The Tao of Gaming

Getting rid of unplayed games


Chris Brooks asks which games he should get rid of. That was one of my New Year's Resolutions, too. I had 18 unplayed games. The geek is down, so I'm not sure how many new (unplayed) games I've acquired, but I've played six and sold seven (with some overlap).

Well, if you are determined to reduce that number and thinking about selling the unplayed, just get rid of games that are:

  • Long
  • Poorly rated
  • You've owned for a while
  • Those you suspect you wouldn't like

and preferably those that meet multiple criteria. They all have a logic to them. Long — even if you like it, you aren't going to play often. Poorly rated reflects this wisdom of crowds. [You could also go with reviewers you like, etc]. If you've owned a game for a while and couldn't be bothered to play it, that should tell you something. And finally, if you suspect you won't like it, you are probably right.

Update: Now that the geek is back, I figure I have 18 unplayed games (the number listed on the geek is actually higher, but I'm not counting those my wife bought, or kids games).

Joe Huber (mail):
Well, if you are determined to reduce that number and thinking about selling the unplayed, just get rid of games that are:

Long
Poorly rated
You've owned for a while
Those you suspect you wouldn't like

and preferably those that meet multiple criteria. They all have a logic to them. Long -- even if you like it, you aren't going to play often. Poorly rated reflects this wisdom of crowds. [You could also go with reviewers you like, etc]. If you've owned a game for a while and couldn't be bothered to play it, that should tell you something. And finally, if you suspect you won't like it, you are probably right.


I'm half with you. Those you suspect you won't like and those owned for a long time without playing are fine candidates. I even half agree with those rated poorly - but that gets dangerous, as there's too much personal taste involved. I'd instead opt for games that have no (or exceedingly few) strong supporters. A low average isn't great, but (for a game with any significant number of ratings) a game with no 8s or higher seems unlikely to be a favorite.

But long games? _Maybe_ as a contributing factor, when combined with other issues. But if you think you'll like a game, it's got good ratings and/or significant fans, and it hasn't been sitting unplayed - why should it go? Because it won't be played often? I don't play Civilization frequently - ideally once a year, pratically once every other year - but that still means I play it ~4 hours a year.

Joe (admittedly currently sitting at just 5 owned but unplayed games - Across 5 Aprils, Bull Run, Age of Exploration Warp War, and Anno Domini)
8.10.2006 8:49pm
Brian (www):
Long games is just playing the odds, I'll admit. Even long games I like don't get played often. The 'no strong supporters' arguement is a good idea.
8.10.2006 11:07pm
Ben Kindt (mail) (www):
I would think long and hard before getting rid of game that only met the "long" and "you've owned for a while (without playing)" categories. You may decide five years from now that you have more free time, and you want to play, only to find it's now OOP and increased in value by $100. Case in point for me are games like 1830 and Titan. I sold them off after grad school thinking my "long board game" days were over, and now I'd love to have them back but the market price is killing me.
8.11.2006 8:28am
Brian (www):
Well, those were long games you had played and liked, which is different. In any case, you really haven't lost that much money if you sold it for $40, put that money somewhere useful, and then rebought them. And there are a ton of games that have lost money, where you could have sold and then rebought for the same price (or cheaper).
8.11.2006 5:12pm
simon j (www):
Only two weeks late, but it's just occured to me that you should get rid of the games with a high financial value. If you're equally indifferent about games A &B but only want to keep one of them, why not sell the one worth £25 and keep the one worth £15. (I don't buy the arguement that you should keep the expensive game cause it will cost you more to get it back).
8.23.2006 4:10am