Those Old Games Books in the Attic. Why Do You Keep Them?

Greentongue · October 18, 2021, 07:08:43 AM

I was just thinking about the books I have stored in the attic and wondering why I keep them and if I'm the only one that thinks I might get them back out "some day"?

Even if I could find someone interested in GURPS or RuneQuest, trying to get people to play 290 year old games can be an uphill struggle.

Besides, if they have been sitting in boxes for that many years what are the odds I'm going to suddenly get the inspiration to pull them out and do more than just remember the old times?

How do you justify keep boxes of old game stuff? How often has it even actually been reused?

Reckall · October 18, 2021, 07:19:25 AM

Well, this is a strange question: first, they are memories from my past; second, many of them still contain useful material - like the fluff in the 1E/2E FR supplements or in GURPS 3E; and, third, I never know if something will be played again: CoC supplements are timeless and should someone be interested in this "D&D thinghie" I would test if D&D is good for them with the Rules Cyclopedia before throwing them into the deep water (we still play 3/3.5E BTW).

Svenhelgrim · October 18, 2021, 07:31:53 AM

I keep my old books for inspiration. I read them and they make me feel good. I also swipe ideas, maps, names, plaots, traps, and items from them to use in other games.

HappyDaze · October 18, 2021, 07:34:02 AM

For starters, I don't put them in an attic. All of my old game stuff that I keep fits (more or less) on three bookcases.(two large ones and a smaller one for the games I'm currently running/playing). If something doesn't for there, I sell it. I haven't had to sell anything in about 6 years though...

Greentongue · October 18, 2021, 07:46:20 AM

Quote from: Reckall on October 18, 2021, 07:19:25 AM
Well, this is a strange question: first, they are memories from my past; second, many of them still contain useful material - like the fluff in the 1E/2E FR supplements or in GURPS 3E; and, third, I never know if something will be played again: CoC supplements are timeless and should someone be interested in this "D&D thinghie" I would test if D&D is good for them with the Rules Cyclopedia before throwing them into the deep water (we still play 3/3.5E BTW).

Yeah, the CoC stuff is timeless.
There seems to be limitless sources of inspiration and even memories on the internet so, if I didn't have the space, it would be hard to justify "hording" the materials that haven't been touched in years.

Like the people that pay for Self Storage but don't remember all the things they stuffed away there.
At what point does it become "trashable"?

Godfather Punk · October 18, 2021, 07:48:15 AM

Throwing them away would be like ditching a vintage car that still runs a-ok.
Except the old-timer would probably have cost less than my gaming hoard.

On the one side I always hope one day I'll be able to play these games.
On the other side I wouldn't mind giving the away if there was somebody who would make good use of them.
On the third side nostalgia and what Svenhelgrim said.

Most likely scenario is that after my death the housecleaners will throw everything in a dumpster and burn or pulp the lot.

Steven Mitchell · October 18, 2021, 08:07:21 AM

Well, I stopped doing that with my last move, about 12 years ago. I had a lot of things I picked up off the bargain rack. Most of it was trash. Of the things I've lost or sold or given away, the only ones I partially regret are mostly things that someone else got good use out of, and that I could replace now if I really wanted to. The one big exception was a board game that I loaned out and never got back.

I have kept a few games that I'll probably never play again because I enjoy looking at them occasionally--and you never know. But if I needed the shelf space for something that I was playing, they'd go in a heart beat.

Chris24601 · October 18, 2021, 08:26:35 AM

For the same reason I still have my high school yearbooks even though I never look at them. I might... some day... want to.

hedgehobbit · October 18, 2021, 08:34:29 AM

Quote from: Greentongue on October 18, 2021, 07:08:43 AM
I was just thinking about the books I have stored in the attic and wondering why I keep them and if I'm the only one that thinks I might get them back out "some day"?

You are looking at this all wrong. The secret to using old games is to stop buying new games. So the question should be, "Why do you keep buying games when you already have enough?"

Chris24601 · October 18, 2021, 09:12:25 AM

Quote from: hedgehobbit on October 18, 2021, 08:34:29 AM
Quote from: Greentongue on October 18, 2021, 07:08:43 AM
I was just thinking about the books I have stored in the attic and wondering why I keep them and if I'm the only one that thinks I might get them back out "some day"?

You are looking at this all wrong. The secret to using old games is to stop buying new games. So the question should be, "Why do you keep buying games when you already have enough?"

I've written every game I've run for the past two decades; do a search on my post history and you'll see "White Book Mage", d6 Star Trek, Rebuild of Robotech and, of course, Ruins & Realms.

But when I play, it's up to the GM what system we use and because I like to know the rules I pick up the necessary books and that's where the majority of my collection comes from.

finarvyn · October 18, 2021, 09:13:09 AM

I did a purge of my "medium old" stuff because I needed to downsize. Kept the newest stuff (mostly 5E) and the oldest stuff (TSR and Judges Guild) and got rid of a lot in the middle (2E, 3E, 4E).

I have a lot of stuff in my bookshelves, but some shelves are currently empty and I have to admit that I like shelves with the potential to be filled and I like the fact that I don't have piles everywhere.

Some of my stuff is still boxed from the downsize, and if I don't dust it off in a year or so it might go to Noble Knight. The really old stuff I like for nostalgia and because it inspires me, the newer stuff I actually use, the medium stuff was just taking up space.

Ghostmaker · October 18, 2021, 09:36:13 AM

I unloaded some older books as well, but there's a few I kept for nostalgia or because I like the art.

zagreus · October 18, 2021, 10:57:08 AM

I recently got people to play an Ars Magica game. My players weren't really that into it at first, but I really wanted to run it - this was after our previous game got derailed by Covid and I wasn't too keen on going back to it. So I decided, "I'm running Ars Magica". I posted an ad on meetup.com and after a month or so, I got a bunch of new players, and then my old players started rotating back in too.

"If you build it, they will come."

Trond · October 18, 2021, 11:12:25 AM

A friend of mine had similar thoughts a while back, so he gave me his old 1st ed Pendragon. I don't have that much stuff so I happily took it. Looking at it, it's pretty worn but holy smokes it's a thing of beauty. I almost feel like buying one in mint condition

Haven't played it yet, but one of these days.....

KingCheops · October 18, 2021, 11:14:30 AM

I'm in my pine box house so unless my daughters in the future need to get rid of my shit after one of them takes the upstairs and my wife and I move to the ground floor suite I'm going to continue stacking. I'd gotten rid of a lot of my old stuff in various moves during university and my young days and deeply regret it. I've been adding through POD but it's not the same.

This all became useful as a younger friend of mine who only played WotC editions watched a video about 2e and decided he wanted to try some old school gaming.