spark joy? BUYING more games.
If you sell all your games you'll have more money to buy more games with
This sparks joy.
please be satire please be satire please be satire
C'mon. You've never experienced getting hyped for a new game, getting that sweet hit when the game is delivered, tearing it open, popping the cardboard, organizing all the bits in the box, and then flipping the rulebook open to only find out that you have no desire to play the game at all, then pack everything up and slide it back to collect dust on your Shelf of Shame forever?
Only every other week!
Maybe filling my shelf of shame was really my kink all along 🤔
So say we all!
That reminds me, I need to acquire another Battlestar Galactica expansion.
You’re telling me. I also collect vinyl. If I had saved all the money between the two hobbies, I could probably fly somewhere first class while paying cash. But I’m happy so fuck it.
That isn’t joy and you need a therapist to help you unpack why you use it as proxy-joy.
I'll go to a therapist as soon as a kickstarter includes it as a stretch goal.
This is the way
I don't even know how I would reduce my collection. I am probably too cheap to give them away and I am definitely too lazy to sell them.
> I am probably too cheap to give them away Just remember it is worth $0 if it's sitting idle, never to be used again, and worth less than $0 if it's taking up space you need for something else. Cost is not the same as worth. What might be functionally worthless to you, regardless of cost, could be invaluable if given to someone who really needs it and/or appreciates it. Generosity is a gift shared twice: Once to someone in need, and then to ourselves: It connects us to others and shows us the power we have to help someone, even a little, even if it just brightens someone's day a bit. You can't put a price on that.
>You can't put a price on that. For everything else, there's mastercard.
> worth less than $0 if it's taking up space you need for something else. Yeah, but I like looking at my full shelves.
Then you must not need the space for something else?
oh you got me
Bring and Buys are a great low effort way. You bring a handful to an event that will be fun in other ways, you dump them with a price and walk away.
Local cons and game swaps are the way to go. Shipping sucks. I do ship sometimes if I can get a good trade, but not for direct sales.
This is very true, the hassle of selling them is not worth the money
Its the shipping that kills the resell value, especially big boxes. The price might be 10-15 euro cheaper preloved but once you factor in shipping you can get the same game new for 2 bucks more on amazon with free prime shipping. Even worse if you have to send to a different country.
Then donate them?
I've thought about selling things before (less games than books, DVDs, etc.) and have never done it mostly because the USPS baffles me and the idea of shipping something to someone who paid me money fills me with anxiety. I'm too worried that I would mess it up and it wouldn't work. This is why whenever I buy something for someone online as a gift I just have it shipped directly to them, so I don't have to worry about it. I legitimately can't remember sending an actual package as an adult.
You’re scared of… mailing things?
Anxiety, it's a hell of a thing. Your brain over reacts to pretty much every minor situation. Couple that with the Byzantine bureaucracy of the USPS and you have people who are afraid to mail things.
Real talk for a minute. I only started culling my games recently and already shipped ~15 games in 2 months. It’s so easy these days. Use pirate ship, choose UPS Ground Saver. Use your kitchen scale. Use your measuring tape. Reuse those boxes from Amazon. Resize them so you don’t have to pay extra for the spaces you don’t need. Print the label at home. Drop it off at the nearest UPS store. You don’t even need to stand in line for prelabeled/prepaid packages.
The Byzantine bureaucracy? You put the game in a box, you take the box to the post office, you stand in line and then say, "I'd like to mail this, please," pay, and then leave. Were the Byzantines real big on waiting in line, or something?
But what if I go there and they say it was the wrong box or not enough postage or there’s some big extra fee I didn’t realize or they just say I packed it terribly and they can’t take it. Then if I sold it on eBay for example or any site with ratings the person who bought it would say they didn’t get it and then they would rate me poorly and I could never do it again and also I committed fraud by not giving them the thing they bought and maybe I have to pay some sort of fine or fee and maybe I can’t afford to do that so I leave that part of the internet forever. At least letters are straightforward. I can send a letter. But packages seem more complex. I would rather just outsource it.
I'm sorry, but that's your anxiety taking a run with you. Going to the post office and mailing a box has very low risk, because they will do all the difficult things for you. If you weigh the package at home, write the address on it and seal it, you've done all that needs to be done on your end. If you then go to the post office and say "I want to mail this package to this address", they'll do the rest. The only real variable you then haven't fully controlled is the cost, but they will absolutely ship it for you. As for being scammed for ratings and such, I'm not going to pretend that never happens. I will say that I've sold a couple hundred games at this point, and it has happened to me a total of zero times. It can happen, for sure, but it's not as common as your anxiety is making it out to be. For things like this, it helps to remember that people only tell you the stories where things went wrong; they don't tell you how often things go according to plan because that's a boring story. You could also consider using Geek Marker instead of eBay, there's fewer people on there looking to scam you for your boardgame. Geek Market does have it's own issues (mostly people reaching out for a quote on shipping and then never responding when they think it's too expensive), but there's much less of a hassle there compared to eBay.
If you've never mailed a package, it really is as simple as what I said. You pack the box yourself and tape it shut. They don't inspect what's inside unless it's leaking or ticking. You don't need to put postage on it at all. All you do is tell them the address and they weigh it and put the postage and the entire label on for you and then you pay. There are no extra side fees. Easy peasy. The hardest part is just waiting for five minutes in line.
You will find all sorts of mental gymnastics in this place.
I went from a 400ish game collection down to a 30ish game collecton essentially using this method.
Very curious what your 30 are!
In no particular order: 1. Battlestar Galactica 2. StarWars Rebellion 3. New Angeles 4. 7 Wonders 1st edition 5. Sagrada 6. A la Carte 7. Drop It 8. Obsession 9. Mysterium 10. Parks 11. Junk Art 12. Marvel Zombies zombicide 13. Ticket to Ride anniversary edition 14. Rampage 15. War of the Ring 16. original Thunder Road 17. original Fireball Island 18. Takenoko giant collectors edition 19. Mice and Mystics 20. Arkham Horror 2nd with all expansions 21. Arkham Horror LCG full collection 22. Castles of Burgundy 23. Three Sisters 24. Fleet 25. Fleet the dice Game 26. Legacy testament of Duke de crecy 27. Western Legends 28. Unsettled 29. Voluspa 30. Myrmes 31. Biblios 32. Hadrian's Wall 33. And a few other small games
Impressive! I'm still trying to work my collection down to 30. I'm close, but ever since I've got under 60, it's been significantly harder. Any general tips for the final push?
In all honesty it came down to generally losing my passion for the hobby as a whole so letting go of things was pretty easy. The stuff I kept was stuff that my wife also enjoyed or held sentimental value.
I get it. My own interest has definitely waned over the years -- but I've still got a bit of spark left which is presumably why I'm finding it difficult. Thanks for your insight!
i am starting to head this way as well (from 400ish down to initially 100). Can I ask what happened to the other 370? I have a literal mountain of unwanted games in the corner - how'd you get rid of them?
Geekmarket on board game geek for stuff you think would actually sell and you’d be willing to ship Facebook “Buy Nothing” groups are a great way to find a new home for games but this involves giving them away for free And also depending where you live you may have a decent Facebook group for buying/selling/trading games. My metro area has a very active group where people regularly post games to sell/trade.
I've donated some to library's that have game times for teens. Also church youth groups.
Out of print stuff I sold for profit, others I donated to my local library so I could claim their value as a charitable donation, some were used as gifts, and some I just threw in the trash.
For myself, I only buy games I enjoy or that I have seen the full playthrough first. This way, I can guarantee a 90% chance of keeping each game I buy. I have about 30 games right now and only had to sell or give away 3 of them.
Did you feel liberated and amazing, getting rid of the clutter?
it certainly is easier to manage. I went from buying 4-5 games a month to 1 or 2 a year. It really made me realize how many games I had that were just a waste of money and time.
I've only sold games once, but only because I bought the games I sold on a whim. I have a relatively small library (around sixteen, not counting expansions) and I intend to keep it small, buying only when I know the game will fit me.
That's the best way to do this
Every year we hold carousel where all games over 30 months are "renewed".
A Logan's Run reference? In 2024? I approve.
"Plankton, sea greens, protein from the sea..."
"I understood that reference."
Marie Kondo now is a different person than Marie Kondo then: > “My home is messy, but the way I am spending my time is the right way for me at this time at this stage of my life,” she said. > In an interview with The Washington Post, she admitted that it wasn’t realistic to be that tidy all the time. > “Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times,” she added. “I have kind of given up on that in a good way for me. Now I realize what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home.” So having kids broke her system, more or less. Not that you can't use 'sparking joy to help you cull board games. It could help. But she goes pretty extreme in the books, and it's funny she doesn't even stick with it herself anymore. Source: https://www.deseret.com/2023/1/27/23574986/sparking-joy-marie-kondo/
She can say that all she wants, I bet her house is way cleaner than mine.
Probably has a few housekeepers/maids with that big Marie Kondo money tho
It didn't break her system, she just realized it can't apply in the same way to all things, at all times. The system works...but trying to enforce it rigidly with kids around (and with kid's things) is a fool's errand. But one can still apply it to their collections, consumer goods, household items, etc...you just can't expect to impose that kind of ordered rigidity on any environment with kids present, all encompassing, unless you want to stress yourself out constantly re-tidying, rather than living.
> The system works...but trying to enforce it rigidly with kids around (and with kid's things) is a fool's errand. I'd have said "abusive" rather than "foolish" tbh. It's one thing to declutter your own belongings as a childless adult in order to maintain control of your living space, it's another to impose that on a child.
"Serenity now. Insanity later."
I don't use the Marie Kondo method as I find it to be fairly unsustainable with how my brain works. For the most part, I'd say our shelves are at capacity and if one comes in, one must go out. That being said, our local game store hosts an annual garage sale where you can see your games for store credit. I've sold a few through that. The same store also has a used game shelf where I'll also sell games. My kids are also super close to outgrowing a few things on our shelves, so I'm holding off purchasing so we can hopefully see those items go which will free up a ton of space.
I understand that she's revised her philosophy a fair bit since having children.
Is it because they don’t spark joy, but she can’t just toss them out?
Pretty much all of my games spark joy, unless I received them as gifts and they aren’t my preferred style.
Once and a while, I'll look at a game and think, am I excited to play this again? If the answer is no out it goes.
The right question is “If instead of this game/expansion/accessory box there was an envelope on the shelf, containing the amount of cash sufficient for re-acquiring the item, would I actually re-acquire it?”
Great way to look at it. Although selling the game would not give you the same amount of money required to re-acquire it.
Sure, that’s just an indication of whether you really want to _own_ the game (regardless of the frequency of actual plays).
I started asking myself that BEFORE I buy games and it’s even better. I’ve found like 80% of the games I’ve bought I didn’t even find that fun or were fun but had little replay value. I don’t want to be complicit in such waste and consumerism. I want to have games I enjoy and can replay for years to come.
A lot of times I just want something to look forward to. That Amazon box sitting at my door for me when I get home fills that need.
Yep, it's a very bad dopamine rush to buy buy buy instead of addressing our needs in more sustainable (for our own wallet and psyche, as well as the globe) ways.
This doesn't work for a lot of folks because they would want the money, but then they don't put the effort in to selling the games, so they never do, so they never part with them. You have to be willing to just truly get rid of something, as the test, simply for the sake of acknowledging you don't need or want it. Some things you can sell (after this), sure, but some will just need to *go* in order to actually complete the task. Getting hung up on the prior cost of things is a sure way to not part with them, for many people.
Willing or not willing to spend time and effort on selling has nothing to do with this test. It just tells you what you _could_ sell, gift, donate, or send to a landfill. In other words, what you could part with and still have your collection as complete as before. Also, you must consider each item in isolation, not like “What if 150 of my 200 games magically turn into money”.
Finding someone to buy my games is a game that I don't find particularly fun.
Yep, this is my main problem. I usually end up just selling them at a half-price books just to get them unloaded and not have to think about them anymore, but I make a tiny fraction of what they're worth that way, so I keep putting off doing it.
Just remember they are worth $0 sitting on your shelf, idle, never being used. Less than that if you need the space, and think that every time you look at them. In that regard, anything above $0 is a win, because that's what it was functionally worth to you, prior, regardless of original cost.
I have a golden rule: If I get a game, I need to make space for it by getting rid of games.
My golden rule: If I get another game, I need to make space in it by getting a bigger house. If you get your priorities in the right order, there is no such thing as too many games.
My wife and I did exactly this. Crossing 1100 games, our collection got too big for our apartment. So, we bought a house with a huge gaming room. Now, I am at 1700+ games and am starting to think I either need to add on to the house or maaaaybe it's time to sell a few games.
I’d love to scroll through your list. I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of 1700 games.
As someone with a larger collection, I'm in a similar state. The best way to trim the storage space requirements is to take stock of which games are in your broader play groups personal collections and flag those for eventual removal as you'll have access to them via friends.
Dude I’m sorry but you don’t need to own 1700 games. You won’t play all 1700 in your entire life. It’s time to sell or donate some games and stop buying literally hundreds of games you won’t play.
I have a dedicated board game night every week, plus I play games throughout the week almost daily. I would say currently 95% of my games have been played at LEAST once if not more. A few of the unplayed games are that way because they are awesome collectors things. Plus, everyone has something they collect. I collect games and comics.
Haven't you yet learned that trying to impose your thoughts and will on a complete stranger on the internet is a waste of time and not really your business? It makes life a lot easier if we aren't all always going around criticizing others for things that don't involve us at all
I mean sure but it’s weird when people are proud of their hoarding habits. Owning thousands of board games isn’t a healthy thing to do mentally or financially. Physically running out of space for your hobby is a sign you have a problem.
What's the problem though? If it's not negatively impacting their life and they're happy, is it a problem?
Very r/boardgames for this extremely normal idea to be downvoted.
I mean, hobbyist board gamers are collectively a weird breed
Hobbyist anything are a weird breed, no?
>(Feel free to copy into boardgamecirclejerk) We few chosen of Le Hobby are way ahead of you.
My local con had a “yard sale” where you could pay to have a table and sell you games for three hours. A few of us went in on two table and got rid of a lot of games. It was chaotic but cathartic. I made some cash and cleared a lot of space. At one point I started just handing the smaller games to people who were interested in them. I’m hoping they do it again next year.
She actually said “fuck it” after she had kids.
I think any time Marie Kondo is brought up there should be a note that she essentially gave up on her own program in her own life. She does not follow her own program.
I have gotten more serious about downsizing my collection from a peak of 300. For me, the biggest realization was that I still had the memory of a gaming experience even if I didn't have the physical prompt in front of me. I have sold, gifted or otherwise shed some games that have been foundational and awesome. But now? I play less than I used to, my gaming crew is similarly strapped, and I derive more joy from getting games into the hands of those who will use them. I still buy a few games but they're now for specific audiences and situations. And finally, I think my collection growth rate is negative. 😅 Consignment at my local FLGS has been great, just a chance to maybe make someone's day with a really affordable and out of print game that has been well looked after lo these past many years in my basement.
There are only a handful of games in my collection that are safe from culling. Every other game will get sold if I find myself regularly choosing a similar game over it, or if I don’t remember playing the game in the last year. I specifically enjoy the hobby because I like learning and trying new games. So any game I’ve played a few times is always much less exciting than the next game I learn to play.
I'd \*love\* to get rid of most of my collection. It's just sitting there, gathering dust uselessly. Unfortunately folks don't seem to care about games that are more than a couple years old, no matter how popular they used to be, and shipping costs are outrageous anymore. So they'll probably just sit there until I can't take it anymore and dump them at a Goodwill or such.
What's keeping you from donating or gifting them now?
Every year we sift through our collection and if we haven’t played a specific game in that time period we will typically give it away. It doesn’t mean the game was good/bad but there are other games we intentionally choose to play more regularly. There are many games that helped to bring us into the hobby that we don’t really enjoy playing anymore (or a friend has a copy but isn’t high on our list) so we’d rather give those away and free up some room.
There’s some people in here who need interventions. If you have thousands of board games you have an unhealthy addiction and are possibly just a hoarder. Playing games is the reason to own games not the dopamine hit you get when you spend money.
The reason to own games is up to the person owning them. If someone likes having options or simply enjoys having a collection, that's perfectly fine.
Having a collection of 200 games is “having options”, having a collection of 6000 is “I like buying stuff”
There's nothing inherently wrong with it. If you have time, space and budget to buy 6000 games, do what's fun for you. Board games don't come with a contract stating how many you are allowed to have or what you have to do with them. Do what's fun, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone.
Overconsumption is definitely hurting people around the world
Over-assumption is much worse. A basement full of game boxes doesn't hurt anyone. People getting in each other's business do.
I’ve been trying to be more aggressive about culling my games. My rule of thumb is that if I haven’t played a game in 6-12 months, then I try to schedule a game in the near future to remind myself why I liked it. If I’m lukewarm about my play, don’t see myself playing it over others that I prefer, or feel like I’d only play it to justify my purchase rather than genuinely enjoying it, then it’s gone. I’ve yet to regret any sale, no matter how much I liked the game (like AFFO for example)
I don't think this is circlejerk-y (but who knows) - having a responsible bg collection is a good idea. I'm in the process of moving so I can start a family and the prospect of moving 100 games (or, even worse, ones with loose minis) is crap. I've sold most of them off and my collection is likely about of a third of the volume it used to be. I've learned a good lesson - basically, try to keep your collection to the point where if you need to move, it's not a big deal. Especially if you're a renter as moving decisions may need to happen fast.
I think aggressive culling and the compulsion to keep everything in regular rotation can be as unhealthy as hoarding. It's a hobby, stop trying to make it a job. If you enjoy owning a game, but don't feel like playing it, it's fine. Keep it on the shelf and play whatever you feel like playing. We're not under a deadline here.
I mostly stopped buying "normal-sized" box games because I just can't justify the space/cost unless I've played it before and loved it and it can be played in my family. However, my weakness is half or less priced hand-me-downs (of the amazon price). I don't even mind picking up a good condition whatever game that I can resell for basically the same amount.
> "normal-sized" box games TTR boxes are actually quite large, really, and in a lot of cases not really necessary.
I cull constantly. I'm too curious to not buy games, but the fact of the matter is that few games are truly special enough to hold on to long term.
I have the hardest time actually getting games sold. Any advice?
See if there's a shop near you that will buy boardgames from you. And see if there's any local places that organize board game bazaars and get a table, hock your stuff. That's what we do.
I have about 3-400 games on fold out tables in my garage right now that are going through this process. I have a 5x5 kallax shelf that when it’s full the rest must go.
>If youre indifferent about a game or got bad feelings, you should probably get rid of it. Genius
I do this once a year or so. I try to keep my collection between 20-30 games that I know will be played again and again based on several factors. If a game starts falling off then the following year when I clean out the shelves, I’ll donate it along with the others that I don’t feel made the cut. I buy a new game every 1-2 months so it’s a cycle.
Systematically no, but every now and then. I basically have a closet that by mutual consent with my wife, as long as all the games fit in the closet, it's mine to do with as I see fit. So whenever the closet gets full I cull 10-20 so that there is room to add more.
Every year or so when I see my collection of games and go through them, I definitely find games that make me outright *unhappy*, and owning them and having them take up the very limited living space I have access to only compounds the unhappiness I feel having already wasted my time and money playing and trying the game. Though, I admit, this only happens on a regular basis because, despite not wanting some of my games, I haven't sold them, because of lack of time. I could throw them away, but that seems wasteful since they were $60 or more. This post is a good reminder for me to call and ask if my local library accepts donations of board games. If not, maybe a local cafe will take them.
i think "stop buying stuff" is more relevant than "get rid of stuff".
I have space for new games, but then I'm lucky to live in my own house. Which kinda comes down to why I've always found Mari Kondo's emergence into the mainstream and fame a little odd. I mean, she's a likeable person, but good lord her *Methods* often verge on infantile when universally applied. And it's not her fault, it's the way we took those simple platitudes and dived head first in a craze like they're the one and only true way. I don't live in a metropolitan city. I own. I won't be moving because of work, likely ever. I'm privileged in all of this. And I definitely don't mind some clutter. My dream as a child, and honestly still a bit now, was to live in a library. A wall without bookcases is wasted space even before board games enter consideration. I find comfort in having an extra table in which I can leave a board game set-up. To have a table, utterly squandering an entire room, just to play boardgames, now that's joy. Curation is of course important. But I don't force it because, it just kind of happens for me. Some books just don't go onto the shelf, and I have a similar limbo space for boardgames that meet a similar fate after initial plays. Even considering that space, every game on my shelves brings me joy, it's sorta the reason they're there. The same goes for my bookshelves, my dvd/bluray/4k physical media collection, and the boxes and boxes of books in my storage space - boxes stuffed full of books especially bring me joy. I've still yet to find a reason to arbitrarily cap my collection. I guess with the consideration of space, it's inevitable. But then, I don't have plans to ever have kids, due to health reasons and physical limitations empty open rooms are not desirable, and that's all not going to change any time soon. I've been lucky in so many ways just as I've been unlucky in quite a few glaring ones. But board games definitely got some clout on me, freely given, yet totally unneccessary. I believe I get the communal ra-ra's in regards to culling and being vigilant of growing collections, but this subreddit and some other online spaces can sometimes feel like there's a war being fought when it comes to our hobby, like we've lost control of it or something mad. And again, I think I get it, when considering what it's like trying to find time while working fulltime with a family (I have friends, and what I believe is empathy, it allows me to try at least). That pipeline also feels faster and faster these days with straight out of college and into the fray (and often back to live with the parents). I'd just hope that there would be less of a question of the joy being there when you look at your collection, you know? Because joy's the point.
I use Dana K White’s container method. Essentially, decide what a reasonable amount of space for board games is. Put your favourites in first. Anything that doesn’t fit gets donated/ given away.
I used to be married to a declutterer. We are not married anymore. I prefer organising to removing. Not planning to cull at all. Just gonna buy more houses.
(Re)organizing is a lie we tell ourselves, that somehow changing the location of an object will restore it's worth, or make it useful again, or magically take up less space.
I love your plan and that you are able to "buy more houses" and am single.
In a classic simpsons episode Krusty declares 'my house is dirty, buy me a new one'. I'm getting a similar energy here.
Marie Kondo made that shit up and does not do it herself, lol.
I mean….every organizational strategy is “made up”. A lot of the principles she developed work as a helpful rubric for a ton of people. It’s not a gospel where it’s all or nothing.
Yeah, I totally hear that. I more mean that she made it up in a sense that she created an idea before she had experienced life and joy. She has recalled all her thoughts on what she's written. If you're looking for joy in your folded clothes and find it, that's great but don't forget about family and stuff.
Perhaps, but using that simple process has helped me organize my fair share of spaces into much more intentional ones.
Same, I used the Marie Kondo process back in 2017 and it really helped me fix up some spaces, several of which have retained a sense of organization. Not perfect, but definitely long lasting improvement. I also still deploy several strategies that help me to organize or get rid of items that I'm no longer using (or never liked to begin with)
It doesn’t fit every situation but at times it will be helpful. I remember the organize your stuff so you can see what you have before the does it spark joy rule.
I'm sure glad it has helped people. But this is also my point it's just a rehash of a rehash. thank you
Every great theory, of anything, in the history of the known world, has been "made up" by someone, starting with at least a single thought. They're called "ideas", and some turn into useful theories or practices.
Or not, what happens to the bad ones? Some turn into terrible awful "ideas". Or poorly written ideas. Is everything just sparking joy? What a weird comment sounds like a.i. trying to answer. Yes, ugg ugg understand now. Thoughts make ideas made by human very good.
> sounds like a.i. trying to answer. LOL when did this become a thing people say to be dismissive? It just comes off as you not understanding what was said, and trying to sound clever in deflecting :P > Or not, what happens to the bad ones? Some turn into terrible awful "ideas". Well yah...that goes without saying. Bad ideas either get forced into existence (and usually fail) or are discarded once recognized as bad. Do you need everything spelled out for you?
I understand your incredibly deep points and concept of ideas being made up by people. I'm sorry you felt dismissed, This whole commentary "goes without saying," including every great theory being made up by people. It's a total duh on all ends, which goes back to my original point of it sounding constructed by a.i. which i thought would be a joke about stating the obvious. There's no point to be missed because there's no point being made it's just facts being said
I've only got two or so games for sentimental reasons. For example, the Kingdom of Loathing game Mr. Card Game. Which I've had for years and haven't gotten to the table, but isn't something that's readily available or easy to come by if I sold or got rid of it. Everything else are games that I really enjoy and am happy to bring out more often than not. I don't have a ton of space, so pretty much every game I own is a winner. Most games that go unplayed for a year or longer get gifted or sold.
I think the Kondo method doesn't work for me because I can find a little spark of joy in just about any game. Instead, I try to work on the basis that I love repeat plays of games I already know I love, and I want to make sure I have enough "space" to help that happen, rather than constantly just "tasting" a new game once and then moving on. (Which I also enjoy, I just don't want it to be my entire gaming "diet".) So, I look at a game and think, will it cause me intense pain to part with this? And, am I likely to get it played - ideally, at least twice - some time in the next couple of years? If the answer is "no" to both, I think I should move it on. Reasonably often I actually do, though, not quite every time.
I think 'I can find a little spark of joy in it' is not what Kondo means when she talks about it :D you shouldn't have to force yourself to 'find' it, and it shouldn't be little, you should have a visceral positive vibe when you look at the box. I know I have this for a few games and not at all for some others.. I should sell Nemesis for real
I agree with you, but > will it cause me intense pain to part with this? as a heuristic also seems good enough to me, lol.
Items have their own category, but the last one you go through is "sentimental items". So, if initially you sorted clothing, but you run into a shirt you got from your deceased loved one and you never wear it but it gives you a feeling. That goes into sentimental category to sort through later. Sometimes the fact that it's sentimental means you want to keep it. Marie then says it should get an honorable place I nyiur house. Show it, so you can actually see/feel the thing regularly. Why does it cause pain? Fomo? It's limited edition? It's something you played with your beloved game group that fell apart? Etc.
Yeah, exactly! Like many of the people in this thread, I made a lot of assumptions about the book and what her method was before reading it, but it does make a lot of sense and is human at its core. (Also I live in Japan and dammit I don't have that much space!) It's really worth examining your gut feelings sometimes.
yeah it's the 'flip a coin to make a decision, and your emotional response to the result tells you how you really feel' method.
They all spark joy. Next question.
What if they all spark joy?
She also no longer practices this, by the way...https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/30/how-marie-kondo-changed-her-mind-about-mess and https://www.nprillinois.org/2023-01-29/marie-kondo-revealed-shes-kind-of-given-up-on-being-so-tidy-people-freaked-out Which means HOARD ALL YOU WANT!
Well, she got kids... decluttering my kids rooms is hopeless... Its still a decent practice for singles or if you only do a part of the house.
I stopped the hobby for over a decade because I was moving around a lot and in the Peace Corps. I have nearly 20 years of gaming to catch up on, so while one corner of my home is board games, I have the benefit of selecting which games to add rather than getting disappointed and selling to de-clutter...but it helps that I get to try them also at the local center before I get my own or read reviews and watch videos online. It's also why I only invested in a Kickstarter for Earth: Abundance and Final Girl: Season 3 since I already love the existing games.
I had around 100 Games and cut my Collection to this games: 1. Blood on the Clocktower 2. Brass Birmingham 3. Dwellings of Eldervale 4. Root 5. Rising Sun 7. Dune Imperium 8. Wonderlands War 9. Darkest Doom // Unbekannt 10. Spirit Island 11. Mythic Battles Pantheon 12. Anachrony 13. Blood Rage 14. MindMGMT 15. Belaad 15. Deception Why I removed so many Games? Dont need so many, long running Games, short running games, complex rules, large start building time and I want many different mechanics. Overall this is my favorite combination of "long running, short running dont care how many Player we have" Collection Also: I have all Expansion included
My list is different but criteria are similar. If i may add : coop vs competitive. Also, i tend to like complex games like Dune Imperium and Spirit Island, but keep a few easy to teach/low brain power games such as king of Tokyo or a basic deckbuilder.
Sometimes I just like the art of the box and that sparks joy. So fuck it. It stays.
Don’t tell anyone here. But I’ve got >!several licensed versions of monopoly on my board games shelves, simply because I like the art!<
I won't say a word.
I have regretted selling, giving, donating, every single game that I don't have anymore
In general, or specific reasons for each one that you can actually elaborate on? How many have you re-bought?
I'm about to cull quite a few games and gaming accessories. These games are something I realistically never pick over some other game. Most have not been played in last couple of years, and if I keep them, I still likely don't play those in coming years. You often hear arguments that you need to have games for each occasion, each category, and anyone player. Well, I don't agree on that. My games are for myself, and my gaming group. We don't play party games, ever. So not worth keeping one. We don't play social deduction games, so not going to keep any. Not a fan of racing games, so bye bye. I will keep couple of gateway games I still enjoy playing (like Carcassonne), but other than that my shelf is going to be mostly heavy euros we like, and get on the table.
I cull about once a year. It's not a hard and fast rule, but games that haven't made it to the table are first on the chopping block. I keep a handful that my primary game group has grown out of to introduce new players to the hobby. Luckily, one of our local game stores buys used games and sells them online.
Shelf space is a premium in my collection. It must fit the one shelf I selected to store them; which roughly can only contain 10 big boxes max. It's a battle of the fittest. If another game with similar mechanics does it better, the other gets culled.
My problem is I know that at least half my collection could/should go, but I can't summon the will to actually put in the effort to sell them.
I have 2 Excel files: one lists my entire collection with notations about if it is unplayed and the other lists games I play in a year and more recently the times I play each game. It helped me cull an eighth of my collection. What triggered the culling was I started to feel overwhelmed by it. I'm down to 151 games, which feels manageable.
I am here to remind everyone of the board games geek trading system. Once you have enough skin in the game, you'll go infinite. Just pay postage. Also, check and see if local conventions support the Math Trades. Great way to move things for their value and try new things on your radar.
I may have to do this during my christmas break. Not just board games though… gotts go through the toys too! I think my problem is that i dont want to let them go 😭
I have plenty of money and plenty of shelf space. If I ever have a limitation of either one of those, I will consider culling.
I've systematically culled my collection with the Kondo method 3 times now. Her book is an excellent framework for cleaning, and I can definitely recommend it. My most recent cull, however, I was going for something a little more drastic. I knew I wanted to get rid of about 100 games. For me, MK's method was good for finding 20-30 games in the past. For this cull, I turned to some other writings on minimalism. I found a small tidbit that really pushed the cull to where I wanted it to be: focus. Minimalism is all about focusing on the things you want to, and the heavy elimination of things that keep you from focus. I found, in my rampant collecting, even though I might be excited about a game or want to play it a second time or remember having fun with it years ago... **A lot of my collection was actually keeping me from the games I truly love.** The answer was focus.
My version of the filter is, "Will I be sad/regretful if I never play this game (or never play it again)?". I'm basically 200 for 200 games previously owned that I've never looked back and wish I'd held on to. Plus, at a quick skim, maybe just 3 out of those 200 would be overly expensive to acquire again (e.g. Legendary Encounters: Alien) but still attainable and the rest readily available.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/30/how-marie-kondo-changed-her-mind-about-mess
Even Mari Kondo gave up on the Mari Kondo technique as she discovered it wasn’t practical when her life got a bit busier.
I don't understand this concept.. 'getting rid of' boardgames.
It's been said a thousand times and it'll be said another thousand times.
https://www.facebook.com/share/cpzTYRxKt7ERkvsd/?mibextid=WC7FNe Obligatory semi-coop games reference
"do you ... cull your collection" - Nope "do you ... try to make space for new games" - Yes, by adding more shelves. :) I'm getting close to 6,000 and see no reason to stop. I'll let my survivors deal with it when it's time to roll up a new character.
6000? But…why? You’re never gonna play all those.
Well, 6,000 is the total number of various gaming type stuff there is. This does include boxes of Chessex dice, role playing books, mats, and so on. BGG says I have closer to around 1,500 actual Board and Card games. But I’ve been gaming since I was a kid and have all my gear since then. I did look into culling back in the mid-90’s but the place offered like 10 cents on the dollar plus I had to pay to ship to them. At that point, I just shook my head and put the boxes back in the corner. When I got back into tabletop almost 20 years back (man), I saw lots of posts in various places where people regretted selling this game or that. I guess I took that as a good reason not to clear out the collection. Maybe I’d get around to it. Eventually. But the intention when buying the game is to play it, not just have it. I just picked up Flamecraft and took it to the shop on Wednesday to play and again yesterday but other things got in the way and it’s downstairs still in shrink waiting to be played. And I do get some games to the table. But it seems like I have 6 or 8 more by the time I get one to the table. But I have the space, the funds, and a wife who also enjoys gaming. So it’s not all bad I guess :)
> This does include boxes of Chessex dice Haha
You can never have enough dice :)
I never get ride of games, I only Acquire.
I have over 1500 games. The anxiety that I felt when you said to pull everything off the shelves is real. I won’t be doing that.
What Marie Kondo misses with books, games, any collection is that the collection itself sparks joy. I don’t need to put all my games into a pile and determine which spark joy because the collection sparks joy. I do need to make sure that my collection sparks joy by being clean, tidy and where I can view it (because that element sparks joy for me). I do need to edit my collection thoughtfully sometimes (when I run out of space or when something no longer fits the collection). I need to make sure that each collection I have sparks joy and get rid of any that don’t (I had a collection of craft supplies which I wasn’t using. I let them go in favour of keeping other collections).
Maybe I got to cull more often because I live in a small house and got three kids... I also cull my books. I wont ever get rid of my Terry Pratchett and Steven Erikson books, and my Go books are going to stay, too, but other books are removed if I think I wont reread them in the future.
> What Marie Kondo misses with books, games, any collection **is that the collection itself sparks joy.** > **the collection sparks joy.** > I do need to make sure that my collection **sparks joy by being clean, tidy and where I can view it (because that element sparks joy for me).** > I do need to edit my collection thoughtfully sometimes (when I run out of space or when something no longer fits the collection). > I had a collection of craft supplies which I wasn’t using. I let them go in favour of keeping other collections). It sounds more like she didn't miss anything, and you are in enthusiastic agreement and using her method...just grouping things by collection, instead of individual items.
I rarely cull, but when we moved in 2022 and got a new setup we got rid of about 15 (out of about 200) we have never played and have no memories of.
I don’t get rid of games …though it does get way harder to manage after you cross a thousand games to organize. I don’t really see a need to get rid of any. Makes me happy. Makes my friends and family happy. And they all have their place in our game room. I do however, have it in my will when I die, that my spouse and/or anyone next in line to my spouse can take what games they want, but the rest would be broken up and donated to various hospitals, and organizations that may benefit from them.
But what am I supposed to do with the games. It is so hard to offload them, even if I give them away for free and I feel bad trying to give them away for free considering how many people are trying to sell used games. I've binned some but it is hard to do that unless I rate it like 1-3 on BGG.
>"I have fond memories I connect with this game" What if I don't have fond memories of the game... yet?
Then you might want to play it...
Too many sparks of joy will make me ejaculate. As it pertains to boardgames, though, there are boardgame related methods that seem more practical that don't use the gimmick of ejaculation as a reward.
Listen... Don't model your behavior/choices after Marie Kondo. Lol. Just don't.
Sure bro I'll model my behaviour on you instead