Board game collections have a tendency to grow quietly.

You buy a game, play it a few times, and start wondering what else is out there. Maybe you hear about a clever mechanic, an interesting theme, or a game that does something slightly different from the ones you already own.

So you pick it up.

Over time the shelf fills up.

I don’t really think the problem is that some games don’t get played very often. Part of the hobby, at least for me, is simply having something new to explore. Sometimes the enjoyment is just knowing there’s a game on the shelf you haven’t tried yet. Something you might pull out on a random evening or when the right group shows up.

The other side of that, though, is that collecting itself can become part of the thrill.

Looking up games, discovering new mechanics, finding something unusual, adding it to the shelf, that whole process can be fun on its own. There’s a bit of adventure in it, a sense of exploration.

But I think there’s also a point where the balance can shift.

Instead of playing games because they’re fun to play, you start collecting them for the excitement of discovering the next one. The shelf keeps growing, not because you’re excited to sit down and play something, but because the hunt for the next interesting game has become the hobby.

I’ve caught myself drifting in that direction more than once.

Collecting isn’t necessarily the problem. It just helps to notice when the adventure moves from the table to the shelf.