$60 a Month: Episode XI
Last month I wondered what would happen with the release of a bunch of interesting new titles, but what I failed to mention when listing them all was that while all of them held some appeal, none were games I felt belonged on my “must buy on day one” list. The only game that really came close was Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, but frankly the rumors of 90-minute cutscenes in Metal Gear Solid 4 and the huge question mark that was Alone in the Dark, I could have easily said that June looked like a completely unknown quantity.
There is a curious difference between months that have a few must-haves and months that have a lot higher number of could-be-cools. The must-have months end up feeling like they really test the limitations of a budget-conscious gamer while months like June actually end up being pretty breezy because with a lot of competition but no real demands on the budget, it’s fairly effortless to take a wait and see approach to the entire month’s offerings.
Budget Breakdown
After last month’s $33.82 surplus, I was left with a budget of $93.82 for June. I have a backlog of recycling to take care of but I resisted the urge to make a run this month since I monitored the budget closely and saw that it was unlikely to dip into the red. We’ll see if my calculations were correct later.
Games List
- Arkham Horror: The King in Yellow
Platform: Tabletop Board Game Expansion
Method: Retail
Cost: $14.96
I haven’t had a chance yet to actually play the game with the expansion, but I read through the rules carefully since I’m planning to run Arkham Horror at Pacificon with King in Yellow so I needed to know what I was getting into. Frankly I’m a little disappointed from just reading through it; some of the ideas are interesting but the variants either just add a few extra cards into the mix to give it some variety (acceptable) or add even more difficulty to an already challenging game (unnecessary). I haven’t yet decided which method I’ll use at the con, but I suspect I’ll just add the cards to the mix and call it well and good. - Talisman
Platform: Board Game
Method: Purchase From Friend
Cost: $25.00
Back at KublaCon’s flea market I eyed a couple of copies of this fantasy questing game for sale but a buddy of mine got to the cheaper and better condition copy across the market floor before I could. When he got home he realized he had a couple of copies already so he asked if I wanted to buy the game from him. I agreed, naturally. I haven’t had a chance to play it yet but assuming it is along the lines of RuneBound or DungeonQuest, I can’t imagine not being happy with the purchase.
The longer I play games the more I find that when it comes to hack and slash adventure games in fantasy settings, I vastly prefer board game mechanics to role-playing ones for that setting. I think it’s because for the most part D&D games practically feel like board games anyway. Speaking of… - Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook 4th Edition
Platform: Tabletop Role-Playing Game
Method: Retail
Cost: $24.96
There are plenty of places you can go to read about what 4th Edition offers. What matters here is whether or not I feel like I got a good deal on something I’m happy I purchased. Overall, I got a great deal on something I’m happy I own. The minor distinction is that I’m glad I have the book in case a game of D&D ever comes up. But in some ways I may have preferred to spend the $25 or so on something I’m more interested in at the moment. For example, I’ve been sampling the rules on an alternate system I’m considering a purchase of: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I might actually prefer to have saved up for that system now that I know more about both. But there wasn’t a great way to make that determination ahead of time. So I’m not sorry I bought D&D, but I doubt I’ll be rushing out to pick up the DM Guide or the Monster Manual next month so I can start a game. If I’m going to start something, it will likely use a competing system. - Warhammer Figurines
Method: Retail
Cost: $18.40
I picked up a pack of Harpies and a Grim Reaper-looking guy from the Games Workshop Warhammer Fantasy Battles line of figures to serve as cheerleaders and an assistant coach (respectively) for my Undead Blood Bowl team. They were on sale at a FLGS who was discounting most of the store by 20% at least so I decided to grab them while I could. - Tetris DS
Method: Goozex
Cost: $1.00
A lot of the updates the Tetris games have received recently effectively alter the basic gameplay which, I would argue, didn’t need adjusting. Tetris DS isn’t immune from these unnecessary alterations but it’s mostly forgivable because they’ve added welcome features like multiplayer and alternate game modes. It’s one of those games I picked up mostly because it’s a standard have-on-hand portable title that’s good to break out anytime I find someone else with a DS that wants to engage in some multiplayer. - Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Method: Goozex
Cost: $1.00
When this game first came out a couple of months ago there was a lot of mentions about it on various sites I follow. It quickly disappeared from the collective consciousness but I threw it on my Goozex list anyway. I understand now why the game was buzz-worthy; it has a peculiar charm and a surprising difficulty curve that makes it engaging but also frustrating. It’s the kind of thing many nerd/gamers find irresistible and I’m certainly not immune.
List Breakdown
I recall now, as I immerse myself more into tabletop gaming, why video games can frequently be the least expensive segment of the gaming world, despite surface logic. For one thing, cost of entry into video gaming is fairly high but the drop-off in upkeep is variable and, if you play your cards right, pretty low. It really depends on your gaming habits, but as I’ve tried to show in this article over the majority of a year, it can be done fairly cheaply through a combination of bargain shopping, trade-ins and selective purchasing. Some people can play a single game for months, stretching a single purchase into something like $20 per month.
Tabletop games, on the other hand, often include ancillary purchases. Board and role-playing games themselves are expensive enough. Some RPG books cost as much as a brand new video game. Granted there is potentially infinite hours of enjoyment within, but the social nature of it demands a particular level of preparation and coordination. Plus unlike video games, RPGs often then lead to secondary purchases for the same game: Sourcebooks, adventure modules, dice, map tiles, miniatures, binders, printer ink, etc. Even things like bookshelves and larger tables can be purchases attributed to an effort to improve a game. One could say the peripheral purchases on consoles is a similar expense, like a camera for the Xbox 360 or PS3, but there are hardly enough of those nor do many games support a range of them that might make for an endless wish list the way tabletop gaming can. And none of this even starts on wargames where the purchase of armies of minis is involved.
The challenge for me is knowing which purchases fall under the banner of games for the purposes of budgeting and which are merely personal buys that shouldn’t be reflected in the $60 a Month listings. Do I catalog every pot of paint and brush I buy? Do things like specialized storage devices count when it can hardly be considered a game? If that’s the case, what if I buy a bookshelf to hold my games? An entertainment center to accommodate my consoles? Those aren’t specialized at all, but it’s a strange line.
This month I actually purchased a Sabol ArmyTransport satchel. It was a purchase made which has no other purpose than to facilitate gaming. But it won’t be counted in $60 a Month. Likewise I don’t think you’ll see a lot of individual paint or modeling supplies listed here because they’re both mundane purchases that aren’t worthy of discussion. The decision to include or not include certain items in a budget is in fact part of maintaining a spending plan. Risk adverse budgeters might include anything that could fall into a particular category in their tallies. If you buy gas and add a drink or a snack onto the purchase that might fall under your monthly fuel budget for example. Categorizing purchases is a significant part of budgeting; in this case I prefer to err on the side of providing interesting commentary and I can think of fewer things more tedious than describing my feelings about a duffel bag.
Sacrifices
All I traded away this month was Blacksite: Area 51, which I couldn’t be happier to be rid of. What a stinker.
Results
The total for June was $85.32. From my operating budget of $93.82, that means I’m bringing $8.50 into July.
I’ve finished painting my Undead Blood Bowl team and I’m interested in starting up a new one. With very little else on the horizon until later this year, that may be my big purchase for next month, though I have my eye on Ticket to Ride for XBLA and a few Goozex trades as well. The big question looming now is how to properly save for PacifiCon coming up on Labor Day weekend when most of the interesting-looking video games like Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3 start dropping in that time frame.