Let’s be honest, boardgames and tabletop games (from wargames and to rpgs) can get expensive. You know you love them, you get surrounded by them and suddenly you are sucked in into a vortex of cardboard in no time. So how to save money on boardgames?
Well, you are in luck. Here I want to share my top 5 tips to avoid burnout and don’t spend the earth, whilst still enjoying the hobby.
A note on how to save money on boardgames
Please note, although in this article I’m talking about reducing your spending, my main aim here is to convince that you can spend ZERO, or maintain your budget to a very low amount. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Without further ado here is my guide on how to save money on boardgames.
eBay is your friend
Let’s start with the obvious. The second hand market is surely your friend when it comes to saving money. It is a great place to look for bargains and bag something special, or sell that thing that you haven’t touched in a long while, make some money and re-invest in your hobby with new found enthusiasm.
I personally use eBay a lot, both for buying and selling. You can get some bargains sometimes, the only thing to keep in mind if be mindful of your emotions when bidding. It is easy to push the envelope and upping your bid. The last thing you want is to enter a bidding war with a stranger. So you have to try and set your budget ahead of time and then keep it that way.
If you win, well, you win! Congratulations! You are now the proud owner if that thing you really wanted and it will soon be in your home, where it will start gathering dust on your shelve instead of someone else’s (yey?)! And if you lose weeeell… you saved money!
There are also other places to go to for when looking for second hand. If you want to save money, here is a list (not exhaustive!) of places to dive in:
- eBay
- Facebook market place
- BoardgameGeek Market
- BoardgameGeek Trade feature
- Charity shops (I haven’t personally found anything good yet, but I have seen people finding some great gems online)
Try before you buy
Ah, the good old saying of yore. Try before you buy it! In an increasingly noisy echosystem of Kickstarter projects, it has become very hard to try something before you decide to pull the trigger. Yes, it is true, some publishers let you try their kickstarter games on platforms like Tabletop Simulator, but they are not the final product, things can change, and we are here to save money.
So, I hear you say, how can I try a boardgame before buying it? Well, boardgame cafes are a great place to start. They are perfect for you to try those expensive games, take them for a spin for a few hours. And hey! You didn’t like it very much? Boom, now you know, and money is safe in the bank. Or maybe you love it? You can always come back to the boardgame cafe and keep saving hundreds. Some cafes also do rentals, so ask at the counter!
As an example, this happened to me with Scythe: absolutely loved the game when I tried it at my local boardgame cafe. I decided that I wanted to buy it (what a sucker uh). In the meantime we went back there and played it a few more times: it was still great! Then I realised I probably would not be able to take it to the table that much if at home and so I did not buy it in the end. If I want to play it, I’ll go back to the cafe instead.
Another great place to “Try before you Buy” is a friend’s collection. Maybe they own a game you’ve been eyeing for a while, and that alone is a perfect excuse to get a meet up organised and spend a lovely afternoon or evening (or morning? you weirdos) together. Trust me, your friend will love to share his collection with you (and I know! I’m usually “the friend”), and if you love it, you can go back for more! Not even need to buy the game at this point!
Rediscover old classics
Boardgame Geek is all about The Hotness. There is LITERALLY A CHART called The Hotness. There are even youtube channels comparing last month’s hotness with today’s. So why not going against the grain some time. Try to look for some old stuff. Something dusty but still great. Go Vintage baby.
For instance Cosmic Encounter is great. Great Western Trail I hear is awesome (haven’t tried it myself yet, gotta go to the cafe :P). 7 Wonders, Dominion.. *Chef Kiss* What I’m saying is there are LOADS of games that still hold up. So if you don’t already have them, you could pick those up, instead of paying through the nose with the latest plastic filled kickstarter cardboard box.
You can also look at this from another point of view. When I say classics, I don’t only mean classics in the broader term. I mean classics FOR YOU. Just play what you already have! You’ll find that one game that you haven’t picked up in a few years, and you’ll remember why you loved it. It’s such a great game!
And if you don’t like it anymore? oh well, I guess it’s ebay time.
Unsubscribe! Unsubscribe!
Many channels and media nowadays are always focused on the next new shiny thing. I follow many boardgame channels that cover what the next upcoming Kickstarter will be. As much as it is fun watching and keep up with the joneses, it is also kind of stressful. It is definitely not what I had in mind when looking into how to save money on boardgames.
In fact, I have my fair share of purchases based on reviews that I found on YouTube (Shut up and Sit Down anyone?). I also get newsletters from publishers and other media outlets. This is all well and good, but it also impacts my wallet.
So, if you can, try to unsubscribe from the noise. Out of sight, out of mind!
How to save money on boardgames? Just wait
This is the most important tip that I can give.
Wait.
These games are not going anywhere. A lot of marketing surrounding board games is hype and FOMO. So just wait. This has a twofold effect.
First and foremost, this is helping you to beat the hype. I think this is probably the most important thing that you can do when looking at new games coming out.
Have you ever had a Kickstarter showing up at your door after a year or two, and you didn’t even remember you backed it? I have had instances where some games arrived and were left on my shelves still in shrinkwrap. For instance, my Arcadia Quest Inferno pledge arrived, and I really didn’t want to play it once I had it. What happened was that so much time had passed that I didn’t care anymore since the hype had died with it. It ended up on eBay after collecting dust on my shelves for months.
Secondly, you also end up “filtering out” games. For instance, let’s say that “Game A” is all the hotness right now. So much so that is sold out everywhere and you cannot find it anywhere. Well, if the game is good, the reviews will be positive and it will be reprinted. If it isn’t, you won’t see it again. That means you didn’t buy a crappy game and saved!
What I’m saying is that if I game is actually good, you’ll eventually find it again, and you’ll have the certainty that your money is well spent!
This is why badgeroid.com exists. The subheading Tabletop Counterhype is not by mistake, it’s a movement! It is a way for me to exercise self-restrain, and maybe help others doing the same along the way. All I want is to keep it cool while others are rushing out to buy buy buy.
You can wait, save money, look at the reviews when they come in and then decide. It is very possible that by then, that game doesn’t tickle your fancy anymore, and you will be all the better for it.
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Conclusions on how to save money on boardgames
And there you have it folks! my Top 5 tips for saving money with boardgames. As a quick roundup, these are my steps:
- Buy Second Hand
- Try before you buy
- Look back at old classics
- Unsubscribe from the noise
- Wait
Do you have any tips that I haven’t covered? Let me know in the comments below, would love to hear about them!