How do you keep up with games?

I had given up trying to keep up with the latest games a while back. Time and money and storage space just made it both prohibitive and not that fun. In fact, I've thought that it might be a good rule of thumb to wait until a game has been out for a year before thinking about buying it.

(Shut up, games I back via Kickstarter and therefore buy before they even come out :P)

However, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, it seems like there are a lot more games coming out every year. Keeping up with what's coming out seems a lot more work than when I started playing board games ten years ago. Um, make that fifteen year ago. Let me get my cane.

Kickstarter has been definitely part of that change. The way that Kickstarter has changed the world of gaming in so many ways that it boggles the mind.

However, the game market has changed a lot in general. When I started playing designer board games, Rio Grande was my main source for games from Europe with Mayfair being a close second. Brick and mortar game stores in my limited experience were more focused on war games and role playing games with walls of miniatures and one shelf of board games. Ordering online was my only way to get a lot of the games that were out there.

In short, we now have a market that is a lot more encouraging to both designers and publishers.

When I started, designer board games were a lot more niche. Which, frankly made it easier to keep up with. There is a much broader audience in this country in particular but I bet in general too. I won't be surprised if there ends up being some kind of bubble due to market saturation but I also think the hobby will survive that. The environment really has changed.

I also don't feel bad that I can't keep up with it all. I would rather see an ocean of riches rather than a small pond.