In some ways I think we’re more like beer, wine, or scotch enthusiasts. It’s fun to know about a lot of different games: how they’re alike or different, how a game reflects its designer, publisher, and the era or country in which it was published. How well a game works with different ages, or with different num-bers of players.— Dubin, 2008
Hobby gamers typically purchase many games through their participation in the hobby. The acquisition and accumulation of games is, for some, a sig-nificant part of their enjoyment of the pastime. Unlike classical abstract games, a specific game rarely becomes the focus of a player’s attention to the exclusion of all others (Aleknevicus, 2001b). Although there are exceptions (such as those players who focus exclusively on the 18XX series of railroad games), for
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the most part board game hobbyists move between different games with a particularly strong emphasis on new releases. Although lacking the focused dedication that is often seen with “lifestyle” games, such as Chess or Go, this diversification can, perhaps, offer a more general understanding of games:
In a mono- gaming culture (where you played the same game over and over again), you’d become an expert on strategies for playing that game. In the more diverse gaming environment, you start thinking about game design more generally as you compare how different rules/mechanics shape the feel of dif-ferent games. Individual games may be quicker, but you’re still developing a cumulative knowledge of gaming which is a result of many hours of play/study/experience/thought [Hemberger, 2005].
The trend towards diversification and accumulation is reflected in an informal poll of active boardgamegeek members conducted in 2009, indicating that approximately 57 percent purchase one or more games a month, with over one- third purchasing two or more (Williams, 2008).17 In part, the drive towards accumulation may be a result of there being far more games available in the marketplace than was previously the case:
There are far too many good books to read them all in one lifetime. I think the “problem” is that good games are now almost like good books. There was a period of time where gamers had relatively little choice of what good games to play. Now we’re spoiled for choice. That can lead to the tendency to jump around [Witt, 2005].
The aging player demographic and the associated rise in income is also a rel-evant factor. As gamer Ken Mixon notes, “nowadays, we’re all grown up, have varying degrees of disposable income, and are able to succumb to our material wants more easily” (2005).
For many players it is the desire to experience new games that drives their acquisition of new titles, a focus that has come to be known as “the cult of the new.” Often this may be a part of an ongoing quest for an optimal assortment of games that represents particular mechanics or themes, can accommodate a particular number of players, or, more generally, provide a game for every social setting. There is also a sense that some players are pur-suing an indefinable “ideal” game experience:
Ideally, I’d like to own just one game — and I’d like it to be a game that every-body I know (including me) absolutely loves and can never get enough of and will never tire of or outgrow. A game that brings back all the wondrous magic of childhood and excitement of good game play for everyone involved, every time. Anytime I buy a new game, it’s in hopes of it turning out to be that one ultimate game [Carroll, 2008b].
Although it is possible to view this habitual acquisition of games as merely an example of unnecessarily conspicuous consumption, another
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spective is that modern games are not suitable for repeated play. Arguably, eurogames lack the strategic depth that is attributed to classical abstracts and older, more complex hobby games. A common criticism is that new publica-tions are often variapublica-tions on previous titles, merely remixing and adapting familiar mechanics. Consequently, when original designs do appear there is a sense that the focus upon innovative mechanics in European designs does not lend itself to repeated plays:
I think most new eurogames are disposable, something you expect to play maybe 5 to 7 times, are priced to match, and that’s OK. Every so often you get a great one you play again and again, but you expect the numbers of those to be small. At some level, a chunk of the enjoyment of a game for me is just in the experience of playing it, of seeing how it works — experiencing the game as one might experience art or a movie — and that is obviously some-thing that’s not going to be as impressive the second (or third or whatever) time through.... They [German games] simply aren’t designed to be played endlessly [Farrell, 2005].
In an early Sumo article, Charles Vasey questioned the reasons for accu-mulating games and in doing so, challenged readers to examine how many of their games had been played five or ten times (Dagger, 2006b). The resultant
“five and ten” lists served as an indicator of how few games were being played repeatedly.18 Nevertheless, discussion of the value of games is common on boardgamegeek, with users often drawing comparisons with other forms of consumer goods and activities19:
With a board game what you’re really talking about is bang for your economic buck. Even a $50+ board game compares favorably with the cost of an eve-ning out, and it’s going to have a much longer lifespan of enjoyment than a night at dinner and the movies — and a not unappreciable lifespan in compari-son with video games [Jenkins, 2008].
The fact that hobby gamers have a tendency to purchase large numbers of games is most commonly a result of the desire to engage in new gaming experiences. Viewed in this light, the hobbyist is what marketing theorists term an “accumulator” (Belk et al., 1988, p. 548)— that is, one who acquires significant quantities of related items for their utilitarian and/or aesthetic value. However, as Lawrence Belk observes, the accumulator is closely related to another role, that of the collector (1995, p. 67). In the acquisition of games, slippage between these two roles may often be unconscious:
I have a suspicion that a lot of gamers periodically give in to a “collecting”
urge even though they’re not collectors. They only buy games to play, and they already have more than enough games to play, but when something shiny and new comes along, they still want it. And then at some point, they end up like me — looking at a closet full of unplayed games and wondering, What was I thinking? [Carroll, 2008a].
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In a poll conducted by boardgamegeek user LankyEngineer in August 2008, close to half (48.7 percent) of respondents report owning more than 100 games (2008a).20 More telling of the “cult of the new,” however, is a similar survey conducted in 2009 indicating that over a quarter of boardgamegeek members have more than fifty unplayed games in their collec-tions (Seldner, 2009).21
Although most hobbyists on boardgamegeek refer to their accumulated games as a “collection,” there are some members for whom the acquisition of games is driven by factors beyond their functional or aesthetic value. For these hobbyists, the accumulation of games is not merely a side effect of their interest in play — it constitutes another form of engagement with the hobby. The dis-tinction between the accumulator and the collector is an important one, since it grants the objects collected a value beyond the utilitarian, typically through the way that an object forms a part of a set (Belk et al., 1988; Baudrillard, 1994, pp. 7–8). As collecting is a voluntary and organizational activity, it can also be considered a form of play itself (Katriel and Danet, 1994, p. 222).
J. Patrick Williams identifies the way in which consumption operates within hobby gaming subcultures (2006). Following the work of Fine (1989), he identifies the organizational level by which manufacturers nurture subcul-ture through the constant provision of new products. Although the collectibil-ity of board games is not nearly so overtly realized as it is with the collectible strategy games that Williams discusses, some game publishers do cater to the collecting urge in hobbyists. Series of games are numbered,22or, more often, are linked by similar packaging and presentation, thus increasing the percep-tion that a range of games constitutes a “set.”23More explicitly, it is extremely rare that a successful game does not result in at least one expansion. Indeed, many hobbyists attest to an urge towards completism in the accumulation of expansions related to a favored game.
A more nuanced way that this consumption operates is found in the way that a game collection contributes to identity and cultural capital within the community (Williams, 2006). Theorists interested in cultural understandings of consumption argue that the acquisition of goods acts as a way by which individuals can establish a sense of identity (Featherstone, 1991; Friedman, 1994; Mackay, 1997). For these writers, the value of consumer goods is not only found in their utility but in their capacity to define a sense of self and to express that identity to others. As gamer Gabe Alvaro observes:
One could ... question whether the acquisition of more games is an activity wrapped in one’s identity as viewed by others. For example, are you the “guy who is always bringing out the cool new games?” If you are, and you like the attention of being recognized as such, it’s possible you might also be buying more new games to keep up that reputation [2008].
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In the case of board game hobbyists, such identification can play an important role in establishing cultural capital within the community. The possession of a large number of games and the continual acquisition of newer titles implicitly suggests a greater degree of immersion in, and understanding of, the hobby. Additionally, the ownership of specific highly valued and/or rare games can indicate to other hobbyists a commitment to the culture that can bestow a degree of authenticity upon the individual.
The accumulation of games not only serves as a way by which players can establish capital within the culture, but it also identifies them to the broader society as a gamer. Large game collections demand a conspicuous amount of space in the home and can alter the domestic space significantly.
Some players have dedicated gaming rooms to accommodate both play and storage, the display of which on the Internet site is generally greeted with enthusiastic appreciation.24As Belk and Wallendorf observe, the identity of a collector is often revealed through their collection:
A collection is closely linked to the collector’s identity; someone cannot excuse a collection by saying, “Well, I just happened to pick that up from some-where,” or “someone gave that to me.” Because a collection results from pur-poseful acquisition and retention, it announces identity traits with far greater clarity and certainty than the many other objects owned [1994, p. 240].
The existence and popularity of collection management tools on boardgamegeek are clear evidence of the relationship between game playing and game collecting among hobbyists. Discussions on the site regarding meth-ods of game storage and collection management are common, while images of large game collections are referred to as “game pr0n”— a clear allusion to the desirability of owning numerous games.25
While most hobbyists can be considered accumulators of games, there is a crossover with those who might be considered “real” collectors. In both of these roles the interest is expanded beyond that of merely playing games to other related activities, the reporting of which on boardgamegeek serves as cultural “glue” within the community. Collection and accumulation, activities found within many fan cultures, contribute to the development of specialized knowledge that can then be circulated back into the community.