Play games (table, floor, internet, playmat, dicetray are all fine answers… just to give you some ideas)
Mostly TTS at this point. Mostly because of the pandemic, though not technically directly since my entire house is vaccinated and I could be having more in-person game nights.
Because my work went to full remote work, I decided I needed a better desk setup, so bought a larger Ikea table, but because they were low on the legs, I had to steal two of them from one of my tables, leaving me down to the one in the kitchen, which is always covered with stuff and my life is exhausting enough I rarely have the energy to clean it off to play games.
When I do play in person, I play on the 56" Ikea LINNMON, which apparently has been replaced by a new table top. It’s a bit wobbly, but was cheap, and a decent size. And because it was cheap, and the legs could be unscrewed, I had two, initially just to bring out for the bigger games – 2 of them work reasonably well for 6p TI:4 provided you have a playmat – though, one eventually became our kitchen table.
Eventually I’d like to upgrade to something nice, so might do that sometime next year.
I do use playmats for some games:
- Twilight Imperium 4th Edition
- Aeon’s End
- A.E.G.I.S.
Store games (obviously there is only one correct answer to this, what’s yours?)
Kallax. I’ve looked into some of the fancier solutions, but I find them to all be too expensive. The Kallax isn’t perfect, but it’s a great combo of price and functionality.
I did back the LaxRax Kickstarter, though. It’s a little pricey for what is essentially a 3D printed piece of plastic and some dowels, but it looks like it will basically make the Kallax perfect for storing games, so being able to store and pull my games out easier was worth the price of basically another Kallax to me.
Improve your games (blinged components? inserts? sleeves? playing them lots of times…)
I love a good organizer. Even though some of them can cost as much as a game, if it’s a game that’s particularly annoying to take out and put away, if the organizer means I’ll play it more, it’s worth it.
I usually just buy them, a mix of foamcore ones and the lazer etched wood ones. But for some games, like Gloomhaven and TI:4 I put my own together using a combination of Plano boxes, deck boxes, and for TI:4 some cheap crayon and pencil boxes from a craft store.
Find new games
Mostly SU&SD – but more the Podcast these days than the videos – and by reading posts here. Sometimes by friends posting talking about them, or posting links in a Discord. Occasionally on Kickstarter, but that’s usually RPGs and not board games. And sometimes just by trying something on BGA, though haven’t played there much lately.
Rank your games
I used to rate them on BGG, but at this point I don’t really rank them unless I do the Top 10 post here (or on the old SU&SD forums). I find ranking to be a very hard thing to do, because it really depends on mood for me.
Except for TI:4 it’s been my clear cut No. 1 since it came out. I love that game, much to my wife’s chagrin. She can’t stand all the arguing and posturing. Haha.
Track the games you own (eyes are a fine tool for those with a small collection)
Every few months I’ll update BGG.
Track the games you want
I usually put a game I’m interested in on my BGG Wishilst and a couple times a year – usually around my birthday and Christmas, since my family has the link to the list – I’ll look through and move stuff around – or remove it entirely – generally by asking “Will this actually get to the table?”. Some games I keep on there even if it’s a “no” just because there’s a chance I might be able to do it.
Track what you play
I use Notion to track my weekly split-session TTS TI:4 game I play with my friends. Other than that, I don’t track.
For a bit, I was tracking my plays of Aeon’s End with Notion too, but then I got lazy.
Talk about games (note: if you don’t put down tekeli.li here you’re reading this from a wrong angle)
Here. On a couple Discords I’m in with friends, both in voice and text. With friends in person. Rarely on the comments on SU&SD posts.
Actually I think this works very well; they’re tall enough to stop bits from pinging around the room (most of the time), but not so huge as to take up a significant part of the available area you have to put a table in.
