That Dragonbane campaign is intriguing. I'd really like to bring that game to the table. Still trying to find locals in my new locale. Looking forward to your review. The amount of stuff being pushed out definitely seems unsustainable. It's a tough balance. Like, it bugs me that some of Free League's games seem to get very spotty support. But then you've got stuff like Dungeon Crawl Classics, which probably has 5 or 10 crowdfunding projects and/or releases every week. I couldn't keep up even if I really wanted it all. I'm one of those people who is condensing my collection. I've purchased a lot over the last 6 years, after a 15+ year break. But due to finances and a move into a much, much smaller apartment, I have to be a lot more choosy about what I pick up. And I'm being a bit harsher on what I get rid of. Like, I gave away a stack of Call of Cthulhu stuff, even though that's my go-to game. But there were adventures & previous edition stuff that I was never going to use, so out the door it went. And I've only bought a few POD Call of Cthulhu books recently. I think I've finally decided to get rid of all my Earthdawn stuff. I kept it, because I had a lot of fond memories of playing Earthdawn in the 90s. But I'm never playing it again and I'm never going to run it. I used to say it was the closest thing to D&D I'd ever run. But that's been replaced by Dungeon Crawl Classics, which I've actually brought to the table more than once in the last few years. So, I think Earthdawn is on the chopping block. I wish I liked PDFs more. I just find reading them difficult. I don't like reading long form stuff on a screen. The only thing I like about PDFs is the ability to print out things to hand to my players or whatever. But I don't get much utility out of them, otherwise. I could cut my collection in half and still have way more than enough to run games for the rest of my life. So, I don't really NEED to buy anything else. I want to support the companies, but I'm a working class drone. There's only so much I can do. I am definitely worried about some companies. I think I mentioned it already, but I'm especially worried about Chaosium and Free League. Both seem to be producing a LOT of stuff, at a high physical quality, which feels like its building for a fall. I hope not.
Yeah I agree with you. Be careful about getting rid of some of your stuff though (like your Earthdawn stuff - probably some super nice books) -- you might regret it later -- I've run into so many people who have regretted getting rid of some of their stuf. Like you I don't buy that much physical stuff anymore -- but one thing I've been able to do is hold on to my old stuff, and I have a lot of stuff from the late 70s and 80s. I'm not very familiar with Free League -- but I wouldn't worry about Chaosium -- such an incredible company with a fantastic array of games -- and they know how to survive -- this is a business where you stay flexible and make sure you're able to downsize and upsize easily depending on how the gaming market ebbs and flows. Another survivor company is The Troll Lords -- what they've done with C&C is simply amazing. Still on 1st edition of C&C after 20 years (if you have the 1st printing of the C&C PHB you can still use it) -- no one has ever even come close to doing that. These are some great companies and they know how to survive in the TTRPG market.
My price to time ratio is 2 dollars for every hour. If I get the opportunity to play the game with someone else, playing both sides myself, first reading of the instructions, and time spent creating alternate rules. This is how I calculate my time invested, and more importantly how I value games. If I meet or exceed this ratio. I consider it a worthwhile investment of my time. That is even if that time spent was only entertaining myself with the concept of playing the game.
I'm totally trimming down my game collection. Supplements for 5e have exploded, and there's just a huge glut of it. Unfortunately, I bought a chunk of it. Other games are just never going to get played or are no longer my gaming style (Starfinder, WoD, etc). I will keep slimming down as the weeks, months, and years go by, hopefully down to just a few bookshelves. I have less interest in buying new games and learning a new system. I have four tall bookshelves and a half dozen totes worth of gaming books. I can't really justify buying hardcopy. PDFs are fine for a sample, and scratching that "need new" itch. I am more interested now, in just playing and reading the stuff I have.
I’m thinking you are right on the PDF-aspect. I’ve for sure bought several PDFs from smaller publishers because of the, what was the term BAM? A couple of bucks and there you have something for a session or to incorporate during the current campaign. It doesn’t have to be the correct system either.
Tabletop RPGs will not go away. It's just not a high growth market, although with the popularity of D&D 5e it grew pretty well for a while. IMO the TTRPG market will continue to survive and grow slowly especially because of the advent of VTTs. The big problem is -- and will always be -- like Jeff said -- just way too much stuff -- and it is not a big market. It's just the nature of the beast -- the barriers to creating TTRPG content entry are just so low -- literally almost anyone with a desktop publishing program can crank something out - but it's always been like this since at least the 90s. On my end, what I do these days is I primarily buy TTRPGs from companies that I like and I know produce high quality material like Paizo (Pathfinder 1e and 2e), Troll Lords Games (Castles & Crusades), Chaosium (RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon), etc. and even though I don't play supers TTRPGs much -- my go-to supers game has been Mutants & Masterminds for a long time, and Traveller on the SciFi end. I also probably spend at least $50 a month on Humble Bundle (on digital PDF content). I also try to support some indies a little by buying some OSR-style games. So even though I have all the games (with all genres I care about covered) I need to play for decades -- I'll still put around $70 to $75 a month total into new content. There are always a few game companies that will do well for a while -- but unfortunately, with some rare exceptions -- this is a hard business to make a lot of money in.
I am buying more RPGs only because I am aware of more projects and I have more disposable incomes, but to be fair I will look at the pdfs first before purchase. That said is I cut back on boardgames. I can only play the games with my friend who already backed the game or at my local library.
again, it's the consumer's fault the future of tabletop is doomed. Consumers pay the large sums of money for hyped up projects. Consumers follow other consumers like scared sheep to look cool and be the first to have a game. It's all about social standing in a subculture that has no idea how to interact socially.
That Milwaukee beer ad is something else.
Jeff, Got to say I may be the exception and I am truly buying more games than ever before.
and it may be your fault, lots of good reviews here
That Dragonbane campaign is intriguing. I'd really like to bring that game to the table. Still trying to find locals in my new locale. Looking forward to your review.
The amount of stuff being pushed out definitely seems unsustainable. It's a tough balance. Like, it bugs me that some of Free League's games seem to get very spotty support. But then you've got stuff like Dungeon Crawl Classics, which probably has 5 or 10 crowdfunding projects and/or releases every week. I couldn't keep up even if I really wanted it all.
I'm one of those people who is condensing my collection. I've purchased a lot over the last 6 years, after a 15+ year break. But due to finances and a move into a much, much smaller apartment, I have to be a lot more choosy about what I pick up. And I'm being a bit harsher on what I get rid of. Like, I gave away a stack of Call of Cthulhu stuff, even though that's my go-to game. But there were adventures & previous edition stuff that I was never going to use, so out the door it went. And I've only bought a few POD Call of Cthulhu books recently. I think I've finally decided to get rid of all my Earthdawn stuff. I kept it, because I had a lot of fond memories of playing Earthdawn in the 90s. But I'm never playing it again and I'm never going to run it. I used to say it was the closest thing to D&D I'd ever run. But that's been replaced by Dungeon Crawl Classics, which I've actually brought to the table more than once in the last few years. So, I think Earthdawn is on the chopping block.
I wish I liked PDFs more. I just find reading them difficult. I don't like reading long form stuff on a screen. The only thing I like about PDFs is the ability to print out things to hand to my players or whatever. But I don't get much utility out of them, otherwise.
I could cut my collection in half and still have way more than enough to run games for the rest of my life. So, I don't really NEED to buy anything else. I want to support the companies, but I'm a working class drone. There's only so much I can do.
I am definitely worried about some companies. I think I mentioned it already, but I'm especially worried about Chaosium and Free League. Both seem to be producing a LOT of stuff, at a high physical quality, which feels like its building for a fall. I hope not.
Yeah I agree with you. Be careful about getting rid of some of your stuff though (like your Earthdawn stuff - probably some super nice books) -- you might regret it later -- I've run into so many people who have regretted getting rid of some of their stuf. Like you I don't buy that much physical stuff anymore -- but one thing I've been able to do is hold on to my old stuff, and I have a lot of stuff from the late 70s and 80s.
I'm not very familiar with Free League -- but I wouldn't worry about Chaosium -- such an incredible company with a fantastic array of games -- and they know how to survive -- this is a business where you stay flexible and make sure you're able to downsize and upsize easily depending on how the gaming market ebbs and flows. Another survivor company is The Troll Lords -- what they've done with C&C is simply amazing. Still on 1st edition of C&C after 20 years (if you have the 1st printing of the C&C PHB you can still use it) -- no one has ever even come close to doing that. These are some great companies and they know how to survive in the TTRPG market.
My price to time ratio is 2 dollars for every hour. If I get the opportunity to play the game with someone else, playing both sides myself, first reading of the instructions, and time spent creating alternate rules. This is how I calculate my time invested, and more importantly how I value games. If I meet or exceed this ratio. I consider it a worthwhile investment of my time. That is even if that time spent was only entertaining myself with the concept of playing the game.
Once you have a good game covering a specific genre it is difficult to justify further purchases.
its not dead.... just taking a break like it did between the 70's till now.
see you in 50 years!
I'm totally trimming down my game collection. Supplements for 5e have exploded, and there's just a huge glut of it. Unfortunately, I bought a chunk of it.
Other games are just never going to get played or are no longer my gaming style (Starfinder, WoD, etc). I will keep slimming down as the weeks, months, and years go by, hopefully down to just a few bookshelves.
I have less interest in buying new games and learning a new system. I have four tall bookshelves and a half dozen totes worth of gaming books. I can't really justify buying hardcopy. PDFs are fine for a sample, and scratching that "need new" itch.
I am more interested now, in just playing and reading the stuff I have.
I’m thinking you are right on the PDF-aspect. I’ve for sure bought several PDFs from smaller publishers because of the, what was the term BAM? A couple of bucks and there you have something for a session or to incorporate during the current campaign. It doesn’t have to be the correct system either.
LOL I about choked on my sugar-free beverage with that zipadeedoodah comment 😂
Tabletop RPGs will not go away. It's just not a high growth market, although with the popularity of D&D 5e it grew pretty well for a while. IMO the TTRPG market will continue to survive and grow slowly especially because of the advent of VTTs. The big problem is -- and will always be -- like Jeff said -- just way too much stuff -- and it is not a big market. It's just the nature of the beast -- the barriers to creating TTRPG content entry are just so low -- literally almost anyone with a desktop publishing program can crank something out - but it's always been like this since at least the 90s.
On my end, what I do these days is I primarily buy TTRPGs from companies that I like and I know produce high quality material like Paizo (Pathfinder 1e and 2e), Troll Lords Games (Castles & Crusades), Chaosium (RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon), etc. and even though I don't play supers TTRPGs much -- my go-to supers game has been Mutants & Masterminds for a long time, and Traveller on the SciFi end. I also probably spend at least $50 a month on Humble Bundle (on digital PDF content). I also try to support some indies a little by buying some OSR-style games.
So even though I have all the games (with all genres I care about covered) I need to play for decades -- I'll still put around $70 to $75 a month total into new content.
There are always a few game companies that will do well for a while -- but unfortunately, with some rare exceptions -- this is a hard business to make a lot of money in.
I am buying more RPGs only because I am aware of more projects and I have more disposable incomes, but to be fair I will look at the pdfs first before purchase.
That said is I cut back on boardgames. I can only play the games with my friend who already backed the game or at my local library.
At least our economy is bigger than that of California. For the Moment.
I’m buying more RPGs but not board games and digital games.
again, it's the consumer's fault the future of tabletop is doomed. Consumers pay the large sums of money for hyped up projects. Consumers follow other consumers like scared sheep to look cool and be the first to have a game. It's all about social standing in a subculture that has no idea how to interact socially.