Or? Moving is terrible.

We love board games. We blog about them, we play them, we review them, and we listen to other people complain or rave about them. However: Board Games are just things. Important and personal things to all of us (you included) but still, things. The sad thing about things, though, is that you can’t take them with you… Barring any Egyptian Pharos that are reading this blog, of course. You’ll have to move, or you’ll run out of space, or you’ll end up with a giant shrine of cardboard and the horrible realization that… You gotta get rid of some of them. Now, personal note time: I am currently packing for a big move from my beloved town to Savannah, GA to the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, CA, so this is going to be an exceptionally personal Top Five… And one written from experience. So, with the knowledge that you’re not alone in this, lets take a deep breath and talk about the Top Four Reasons to Get Rid of a Game.

4. Space (Game Love = Infinite, Room Space = Finite)
This is pretty low on the list, because lets be real: If you love a board game, you’ll make room for it. However, board games can sometimes be big. Really, really freaking big. So big that you have a special shelf just for two of the gigantic space-suckers. This isn’t a problem, unless you have a bunch of big games and a few small games and a few big expansions and a few medium expansions and some new editions of those expansions and… Alright, the game area of your room is kind of starting to look less like a collection and more like an episode of Hoarders.

Thin line, folks. Thin. Line.

So, there’s your first step: Is there room for it? If you have a special book-case for your games, and you can keep all of them off the floor and organized pretty easily  (and you’re not moving across the country and drive a compact car…) then sure, go hog-wild. Just remember there’s a fine line between “This is my collection” and “This is my silent cry for help,” and both look like a bunch of Arkham Horror expansions.

3. Wear and Tear (You try looking cute after 4 years on and off a shelf)
Okay, lets say your favorite game is Betrayal at House on the Hill. You have taken it off the shelf and kept it off for a long time. It’s traveled to friend’s houses, on vacations, and perhaps even to places where you weren’t even sure you’ll get to play it, but you figured “Hey, there’s a shot.” This game is important, and you love it. Then, maybe, you put it back on the shelf and kept it there while you and your friends explored other games. Eventually, it came off the shelf, and the cycle continued. It’s like the circle of life, except with more card board. Of course, to stay thematically relevant, you know why we’d even bring up getting rid of it: That box.

That box? That box is screwed. It’s dented, scratched, and how many pieces have you lost? Like, not just misplaced, I mean freaking lost, like all your game pieces saw the outside world and decided to recreate The Great Escape. It’s not the game it once was, and you probably know that.

Fire damage doesn’t count.

If you really love it, just remember that eBay is a thing and it’s not hard to replace beloved board games… This is, of course, if your game still exists. If it doesn’t, or the game itself is in good condition, we recommend checking out OBH Enterprises’ Game Savers. We’re getting off topic: This is a blog about game culling, not game preservation, so lets just keep going.

2.  Times played (Wait, I own this game?)
So, let’s go the opposite extreme. You were at a your game store, or a convention, or you just got this pretty little box for Christmas/Hanukkah/Birthday/Arbor Day/whatever. It’s cool, it’s pretty, and you heard some neat stuff about it, but right now your friends would rather just watch a movie or break out Mario Kart. Okay, no big deal, you’ll just put it on your shelf and go have some fun. Until that one friend throws a blue shell, and then you start shouting, and then some one uses that lightning bolt thing and then… Wait, wasn’t there a game being discussed here? Oh well. Then life happens, you forget, and six months later you look on your shelf and have a moment of “Oh, hey, that exists.”

Ruins lives.

The next action you take really determines if this game should stay with you, or if you might be better off finding it a better home: Do you play it, get a feel for it, try to make up for the past several months of neglect… Or do you just go “Eh, maybe I can get some folks over for Mario Kart.” There’s no shame in just going to go play Mario Kart (though we’re starting to be scared you have a problem, but that’s for another blog) but that’s still room in your house/apartment/room/dorm that’s being taken up by something you know you’re not that interested in.

Eventually you have to take a breath and go “Yep. This game just isn’t going to happen,” and remember that that’s okay. Just remember the overplayed Disney song and let it go. No, you’re not getting a gif for that, moving on!

1. Affection (It’s not THAT bad!… Ain’t that good, either.)
I’m so guilty of this that it’s damn near embarrassing. You bought the game, and you played it. And it was… Okay. Not really Adventure Time Card Wars terrible but not really Settlers of Catan good. It’s… Okay. It’s an okay game. So you play it once or twice and then put it on the shelf… And then you probably don’t take it off for a damn long while.

I feel like I’m kicking a puppy with this one, but, really… It’s just a box at this point. The game just isn’t your thing. You’re not in love with it despite taking it home with you, and when it rolls over and smiles at you in the morning all you can manage is “Um… Hey.”

It’s Frank, right?

And like any sort of relationship, there comes a time when you have to seriously think about it. If you can see yourself with this game getting all the way up to #2 on this list, then yeah, it’s a keeper. If you can’t… Well, there are plenty of gamers out there who would probably get a real kick out of your copy of Frag.

To wrap this up: There are plenty of nerd-centric second hand shops out there, and plenty of charities that accept board games with open arms. As scary as it is, you probably won’t miss theese games in the long run, and there are plenty of people out there who would love them. Also, you can totally sell them on eBay if you’d like to make a quick buck off a game you’re ready to let go of. So, if you love it, set it free… Unless it’s like super freakin’ hard to find, in which case you hold on to that thing and you never let go.

Now? Back to packing. We’ll have a review next week, promise!