Sometimes, the rose colored glasses lie

In the earliest days of my becoming a dedicated board gamer, before I had discovered Boardgame Geek, there was a time when my entire game collection could fit into a backpack.

I remember finding a wicker basket of them at a comic book store in Ohio in 1998 and being completely bewildered. If I had bought a copy of Kill Doctor as I’d been tempted to, it might had gotten me into board games years earlier.

(The reality is, without an actual group, I’d have bought it, read the rules and thought about playing it. Having people to play with is more important, particularly when you are starting out)

Back in in those days, my backpack of games consisted of a few card games from Looney Lab, some of Cheapass’s Hip Pocket line and, the prize of my collection back then, the travel version of Settlers of Catan. At the time, I wondered why I would ever need the full-size version. (Less eye strain and the ability to use expansions?)

Okay, here’s the point I’m wandering to. There can be times when I romanticize that time. You know, I was just discovering games and I didn’t have to manage a closet full of games. 

But that was before I had a regular group to game with. That was before I learned about resources like boardgame geek. It was before I started exploring ordering games online. And I had discovered BSW but about all I was playing on it was TransAmerica and Can’t Stop. I had really explored how to game online.

In other words, I don’t have to run the rose colored glasses much to realize that those weren’t the good old games. They were just the start.

No, the good old times didn’t really start until I had all those other experiences :D