The Purge: February Edition

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Yup, it’s that time again. More games are coming in so I need to make some space for them by getting rid of games that, while they are not horrible or bad, I don’t see myself playing in the future, either short or long. So hence this new installment of my almost monthly game Purge.

Numbers-wise, I’m not that far off from my goal of last year which was to get rid of 100 games by February 2015. So far, including the current batch, I’ve gotten rid of 82 games. I’m still sitting at over 700 games but I figure if I keep on getting rid of stuff that didn’t grab me or stuff that I no longer play, I’ll end up with just the good stuff 🙂

Expect more next month, with probably 20 going on the trade pile that time.

So, what’s on the list to get rid of this time?

Space Empire 4XSpace Empire 4X + Close Encounter (GMT Games) by Jim Krohn: Fun game but… I really don’t mind heavy games (there’s an understatement) and I don’t mind games where you have to track a lot of variables, but the ratio of fun to bookkeeping is simply off for me. There’s so much info to update and to track that the game kind of disappears for me. And don’t get me started with the stacks of counters, with each stack having a single ship in there and a few info counters as well. It’s not a bad game, just not one that I’ll want to play. I know others who have it and love it, so I really don’t need to keep it in my collection.

Island SiegeIsland Siege (APE Games) by Dan Manfredini: As stated in my year in review post, I’m not sure that I get this game. My first 2 games ended quite abruptly, making for short games that didn’t quite work for me. It hung around until now, mostly because I kept telling myself that I would give the game another chance. Problem is, as always, with so many new games coming in, I don’t always get the chance to revisit a game that didn’t make a positive first impression. Out it goes.

Infection: Humanity's last graspInfection: Humanity’s Last Gasp (Victory Point Games) by John Gibson: I like this game, I really do. Heck, I did a review of it a while ago, but like a lot of other solo games, once you get a few games in, you sometimes feel like you’ve seen all that the game has to offer and in this case, it is exactly the case. Good game, but it doesn’t hold much for me to discover anymore. I know it will find a good home.

 

51st State51st State + The New Era (Portal Games) by Ignacy Trzewiczek: First came 51st State, then The New Era and finally Imperial Settlers. Each of these games took the same basic mechanics and improved on the last version. While they are not the same game simply re-themed, they all have exactly the same mechanics. And since I have all three, well, two must go. At very least the first two worked with each other and the setting was the same (the world of Neuroshima Hex).

BritanniaBritannia (Avalon Hill Games) by Lewis Pulsipher: When I got back into boardgames in the early 2000s, I started going to Ebay looking for old Avalon Hill games that I always was curious about but never got around to own/play and Britannia was one of those classics. Well, here we are over 10 years ago and the game never hit the table. While it has its fans, I found it hard to get to the table due to it’s very odd structure. I’m sure its reputation is well deserved, but it has sat on my selves too long, unplayed.

Eaten by ZombiesEaten by Zombies + In Cahoots (Mayday Games) by Max Holliday: One of the first Kickstarter I backed and while the presentation and art are wonderful (c’mon! the box is an ammo box, same goes for In Cahoots), the game itself doesn’t quite hold up for me. Again, it’s not that it’s a bad game or that the implementation is faulty, but rather it just didn’t light that spark for me since it felt more like just another zombie game. I’m sure there are people out there who would love it. If you happen to be one of them…

TiticacaTiticaca (Cwali) by Corné van Moorsel: In the early 2000s, one would get almost any Euro games that would come out, mostly due to the fear of missing out on a great game. This was especially true when it came to games from known designers who made very limited quantities of their games. This was very true of Cwali  and of Corne van Moorsel. Titicaca is one of these fairly obscure good games and it probably aged fairly well, even if the core mechanics have been redone better later on. Not a bad game, just not quite good enough to keep on my shelves.

Richard IIIRichard III (Columbia Games) by Tom Dalgliesh and Jerry Taylor: Columbia Games has a great reputation with wargamers, especially with the sub-section of block wargamers. While they didn’t invent the genre, they have kept the flame alive after all these years with such great titles as EastFront, Liberty and Hammer of the Scots. All great games, except that, after the success of Hammer, all of their block games have tended to be… similar. Always the same core rules with a few little difference leaving me feeling like I’ve played them all even if I haven’t. Too many of these games on my shelves so this one must go.

GeronimoGeronimo (Avalon Hill Games) by Richard H. Berg: One of the more interesting of the old Avalon Hill catalog, this one caught my eye when I was looking at what Richard Berg used to do. Problem is, like a lot of early Bergs, the rules are sprinkled with exceptions and while it looks interesting, never got enough interest from the groups I was playing with back then to get them to listen to a whole explanation, never mind getting a play out of it. Had it for over 10 years on my shelves, so out it goes.

Blackbeard 1stBlackbeard (Avalon Hill Games) by Richard H. Berg: Well, what do you know… another Berg title on the pile of games that I want to get rid of. The idea is interesting but again, the rules and the idea of having to explain them have always been a barrier. Also, I sort of gave up on complex pirate games a while ago, so off to trade it goes.

 

Against the Odds magazine: No, I’m not selling the magazine company, but rather a large pile of issues (34 in total). While there is something really cool about wargame magazine with games in them, I have to admit that I don’t get around to playing most of them, hence my parting way with this collection of Against the Odds. It is not a complete collection, but nonetheless it is pretty voluminous. If you’re interested, contact me directly and I’m sure we can figure out a trade/deal.

I also still have some games to get rid of that are left over from my previous lists:

The games that are gone

These are the latest games that I’ve given directly or sold over the last little while:

The following were given as door prizes at the last few Stack Academy. I love doing this as hopefully they will find a good home and it always makes people happy to get free games.

And finally, I’ve given the following games to a local charity which happens to be around the corner from my house:

The list of what has gone out so far:

Happy gaming!

Update:

These games are already gone:

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