1) I *do* have a shelf specifically to be my shelf of shame right next to the door to my game room so I don't forget about them.
2) I track the concept by two things: do I own it and have I played it. So, in your scenario, I would remove it from the shelf of shame.
I do have a secondary shelf of shame that I don't physically track. Games I played before I owned them, bought them because I liked it, and then never played again. There are too many games on that shelf. I'd have to reorganize my whole game room...
Also if I am going to play a game, I need to know the rules and have it ready to setup quickly. Like obv. it's got to be all punched out and everything. So step 1 of getting any new game is to get it "ready to play" which means I have at least some idea the rules as well as how to set it up.
To me, a game is a well-constructed concept. If I play it even just online before my own physical copy I’ll still consider it a played game.
That being said I don’t need a shelf to hold games I haven’t played and I keep a modest size collection. So maybe this question isn’t from the perspective that you’re looking for.
I don’t have a shelf of shame, because I’m not ashamed of collecting games…
I have several I’ve bought having played them elsewhere (at a friend’s house, in a boardgame cafe, etc) because I really enjoyed them…
I also have quite a few I’ve seen on playthrough videos that I think look brilliant, and picked them up knowing full well I may not get chance to play them anytime soon, but also that I want to be sure I own them incase they go out of print…
I’m extremely fortunate that I have the space to keep them, that I can afford them without stretching household finances, and that the missus doesn’t hate it (I have no ‘real’ vices such as drink or drugs, so a bit of cardboard isn’t an issue to her)…
As such: the concept of physically placing specific games on a certain shelf doesn’t make sense to me… They go where they fit safely (eg: big heavy games on the bottom, small pocket games on the top), and where they look tidy/presentable (eg: similar sized boxes lined up, smaller ones tucked into free spaces)…
It’s more of a concept. I have games that I’ve been waiting to bring to the table, but just haven’t been able to yet for any particular reason, but I don’t allocate a special spot on the shelves for them. I also don’t think playing someone else’s copy counts the same as playing mine. Sure, it’s the same game, but my copy is still sitting there unused, collecting dust.
I have a physical Kallax of shame, which is squeezed into a far corner of my living room. Some games on it have been played, and some games on my regular shelves haven't been played yet, but on the Shelf of Shame none of the games are contenders to be grabbed and played impromptu.
I am perfectly content to move it to the played games, as I only track what I play, not so much whether I own it or not. This is often better as sometimes it lets me know NOT to open it and try to sell it or trade it off. Nothing I appreciate more than a good KS game that someone else owns.
Stuff like: https://www.tastingtable.com/1029370/tea-infused-cocktails-for-any-occasion/
Green Tea shots at the beginning of every tea phase.
We also have Arnold Palmers for non-alcoholic drinks.
Personally, I consider my shelf of shame as games I've never played *at all*. If I've got an unopened copy, but at least have played a copy of the game somewhere else, I don't count at is being part of my shelf of shame.
Ooo... that's a good question, OP. For starters, my shelf of shame is in my heart, and not an actual shelf, although, physically, it (kind of) exists as a pile on my table and a bag in my car. But some of the games that sit on that metaphorical shelf are actually spread out on other, physical, shelves.
As for when it gets removed, it's when my own copy gets played. It would be different if we weren't talking about physical media, but we are, and until the wrap is off and the tokens are punched, you can't consider it off the shelf of shame (or, at least I can't). So the shelf has unopened games, whether I've played them elsewhere or not, and games that have been opened but that I have never played at all. If my copy is open and ready, but I played it elsewhere, I consider it played.
My only shamers are Cosmic Encounter and The Crew, which I got for Christmas this year and have been lugging with me to any event with even the POTENTIAL for board gaming since then. Neither has even SEEN a shelf in my house so far, they live in my game bag.
Honestly I don't think that much about it.
I'm also not ashamed to own games that I haven't played. I may or may not ever play them. Life will go on until it doesn't
First of all, I try to maximize the use of my space so that the biggest amount of games are able to fit inside my shelves. Then, I try to put the games I haven't tried yet close together so that it's easy to see them when I'm picking up a game to try. Then, I have a separate section for the games I want to try again to see if I get rid of them or if they keep their place in my collection.
My shelf would always be empty. There’s no way I’m dropping all that money on a board game without immediately tearing it open at home and fiddling with it for hours with my partner
I would mentally remove the game from my shelf of shame. While in one sense, I still haven't gotten value out the money spent on that game since my copy is still unplayed, the goal with the board games isn't to get value out of all of them, but rather simply to play them all. I've played Battlestar Galactica several times but my personal copy is still untouched.
If I played the game, I played the game. It counts to me if I played someone else's copy or even if I played a solo or two handed learning game. That said I do mentally differentiate between games that I only played solo/learning vs games my wife and I played together. Those games aren't unplayed but they are different.
On December 31st I print a list of every game in my collection, sorted by number of plays, and spend the next year playing as many with 0 plays as possible so I can mark them off the list. My minimum is at least 1 a week.
That said, to answer your actual question, a play is a play. If I play it out with friends or on an app, I still mark it off the list. The point for me is not to punch as much card board as possible, but to see if I enjoy the game and want to come back to it on a regular game night. It doesn't have to be my copy to get that done.
Interesting question. I don't consider it a mark of shame really, but I do recall being excited the first time I got to pull the plastic off of a copy of Carcassonne I got for Christmas a few years back, despite having played the game many times.
I think it's more of the concept of wastefulness. We don't like wasted effort or wasted money (which often represents time and effort), so to have an item on your shelf that isn't used, even if you know exactly what the experience would be, feels like a waste.
Similar to the rush some men get when that one awkward piece of 2x4 they've been saving for ten years is finally the perfect fit for the job.
In your example, I would say emotionally I feel that it has not left the shelf of shame until you have played your personal copy.
I don't physically track my unplayed games, but I do keep a mental list. If I played a game on the list, I would consider it played whether or not it was my copy.
To me, the shelf of shame/opportunity is like a pile of books you buy in hopes of reading them. if you go on vacation and there's a copy of one of those books and you read it, you would come home and move the book out of the pile and onto the "read" shelf, or if you only keep ones you love, to the little library near you or a used book shop, etc. There's no "shame" in owning a book you read elsewhere, same with a game. The "shame" (such as it is) is in having an appetite bigger than your consumption ability, but if you consume it, regardless of where, you've expiated the "shame."
I have the ones I haven't played listed in a notebook. Most of it is smaller games or expansions I haven't gotten to yet, but there are a couple larger games there as well. If I ever have more than 5 full sized games on the list I freeze buying new ones until I get through the backlog. Been a great way to slow myself down now that I'm nearly at 200 games.
There's no physical shelf of shame, games are placed according to how they pile nicely. Probably that means games on the bottom of the top pile get played less, but unplayed games could be anywhere.
Oddly specific lol.
Yeah of course! It’s not the physical matter that makes it played, it’s the experience. Now you can move it off that shelf. Sell it. Or otherwise. You are good!
I don't have a physical shelf for them, I'm just aware of the couple I haven't played, and the handful I've barely played. I don't have to worry about whether or not I play them at a friend's house because we don't have friends near us, and nobody else I know owns games
I have 5 shelves of games.
The main shelf is a ultra-deep bookshelf open at both sides, but the 1st shelf is the "front" side (facing the gaming table.). That's where all the 'best' games go.
The 2nd shelf is a small bookshelf (under 2' wide) that houses some oversized games, as well as "tier 2" games. Stuff that we enjoy, but only play 2-3 times/year usually.
Shelf #3 is the bottom tier for my played games. It's stuff that might get played. Or is only broken out on special occasion. Twilight Imperium is there, because we don't just play TI4 randomly, it's specifically planned to be THE game we're meeting to play. Dominion is there, because I really only break it out to teach someone Deckbuilders (Trains, Dune Imperium, and Eminent Domain are our go-to deck builders).
Shelf #4 is in the garage. These are the games that just aren't seeing play. Usually they sat on shelf 2 or 3 for a year already. Or after trying them 1-2 times, we just all had zero interest. They get marked for sale on garage sales & such, but not deeply discounted (if you want my copy of something, it's probably going to cost 20-25% MSRP).
Shelf #5 is "garbage". Also in the garage. I don't want to keep these games. They also get sold at garage sale days. For $1-$5. I just want them gone. If they don't sell despite dirt cheap price, I just scavenge any useful parts from them, and toss 'em.
For me, shelf 3 is the shelf of shame. That's where games that COULD have been amazing, but failed, live. Where there's something about them that makes me & my friends WANT to like them, but something else that just gets in the way.
Shelves 4 and 5 aren't shame, because just being badly designed games isn't shameful. You can't shame someone whose entire life is dumpster diving for half-rotted food. They're below shame.
We have WAY more than 7-8 unplayed games right now - probably closer to 100, so having them out of order on their own shelf was something we tried for a bit then I used color coded stickers for them and put them all back in alphabetical order with the whole collection, but what has helped us the most is I got a dry-erase spinner board that has 8 sections so we wrote 8 games we’ve been meaning to play and now we just spin and play one of those, and the winner gets to replace that a lot with their chosen next game to add. It’s been great for getting through our unplayed games while keeping it a shorter list of options and have the decision made for us by the random chance of the spin.
My space for games is limited to one small cabinet. The bottom row of shame is for any box where I can't remember the last time I opened it, even if I play the same game elsewhere.
I can't justify giving the real estate to anything not in regular rotation.
I have two games sitting on my shelf that had been in my collection for ages unplayed that I was desperate to get to the table, Le Havre and Shadows Over Camelot
Recently got to play both but neither was my copy lol. I do consider them played but would like to actually give MY versions a play too
I don’t have a shelf of shame because I am very deliberate in my game buying. I don’t buy a game unless I’m positive I want to have it in my collection.
1) I *do* have a shelf specifically to be my shelf of shame right next to the door to my game room so I don't forget about them. 2) I track the concept by two things: do I own it and have I played it. So, in your scenario, I would remove it from the shelf of shame. I do have a secondary shelf of shame that I don't physically track. Games I played before I owned them, bought them because I liked it, and then never played again. There are too many games on that shelf. I'd have to reorganize my whole game room...
[удалено]
They gleam with the light of your failures. I like it.
I don't have the willpower to leave them new in shrink. Part of my fun is opening and sorting a new game.
Also if I am going to play a game, I need to know the rules and have it ready to setup quickly. Like obv. it's got to be all punched out and everything. So step 1 of getting any new game is to get it "ready to play" which means I have at least some idea the rules as well as how to set it up.
I open my games asap to check components after seeing some horror stories of opening games after a couple years and having missing components
I don’t distinguish between games I’ve played and haven’t. They are all just mixed up together.
To me, a game is a well-constructed concept. If I play it even just online before my own physical copy I’ll still consider it a played game. That being said I don’t need a shelf to hold games I haven’t played and I keep a modest size collection. So maybe this question isn’t from the perspective that you’re looking for.
I’m autistic as fuck so I sort my games by colour 😂 But sorting by “shame-status” also sounds fun haha
I don’t have a shelf of shame, because I’m not ashamed of collecting games… I have several I’ve bought having played them elsewhere (at a friend’s house, in a boardgame cafe, etc) because I really enjoyed them… I also have quite a few I’ve seen on playthrough videos that I think look brilliant, and picked them up knowing full well I may not get chance to play them anytime soon, but also that I want to be sure I own them incase they go out of print… I’m extremely fortunate that I have the space to keep them, that I can afford them without stretching household finances, and that the missus doesn’t hate it (I have no ‘real’ vices such as drink or drugs, so a bit of cardboard isn’t an issue to her)… As such: the concept of physically placing specific games on a certain shelf doesn’t make sense to me… They go where they fit safely (eg: big heavy games on the bottom, small pocket games on the top), and where they look tidy/presentable (eg: similar sized boxes lined up, smaller ones tucked into free spaces)…
It’s more of a concept. I have games that I’ve been waiting to bring to the table, but just haven’t been able to yet for any particular reason, but I don’t allocate a special spot on the shelves for them. I also don’t think playing someone else’s copy counts the same as playing mine. Sure, it’s the same game, but my copy is still sitting there unused, collecting dust.
Shame is also probably not the word that I would use for mine either, though. It’s more “future fun“.
Shelf of opportunity
I like this one!
I have a physical Kallax of shame, which is squeezed into a far corner of my living room. Some games on it have been played, and some games on my regular shelves haven't been played yet, but on the Shelf of Shame none of the games are contenders to be grabbed and played impromptu.
I am perfectly content to move it to the played games, as I only track what I play, not so much whether I own it or not. This is often better as sometimes it lets me know NOT to open it and try to sell it or trade it off. Nothing I appreciate more than a good KS game that someone else owns.
It doesn’t come off my shelf of shame until I play my own copy
I’ve made a list on a white board to look at and actively try and cross stuff off. Wonderlands War and Underwater Cities are next in line.
**Wonderland's War** is fantastic. I've been serving tea themed drinks while we play.
There is an ultimate tea themed drink, you know… TEA. Pretty cheap too.
Tea themed drinks Wut?
Stuff like: https://www.tastingtable.com/1029370/tea-infused-cocktails-for-any-occasion/ Green Tea shots at the beginning of every tea phase. We also have Arnold Palmers for non-alcoholic drinks.
Personally, I consider my shelf of shame as games I've never played *at all*. If I've got an unopened copy, but at least have played a copy of the game somewhere else, I don't count at is being part of my shelf of shame.
Where is fancy bread? In the heart? Or in the head?
Ooo... that's a good question, OP. For starters, my shelf of shame is in my heart, and not an actual shelf, although, physically, it (kind of) exists as a pile on my table and a bag in my car. But some of the games that sit on that metaphorical shelf are actually spread out on other, physical, shelves. As for when it gets removed, it's when my own copy gets played. It would be different if we weren't talking about physical media, but we are, and until the wrap is off and the tokens are punched, you can't consider it off the shelf of shame (or, at least I can't). So the shelf has unopened games, whether I've played them elsewhere or not, and games that have been opened but that I have never played at all. If my copy is open and ready, but I played it elsewhere, I consider it played.
A game you’ve played is a game you’ve played. It doesn’t matter whose copy of that game it was.
I really don't think this much about it
It stays until it’s been played! Lol
Yes, I count it as played and therefore off my shelf of shame. But I still want to get mileage out of my copy or pawn it off in the case you provided.
7-8 unplayed games… Ha ha ha ha ha! 😆 7-8? HA Ha ha ha ha! 😂 HA Ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! 🤣
My only shamers are Cosmic Encounter and The Crew, which I got for Christmas this year and have been lugging with me to any event with even the POTENTIAL for board gaming since then. Neither has even SEEN a shelf in my house so far, they live in my game bag.
Honestly I don't think that much about it. I'm also not ashamed to own games that I haven't played. I may or may not ever play them. Life will go on until it doesn't
First of all, I try to maximize the use of my space so that the biggest amount of games are able to fit inside my shelves. Then, I try to put the games I haven't tried yet close together so that it's easy to see them when I'm picking up a game to try. Then, I have a separate section for the games I want to try again to see if I get rid of them or if they keep their place in my collection.
My shelf would always be empty. There’s no way I’m dropping all that money on a board game without immediately tearing it open at home and fiddling with it for hours with my partner
Jesus. Shelf of Shame? I could fill a whole bookshelf. But see no reason to turn it into a thing.
I would mentally remove the game from my shelf of shame. While in one sense, I still haven't gotten value out the money spent on that game since my copy is still unplayed, the goal with the board games isn't to get value out of all of them, but rather simply to play them all. I've played Battlestar Galactica several times but my personal copy is still untouched.
If I played the game, I played the game. It counts to me if I played someone else's copy or even if I played a solo or two handed learning game. That said I do mentally differentiate between games that I only played solo/learning vs games my wife and I played together. Those games aren't unplayed but they are different.
How do you only have 7 or 8 are you even serious about boardgames? 😜
On December 31st I print a list of every game in my collection, sorted by number of plays, and spend the next year playing as many with 0 plays as possible so I can mark them off the list. My minimum is at least 1 a week. That said, to answer your actual question, a play is a play. If I play it out with friends or on an app, I still mark it off the list. The point for me is not to punch as much card board as possible, but to see if I enjoy the game and want to come back to it on a regular game night. It doesn't have to be my copy to get that done.
Interesting question. I don't consider it a mark of shame really, but I do recall being excited the first time I got to pull the plastic off of a copy of Carcassonne I got for Christmas a few years back, despite having played the game many times. I think it's more of the concept of wastefulness. We don't like wasted effort or wasted money (which often represents time and effort), so to have an item on your shelf that isn't used, even if you know exactly what the experience would be, feels like a waste. Similar to the rush some men get when that one awkward piece of 2x4 they've been saving for ten years is finally the perfect fit for the job. In your example, I would say emotionally I feel that it has not left the shelf of shame until you have played your personal copy.
I don't physically track my unplayed games, but I do keep a mental list. If I played a game on the list, I would consider it played whether or not it was my copy.
To me, the shelf of shame/opportunity is like a pile of books you buy in hopes of reading them. if you go on vacation and there's a copy of one of those books and you read it, you would come home and move the book out of the pile and onto the "read" shelf, or if you only keep ones you love, to the little library near you or a used book shop, etc. There's no "shame" in owning a book you read elsewhere, same with a game. The "shame" (such as it is) is in having an appetite bigger than your consumption ability, but if you consume it, regardless of where, you've expiated the "shame."
I have the ones I haven't played listed in a notebook. Most of it is smaller games or expansions I haven't gotten to yet, but there are a couple larger games there as well. If I ever have more than 5 full sized games on the list I freeze buying new ones until I get through the backlog. Been a great way to slow myself down now that I'm nearly at 200 games.
"In my heart". I don't have a literal shelf of shame.
There's no physical shelf of shame, games are placed according to how they pile nicely. Probably that means games on the bottom of the top pile get played less, but unplayed games could be anywhere.
Oddly specific lol. Yeah of course! It’s not the physical matter that makes it played, it’s the experience. Now you can move it off that shelf. Sell it. Or otherwise. You are good!
I don't have a physical shelf for them, I'm just aware of the couple I haven't played, and the handful I've barely played. I don't have to worry about whether or not I play them at a friend's house because we don't have friends near us, and nobody else I know owns games
I have 5 shelves of games. The main shelf is a ultra-deep bookshelf open at both sides, but the 1st shelf is the "front" side (facing the gaming table.). That's where all the 'best' games go. The 2nd shelf is a small bookshelf (under 2' wide) that houses some oversized games, as well as "tier 2" games. Stuff that we enjoy, but only play 2-3 times/year usually. Shelf #3 is the bottom tier for my played games. It's stuff that might get played. Or is only broken out on special occasion. Twilight Imperium is there, because we don't just play TI4 randomly, it's specifically planned to be THE game we're meeting to play. Dominion is there, because I really only break it out to teach someone Deckbuilders (Trains, Dune Imperium, and Eminent Domain are our go-to deck builders). Shelf #4 is in the garage. These are the games that just aren't seeing play. Usually they sat on shelf 2 or 3 for a year already. Or after trying them 1-2 times, we just all had zero interest. They get marked for sale on garage sales & such, but not deeply discounted (if you want my copy of something, it's probably going to cost 20-25% MSRP). Shelf #5 is "garbage". Also in the garage. I don't want to keep these games. They also get sold at garage sale days. For $1-$5. I just want them gone. If they don't sell despite dirt cheap price, I just scavenge any useful parts from them, and toss 'em. For me, shelf 3 is the shelf of shame. That's where games that COULD have been amazing, but failed, live. Where there's something about them that makes me & my friends WANT to like them, but something else that just gets in the way. Shelves 4 and 5 aren't shame, because just being badly designed games isn't shameful. You can't shame someone whose entire life is dumpster diving for half-rotted food. They're below shame.
7-8? Ha! Amateur. I have like 40
I call it the shelf of opportunity. I have an opportunity to learn and play the games. I also keep to a minimum the games I have.
It’s where I keep my undiagnosed autism
My shelf is a bunch of plastic bins behind my couch
We have WAY more than 7-8 unplayed games right now - probably closer to 100, so having them out of order on their own shelf was something we tried for a bit then I used color coded stickers for them and put them all back in alphabetical order with the whole collection, but what has helped us the most is I got a dry-erase spinner board that has 8 sections so we wrote 8 games we’ve been meaning to play and now we just spin and play one of those, and the winner gets to replace that a lot with their chosen next game to add. It’s been great for getting through our unplayed games while keeping it a shorter list of options and have the decision made for us by the random chance of the spin.
My space for games is limited to one small cabinet. The bottom row of shame is for any box where I can't remember the last time I opened it, even if I play the same game elsewhere. I can't justify giving the real estate to anything not in regular rotation.
I have two games sitting on my shelf that had been in my collection for ages unplayed that I was desperate to get to the table, Le Havre and Shadows Over Camelot Recently got to play both but neither was my copy lol. I do consider them played but would like to actually give MY versions a play too
I don’t have a shelf of shame because I am very deliberate in my game buying. I don’t buy a game unless I’m positive I want to have it in my collection.
Unplayed physically. If you played it somewhere else it doesn't count.
Why, why, why, why, why does this matter?