RPGnet Columns
10-13-2002, 03:53 AM
Post originally by James A. Bardin at 2002-10-13 02:53:18
Converted from Phorums BB System
Hmm. Well, the point of this article seems lost to me. Maybe I am just a clueless son of a slitch. I'm not gonna claim to need someone to be friggin' Shakespeare in order to help me understand what they're trying to say, but all I seem to get from this is, "Tabletop RPG costs me less than $30 a week because I love to write and my wife shares costs."
Right.
Now, seriously, that's all fine and good. I tend to be a huge fan of the "fewer logistics = better game" school of thought. But just because I'm a total jackhole (and because I'm sitting bored at work on a 12-hour shift), let's really break this down a bit better.
First off, gaming is a hobby. Hobbies are considered an "entertainment" expenditure, like literature, movies, or KY jelly. Because of this, you CAN'T dismiss the cost of a gaming book because it is "just another book". You see, people buy 'regular' books both for the reading content, and because of the artistry and pure novelty of simply having a pretty book. Otherwise, online texts would be much more pervasive than they are, and this cute girl I know working at Barnes & Noble would be out of a job.
But RPG books are a whole different ballgame. Why? Number one is usage. Unless the game ends up being horrible, it WILL be travelling a lot. It will also, under most circumstances, be passed around to others, flipped through to and fro, and generally worn the hell out after a given amount of time (based both on the quality of the bookbinding, and how nasty your gaming buddies' hands are). Those who don't wear out their books just ain't playing them enough, or are really stingy with letting a friend have them.
And oh, wait, let's not forget the bane of every gamer's existence: NEW EDITIONS! And it's not that you must buy them, but as the older editions wear out, they'll become harder to obtain than before. And, many times, the new editions correct problems from before, making buying them appealing.
Okay, okay, you can find these things on sale at the local gaming store which carries a "bargain bin" of old games. Still, my point is that you will assuredly be spending money on whatever game book(s) you choose to play. You CAN sidestep the cost altogether by creating your own system, but that is another topic altogether.
But is that all? Of course not!
Let's not forget dice. Event the most frugal gamer needs a full set (one each of d4, d6, etc.), with costs varying depending on the type of dice you get (colored plastic, all peweter, semi-precious stones, animal bones, etc.).
Pen(cil) and paper are a must, unless you had your brains scooped out and replaced with a Pentium 4.
Okay, you got the essentials. Now you can game.
But, if you aren't hosting the game, you have to drive. And nobody can discount the cost of gas nowadays. Or, as our author showed, the need for a babysitter if you have offspring to be watched.
Regardless of who hosts this game, most folks go in for long game sessions. Food and drink of some kind is certainly a consideration then, so that's another expense.
I'm not even going into any extras, like dry-erase grid mats (a God-send in my own gaming circles), miniatures, or other knick-knacks folks like to have.
So is it really cheaper than other things?
Movies aren't that frequent for me. I MIGHT go to 10 in a year, but that is very rough. Years with more movies that I want to see, I might go a dozen times. But, for the average, say I spend about $10 a trip (because a fat man like me MUST have some snacky-treats while watching a flick), and I get about $100 into the theater a year.
Computer/video games (I group them because they take up about the same time in one's day/week/year) may cost about $100-$150. Why that much? Because the equipment to run it costs money, and I haven't yet heard of a computer game that didn't try to push the need for better hardware a bit further up. Hell, the consoles now cost more than that, but that expense is one-time, and you can get a LOT of use from one.
If you want to be really picky, miniature gaming may not actually cost as much in the long run. You do spend a big wad of cash for them (especiall GW games), but only the rules really change, so it's a one-time purchase. I know folks using minis from the first Warhammer 40K release with the current rules; they just buy new editions of the rules for tournaments they attend.
My point?
Tabletop gaming isn't as low-cost as one might think, depending on how one wishes to approach it. You have to consider what you want, and how much use you'll get from it, and how long into the future you'll continue using whatever you get.
But it sure beats CCGs... (shudder)
Converted from Phorums BB System
Hmm. Well, the point of this article seems lost to me. Maybe I am just a clueless son of a slitch. I'm not gonna claim to need someone to be friggin' Shakespeare in order to help me understand what they're trying to say, but all I seem to get from this is, "Tabletop RPG costs me less than $30 a week because I love to write and my wife shares costs."
Right.
Now, seriously, that's all fine and good. I tend to be a huge fan of the "fewer logistics = better game" school of thought. But just because I'm a total jackhole (and because I'm sitting bored at work on a 12-hour shift), let's really break this down a bit better.
First off, gaming is a hobby. Hobbies are considered an "entertainment" expenditure, like literature, movies, or KY jelly. Because of this, you CAN'T dismiss the cost of a gaming book because it is "just another book". You see, people buy 'regular' books both for the reading content, and because of the artistry and pure novelty of simply having a pretty book. Otherwise, online texts would be much more pervasive than they are, and this cute girl I know working at Barnes & Noble would be out of a job.
But RPG books are a whole different ballgame. Why? Number one is usage. Unless the game ends up being horrible, it WILL be travelling a lot. It will also, under most circumstances, be passed around to others, flipped through to and fro, and generally worn the hell out after a given amount of time (based both on the quality of the bookbinding, and how nasty your gaming buddies' hands are). Those who don't wear out their books just ain't playing them enough, or are really stingy with letting a friend have them.
And oh, wait, let's not forget the bane of every gamer's existence: NEW EDITIONS! And it's not that you must buy them, but as the older editions wear out, they'll become harder to obtain than before. And, many times, the new editions correct problems from before, making buying them appealing.
Okay, okay, you can find these things on sale at the local gaming store which carries a "bargain bin" of old games. Still, my point is that you will assuredly be spending money on whatever game book(s) you choose to play. You CAN sidestep the cost altogether by creating your own system, but that is another topic altogether.
But is that all? Of course not!
Let's not forget dice. Event the most frugal gamer needs a full set (one each of d4, d6, etc.), with costs varying depending on the type of dice you get (colored plastic, all peweter, semi-precious stones, animal bones, etc.).
Pen(cil) and paper are a must, unless you had your brains scooped out and replaced with a Pentium 4.
Okay, you got the essentials. Now you can game.
But, if you aren't hosting the game, you have to drive. And nobody can discount the cost of gas nowadays. Or, as our author showed, the need for a babysitter if you have offspring to be watched.
Regardless of who hosts this game, most folks go in for long game sessions. Food and drink of some kind is certainly a consideration then, so that's another expense.
I'm not even going into any extras, like dry-erase grid mats (a God-send in my own gaming circles), miniatures, or other knick-knacks folks like to have.
So is it really cheaper than other things?
Movies aren't that frequent for me. I MIGHT go to 10 in a year, but that is very rough. Years with more movies that I want to see, I might go a dozen times. But, for the average, say I spend about $10 a trip (because a fat man like me MUST have some snacky-treats while watching a flick), and I get about $100 into the theater a year.
Computer/video games (I group them because they take up about the same time in one's day/week/year) may cost about $100-$150. Why that much? Because the equipment to run it costs money, and I haven't yet heard of a computer game that didn't try to push the need for better hardware a bit further up. Hell, the consoles now cost more than that, but that expense is one-time, and you can get a LOT of use from one.
If you want to be really picky, miniature gaming may not actually cost as much in the long run. You do spend a big wad of cash for them (especiall GW games), but only the rules really change, so it's a one-time purchase. I know folks using minis from the first Warhammer 40K release with the current rules; they just buy new editions of the rules for tournaments they attend.
My point?
Tabletop gaming isn't as low-cost as one might think, depending on how one wishes to approach it. You have to consider what you want, and how much use you'll get from it, and how long into the future you'll continue using whatever you get.
But it sure beats CCGs... (shudder)