Gaming Dollars Spent in 2023

[MGibster]

At the beginning of 2023 I made two decisions. The first was that I was going to put a dent in the number of unpainted miniatuers I had and the second was that I was going to keep track of my gaming expenditures for 2023. While there's still a month left, I thought it was late enough in the year to go over how much I've spent. I'm posting this because I think it might be mildly interesting to other people, and I hope it isn't construed as any kind of stealth brag. At this point in my life I have plenty of disposable income.

One of the things I wanted to do was figure out where my money was actually going towards. I know I spent a lot on miniatures from 2020-2021 because of COVID, but I wasn't sure exactly how much. How much do I actually spend on hobby supplies or RPGs? I should probably have some idea, right? Just to be a responsible adult.

I've divided my spending into three categories.

• Books - This will include all roleplaying games and includes PDFS.
• Miniatures - Anything from Games Workshop, Reaper Miniatures, and I would have inlcuded miniatures heavy board games like Zombicide had I bought any.
• Paints/Hobby Supplies - This was paint (duh) as well as glue, basing materials, or anything related to supporting my hobby.

Paints/Hobby Supply Expenditures in 2023 - $315.01

The largest single purchase I made in this category was on August 17 when I spent approximately $44 on a bunch of Army Painter Speed Paints. But it includes things like airbrush thinner, some dental cleaning supplies I use to clean my airbrush, and some miscellaneous tools that I simply can't remember what they were specifically. I consider these to be the boring part of the hobby, but necessary if I want to continue painting. I didn't purchase a whole lot because I have plenty of paints and supplies from previous years. I probably could have gotten buy without spending anything on paints had I really wanted to. As it is, I have multiple bottles of some colors because I'd forgotten I already had one at home.

Role Playing Games in 2023 - $304.37

My roleplaying purchases really slowed down since COVID. Part of my regular group moved to Europe this year, and the rest of us just aren't playing as often. I think my days of having a regular group might be coming to an end. My single largest purchast was a Fallout RPG bundle directly from Modiphius for $109. We played an enjoyable campaign and we'll likely play another one. I'm hoping to run some more campaigns this upcoming 2024.

Miniatures in 2023 - $1,300

By a country mile, I spent most of my gaming money on miniatures with a little half of that being Games Workshop products. My single largest purchase was the Levithan boxed set for Warhammer 40k. My second largest purchase was the gargantuan red dragon from WizKids (which I still haven't painted.) $220 of that was just spent shortly before posting this with Modiphius. Their Liberty Prime model is back in stock and I couldn't refuse purchasing it. The funny thing is that I don't think I bought a whole lot of miniatures in the grand scheme of things. I just held off on buying so much because my New Year's resolution last year was to paint what I had. Mostly I bought things that were on sale for prices that were too good. The aformentioned red dragon was less than $200 and usually retailed for more than $400.

So at the end of this little experiment, I don't really regret the money I spent. I spend far more time in my hobbies in solitude painting than I actually do playing and this is reflected in my spending habits. I'm probably going to continue my resultion in 2024 to paint what I have rather than buying a lot of new miniatures. I'm probably going to pivot away from Games Workshop for a bit because I have two complete armies and am in no hurry finishing what I have remaining.

 

[delericho]

You've kept much better track than I have, and have also spent considerably more than me.

As far as I can remember, this has been the first year in more than three decades when I have bought no physical RPG products at all. I bought a bunch of Spelljammer PDFs just after the big OGL climbdown, and a bunch of Dark Sun PDFs recently. Other than that, I think there was one Kickstarter that I backed, and that's it.

 

[jdrakeh]

Losing a character last night after I spent hours doing a custom model conversion and painting it kind of drove home what a bad investment minis are for me as a player. So I probably won't be buying any more minis going into 2024. As for RPG books, I'll probably be picking up some Starfinder stuff in 2024, as well as some GURPS Dungeon Fantasy stuff. Maybe the GURPS Conan line. I have no firm plans to buy other RPG books (or PDFs) in 2024.

 

[aco175]

I think the only things I see buying right now are the new PHB and 4 passes for my group to the local convention. I'm holding off on the new DMG and MM to see if they are worth an update. I'll likely buy the DMG and want to buy one new adventure book, but I feel the Vecna book will be to fantastic and multi-world spanning for my tastes, so I'm back to looking at Saltmarsh.

 

[R_J_K75]

I hope it isn't construed as any kind of stealth brag. At this point in my life I have plenty of disposable income.

Good for you, definitely nothing to be ashamed of (for lack of a better term).

Paints/Hobby Supply Expenditures in 2023 - $315.01

I love that you included the $0.01 in this figure, LOL

I've never been good with money, I spend it as soon as it comes in, who cares what's it's on. I will say I just bought a bottle of Jack Danials Winter Jack Apple Cider and it was very smooth and worth the money and I'm not a Jack drinker.

I have recently stopped playing D&D 5E and have invested in the Modern AGE, ShadowDark, Marvels Multiverse and GI Joe RPG's. We're currently playing ModernAGE, which is really fun. We don't use miniatures much these days, it's just not something I want to spend time on anymore. I did at one point but I'm getting old and I can use my time better than curating a miniatures collection. I would love a good collection of minis but I'd need a butler to catalogue them, dust them off, paint them and set them up for the upcoming game. And of course, therefore the ending of every session would be...the Butler did it.

I dont keep track of how much money I spend on our beloved hobby, but I'd suspect its between $1000 and $3000 per year on a rough guestimate, but probably $2000 on a given year.

RE: D&D 2024, I will buy it just out of curiosity with the hope that the changes eventually made will win me back, But I'm not expecting much, although cautiously optimistic.

 

[payn]

My money all went to Battletech. 300 for the Kickstarter, 200 on force packs, Im going to guess 300 in game aids and materials to build terrain, paints, and more.

Couple that with probably another 2-300 in KS in various RPGs. Puts me around 1,000 bucks for 2023.

 

[MGibster]

You've kept much better track than I have, and have also spent considerably more than me.

I suspect there are a few I missed. I had to add a Battletech boxed set I purchased for $60 a few months back but forgot to ad.

Losing a character last night after I spent hours doing a custom model conversion and painting it kind of drove home what a bad investment minis are for me as a player. So I probably won't be buying any more minis going into 2024.

I will occasionally paint a custom character for a specific game, but it's like getting a tattoo of your girlfriend's name. You're just begging for something to go wrong. I've had a few players spend upwards of $40+ at Heroforge for a custom miniature and I'm like, "You've participated in my campaigns before. You know characters tend to die, right?" Usually when I paint a custom character for a specific game it's because I've already got an unpainted miniature lying around the house. Usually I'll just pick a painted miniature that's close to the character I'm playing. I'm not too picky.

My money all went to Battletech. 300 for the Kickstarter, 200 on force packs, Im going to guess 300 in game aids and materials to build terrain, paints, and more.

I own three Battletech boxed sets I've bought over the last two years plus a few lances. I've painted a lot of the miniatures, but I have yet to play.

 

[Reynard]

@MGibster not that it matters much but I think you meant to put 2023 in the thread title.

 

[payn]

I own three Battletech boxed sets I've bought over the last two years plus a few lances. I've painted a lot of the miniatures, but I have yet to play.

We have a very vibrant scene here in the Twin Cities. Magic players are actually upset at a local FLGS because BT players take too much room! Alpha Strike is more inline with modern minis gaming. I'm a classic guy through and through tho. If you ever get into a game, let me know how it goes.

I just painted up these 'splody tanks for a Solaris VII tournament for next Monday.

 

[MGibster]

@MGibster not that it matters much but I think you meant to put 2023 in the thread title.

Ooh, I did. I've got 2024 on the brain.