I’ve purged about 80% of my game collection

I have written that I need to do a heavy purge of my game collection because we will be moving across the country. At this point, I have done most (but not all) of my purging.

There is a definite value to mental house cleaning, getting rid of stuff I am not using and don’t realistically see myself really using in the future. But the real goal here is space. Shipping a household has gotten more expensive and space is precious.  

Now, going from a bachelor to a family with a kid, I have already heavily purged my collection over the last ten years. I used to be a game hoarder and picked up tons of random games just because I could. And I have already gotten rid of the vast majority of what I once owned. I’d honestly say I was down to just good stuff. It was time to go scorched earth.

My goal was to get rid of at least 80% of the physical space. And I’m pretty sure I have done that.

Which means I have had to really ask myself if I needed a game. I bought Settlers of the Stone Age in 2004 ... and I’ve played it once. I love Reef Encounter… and my copy is still in shrink wrap. Games I’d said I won’t get rid of, I asked ‘will I really ever play it?’

And, this time, even though they don’t take up space individually, I have started really looking at cards games. And donated or sold close to two bins worth.

If I find a gaming group on the other side of the country, other people will have collections too. I have, in the past, been groups’ collection. That doesn’t have to always be the case.

As I was doing this, I kept thing of a Martin Wallace game called Toledo that I picked up near the end of my game binging. Allegedly about making swords, you fill in the spaces of a track with cards to give spaces effects. And I remember thinking both that it was a decent game and that it wouldn’t get played again. Toledo was a milestone for me realizing that collection has ceased to be functional.

I don’t know how many games I’ve owned I’ve gotten real use out of. And I’m at a point where that is the highest priority.