My Black Friday purchases . . . weren't

This year, I made all of one purchase on Black Friday (well, Cyber Monday) that related to tabletop gaming.*

It was barely even a purchase. I took last-minute advantage of a Forge sale to get 10% off my yearly subscription to Forge's hosting of DF Felltower. I was able to move my renewal date ahead, get pro-rated on the price, and knock 10% off. So I saved a bit less than $5.

$5 as a gaming purchase on the biggest sale weekend of the year here in the US.

Why?

It's not like my gaming discretionary funds went down any - people still buy my books and SJG still pays me for writing work during the year.

I think it comes down to a bit of purchase fatigue and a growing lack of need.

I bought a few things over the year - DCC #100 and DCC Lankhmar, and How to Defend Your Lair. Maybe one or two other things I'm not thinking of. Even just those have given me a few things to read that I just haven't had time for. Some of the lack of time is from another purchase, Fire in the Lake. All good stuff.

I don't need minis since I haven't been painting, thanks to a decline in my ability to paint those small details effectively.

And there hasn't been a flood of new GURPS titles, has there? A few things here and there.

Plus I just don't need a lot.

The longer I run DF Felltower, the less published materials really help. I play with a smaller and smaller set of rules - not always simpler rules, but less of them overall. I don't need more. Generally, I start with "We're not using any of this, unless explicitly included." Most material stays that way. I just don't need to add a lot. We modify the living hell out of most things, and come up with our own rules for things to speed play along or provide versimilitude or enjoyment.

I have less time to digest and understand and incorporate what I read, too. So plunking down money on new gaming books takes away from what I value the most - having the time to play, or engage in my other hobbies, interests, and work.

It's kind of sad . . . but at the moment I feel a little disconnected from the creative work going on in the field. I do feel very connected to the creative work going on in my immediate circle. We'll see if that's a blip or a trend.






* I did buy some non-gaming stuff - replaced some worn-out footwear, replaced a piece of broken exercise equipment, and spent a wee bit on grappling. I bought a video game, too. I'm not against spending in and of itself.