On the podcast, in real life, and at friends homes I find myself wanting a new game. I don’t think there will ever be a time in my life where I won’t want one new game or another, but with limited space and money this is not always possible. That’s why today’s article will focus on ways to play the games you want to play without having to make more space in your home or spend a ton of money.

Online Gaming

We’ve talked about online gaming on the podcast before. If you opt for spending a mere $20 to get onto steam and play Tabletop Simulator, you can play games with friends without having to purchase the game itself. This means it takes up less space in your home, while you still get to enjoy it anytime you want. Play testing some of the games before you purchase them also makes it possible to get better games that you will enjoy for longer. The one big downside to online gaming is that you miss the tactile experience of the game.

Borrow Games

Very much like Tabletop Simulator, it’s easy to play games you’re interested in if you have a great group of gaming friends who are willing to let you borrow games in their stockpile. Friends purchase different games and they’ve already spent their money to acquire them. This is a cheap way to experience the game firsthand without having to purchase it yourself. You can do the same thing with your group of friends. As a rule, I make a point not to buy a game a friend already owns if I’m able to borrow it and play it anyway. This is just a great way to not spend money.

Use Resorses

Us gamers have a ton of board games. It’s important to utilize the board games you already own. If you want to play a game that simply takes dice or cards, consider using the stockpile of games you already have to recreate that game instead of just going out and purchasing it. If you don’t really care aesthetically about how the game looks, you can put together tons of popular board games with components you already own. For example, a bunch of my friends owned Vegas Dice Game and I loved it. I wanted to purchase the game myself, but online prices were close to $40. I already owned Rajas Of The Ganges (which has a ton of dice) and Cover Your Assets. I used both of these games components to make a homemade version of Vegas Dice Game. I still play it whenever I want, but it just looks a little different than my friends copies. It’s still just as fun and I saved $40!

In a recent episode of the podcast I mentioned how Tumblin Dice is a game that is out of print. The copies of this game online can sell upwards of $80 or more. I made my own version of Tumblin Dice with cardboard boxes from amazon and some tape. These projects are fun, and when you play the game you feel a real sense of accomplishment that you created the game yourself. My sister-in-law made her own copy of Can’t Stop while in quarantine and we played it like 10 times. There’s always way to be innovative and creative.

Final Thoughts

I encourage everyone to utilize the games they already have, borrow games, and play games online before they just go out and spend money on a new and shiny game. Sure, some games you cannot recreate at home with the components you already own, but that’s where online gaming comes in. Play the game before you buy it becuase we all know what it’s like to buy a game, bring it home, then not like it very much. This is not a good feeling at all. Those feelings of guilt can all be avoided if you just play test the games yourself before purchasing them. Thanks for reading. We will see you Wednesday for another podcast, and next Monday for another post.

Thanks

Sarah