A very pricey game: opinions?

[Ander00]

I've probably spent quite a bit more money getting to the game and back when I wasn't DMing than I have spent on books. Then again, I am of the opinion that, for most books, one copy per group is plenty. Combine that with the fact that one of the guys in the group is the kind who just buys each and every book, no matter what, and my own collection of 3.5 books does not even reach the double digits.

If you also count the hundreds of minis though... whatever was I thinking ? Those are purely optional however (especially if you already have Warhammer, HeroQuest or some other sort of miniatures), and I did actually enjoy the minis game for a while.


cheers

 

[hamishspence]

Put me in the borderline compulsive section

The only 3rd ed books I have not got are mostly non-hardback adventures (lack of new content) and 3rd ed splatbooks (started collecting late and they stopped being available)

I plan on mining the books for 4th ed conversion material (not direct, more homebrewing the monster/item until a modern version appears.)

 

[Crothian]

My collection is probably a small house in price.

Worth every penny

 

[Nifft]

While I love my D&D, it as a bit on the pricey side. After spending £1500 approx on books and £150 approx on miniatures, (and choosing to start 4th ed, so thats an extra £70+ so far, I am thinking its a lot of cash spent.

Who else have spent a lot on this very enjoyable hobby?

What I spend on D&D is nothing compared to my other hobbies (skiing and dating).

Seriously, D&D is an amazing bargain for the hours of entertainment I've gotten.

Cheers, -- N

 

[mcrow]

Before getting married and becoming a father I would spend about $2000/ year on gaming stuff and about 3/4 of that money was on RPG related stuff (books,dice,software...ect).

Now I'm down to about $500/year on gaming stuff. Still, compared to say Golf or Fishing it's very cheap at $2000/year.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Seriously, D&D is an amazing bargain for the hours of entertainment I've gotten.

Plus: You get more out of it, if you count the time you spend on forums, tinkering with stuff and so on as well. Without D&D, you wouldn't do that!

Cheers, LT.

 

[Gothmog]

Gaming can be expensive, but only if you want/let it be. For example, over the last 8 years, I've bought about $1000 of Dwarven Forge stuff. Sounds like a lot, right? Consider that I use it almost every gaming session, and I've had probably about 500 gaming sessions during that time (6 hours each, on average), and the cost per hour for my Dwarven Forge stuff is about 33 cents! Similarly, if I total together all the gaming books I've bought since I was 10 (and I'm 34 now), it fills about 15 6' tall bookshelves, and I have no idea how much money (but like Crothian, I'm guessing something like the price of two cars). Figure in pewter minis I've bought over the years too, and I know I've spent a lot.

But here's the thing: look at cost per hour, and you realize gaming is CHEAP by comparison to almost every other form of entertainment. I went to a St Louis Cardinals game a couple weeks ago- $40 per ticket, with 4 tickets for me and my friends (I took one friend who is a rabid fan for his birthday). Per ticket you're looking at about $13.30 per hour of entertainment, AND I can't go back later and reference the event with anything but my memory. Dating gets even more ridiculously expensive- depending on your tastes, anywhere from $5-50 per hour!!!

Gaming is my largest entertainment expense (I don't know for sure- maybe $5000 per year), but its stuff I'll be using and referencing for years and years, so I don't feel bad about it at all. So while you might sink a big chunk of change into gaming as a whole, its not an expensive hobby.