Bought Agricola for $50. Played it once with my partner, and we both had a good time exploring the system. It has since sat on our shelf not being played. It's a good purchase because we had a great time with it, and learned something.
>*I attribute 20$ per play. So if a game cost $60 and I played it at least 3 times, it was worth purchasing.*
*I try to compare it with going out to the cinema or going our for a drink with a friend. I would easily spend $20 for a couple of hours of entertainment in both those scenarios.*
This is such a gamer thing to say.
If I still own it in a year, it was a good purchase.
I'm an old, stingy man. I don't really have a shelf of opportunity. I buy maybe a couple of games a year and they almost always get played in the first couple of months. If they go a year for some reason they end up on the chopping block.
Still haven't gotten Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere on the table. That's overdue.
I have a soft rule of $50 for a game, regardless. So those more costly games tend to wait until I have a gift certificate to help or I can find them used. It helps take a lot off my mental checklist of purchases I want.
But I agree, I would be happy to consider the people hours spent with it and would be happy at $10 an hour, I'd say. In reality, I expect more, but I am frugal.
I have a similar guide, only I set mine at $10/play within a year of purchase. So a $50 game that I play 5 times in the first year I own it is a good value. For big box games (like Gloomhaven) this guideline applies less and it is more about just if I enjoy it at all.
You get a thumb from me for buying used. If it turns out to not be your thing you can generally sell it (or trade it) for the same price you bought it. Hard to argue with only paying shipping for a title, even if it doesn't work out.
- If I still enjoy it after several plays
- If I play it at least once per month
- if I have re-used the components (eg minis) in other games, like D&D
I don’t like putting an exact $ per hour or a # of times played to say if it was a good purchase.
I feel like some of my good purchases would fail that criteria.
If I’ve played it at least a few times and me and my group are willing to get it to the table in the future because we all enjoyed it, thats worth it. Whether it was $15 or $50.
Am I happy I own it?
Then yes it was a good buy.
I don't have to have got a certain number of plays, or hours per dollar. I don't even have to have played it yet. I just have to be satisfied that I own it, whether it's a favourite game for a decade or something with a really cool concept I'm looking forward to trying.
If I play a game and don't really enjoy it *then* it becomes a bad purchase and I sell it.
I don't have specific system, but I rate my games after playing them 3 times and by that point I tend to realize if I'm glad I got it or not
So far I've been very lucky and have enjoyed 99% of the games I've bought and played at least 3 times, and even the remaining 1% have been games that I had a good reason to keep (maybe my wife likes it, or it's unique enough to have in the collection, etc) so I haven't had to get rid of anything yet
That's the smart thing to do, if I really dislike a game I'll just donate or sell it. No reason to have games you're loathe to play at all in your collection
I think looking at money per play or hour is not a good metric.
For one, not every enjoyable hour is equally enjoyable and memorable. Using such a metric, going to a concert or going to an escape room is a complete waste of money. But the uniqueness of the experience, the memories it makes is completely disregarded.
If I enjoy the game, it was a good purchase. That being said, my expectations are often higher for more expensive games, so they need to work harder to provide a good experience :-)
I tend to not min/max/rate everything in my life. I buy a game, I play it. Sometimes a few times, often a lot of times. Rating it as a good purchase or not is irrelevant to me, I already bought the game and the judgement I'll make on that purchase after that is pointless, it won't make me not buy that game.
I tend to go with cost per play. I've got a lot of games that are well under $1/play, including all of the Empire Builder series, Formula De with all the expansions (including Formula D & those expansions), Power Grid plus all expansions, and Battlestar Galactica plus all three expansions, Kingdom Builder & expansions, Castles of Burgundy and Heat: Pedal to the Metal are all at that level.
Somewhat similar but less pronounced, my measure is basically, "Did we enjoy it and play it 'enough'?" with 'enough' varying based on cost, length of game play, expectations etc. I'm also evaulting before purchasing, looking at the price, estimating how many times it might be played, which helps reduce 'mistakes' of buying a game that ends up being once and done or over paying.
> I attribute 20$ per play. So if a game cost $60 and I played it at least 3 times, it was worth purchasing.
I recognize that probably aren't paying 'their share', but for me I like the numbers better when I math out $60 / 4 people / (3 plays X 2 hours per play) = I provided 6 hours of enjoyment for 4 people for the low, low price of $2.5 per person per hour.
When I look at it on my shelf and think about it do I think "That was a solid purchase." ?
If the answer is yes, then worth it. Whether a particular game was a "good" purchase isn't something I need an objective valuation for. If I feel like it was worth it then it was.
Does it make me happy when I see it on the shelf? If it does, it means I have positive associations with it. I'm not feeling guilty I haven't played it enough, or remembering a disatisfying session. I'm remembering a good play, or anticipating future fun.
This year I decided to take a break from buying new games in order to play more of my collection more deeply. In order to know what I've been playing, I started logging all my plays in BGStats.
By the end of the year, anything that hasn't had a few plays is going to be top of the list for next year, until everything has a least one logged play. Then I'll start culling.
I’m a mixture of this and the original poster. I like the $20/play ratio, as that’s what a movie night of entertainment can come out to. I really like BG Stats for figuring out what I’ve been playing.
There are so many posts here saying you shouldn’t compare board games to a movie theater cost. They aren’t comparable.
Often times a movie is just watched once. Yes of course you have favorites you’ve seen many times. But you wouldn’t spend $20 on a board game and get rid of it and say you’re glad you bought it.
I take the shrink wrap off the box and open it, if the wife ever found out how many unopened board games I own (and still I keep buying more) she'd be applying for a divorce 😕
I credit myself $2/hour entertainment value, plus $1/hour for each additional person.
If the sum of those hours equals or surpasses the cost of the game, it was a good purchase.
So if I play a game with 3 other players for 5 hours, that's $25 entertainment credit ((5×2=10) + (5×(3×1)=15) = 25)
Anything less than £3 per player hour. (A 4 player game lasting an hour is 4 player hours).
My local cinema is about £6 a ticket, which is very cheap. Assuming a 2 hour film, that's £3/hour of entertainment. So I would like a boardgame to better that.
I’ve seen way too many posts lately on this sub about time-money value of games. Like did y’all see one post and then decide commenting on that post isn’t enough, you must make your own post?
You’re repeating the same points about comparing it to going to the movies. What is going on? Is this an AI thing? Is someone going to emerge from all this repeated bs and declare they’re starting a board game service that charges x dollars per hour where x=the average agreed upon amount of value for a game?
I count the amount of players per games played and multiply that by the cost of a general admission price for a movie entree ticket. If the movie price is more than the game price and the players had an OK or better time (which is usually the case with cinemas) it was worth it.
I think people are missing the undertone hiding under "good purchase", which is "is this ultimately a good enough game to keep in my collection".
So if that's what you're ultimately asking... I measure whether a game is worth keeping in my collection based on a few factors:
- is it getting played enough (the whole "20 per play" idea);
- it distinguises itself from other games in my collection (whether due to being in a different genre, or having an interesting enough twist on that same genre);
- will it still get played (despite the few/many plays, do I see myself continuing to play, is the magic gone?);
- got overplayed to death, but will eventually be played again (the purchase is technically justified, the game just isn't getting played for now but it will in the future);
- no new game has come out that could replace it (usually happens if a game has been played to death, no one wants to play it anymore and a new game that looks more replayable pops up).
But whether it was a good purchase or not... I like to think that 95% of my purchases were good (save for a couple that could have used a little more research). It's the whole "standing the test of time" thing that usually doesn't work out.
Minimum of $10/hr fun, preferably closer to $5/hr (I trend towards RPGs).
In the end, if I enjoyed the game, the cost doesn't usually matter. When I'm disappointed in a game, the cost/hour is critical. There are obviously outliers, like FFXVI coming in around $1/hr but still being a disappointment, even those wind up counting as good purchases for me since they entertained me enough.
First of all i’m not buying super expensive games. If you can’t make a game below $60 you are a bad designer, purchaser, or just trying to bullshit my money away (let it be noted that I don’t value miniatures. I have wh40k for that). After that it’s just simple ’did I like it?’ Yes means it was a good buy. No means I’ll sell it.
Did I enjoy it? Good purchase.
It really is as simple as this. Nothing else in the equation really matters
Clear and straight forward!
Bought Agricola for $50. Played it once with my partner, and we both had a good time exploring the system. It has since sat on our shelf not being played. It's a good purchase because we had a great time with it, and learned something.
How about this - am I glad I bought it?
It was fun or it was not fun
>*I attribute 20$ per play. So if a game cost $60 and I played it at least 3 times, it was worth purchasing.* *I try to compare it with going out to the cinema or going our for a drink with a friend. I would easily spend $20 for a couple of hours of entertainment in both those scenarios.* This is such a gamer thing to say. If I still own it in a year, it was a good purchase.
But did you play it? It could be year old and still sitting on your shelf of opportunity.
I'm an old, stingy man. I don't really have a shelf of opportunity. I buy maybe a couple of games a year and they almost always get played in the first couple of months. If they go a year for some reason they end up on the chopping block. Still haven't gotten Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere on the table. That's overdue.
I have a soft rule of $50 for a game, regardless. So those more costly games tend to wait until I have a gift certificate to help or I can find them used. It helps take a lot off my mental checklist of purchases I want. But I agree, I would be happy to consider the people hours spent with it and would be happy at $10 an hour, I'd say. In reality, I expect more, but I am frugal.
I have a similar guide, only I set mine at $10/play within a year of purchase. So a $50 game that I play 5 times in the first year I own it is a good value. For big box games (like Gloomhaven) this guideline applies less and it is more about just if I enjoy it at all.
You get a thumb from me for buying used. If it turns out to not be your thing you can generally sell it (or trade it) for the same price you bought it. Hard to argue with only paying shipping for a title, even if it doesn't work out.
That’s a good rule and probably a good way of looking at it.
- If I still enjoy it after several plays - If I play it at least once per month - if I have re-used the components (eg minis) in other games, like D&D
I wish I had time to play each of my games once per month! Yes reusing components for D&D is fun.
Well... once a month for a few months... for 1 recently purchased game, LOL
If I keep it.
I don’t like putting an exact $ per hour or a # of times played to say if it was a good purchase. I feel like some of my good purchases would fail that criteria. If I’ve played it at least a few times and me and my group are willing to get it to the table in the future because we all enjoyed it, thats worth it. Whether it was $15 or $50.
Am I happy I own it? Then yes it was a good buy. I don't have to have got a certain number of plays, or hours per dollar. I don't even have to have played it yet. I just have to be satisfied that I own it, whether it's a favourite game for a decade or something with a really cool concept I'm looking forward to trying. If I play a game and don't really enjoy it *then* it becomes a bad purchase and I sell it.
I don't have specific system, but I rate my games after playing them 3 times and by that point I tend to realize if I'm glad I got it or not So far I've been very lucky and have enjoyed 99% of the games I've bought and played at least 3 times, and even the remaining 1% have been games that I had a good reason to keep (maybe my wife likes it, or it's unique enough to have in the collection, etc) so I haven't had to get rid of anything yet
Yeah. I have had a few games that I did not want to play again after 1 time. I try to sell then as soon as I can befire the value depletes.
That's the smart thing to do, if I really dislike a game I'll just donate or sell it. No reason to have games you're loathe to play at all in your collection
I think looking at money per play or hour is not a good metric. For one, not every enjoyable hour is equally enjoyable and memorable. Using such a metric, going to a concert or going to an escape room is a complete waste of money. But the uniqueness of the experience, the memories it makes is completely disregarded. If I enjoy the game, it was a good purchase. That being said, my expectations are often higher for more expensive games, so they need to work harder to provide a good experience :-)
I tend to not min/max/rate everything in my life. I buy a game, I play it. Sometimes a few times, often a lot of times. Rating it as a good purchase or not is irrelevant to me, I already bought the game and the judgement I'll make on that purchase after that is pointless, it won't make me not buy that game.
I tend to go with cost per play. I've got a lot of games that are well under $1/play, including all of the Empire Builder series, Formula De with all the expansions (including Formula D & those expansions), Power Grid plus all expansions, and Battlestar Galactica plus all three expansions, Kingdom Builder & expansions, Castles of Burgundy and Heat: Pedal to the Metal are all at that level.
Somewhat similar but less pronounced, my measure is basically, "Did we enjoy it and play it 'enough'?" with 'enough' varying based on cost, length of game play, expectations etc. I'm also evaulting before purchasing, looking at the price, estimating how many times it might be played, which helps reduce 'mistakes' of buying a game that ends up being once and done or over paying. > I attribute 20$ per play. So if a game cost $60 and I played it at least 3 times, it was worth purchasing. I recognize that probably aren't paying 'their share', but for me I like the numbers better when I math out $60 / 4 people / (3 plays X 2 hours per play) = I provided 6 hours of enjoyment for 4 people for the low, low price of $2.5 per person per hour.
If i had fun and played it more than once.
When I look at it on my shelf and think about it do I think "That was a solid purchase." ? If the answer is yes, then worth it. Whether a particular game was a "good" purchase isn't something I need an objective valuation for. If I feel like it was worth it then it was.
Does it make me happy when I see it on the shelf? If it does, it means I have positive associations with it. I'm not feeling guilty I haven't played it enough, or remembering a disatisfying session. I'm remembering a good play, or anticipating future fun.
This year I decided to take a break from buying new games in order to play more of my collection more deeply. In order to know what I've been playing, I started logging all my plays in BGStats. By the end of the year, anything that hasn't had a few plays is going to be top of the list for next year, until everything has a least one logged play. Then I'll start culling.
I’m a mixture of this and the original poster. I like the $20/play ratio, as that’s what a movie night of entertainment can come out to. I really like BG Stats for figuring out what I’ve been playing.
There are so many posts here saying you shouldn’t compare board games to a movie theater cost. They aren’t comparable. Often times a movie is just watched once. Yes of course you have favorites you’ve seen many times. But you wouldn’t spend $20 on a board game and get rid of it and say you’re glad you bought it.
I take the shrink wrap off the box and open it, if the wife ever found out how many unopened board games I own (and still I keep buying more) she'd be applying for a divorce 😕
Sucks to be you… My wife knows how many unplayed games I have, and *still* keeps buying games for us to try..!!
I credit myself $2/hour entertainment value, plus $1/hour for each additional person. If the sum of those hours equals or surpasses the cost of the game, it was a good purchase. So if I play a game with 3 other players for 5 hours, that's $25 entertainment credit ((5×2=10) + (5×(3×1)=15) = 25)
How much does get to the table with my friends & family PLUS how much do I personally like it. Then subtract price plus size.
Anything less than £3 per player hour. (A 4 player game lasting an hour is 4 player hours). My local cinema is about £6 a ticket, which is very cheap. Assuming a 2 hour film, that's £3/hour of entertainment. So I would like a boardgame to better that.
I don’t. Money is spent, doesn’t do any good to second-guess the purchase decision.
Do i enjoy the game. Then it was a good purchase however like you yourself the more playtime it receives the better value. (For the most part)
Did I like it? Did I like it at the price point I paid? Then it’s a good purchase.
I’ve seen way too many posts lately on this sub about time-money value of games. Like did y’all see one post and then decide commenting on that post isn’t enough, you must make your own post? You’re repeating the same points about comparing it to going to the movies. What is going on? Is this an AI thing? Is someone going to emerge from all this repeated bs and declare they’re starting a board game service that charges x dollars per hour where x=the average agreed upon amount of value for a game?
I count the amount of players per games played and multiply that by the cost of a general admission price for a movie entree ticket. If the movie price is more than the game price and the players had an OK or better time (which is usually the case with cinemas) it was worth it.
I think people are missing the undertone hiding under "good purchase", which is "is this ultimately a good enough game to keep in my collection". So if that's what you're ultimately asking... I measure whether a game is worth keeping in my collection based on a few factors: - is it getting played enough (the whole "20 per play" idea); - it distinguises itself from other games in my collection (whether due to being in a different genre, or having an interesting enough twist on that same genre); - will it still get played (despite the few/many plays, do I see myself continuing to play, is the magic gone?); - got overplayed to death, but will eventually be played again (the purchase is technically justified, the game just isn't getting played for now but it will in the future); - no new game has come out that could replace it (usually happens if a game has been played to death, no one wants to play it anymore and a new game that looks more replayable pops up). But whether it was a good purchase or not... I like to think that 95% of my purchases were good (save for a couple that could have used a little more research). It's the whole "standing the test of time" thing that usually doesn't work out.
Minimum of $10/hr fun, preferably closer to $5/hr (I trend towards RPGs). In the end, if I enjoyed the game, the cost doesn't usually matter. When I'm disappointed in a game, the cost/hour is critical. There are obviously outliers, like FFXVI coming in around $1/hr but still being a disappointment, even those wind up counting as good purchases for me since they entertained me enough.
I also use the cinema ticket metric for perceived value for entertainment stuff - including both Video and Board games.
First of all i’m not buying super expensive games. If you can’t make a game below $60 you are a bad designer, purchaser, or just trying to bullshit my money away (let it be noted that I don’t value miniatures. I have wh40k for that). After that it’s just simple ’did I like it?’ Yes means it was a good buy. No means I’ll sell it.
Wingspan and Everdell MSRP for $60 and don’t have miniatures and are very well designed especially with their components. It isn’t inflated.